scholarly journals Weedy Finance: Weather Insurance and Parametric Life on Unstable Grounds

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 589-617
Author(s):  
Caroline E. Schuster
Keyword(s):  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Entry Point ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Weather Derivatives ◽  
The World ◽  
Weather Insurance ◽  
Financial Practices

Based in the agrarian worlds of commercial sesame farming in northern Paraguay, where insurance companies are now selling weather derivatives to poor farmers, this article tracks financial practices that depend less on the healthy crops and more on the weeds that thrive among the profitable plants. Parametric insurance operates like a derivative and is triggered by certain weather conditions, which raises questions about the limits of survivability for human-crop relations. I sketch out a series of concerns about weeds as an entry point and helpful heuristic for multiple overlapping kinds of speculation in a multispecies, capitalist, and troubled landscape. By gridding the world to a limited set of expedient parameters, what generative social and human grounds do we lose in the process? A speculative anthropological imaginary might posit “weedy finance” as a critical standpoint and set of political claims for casting climate-based finance as one of the lively systems that can and should be intentionally and selectively weeded out.

scholarly journals AnANN Model Trained on Regional Data in the Prediction of Particular Weather Conditions

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 4757
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Bączkiewicz ◽  
Jarosław Wątróbski ◽  
Wojciech Sałabun ◽  
Joanna Kołodziejczyk
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Pressure ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Real Data ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Air Masses ◽  
Weather Forecasts ◽  
Life Problems ◽  
The World ◽  
The City

Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) have proven to be a powerful tool for solving a wide variety of real-life problems. The possibility of using them for forecasting phenomena occurring in nature, especially weather indicators, has been widely discussed. However, the various areas of the world differ in terms of their difficulty and ability in preparing accurate weather forecasts. Poland lies in a zone with a moderate transition climate, which is characterized by seasonality and the inflow of many types of air masses from different directions, which, combined with the compound terrain, causes climate variability and makes it difficult to accurately predict the weather. For this reason, it is necessary to adapt the model to the prediction of weather conditions and verify its effectiveness on real data. The principal aim of this study is to present the use of a regressive model based on a unidirectional multilayer neural network, also called a Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), to predict selected weather indicators for the city of Szczecin in Poland. The forecast of the model we implemented was effective in determining the daily parameters at 96% compliance with the actual measurements for the prediction of the minimum and maximum temperature for the next day and 83.27% for the prediction of atmospheric pressure.

scholarly journals A Methodical Approach to Design and Valuation of Weather Derivatives in Agriculture

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jindrich Spicka ◽  
Jiri Hnilica
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Option Price ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Weather Derivatives ◽  
Methodical Approach

The paper deals with weather derivatives as the potentially effective risk management tool for agricultural enterprises seeking to mitigate their income exposure to variations in weather conditions. Design and valuation of the weather derivatives is an interdisciplinary approach covering agrometeorology, statistics, mathematical modeling, and financial and risk management. This paper first offers an overview of data sources and then methods of design and valuation of weather derivatives at the regional level. The accompanied case study focuses on cultivation of cereals (wheat and barley) in the Czech Republic. However, its generalizability is straightforward. The analysis of key growing phases of cereals is based on regression analysis using weather indices as the independent variables and crop yields as dependent variables. With the bootstrap tool, the burn analysis is considered as useful tool for estimating uncertainty about the payoff, option price, and statistics of probability distribution of revenues. The results show that the spatial and production basis risks reduce the efficiency of the weather derivatives. Finally, the potential for expansion of weather derivatives remains in the low income countries of Africa and Asia with systemic weather risk.

Teaching How Language Reveals Character

2007 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARGARET METZGER
Keyword(s):  
Entry Point ◽  
Literary Texts ◽  
Veteran Teacher ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
The World ◽  
Literary Characters ◽  
Analytic Skills ◽  
Additional Reading

In this Voices Inside Schools essay, a veteran teacher shares her reflections on a classroom unit entitled "How Language Reveals Character." The goal of the unit is to help adolescents read and write critically through an exploration of literary characters' language. Beginning by drawing on adolescents' fascination with one another, Metzger first asks students to analyze the language of their peers as an entry point to thinking about how language and character may be connected. The unit then moves on to ask students to transfer their analytic skills to the world of fiction and how language reveals character in literary texts. Metzger focuses on life inside her classroom, how the unit is taught, how students respond, and how teachers can expand on the concepts of language and character through additional reading and writing activities.

scholarly journals THE INFLUENCE OF THE CROWN CRISIS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF INSURANCE BUSINESS IN THE WORLD

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Mamonova
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
Insurance Industry ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Demand For Insurance ◽  
Online Sales ◽  
The World ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Declining Demand ◽  
Insurance Business ◽  
The Impact

