On our Knowledge of Markets for Knowledge ― A Survey

At the Lisbon Summit 2000 the EU set herself the goal of transforming the European Union by 2010 into “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion”. I take this statement as a starting point for this paper for two reasons: On the one hand it acknowledges the crucial role of knowledge in an advanced economy. On the other hand, it raises the question what needs to be done in order to achieve this ambitious goal. In particular, since the EU is also committed to a market economy and the maintenance of competition the question arises how well markets function with respect to the creation and distribution of knowledge, and what measures may be required, either to support the market mechanism or to replace it by some other institutions. This article deals with the ?rst question and offers a survey of the problems encountered in markets dealing with knowledge. In the next section I discuss briefly the role of knowledge and information in economics. After that I point out a few difficulties with finding a precise and generally accepted definition of knowledge. Section 4 is the core of the article and discusses various types of market failures which might occur when the commodity produced and traded is knowledge. I conclude with a few suggestions for further research

Locational choice and price competition: Some empirical results for the Austrian retail gasoline market

Using data from the Austrian retail gasoline market we test the following two hypotheses derived from spatial economics: (i) Retail shops are more densely located in areas with a higher population density. (ii) Spatial competition equilibrium prices are decreasing in the density of seller locations. Both hypotheses are well supported by the data. Population density explains more than 95% of the cross-district variation in the density of gasoline stations. With respect to the relationship between prices and gas station density the coefficient has the predicted sign and is significant at the 5% level or better in all specifications. Estimation as simultaneous equations does not alter our conclusions, and suggests causality running from station density to price.

Perceptions of Current Club Managers Regarding College Coursework Necessary for Preparation for a Career as a Club Manager

The purpose of this research was to gather and interpret the perceptions of current club managers regarding the college coursework that they believed was necessary to prepare a student for a career as a club manager. First, a list of course areas was developed via a review of hospitality curriculums, and conversations with industry professionals. The list was used to design Part 1 of a questionnaire that featured 13 course areas with corresponding descriptive and ascending levels of competencies. Instructions clearly directed club managers to select the highest level of competency for each course area that they thought should be taught to aspiring club managers in a classroom setting. Part 2 included 7 questions of a demographic nature. Following minor revisions based upon pilot test results, the survey instrument was mailed to a random sample of 333 club managers who belonged to the Club Managers Association of America. A 52% response rate was obtained after two mailings, and statistical analysis was performed to determine response frequencies and significant relationships. The majority of club managers indicated that students should be taught the highest level of competency in the following course areas: Club Industry, Communications, Financial Management, Hospitality Law, and Human Resources. The courses that received intermediate competency recommendations included Beverage Management, Computer Applications, Food Production, Managerial Behavior, Properties Management, and Sales Management. The club managers indicated that the most basic competencies were necessary in the course areas of Marketing and Recreation. In reference to a question regarding the first, second and third most important course areas, club managers responded by first citing Financial Management, Human Resources was second in importance, and Communications was third in importance. In general, a chi-square test for independence failed to establish any significant relationships between the independent variables and levels of competencies. The results of this research indicated that industry professionals believe club managers of tomorrow should be educated today to be savvy financial managers with excellent people skills

