Policy making without legislating: the self-regulation of commercial property leasing

The terms of a commercial property lease covers aspects such as rent, alterations to premises and the ability to leave; consequently they have a significant impact on cash flow and the ability of a business to develop. In contrast to the heavily-legislated residential sector, commercial landlords and tenants in the UK are largely free to negotiate the terms of their contract. Yet, since the property crash of 1989/90, successive governments have taken an interest in commercial leasing; in particular there is a desire to see landlords being more flexible. UK Government policy in this area has been pursued through industry self-regulation rather than legislation; since 1995 there have been three industry codes of practice on leasing. These codes are sanctioned by government and monitored by them. Yet, 15 years after the first code was launched, many in the industry see the whole code concept as ineffective and unlikely to ever achieve changes to certain aspects of landlord behaviour. This paper is the first step in considering the lease codes in the wider context of industry self-regulation. The aim of the paper is twofold: First a framework is created using the literature on industry self-regulation from various countries and industries which suggests key criteria to explain the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of self-regulation. This is then applied to the UK lease codes based on research carried out by the authors for the UK Government to monitor the success of all three codes. The outcome is a clearer understanding of the possibilities and limitations of using a voluntary solution to achieve policy aims within the property industry.

Avaliação do impacto do Programa Farmácia Popular em uma rede independe de drogarias

A despeito de o Brasil contar com modelo de distribuição pública gratuita de medicamentos, representando avanço em relação à maioria dos países em desenvolvimento, o cenário geral apresenta problemas de diversas ordens. O abastecimento público é falho e ineficiente, contando com profissionais pouco motivados e com pouco treinamento. Isso resulta em perdas oriundas de desvios, má condição de estocagem e processos inadequados de distribuição. A utilização da malha privada através do Programa Farmácia Popular do Brasil, do ponto de vista do governo, promove capilaridade no atendimento, aumentando o bem estar social e reduz custos com a utilização de pessoal. Do ponto de vista da sociedade, amplia o acesso de medicamentos à população. Deste modo, o programa tem representado uma solução eficiente para a distribuição de medicamentos no país. No entanto, do ponto de vista empresarial, os resultados da utilização da malha privada para a distribuição gratuita de medicamentos ainda são pouco descritos. O presente estudo pretende avaliar os impactos relacionados ao credenciamento no programa do governo federal em redes independentes de farmácias e drogarias privadas na distribuição gratuita de medicamentos para a população. Aborda um assunto multifuncional, além de consistir em uma análise do programa que faz parte das diretrizes do governo federal e ser um tema de caráter inédito com foco no ambiente empresarial. Do ponto de vista empresarial, o atendimento ao programa de distribuição gratuita de medicamentos em atendimento ao programa do governo federal pode representar um fator de alavancagem dos negócios ao trazer consumidores potenciais para o estabelecimento. No entanto, é necessário que ocorram adaptações na gestão do capital de giro para suportar os possíveis atrasos no repasse do governo e suprir o abastecimento de medicamentos à demandas crescentes. Assim, as drogarias inseridas no setor varejista farmacêutico em cidades em desenvolvimento adquirem vantagem competitiva e fornecem maior valor a seus consumidores. Em suma, o projeto de acesso a medicamentos, implica em benefícios líquidos generalizados. Para a população, o acesso direto e efetivo. Para o setor privado, a ampliação do mercado e a estabilidade da demanda. Para o governo, a substituição de uma estratégia que converge para o desgaste econômico, social e político.

