Techno-Economic Model for a Quick Preliminary Feasibility Evaluation of Organic Rankine Cycle Applications

The investment decision support tool was developed, which can be applied to check the technical feasibility and economic viability of an Organic Rankine Cycle system, and to select the appropriate working fluid, based only on basic information on the waste heat source, i.e. source temperature and mass (heat) flow rate. Two profitability criteria, Net Present Value and Payback Period, were introduced for economic evaluation, while an Organic Rankine Cycle design correlations-based model was developed, and applied for prediction of technical parameters and components’ design estimation. Validation performed with the previously published data confirmed model accuracy in spite of its simplicity. The model gave quick answers, and was incorporated successfully into a decision algorithm, which was supported by a set of system component design and cost functions, and could serve as an effective tool for preliminary feasibility evaluation of any proposed Organic Rankine Cycle based waste heat recovery system. An example of model application over the broad range of waste heat source temperatures is presented and the results discussed in order to show its basic capabilities

The long road from Ljubljana to Kyoto: Implementing emissions trading mechanism and CO2 tax

According to the Kyoto Protocol, Slovenia is required to reduce GHG emissions to an average of 8% below base year 1986 emissions in the period 2008-2012. Slovenia established different measures for reducing GHG emissions long before its ratification. It was first transition country who implemented CO2 tax in the 1997. Several changes in CO2 tax have not brought the desired results. CO2 emissions have actually increased. At the beginning of 2005, Slovenia joined other EU member states by implementing the emissions trading instrument, defined by new EU Directive. At the same time, Slovenia has adopted a new CO2 tax system, which is compatible with the new circumstances. The main purpose of this paper is to present the characteristics of Slovenian approach to national allocation plan for emissions trading and analyze the problems of the CO2 tax in Slovenia. Paper also describes the compliance cost of achieving the Kyoto target and expected movements on the Slovenian allowances market.CO2 tax, Kyoto Protocol, emissions trading, national allocation plan, emissions allowances

Impact of Covid-19 crisis on the digital strategy optimization of Oceanário de Lisboa : a case study

The year 2020 was marked by the outbreak of the Covid-19 crisis. The following case looks into the cultural institutions' industry, and, more specifically, analyses how a Portuguese leading cultural institution, Oceanário de Lisboa navigated the crisis. It focuses on how Oceanário de Lisboa transformed its digital strategy to overcome the challenge. The analysis is concluded based on several underlying strategic theoretical models supporting the institution’s information. The case study is written in a form of a pedagogical instrument, aiming to provide the understanding and a learning tool of how cultural institutions may adapt their digital strategy to overcome the crisis. Considering the focus of strategic change, the main emphasis of the case study is on digital strategy, dynamic capabilities, and agile governance. The analysis of the actions reveals how Oceanário de Lisboa turned a threat into an opportunity. Facing a drop in visits, hence reduced income, the institution resolved it by following the market trend of digitalization, however with the selective application. The crisis emphasised the need for agility and innovation and the application of these to the new optimised digital strategy.O ano de 2020 ficou marcado pelo surgimento da crise de Covid-19. O caso seguinte olha para a indústria das instituições culturais, e, mais especificamente, analisa como uma instituição cultural portuguesa líder, o Oceanario de Lisboa, lidou com a crise. Foca-se na forma como o mesmo transformou a sua estratégia digital para ultrapassar o desafio. A análise é feita com base em várias teorias estratégicas, como suporte da informação recolhida junto da própria instituição. O caso de estudo é redigido na forma de um instrumento pedagógico, com o objetivo de permitir dar a entender, e servir de ferramenta, como instituições culturais podem adaptar a sua estratégia digital para ultrapassar a crise. Considerando o foco em mudança estratégica, a tese incide principalmente na estratégia digital, capacidades dinâmicas, e gestão ágil. A análise do caso revela como o Oceanario de Lisboa transformou uma ameaça numa oportunidade. Enfrentando um declínio nas visitas, e por conseguinte menos receita, a instituição resolveu a situação seguindo a tendência de mercado da digitalização, ainda que com aplicação seleta. A crise enfatizou a necessidade de agilidade e inovação, e a aplicação destas à nova estratégia digital

