Using forecasts to protect Federal facilities in the path of Hurricane Isabel

Hurricane Isabel made landfall as a Category 2 Hurricane on 18 September 2003, on the North Carolina Outer Banks between Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras, then coursed northwestward through Pamlico Sound and west of Chesapeake Bay where it downgraded to a tropical storm. Wind damage on the west and southwest shores of Pamlico Sound and the western shore of Chesapeake Bay was moderate, but major damage resulted from the storm tide. The NOAA, National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Sciences, Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research at Beaufort, North Carolina and the Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomedical Research Branch at Oxford, Maryland have hurricane preparedness plans in place. These plans call for tropical storms and hurricanes to be tracked carefully through NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) watches, warnings, and advisories. When a hurricane watch changes to a hurricane warning for the areas of Beaufort or Oxford, documented hurricane preparation plans are activated. Isabel exacted some wind damage at both Beaufort and Oxford. Storm tide caused damage at Oxford, where area-wide flooding isolated the laboratory for many hours. Storm tide also caused damage at Beaufort. Because of their geographic locations on or near the open ocean (Beaufort) or on or near large estuaries (Beaufort and Oxford), storm tide poses a major threat to these NOAA facilities and the safety of federal employees. Damage from storm surge and windblown water depends on the track and intensity of a storm. One tool used to predict storm surge is the Sea, Lake, and Overland Surges from Hurricanes (SLOSH) model of the NWS, which provides valuable surge forecasts that aid in hurricane preparation.

The Annual Economic Survey of Federal Gulf Shrimp Permit Holders: Report on the Design, Implementation, and Descriptive Results for 2006