Teorias de motivação de pessoas, aplicadas nas organizações públicas fortemente hierarquizadas

Esta tese teve por objetivo identificar os principais fatores de motivação de pessoas que trabalham em organizações públicas fortemente hierarquizadas, como as do Exército Brasileiro, preenchendo uma lacuna de conhecimento existente em pesquisas acadêmicas sobre o tema. Diferentes trabalhadores possuem diferentes fatores de motivação, fatores estes que liberam a motivação que está dentro dessas pessoas.Estudou-se dezoito teorias sobre motivação dentre as mais citadas no meio acadêmico. Estas teorias permitiram estruturar um roteiro de entrevistas que foi aplicado em trinta e três militares do Exército Brasileiro.Estas entrevistas foram submetidas à análise de conteúdo, o que permitiu a identificação dos principais fatores de motivação desses profissionais.Concluiu-se que os principais fatores de motivação das pessoas que trabalham em organizações fortemente hierarquizadas, em ordem de importância, são: 1) valorização, 2) fazer o que se gosta, 3) exemplo do chefe, 4) importância do que se faz, 5) realização, 6) confiança e 7) justiça. Os três primeiros fatores formam um primeiro grupo e os outros quatro fatores formam um segundo grupo. Essa divisão se fez necessária porque os fatores do primeiro grupo se revelaram muito mais fortes que os fatores do segundo grupo, havendo necessidade de destacá-los. Confirmou-se, também, que as teorias de motivação são perfeitamente aplicáveis às organizações públicas fortemente hierarquizadas e que estas teorias produzem alguns fatores de motivação específicos à realidade organizacionaldessas instituições. Após a análise do conteúdo das entrevistas, à luz das teorias de motivação, concluiu-se que há uma necessidade psicológica muito forte nas pessoas: a necessidadede se sentir valorizada. A motivação no contexto organizacional normalmente depende do relacionamento entre o gestor de pessoas, ou o líder e os seus liderados. A ação do líder é fundamental para despertar a motivação que já está dentro das pessoas. O foco das atenções do líder deve estar voltado para os liderados e não para si mesmo.Porque quando os liderados são fortes, o líder é forte e a organização obtém resultados surpreendentes. Por fim, conclui-se que a motivação das pessoas, nas organizações públicas fortemente hierarquizadas, como o Exército Brasileiro, é liberada quando a organização procura aplicar os sete principais fatores de motivação de pessoas revelados nesta tese.E acima de tudo, quando o líder cria condições para a satisfação da principal necessidade das pessoas: se sentir valorizadas.

A combination of implicit and adaptative upwind tools for the numerical solution of incompressible free surface flows

This paper is concerned with the numerical solutions of time dependent two-dimensional incompressible flows. By using the primitive variables of velocity and pressure, the Navier-Stokes and mass conservation equations are solved by a semi-implicit finite difference projection method. A new bounded higher order upwind convection scheme is employed to deal with the non-linear (advective) terms. The procedure is an adaptation of the GENSMAC (J. Comput. Phys. 1994; 110: 171-186) methodology for calculating confined and free surface fluid flows at both low and high Reynolds numbers. The calculations were performed by using the 2D version of the Freeflow simulation system (J. Comp. Visual. Science 2000; 2:199-210). In order to demonstrate the capabilities of the numerical method, various test cases are presented. These are the fully developed flow in a channel, the flow over a backward facing step, the die-swell problem, the broken dam flow, and an impinging jet onto a flat plate. The numerical results compare favourably with the experimental data and the analytical solutions. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Simulation of free surface flows in a distributed memory environment

A parallel technique, for a distributed memory machine, based on domain decomposition for solving the Navier-Stokes equations in cartesian and cylindrical coordinates in two dimensions with free surfaces is described. It is based on the code by Tome and McKee (J. Comp. Phys. 110 (1994) 171-186) and Tome (Ph.D. Thesis, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, 1993) which in turn is based on the SMAC method by Amsden and Harlow (Report LA-4370, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 1971), which solves the Navier-Stokes equations in three steps: the momentum and Poisson equations and particle movement, These equations are discretized by explicit and 5-point finite differences. The parallelization is performed by splitting the computation domain into vertical panels and assigning each of these panels to a processor. All the computation can then be performed using nearest neighbour communication. Test runs comparing the performance of the parallel with the serial code, and a discussion of the load balancing question are presented. PVM is used for communication between processes. (C) 1999 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Numerical assessment of mass conservation on a MAC-type method for viscoelastic free surface flows

A numerical study of mass conservation of MAC-type methods is presented, for viscoelastic free-surface flows. We use an implicit formulation which allows for greater time steps, and therefore time marching schemes for advecting the free surface marker particles have to be accurate in order to preserve the good mass conservation properties of this methodology. We then present an improvement by using a Runge-Kutta scheme coupled with a local linear extrapolation on the free surface. A thorough study of the viscoelastic impacting drop problem, for both Oldroyd-B and XPP fluid models, is presented, investigating the influence of timestep, grid spacing and other model parameters to the overall mass conservation of the method. Furthermore, an unsteady fountain flow is also simulated to illustrate the low mass conservation error obtained.

