Proper Investment Research Articles

Our greatest untapped resource: our patients.

Healthcare is continually evolving to meet the changing needs of twenty-first century populations whilst striving to keeping pace with medical and technological advancements. Patients and clinicians remain the constants in this evolving environment, sitting at the cutting edge of new evidence and innovation and at the coalface of clinical services which need to address the increasingly challenging health priorities we face as a society. Patients and clinicians, positioned centre stage in this changing world, must adjust their relationships and partnerships to reduce the burden of illness and ensure that multifaceted care needs are all properly addressed. In rare diseases, this relationship between patients and professionals demands a new model of care, in which patients are active, valued partners in their own care and function not as 'enlightened self-interested' individuals but as experts by experience. The unique characteristics of rare diseases demand that care evolves beyond multidisciplinary team care to 'Networked-care', in which care is prescribed based upon the body of experience and expertise of a community of experts and patients (who are experts by experience). Healthcare models are being redrawn around a new norm of clinical practice based on true patient-clinical partnerships in care. A partnership with patients, when supported by proper investment, is a collaborative relationship that aligns both the medical and clinical perspectives of professionals with a holistic perspective of patients' life experiences. Such partnerships can (i) ensure that decisions around care and design of services are needs-led, (ii) reduce the fog of uncertainty that surrounds rare diseases, (iii) amplify the success of new discoveries, and (iv) create breakthrough innovations: in these ways, patient-clinical partnerships increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our work and build a more sustainable future for our healthcare services.

Utilization of soil organic phosphorus as a strategic approach for sustainable agriculture

Take home messageSoil organic phosphorus (Porg) can significantly assist in minimizing the adverse effects of chemical phosphorus fertilizers on aquatic and marine resources. Success to achieve the desired lasting transformation is primarily reliant on the drastic reduction of wasteful applications of chemical phosphorus fertilizers, thereby paving the way for proper investment of soil Porg reserves. To this end, organically‐bound phosphorus can be viewed as a cornerstone for the future development of agriculture. Thus, we consider it very timely to emphasize the suitability of soil Porg to lead the way.

A REVIEW OF NATIONAL EDUCATION SYSTEM OF INDONESIA AND UZBEKISTAN: STRUCTURE, FINANCING, REFORMS

The Government of Uzbekistan, experiencing modern reforms in an educational sector as a strategic part of a development program after the last presidential elections, spends an enormous portion of its resources on public education – significantly more than other countries in Central Asia, elsewhere with a similar income level, however, it is yet to pay off. Meanwhile, far in South-East Asia, Indonesia has made dramatic progress on expanding access to education, directing a huge stream of money towards formal education over the past few decades, but still, the learning outcomes remain low. In addition to key reforms in mandatory schooling in terms of increased quality of investment, utilization of information, communications hold considerable promise in improving educational outcomes. This comparative study on the compulsory education of both counties investigates financing and educational concerns in Indonesia and Uzbekistan. Drawing on our findings indicating the need for long-term educational reforms and proper investments in public education to reach promising milestones.

The scale and structure of government financial investment in traditional medicine based on optimal efficiency: evidence from public traditional Chinese medicine hospitals (PTHs) of Henan province, China

BackgroundTraditional medicine has been widely used to address relatively common illnesses. In this regard, Chinese government has been continually topping up its investments on public Traditional Chinese Medicine hospitals (PTHs) in recent years. This study aimed to assess the optimal scales and structure of the investments in Henan province by analyzing the contribution of Government Financial Investment (GFI) to the efficiency and revenue growth of PTHs as well as recommending proper investment strategies for implementation to policy-makers.MethodsThis study was a panel data study, conducted in Henan Province, China. By collecting 143 PTHs’ operational data from the year 2005 to 2017, Barro Economic Growth (BEG) model, Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) and Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model were used to assess the efficiency and PTHs revenue.ResultsThe study observed the positive contribution of GFI to PTHs’ revenue growth (average MPG = 2.84), indicating that the GFI had not reached the required optimal level of “Barro Law”. In order to maximize the input-output efficiency, the scales of GFI on Grade III, Grade II A, Grade II B PTHs need to be increased by − 5.96, 4.88 and 11.51%, respectively. The third year following the first investment may be a more essential period for conducting an effective GFI evaluation in Henan Province.ConclusionsGFI on PTHs usually has a long-term impact on PTHs. Governments can adjust its GFI policy so as to maximize the input-output efficiency.

