Measure and discipline in world procurement markets = Medición y reglas de los mercados mundiales de contratación pública

Abstract: The revised Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) illustrates the long-term trans­formation in the way governments currently deliver public policies: steering, not rowing. Under a re­gulatory paradigm based on improving efficiency and best value for money, the 51 GPA Parties have reformed the previous GPA framework and expanded global procurement markets in accordance. Howe­ver, the figures of this structural policy trend have not yet been properly mapped. This research estima­tes on basis of the available data that the GPA parties cover round 26% (US$2,140bn) of their GGCE (US$8,220bn), whereby the global GPA coverage could potentially be expanded substantially (compare to global GGCE: US$13,100bn) on the long term.Keywords: public-private partnerships, world trade, market-formation, government procurement, GPA.Resumen: El Acuerdo de Contratación Pública (GPA) revisado ilustra la transformación de largo plazo en la forma en que los Estados desarrollan políticas públicas: guiar, y no remar. Bajo un paradigma regulatorio basado en la mejora de la eficiencia y el mejor valor por el dinero, los 51 Miembros del GPA revisado han reformado el marco legal originario y contribuido a expandir los emergentes mercados glo­bales de contratación pública. Esta investigación calcula en base a los datos disponibles que las partes del GPA cubren un 26$) de su GGCE (8.220.000 US$), mientras la cobertura global del GPA podría expandirse de manera significativa (comparar con el GGCE global: 13.100.000 US$) a largo plazo.Palabras clave: partenariados público-privados, comercio mundial, formación de mercados, con­tratación pública, GPA

GARCH model to estimate the impact of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions per sociodemographic factors and CAP in Spain

This contribution analyses the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and focuses on agricultural emissions in Spain regarding sociodemographic characteristics (age and sex). Spanish CAP covers emissions regulation based on the application of agriculture management according to the EU-ETS and agricultural management (soil and energy). The analysis of the Spanish legal rules and policy identified empirical environmental attitudes as provided by the EUROSTAT and MINETUR databases between 1990 and 2013. The developed empirical–analytical GARCH model measures the impact between the soil and energy management indicators per capita based on CAP (as independent variables) and emissions per capita (as dependent variable). The selected criteria of the models are sociodemographic variables corresponding to employee in agriculture: interval of age and sex (total, men and women who work in agriculture). The research findings demonstrate high significance between emissions per age interval, sex and total population, and fertilizers, herbicides and non-renewable energy or gases consumption. The CAP’s proposed use of new machinery per capita does not influence directly the reduction of emissions. The model provides a good estimation for discussion about future policy trends of EU’s long-term objectives for Rural Development Policy related to CAP principles (i.e. fertilizers, pesticides, land use and energy consumption in crops), the impact of machinery in agriculture and the open debate of extending work life in agricultural older population

On polynomial integrals over the orthogonal group

We consider integrals of type $\int_{O_n}u_{11}^{a_1}... u_{1n}^{a_n}u_{21}^{b_1}... u_{2n}^{b_n} du$, with respect to the Haar measure on the orthogonal group. We establish several remarkable invariance properties satisfied by such integrals, by using combinatorial methods. We present as well a general formula for such integrals, as a sum of products of factorials.Comment: 20 page

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Dynamics of industrial consolidation : mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures in the EU27 electricity and gas industry - concentration, cooperation and internationalisation

This thesis explores the dynamics of industrial consolidation in the EU27 electricity and gas industry. The research aim is to characterise the consolidation dynamics, its underlying key drivers and implications related to the EU27 electricity and gas industry's consolidation. This research follows a systematic evaluation and comparative analysis of the concentration and internationalisation dynamics since the United Kingdom's privatisation start in the year 1986. This thesis contributes to the discussions about concentration, cooperation and internationalisation strategies in special consideration of competition and competitive advantage in both sectors. This thesis offers a retro perspective, independent, neutral and objective research under special consideration of the interdisciplinary from the perspectives of (energy) economists, institutions, and .management on this transformation • process. The research findings base on the empiric-quantitative analysis of 5,309 realised and closed Mergers & Acquisitions and Joint Venture transactions with a total deal volume of EUR1,184bn covering the period between 01/01/1986 and 31/12/2008 targeting the EU27 electricity and gas industry. In addition, the data set contains all worldwide transactions realised by the companies based in the EU27 member states. Research conveyed a semi-structured survey about the consolidation key determinants issued to the industry's Chief Executive Officers in spring 2010. The survey asked for the economic crisis impact on the industry, and asked for assessment of the prospective consolidation development ~ after the crisis. The research findings demonstrate that economic and regulatory pressures are the main forces influencing the concentration process. Thereby, the incumbent companies mainly drove the consolidation process in Europe. The main reasons for the EU27 electricity and gas industry's internationalisation are an eased market access, advanced by privatisations and market liberalisation, growth orientation, as well as cartel restrictions due to high concentration. The corporate key strategies remain to achieve economies of scale and synergies, meanwhile, focussing on core competencies and the strategic fit. The companies had to struggle during the economic crisis due to decreasing demand, but developed unexpected opportunities from divestures and/or by regulatory restrictions.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Statistical characterization of evaluation strategies for fringe projection systems by means of a model-based noise prediction

