Добірка наукової літератури з теми "Controlling of expenses"

Case records of inpatients in a hospital in Tangshan in 2007 and 2008 are chosen for factor analysis. This paper aims at finding the latent factors influencing inpatients' medical expense. By analysing the factors which controlling and influencing inpatients' medical expense, the practical value of factor analysis in the study of medical expense is evaluated, and an analysis method in line with the structure of hospital medical expenses and its characteristics is tentatively explored. The paper comes to the conclusion that the factor of basic expense, the operation factor and the examination factor are the common factors which control and influence inpantients' medical expense. It is implied that factor analysis is a proper method used in research of hospital medical expenses.

This research investigates the relationship between corporate governance and preference of earnings management selected by Indonesian banking controlling shareholders. This study uses all banks listed on Indonesian Stock Exchange from 2006 until 2011 as samples. The result shows higher real earning managements and lower accruals discretionary in family-controlled banks and private institution compared to government-controlled banks. Government-controlled banks prefer accrual-based earnings management and real activity-based earnings management through operating cash flow. In the other hand, family-controlled banks and private institutions prefer real earnings management through interest expense and discretionary expenses. Foreign-controlled- banks choose earnings management through discretionary expenses. The implementation of corporate governance in Indonesia banking is high and giving negative impacts both to accrual and real-based earnings management. Concentrated ownership gives positive influences toward the accrual earning management and real earning management through discretionary expenses. The bank size has a positive and significant influence on accrual earnings management, yet its effect is negative and significant on real earning management through interest expenses. The findings contribute to the development of financial accounting literatures because there are small numbers of previous research on accrual discretionary on family-owned companies. Company does not indicate the increase of earnings quality, but it is indeed indicating that controlling family pays more attention on choosing the real activity-based earnings management to cover the expropriation. Accrual discretionary-based earnings management is intra-period reversely thus it cannot cover the permanent expropriation of controlling owners. The research also contributes to the studies of real-based earnings management measurement in banking system which has not been become a concern of research on previous studies.

The objective of this article is to analyze travel expenses across and within types. The empirical application examines the determinant factors of total expenses, controlling for potential endogeneity, and relies on quantile regression to analyze the effects of information search behavior on the distribution of total expenses as well as accommodation, shopping, food and beverages, and local transportation expenses. The role of information sources in predicting travel spending behaviors is a new dimension in the literature on expenses, and a sample of 48,113 travelers has led to the detection of effects of variables with relevant managerial implications (e.g., while official information centers show positive impacts at the upper levels of accommodation expenses, they present null effects at the highest levels of shopping expenses) as well as theoretical implications (special attention should be drawn to the variable length of stay, which, after being controlled by endogeneity, completely loses its significance).

The article discusses issues of improving the efficiency of the process of managing tax revenues and state expenditures, describes the composition of tax expenditures and state revenues. The article also provides data on tax expenditures and federal budget revenues, identifies shares by type of tax, and identifies shares for the distribution of tax expenses in the context of the functional classification of expenses. The key aspects for improving the process of budget execution through the introduction of remote tax controlling are highlighted. The blocks included in the remote tax control are reviewed and the improvements for tax administration are characterized. The article also describes what is better for managing tax revenues and expenses using a remote form of tax controlling. The positive effects of the introduction of the tax controlling tool in its improved format — remote.

This study tests the impact of diversification strategies on the cash flows, expenses, risks and returns of REITs in Asia. Hirschman-Herfindahl indices (HHI) are computed based on 2281 properties owned by 63 sample Asian REITs for the periods from 2002 to 2007 to measure the levels of diversification by property type and geographical region. In our empirical tests that use weighted least square regressions, we find no significant effects of diversification by property types on cash flows, expenses and risk premiums of Asian REITs. However, significant variations in expenses and risk premiums of the REITs are explained by a geographical diversification strategy. REITs with assets distributed across different countries incur higher total expenses, interest expenses, general and administrative expenses and capital expenditure. Regionally diversified REITs have higher risk premiums. The results remain unchanged after controlling for country factor and simultaneity between the cash flows, expenses, risk and return variables.

Introduction. The student costs of residency interviewing areof increasing concern but limited current information is available.Updated, more detailed information would assist studentsand residency programs in decisions about residency selection.The study objective was to measure the expenses and time spentin residency interviewing by the 2016 graduating class of the Universityof Kansas School of Medicine and assess the impact ofgender, regional campus location, and primary care application. Methods. All 195 students who participated in the 2016 NationalResidency Matching Program (NRMP) received a 33 item questionnaireaddressing interviewing activity, expenses incurred, timeinvested and related factors. Main measures were self-reported estimatesof expenses and time spent interviewing. Descriptive analyseswere applied to participant characteristics and responses. Multivariateanalysis of variance (MANOVA) and chi-square tests comparedstudents by gender, campus (main/regional), and primary care/other specialties. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) on the dependentvariables provided follow-up tests on significant MANOVA results. Results. A total of 163 students (84%) completed the survey. Theaverage student reported 38 (1 - 124) applications, 16 (1 - 54) invitations,11 (1 - 28) completed interviews, and spent $3,500($20 - $12,000) and 26 (1 - 90) days interviewing. No significantdifferences were found by gender. After MANOVA and ANOVAanalyses, non-primary care applicants reported significantlymore applications, interviews, and expenditures, butless program financial support. Regional campus students reportedsignificantly fewer invitations, interviews, and daysinterviewing, but equivalent costs when controlled for primarycare application. Cost was a limiting factor in acceptinginterviews for 63% and time for 53% of study respondents. Conclusions. Students reported investing significant time andmoney in interviewing. After controlling for other variables, primarycare was associated with significantly lowered expenses.Regional campus location was associated with fewer interviewsand less time interviewing. Gender had no significantimpact on any aspect studied. KS J Med 2017;10(3):50-54.

