Variability and Change in Water Cycle at the Catchment Level

This study proposes a simple methodology for assessing future-projected evolution of water cycle components (precipitation, potential evapotranspiration, and potential runoff) based on the two-level Palmer model of the soil and their impact on drought conditions at basin level. The Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) is used as drought metric. The catchments of rivers Arges, Mures, Prut, Siret and Somes (mid- and lower Danube basin) have been chosen as case studies. The present climate data consist of Romanian gridded dataset, monthly precipitation and values of streamflow from Romania and Republic of Moldova and potential evapotranspiration-related data from the Climate Research Unit (University of East Anglia). We used as future projections five numerical experiments with regional models obtained through the EURO-CORDEX initiative, under two Representative Concentration Pathway scenarios. The correlations between observed streamflow at the river basin outlets and PDSI-related components of the water cycle show that PDSI represents reasonably well processes taking place in the selected catchments. Depending on the specific scenario and catchment, droughts that in the Palmer classification were deemed as incipient, mild or severe under present climate will become a normal summer feature toward the end of this century, especially over catchments situated in the lower Danube basin

POSSIBILITY TO CREATE A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE IN TODAY’S WORKING ENVIRONMENT

Purpose – This paper aims to debate the possibility of creating a social enterprise in a certain region of Romania. Design/methodology/approach – In the first section there is a theoretical approach of some aspects of societal change processes and seven trends which indicate the change processes within the working environment. From the same point of view, there are also mentioned different types of entrepreneurial activities. The paper ends with a case study which is dealing with the study of the potential to create social enterprises to support rural communities in Bistrita Nasaud. Findings – The data provides an array of social problems that are facing the people of this region: the lack of jobs, of qualifications required by the market, poverty, social exclusion of vulnerable groups. Practical implications/originality/value – The presentation of a case study specific to social entrepreneurship within a larger theoretical framework triggers a complex approach in compliance with the specified theoretical aspects

THE EVOLUTION OF THE LARGEST US CORPORATIONS IN THE PERIOD 2011-2012

Since the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, big corporations have evolved into one of the main business organizations of the world. Moreover, large corporations started to dominate many industries in the United States (US). Today, in the globalization era, they have become much more powerful as in the past. The US corporations are major players in the business world and influence our lives. The aim of our paper is to analyze the evolution of the first ten largest US corporations by their revenues and profits in the 2011-2012 period. The research type is a literature review

WHEN BUSINESS STRATEGY MEETS CREATIVITY

Purpose – Our paper aims to present in short the theoretical foundation of the concepts of business strategy and creativity, and to highlight the relationship between them. Design/methodology/approach – Using the literature review, the study examined the conceptual framework of the notions of strategy, business strategy, and creativity. Also, it analysed the relationship between business strategy and creativity. Findings – The results confirm previous studies related to the beneficial impact of creativity on the business strategy of a company. As creativity has become an important input for a successful business strategy, companies are making significant efforts in order to bring creativity into play. Practical implications/originality/value – Business strategy and creativity are two interconnected concepts not only in theory, but also in practice. Also, creativity represents a fundamental asset of a successful company in turbulent times

Enhancing the Performance of Quantitative Precipitation Estimation Using Ensemble of Machine Learning Models Applied on Weather Radar Data

Flash floods are a major weather-related risk, as they cause more than 5000 fatalities annually, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Quantitative Precipitation Estimation is a method used to approximate the rainfall over locations where direct field observations are not available. It represents one of the most valuable information employed by meteorologists and hydrologists for issuing early warnings concerning flash floods. The current study is in line with the efforts to improve radar-based rainfall estimates through the use of machine learning techniques applied on radar data. With this aim, as a proof of concept, six machine learning models are evaluated to make estimations of the radar-based hourly accumulated rainfall using reflectivity data collected on the lowest radar elevation angles, and we employ a new data model for representing these radar data. The data were collected by a WSR-98D weather radar of the Romanian Meteorological Administration, located in the central region of Romania, during 30 non-consecutive days of the convective seasons, between 2016 and 2021. We obtained encouraging results using a stacked machine learning model. In terms of the Root Mean Squared Error evaluation metric, the results of the proposed stacked regressor are better than the radar estimated accumulated rainfall by about 33% and also outperform the baseline computed using the Z-R relationship by about 13%

THE NEW CLASSICAL THEORY AND THE REAL BUSINESS CYCLE MODEL

The present paper aims at describing some key elements of the new classical theory-related model, namely the Real Business Cycle, mainly describing the economy from the perspective of a perfectly competitive market, characterised by price, wage and interest rate flexibility. The rendered impulse-response functions, that help us in revealing the capacity of the model variables to return to their steady state under the impact of a structural shock, be it technology or monetary policy oriented, give points to the neutrality of the monetary entity decisions, therefore confirming the well-known classical dichotomy existing between the nominal and the real factors of the economy

HOW THE WORLD’S LARGEST CORPORATIONS EVOLVED IN THE PERIOD 2012-2013

The largest multinational and transnational corporations are key actors in the world economy. Their number has significantly increased in the last decades both in the developed and the developing countries. Consequently, they are more dispersed globally than in the past. As the world’s largest corporations have become more powerful over time, they represent not only an economic force, but also a political and cultural force in today’s highly globalized world. They have a huge impact on the lives of billions of people every day. The aim of our paper is to analyse the evolution of the first ten world’s largest corporations by their revenues and profits in the period 2012-2013. The research type is literature review