Journal articles on the topic 'Periodicals – Pricing'

The most commonly used pricing approaches adopted by companies worldwide are based on costs, customer value, and competition. The purpose of the present study is to review the current status of publications on pricing globally with the addition of Brazilian literature, identify the most cited authors and highest publishing institutions, and outline further research opportunities. To this end, we use the bibliometric method to analyze relevant publications from the following four databases: Web of Science, Emerald, Elsevier, and Spell. A total of 286 papers from 195 periodicals and 31 journals (primarily from marketing, accounting, economics, and production engineering) are reviewed. The findings show that pricing is a complex and multifaceted topic involving far more than merely establishing selling prices, and that pricing managers face substantial challenges. The results also reveal that the cost-based pricing approach is superior to the perceived customer-value-based and the competition-based approaches. Finally, the findings show that pricing remains an underresearched topic, and is thus a fertile ground for further investigation.

The purpose of the article is to summarize and present the genesis of transfer pricing in Ukraine, to identify the problems and to assess the prospects of Ukraine in this direction. Methodology. The theoretical basis was the developments devoted to transfer pricing and the impact of globalization processes on the transfer pricing mechanism of transnational corporations and the system of international regulation. The methodology of the study consisted of general scientific and special scientific methods of research: analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, methods of analogy, differentiation, generalization. The information base of the study consists of regulatory legal documents, materials of monographic studies of foreign and domestic scientists, textbooks and manuals, international and Ukrainian scientific conferences, articles in periodicals and information base of the Internet. The results of the study showed that transfer pricing as a tax institute appeared in Ukraine in September 2013 against the background of increased attention to transnational corporations and international trade. Unlike many other requirements of tax legislation, transfer pricing has no clear regulatory framework, which creates many problems for both taxpayers and controlling authorities. Ukraine's experience shows that transfer pricing rules focus on shifting the tax base between countries and redistributing profits between related companies, as well as transferring income to low-tax countries. Practical implications. The practical significance of the study lies in a comprehensive analysis and assessment of the current situation of transfer pricing processes taking place in Ukraine. The experience of European countries and judicial practice which formed a number of important and progressive legal positions and conclusions on improvement of transfer pricing control can be used in practice for Ukraine. The practical novelty of the results consists in a comprehensive analysis of the impact of transfer pricing on the current state of tax management as a whole. Value/originality. With proper control over transfer pricing instruments, it is possible to significantly prevent the erosion of the tax base and, consequently, to increase the volume of taxation and ensure the economic security of the state at the proper level.

ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Leftist Newspapers and Periodicals is a source for leftist publications (mostly newspapers), largely published in the twentieth century. Here, the user can access articles in PDF format from 156 national and international publications. Navigating this database and the documents therein can be easily done, but articles cannot be magnified or reduced, which may prove problematic with PDFs of old newspapers. Database content can be found through browsing or by using a basic and/or advanced search. The browse and basic search options here are understandable, but the advanced search is not self-explanatory and can possibly confuse the user. As a consequence, a new user of this database will probably benefit from instruction in its use from either the vendor or someone else familiar with this resource. However, when this search function is used properly it can produce numerous, on-point results for any query. The same is true of the basic search and browsing features, though they tend to produce larger lists of results that are less on-point than the advanced search. The vendor did not provide specific price information for this review, only indicating that pricing is determined by an institution's size and number of users. As this provides potential subscribers with very little insight into the cost of acquiring this resource, its advised that they contact ProQuest for a price quote tailored to their own institution. Its licensing agreement is the same as those used for all ProQuest databases and is average in its composition (though somewhat longer than average). The quality and quantity of content in this resource is notable, and it will certainly be of use to those looking for articles from leftist newspapers and periodicals. However, the definition of “leftist” here may be problematic for some users! Communist and Socialist publications are certainly available in this database, but those for Anarchists, Social Democrats, and other leftists are not.

The article presents the analysis results of the literature of foreign experience in the field of design in the development of design and estimate documentation, in particular the determination of the design work cost. The current pricing mechanism in different countries is analyzed. Scientific works of foreign experts on the researched problem of estimate rationing, development and implementation of standards, different approaches to substantiation of construction cost and methodical bases of pricing of project production are a theoretical basis of research. Contradictions with the requirements of normative documents in force abroad, which arise during design, have been revealed. Possible changes that could be made to the standards on the basis of domestic and foreign research and design experience are indicated. The generalization of foreign experience indicates the presence of both negative and positive aspects in the field of design, as well as some areas for improving the work of our Ukrainian designers. The analysis of the estimated cost of design work formation in accordance with international practice shows that in the Ukrainian practice of development of estimated rationing in the direction of determining the cost of design work is given insufficient attention. A review of foreign experience in the field of design solutions is very rare in Ukrainian publications and remains the work of specialists of a narrow profile. It is necessary to ensure a radical improvement of the system of estimated standards, increasing their feasibility study. Price guarantees for the integrated use of the principles of commercial calculation should be created on this basis. In international design practice, a lot of attention is paid to the level of information messages in special periodicals. These general analytical views on the existence abroad of a system of estimated rationing, labor costs at the design stage give the impression that this area is constantly paid attention to by foreign experts. This indicates a periodic review of the economic component in the design. However, this issue remains open and relevant to this day.

Introduction. We investigated the problem of comparative analysis of the world and national trends of development of information support of the university research and education and position of Russia in the world academic community. Materials and Methods. We analyzed international and national surveys with data processing methods. Materials comprise results of the latest survey of the Publishers Communication Group, initial data of annual surveys conducted by Russian National electronic information consortium and the data of the surveys conducted by the Ministry of education and science of the Russian Federation in 2016 and 2017. Results. More than 90 % of world and Russian universities report of acquisition of scholarly resources via university consortia, 75 % of university funds are spent on periodicals. All peer groups demonstrate gradual migration to e-resources. In 2016, e-resources comprised 91 % of total acquisition expenses and e-books – 63 % of book acquisition. In Russia, more than 85 % of expenses on scholarly information belong to universities. From 2006 to 2014 average annual expenses on e-resources in Russian universities increased, however since the 2014, due to the economic crisis one can see shrinking of library expenses. This leads to a decrease in a number of acquired resources. Acquisition budgets of Russian leading universities (group 1) exceed budgets of non-leading universities (group 2) by ten times. In 2015, Russian universities spent 57 % of their acquisition budgets on the Elsevier databases. Discussion and Conclusions. Information support at Russian and world universities show common trends and features. The data on the e-resource expenses can be used as indicator of research activity in Russian institutions. It can also affect the information providers and scholarly journal publishers in development of the marketing, subscription and pricing policy in Russia.