This paper examines the impact of internal corporate governance on agency costs for French firms from 2000 to 2015. Our results reveal that shareholders themselves are not a homogenous group since they have no single common investment horizon. We found that managerial ownership is more effective in mitigating operational expenses. However, they take advantage of excessive spending on indirect benefits. We show that board of directors does not serve as a significant deterrent to excessive discretionary expenses. Finally, we found that dividend policy is a useful tool to reduce agency conflicts by reducing cash that is available for discretionary uses.

An electric network, electric grid, or electricity network is an integrated electricity supply network for producers to consumers. It consists of electricity producing stations. The main objective of this study is to monitor the electricity grid system process, disclose this system at a dangerous level, monitor the current line, and reduce conventional systems expenses. From anywhere on the Internet, we can monitor. We can do it also if a system is enabled or disabled. It uses an electrical microcontroller to monitor a single-phase electrical device using Arduino to read sensor voltage and current and then communicate measured data via a new Android application for wireless monitoring. It enables the monitoring of several basic power quality parameters of basic voltage. The technology also determines the line frequency and power factor.

Магістерська дисертація на тему: «Контролінг витрат в системі стратегічного управління розвитком промислового підприємства (на прикладі ТОВ «Баядера Логістик»)» містить 122 сторінок, 45 таблиць, 17 рисунків, 2 додатки. Перелік посилань нараховує 55 найменувань. Незважаючи на значний науковий доробок з даної проблематики залишається актуальним дослідження питань контролінгу витрат в системі стратегічного управління розвитком промислового підприємства, оскільки нестабільність зовнішнього середовища, глобалізація, конкуренція, інфляція змушують сучасні господарюючі підприємства вводити складні, нестандартні системи управління аби залишитися на ринку на стійких конкурентних позиціях. Управління ресурсним забезпеченням на підприємстві в системі контролінгу, у т.ч. і в підсистемі контролінгу витрат, впливає безпосередньо на ефективність реалізації програм розвитку компанії та ефективного стратегічного управління. Актуальність проблеми дослідження обумовлюється відсутністю організованого процесу ефективного управління ресурсним забезпеченням в компанії та практично повною відсутністю контролю за використанням ресурсного потенціалу на підприємстві ТОВ «Баядера Логістик» на основі розробленої Д. Нортоном і Р. Капланом збалансованої системи показників (ЗСП). Зв’язок роботи з науковими програмами, планами та темами. Магістерську дисертацію на здобуття ступеня магістра виконано в Національному технічному університеті України «КПІ імені Ігоря Сікорського» (м. Київ) відповідно до планів науково-дослідних робіт кафедри менеджменту. Результати дослідження автора та її наукового керівника, представленого у магістерській дисертації, є частиною наукової теми (ініціативної НДР кафедри менеджменту): «Управління розвитком підприємства в умовах ресурсних обмежень» (№ ДР НДР 0114U001135) – внесок автора полягає в економічному обґрунтуванні впровадження системи контролінгу витрат в контексті удосконалення фінансового контролінгу на підприємстві ТОВ «Баядера Логістик» та реалізації збалансованої системи показників (ЗСП) для потреб ефективного стратегічного управління розвитком компанії. Метою магістерської дисертації є впровадження системи контролінгу витрат на підприємстві на засадах ЗСП (на прикладі ТОВ «Баядера Логістик»). Досягнення поставленої мети зумовлює вирішення наступних завдань:  розкрити сутність контролінгу витрат в системі стратегічного управління розвитком промислового підприємства;  охарактеризувати класифікацію витрат в системі стратегічного управління розвитком промислового підприємства;  розглянути методичні основи оцінки та аналізу ефективності контролінгу витрат в системі стратегічного управління розвитком підприємства;  навести організаційно-економічну характеристику діяльності підприємства, розкрити чинники, особливості та основні проблеми його розвитку;  здійснити діагностику фінансового стану та контролінгу витрат в системі стратегічного управління розвитком підприємства;  проаналізувати потенціал розвитку та ефективність системи управління його розвитком на основі ЗСП підприємства;  визначити та обґрунтувати напрями удосконалення контролінгу витрат в системі стратегічного управління розвитком підприємства;  запропонувати механізми реалізації напрямів удосконалення контролінгу витрат в системі стратегічного управління розвитком підприємства;  економічно обґрунтувати доцільність реалізації запропонованих напрямів та спрогнозувати динаміку розвитку підприємства в середньо терміновій перспективі. Об’єктом дослідження є система контролінгу витрат підприємства на засадах збалансованої системи показників (ЗСП). Предметом дослідження є науково-методичні та прикладні аспекти контролінгу витрат в умовах формування управлінських механізмів забезпечення розвитку ТОВ «Баядера Логістик». База дослідження. Товариство з обмеженою відповідальністю «Баядера Логістик» Методи дослідження. У процесі виконання магістерської дисертації застосовувалася сукупність загальних та специфічних наукових методів. У процесі дослідження сучасних поглядів на контролінгу витрат на основі ЗСП на промисловому підприємстві застосовувалися: методи економічного і статистичного аналізу, групування та візуалізації, графічного методу, методологія фінансового контролінгу. Для отримання аналітичної інформації були використані дані статистичної звітності, внутрішньої, зокрема, бухгалтерської та управлінської звітності досліджуваного підприємства ТОВ «Баядера Логістик». Елементи наукової новизни. Наукова новизна дослідження полягає у такому: обґрунтовано методологію оцінювання контролінгу витрат в системі стратегічного управління розвитком промислового підприємства; удосконалено структуру оцінювання та аналізу контролінгу витрат, що спрямовано на попередження нестандартних ситуацій на підприємстві; запропоновано основні механізми реалізації напрямів контролінгу витрат стратегічного управління розвитком промислового підприємства на основі збалансованої системи показників з використанням кольорових індикаторів, стратегічних карт щодо оперативного реагування впливу факторів зовнішнього середовища на фінансово-господарську діяльність промислового підприємства. Практична значущість для підприємства. Запропоновані та обґрунтовані у роботі управлінські заходи нададуть можливість суб’єкту господарювання удосконалювати й підвищувати ефективність його функціонування, запобігати проблемам в організації в умовах економічної та політичної нестабільності в країні і світі. Керівництвом підприємства було використано запропоновані рекомендації щодо контролінгу витрат на основі ЗСП, необхідного для оперативного реагування впливу факторів зовнішнього середовища на фінансово-господарську діяльність ТОВ «Баядера Логістик» та прийняття управлінських рішень, що дозволило підвищити ефективність управління фінансово-господарською діяльністю підприємства, мінімізувати ризики і вплив негативних факторів на діяльність підприємства в умовах його функціонування та подальшого розвитку (акт впровадження № 3 від 17.04.2018 р.). Апробація результатів роботи. Тези. Контролінг витрат в умовах стратегічного розвитку промислового підприємства. Фахова стаття. Контролінг витрат в системі стратегічного розвитку промислового підприємства.
