Search

The explicit demand response (DR) is a key program for reinforcing the participation of end customers and making the most out of the potential of the smart grid. The DR is a key topic in the field of buildings to make use of the flexibility that they can offer. However, in order to guarantee the correct functionality of a DR system, it is fundamental to perform interoperability tests among the various components/actors. In this paper, we take into consideration the technological solutions suggested in the framework of the DRIMPAC project to enable the DR in buildings. We consider all actors/devices involved in order to reach the objective of executing a flexibility order by an asset. Following a structured interoperability testing methodology created by the Joint Research Centre, we perform interoperability tests regarding all critical links of the full chain of interacting actors to obtain the DR in buildings. The results show that the system functions properly and the benefits from the DR can be exploited. On the other hand, we provide a concrete example of how to apply the interoperability methodology in the field of testing the DR in buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Asset-based approaches (ABAs) tackle health inequalities by empowering people in more disadvantaged communities, or targeted populations, to better utilise pre-existing local community-based resources. Using existing resources supports individuals to better manage their own health and its determinants, potentially at low cost. Targeting individuals disengaged with traditional service delivery methods offers further potential for meaningful cost-savings, since these people often require costly care. Thus, improving prevention, and management, of ill-health in these groups may have considerable cost implications. Aim: To systematically review the extent of current cost and economic evidence on ABAs, and methods used to develop it. Methods: Search strategy terms encompassed: i) costing; ii) intervention detail; and iii) locality. Databases searched: Medline, CENTRAL and Wed of Science. Researchers screened 9,116 articles. Risk of bias was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool. Narrative synthesis summarised findings. Results: Twelve papers met inclusion criteria, representing eleven different ABAs. Within studies, methods varied widely, not only in design and comparators, but also in terms of included costs and outcome measures. Studies suggested economic efficiency, but lack of suitable comparators made more definitive conclusions difficult. Conclusion: Economic evidence around ABAs is limited. ABAs may be a promising way to engage underserved or minority groups, that may have lower net costs compared to alternative health and wellbeing improvement approaches. ABAs, an example of embedded services, suffer in the context of economic evaluation, which typically consider services as mutually exclusive alternatives. Economics of the surrounding services, mechanisms of information sharing, and collaboration underpin the success of assets and ABAs. The economic evidence, and evaluations in general, would benefit from increased context and detail to help ensure more nuanced and sophisticated understanding of the economics of ABAs. Further evidence is needed to reach conclusions about cost-effectiveness of ABAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of financial technologies in modern conditions has contributed to the active use of digital financial instruments — cryptocurrencies — in international settlements. The availability of up-to-date information on digital currency volatility will help crypto market participants predict the consequences of their transactions. The purpose of this work is to construct a new measure of the volatility of financial assets, in particular, cryptocurrencies, the euro and the direct exchange rate of the ruble. In order to obtain this measure, an analysis of known volatility measures was carried out, requirements for the measure of volatility of a financial asset were formulated, and, as a result, the volatility of the main cryptocurrencies, the euro and the direct exchange rate of the ruble, was assessed by the levels of the time series of monthly quotations of these assets in the time interval from 1.01.2022 to 1.04.2023. The scientific novelty in the paper is a reasonable new measure of absolute volatility. The main conclusions of the study are: 1) the measure of absolute volatility constructed in this paper has the dimension of the asset value and measures the part of the asset value that is generated by uncertainty in the values of its profitability; 2) Bitcoin Cash is the most volatile cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has the least volatility among cryptocurrencies; 3) the volatility of the direct exchange rate of the ruble (the price of the US dollar in rubles) is about half the volatility of Bitcoin; 4) out of competition in terms of volatility is the euro quote (the euro price in dollars) — 10% in a year and a half.

