High Penalty Research Articles

Tackling the shadow economy through inflation and access to credit

How do changes in inflation and financial market development affect the size of the shadow economy? Previous studies show that lowering the tax rate, coupled with increasing the level of tax enforcement through policing and imposing high penalties for tax evasion may reduce the size of the shadow economy. While increasing the level of enforcement may be a viable strategy, most developing countries are unable to effectively enforce their tax laws. Based on empirical observations, we suggest that monetary authority could play an important role in this regard. Using a two-sector dynamic general equilibrium model of a small open economy, we demonstrate how monetary policy can be used to reduce the size of the shadow economy. The results suggest that, conditional on access to credit, a rise in inflation leads to a reduction in the size of the shadow economy. With little or no access to credit, such a policy will be ineffective. We evaluate alternative policy measures to achieve a targeted size of the informal sector.

DENTAL MALPRACTICE CASES IN TURKEY: EVIDENCE BASED ON HIGH COURT DECISIONS

This study aims to examine dental malpractice cases in Turkey through the Supreme Court’s decisions. In this study, the dental malpractice decisions of the Supreme Court of Appeals, one of the highest judicial bodies in Turkey, are evaluated. It is seen that 83.3% of dental malpractice lawsuits filed against dentists occur in private enterprises (private clinics, practice, private hospitals, etc.). It was also discovered that most of the decisions were made in 2014, 2015, and 2018. Furthermore, the majority of the decisions (93.7%) are compensation cases. The cases were brought mainly by adults (89.6%). The patients mostly applied to the dental clinic for a dental prosthesis (25%) and implant (18.8%). Choosing the wrong treatment method (66.7%) and service failure (14.6%) are the leading causes of malpractice. Health consequences such as severe pain (31.3%), inability to fully perform the chewing function due to defective prosthesis (10.4%), mouth sores, and difficulty in swallowing (6.3%) occurred in patients. It was determined that 7 (14.6%) cases had to undergo a second operation due to malpractice. The average amount of pecuniary and non-pecuniary compensation demanded from physicians is 53.431 TL. The majority of the decisions (52.1%) were reversed under Article 428 of the HUMK (Law of Civil Procedure). Like other healthcare professionals, dentists are faced with a malpractice lawsuit and can pay high compensation penalties. There is a need to develop individual, institutional, and national strategies for malpractice, and necessary precautions must be taken.

Cation Co-Intercalation with Anions: The Origin of Low Capacities of Graphite Cathodes in Multivalent Electrolytes.

Dual-ion batteries involving anion intercalation into graphite cathodes represent promising battery technologies for low-cost and high-power energy storage. However, the fundamental origins regarding much lower capacities of graphite cathodes in earth abundant and inexpensive multivalent electrolytes than in Li-ion electrolytes remain elusive. Herein, we reveal that the limited anion-storage capacity of a graphite cathode in multivalent electrolytes is rooted in the abnormal multivalent-cation co-intercalation with anions in the form of large-sized anionic complexes. This cation co-intercalation behavior persists throughout the stage evolution of graphite intercalation compounds and leads to a significant decrease of sites practically viable for capacity contribution inside graphite galleries. Further systematic studies illustrate that the phenomenon of cation co-intercalation into graphite is closely related to the high energy penalty of interfacial anion desolvation due to the strong cation-anion association prevalent in multivalent electrolytes. Leveraging this understanding, we verify that promoting ionic dissociation in multivalent electrolytes by employing high-permittivity and oxidation-tolerant co-solvents is effective in suppressing multivalent-cation co-intercalation and thus achieving increased capacity of graphite cathodes. For instance, introducing adiponitrile as a co-solvent to a Mg2+-based carbonate electrolyte leads to 83% less Mg2+ co-intercalation and a ∼29.5% increase in delivered capacity of the graphite cathode.

