Usage Fee Research Articles

Pittsburgh's 'Jock Tax' is on Thin Ice

Former and current professional athletes have filed suit against the city of Pittsburgh alleging its nonresident facility usage fee is a discriminatory, unconstitutional tax.

Ecological damage assessment and compensation for reclaimed coastal pond aquaculture: A case study in Qingduizi Bay, China

Mariculture ponds, most of which are reclaimed from coastal wetlands, have increased dramatically worldwide. However, ecological damage and compensation of these reclaimed mariculture ponds have not been assessed. A framework was presented to assess ecological damages of reclaimed pond mariculture and applied to the Qingduizi Bay, a typical pond mariculture area in the northern Yellow Sea of China. The results show that ecosystem services affected by reclaimed pond mariculture include marine capture fishery, gene resource provision, climate regulation, erosion control, waste treatment, science and education value, nutrient cycle and storage, and nursery/habitat. Among the values obtained from all services, the average score of damage severity to habitat services (0.74) was the highest. The total value of ecological damage associated with reclaimed mariculture in Qingduizi Bay was approximately 86,858.48 yuan hm−2 a−1, which is 29 times higher than the sea usage fee standard (3,000 yuan hm−2 a−1) currently implemented. Results suggest that the government should update the sea area usage fee with ecological damage compensation for reclamation mariculture and collect enough money to restore damaged marine ecosystem. Moreover, the general framework could also be transferable to other reclamation pond mariculture areas and used to examine reclamation mariculture proposals at different scales.

Kamu-Özel İşbirliği Modelinde Özel Sektör Teşvik Faktörleri: Şehir Hastaneleri Örneği

Kamu özel işbirliği (KÖİ) modeli ile kamu hizmetlerinin etkili, verimli ve kesintisiz bir şekilde sunulmasında rol oynayan iki ana aktörden biri özel sektör girişimcisidir. Asıl amacı kar elde etmek olan özel sektör girişimcileri KÖİ projesine katılmak ve projede kalmak için bir takım motivasyonlara ve garantilere gereksinim duyarlar. KÖİ projelerinde özel sektör girişimcilerine sağlanan teşvik faktörleri, bir yandan motivasyonunun arttırılmasına diğer yandan KÖİ'nin cazip bir yatırım alternatifi olmasına katkı sağlamaktadır. Bu araştırmada, şehir hastaneleri örneğinde KÖİ teşvik uygulamaları incelenmektedir. Bu bağlamda, öncelikle KÖİ ve KÖİ teşviklerinin kavramsal çerçevesi ele alınmaktadır. Daha sonra, şehir hastaneleri projelerinde KÖİ'nin yapısından kaynaklanan veya şehir hastanelerine özel olarak sağlanan teşvik uygulamaları analiz edilmektedir. Bu kapsamda, teşvikler risklerin paylaşımı, kullanım bedeli ve yatırım bedeli ödemeleri, yeni yatırım alanlarına kavuşma, özel sektör girişimcisine üst hakkı verilmesi, finansmana hazine garantisi sağlanması, bazı vergi ve harçlara istisna getirilmesi, özel sektör girişimcilerine verilen garantiler, ticari hizmet alanlarının özel sektör girişimcisi tarafından işletilmesi başlıkları altında incelenmektedir.

Hands on the Wheel, Eyes on the Phone: the Effect of Smart Phone Usage on Road Safety

We provide novel evidence on the effect of smart phone use on road accidents. We exploit variation in phone usage fees in the Netherlands following a change in European Union (EU) roaming regulations implemented in 2017. The growth rate of mobile data roaming increased substantially after the change, which allows us to estimate a difference-in-differences model where non-Dutch drivers from the EU are treated, while Dutch drivers serve as control group. Our results suggest that around 10% of vehicles involved in accidents can be explained by the use of smart phones, and that these accidents mainly happen on urban roads.

