Regional-industry analysis from the point of view of ideas of a joint economy (using the example of industry in the Northern regions of Russia)

The article analyses the industry in the northern regions of Russia from the point of view of assessing the practical results of the traditional theory of competition. The purpose of the study is to develop the theoretical and methodological foundations of the transformation of economics from the ideas of rivalry to unity and harmony in social relations. The relevance of the topic is determined by an active public discussion about the possibilities of Russia's transition from a market-capitalist to a social, human-oriented economy. It is shown that the main existing model is aimed either at the individual benefit of organizations, or at the attractiveness of industries for corporate or state interests, but not at the needs of the common person. The idea of the increasing attention to “people of labor” by bringing all the analyzed indicators to a single denominator — one employed — is defended. The following empirical research methods were used: observation, comparison and visualization. On the example of industry of the northern regions of Russia, ultra-hight intersectoral and interregional imbalances were revealed, arising, according to the author, due to the lopsided orientation of enterprises to maximize profits and the export and resource structure of the economy. The ratio of value added elements by region is demonstrated, the classification of territories is carried out depending on the combination of these components. The low-suitability of the classical understanding of competition to solve issues of capital overflow and equalization of profitability is indicated. The thesis is put forward about the possibility of overcoming the existing problems by the internal spiritual and moral transformation of managers and workers themselves, the transition from competition to cooperation. The prospects of the study are associated with the expansion of the toolkit due to social indicators, as well as in the study of the micro-level — municipalities, sub-sectors, and the primary reporting of organizations.

PREDATORY PRICING: SINGLE- FIRM DOMINANCE, EXCLUSIONARY ABUSE AND PREDATORY PRICES (PART 3)

Important pronouncements of legal principle were recently made by the Competition Appeal Court and Constitutional Court on the determination of predatory pricing under section 8 of the Competition Act 89 of 1998. These pronouncements must now be seen in the context of the subsequent commencement of the Competition Amendment Act 18 of 2018. In light of these developments, this three-part series of articles evaluate the law relating to the economic concept of predatory pricing under the Competition Act. In this context, the crucial elements of dominance and abuse are also discussed. The first in this series of three articles critically evaluated the law on the determination of single-firm dominance under section 7 of the Competition Act. The second article discussed the basic forms of abuse, the meaning of abuse, tests that have been developed to identify exclusionary conduct, the criticism of the traditional theory of predatory pricing, the main strategic economic theories of predatory pricing and non-pricing theories of predation. This article focuses on the law of predatory prices under section 8(1)(c) and 8(1)(d)(iv) of the Competition Act. Pursuant to section 1(3) of the Competition Act, when interpreting or applying the Competition Act, appropriate foreign and international law may be considered. This is complementary to section 1(2)(a), which directs that the Competition Act must be interpreted in a manner that is consistent with the Constitution and which gives effect to the purposes set out in section 2. In light hereof and where appropriate, the South African position is mainly compared with the position in the European Union and the United States.

