Physical Stock Research Articles

A stock-flow-fund ecological macroeconomic model

This paper develops a stock-flow-fund ecological macroeconomic model that combines the stock-flow consistent approach of Godley and Lavoie with the flow-fund model of Georgescu-Roegen. The model has the following key features. First, monetary and physical stocks and flows are explicitly formalised taking into account the accounting principles and the laws of thermodynamics. Second, Georgescu-Roegen's distinction between stock-flow and fund-service resources is adopted. Third, output is demand-determined but supply constraints might arise either due to environmental damages or due to the exhaustion of natural resources. Fourth, climate change influences directly the components of aggregate demand. Fifth, finance affects macroeconomic activity and the materialisation of investment plans that determine ecological efficiency. The model is calibrated using global data. Simulations are conducted to investigate the trajectories of key environmental, macroeconomic and financial variables under (i) different assumptions about the sensitivity of economic activity to the leverage ratio of firms and (ii) different types of green finance policies.

Thesaurus of investigation of professional fitness trainers' training in the higher educational institution

There were analyzed traditional pedagogical definitions: “specialist model”, “result of the study”, “readiness”, “professional training”. It was specified the meaning of notion “higher educational institution” as a separate type of institution that gives educational services at the certain level of higher education on choosen specialties taking into account the market demands and personal needs of student in intellectual, professional, cultural and ethical development, realizes educational, scientific, scientific-technical, upbringing, international, innovative and/or methodological activity. It was presented the essence of notion “fitness trainer” that is explained as specialist that gives in group and/or individual format the services on studying, teaching and/or elaboration of programs of application of physical exercises, stock and equipment for the different groups of population taking into accout their needs, connected with striving for optimal life quality that includes social, psychic, spiritual and physical components. There was considered professional training of the future fitness trainers in higher educational institutions as pedagogical system that provides integral totality of components, directed on formation in future specialists of professional competences and correspondent knowledge, skills and abilities within specialty “Physical culture and sport” (specialization “Fitness-trainer”), projected taking into account the requerements of consumers of educational services (employers) and society that allows after finish of educational program of certain level of higher education successfully carry out tasks and duties, specific for fitness trainer profession and also realize the own professional and personal development.

CONTRIBUIÇÕES DO PASSADO EM AUXILIO AO FUTURO: TÉCNICAS DE RECUPERAÇÃO DE ÁREAS AFETADAS POR RUPTURA DE BARRAGEM DE REJEITO – UM ESTUDO DE CASO

The approach about procedures and edaphic conservation is utterly important, because there are many challanges that have to be faced considering the environmental balance and the use sustainable natural resources. In this context it is essential to analyze techniques of mitigation of impactes used after the dam break in Mirai (MG) in 2007. Considered the second largest environmental disaster of dam break in Brazil, it has affected the lives of many natural ecosystems, only overcome by the recent episode occurred in Mariana (MG) in November 2015, scenario analysis such analyses is essential for the development and monitoring of an effective restoration plan of Doce River s basin. Actions such as the rebuilding of the physical stock and the affected biological ecosystems were prioritized, in compliance with legal requirements and taking in consideration the environment and the population from the affected areas. This study aimed to analyze the actions and measures for the environmental recovery of the area directly affected by the rupture of the San Francisco dam, located in Mirai, MG and intended for containment of wastes arising from the bauxite beneficiation process. All this in order to provide technical inputs, coupled with the search for solutions to the biggest environmental accident of the recent history of Brazil, contamination of the Rio Doce through tailings dam break. Specifically, the following were analyzed: recovery of river runners and temporary dikes; stabilization of slopes; recovery of marginal areas of protection and hydrological monitoring in the region.

Tracking resource use relative to planetary boundaries in a steady-state framework: A case study of Canada and Spain

There is a growing understanding of the biophysical processes that regulate the stability of the Earth-system, yet human pressures on the planet continue to increase rapidly. Here, recent advances in defining Earth-system thresholds using the planetary boundaries framework are translated down to national and sub-national levels. A set of 10 indicators is developed in a biophysical accounting framework that links the sustainability of resource flows from the biosphere to final consumption. The indicator set includes three measures of physical stocks, three measures of aggregate resource consumption, and four indicators of sustainable scale. The four scale indicators are ratios of (i) cumulative carbon footprint relative to carbon budget, (ii) nutrient use relative to biogeochemical boundaries, (iii) blue water consumption relative to monthly basin-level availability, and (iv) land footprint relative to biocapacity. Taken together, the indicators measure how close high-consuming societies are to meeting the conditions of a “steady-state economy”, defined here as an economy with non-growing physical stocks and flows maintained within shares of planetary boundaries. The framework is applied over a 15-year period to the economies of Canada and Spain, along with two sub-national regions (Nova Scotia and Andalusia). Nova Scotia is the only study site experiencing stable or decreasing biophysical stocks and flows. None of the study sites are consuming resources within their shares of all four planetary boundaries. Overall, the set of indicators provides guidance for prioritizing which environmental pressures need to decline (and by how much) for societies to be more effective stewards of Earth-system stability.