Tehnike zrcaljenja u Real-Time računalnoj grafici

Reflections have a long history in computer graphics, as they are important for conveying a sense of realism as well as depth and proportion. Their implementations come with a multitude of difficulties, and each solution typically has various trade-offs. Approaches highly depend on the geometry of the reflective surface since curved reflectors are usually more difficult to portray accurately. Techniques can typically be categorized by whether they work with the actual geometry of the reflected objects or with an image of these objects. For curved surfaces, image-based techniques are usually preferred, whereas for planar surfaces the reflected geometry can be used more easily because of the lack of distortion. With current advances in graphics hardware technology, ray tracing is also becoming more viable for real-time applications. Many modern solutions often combine multiple approaches to form a hybrid technique. In this paper, we give an overview of the techniques used in computer graphics applications to create real-time reflections. We highlight the trade-offs that have to be dealt with when choosing a particular technique, as well as their ability to produce interreflections. Finally, we describe how contemporary state-of-the-art rendering engines deal with reflections.Zrcaljenja imaju dugu povijest primjene u računalnoj grafici zbog njihove važnosti u prenošenju realističnosti prikaza te prikaza dubine i omjera na slikama. Pri implementaciji zrcaljenja dolazimo do raznih teškoća i svako novo rješenje često imaju svoju cijenu. Pristupi implementacije ovise o geometriji plohe na kojoj leži prikaz, Što je ploha zakrivljenija, to je teže postići vjerni prikaz. Tehnike možemo kategorizirati u one koje rade sa stvarnom geometrijom zrcaljenih objekata te one koje rade samo sa slikama objekata. Kod zakrivljenih ploha koriste se tehnike bazirane na slikama, dok se kod ravninskih ploha koristi zrcaljena geometrija jer nema iskrivljenja. Zahvaljujući trenutnom razvoju tehnologije grafičkih hardvera, metoda praćenja zraka (ray tracing) postaje sve isplativija u real-time primjeni. Mnoga moderna rješenja kombiniraju razne pristupe i dolazi do hibridnih tehnika. U ovom radu dajemo pregled tehnika korištenih u primjeni računalne grafike za postizanje real-time zrcalnih slika. Naglašavamo probleme koji nastaju pri korištenju određene tehnike te njihove mogućnosti u pogledu stvaranja međuzrcaljenja. Naposljetku, opisujemo kako moderni alati za renderiranje rješavaju probleme zrcaljenj

Wirkung der Blutegeltherapie auf die Schmerzintensität bei Patienten mit Arthrose: systematische Literaturübersicht

Problembeschreibung: Arthrose ist ein Krankheitsbild, welches weltweit verbreitet ist. Ab dem 65 Lebensjahr, sind bis zu 90% der Menschen von Arthrose betroffen. Zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt gilt die Arthrose als unheilbar. Deshalb ist das vorrangige Ziel der Therapie und Behandlung, die Symptome zu kontrollieren. Zentrales Problem der Arthrosepatienten ist der Schmerz, welcher zu einer eingeschränkten Beweglichkeit führt und viele Lebensbereiche beeinflusst. Die Pflege übernimmt eine wichtige Rolle bei der effizienten und sicheren Schmerzbehandlung. Hierbei wird auf eine grosse Palette von Interventionsmöglichkeiten zurückgegriffen. Eine dieser Intervention ist die Anwendung der Blutegeltherapie. Ziel: Das Ziel der vorliegenden systematischen Literaturübersicht ist es, den aktuellen Forschungsstand bezüglich der Wirkung der Blutegeltherapie auf die Schmerzintensität bei Patienten mit Arthrose aufzuzeigen. Dadurch soll Pflegefachpersonen neue Erkenntnisse über eine ergänzende Pflegemassnahme bei Arthrose aufgezeigt werden. Methode: Zur Beantwortung der Forschungsfrage wurde eine systematische Literaturübersicht erstellt. In den pflegerelevanten Datenbanken Cochrane, PubMed und Cinahl wurde durch eine systematische Suche über mehrere Monate nach relevanter Literatur gesucht. Anhand definierter Auswahlkriterien konnten schlussendlich acht passende Studien in die Analyse eingeschlossen und die Ergebnisse diskutiert und verglichen werden. Ergebnisse: In allen acht Studien wurde ein positiver Effekt der Blutegeltherapie auf die Schmerzintensität bei Patienten mit Arthrose nachgewiesen werden. In sieben Studien konnte eine signifikante Minderung der Schmerzintensität auf der visuellen Analog Skala (VAS) festgestellt werden (Tag0: VAS=59.6mm, Tag7: VAS=27.1mm , p=0.0003). Zusätzlich zur VAS konnte in einer Studie auf dem Lequesne-Index und bei einer weiteren Studie auf dem WOMAC-Score eine signifikante Reduktion der Schmerzintensität beobachtet werden. Ein deutlicher Rückgang der Schmerzintensität konnte zudem bei einer Studie auf der numerischen Rangskala (NRS) erfasst werden. Weitere signifikante Effekte durch die Blutegeltherapie konnten in der Minderung der Steifheit, der Verbesserung der Gelenkfunktion, in der Steigerung der Mobilität, sowie in der Verbesserung der Lebensqualität und der Medikamentenreduktion gemessen werden. Schlussfolgerungen: Die Anwendung der Blutegeltherapie ist eine wirksame Therapie zur Minderung der Schmerzintensität bei Patienten mit Arthrose, welche nur wenige Nebenwirkungen aufzeigt. Zusätzlich können signifikante Ergebnisse in Bezug auf weitere Arthrosesymptome aufgedeckt werden. Die Blutegeltherapie sollte in die Pflegepraxis integriert werden, wobei Pflegefachpersonen im Umgang mit Blutegeln und Schmerzeinschätzungsinstrumenten geschult werden sollten. Zukünftige Forschungen in verschiedenen Ländern und durch verschiedene Autoren sind erforderlich, da zu diesem Forschungsthema aktuell noch wenig wissenschaftliche Forschungsliteratur vorhanden ist