For optical 3-D measurement systems, camera noise is the dominant uncertainty factor when optically cooperative surfaces are measured in a stable and controlled environment. In industrial applications repeated measurements are seldom executed for this kind of measurement system. This leads to statistically suboptimal results in subsequent evaluation steps as the important information about the quality of individual measurement points is lost. In this work it will be shown that this information can be recovered for phase measuring optical systems with a model-based noise prediction. The capability of this approach will be demonstrated exemplarily for a fringe projection system and it will be shown that this method is indeed able to generate an individual estimate for the spatial stochastic deviations resulting from image sensor noise for each measurement point. This provides a valuable tool for a statistical characterization and comparison of different evaluation strategies, which is demonstrated exemplarily for two different triangulation procedures

GPU-based raytracing for accelerating deflectometric asphere measurements

Deflectometry in transmission offers the ability to measure simultaneously the front and back surface geometries of transparent test specimen, while keeping their geometric relation. The acquired data consist of measured rays between a pattern generator and an image sensor. To obtain the 3-dimensinal geometry from the measurement data, a model-based evaluation method is used, which iteratively determines the lens parameters. For each iteration step, hundreds of thousands of light rays have to be traced through the model. This results in a calculation time in the dimension of one hour, which prevents the competitiveness of this measuring approach. In order to optimize the computation time parallelizing the raytracing calculations on graphics hardware seems promising. To achieve this task, NVIDIA OptiX, a high level raytracing API, is used to develop a ray tracer

Ergonomic risk factors analysis with multi-methodological approach: assessing workers’ activities in buildings under construction

El objetivo de este artículo es determinar un método de análisis de riesgos de tipo biomecánico basado en un estudio multimetodológico para instalaciones en edificios .Esta propuesta metodológica se basa en las discrepancias sobre las técnicas de analisis de riesgo aplicadas debido a la diferencias de los tipos y niveles de riesgo que los métodos proporcionan. Se analiza, por un lado, trastornos musculoesqueléticos, lesiones y daños y, por otro, los factores de riesgo a partir de la aplicación de diversas técnicas. Los datos recopilados cubren una muestra de 150 trabajadores en un alto edificio en construcción en España durante un período de 12 meses.La estrategia de investigación consiste en cinco pasos: En primer lugar, fueron identificadas actividades que son clasificadas en cinco grupos de trabajo. En segundo lugar, se aplicaron técnicas de observación directa para calcular el nivel de riesgo biomecánico. En tercer lugar, se utilizó una entrevista semi-estructurada entre la muestra de trabajadores a fin de obtener datos específicos sobre los trastornos musculoesqueléticos relacionados con el trabajo. En cuarto lugar, se analizaron lesiones ocupacionales mediante un análisis de diagnósticos médicos. En quinto lugar, se aplicó software de tipo ergonómico comparado con los métodos de observación directa. Los resultados de la investigación multimetodológica muestran que un enfoque por fases puede utilizarse para el contraste entre etapas, permitiendo un análisis más completo y comparado de resultados. Además, con el uso de diversas técnicas se pudo corroborar que en las actividades de construcción existe la necesidad de establecer mejoras sobre el análisis de procesos, en particular, a fin de disminuir las lesiones y daños corporales y promover el diseño de actividades a medida.The aim of this article is to determinate a biomechanical risk analysis method based on a multi-methodological study for highbuildings under construction. This aim bases on the discussion related to the discrepancies about the risk analysis technique applied due to the differences in terms of risk types and levels of risk that different methods provide. The research analyzes the known musculoskeletal disorders, injuries, damages and the biomechanical risk factors of workers in high-buildings under construction. The data collected covers a sample of 150 workers (men) in a high building under construction in Spain over a 12-months period. The research strategy consisted in the following five stages: Firstly, activities were identified and classified in five working groups. Secondly, the study applies techniques of direct observation to calculate the level of biomechanical risk. Thirdly, the semistructured interview conveyed approaches to obtain specific data about signs of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WRMSDs). Fourthly, the study discusses the occupational registered injuries by analysis of medical diagnoses. Fifthly, the software tools tested provide more details of direct observation techniques as the traditional forms to calculate the levels of biomechanical risk. The results of the multi-methodological research design illustrate a phased strategy may be contrasted between the stages and it allows a more complete evaluation in order to compare the results. The research findings indicate that activities in buildings have a strong need to improve the analysis of designing processes in order to determinate tailored processes and lessening bodily injuries and damages