scholarly journals Bitcoin’s Decentralized Decision Structure

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Ben R. Craig ◽  
Joseph Kachovec
Keyword(s):  
Decentralized Control ◽  
Control Structure ◽  
Or Efficiency ◽  
Institutional Governance ◽  
Control Structures ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The World ◽  
Decision Structure ◽  
Decentralized Decision Structure

With the introduction of bitcoin, the world got not just a new currency, it also got evidence that a decentralized control structure could work in practice for institutional governance. This Commentary discusses the advantages and disadvantages of centralized and decentralized control structures by examining the features of the bitcoin payment system. We show that while the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network "democratizes" payments, it is not obvious that the approach increases the equity or efficiency of markets or that the costs of the decentralized control structure won’t outweigh the benefits in the long run.

The Role of Technological Change in the Long-run Global Economy Forecasting

2013 ◽  
pp. 97-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Apokin
Keyword(s):  
Technological Change ◽  
Data Quality ◽  
Long Range ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
World Economy ◽  
Qualitative Approaches ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The World ◽  
National Economies

The author compares several quantitative and qualitative approaches to forecasting to find appropriate methods to incorporate technological change in long-range forecasts of the world economy. A?number of long-run forecasts (with horizons over 10 years) for the world economy and national economies is reviewed to outline advantages and drawbacks for different ways to account for technological change. Various approaches based on their sensitivity to data quality and robustness to model misspecifications are compared and recommendations are offered on the choice of appropriate technique in long-run forecasts of the world economy in the presence of technological change.

An Econometric Analysis on the Relationship between Globalisation and Inequality in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-89
Author(s):  
Jacques de Jongh
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Causality Analysis ◽  
Global Integration ◽  
Development Indicators ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The World ◽  
Distribution Of Resources ◽  
Short Run ◽  
The Impact

Globalisation has had an unprecedented impact on the development and well-being of societies across the globe. Whilst the process has been lauded for bringing about greater trade specialisation and factor mobility many have also come to raise concerns on its impact in the distribution of resources. For South Africa in particular this has been somewhat of a contentious issue given the country's controversial past and idiosyncratic socio-economic structure. Since 1994 though, considerable progress towards its global integration has been made, however this has largely coincided with the establishment of, arguably, the highest levels of income inequality the world has ever seen. This all has raised several questions as to whether a more financially open and technologically integrated economy has induced greater within-country inequality (WCI). This study therefore has the objective to analyse the impact of the various dimensions of globalisation (economic, social and political) on inequality in South Africa. Secondary annual time series from 1990 to 2018 were used sourced from the World Bank Development indicators database, KOF Swiss Economic Institute and the World Inequality database. By using different measures of inequality (Palma ratios and distribution figures), the study employed two ARDL models to test the long-run relationships with the purpose to ensure the robustness of the results. Likewise, two error correction models (ECM) were used to analyse the short-run dynamics between the variables. As a means of identifying the casual effects between the variables, a Toda-Yamamoto granger causality analysis was utilised. Keywords: ARDL, Inequality, Economic Globalisation; Social Globalisation; South Africa

Genotypic Methods for HIV Drug Resistance Monitoring: The Opportunities and Challenges Faced by China

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 225-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lulu Zuo ◽  
Ke Peng ◽  
Yihong Hu ◽  
Qinggang Xu
Keyword(s):  
Drug Resistance ◽  
Virological Suppression ◽  
Testing Methods ◽  
Hiv Drug Resistance ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Hiv Epidemic ◽  
Routine Surveillance ◽  
The World ◽  
Global Project ◽  
Hiv 1

AIDS is a globalized infectious disease. In 2014, UNAIDS launched a global project of “90-90-90” to end the HIV epidemic by 2030. The second and third 90 require 90% of HIV-1 infected individuals receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) and durable virological suppression. However, wide use of ART will greatly increase the emergence and spreading of HIV drug resistance and current HIV drug resistance test (DRT) assays in China are seriously lagging behind, hindering to achieve virological suppression. Therefore, recommending an appropriate HIV DRT method is critical for HIV routine surveillance and prevention in China. In this review, we summarized the current existing HIV drug resistance genotypic testing methods around the world and discussed the advantages and disadvantages of these methods.

