Interest, usury and time: a comment1

In this comment it is argued that the paper titled "Interest, usury and time" by J. Tiemstra shows a misunderstanding of the role of interest as remuneration of the production factor capital, as well as the fact that interest also implies the price paid for money as a commodity. This misunderstanding by some Christian economists may sometimes be ascribed to the fact that they still believe there is some validity in the Scholastic views on interest. The distinction between nominal and real prices (interest) for money also becomes a problem when monetary policy is examined. In this comment views on interest and usury will be discussed briefly and then some o f the statements that Tiemstra made in his paper will be dealt with

Where have all the designers gone?

For many years we have heard the call for more design professionals and, importantly, more recognition and certification within the sector. However, the recent global financial crisis has had catastrophic effects on the availability of design resources. Typically, significant downsizing has occurred and design and development professionals have been the first to go. In an effort to save money many companies have adopted a strategy based on extending current product life cycles, as opposed to stimulating depressed markets with new products. Some commentators are suggesting that the downturn has gone as low as it will and the upturn is just around the corner. \u27Just hold on for a few more weeks,\u27 may be the message to businesses, but on the upturn, what will differentiate one organisation from the other? The simple answer, as always, is design, but critical questions are now being framed, because there is concern that many of the classical models of business, supply and availability of resource may not apply in the new world economy

Reconfiguration of Operational Relationships Post the Current Global Economic Crisis

It is likely that classical models of strategic alliances may not be applicable moving forward into the new world economy post the current economic crisis. Traditional business models have considered each part of the business process in isolation, typically finance is remote from new product development, product development is remote from supply chain and operations etc. Prior to the economic crisis it was not unusual to see typical traditional silos within an organization never meeting, posing the question that if internal relationships were never fully forged how could a strong external strategic alliance be built and maintained? Furthermore, this silo based approach seems to have been more prevalent in government and not for profit organizations where clear lines of departmental demarkation have remained the mainstay of management practice throughout the generations of stewardship. This article discusses the principle models of dip dynamics and sustainable dependency interaction in the light of developing strategic alliances within the new world economy. Furthermore, the article will argue that it is in everybody\u27s best interest to maintain an environment of fiscal and environmental well being. By drawing on global research, a new roadmap is offered for all parties involved in the reconfiguration of their strategic alliances

Editorial

Professor Annette Combrink can truly be seen as a “first lady”. She made history by being the first woman on various commissions, committees, and societies, as well as being the first female Dean and Rector of the Potchefstroom campus of the North-West University. Furthermore, she was also the first female editor-in-chief of Koers. Of the eight editors, in the 70 years of Koers’ existence, Annette Combrink served 21 years

