Real Loss Research Articles

Living through Loss: Questions and Answers about Grief and Bereavement

The field of grief therapy is rapidly evolving, as new theories, models and research findings inspire new understandings of loss and how people accommodate it. This article summarizes some of these contemporary developments, emphasizing the search for meaning in bereavement, and illustrates how these fresh perspectives can offer guidance to real people seeking consultation on how to manage very real losses under complicating circumstances. Nurses occupy many roles that bring them into contact with death and grief, leaving them well positioned to extend knowledgeable and compassionate care for patients and families facing such existential transitions

The use of Frontier Analysis to assess the technical rigor of water loss performance indicators

Abstract The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has developed and disseminated advanced methods and performance indicators for assessing and reducing water losses in North America, based in large part on the methods and indicators developed by the International Water Association (IWA). However, many utilities and regulators still use the old, inaccurate, %NRW indicator. A robust, quantitative assessment of the technical rigor of water loss indicators was needed but could not be found in the literature. So, an innovative approach was developed, using Frontier Analysis which provided such a score of ‘technical rigor’. This paper presents this method, applied to three datasets from North America, assessing 15 candidate indicators for total water losses, apparent losses and real losses. The results provide quantitative ‘scores’ of the technical rigor of the candidate indicators. Indicators with relatively high scores align with indicators used in the IWA best practices. Other indicators, such as the %NRW indicator, were found to have low technical rigor. The conclusion of the paper summarizes the rigorous indicators, and suggests areas for further application of this method, and for further research.

The Bonding Effect of Deferred Compensation: Worker Separations from a Large Firm in Early Transition Russia

Deferred payments, as implicit contracts, are predicted to bind workers to firms as long as workers believe that firms adhere to these implicit contracts. We employ a unique personnel data set from a Russian manufacturing firm to investigate whether wage arrears, delayed payments of wages, induce bonding effects. We find that workers' separation rates decrease dramatically when workers experience wage arrears, providing evidence for the bonding effects of deferred compensation schemes. After workers are repaid nominal wages, but have suffered real wage losses due to unexpectedly high inflation, we observe that workers affected by wage arrears again become much more likely to separate during and after the repayment period of a second episode of wage arrears, providing evidence for the weakening of the bonding effect after the firm's reputation for adequately compensating for deferred payments has been jeopardized.

Вивчення міжнародного досвіду забезпечення цивільного захисту під час ліквідації наслідків надзвичайних ситуацій

Over the past 10 years, there have been 730,456 fires in Ukraine, which is an average of more than 73,000 cases a year. As a result of these fires 28 thousand 220 people perished and injured 16 thousand 884 people. The direct damage caused by the fires amounted to over UAH 12 billion and the total material losses amounted to about UAH 50 billion. [1]. At the present stage of civilization development, the level of protection of the population and territories from emergencies is one of the basic indicators of sustainable development of the state. Negative trends related to the permanent increase of the risks of emergencies, significant potential and real economic losses, irreparable social losses related to the increase in the number of emergencies and their scale, pose a significant threat to national safety in economic, social and environmental spheres. The dynamics of the development of man-made accidents, disasters and natural disasters and the forecast of possible dangers indicate that in Ukraine there is a significant level of risk of large-scale man-made and natural emergencies. [2] Analysis of the statistics has shown that emergencies can lead to different consequences, depending on their scope, type and characteristics. By studying the directions of emergencies in different countries of the world, the greatest emergencies of man-made character were characterized. In particular, the characteristic concerned the type of man-made situation, its environmental and economic consequences. Having analyzed the occurrence of man-made disasters in the world for the years 2000-2013, we can draw the following conclusion. Man-made disasters were caused by various factors that caused significant financial and human losses. An explosion occurred in Rio de Janeiro, which caused pollution of drinking water, losses amounted to $ 86 million, damage to buildings and structures occurred at the AZF Chemical Plant in France, damages amounted to 3 billion euros, in Spain 6300 oil from Prestige oil tanker damage amounted to $ 12 million, in Germany, an explosion caused a blast that damaged the bridge, damages amounted to $ 358 million, an explosion in Russia at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric station, which has disrupted electricity supply, damages amounted to 7.3 billion rubles, explosion in Mexico, causing Deepwater Horizon oil platform to ignite, damages amounted to $ 3 billion 719 million, the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant crash in Japan, and damages amounted more than $ 74 billion. One of the most tragic man-made disasters is considered to be an explosion at the Ulyanovskaya mine, whose economic losses cannot be estimated. As a result of the explosion more than a hundred employees perished, including all management and chief engineer. These man-made disasters have had a significant impact on the ecological situation, namely the pollution of the marine landscape, which, according to ecologists, the complete purification of the waters of the seas is impossible, which affects both the state of the water and the marine fauna in general. [3].