The purpose of the article is to conduct an overview of the functioning of pre–revolutionary cinemas in one of the most remote provinces of Russia based on the analysis of archival materials, chronicle newspaper publications and the advertising component of regional periodicals. The object of the study is stationary cinematographic institutions of the cities of the Tobolsk province, the subject is the peculiarities of their functioning at the beginning of the XX century. In methodological terms, the work is based on descriptive-narrative, comparative-historical, logical and retrospective methods of scientific cognition, the method of historical reconstruction. It describes the formation of urban cinematographies of the province, their technical characteristics and infrastructure elements in accordance with official Russian standards, the conditions of acceptance of buildings, fire safety issues and problematic aspects of the existence of cinemas. Attention is paid to the repertoire content of film screenings, pricing policy, the phenomena of competition among film entrepreneurs, their work with the audience. The scientific novelty of the study is due to the lack of comprehensive regional works considering the specifics of the activities of pre-revolutionary cinematographic institutions in the territorial framework of the Tobolsk province. It is determined that cinema, having arisen at the end of the XIX century as a sporadic form of entertainment for citizens, during the first decades of the XX century it evolved into an important social phenomenon of everyday life and became one of the key factors of transformations that took place in the system of value attitudes and behavioral stereotypes of the population of the region. Stationary cinemas were not only a fundamentally new type of communication for representatives of the urban community, but over time they turned into significant objects of socio-cultural infrastructure and leisure centers for citizens of the Tobolsk province. A key trend in the progressive development of the cinema services industry in the studied region was constructive competition for the audience, during which the owners of institutions improved the infrastructure and regularly updated the repertoire of cinemas, resorted to intensification and forcing the advertising component in the development of their own business.

We review various alternative sustainability strategies for combating climate change as goal posts for meeting CO2 reduction targets towards zero net economy periodically have to be replaced. Research on policy success in reducing CO2 emissions through taxation and emission pricing/trading in various countries is analyzed to provide insight for policy makers. Economies with large energy sectors may consider appropriately designed cap and trade system that will achieve emission intensity reduction. In addition, carbon tax will incentives energy efficient economic and consumer behavior. Any combination of strategies for mitigating climate change should be adjusted to specific aspects of local social, economic and environmental factor and should be periodically attuned to their changes.

We construct the contingent claims models that price participating policies with rate guarantees and default risk. These policies are characterized by the sharing of profits from an investment portfolio between the insurer and the policyholders. A certain reserve distribution mechanism is employed to credit interest at or above certain specified guaranteed rate periodically to the policyholders. Besides the reversionary reserve distribution, terminal bonus is also paid to the policyholders if the terminal surplus is positive. However, the insurer may default at maturity and the policyholders can only receive the residual assets. By neglecting market frictions, mortality risk and surrender option, and under certain assumptions on the interest rate crediting mechanism, we are able to find analytic approximation solution to the pricing model using perturbation techniques. We also develop effective finite difference algorithms for the numerical solution of the contingent claims models. Pricing behaviors of these participating policies with respect to various parameters in the pricing models are examined.

Nowadays, blockchain bloat is an endangering issue caused by inefficient transaction storage mechanisms. Based on the Distributed File System (DFS), the blockchain network can reduce the local storage to solve the blockchain bloat problem. However, storing all blocks on DFS is not durable or scalable. Hence, classifying blocks into hot and cold was adopted in previous works. The blockchain nodes can reduce the time consumption and storage consumption by storing hot blocks locally. However, the previous works are not able to periodically check block integrity and do not provide a reward mechanism to encourage DFS system nodes to store blocks. We extend previous works based on the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) and design an innovative scheme to incentivize IPFS nodes. The IPFS nodes are regulated with smart contracts and behave under the pricing strategy controls to increase profit. By adopting proof of retrievability, we guarantee the integrity of the blocks. Further, the redundant scheme extends our pricing strategy to improve the durability of our proposed framework. A load-balancing pricing strategy and a general pricing strategy are provided in the framework to reward the DFS nodes. Extensive experiments are presented to demonstrate that the latency and throughputs of our model are competitive, while still maintaining data integrity in the system. The additional increased throughput takes only 0.167% of that produced by the original Bitcoin and the upload latency takes only 6.67% of the mining time of the Bitcoin Mainnet. Furthermore, our load-balancing pricing strategy achieves the effectiveness to ensure the redundancy of blocks and reduces the overall storage consumption up to 97% using the load-balancing pricing strategy, compared to the non-load-balancing pricing strategy.

Fashion apparel, with short product lifecycles and highly volatile demand, requires careful attention during both the initial ordering periods before the selling season and during the selling season, with its decisions regarding price and replenishment. Using Pontryagin’s maximum principle method, this study investigates the problem of the dynamic pricing strategy and replenishment cycle for fashion apparel by considering the effect of fashion level on demand. First, we provide a framework for fashion apparel by formulating a model that includes both price and demand at different fashion levels. We then provide an algorithm to derive the optimal dynamic pricing strategy and replenishment cycle. Numerical examples and sensitivity analyses of the main system parameters are provided to demonstrate the obtained results, which form the basis for managerial insights. It is shown that the apparel retailer has three types of optimal dynamic pricing strategies and that the optimal strategy is independent of the replenishment cycle. The apparel retailer is able to realize the profit advantage of a continuously variable price policy by adjusting the sales price periodically.

BACKGROUND: Although only 7–8% of US healthcare expenditures are spent on prescription drug products, the pharmaceutical industry's profitability and high cost of prescriptions to consumers make prescription drugs a visible target for reform. When compared with other products, it appears as if unfair pricing tactics are used. The pharmaceutical industry cites costs of research and development and a short patent life as justifiable grounds for high prices, but the reason why US drug prices appear to be so high has yet to be answered. OBJECTIVE: To examine identified components of the pharmaceutical industry that allow US prescription drugs to appear to be highly priced and to review the apparent factors that affect pricing policies for pharmaceuticals. DATA SOURCES: The literature was reviewed to identify current research regarding the pharmaceutical market. Sources included MEDLINE, Econolit, Business Periodical Index, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and the F-D-C Pink Sheet. SUMMARY: Key factors account for the fact that US prescription drug prices are higher and that price discrimination occurs in the pharmaceutical industry within the US and among other countries. These factors include the unique market structure of the pharmaceutical industry, asymmetry of information, research and development costs, numerous channels of distribution and the differences among them, and government laws and regulations of prescription drugs. Pricing policies of pharmaceutical companies are based on manufacturing, promotion, and distribution costs; drug characteristics; and economic goals of the parent company.