This paper explores asset based approaches in the support, protection and empowerment for learners in Child Headed Households (CHH) in the context of parental migration in Zimbabwe. Left-behind children in the context of parental labour migration are perceived to be disadvantaged in terms of healthy behaviours and psychosocial functioning because of parental absence. It therefore becomes critical that education and community stakeholder organisations explore the environment of CHH learners in the scope of Ubuntu with the objective of establishing sustainable, roots-driven interventions. This study followed the qualitative research approach and data was collected through a focus group discussion organised, as an information sharing session. Six purposively selected learners in CHH arrangements and seven key community informants from a secondary school in the Shurugwi district of Zimbabwe, informed the study. The study revealed that the optimal utilisation of available environmental assets, capacities and skills that are rooted in culture goes a long way in building resilience. This in turn becomes an important mediating resource in improving the wellbeing and educational experiences of left behind children in Zimbabwe. The understanding is that parents will continue to be absent, hence, harnessing the best out of their circumstances is cardinal in building sustainable support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowing the moment when an asset must be replaced has a great relevance for the good economic health of any business, for this reason, the main goal of this paper is to define the opportune moment of replacement the assets, supported by an economic approach. The Replacement Profitability Index was used, this index means what percentage of the investment is pay back every year, by replacing an asset, it allows to take the best solution when is necessary to decide between continuing the exploitation of the asset and carry out the corresponding maintenance actions, or replace it in whole, or in part. The calculation of this index measures the economic advantage of doing the replacement just now, instead of postponing it for one more year. This investigation analyzed the possible replacement of the current Kholer 500 kW main generator set in an electric power generation system of canned tuna industry. Finally, it was concluded that the current main generator set should be replaced by the proposed one, because the Replacement Profitability Index was 14,96 percent per year, this value justifies the replacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Asset-based approaches (ABAs) tackle health inequalities by empowering people in more disadvantaged communities, or targeted populations, to better utilise pre-existing local community-based resources. Using existing resources supports individuals to better manage their own health and its determinants, potentially at low cost. Targeting individuals disengaged with traditional service delivery methods offers further potential for meaningful cost-savings, since these people often require costly care. Thus, improving prevention, and management, of ill-health in these groups may have considerable cost implications. Aim To systematically review the extent of current cost and economic evidence on ABAs, and methods used to develop it. Methods Search strategy terms encompassed: i) costing; ii) intervention detail; and iii) locality. Databases searched: Medline, CENTRAL and Wed of Science. Researchers screened 9,116 articles. Risk of bias was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool. Narrative synthesis summarised findings. Results Twelve papers met inclusion criteria, representing eleven different ABAs. Within studies, methods varied widely, not only in design and comparators, but also in terms of included costs and outcome measures. Studies suggested economic efficiency, but lack of suitable comparators made more definitive conclusions difficult. Conclusion Economic evidence around ABAs is limited. ABAs may be a promising way to engage underserved or minority groups, that may have lower net costs compared to alternative health and wellbeing improvement approaches. ABAs, an example of embedded services, suffer in the context of economic evaluation, which typically consider services as mutually exclusive alternatives. Economics of the surrounding services, mechanisms of information sharing, and collaboration underpin the success of assets and ABAs. The economic evidence, and evaluations in general, would benefit from increased context and detail to help ensure more nuanced and sophisticated understanding of the economics of ABAs. Further evidence is needed to reach conclusions about cost-effectiveness of ABAs.

The need for effective bridge asset management in Indonesia has become crucial. Currently, the number of bridge assets in Indonesia is continuously increasing, parallel to the rising budget allocations for infrastructure development in the road and bridge sectors to enhance regional connectivity more efficiently. This situation places demands on asset managers to work harder and possess expertise in bridge asset management. However, the reality reveals persistent issues related to the inability of bridge asset managers in various regions to manage their assets effectively. This raises the question of whether asset managers have the intention to implement asset management or what factors might drive their appeal to have an intention towards effective asset management. To address these questions, a survey was conducted involving asset managers and experts to evaluate the current state of bridge asset management in Indonesia. The research findings provide insights into the relationships among factors associated with bridge asset management, such as budget, data, policy, resources, and system, and the intentions of asset managers. The model's solutions show that data and system are anticipated to achieve effective and efficient implementation of bridge asset management. It is hoped that this research will assist asset managers in Indonesia in enhancing their intention towards better bridge asset management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The explicit demand response (DR) is a key program for reinforcing the participation of end customers and making the most out of the potential of the smart grid. The DR is a key topic in the field of buildings to make use of the flexibility that they can offer. However, in order to guarantee the correct functionality of a DR system, it is fundamental to perform interoperability tests among the various components/actors. In this paper, we take into consideration the technological solutions suggested in the framework of the DRIMPAC project to enable the DR in buildings. We consider all actors/devices involved in order to reach the objective of executing a flexibility order by an asset. Following a structured interoperability testing methodology created by the Joint Research Centre, we perform interoperability tests regarding all critical links of the full chain of interacting actors to obtain the DR in buildings. The results show that the system functions properly and the benefits from the DR can be exploited. On the other hand, we provide a concrete example of how to apply the interoperability methodology in the field of testing the DR in buildings.

