Methodological issues in applying Location Models to Rural areas

Location Models are usedfor planning the location of multiple service centers in order to serve a geographicallydistributed population. A cornerstone of such models is the measure of distancebetween the service center and a set of demand points, viz, the location of thepopulation (customers, pupils, patients and so on). Theoretical as well asempirical evidence support the current practice of using the Euclidian distancein metropolitan areas. In this paper, we argue and provide empirical evidencethat such a measure is misleading once the Location Models are applied to ruralareas with heterogeneous transport networks. This paper stems from the problemof finding an optimal allocation of a pre-specified number of hospitals in alarge Swedish region with a low population density. We conclude that the Euclidianand the network distances based on a homogenous network (equal travel costs inthe whole network) give approximately the same optimums. However networkdistances calculated from a heterogeneous network (different travel costs indifferent parts of the network) give widely different optimums when the numberof hospitals increases.  In terms ofaccessibility we find that the recent closure of hospitals and the in-optimallocation of the remaining ones has increased the average travel distance by 75%for the population. Finally, aggregation the population misplaces the hospitalsby on average 10 km.

Comparison Of Demand Pattern Calibration In Water Distribution Networks With Geographic And Non-Geographic Parameterization

Demands are one of the most uncertain parameters in a water distribution network model. A good calibration of the model demands leads to better solutions when using the model for any purpose. A demand pattern calibration methodology that uses a priori information has been developed for calibrating the behaviour of demand groups. Generally, the behaviours of demands in cities are mixed all over the network, contrary to smaller villages where demands are clearly sectorised in residential neighbourhoods, commercial zones and industrial sectors. Demand pattern calibration has a final use for leakage detection and isolation. Detecting a leakage in a pattern that covers nodes spread all over the network makes the isolation unfeasible. Besides, demands in the same zone may be more similar due to the common pressure of the area rather than for the type of contract. For this reason, the demand pattern calibration methodology is applied to a real network with synthetic non-geographic demands for calibrating geographic demand patterns. The results are compared with a previous work where the calibrated patterns were also non-geographic.

Optimized Water Demand Management Through Intelligent Sensing And Analytics: The WISDOM Approach

New business and technology platforms are required to sustainably manage urban water resources [1,2]. However, any proposed solutions must be cognisant of security, privacy and other factors that may inhibit adoption and hence impact. The FP7 WISDOM project (funded by the European Commission - GA 619795) aims to achieve a step change in water and energy savings via the integration of innovative Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) frameworks to optimize water distribution networks and to enable change in consumer behavior through innovative demand management and adaptive pricing schemes [1,2,3]. The WISDOM concept centres on the integration of water distribution, sensor monitoring and communication systems coupled with semantic modelling (using ontologies, potentially connected to BIM, to serve as intelligent linkages throughout the entire framework) and control capabilities to provide for near real-time management of urban water resources. Fundamental to this framework are the needs and operational requirements of users and stakeholders at domestic, corporate and city levels and this requires the interoperability of a number of demand and operational models, fed with data from diverse sources such as sensor networks and crowsourced information. This has implications regarding the provenance and trustworthiness of such data and how it can be used in not only the understanding of system and user behaviours, but more importantly in the real-time control of such systems. Adaptive and intelligent analytics will be used to produce decision support systems that will drive the ability to increase the variability of both supply and consumption [3]. This in turn paves the way for adaptive pricing incentives and a greater understanding of the water-energy nexus. This integration is complex and uncertain yet being typical of a cyber-physical system, and its relevance transcends the water resource management domain. The WISDOM framework will be modeled and simulated with initial testing at an experimental facility in France (AQUASIM – a full-scale test-bed facility to study sustainable water management), then deployed and evaluated in in two pilots in Cardiff (UK) and La Spezia (Italy). These demonstrators will evaluate the integrated concept providing insight for wider adoption.

Bullied by Budgets, Pushed by Patrons, Driven by Demand: Libraries and Tantalizing Technologies

Libraries are caught in the middle—between static or shrinking budgets on one hand and ever-expanding user needs on the other. How did we get here, and where do we go from here? This paper will offer two perspectives: Part I will present survey results about changing Library purchasing habits in light of changing formats, access, business models and user demands. Data from a previous survey on this topic will be compared and updated. Pricing trends and possible futures will be discussed. Part II will briefly trace the history of libraries’ roles in scholarly communication and connecting learners with knowledge. From there, we show an example of phasing in a patron-driven / demand-driven and short-term loan e-book program, complete with incorporating these tools in library instruction, research, and portable device loadability for field work.

Expediting New Program Development: Meeting Market Demand and Leveraging Internal Resources

Expediting new program development can help universities meet student and employer demand while gaining an edge over competitors, but coordinating program development and approval requires careful preparation and execution. This report profiles strategies to measure market demand for new programs, choose programs for accelerated development, and leverage internal resources. The report also suggests ways to structure and staff program development to maximize speed and effectiveness.