Price review arbitration remains a prevalent feature of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) industry. Contractual pricing schemes may require periodical adjustment to realign them with prevailing commercial realities or market conditions. Price review clauses may provide for the review and potential revision of the contract price, by agreement, at specific times and on the occurrence and fulfillment of certain conditions.Where agreement cannot be reached, disputes will often be settled by international arbitration. Some of the more commonly seen characteristics of price review clauses are explored below, together with the associated processes by which parties may seek to agree revision of the contract price, and failing agreement, the referral of that dispute to arbitration.

<p align="center"><strong><em>ABSTRACT</em></strong></p><p><strong><em> </em></strong></p><p><em>The purpose of this research was to obtain empirical evidence and found the clarity of the phenomenon as well as conclusions about the effect of two variables for purchase decision on PT. Mitrametal Perkasa’s electroplating part.</em></p><p><em>The research was expected to contribute of economics development and marketing management.</em></p><p><em>This research was conducted by using descriptive and verificative methods, are collecting, presenting, analyzing and testing hypotheses, making conclusions and suggestions.</em></p><p><em>From the analysis of research data, obtained the following conclusions: Product attributes of electroplating products at PT. Mitrametal Perkasa have been on high criteria. Pricing of PT. Mitrametal Perkasa’s electroplating products have been on middle criteria. Purchase decision of electroplating products at PT. Mitrametal Perkasa have been on high criteria. The relationship between product attributes with pricing at very strong level and has correlation coefficient 0.844. The partial effect of attributes products to purchase decision has value 43.3%. The partial effect of pricing to purchase decision has value 33%. The simultaneous effect of product attributes and pricing to the purchase decision has value 76.3%.</em></p><p><em>From these results, that variable product attributes and pricing significantly influence to the purchase decision on PT. Mitrametal Perkasa’s electroplating products. Furthermore, for sustainability to improve and optimize these variables, PT. Mitrametal Perkasa was expected to create internal and external continues improvement programs periodically.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><strong><em>Keywords: </em></strong><em>product attributes, pricing, purchase decision</em>

Water rights transfers for surface water have taken place in El Paso County in far west Texas for many decades. Historically, these exchanges have primarily occurred between agricultural water users. In recent decades, there have also been transfers from agricultural uses to urban uses. Ongoing commercial and demographic expansion in the El Paso metropolitan economy increases the likelihood of additional farm-to-municipal transfers in future years. Although legal mechanisms have periodically been introduced to allow these exchanges to occur, pricing has not played a central role in the process. At present, transfers of surface water rights in El Paso County occur under fairly rigid conditions.

The Italian National Health Service (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale, SSN) is structured at comprehensive levels such as collective prevention and public health, cure and rehabilitation assistance, and pharmaceutical services, with the primary objective of guaranteeing universal access of all Italian citizens, on equal terms, to equitable provision of health services. Italy was used as a case study to explore their healthcare system and their economic regulation and reimbursement of pharmaceuticals. The Italian Medicines Agency (Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco, AIFA) is responsible for regulation related to efficacy, safety and quality, pricing and negotiations for reimbursement of medicines. Among the various negotiation criteria defined in specific legislation, biosimilars and generics enter the Italian market with a discount of at least 20% to the reference medicine. Price review occurs in a periodical basis and upon the emergence of new evidence of efficacy and safety arising from pharmacovigilance or upon request of changes in the therapeutic indications and/or dosage. In addition, conducting the monitoring and analysis of pharmaceutical consumption and expenditure contributes for planning health policy interventions, since it allows for prompt identification of emerging phenomena, framing prescription behaviours, and verifying the effectiveness of regulatory interventions at regional and national levels. Efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness analyses are conducted before the introduction of the medicines in the Italian market. It continues to be performed when the drug in on the market with health technologies assessment, constituting a process of permanent investigation of the clinical, economic and social consequences of the medicine’s utilisation. In addition, it allows controlling expenses and identifying avoidable costs.

An Inflation-Indexed Swap (IIS) is a derivative in which, at every payment date, the counterparties swap an inflation rate with a fixed rate. For the calculation of the Inflation Leg cash flows it is necessary to build a mathematical model suitable for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) projection. For this purpose, quants typically start by using market quotes for the Zero-Coupon swaps in order to derive the future trend of the inflation index, together with a seasonality model for capturing the typical periodical effects. In this study, we propose a forecasting model for inflation seasonality based on a Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) network: a deep learning methodology particularly useful for forecasting purposes. The CPI predictions are conducted using a FinTech paradigm, but in respect of the traditional quantitative finance theory developed in this research field. The paper is structured according to the following sections: the first two parts illustrate the pricing methodologies for the most popular IIS: the Zero Coupon Inflation-Indexed Swap (ZCIIS) and the Year-on-Year Inflation-Indexed Swap (YYIIS); section 3 deals with the traditional standard method for the forecast of CPI values (trend + seasonality), while section 4 describes the LSTM architecture, and section 5 focuses on CPI projections, also called inflation bootstrap. Then section 6 describes a robust check, implementing a traditional SARIMA model in order to improve the interpretation of the LSTM outputs; finally, section 7 concludes with a real market case, where the two methodologies are used for computing the fair-value for a YYIIS and the model risk is quantified.

As a freeway operational management strategy, High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes have been deployed to manage the demand for High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes by adjusting the tolls. By doing so, the capacity of freeways with such lanes can be used more efficiently. Periodically, setting the right amount of toll in accordance with the time-varying demand is a key to successful operation of HOT lanes; however, this is often difficult because travellers have heterogeneous willingness to pay for the toll and traffic conditions vary as the demand changes due to the imposition of tolls. This paper proposed an algorithm to determine the optimal level of toll for minimizing the total delay collectively spent by both HOVs and low-occupancy vehicles. Based on real-world traffic and survey data obtained from Gyungbu expressway in South Korea, a case study is presented to verify the applicability of the developed algorithm. The results from the case study show that the proactive dynamic pricing scheme can use the underutilized capacity of HOT lane efficiently and, thereby, shorten total travel time by 22% and generate revenue of more than $8600. Some limitations and future research agendas are also discussed.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the dynamic acquisition pricing strategy for collecting used products (also known as cores or returns) in a finite planning horizon. In particular, this paper studies a cost-minimization model in which a firm offers acquisition price that impacts the quantity of the returns, and remanufactures the used product to satisfy the customer demand. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses multi-period stochastic dynamic programming theory to model a remanufacturing system that faces the random demand for remanufactured products. The number of the returns at each period is uncertain and increases linearly with the acquisition price offered. Findings – The study shows that when the uncertainty of demand for remanufactured products increases, the remanufacturer should hold a higher core stock level to minimize the expected total cost and thus a higher acquisition price is needed to attract returns. However, given demand uncertainty, the optimal price decreases in the initial core stock level in each period. It also indicates that the optimal acquisition price increases in the variance of the returns, but decreases in the mean of the returns. Practical implications – The findings suggest that a remanufacturer could reduce the expected total cost by adjusting the acquisition price according to the number of returns periodically. Originality/value – Introducing the impact of supply uncertainty on the acquisition price of used products, this paper uses a multi-period dynamic model, instead of single period model in previous studies, to examine the remanufacturer’s dynamic acquisition pricing policy.

