Academic literature on the topic 'American Thread Company'

In this article Dong-Woon Kim continues his investigation of the multinational activities of the British thread-making company, J. & P. Coats. Dr. Kim previously published “J. & P. Coats in Tsarist Russia, 1889-1917” in the winter 1995 edition of this journal (pp. 465-493). Here he explores the experiences of J. & P. Coats in the United States. Coats began selling its thread in the U.S. soon after the company's founding in 1830. From a modest start, it established a system of agencies to sell its own “Coats” brand and, in 1869, began local manufacture of thread in Rhode Island. Through a careful series of direct investments and the development of a flexible managerial structure, Coats eventually came to dominate the American cotton thread market.

The many changes caused by COVID-19 have impacted all areas of our lives. Since the beginning of the pandemic in every country, people have experienced the same fears: getting sick, being left without a livelihood, dying, losing loved ones, etc. In many states, support was provided by both the government and the employer. Our analyze show how the employees themselves assessed the level of relations between them and the company through the connecting thread of corporate culture. We have determined that, in general, in many cases there is an increase in corporate values, information coming from managers is more trustworthy than information from the mass media. Honesty, openness and communication are becoming the new flagships for the development of corporate culture.

In 2011, Andrew Liveris, a former CEO and chairman of The Dow Chemical Company, one of the three largest chemical producers in the world, published the book “Make in America. Re-invention solved”. During the 2016 presidential campaign, he was one of D. Trump’s top donors. In 2017, the President appointed him to lead his American Manufacturing Council. The slogan “make in America” became the second key ideological element of Donald Trump’s presidency, along with the popular “make America great again”. The strategy of restoring American industry has become the basis of D. Trump’s economic policy and is continued by J. Biden. It also in many ways strengthened and accelerated the confrontational vector in the U.S. policy towards China. This is a vivid example of how ideas can get into American political discourse, become official concepts that determine not only the country’s internal development, but also foreign policy strategies. In American politics, there is a well-established mechanism for such transition of ideas into political concepts and big strategies. Through this mechanism, the authors are striving to track the dynamics of the U.S. – China confrontation. This article explores the evolution of the “China Threat” concept in American policy from “think tanks” analytical papers to Senate hearings and annual reports towards, finally, the National Security Strategies of the last three administrations. This research shows the gradual change in narratives from the “U.S. – China partnership” to the “U.S. – China confrontation”. The principles of systems analysis allowed us to consider the process of formulating current foreign policy approaches to China through the interaction of the main elements of the U.S. foreign policy strategic conceptualization. In this systemic process, there are three interrelated actors – research centers, Congress and the President. The research period is limited to the term of the last three presidents, with a view to trace, if possible, the point of transition from the declared “well-being” in bilateral relations to the declared confrontation. The authors came to the conclusion that the escalation of the “China Threat” in political discourse starts from the period of B. Obama’s defense budget reduction and was highly promoted by the U.S. Department of Defense and military-industrial complex interest groups through conceptualization of the threat by think tanks.

This article studies the nature of Peru-United States relations during the period 1963–1975 through an analysis of the dispute over the potential expropriation of the US-owned International Petroleum Company. The United States government implemented a tough policy towards the first government of Fernando Belaúnde – who sough a “special” relation with the Unites States –characterized by the threat of economic sanctions if the Peruvian government did not solve the issue in favor of the company. The threat of the Hickenlooper Amendment, which sought to penalize countries that expropriated American owned businesses, was a clear sign of this. Once the company was expropriated by the Revolutionary Government of the Armed Forces in 1968 the American government was ironically forced to follow a more flexible approach, as the new military regime sought to diversify its bilateral relations in the bipolar context of the Cold War. The American policy of supporting the IPC had negative long-term effects fo American interests in the region, as it accelerated the overthrown of Belaúnde and ushered in the arrival of a military junta which sought a more independent foreign policy. A country that had been solid American ally camp since the end of World War II had become a nonaligned nation.