This technical memorandum documents the design, implementation, data preparation, and descriptive results for the 2006 Annual Economic Survey of Federal Gulf Shrimp Permit Holders. The data collection was designed by the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Fisheries Science Center Social Science Research Group to track the financial and economic status and performance by vessels holding a federal moratorium permit for harvesting shrimp in the Gulf of Mexico. A two page, self-administered mail survey collected total annual costs broken out into seven categories and auxiliary economic data. In May 2007, 580 vessels were randomly selected, stratified by state, from a preliminary population of 1,709 vessels with federal permits to shrimp in offshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The survey was implemented during the rest of 2007. After many reminder and verification phone calls, 509 surveys were deemed complete, for an ineligibility-adjusted response rate of 90.7%. The linking of each individual vessel’s cost data to its revenue data from a different data collection was imperfect, and hence the final number of observations used in the analyses is 484. Based on various measures and tests of validity throughout the technical memorandum, the quality of the data is high. The results are presented in a standardized table format, linking vessel characteristics and operations to simple balance sheet, cash flow, and income statements. In the text, results are discussed for the total fleet, the Gulf shrimp fleet, the active Gulf shrimp fleet, and the inactive Gulf shrimp fleet. Additional results for shrimp vessels grouped by state, by vessel characteristics, by landings volume, and by ownership structure are available in the appendices. The general conclusion of this report is that the financial and economic situation is bleak for the average vessels in most of the categories that were evaluated. With few exceptions, cash flow for the average vessel is positive while the net revenue from operations and the “profit” are negative. With negative net revenue from operations, the economic return for average shrimp vessels is less than zero. Only with the help of government payments does the average owner just about break even. In the short-term, this will discourage any new investments in the industry. The financial situation in 2006, especially if it endures over multiple years, also is economically unsustainable for the average established business. Vessels in the active and inactive Gulf shrimp fleet are, on average, 69 feet long, weigh 105 gross tons, are powered by 505 hp motor(s), and are 23 years old. Three-quarters of the vessels have steel hulls and 59% use a freezer for refrigeration. The average market value of these vessels was $175,149 in 2006, about a hundred-thousand dollars less than the average original purchase price. The outstanding loans averaged $91,955, leading to an average owner equity of $83,194. Based on the sample, 85% of the federally permitted Gulf shrimp fleet was actively shrimping in 2006. Of these 386 active Gulf shrimp vessels, just under half (46%) were owner-operated. On average, these vessels burned 52,931 gallons of fuel, landed 101,268 pounds of shrimp, and received $2.47 per pound of shrimp. Non-shrimp landings added less than 1% to cash flow, indicating that the federal Gulf shrimp fishery is very specialized. The average total cash outflow was $243,415 of which $108,775 was due to fuel expenses alone. The expenses for hired crew and captains were on average $54,866 which indicates the importance of the industry as a source of wage income. The resulting average net cash flow is $16,225 but has a large standard deviation. For the population of active Gulf shrimp vessels we can state with 95% certainty that the average net cash flow was between $9,500 and $23,000 in 2006. The median net cash flow was $11,843. Based on the income statement for active Gulf shrimp vessels, the average fixed costs accounted for just under a quarter of operating expenses (23.1%), labor costs for just over a quarter (25.3%), and the non-labor variable costs for just over half (51.6%). The fuel costs alone accounted for 42.9% of total operating expenses in 2006. It should be noted that the labor cost category in the income statement includes both the actual cash payments to hired labor and an estimate of the opportunity cost of owner-operators’ time spent as captain. The average labor contribution (as captain) of an owner-operator is estimated at about $19,800. The average net revenue from operations is negative $7,429, and is statistically different and less than zero in spite of a large standard deviation. The economic return to Gulf shrimping is negative 4%. Including non-operating activities, foremost an average government payment of $13,662, leads to an average loss before taxes of $907 for the vessel owners. The confidence interval of this value straddles zero, so we cannot reject, with 95% certainty, that the population average is zero. The average inactive Gulf shrimp vessel is generally of a smaller scale than the average active vessel. Inactive vessels are physically smaller, are valued much lower, and are less dependent on loans. Fixed costs account for nearly three quarters of the total operating expenses of $11,926, and only 6% of these vessels have hull insurance. With an average net cash flow of negative $7,537, the inactive Gulf shrimp fleet has a major liquidity problem. On average, net revenue from operations is negative $11,396, which amounts to a negative 15% economic return, and owners lose $9,381 on their vessels before taxes. To sustain such losses and especially to survive the negative cash flow, many of the owners must be subsidizing their shrimp vessels with the help of other income or wealth sources or are drawing down their equity. Active Gulf shrimp vessels in all states but Texas exhibited negative returns. The Alabama and Mississippi fleets have the highest assets (vessel values), on average, yet they generate zero cash flow and negative $32,224 net revenue from operations. Due to their high (loan) leverage ratio the negative 11% economic return is amplified into a negative 21% return on equity. In contrast, for Texas vessels, which actually have the highest leverage ratio among the states, a 1% economic return is amplified into a 13% return on equity. From a financial perspective, the average Florida and Louisiana vessels conform roughly to the overall average of the active Gulf shrimp fleet. It should be noted that these results are averages and hence hide the variation that clearly exists within all fleets and all categories. Although the financial situation for the average vessel is bleak, some vessels are profitable. (PDF contains 101 pages)

Senado Federal e Terceirização: Estudo da Retenção de Talentos em Empresas Terceirizadas

Avalia a percepção de colaboradores e gestores das empresas terceirizadas pelo Senado Federal quanto à retenção de talentos, ou seja, a manutenção, no quadro destas empresas, de profissionais que se destacam e que merecem permanecer atuando em uma instituição legislativa. A metodologia contemplou a pesquisa bibliográfica sobre o tema “retenção de talentos”, bem como o estudo documental da relação entre Senado Federal e as empresas terceirizadas. Além disso, foi realizado levantamento por meio de questionário junto a 84 colaboradores das 15 empresas terceirizadas prestando serviços, atualmente, no Senado, bem como entrevistas com os gestores destas organizações. Os resultados apontaram para a contradição entre a percepção de colaboradores e gestores no que tange à retenção de talentos e a verificação de que inexistem medidas efetivas para que bons colaboradores sejam mantidos nas empresas, bem como a verificação de que não há percepção, por parte dos colaboradores, de que sejam valorizados pelas organizações terceirizadas.