The problem of setting prices for construction works is significant for both the investor and contractor companies. The periodically occurring instabilities in the economy require investment process participants to perform detailed market analyses and assessments, as well as to monitor price forecasts in construction. It is only after such an assessment that it is possible within the framework of the initial assumptions for cost calculation to select the basis for setting prices and their levels. The identification and analysis of the risks related to uncontrolled price increases allow contractors to secure their businesses by developing bids that ensure maximum profit. In view of the above, this study proposes an approach based on the use of game theory against nature to identify the optimal variant of a bid estimate. The study considers price forecasts for construction products, which may reduce the negative impact in case the prices increase. The obtained results confirmed the effectiveness of the used decision-making support methods, indicating the optimal strategy to reduce financial losses in times of market instability. The proposed approach also allows for a balance (symmetry) between maximum profit and probability of winning the contract.

AbstractIn this paper we analyse, in a contingent-claims framework, one of the most common life insurance policies sold in Italy during the last two decades. The policy, of the endowment type, is initially priced as a standard one, given a mortality table and a technical interest rate. Subsequently, at the end of each policy year, the insurance company grants a bonus, which is credited to the mathematical reserve and depends on the performance of a special investment portfolio. More precisely, this bonus is determined in such a way that the total interest rate credited to the insured equals a given percentage (participation level) of the annual return on the reference portfolio and anyway does not fall below the technical rate (minimum interest rate guaranteed, henceforth). Moreover, if the contract is paid by periodical premiums, it is usually stated that the annual premium is adjusted at the same rate of the bonus, and thus the benefit is also adjusted in the same measure. In such policy the variables controlled by the insurance company (control-variables, henceforth) are the technical rate, the participation level and, in some sense, the riskiness of the reference portfolio measured by its volatility. However, as it is intuitive, not all sets of values for these variables give rise to a fair contract, i.e. to a contract priced consistently with the usual assumptions on financial markets and, in particular, with no-arbitrage. We derive then necessary and sufficient conditions under which each control-variable is determined by a fair pricing of the contract, given the remaining two ones.

Showrooming has become common practice of consumers in the context of dual-channel retailing. Under different intensities of showrooming, the manufacturer can decide whether to directly retail online (the M-R case) or resell through an e-retailer (the E-R case). Dual-channel supply chain models and dynamic game models are developed and both online selling formats are investigated. The dynamic game process of the supply chain is numerically simulated. The stability of the Nash equilibrium point is investigated by parameter basins for periodical cycles and bifurcation diagrams. The results show that the price adjustment speeds have a larger stability range in the M-R case while the service effort adjustment speed has a larger stability range in the E-R case. The stability of the systems is more sensitive to price adjustment speed than service effort adjustment speed in both supply chain structures. It is found that the systems will enter chaos through a flip bifurcation or a Neimark–Sacker bifurcation. The changes in attractors and basins of attraction indicate that both channels can reach the equilibria more easily when they choose a lower speed of retail price adjustment. The effects of showrooming on decision variables are greater in the M-R case than in the E-R case. When the showrooming effect is moderate, the manufacturer should choose the M-R case; when the showrooming effect is sufficiently large or sufficiently small, the manufacturer should choose the E-R case. We propose a wholesale price markdown strategy which can: (i) eliminate the double marginalization and coordinate the supply chain; (ii) effectively control the chaos caused by the overhigh adjustment speed of wholesale price, and restore the system to a stable state; (iii) improve the retailer’s service effort.

The ArgumentJohann von Justi, the foremost literary cameralist of his generation, served as chief police commissioner in Göttingen between 1755 and 1757. While in Göttingen, Justi offered lectures at the university on the “œconomic, police and cameral sciences.” He also arrested vagrants, wrote on chemistry, disciplined unruly students, conducted chemical experiments, supervised the pricing of Göttingen's staple goods, engaged in a public controversy with a prominent Berlin chemist, edited and published a bi-weekly periodical (Göttingische Policey-Amts Nachrichien), and worked with the university's curator to refashion the academic structure of the sciences. Taken together, these various activities reflected his broad vision for social and academic change, a vision with important implications for the form and content of the sciences. Drawing on archival material in Göttingen, on articles from the Policey-Amts Nachrichten, and on Justi's other cameralist and chemical writings, I use his everyday experiences as a local police official to explore the meaning of his chemical work. I argue that Justi's chemistry was suffused with the cameralist dreams and ambitions of a small-town police commissioner. It is what I call police chemistry.

An attractive approach to managing electricity demand in the Smart Grid relies on real-time pricing (RTP) tariffs, where customers are incentivized to quickly adapt to changes in the cost of supply. However, choosing amongst competitive RTP tariffs is difficult when tariff prices change rapidly. The problem is further complicated when we assume that the price changes for a tariff are published in real-time only to those customers who are currently subscribed to that tariff, thus making the prices partially observable. We present models and learning algorithms for autonomous agents that can address the tariff selection problem on behalf of customers. We introduce 'Negotiated Learning', a general algorithm that enables a self-interested sequential decision-making agent to periodically select amongst a variable set of 'entities' (e.g., tariffs) by negotiating with other agents in the environment to gather information about dynamic partially observable entity 'features' (e.g., tariff prices) that affect the entity selection decision. We also contribute a formulation of the tariff selection problem as a 'Negotiable Entity Selection Process', a novel representation. We support our contributions with intuitive justification and simulation experiments based on real data on an open Smart Grid simulation platform.

Purpose – The use of energy storage devices helps the consumers to utilize the benefits and flexibilities brought by smart networks. One of the major energy storage solutions is using electric vehicle batteries. The purpose of this paper is to develop an optimal energy management strategy for a consumer connected to the power grid equipped with Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) power supply and renewable power generation unit (PV). Design/methodology/approach – The problem of energy flow management is formulated and solved as an optimization problem using a linear programming model. The total energy cost of the consumer is optimized. The optimal values of decision variables are found using CPLEX solver. Findings – The simulation results demonstrated that if the optimal decisions are made regarding the V2H operation and managing the produced power by solar panels then the total energy payments are significantly reduced. Originality/value – The gap that the proposed model is trying to fill is the holistic determination of an optimal energy procurement portfolio by using various embedded resources in an optimal way. The contributions of this paper are in threefold as: first, the introduction of mobile storage devices with a periodical availability depending on driving schedules; second, offering a new business model for managing the generation of PV modules by considering the possibility of grid injection or self-consumption; third, considering Real Time Pricing in the suggested formulation.