Demanda por alimentos na Região Metropolitana de Porto Alegre : uma aplicação do Almost Ideal Demand System

Este trabalho utilizou os dados da Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares (POF) na Região Metropolitana de Porto Alegre (RMPA), realizada pelo Centro de Estudos e Pesquisas Econômicas (IEPE) da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), em 1995, para estimar um sistema de demanda por alimentos. Implementou-se o Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDs), proposto por Deaton e Muellbauer. Com base nos coeficientes estimados, calcularam-se as elasticidadespreço, preço-cruzadas e renda para dez subgrupos de alimentos.

On the differentiability of the consumer demand function

For strictly quasi concave differentiable utility functions, demand is shown to be differentiable almost everywhere if marginal utilities are pointwise Lipschitzian. For concave utility functions, demand is differentiable almost everywhere in the case of differentiable additively separable utility or in the case of quasi-linear utility.

On the consistency of arbitrary money-demand functions with the Sidrauski and the shopping-time models

This paper investigates which properties money-demand functions have to satisfy to be consistent with multidimensional extensions of Lucasí(2000) versions of the Sidrauski (1967) and the shopping-time models. We also investigate how such classes of models relate to each other regarding the rationalization of money demands. We conclude that money demand functions rationalizable by the shoppingtime model are always rationalizable by the Sidrauski model, but that the converse is not true. The log-log money demand with an interest-rate elasticity greater than or equal to one and the semi-log money demand are counterexamples.

A note on Chambers's "long memory and aggregation in macroeconomic time series"

Chambers (1998) explores the interaction between long memory and aggregation. For continuous-time processes, he takes the aliasing effect into account when studying temporal aggregation. For discrete-time processes, however, he seems to fail to do so. This note gives the spectral density function of temporally aggregated long memory discrete-time processes in light of the aliasing effect. The results are different from those in Chambers (1998) and are supported by a small simulation exercise. As a result, the order of aggregation may not be invariant to temporal aggregation, specifically if d is negative and the aggregation is of the stock type.

Capacidade de absorção e qualidade do emprego no setor de serviços

O crescimento do emprego no setor terciário - comercio e serviços - tem se configurado como uma tendência histórica. Há tempos este setor vem sendo o grande absorvedor da mão-de-obra liberada pelos demais ramos da economia. Será ele, porém, capaz de gerar empregos na medida exata para possibilitar tal absorção? E quanto à qualidade das vagas criadas? O presente trabalho objetiva fornecer uma resposta a tais questões. Para tanto, procede-se à minuciosa análise do setor terciário. O primeiro capítulo começa por elencar as características de um serviço e seus impactos para a mensuração do produto da atividade e do agregado em nível setorial. No segundo capítulo busca-se compreender a expansão da participação dos serviços no produto e no emprego da economia mundial. Cinco hipóteses poderiam explicar o fenômeno: elasticidade-renda da demanda superior à unidade, menor produtividade do trabalho no setor terciário, crescente integração entre indústria e serviços, maior demanda por serviços coletivos e, por fim, o papel de "colchão" social desempenhado pelo setor. O capítulo seguinte examina o caso brasileiro e conclui que o processo de urbanização desenfreada, bem como o agravamento. dos conflitos sociais demandaram uma política ativa de contratação de mão-de-obra por parte do Estado. Estes fatores fizeram com que o emprego terciário se expandisse, mas muitos migrantes podem ter sido relegados à execução de funções de baixa qualificação. Em função disso, o quarto e último capítulo analisa a qualidade dos postos de trabalho terciários na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo. Percebe-se a existência de um trade-off entre geração e qualidade do emprego. Enquanto os serviços especializados, de educação e saúde parecem os mais adequados para a aplicação de políticas de emprego, pois aliam postos de excelente qualidade e alguma capacidade de geração, 73% do emprego terciário da região encontra-se em ramos com vagas de baixa qualidade. E o que é pior: estes ramos foram responsáveis por 93% dos postos gerados no triênio 1995/97, o que representa grande preocupação para a "saúde" de nosso mercado de trabalho.

Estimativas para a elasticidade-preço da demanda por produtos siderúrgicos no Brasil

Essa dissertação apresenta estimativas para a elasticidade-preço da demanda por aço no Brasil, a partir de dados agregados e desagregados da indústria siderúrgica. Os resultados das estimativas a partir do painel com dados desagregados sugerem que existe um viés de agregação nas estimativas já realizadas a partir de dados agregados, e esse viés subestimaria a elasticidade-preço do setor siderúrgico. Com a finalidade de comparar as relações entre as elasticidades-preços de curto e longo prazo foram estimados painéis heterogêneos dinâmicos, através de estimadores Mean Group (MG) e Pooled Mean Group (PMG). É importante ressaltar que, de acordo com o conhecimento do autor, este é o primeiro estudo a usar estimação em painel para estimação da elasticidade-preço da demanda por produtos siderúrgicos no Brasil, dessa forma, controlando a estimativa pela heterogeneidade entre os tipos de aço.