Diagnóstico e Intervenção na Avaliação de Desempenho na Polícia do Senado Federal : Relatório de intervenção

Trata da avaliação de desempenho realizada na Secretaria de Polícia do Senado, analisando a atual situação em que tal processo avaliativo se dá, bem como propondo alternativas e críticas, com o objetivo de ações de melhorias

Análise do Fluxo Informacional da Tramitação de Medidas Provisórias na Coordenação de Elaboração de Autógrafos do Senado Federal e do Congresso Nacional : Relatório de Intervenção

Analisa os fluxos de informação relativos à tramitação de medidas provisórias na Coordenação de Elaboração de Autógrafos do Senado Federal e do Congresso Nacional, um órgão da estrutura do Senado

Análise de Fluxo Informacional da Delegacia Virtual da Polícia do Senado Federal : Relatório de Intervenção

Analisa a ferramenta Delegacia Virtual da Polícia do Senado Federal, disponibilizada por meio da Intranet da Instituição, com vistas a possibilitar o registro de ocorrências de maneira remota ao público interno.

Gestão da qualidade no Núcleo de TI da Polícia do Senado Federal: Como apurar a qualidade dos serviços prestados pelo núcleo de TI da Polícia Legislativa : Relatório de intervenção

tem como objeto os serviços prestados pelo Núcleo de TI da Polícia do Senado Federal e tem por escopo intervir na forma como esses serviços são avaliados, buscando aplicar aspectos da gestão da qualidade nessa mensuração.

Nova edição official do codigo criminal brasileiro de 1830 : ante-projecto, seguido do parecer sobre elle por uma commissão especial (e refutação do mesmo parecer) elaborado em 1889 pelo Advogado Dr. João Vieira de Araújo professor jubilado de direito, deputado federal e antigo Magistrado

Legislaturas: (1891-1893), (1897-1899), (1900-1905), (1906-1908), (1909-1911)

Legislação brasileira e programas do governo federal para o uso sustentável e a conservação de solos agrícolas

Consultoria Legislativa da Área X - Agricultura e Política Agrícola

Exame da compatibilidade e adequação orçamentária e financeira da emenda apresentada na CFT AO PL 6.243/2014 : Cria Funções Comissionadas do Departamento de Polícia Rodoviária Federal - FCPRF; e cria e extingue cargos em comissão do Grupo-Direção e Assessoramento Superiores - DAS e Funções Gratificadas

Avalia a compatibilidade e adequação orçamentária e financeira da Emenda 1/2013, de autoria do Deputado Arnaldo Jordy, apresentada na Comissão de Finanças e Tributação : CFT ao Projeto de Lei nº 6.243, de 2013

Arrecadação do Imposto de Renda e do Imposto sobre Produtos Industrializados e valores partilhados com estado, Distrito Federal e municípios

Estuda a arrecadação do Imposto de Renda – IR e do Imposto sobre Produtos Industrializados – IPI nos últimos seis anos, com a discriminação do montante que permanece nos cofres da União e dos valores partilhados com Estados, Distrito Federal e Municípios.

Gargalos do licenciamento ambiental federal no Brasil

Afirma que o licenciamento ambiental encontra-se atualmente em crise institucional e normativa. A falta de delimitação explícita de responsabilidades tem levado o instrumento a incorporar inúmeras funções que não lhe são típicas e tampouco próprias. Sem contar com um regramento unificado, o licenciamento perde a sua finalidade como instrumento para aferir os impactos, tornando-se cada vez mais uma prática cartorial, em prejuízo da proteção do meio ambiente.