Recommendations for prevention and treatment of nausea and vomiting in systemic oncology treatment

Slabost in bruhanje ostajata kljub velikemu napredku najpogostejša neželena učinka sistemskega zdravljenja, ki bistveno zmanjšata bolnikovo kvaliteto življenja in zmanjšata njegovo komplianco za nadaljevanje sistemskega zdravljenja. Priporočila za preprečevanje in zdravljenje slabosti in bruhanja zaradi zdravljenja s citostatiki so bila objavljena leta 2003 v reviji Onkologija. S tem prispevkom dopolnjujemo priporočila za obravnavo slabosti in bruhanja z novostmi, ki so bila objavljena v NCCN smernicah leta 2014 in MASCC in ESMO leta 2010 (1,2).In spite of great advancement, nausea and vomiting remain the most common undesirable effects of systemic cancer treatment, which substantially lower the patients’ quality of life and reduce their compliance to continue systemic treatment. Recommendations for prevention and treatment of nausea and vomiting resulting from cytostatic treatment were published in 2003 in Oncology magazine. This article complements the recommendations for treatment of nausea and vomiting with new developments, which were published in the NCCN guidelines in 2014 and MASCC and ESMO in 2010 (1, 2). We present our method for treating dysphagia with the help of intraluminal oesophageal stents. In our practice, the intraluminal oesophageal stent has proven to be a very effective and the most patient-friendly method for optimal delivery of nutrients before and during neoadjuvant therapy. There are few complications, and insertions do not have a negative impact on the perioperative outcomes

The present condition of forest roads as a result of their past maintenance

Gozdne ceste so namenjene zlasti gospodarjenju z gozdom, in prav temu je prilagojeno načrtovanje njihove rabe in vzdrževanja. Naraščanje pomena negozdarskih rab gozdnih cest vodi k višanju standarda vzdrževanja in posledično k trajnemu pomanjkanju sredstev. Višji stroški vzdrževanja nastajajo tudi zaradi pretekle graditve gozdnih cest, ki je na račun hitrega odpiranja kmetij in zaselkov zanemarjala kakovost graditve. V strukturi stroškov vzdrževalnih del zato redno nastopajo stroški ukrepov, ki predstavljajo dokončanje graditve. Rezultat pretekle gradnje, rabe in vzdrževanja je sedanje stanje gozdnih cest, ki je bilo ugotovljeno s popisom poškodb na vzorčnih hektometrskih odsekih. Poleg poškodb spodnjega in zgornjega ustroja ceste zbuja pozornost nizka stopnja dograjenosti sistema odvodnjavanja.Forest roads are built for forest management purposes, to which planning of their use and maintenance is adapted. The increasing importance of non-forestry use of forest roads leads to higher maintenance standard, which by formed maintenance system causes permanent shortage of funds. Higher maintenance costs occur due to the past forest roads construction characteristics, which gave priority to quick opening of villages and farms, on the account of building quality. Other funds expenditure represented by works for the finishing of road constructions occur permanently. Present forest roads condition is a result of the past road construction, road use andmaintenance. We investigated forest road conditions with inventories of damages in sample hectometre sectors. Critical apart from the upper road layerand road bed layer damages is the low level of perfection of the roads\u27 drainage system

Forest Opening in Multipurpose Private Forest - Case Study

In the past, forest opening with forest roads was planned on the basis of forest wood production. By discovering the importance of other forest roles, gradual integration of individual role into planning processes of forest opening started. The modern approach to the planning of forest opening of multipurpose forests requires a simultaneous consideration of all forest roles. Economic justification for enlarging the existing forest road network is based on the density of forest roads, where the smallest total skidding and transportation costs occur. On this basis, insufficiently opened areas outside the band width of 574 m opened by each road are excluded. Further planning of opening insufficiently opened areas is based on terrain features and technical characteristics of th planned forest roads. The construction of an individually planned forest road is economically feasible when the reduction of wood skidding costs is bigger than the increase of transportation costs. The evaluation of the planned forest road in terms of the multipurpose forest role is done with the suitability map for forest road construction. It is based on the relative importance of each forest role, determined by a multicriteria decision-making method. Selection of the planned forest roads based on the multipurpose forest role represents the quality of the new approach to the planning of forest opening