Influence of working conditions on the economy of an agricultural enterprise

The article deals with the problems of increasing the economic efficiency of agricultural enterprises by improving working conditions, reducing the level of exposure to harmful and dangerous production factors. The purpose of the article is to analyze methodological approaches to forecasting possible economic losses of agricultural enterprises due to the presence of harmful or dangerous working conditions and to develop organizational and management solutions to reduce these losses. Economic services of agricultural enterprises need to have a methodology for assessing real economic losses due to unfavorable working conditions at enterprises, which will give employers an understanding that the costs of labor protection and safety not only pay off, but also give a significant economic effect and contribute to improving the profitability of production and allow them to make informed management decisions. It is shown that forecasting economic damage from occupational diseases and industrial injuries, accidents is a complex task, but it is quite solvable on the basis of the procedure for assessing and managing occupational risks and applying known patterns of crop losses or animal productivity due to violations of agrotechnical deadlines or animal maintenance regime due to the absence of an injured employee at the workplace.

On the mixtures of length-biased Weibull distributions for loss severity modeling

This paper introduces a new class of distributions, named length-biased Weibull mixtures, in order to deal with heavy-tailed data encountered in quantitative risk modeling. As a generalization of the Erlang mixtures with common scale parameter, our proposed class possesses attractive modeling features such as flexibility to fit various distributional shapes and weak denseness in the class of distributions for all positive random variables. In particular, the asymptotic result shows that the length-biased Weibull mixture behaves like a Weibull-tail distribution, making it more appropriate to model heavy-tailed loss severity data. A method of statistical estimation using EM algorithm is discussed, and then applied to a simulated data set and real catastrophic losses for illustration.

Satellite Data Complement Traditional Leak Detection and Repair Programs

Through its approach to reducing real water losses, a small Texas utility demonstrates how it uses technology, innovation, and smart planning to benefit itself and its customers.

Optimal PV Penetration for Power Losses Subject to Transient Stability and Harmonics

Abstract Meeting the load growth and limiting the pollution level of fossil fuel based power generation are global challenges. One solution is to integrate clean and renewable energy sources to the power system. However high penetration of renewable energy sources can affect transmission line thermal limits and harmonics injection in the system. This paper illustrates the optimal location of Photovoltaic (PV) plant penetration in power system. The objective is to minimize real power system losses. This analysis is subjected to transient stability as well as individual and total harmonic distortion level constraints. IEEE 30 bus system is considered for such investigation by using Electrical Transient and Analysis Program (ETAP 19.5). Multi case capability of ETAP was the base of the analysis. The contribution of this paper is the consideration of the accumulated impact of transmission losses, transient stability, transmission line thermal limits, harmonic level and steady state voltage limits. The results of the investigation for this system within the applied constraints have brought the penetration level (PL) to 50%. This result is satisfactory and encouraging.

Macroeconomic Risks Across the Globe due to the Spanish Flu

By employing a non-linear model in a country panel setting, we quantify as sizeable the expected output loss and macroeconomic risks due to the Great Influenza Pandemic in 1918-1920 (known also as Spanish Flu). Moreover, the Spanish flu caused an increase in income inequality across countries. The expected real income loss is twice as large for lower income countries and the risks associated to the pandemic, if large for higher income countries, are immense for lower income countries. As for the United States, the estimated expected output fall due to the Spanish flu is small, but the macroeconomic risks are not negligible. The historical experience suggests that, in the case of a pandemic outbreak, massive policy support is needed domestically to avoid the materialization of adverse tail risks and globally to address growing inequality across countries.