The World Trade Center Attack or 9/11 tragedy has awakened the international community, particularly the United States (US) to sharpen its foreign policy in facing security threats coming from ‘weak states’. One of the most prominent weak states examples that pose a grave threat to other countries are the Northern Triangle Countries of Central America that referred to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Hence, this paper will discuss the rationale behind US initiatives in dealing with security threats in El Salvador as one of the Northern Triangle Countries. In analyzing the case, the writers will use the weak state concept and national interest concept. The result of this paper finds that El Salvador corresponds to the elements of a weak state and further poses security threats by giving rise to transnational criminal organizations, drug trafficking, and migrant problems in which overcoming those security threats has become US vital national interest. However, we also find that although decreasing security threats and strengthening El Salvador government capacity is highly correlated, strengthening El Salvador governance through the providence of aid and assistance is actually classified as US important national interest. Keywords: Security threats; Northern Triangle; weak state; El Salvador; national interest REFERENCES Ambrus, Steven. “Guatemala: The Crisis of Rule of Law and a Weak Party System.” Ideas Matter, January 28, 2019. https://blogs.iadb.org/ideas-matter/en/guatemala-the-crisis-of-rule-of-law-and-a-weak-party-system/. Andrade, Laura. Transparency In El Salvador. 1st ed. 1. El Salvador: University Institute for Public Opinion, Asmann, Parker. “El Salvador Citizens Say Gangs, Not Government 'Rule' the Country.” InSight Crime, August 19, 2020. https://insightcrime.org/news/brief/el-salvador-citizens-say-gangs-not- government-rules-country/. Accessed July 11, 2021. Art, Robert J. A. Grand Strategy for America. 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today, the traditional nature of the activities of the national states and business structures in the space sector has been modified. Favorable legal conditions laid the foundation for increasing the role of private space agencies on the world stage. New business structures related to space issues. The American company SpaceX, in particular, the design of this company under the name “Starlink” provides access to high-performance Internet technologies in all territories through the use of satellite technology of 1200 satellites, which are of interest in the analysis of existing space programs. This Starlink program is a political research methodology that allows you to investigate the possible threat of state space programs. The results of this work can be taken as a basis for future developers. In the end, the author came to the conclusion that there is a threat of monopolization of the space sphere, which requires additional study and discussion at the level of government states.

This research is entitled "The results of the SWOT analysis approach in formulating company strategy at the american english course purwokerto". The purpose of this study is to determine and measure the company's strengths (Strength), company weaknesses (Weakness), analyze opportunities (Opportunities) and threats (Threats) at the American English Course Purwokerto. This research is a descriptive qualitative research by collecting information about research subjects and the behavior of research subjects in a certain period. Data processing is carried out with a SWOT analysis process as a strategy formulation tool. The SWOT analysis that has been formed is then formulated in the form of a SWOT matrix with 4 (four) strategic formulas, namely SO Strategy, WO Strategy, ST Strategy and WT Strategy. The results of the study show that the American English Course is a business engaged in services. An effective and optimal planning strategy is needed that covers all aspects from planning to marketing. Quality products, optimal services supported by the right infrastructure including promotional activities will certainly bring success to the company's progress. Customer satisfaction is the key that must be prioritized to seize market share that is increasingly growing and competitive. The findings in this study have several important implications for the company to further improve and improve strategies both in terms of planning and marketing, namely the need to improve product quality and human resources, improve service and creativity to consumers so that consumers do not move to other competitors, use technological developments as learning and promotion facilities.

A review of one of the most significant events in modern economic history, the restructuring of American Telephone and Telegraph Company, this article gives a concise summary of the legal issues, from first allegations in 1974 through the final order in 1983. It offers a six-category product-market framework for considering the economic and marketing implications of the settlement, and provides a foundation for continued study of the many opportunities and threats implicit in greatly increasing the scope and diversity of telecommunications marketing.

Information security is a vital aspect that must be considered in use of information technology devices by active users. PT. X runs a business that applies information technology related to distribution aspects through company resource planning. Information technology formed assets IT infrastructure, information systems, operating procedures, and network infrastructure. This asset has a potential threat that causes disruption resulting losses. This problem arises to cope through the response to the risk strategy. NIST SP 800-30 method has a flexible risk perspective for the organization and federation standards of American security. Research is divided into risk measurement as a risk, risk mitigation as risk planning, and risk evaluation embodied risk reports. Results of the research show the value of risk through the calculation of the likelihood and impact matrix of the highest threat is at a low level is 14, medium at 12, and high of 4 are categorized good enough. Keywords: Risk Strategy, Information Security, NIST SP 800-30, Risk

Contemporary issues of nuclear weapons and the nuclear arms race in the modern world are examined, based mainly on the assessments of the German “Statista” company, the American Federation of Scientists and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. It is emphasized that invented more than seventy years ago, nuclear weapon has not lost its basic qualities of the most massive and large-scale destruction, but also added to this the latest factors of global threat of its proliferation and the challenges of innovative technological advances in its means of delivery. The latter is increasingly imposed on the growing conflict of the modern multipolarworld order, thereby giving impetus to global competition in the accumulation of all forms of nuclear weapons and allocating unprecedented financial resources from nuclear and non-nuclear powers. It is shown that the most fierce competition in the nuclear arms race is developing in the triangle of relations and national interests between the US, Russia and China. On the same fact base, it is argued that China cannot be compared to the other two nations in the accumulated nuclear weapon arsenals, but that its technological positions and growing military potential lead to major changes in the bilateral concepts of international security and even to the termination of a number of Russian-American treaty agreements, above all in development of medium- and short-range ground-based missiles. There is also a gradual transition to a new deployment of forces and global strategies in the field of nuclear arms. World awareness of these changes is needed in a kind of the Swedish proposal on implementation of strategy for the “step-by-step” approach to nuclear disarmament. In general, challenges and threats should stimulate international dialogue in defense of the principle of peace-sharing in a global age