A Cost-Effective Algorithm for Selecting Optimal Bandwidth to Clear Malicious Codes

Malicious code has posed a severe threat to modern society. Delivering antivirus program to networks is an important task of a cybersecurity company. As the bandwidth resource in a company is limited and precious, cybersecurity companies have to make a tradeoff between the impact(i.e. the economic loss) of malicious codes and the bandwidth assigned to transmit the antivirus programs. This paper addresses the malicious code and bandwidth tradeoff(MCBT) problem. By developing a novel malicious code and antivirus program interacting model, the total loss, which is the sum of the bandwidth usage fee and the economic loss, is quantified. On this basis, the MCBT problem is modelled as a constrained optimization problem that we refer to as the MCBT model, where the independent variable stands for bandwidth, and the objective function stands for the total loss. Some optimal bandwidth is determined by solving the MCBT model. Based on this, we propose a heuristic algorithm named DOWNHILL, which outperforms random strategies. Finally, the influence of some factors on the optimal bandwidth and the corresponding optimal total loss is uncovered through numerical simulations. To our knowledge, this is the first time the MCBT problem is treated in this way.

EXAMINATION OF THE PROBLEM OF WHETHER THE CONSUMER, WHO RESCINDS A CONTRACT DUE TO DEFECTIVE GOODS HAS TO PAY THE DEBT FOR THE USAGE FEE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAW NO. 6502 ON PROTECTION OF THE CONSUMER

Genel hükümlerin uygulama alanı bulduğu işlerde ayıp sebebiyle sözleşmeden dönen alıcının kullanım bedeli ödeyip ödemeyeceğine yönelik Türk Borçlar Kanunu’nda açık düzenleme yoktur. Öğretideki hâkim görüş alıcı semere getirmeyen malı kullanmak suretiyle yarar elde etmişse bunun karşılığında Türk Borçlar Kanunu m. 229/1 kapsamında kullanım bedeli ödemesi gerektiği yönündedir. Yargıtay yerleşmiş kararlarında da genel hükümlerin uygulama alanı bulduğu işlerde ayıp sebebiyle sözleşmeden dönme hakkının kullanılması üzerine kullanım bedeli ödenmesine karar vermektedir. Ancak Yargıtay Hukuk Genel Kurulu’nun 22.06.2005 tarihli kararında Tüketicinin Korunması Hakkında Kanunu’nda ayıp nedeniyle sözleşmeden dönen tüketicinin kullanım bedeli ödemesine yönelik bir hükmün mevcut olmaması sebebiyle kullanım bedelinin ödenmeyeceğine karar verilmiştir. Bu karar tüketici işlemlerinde kullanım bedeli ödenip ödenmeyeceği hususunda öğretide farklı görüşlere sebep olmuştur. Bu çalışma 6502 sayılı Tüketicinin Korunması Hakkında Kanun uyarınca ayıplı mal nedeniyle sözleşmeden dönen tüketicinin kullanım bedeli ödeme borcu olup olmadığı sorununa odaklanır. Bu hususta ilk olarak yasal düzenleme incelenir. Daha sonra öğreti ve Yargıtay uygulaması değerlendirilir. Ardından Avrupa Birliği hukuku ekseninde kullanım bedelinin ödenmesi gerektiği görüşü gerekçelendirilir. Son olarak kullanım bedelinin nasıl hesaplanması gerektiği netleştirilir.

Model Pengadaan Obat dengan Metode ABC VEN Di RS X Semarang

Procurement of drugs at RS X was carried out unsystematically by the head of the RS Pharmacy Installation. This procurement causes the costs incurred by the Hospital to be unplanned and inefficient. The value of the use of active pharmaceutical supplies in 2016 with the number of pharmaceutical supplies of 2119 is worth Rp. 168,232,696 and the number of 2041 inactive supplies worth Rp. 533,260,268. The data shows the inefficiency of pharmaceutical supplies within 1 year which results in the use of budget funds less efficiently. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of the ABC VEN method as a basis for procurement systems in Hospital X. The type of research conducted is quantitative, pre experimental using descriptive analytical methods with analysis of ABC and VEN methods. Samples were taken as much as 500 from the data of drug use for 1 year in RS X Pharmacy Installation. The results of the study of 500 drug items with the ABC method found Group A 19.8%, Group B 40%, Group C 40.2%, the VEN method obtained group V 7.8%, Group E 88.8%, group N 3, 4%, with the ABC method VEN AV group 2%, AE 17.6%, AN 0.3%, BV 4.2%, BE 35%, BN 1.2%, CV 1.8%, CE 37%, CN 1.8%. The CE (C Essential) group is more due to its function as prevention and prevention of patient diseases. Before doing the ABC VEN method the inventory value is Rp. 6,188,183,555 and after the ABC VEN method was Rp. 5.833.095.547 with a difference of Rp. 355.089.998, (6.8%) of the total usage fee. The conclusion of this study is that the system used by the Pharmacy Pharmacy Installation has not been efficient, causing losses for hospitals. Difference in inventory value before and after the ABC VEN method is Rp. 355,089,998. Suggestions are changing the old system to a new system through prior socialization and regulation.