Three-dimensional transient complex free surface flows: Numerical simulation of XPP fluid

In this paper we present a finite difference MAC-type approach for solving three-dimensional viscoelastic incompressible free surface flows governed by the eXtended Pom-Pom (XPP) model, considering a wide range of parameters. The numerical formulation presented in this work is an extension to three-dimensions of our implicit technique [Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics 166 (2011) 165-179] for solving two-dimensional viscoelastic free surface flows. To enhance the stability of the numerical method, we employ a combination of the projection method with an implicit technique for treating the pressure on the free surfaces. The differential constitutive equation of the fluid is solved using a second-order Runge-Kutta scheme. The numerical technique is validated by performing a mesh refinement study on a pipe flow, and the numerical results presented include the simulation of two complex viscoelastic free surface flows: extrudate-swell problem and jet buckling phenomenon. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Capital flows to Latin America: third quarter 2004

Includes bibliography

A Numerical Study of the FENE-CR Model Applied to a Jet Flow Problem

The FENE-CR model is investigated through a numerical algorithm to simulate the time-dependent moving free surface flow produced by a jet impinging on a flat surface. The objective is to demonstrate that by increasing the extensibility parameter L, the numerical solutions converge to the solutions obtained with the Oldroyd-B model. The governing equations are solved by an established free surface flow solver based on the finite difference and marker-and-cell methods. Numerical predictions of the extensional viscosity obtained with several values of the parameter L are presented. The results show that if the extensibility parameter L is sufficiently large then the extensional viscosities obtained with the FENE-CR model approximate the corresponding Oldroyd-B viscosity. Moreover, the flow from a jet impinging on a flat surface is simulated with various values of the extensibility parameter L and the fluid flow visualizations display convergence to the Oldroyd-B jet flow results.

Cash balance management: A comparison between genetic algorithms and particle swarm optimization

This work aimed to apply genetic algorithms (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) in cash balance management using Miller-Orr model, which consists in a stochastic model that does not define a single ideal point for cash balance, but an oscillation range between a lower bound, an ideal balance and an upper bound. Thus, this paper proposes the application of GA and PSO to minimize the Total Cost of cash maintenance, obtaining the parameter of the lower bound of the Miller-Orr model, using for this the assumptions presented in literature. Computational experiments were applied in the development and validation of the models. The results indicated that both the GA and PSO are applicable in determining the cash level from the lower limit, with best results of PSO model, which had not yet been applied in this type of problem.

Analysis of Hyporheic Flow Induced by a Bar in a Gravel Stream: an Experimental Study

Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-01 00:03:02.939

Steepness expansion for free surface flows in coastal aquifers

Free surface flow of groundwater in aquifers has been studied since the early 1960s. Previous investigations have been based on the Boussinesq equation, derived from the non-linear kinematic boundary condition. In fact, the Boussinesq equation is the zeroth-order equation in the shallow-water expansion. A key assumption in this expansion is that the mean thickness of the aquifer is small compared with a reference length, normally taken to be the linear decay length. In this study, we re-examine the expansion scheme for free surface groundwater flows, and propose a new expansion wherein the shallow-water assumption is replaced by a steepness assumption. A comparison with experimental data shows that the new model provides a better prediction of water table levels than the conventional shallow-water expansion. The applicable ranges of the two expansions are exhibited. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