AbstractReturning to Massachusetts, this chapter focuses on communal responsibility and identity in decline of the MBC’s theocratic governance between 1640 and 1684. Firstly, this chapter investigates the transportation of political knowledge and ideas through corporate membership, assessing the role of individual MBC members such as Hugh Peters, Stephen Winthrop and Henry Vane Jr., in the formation of religious governance in England in the years surrounding the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The chapter also assesses the evolution of corporate evangelism in England and America, with the formation of the New England Company (NEC). It analyses several evangelical works including Roger Williams’s A Yet More Bloody and John Cotton’s The Bloudy Tenent, in order to understand the conflicted development of evangelism within the company, and how it became used to justify territorial expansion and further encroach on English and Native American religious and governmental identity and rights. The chapter concludes by offering an analysis of the downfall of the MBC, emphasising how models of governance strengthened and established out of corporate flexibility could, at the same time, be made brittle and weakened.

AbstractThis edited volume has two main objectives: the first is to critically analyse and compare the role of regions in addressing environmental and climate change challenges in Europe and Latin America. The second objective is to assess the initiatives developed among these regions and formulate recommendations, contributing, therefore, to the mutual understanding of the issues at stake. Given these objectives, the book is structured in three main sections. In the first section, the authors discuss cooperation and perspectives on climate change within and among the EU and Latin American regional organizations. The second section addresses the challenges to finance development and a ‘greener’ economy in both regions, reflecting on the existing mechanisms and potential innovations. The chapters of the third section critically assess so-called new green solutions to climate change within these two regions, illustrating the challenges of fostering consensus on priorities, and most appropriate mechanisms, policies, and projects on the ground.

AbstractThis chapter analyses compared social stratification in three Latin American countries (Argentina, Chile and Uruguay) and four European countries (Finland, France, Spain, Great Britain). We focus on both external and internal borders of social classes, as well as on the challenges posed by their analysis for sociology. We compare social classes using EGP6 in relation to a variety of social indicators, to examine how social classes vary among countries. We include debates on production models and welfare state policies to understand the specific configurations and compare the conditions of some of the INCASI countries regarding social stratification. Lastly, we apply a latent class analysis to validate the number of social classes and to recognise class boundaries.

AbstractThe global trend towards stricter vehicle emission standards requires more knowledge about the use of renewable fuels to design strategies to reduce the use of non-renewable fossil fuels and the environmental impacts of road transport vehicles equipped with Diesel engines. In this study, a simple phenomenological model with three combined Wiebe functions is used to describe the main injection heat release rate of an unmodified heavy-duty diesel engine fueled with binary blends of n-butanol (up to 20% by volume) with diesel fuel. Conventional diesel was used as the reference fuel to compare combustion characteristics with the binary blends (DBu5, DBu10 and DBu20). The results show that the apparent heat release rate ($$AHRR$$) calculated from the model is in good agreement (RMSE ≤ 3.80 J/°CA) with the experimental values. The maximum $$AHRR$$ values (J/°CA) for the fuel blends DBu5, DBu10, DBu20 and the reference diesel were 220.7, 219.1, 211.8 and 217.7 respectively.

AbstractIndustrial maintenance is undergoing a process of digitalization and automation through the use of Industry 4.0 technologies. An example is the employment of digital twins which allow virtualizing assets such as a fleet of Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR) . In this paper, we analyze two local navigation algorithms for AMRs navigation in a digitized environment: Dynamic Window Approximation (DWA) and Time Elastic Band (TEB) . For this purpose, a digital twin is implemented in the ROS ecosystem. In this environment, a combined mission of a fleet of three AMRs is simulated where they navigate together in order to compare the behavior of the algorithms in dynamic industrial environments. As a result, the trajectories of each AMR that are key for production cost planning are analyzed. Finally, we introduce in this work a web server to interact with the developed digital twin facilitating its use.

AbstractWe compare the development of Sustainable (Green) Supply in three regions of the world, the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the Middle East, six countries in Europe, and six countries in Latin America, which were selected based on their Logistics Performance Index over a 10-year period. We based our empirical analysis on UN SDGs concerned with clean energy, innovation, sustainable communities, and climate action (SDGs 7, 9, 11, and 13, respectively). Using a modified RAM-DEA model, our results showed high logistics performance but significant divergence in green logistics performance among GCC countries. Countries in Western Europe led in terms of inputs that result in green outputs. Strong contenders in green supply chains include the UAE, Oman, México, Panamá, and Ecuador.