On Developing a New 5G Spectrum Usage Fee Model for Indonesia

This paper reports on the development of the 5G spectrum usage fee in Indonesia. The fee was first applied in 2010 to charge mobile network operators (MNOs) that provided cellular services. However, cellular technologies have improved rapidly from 2G, 3G, 4G to 5G, and many modern innovative cellular services demand larger spectrum bandwidth. Therefore, the existing spectrum usage fee must be revised to meet the needs of the community better and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of spectrum use. This study modifies the characteristics of the existing cost structure of the Indonesian spectrum usage fee, designing and proposing a new 5G spectrum usage fee model to support 5G technology usage scenarios and maximize the benefits of the mid-band (3.5 GHz), mmWave, or high band radio frequencies (26 GHz and 28 GHz). The new spectrum usage fee model includes spectrum-sharing parameters (non-orthogonal spectrum-sharing and orthogonal spectrum sharing) and private network to optimize the use of the available spectrum because the new proposing formula does not use the nationwide population, but instead, it uses the population within a specific area with both human and non-human (machine) populations. This new model is expected to help regulators prepare 5G technology regulations for application in Indonesia.

Double Charging Issue of Frequency Usage Fee and Auction Price

Double Charging Issue of Frequency Usage Fee and Auction Price

Estimation of the usage fee for peer-to-peer electricity trading platform: The case of South Korea

The peer-to-peer (P2P) electricity trading platform (ETP) is an electricity-sharing system by which individuals can sell surplus electricity or purchase electricity to meet a deficit in a regional power network. South Korea has allowed energy prosumers to engage in electricity trading from 2016 and is seeking ways to vitalize the electricity trading market. This study aims to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) of respondents for the monthly usage of P2P ETP by using the contingent valuation method. Of the 1000 Korean respondents, 639 were willing to pay a fee for using the platform. The estimated WTP is KRW 5958.86 (USD 5.50) per month. Moreover, the estimated WTP is higher in respondents who have more background knowledge of the P2P ETP and who pay higher electricity fees. The estimated WTP is lower than the usage fees of existing ETPs in other countries, which is primarily due to Korea's low electricity prices. Furthermore, the estimation results show that enhancing consumer awareness of P2P trading and introducing market strategies based on electricity usage should be considered by electricity trading companies and regulators to enhance P2P ETP usage.

Anticipatory effects of taxation in the commons: When do taxes work, and when do they fail?

This paper considers a common-pool resource where a regulator announces a new policy curbing appropriation (usage fee). While firms respond reducing their appropriation once the fee is in effect, we identify under which conditions firms choose to increase their appropriation before the fee comes into effect. We demonstrate that this policy-induced appropriation increase is more likely when: (1) several firms compete for the resource; (2) firms sustain some market power; (3) firms impose significant cost externalities on each other; and (4) the resource is scarce. Our results, therefore, indicate that policy announcements can trigger increases in resource exploitation before the policy comes into effect.

Analysis of traffic offload using multi‐attribute decision making technique in heterogeneous shared networks

Over the years, the authors have witnessed tremendous growth in mobile data traffic. To address the capacity requirements, the mobile network operators (MNOs) are adding more radio nodes and spectrum layers. The spectrum layers vary in quality of service (QoS), utilisation and usage fee. To save operational costs, the MNOs could share their radio networks. The MNOs, therefore, should consider spectrum availability, link utilisation, link usage costs, traffic handling priorities and QoS for selecting the Donor link for traffic offload. In this study, the traffic offload scenario with multiple Donor links from different MNOs is analysed. The authors define the relevant queuing parameters for Donor link selection. Two hybrid multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) techniques, namely, (a) analytical hierarchical process (AHP) with grey relational analysis (GRA) technique and (b) entropy with range of values (RoV) technique for dynamic Donor link selection in traffic offload scenario and assess their benefits were compared. The authors use IP network measurements to derive the packet service time. It is observed that both the techniques Entropy-RoV and AHP-GRA align well with the dynamism of the network, though Entropy-RoV method performed without any pre-configuration. The AHP-GRA technique requires pre-configuration of parameters and when configured suitably, it can perform as a load equalisation technique.

