Driver Perceptions on Taxi-sharing and Dynamic Pricing in Taxi Services: Evidence from Athens, Greece.

The taxi industry has changed dramatically during the last decade, as ride-sourcing applications, ride-sharing and alternative pricing schemes have emerged, either as complementing or competitive services and strategies. After some years of familiarity with such trends, it is interesting to explore where the taxi industry stands with respect to possible service innovations. This paper explores behavioral patterns of drivers, focusing on issues such as their preferred way of conducting business, and their views on introducing taxi-sharing and dynamic pricing. Data collected from a face-to-face questionnaire survey in Athens, Greece are exploited, and appropriate econometric models are developed for the purposes of the study. The analysis shows that young and/or educated drivers, as well as those who are familiar with new technologies are more willing to accept innovations in taxi services. Results from a stated choice experiment show that on average 3.5 euros is the extra charge that the taxi market would accept to offer a taxi-sharing service. However, results reveal that the value of taxi-sharing varies across different groups of drivers. Overall, findings indicate that in the years to come, competition by other services, (e.g. ridesharing) will force the taxi industry to adopt new models of operation and pricing.

The superconducting dome for holographic doped Mott insulator with hyperscaling violation

We reconsider the holographic model featuring a superconducting dome on the temperature-doping phase diagram with a modified view on the role of the two charges. The first type charge with density $$\rho _{A}$$ ρ A make the Mott insulator, and the second one with $$\rho _{B}$$ ρ B is the extra charge by doping, so that the complex scalar describing the cooper pair condensation couples only with the second charge. We point out that the key role in creating the dome is played by the three point interaction $$-c \chi ^{2} F_{\mu \nu }G^{\mu \nu }$$ - c χ 2 F μ ν G μ ν . The Tc increases with their coupling. We also consider the effect of the quantum critical point hidden under the dome using the geometry of hyperscaling violation. Our results show that the dome size and optimal temperature increase with z whatever is $$\theta $$ θ , while we get bigger $$\theta $$ θ for larger (smaller) dome depending on $$z>2$$ z > 2 ($$z<2$$ z < 2 ). We also point out that the condensate increases for bigger value of $$\theta $$ θ but for smaller value of z.

Aplicación del proceso de análisis jerárquico para la evaluación del riesgo de incendio en la industria colombiana

La gestión de las emergencias hace parte fundamental de la seguridad y salud en el trabajo. Los incendios se constituyen como las emergencias más comunes en las industrias de nuestro país y en todo el mundo. Por medio del proceso de análisis multi atributo, específicamente el proceso de análisis jerárquico (AHP), los factores de riesgo fueron identificados en las investigaciones que se han realizado usando este método de análisis. El nivel de importancia de cada factor fue calculado por medio de un grupo de expertos que aplicaron el proceso de análisis jerárquico. Los resultados de la investigación pueden ser usados para tener una evaluación detallada el riesgo de incendio que permitiría a los inversionistas o propietarios tomar medidas para reducir las posibles pérdidas en caso de incendio; a las compañías de seguro realizar incrementos en las primas de riesgo basados en la evacuación del riesgo; a los departamentos de bomberos el nivel de cumplimiento de los requerimientos normativos. Emergency management is a fundamental part of occupational safety and health. Fires are the most common emergencies in the industries of our country and throughout the world. Applying the multi-criteria analysis method, the investigations using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in fire risk assessment allowed the identification of fire risk factor. An experts group was consulted about the level of importance of fire risk factors in the fire risk evaluation, for these purpose each expert used the AHP. Results of research can be use to perform the detailed assessment of fire risk, allowing state owners and investors to carry out actions for reduce possible losses in case of fire. Insurance companies can perform the detailed assessment of fire risks on the object and to calculate a risk extra charge to an insurance premium. Fire departments can determine the compliance of a condition of object with requirements of regulations

