Shi Zhao, Tien-Fu Lu, Larissa Statsenko, Benjamin Koch and Chris Garcia
In the mining industry, a run-of-mine (ROM) stockpile is a temporary storage unit, but it is also widely accepted as an effective method to reduce the short-term variations of ore…
Abstract
Purpose
In the mining industry, a run-of-mine (ROM) stockpile is a temporary storage unit, but it is also widely accepted as an effective method to reduce the short-term variations of ore grade. However, tracing ore grade at ROM stockpiles accurately using most current fleet management systems is challenging, due to insufficient information available in real time. This study aims to build a three-dimensional (3D) model for ROM stockpiles continuously based on fine-grained grade information through integrating data from a number of ore grade tracking sources.
Design/methodology/approach
Following a literature review, a framework for a new stockpile management system is proposed. In this system, near real-time high-resolution 3D ROM stockpile models are created based on dump/load locations measured from global positioning system sensors. Each stockpile model contains a group of layers which are separated by different qualities.
Findings
Acquiring the geometric shapes of all the layers in a stockpile and cuts made by front wheel loaders provides a better understanding about the quality and quality distribution within a stockpile when it is stacked/reclaimed. Such a ROM stockpile model can provide information on predicating ore blend quality with high accuracy and high efficiency. Furthermore, a 3D stockyard model created based on such ROM stockpile models can help organisations optimise material flow and reduce the cost.
Research limitations/implications
The modelling algorithm is evaluated using a laboratory scaled stockpile at this stage. The authors expect to scan a real stockpile and create a reference model from it. Meanwhile, the geometric model cannot represent slump or collapse during reclaiming faithfully. Therefore, the model is expected to be reconcile monthly using laser scanning data.
Practical implications
The proposed model is currently translated to the operations at OZ Minerals. The use of such model will reduce the handling costs and improve the efficiency of existing grade management systems in the mining industry.
Originality/value
This study provides a solution to build a near real-time high-resolution multi-layered 3D stockpile model through using currently available information and resources. Such novel and low-cost stockpile model will improve the production rates with good output product quality control.
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Barbara A. Zsembik, Greg L. Drevenstedt and C. Preston McLane
Using data from the 1990 Latino sample of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the 1988 National Survey of Elderly Hispanics, this research examines ethnic variation in the…
Abstract
Using data from the 1990 Latino sample of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the 1988 National Survey of Elderly Hispanics, this research examines ethnic variation in the economic well‐being of older Latinos. Older Puerto Ricans are less economically secure than Cubans or Mexican Americans, reporting lower median incomes, higher rates of poverty, and disproportionate enrollments in the state health insurance program. We decompose household income into its sources to provide insight in ethnic differences in economic security and highlight how federal cutbacks in social programs for the elderly will uniquely impact each Latino ethnic group. The results show that older Puerto Ricans remain most vulnerable to the negative consequences of changing social policies. Health insurance coverage varies by ethnicity, revealing that access to health care is most limited among older Cubans. Clearly, each Latino ethnic group present a distinctive economic profile for older adults, profiles which call for policies guarding economic security to be tailored to each ethnic group.
The study aims to show how the public interest has been argued to justify the political interference in the accounting of financial entities as a tool to face a critical financial…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to show how the public interest has been argued to justify the political interference in the accounting of financial entities as a tool to face a critical financial situation in a country. And to offer a different perspective of the publicness notion that focuses on the field of financial accounting for private entities.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on legal and political arguments referred to the public interest that consider the balancing approach, and so goes beyond the traditional agency framework, to explain politicians' influence on financial reporting. The behavior of the newly elected Spanish government, which issued accounting impairment rules for banks is described, and the accounting practices of a highly politically connected financial entity—Bankia—are used to illustrate the consequences of that intervention.
Findings
The paper evidences that the government intervention, which implied non-compliance with IFRS, was in line with its economic goals, led to the financial sector bailout and avoided the rescue of the country. This is what we call “breaking rules to achieve the public interest”, which is also consistent with a big-bath behavior to justify the bailout and legitimate the decision to breach IFRS. The silence of enforcers is consistent with the balancing approach that suggests compliance costs from a breach of rules are perceived less relevant after a high-level decision.
Research limitations/implications
This is a country-specific study based on a single case study that limits the generalizability of the findings.