The article analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world insurance market and some European countries. Separated economic indicators of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the insurance business of the world are singled out. It was determined that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic inspired declining incomes of insurers and households, rising unemployment, declining demand for insurance services, a significant decline in productivity of insurance companies, uncertainty about the future development of the insurance industry and the effects of the pandemic. The experience of the world insurers' struggle against the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has been studied and generalized. The latest tools that have allowed insurers around the world to mitigate or mitigate the negative impact of the crown crisis, in particular, are: the development of new insurance products; increasing the level of requirements for insurance services in terms of its relevance, price flexibility, mobility and transparency; transition of insurers to online sales of insurance services and online payments for insurance cases; direct funding of specific means of combating COVID-19; use of the latest technologies and innovative methods in the insurance business; introduction of a new mode of staff work in the activities of insurance companies. The transition of insurers to online sales of insurance services and online payments has revealed many unresolved issues regarding the insurer's cybersecurity. Insurers are forced to improve existing technologies and methods of control, to intensify training and information activities. The Crown Crisis has significantly increased the importance of modern underwriting. Therefore, insurers around the world are using the capabilities of artificial intelligence, alternative data sources and better forecasting models. Greater understanding of pandemic processes, gaining experience is needed not only to accelerate the way out of the modern pandemic, but also to form a stable insurance system to the inevitable future challenges. The study of positive experience in the functioning and development of insurance markets around the world in crises and shocks is useful for application in national practice.

scholarly journals Evaluation of possibilities for the climatic distribution of regions from the point of view of road construction

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 262-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lina Juknevičiūtė-Žilinskienė ◽  
Alfredas Laurinavičius
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Road Construction ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Frozen Ground ◽  
Weather Information ◽  
Road Pavement ◽  
The World ◽  
Pavement Structure

Seeking to reduce a negative impact of unfavourable weather conditions on road traffic, many countries introduce modern technologies allowing to objectively assessing meteorological conditions of roads. The world over, data from the automated meteorological stations of Road Weather Information System have been long ago used on a significantly larger scale than only for the organization of road maintenance works. International experience of introducing Road Traffic Information Systems in European Union and other countries of the world shows that Road Weather Information Systems give good results for increasing road safety, improving the level of road user information and solving the road construction issues. Road Weather Information System is a system of technologies and decision-making using historical and real-time data of roads and weather conditions. The collected and processed multi-year data from meteorological stations is a great assistance in designing or reconstructing road pavement structures. Road pavement structure is highly affected by a negative air temperature and frozen ground. The impact of negative temperature is expressed by the thickness of frost blanket course. The thickness of frost blanket course depends on a frost susceptibility of soil. To determine the thickness of frost blanket course it is necessary to assess the frost impact, therefore it was up to the purpose − climatic distribution of regions the territory of Lithuania according to the distribution of frost impact and the depth of frozen ground. Based on climatic maps compiled, a correction of the thickness of road pavement structure was suggested.

METEOROLOGICAL VOCABULARY IN UKRAINIAN AND CHINESE LANGUAGES: SYSTEMATIC TRANSLATION

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (31) ◽  
pp. 36-50
Author(s):  
Natalia Gavrilyuk
Keyword(s):  
Human Life ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Natural Phenomena ◽  
Important Place ◽  
Close Link ◽  
Ancient People ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact

Within the anthropocentric paradigm of modern linguistics there is a steady interest in the human factor in language, which, among other things, is realized through the close attention of researchers to the theory of linguistic pictures of the world, which fully reflects the uniqueness of peoples Human life and activity are inseparable from nature. Nature is one, but manifests itself in various forms. In the process of learning about nature, man tries to realize both its unity and diversity. A special place in the perception of the world by man is occupied by climatic and weather phenomena that affect human behavior in the world, various aspects of his life, including economic, as well as well-being. In the IV century. BC became aware of the impact of fluctuations in weather conditions on human health. For example, Hippocrates established a close link between human disease and the weather conditions in which he lives. Over the centuries, people have gathered a variety of knowledge about nature: from misunderstanding of natural phenomena, fear of them, inherent in ancient people, to today’s scientific knowledge of nature, from the first folk signs of weather to the formation of modern science — meteorology. Nature as a source of everything necessary for man has an impact on both the material and spiritual culture of society. Therefore, knowledge of meteorological phenomena occupies an important place in the awareness of reality. The article considers the peculiarities of meteorological vocabulary in Chinese and Ukrainian languages, as well as the peculiarities of meteorological vocabulary translation in two languages.