The behavioural evolution of the smart electric vehicle battery reverse supply chain under government supervision

PurposeRecycling and reuse of the electric vehicle (EV) batteries are ways to extend their limited lives. If batteries can be traced from production to recycling, it is beneficial for battery recycling and reuse. Using blockchain technology to build a smart EV battery reverse supply chain can solve the difficulties of lack of trust and data. The purpose of this study is to discuss the behavioural evolution of a smart EV battery reverse supply chain under government supervision.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts evolutionary game theory to examine the decision-making behaviours of the government, EV manufacturers with recycled used batteries and third-party EV battery recyclers lacking professional recycling qualification.FindingsOn the smart reverse supply chain integrated by blockchain technology, a cooperative recycling strategy of the third-party EV battery recycler is the optimal choice when the government tends to actively regulate. The probability of the EV manufacturer choosing the blockchain adoption strategy exceeds (below) the threshold, and the government prefers negative (positive) supervision. According to numerical analysis, in the mature stage in the EV battery recycling industry, when the investment cost of applying blockchain is high, EV manufacturers' willingness to apply blockchain slows down, the government accelerates adopting a negative supervision strategy and third-party EV battery recyclers prefer cooperative recycling.Practical implicationsThe results of this study provide opinions on the strength of government supervision and the conditions under which EV manufacturers and third-party EV battery recyclers should apply blockchain and cooperate. On the other hand, this study provides theoretical analysis for promoting the application of blockchain technology in smart reverse supply chain.Originality/valueCompared with previous research, this study reveals the relevance of government supervision, blockchain application and cooperation strategy in smart EV battery reverse supply chain. In the initial stage, even if the subsidy (subsidy reduction rate) and penalty are high and the penalty reduction rate is low, the EV manufacturer should rather give up the application of blockchain technology. In the middle stage in the EV battery recycling industry, the government can set a lower subsidy (subsidy reduction rate) combined with a penalty or a higher penalty (penalty reduction rate) combined with a subsidy to supervise it. The third-party EV battery recycler is advised to cooperate with the EV manufacturer when the subsidy is low or the penalty is high.

Strategic regulation of memory in dsyphoria: a quantity-accuracy profile analysis

ABSTRACT The mechanisms underlying a tendency among individuals with depression to report personal episodic memories with low specificity remain to be understood. We assessed a sample of undergraduate students with dysphoria to determine whether depression relates to a broader dysregulation of balancing accuracy and informativeness during memory reports. Specifically, we investigated metamnemonic processes using a quantity-accuracy profile approach. Recall involved three phases with increasing allowance for more general, or coarse-grained, responses: (a) forced-precise responding, requiring high precision; (b) free-choice report with high and low penalty incentives on accuracy; (c) a lexical description phase. Individuals with and without dysphoria were largely indistinguishable across indices of retrieval, monitoring, and control aspects of metamemory. The results indicate intact metacognitive processing in young individuals with dysphoria and provide no support for the view that impaired metacognitive control underlies either memory deficits or bias in memory reports that accompany dysphoria.

A facile synthesized robust catalyst for efficient regeneration of biphasic solvent in CO2 capture: characterization, performance, and mechanism

Amine-based technology is promising for CO2 capture from the flue gas. However, it encounters high energy penalty and thus hampers its industrial application. Currently, the catalytic solvent regeneration is developing to lower down regeneration temperature, accelerate regeneration rate, and cut down energy consumption for monoethanolamine (MEA)-based process. However, the information on catalytic regeneration of biphasic solvent is seldom available. This work develops a facile synthesized robust catalyst, α-Fe2O3, to promote the biphasic solvent regeneration such as triethylenetetramine (TETA) and 2-(diethylamino) ethanol (DEEA) blend. Experimental results revealed that, with the aid of α-Fe2O3, the efficient regeneration of TETA-DEEA occurred at 94 °C, which is far below the conventional MEA-based process (110–120 °C). The corresponding CO2 stripping rate increased by 2.4 times compared with uncatalytic scenario. Furthermore, the relative energy consumption was furtherly decreased by 41.6%. Different from MEA regeneration, the biphasic solvent regeneration with α-Fe2O3 depended on the enhancement of water molecules proton donation rather than the abundant Brønsted acid and Lewis acid of the catalyst. Based on DFT calculation and 13C NMR spectra analysis, the water molecules on α-Fe2O3 surface and the protonated DEEA were parallel served as proton donors for carbamate decomposition. Consequently, a novel proton transfer mechanism was proposed for the biphasic solvent TETA-DEEA regeneration. The water molecules adsorbed on α-Fe2O3 surface generated oxyhydrogen groups and thus donate protons for the carbamate decomposition. This work proposes a novel proton transfer mechanism for solvent regeneration and advances its industrial application with a low energy penalty.

