EVEREST IST - 2002 - 00185 : D23 : final report

Deliverable públic del projecte europeu EVERESTThis deliverable constitutes the final report of the project IST-2002-001858 EVEREST. After its successful completion, the project presents this document that firstly summarizes the context, goal and the approach objective of the project. Then it presents a concise summary of the major goals and results, as well as highlights the most valuable lessons derived form the project work. A list of deliverables and publications is included in the annex.Postprint (published version

The offshore services value chain : developing countries and the crisis

This paper analyzes the recent evolution and impact of the global economic crisis on the offshore services industry. Using a global value chains framework, the authors classify the offshore services sector in a comprehensive set of general and industry-specific activities that correspond to different segments and stages in the value-adding process for services. Through an analysis of the impact of the economic crisis on the industry, a small decline in demand was found; however this did not cause any structural changes in the market. The crisis has created two opposing effects: general contraction of demand by existing customers due to the recession; and, at the same time, a substitution effect by which new services are being moved from developed countries to emerging economies in search of cost reduction. The paper concludes that the offshore services industry will continue to offer growth opportunities for developing countries not only among existing market players, but also a range of new countries. The industry has the potential to become an important source for employment and economic growth around the globe.ICT Policy and Strategies,E-Business,Water and Industry,Housing&Human Habitats,Public Sector Corruption&Anticorruption Measures

A System Development Kit for Big Data Applications on FPGA-based Clusters: The EVEREST Approach

Modern big data workflows are characterized by computationally intensive kernels. The simulated results are often combined with knowledge extracted from AI models to ultimately support decision-making. These energy-hungry workflows are increasingly executed in data centers with energy-efficient hardware accelerators since FPGAs are well-suited for this task due to their inherent parallelism. We present the H2020 project EVEREST, which has developed a system development kit (SDK) to simplify the creation of FPGA-accelerated kernels and manage the execution at runtime through a virtualization environment. This paper describes the main components of the EVEREST SDK and the benefits that can be achieved in our use cases.Comment: Accepted for presentation at DATE 2024 (multi-partner project session

The Global Warming Potential of Building Materials: An Application of Life Cycle Analysis in Nepal

open6siThis paper analyzes the global-warming potential of materials used to construct the walls of 3 building types—traditional, semimodern, and modern—in Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone in Nepal, using the life-cycle assessment approach. Traditional buildings use local materials, mainly wood and stone, while semimodern and modern buildings use different amounts of commercial materials, such as cement and glass wool. A comparison of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the 3 building types, using as the functional unit 1 m2 of wall, found that traditional buildings release about one-fourth of the greenhouse gas emissions released by semimodern buildings and less than one-fifth of the emissions of modern buildings. However, the use of thermal insulation in the modern building walls helps to reduce the energy consumption for space heating and consequently to reduce the global warming potential. In 25 years, the total global warming potential of a traditional building will be 20% higher than that of a modern building. If local materials, such as wood, are used in building construction, the emissions from production and transportation could be dramatically reduced.openBhochhibhoya, Silu; Zanetti, Michela; Pierobon, Francesca; Gatto, Paola; Maskey, R. K.; Cavalli, RaffaeleBhochhibhoya, Silu; Zanetti, Michela; Pierobon, Francesca; Gatto, Paola; Maskey, R. K.; Cavalli, Raffael

Modern Services Exports from Emerging Countries—Perspectives and Opportunities

Traditionally, developed countries are the major exporters of services; however, technological developments in IT and communications over the last two decades have made it possible for developing countries to exploit their comparative advantage in some modern services. The driving force for this comparative advantage is the large pool of semi-skilled and skilled graduates in emerging countries who can deliver their services across borders, using advanced communication technologies. Why do emerging countries have increasing modern services exports? How are these exports explained by theory? What are the factors behind this export growth and the reasons to expect future growth? These are some of the important questions that researchers and policy-makers would like to find answers to and an attempt has been made to answer these questions in this paper. Identification of the sources of services export growth from emerging and developing countries can be attempted through established theories of goods trade and production. This paper reviews selected theory and empirical work in order to explain the underlying causes for growing exports of services. Causes for the export of modern services may include a comparative advantage of the exporting country, cost reduction for the importing firm through outsourcing, reduction in trading costs due to technological improvements and an increase in gains from services trade

Risk stratification by pre-operative cardiopulmonary exercise testing improves outcomes following elective abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery : a cohort study