Railway Capacity Enhancement with Modern Signalling Systems – A Literature Review

In times of ever stronger awareness of environmental protection and potentiation of a beneficial modal split, the railway sector with efficient asset utilization and proper investment planning has the highest chance of meeting customer expectations and attracting new users more effectively. Continuous increase in railway demand leads to an increase in the utilization of railway infrastructure, and the inevitable lack of capacity, a burning problem that many national railways are continually facing. To address it more effectively, this paper reviews available methodologies for railway capacity determination and techniques for its enhancement in the recent scientific literature. Particular focus is given to the possibility of increasing railway capacity through signalling systems and installing the European Train Control System (ETCS). The most important relationships with segments of existing research have been identified, and in line with this, the directions for a potential continuation of research are suggested.

ОСНОВИ ОБЛІКОВО-ІНФОРМАЦІЙНОГО АЛГОРИТМУ РОЗВИТКУ СІЛЬСЬКИХ ТЕРИТОРІАЛЬНИХ ГРОМАД УКРАЇНИ

Обґрунтовано обліково-інформаційний алгоритм розвитку сільських територіальних громад в Україні, що включає порядок інвентаризації ресурсного та економічного потенціалу, реалізація якого забезпечить інформаційну базу для розроблення інвестиційного паспорта територіальної громади і подальшого зростання її інвестиційної привабливості. Оцінено сучасний стан інформаційного забезпечення про ресурсний та економічний потенціал у територіальних громадах і розкрито пропозиції щодо його поліпшення для формування належного інвестиційного іміджу території.До складу об’єктів інвентаризації запропоновано включити: майно і кошти, що належать громаді (фінансово-майновий потенціал) об’єкти погосподарського обліку (людський потенціал регіону, погосподарська інвентаризація) об’єкти та суб’єкти підприємництва (підприємницькі ресурси громади — економічний потенціал) земельні та просторові ресурси громади (природний потенціал); природно-енергетичні ресурси території (природний потенціал водні, лісові, корисні копалини) соціально-інфраструктурні об’єкти (соціально-інфраструктурний потенціал) об’єкти культурно-історичного значення (культурно-історичний потенціал).Запропоновано структуру інформації для підготовки інвестиційного паспорта населеного пункту, який розробляють за результатами інвентаризації активів і ресурсного потенціалу територіальної громади.Зазначено, що запропонований обліково-інформаційний алгоритм розвитку сільських територіальних громад є початковою складовою механізму обліково-інформаційного забезпечення капіталізації фінансово-економічного та просторово-природного потенціалу сільських громад. Його наступними кроками має стати розроблення і затвердження методик оцінки виявлених активів з метою постановки на баланс; розроблення рекомендацій щодо ведення їхнього бюджетного і господарського обліку; формування додатків до фінансової звітності та оновлення форм статистичної звітності.

Analysing sustainable concerns in diamond supply chain: a fuzzy ISM-MICMAC and DEMATEL approach

ABSTRACT Sustainable supply chain management has become one of the significant areas of concern for modern industries. Enterprises are now adopting management that implements viable practices involving environmental protection and financial savings in a combined form. In this aspect, this study focuses on detecting various concerns associated with sustainable supply chain management in the diamond mining industry globally. These parameters are classified based on their dependency and driving power (DP) with the help of fuzzy MICMAC analysis. In addition to this, a structural model of the recognised concerns has been established using the interpretive structural modelling technique. Furthermore, the interdependence among the respective concerns have been identified by utilising the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) approach. Also, an integrated ISM-DEMATEL model has been employed to form an evident understanding of these concerns. The findings of this study illustrate that ‘Awareness Programmes’ and ‘Proper Infrastructure Investment’ should be given due consideration to ensure a sustainable competitive advantage.