العلاقات الدولية في الإسلام: نحو نظرية معاصرة أكثر واقعية

This study aims at: First, examining the various opinions of the traditional theory of foreign relations from the perspective of the true Islamic religion, which historically was a reflection of the periods of the Islamic Conquests, and the reality of conflicts between the Islamic State, throughout its ages, and its enemies. Second, developing a realistic and a more adequate theoretical framework that consists with the current assumptions and concepts of international relations; but without contradicting with the principles governing the external relations of Muslim States in the past. It was not within the aims of this study to contradict jurisprudential opinions or develop others. Rather, it is an attempt to provide a better and more realistic understanding to the relations between Muslims, and other countries and societies; then, formulating the various opinions that we describe here-for the purpose of study only- as non-Traditionalism, within a framework through which the external behavior of Muslim societies or states can be interpreted from the perspective of the real teachings of Islam, not only normatively, according to the rule of "what should be; but also realistically, according to the contemporary circumstances and developments; so that any conflict between the Old, which had its legal and logical justifications, and the New, that requires more practical assumptions, will be resolved. The study has shown that some of the views of the traditional theory, specifically the division of the World into two domains, and the consideration of fight as an organizing principle of foreign relations in Islam, are not realistic. In addition, the Quranic texts that deal with this issue indicate, clearly, that peace is the legal basis for these relations. Accordingly, five general principles underpinning the contemporary Islamic theory of international relations have been defined, namely: The unity of the World on the basis that Islam is a global religion; peace is the principal that governs and regulates these relations; building forces for deterrence; and using power (force) in certain cases, specifically for self-defense, defending home/country and religion; and finally rejecting preemptive wars. Key Words: International Relations in Islam, War and Peace, Traditional Theory, Contemporary Theory, Preemptive Wars. تهدف هذه الدارسة إلى: أولاً، مراجعة آراءِ النظرية التقليدية الخاصة بالعلاقات الخارجية من منظور الدين الإسلامي الحنيف؛ والتي كانت تاريخياً انعكاساً لفترات الفتوحات الإسلامية، ولواقع النزاعات بين الدولة الإسلامية في مراحلها المختلفة، وأعدائها من الدول والإمبراطوريات المنافسة. وثانيا، بلورة إطار نظري واقعي وملائم ينسجم ومعطيات العصر ومفاهيمه؛ ولكن دون أن يتعارض مع القواعد الحاكمة لعلاقات الدولة والمجتمعات الإسلامية الخارجية في السابق. ولم يكن من أهداف هذه الدراسة مطلقاً، مخالفة اجتهادات فقهية أو استحداث أخرى؛ وإنما هي محاولة لتقديم فهم أفضل، وأكثر واقعية، للعلاقات بين المسلمين، وبين غيرهم من الدول والمجتمعات؛ ومن ثم صياغة الآراء، التي يمكننا وصفها هنا –لأغراض التمييز فقط-بالغير تقليدية، في إطار يُمكن من خلاله تفسير السلوك الخارجي للدولة من منظور الدين الإسلامي، ليس قِيَميّا وفق قاعدة "ما يجب أن يكون" فقط،-كما هو شائع في معظم أو ربما كل الدراسات التي تناولت هذا الموضوع المهم-، وإنما أيضاً واقعياً، وفق ما تفرضه الظروف والمستجدات المعاصرة؛ بحيث يُزال أي تعارض بين القديم، الذي كان له ظروفه ومبرراته الشرعية والمنطقية؛ والمستجد، الذي يتطلب طروحات أكثر عملية. وقد أظهرت الدراسة أن بعض آراء النظرية التقليدية، وتحديداً الخاصة بتقسيم العالم إلى دارين، واعتبار القتال أساس حاكم ومنظم للعلاقات الخارجية في الإسلام، ليست واقعية. كما أن النصوص القرآنية التي عالجت هذه المسألة، تشير بوضوح إلى أن السلم هو الأساس الشرعي لهذه العلاقات. وعليه فقد تم تحديد خمسة مبادئ عامة تقوم عليها النظرية الإسلامية المعاصرة للعلاقات الدولية، وهي: وحدة العالم على أساس أن الإسلام دين عالمي؛ والسلم كأساس حاكم ومنظم لهذه العلاقات؛ وبناء القوة للردع؛ واستخدامها في حالات محددة، وهي الدفاع عن النفس والدين والبلاد؛ ورفض الحروب الوقائية. كلمات دالة: علاقات دولية في الإسلام، السلم والحرب، النظرية التقليدية، النظرية المعاصرة، حروب وقائية.

Algorithm and design improvements for indirect time of flight range imaging cameras

<p>This thesis describes the development of a compact and modularised indirect time of flight range imaging camera. These cameras commonly use the Amplitude Modulated Continuous Wave (AMCW) technique. For this technique, an entire scene is illuminated with light modulated at a high frequency. An image sensor is also modulated and the phase shift introduced between the two modulation signals, due to the transit time of the light reflecting off objects in the scene and returning to the camera, is used to measure the distance. The system constructed for this thesis is controlled by a Cyclone III FPGA and is capable of producing full field of view range images in real time with no additional computational resources. A PMD19K-2 sensor is used as the modulatable image sensor, and is capable of modulation frequencies up to 40 MHz. One significant issue identified with this range imaging technology is that the precision of the range measurements are often dependent on the properties of the object being measured. The dynamic range of the camera is therefore very important when imaging high contrast scenes. Variable Frame Rate Imaging is a novel technique that is developed as part of this thesis and is shown to have promise for addressing this issue. Traditional theory for indirect time of flight cameras is expanded to describe this technique and is experimentally verified. A comparison is made between this technique and traditional High Dynamic Range Imaging. Furthermore, this technique is extended to provide a constant precision measurement of a scene, regardless of the properties of the objects in the scene. It is shown that the replacement of the standard phase detection algorithm with a different algorithm can both reduce the linearity error in the phase measurements caused by harmonics in the correlation waveform and ameliorate axial motion error caused by relative motion of the camera and the object being measured. The new algorithm requires a trivial increase in computational power over the standard algorithm and can be implemented without any significant changes to the standard hardware used in indirect time of flight cameras. Finally, the complete system is evaluated in a number of real world scenarios. Applications in both 3D modelling and mobile robotics are demonstrated and tests are performed for a variety of scenarios including dynamic scenes using a Pioneer 2 robot.</p>

