Brachytherapy structural shielding calculations using Monte Carlo generated, monoenergetic data

To provide a method for calculating the transmission of any broad photon beam with a known energy spectrum in the range of 20 keV-1090 keV, through concrete and lead, based on the superposition of corresponding monoenergetic data obtained from Monte Carlo simulation

DEFCON: high-performance event processing with information security

In finance and healthcare, event processing systems handle sensitive data on behalf of many clients. Guaranteeing information security in such systems is challenging because of their strict performance requirements in terms of high event throughput and low processing latency. We describe DEFCON, an event processing system that enforces constraints on event flows between event processing units. DEFCON uses a combination of static and runtime techniques for achieving light-weight isolation of event flows, while supporting efficient sharing of events. Our experimental evaluation in a financial data processing scenario shows that DEFCON can provide information security with significantly lower processing latency compared to a traditional approach

Overhauls in Water Supply Systems in Ukraine: A Hydro-Economic Method of Socially Responsible Planning and Cost Management

The poor technical conditions of the water supply systems complicate the quality of urban population life and create a burden on public budgets. We examine the water supply system factors in Ukraine and identify the main parameters that restrain their development. This study examines the development of overhaul planning in water supply systems in Ukraine, taking into account the network equipment-aging factor. We employ a mathematical technique for optimizing the planned costs for overhauls in water supply networks by engaging latent-semantic analysis (LSA). The LSA provides a novel approach to sustainable planning of several economic factors in water supply. The exhibited results underline prominent technical and economic similarities in Ukrainian water supply systems. These results allow us to reveal an unsustainable usage of public funding for overhauls. In addition, the overhaul planning model engaged, improves the Ukrainian water supply sector. It helps the country to abandon the current reactive water management approach and aims towards proactive and sustainable water management. This innovative approach could redefine the public managerial profile, calibrating it towards a socially responsible one, significantly raising the quality of the urban population’s living standards

Procuring Socially Responsible Services Within Sustainability-Driven Thessaloniki

This descriptive exploratory case study reveals the current state of an innovative municipal services’ design for socially responsible tenders, as well as its sustainability findings. A mixed-method approach enables the collection of rich, contextual information from the 60 participating organisations that contribute to the three-step design of this socially responsible framework. Data is analysed using bivariate analysis against the different research variables. Findings indicate an individual notion of strongly correlated procuring public services, involving traditional and digital communication approaches. They lead to innovative public private socioeconomic synergies in supply chain management (SCM), as well as the reestablishment of the city’s social and environmental profile. Growing implications in the Greek public and private sectors link the role of social responsibility to sustainable supply chain management practices (SSCM). As a result, current municipal tenders are reflecting a socially responsible framework design for the city’s growth and sustainable development. In a European post-financial crisis era where budgets are limited, this study contributes to (i) European sustainability socially responsible services and (ii) lessons learned from the participating actors of an SR design, setting a valuable SSCM example for other European counties

Designing Successful Business Strategies for Public Private Partnerships. An ontological approach

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present an innovative approach for the strategic design of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) and Private Finance Initiatives (PFI) based on ontology. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a historic approach, it introduces a posteriori knowledge, deriving from the scheme’s stakeholders at the construction and implementation phase of PPPs. Continuous failures of these collaboration schemes and initiatives underline the necessity for a novel project structure. The conceptual argument is based both on empirical and epistemological approach. It integrates the value added of the ontological theory in the PPP/PFI business strategy. Findings The research emphasises contemporary design gaps of their current structure and proposes an ontological redesign. The proposed redesign produces a conceptually innovative scheme, which enhances the value added business strategies and their objectives to the structure of these collaborating schemes. Practical implications The ontological design of this paper is useful for academics and business consultants around the world and especially in Europe for the successful growth and development of such dynamic collaborations. Originality/value Enterprise ontology bridges conceptual and structural gaps of strategic objectives, which are primarily responsible for the failures of PPP collaboration

The Sharing Economy in a Digital Society: Youth Consumer Behavior in Italy

This paper explores sharing economy in Italy, focusing on key socioeconomic characteristics. Adopting an exploratory approach, it analyzes the answers of a questionnaire, created using Google Forms and administered via social networks and emails. To analyze the answers statistical tests and descriptive statistics were used. The survey reveals potential behavioral factors, which influence the participation propensity to sharing economic practices. Results exhibit that the age of the consumer is an impactful participating factor of sharing economy and therefore it seems to be a discriminant. On the contrary, gender and annual income are insignificant determinants. The sample is unbalanced, the majority of the answers were provided by young people. The paper can give a picture of the role and the importance of the sharing economy in Italy. Motivated by its global economic growth that could reach in 2025 the value of 570 billion euros, it contextualizes what drives people to collaborate and share tangible and intangible assets It aims to discover how this digital trend shapes the social fabric of the global economy, providing a broader reflection in terms of future sustainability developments. Ongoing dynamic changes on digital consumer preferences towards sharing products and services provide valuable evidence on their future commercial behavior

Financial Reporting in European Football Teams: A Disclosure Analysis of Player Registrations

Purpose – This paper critically analyses sustainable reporting and transparent valuation of the impairment test application (IAS 36) on intangible assets (IAS 38) in football clubs that prepare financial statements in accordance with IAS/IFRS. Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines the financial statements of 13 companies listed on the STOXX Europe Football Index for a five-year period (from 2012 to 2016), following a three-step procedure. It focuses on the governing guidelines’ implementation relating to the UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations (in September 2009), which was subsequently implemented in 2011/2012. Findings – The research reveals some interesting and some controversial findings. Several football clubs exhibit a low level of disclosure and others a high one. Therefore, this study focuses on specific areas that primarily relate to economic and financial communication, as financial statements need to provide contextual disclosure. Simultaneously, the information disclosed to investors underlines the need for sustainable financing and social decision-making. Research limitations/implications – The first limitation of the study regards the sample size; the number of observations is rather small given the exclusion of Turkish and Polish teams due to non-integral application of IAS/IFRS principles as well as other small-sized companies that do not fit the required company profile. The second limitation is that the players’ registration figures are analysed as aggregate values from a club-level perspective. Originality/value – The study pioneers constructive criticism in relation to financial documentation and reporting produced by football companies. IAS/IFRS require further development in order to adapt typologies of specific sustainable business models for all the companies in the football industry

An Intelligent Environmental Plan for Sustainable Regionalisation Policies: The Case of Ukraine

This paper introduces an environment-driven, artificial intelligence model for sustainable policymaking in European countries, with a focus on Ukraine. It develops regional clusters using artificial neural networking; then, it dynamically optimises budgeting allocations. It is a hybrid, environment-driven model that clusters regionalised-data using Kohonen’s self-organising map and optimises budget allocations using the simplex-modified distribution method (U-V MODI). Model benefits focus on regional public policies, environmental development, and core-periphery balanced growth. Results reveal an innovative plan that activates the participation of environmental stakeholders in public policymaking, reforms regions based on set sustainability criteria, and optimises regional funding. Keywords: Environmental planning, sustainable public policy, environment-driven regional policies, artificial neural network methodolog