An evaluation of UK credit ratings services
Describes a novel method for evaluating UK-based credit ratings services. Using a combination of timeliness, coverage, ease of use and accuracy of information, based upon a sample of 100 records added to the databases of six commercial companies’ information databases in autumn 2005, a framework for evaluation was developed and applied. The following services were evaluated: Creditsafe UK; Dun & Bradstreet; Equifax; Experian; Graydon; and ICC. Based upon the results of the evaluations, the services were graded overall with Experian coming out best. Equifax and ICC were next best, with Credit-safe after that. Dun and Bradstreet and Graydon performed the worst. However, changing the weightings of the various criteria would have produced a different outcome. Detailed explanations of the tests that were applied and the performance of each service are provided.
Studies on Economics Abstracts International: a new online database
Abstract This paper describes the results of a series of test searches carried out on Economics Abstracts International (EAI), a relatively new online bibliographic database covering economics and marketing information. In particular, the database was compared to the well-established Predicasts family of databases. It was found that the databases are complementary, in that for particular types of search (e.g. company information), Predicasts is a better service and for others (e.g. theoretical economics) EAI is superior. In the field of marketing information, both provide hits. Predicasts identified short, up-to-date news items and EAI in-depth studies. Critical comments are made on geographic coverage, on the use of Universal Decimal Classification numbers for subject-matter searching, and on the timeliness of EAI. At the time of this research Predicasts was biased towards North American material, but the database is larger and more up to date than EAI. Long strings of DC numbers in EAI were found to be difficult to use in practice.
Mathematical Simulation of Combustion of Boron Powder Gas Suspension
Based on a two-phase two-velocity model of a reacting gas-dispersed medium, a mathematical model of combustion of a boron powder gas suspension has been formulated. The results of numerical solution of the problem are presented. The influence of the composition of the gas suspension, its size, size distribution of particles, mass concentration of particles, as well as of the presence of aluminum powder in the suspension on the visible and normal velocities of flame propagation in the gas suspension, is shown. A comparison of the results of calculation with the well-known experimental and theoretical data is carried out. Satisfactory agreement of the predicted results with experimental data is shown.