Characterization of Storm Events Using an Automated Sampler

The goal of this research was to evaluate the use of an automated sampler in profiling concentrations of deicing agents in stonnmnoff at a research site in Plymouth, MA. The Massachusetts Highway Department applies a combination of deicing agents in the form of salt, premix and calcium magnesium acetate (CMA) to an 830 m long stretch of State Route 25 during the months of November to April when driving conditions are hazardous. Portions of the applied deicing agents applied are left behind in a depression storage layer which was found to be 2.67 mm. The depression storage layer govems the dissolution kinetics of deicing agents into runoff over the year. Precipitation, runoff and specific conductivity data for stonns over a 4 year period (2001-2004) were used in developing a sampling strategy for an ISCO 6712 automated sampler with 24 available samples. The best sampling rule for a yearly sampling strategy was found to be split into two parts. The first with five samples to capture the first flush at time steps of 15 minutes, while the second part of the mle has 19 samples following completion of the first part of the rule which were taken at 65 minute intervals. The error between the flux for the stonn and the flux captured by the sampling rule was 37%.· Dividing the sampling strategy into summer and winter seasons provided better results with more samples needed to profile first flush in the winter [11 samples - time sp~cing (Ll.t) of 20 min] compared to\u27 fewer samples needed for the summer (5 samples - t.t 10 min). The second part of the rule for both summer and winter had time between samples taken of greater than an hour; errors decreased fi\u27om the yearly sampling. Differences between the flux were-34% for winter sampling and 38% for summer sampling. The results of this rule were used in successive sample collection using the automated sampler. Samples collected by the automated sampler were evaluated for cations and anions studied (HCO]-, Acetate ,cr ,S04-2 ,Na+ ,K+ ,Ca+2 ,Mg+2 ). Amounts of deicing agents were predicted from the observed concentrations of ions showing that maximum concentrations of deicing agents occurred in winter runoff. Sodium and chloride ions dominate the ionic. species in the runoff throughout the year. This is shown in the source strength predicted by the loadograph model (average - 1.26 x 10-7 kg/m2-s) and shown by the graphs of storm events. CMA and premix concentrations persist in significantly less quantities in stolm runoff throughout the year. Models of runoff and cr flux were developed using a one parameter Nash instantaneous unit hydro graph (IUH). Runoff was calibrated for storm events from 2004 using a Fibonacci search to find the mnoff decay constant for the study site. Optimum parameters of 1 linear reservoir and a mnoff decay constant of 7.79 x 10-4 S-I were found.. The chloride loadograph model. was calibrated using a two parameter Fibonacci search for the decay constant and the source term. The runoff decay constant for the loadograph was 9.51 x 10-4 S-I comparable tothat found for the hydrograph. The chloride source strength decreased with time varying between 2.17 x 10\u279 in March to 7.42 X 10-7 kg/m2_s in early December with the highest cr source term obselved during deicing agent application. An initial high ion loading rate was observed during the first flush· followed by a slower progressive linear trend for the remaining portion of the event that was sampled. These trends decreased with successive events over the year

An identification of the current constraints of knowledge business modelling as a strategic decision making tool

Business models are widely used and it might be argued, have an important role to play in assisting users to develop, plan and analyse their organisations better. Typically, many business models are however poorly understood and executed by their users. This often leads to inappropriate decision making and the wrong strategic direction being implemented. There are complex and interrelated factors for the poor execution of business modelling, however, some of the key influencing factors include, lack of training, a disassociation of the graphical representation from the narrative, and the lack of formal rules in the use of the business models. Current work has focused on establishing the first principle of novel knowledge business models, where it is proposed that a rules based system, can be employed to deliver stronger and more meaningful outcomes for users. This paper represents a current work in progress and discusses the current constraints on the establishment of knowledge business models, and it also discusses the first experimentation into the development of three-dimensional business modelling as a possible means of overcoming some of the constraints

A comparison of theory and practice in market intelligence gathering for Australian micro-businesses and SMEs

Recent government sponsored research has demonstrated that there is a gap between the theory and practice of market intelligence gathering within the Australian micro, small and medium businesses (SMEs). Typically, there is a significant amount of information in literature about 'what needs to be done', however, there is little insight in terms of how market intelligence gathering should occur. This paper provides a novel insight and a comparison between the theory and practices of market intelligence gathering of micro-business and SMEs in Australia and demonstrates an anomoly in so far as typically the literature does not match what actually occurs in practice. A model for market intelligence gathering for micro-businesses and SMEs is also discussed

A comparison of theory and practice in market intelligence gathering for Australian micro-businesses and SMEs

Recent government sponsored research has demonstrated that there is a gap between the theory and practice of market intelligence gathering within the Australian micro, small and medium businesses (SMEs). Typically, there is a significant amount of information in literature about 'what needs to be done', however, there is little insight in terms of how market intelligence gathering should occur. This paper provides a novel insight and a comparison between the theory and practices of market intelligence gathering of micro-business and SMEs in Australia and demonstrates an anomoly in so far as typically the literature does not match what actually occurs in practice. A model for market intelligence gathering for micro-businesses and SMEs is also discussed

Bedingungsloses Grundeinkommen

Um was geht es beim Bedingungslosen Grundeinkommen? Und weshalb ist es auch ein Thema der Philosophie? Sollte die Gesellschaft grundsätzlich hinterfragen, was unter dem Begriff „Arbeit“ zu verstehen ist? Würde das Grundeinkommen Gerechtigkeit ermöglichen oder verunmöglichen