Private Sector and Labour Market Developments in Albania: Formal versus Informal

This paper examines the structure of the formal and informal sectors in Albania. The paper outlines the size and development of the formal private sector in Albania, and assesses the obstacles faced by businesses, especially in the SME sector, and how these have changed in recent years. Although the business climate appears to have improved since 1999, Albanian enterprises still face a variety of difficulties, which act as an inducement to operate in the informal sector instead. We attempt to estimate the size of the informal sector, using a variety of methods. None of them provides a very reliable method of estimation, but the results confirm previous work that shows that the informal sector accounts for between 30 and 60 per cent of official GDP. We also show that there is a significant gap between registered unemployment and the number of unemployed based on labour force surveys. Part of this gap is due to large-scale emigration flows.

Comparing Rough Set Theory with Multiple Regression Analysis as Automated Valuation Methodologies

This paper focuses on the problem of applying rough set theory to mass appraisal. This methodology was first introduced by a Polish mathematician, and has been applied recently as an automated valuation methodology by the author. The method allows the appraiser to estimate a property without defining econometric modeling, although it does not give any quantitative estimation of marginal prices. In a previous paper by the author, data were organized into classes prior to the valuation process, allowing for the if-then, or right “rule” for each property class to be defined. In that work, the relationship between property and class of valued was said to be dichotomic.mass appraisal; property valuation; rough set theory; valued tolerance relation

ShaneAO: wide science spectrum adaptive optics system for the Lick Observatory

A new high-order adaptive optics system is now being commissioned at the Lick Observatory Shane 3-meter telescope in California. This system uses a high return efficiency sodium beacon and a combination of low and high-order deformable mirrors to achieve diffraction-limited imaging over a wide spectrum of infrared science wavelengths covering 0.8 to 2.2 microns. We present the design performance goals and the first on-sky test results. We discuss several innovations that make this system a pathfinder for next generation AO systems. These include a unique woofer-tweeter control that provides full dynamic range correction from tip/tilt to 16 cycles, variable pupil sampling wavefront sensor, new enhanced silver coatings developed at UC Observatories that improve science and LGS throughput, and tight mechanical rigidity that enables a multi-hour diffraction- limited exposure in LGS mode for faint object spectroscopy science.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures. Presented at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation conference, paper 9148-7

Space weather effects on drilling accuracy in the North Sea

The oil industry uses geomagnetic field information to aid directional drilling operations when drilling for oil and gas offshore. These operations involve continuous monitoring of the azimuth and inclination of the well path to ensure the target is reached and, for safety reasons, to avoid collisions with existing wells. Although the most accurate method of achieving this is through a gyroscopic survey, this can be time consuming and expensive. An alternative method is a magnetic survey, where measurements while drilling (MWD) are made along the well by magnetometers housed in a tool within the drill string. These MWD magnetic surveys require estimates of the Earth’s magnetic field at the drilling location to correct the downhole magnetometer readings. The most accurate corrections are obtained if all sources of the Earth’s magnetic field are considered. Estimates of the main field generated in the core and the local crustal field can be obtained using mathematical models derived from suitable data sets. In order to quantify the external field, an analysis of UK observatory data from 1983 to 2004 has been carried out. By accounting for the external field, the directional error associated with estimated field values at a mid-latitude oil well (55 N) in the North Sea is shown to be reduced by the order of 20%. This improvement varies with latitude, local time, season and phase of the geomagnetic activity cycle. By accounting for all sources of the field, using a technique called Interpolation In-Field Referencing (IIFR), directional drillers have access to data from a “virtual” magnetic observatory at the drill site. This leads to an error reduction in positional accuracy that is close to matching that of the gyroscopic survey method and provides a valuable independent technique for quality control purposes

Real options and scenario planning as a way to gain insight into flexibility in health care real estate management, a first exploration

Real estate management in health care faces many uncertainties, and more specific in the Netherlands even more because of changing regulations regarding\ud the financing of capital costs. Therefore we propose, based on literature and a\ud survey, to use scenario planning in combinations with the real option approach to deal with these uncertainties. The survey shows that limited use is made of future uncertainties and options for flexibility in the responded Dutch hospitals. Real options provide insight for real estate managers into opportunities for flexibility when making strategic decisions in real estate management, such as choosing for a building organisation form

DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES FOR THE SMES IN BIHOR COUNTY

By its nature, the SMEs sector is flexible having a great capacity to adapt to the changes occurring on the market. Due to this reason, for most European countries, the SMEs sector has been and still is very carefully treated. The Structure of the SMEs inSMEs, Bihor regional development, potential, perspectives