Modeling the fiscal impacts caused by climate change

Aim of the paper: The purpose is to gather the practices and to model the impacts of climate change on fiscal spending and revenues, responsibilities and opportunities, balance and debt related to climate change (CC). Methodology of the paper: The methodology will distinguish fiscal cost of mitigation and adaptation, besides direct and indirect costs. It will also introduce cost benefit analyses to evaluate the propensity of policy makers for action or passivity. Several scenarios will be drafted to see the different outcomes. The scenarios shall contain the possible losses in the natural and artificial environment and resources. Impacts on public budget are based on damage of income opportunities and capital/wealth/natural assets. There will be a list of actions when the fiscal correction of market failures will be necessary. Findings: There will be a summary and synthesis of estimation models on CC impacts on public finances, and morals of existing/existed budgeting practices on mitigation. The model will be based on damages (and maybe benefits) from CC, adjusted with probabilities of scenarios and policy making propensity for action. Findings will cover the way of funding of fiscal costs. Practical use, value added: From the synthesis of model, the fiscal cost of mitigation and adaptation can be estimated for any developed, emerging and developing countries. The paper will try to reply, also, for the challenge how to harmonize fiscal and developmental sustainability.

Public price of climate change

Aim of the paper: The purpose is to gather the practices and to model the impacts of climate change on fiscal spending and revenues, responsibilities and opportunities, balance and debt related to climate change (CC). Methodology of the paper: The methodology will distinguish fiscal cost of mitigation and adaptation, besides direct and indirect costs. It will also introduce cost benefit analyses to evaluate the propensity of policy makers for action or passivity. Several scenarios will be drafted to see the different outcomes. The scenarios shall contain the possible losses in the natural and artificial environment and resources. Impacts on public budget are based on damage of income opportunities and capital/wealth/natural assets. There will be a list of actions when the fiscal correction of market failures will be necessary. Findings: There will be a summary and synthesis of estimation models on CC impacts on public finances, and morals of existing/existed budgeting practices on mitigation. The model will be based on damages (and maybe benefits) from CC, adjusted with probabilities of sce-narios and policy making propensity for action. Findings will cover the way of funding of fiscal costs. Practical use, value added: From the synthesis of model, the fiscal cost of mitigation and adaptation can be estimated for any developed, emerging and developing countries. The paper will try to reply, also, for the challenge how to harmonize fiscal and developmental sustainability.

Szolgálatosodás Nyugat-Európában és Magyarországon. Hol tartunk és merre haladunk? – Egy nemzetközi felmérés nyomán (Servitization in Western Europe and Hungary – Based on an international survey)

A szerző tanulmányában nyugat-európai és magyarországi termelővállalatok szolgálatosodását vizsgálta. A cél a szolgálatosodás mértékének és megtérülésének elemzése volt. A vizsgálatokat az IMSS kérdőíves felmérés adatain végezte el, stratégiai, operatív és eredményességi dimenziók mentén. Munkájában nemcsak Nyugat-Európa és Magyarország vállalatainak szolgálatosodásáról ad képet külön-külön, hanem az adatok közvetlen összehasonlításával megbízható összehasonlító elemzést is végzett a két térség között, melyet a tanulmány legfőbb hozzáadott értékének tekint. Nyugat-Európában a szolgáltatások kiemelkednek a versenycélok közül, míg Magyarországon gyenge helyezést érnek el a stratégiai prioritási sorrendben. Működési szinten mindkét helyen átlagosnak mondható a szolgáltatások nyújtását támogató akcióprogramokba fektetett erőfeszítés nagysága. Ez azonban nem feltétlenül mond ellent a stratégiai szintnek Nyugat-Európában, hiszen az is mondható, hogy a szolgáltatásokkal kapcsolatos programok nem zárják ki azt, hogy más területen is fejlesszenek (pl. lean programok). Az eredmények mindkét térségben a szolgálatosodás paradoxonát mutatják. ______ The paper focuses on the servitization of manufacturing companies in Western Europe and Hungary. The author's goal was to analyse the degree and the returns of servitization. The investigations were conducted using data of the IMSS, considering the dimensions of strategy, operations and returns. Besides giving a picture of the servitization of Western European and Hungarian companies, the paper also offers a reliable comparative analysis between the two regions, which can be considered as main value added of the paper. Services are among the most important competitive goals in Western Europe, but have a low ranking in Hungary. Regarding the operational level, programs supporting the offering of services are in the average in both places. This does not necessarily contradict the high strategic level in Western Europe, because we can say that programs related to servitization do not rule out improvement initiatives in other areas (e. g. lean programs). The service paradox is experienced in both territories.