Green hydrogen production from decarbonized biomass gasification: An integrated techno-economic and environmental analysis

Biomass gasification represents an effective and promising conversion technology to different energy carriers/chemicals. Biomass gasification with CO2 capture will give an energy conversion system with negative CO2 emissions. This work assesses the techno-economic and environmental implications of decarbonized green hydrogen generation using the biomass gasification. Several pre-combustion decarbonization technologies were evaluated: chemical and physical scrubbing (absorption), membrane, hybrid membrane - chemical scrubbing. All evaluated biomass gasification concepts have 300 MW hydrogen output (corresponding to 100,000 Nm3/h hydrogen with purity above 99.95% vol.) with 90% carbon capture rate. Different system engineering tools were employed for the integrated assessment. As an important novelty outcome of this work, the green hydrogen production from decarbonized biomass gasification has promising potential to deliver high energy conversion efficiency (in the range of 57–59%), lower energy and cost penalties for decarbonization (about 2.2–3.5 net points), negative carbon emissions (considering that the primary fuel - biomass - is of renewable source). Among various assessed decarbonization technologies, the membrane system shows better techno-economic performances than the gas-liquid absorption (e.g., reduced CAPEX and OPEX by 7% and 7–9% respectively, inferior hydrogen production cost by about 7% etc.).

Understanding the New Dimensions and Implications of Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019

The Motor Vehicle Amendment Act 2019 is a significant piece of legislation that aims to reform and strengthen the laws governing road safety and motor vehicles in India. The Act was introduced as an amendment to the existing Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and has been implemented with the objective of reducing road accidents, improving traffic management, and ensuring greater accountability among road users. The Motor Vehicle Amendment Act 2019 introduces several key provisions that have far-reaching implications for motorists, passengers, and other stakeholders. One of the major highlights of the Act is the substantial increase in fines and penalties for traffic violations, such as over-speeding, drunk driving, not wearing a seatbelt or helmet, and using a mobile phone while driving. The Act also introduces stricter provisions for driving without a valid license, allowing underage driving, and dangerous driving, with higher penalties and imprisonment in certain cases. Another significant aspect of the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act 2019 is the focus on improving road safety measures. The Act mandates the use of electronic enforcement, such as speed cameras and red-light cameras, to catch traffic violators. It also emphasizes the importance of road engineering and design, making it mandatory for road authorities to follow guidelines for road construction and maintenance. The Act also introduces provisions for protecting vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists, and sets guidelines for their safety.

Over-wing integration of ultra-high bypass ratio engines: A coupled wing redesign and engine position study

The integration of next-generation high-bypass turbofan engines poses a major challenge to the aeronautical industry due to the larger fans necessary to achieve more fuel-efficient engines. The limited space underneath the wings and the strict ground clearance constraints bring the necessity to investigate solutions other than the conventional under-wing mounted engines. Over-wing installed nacelles have the potential to solve the ground clearance issue and, in addition, might reduce ground noise due to acoustic shielding from the wing. Nevertheless, a strong and complex coupling between aerodynamics and propulsion is the result of such integration choice, and traditional design practices may result in configurations with prohibitively high drag penalties. This paper presents a novel wing redesign method, specifically developed for over-wing mounted engines. The wing is reshaped to recover the spanwise lift distribution of the clean airframe (wing-body) configuration, for a single aisle airliner at a cruise condition. The wing redesign is conducted along with an engine position sensitivity study, in which the wing is reshaped for different engine axial and vertical positions. The coupling between propulsion and aerodynamics is thoroughly investigated, as well as the interaction and interference effects between the wing, pylon, and nacelle. Moreover, the best over-wing solution is compared to a baseline under-wing mounted nacelle. Results show that, by applying the developed method, an overall drag reduction of 17.65 counts, or 6.4%, was obtained, compared to the initial over-wing configuration, comprising the original wing and baseline engine position. Nonetheless, the best over-wing nacelle design is still 5.58 counts, or 2%, higher in overall drag compared to the baseline under-wing mounted nacelle case.