AbstractIn 2020, Peru became the third country in Latin America to adopt the benefit corporation model into its legal system, following its neighbors, Colombia and Ecuador, in proposing a legal model to identify purpose-driven companies. The Peruvian “sociedad de beneficio e interés colectivo” or a BIC company has not only been influenced by the U.S. Model Benefit Corporation Legislation but also by its legal exports, such as the Italian società benefit, the Colombian BIC law, and the Argentinean BIC draft bill. The Peruvian benefit corporation legal ecosystem consists of several newly approved legal documents, such as the law itself, its regulation, and the related reporting guidelines. The law allows the corporate models regulated by the Corporate Act to include three main features: (i) a specific social and environmental purpose in the bylaws; (ii) higher duties and protection for managers and directors; and (iii) transparency and reporting requirements. Additionally, the law grants supervisory power to the Peruvian Competition Authority and oversight of the legal ecosystem to the Peruvian Ministry of Industry. The regulations and reporting guidelines detail these three main features, particularly regarding the companies’ purpose and the transparency and reporting requirements. Only a year after the introduction of the BIC legal ecosystem in Peru, there is an on-going public-private effort to implement the law widely for corporations to actively contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Chapter 1 focuses on the early history of race-based insurance. When the Newark-based Prudential Insurance Company of America incorporated in 1875, it revolutionized the American insurance industry by offering policies to the working class for an affordable three cents per week. What made the Prudential doubly unique was that the company insured not simply industrial laborers, but also African American laborers. The company was not in the progressive vanguard, though. Rather, the Northern upstart, in contrast to its Southern competitors, simply had not thought to craft a company policy to explicitly ban African Americans from purchasing life insurance. Just five years after becoming the first insurer to cover black lives, the Prudential began to charge differential, race-based premiums and commenced a public relations effort to defend its discriminatory practices. This foundational chapter traces how the theoretical work of scientific racism became embedded in the business practices of American insurers.

Abstract One of the things that has been left out of the current debates about the canon and multiculturalism is history. Few have paused to inquire into the relationship between the present controversy and controversies that have erupted in the past. The only exception to this silence about history has been the oft-repeated assertion that the proponents of revised and enlarged curricula are leftover sixties revolutionaries who have traded in their beards and beads for tweed jackets and tenured positions in the universities. So we have this rather thin account of where the multiculturalists come from, but we have had no account at all of where the antimulticulturalists come from, and my intention here is to provide one. Let me begin by rehearsing some of the main tenets. of the antimulticulturalist argument, an argument that has been recently given a concise and forceful exposition by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., in his book The Disuniting of America: Reflections on a Multicultural Society. Schlesinger begins by sounding a call of alann, a kind of 1991 Paul Revere warning that not the British (or the Russians) but the multiculturalists are coming, and that they threaten the American way of life. He finds the threat in what he calls the “ethnic upsurge,” an “unprecedented . . . protest against the Anglocentric culture” that “today threatens to become a counterrevolution against the original theory of America as . . . a common culture, a single nation.”

Abstract In the summer of 1880, Henry Wellcome arrived in London to join his friend, Silas Burroughs, in partnership selling pharmaceuticals. Wellcome was 26 years old, almost 27, and had left behind a promising career as a salesman for one of America’s largest drugs companies in New York. He had no capital, and would have to borrow heavily from his new partner in order to establish himself. It was a risky venture, but Burroughs had been in England for two years already and knew that with superior American products and a creative approach to marketing they could effectively exploit the lacklustre British market. The two young Americans were ambitious: Wellcome would consolidate and expand their business in Britain, while Burroughs planned a world tour to launch the company abroad.

This paper outlines the main details of a technology transfer educational project between the EU and South America. It was sponsored by the CEC, The British Council and GUASCOR. An international network called GEOPHILES was set up to train ten South American individuals selected by the South American partners. The technical subject was power generation with gas fuel from biomass and low calorific value coal. The objective was to create a team of individuals with experience on a relevant discipline, giving each grantholder a different experience. To achieve this the training took place in several European Universities and a Spanish company. The trainees and their host institutions received state of the art training and material. They were also made aware of the advanced wealth creation capabilities within the European Community. The European membership of the consortium included three Universities with important industrial and commercial links and an industrial partner. This gave the programme a valuable practical element. The project was in two phases, firstly the preparation and delivery of the technical material in an intensive two week course. The second phase of the project was the mobility of the grantholders to Europe to carry out a six and a half month project on a subject relevant to the engineering of suitable power systems. In the short term the benefit to the South American community was a small team of experts with an increased awareness of advanced environment friendly power generation systems. In the long term this may result in valuable business opportunities to European industry.

Modern steam turbines of the author’s company are based on advanced technology such as high efficiency seals, 3D blading, single inner cylinders, and advanced materials. These technologies result in a compact opposed-flow HP/IP combined cylinder design with high long-term efficiency, reliability, and availability. This paper will illustrate the features, benefits, and operational experience of large steam turbines with advanced technologies using an opposed-flow HP/IP cylinder. The paper will also address the relative performance of this type of steam turbine against its predecessors. Specific examples will be examined: 350 MW fossil units in the Asian market, a typical 250 MW combined cycle steam turbine in the American market, a 700 MW three-cylinder class design for conventional steam plants developed for the global coal market, and a 600 MW steam turbine upgrade.