Hypercholesterolemia in France, from recommendations to management in real life: The French gap

HyperLDLemia is a major cardiovascular risk factor, often undiagnosed. Very few french data are available on the prevalence and the management of hyperLDLemia at the population level. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of hyperLDLemia in adults and to describe its management in France in 2015, in the context of a large media crisis with publications in the lay press of false informations on statins. Esteban is a cross-sectional study based on a representative sample of the French metropolitan population, implemented in 2015. Data were collected using questionnaires and a biological and clinical exam in adults aged 18–74. In the population, after application of the 2011 ESC/EAS guidelines, the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia LDL was 23.3% (LDL-c value over the goal regarding individual cardiovascular risk level or at least one delivery of lipid lowering treatment during the 6 months preceding the clinical exam). This prevalence of hyperLDLemia concerned 5% of the low-cardiovascular-risk population and more than 90% of the population with high and very high cardiovascular risk. The percentage of adults treated with lipid lowering drug was 7.2% (2.7% with a I/A grade treatment, 3.9 with a IIa/A grade and 0.6% out of the 2011 guidelines). More than 16% of adults in the population were untreated but should have been treated following 2011 guidelines (10.9% according to I/A guidelines and 5,2% according to IIa/A). Adherence to lipid-lowering drugs (proportion of days covered by treatment) was 66%. This study showed that hyper LDLemia is a common metabolic disease in France, affecting 23.3% of the population. The cholesterol-lowering prescriptions in France are very far from the recommendations for practice. Less than a third of the patients who would justify treatment are actually treated. This gap between the recommendations and real life corresponds to a real loss of opportunity for patients.

Levonorgestrel emergency contraception and bodyweight: are current recommendations consistent with historic data?

Objective To assess the consistency between current recommendations that women of body weight (BW) or body mass index (BMI) above a defined threshold should use a double dose of levonorgestrel (LNG) for emergency contraception (EC) and observed frequency of pregnancy in historic studies of single-dose LNG for EC. Methods We applied double dose recommendation criteria to individual participant level data from three historic studies of the WHO’s Human Reproductive Program to categorize subjects into single dose-recommended (SDR) and double dose-recommended (DDR) groups and compared the latter to the former using pregnancy risk ratios (RR). Results A total of 5859 subjects with 59 pregnancies made up the full dataset. Depending on the recommendation source (USA or UK) and inclusion or exclusion of heavy outlier data, DDR criteria were satisfied by 3.7% to 18.9% of subjects. Pregnancy proportions were mostly lower in DDR than in SDR subjects, with risk ratio estimates ranging from zero to 1.17, exceeding unity only when the USA criterion was used with outliers included. DDR subjects had a significantly lower relative frequency of pregnancy than SDR subjects when the UK criteria were used and outliers excluded (RR = 0.17 [95% CI: 0.04; 0.70], p = .0024). Conclusions Our findings are consistent with the notion that there is no real loss of pregnancy control with single-dose LNG-EC in high-BMI and/or high-BW users, and today’s double dose recommendations were prematurely issued and remain questionable.

Hybrid Design of Optimal Capacitor Placement and Reconfiguration for Performance Improvement in a Radial Distribution System

Distribution System Reconfiguration (DSR) and Optimal Capacitor Placement (OCP) are the most alternative techniques for increasing the power system generation and covering the growth of power demands. These techniques reduce the Radial Distribution System (RDS) losses and enhance the voltage profile. Combining both techniques gives better performance than using the individual technique. In this paper, two operation modes were implemented. First, the individual mode of OCP is applied. Second, the dual mode of DSR after OCP process is applied. Multiobjective functions with considering the weighting factors are used for minimizing real losses, improving voltage profile, and increasing saving cost. The optimal selections of open switches, location, and size of capacitors in the individual and dual design for RDS are achieved using four different optimization algorithms. These algorithms are Modified Biogeography-Based Optimization (MBBO) algorithm, Cuckoo Search (CS) algorithm, Modified Imperialist Competitive (MIC) algorithm, and Modified Bacterial Foraging-Based Optimization (MBFBO) algorithm. These algorithms are applied for two standard networks (IEEE 33- and IEEE 69-bus). Comparisons among the proposed algorithms are done, and the results demonstrated that the MBBO algorithm is the most strong and fast algorithm to attain the optimum solution. In addition, comparisons with literature works are done to validate the effectiveness of proposed algorithms.

