1,024 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Promoting environmentally sustainable enterprises: some policy options
Governments around the world are taking an increasing interest in promoting environmentally-sustainable economic activity. They have developed a variety of policy approaches in an effort to address environmental issues that range from localised pollution incidents to global climate change. This chapter examines the kinds of intervention tools that are being used to improve the environmental performance of SMEs, and to guide entrepreneurial energies towards more environmentally-benign goals. The chapter aims to: (1) outline the main options available to policy-makers; (2) compare specific intervention tools, noting their strengths and limitations; and (3) discuss the case for adopting more holistic approaches to address the pervasive, complex and often deeply-rooted challenges of sustainable development. Key lessons are that policy makers need to select appropriate combinations of tools based on careful reviews of the evidence, and that well-integrated, context-sensitive policies are likely to prove the most effective
A Density Independent Formulation of Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics
The standard formulation of the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) assumes
that the local density distribution is differentiable. This assumption is used
to derive the spatial derivatives of other quantities. However, this assumption
breaks down at the contact discontinuity. At the contact discontinuity, the
density of the low-density side is overestimated while that of the high-density
side is underestimated. As a result, the pressure of the low (high) density
side is over (under) estimated. Thus, unphysical repulsive force appears at the
contact discontinuity, resulting in the effective surface tension. This tension
suppresses fluid instabilities. In this paper, we present a new formulation of
SPH, which does not require the differentiability of density. Instead of the
mass density, we adopt the internal energy density (pressure), and its
arbitrary function, which are smoothed quantities at the contact discontinuity,
as the volume element used for the kernel integration. We call this new
formulation density independent SPH (DISPH). It handles the contact
discontinuity without numerical problems. The results of standard tests such as
the shock tube, Kelvin-Helmholtz and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities, point like
explosion, and blob tests are all very favorable to DISPH. We conclude that
DISPH solved most of known difficulties of the standard SPH, without
introducing additional numerical diffusion or breaking the exact force symmetry
or energy conservation. Our new SPH includes the formulation proposed by
Ritchie & Thomas (2001) as a special case. Our formulation can be extended to
handle a non-ideal gas easily.Comment: 24 pages, 21 figures. Movies and high resolution figures are
available at http://v1.jmlab.jp/~saitoh/sph/index.htm
Improving convergence in smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations without pairing instability
The numerical convergence of smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) can be
severely restricted by random force errors induced by particle disorder,
especially in shear flows, which are ubiquitous in astrophysics. The increase
in the number NH of neighbours when switching to more extended smoothing
kernels at fixed resolution (using an appropriate definition for the SPH
resolution scale) is insufficient to combat these errors. Consequently, trading
resolution for better convergence is necessary, but for traditional smoothing
kernels this option is limited by the pairing (or clumping) instability.
Therefore, we investigate the suitability of the Wendland functions as
smoothing kernels and compare them with the traditional B-splines. Linear
stability analysis in three dimensions and test simulations demonstrate that
the Wendland kernels avoid the pairing instability for all NH, despite having
vanishing derivative at the origin (disproving traditional ideas about the
origin of this instability; instead, we uncover a relation with the kernel
Fourier transform and give an explanation in terms of the SPH density
estimator). The Wendland kernels are computationally more convenient than the
higher-order B-splines, allowing large NH and hence better numerical
convergence (note that computational costs rise sub-linear with NH). Our
analysis also shows that at low NH the quartic spline kernel with NH ~= 60
obtains much better convergence then the standard cubic spline.Comment: substantially revised version, accepted for publication in MNRAS, 15
pages, 13 figure
Corporate Redemption in the Context of Martial Dissolutions: I.R.C. § 1041 and \u3ci\u3eArnes v. United States\u3c/i\u3e
In Ames v. United States the Ninth Circuit held that Temporary Treasury Regulation § 1.1041-IT, A-9 extended nonrecognition treatment to an ex-wife whose 50 percent interest in a corporation was redeemed pursuant to a divorce settlement, thereby leaving her ex-husband as the sole owner of the corporation. In doing so, the court not only contradicted the precedential treatment of bootstrap stock acquisitions but also misapplied its own interpretation of this regulation. This Note argues that a transaction such as that in Ames falls outside of the scope of the regulation and, therefore, the precedent surrounding bootstrap acquisitions should have controlled
Smoothed Particle Magnetohydrodynamics III. Multidimensional tests and the div B = 0 constraint
In two previous papers (Price & Monaghan 2004a,b) (papers I,II) we have
described an algorithm for solving the equations of Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD)
using the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method. The algorithm uses
dissipative terms in order to capture shocks and has been tested on a wide
range of one dimensional problems in both adiabatic and isothermal MHD. In this
paper we investigate multidimensional aspects of the algorithm, refining many
of the aspects considered in papers I and II and paying particular attention to
the code's ability to maintain the div B = 0 constraint associated with the
magnetic field. In particular we implement a hyperbolic divergence cleaning
method recently proposed by Dedner et al. (2002) in combination with the
consistent formulation of the MHD equations in the presence of non-zero
magnetic divergence derived in papers I and II. Various projection methods for
maintaining the divergence-free condition are also examined. Finally the
algorithm is tested against a wide range of multidimensional problems used to
test recent grid-based MHD codes. A particular finding of these tests is that
in SPMHD the magnitude of the divergence error is dependent on the number of
neighbours used to calculate a particle's properties and only weakly dependent
on the total number of particles. Whilst many improvements could still be made
to the algorithm, our results suggest that the method is ripe for application
to problems of current theoretical interest, such as that of star formation.Comment: Here is the latest offering in my quest for a decent SPMHD algorithm.
