Thermal Barrier Coatings for Low Emission, High Efficiency Diesel Engine Applications

Thermal efficiencies of 54% have been demonstrated by single cylinder engine testing of advanced diesel engine concepts developed under Department of Energy funding. In order for these concept engines to be commercially viable, cost effective and durable systems for insulating the piston, head, ports and exhaust manifolds will be required. The application and development of new materials such as thick thermal barrier coating systems will be key to insulating these components. Development of test methods to rapidly evaluate the durability of coating systems without expensive engine testing is a major objective of current work. In addition, a novel, low cost method for producing thermal barrier coated pistons without final machining of the coating has been developed

Agent and Broker Intermediaries in Insurance Markets - An Empirical Analysis of Market Outcomes

Insurance markets are characterized by profound market imperfections. Insurance intermediaries reduce transaction costs and information asymmetries. From transaction cost economics, agency theory, and law and economics literature the hypothesis is derived that insurance brokers may provide more high-quality information and advisory services which are better suited for the needs of the consumers than insurance agents. Empirical tests for German insurance intermediaries confirm this thesis. But there are also findings that structural factors like firm size, employment structure and degree of specialization may outweigh the incentives set by different legal settings

Operational Risk Assessment and Management in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Modern organizations have raised a need to actively and quickly react to the changes in external business environment, as well as in internal processes considering not only the present situation, but also evaluating possible changes and forecasting the future. Enterprise risk assessment and management, which is strongly related with foreseeing the uncertain future, becomes topical not only scientifically, but also practically seeking to reveal new and unique solutions. Operational risk management in small and medium enterprises, creating the largest part of value added in the whole European Union, demands a separate attention and coordinated decisions and means. The objective of the paper – to analyse the process of enterprise risk management in small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as to propose adequate risk management solutions for these companies. After performing a research, it was found out that small and medium enterprises more than big organizations require a risk management strategy and methodology, need to distinguish activity objectives and events influencing them, and they can efficiently apply a risk portfolio method to manage risk. In small and medium enterprises it is recommended to incorporate a risk management system based on COSO ERM model that can be modified depending on company needs and possibilities, turning it into less formal and structured and easily applicable. Įmonės veiklos rizikos vertinimas ir valdymas mažose ir vidutinėse įmonėse Santrauka Pažangių organizacijų veikloje atsirado poreikis aktyviai ir operatyviai reaguoti į pokyčius išorinėje verslo aplinkoje ir vidiniuose procesuose, atsižvelgiant ne tik į esamą padėtį, bet ir siekiant įvertinti galimus pokyčius, prognozuoti ateitį. Įmonės veiklos rizikos vertinimas ir valdymas, glaudžiai susijęs su neapibrėžtos ateities numatymu, tampa aktualus ne tik moksliniu požiūriu, bet ir praktiškai siekiant atrasti naujus ir unikalius sprendimus. Veiklos rizikos valdymas mažose ir vidutinėse įmonėse, kurios sukuria daugiausia pridėtinės vertės Europos Sąjungoje, reikalauja atskiro dėmesio ir suderintų sprendimų bei priemonių. Straipsnio tiks­las – išanalizuoti veiklos rizikos valdymo procesą mažose ir vidutinėse įmonėse, pasiūlyti šioms įmonėms tinkamus rizikos valdymo sprendimus. Atlikus tyrimą nustatyta, kad mažoms ir vidutinėms įmonėms labiau nei didelėms organizacijoms svarbu turėti rizikos valdymo strategiją ir metodiką, išskirti veiklos tikslus ir juos veikiančius įvykius, tikslinga pritaikyti rizikų portfelio metodą rizikai valdyti. Mažose ir vidutinėse įmonėse rekomenduojama diegti rizikos valdymo sistemą remiantis COSO ERM modeliu, kurią galima koreguoti atsižvelgiant į įmonės poreikius ir galimybes, paverčiant ją mažiau formalia ir struktūrizuota bei lengviau pritaikoma. Reikšminiai žodžiai: rizika,rizikos valdymas, rizikos analizė ir vertinimas, rizikos valdymo modelis, COSO ERM, ISO

Household Life Cycle Protection: Life Insurance Holdings, Financial Vulnerability, and Portfolio Implications

Using the Survey of Consumer Finances, we examine the life cycle demand for different types of life insurance. Specifically, we test for the consumer's aversion to income volatility resulting from the death of a household's wage-earner through the purchase of life insurance. We first develop a financial vulnerability index to control for the risk to the household. We then examine the life cycle demand for life insurance using several definitions of life insurance. We find, in contrast to previous research, that there is a relationship between financial vulnerability and the amount of term life or total life insurance purchased. In addition, we find older consumers use less life insurance to protect a certain level of financial vulnerability than younger consumers. Secondly, our study provides evidence that life insurance demand is jointly determined as part of a household's portfolio. Finally, we consider the impact of family members' nonmonetary contribution on the household's life cycle protection decision. Our results provide some evidence that households take into account the value of nonmonetary contribution in their insurance purchase. Copyright The Journal of Risk and Insurance, 2007.