Professor Abdul-khalik Zaki Benyan 1946-2019 What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others remains immortal. Albert Pike

Dr. Abdul-khalik Zaki Benyan, Professor of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, graduated from MedicalCollege, University of Mosul in 1970. He was born in Mesan, Iraq in 1946 and passed away in 2019. He got his Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons, UK in 1982. After returning back to Iraq, he worked in many hospitals in Basrah Health Directorate as a specialist in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery. In 1985, he also worked in BasrahMedicalCollege, where he proved himself as an outstanding active person with participation in teaching and examining both undergraduate students in the Department of Surgery as well as postgraduate Iraqi board of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery for several years. He published large number of articles in different local and international journals for which he got professorship. He also worked as head of Department of Anatomy at Basrah College of Medicine till his retirement. The departure of Professor Abdul-Khalik, hopefully to heavens, was a real loss of an academic person who was keen, loveable, hard working, and caring for thousands of patients over his long career. Certainly his students and colleagues shall never forget him. He is alive by his wife, sons and daughters. God bless his soul.

STUDY OF DISTRIBUTED SLACK BUS MODEL FOR ECONOMIC DISPATCH OF RENEWABLE ENERGY

In this paper, a distributed slack bus (DSB) using combined participation factors based on scheduled generation capacities of the system is designed in order to distribute the system losses among the generators. A DSB algorithm is developed and implemented using a Newton Raphson (NR) solver on a MATLAB platform. The IEEE 14 bus is used as a case study. Renewable energy (RE) sources are introduced into the system and the generation cost compared between systems with renewable energy sources and those with only thermal generators in both the single slack bus (SSB) model and the DSB model. The DSB employed resulted in a reduction in overall real power generation from 272.593 MW to 272.409 MW in the 14 bus model and cost of generation also decreased in both buses. Real power line losses also reduced in the buses. The change in the generation levels of the voltage controlled buses resulted in a proper economic dispatch scheme which gave an accurate representation of the network parameters. The cost of generation is considerably reduced upon introduction of wind and solar generators into the system as compared to systems without these sources. An even more accurate network model is obtained by using combined participation factors.

Evaluation of Water Losses: Study Case in Intan Banjar Water Supply Company

Water losses from water distribution networks have become a crucial problem. The BNA (Basic Need Approach) zone has high water losses above the standard for maximum tolerance ministry of public work as 20%. The water losses during September - December 2018 has experienced a fluctuation. the highest losses occurred in October at 36.05%, but in November the level of water losses decreased to 34.17%. The water balance can be used to know to understand the quantity, source, and charge of water losses. The water balance calculation in this study uses the WB-Easy Calc program version 4.05. Based on the result, the percentage of water losses 34,81% with the composition of real losses as 30,61% and apparent losses of 4.21%. On the other hand, the financial impact by the water losses was deficit as Rp. 4.593.648.335. Furthermore, gets to the action for each one of the above main components of the water balance in order to reduce water losses.

PROBLEMS OF FORMATION OF LOCAL BUDGET REVENUES OF UKRAINE BY RENT PAYMENTS FOR THE SPECIAL USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES

The article presents the role of rent payments for the special use of natural resources in providing economic territorial development. Analysis of local budget revenues of Ukraine has confirmed that in the conditions of financial decentralization rent payments hold a special place among the state taxes. They are charged for the use of subsoil for mining and for purposes not related to mining, for the special use of forest resources and water. But local authorities do not receive funds from such activities, despite bearing the costs of environmental protection. The study showed that the current system of rent payments in Ukraine doesn’t encourage the rational use of natural resources, doesn’t ensure the real loss of society and doesn’t create a sufficient financial base for local budgets. In order to improve the effectiveness of rent relations, local authorities should direct their actions to the distribution of natural resources between economic entities of all forms of ownership, depending on the maximum economic effect, compliance with the legal norms necessary for the normal course of economic processes associated with rent relations and the prudent use of natural wealth. The assessment of the institute of rent payments in Ukraine shows that there are no payments for monopolization of resources; mismatch of tax rates to world requirements; not reflecting the real value of the natural wealth involved in reproduction; a wide range of tax benefits that have little incentive, regulatory and fiscal impact. It is proposed to add rent payments to the list of local taxes and fees. In accordance with the best global practices, the need to shift the tax burden to taxes related to the use of natural resources has been argued. It has been determined that low rent rates and a wide range of tax benefits do not encourage enterprises to innovate and modernize production. Tax reform should create a basis for taking the institute of rent payments in Ukraine to a new level, which will provide funding for environmental protection and reproduction of natural resources. Keywords : local budget revenues, rent tax system, rent payments for the special use of natural resources