26 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS. Version with high
res figures available from
http://www.astro.ex.ac.uk/people/dprice/pubs/spmhd/spmhdpaper3.pd
EvoL: The new Padova T-SPH parallel code for cosmological simulations - I. Basic code: gravity and hydrodynamics
We present EvoL, the new release of the Padova N-body code for cosmological
simulations of galaxy formation and evolution. In this paper, the basic Tree +
SPH code is presented and analysed, together with an overview on the software
architectures. EvoL is a flexible parallel Fortran95 code, specifically
designed for simulations of cosmological structure formation on cluster,
galactic and sub-galactic scales. EvoL is a fully Lagrangian self-adaptive
code, based on the classical Oct-tree and on the Smoothed Particle
Hydrodynamics algorithm. It includes special features such as adaptive
softening lengths with correcting extra-terms, and modern formulations of SPH
and artificial viscosity. It is designed to be run in parallel on multiple CPUs
to optimize the performance and save computational time. We describe the code
in detail, and present the results of a number of standard hydrodynamical
tests.Comment: 33 pages, 49 figures, accepted on A&
Forest Landowner Short Courses at Mississippi State University
Extension forestry at Mississippi State University has been providing educational opportunities for forest landowners in Mississippi for more than 70 years. The first forest landowner short course was offered in 1984. Since then, the short course curriculum has grown to include 11 short courses taught throughout the state every year. Since 1987, these short courses have resulted in over 7,000 attendees owning or managing over 2,000,000 acres of forest land and valuing the information they received at over $115,00,000. The short course format described here will combine well with new and emerging technologies such as interactive video, the Internet, and live satellite broadcast
Recommended from our members
Evaluating the role of enterprise policies in purposive sustainability transitions: a case-based comparison
Objectives
• To review the literature on enterprise policy and purposive sustainability transitions
• To present comparative case-based analyses of entrepreneurial activity in different transitions
• To draw out the implications for research, policy and practice
Prior Work
Our paper is framed around the socio-technical transitions literature, with a particular focus on entrepreneurship and enterprise policy. It builds on previous work, in which we challenged pre-conceptions about the role of entrepreneurial actors in purposive sustainability transitions. In this paper, we build on these themes and draw out the implications for SME and entrepreneurship policies in Europe.
Approach
We conduct a critical review of recent policy developments, with selected case-based illustrations that involve various kinds of purposive sustainability transition. This concludes with a brief reflection on the main similarities and differences in terms of governance mechanisms and entrepreneurship infrastructures. We note that, while cross-national agreements, such as EU-ETS and the European Small Business Act, provide overarching frameworks, there is considerable variety in enterprise policies at a national level (e.g. goals, approaches, target audiences, performance), which overlay, and interact with, pre-existing geographic variations in entrepreneurial activity.
Results
Our argument is based around the following observations: (i) there is a groundswell of entrepreneurial activity oriented towards environmental sustainability; (ii) many governments have recognised that entrepreneurs can be key actors in the design and delivery of sustainability initiatives; (iii) transitions scholars have already highlighted many specific instances of entrepreneurial agency; (iv) there is now an urgent requirement to consolidate and build on this evidence base, in order to draw out practical implications for enterprise policy conception and implementation.
Implications
Traditionally, enterprise policies have been framed and evaluated with a primary focus on economic criteria, such as job creation and economic growth. A new set of challenges arises when governments seek to reorient policy around more ambitious and multi-faceted sustainability goals. For example: evidence on the long-term outcomes of previous policy initiatives are mixed, whether at firm-level or across geographic regions; there are difficulties in isolating the impact of particular policies even when relevant statistical measures and datasets (e.g. for unemployment and GDP) are generally available; and policies are now being developed in a much wider range of contexts, including newly-industrialised and developing countries.
Value
The study is designed to inform future research and policy-making. It makes connections between the socio-technical transitions literature and relevant research on entrepreneurship and enterprise policy, in pursuit of entrepreneurial activities that contribute to more effective and equitable sustainability transitions
Introduction to forest valuation and investment analysis
Most foresters and forest landowners are aware that money has a time value. A dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow. If you borrow 1,000 in 90 days. The term forest economists use for this concept is the t :!me value of money: the closer to today you receive a sum of money, the greater its present value
Circadian patterns in postvoid residual and voided percentage among older women with urinary incontinence
Background: Women with urinary incontinence incur an increased risk of elevated postvoid residual (PVR) volume and impaired voiding efficiency (i.e., voided percentage (Void%)), but the clinical significance of these parameters remains poorly described. Further characterization of PVR and voiding efficiency may thus be useful in refining the evaluation and management of urinary incontinence. This study aims to explore possible circadian variations in PVR and Void% in
older women with stress (SUI), urge (UUI) and mixed urinary incontinence (MUI).
Methods: A single center prospective study which enrolled a convenience sample of 90 older women who consulted a tertiary referral hospital for urinary incontinence. Participants underwent an extensive medical interview and were hospitalized to complete a 24-h frequency-volume chart (FVC) with PVR measurement after each void (FVCPVR). Results: FVCPVR analysis demonstrated no differences in mean PVR and Void% between patients with SUI, UUI and MUI. Likewise, no daytime or nighttime differences were observed in mean PVR or Void% within or between groups.
Conclusions: No evidence of circadian variation in PVR or Void% was observed in older women with SUI, UUI or MUI
- …