Experience with a simulator for training ammonia plant operators

A computer-based simulator was used for training operators prior to the start-up of a new fertilizer complex which includes a 1,350-MTPD ammonia plant, two 1,100-MTPD urea plants, and a steam and power generation plant with two 18-MW gas turbines. The simulator offered many benefits, which can be used for continued education of operators and engineering studies.     

What determines international tourist arrivals in India?

Using data for 18 major tourist originating countries to India from 2001 to 2015, this study examines the major determinants of international tourist arrivals in India. The results indicate that past experiences of the tourists, per capita income in the tourist originating country, relative costs of living between India and the country of origin, and the level of infrastructure development in India are key determinants of international tourist arrivals in India. Furthermore, both transportation and communication infrastructure are important in attracting tourists to India. In particular, evidence suggests that availability of road and air network and telephone connections has favourable impacts on international tourist arrivals in India. These results are robust to the inclusion of additional variables. These results have important policy implications.     

The Benefit Function Approach to Modeling Price-Dependent Demand Systems: An Application of Duality Theory

In this article, we advocate more extensive use of the benefit function in specifying price-dependent or inverse demand models. We demonstrate how duality theory may be used to establish the interrelationships between the Marshallian (or Hicksian) inverse demands and Luenberger's adjusted price functions, allowing estimable inverse demands to be derived directly from a benefit function. We estimate two systems of inverse demands for Japanese quarterly fish consumption. Results indicate that the procedures and methods employed here appear promising, and may prove beneficial for quantity and welfare analysis when modeling systems of inverse demand functions.     

Qualitätserwartungen und ethischer Anspruch bei der Lektüre von Blogs und von Tageszeitungen

Besides classical journalistic products, media users increasingly tend to read texts on the internet published by other users, as in weblogs. How do users navigate among these offers, how do they evaluate the quality, and which standards in terms of media ethics do they apply when reading weblogs compared to newspaper articles? Two empirical studies address these questions. In a survey, 702 internet users rated their theoretical expectations in terms of journalistic quality and compliance with ethical standards, comparing weblogs and daily newspapers. In a consecutive 2 × 2 experimental design, 120 participants read a journalistic text with varying source information (weblog/daily newspaper) and varying degree of adherence to ethical standards (ethically questionable/neutral). Participants then rated the quality of the text and its ethical standards. Results indicate that daily newspapers more than blogs are expected to deliver journalistic quality. But when read, texts are evaluated according to their content rather than their source. Ethically questionable texts in newspapers are disapproved as much as ethically questionable blog postings.     

Does employment before marriage exert autonomy after marriage? Evidence on female autonomy from India

This paper examines the determinants of female autonomy using data from India. We model female autonomy for movement as well as economic decision-making using a summative index approach. Our contributions to the literature include a careful examination of the regional differences, tests of economic and sociological hypotheses on female autonomy and the use of pre-marriage autonomy measures in terms of employment status to determine post-marriage autonomy. Our results suggest that economic, sociological and pre-marriage autonomy factors explain female autonomy. Regional differences regarding the economic, sociological and pre-marriage autonomy factors play a role in determining female autonomy.