The master thesis on a subject: «Controlling of expenses in the system of strategic management of development of the industrial enterprise (on the example of LLC «Bayadera Logistik»)» contains 122 pages, 45 tables, 17 drawings, 2 additions. The list of references contains 55 names. Despite the considerable scientific reserve on this perspective there is relevant the research of questions of controlling of expenses in the system of strategic management of development of the industrial enterprise because the external environment’s instability, globalization, the competition, inflation are forced the modern managing enterprises to introduce the difficult, non-standard systems of functioning to remain at the market at resistant positions of management. Management of resource providing at the enterprise in the system of controlling, including subsystem of controlling of expenses, influences directly on efficiency of implementation of programs of development of the company and effective strategic management. The relevance of a problem of the research is defined by lack of organized process of effective management of resource providing in the company and almost total absence of control of use of resource potential at the LLC «Bayadera Logistik» enterprise on the basis of the balanced system of indicators (BSС) developed by D. Norton and R. Kaplan. Connection of work with scientific programs, plans and subjects. The master thesis on receiving the master’s degree is executed at National technical university of Ukraine "KPI of Igor Sikorsky" (Kiev) according to plans of research works of department of management. Results of the research of the author and his research supervisor, presented in the master thesis, is a part of the scientific subject (initiative research of department of management): "Management of development of the enterprise in the conditions of resource restrictions" (№ T R 0114U001135) -– the contribution of the author consists in economic justification of introduction of system of controlling of expenses in the context of improvement of financial controlling at the LLC «Bayadera Logistik» enterprise and realization of the balanced system of indicators (BSC) for needs of effective strategic management of development of the company. The purpose of the master thesis is introduction of system of controlling of expenses at the enterprise on the basis of the BSC (on the example of LLC «Bayadera Logistik»). Achievement of a goal causes the solution of the following tasks: ‒ to disclose essence of controlling of expenses in the system of strategic management of development of the industrial enterprise; ‒ to characterize classification of expenses in the system of strategic management of development of the industrial enterprise; ‒ to consider methodical basics of assessment and the analysis of efficiency of functioning of controlling of expenses in the system of strategic management of development of the industrial enterprise; ‒ to provide the organizational and economic characteristic of activity of the enterprise, reveal factors, features and the main problems of its development; ‒ to perform diagnostics of the financial state and controlling of expenses in the system of strategic management of development of the enterprise; ‒ to analyze the potential of development and effectiveness of system of management of its development on the basis of the BSC of the enterprise; ‒ to define and prove the directions of improvement of controlling of expenses in the system of strategic management of development of the enterprise; ‒ to offer mechanisms of realization of the directions of improvement of controlling of expenses in the system of strategic management of development of the enterprise; ‒ to economically prove expediency of realization of the offered directions and predict dynamics of development of the enterprise in the medium term. Object of the research is the system of controlling of expenses of the enterprise on the basis of the balanced scorecard (BSC). Subject of the research is scientific and methodical and applied aspects of controlling of expenses in the conditions of formation of administrative mechanisms of ensuring development of LLC «Bayadera Logistik». Base of the research. Limited liability company «Bayadera Logistik». Research methods. In the course of implementation of the master thesis the set of the general and specific scientific methods was applied. In the course of the research of modern views on controlling of expenses on the basis of the BSC on the industrial enterprise were applied: methods of the economic and statistical analysis, group and visualization, graphic method, methodology of financial controlling. For obtaining analytical information it have been used given to the statistical reporting, internal, in particular, accounting reports of the studied enterprise LLC «Bayadera Logistik». Elements of scientific novelty. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the following: it has been proved the methodology of assessment of controlling of expenses in the system of strategic management of development of the industrial enterprise; the structure of assessment and the analysis of controlling of expenses that is directed to prevention of unusual situations at the enterprise has been improved; the main mechanisms of realization of the directions of controlling of expenses of strategic management of development of the industrial enterprise on the basis of the balanced system of indicators with use of color indicators, strategic maps on rapid response of influence of factors of the external environment to financial and economic activity of the industrial enterprise have been offered. The practical importance for the enterprise. Administrative actions that have been offered and proved in work will give an opportunity to the subject of managing to improve and increase efficiency of his functioning, to prevent problems in the organization in the conditions of economic and political instability in the country and the world. It has been used offered by the management of the enterprise recommendations on controlling of expenses on the basis of the BSC necessary for rapid response of influence of factors of the external environment to financial and economic activity of LLC «Bayadera Logistik» and making administrative decisions that has allowed to increase effective management of financial and economic activity of the enterprise, to minimize risks and influence of negative factors on activity of the enterprise in the conditions of his functioning and further development (the act of introduction №3 from 17.04.2018). Approbation of results of work. Thesis. Controlling of expenses in the conditions of strategic development of the industrial enterprise. Professional article. Controlling of expenses in the system of strategic development of the industrial enterprise.

