Capturing the Overall Economic Impacts of HEIs

University of Strathclyde were commissioned on behalf of the Tripartite Advisory Group (TAG) on higher education in Scotland to evaluate the current state of knowledge on the overall impact of higher education in Scotland. The Strathclyde report examines evidence from Scotland, UK and international studies to draw conclusions about the impact of HE on the Scottish economy

A compact dosimetric system for MOSFETs based on passive NFC tag and smartphone

The authors acknowledge the Servicio de Radiofísica (Radio-physics Service) of the Hospital Universitario San Cecilio (Granada, Spain) for permitting us to use their installations. This work was funded by the Spanish Government under project FPA2015-67694-P (Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness) and a R&D predoctoral grant (FPU13/05032, Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport). This project is partially supported by European Regional Development Funds (ERDF).In this work we describe and evaluate a dosimetric system based on an NFC (Near Field Communication) tag and a smartphone that uses commercial MOSFETs as radiation sensors. The tag is designed with commercial integrated circuits and the smartphone is the power source of the tag configured as a readout unit, user interface and storage unit. The NFC tag is supplied wirelessly by the smartphone via NFC, using a home-made structure to align the tag coil and smartphone coil in order to achieve a good inductive coupling. In this case, the commercial DMOS transistor ZVP3306 is used as dosimeter in unbiased mode, connected to the tag before and after each irradiation session to perform the sensor reading. An evaluation of the dosimetric system has been carried out irradiating three transistors with photon beam of 6 MV up to 20 Gy. The average sensitivity found is (4.75 ± 0.15) mV/Gy, which is in good agreement with the results found with our previously developed dosimetric system. Therefore, this miniaturised dosimetric system can be considered as a promising and low cost electronic architecture to be used for dosimetry control in radio-therapy treatments.Servicio de Radiofísica (Radio-physics Service) of the Hospital Universitario San Cecilio (Granada, Spain)Spanish Government under project FPA2015-67694-P (Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness) and a R&D predoctoral grant (FPU13/05032, Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport)European Regional Development Funds (ERDF

Rising stars in information and communication technology

The quest for more efficiency and security is reflected in the economy as a whole, but especially in the product and process innovations in information and communication technology (ICT). We examine the ten concepts considered to have the brightest prospects in the business segment in terms of their potential to gain widespread use during this decade. Out of these, the three most promising ICT approaches are biometrics, open-source software and radio tagging (RFID).internet telephony (VoIP), advanced mobile radio technology (WLAN, UMTS, WiMax), biometrics, quantum cryptography, Model information and communication technology (ICT), Driven Archi-tecture (MDA), decentralised storage (ILM), decentralised data process-ing (grid computing), open-source software, outsourcing, and radio tag-ging (RFID)

Benchmarking interno en una central de compras de agencias de viajes

The tourism sector is one of the most dynamic of our economy, but one that needs to implement new strategies to maintain its level of contribution to the GDP. The objective of this paper is to determine, through a probabilistic conjoint analysis using the Rasch model, the relative importance of the crucial factors in tourism supply for a strategic alliance between travel agencies: Travel Advisors Guild (TAG). The results highlight the positioning of the agencies that make up the TAG, as well as internal competitive imbalances.El sector turístico es uno de los más dinámicos de nuestra economía que necesita poner en marcha nuevas estrategias para mantener sus niveles de participación en el PIB. El objetivo de este trabajo es determinar, mediante un análisis conjunto probabilístico, utilizando el modelo de Rasch, la importancia relativa de los factores determinantes de la oferta turística de una alianza estratégica entre agencias de viajes: Travel Advisors Guild (TAG). En los resultados se destaca el posicionamiento de las agencias integradas en el TAG, así como los desajustes competitivos internos

Analysis and synthesis of hysteresis loops in an oscillator frequency characteristic

A methodology for the analysis and synthesis of multiple hysteresis loops in the frequency characteristic of a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) is presented. This is achieved through the coupling of an oscillator inductance to multiple external (passive) resonators with resonant frequencies in the tuning range of the VCO. A possible application to the implementation of a compact chipless radio frequency identification (RFID) system is explored, using the oscillator as a reader and placing the external resonators in the tag. The system takes advantage of the high sensitivity to the tag resonances in the presence of hysteresis, which leads to vertical jumps in frequency versus the tuning voltage. A desired bit pattern would be encoded in the tag by enabling or disabling passive resonances at a sequence of frequencies. In the practical realization, the inductors in the oscillator and the external board are implemented through spiral inductors so that the resonators in the VCO and the tag have strong broadside coupling. The coupling effect is modeled through electromagnetic simulations, from which a linear admittance, representing the coupled subnetwork, is extracted. The multihysteresis oscillator characteristic can also be obtained experimentally through a new methodology able to stabilize the physically unstable sections without altering their steady-state values. Different demodulation methods for reading the tag are discussed.This work was supported in part by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF/FEDER) under research project TEC2017-88242-C3-1-R

To study the implications of Electronic Toll Collection System using RFID technology

Transportation is the backbone of any country’s economy. Due to increasing number of vehicles on the road, problems such as congestion, air pollution and many others have become a major factor of concern. Traditional toll collection booths require a number of operations like stopping the vehicle, lowering the window, finding the correct coinage or valid card before travelers can continue their journey. This research paper describes the Electronic toll collection system based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. As time and efficiency are a matter of priority nowadays, the traditional method has to be reformed. In order to overcome the major issues of traffic congestion and time consumption RFID technology is used. RFID reader fixed at tollgate frame reads the tag attached to windshield of vehicle. The object detection sensor in the reader detects the approach of the incoming vehicle’s tag and toll deduction takes place through a prepaid card assigned to the concerned RFID tag that belongs to the owners’ account. Electronic toll collection system (ETC) has various advantages compared to traditional method

Paying for College: Availability of Need-Based Financial Aid for New Jersey's Working Adults

Examines barriers to low-income working adult students' access to Education Opportunity Fund and Tuition Aid Grants; challenges such as childcare needs; and lack of data for tracking the state's progress in making college affordable. Recommends reforms

Macroeconomic Modeling of Tax Policy: A Comparison of Current Methodologies

The macroeconomic effects of tax reform are a subject of significant discussion and controversy. In 2015, the House of Representatives adopted a new “dynamic scoring” rule requiring a point estimate within the budget window of the deficit effect due to the macroeconomic response to certain proposed tax legislation. The revenue estimates provided by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) for major tax bills often play a critical role in Congressional deliberations and public discussion of those bills. The JCT has long had macroeconomic analytic capability, and in recent years, responding to Congress’ interest in macrodynamic estimates for purposes of scoring legislation, outside think tank groups — notably the Tax Policy Center and the Tax Foundation — have also developed macrodynamic estimation models. The May 2017 National Tax Association (NTA) Spring Symposium brought together the JCT with the Tax Foundation and the Tax Policy Center for a panel discussion regarding their respective macrodynamic estimating approaches. This paper reports on that discussion. Below each organization provides a general description of their macrodynamic modeling methodology and answers five questions posed by the convening authors

What Does this Device Do?

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