Changes in the Determinants of Female Labour Supply in the US between 1981 and 1992.

Rapport de recherche

The Efficient Use of Multiple Sources of a Nonrenewable Resource under Supply Cost Uncertainty

Uncertainties as to future supply costs of nonrenewable natural resources, such as oil and gas, raise the issue of the choice of supply sources. In a perfectly deterministic world, an efficient use of multiple sources of supply requires that any given market exhausts the supply it can draw from a low cost source before moving on to a higher cost one; supply sources should be exploited in strict sequence of increasing marginal cost, with a high cost source being left untouched as long as a less costly source is available. We find that this may not be the efficient thing to do in a stochastic world. We show that there exist conditions under which it can be efficient to use a risky supply source in order to conserve a cheaper non risky source. The benefit of doing this comes from the fact that it leaves open the possibility of using it instead of the risky source in the event the latter’s future cost conditions suddenly deteriorate. There are also conditions under which it will be efficient to use a more costly non risky source while a less costly risky source is still available. The reason is that this conserves the less costly risky source in order to use it in the event of a possible future drop in its cost.

Droit du transport intermodal international de marchandises : une perspective « supply chain management ».

La thèse propose d’introduire une perspective globale dans le traitement juridique du transport intermodal international qui prendrait racine dans la stratégie logistique des entreprises. La conception juridique se heurte, en effet, aux évolutions opérationnelles et organisationnelles des transports et aboutit à une incertitude juridique. Les transporteurs ont dû s’adapter aux exigences d’optimisation des flux des chargeurs dont les modes de production et de distribution reposent sur le supply chain management (SCM). Ce concept est le fruit de la mondialisation et des technologies de l’information. La concurrence induite par la mondialisation et le pilotage optimal des flux ont impulsé de nouvelles stratégies de la part des entreprises qui tentent d’avoir un avantage concurrentiel sur le marché. Ces stratégies reposent sur l’intégration interfonctionnelle et interoganisationnelle. Dans cette chaîne logistique globale (ou SCM) l’intermodal est crucial. Il lie et coordonne les réseaux de production et de distribution spatialement désagrégés des entreprises et, répond aux exigences de maîtrise de l’espace et du temps, à moindre coût. Ainsi, le transporteur doit d’une part, intégrer les opérations de transport en optimisant les déplacements et, d’autre part, s’intégrer à la chaîne logistique du client en proposant des services de valeur ajoutée pour renforcer la compétitivité de la chaîne de valeur. Il en découle une unité technique et économique de la chaîne intermodale qui est pourtant, juridiquement fragmentée. Les Conventions internationales en vigueur ont été élaborées pour chaque mode de transport en faisant fi de l’interaction entre les modes et entre les opérateurs. L’intermodal est considéré comme une juxtaposition des modes et des régimes juridiques. Ce dépeçage juridique contraste avec la gestion de la chaîne intermodale dont les composantes individuelles s’effacent au profit de l’objectif global à atteindre. L’on expose d’abord l’ampleur de l’incertitude juridique due aux difficultés de circonscrire le champ d’opérations couvert par les Conventions en vigueur. Une attention est portée aux divergences d’interprétations qui débouchent sur la « désunification » du droit du transport. On s’intéresse ensuite aux interactions entre le transport et la chaîne logistique des chargeurs. Pour cela, on retrace l’évolution des modes de production et de distribution de ces derniers. C’est effectivement de la stratégie logistique que découle la conception de la chaîne intermodale. Partant de ce système, on identifie les caractéristiques fondamentales de l’intermodal. La thèse aboutit à dissiper les confusions liées à la qualification de l’intermodal et qui sont à la base des divergences d’interprétations et de l’incertitude juridique. De plus, elle met en exergue l’unité économique du contrat de transport intermodal qui devrait guider la fixation d’un régime de responsabilité dédié à ce système intégré de transport. Enfin, elle initie une approche ignorée des débats juridiques.

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT IN INDIAN PETROLEUM REFINING INDUSTRY

Model development for selection of location for refinery in India and identification of characteristics to be looked into when configuring it and to develop models for integrated supply chain planning for a refinery. Locating and removing inbound, internal and outbound logistic problems in an existing refinery and overall design of a logistic information system for a refinery are the main objectives of the study. A brief description of supply chain management (SCM), elements of SCM and their significance, logistics cost in petroleum industry and its impacts, and dynamics of petroleum its logistic practices are also to be presented. Scope of application of SCM in petroleum refinery will also be discussed. A review of the investigations carried out by earlier researches in the area of supply chain management in general and with specific reference to petroleum refining.