A temporary loss of pace or the "middle income trap" - a commentary on the tasks for Hungary's economic development

The latest Hungarian economic growth data, though favourable, do not let us forget that in the longer term growth is weak compared to the preceding period – as well as to the performance of the East-Central European region, which is more dynamic than the European average. In order to make sense of the past decade’s relative loss of pace and lay the foundations for future development policy, it is worth placing Hungary’s case in the context of the slowing tempo typical of middle-income countries. The economic development policies currently pursued by the government are aimed at increasing output in the processing industry, and by extension exports, while relevant international experience advises that it is the higher value-added activities of the global value chain, particularly business services, which should be developed further. In this way real wages and income levels could be increased, and the economy would be less exposed to the fluctuations of international cycles.

Realization of Differentiated Quality of Service for Wideband Code Division Multiple Access Core Network

The development of 3G (the 3rd generation telecommunication) value-added services brings higher requirements of Quality of Service (QoS). Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) is one of three 3G standards, and enhancement of QoS for WCDMA Core Network (CN) becomes more and more important for users and carriers. The dissertation focuses on enhancement of QoS for WCDMA CN. The purpose is to realize the DiffServ (Differentiated Services) model of QoS for WCDMA CN. Based on the parallelism characteristic of Network Processors (NPs), the NP programming model is classified as Pool of Threads (POTs) and Hyper Task Chaining (HTC). In this study, an integrated programming model that combines both of the two models was designed. This model has highly efficient and flexible features, and also solves the problems of sharing conflicts and packet ordering. We used this model as the programming model to realize DiffServ QoS for WCDMA CN. ^ The realization mechanism of the DiffServ model mainly consists of buffer management, packet scheduling and packet classification algorithms based on NPs. First, we proposed an adaptive buffer management algorithm called Packet Adaptive Fair Dropping (PAFD), which takes into consideration of both fairness and throughput, and has smooth service curves. Then, an improved packet scheduling algorithm called Priority-based Weighted Fair Queuing (PWFQ) was introduced to ensure the fairness of packet scheduling and reduce queue time of data packets. At the same time, the delay and jitter are also maintained in a small range. Thirdly, a multi-dimensional packet classification algorithm called Classification Based on Network Processors (CBNPs) was designed. It effectively reduces the memory access and storage space, and provides less time and space complexity. ^ Lastly, an integrated hardware and software system of the DiffServ model of QoS for WCDMA CN was proposed. It was implemented on the NP IXP2400. According to the corresponding experiment results, the proposed system significantly enhanced QoS for WCDMA CN. It extensively improves consistent response time, display distortion and sound image synchronization, and thus increases network efficiency and saves network resource.^

Caracterização e separação física de placas de circuito impresso de computadores obsoletos

The unbridled consumption of electronic equipment associated with fast immersion of new technologies on the market leads to the accelerated growth of electronic waste. Such waste mostly contains printed circuit boards in its structure. Printed circuit boards have many metals, including heavy metals, being highly toxic. Electronic waste is discarded improperly and indiscriminately, usually without any previous treatment and with other municipal waste, contaminating the environment and causing serious problems to human health. Beyond these metals, there are also precious metals and high value-added basis, that can be recovered and recycled, reducing the exploration of natural resources. Thus, due to the high growth potential and reuse of these waste treatment processes, characterization and separation were applied to the printed circuit boards. The printed circuit boards were subjected to physical treatments such as dismantling, crushing, sizing separation, magnetic separation and chemical treatments such as pyrolysis and leaching. Through characterization process (pyrolysis and leaching) the proportions of the components of the granulometric range were determined: 46,08% of metals; 23,32% of polymers and 30,60% of ceramics. It was also observed by particle size separation that metal components tend to concentrate in coarse fractions, while polymeric and ceramic components in fine fractions. From the magnetic separation process was obtained 12,08% of magnetic material and 82,33% of non-magnetic material.