This study examines households' resilience to climate change and food insecurity in Ethiopia. The study was conducted in the Wolaita zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR). The article measured the resilience levels of Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) beneficiary households against non-beneficiaries as a control group using Resilience Index Measurement and Analysis (RIMA). A random sample of 300 respondents were selected from the population of safety net beneficiary and non-beneficiary households in the study area each representing half of the sample. The study found that non-PSNP households have higher monthly per capita food expenditure than PSNP members, with a difference of 30%, indicating that they have better access to economic resources and opportunities. Additionally, non-PSNP households have higher resilience scores than PSNP members, with a difference of almost 0.1 point. The findings suggest that improving resilience through interventions such as asset-building, livelihood diversification, or social protection may have positive spillover effects on household food security and nutrition outcomes if targeted properly. The study also revealed important insights into the characteristics of households in the study area, including the prevalence of poverty and vulnerability, limited opportunities for non-farm employment, and high illiteracy rates, which have implications for policies aimed at reducing poverty and promoting sustainable livelihoods in rural areas of Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns over valuation accuracy and variance cannot be over-flogged, given the somewhat fluid nature of these concepts. It is however, more apt to dig into their fundamental causative factors. This paper realizes that specialist valuer or appraiser has a chain of sequential tasks anchored on his distinguishing competencies. At the heart of this is sufficient knowledge of the attributes of his subject of valuation. Twenty-two (22) Nigerian valuers based within Lagos Metropolis were made to carry out valuation assessment of selected landed and non-landed property assets and were also examined on their perception of the adequacy of their acquired Body of Knowledge (BOK) relevant to each asset category. The variation/dispersion in their valuations is revealed by the Standard Deviation of the distribution, for Landed Property, being 7.77 while that of Non-Landed Property is 32.24; By employing the 10% maximum variation rule of Glover (1985), 9% of the valuers fall outside the limit in respect of Landed Property whereas, the figure rose to 64% for Non-Landed Property assets. This is indicative of remarkably higher internal inconsistencies among respondent valuers on Non-Landed Property Assets. Multiple regression analysis of the results indicated that all the adaptive knowledge variables exert positive influence on valuer’s competence in valuation of both Landed Property and Non-Landed Property Assets. In view of these findings, there is urgent need to review and expand underlying curriculum for training prospective valuers towards aligning theory with practice and enhance their competence across property types.

The quest for parsimonious models has been a key objective in asset pricing. However, there appears to be no consensus on the most successful asset pricing strategy in the literature, especially for the South African Market. Using financial statements from January 2000 to December 2015, this article explores how market anomalies affect the performance of securities in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange's (JSE's) resources, industrial, and finance sectors. We investigated the efficacy of several asset pricing models and their capacity to account for market anomalies in the JSE's resources, industrial, and financial sectors, as well as the applicability of the Fama and French five-factor model. The study used multiple regression techniques and applied stationarity and cointegration methods to ensure robust results. Results also suggest that when the FF5FM is implemented, there is statistical significance at the 10% level for the CMA in the resources sector as the value factor disappears. The FF5FM results in the industrial sector show a significance level of 5% in the SMB. The financial sector seems to have the majority of the style-based risk factors as the SMB is positively significant at a 5% level, the HML is significant at a 1% level, and the CMA is negatively significant at a 10% level of significance. The results suggest that the Carhart Four Factor model is the best to use in all market conditions. Results also show that value becomes redundant in a bullish market, but the opposite holds in a bearish market for a model with operating profitably and investing factors. These findings highlight the necessity for investors to determine which investment risk elements produce abnormal returns in both bearish and bullish market circumstances before investing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Banking risk management is considered weak compared to rapid changes in financial markets. In light of the recent global financial crisis, banking risk management has become a significant concern of banking regulators and government agencies. This work aims to build a model for assessing banking risks. The primary study method is economic–mathematical modeling based on the standardized model of the Basel Committee for Operational Risk Management, the modified CAPM model, and the model developed by Shapiro and Cornell for currency risk management. The information base was the financial statements of Bank Credit Agricole (Poland). As a result, an economic–mathematical model is built, which is the optimal combination of operational, currency, and credit risk management models. This model calculates the optimal values of bank balance sheet items, which allows for making the right management decisions. It allowed adjusting the value of the bank profit by 3.6 million US dollars. In conclusion, considering the results of banking risk modeling, the need to build a strategy for the bank's development is determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flooding is New Zealand's most frequent natural hazard, responsible for the highest number of declared civil defence emergencies and greatest regular economic loss. Stopbanks (levees) perform a critical flood protection function in all regions of the