Understanding productivity declines of resource accumulation in the prefectures of Japan

This study employs a data envelopment analysis (DEA) framework using long-term panel data of the physical stocks of buildings and infrastructure (roadways and railways), labor force, and gross regional product of 46 Japanese prefectures during the period of 1970–2010. I analyzed the change in the efficiency of production resulting from the labor force and resource accumulation in Japan’s prefectures for the study period to evaluate how this efficiency has changed over the years. The results show that productivity increases in almost all of the prefectures between 1970 and 1990. On the other hand, between 1990 and 2010, productivity declined in approximately 80 % of Japan’s prefectures, including big prefectures, such as Tokyo and Osaka. I find that the productivity in some medium-ranking prefectures in terms of population continued to increase even after 1990 due to the fact that in such prefectures, there was catch-up to the efficient production frontier.

Stochastic Analysis and Forecasts of the Patterns of Speed, Acceleration, and Levels of Material Stock Accumulation in Society.

The recent acceleration of urbanization and industrialization of many parts of the developing world, most notably in Asia, has resulted in a fast-increasing demand for and accumulation of construction materials in society. Despite the importance of physical stocks in society, the empirical assessment of total material stock of buildings and infrastructure and reasons for its growth have been underexplored in the sustainability literature. We propose an innovative approach for explaining material stock dynamics in society and create a country typology for stock accumulation trajectories using the ARIMA (Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average) methodology, a stochastic approach commonly used in business studies and economics to inspect and forecast time series. This enables us to create scenarios for future demand and accumulation of building materials in society, including uncertainty estimates. We find that the so-far overlooked aspect of acceleration trends of material stock accumulation holds the key to explaining material stock growth, and that despite tremendous variability in country characteristics, stock accumulation is limited to only four archetypal growth patterns. The ability of nations to change their pattern will be a determining factor for global sustainability.

Evolution And Revolution In Contemporary Pathology

Introduction/ Background Cloud Pathology Group participated in the XI European Congress on Telepathology presenting the results of its great “in vitro research” about the use of HTS scanners in surgical pathology and in the XII European Congress on Digital Pathology presenting the preliminary results of its “in vivo research” done at the Busto Arsizio Multihospital Pathology Department, ended on June 30,2015. Aims The aim of this abstract is to complete the Paris presentation and to highlight the conclusions of the three years and a half research work on the application of digital pathology in surgical activities. These conclusions became the base of the CPG software prototype (digital suite) put on the market by the Company. Methods The methods applied during the “in vitro research” and the “in vivo research” were described in 2012 and 2014 presentations. Afterwards, the work done consists in defining of specific tests to be executed on surgical specific diagnoses, defining the expected results of the tests, tests execution and validation of results, comparing expected and effective results, defining an evaluating the deviations defining how to proceed further. This Loup method was applied n times until a definitive specific conclusion was found. Results There is no evidence that digital diagnoses present more risks than the microscopes’ ones. The costs per diagnosis increase due to new investments and new running costs, however the level of the increase depends on the organizational model adopted. The higher is the volume of the slides treated, the lower are the costs per diagnosis. The higher is the standardization of the slides that the Laboratory produces, the higher is the accuracy of the diagnosis. The greater is the number of the pathologists involved in the network entitled to a diagnosis, the higher is the accuracy of the diagnosis (side effect of the specialization). The second opinion solution is a slow process; it is better to produce the diagnosis by involving more pathologists in the same process in the same time (collaborative diagnosis). The Data Base on work’ tracking is the main requirement for the quality control procedure, for the evaluation process of the professional skills and for the work assignments. The electronic repository of the images instead of the physical stock of slides cuts relevant costs. The organization of Data Base, its flexibility and its multi-proprietary approach are the keys of the quality of the entire solution. At all, digital pathology is a total change process. The fundamentals of its success are: clear comprehension of the organizational effects to be put on place, massive educational programs on new technologies and on change management, for pathologist, technicians and therapists, strong change management assistance, coherent behaviour in all people involved.