Mechanochemistry for Active Materials and Devices

The coupling of mechanical stress fields in polymers to covalent chemistry (polymer mechanochemistry) has provided access to previously unattainable chemical reactions and polymer transformations. In the bulk, mechanochemical activation has been used as the basis for new classes of stress-responsive polymers that demonstrate stress/strain sensing, shear-induced intermolecular reactivity for molecular level remodeling and self-strengthening, and the release of acids and other small molecules that are potentially capable of triggering further chemical response. The potential utility of polymer mechanochemistry in functional materials is limited, however, by the fact that to date, all reported covalent activation in the bulk occurs in concert with plastic yield and deformation, so that the structure of the activated object is vastly different from its nascent form. Mechanochemically activated materials have thus been limited to “single use” demonstrations, rather than as multi-functional materials for structural and/or device applications. Here, we report that filled polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomers provide a robust elastic substrate into which mechanophores can be embedded and activated under conditions from which the sample regains its original shape and properties. Fabrication is straightforward and easily accessible, providing access for the first time to objects and devices that either release or reversibly activate chemical functionality over hundreds of loading cycles.

While the mechanically accelerated ring-opening reaction of spiropyran to merocyanine and associated color change provides a useful method by which to image the molecular scale stress/strain distribution within a polymer, the magnitude of the forces necessary for activation had yet to be quantified. Here, we report single molecule force spectroscopy studies of two spiropyran isomers. Ring opening on the timescale of tens of milliseconds is found to require forces of ~240 pN, well below that of previously characterized covalent mechanophores. The lower threshold force is a combination of a low force-free activation energy and the fact that the change in rate with force (activation length) of each isomer is greater than that inferred in other systems. Importantly, quantifying the magnitude of forces required to activate individual spiropyran-based force-probes enables the probe behave as a “scout” of molecular forces in materials; the observed behavior of which can be extrapolated to predict the reactivity of potential mechanophores within a given material and deformation.

We subsequently translated the design platform to existing dynamic soft technologies to fabricate the first mechanochemically responsive devices; first, by remotely inducing dielectric patterning of an elastic substrate to produce assorted fluorescent patterns in concert with topological changes; and second, by adopting a soft robotic platform to produce a color change from the strains inherent to pneumatically actuated robotic motion. Shown herein, covalent polymer mechanochemistry provides a viable mechanism to convert the same mechanical potential energy used for actuation into value-added, constructive covalent chemical responses. The color change associated with actuation suggests opportunities for not only new color changing or camouflaging strategies, but also the possibility for simultaneous activation of latent chemistry (e.g., release of small molecules, change in mechanical properties, activation of catalysts, etc.) in soft robots. In addition, mechanochromic stress mapping in a functional actuating device might provide a useful design and optimization tool, revealing spatial and temporal force evolution within the actuator in a way that might also be coupled to feedback loops that allow autonomous, self-regulation of activity.

In the future, both the specific material and the general approach should be useful in enriching the responsive functionality of soft elastomeric materials and devices. We anticipate the development of new mechanophores that, like the materials, are reversibly and repeatedly activated, expanding the capabilities of soft, active devices and further permitting dynamic control over chemical reactivity that is otherwise inaccessible, each in response to a single remote signal.

Cooperative or collaborative learning: Is there a difference in university students’ perceptions?

The hypothesis that the same educational objective, raised as cooperative or collaborative learning in university teaching does not affect students’ perceptions of the learning model, leads this study. It analyses the reflections of two students groups of engineering that shared the same educational goals implemented through two different methodological active learning strategies: Simulation as cooperative learning strategy and Problem-based Learning as a collaborative one. The different number of participants per group (eighty-five and sixty-five, respectively) as well as the use of two active learning strategies, either collaborative or cooperative, did not show differences in the results from a qualitative perspective.

Waste Not, Want Not: Managing Perishables in Small and Medium Retail Enterprises

Purpose of this paper:
Recent literature indicates that around one third of perishable products finish as waste (Mena et al., 2014): 60% of this waste can be classified as avoidable (EC, 2010) suggesting logistics and operational inefficiencies along the supply chain. In developed countries perishable products are predominantly wasted in wholesale and retail (Gustavsson et al., 2011) due to customer demand uncertainty the errors and delays in the supply chain (Fernie and Sparks, 2014). While research on logistics of large retail supply chains is well documented, research on retail small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) capabilities to prevent and manage waste of perishable products is in its infancy (c.f. Ellegaard, 2008) and needs further exploration. In our study, we investigate the retail logistics practice of small food retailers, the factors that contribute to perishable products waste and the barriers and opportunities of SMEs in retail logistics to preserve product quality and participate in reverse logistics flows.