Однією з найважливіших умов ефективної діяльності підприємства є організація системи фінансового контролінгу. В економічній літературі існують різні науково-методичні підходи до розуміння сутності, цілей, функцій і завдань контролінгу. На нашу думку, сьогодні найбільш актуальними завданнями в рамках фінансового контролінгу на великих промислових підприємствах є розробка фінансової стратегії, впровадження системи бюджетування та контролю, управлінський облік та аналіз витрат, ідентифікація ризиків, запровадження збалансованої системи показників, розроблення методичного забезпечення.

The objective of this thesis is to describe an operative controlling in the division, reveal its deficiencies in margin recording and propose improvements to the system. Further, to calculate the amount of administrative expenses of the division in years 2006 -- 2008 (including the plan for 2009) and evaluate its progression regarding the incomes. The thesis is divided into two parts- The first part forms a theoretic basis in the area of price splitting, calculation and operative controlling. The second part is focused on actual problems in operative controlling of Dalkia Česká Republika, a.s. -- Divize Praha.

The monograph is devoted to the study of methods of diagnostics and control of corporate risks associated with the formation and use of estimated reserves and liabilities in commercial organizations. The research results are aimed at creating a corporate system for identifying and controlling corporate risks using estimated reserves and estimated liabilities. The methodological recommendations offered by the authors on verification of accrued expenses allow us to identify the risks of inefficient use of expenses, including fraudulent actions. The methodological tools are supplemented with empirical materials obtained during testing of the internal audit methodology in industrial organizations, audit companies, as well as when performing research work. It will be useful for researchers, researchers, teachers, applicants for scientific degrees, and can also be used in the system of additional professional education, advanced training, for self-development of management personnel of financial and economic services in business and government structures.

Seeing Justice examines the way criminal justice in the United States is presented in visual media by focusing on the grounded practices of visual journalists in relationship with law enforcement. The book extends the concept of embodied gatekeeping, the corporeal and discursive practices connected to controlling visual media production and the complex ways social actors struggle over the construction of visual messages. Based on research that includes participant observation, extended interviews, and critical discourse analysis, the book provides a detailed examination of the way these practices shape media constructions and the way digitization is altering the relationships between media, citizens, and the criminal justice system. The project looks at contemporary cases that made the headlines through a theoretical lens based on the work of Michel Foucault, Walter Fisher, Stuart Hall, Nicholas Mirzoeff, Nick Couldry, and Roland Barthes. Its cases reveal the way powerful interests are able to shape representations of justice in ways that serve their purposes, occasionally at the expense of marginalized groups. Based on cases ranging from the last US public hanging to the proliferation of “Karen-shaming” videos, this monograph offers three observations. First, visual journalism’s physicality increases its reliance on those in power, making it easy for officials in the criminal justice system to shape its image. Second, image indexicality, even while it is subject to narrative negation, remains an essential affordance in the public sphere. Finally, participation in this visual public sphere must be considered as an essential human capability if not a human right.

AbstractWhile the subset of introduced species that become invasive is small, the damages caused by that subset and the costs of controlling them can be substantial. This chapter takes an in-depth look at the economic damages non-native species cause, methods economists often use to measure those damages, and tools used to assess invasive species policies. Ecological damages are covered in other chapters of this book. To put the problem in perspective, Federal agencies reported spending more than half a billion dollars per year in 1999 and 2000 for activities related to invasive species ($513.9 million in 1999 and $631.5 million in 2000 (U.S. GAO 2000)). Approximately half of these expenses were spent on prevention. Several states also spend considerable resources on managing non-native species; for example, Florida spent $127.6 million on invasive species activities in 2000 (U.S. GAO 2000), and the Great Lakes states spend about $20 million each year to control sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) (Kinnunen 2015). Costs to government may not be the same as actual damages, which generally fall disproportionately on a few economic sectors and households. For example, the impact of the 2002 outbreak of West Nile virus exceeded $4 million in damages to the equine industries in Colorado and Nebraska alone (USDA APHIS 2003) and more than $20 million in public health damages in Louisiana (Zohrabian et al. 2004). Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) cause $300–$500 million annually in damages to power plants, water systems, and industrial water intakes in the Great Lakes region (Great Lakes Commission 2012) and are expected to cause $64 million annually in damages should they or quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis) spread to the Columbia River basin (Warziniack et al. 2011).