Abstract Transportation Technology Center Inc. (TTCI), a subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads (AAR), conducted extensive vehicle/track interaction tests from 1998 to 2000 on revenue service tracks for three freight vehicles (covered hopper, tank car and coal gondola). During those tests, both track geometry and the corresponding vehicle response were collected simultaneously. All together, more then 1,400 miles of revenue tracks were tested on three North American railroads, covering a wide range of track and operation conditions. This paper presents the test results and findings in two main areas: how vehicle responses relate to measured track geometry conditions and how vehicle responses compare to the AAR Chapter XI (vehicle track worthiness) criteria. Vehicle response includes wheel/rail forces and L/V ratios via instrumented wheelsets, as well as car body accelerations. Track geometry conditions are characterized by curvature, superelevation, vertical surfaces, cross-level, lateral alignments, and gage.

Abstract Responding to requirements of Operator Company in Abu Dhabi to automate and strengthen processes of running casing and tubing, a patented digital solution has been implemented, which timestamps all key phases of the tubulars’ lifecycle from rig receipt to running then to rig return, while enabling continuous improvement through post-running data analytics. The solution relies on unique individual pipe traceability, through a combination of different methods of marking such as – data matrix, RFID & barcodes. These markings are read using a variety of digital tools including – smartphones, tablets & cameras. The solution has already been deployed in North & South America, Europe, and Asia, totaling over 100 successful jobs worldwide. Operator Company in Abu Dhabi was the first operator in the Middle East to try the solution in 2022. The below section summarizes the solution results based on the feedback from the first three wells piloted by Abu Dhabi Oil Company. The value chain is broken down into three key categories as follows: – Pre-running: the solution brought an increased level of quality control paired with an automatically generated pre-tally list. Further to this, an increase in personnel is safety assisted by a reduction in tubular handling and removal of personnel from high-risk positions. – During running: the accuracy of the running sequence was ensured by the utilization of the solution ‘‘Watchdog Alerts’. These highlighted to the user any deviation from the original plan, preventing error and minimizing any downtime generated. All of this was made available in real-time in a cloud environment to anyone within the Operator Company with credentials for accessing the system. – Post-running: monitor and compare rig performances through digitally enabled data analytics In conclusion, significant cost reduction (from 15 to 45 k$ per job for a 70k$ rig day rate), mitigating risks of non-productive time by reducing human errors (from 5 to 15 hours per job), ensuring safety and integrity of the well and enabling operators to track its assets and monitor running operations in real-time.

MotivePower Incorporated (MPI) a Wabtec company and CTLGroup have completed stress testing of a new two-axle passenger locomotive truck (bogie) frame for use in North America. Testing was performed in accordance with International Union of Railways (UIC) Code 615-4 – Bogie Frame Structural Strength Tests [1]. Static testing was performed to simulate exceptional, main in-service and particular in-service loads. A three-phase dynamic fatigue test of 10 million cycles was also performed. Factors for quasi-static, dynamic and track twist (warp) loads were increased from those recommended by the UIC Code for normal operating conditions on European railways to represent North American track conditions. Significant engineering thought was invested in fixture design, with each load application and reaction point receiving careful consideration. Static testing required ten different servo-controlled loading systems to simulate independent or superimposed vertical, lateral and/or longitudinal forces. The applied loads represented tractive effort, braking effort, curving, vehicle lateral dynamics, vehicle vertical dynamics and track twist. Fatigue testing required four different servo-controlled loading systems utilizing synchronized force functions to simulate alternating quasi-static and dynamic load sequences. The apparatus also included provisions for measuring vertical reactions at each primary spring pocket. Vertical reaction loads were measured by instrumented pedestals using a full Wheatstone bridge configuration to cancel out longitudinal and lateral load effects. Prior to testing, the prototype truck frame was instrumented with 133 strain gages installed at selected points of interest. Stress values discerned from the measured strains conformed to the allowable stress criteria and compared well with those predicted by finite element analysis. Measured force reactions also showed strong correlation with predicted values. No indications of cracks were discovered during periodic non-destructive inspections. In conclusion, the UIC Code 615-4 test protocol was utilized to successfully demonstrate the strength and durability of a new two-axle passenger locomotive truck frame.

Essex County Resource Recovery Facility (one of American Ref-Fuel Company’s six operating plants) has processing MSW capacity of approximately 2700 TPD and about 60% of this waste comes from NY City. Therefore, availability of the Essex plant boilers is very important not only for the company’s financial performance, it is also critical for the overall garbage disposal situation in the NYC Metropolitan area. One of the main factors affecting plant availability is boiler unscheduled downtime. The most recent data show that approximately 85% of Essex boilers unscheduled downtime is caused by tube failures, the majority of which occur in the superheater tubes. These tube failures are almost exclusively caused by fireside tube metal wastage driven by complicated mechanisms of corrosion in combination with local erosion. The corrosion is caused by chloride salts in the slag that deposits on the boiler tubes, coupled with high temperatures of flue gas going through the boiler. Corrosion rates are known to be very sensitive to flue gas temperature, tube metal temperature, heat flux, flow distribution. Erosion is typically caused by high velocities and flyash particle loading and trajectories. Extensive research revealed that in addition to this typical to WTE boiler corrosion/erosion mechanism, Essex boiler superheater tubes experienced a unique problem, resulting in tube overheating, accelerated wastage, and ultimate failure. In order to address this problem a modification plan was developed, which comprised several redesign options. A specially developed Three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (3-D CFD) model was utilized for comprehensive technical evaluation of the considered design options and for predicted performance simulations of the selected design at different operating conditions. The economical analysis, conducted in conjunction with the superheater redesign, provided financial justification for this project. The project has been recently executed, and field data collection is still in progress. Some preliminary data analyses have been performed. They have shown that the boiler performance after superheater modification is very close to the predicted target simulated by the CFD model. The plant and the company are already measuring financial benefits as a result of this project, the initial phase of which is presented in this paper.