Investment Selection Based on Bonferroni Mean under Generalized Probabilistic Hesitant Fuzzy Environments

In investment selection problems, the existence of contingency and uncertainty may result in the loss of attribute information. Then, how to make proper investment decision-making will be a tricky proposition. In this work, a multiattribute group decision making (MAGDM) method based on the generalized probabilistic hesitant fuzzy Bonferroni mean (GPHFBM) operator is constructed, which enables decision-makers to select the proper parameters in decision-making process. Firstly, the GPHFBM operator is proposed by combining the Bonferroni mean operator and Archimedean norm. Secondly, five excellent properties of the GPHFBM operator are discussed in detail. In view of applications, we further develop some special aggregation operators for GPHFBM with the various values of parameters b, d and additive operators g(t). Finally, we propose a probabilistic hesitant fuzzy MAGDM method based on the GPHFBM operator to analyze the aggregated information. A case study of the investment of social insurance funds is given to depict the validity and reasonability of the proposed method. Ultimately, the company X4 is selected as the investment company with the best comprehensive indicator.

THE ROLE OF THE INVESTMENT CLIMATE IN SOLVING THE PROBLEM OF HUMAN RESOURCE FORMATION IN THE TAX SYSTEM OF THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN

The issue of creating a favorable tax environment in any country plays an important role in solving the problem of human resource development. Foreign investors are more interested in the stability and evolution of the tax system, which allows them to predict their activities in the long run, rather than tax benefits and privileges. The main purpose of the state investment policy is to ensure the renewal of fixed assets and the reconstruction of production through the application of scientific and technical achievements. The formation of a favorable investment climate, the effective use of attracted domestic and foreign investment resources in the priority areas of the national economy is one of the urgent problems of the Azerbaijani economy. Enterprises become increasingly aware that proper investment into human resources can have a significant impact on their performance, which of course also affects their competitiveness. The corporate culture exactly offers the greatest source of competitive advantage of enterprises. Continual adaptation to changing market conditions attracts businesses to invest their energy and finance to staff by improving their competencies.

НЕФТЕГАЗОВЫЙ СЕКТОР ЭКОНОМИКИ ИНДОНЕЗИИ (Часть 1.)

The article analyses the current situation in the oil and gas sector of Indonesia that used to be a big oil exporting country and a member of OPEC but some years ago became a net-importer of oil. The demand of the growing Indonesian economy for oil much exceeds the capacities of its oil industry and each year Indonesia has to spend great amounts of money for importing oil and oil products. The government is trying to take all possible measures to attract new investments in this field but the lifting of oil continues to drop first of all due to the absence of proper investments into the exploration for oil and gas. The situation with the gas lifting is much better but a large part of its reserves first of all situated in the South China Sea can not used properly due to a high content of carbon dioxide in it. Besides, in this area Indonesian companies carrying out the exploration for oil and gas faces a military presence of China that regards it as its own territory.

НЕФТЕГАЗОВЫЙ СЕКТОР ЭКОНОМИКИ ИНДОНЕЗИИ (Часть 2.)

The article analyses the current situation in the oil and gas sector of Indonesia that used to be a big oil exporting country and a member of OPEC but some years ago became a net-importer of oil. The demand of the growing Indonesian economy for oil much exceeds the capacities of its oil industry and each year Indonesia has to spend great amounts of money for importing oil and oil products. The government is trying to take all possible measures to attract new investments in this field but the lifting of oil continues to drop first of all due to the absence of proper investments into the exploration for oil and gas. The situation with the gas lifting is much better but a large part of its reserves first of all situated in the South China Sea can not used properly due to a high content of carbon dioxide in it. Besides, in this area Indonesian companies carrying out the exploration for oil and gas faces a military presence of China that regards it as its own territory.