Algorithm and design improvements for indirect time of flight range imaging cameras

<p>This thesis describes the development of a compact and modularised indirect time of flight range imaging camera. These cameras commonly use the Amplitude Modulated Continuous Wave (AMCW) technique. For this technique, an entire scene is illuminated with light modulated at a high frequency. An image sensor is also modulated and the phase shift introduced between the two modulation signals, due to the transit time of the light reflecting off objects in the scene and returning to the camera, is used to measure the distance. The system constructed for this thesis is controlled by a Cyclone III FPGA and is capable of producing full field of view range images in real time with no additional computational resources. A PMD19K-2 sensor is used as the modulatable image sensor, and is capable of modulation frequencies up to 40 MHz. One significant issue identified with this range imaging technology is that the precision of the range measurements are often dependent on the properties of the object being measured. The dynamic range of the camera is therefore very important when imaging high contrast scenes. Variable Frame Rate Imaging is a novel technique that is developed as part of this thesis and is shown to have promise for addressing this issue. Traditional theory for indirect time of flight cameras is expanded to describe this technique and is experimentally verified. A comparison is made between this technique and traditional High Dynamic Range Imaging. Furthermore, this technique is extended to provide a constant precision measurement of a scene, regardless of the properties of the objects in the scene. It is shown that the replacement of the standard phase detection algorithm with a different algorithm can both reduce the linearity error in the phase measurements caused by harmonics in the correlation waveform and ameliorate axial motion error caused by relative motion of the camera and the object being measured. The new algorithm requires a trivial increase in computational power over the standard algorithm and can be implemented without any significant changes to the standard hardware used in indirect time of flight cameras. Finally, the complete system is evaluated in a number of real world scenarios. Applications in both 3D modelling and mobile robotics are demonstrated and tests are performed for a variety of scenarios including dynamic scenes using a Pioneer 2 robot.</p>

Obesity, Sodium Homeostasis, and Arterial Hypertension in Children and Adolescents

Background: The relationship between obesity, arterial hypertension, and excessive salt intake has been known for a long time; however, the mechanism of this relationship remains not clear. Methods: The paper presents a current literature review on the relationship between salt consumption and the development of arterial hypertension in children and adolescents with obesity. Results: In addition to the traditional theory of hypertension development due to the increase in intravascular volume and disturbances of sodium excretion, recent studies indicate the existence of a complex mechanism related to excessive, pathological secretory activity of adipocytes, insulin resistance, and impaired function of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone axis. That makes obese children and adolescents particularly vulnerable to the development of salt-sensitive arterial hypertension. Studies performed in many countries have shown that children and adolescents consume more sodium than recommended. It is worth noting, however, that the basis for these recommendations was the extrapolation of data from studies conducted on adults. Moreover, more important than sodium intake is the Na/K ratio and water consumption. Conclusion: Regardless of the population-wide recommendations on reducing salt intake in children, specific recommendations for overweight and obese patients should be developed.

Extension of perturbation theory to quantum systems with conformable derivative

In this paper, the perturbation theory is extended to be applicable for systems containing conformable derivative of fractional order [Formula: see text]. This is needed as an essential and powerful approximation method for describing systems with conformable differential equations that are difficult to solve analytically. The work here is derived and discussed for the conformable Hamiltonian systems that appears in the conformable quantum mechanics. The required [Formula: see text]-corrections for the energy eigenvalues and eigenfunctions are derived. To demonstrate this extension, three illustrative examples are given, and the standard values obtained by the traditional theory are recovered when [Formula: see text].