How much is corporate cash-pooling worth? Modelling and simulation

The paper analyzes a special corporate banking product, the so called cash-pool, which gained remarkable popularity in the recent years as firms try to centralize and manage their liquidity more efficiently. The novelty of this paper is the formalization of a valuation model which can serve as a basis for a Monte Carlo simulation to assess the most important benefits of the firms arising from the pooling of their cash holdings. The literature emphasizes several benefits of cash-pooling such as interest rate savings, economy of scale and reduced cash-flow volatility. The presented model focuses on the interest rate savings complemented with a new aspect: the reduced counterparty risk toward the bank. The main conclusion of the analysis is that the value of a cash-pool is higher in case of firms with large, diverse and volatile cash-flows having less access to the capital markets especially if the partner bank is risky and offers a high interest spread. It is also shown that cash-pooling is not the privilege of large multinational firms any more as the initial direct costs can be easily regained within a year even in the case of SMEs.

ANALYSIS OF HYPORHEIC FLOW INDUCED BY A BAR IN A GRAVEL STREAM: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Pipelines are one of the safest means to transport crude oil, but are not spill-free. This is of concern in North America, due to the large volumes of crude oil shipped by Canadian producers and the lengthy network of pipelines. Each pipeline crosses many rivers, supporting a wide variety of human activities, and rich aquatic life. However, there is a knowledge gap on the risks of contamination of river beds due to oil spills. This thesis addresses this knowledge gap by focussing on mechanisms that transport water (and contaminants) from the free surface flow to the bed sediments, and vice-versa. The work focuses on gravel rivers, in which bed sediments are sufficiently permeable that pressure gradients caused by the interactions of flow with topographic elements (gravel bars), or changes in direction induce exchanges of water between the free surface flow and the bed, known as hyporheic flows. The objectives of the thesis are: to present a new method to visualize and quantify hyporheic flows in laboratory experiments; to conduct a novel series of experiments on hyporheic flow induced by a gravel bar under different free surface flows. The new method to quantify hyporheic flows rests on injections of a solution of dye and water. The method yielded accurate flow lines, and reasonable estimates of the hyporheic flow velocities. The present series of experiments was carried out in a 11 m long, 0.39 m wide, and 0.41 m deep tilting flume. The gravel had a mean particle size of 7.7 mm. Different free surface flows were imposed by changing the flume slope and flow depth. Measured hyporheic flows were turbulent. Smaller free surface flow depths resulted in stronger hyporheic flows (higher velocities, and deeper dye penetration into the sediment). A significant finding is that different free surface flows (different velocities, Reynolds number, etc.) produce similar hyporheic flows as long as the downstream hydraulic gradients are similar. This suggests, that for a specified bar geometry, the characteristics of the hyporheic flows depend on the downstream hydraulic gradients, and not or only minimally on the internal dynamics of the free surface flow.

What Is a Firm’s Life Expectancy? Empirical Evidence in the Context of Portuguese Companies

It is a fact that the uncertainty about a firm’s future has to be measured and incorporated into a company’s valuation throughout the explicit analysis period – in the continuing or terminal value within valuation models. One of the concerns that can influence the continuing value of enterprises, which is not explicitly considered in traditional valuation models, is a firm’s average life expectancy. Although the literature has studied the life cycle of a firm, there is still a considerable lack of references on this topic. If we ignore the period during which a company has the ability to produce future cash flows, the valuations can fall into irreversible errors, leading to results markedly different from market values. This paper aims to provide a contribution in this area. Its main objective is to construct a mortality table for non-listed Portuguese enterprises, showing that the use of a terminal value through a mathematical expression of perpetuity of free cash flows is not adequate. We provide the use of an appropriate coefficient to perceive the number of years in which the company will continue to operate until its theoretical extinction. If well addressed regarding valuation models, this issue can be used to reduce or even to eliminate one of the main problems that cause distortions in contemporary enterprise valuation models: the premise of an enterprise’s unlimited existence in time. Besides studying the companies involved in it, from their existence to their demise, our study intends to push knowledge forward by providing a consistent life and mortality expectancy table for each age of the company, presenting models with an explicitly and different survival rate for each year. Moreover, we show that, after reaching a certain age, firms can reinvent their business, acquiring maturity and consequently postponing their mortality through an additional life period.