Evolutionary Analysis of the Regulation of Data Abuse in Digital Platforms

This study proposes a tripartite evolutionary game model to investigate the interactions among digital platforms, governments, and users to address the negative consequences of data abuse. The paper identifies that the high tax incentives and low penalties set by the government will increase the incentive for data abuse by platforms of different sizes, and the government can try to set up a tax ladder policy for platforms of different sizes and a dynamic penalty amount based on platform revenue. The study also reveals that user participation in supervision can reduce information asymmetry, and decrease the cost of government regulation. However, the single constraint of users is less effective than government regulation or dual user-government regulation. Additionally, the presence of privacy leakage risks prompts digital platforms to adopt compound engines to implement data abuse. Hence, the relevant government regulatory policies should consider the efficiency and cost of data security technology for timely adjustments. This research contributes to understanding the complex relationships among digital platforms, governments, and users and highlights the need for appropriate measures to mitigate the negative effects of data abuse.

Evolutionary Game Analysis for Key Participants’ Behavior in Digital Transformation of the Chinese Construction Industry

The transformation and upgrading of the construction industry has made obvious progress in China. However, the low degree of digitalization is still prominent. The digital transformation decision-making behavior of key participants in the construction industry is easily affected by economic interests, meaning that the implementation of digital transformation is a dynamic evolution process of repeated adjustment and continuous learning. Therefore, this study constructed a tripartite evolutionary game model of the government, service providers, and construction enterprises, and analyzed the strategy selection of each game player and the stability of the system equilibrium point. Moreover, the validity of the model and the influence of various factors on the system were verified and analyzed by numerical simulation. The results showed the following: (1) The government’s tax refund ratio and subsidy coefficient can significantly increase the motivation of construction enterprises and digital construction service providers within a certain threshold. (2) Whether enterprises carry out a comprehensive digital transformation depends on the revenue of the system solution strategy; the greater the revenue, the more positive the enterprises. (3) The adoption of high rewards and high penalties by the superior government can effectively encourage the local government to actively promote digital transformation. The contribution of this study lies in providing a theoretical basis and decision support for promoting the digital transformation of construction enterprises.

Confined flow past heated square cylinder for various inclination of lateral sides

In the present study, the effect of taper on the lateral sides on fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics on a square cylinder has been analyzed numerically. Two-dimensional simulations have been carried out in the laminar flow regime (Re 100–800) for divergent blockage ratios (ϵ = H/D) and taper angles on the forward and backward sides of the lateral cylinder. Compared to the square cylinder, the forward tapered modification cylinders led to significant total drag reductions, pressure drop, and higher heat dissipation for low Re. The backward taper cylinder illustrates a minor increase in heat dissipation; however, the high drag coefficient and pressure drop penalty cannot be neglected. Moreover, an optimized geometry has been identified as a function of all the parameters. The reduction in blockage ratio has been determined to suppress the vortex shedding for higher Re completely. Results also indicate that the decrease in blockage ratio reduces the critical Re of the domain. The slightly tapered surfaces on either side of the square geometry significantly influence heat transfer and apply to modern industrial electronics and their cooling.

Do increased speeding fines save lives?

On 24 April 2017, fines for the most serious speeding offences increased from 100% to 150% of relevant weekly income in England and Wales. In this paper we establish whether this policy saved lives. Using data on all road accidents reported to police we evaluate the effects of this increased financial penalty using a two-year bandwidth and applying Regression Discontinuity in Time and Difference-in-Difference methods. Overall, we find no evidence of reduced serious or fatal accidents following the policy, indicating most drivers are not significantly changing their risky behaviours when confronted with higher penalties. There is, however, some evidence of fewer accidents in more economically advantaged areas. This suggests that drivers are responding to the amount of the fine increase rather than the income share and wealthier drivers are therefore more affected.