Stock Ranking Prediction Using List-Wise Approach and Node Embedding Technique

Traditional stock movement prediction tasks are formulated as either classification or regression task, and the relation between stocks are not considered as an input of prediction. The relative order or ranking of stocks is more important than the price or return of a single stock for making proper investment decisions. Stock ranking performance can be improved by incorporating the stock relation information in the prediction task. We employ a graph-based approach for stock ranking prediction and use the stock relation information as the input of the machine learning model. Investors might be interested in the prediction performance of top- k stocks as they would be more profitable than the others. Thus, the performance measure for stock ranking prediction should be top-weighted and bounded for any value of k. Existing evaluation measures lack these properties, and we propose a new measure named normalized rank biased overlap for top- k ( NRBO@k) stocks for stock ranking prediction. NRBO@k-based investment strategy generates 0.281% to 4.928% higher relative investment gain than the topmost stock-based strategy. We show that the list-wise loss function can improve the stock ranking performance significantly in a graph-based approach. It generates better NRBO@10 than the combination of point-wise and pair-wise loss in three out of four cases. Node embedding techniques such as Node2Vec can reduce the training time of graph-based approaches for stock ranking prediction significantly. Additionally, we improve the prediction performance through hyperparameter tuning of Node2Vec when a sparse stock relation graph is applied.

Molecular Identification of Mushroom Species in Italy: An Ongoing Project Aimed at Reinforcing the Control Measures of an Increasingly Appreciated Sustainable Food

Proper investment in mushroom production (farming and wild mushroom picking activities) may represent a winning strategy for many countries, including Italy, to better face the problems of food security and environmental impact, and to break away from imports, enhancing the local products. However, the risk related to the consumption of poisoning species requires governments to implement or reinforce effective control measures to protect consumers. Mushroom identification by phenotype observation is hardly applicable if morphologically-similar species, non-whole specimens, or clinical samples are involved. Genotypic analysis is a valid alternative. An ongoing research project involving the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Lazio and Tuscany, the regional Mycological Inspectorate, the Tuscany Mycological Groups Association, and the Department of Veterinary Sciences of the University of Pisa aims to reinforce the collaboration among institutions for the management of mushroom poisoning. The core’s project aims to develop an internal genetic database to support the identification of wild and cultivated mushroom species in the Italian territory. The database will include Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) sequences retrieved from official databases (the NCBI GenBank and the BOLD system) which are considered to be reliable, after a proper selection process, and sequences from specimens collected directly and identified by expert mycologists. Once it is validated, the database will be available and further implementable by the official network of national laboratories.

A multihorizon approach for the reliability oriented network restructuring problem, considering learning effects, construction time, and cables maintenance costs

This paper presents a techno-economic optimisation tool to study how the power system expansion decisions can be taken in a more economical and efficient way, by minimising the consequent costs of network reinforcement and reconfiguration. Analyses are performed to investigate how the network reinforcement and reconfiguration should be planned, within a time horizon of several years, by continuously keeping the network feasibility and ability to satisfy the load. The main contribution of this study is the inclusion of key features within the mathematical model to enhance the investment decision making process. A representative maintenance cost of existing cables and apparatus is included, to analyse the influence of the historical performance of the electric items on the investment decisions. A multihorizon methodology is developed to take into account the long term variation of the demand, combined with the long term variation of cables maintenance costs. Moreover, technological learning coefficients are considered, to take into account the investment costs reductions that arise when an investment in network restructuring and/or reconfiguration is repeated throughout the years. Finally, construction time constraints are included to find a proper investment scheduling that allows a feasible power flow, also during the years required to build a new connection or restructure an existing one. This study is also providing recommendations for future research directions within the power system reliability field. The analyses show the important and urgent need of proper methodologies for a better definition of cables projected maintenance costs and learning coefficients dedicated to network restructuring, reconfiguration and expansion.