The possibility of superradiation without the Penrose process

In the traditional theory, it is impossible to produce superradiation in a straight time and space without a Penrose process. We know that similar entities can be artificially created by formulas that exist in the algebraic field. We have found that when a certain potential is created, there will be a superradiation phenomenon without the Penrose process in flat space and time.

A machine-learning approach to predicting the energy conversion performance of centrifugal pump impeller influenced by blade profile

Centrifugal pump is a kind of energy conversion machine for fluid delivering. It transfers the mechanical energy of impeller to the potential and kinetic energy of fluid. As a key factor in influencing the energy conversion performance of centrifugal pump, blade profile design is crucial. Traditional design concepts have ideal assumptions. To have a better design guidance, machine-learning based on neural network is used in this study. A typical centrifugal pump with simplified blade profile is numerically studied with experimental validation for a better discussion. Statistical results show that, for the high dimensional nonlinear relationship between blade angle and performance of centrifugal pump, neural network can adapt to this complex correlation better. The blade installation angle at leading-edge ( βLE′) and trailing-edge ( βTE′) and the wrap angle (Δ θ′) has significant correlation with the performance including pump head H, pump efficiency η, impeller head Himp, impeller efficiency ηimp and volute loss Δ Hvol. The influence level of blade angle follows the high-to-low order of Δ θ′, βLE′ and βTE′. Determination of blade profile can be done for improving the energy conversion efficiency. Optimal blade profiles have higher βLE′ and Δ θ′ with better flow-control ability. Compared with the blade parameters of the initial pump, the blade profile with the best centrifugal pump efficiency is the best βLE′ increased by 1.926°, Δ θ′ increased by 9.858°, Optimization of impeller efficiency βLE′ increased by 1.855°, Δ θ′ increased by 9.421°. Computational fluid dynamics indicate the elimination of vortex in impeller after optimal selection. Then, βTE′ and Δ θ′ are found influential in aggravating the circumferential flow component in this special circular-volute with generating higher loss. βTE′ has a positive correlation with impeller head which suits traditional theory. In general, the machine-learning using neural network is effective in determining blade profiles for enhancing the performance of centrifugal pump.

Understanding the fraud theories and advancing with integrity model

Purpose The fraud landscape talks about the existence of fraudulent activities and can be assessed with the help of fraud literature. Taking this into consideration, this paper qualitatively revisits the famous fraud triangle theory developed by Donald R. Cressey (1950) which is the most traditional theory to detect a fraud. This paper aims to discuss various fraud models that have been extensions to fraud triangle theory and reviews the factors that drive a corporate fraud. This study is divided into two phases. The first phases discuss the various theories which have been developed to detect and prevent corporate frauds in organisations, and in the second phase the authors recognize “integrity” as a new extension to the basic fraud theory. The integrity model has been introduced as “fraud square” contributing to the development of fraud theory. Integrity plays a very important role in detecting corporate frauds, and this paper will act as a theoretical benchmark for future references. The implication of this study would help future researchers, academicians and practitioners to understand the fourth element of the fraud theory and would help improve the professional standards of organisations and regulators. Design/methodology/approach This paper revisits the literature in detail and reviews the most acknowledged models to explain “why people commit frauds” – the fraud triangle, fraud scale, the fraud diamond, the ABC model, the MICE model and the SCORE model. The authors contend that the traditional models need to be modernized to acclimate to the current developments in the rapidly increasing fraud incidents, both in occurrence and seriousness. Additionally, this paper builds on theoretical background to generate new model so as to improve the understanding behind the major factors which lead to commitment of frauds. Findings The authors identify a major element – integrity – in the research. As per ACFE 2020, “There are more than 3.3 billion people in the global workforce, half of them takes illegal use of gains from the organisation and some are discipled with integrity who does not cause any harm to the organisation.” To prevent fraud, integrity plays a very important role in organisations (Bakri et al., 2017). It has been found that individuals with less integrity are basically specified to a greater level of mismanagement. The organisations that have worked with integrity will improve performance at work and will always promote the best employees to work with less supervision. Originality/value This paper develops the integrity model to contribute to the development of fraud theory by identifying the key factors that play a major role in whether fraud will actually occur and acting as a theoretical benchmark for all future reference.