Forecasting of principal directions of Ukrainian insurance market development based on German insurance market indices

The basic aspects of German and Ukrainian insurance markets development are addressed in this paper. Also, their interrelationships are considered based on the forecasting of most relevant descriptions of insurance activity given the time lag. To this end, correlative-regressive analysis is employed. This approach makes it possible to predict the basic aspects of domestic insurance markets activity directions

Issues of Intruder Analytical Model Applicability for Evaluating an Efficiency of Security Systems

Physical protection system (PPS) is created at a nuclear object to prevent unauthorized acts regarding to nuclear materials, nuclear installations, points of storage of nuclear materials and other items under physical protection. The ability of the PPS to prevent unauthorized actions of intruder was adopted as the main criterion for evaluating the efficiency of the physical protection system. The article considers the possibility of creation of the intruder analytical model to determine time indicators of overcoming boundaries of protection of nuclear object by an intruder with set features

Forecasting of principal directions of Ukrainian insurance market development based on German insurance market indices

The basic aspects of German and Ukrainian insurance markets development are addressed in this paper. Also, their interrelationships are considered based on the forecasting of most relevant descriptions of insurance activity given the time lag. To this end, correlative-regressive analysis is employed. This approach makes it possible to predict the basic aspects of domestic insurance markets activity directions

State tax policy of insurance companies on different stages of insurance market development

Peculiarities of taxation of insurance companies in Ukraine and Europe have been researched. Methodological principles determining the optimal level of tax burden for insurers, depending on the level of national insurance market development have been proposed. The forms of constructive and destructive effects of taxes on insurance companies functioning in the stages of development of the insurance market have been established. Keywords: insurance companies, tax, tax burden, income tax, optimization, mathematical formalizatio

Analysis of insurance market structure and dynamics in Ukraine, Russia and countries members of European insurance and reinsurance federation (СЕА)

The dynamics of insurance companies amount in Ukraine, Russia and СЕА for period from 2001 to 2008 years, the tendency of internal insurance market changes, analysis of the largest foreign groups represented in equity of the Ukrainian insurance companies are stressed in the articl

Preauricular sinus: Incidence and inheritance

Introduction: The preauricular sinus (PAuS) is a malformation of the auricula pinna. The structure may present isolated or as a component of a number of oto-renal syndromes.Aim:  The aim of this study was to establish the incidence of PAuS in a Bulgarian cohort and propose a model for its inheritance, based on the transgenerational mechanisms derived from the genealogic trees of interviewed individuals.Materials and Methods: A total of 100 healthy individuals were prospectively evaluated for the presence of a PAuS on a random cohort sampling principle. A descriptive statistical approach was used when categorizing the individual features. Individuals were also assessed in terms of their genealogies and presence of renal symptoms.Results: Of all assessed individuals, 3% (n=3) had a structure complying with the criteria for a PAuS. No one having the structure reported renal symptoms. The genealogical trees were characteristic of a dominant trait with incomplete penetrance.Conclusion: The incidence of PAuS in our study cohort is similar to that of other Caucasian cohorts and gives a rare modern glimpse into the transgenerational inheritance of the PAuS, together with data on the oto-nephrological syndromes

Graphene-based photonic crystal

A novel type of photonic crystal formed by embedding a periodic array of constituent stacks of alternating graphene and dielectric discs into a background dielectric medium is proposed. The photonic band structure and transmittance of such photonic crystal are calculated. The graphene-based photonic crystals can be used effectively as the frequency filters and waveguides for the far infrared region of electromagnetic spectrum. Due to substantial suppression of absorption of low-frequency radiation in doped graphene the damping and skin effect in the photonic crystal are also suppressed. The advantages of the graphene-based photonic crystal are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Оцінка ризиків використання банківських груп у тіньових операціях

Наведено результати аналізу показників, які характеризують ризики використання банківських груп у тіньових схемах. За результатами кластерного аналізу сформовано чотири кластери банківських груп. Це дозволить у подальшому більш системно та обґрунтовано проводити компаративний аналіз показників банківських груп на предмет виявлення спільних якісних і кількісних характеристик, що описуватимуть їхні ризики участі в нелегальних операціях. На другому етапі методом головних компонент виявлено показники, які найбільш істотно впливають на потенційні ризики участі банківських груп у тіньових операціях. На третьому етапі сформовано статистично значущу регресійну модель, що підтверджує вплив кількості фінансових установ у складі банківської групи і загальної кількості учасників банківської групи на потенційний ризик використання банківських груп у тіньових операціях. Отримані результати в подальшому можуть також використовуватись для формування інтегральної оцінки потенційного ризику використання банківських груп у тіньових операціях, а також для поліпшення банківського наглядуПриведены результаты анализа показателей, характеризующих риски использования банковских групп в теневых схемах. По результатам кластерного анализа сформированы четыре кластера банковских групп. Это позволит в дальнейшем более системно и обоснованно проводить компаративный анализ показателей банковских групп на предмет выявления общих качественных и количественных характеристик, описывать их риски участия в нелегальных операциях. На втором этапе методом главных компонент обнаружено показатели, которые наиболее существенно влияют на потенциальные риски участия банковских групп в теневых операциях. На третьем этапе сформирован статистически значимую регрессионную модель, что подтверждает влияние количества финансовых учреждений в составе банковской группы и общей количества участников банковской группы на потенциальный риск использования банковских групп в теневых операциях. Полученные результаты в дальнейшем могут также использоваться для формирования интегральной оценки потенциального риска использования банковских групп в теневых операциях, а также для улучшения банковского надзораIn a market economy, financial intermediaries become direct or indirect participants in most shadow schemes. Taking to account the bank-centric nature of the Ukrainian financial sector, banks and banking groups are a critical element of shadow operations. The article presents the analysis of indicators that characterize the risks of using banking groups in shadow schemes. According to the results of cluster analysis, four clusters of banking groups were formed. This will allow a more systematic and reasonable analysis of the performance of banking groups to identify common qualitative and quantitative characteristics that will describe their risks of participation in illegal transactions. In the second stage, the principal components method revealed the indicators that most significantly affect the potential risks of participation of banking groups in shadow operations. Such indicators include the number of financial institutions in the group, the residency of the group controllers, and the total number of group members. At the third stage, a statistically significant regression model was formed, which confirms the influence of the number of financial institutions in the banking group and the total number of banking group members on the potential risk of using banking groups in shadow operations. The obtained results can be further used to form an integrated assessment of the potential risk of using banking groups in shadow operations and improve banking supervision

Why Don't We Ask? A Complementary Method for Assessing the Status of Great Apes

Species conservation is difficult. Threats to species are typically high and immediate. Effective solutions for counteracting these threats, however, require synthesis of high quality evidence, appropriately targeted activities, typically costly implementation, and rapid re-evaluation and adaptation. Conservation management can be ineffective if there is insufficient understanding of the complex ecological, political, socio-cultural, and economic factors that underlie conservation threats. When information about these factors is incomplete, conservation managers may be unaware of the most urgent threats or unable to envision all consequences of potential management strategies. Conservation research aims to address the gap between what is known and what knowledge is needed for effective conservation. Such research, however, generally addresses a subset of the factors that underlie conservation threats, producing a limited, simplistic, and often biased view of complex, real world situations. A combination of approaches is required to provide the complete picture necessary to engage in effective conservation. Orangutan conservation (Pongo spp.) offers an example: standard conservation assessments employ survey methods that focus on ecological variables, but do not usually address the socio-cultural factors that underlie threats. Here, we evaluate a complementary survey method based on interviews of nearly 7,000 people in 687 villages in Kalimantan, Indonesia. We address areas of potential methodological weakness in such surveys, including sampling and questionnaire design, respondent biases, statistical analyses, and sensitivity of resultant inferences. We show that interview-based surveys can provide cost-effective and statistically robust methods to better understand poorly known populations of species that are relatively easily identified by local people. Such surveys provide reasonably reliable estimates of relative presence and relative encounter rates of such species, as well as quantifying the main factors that threaten them. We recommend more extensive use of carefully designed and implemented interview surveys, in conjunction with more traditional field methods