(Virtual) Water Flows Uphill toward Money

Uphill solitary waves in granular flows.

We have experimentally observed uphill solitary waves in the surface flow on a granular material. A heap is constructed by injecting sand between two vertical glass plates separated by a distance much larger than the average grain size, with an open boundary. As the heap reaches the open boundary, solitary fluctuations appear on the flowing layer and move "up the hill" (i.e., against the direct...

Globalization : What to Think When Capital Flows Uphill

Virtual wealth protection through virtual money exchange

This article presents pioneering research on virtual money exchange (VMX) to protect the wealth generated in virtual worlds. This goal is realized by designing and implementing a VMX system through which virtual money exchange rates between virtual worlds are generated based on a redistribution strategy. Moreover, this strategy aims to re-value the total intrinsic value and the total exchangeab...

Determinants of virtual water flows in the Mediterranean.

The aim of the paper is to investigate the main determinants of the bilateral virtual water (water used in the production of a commodity or service) flows associated with international trade in agricultural goods across the Mediterranean basin. We consider the bilateral gross flows of virtual water in the area and study what export-specific and import-specific factors are significantly associat...

Agricultural virtual water flows within the United States

Trade plays an increasingly important role in the global food system, which is projected to be strained by population growth, economic development, and climate change. For this reason, there has been a surge of interest in the water resources embodied in international trade, referred to as ‘‘global virtual water trade.’’ In this paper, we present a comprehensive assessment of virtual water flow...