country. However, there have been limited and inconsistent records on the location and physical attributes of these stopbanks at a national level. Through collaboration with regional government representatives, we provide the first standardised national inventory of stopbanks, the New Zealand Inventory of Stopbanks (NZIS). The NZIS provides a standardised geospatial overview of New Zealand's 5284 km long stopbank network, enabling spatial reviews and comparisons of flood protection characteristics at national and regional scales. Around 64% of New Zealand's total stopbank length is situated within five regions (Canterbury, Waikato, Southland, Manawatu-Whanganui and Bay of Plenty), while the nation's most densely population region, Auckland, accounts for just 1.9% of the total national stopbank length. Our research uses the NZIS geospatial dataset to conduct a preliminary exposure assessment of New Zealand's stopbank network to seismic and co-seismic hazards; including proximity to known active earthquake faults, ground shaking intensities and susceptibility to liquefaction and landslides. Preliminary exposure assessments provide an example of how the NZIS can be adopted and applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dopamine transporter (DAT) is involved in dopamine (DA) reuptake in presynaptic terminals. Deletion of DAT results in a hyperdopaminergic KO-rat phenotype. To conduct our studies in heterozygous DAT rats, several pedigree lines were created, with known derivation of the allele (i.e., maternal or paternal). Our purpose was to elucidate the role of parental origin rather than maternal care, assessing if maternal maltreatments generated sequelae in female offspring. In the first experiment, female rats and their pups were observed during postnatal lactation. Control dams were WT and heterozygous ones were MAT (but K-MAT, with previous experience of early maltreatment by their KO adoptive dams). WT dams were highly attracted to their offspring (predictably, they spent a lot of time licking their pups); in contrast, K-MAT dams showed strangely comparable levels of caring for their pups and exploring the environment. Subsequently, peculiar features of the circadian cycle were found in adolescent rats with different epigenotypes (WT, MUX = offspring of MAT father, MIK = offspring of K-MAT dam). The MIK epigenotype produced locomotor hyperactivity also during resting hours, well above typical values. The MUX epigenotype, on the other hand, was less active and presented a depression-like profile. This study is unique: maltreatment was generated in a spontaneous way from a DAT-KO mother to offspring. We highlight how future studies will address separate contributions by genotype and upbringing. In conclusion, paternal-allele asset generates sequelae diametrically opposed to the inheritance of early maternal trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Annali di Igiene, Medicina Preventiva e di Comunità is the property of Societa Editrice Universo s.r.l. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Food security is a complex phenomenon involving socio-cultural and economic factors. This study examines the impact of gender inequality in livestock asset ownership on household food security in the Wa West District of Ghana. Data were collected from 400 households based on a crosssectional survey and a multistage sampling of the respondents. Gender disparity in livestock asset distribution among men and women within the household was ascertained using the Gini index. In contrast, the household food consumption score technique was employed to determine the household food security status. A binary logit regression model was used to assess the effect of gender inequality in livestock assets on household food security. The results indicated that men owned 1.72 TLU compared to an average of 0.22 TLU owned by women. Livestock's contribution to household food security was estimated at 16% of annual household food expenditure, with a composition of 0.90% for jointly owned, 6.04% for women-owned and 9.14% for men-owned livestock. Also, 33% of households were food insecure and 67% of them were food-secure at the time of the survey. The empirical results showed that a unit increase in the Gini index of livestock asset distribution in favour of men harms household food security. The results further showed that household ownership of livestock, as well as farm size and education, negatively influence household food insecurity. In contrast, household size, female-headed households and dependency ratio positively affect household food insecurity in the study area. Based on the study, it is recommended that development programmes target women's economic empowerment and education to bridge the livestock assets gender gap and improve food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article attempts to analyze livelihood asset that influence the livelihood strategies of agricultural households in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The study used multinomial logit model for determining the connection amongst livelihood asset and livelihood strategies. Average index value of livelihood asset was 0.297 in the area, that indicates the disadvantageous nature in livelihood asset of agricultural households, uncovering the subtle living standard of agricultural households and lacking prospects of economic development. The research findings reveal that human capital, financial and social capital of livelihood asset has positive significant effect on the choice of agricultural households' livelihood strategies in the models of rural households type II and rural households type III. The empirical findings depicted that the more human capital, financial capital and social capital that are owned by agricultural households, probably more they have to select strategies of livelihood involving to be engaged in rural households type II and rural households type III. Similarly, the effect of physical capital has positive significant effect on the choice of strategy of livelihood in rural households type III model, in other words, the more physical capital owned by agricultural households, probably more they have to select strategies of livelihood involving to be engaged in rural households type III model. The empirical findings orate for high demand of up-gradation of livelihood asset in all capitals of agricultural households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]