A major challenge in the context of LTE networks is a cost-effective network operation, which can be done by carefully controlling the network Operational Expenses (OPEX). Therefore, to minimize OPEX costs while optimizing network performance, Self-Organizing Network (SON) principles were proposed. These networks are the main focus of this chapter, which highlights the state of art and provides a comprehensive investigation of current research efforts in the field of SONs. A major contribution of the chapter is the handling of SON use cases, going through their challenges, solutions. and open research questions. The chapter also presents efforts to provide coordination frameworks between SON use cases and routines. An additional essential contribution of the chapter is the description of SON activities within 3GPP.

Currently, there is an expanding interest for additional medical data from patients about their healthcare choices and related decisions, and they further need investment in their basic health issues. Big data provides patients presumptuous data to help them settle on the best choice and align with their medicinal treatment plan. One of the very advanced concepts related to the synthesis of big data sets to reveal the hidden pattern in them is big data analytics. It involves demanding techniques to mine and extract relevant data that includes the actions of piercing a database, effectively mine the data, query and inspect the data and is committed to enhance the technical execution of various task segments. The capacity to synthesize a lot of data can enable an association to manage data that can influence the business. In this way, the primary goal of big data analytics is to help business relationships to have enhanced comprehension of data, and subsequently, settle on proficient and very much educated decisions. Big data analytics empowers data diggers and researchers to examine an extensive volume of data that may not be outfit utilizing customary apparatuses. Big data analytics require advances and statistical instruments that can change a lot of organized, unstructured, and semi-organized data into more reasonable data and metadata designed for explanatory procedures. There is tremendous positive potential concerning the application of big data in human health care services and many related major applications are still in their developmental stages. The deployment of big data in health service demonstrates enhancing health care results and controlling the expenses of common people due to treatment, as proven by some developing use cases. Keeping in view such powerful processing capacity of big data analytics in various technical fields of modern civilization related to health care, the current research article presents a comprehensive study and investigation on big data analytics and its application in multiple sectors of society with significance in health care applications.

Where a company has a controlling or a small group of controlling shareholders, the non-controlling shareholders are at risk that the controllers will extract private benefits of control at the expense of the non-controllers. UK company law contains a wide range of techniques for addressing this issue, some more effective than others. This chapter begins by examining the various ways in which well-advised investors can contract for protection before they enter the company and how the law protects the agreements reached. The second part discusses rights to exit the company upon the occurrence of certain events. The third part discusses disclosure rights, designed to bring self-dealing transactions into the open. The fourth focuses on ways of structuring the board or shareholder body when the decision before it carries a high risk of self-dealing. The final part considers cases where the courts review the substantive fairness of the controllers’ conduct, notably, but not only, the provisions on ‘unfair prejudice.

Where a company has a controlling or a small group of controlling shareholders, the non-controlling shareholders are at risk that the controllers will extract private benefits of control at the expense of the non-controllers. UK company law contains a wide range of techniques for addressing this issue, some more effective than others. This chapter begins by examining the various ways in which well-advised investors can contract for protection before they enter the company and how the law protects the agreements reached. The second part discusses rights to exit the company upon the occurrence of certain events. The third part discusses disclosure rights, designed to bring self-dealing transactions into the open. The fourth focuses on ways of structuring the board or shareholder body when the decision before it carries a high risk of self-dealing. The final part considers cases where the courts review the substantive fairness of the controllers’ conduct, notably, but not only, the provisions on ‘unfair prejudice.

This chapter examines the relationship between the level of earnings management and the audit in private firms under the influence of financial crisis recuperation, using a sample of Ireland and Portuguese firms from 2008 to 2016. The authors use accruals methodology, namely four earnings management measures to capture earnings management in private firms. Multivariate statistical analysis was applied using the traditional multiple regression technique. Empirical results show that private firms with audited financial statements have powerful incentives to expropriate wealth from minority shareholders, pursuing their own interests at the expense of non-controlling shareholders. They also find that the private firms with audited financial statements in years under adjustment programs demonstrated lower level of earnings management. This study contributes to the accounting literature by providing empirical evidence for the effects of audit and earnings management in private firms in a financial recuperation context.