ABSTRAK Dalam upaya mengembangkan industri pasar modal di Indonesia, BEI senantiasa mengedukasi dan mengembangkan industri ke arah yang lebih baik, tujuan BEI tidak semata fokus pada penambahan jumlah investor baru, namun juga berupaya untuk menanamkan kebutuhan berinvestasi di pasar modal, yang secara tidak langsung akan meningkatkan jumlah investor aktif di pasar modal Indonesia. Yuk Nabung Saham merupakan bentuk kampanye untuk mengajak seluruh masyarakat menjadi calon pemodal untuk berinvestasi dengan membeli Saham secara rutin dan berkala. Sehingga, masyarakat Indonesia mulai bergerak dari saving society menjadi investing society. Penelitian ini dilakukan dibidang kajian analisisi investasi dan portofolio, pada pasar modal. Penelitian ini bersifat explanatory yang menjelaskan analisis investasi dan portofolio dengan menggunakan metoda capital asset pricing model sebagai alat untuk pengambilan keputusan investasi pada saham individual dengan populasi penelitian saham yang tergabung pada indeks IDX30 BEI. Model CAPM dapat menentukan minimum required return harga suatu asset dari investasi yang berisiko pada kondisi ekuilibrium. Dalam penelitian ini pengambilan sampel dilakukan dengan teknik non random sampling pada metoda purposive random sampling dikumpulkan melalui data sekunder dengan teknik pengumpulan data cross section. Penelitian ini mengacu kepada dua variabel yaitu, required return yang merupakan tingkat pengembalian yang diharapkan akan direalisasikan dari suatu investasi, dan Systematic risk sebagai suatu ukuran risiko yang tidak dapat dihilangkan melalui diversifikasi, yang mana merupakan risiko yang masih menjadi masalah bagi investor. Hasil penelitian diperoleh bahwa, semakin besar nilai required return, semakin besar pula nilai ?i saham tersebut begitu pula sebaliknya semakin kecil nilai required return semakin kecil pula nilai ?i saham tersebut. Kata Kunci: Capital Asset Pricing Model, Systematic Risk, Required Return ABSTRACT In an effort to develop the capital market industry in Indonesia, the BEI continues to educate and develop the industry in a better direction, the purpose of the BEI is not merely to focus on adding new investors, but also to invest in the capital market, which will indirectly increase the amount active investor in the Indonesian capital market. Yuk Savings Stock is a form of campaign to invite all people to become prospective investors to invest by buying shares regularly and periodically. Thus, Indonesian people began to move from saving society to investing society. This research was conducted in the field of investment analysis and portfolio studies, on the capital market. This research is an explanatory study that explains investment and portfolio analysis using the capital asset pricing model as a tool for investment decision making on individual shares with a stock research population incorporated in the IDX30 BEI index. The CAPM model can determine the minimum required return on the price of an asset from investments that are at risk under equilibrium conditions. In this study the sampling was done by non-random sampling technique in the purposive random sampling method collected through secondary data with cross section data collection techniques. This study refers to two variables namely, required return which is the expected rate of return of an investment, and Systematic risk as a measure of risk that cannot be eliminated through diversification, which is a risk that is still an issue for investors. The results showed that, the greater the value of required return, the greater the value of the stock ?i and vice versa the smaller the value of the required return the smaller the value of the stock ?i. Keyword: Capital Asset Pricing Model, Systematic Risk, Required Return

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the presence of a housing bubble using Swedish data from 1986Q1-2016Q4 by using various methods. Design/methodology/approach First, the authors use affordability indicators and asset-pricing approaches, including the price-to-income ratio, price-to-rent ratio and user cost, supplemented by a qualitative discussion of other factors affecting house prices. Second, the authors use cointegration techniques to compute the fundamental (or long-run) price, which is then compared with the actual price to test the degree of Sweden’s housing price bubble during the studied period. Third, they apply the univariate right-tailed unit root test procedure to capture bursting bubbles and to date-stamp bubbles. Findings The authors find evidence for rational housing bubbles with explosive behavioral components beginning in 2004. These bubbles do not continuously diverge but instead periodically revert to their fundamental value. However, the deviation is persistent, and without any policy correction, it takes decades for real house prices to return to equilibrium. Originality/value The policy implication is that monetary policy designed to contain mortgage demand and thereby prevent burst episodes in the housing market must address external imbalances, as revealed in real exchange rate undervaluation. It is unlikely that current policies will stop the rise of house prices, as the growth of mortgage credit, improvement in Sweden’s international competitiveness and the path of interest rates are much more important factors.

This paper investigates the nutritional status of a randomly selected cohort of school children and the factors affecting it. This random survey was conducted in the state of Selangor, involving 1,405 primary students (aged 9-10 years from 54 national primary schools). Physical examination was carried out on all the students. Information on the students was also obtained from the parents. Blood samples were taken by using the finger pricking technique. Body mass index (BMI) was used as a measure of physical growth. The students were mainly from urban areas (82.9%). The mean age was 9.71 years and a higher proportion was females (51%). Malays constituted 83.6%, Indians 11.6% and Chinese 4.2% of the study population. The mean weight and height were 32.30 kg and 135.18cm respectively. The mean BMI was 17.42 kg/m2, with 1.2% of the students underweight, 76.3% normal BMI, 16.3% overweight and 6.3% were obese. Nutritional status was significantly related to blood pressure, history of breast feeding, eating fast food, taking canned/bottled drinks, income and educational level of parents. Significant differences in nutritional status between sexes and locations (rural/ urban) were also found. The prevalence of overweight and obese children was of concern. There is thus an urgent need for the School Health Program to periodically monitor the school children's eating habits and physical growth. Appropriate counselling on nutritional intake and physical activities should be given not only to schoolchildren but also to their teachers and parents or caregivers. Asia Pac J Public Health 2005; 17(2): 71-80.