A Ridepooling Bidding Model Considering Service Quality from the Perspective of Cournot Game Theory

Pricing for ridepooling services may be affected by travel needs, penalties, and ride service quality. Firstly, this paper explores pricing methods based on the perceived value of the ride as compared to the distance–time prices and penalties and proposes a ridepooling travel utility function for pricing strategies. Then this paper develops a combined optimization ridepooling scheduling model integrating order allocation and path optimization (CORM), and designs a hybrid simulated annealing (HSA) heuristic algorithm for solving this model. Based on the Cournot game theory, this paper further develops a ridepooling bidding model (RBM) that can simultaneously optimize the seekers’ utility and the profit of the ridepool platform. The effectiveness of the CORM and HSA are verified, and the superiority of the RBM has also been proved by a numerical simulation example. The results show the following: (1) neither the low distance–time price and high penalty price strategy nor the high distance–time and low penalty price strategy is an absolute advantage strategy for ridepooling passengers and the platform; (2) compared with the CORM, the RBM can not only effectively improve the profit of ridepooling platform, but also improve the success rate of ridepooling.

To outsource or not: Bike-share rebalancing strategies under the service quality deviation of a third party

Choosing third-party service providers (3PSPs) to rebalance bikes is an important strategy for bike-sharing companies. However, since a 3PSP is another stakeholder, whether the two parties will cooperate to complete the bike-rebalancing procedure needs further discussion. This study uses evolutionary game theory to study the strategic choices of bike-sharing companies’ rebalancing strategies (i.e., self-operation, joint venture, and outsourcing) and 3PSPs’ cooperation strategies (i.e., cooperation, no cooperation, and cooperation with deviation). Using DIDI Bike data, one of the largest dockless bike-sharing companies in China, to simulate a model and conduct sensitivity analyses, we show that (1) outsourcing and cooperation with deviation are long-term optimal strategies when 3PSPs have a small variable cost advantage and a high penalty and rebalancing effort; (2) not outsourcing (i.e., joint venture or self-cooperation) and not cooperating are long-term optimal strategies when the variable cost advantage, penalty, and the rebalancing effort is small for 3PSPs; and (3) outsourcing and cooperation are long-term optimal strategies when variable cost advantage, penalty, and rebalancing effort is high for 3PSPs. The results show that choosing third parties with a large variable cost advantage would help bike-sharing companies reach a rebalancing level. However, a penalty mechanism may be not effective in deterring 3PSPs from deviations in service quality.

DaeMon: Architectural Support for Efficient Data Movement in Fully Disaggregated Systems

Resource disaggregation offers a cost effective solution to resource scaling, utilization, and failure-handling in data centers by physically separating hardware devices in a server. Servers are architected as pools of processor, memory, and storage devices, organized as independent failure-isolated components interconnected by a high-bandwidth network. A critical challenge, however, is the high performance penalty of accessing data from a remote memory module over the network. Addressing this challenge is difficult as disaggregated systems have high runtime variability in network latencies/bandwidth, and page migration can significantly delay critical path cache line accesses in other pages. This paper conducts a characterization analysis on different data movement strategies in fully disaggregated systems, evaluates their performance overheads in a variety of workloads, and introduces DaeMon, the first software-transparent mechanism to significantly alleviate data movement overheads in fully disaggregated systems. First, to enable scalability to multiple hardware components in the system, we enhance each compute and memory unit with specialized engines that transparently handle data migrations. Second, to achieve high performance and provide robustness across various network, architecture and application characteristics, we implement a synergistic approach of bandwidth partitioning, link compression, decoupled data movement of multiple granularities, and adaptive granularity selection in data movements. We evaluate DaeMon in a wide variety of workloads at different network and architecture configurations using a state-of-the-art simulator. DaeMon improves system performance and data access costs by 2.39× and 3.06×, respectively, over the widely-adopted approach of moving data at page granularity.