Bikeshare Users on a Budget? Trip Chaining Analysis of Bikeshare User Groups in Chicago

This analysis focuses on a smartphone app known as “Transit” that is used to unlock shared bicycles in Chicago. Data from the app were utilized in a three-part analysis. First, Transit app bikeshare usage patterns were compared with system-wide bikeshare utilization using publicly available data. The results revealed that hourly usage on weekdays generally follows classical peaked commuting patterns; however, daily usage reached its highest level on weekends. This suggests that there may be large numbers of both commuting and recreational users. The second part aimed to identify distinct user groups via cluster analysis; the results revealed six different clusters: (1) commuters, (2) utility users, (3) leisure users, (4) infrequent commuters, (5) weekday visitors, and (6) weekend visitors. The group unlocking the most shared bikes (45.58% of all Transit app unlocks) was commuters, who represent 10% of Transit app bikeshare users. The third part proposed a trip chaining algorithm to identify “trip chaining bikers.” This term refers to bikeshare users who return a shared bicycle and immediately check out another, presumably to avoid paying extra usage fees for trips over 30 min. The algorithm revealed that 27.3% of Transit app bikeshare users exhibited this type of “bike chaining” behavior. However, this varied substantially between user groups; notably, 66% of Transit app bikeshare users identified as commuters made one or more bike chaining unlocks. The implications are important for bikeshare providers to understand the impact of pricing policies, particularly in encouraging the turn-over of bicycles.

A Backup System for Clinical Information after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Introduction:On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami hit the northeastern part of Japan, causing 15,895 deaths and 2,539 missing persons as of March 1, 2018. Moreover, many medical facilities were destroyed, resulting in the loss of medical information stored in paper records or on servers in hospitals and clinics.Aim:To highlight the need for a backup system for saving all clinical information during disaster preparation.Results:In 2012, a prefectural medical network system - the Miyagi Medical and Welfare Information Network (MMWIN) - introduced a cloud backup data storage service for disasters. This system facilitates the sharing of clinical data among hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and other care facilities. The backup system is based on the Standardized Structured Medical Information Exchange (SS-MIX), which enables data from medical record systems, developed by different vendors, to be stored in a common format. By the end of September 2018, the total backed up clinical data, including patients’ basic information, disease names, blood tests, and prescription list, reached 370 million items from 11.2 million persons. We renewed the system last year and initiated an image data sharing service this year. The number of facilities within the MMWIN was 948, while the number of opt-in patients exceeded 80,000.Discussion:Although the project was financed by the government, a usage fee was collected from the participating facilities. To sustain this project, it is crucial to improve the balance between cost and income by increasing the number of participating facilities and decreasing maintenance cost. Thus, our clinical information backup system for disasters facilitates information sharing among medical facilities.

Financing online retailers: Bank vs. electronic business platform, equilibrium, and coordinating strategy

We consider a new financing source for online retailers, namely an electronic business (EB) platform, which is divided into an active and a conservative form according to the level of integration of lending and leasing businesses. The newsvendor-like online retailer is capital-constrained and can choose between EB platform financing and bank credit financing (BCF). We model their interaction as a Stackelberg game, where the online retailer functions as the follower who decides the order quantity and the lender (bank or EB platform) functions as the leader who declares the loan interest rate or the EB platform’s usage fee rate. From the equilibrium and coordinating analyses, we conclude that the active EB platform financing can achieve supply chain financing (SCF) coordination, yielding a larger order quantity and larger participants’ profits than those yielded through BCF, while the conservative may not. When the coordination condition on order quantity is satisfied, if the initial working capital is a constant, there exists a linear decreasing trend between the EB platform’s loan interest rate and the usage fee rate. When the weak coordination conditions are satisfied, the active EB platform can offer many coordinated financing contracts, which are applicable to different initial working capital conditions. For achieving SCF coordination, the EB platform should be active to adjust his loan interest rate and usage fee rate together. Moreover, even if the online retailer has sufficient working capital, she always prefers using the coordinated active EB platform financing to refusing any outside financing.