Economic and investment efficiency of pond aquaculture products growing in Ukrainian's family farms

Ukraine behaves to one of most importers of fish in Europe, having here considerable resources for organization of fish-farmings production process which are not involved in a complete measure. One of directions in Ukrainian fish-farming business there is development of pond aquaculture on the small areas water objects with an assistance in creation and distribution of the specialized family farms. In the article grounded on the basis of determination of the proper economic and investment indicators necessity of creation and distribution of farms from growing products of pond aquaculture in Ukraine for activation of the economy growing fields of business. A necessity is in particular expected main and floating capital which is needed for successful business organization. The model of dependence is conducted between the sizes of pond fish farms and level of economic efficiency, which the low-limit of pond area, which would allow to get the minimum level of profitability and forming economic stimulus and interest engaged in this type of business. The basic indexes of economic and investment efficiency of fish farms business are expected. The analysis of basic indexes of economic efficiency of growing and sales products is conducted. The example of intensive polyculture creation with carp, silver carp, white amura and tench are resulted with the purpose of indexes of natural fish productivity increase on the plot area of ponds from 10 hectare and anymore. It is set in accordance with the results of research, that for organization of such business is necessary about 80 thousand euro investments without accounting of the state government programs of financial support. Financial resources are invested forecast covered a cost for six years. Development of family farms from the production of aquaculture business will be instrumental in realization of fish-farming economic in Ukraine on the basis of the intensive use of small area ponds and also will allow to promote the level of citizens employment in the rural areas.

The Effect of Decentralized Concentration on the Spatial Organization of Rural Settlements (Case Study: Molkabad Village Town, Mashhad)

Purpose- In the hierarchical planning of central places, systematic and calculated settlement is based on the desired spatial system, and small cities play a major role in striking balance and equilibrium in the residential system. The role and function of this type of rural centers lay the theoretical basis for strategies of developing a balanced settlement model. The proponents of small towns point to importance of these settlements as service centers in rural development, stressing the construction of a cohesive settlement hierarchy and the effects of top-down distribution. According to their view, small towns are at the forefront of rural and regional development in terms of production and institutional structure, preventing the over-concentration of population and activities in large cities. It is an issue that has deprived these cities of proper economic returns and investment. Design/methodology/approach - In this study, the effect of Molkabad City on the spatial organization of rural settlements is investigated, and research hypotheses are tested using t-test, Wilcoxon, Kruskal-Wallis and WASP. Finding- Of the sample villages in various geographical areas located at varying distances, Derakht-e Sepidar Village has the highest Qi in WASPAS model and is ranked first, thus having the highest spatial development among the sample villages. It is true because this village is located in a plain area adjacent to a dirt road that leads to Molkabad City. In the same region, Razan Village has the lowest Qi in WASPAS model and is ranked last, mainly because this village is located on a plain, but far from communication routes. Further, this village is within the jurisdiction of Binalood Town rather than Molkabad or even the center of its county, Imam Taghi Village. In general, according to the results obtained from the WASPAS model, it can be mentioned that there is a slight difference between the first and the last village and the rate of spatial development in the studied villages is almost identical. That is, it is not pertained to the remoteness and proximity to Molkabad City.

