Agent-based debt terms’ bargaining model to improve negotiation inefficiency in PPP projects

The negotiation of the debt terms of public-private partnership (PPP) projects is time consuming and expensive. Although attempts have been made to examine this negotiation inefficiency, there still lacks a theoretical model for this. The aim of this study is to develop an agent-based debt terms’ bargaining model that simulates the negotiation process and improves the negotiation inefficiency. This model was developed using bargaining game theory, time-dependent negotiation tactics, and a learning-based approach, and then validated on a real PPP project. Scenario simulations were also carried out to test the effect of the first offerer, negotiation tactics, and bargaining powers on the duration and payoff of the negotiation. Results show that the use of the negotiation tactics and learning ability can quickly finalize the negotiation, improving the negotiation inefficiency. Results also indicate that being the first offerer and possessing more bargaining power can make the player obtain a better payoff. The developed system can be used by decision makers to understand the reason for the lengthy negotiation and make improved strategies under different scenarios

Agent-based debt terms’ bargaining model to improve negotiation inefficiency in PPP projects

The negotiation of the debt terms of public-private partnership (PPP) projects is time consuming and expensive. Although attempts have been made to examine this negotiation inefficiency, there still lacks a theoretical model for this. The aim of this study is to develop an agent-based debt terms’ bargaining model that simulates the negotiation process and improves the negotiation inefficiency. This model was developed using bargaining game theory, time-dependent negotiation tactics, and a learning-based approach, and then validated on a real PPP project. Scenario simulations were also carried out to test the effect of the first offerer, negotiation tactics, and bargaining powers on the duration and payoff of the negotiation. Results show that the use of the negotiation tactics and learning ability can quickly finalize the negotiation, improving the negotiation inefficiency. Results also indicate that being the first offerer and possessing more bargaining power can make the player obtain a better payoff. The developed system can be used by decision makers to understand the reason for the lengthy negotiation and make improved strategies under different scenarios

A novel method to extract contact resistivity for thermoelectric semiconductor

Contact electrical resistance is a critical issue to be addressed in thermoelectric modules. A commercial instrument in thermoelectricity is demonstrated for the first time to extract the contact resistivity of thermoelectric legs by use of the three options of the probe distance. The specimen comprises two legs of bismuth telluride that are connected with reflow soldering. The probe distances are calibrated with a homogeneous sample of constantan. The linear fittings between the electrical resistance and the probe gap are employed in the calibration and in deriving the contact resistivity. The contact resistivity of n-type Bi2Te3 and p-type Bi2Te3 with nickel plating to the Sn64Bi35Ag1 solder is determined to be 17.4 μω cm2 and 9.8 μω cm2 at ambient temperature, respectively. The contact resistivities at two other temperatures are extracted as well so that the contact resistivity as a function of temperature would be available from the proposed method

SCOPE: SCUBA-2 Continuum Observations of Pre-protostellar Evolution - survey description and compact source catalogue

We present the first release of the data and compact-source catalogue for the JCMT Large Program SCUBA-2 Continuum Observations of Pre-protostellar Evolution (SCOPE). SCOPE consists of 850 μm continuum observations of 1235 Planck Galactic Cold Clumps (PGCCs) made with the Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array 2 on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. These data are at an angular resolution of 14.4 arcsec, significantly improving upon the 353 GHz resolution of Planck at 5 arcmin, and allowing for a catalogue of 3528 compact sources in 558 PGCCs. We find that the detected PGCCs have significant sub-structure, with 61 per cent of detected PGCCs having three or more compact sources, with filamentary structure also prevalent within the sample. A detection rate of 45 per cent is found across the survey, which is 95 per cent complete to Planck column densities of N(H2) > 5 × 10^21 cm^−2. By positionally associating the SCOPE compact sources with young stellar objects, the star formation efficiency, as measured by the ratio of luminosity to mass, in nearby clouds is found to be similar to that in the more distant Galactic Plane, with the column density distributions also indistinguishable from each other