Methodology for Estimating Streamflow by Water Balance and Rating Curve Methods Based on Logistic Regression

Both water balance (WB) and rating curve (RC) are methods for estimating streamflow. The first is mostly used to estimate reservoir outflows, while the second is usually adopted in hydrometeorological network streamflow gauges. While WB uses hourly collected data, the RC estimates streamflow using current water level and extrapolation techniques. The objective of this study was to analyze variations in the reservoir’s hourly outflow at Queimado Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP Queimado) and to propose a method to evaluate whether the estimate of the daily outflows, obtained by the WB method, is similar to the flow values obtained at a conventional station. The logistic regression (LR) model was used because it is a method that adopts binary, categorically dependent variables to identify the event of interest. The results showed that the values of streamflow, obtained from an average of two daily readings, were a good representation of the flows in the region. The LR was able to identify atypical data, especially in the rainy season. This means that data consistency analysis can be faster and safer, when adequately employed and considering the proposed conditions, contributing to both management policies and the management of water resources.

     

Multicriteria Decision Support for Selection of Alternatives Directed to Integrated Urban Water Management

Water Resources Management - The management of water resources in medium and large cities has been changing in recent years, mainly as a result of climate change and the sharp increase of...     

The effect of crises on firm exit and the moderating effect of firm size

The liability of smallness assumption suggests that smaller firms face higher exit risks. However, does it apply during crises? We show that during downturns size reduces firms’ exit risk by less; the hazard rate increases more rapidly in size.     

The Impact of Public Support on SMEs' Outward FDI: Evidence from Italy

This paper evaluates the impact of public financial support to the internationalization of small and medium enterprises. We analyze the growth performance of firms that conducted outward foreign direct investments in the period 1994–2008, comparing firms that benefited from public support (380) with a sample of firms that also internationalized their activity in the same period but without any incentive (508). The econometric results, stemming from a two‐step treatment effect model, reveal that incentives are effective in enhancing firms' performance in terms of domestic turnover and productivity growth, especially when they are targeted at smaller and younger firms. Moreover, the effect of the incentives is enhanced for firms that have accumulated international experience.     

Exploring clinical metrics to assess the health impact of traffic injuries

In order to allow a deep knowledge of the nonfatal injuries, recently the European Commission adopted the maximum abbreviated injury scale classification which is based on medical diagnosis. This classification will open the door to a new source of information based on international hospital data such as diagnosis-related group and international classification of diseases. In this study, we seek to explore these clinical metrics, which are used to describe the diagnosis and the medical treatment, and to infer consequences of crashes mainly through the costs and severity. Therefore, statistical analyses were applied using generalized linear models selected depending on the type of response variable, i.e. discrete or continuous. Relationships between these metrics were identified revealing for instance that head is the region of the body associated with high severity as well as to higher health care costs. Additionally, a discussion is presented regarding study results and future developments of clinical metrics are pointed out.     

Directions in scenario planning literature - A review of the past decades

This paper provides a systematized overview of patterns in the scenario planning literature published in the last decades. Recently, scenario planning has enjoyed a revival, apparent in the ‘boom’ in published research on the matter. Consequently, a major issue that needs to be addressed is how to organize the literature along precise lines. A number of reviews that describe the current status of the body of literature and knowledge on scenario planning have made attempts to respond to such requirements. These studies agree that systematizing the existing literature is a necessary step in developing the field. This paper aims to contribute to this purpose. The review of the academic literature here conducted is thought to be useful for both academics and practitioners. For researchers, this systematic overview will be constructive not only in providing an analysis of the directions of published research but also in setting up a research agenda for the future. For managers and practitioners, it provides a clear outline of firm-related articles and discusses their contribution from a managerial point of view. It also raises awareness with regard to future analytical methods, and in particular, to scenario planning and its potential contribution to the competitiveness of firms. The research was carried out under the research Project Enterprise of the Future of the University of Aveiro.     

Employment and SMEs during crises

The persistent increasing duration of unemployment has become an issue during economic crises. Although lay-offs at large firms normally make headlines during crises, we still know little about the potential impact of firm size on adjustment behavior in a crisis. We studied effects of firm size on employment growth during economic slowdowns using a rich microeconomic database for the 1988–2007 period in Portuguese manufacturing industry. The results show that economic downturns affect firm growth negatively. This negative effect is found to be higher for larger firms, both during and immediately following crisis periods. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) emerge as potential stabilizers in downturn periods. However, larger firms seem to be able to quickly recover from downturn periods. Our results contribute to the scarce literature and to the understanding of the Portuguese case, where many SMEs secure most jobs. These first results may be useful, because SMEs play a determinant role in other European Union economies.     

Organization, programme and structure: an analysis of the Chinese innovation policy framework

The paper first identifies the stakeholders involved in the design and implementation of China's innovation policy and compares them with different government systems in selected Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. In order to disclose the relative strength and weaknesses inside China's innovation policy framework, we proceed to utilize policy practices in the OECD countries as a guideline to examine China's innovation policy in five categories: reform in the public S&T institutions, financial policy, business innovation support structure, human resource policy and legislative actions. Subsequently, several weak components of the Chinese innovation policy framework are identified and two of them are selected for further analysis: education and human resource policy, and protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Finally, the paper provides some priorities and possible actions for future innovation policy developments in China.