Dutch objections to British Singapore, 1819–1824: Law, politics, commerce and a diplomatic misstep

The year 1819 is almost universally taken as a seminal date in Singapore historiography. Yet Stamford Raffles’ founding of a British trading post there was controversial from the start. The Dutch and the British haggled as to whether or not Raffles had overstepped his authority, and whether the trading post was legal. From the start, the Dutch demanded that the British quit their occupation of Singapore. During a three-year hiatus in the Anglo–Dutch negotiations (1820–23), Anton Reinhard Falck, the lead Dutch negotiator, decided to drop claims to Singapore in favour of a rearrangement of possessions in the archipelago. Crucially, he concluded that dropping claims over Singapore would not amount to a real loss. Instead, Falck hoped to use Singapore as a bargaining chip to squeeze additional concessions from the British. The Dutch formally relinquished their claim over Singapore in article 12 of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty, which gave full recognition and legitimacy to the British post, and sanctioned a breakup of the Johor-Riau Empire with the Singapore Straits acting as a notional dividing line. Earlier studies were substantially based on English-language materials and present the British as dominating the negotiations. The present article, based on Dutch archival materials as well as studies and sources in French, Dutch and English, reveals a fuller story of diplomatic disputes, territorial concessions, errors of judgement, and the triggering of the Dutch empire in the archipelago, in a paper war for the contested space of Singapore.

Mourning, Separation, Mental Space

Abstract The work of mourning and organization of the mental space may be seriously disturbed by the real loss of the object and the way how communication with the “still alive” objects is built. Certain obstacles in communication with significant people make the mental separation difficult. The problem of separation, individuation and building of somebody’s own mental space is linked to the way in which the child mourns in relation to the central objects of early childhood. Especially the real loss of a parental object during the early childhood implies a traumatic moment which will excessively dramatize the oedipal issues. In this context, the analysis of the infantile material and development of an analytical work, which would perlaborate the trauma of the loss under a full oedipal conflict of one of the parents, as well as the subjectivation difficulties deriving from this trauma are the indispensable elements of a psychoanalytic work.

Placement of Fixed Size Diesel Generators in IEEE 12 Bus Radial Distribution System to Improve Voltage Stability

Distributed Generation (DG) is small capacity generating units directly associated to the distributed system. With the penetration of distributed generators nearby the consumer load center support to the distribution system will be enhanced. The Distributed Generation involves both Renewable & sustainable sources of energy to engender power in order to appease the ever increasing energy requirement. Suitable location and capacity of DG units will benefit the achievement of active power system network. The voltage profile and Real power line loss and Reactive power line loss reduction can also be improved with suitable location and allocation of DG. This work proposes a new Simulation method for the placement of fixed Size Diesel Generator in IEEE 12 bus radial distribution system stationed on Voltage stability index and Transmission line losses. This index is progressed by acknowledging steady state node voltages cited in Per Unit.

The Return to Protectionism*

AbstractAfter decades of supporting free trade, in 2018 the United States raised import tariffs and major trade partners retaliated. We analyze the short-run impact of this return to protectionism on the U.S. economy. Import and retaliatory tariffs caused large declines in imports and exports. Prices of imports targeted by tariffs did not fall, implying complete pass-through of tariffs to duty-inclusive prices. The resulting losses to U.S. consumers and firms that buy imports was $51 billion, or 0.27% of GDP. We embed the estimated trade elasticities in a general-equilibrium model of the U.S. economy. After accounting for tariff revenue and gains to domestic producers, the aggregate real income loss was $7.2 billion, or 0.04% of GDP. Import tariffs favored sectors concentrated in politically competitive counties, and the model implies that tradeable-sector workers in heavily Republican counties were the most negatively affected due to the retaliatory tariffs. JEL Code: F1.