Design/methodology/approach:
As research on waste of perishable products for SMEs is scattered, we focus on identifying key variables that contribute to the creation of avoidable waste. Secondly we identify patterns of waste creation at the retail level and its possibilities for value added recovery. We use explorative case studies (Eisenhardt, 1989) and compare four SMEs and one large retailer that operate in a developed market. To get insights into specificities of SMEs that affect retail logistics practice, we select two types of food retailers: specialised (e.g. greengrocers and bakers) and general (e.g. convenience store that sells perishable products as a part of the assortment)

Findings:
Our preliminary findings indicate that there is a difference between large retailers and SME retailers in factors that contribute to the waste creation, as well as opportunities for value added recovery of products. While more factors appear to affect waste creation and management at large retailers, a small number of specific factors appears to affect SMEs. Similarly, large retailers utilise a range of practices to reduce risks of product perishability and short shelf life, manage demand, and manage reverse logistics practices. Retail SMEs on the other hand have limited options to address waste creation and value added recovery. However, our findings show that specialist SMEs could successfully minimize waste and even create possibilities for value added recovery of perishable products. Data indicates that business orientation of the SME, the buyersupplier relationship, and an extent of adoption of lean principles in retail coupled with SME resources, product specific regulations and support from local authorities for waste management or partnerships with other organizations determine extent of successful preservation of a product quality and value added recovery.

Value:
Our contribution to the SCM academic literature is threefold: first, we identify major factors that contribute to the generation waste of perishable products in retail environment; second, we identify possibilities for value added recovery for perishable products and third, we present opportunities and challenges for SME retailers to manage or participate in activities of value added recovery. Our findings contribute to theory by filling a gap in the literature that considers product quality preservation and value added recovery in the context of retail logistics and SMEs.

Research limitations/implications:
Our findings are limited to insights from five case studies of retail companies that operate within a developed market. To improve on generalisability, we intend to increase the number of cases and include data obtained from the suppliers and organizations involved in reverse logistics flows (e.g. local authorities, charities, etc.).

Practical implications:
With this paper, we contribute to the improvement of retail logistics and operations in SMEs which constitute over 99% of business activities in UK (Rhodes, 2015). Our findings will help retail managers and owners to better understand the possibilities for value added recovery, investigate a range of logistics and retail strategies suitable for the specificities of SME environment and, ultimately, improve their profitability and sustainability.

Letter from the Editors

[Excerpt] The Editorial Team is proud to release this 2016 14th Annual Volume of the Cornell Real Estate Review. This year’s issue explores a wide range of topics, including the deployment of new technologies in multifamily properties, the effects of autonomous vehicles on real estate, and the continued ramifications of the housing crisis through the legal tactics of certain mortgage lenders. Also included, a recent repositioning project– the unique turnaround of a former casino hotel property in Reno, Nevada. Furthermore, this release includes a discussion of value-added multifamily investment strategy, an analysis of the impact of rapid transit on the residential market in Hudson County, New Jersey, and a summary of federal affordable housing incentive programs in the United States. This year’s Pathways features an interview with Toll Brothers Division President Karl Mistry (Baker ’04), and the Baker Viewpoint piece explores the concept of curtailment mortgages.

Repositioning a Multifamily Asset

Multifamily investments, particularly value-added strategies, have been of keen interest to real estate investors for years now. Successful execution of a multifamily investment offers excellent risk-adjusted returns when compared to other classes of real estate such as industrial, retail, and office. From a volatility standpoint, multifamily enjoys relatively stable long-term cash flows with less downside risk during periods of recession due to stable tenancy in most major markets. The stability during downturns is also supported by the fact that recessions tend to make renters out of owners, increasing demand for apartments.

Second Quarter 2016: Slowdown for Large Hotels Continues; Small Hotels Have Now Slowed as Well

Our Standardized Unexpected Price (SUP) metric continues to show a decline in the price of large hotels, and now also the price of small hotels has eased—even though hotel transaction volume has increased. Although debt and equity financing for hotels remain relatively inexpensive, we are concerned that the total volatility of hotel returns is greater relative to the return volatility for other commercial real estate. If this trend continues, lenders will eventually start to tighten hotel lending standards. Our early warning indicators all continue to suggest that the downward trend in hotel prices should continue into the next quarter. This is report number 19 of the index series.