FEATURES AND PSYCHOLOGY OF BRANDS PRICING: MARKETING ASPECT

With the aim of providing the enterprise’s profitability there is an actual problem of searching the effective marketing technologies that would promote the value of commodity for consumers. It is important to point effort at brand capitalization, using totality of marketing instruments; one of basic aspect is price. The essence of brand pricing and brand value as an important constituent of price politics taking into account the marketing and expense approach to pricing is considered in the article. Essence of brands pricing, main purposes of the enterprises, that produce brands, their varieties and methods of achievement, is considered. The row of key factors that directly influence on brand cost and its value for consumers is set. The basic approaches to the process of forming the price of branded commodity, their strengths and weaknesses is proved. The basic differences of brands pricing from ordinary trademarks, the basic constituents of successful brand, their structure, role and influence, are analyzed on the consumers’ decision are established. The value of brand equity, its description, advantage of brand possessing, and also influence on pricing on the whole is investigated. The basic categories of brands depending on price and quality of commodity, their value for consumers were determined. The process of price setting on the branded commodity that consists of some basic stages they are: determination of commodity cost taking into account the charges on producing goods and minimum mark-up; prices coregulation to the standard of prices of commodities-analogues from firms-competitors; determination of size of extra charge for unique trade suggestion, that commodity contains; determination of extra charge for marketing possibilities of company and degree of possessing the channels of distribution; adding to the price a certain price bonus for a brand. The types of strategies that are used for brand pricing taking into account the selected method of its positioning at the market and aims of pricing are established: strategy of skimming; strategy of cost penetration; strategy of stable prices; strategy of price discrimination; strategy of price leadership and others, and also their descriptions and separate features are considered. The influence of such factor as loyalty of consumers on forming the branded cost of commodity is shown. Psychological methods that are needed to be used for forming and adjustment of brand price that will give an opportunity to promote profitability of enterprise activity, retain and fix market positions of the enterprise and its brands are generalized.

Theoretical and experimental basis for the super dielectric model of dielectric materials

Two theories of the fields generated by charges on parallel plate capacitors, the standard model (SM) found in virtually all text books and the recently proposed super dielectric material-theory (SDM-Theory), are described, and contrasted, in terms of theory and experimentally tested predictions. Only the SDM-Theory model is found to be consistent with thermodynamics, basic field theory, and experimental results. According to the SM, dielectrics in the volume between the electrodes of a parallel plate capacitor store the energy in a capacitor in the form of greatly, relative to the no dielectric case, increased electric field strength. This model is shown to be inconsistent with path independent changes in state property (e.g., voltage), and predicts, incorrectly, that dielectric material outside the volume between the electrodes will have no effect on any measurable properties such as capacitance and energy density. In contrast, according to SDM-Theory, a theory shown to be consistent with path independent changes in state properties, as well as “conservative field theory,” the increased stored energy in the presence of dielectrics is not associated with energy in fields, but rather it is due to the “extra” charges stored on the electrodes. The extra charge is required to create a given net field in the presence of a dielectric. Indeed, according to SDM-Theory, the effect of dielectric material, because its polarization is opposite to the electrodes, reduces the net field at all points in space, including within the volume of the dielectric. This is the absolute opposite of the “action” of a dielectric predicated by the SM. In the SDM-Theory, at a given capacitor voltage, virtually identical net fields exist with and without a dielectric, but the capacitance (amount of stored charge) and stored energy, a linear function of the amount of stored charge, of the latter configuration can be many orders of magnitude greater. Moreover, SDM-Theory predicts, consistent with recent observations, that dielectric material external to the volume between electrodes should be nearly as effective at increasing capacitance, etc., as the same dielectric material between the electrodes.

ORGANIZATION AND REGISTRATION-ANALYTICAL PROVIDING OF CALCULATIONS FROM SALARY IN SYSTEM MANAGEMENT BY COMMUNAL ENTERPRISES

The problem of the use of labour resources and remuneration of labour is actual enough for today. The ques-tion of economic essence and value of "salary" and "remuneration of labour" is investigational in the article, the legislative adjusting and normatively-legal providing is considered in Ukraine of remuneration of labour, registration-analytical providing of calculations with workers from a salary in control system of communal enterprises, organization of account of calculations is investigational from a salary, forms and systems of remuneration of labour are reasonable, directions of improvement offer. On results undertaken a study it is set that a salary is a money term of cost and cost of commodity, she serves as payment of services of labour of workers, represents socio-economic position in a national economy and stand-ard of living in society. Theoretical and practical consideration of questions about calculations from the remuneration of labour has an actual value, as a remuneration of labour is the important enough link of the system of sociallabour relations and most thorny in a decision socio-economic problem. The questions of salary are regulated by the wide enough circle of legislative and normative documents, that every workplace of accountant, accountable for a certain area account of calculations must be provided from a salary. The major constituents of organization of remuneration of labour are setting of norms of labour, tariff setting of norms of salary, development of forms and systems of remuneration of labour. Order of extra charge and payment of salary on communal enterprises envisaged by the Collective agreement and Statutes about the remuneration of labour. A salary depends on complication and terms of implementation of work, quality of her implementation workers, results of financially-economic activity of communal enterprises and select leaders (by proprietors) principles of the system of material stimulation of workers. For the increase of wage level in Ukraine, to our opinion, it is necessary: to decrease the shadow sector of na-tional economy, decrease the rate of inflation, increase production (works, services) volumes, increase prices on labour force, to perfect a legislatively-normative base in Ukraine. Keywords: a salary, remuneration of labour, organization of account, record-keeping, forms and systems of remuneration of labour, fund of remuneration of labour, is registration-analytical providing, communal enterprise