Background: In 2009, the NHS evidence adoption center and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a review of the use of endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). They recommended the development of a risk-assessment tool to help identify AAA patients with greater or lesser risk of operative mortality and to contribute to mortality prediction. A low anaerobic threshold (AT), which is a reliable, objective measure of pre-operative cardiorespiratory fitness, as determined by pre-operative cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is associated with poor surgical outcomes for major abdominal surgery. We aimed to assess the impact of a CPET-based risk-stratification strategy upon perioperative mortality, length of stay and non-operative costs for elective (open and endovascular) infra-renal AAA patients. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was undertaken. Pre-operative CPET-based selection for elective surgical intervention was introduced in 2007. An anonymized cohort of 230 consecutive infra-renal AAA patients (2007 to 2011) was studied. A historical control group of 128 consecutive infra-renal AAA patients (2003 to 2007) was identified for comparison. Comparative analysis of demographic and outcome data for CPET-pass (AT ≥ 11 ml/kg/min), CPET-fail (AT < 11 ml/kg/min) and CPET-submaximal (no AT generated) subgroups with control subjects was performed. Primary outcomes included 30-day mortality, survival and length of stay (LOS); secondary outcomes were non-operative inpatient costs. Results: Of 230 subjects, 188 underwent CPET: CPET-pass n = 131, CPET-fail n = 35 and CPET-submaximal n = 22. When compared to the controls, CPET-pass patients exhibited reduced median total LOS (10 vs 13 days for open surgery, n = 74, P < 0.01 and 4 vs 6 days for EVAR, n = 29, P < 0.05), intensive therapy unit requirement (3 vs 4 days for open repair only, P < 0.001), non-operative costs (£5,387 vs £9,634 for open repair, P < 0.001) and perioperative mortality (2.7% vs 12.6% (odds ratio: 0.19) for open repair only, P < 0.05). CPET-stratified (open/endovascular) patients exhibited a mid-term survival benefit (P < 0.05). Conclusion: In this retrospective cohort study, a pre-operative AT > 11 ml/kg/min was associated with reduced perioperative mortality (open cases only), LOS, survival and inpatient costs (open and endovascular repair) for elective infra-renal AAA surgery

Tourism Service Marketing and Development Efforts in Nepal : A Case Study : Alfresco Adventure Private Limited Nepal

Tourism services are the pioneers of the tourism industry. Services determine the level of industry and its future at large. Tourism service marketing hence, has a significant role in up- lifting country‟s tourism Industry. The main aim of this Bachelor‟s thesis is to magnify Nepal‟s tourism service marketing structure, process and execution. The authors further researched on the developing efforts made by Nepal so as to uplift the standard of the tourism service marketing in domestic as well as international arena. Along with the research, the authors have provided their views and suggestions for the development of tourism services marketing in Nepal. In this study various practices, implementations, methods, strategies, challenges and cultures regarding tourism services marketing in Nepal were examined by the researchers. Both practical and theoretical studies were incorporated in this study. The tourists, stakeholders, service providers and tourism experts of Nepal were interviewed. Various articles, journals, books and magazines related to tourism services marketing were read. From the both practical and theoretical study, an ideational framework of the tourists‟, stakeholders‟ and experts‟ perception towards Tourism Services marketing in Nepal was built. The framework was used as a tool for the empirical analysis of the study. Alfresco Adventure travel agency was chosen as the case study. The travel agency was small part of the study as the researchers‟ biggest challenge was to study the whole country‟s tourism. The study of the Alfresco travels agency‟s tourism marketing methods and challenges have played an inclusive role in this the- sis. In order to carry out the research, 35 tourists, 6 service providers and 2 tourism experts of Nepal were interviewed. 43 responses were received and the results were empirically analyzed. The results of the respondents showed that there is a huge need to develop the tourism services, infrastructures, the level of marketing and the standard of Nepal tourism as a whole. The results have the blend of tourists‟, service providers‟ and the experts‟ take on the tour- ism services and marketing. The common perception from all the respondents was that Nepal lacks various things in terms of tourism services marketing and the government of Nepal has to play the biggest role to develop the standard and take up the responsibilities to rectify the errors

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: a Continuing Bibliography with Indexes (Supplement 328)

This bibliography lists 104 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during September, 1989. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance

Secondary Privatization in Poland (Part II): Evolution of Ownership Structure and Performance in National Investment Funds and their Portfolio Companies

This volume contains the output of country research undertaken in Poland in 2000-2001 by Barbara Blaszczyk, Michal Gorzynski, Tytus Kaminski and Bartlomiej Paczoski under the international comparative project "Secondary Privatization: the Evolution of Ownership Structures of Privatized Enterprises". The project was supported by the European Union's Phare ACE Programme 1997 (project P97-8201 R) and was coordinated by Barbara Blaszczyk of the Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE) in Warsaw, Poland. The support of the ACE Programme made it possible to organize the cooperation of an international group of scholars (from the Czech Republic, France, Poland, Slovenia and the U.K.). The entire project was devoted to the investigation of secondary ownership changes in enterprises privatized in special privatization schemes (i.e., mass privatization schemes and MEBOs) in three Central European countries - the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia. Through a combination of different research methods, such as secondary analysis of previous research, analysis of legal and other regulatory instruments, original field research, statistical data base research and econometric analysis of individual enterprise data, the project aimed to investigate the scope, pace and trends in secondary ownership changes, the factors and barriers affecting them and the degree of ownership concentration resulting from them. The authors of this report look at ownership changes in the companies owned by the Polish National Investment Funds in the 1995-2000 period. They analyze the numbers of companies in the NIFs' portfolios were sold to what types of investors (i.e., domestic corporate, domestic individual, employee, foreign, other NIFs, public trading) in which years. A great deal of attention is also paid to the issue of changes in the ownership of the funds themselves as well as the issues of corporate governance in the funds (management costs, strategies, etc.) Finally, the economic performance of NIF portfolio companies is compared with other groups of companies in Polish economy, and then the group of NIF companies is broken down with respect to type of owner that acquired (or kept) them, and these groups are compared with each other. We hope that the results of this research will be of great interest for everyone interested in the little-researched question of what has happened to companies after privatization in transition countries.privatization, secondary transactions, corporate governance, transition economies, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland