Life-cycle cost analysis of an innovative marine dual-fuel engine under uncertainties

As innovative technologies are being deployed to accelerate shipping decarbonization in response to air emission regulations, there is considerable concern about the cost effectiveness of such technologies from a life-cycle perspective. This study conducts a life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) on an innovative marine dual-fuel engine under uncertainties, comparing the total life-cycle cost performance of such an engine with that of a conventional diesel engine. By proposing several economic Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as the Net Present Cost (NPC), the Net Saving (NS) and the Saving-to-Investment Ratio (SIR), the findings indicate that the dual-fuel engine is more cost-effective than the diesel engine under a given fuel price scenario. The uncertainties are meticulously treated by using scenario sensitivity analyses and a Monte Carlo simulation. The scenario sensitivity analyses reveal that the cost effectiveness of the dual-fuel engine is sensitive to the high gas price scenarios. It is uncovered from the Monte Carlo simulation that there is an adequate degree of confidence when opting for the dual-fuel engine. Furthermore, fuel prices are found to be the most influential cost driver. Different foreseeable carbon pricing scenarios are also simulated to show that the dual-fuel engine is still the most favorable option. Regardless of fuel prices and carbon pricing scenarios, the dual-fuel engine provides a considerable environmental benefit with a CO2 emission reduction potential of 33%. The findings of this study are of interest within the field of shipping investment appraisals and relevant to decision-makers (i.e. ship-owners and investors)

It is better to prevent than repair

Bachelor sykepleie 2013Denne bacheloroppgaven tar for seg hva vi legger i optimal sårtilheling, og hvor viktig livsstil er for god helling [sic] prosess. Vi vil konsentrer oss om venøse sår, da forskningen til Slagsvold og Stranden (2005) viser til at ca. 70 % av alle sår er venøse og det rammer den voksne befolkningen med 1 % i løpet av livet. Venøse sår oppstår når det er venøst dysfunksjon i underekstremitetene, og det ikke foreligger andre årsaker som arteriell insuffisiens, diabetes, vaskulitt eller malingnitet. Årsaken til venøs insuffisiens kan være medfødt eller for lite aktivitet. Vi har to forskjellige typer av venøs insuffisiens, som kalles refluks og hydrostatiske, der refluks er den vanligste årsaken. Ved refluks fungerer ikke klaffene som de skal. Klaffefeil resulterer i at tilbake strømningen ikke er optimal og det kan dermed oppstå trombose som følge av stillesittende eller stillestående arbeid over tid og overvekt. Blodet vil følge tyngdekraften å bli stående i beina, rundt ankelområdet. Over tid vil åreveggen utvide seg og klaffene vil miste sin funksjon. Dette er hovedårsaken til at det oppstår ødemer, staseeksem, skjelldannelse og venøse insuffisiens. Det å få konstanterer at det foreligger et venøst sår og ikke en annen type, blir gjort ved klinisk undersøkelse som inspeksjon og palpasjon objektiv undersøkelse med ultralyddoppler, pletysmografi, kar kirurgi, dermatologisk vurdering og eventuelt en vurdering av infeksjonen (Kristiansen & Sætre 2004; Lindholm, 2009). 1.1 Egn

Recent warming causes functional borealization and diversity loss in deep fish communities east of Greenland

Aim: We assessed temporal trends in functional diversity of the deep-sea demersal fish communities of East Greenland to characterize ecological responses to rising sea temperatures. Location: The study region encompasses a shelf and slope area located offshore between 63°N and 66°N, east of Greenland. Methods: A unique dataset of demersal fish abundance covering a depth range of 1500 m over 18 years was combined with a fish trait dataset which included a mix of quantitative and categorial traits that characterized species' morphology, feeding strategy, habitat, and life history. We analysed the species by trait matrix using principal component analysis (PCA). To investigate trait patterns across the communities (sites), community weighted mean (CWM) traits were calculated and analysed using PCA. Further, depth specific and temporal trends in functional diversity indices were calculated. Results: We found signs of a taxonomic and functional borealization, associated with a loss in functional diversity, down to 1000 m, characterized by an increase in mobile generalists and a decrease in bottom dwelling benthivores. Main conclusions: The increased dominance of boreal species traits was not sufficient to compensate for the loss of Arctic species traits leading to declining functional diversity. The decrease in functional diversity may negatively affect ecosystem robustness to environmental change. These responses are most likely not unique to this study area and call for more attention to ecosystem considerations in climate change management strategies in the deep-sea