This paper presents the case of evolution and lessons learned in information technology service management (ITSM) of a World Food Company in Latin America, with an emphasis on their process-driven strategy for integral transformation through the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), as well as the creation of their Service Management Office (SMO). Their experience in implementing ITIL and an SMO presenting their roadmap and main challenges. As an extra added value, service quality has been enhanced through the use of business indicators and commitments from three perspectives: people, processes and technologies. These results reveal that the SMO has become a strategic complement for IT, in addition to being a fundamental element to ensure quality and efficiency in technology service management.

In 1752, the year Benjamin Franklin is credited with the invention of the lightning rod, he also established the first American fire insurance company. The coincidence of these innovations prefigures the parallel development and interwoven relationships between invention, building insurance, and legislation that underlie the production of architecture today. Industrialization brought new threats to the city (e.g. electricity, speed, explosives) while also dramatically increasing the scale of historical perils (e.g. flood, fire, theft). In turn, these threats gave rise to a field of new products, accessory to conventional building. In their early forms, the automatic sprinkler, exterior fire escape, panic bar, emergency light, and theft alarm were, like Franklin’s lightning rod, ready for production and deployment on a large scale, without definitive spatial identity, and suitable for use in new or existing construction. Negotiating the thresholds between the developing infrastructures of the city and its private spaces (as insured and legally defined), these devices may be understood collectively as a crumple zone intended not to prevent architectural emergency but to absorb, limit, and contain its effects.

The CONPROF project developed by the automation engineering company IPA SA, the University Politehnica of Bucharest and the Romanian-American University contributes to the sustainable development of the cooperation between higher education institutions and businesses by facilitating the training of students in higher education and the transition from being a student to being employed. It ensures in this way the increased employability of the graduates through counseling, vocational guidance, practical training and integrating three main components: curriculum, the student's initial skills and labor market needs. A central activity in the instruction is the complementarity of the practical training stage performed in the summer holyday after the third year of study by developing and implementing interactive learning methods using a simulated enterprise. The roles open in the application are: Admin, Professor and Student. In the simulated enterprise workflow, the activities start with the Admin creating the accounts for Professors and Students. The Student creates an enterprise and the Professor that is associated to the Student validates it. The Professor uploads the templates for the documents of the company and the Student completes them and uploads the files on the platform. The Professor grades the result. By connecting the simulated company to the simulated enterprise network ROCT (Romanian Coordination of Training Firms), the students come into direct contact with the functioning of public institutions relevant for companies. The role is to interconnect businesses simulated in a national network, giving at the same time services similar to those performed by state institutions such as the Trade Registry, Financial Administration, banks etc...

Abstract Three universities on three continents co-operated in teaching global product realization. The Global Product Realization (GPR) course is a highly innovative course in which virtual classrooms and workshops have been formed via ISDN lines, internet facilities and other information technological means representing the state-of-the-technology. This paper gives an insight into the background, the goals, and the implementation of the course. It also outlines the course contents, the layout, and the supporting infrastructure. The GPR course is based on three backbones: academic lectures, company case studies, and a product development project. Parallel to learning of the theoretical and practical backgrounds from academic and industry experts, the international student groups were busy with the development of a global product. It was a coffeemaker for the American, Dutch and Korean markets. The results achieved by the students were presented at the GPR Closing Workshop and Exhibition, where all participants came together to meet the media and the interested parties from academia and industry. The GPR course is a good example of a successful utilization of the opportunities offered by the latest technologies for the implementation of global design and manufacturing in a global environment.

In April 2015, the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, commissioned the research team to prepare a report on the effectiveness of some recent venture capital (VC) fund investments in Latin America. This report contains the research team's findings. This report focuses on three funds in which the MIF has invested. Using these funds as case studies, chosen to represent different investment approaches and company stages, the team explores two dimensions of impact: first, the direct impact of fund managers on portfolio companies is considered, and then the indirect impact created by portfolio companies in their communities and the region is examined. In addition to addressing the broader question of impact, the report also profiles two investments from each fund's portfolio. In these "minicases" the ways in which the fund managers add value to their companies are presented. In this way the MIF continues to examine its performance and share its lessons with others who seek to reduce poverty and improve the economic vitality of Latin America and other emerging countries.