Radio frequency (un)identification: Results from a proof-of-concept trial of the use of RFID technology to measure microenterprise turnover in Sri Lanka

Accurate measurement of stock levels, turnover, and profitability in microenterprises in developing countries is difficult due to the fact that the majority of these firms do not keep detailed records. We test the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags as a means of objectively measuring stock levels and stock flow in small retail firms in Sri Lanka. In principle this offers the potential to track stock movements accurately. We compare the stock counts obtained from RFID reads to physical stock counts and to survey responses. We have three main findings. First, current RFID-technology is more difficult to use, and more time-consuming to employ, than we envisaged. Second, the technology works reasonably well for paper products, but very poorly for most products sold by microenterprises: on average we were able to read only about one-quarter of the products tagged, and there was considerable day-to-day variation in read-efficiency. This results from technical issues arising from read efficiency being comprised by liquids, metal, and product stacking. Third, a comparison of survey responses and physical stock-takes shows much higher accuracy for survey measures than RFID. As a result, we conclude that this technology is currently unsuitable for improving stock measurement in microenterprises, except perhaps for a few products.

On the Approximate Estimation of the Mean Physical Stock in Periodic Review Inventory Systems with Lost Sales

On the Approximate Estimation of the Mean Physical Stock in Periodic Review Inventory Systems with Lost Sales

Measuring Sustainability in the UN System of Environmental-Economic Accounting

The adoption of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting 2012: Central Framework as a UN statistical standard is a landmark in environmental accounting. The SEEA has the same authority and weight as the System of National Accounts in the pantheon of official statistics. The SEEA defines the unit value of depletion of an exhaustible resource to equal the average unit value of the asset (the total asset value divided by the physical stock of resource). By applying this definition to a non-optimal Dasgupta–Heal–Solow model of an extractive economy, we show that ‘depletion-adjusted net saving’ as defined in the SEEA supports a generalized version of the Hartwick Rule. This measure of saving can guide policies for sustainable development in extractive economies, in particular fiscal policies concerning consumption and investment expenditures funded by resource rents. The conditions required to support this finding are (i) that extraction declines over time at a constant rate, and (ii) that the marginal cost of resource extraction is constant. A less general result holds in the case of increasing marginal extraction costs.

The socio-economic drivers of material stock accumulation in Japan's prefectures

Physical economy research has, thus far, focused on the throughput of materials that underpin economic development. The role of stocks of buildings and infrastructure has remained underexplored, yet it is the physical stock that provides service to society. To fill this gap, this research investigates stock dynamics in Japan in relation to population and economic drivers using panel regression and IPAT analyses for the past five decades. We recognize characteristic changes in the strength and relative influence of the drivers throughout time, in different subnational regions, and on the dynamics of buildings compared to transportation infrastructure. We find that material stock accumulation mainly occurred due to growth in economic activity, specifically by tertiary sector demand. Apart from a period of government-driven stock accumulation in the 1990s to stimulate economic growth, as economic and population growth slowed stock accumulation dynamics also changed signaling a new stock saturation trend. Migration from rural to urban areas has recently become an influential driver, leaving behind underused buildings and roads. This analysis provides a case study on how socio-economic drivers and stock accumulation interacted and changed while the country matured, which may have implications for understanding stock dynamics in rapidly industrializing economies.

Assessing direct and indirect economic impacts of a flood event through the integration of spatial and computable general equilibrium modelling

In this paper we developed and tested an integrated methodology for assessing direct and indirect economic impacts of flooding. The methodology combines a spatial analysis of the damage to the physical stock with a general economic equilibrium approach using a regionally-calibrated (to Italy) version of a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) global model. We applied the model to the 2000 Po river flood in Northern Italy. To account for the uncertainty in the induced effects on regional economies, we explored three disruption and two recovery scenarios. The results highlight that: i) the flood event produces indirect losses in the national economic system, which are a significant share of the direct losses, and ii) the methodology is able to capture both positive and negative economic effects of the disaster in different areas of the same country. The assessment of indirect impacts, in particular, is essential for a full understanding of the economic outcomes of natural disasters.

Monetary conditions and metal prices

The monetary easing of the past few years by the world’s major central banks through conventional and unconventional policies coincided with the longest and broadest commodity price boom since the Second World War. And not surprisingly, the impending normalization of monetary conditions has created expectations of a likely reversal in commodity price trends. Based on a reduced form, price-determination model which accounts for all quantifiable sectoral and macroeconomic fundamentals, this note finds that the effect of short-term interest rates on metal prices is mixed and modest. But, changes in longer term rates have a positive and highly significant impact. The note also concludes that metal prices respond (in that order) to industrial production, input prices, US dollar movements and physical stocks of metals.