Extreme Heat

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Wave ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Extreme Heat ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Extreme Heat Events ◽  
The World ◽  
Heat Events

Extreme heat events (EHEs) are periods of high temperatures and humidity that are considered to be unusual for a specific geographic location. For example, in 1995 an extended heat wave in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States was blamed for the deaths of 550 citizens. Most of the dead were elderly, poor individuals who may not have realized that heat could kill, or who had no means of mitigating the rising temperatures in their homes or any way to escape to a cooler environment. In 2003, Europe was subjected to an EHE that is estimated to have resulted in the deaths of 70,000, with 15,000 of those deaths in Paris, France. “Extreme heat” is a relative term. Individuals adapt to their local climate, so it is difficult to use an absolute number to describe the conditions meteorologists consider a relative change from past conditions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines extreme heat as “summertime temperatures that are substantially hotter and/or more humid than average for location at that time of year.” According to the Public Health Institute’s Center for Climate Change, the state of California defines extreme heat days as those days above the 98th percentile of maximum temperatures based on 1961–1990 data for a specific location. Crucial to understanding extreme heat events is the collection of data about temperature and humidity. The US Global Change Research Program provides heat wave data spanning 1961 to 2018. The site links to a variety of programs related to global climate modeling. The National Resources Defense Council is a nongovernmental organization that has excellent maps which show change over time in the frequency of extreme heat events that overlay the human impact of these events. The National Centers for Environmental Information provides graphic data of current weather conditions along with lists of significant climate anomalies. The site has links to weather records and tools. All of these sites rely on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for their data. There are equivalent agencies all over the world. The World Meteorological Organization, part of the United Nations, is also a valuable resource for data.

Exploring Insurance and Natural Disaster Tweets Using Text Analytics

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tylor Huizinga ◽  
Anteneh Ayanso ◽  
Miranda Smoor ◽  
Ted Wronski
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Association Rule ◽  
Association Rule Mining ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Insurance Company ◽  
Text Analytics ◽  
Rule Mining ◽  
Twitter Data ◽  
The World

This study explores twitter data about insurance and natural disasters to gain business insights using text analytics. The program R was used to obtain tweets that included the word ‘insurance' in combination with other natural disaster words (e.g., snow, ice, flood, etc.). Tweets related to six top Canadian insurance companies as well as the top five insurance companies from the rest of the world, including the new entrant Google Insurance, was collected for this study. A total of 11,495 natural disaster tweets and 19,318 insurance company tweets were analyzed using association rule mining. The authors' analysis identified several strong rules that have implications for insurance products and services. These findings show the potential text mining applications offer for insurance companies in designing their products and services.

Discourse Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 88-94
Author(s):  
Elisa Narminio ◽  
Caterina Carta
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Entry Point ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World

This chapter describes discourse analysis. In linguistics, discourse is generally defined as a continuous expression of connected written or spoken language that is larger than a sentence. However, as a method in the social sciences, discourse analysis (DA) gave rise to diatribes about where to set the borders of discourse. As language constitutes the very entry point to the world, some discourse analysts argue that all that exists acquires meaning through language. Does this mean that discourse constitutes reality? Is there anything outside text and discourse? Or is discourse one among many means of social construction? The evolution of DA in social science unearths an ontological debate between ‘realists’ and ‘nominalists’, which eventually reverberates in epistemological strategies.

scholarly journals Overview and perspective of nonwoven agrotextile

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Marasović ◽  
Dragana Kopitar
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Protection ◽  
Environmental Concern ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Natural Fibre ◽  
Potential Candidate ◽  
Food Quantity ◽  
Technical Textiles ◽  
The World ◽  
Agricultural Applications

Agrotextile belongs to one of the twelve sectors of technical textiles covering textile products with application in agriculture, horticulture, cattle breeding and aquaculture as well in agro engineering. The significance of agrotextiles can be stated substantial all over the world since it has been proven to be very versatile and cost effective materials. Nonwoven agrotextiles are innovative products with special structural performances designed for agricultural applications and practices such as weed control, wind protection, frost cover fabric that is used for adjustment of weather conditions from the sudden changing of temperature and seasonal changes. Furthermore, common application of nonwoven agrotextiles are for reducing the sun radiation as well as thermal protection of plants as shade cloth, furthermore for preventing insect and other pests on crops, preventing soil drainage and sediment creation. All over the world, applications of nonwoven agrotextiles products in agriculture have shown great positive impacts on growth, production and protection of various crops and vegetables. Many studies have been proving that nonwoven agrotextile covers accelerate the growth and development of seedlings as well as their nutritive values. By preventing weed growth and insect protection, the use of herbicides and pesticides are reduced. Agrotextiles made of natural fibres can be considered as a potential candidate for replacing some of today’s popular synthetic agrotextiles which are becoming ecologically less acceptable nowadays. Usage of agrotextiles is one of the growing alternatives in today’s context with respect to the increase in global population thus food quantity and food quality and in the same time growing environmental concern. Sustainable socio-economic development considers natural fibre usage in agrotextile production in all possible areas covered by agrotextile application. The main purpose of the review is to give an overview and importance of nonwoven agrotextiles with indication of nonwoven agrotextile perspective in future.

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