Supply response and Cost of production of natural rubber- an econometric study

The study deals with the short and long term supply response of the natural rubber in India and to analyse the macro economic environment of NR industry and causative factors of the rubber price crash. It determines the minimum cost of production of natural rubber and to forecast the potential production of NR in India. There is positive response of short run and long run supply to prices. Since correlation analysis show close association between international and domestic price level, international price changes will have its domestic echo. Production and consumption will sustain its rising trend. This makes plans for increasing production estimates show that a mid way level i.e. the range between Rs.32-Rs.38 will give a fair enough profit to the grower in the present situation and provide for the viable sustenance of rubber cultivation. Identification of the SWOT of rubber cultivation would help in supporting rubber cultivation if remedial measures are undertaken with the true spirit. This would help Indian rubber to attain global competitiveness. Then the inflow of valuable foreign exchange will overcome the other economic drawbacks of rubber cultivation

Stochastic Modelling Using Markov Chains

Department of Statistics, Cochin University of Science and Technology

The ligating versatility of halides and pseudohalides in copper(II) complexes- monomers, dimers and chains”

The work embodied in this thesis was carried out by the author in the Department of Applied Chemistry, CUSAT, Kochi, during the period 2008-2013. The thesis brings to light, our attempts to evaluate the coordination behavior of some compounds of interest. The biological activities of semicarbazones and their metal complexes have been an active area of research during the past years because of their significant role in naturally occurring biological systems. Tridentate NNO and ONO semicarbazone systems formed from heterocyclic and aromatic carbonyl compounds and their transition metal complexes are well-authenticated compounds in this field and their synthesis, crystal structures and spectral studies are well desirable. Hence, we decided to develop a research program aimed at the syntheses, crystal structures and spectral studies of copper complexes with halides and pseudohalides. In addition to single crystal X-ray diffraction studies, various physico-chemical methods of analysis were also used for the characterization of the complexes

“Urban Water Supply Management: A Study Of Centralised And Community Based Systems In Calicut City

Studies in urban water supply system are few in the state of Kerala. It is a little researched area. In the case of water pricing a number of studies are available. In Kerala state, exception to Jacob John’s study on “Economics of Public Water Supply System”, which is a case study of Trivandrum Water Supply System in 1997, no exhaustive research work has so far come out in this field. loreover no indepth research study has come up, so far, relating to household ater demand analysis and the distribution system of urban piped water supply. he proposed study is first of its kind, which focuses on the distributional and Iailability problems of piped water supply in an urban centre in Kerala state. Hence there is a felt need for enquiring into the sufficiency of )table water supplied to people in urban areas and the efficiency maintained in roviding the scarce resource and preventing its misuse by the consumers. It is in llS backdrop that this study was undertaken and its empirical part was conducted |Calicut city in the state of Kerala. Study is confined to the water supply system ithe city of Calicut

A simple regulated power supply for characteristics studies of klystron oscillators

A simple and inexpensive power supply suitable for characteristics studies of a klystron is described. The circuit is a modified form of the high voltage adjustable power supply based on LM 317. This provides the necessary cavity and repeller voltages over a wide range, with good regulation. The system is protected aa- ainst short circuits and is ideallv suitable for laboratorv, ex.Deri ments with reflex klystrons.