A multi-objective operation strategy optimization for ice storage systems based on decentralized control structure

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-81
Author(s):  
Yanhuan Ren ◽  
Junqi Yu ◽  
Anjun Zhao ◽  
Wenqiang Jing ◽  
Tong Ran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Saving ◽  
Decentralized Control ◽  
Optimization Algorithm ◽  
Control Strategy ◽  
Load Distribution ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Control Structure ◽  
Ice Storage ◽  
Swarm Optimization ◽  
Multi Objective

Improving the operational efficiency of chillers and science-based planning the cooling load distribution between the chillers and ice tank are core issues to achieve low-cost and energy-saving operations of ice storage air-conditioning systems. In view of the problems existing in centralized control architecture applied in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, a distributed multi-objective particle swarm optimization improved by differential evolution algorithm based on a decentralized control structure was proposed. The energy consumption, operating cost, and energy loss were taken as the objectives to solve the chiller’s hourly partial load ratio and the cooling ratio of ice tank. A large-scale shopping mall in Xi’an was used as a case study. The results show that the proposed algorithm was efficient and provided significantly higher energy-savings than the traditional control strategy and particle swarm optimization algorithm, which has the advantages of good convergence, high stability, strong robustness, and high accuracy. Practical application: The end equipment of the electromechanical system is the basic component through the building operation. Based on this characteristic, taken electromechanical equipment as the computing unit, this paper proposes a distributed multi-objective optimization control strategy. In order to fully explore the economic and energy-saving effect of ice storage system, the optimization algorithm solves the chillers operation status and the load distribution. The improved optimization algorithm ensures the diversity of particles, gains fast optimization speed and higher accuracy, and also provides a better economic and energy-saving operation strategy for ice storage air-conditioning projects.

scholarly journals SARS-CoV-2 vaccines strategies: a comprehensive review of phase 3 candidates

npj Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaos C. Kyriakidis ◽  
Andrés López-Cortés ◽  
Eduardo Vásconez González ◽  
Alejandra Barreto Grimaldos ◽  
Esteban Ortiz Prado
Keyword(s):  
Neutralizing Antibodies ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Rna Virus ◽  
Protein S ◽  
Effective Vaccine ◽  
Phase 3 ◽  
Vaccine Candidates ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
The World

AbstractThe new SARS-CoV-2 virus is an RNA virus that belongs to the Coronaviridae family and causes COVID-19 disease. The newly sequenced virus appears to originate in China and rapidly spread throughout the world, becoming a pandemic that, until January 5th, 2021, has caused more than 1,866,000 deaths. Hence, laboratories worldwide are developing an effective vaccine against this disease, which will be essential to reduce morbidity and mortality. Currently, there more than 64 vaccine candidates, most of them aiming to induce neutralizing antibodies against the spike protein (S). These antibodies will prevent uptake through the human ACE-2 receptor, thereby limiting viral entrance. Different vaccine platforms are being used for vaccine development, each one presenting several advantages and disadvantages. Thus far, thirteen vaccine candidates are being tested in Phase 3 clinical trials; therefore, it is closer to receiving approval or authorization for large-scale immunizations.

scholarly journals Effect of the Foresight Horizon on Computation Time and Results Using a Regional Energy Systems Optimization Model

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 495
Author(s):  
Jessica Thomsen ◽  
Noha Saad Hussein ◽  
Arnold Dolderer ◽  
Christoph Kost
Keyword(s):  
Computation Time ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Variable Cost ◽  
Optimization Approach ◽  
Or Efficiency ◽  
Electricity Grid ◽  
Regional Energy ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Regional Energy Systems

Due to the high complexity of detailed sector-coupling models, a perfect foresight optimization approach reaches complexity levels that either requires a reduction of covered time-steps or very long run-times. To mitigate these issues, a myopic approach with limited foresight can be used. This paper examines the influence of the foresight horizon on local energy systems using the model DISTRICT. DISTRICT is characterized by its intersectoral approach to a regionally bound energy system with a connection to the superior electricity grid level. It is shown that with the advantage of a significantly reduced run-time, a limited foresight yields fairly similar results when the input parameters show a stable development. With unexpected, shock-like events, limited foresight shows more realistic results since it cannot foresee the sudden parameter changes. In general, the limited foresight approach tends to invest into generation technologies with low variable cost and avoids investing into demand reduction or efficiency with high upfront costs as it cannot compute the benefits over the time span necessary for full cost recovery. These aspects should be considered when choosing the foresight horizon.

