32,310 research outputs found

    Freshwater ecosystem services in mining regions : modelling options for policy development support

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    The ecosystem services (ES) approach offers an integrated perspective of social-ecological systems, suitable for holistic assessments of mining impacts. Yet for ES models to be policy-relevant, methodological consensus in mining contexts is needed. We review articles assessing ES in mining areas focusing on freshwater components and policy support potential. Twenty-six articles were analysed concerning (i) methodological complexity (data types, number of parameters, processes and ecosystem-human integration level) and (ii) potential applicability for policy development (communication of uncertainties, scenario simulation, stakeholder participation and management recommendations). Articles illustrate mining impacts on ES through valuation exercises mostly. However, the lack of ground-and surface-water measurements, as well as insufficient representation of the connectivity among soil, water and humans, leave room for improvements. Inclusion of mining-specific environmental stressors models, increasing resolution of topographies, determination of baseline ES patterns and inclusion of multi-stakeholder perspectives are advantageous for policy support. We argue that achieving more holistic assessments exhorts practitioners to aim for high social-ecological connectivity using mechanistic models where possible and using inductive methods only where necessary. Due to data constraints, cause-effect networks might be the most feasible and best solution. Thus, a policy-oriented framework is proposed, in which data science is directed to environmental modelling for analysis of mining impacts on water ES

    Difficulties of transferring risk-based capital requirements to developing countries

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    In principle, financial regulation seeks to remedy recognized deficiencies in a nation's economic, political, and bureaucratic incentivestructures. But the social urgency of particular financial policy problems differ according to a country's stage of development. Regulatory strategies that make sense for industrial countries are unlikely to work the same way in developing countries. The author examines opportunities for transferring the framework of risk-based capital requirements negotiated by the G-10 countries under the auspices of the Bank for International Settlements in Basle. He finds that an unchanged transfer of the Basle framework to developing countries is economically inappropriate and politically infeasible. And its voluntary adapation is difficult because the long-run economic appropriateness of the Basle framework of solvency regulations directly opposes their short-run political embraceability. The author believes that what most urgently needs to be transferred to developing countries are elements of supervisory technology: methods of information collection and management, legal processes for prompt and equitable default resolution, and mechanisms for controlling the incentive conflicts that lead bankers and government supervisors to resist the healthy exit or recapitalization of damaged institutions. As a first step, the author recommends that the World Bank and the Bank for International Settlements promote economically beneficial reforms in information collection and management, reforms that do not preclude flexibility in current prudential standards in individual countries.Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Financial Intermediation,Banking Law,Economic Theory&Research

    Small, alone and poor: a merciless portrait of insolvent French firms, 2007-2010

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    This empirical paper investigates the path to bankruptcy for a sample of French firms in default, in particular the decision to file a petition for bankruptcy, the arbitrage between rescuing and liquidation and the effective survival. The procedure is depicted as a sequence of three steps in which judges play a crucial role as they decide whether a company is insolvent or not and determine whether an insolvent company deserves to be rescued or, on the contrary, should be liquidated, the market having the last word since the effective success depends on the capability of the firm to recover from the judicial proceedings. We test different hypotheses about the variables influencing each possibility which include i) the role of the market in the firm's health, ii) the influence of financial structures, iii) the importance of corporate governance and iv) the inherent corporate factors of probable survival. Using three linked LOGIT models, our first finding is that the probability to default depends mainly on the market. Secondly the probability to be rescued depends essentially on the financial structure. Finally, the probability for the firm to remain in business in the long term is largely influenced by the market and profitability. Our results also support the idea that governance, size and resources are the main determinants of exit from the market or success of any company.Insolvency, bankruptcy, firm default, financial indicators, size, logit models.

    Identifying and addressing adaptability and information system requirements for tactical management

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    Recent and upcoming BCI progress: overview, analysis, and recommendations

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    Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) are finally moving out of the laboratory and beginning to gain acceptance in real-world situations. As BCIs gain attention with broader groups of users, including persons with different disabilities and healthy users, numerous practical questions gain importance. What are the most practical ways to detect and analyze brain activity in field settings? Which devices and applications are most useful for different people? How can we make BCIs more natural and sensitive, and how can BCI technologies improve usability? What are some general trends and issues, such as combining different BCIs or assessing and comparing performance? This book chapter provides an overview of the different sections of this book, providing a summary of how authors address these and other questions. We also present some predictions and recommendations that ensue from our experience from discussing these and other issues with our authors and other researchers and developers within the BCI community. We conclude that, although some directions are hard to predict, the field is definitely growing and changing rapidly, and will continue doing so in the next several years

    A decision support methodology to enhance the competitiveness of the Turkish automotive industry

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    This is the post-print (final draft post-refereeing) version of the article. Copyright @ 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Three levels of competitiveness affect the success of business enterprises in a globally competitive environment: the competitiveness of the company, the competitiveness of the industry in which the company operates and the competitiveness of the country where the business is located. This study analyses the competitiveness of the automotive industry in association with the national competitiveness perspective using a methodology based on Bayesian Causal Networks. First, we structure the competitiveness problem of the automotive industry through a synthesis of expert knowledge in the light of the World Economic Forum’s competitiveness indicators. Second, we model the relationships among the variables identified in the problem structuring stage and analyse these relationships using a Bayesian Causal Network. Third, we develop policy suggestions under various scenarios to enhance the national competitive advantages of the automotive industry. We present an analysis of the Turkish automotive industry as a case study. It is possible to generalise the policy suggestions developed for the case of Turkish automotive industry to the automotive industries in other developing countries where country and industry competitiveness levels are similar to those of Turkey
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