An Input Output Approach to the Analysis of Intercountry Differences in Per Capita Energy Consumption

Comparisons of energy consumption patterns in different countries can serve as a tool for identifying inefficiencies in the use of energy in individual countries. However, differences in terms of relations such as the use of energy per capita or per unit of GDP are not usually very good indicators of intercountry differences in the efficiency of energy use. Factors such as climatic conditions, the sectoral structure of the production system etc. often hide more basic differences in production methods and consumption patterns. Moreover, differences in production methods with similar output may not only be due to differences in the efficiency of energy utilization, but can be the result of intercountry differences in relative prices. In this study, input-output data for the Federal Republic of Germany, France and the Netherlands is used to identify intercountry differences in per capita consumption patterns which can be assigned to differences in production methods and domestic consumption patterns. It appears that such differences do exist. In particular the technologies used in the three countries differed significantly in terms of energy intensity. However, when these results were combined with data on relative prices, the observed differences in energy intensities in most cases were quite consistent with intercountry differences in relative prices. Thus, the observed differences between the sample countries do not seem to reflect intercountry differences in the efficiency of energy utilization

Detection of Automated Facial Beautification by a Camera Application by Comparing a Face to a Rearranged Face

This publication describes systems and techniques to detect if a camera application is applying an automated mechanism to beautify a human face present in a photograph. Some camera applications may automatically adjust characteristics of a face to “beautify” them, such as by changing a skin tone. Although provided as a feature, this “beautification” potentially can be interpreted as cultural insensitivity or can result in mental health concerns. Accordingly, enabling a user to at least have knowledge of automated beautification can be beneficial. Detecting beautification is accomplished by determining if a camera application adjusts pixels corresponding to a face but not pixels corresponding to a rearranged face. Facial recognition software recognizes the face but fails to recognize the rearranged face. A tile from the face is compared to a corresponding tile from the rearranged face. If the two tiles are sufficiently dissimilar, then the system infers that the camera application has adjusted the pixels of the tile corresponding to the original facial image responsive to recognizing those pixels as part of a face. In this manner, the automated facial beautification can be detected

COMPATIBILITY TESTING FOR CAMERA APPLICATIONS TO FACILITATE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

A system is described that provides a consistent application programming interface and enables compatibility testing for applications that interface with cameras across various mobile devices. The system includes one or more controlled testing environment modules that isolate mobile devices from ambient light and provide test charts and consistent internal lighting for camera testing. The controlled testing environment modules enable operating system developers to capture both landscape and portrait images, access features, and test applications in consistent testing environments across various mobile devices. Such testing may enable development of software shims to facilitate interaction with a wide variety of cameras across different vendors and implementations within individual mobile devices

Rapid Climate Adaption Assessment (RCAA) of water supply and sanitation services in two coastal urban poor communities in Accra, Ghana

This study assessed the impact of different hydrological scenarios on existing vulnerabilities of water and sanitation services in Chorkor and Shiabu, two coastal urban poor communities in Accra, Ghana. The hydrological scenarios were developed from the literature on climate change projections. This paper recommends adaptations for community members, service providers, and the municipality based on the impact assessment. Chorkor and Shiabu are vulnerable to an increase in rainfall because of the lack of adequate solid waste management and hydrological sound drains. Shiabu's topography and the indiscriminate sand mining along its beach make it vulnerable to an increase in sea level. Looking beyond Chorkor and Shiabu's community boundaries, the urban water utility which supplies water vendors in both communities may be severely impacted by a decrease in rainfall, which would lead to water scarcity and a shortage in hydroelectricity. Regardless of which climate change scenario emerges, many of the recommended adaptations are good water management practice, for example, increasing the number of household connections and reducing non-revenue water. Putting climate change high on the agenda has the potential to generate additional funding to help address Chorkor and Shiabu's water and sanitation problems, and climate-proof services for the future. However, the study method does not address the governance of these adaptations