Performance of Supply Chain when using selected Coordination Mechanisms

Coordination among supply chain members is essential for better supply chain performance. An effective method to improve supply chain coordination is to implement proper coordination mechanisms. The primary objective of this research is to study the performance of a multi-level supply chain while using selected coordination mechanisms separately, and in combination, under lost sale and back order cases. The coordination mechanisms used in this study are price discount, delay in payment and different types of information sharing. Mathematical modelling and simulation modelling are used in this study to analyse the performance of the supply chain using these mechanisms. Initially, a three level supply chain consisting of a supplier, a manufacturer and a retailer has been used to study the combined effect of price discount and delay in payment on the performance (profit) of supply chain using mathematical modelling. This study showed that implementation of individual mechanisms improves the performance of the supply chain compared to ‘no coordination’. When more than one mechanism is used in combination, performance in most cases further improved. The three level supply chain considered in mathematical modelling was then extended to a three level network supply chain consisting of a four retailers, two wholesalers, and a manufacturer with an infinite part supplier. The performance of this network supply chain was analysed under both lost sale and backorder cases using simulation modelling with the same mechanisms: ‘price discount and delay in payment’ used in mathematical modelling. This study also showed that the performance of the supply chain is significantly improved while using combination of mechanisms as obtained earlier. In this study, it is found that the effect (increase in profit) of ‘delay in payment’ and combination of ‘price discount’ & ‘delay in payment’ on SC profit is relatively high in the case of lost sale. Sensitivity analysis showed that order cost of the retailer plays a major role in the performance of the supply chain as it decides the order quantity of the other players in the supply chain in this study. Sensitivity analysis also showed that there is a proportional change in supply chain profit with change in rate of return of any player. In the case of price discount, elasticity of demand is an important factor to improve the performance of the supply chain. It is also found that the change in permissible delay in payment given by the seller to the buyer affects the SC profit more than the delay in payment availed by the buyer from the seller. In continuation of the above, a study on the performance of a four level supply chain consisting of a manufacturer, a wholesaler, a distributor and a retailer with ‘information sharing’ as coordination mechanism, under lost sale and backorder cases, using a simulation game with live players has been conducted. In this study, best performance is obtained in the case of sharing ‘demand and supply chain performance’ compared to other seven types of information sharing including traditional method. This study also revealed that effect of information sharing on supply chain performance is relatively high in the case of lost sale than backorder. The in depth analysis in this part of the study showed that lack of information sharing need not always be resulting in bullwhip effect. Instead of bullwhip effect, lack of information sharing produced a huge hike in lost sales cost or backorder cost in this study which is also not favorable for the supply chain. Overall analysis provided the extent of improvement in supply chain performance under different cases. Sensitivity analysis revealed useful insights about the decision variables of supply chain and it will be useful for the supply chain management practitioners to take appropriate decisions.

Varying the dietary supply of C and N to manipulate the manure composition of water buffalo heifers in Oman

Optimizing the composition of manure has the potential to reduce nutrient losses to the environment and to increase crop yields. In this study the effect of dietary ratios of carbon (C) to nitrogen (N) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) to soluble carbohydrates (SC) on faeces composition of water buffalo heifers was assessed. Two digestibility trials were conducted with 12 animals each, fed one control and four test diets composed to achieve (1) high C/N and high NDF/SC ratios (HH), (2) low C/N and low NDF/SC ratios (LL), (3) high C/N and low NDF/SC ratios (HL) and (4) low C/N and high NDF/SC (LH) ratios. Faecal C/N ratios were generally lower than dietary C/N ratios, but the reduction was especially large for high C/N ratio diets (HH=55 %, HL=51 %). Faecal N concentration was positively correlated (r^2 = 0.6; P < 0.001) with N intake, but the increase in faecal N was more pronounced for diets that supplied low amounts of N. Faecal NDF concentration was positively related to NDF intake (r^2 = 0.42; P < 0.001), as well as the faecal C/N ratio (r^2 = 0.3; P < 0.001). Results demonstrate that C/N ratio and NDF concentration of buffalo manure were affected by diet composition. Diets with high C/N ratio and low NDF/SC ratio are preferable with regard to manure quality, but may not satisfy the nutritional requirements of producing animals, since N concentration in these diets was low and fibre concentration simultaneously high.

The diversity of postharvest losses in cassava value chains in selected developing countries

The extent of physical and economic postharvest losses at different stages of cassava value chains has been estimated in four countries that differ considerably in the way cassava is cultivated, processed and consumed and in the relationships and linkages among the value chain actors. Ghana incurs by far the highest losses because a high proportion of roots reach the consumers in the fresh form. Most losses occur at the last stage of the value chain. In Nigeria and Vietnam processors incur most of the losses while in Thailand most losses occur during harvesting. Poorer countries incur higher losses despite their capacity to absorb sub-standard products (therefore transforming part of the physical losses into economic losses) and less strict buyer standards. In monetary terms the impact of losses is particularly severe in Ghana and estimated at about half a billion US dollar per annum while in the other countries it is at the most about USD 50 million. This comparison shows that there are no “one-size-fits-all" solutions for addressing postharvest losses but rather these must be tailor-made to the specific characteristics of the different value chains.

Effects of In-Kind transfers on female labor supply: evidence from the food supply program comedores comunitarios

En la literatura se argumenta que las transferencias en especie podrían tener efectos positivos sobre la oferta laboral. En este trabajo utilizamos el programa de nutrición de la ciudad de Bogotá, Comedores Comunitarios, para esclarecer dicho punto. El programa otorga un almuerzo diario a las personas pobres que son vecinas de los comedores. Utilizando la técnica de emparejamiento con la Encuesta de Calidad de Vida 2007, una encuesta de corte transversal, se encuentra tanto efectos significativos positivos como negativos en la oferta laboral femenina para diferentes grupos de mujeres (con diferencias en edad, composición del hogar y acceso a redes sociales). Estos resultados son relevantes para entender los incentivos al trabajo heterogéneos generados cuando se aplica esta clase de programas.