ImportanceUse of generics is generally understood as a cost-saving practice. However, pharmacy benefit managers have an incentive to place higher-priced generic drugs on insurers’ drug formularies to profit by creating a large difference between the price negotiated with pharmacies and the price paid by insurers (what is known as spread pricing).ObjectiveTo examine price differentials and savings potential between high-cost generics and corresponding therapeutic alternatives of same clinical value and lower cost.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis cross-sectional analysis examined the top 1000 generics in Colorado’s all-payer claims database (CO-APCD) in 2019. High-cost generics and lower-cost generic therapeutic alternatives of same clinical value constituted the study sample. Data were analyzed from January 2019 to December 2019.ExposuresGeneric drug prices measured by transaction prices, average wholesale price (AWP), and national drug acquisition average cost (NADAC).Main Outcomes and MeasuresPrice differentials between the high-cost generics and the corresponding therapeutic alternatives. Levels of discounts and savings that could be achieved if the high-cost generics had been substituted by their therapeutic alternatives.ResultsThis cross-sectional study of the top 1000 CO-APCD generics identified 45 high-cost products that had lower-cost therapeutic alternatives of same clinical value. Overall, high-cost generics were 15.6 times more expensive than their therapeutic alternatives (median values). If the lower-cost alternatives had been used, total spending would have been reduced from $7.5 million to $873 711, resulting in 88.3% savings. Most substitutions (28 of 45 [62.2]%) involved different dosage forms or different strengths of the same drug and provided mean (SD) discounts of 94.9% (3.8%) and 77.1% (19.9%), respectively.Conclusions and RelevanceIn this study, replacing high-cost generics with lower-cost alternatives of same clinical value would produce savings of nearly 90%. Plan sponsors should be aware that some generics are associated with higher spending and should periodically review the specific products driving their generic drug spending. Substitution of high-cost generics may provide a simple pathway to offer the same therapeutic benefit at lower cost to patients and insurers.

<p>當今全球暖化，城市面臨氣候變遷及二氧化碳排放量遽增，進而產生更明顯的都市熱島效應，所以現在更需加強城市整體耗能之未來減緩及調適策略訂定。本研究對臺中市及臺南市兩個城市都會區，進行碳收支項目的剖析與研究，並完整呈現出影響臺灣本土都會區總耗能量之特性。臺中市都會區採以單一案例街廓為基本單元，首重詳解建築碳排放量及交通碳排放量等項目，臺南市都會區以都市網格解析。本研究除量化都會區整體碳收支，更兼具涵蓋都市小尺度及大尺度範圍，並建立本土城市各項二氧化碳排放量多項式簡算法。兩個都會區中，針對各行政區的人口密度及整體耗能的關聯分析顯示，當一個行政區的人口密度愈高時，單位土地面積的碳排放量愈少，此趨勢特徵與都市基礎設施及其分擔之服務單位人口數有關。另本研究剖析都市各項影響因子及整合城市宜居環境評估指標後，首先提出建築運輸指標及地價財經指標，含括建築、交通、地價及收入等發展相關指標，得到臺中市都會區總碳排放量與建築運輸指標及地價財經指標，皆為正相關性，並與臺南市都會區因郊區使用分區的使用特性相比，產生兩者都會區明顯差異性。本研究同時建構出完整的關鍵城市耗能評估指標及策略模式，續以應用及推廣於辦理都市計畫定期通盤檢討。</p> <p>&nbsp;</p><p>Due to global warming, cities face climate change and increasing carbon dioxide emissions, making the urban heat island effect more pronounced. It is therefore necessary to strengthen mitigation and adjustment strategies for the city’s overall energy consumption in the future. This research analyzes and compares two metropolitan areas’ carbon budget projects in Taichung and Tainan, and comprehensively presents the characteristics that affect Taiwan’s metropolitan areas’ total energy consumption. The Taichung metropolitan area uses a single-case block profile as the basic unit and focuses on detailed building carbon emissions and transportation carbon emissions. In terms of the Tainan metropolitan area, the analysis is based on the urban grid. In addition to quantifying the metropolitan area’s overall carbon budget, this study also covers both small-scale and large-scale urban areas and establishes a simplified model for various carbon dioxide emissions in local cities. The overall energy consumption of the two metropolitan areas shows that an area with higher population density will induce less carbon emissions, which may due to the relationship between urban infrastructure and its quantity of service populations. Based on our analysis using the city’s livable environment’s assessment indicators, the evaluation results of building-transport indicators and real estate pricing indicators we developed an index which includes building, transport, land price, and income factors. The overall carbon emissions of the Taichung metropolitan area are positively correlated with building-transport indicators and real estate pricing indicators. Compared with the Tainan metropolitan area’s usage characteristics, due to suburban use, there are apparent differences between the two metropolitan areas. This research helped develop a complete urban energy consumption indicator and future strategy model, which can be promoted through regulations for the periodical review of urban planning. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