scholarly journals Decentralized Optimization for a Novel Control Structure of HVAC System

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiqiang Wang ◽  
Jianchun Xing ◽  
Ziyan Jiang ◽  
Juelong Li
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Decentralized Control ◽  
Control Structure ◽  
Optimization Method ◽  
Labor Cost ◽  
Smart Device ◽  
Hvac System ◽  
Decentralized Optimization ◽  
System A ◽  
Novel Method

A decentralized control structure is introduced into the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system to solve the high maintenance and labor cost problem in actual engineering. Based on this new control system, a decentralized optimization method is presented for sensor fault repair and optimal group control of HVAC equipment. Convergence property of the novel method is theoretically analyzed considering both convex and nonconvex systems with constraints. In this decentralized control system, traditional device is fitted with a control chip such that it becomes a smart device. The smart device can communicate and operate collaboratively with the other devices to accomplish some designated tasks. The effectiveness of the presented method is verified by simulations and hardware tests.

Ethnic Accommodation in a Historical Case

1966 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Holden
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Conflict ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Important Variable ◽  
The Political ◽  
Historical Case ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
The World

I. The Political Meaning of Ethnic ConflictIf politics “in its broadest sense” is conceived as the “distribution of advantages and disadvantages among people” (Froman, p. 3), then the ultimate penalty is subordination (total exclusion from advantages) and the ultimate reward is dominance (total monopoly of advantages). The effort to change the balance of advantages and disadvantages between groups is the nexus of political conflict. In such conflict, ethnicity is a particularly important variable, precisely because it is one criterion found throughout the world by which groups are regularly assigned superior and inferior places.

Twitter users exhibited coping behaviours during the COVID-19 lockdown: an analysis of tweets using mixed methods

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruchi Mittal ◽  
Wasim Ahmed ◽  
Amit Mittal ◽  
Ishan Aggarwal
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
The Body ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Twitter Data ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The World ◽  
Twitter Users ◽  
The Government ◽  
Using Data

Purpose Using data from Twitter, the purpose of this paper is to assess the coping behaviour and reactions of social media users in response to the initial days of the COVID-19-related lockdown in different parts of the world. Design/methodology/approach This study follows the quasi-inductive approach which allows the development of pre-categories from other theories before the sampling and coding processes begin, for use in those processes. Data was extracted using relevant keywords from Twitter, and a sample was drawn from the Twitter data set to ensure the data is more manageable from a qualitative research standpoint and that meaningful interpretations can be drawn from the data analysis results. The data analysis is discussed in two parts: extraction and classification of data from Twitter using automated sentiment analysis; and qualitative data analysis of a smaller Twitter data sample. Findings This study found that during the lockdown the majority of users on Twitter shared positive opinions towards the lockdown. The results also found that people are keeping themselves engaged and entertained. Governments around the world have also gained support from Twitter users. This is despite the hardships being faced by citizens. The authors also found a number of users expressing negative sentiments. The results also found that several users on Twitter were fence-sitters and their opinions and emotions could swing either way depending on how the pandemic progresses and what action is taken by governments around the world. Research limitations/implications The authors add to the body of literature that has examined Twitter discussions around H1N1 using in-depth qualitative methods and conspiracy theories around COVID-19. In the long run, the government can help citizens develop routines that help the community adapt to a new dangerous environment – this has very effectively been shown in the context of wildfires in the context of disaster management. In the context of this research, the dominance of the positive themes within tweets is promising for policymakers and governments around the world. However, sentiments may wish to be monitored going forward as large-spikes in negative sentiment may highlight lockdown-fatigue. Social implications The psychology of humans during a pandemic can have a profound impact on how COVID-19 shapes up, and this shall also include how people behave with other people and with the larger environment. Lockdowns are the opposite of what societies strive to achieve, i.e. socializing. Originality/value This study is based on original Twitter data collected during the initial days of the COVID-19-induced lockdown. The topic of “lockdowns” and the “COVID-19” pandemic have not been studied together thus far. This study is highly topical.

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