The role of reputation in cross-regional buyer-supplier cooperation in public procurement

Relevance. The relevance of this study is determined by the growing trend of implementing approaches from the private sector in managing public procurement, such as suppliers’ reputation assessment. Although the suppliers’ reputation factor is a topic of current interest, both in research and in public procurement practice, there are ongoing discussions on the effects of the reputation criterion usage in public procurement, and some aspects have been insufficiently studied.Purpose of the study. This study examines the role of suppliers’ reputation factor in terms of interregional cooperation between public buyers and suppliers at the micro and regional levels. Data and methods. The analysis is based on a survey of public buyers in Russia, revealing procurers’ orientation on suppliers’ reputation factor and their involvement in cross-regional cooperation for micro-level analysis. With the help of open data on public procurement contracts, a grouping of Russian regions by the share of suppliers from other regions is proposed. The combination of open data analysis and survey results is then used to explore the role of reputation in terms of interregional cooperation.Results. The analysis shows that a suppliers’ reputation factor is of particular importance when more than half of a buyers’ suppliers are from other regions. Also, suppliers’ reputation is of major significance for public buyers in regions that are more involved in contracting with suppliers from other regions. Thus, the importance of the suppliers’ reputation factor, in terms of interregional cooperation, is confirmed both at the micro level of procurers’ purchases and at the regional level.Conclusion. For effective management of contractual relationships in public procurement, it is important to understand the effects and the role of considering the reputation of suppliers. The study focused on one of the insufficiently explored aspects of suppliers’ reputation in public procurement. The results may be of interest both to regulators and direct procurement participants – public buyers and suppliers

The low-temperature expansion of the Casimir-Polder free energy of an atom with graphene

We consider the low-temperature expansion of the Casimir-Polder free energy for an atom and graphene by using the Poisson representation of the free energy. We extend our previous analysis on the different relations between chemical potential $\mu$ and mass gap parameter $m$. The key role plays the dependence of graphene conductivities on the $\mu$ and $m$. For simplicity, we made the manifest calculations for zero values of the Fermi velocity. For $\mu >m$ the thermal correction $\sim T^2$ and for $\mu < m$ we confirm the recent result of Klimchitskaya and Mostepanenko, that the thermal correction $\sim T^5$. In the case of exact equality $\mu =m$ the correction $\sim T$. This point is unstable and the system falls to the regime with $\mu >m$ or $\mu <m$. The analytical calculations are illustrated by numerical evaluations for the Hydrogen atom/graphene system.Comment: 12 page

Adaptation rules inducing synchronization of heterogeneous Kuramoto oscillator network with triadic couplings

A class of adaptation functions is found for which a synchronous oscillation mode exists in the network of phase oscillators with triadic couplings. It is shown that the destruction of the synchronous mode occurs differently for networks with pairwise couplings and with higher-order interactions. In the first case, a chimera state is realized. In the second case, the destruction of the synchronous state occurs more abruptly, and the chimera state is not formed. The patterns of formation of synchronization and desynchronization modes are determined

Complex approach in teaching russian language and literature: some approaches to the implementation of the national (federal) education standarts

The article describes the questions is raised how to form a competense in classroom literature. Comptence is seen as some integrated result including all the traditional educational findingsВ статье рассматривается вопрос о том, как формировать компетенции на уроках словесности. Компетентность рассматривается как некий интегрированный результат, включающий в себя все традиционные результаты образовани

Application of Standard ZET-algorithm for Gaps Filling in Wide Area Measurement System Data Assets

This article explores the application of Standard ZET-algorithm for gaps filling in Synchronized Phasor Measurement data assets received from Wide Area Measurement Systems. In spite of Synchronized Phasor Measurement data assets apparent advantages, they have gaps affecting the accuracy of solving power engineering tasks. Authors analyzed the reasons of gap occurrence in data assets, provided experiments with voltage and current data assets and collected the key points about application of Standard ZETalgorithm

The Casimir effect for stack of graphenes

We consider a stack of parallel sheets composed of conducting planes with tensorial conductivities. Using the scattering matrix approach, we derive explicit formulas for the Casimir energy of two, three, and four planes, as well as a recurrence relation for arbitrary planes. Specifically, for a stack of graphene, we solve the recurrence relations and obtain formulas for the Casimir energy and force acting on the planes within the stack. Moreover, we calculate the binding energy in the graphene stack with graphite interplane separation, which amounts to $E_{ib} = 9.9$ meV/atom. Notably, the Casimir force on graphene sheets decreases rapidly for planes beyond the first one. In particular, for the second graphene layer in the stack, the force is $35$ times smaller than that experienced by the first layer.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Using next generation sequencing to investigate the generation of diversity in the genus Begonia

Begonia is one of the most diverse genera on the planet, with a species count approaching 2000 and a distribution across tropics in South America, Africa and South East Asia. The genus has occupied a vast range of niches; many highly variable growth forms can be found across the distribution, and species exhibit very diverse morphologies, even in closely related species. A recent study has revealed a putative whole genome duplication (WGD) event in the evolutionary history of Begonia, which has prompted an interest in investigating the impact gene and genome duplication has had on the diversification of Begonia. To answer questions about phenotypic and ecological diversification in Begonia, two species from South America, B. conchifolia and B. plebeja were chosen as study species based on their close phylogenetic relationship and divergent ecology and phenotype. RNA-seq data for six tissues from B. conchifolia and B. plebeja was generated using the Illumina sequencing platform, and normalised relative expression data was obtained by mapping reads to transcripts predicted from the B. conchifolia draft genome. A bioinformatics pipeline was devised to compare expression profiles across 6 different tissues between duplicated gene pairs shared between B. conchifolia and B. plebeja. Gene duplicate pairs were selected as candidates if they showed divergent expression in one species but not in another. Such duplicate pairs are suggestive of neofunctionalization in one species, providing evidence of a potential basis for phenotypic divergence and diversification between B. conchifolia and B. plebeja. Two duplicate pairs were identified as showing such divergent expression patterns as well as being functionally ecologically relevant, Chalcone Synthase and 3-Ketoacyl-CoA synthase, involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis and wax biosynthesis respectively. Investigation of expression and duplication patterns in both gene families showed the candidate gene families to be strikingly different. While 3-Ketoacyl-CoA synthase showed deeper duplications shared with outgroup taxa, Chalcone Synthase appeared to be expanded very recently, with a burst of duplications specific to the genus. 3-Ketoacyl-CoA synthase showed examples of partitioned expression by tissue for different gene family members, with at least five members of the gene family being highly expressed in one or two tissues only. Chalcone Synthase, however, showed dominance of one basal gene family member. Other Chalcone Synthase members, though expressed at lower levels, showed some evidence of reciprocal silencing in B. plebeja, though this pattern was not observed in B. conchifolia. Further investigation of the Chalcone Synthase gene family revealed lineage specific duplication in B. plebeja, and more extensive differential duplication patterns were found across other South American Begonias. Additionally, signals of positive selection were found in two branches on the Chalcone Synthase phylogeny