A Review of: Murphy, Sarah Ann. “The Effects of Portfolio Purchasing on Scientific Subject Collections.” College & Research Libraries July 2008: 332-40. Objectives – To determine whether the purchase of journal portfolios (i.e., packages of journals purchased as a group from publishers, such as Elsevier’s ScienceDirect) from publishers is an effective means of meeting research needs for faculty in the life, medical, physical, and applied sciences, and to determine the effects of such purchases on research library collections. Design – Citation analysis. Setting – Ohio State University libraries in the life, medical, physical, and applied sciences. Subjects – A total of 253,604 citations from 6,815 articles published between the years 2003 and 2005 by Ohio State University faculty in the life, medical, physical, and applied sciences were analyzed using the Bradford distribution (an explanation of the Bradford Distribution is provided later in this review). Methods – Using ISI’s Science Citation Index, the author generated a list of articles published by Ohio State University (OSU) faculty in the life, medical, physical, and applied sciences between the years 2003 and 2005. The author then assigned each article to a specific discipline, according to the OSU College of the first OSU author listed. For example, if an article was written by several co-authors, and the first OSU author listed was a faculty member in OSU’s College of Dentistry, the article would be designated a Dentistry article. Multidisciplinary works were assigned to the college of the first OSU author listed. (The OSU Colleges considered to be part of the study were the College of Biological Sciences; the College of Dentistry; the College of Engineering; Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences; the College of Mathematical and Physical Sciences; the College of Medicine; the College of Optometry; the College of Pharmacy; and the College of Veterinary Medicine.) Books, conference proceedings, theses, and other non-journal materials were excluded from the set of citations considered. Next, the author pulled journal citations from each article, again utilizing Science Citation Index. The references were analyzed to determine the number of times each individual journal had been cited. The author then created a list of journals which had been cited in articles by OSU faculty in the various colleges, grouped by college. The journals were arranged in descending order, according to the number of times each journal had been cited. Thus there would be, for example, a list of all journals cited in articles published by faculty members in the OSU College of Dentistry between 2003 and 2005. Most journals had been cited only once over the three-year period. A total of 2,407 journal titles were cited 10 or more times. In total, the author analyzed 253,604 citations from 6,815 articles. A Bradford distribution of journal citations was calculated, and journals were divided into three categories. The three categories were called Zones 1, 2, and 3, with Zone 1 being core journals for the faculty, Zone 2 being more secondary titles, and Zone 3 being those cited least frequently. For those not familiar with this type of analysis, a definition of Bradford’s law is available on the U.S. National Institute for Standards and Technology website. It is included here for ease of reference: “Journals in a field can be divided into three parts, each with about one-third of all articles: 1) a core of a few journals; 2) a second zone, with more journals; and 3) a third zone, with the bulk of journals. The number of journals is 1:n:n². Note thatBradford formulated his law after studying a bibliography of geophysics, covering 326 journals in the field. He discovered that 9 journals contained 429 articles, 59 contained 499 articles, and 258 contained 404 articles. Although Bradford's Law is not statistically accurate, librarians commonly use it as a guideline” (Black). The author then determined how the OSU Libraries purchased access to each title. The three options analyzed were: 1) through OHIOLink (through which OSU Libraries purchase the bulk of the journal portfolios to which they subscribe), 2) through the independent purchase of an electronic subscription, or 3) through the independent purchase of a print subscription. The cost for each title was calculated by taking the amount paid for OHIOLink subscriptions and removing the cost of non-scientific journals from the total amount. Pricing for the non-scientific journals was obtained using EBSCO’s Librarian’s Handbook 2006-2007 and Ulrich’s Periodical Directory. To account for inflation, any 2007 prices were adjusted by 6. The above activities were designed to calculate both the cost of each title as purchased through OHIOLink, and what the OSU Libraries would have paid for each individual title if it had been purchased separately. Main Results – Of all journals cited by OSU faculty in the life, medical, physical, and applied sciences during the years studied, only 7% were available in print format only. The percentage of cited journal titles that were included in portfolio purchases varied considerably across the colleges. The college for which the greatest percentage of cited journals were obtained via OHIOLink was the College of Mathematical and Physical Sciences; 85.7% of journals cited by this College were purchased via OHIOLink. Overall figures for the cited journals analyzed were as follows: 52.0% were purchased via OHIOLink portfolio purchases, and 26.3% were purchased individually in electronic format by the OSU Libraries. Of all journals listed in Zone 1 (those designated as “core journals” for the fields in question), 100% had electronic versions, though OSU Libraries continued to subscribe to the print version in addition to the electronic version for five titles, due to embargoes of 4-12 months in the electronic subscriptions. In terms of how the Zone 1 journals were acquired, 35.5% were purchased via OHIOLink as part of a portfolio purchase, and 62.2% were individually purchased. For the College of Biological Sciences; the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences; the College of Medicine; the College of Nursing; the College of Pharmacy; and the College of Veterinary Medicine, fewer than 40% of the Zone 1 (core, most highly cited) titles for their disciplines were purchased via OHIOLink. For the College of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 75.5% of Zone 1 titles were purchased via OHIOLink. This figure was 60.5% in the College of Engineering. By contrast, over 50% of the titles in Zone 1 for the Colleges of Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Veterinary Medicine were purchased individually, and not via portfolio purchases from OHIOLink. The author notes that in these fields, the majority of research is published in journals from professional societies or smaller publishers, which have neither the high profile nor the market that some journals in other fields have, and thus are frequently not included in portfolios available via consortia such as OHIOLink. The author also provides a numerical breakdown, showing exactly how many titles in each of Zones 1, 2, and 3 were purchased via OHIOLink, how many were purchased directly by OSU in electronic form, and how many were purchased in print form, for each college and for all colleges combined. For all colleges combined, the overall results are as follows: • Zone 1 included 45 cited journal titles. Of these, 16 were purchased via OHIOLink, 28 were purchased in electronic format directly by OSU, none were purchased in print, and one was considered “Other” (not at OSU, ceased, or cancelled). • Zone 2 included 299 cited journal titles. Of these, 167 were purchased via OHIOLink, 109 were purchased in electronic format directly by OSU, 13 were purchased in print, and 10 fell under “Other”. • Zone 3 included 2,063 cited journal titles. Of these, 1,068 were purchased via OHIOLink, 497 were purchased in electronic format directly by OSU, 155 were purchased in print, and 343 fell under “Other”. The author also provides a list of the top 50 journals cited, including the number of citations linked to each title and how the title was purchased. Of the top 50 journals, 32 were purchased directly by OSU Libraries in electronic format, and only 18 were purchased via OHIOLink. Interestingly, however, 70% of OSU Libraries’ total expenditures on titles in the life, medical, physical, and allied sciences are devoted to OHIOLink. The author notes that if OSU had not had OHIOLink, they would have paid 61.4% more to directly purchase the journals cited in this analysis which they currently obtain by portfolio purchases. However, if they purchased only those titles which the faculty in question had cited 10 or more times, the cost would be 30% more. If they purchased only the titles which had been cited 15 or more times, OSU would only have paid an 8.9% premium to buy the titles directly from the publisher rather than through OHIOLink. Conclusion – As the author points out, her findings raise the question as to whether the large amount of content provided by buying into the “Big Deal” portfolio purchases (as they are frequently called) is really worth it for OSU Libraries. The author notes that other articles have asserted that portfolio purchases form a significant barrier to libraries wishing to purchase individual titles, as the amount spent on portfolio purchases can limit a library’s financial flexibility. Even when other individual titles may more closely meet faculty needs, it can be difficult to justify cancelling portfolio purchases that offer a larger number of journals in the field. The advantages and disadvantages of portfolio purchasing at Ohio State University Libraries are clear from the author’s research: while some fields are well-served by portfolio purchases, others are not, with large percentages of the journals which are most important in their fields not being available through such portfolios. Furthermore, due to the percentage of the OSU Libraries’ budget dedicated to OHIOLink portfolio purchases, flexibility to purchase titles not in portfolios is indeed limited. The author’s pricing calculations lead to the conclusion that OSU Libraries pay between an 8.9%-30.0% premium to maintain access to 3,813 titles (75.4%) which were cited fewer than 10 times over the three year period between 2003 and 2005. The author concludes that the premium paid to access over three-quarters of the journals available in portfolios should be reconsidered, as they are relatively infrequently used and thus may not be meeting faculty research needs. The author recommends that large research libraries (including OSU Libraries) consider a return to à la carte purchasing. Additionally, the author notes that purchase of portfolios by a large percentage of research libraries may lead to normalization of library collections and loss of the ability to support non-commercial publishers who publish strong research in specialized fields.

The aim behind this research paper is to understand Impact of Digital Marketing during COVID 19 Pandemic on consumer buying decision. This research paper also confers about the four variables of digital marketing which are affecting the buying decision of the consumer. Both primary and secondary data has been collected for the current study. Data from primary sources collected through personal interviews, discussions with industry leaders and structured questionnaire. The research was also carried out on secondary sources like business journals, newspapers, magazines, periodicals, etc. SPSS 21 software has been used to analyse the data and linear regression analysis and multiple linear regression analysis techniques were used to determine the impact of each variable of digital marketing in influencing the buying decision making of the consumers.Findings of this research study determine the consistency of the independent variables, description of the product, pricing, marketing and promotions and distribution of the product on consumer buying decision. The following variables i.e.description of the product, marketing & promotions and distribution of the product has high significant impact on consumer buying decision.