Concept design, parameter analysis, and thermodynamic evaluation of a novel integrated gasification chemical-looping combustion combined cycle power generation system

Integrated gasification chemical-looping combustion (IGCLC) is a potential combustion technology with innate CO2 separation for solid fuels. Coupling this technology with coal-fired power plants is expected to greatly alleviate the high efficiency penalty induced by CO2 capture. This study proposes an innovative system called integrated gasification CLC combined cycle (IGCLCCC) that highly integrates a gasification system, a CLC system, a combined cycle, an ultra-supercritical steam cycle, and a CO2 capture system. In the proposed system, the oxygen-depleted stream from air reactor and flue gas from fuel reactor enter the combined cycle and ultra-supercritical steam cycle, respectively, for power generation. The energy and mass balances of the proposed system are determined by process simulation. The relationship between the performance of subsystems and system efficiency is studied by parameter analysis. Results indicate that the net efficiency penalty (0.3 percentage points) of the proposed system is 4.3 to 13.2 percentage points less than those of the conventional CO2 capture power plants, and the power consumption of specific CO2 capture is minimized to 8.3 kWeh/t. Besides, its net efficiency is as high as 45.0%, which is comparable to that of the natural gas combined cycle power plant with a 90% CO2 capture rate. This work provides a new sight into the design of the low-carbon and efficient power generation system.

External and internal influences on mobile phone use while driving: Combining the theories of deterrence and self-determination

ObjectivesVarious legal countermeasures have been introduced in numerous jurisdictions worldwide to reduce the risky behaviour of phone use while driving. However, external factors do not influence behaviour alone; internal factors may also play a large role in influencing behaviour. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the impact of both external and internal influences on hand-held phone use while driving. Methods and analysisThe influence of external factors was examined after a higher penalty and a trial for mobile phone detection cameras was introduced in Queensland, Australia, utilising deterrence-theory related constructs. Meanwhile, internal factors were examined through the lens of self-determination theory to determine the relevance of self-regulation to phone use while driving, over and above the effect of deterrence factors. FindingsA total of 866 participants (M age = 37.51 years, SD = 17.23) completed a survey examining these variables. Despite the changes to the penalty and enforcement, the legal factors did not significantly deter drivers from phone use while driving. Instead, participants reported avoiding punishment, which influenced further engagement in the behaviour. Meanwhile, indicators of self-regulation including effort/importance, perceived pressure, and relatedness were found to have a more salient impact on the behaviour, whereby drivers who reported high levels of internalised regulatory processes were less likely to use a hand-held phone while driving. Novelty and improvementThese results provide a novel contribution to understanding road rule compliance and have important implications for both theory and practice. For example, it can be suggested that legal countermeasures need to be improved, while non-legal countermeasures that target internalisation is a promising avenue for future research.

Recent Advances of Oxygen Carriers for Hydrogen Production via Chemical Looping Water-Splitting

Hydrogen is an important green energy source and chemical raw material for various industrial processes. At present, the major technique of hydrogen production is steam methane reforming (SMR), which suffers from high energy penalties and enormous CO2 emissions. As an alternative, chemical looping water-splitting (CLWS) technology represents an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly method for hydrogen production. The key to CLWS lies in the selection of suitable oxygen carriers (OCs) that hold outstanding sintering resistance, structural reversibility, and capability to release lattice oxygen and deoxygenate the steam for hydrogen generation. Described herein are the recent advances in designing OCs, including simple metal oxides (e.g., Fe, Zn, Ce, and Ti-based metal oxides) and composite metal oxides (e.g., perovskite, spinel, and garnets), for different CLWS processes with emphasis on the crucial parameters that determine their redox performance and future challenges.

Multi-agent game analysis on standardized discretion of environmental administrative penalty

An environmental administrative penalty is a powerful tool to regulate environmental pollution and ecological destruction by punishing intentional violations. Still, unchecked discretion may lead to excessively low or high penalties, breaking our balance of desire for uniformity with the need for discretion. To achieve the balance, regulators may use standardized discretion to achieve greater compliance by punishing intentional violations in a standardized way. However, policymakers and scholars have different attitudes on understanding whether standardized discretion helps enforcement. For this purpose, we construct a muti-agent dynamic game under the standardized discretion of environmental administrative penalty (SDEAP). The results show that: i) SDEAP can positively affect firms’ output and emission reduction efforts but negatively affect environmental quality; ii) The lower limit of SDEAP can positively affect environmental quality but negatively affects firms’ output and emission reduction efforts; iii) The upper limit of SDEAP can positively affect firms’ output, emission reduction efforts, and environmental quality; iv) SDEAP can restrict law enforcement and improve firms’ efforts to reduce emissions. This work can be helpful both to firms and the government as the basis for developing and implementing SDEAP.