“Assessing market dominance”: a comment and an extension

Melnik et al. [Melnik, A., Shy, Oz, Stenbacka, R., 2008. Assessing market dominance. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 68, 63-72] have proposed a new statistic to assess market dominance. In this comment we expand their discussion of certain mathematical properties in their analysis and link their methodology to some previous approaches.Firm’s dominance; Dominant position; Measure of dominance

'Assessing market dominance': a comment and an extension

Melnik et al. [Melnik, A., Shy, Oz, Stenbacka, R. Assessing market dominance. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 68, 63-72] have proposed a new statistic to assess market dominance. In this comment we expand their discussion of certain mathematical properties in their analysis and link their methodology to some previous approaches.Firm's dominance, dominant position, measure of dominance

Monetary and Fiscal Policy Interaction: What is the Role of the Transaction Cost of the Tax System in Stabilisation Policies?

In the theory of monetary and fiscal policy interaction, the assumption of Ricardian households isolates the determinants of fiscal policy instrument from the price stabilization policies carried out by the central bank. One of the main implications of the above mentioned Ricardian assumption is that the fiscal policy does not have any distortionary effect for the economy, i.e. it does not affect the behaviour of the households, supporting that way the fiscal policy’s neutrality. The argument for this view comes if one assumes that fiscal policy has a distortionary effect on the behaviour of the agents. We relax the above non distortionary assumption by assuming that the imposition of the taxes is consistent with a transaction cost of the tax system that underlies the state - tax payer interaction. In this way we develop a channel through which the stability of prices carried out by the independent central bank is, within optimality, also a function of the fiscal policy determinants (the transaction cost, the tax rates and the debt level). The analysis is carried out in a framework of a monetary union, with two different countries. Within this framework, the effectiveness of a numerical fiscal rule is also examined.Monetary and fiscal policy interactions; Transaction cost of the tax system; Probability of re-election; Stability and growth pact

The simple measurement of residue curves and the associated VLE data for ternary liquid mixtures

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburq, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering. Johannesburg, 1996.An apparatus to measure residue curves and the associated VLE data was designed. The apparatus was required to measure this data quickly, easily, cheaply and reasonably accurately. The Acetone, Benzene and Chloroform and the Acetone, Methanol and Benzene ternary liquid systems were measured to test the accuracy of the apparatus. In both cases, the results obtained correlated reasonably well with those predicted by theory using published data. [Abbreviated Abstract. Open document to view full version]AC201

Sketch-based navigation for mobile robots using qualitative landmark states

The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on September 19, 2007)Vita.Thesis (Ph. D.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2007.In this work, a system for navigating a mobile robot along a sketched route is proposed. The sketch is drawn on a PDA screen by a human operator and contains approximate landmarks and a path, similar to a sketch provided to another person to reach a goal. The robot receives the sketch and detects the objects and route. The robot proceeds to extract spatial relations between the robot and surrounding objects at crucial nodes along the sketched route. Based on the extracted spatial relations, a sequence of Qualitative Landmark States (QLS's) and associated robot commands serves as a guide for robot navigation in the real world. The robot then executes the sketched route by matching landmark states in the real world to the extracted states. The approach is validated and tested using sketches by independent study participants both with a real robot and in a simulator. Special sketches and robot operating environments are used to illustrate results in extreme cases and to independently test extraction, identification and matching of QLS's. We show that QLS's based on spatial relations can be used as a common route representation between a sketched route map and a physical environment. The selection of QLS's is crucial to the success of such an approach and the algorithm shows a way to pick the correct states for successful navigation. The approach is not dependent on the number or type of sensors on the robot and does not assume a particular type of robot; the strategy can work with any sensory method that can provide an object representation in two dimensions (top view). The approach is not dependent on the route chosen, the size or shape of objects, or the position of the objects. The algorithm can account for a certain degree of uncertainty and inconsistencies in sketching (scaling of object size and position, distortions, completeness of object representation.Includes bibliographical reference

Budgetary control in department stores.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Boston Universit

A doublet microlens array for imaging micron-sized objects

We present a high-numerical aperture, doublet microlens array for imaging micron-sized objects. The proposed doublet architecture consists of glass microspheres trapped on a predefined array of silicon microholes and covered with a thin polymer layer. A standard silicon microfabrication process and a novel fluidic assembly technique were combined to obtain an array of 56 µm diameter microlenses with a numerical aperture of ~0.5. Using such an array, we demonstrated brightfield and fluorescent image formation of objects directly on a CCD sensor without the use of intermediate lenses. The proposed technology is a significant advancement toward the unmet need of inexpensive, miniaturized optical modules which can be further integrated with lab-on-chip microfluidic devices and photonic chips for a variety of high-end imaging/detection applications.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90795/1/0960-1317_21_10_105024.pd

Some brief notes on Decision no 3220/2017 of Piraeus’ Single-Member Court of First Instance

Decision no 3220/2017 of Piraeus’ Single-member Court of First Instance is of historical significance for two converging reasons. First, because it is the only known case since the ratification of the Revised European Social Charter by Greece in which a Greek court applies article 24 of the Charter on a dismissal case. The second reason is linked to the fact that, in its basic premise, the Court of Piraeus takes the view, for the first time in the history of the Greek labour jurisprudence, that, pursuant to article 24, in order for a dismissal to be lawful, it has to be grounded on a valid reason, which must be invoked before the court and then be proven by the employer. Provided that the Greek Supreme Court espouses this viewpoint, Piraeus’ ruling has the potential to radically alter the physiognomy of the Greek dismissal law by introducing an objective system of protection against arbitrary dismissals.L’arrêt n ° 3220/2017 du Tribunal de Première Instance de Pirée est d’une importance marquante pour deux raisons convergentes. Premièrement, parce qu’il est le premier cas de la jurisprudence hellénique, rendue après la ratification par la Grèce de la Charte sociale européenne révisée, qui a appliqué l'article 24 de la Charte dans une affaire de licenciement. Et, deuxièmement, parce que dans cet arrêt le Tribunal de Première Instance de Pirée a estimé pour la première fois en Grèce que, conformément à l'article 24 de la Charte, pour qu'un licenciement soit qualifié licite, il doit être fondé sur une cause valable qui, une fois invoquée devant le tribunal, elle doit être prouvée par l'employeur. Si la Cour de Cassation hellénique adopte la solution précitée, l’arrêt n° 3220/2017 du Tribunal de Première Instance de Pirée contribuera de façon décisive à la modification du droit grec des licenciements car il introduira dans l’ordre juridique hellénique un système objectif de protection contre tout licenciement arbitraire