Pricing On-Demand Services: How Best to Combine Access and Usage Fees?

Common pricing plans for pricing digital goods and services that are consumed in multiple units repeatedly over time include a simple per-unit plan (also called pay as you go or usage-based pricing), a per-period plan (all you can eat buffet or membership pricing), and a combination of the two via either a two-part tariff (2PT) that imposes both fees on all buyers or a self-selection menu that allows buyers to pick one type of fee. Although the latter two plans combine the two fees in very disparate ways, we find that both plans generate roughly the same profit, with each having only a small advantage under different conditions. Crucially, though, the menu has a significant advantage on market coverage. We show that in heterogeneous markets the profit advantage of two-instrument plans over an appropriate single instrument plan (the best of per-unit and per-period) is most significant when satiation-rates (rate of change in marginal valuation) are similar across consumers. Otherwise, an appropriate single instrument plan does a reasonable job of balancing profitability and tariff complexity. When the firm wants to implement a `simple' single-instrument plan but is uncertain about satiation-rates then employing a per-unit plan is less risky because on average it is more profitable compared to a per-period plan. The per-unit plan also generates higher market coverage compared to the per-period plan across the spectrum of scenarios.

The question of water and management of water resources from the point of view of domestic environmental financial regulations

The article analyzes the financial instruments of water protection in the field of the Hungarian regulation, becausein water management the economic regulation, which can be realized through the means of financial regulation, isof greater importance than official banning rules. Water protection and consumption can be influenced throughregulation of environmental charges and regulation of other payment obligations. Financial instruments of passivewater protection can be mentioned that protect the water base from excessive pollution. Such a tool is the soil loadfee and the water load fee. The former is payable in the case of groundwater loading, while the latter is charged incase of surface water load. Means of active defense protect the use of water by charging for the water as anenvironmental element. Financial instruments of active defense include water resource contributions, usage fees, anda potential instrument could be water tax. The article also presents a sketchy concept of water tax as a possiblefinancial solution to the water crisis.

Automating Account Management on an Academic HPC System with Authentication Federation

There is increasing demand for High-Performance Computing (HPC) cluster systems because more and more computational resources are necessary to carry out large-scale simulations and machine learning which are a crucial part of research and business today. There are two choices of HPC cluster systems: academic HPC cluster systems and public cloud services. Academic HPC cluster systems can be used with reasonable usage fees, although they take a long time until the cluster system is ready to use, because of its user registration procedure. On the other hand, public cloud services, such as Amazon Web Services, can be used immediately, but the utilization fees are expensive compared with those for academic systems. To fill the gaps between them, we propose an academic HPC cluster system with automated user registration that allows users to utilize the HPC cluster on demand.

Streaming Platform and Strategic Recommendation Bias

We consider a platform that carries content from two upstream content providers and presents personalized recommendations to participating customers. We focus on streaming platforms in media markets, where users pay a subscription fee to join the platform but no usage fee, and consume a mix of content originating from each provider. We characterize the bias in the user-specific recommendations offered by the platform when one content provider charges lower royalties than the other. We establish that if consumers are sufficiently insensitive to bias, the recommendation system allows the platform to credibly threaten upstream providers to steer consumers away from their content, which reduces their market power. We also investigate the effects of vertical integration by the platform and show the robustness of our results to non-linear (personalized) streaming services.

일본의 전파유효이용을 위한 추진계획 분석

Recently, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan has reported on a plan for the “effective use of radio waves” to be promoted in the 2020s. This includes promotion of the effective use of public frequencies, reviews of frequency allocation and transition systems, and spectrum usage fee system. Based on the proposals in this study, concrete systems for revising related laws, such as the Radio Law, will be designed and implemented. In addition, the government will jointly conduct research and development as well as verification tests in cooperation with industry, academia, and government. A plan to improve the system for the effective use of radio waves will then be devised. This study examines the policy directions of the frequency utilization system that Japan plans to use for radio waves in the 2020s. The policy directions are analyzed selectively while considering the radio waves utilization system in Korea, and implications for domestic applications are derived. Based on the research from this study, analyzing the radio policies of advanced countries, including those of England and the United States, and utilizing them to establish an effective use plan of radio waves in Korea are deemed necessary.