The first detailed narrative of how the Dudleys set out to destroy Edward Arden by exploiting the mental problems of his son-in-law John Somerville, who lived just outside Stratford, but who had quarrelled with his wife, Margaret Arden Somerville, and her father, over financial differences. Using intermediaries the Dudleys provoked Somerville into riding towards London, armed with a pistol to assassinate Queen Elizabeth, and arranged for his arrest and interrogation. They then concocted evidence implicating Edward Arden, both to confirm their dominance over Warwickshire and to establish that Somerville was key to a vast international Catholic conspiracy against Elizabeth, a story that contained sufficient truth to enable a more radical Protestant agenda to be followed at Court and in the Privy Council, against Archbishop Whitgift’s and Sir Christopher Hatton’s conservative policies. The treason trial consistently broke with established procedures in rushing Arden, Somerville, and their families to condemnation, but the regime expended great efforts in broadcasting their ‘treason’ against the conflicting evidence known in Stratford and Warwickshire, especially that Arden had been in London when he was allegedly conspiring with Somerville just outside Stratford. The treasonous fiction also aimed to implicate Hatton in the treason, but though this failed, shockingly for contemporary society, several women from both families were condemned, and several more imprisoned in the Tower for some years, another example of the exercise of raw power by the Elizabethan regime in controlling collective memory that were very unlikely to have escaped William Shakespeare’s notice.

Electricity consumption in public education institutions compromisesan important part of the annual budget availableto finance expenses. These costs are even higher during theperiod between October and February, where the averagetemperatures are higher. The temperature increase in thisperiod is mainly related to the use of air conditioners. In thiscontext, intelligent solutions and devices capable of remotelymonitoring and controlling air conditioners can reduce energyconsumption and costs. Alternatively, the ARCO system isproposed, it’s composed of an IoT device capable of monitoringthe air conditioners, turning on and off when they receivea remote control. In addition to the designed hardware, thesystem also includes an application interface (API) and aweb application.

Abstract Cross-country pipelines are the safest mode of transportation for petroleum products. A typical hydrocarbon multi-product cross-country pipeline network consists of Dispatch station, cross-country Pipeline, Intermediate Pump Stations, Sectionalizing Valve Stations, intermediate pigging stations and Receipt Stations. Dispatch station, Intermediate Pump Stations and Receipt stations are manned stations to meet the operational and maintenance requirements in the pipeline network. Since pipelines operate round the clock, operations work force are required on 24 × 7 basis at these control rooms. Typically, work force expenses account for more than 25% of total operating cost. Cross-country pipelines are often laid in areas away from Urban and Industrialized areas. Intermediate Booster stations are also mostly located in remote areas. The work force operating these stations have to stay in hardship locations to ensure pipeline operations are unhindered. In order to optimize the work force requirements at Intermediate Pump stations and to ensure seamless and safe operations, it is proposed to construct Smart pump stations. The smart pump stations are intelligent enough with state of the art instrumentation to be monitored / controlled / operated from a remote controlling station which is a non-hardship location. The smart pump stations are designed such that it will have self-sufficient systems which will require minimum human interface from remote controlling stations. HPCL has implemented the smart pump station design philosophy in its ongoing Vijayawada Dharmapuri Pipeline project wherein two Intermediate Pump (IP) stations viz. Donakonda & Kalakada are designed and are being constructed as smart pump stations which are being completely automated and will be remotely monitored / controlled from remote controlling stations at Vijayawada & Kadapa respectively. Design philosophy of Smart Stations entails developing a completely new and a tailor made design philosophy for Process, mechanical, Electrical, Instrumentation, cathodic protection system, SCADA, Telecom & allied systems, fire & safety and accordingly getting all the equipment selected / manufactured / installed / commissioned.

Nowadays, “personalized medicine” is starting to replace the current “one size fits all” approach. The goal is to have the right drug with the right dose for the right patient at the right time and location. Indeed, conventional pulmonary drug delivery devices still have poor efficiencies (<25%) for delivering drugs to the lung tumor sites. Major portions of the aggressive medicine deposit on healthy tissue, which causes severe side effects and induces extra health care expenses. Therefore, a new targeted pulmonary drug delivery method is proposed and evaluated using the Computational Fluid-Particle Dynamics (CFPD) method to achieve the lobe-specific delivery. By controlling the release position and velocity of the drug particles at the mouth inlet, drug deposition efficiency (DE) in a designated lobe can be increased up to 90%. Intersubject variability has also been investigated using the noninvasive in silico tool. Results indicate that the glottis constriction ratio is a key factor to influence the effectiveness of the purposed targeted drug delivery method. Although lobe-specific pulmonary drug delivery can be realized, the actuation flow rate must be lower than 2 L/min, and the glottis constriction ratio has a significant impact on the effectiveness of the targeting method. Also, a design idea using e-cigarette as the prototype is proposed as the next-generation inhaler to accommodate the operational flexibility restrictions.

As a result of interaction between the wheel pairs and rails during rolling stock movement, lateral, longitudinal and torsional creep forces are created. Over the long term these forces cause wear and damage of the wheel pairs and rails. Accordingly railway safety decreases and the probability of derailment increases. Development of modern railways largely depends on controlling the proper functionality of wheel pairs and rails. It is impossible to ensure safety and increase the speed of railway traffic without providing such control. Detection of the wheel pair and rail wear damage is one of the key problems of railway science. Many scientific studies have been performed and a number of devices have been developed in this field, but the mentioned problem still remains urgent. In order to increase railway safety, the authors of this paper have proposed a conceptual design of a mobile device for detection of wheel pair and rail wear and damage. Such a device does not currently exist. By installation of the proposed device on each wheel pair of each railcar, the automatic control of wheel pair and rail condition will be achieved. Namely: • Detection of the worn out wheel pair and determination of the degree of wear; • Detection of the damaged wheel pair; • Identification of the worn out or damaged wheel pair. Also possible, on the basis of elaborated mathematical model: • Detection of the worn out rail; • Detection of the damaged rail; • Identification of location of the worn out or damaged rail. Information obtained from the device would be constantly connected to the locomotive computer system. Therefore, for checking rolling stock, there could no longer be a need to build expensive stationary systems or to move trains great distances for their inspection. As a result, the time lost due to equipment stoppage will be saved. Also, with the help of the proposed mobile device, railway safety could improve, while at the same time expenses for detection of wheel pair wear and damage could potentially decrease. This could result in significant economic savings.