NFF Special Session – Potentials of Applying Methods, Tools, Processes and Knowledge from Testing in Product Development to the NFF Problem

AbstractWhile verification is an important and expensive task in the development of airborne systems, insights gained into the system under test are still very much treated in an isolated way. This means that the knowledge established in the testing of airborne systems in product development is currently not applied to e.g. repair or maintenance processes. This raises the question, whether the methods, tools and processes as well as the knowledge which is generated during testing are exploitable in the following life cycle phases, especially for service and maintenance processes? This paper presents a vision and investigates the potentials of how the methods, tools, processes and knowledge used during the verification phase in the beginning of life of an airborne system could be utilized in later lifecycle phases. A special emphasis is placed on how they can be applied to improve repair and maintenance activities in the context of NFF (No Failure or No Fault Found) cases (and vice versa). It can be expected that the methods, tools, processes and knowledge could be valuable for reducing ground times of aircraft, minimizing repair costs, reducing efforts for failure analysis considerably and improving aircraft safety

Mutual fund performance in Slovenia : an analysis of mutual funds with investment policies in Europe and the energy sector

This paper examines the risk and return performance of mutual funds in Slovenia from 2005 until August 2009. The research is limited to the regional investment policies in Europe and the energy sector. Using monthly returns, we analyzed different risk-adjusted measures such as: the Treynor ratio, the Sortino ratio and the Information ratio. We also studied selections and timing ability using the Treynor-Mazuy model. The risk and return performance of mutual funds in the Slovenian market does not deviate from those in developed markets. We also found out that the selection ability of fund managers is better than market timing and that the findings of this paper are in accordance with other international studies

Javnofinancijski novčani tokovi proračuna EU i njihov utjecaj na likvidnost nacionalnog proračuna: primjer Slovenije

On May 1, 2004 ten new states joined the EU. At the same time, budgetary cash flow mechanisms between the EU budget (as the central subject) and national budgets were established. Despite the fact that all the rules are clear and known in advance - stipulated by the EU directives and regulations - there are some uncertainties, which may have an important effect on the liquidity as well as on the budgetary cash flows in new member states. The greatest problem for the liquidity of new member states’ budgets is posed by the time lags between inflows and outflows of EU funds. These lags are mainly because of delayed payments from the EU budget and problems with some member state’s absorption capacity. This article deals with the dynamics and the scale of budgetary cash flows between the Slovenian budget and the EU budget until 2006. A couple of likely scenarios are presented, which could happen in case of delayed payments of European funds. Consequently, both an unexpected state budget liquidity deficit and an additional burden arising from interest on delayed payments to the Brussels are possible for Slovenia.Europskoj uniji 1. svibnja 2004. godine priključilo se deset novih država. U isto vrijeme uspostavljeni su i javnofinancijski novčani tokovi između proračuna EU kao središnjeg subjekta i nacionalnih proračuna. Iako su sva pravila jasna i unaprijed poznata - definirana direktivama i uredbama EU, ostaje nekoliko nejasnoća, koje mogu značajno utjecati na likvidnost kao i javnofinancijski položaj proračuna novih članica. Najveći problem za likvidnost proračuna novih članica EU pretstavlja vremenska neusklađenost između priliva i odliva europskih sredstava, do koje dolazi posebno zbog vremenskog kašnjenja naplata iz europskog proračuna i slabe apsorbcijske sposobnosti, odnosno sposobnosti preuzimanja tih sredstava iz europskih fondova. Članak analizira dinamiku i predviđeni opseg javnofinancijskih novčanih tokova između proračuna Slovenije i proračuna EU do 2006. godine. Predstavljeno je nekoliko scenarija, do kojih bi moglo doći zbog zakašnjenja kod isplata europskih sredstava. Posljedica toga mogli bi biti nepredvidivi deficiti državnog proračuna i dodatni teret naplata zakasnjelih kamata u briselsku blagajnu