Purpose: In the present scenario, marketers are concerned about the environment which has been highlighted in many areas of life. The influence of elements of the green marketing mix using tools like eco-label, eco-brand, green pricing and environmental advertisement which raise awareness and encourage positive change in consumption behaviour have been analysed. Design/methodology/approach: This descriptive research has been conducted with the help of data collected from research articles, annual reports, various books, journals and periodicals etc. Findings: Because it is still in its infancy, the concept of green marketing needs to evolve. Various eco-studies have been conducted in order to improve customer behaviour and decision-making. This document recommends a number of improvements that can be implemented in the future. Contribution: The study will make theoretical contributions, such as a consumer perception definition and green marketing. It will offer some conceptual underpinning for the current situation while also introducing new elements. It will also point to a new horizon for environmental awareness. Practical implications: This study emphasises the crucial importance of changing one's mentality while designing consumer awareness programmes and identifying opportunities for customers to be directly involved in the process. Importantly It also provides a direction that marketers may utilise as a foundation for subsequent improvement. It also suggests that having clear objectives in terms of customer knowledge and the influence of green marketing on decision-making is beneficial. Originality/value: The study analyzes the existing literature & research on the customer behaviour & decision-making process and provides a research-based road map for improving further. Key words: Green Marketing, Green Product, Consumer Beliefs, Environmental Advertisement, Eco-brand

As asset pricing, especially in emerging markets has been of continued interest in finance, this paper contributes by investigating the presence of periodically collapsing bubbles in seven Asian and seven Latin American emerging markets. Although a number of studies, using different approaches have studied presence of bubbles in emerging markets, none have applied the Hall, et als (1999) Markov regime switching unit root test procedure to such markets. The major finding of the investigation is that asset prices may not result in periodically collapsing bubbles in most emerging markets. Thus, our findings provide support against the current arguments that emerging capital markets have benefited from increased liquidity rather than improved fundamentals.

AbstractPeriodical Payment Orders (PPOs) have challenged actuarial professionals as they rose to prominence as a new means of settling third-party liability claims, consisting of regular payments in the future, usually for a claimant’s lifetime. This paper explores how this new settlement method has brought about new risks to consider for actuarial professionals working in Motor and Casualty insurance, or any other line where a claim for future periodical payments may arise. Life contingencies have entered the space of general insurance in a new way. In addition, actuarial professionals have investment risk to consider, and for PPOs the inflation risk is unusual, significant and not currently fully hedgeable. The paper highlights methods that could be considered for setting important assumptions, including mortality, indexation, investment return and PPO settlement propensity. For reserving actuaries, the paper explains that the nature of the liabilities does not lend itself to triangulation. Cash flow techniques are needed and actual-versus-expected results can be analysed for discount rate unwinding and mortality profit, for example. Scenario testing will be important to understand the sensitivity of the results and to explain them to senior management. Stochastic modelling is considered in the Capital Modelling section, amongst other significant considerations for actuarial practitioners working with PPOs in this field. Pricing is also affected, as PPOs are a proportion of large loss loadings. The paper also touches briefly on reporting requirements. This is to help provide some basic background for actuaries interacting with those undertaking financial reporting.

We investigate how historical price information (e.g., accessed through price trackers) influences consumers’ purchase decisions and thus affects a firm’s dynamic pricing strategy. We first show that when consumers with heterogeneous tastes are not informed about historical prices, the monopolist charges a high regular price for most of the time and periodically holds low-price sales. Then we consider the case in which a small fraction of consumers (such as price tracker users) become informed of historical prices. At the new equilibrium, the monopolist lowers the regular price and advances sales, implying shorter price cycles, more frequent sales, and a positive spillover effect of price tracker users’ informational advantage on the rest of uninformed consumers. We conclude with a discussion of the impact of price trackers on firms and other relevant managerial implications of the model. This paper was accepted by Dmitri Kuksov, marketing.

The paper develops the first structural model of organizational buying to study innovation diffu­sion in a B2B market. Our model is particularly applicable for routinized exchange relationships, whereby centralized buyers periodically evaluate and choose contracts, then downstream users or­der items on contracted terms. The model captures different utility tradeoffs for users and buyers while accounting for how buyer and user choices interact to impact user adoption/usage and buyer contracting. Further, the paper considers the dynamics induced by share of wallet (SOW) pricing contracts, commonly used in B2B markets to reward customer loyalty with discounts for buying more than a threshold share from a supplier. We assemble novel panel data on surgeon usage, SOW contracts, contract switching, and hospital characteristics. We find two segments of hospi­tals in terms of the relative power of surgeons and buyers: a buyer-centric and a surgeon-centric segment. Further, innovations diffuse faster in teaching hospitals and when surgeries are concen­trated among a few surgeons. Finally, we answer such questions as: Should the marketer focus on push (buyer-focused) or pull (user-focused) strategies? Do SOW contracts hurt the innovations of smaller firms? Surprisingly, we find that the contracts can help speed the diffusion of major innovations from smaller players.

Aim: This research aim was to investigate the impact of living conditions (Socio demographic characteristics) of pregnant women on their malarial status. Study Design: In order to achieve the objectives of the study, Cross sectional survey was used. This is because only a subsect of the population was used. Descriptive designs was utilised in the Questionnaire aspect of the study. Place and Duration of Study: The Presidential Malarial initiative PMI/USAID - funded Insectary Laboratory at Nasarawa State University, Keffi/six (6) Months. Methodology: Blood samples were collected from the participating pregnant women by pricking their thumb and the blood droplet was examined using a direct thin and thick blood smear preparation stained with giemsa for the presence of the ring form stages of the parasites in the blood of the individuals in the laboratory. Qualitative data were sourced through Questionnaire administration to 589 pregnant women in Antenatal care clinics (ANC) in the area and their malaria status was also determined. Results: Study results showed a high prevalence rate of malaria in pregnancy (70.5%), the greater number of occurrences being in Lugbe (42.3%) than in Gosa (28.2%). Those living in houses built with wood recorded more positive cases of malaria and are at greater risk of infection (odds = 1.866%). Conclusion: This study has shown an increased rate of malaria infection amongst pregnant women living in wood and mud houses. The result also shows high rate of malaria occurrences due to low living conditions amongst pregnant women domiciled in this area of study. Hence, pregnant women should as a routine be placed on malaria prophylaxis and periodically checked as they can be asymptomatic, only exhibiting symptoms when its already late.