In April 2015, the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, commissioned the research team to prepare a report on the effectiveness of some recent venture capital (VC) fund investments in Latin America. This report contains the research team's findings. This report focuses on three funds in which the MIF has invested. Using these funds as case studies, chosen to represent different investment approaches and company stages, the team explores two dimensions of impact: first, the direct impact of fund managers on portfolio companies is considered, and then the indirect impact created by portfolio companies in their communities and the region is examined. In addition to addressing the broader question of impact, the report also profiles two investments from each fund's portfolio. In these "minicases" the ways in which the fund managers add value to their companies are presented. In this way the MIF continues to examine its performance and share its lessons with others who seek to reduce poverty and improve the economic vitality of Latin America and other emerging countries.

In April 2015, the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, commissioned the research team to prepare a report on the effectiveness of some recent venture capital (VC) fund investments in Latin America. This report contains the research team's findings. This report focuses on three funds in which the MIF has invested. Using these funds as case studies, chosen to represent different investment approaches and company stages, the team explores two dimensions of impact: first, the direct impact of fund managers on portfolio companies is considered, and then the indirect impact created by portfolio companies in their communities and the region is examined. In addition to addressing the broader question of impact, the report also profiles two investments from each fund's portfolio. In these "minicases" the ways in which the fund managers add value to their companies are presented. In this way the MIF continues to examine its performance and share its lessons with others who seek to reduce poverty and improve the economic vitality of Latin America and other emerging countries.

In April 2015, the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, commissioned the research team to prepare a report on the effectiveness of some recent venture capital (VC) fund investments in Latin America. This report contains the research team's findings. This report focuses on three funds in which the MIF has invested. Using these funds as case studies, chosen to represent different investment approaches and company stages, the team explores two dimensions of impact: first, the direct impact of fund managers on portfolio companies is considered, and then the indirect impact created by portfolio companies in their communities and the region is examined. In addition to addressing the broader question of impact, the report also profiles two investments from each fund's portfolio. In these "minicases" the ways in which the fund managers add value to their companies are presented. In this way the MIF continues to examine its performance and share its lessons with others who seek to reduce poverty and improve the economic vitality of Latin America and other emerging countries.

This report presents the results of a comparative study of entrepreneurship in Latin America and East Asia. It focuses on the process of creation of new companies. That process is analyzed at three different stages: inception of the entrepreneurial venture, company start-up, and its early development. From the initial motivation to become an entrepreneur to the contacts needed to help solve problems as the business gets underway and grows, a number of factors affect the behavior of potential entrepreneurs. This study aims to identify the leading factors that stimulate or limit entrepreneurship at each stage of the entrepreneurial process in Latin America and East Asia. These leading factors are analyzed, a number of conclusions are drawn, and policy recommendations are reached for promoting entrepreneurship in different socio-economic contexts.

This report is the outcome of an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)regional public good (RPG) that different Latin American and Caribbean countries helped to create by identifying the information they needed to perfect the decision-making process on matters of trade and integration. The mechanism that the IDB foresaw is a three-way process, in which decisions are made in partnership with technical institutions and countries, which share their experience and knowledge of social demands. In this case, the countries of the region played a key role in designing an opinion poll on trade and integration, the results of which we compare with national statistical indicators. This was made possible by the strategic partnership between the Institute for the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean (IDB/INTAL), part of the Integration and Trade Sector, and Latinobarómetro, marking the start of the dialogue between two databases with very specific features. The first of these is the highly complete information on trade and integration that INTAL has acquired over its 51-year history. The second, the public perceptions that Latinobarómetro, a pioneering public opinion poll, has been measuring in the region for over two decades. Cross-referencing the results of over 20,000 exclusive surveys that were carried out in 18 Latin American countries with national statistics has helped create a powerful tool for designing integration and trade strategies. Comparing citizens' opinions and national statistics allows researchers to find correlations and asymmetries between public perceptions and the region's actual performance, thus contributing to improving planning and impact assessment in public policy design. We believe that integration processes should reflect both dimensions: they must not overlook classic indicators but they also need to include the voice of the people of Latin America, which is an essential part of any regional strategy seeking to construct a form of governance that is underpinned by the demands of society.

Certain new ultrasonic meter designs in were evaluated in compact installations. The natural gas industry is interested in realizing possible capital cost savings that would be achieved if ultrasonic meters could be installed in a configuration using meter tube lengths that are shorter than those commonly used today. As a starting point for this study, the short- and close-coupled installation details described in American Gas Association Report 7, �Measurement of Gas by Turbine Meters,� were accepted as reasonable short dimension installations to be studied. This document reports on the test results for three different new ultrasonic meter designs that were evaluated in the short-coupled and close-coupled installations Recommendations are made for industry�s application of these technologies. This study was developed in two parts, Phase I and Phase II. Phase I was focused on ultrasonic meter performance with ideal inlet flow conditions to the meter tube assembly. Phase II examined the response of the meters when the compact meter assembly was subjected to perturbed inlet flow conditions.

Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are major sources of natural resource consumption and environmental impacts such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. At the same time, MSMEs make up a large part of the value chains of multinational and publicly traded companies, and thereforeoffer a unique point of entry to improve value chain environmental management practices while simultaneously promoting economic development in the region. In this vein, the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, aims to improve MSME competitiveness through increased efficiency of natural resource inputs, reduction of air and water pollution, gaining higher prices for products that are certified through reputable green certifications, and increasing MSME sales by strengthening their positioning within the value chains of large companies with sustainability commitments. To inform the MIF's strategic planning on how technical assistance can be best structured to improve the competitiveness of MSMEs in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region through the promotion of best practices in natural resource management and environmental impact reduction, a study was undertaken by Trucost. As part of this study, Trucost's patented environmental extended input-output (EEIO) model was used to identify five economic sectors in LAC that are associated with the highest environmental implications regarding inputs (natural resource use) and outputs (environmental impacts) from production processes, specifically relating to the sectors' value chains. For each of these sectors, three large companies were identified for a more focused analysis of their activities relating to the management of value chain environmental impacts. A case study was developed for one large company per sector to document these in detail. This document summarizes the key findings and lessons learned from the case studies, indicating value chain sectors that can be targeted to most efficiently reduce value chain environmental impacts, as well as ways in which this targeting can be done.

Persistent gender economic differences have led to an extensive amount of literature devoted to the gender wage gap. However, wages are only one component of income for women and men, and self-employment income, non-labour income, taxes, pensions, and benefits are mostly omitted from the analysis. In this paper we contribute to the small but growing literature of gendered fiscal incidence by studying the effect of taxes, social insurance contributions and benefits on the gender gaps in disposable income for five Central American countries: El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, and Dominican Republic. Our analysis makes use of tax-benefit microsimulation models based on representative household surveys for each country. We compare results for 2019 and for a year afterwards for each country to determine if there are differences due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Three sets of findings are worth highlighting. Firstly, the tax-benefit systems of Panama and Costa Rica have the largest redistributive effect measured by the size of taxes and benefits at the upper and lower part of the disposable income distribution respectively. Second, Costa Rica is the country that close the gender income gap the most, while in the other countries the tax benefit system does not have an important effect in this regard. Thirdly decomposition of the raw disposable income gender gap indicates that a) labour income is the biggest contributor to the gap in all countries and periods analyzed with a very minor role for tax-benefit instruments. b) almost half of the gap is explained by differences in attributes such as education, age, or geographical location, so a significant gap remains unexplained c) differences in employment rates between genders are less important than differences in remunerations.

Verticillium dahliae is an economically important pathogen causing vascular wilt on over 160 plant species. In North America, potato early dying is a significant disease of potato, especially in the midwest and Pacific northwest states. This disease is caused by the fungus Verticillium dahliae and in some cases involves a synergistic interaction with root-lesion nematodes, primarily Pratylenchus penetrans. In Israel, Verticillium wilt occurs in many regions and inflicts serious losses in potato, cotton, and other crops. Objectives of this project were to establish a large collection of isolates of Verticillium dahliae from potato (USA) and several host plants (Israel) and to characterize and compare the isolates with regard to morphology, vegetative compatibility group (VCG), and pathogenic capabilities on several hosts. Isolations were made from 224 commercial lots of certified potato seed tubers from across N. America and 87 potato fields located in the Columbia Basin of Oregon and Washington. A large collection of isolates from central U.S. states already existed. In Israel, 47 field sites were sampled and isolates of Verticillium dahliae were recovered from 13 host plant species and from soil. Potato isolates from N. America were tested for vegetative compatibility and all found to be in VCG 4 with about 2/3 in VCG 4A and the rest in VCG 4B. VCG 4A isolates were significantly more aggressive on potato than VCG 4B isolates and were more likely to interact synergistically with P. penetrans. The Israeli isolates fell into three vegetative compatibility groups. Nearly all (> 90%) VCG2B and VCG 4B isolates were recovered from the northern and southern parts of Israel, respectively, with some overlap in central areas. Several pathotypes were defined in cotton, using cotton and eggplant together as differentials. All VCG 2B isolates from cotton caused severe disease in cotton, while VCG 2A and VCG 4B isolates from several crops were much less aggressive to cotton. When Israeli isolates of VCGs 2A, 2B and 4B were inoculated to potato and tomato, VCG 4B isolates caused much more severe disease on potato and VCG 2A isolates caused much more severe disease in tomato. Differential patterns of pathogenicity and aggressiveness of these VCGs on potato and tomato were consistent regardless of the host plant of origin. Isolates of the same VCG resembled one another more than isolates from different VCGs based on colony and microsclerotial morphology, temperature responses and, partially, in pathogenicity. Vegetative compatibility grouping of V. dahliae in Israel appears closely associated with specific pathogenicity and other phenotypic traits. The absence of VCG 4A in Israel is significant. VCG patterns among Verficillium populations are useful to predict relatedness and pathogenic potential in both countries.