THE USE OF BUDGETS IN FORECASTING THE ACTIVITY OF THE FIRM

The firm’s activity is recommended to develop in a permanent equilibrium between incomes and expenses. In the actual stage of transition of Romanian economy, the firms can not maintain this equilibrium because the expenses determined by the achievement of production overtake the level of the incomes obtained from the selling of production even when certain branches of activity are subsidized from the public budget. In these conditions, finding the methods that allow the sizing and control of the equilibrium relation between expenses and incomes represents a problem with which the firm’s management confronts. From this point of view the budget can become an instrument of correlation and especially of turning to good account the relation between incomes and expenses. Budgeting becomes a systematic economic practice that assumes the development of a process of formal assignment of financial resources that aim at the achievement of some established objectives for the future periods.budget, budgeting, forecasting, management by using budgets, expenditure budget, budget holders, manufacturing costs.

Aperiodic nano-photonic design

The photon scattering properties of aperiodic nano-scale dielectric structures can be tailored to closely match a desired response by using adaptive algorithms for device design. We show that broken symmetry of aperiodic designs provides access to device functions not available to conventional periodic photonic crystal structures.Comment: 23 pages, LaTex, 8 postscript figure

Monitoring the mineralisation of bone nodules in vitro by space- and time-resolved Raman micro-spectroscopy.

Raman microscopy was used as a label-free method to study the mineralisation of bone nodules formed by mesenchymal stem cells cultured in osteogenic medium in vitro. Monitoring individual bone nodules over 28 days revealed temporal and spatial changes in the crystalline phase of the hydroxyapatite components of the nodules

The influence of philosophical perspectives in integrative research: a conservation case study in the Cairngorms National Park

The benefits of increasing the contribution of the social sciences in the fields of environmental and conservation science disciplines are increasingly recognized. However, integration between the social and natural sciences has been limited, in part because of the barrier caused by major philosophical differences in the perspectives between these research areas. This paper aims to contribute to more effective interdisciplinary integration by explaining some of the philosophical views underpinning social research and how these views influence research methods and outcomes. We use a project investigating the motivation of volunteers working in an adaptive co-management project to eradicate American Mink from the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland as a case study to illustrate the impact of philosophical perspectives on research. Consideration of different perspectives promoted explicit reflection of the contributing researcher's assumptions, and the implications of his or her perspectives on the outcomes of the research. We suggest a framework to assist conservation research projects by: (1) assisting formulation of research questions; (2) focusing dialogue between managers and researchers, making underlying worldviews explicit; and (3) helping researchers and managers improve longer-term strategies by helping identify overall goals and objectives and by identifying immediate research needs

A review of the generic design assessment (GDA) dialogue pilot (2015) for new nuclear build in the UK: lessons for engagement theory and practice.

We have discussed previously that a community led, asset based approach is required to achieve any sense of how social sustainability can be defined in a community setting within the context of energy developments. Our approach aims to initiate a lasting change within ‘energy’ communities through building social capital; focusing on community assets not deficits to define their social priorities. Through deliberation, we develop an understanding of social sustainability so that a community is well placed to enter discussions with government and industry regarding large energy developments that will directly affect them. We review the 2015 Generic Design Assessment (GDA) Public Dialogue Pilot process for potential new nuclear reactors in the UK. We examine the aims of the dialogue, giving particular attention to a comparison between the national sampling of citizens for the GDA and the local community, deliberative approach we have proposed previously. We find an ongoing tension between ‘national’ engagement processes (such as the GDA Public Dialogue Pilot process) and the specific requirements of those energy communities that live adjacent or close to energy infrastructure, manifested here by a conflict between the requirements of the convenor and those of participants regarding priority issues for discussion. We also reveal a paradox; despite participant preference for a remote, internet-based engagement process, they agreed that face to face contact is a priority to encourage trust building between participants and the convenor of the process – a desired outcome of the process. The GDA Public Dialogue Pilot process has demonstrated that stakeholders are willing to engage with and be more directly involved in local energy-related decisions that affect them directly, provided there is opportunity to discuss locally-relevant and site-specific issues in addition to those of a broader nature. There exists a disparity and conflict between ‘national’ engagement processes and the ‘local’ priorities of those energy communities that are adjacent or close to energy infrastructure. In this process and others, we have seen an imbalance between the requirements of the convenor and those of participants regarding priority issues for discussion. This continues to be a persistent challenge for those convening stakeholder engagement events where the scope and context is not primarily site-specific. However, it is encouraging that convenors and participants alike continue to be willing to work towards resolving this

Kondo effect in spin-orbit mesoscopic interferometers

We consider a flux-threaded Aharonov-Bohm ring with an embedded quantum dot coupled to two normal leads. The local Rashba spin-orbit interaction acting on the dot electrons leads to a spin-dependent phase factor in addition to the Aharonov-Bohm phase caused by the external flux. Using the numerical renormalization group method, we find a splitting of the Kondo resonance at the Fermi level which can be compensated by an external magnetic field. To fully understand the nature of this compensation effect, we perform a scaling analysis and derive an expression for the effective magnetic field. The analysis is based on a tight-binding model which leads to an effective Anderson model with a spin-dependent density of states for the transformed lead states. We find that the effective field originates from the combined effect of Rashba interaction and magnetic flux and that it contains important corrections due to electron-electron interactions. We show that the compensating field is an oscillatory function of both the spin-orbit and the Aharonov-Bohm phases. Moreover, the effective field never vanishes due to the particle-hole symmetry breaking independently of the gate voltage.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

MAIZE UNDER THE CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT

Research into plant breeding always focused on increasing productivity potential in new developed plant varieties because this criterion ensures the economic efficiency of a crop and finally of the agricultural farm. Lately, however, due to the challenges of climate change, the stability of crop production is strongly affected because of the global warming. One of the most important crops for humankind is maize which becomes nowadays the most productive grain crop worldwide. Maintaining a high production of maize in the conditions of climate change remains a priority for researchers. In order to be able to make the most relevant decisions over a long period of time regarding the future of crop plants due to their importance for food security in the context of climate change, more and more researchers are using different modelling systems in crop science. A study based on the ‘Climex’ model indicates that the negative effects of global warming will limit maize cultivation in the countries between tropics of Capricorn and Cancer, but also will expand some areas from USA, Mexico, Brazil, China, Africa and Latin America, due to the cold stress reduction. Following the simulations performed until this moment, some measures that will be able to ensure large corn production in the near future despite climate change are breeding cultivars that start filling the grain as fast as possible, creating drought tolerant hybrids, improving irrigation technologies and not least, reconsider favourable areas for maize cultivation