A study of the characteristics and performance of hegde funds

Masteroppgave i økonomi og administrasjon - Universitetet i Agder 2008In this thesis we have examined the characteristics and performance of hedge funds. This is done in light of the expected liberalisation of hedge fund regulations in Norway. Our analysis is mainly of foreign hedge fund indices, but also of a few individual Norwegian hedge funds for a shorter period. Hedge funds are known for superior mean-variance characteristics. At first glance they do indeed appear attractive. However, when taking into account the often disregarded higher moments of the return distribution, characteristics of negative skewness and positive excess kurtosis are revealed. This should be taken into consideration when evaluating hedge fund performance, since it indicates extreme values of return. It is noteworthy though, that in the shorter period of our analysis, these characteristics have been reduced considerably. The objective of hedge funds is positive return regardless of market movements, and they could therefore serve well for portfolio diversification purposes. Our studies reveal a low to moderate correlation with traditional assets, and it seems to be lower in bear markets. Our observations also tell us that hedge funds are sensitive to extreme market conditions. Autocorrelation can cause undervaluation of the volatility of hedge fund returns. The presence of first order autocorrelation among some hedge fund strategies is evident. Consequently, we found overestimation of risk-adjusted performance measures, and it also affected correlation. Among individual Norwegian hedge funds, autocorrelation seems absent. Literature on hedge funds often focuses on the limitations of traditional performance measures. Using both traditional and innovative performance measures we find that hedge funds, in spite of their characteristics, are ranked higher than traditional asset classes. We also find that the performance ranking of the traditional and innovative measures do not differ considerable from each other. However, there are several aspects of consideration when analyzing hedge funds. One of the major limitations of the research in this field is caused by the hedge funds’ complex nature and lack of transparency. The absence of reliable and accurate data makes it difficult to draw definite conclusions

Cutting cost in service systems: Are you running with scissors?

A rigorous link between the domains of cost estimation, systems theory and accident investigation reveals fundamental epistemological limitations of commonly employed cost models when dealing with the characteristics of systems, particularly service systems, which may hinder the ability to take appropriate action for cost reductions.Key points:1.The ability to take action, in particular related to cost reductions in service systems, is strongly influenced by the understanding (epistemological assumptions) underlying a decision-support tool, in this case a cost estimate.2.There is a conflict in the underlying epistemological assumptions about what is and can be known in such a socio-technical system as a service system.3.A managerial perspective of cost estimation which neglects the essential characteristics of service systems may drive behaviour which is locally optimised but creates tension or failure at the system level.4.Cost cutting decisions that are based on a flawed understanding of the situation can lead to counter-intuitive outcomes for organisations; hence practical guidance is needed to help managers consciously consider the underlying epistemological assumptions in a given situation

A through-life costing methodology for use in product-service-systems

Availability-based contracts which provide customers with the use of assets such as machines, ships, aircraft platforms or subsystems like engines and avionics are increasingly offered as an alternative to the purchase of an asset and separate support contracts. The cost of servicing a durable product can be addressed by Through-life Costing (TLC). Providers of advanced services are now concerned with the cost of delivering outcomes that meet customer requirements using combinations of assets and activities via a Product Service System (PSS). This paper addresses the question: To what extent are the current approaches to TLC methodologically appropriate for costing the provision of advanced services, particularly availability, through a PSS? A novel methodology for TLC is outlined addressing the challenges of PSS cost assessment with regard to 'what?' (cost object), 'why/to what extent?' (scope and boundaries), and 'how?' (computations). The research provides clarity for those seeking to cost availability in a performance-orientated contractual setting and provides insight to the measures that may be associated with it. In particular, a reductionist approach that focuses on one cost object at a time is not appropriate for a PSS. Costing an advanced service delivered through a PSS is a problem of attributing the value of means to the economic activities carried out for specific ends to be achieved. Cost results from the interplay between monetary and non-monetary metrics, and uncertainties thereof. Whilst seeking to ensure generality of the findings, the application of TLC examined here is limited to a military aircraft platform and subsystems. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Estimating Cost Savings when Implementing a Product Platform Approach

Many market forces are driving companies to improve their targeting of increasingly small market niches. To accomplish this efficiently, products are organized into product families that typically share common platforms. To reorganize the current product offerings or new products into a product family, using a platform approach, requires estimating the savings for such a modification. One of the problems encountered in estimating development and design cost is the lack of availability of hard information during the initial design phases. The purpose of this paper is to estimate the design and development cost, when moving towards a platform approach, using simple models. The activity based product family cost models are developed from existing single product design activities, which are modified and extended to reflect activities related to development of product platform and subsequent product family members supported by the platform. Uncertainty related to cost associated with activities are included in the model, which is solved using Monte Carlo simulation. The approach is demonstrated using a hard disk drive spindle motor platform development for a family of hard disks.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Emerging IT risks: insights from German banking

How do German banks manage the emerging risks stemming from IT innovations such as cyber risk? With a focus on process, roles and responsibilities, field data from ten banks participating in the 2014 ECB stress test were collected by interviewing IT managers, risk managers and external experts. Current procedures for handling emerging risks in German banks were identified from the interviews and analysed, guided by the extant literature. A clear gap was found between enterprise risk management (ERM) as a general approach to risks threatening firms’ objectives and ERM’s neglect of emerging risks, such as those associated with IT innovations. The findings suggest that ERM should be extended towards the collection and sharing of knowledge to allow for an initial understanding and description of emerging risks, as opposed to the traditional ERM approach involving estimates of impact and probability. For example, as cyber risks emerge from an IT innovation, the focus may need to switch towards reducing uncertainty through knowledge acquisition. Since individual managers seldom possess all relevant knowledge of an IT innovation, various stakeholders may need to be involved to exploit their expertise

Current status of the algae production industry in Europe: an emerging sector of the Blue Bioeconomy

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