Third Quarter 2016: Hotels Exhibit Positive Momentum

Our Standardized Unexpected Price (SUP) metric showed an uptick in the price of large hotels during the third quarter of 2016, with a continued decline in the price of small hotels. Although debt and equity financing for hotels were still relatively inexpensive during this quarter, we remain concerned that the increasing relative riskiness of hotels compared to other commercial real estate suggests that lenders will eventually start to tighten hotel lending standards if this trend continues. Our early warning indicators continue to suggest an eventual downward trend in large hotel prices. This is report number 20 of the index series.

The Role of the Ocean Economy in the National Income Accounts of Indonesia

This paper presents the role of the Ocean Economy in the National Income Accounts of Indonesia including the concept and methodology used to estimate the contribution of this ecosystem to Indonesian value added. Currently, the national income account of Indonesia only recognizes the fishery sector. Fishery activities have been considered as one of the sub-sectors of agricultural sector together with sub-sectors of farm food crops, plantation or non-food crops, forestry, and livestock. There are some drawbacks in the concept of national income accounts, since it follows the UN system of national accounts (SNA) that recognize only economic sectors or activities which produce the value added, while it does not recognize the ecosystems such as lakes and river ecosystems, forests as well as terrestrial and ocean ecosystems as production sectors. The present concept of the SNA produces an undervaluation of forest and ocean sectors, which in turn may direct the policy makers to have a tendency to deplete the forestry and fishery resources in order to increase the contribution of those two sectors to the national income accounts. Otherwise, the two sectors will be allocated small national budget for their operations. Therefore the paper concludes that a new concept of national income accounts based on ecosystem products and services to be developed, as a satellite account to the national income account is needed. Furthermore the new concept of national income account for the ocean economy should adopt the UN System of Environmental and Economic Accounts, which takes into account the extractive and non-extractive products as environmental and biological services in to the ocean income account. The new concept of ocean accounting based on both extractive and non-extractive products instead of only based on the extractive one which have market values may guarantee the sustainability of the ocean in particular and will be good for the whole economy of the country in generally. Hence the national income accounts of the ocean economy will show how the blue economy or the ocean economy really function as one of the important sectors for the whole economy of the country.

Wertorientierte Unternehmensführung am Beispiel der DAX-30-Unternehmen – Qualitative und quantitative Auswertung auf Grundlage der externen Geschäftsberichterstattung

Eine wertorientierte Unternehmensführung hat in den letzten Jahren in den Unternehmen zunehmend an Bedeutung gewonnen. Wertorientierung stellt dabei ein Führungsverhalten dar, welches sich mit der Gestaltung und Realisierung von wertorientierten Zielen auf Managementebene beschäftigt. Heutzutage lebt Wertorientierung vom Einklang aus ökonomischen, ökologischen und gesellschaftlichen Gesichtspunkten. Die vorliegende Masterarbeit befasst sich mit der Geschäftsberichtsanalyse der DAX-30-Unternehmen hinsichtlich wertorientierter Steuerung. Dabei werden Unternehmen hinsichtlich ihres Bekenntnisses zur Wertorientierung, Veröffentlichung wertorientierter Kennzahlen und Höhe der Kapitalkostensätze untersucht.Hierbei kommt der Vergleichbarkeit und Transparenz eine entscheidende Rolle zu. Die Untersuchung ergibt ein hohes Bekenntnis zur Wertorientierung in nahezu allen betrachteten DAX-Unternehmen. Die Unternehmen führen viele Spitzenkennzahlen an, die vorwiegend auf dem Economic Value Added basieren. Zusätzlich werden eine Reihe weiterer, in der betrieblichen Praxis als wertorientierte Kennzahlen genutzte Messgrößen, herausgegeben. Eine Vergleichbarkeit untereinander gestaltet sich sehr schwierig, da Berechnung und Bezeichnung gleicher Kennzahlen sehr unterschiedlich sind. Daran wird sich ohne einheitlichen Standard in naher bis mittelfristiger Zukunft nichts ändern.