Assessing Direct and Indirect Economic Impacts of a Flood Event Through the Integration of Spatial and Computable General Equilibrium Modelling

In this paper we developed and tested an integrated methodology for assessing direct and indirect economic impacts of flooding. The methodology combines a spatial analysis of damage to physical stocks with a general economic equilibrium approach using a regionally-calibrated (to Italy) version of a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) global model. We applied the model to the 2000 Po river flood. To account for the uncertainty in the induced effects on regional economies, we explored three disruption and two recovery scenarios. The results prove that: i) indirect losses are a significant share of direct losses, and ii) the model is able to capture both positive and negative economic effects of a disaster in different areas of the same country. The assessment of indirect impacts is essential for a full understanding of the economic outcomes of natural disasters.

Analysis and forecast of the storage needs of soybeans in Brazil

The existence of a minimum storage capacity of grains as a condition for the maintenance of regulator physical stocks has been used as a strategic factor in the agribusiness expansion. However, in Brazil the storage infrastructure has not followed the growth of the agricultural sector. This fact is evident in the case of soybeans that currently represent 49% of grain production in the country, whose volume production has been increasing significantly over the years. This study aimed to predict the futureï€ needs of static storage capacity of soybeans from historical data to estimate the investment needed to install storage units in Brazil for the next five years. A statistic analysis of collected data allowed a forecast and identification of the number of storage units that should be installed to meet the storage needs of soybeans in the next five years. It was concluded that by 2015 the soybean storage capacity should be 87 million tons, and to store 49% of soybeans produced, 1,104 storage units should be installed at a cost of R$ 442 million.

Forecasting Demand for Automotive Aftermarket Inventories

Management decisions regarding the resource allocation in the automotive aftermarket involves a good understanding of it. This includes a better understanding of the participants in this market, the supply chains, specificities products and demand for these products. A useful instrument to anticipate the latter is the use of simulation methods, one of them being the Monte Carlo method, which, in this paper, is used to create various scenarios of supply.Keywords: Inventory Management, Aftermarket, Demand, Monte Carlo Simulation(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)1 IntroductionWe can define the inventory as a physical stock of economic resources that are stored or reserved for a good functioning of related business. Inventories are required because, in general, a customer will not like to wait for a long time, until their commands were filled from a source or were produced.On the other hand, maintaining inventory can protect against the seasonal price fluctuation of some raw material, because a buyer can procure a large quantity at good price and use it also when the price is high [1],Inventory management also concerns about lead time, carrying costs, asset management, inventory forecasting, inventory valuation, inventory visibility, future inventory price, physical inventory, physical storage, quality management, replenishment, returned goods, obsolete goods and demand forecasting [2],To maintain inventories involves the use of resources, so, it is necessary to introduce a set of policies and controls that establish and track levels of inventory and determine when stock should be refilled [3],In addition, in automotive aftermarket domain, a large inventory could, also, attract more customers resulting increase in sale and profits.For this purpose, we can use an inventory model based on Monte Carlo to determine the optimum inventory level in terms of safety stock and replenishment scenario. For this, the starting point is forecasting of demand which includes the prediction, projection or estimation of expected demand of the products over a specified future time period.2 Inventories in Automotive Aftermarket Domain2.1 Automotive Aftermarket Structure and EvolutionAftermarket parts are an alternative of OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts. These parts are produced by companies other than the original manufacturer but are made to fit and perform as well as the original. Aftermarket companies buy the rights to reproduce these parts. There are a variety of high quality aftermarket parts that can be purchased and live up to all the expectations of the original at a much lower price. In both cases, OEM and aftermarket parts, the part should perform the function it was designed for, so the car owner will decide which part to choose [4],Over the years, supply chain in automotive aftermarket has gone through many transformations as we see in Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 3 consecutively.Cash and carry retailers (discount shop selling a wide range of products) had an important role in aftermarket domain but, recently, they reduced their presence in this market, because of the need to allocate resources to other increasing competition sectors, like in food and clothing [5],National wholesalers, who used to rely on the original equipment (OE) manufacturers for a large proportion of their goods, are now serviced by Inter Factors (local retailers that deliver to point of use on very short lead-time) which are closer to the customer and can deliver goods to the point of use quicker. Also they have now only the role to serve independent wholesalers, as we see in Figure 2 and Figure 3.National retailers have also moved away from OE supply in order to eliminate the need for large central stores (warehouses owned by national players). Instead these national retailers have opted for service from independent wholesalers at a local level resulting in better service time and reduced stock ownership [5],Also, as we see in Figure 2 and Figure 3, the role of independent wholesalers increased with the decline of Cash and Carry organizations. …