For the majority of commercial and industrial facilities in the United States, electrical power represents a significant portion of their total operating costs and a cost over which they have little or no control. The cost of electrical power has risen dramatically during the past three years, and is projected to continue to increase due to uncertainties in global fuel supply, production investments necessary to meet increasing demand, increased maintenance and repair costs of aging production and transmission infrastructure, the decommissioning and remediation of life-expired generating facilities, and the implementation of increasingly stringent pollution control measures. These trends and influences are seen, to a greater or lesser extent, across the entire nation, but their impact upon the northeast and mid-Atlantic states of Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware has been particularly significant. While solar photovoltaic systems can provide an excellent on-site power source for many commercial and industrial facilities, and would reduce the burden on the existing, over-stretched and aging national power transmission infrastructure, the high capital cost of solar photovoltaic systems represents a significant barrier to the wide-scale commercial adoption of this technology. In an attempt to overcome this barrier, individual states are implementing a variety of rebate and incentive programs designed to promote the installation and use of solar power systems. However a unifying Federal Renewable Portfolio Standard does not presently exist and the complex administration demand of state programs represents a further barrier to adoption for many companies. Further, while a Federal Investment Tax Credit is available, certain organizations for whom solar photovoltaic power would otherwise be an attractive cost-saving opportunity, notably municipalities and non-profits, are generally unable to take advantage of this benefit. In response to this unsatisfactory situation, Soltage, Inc. designs, installs, operates, maintains, and retains ownership of commercial-scale solar photovoltaic power stations at client sites, providing solar-generated power directly to the client. Our customers incur no capital, maintenance or operating costs, and have no administrative burden beyond purchasing solar-generated power at rates that are below their existing utility rate and which are stabilized and guaranteed into the future. For our clients, this is their most effective means of controlling and stabilizing energy expenses in the immediate and long terms. For our nation, this is the key to rapidly implementing the adoption and scale-up of solar photovoltaic power, with all of its inherent benefits.

Abstract This paper outlines one of the first efforts by a major oil and gas company to build a net exporting, behind the meter solar photovoltaic (PV) plant to lower the operating costs and carbon intensity of a large, mature oil and gas field in Lost Hills, California. The 29 MWAC (35 MWDC) Lost Hills solar plant, commissioned in April 2020, covers approximately 220 acres on land adjacent to the oil field and is designed to provide more than 1.4 billion kilowatt hours of solar energy over 20 years to the field's oil and gas field production and processing facilities. The upgrades to the electrical infrastructure in the field also include new technology to reduce the risk of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) emissions, another potent greenhouse gas (GHG). Prior to solar, the Lost Hills field was importing all its electricity from the grid. With the introduction of the Innovative Crude Program as part of California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and the revisions to the California Public Utilities Commission Net Energy Metering program, Lost Hills was presented with a unique opportunity to reduce its imported electricity expenses, reduce its carbon intensity, while also generating LCFS credits. The plant was designed to power the field during the day and export excess power to the grid to help offset night-time electricity purchases. The solar plant operates under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the solar PV provider and, initially, will meet approximately 80% of the oil field's energy needs. Future plans include the incorporation of lithium ion batteries, DC-coupled with the solar inverters, and with a total capacity of 20 MWh. This energy storage system will increase the amount of solar electricity fed directly into the field and reduce costs by controlling when the site uses stored solar electricity rather than electricity from the grid. The battery system will also increase the number of LCFS credits by 15% over credits generated by solar alone. Together, solar power plus energy storage provides a robust renewable energy solution. This project will generate multiple co-benefits for the Lost Hills oil field by lowering the cost of power, reducing GHG emissions, generating state LCFS credits and federal Renewable Energy Certificates, and demonstrating a commitment to energy transition by investing in renewable technology. Hopefully, Lost Hills solar can be a model for similar future projects in other oil fields, not only in California, but across the globe.

The use of model predictive control (MPC) in advanced power systems can be advantageous in controlling highly coupled variables and optimizing system operations. Solid oxide fuel cell/ gas turbine (SOFC/GT) hybrids are an example where advanced control techniques can be effectively applied. For example, to manage load distribution among several identical generation units characterized by different temperature distributions due to different degradation paths of the fuel cell stacks. When implementing a MPC, a critical aspect is the trade-off between model accuracy and simplicity, the latter related to a fast computational time. In this work, a hybrid physical and numerical approach was used to reduce the number of states necessary to describe such complex target system. The reduced number of states in the model and the simple framework allow real-time performance and potential extension to a wide range of power plants for industrial application, at the expense of accuracy losses, discussed in the paper.