Originality/value
This research provides a new angle to consider the political motivations to intervene in accounting in the private sector, as well as the enforcers' motivations to allow it. From an interdisciplinary perspective, it shows how politicians have argued the “public interest” to use (and abuse) to intervene in accounting rules, as well as to influence the accounting practice of a highly politically connected bank. It also highlights the potential long-term unintended consequences of these actions.
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Over the last decade, international accounting harmonization and convergence and the increasing adoption of IFRS as national standards have become dominant topics in international…
Abstract
Over the last decade, international accounting harmonization and convergence and the increasing adoption of IFRS as national standards have become dominant topics in international accounting research (Alp & Ustundag, 2009; Ashbaugh & Pincus, 2001; Cairns, Massoudi, Taplin, & Tarca, 2011; Christensen et al., 2007; Daske, 2006; Daske & Gebhardt, 2006; Daske et al., 2008; Ding et al., 2007; Gastón, García, Jarne, & Laínez Gadea, 2010; Haverals, 2007; Hellmann, Perera, & Patel, 2010; Lantto & Sahlström, 2008; Othman & Zeghal, 2006; Peng & van der Laan Smith, 2010; Schleicher, Tahoun, & Walker, 2010; Tyrrall et al., 2007). In this move toward convergence, the politics associated with IAS setting by the IASB has become an important and controversial topic in international accounting research. Although previous studies have aimed to examine political issues and stakeholder's perception toward the standard-setting process of the IASB (Alali & Cao, 2010; Chiapello & Medjad, 2009; de Lange & Howieson, 2006), no study has critically examined the complexity of factors influencing attitudes and public opinion toward this standard-setting process. Given that attitudes are likely to guide behavior and lead stakeholders to either advance the work of the IASB or create obstacles, it is timely and relevant to analyze attitudes toward this issue. A recent study has provided evidence that stakeholders’ acceptance of IFRS and preparers’ overall perception of IFRS may influence compliance and the quality of financial reports (Navarro-García & Bastida, 2010). As such, it is the objective of this chapter to provide insights into determinants of attitudes toward the IASB's standard setting and critically examine the influence of power structures and perceived legitimacy on individual attitudes and public opinion.1 Specifically, this study examines German attitudes toward the promotion of professional judgment by the IASB since the adoption of IFRS in the EU in 2005.
Chris Tilly, Georgina Rojas-García and Nik Theodore
Recent research begins to explore how organizations of informal workers function, and succeed or fail. Using cases of domestic-worker movements in Mexico and the United States, we…
Abstract
Recent research begins to explore how organizations of informal workers function, and succeed or fail. Using cases of domestic-worker movements in Mexico and the United States, we seek to extend this research by adding historical analysis of the movements’ evolution through a cross-national analysis of movement differences. We draw on concepts from the social movement and intersectionality literature. Historically, the two movements have been propelled by multiple streams of activism corresponding to shifting salient intersectional identities and frames, always including gender but incorporating other elements as well. Comparatively, the US domestic-worker movement recently has had greater success due to superior financial resources and more facilitative political opportunities – advantages due in part precisely to intersectional identities resonant with potential allies. However, this relative advantage was not always present and may not persist. Social movement concepts and intersectional analysis thus help understand both historical changes and cross-national contrasts in informal-worker organizing.
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Louise Gillies and Helen M. Burrows
Families conduct their affairs through processes that are built upon those of previous generations and also social capacities such as culture, class, oppression and poverty. The…
Abstract
Families conduct their affairs through processes that are built upon those of previous generations and also social capacities such as culture, class, oppression and poverty. The media has played a part in stereotyping the lower classes through their portrayal on the television programmes such as Benefits Street and Jeremy Kyle and tabloid newspaper stories. This chapter is a case study of two families who are at the opposing ends of the social scale, the Horrobin/Carter and Aldridge families. The two families were chosen due to them being linked by marriage in the younger generation. Through the use of genograms, we explore how the families differ in their attitudes towards relationships within their individual families, and also how they relate to each other as separate family groups. Despite the many differences, there are also a number of key similarities, particularly regarding the key females in the families, in terms of family background and snobbery. We also show that there is little family loyalty in the more privileged family and a power differential between the two families (oppressors vs. oppressed) in terms of the crimes committed.
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Before introducing the articles in this special issue, and taking the First World Conference on Operations Management as an example, the author proposes a new‐conference product…
Abstract
Before introducing the articles in this special issue, and taking the First World Conference on Operations Management as an example, the author proposes a new‐conference product, an innovation in service design and implementation. He describes nine key factors which need to be taken into account in order to achieve outstanding success in this kind of service.