An integrated System Dynamics model for strategic capacity planning in closed-loop recycling networks: A dynamic analysis for the paper industry

Recycling activities have demonstrated a remarkable increase over the last decade due to the economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability. In particular, capacity planning in production facilities has become a strategic issue of key importance affecting the profitability of the recycling industry.By integrating the simulation discipline and the feedback control theory into a dynamic consideration of recycling networks, this paper proposes a System Dynamics (SD) model for strategic capacity planning in the recycling industry. The decision-making process is based on a balanced tradeoff between profit and capacity utilization for a single producer with closed-loop recycling activities. The SD model captures physical stocks and flows apparent in real-world recycling networks and includes the feedback mechanisms which regulate these flows. When used as an “experimental tool”, the model tests alternative capacity planning policies and demonstrates policy suggestions for the forward and reverse channels, which maximize profitability over a strategic planning horizon. This experimentation is illustrated by using data from a paper producer with recycling activities, as a real-world test case. Extensive simulation runs, investigate the efficiency of a wide range capacity acquisition decisions, using total company profit as the measure of performance. Although such an analysis may differ from one recycling network to another, it has been kept as generic as possible to facilitate its applicability to a wide-spectrum of real-world local, regional or global networks.

Dulce María Loynáz y su encuentro con José Martí Imágenes de Mar: Péndulo de la Libertad entre Dulce María y José Martí poesía de la poesía

Literary essay that brings together two poetic figures through an analysis of two poems. The objectives of this essay is to analyze literary and aesthetic resources of both authors that reveal to us their deep meanings of the concept of freedom in metaphor and image of 'sea' and 'water', in our Caribbean Sea. The vital force of Jose Marti is intertwined in the lyricism of the also Cuban poet Dulce Maria Loynaz. This meeting that elaborate metaphorically, in a poetic approach that highlights the influence of Marti in Dulce Maria, and passion poetry of both, the essence of the cubaneidad, identity and love for the homeland sovereign, both writers and poets was awarded as a bulwark in its physical stocks and spiritual. Concluding in the intrinsic value of poetry and literature as a manifestation of true art which allows build meanings and know essences of authors more than time and space. Recovering in this reading the meanings of love for freedom and country. Poetry and comparative analysis of freedom as a literary concept and image of the literary sea in the poems of Dulce Maria Loynaz, Certainty and Jose Marti Hate the sea. Poetry of Cuba. 19Th and 20th century.

Assessing Direct and Indirect Economic Impacts of a Flood Event Through the Integration of Spatial and Computable General Equilibrium Modelling

In this paper we developed and tested an integrated methodology for assessing direct and indirect economic impacts of flooding. The methodology combines a spatial analysis of damage to physical stocks with a general economic equilibrium approach using a regionally-calibrated (to Italy) version of a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) global model. We applied the model to the 2000 Po river flood. To account for the uncertainty in the induced effects on regional economies, we explored three disruption and two recovery scenarios. The results prove that: i) indirect losses are a significant share of direct losses, and ii) the model is able to capture both positive and negative economic effects of a disaster in different areas of the same country. The assessment of indirect impacts is essential for a full understanding of the economic outcomes of natural disasters.

Impacts on the biophysical economy and environment of a transition to 100% renewable electricity in Australia

We investigate the impacts on the biophysical economy, employment and environment of a transition scenario to an energy-efficient, 100% renewable electricity (RE) system by 2060, based on wind, solar and biomass technologies, and an introduction of electric vehicles. We employ a CSIRO process-based model of the physical activity of Australia’s economy and environmental resources, the Australian Stocks and Flows Framework. The RE systems are assumed to be manufactured in Australia to identify possible employment benefits. In comparison with the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, on a national scale, the RE scenario has much lower economy-wide net emissions, remaining below contemporary levels and becoming zero in the electricity sector by 2060. Compared with BAU, the RE scenario also has significantly lower industrial water use, somewhat higher materials use, slightly lower unemployment, lower net foreign debt (relative to a GDP proxy) and, resulting from the growth in electric vehicles, reduced oil imports. The GDP per capita growth, based on the physical stocks of capital and labour, is virtually the same in both scenarios. Hence, from the viewpoint of the biophysical economy, there are no major barriers to implementing policies to facilitate the transition to a 100% renewable electricity system for Australia.