Abstract Semiactive control of systems with multiple degrees of freedom is addressed. Two systems representing a pitch-plane model of a vehicle and a single suspension are used to illustrate the results. The dynamic simulations show the well-known compromise between resonance control and isolation, due to passive dampers. It is shown that semiactive dampers also compromise between controlling different bodies. For skyhook and groundhook control policies, the control of one body is achieved at the cost of less control on the other bodies. For instance, in a single suspension model, skyhook semiactive dampers better control the body resonance, but significantly increase the axle resonance (wheelhop). The groundhook dampers provide a better control of wheelhop at the expense of increasing body resonance. A hybrid control policy that combines the effect of skyhook and groundhook policies is introduced. This policy can be used to provide the proper control on all bodies, while using the hardware common to existing semiactive dampers.

Abstract Using a split injection of wet ethanol, where a portion of the fuel is injected during the compression stroke, has been shown to be an effective way to enable thermally stratified compression ignition (TSCI), an advanced, low temperature combustion (LTC) mode that aims to control the heat release process by enhancing thermal stratification, thereby extending the load range of LTC. Wet ethanol is the ideal fuel candidate to enable TSCI because it has a high latent heat of vaporization and low equivalence ratio sensitivity. Previous work has shown “early” compression stroke injections (−150 to −100 deg aTDC) have the potential to control the start of combustion while “mid” compression stroke injections (−90 to −30 deg aTDC) have the potential to control in-cylinder thermal stratification, thereby controlling the heat release rate. In this work, a mixture of 80% ethanol and 20% water by mass is used to further study the injection strategy of TSCI combustion. Additionally, the impact of external, cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and intake boost level on the effectiveness of a split injection of wet ethanol to control the heat release process are investigated. It was found that neither external, cooled EGR, nor intake boost level has any impact on the effectiveness of the compression stroke injection(s) at controlling the burn rate of TSCI. It was also seen that external, cooled EGR has the potential to increase the overall tailpipe combustion efficiency, while intake boost has the potential to decrease NOx emissions at the expense of combustion efficiency by lowering the global equivalence ratio.

This project was based on the hypothesis that nematodes interacting with plants as either parasites or beneficial saprophytes are attracted to their host by natural products. This concept was supported by numerous observations that parasitic nematodes are attracted to root exudates. Our overall goal was to identify nematode sensory compounds from root exudates and to use that information for reducing nematicide applications. We applied skills of the investigators to achieve three specific objectives: 1) Identify nematode behavioral cues (e.g., attractants or repellents) in root exudates; 2) Identify new natural nematicidal compounds; and 3) Combine a natural attractant and a nematicide into a nematode trap. Because saprophytic nematodes benefit plants by mineralizing organic matter, we sought compounds attractive primarily to parasitic nematodes. The project was constructed on several complementary foundations. First, data from Dr. Spiegel’s lab showed that under aseptic conditions Ditylenchus dipsaci, a parasite on onion, is attracted to certain fractions of onion root exudates. Second, PI Phillips had a sizeable collection of natural plant products he had identified from previous work on Rhizobium-legume interactions, which could be tested “off the shelf”. Third, Dr. Ferris had access to aseptic and natural populations of various saprophytic and parasitic nematodes. The project focused on five nematode species: D.dipsaci, Heterodera avenae, and Tylenchulussemipenetransat ARO, and Meloidogyne javanicand Caenorhabditis elegans at UCD. Ten pure plant compounds, mostly flavonoids, were tested on the various nematode species using six different assay systems. Results obtained with assorted test systems and by various scientists in the same test systems were essentially irreproducible. Many convincing, Many convincing, i.e. statistically significant, results in one system or with one investigator could not be repeated with other assays or different people. A recent report from others found that these compounds, plus another 30, were inactive as attractants in three additional parasitic nematode species (Wuyts et al. Nematology 8:89- 101, 2006). Assays designed to test the hypothesis that several compounds together are required to attract nematodes have thus far failed to find a reproducibly active combination. In contrast to results using pure plant compounds, complex unfractionated exudates from aseptic onion root reproducibly attracted D. dipsaci in both the ARO and UCD labs. Onion root exudate collection, separation into HPLC fractions, assays using D. dipsaci and MS-MS experiments proceeded collaboratively between ARO and UCD without any definitive identification of an active compound. The final active fraction contained two major molecules and traces of several other compounds. In the end, analytical studies were limited by the amount of onion root exudate and the complexity of the purification process. These tests showed that aseptic plant roots release attractant molecules, but whether nematodes influence that release, as insects trigger release of attractants from plants, is unknown. Related experiments showed that the saprophyte C. elegans stimulates its prey, Pseudomonas bacteria, to increase production of 2, 4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG) a compound that promotes amino acid exudation by plant roots. It is thus possible that saprophytic nematodes are attracted primarily to their bacterial or fungal prey and secondarily to effects of those microorganisms on root exudation. These observations offer promising avenues for understanding root-zone interactions, but no direct routes to controlling nematodes in agriculture were evident. Extracts from two plant sources, Chrysanthemum coronarium and Sequoia sempervirens, showed nematicidal activity at ARO and UCD, respectively. Attempts to purify an active compound from S. sempervirens failed, but preliminary results from C. coronarium are judged to form a potential basis for further work at ARO. These results highlight the problems of studying complex movement patterns in sentient organisms like nematodes and the issues associated with natural product isolation from complex mixtures. Those two difficulties combined with complications now associated with obtaining US visas, slowed and ultimately limited progress on this project. As a result, US investigators expended only 65% of the $207,400 originally planned for this project. The Israeli side of the project advanced more directly toward its scientific goals and lists its expenditures in the customary financial report.