The Effect of Tropical Cyclone Nicholas (11–20 February 2008) on Sea Level Anomalies in Indonesian Waters

As reported extensively in both electronic and print media in Indonesia, high wave and anomalously high sea level phenomena occurred in February 2008 in Indonesian waters, mainly along the western coast of Sumatra and the southern coasts of Java-Bali. Tropical Cyclone (TC) Nicholas, occurring in northwestern coastal waters of Australia between 11 and 20 February 2008, might have contributed to the existence of these phenomena in the Indonesian region. This study focused on investigating the effect of TC Nicholas on the increases in sea levels in the Indonesian waters by analyzing residual water levels (non-astronomic tide). In this regard, a storm tide event (the sum of the astronomical tide and storm surge generated by the TC Nicholas) was simulated in this region using the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). The residual water levels were obtained by removing the tidal part (astronomic tide) from the ROMS simulated total water levels. In addition, to confirm possible influences of TC Nicholas, a lagged correlation analysis was applied between atmospheric pressure at the center of TC Nicholas and residual water level oscillations in the Indonesian waters. It was found that the residual water levels showed a strong correlation with the atmospheric pressure at the center of TC Nicholas in some areas of the Indonesian seas, such as the western coast of Sumatra, the southern coast of Java, Lesser Sunda Islands, and the southern coast of Papua. The increased sea levels on the western coast of Sumatra are up to 16 cm, with TC Nicholas leading the residual water level by 4.18 days (TL: time lag). Meanwhile, they are up to 20 cm (TL = 5.75 days), 21 cm (TL = 1.12 days), and 38 cm (TL = 3.96 days) on the southern coast of Java, the Lesser Sunda Islands, and the southern coast of Papua, respectively. The results of this study could be used as an initial assessment to investigate the most vulnerable Indonesian coastal areas to the impact of the TC and they might be significantly beneficial for designing both a proper disaster risk reduction program and investment policies in the region, particularly in the context of flood risk reduction and adaptation.

Biomass energy as a possibility for innovative agriculture initiatives

In searching for sustainable solutions for humans’ necessities, clean and safe energy possibilities have been pursued. The objective of this research is to develop a procedure that improves the integration of renewable technologies into local planning processes. The methodology should be suitable for different contexts. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the potential of energy production through agricultural waste, ensuring the sustainability and development of clean technologies, the ideal allocation of the energy production unit, and the costs involved in the enterprise. The research hypothesis is that the potential for sustainable use of biomass can be identified and evaluated, thus showing the way for an improved energy plan for Brazil. The study area is within the Doce River Basin in Brazil. The methods developed in the study could be relevant for municipalities to record their potentials for energy production and pursue investments and local arrangements, promoting sustainable biomass energy generation. The results show that with proper investment, the energy generation through biomass residues could be viable and pay itself in a short amount of time, moreover in a scenario where the agricultural area is increased, growing the power generation capacity of a biomass power plant. The current agricultural production would cover 20% of the local energy demand.

Operational Risk Management: A Stochastic Control Framework with Preventive and Corrective Controls

Financial services firms are subject to various types of risks. In particular, operational risk is difficult to assess and can be devastating, although it is often perceived by a firm's management as being more controllable than the cost of managing other types of risks. Understanding the management problems associated with operational risk is crucial to the performance of the firm. In “Operational Risk Management: A Stochastic Control Framework with Preventive and Corrective Controls,” Xu, Zhu, and Pinedo introduce a general modeling framework for operational risk management for financial firms. They propose two types of controls and characterize the optimal control policies. They apply their model to a data set from a commercial bank, and through a proper investment strategy, one can achieve a significant performance improvement.

Do labour unions help or hurt firms to invest in the long run? Evidence from Korea

ABSTRACT This paper empirically addresses how labour unions affect firms’ long-term investment decisions and, thus, performances by utilizing unique firm-level data on labour unions available in Korea. We find that labour unionization makes firms invest more in human resource but less in physical capital. In addition, we show that as labour unions engage in rent-seeking behaviour, this causes firms’ investment decisions to be so distorted that the firms with labour unions get less productive, and consequently, the capital market valuates them less. Our empirical findings suggest that the problem of deciding proper investment could become more serious in the long run, if the labour unions participate in management and exercise their collective bargaining power to accomplish their interests as rent-seekers.