Absorption von EU-Fördermitteln: Institutionale Regelung und Erfolg am Beispiel Irlands, Estlands und Sloweniens

The enlargement of the EU by ten new member states in 2004 increased the importance of the EU cohesion policy; however, the readiness of these states to absorb the funds has not been adequate. Consequently, their absorption capacity has been relatively low. An analysis was made which states the importance of institutional settings for the efficiency of absorbing funds. With this purpose in mind, we first closely examined the most successful countries in absorbing EU funds. These were: Ireland as the leading country among the EU-15 and Estonia and Slovenia as the leading countries among the EU-10. Ireland has a decentralized managing system with several managing authorities and paying authorities, also on the regional level, while Estonia and Slovenia have a more centralized system on a national level. Regarding the current implementation system and absorption success in these three countries, we cannot determine which of the three presented implementation structures is more effective and advisable for improving the absorption of EU funds. We came to the conclusion that even different implementation structures can lead to high absorption results.Proširenje Europske Unije na deset novih članica 2004. godine povećalo je važnost politike kohezije EU-a; ipak, spremnost tih zemalja da primaju novčana sredstva iz fondova nije se pokazala dostatnom. Tako je njihov kapacitet apsorpcije do sada bio razmjerno 1237 nizak. Napravljena je analiza koja govori o važnosti institucionalnih okvira za uspješnu apsorpciju sredstava. Imajući to na umu, prvo smo pomno promotrili najuspješnije zemlje u apsorpciji fondova EU-a. To su bile: Irska, kao vodeća zemlja me|u EU-15 te Estonija i Slovenija kao vodeće zemlje unutar EU-10. Irska ima decentraliziran sustav upravljanja, s više upravljačkih i financijskih struktura, i to na regionalnim razinama, dok Estonija i Slovenija imaju sustave više centralizirane na nacionalnoj razini. Promatrajući sadašnji sustav primjene i uspješnost apsorpcije u tim trima zemljama, ne možemo utvrditi koje su od tri predstavljene implementacijske strukture uspješnije i koje je uputno preporučiti za unapre|enje apsorpcije fondova EU-a. Naš je zaključak da i različite implementacijske strukture mogu dovesti do visokih rezultata apsorpcije.Die Ausweitung der EU und der Beitritt von zehn neuen Mitgliedstaaten im Jahr 2004 hat die Aktualität der EUKohäsionspolitik erhöht; jedoch hat sich die Kapazität dieser Länder, Fördermittel aus EU-Fonds in ihre Modernisierung zu investieren, als unzulänglich erwiesen. Dementsprechend war das Absorptionsvermögen bisher relativ gering. Die vorgenommene Analyse widmet sich der Bedeutung des institutionalen Rahmens für eine erfolgreiche Absorption der genannten Fördermittel. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurden zunächst die in dieser Hinsicht erfolgreichsten Länder untersucht. Das sind: Irland als das führende Land der EU-15-Staaten sowie Estland und Slowenien als die führenden Staaten der EU-10 (EU-Erweiterung 2004). Irland hat ein dezentralisiertes Verwaltungssystem mit mehreren Verwaltungs- und Finanzstrukturen auf regionaler Ebene, während Estland und Slowenien über ein eher zentralisiertes Verwaltungssystem auf nationaler Ebene verfügen. Betrachtet man den aktuellen Stand in der Umsetzung von EUFördermitteln und das Absorptionsvermögen der erwähnten Staaten, so lässt sich nicht mit Bestimmtheit sagen, welche der drei Implementierungsstrukturen die erfolgreichste und als nachahmungswert zu empfehlen ist. Die Verfasser dieser Studie kommen zu dem Schluss, dass auch völlig unterschiedliche Implementierungsstrukturen zu hochwertigen Ergebnissen bei der Absorption von Fördermitteln führen können