Potential Possibilities and Practical Steps for Renewable Energy Development in Russia

The paper discusses the support mechanisms of renewable energy sources (RES) and the progress made in leading countries as well as identifies the primary eco­nomic and social goals of the given process. It is shown that RES development co-benefits with national long-term goals on CO2 emissions in the energy sector and contributes significantly to their achievement. An analysis of Russian activi­ties leads to the conclusion that the country has been undertaking considerable efforts in keeping up in line with the global trend but it has fallen well behind better performing economies in the scale of RES support and manufacturing. A number of disadvantages of the current national system of RES support by 2024 have been identified and followed by proposals of further improvement aimed at ensuring competitiveness of Russian equipment on the domestic market, and later global market. The system of support should be focused on effectiveness of power generation; include support for export contracts; and prioritize large production volumes, thus reducing prices and facilitating localization. Long-term develop­ment prospects of the Russian solar and wind generation have been estimated for the period up to 2040–2045. The RU-TIMES model has been used to calculate the effects for two versions of government support: introduction of a fixed extra charge to the market price of generation (feed-in premium), and subsidies for investments in construction. According to the model estimates, an extra charge of 1.0 ruble/kWh would allow an increase of the total installed capacity of solar and wind power plants by 40 GW within 5–10 years. Their share in electricity genera­tion could be brought up to 20%, and up to 35% by 2040–2045. The same result could be achieved by subsidizing investments at the rate of about 300 USD/kW (considering government spending of less than USD 15 billion, covering 20–25% of capital investments). Each of the support options reduces the total CO2 emis­sions from all types of fossil fuel combustion by 100–150 MtСО2/year.

Redox-governed charge doping dictated by interfacial diffusion in two-dimensional materials

Controlling extra charge carriers is pivotal in manipulating electronic, optical, and magnetic properties of various two-dimensional materials. Nonetheless, the ubiquitous hole doping of two-dimensional materials in the air and acids has been controversial in its mechanistic details. Here we show their common origin is an electrochemical reaction driven by redox couples of oxygen and water molecules. Using real-time photoluminescence imaging of WS2 and Raman spectroscopy of graphene, we capture molecular diffusion through the two-dimensional nanoscopic space between two-dimensional materials and hydrophilic substrates, and show that the latter accommodate water molecules also serving as a hydrating solvent. We also demonstrate that HCl-induced doping is governed by dissolved O2 and pH in accordance with the Nernst equation. The nanoscopic electrochemistry anatomized in this work sets an ambient limit to material properties, which is universal to not only 2D but also other forms of materials.

Pricing a Lease Contract in Presence of Late Payment Extra-Charges

Partial insolvency in leasing contracts may entail to afford additional late payment costs. In this paper we focus on the case that the lessee makes partial payments in due time and settles the debt augumented by the late payment interests later. The presence of the extra-costs drives the lease Effective Annual interest Rate (EAR) to deviate from the lease contract rate. The aim of this work is to illustrate how design the contract payback amortization to stick EAR to the lease contract rate, when the lease contract rate, the late payment rate and the contract term are exogeneously fixed. First we achieve a proxy for EAR given by the lease contract rate plus an extra-charge rate addendum. We show that this latter addendum is sensitive to the payback Macaulay Duration, a weighted size and timing average. Specifically, the longer the Macaulay Duration, the smaller the extra-charge rate addendum. As a consequence, two general rules to drive EAR close to the lease contract rate roll out, specifically: (1) the payment pattern should be set with a long Macaulay Duration; and (2) the surrender value of the leased good should be put large. As the contract settlement is given, we show that EAR is delimited by a lower bound and an upper bound. Then the payback amortizations with fixed instalments are studied. To get insight on the importance of EAR inputs we roll sensitivity analysis out through illustrative applications. The results of the paper are useful to provide policymakers a better knowledge about the effects on EAR of the contract conditions on the pattern of payments.