197 research outputs found
A case for money in the ECB monetary policy strategy
No full textOne major outcome of the review of the ECBs two pillar monetary policy strategy, which was published on 8 May 2003, has been the de facto downgrading of the hitherto prominent role assigned to the stock of money. According to the authors judgement, however, there is a strong theoretical and empirical rationale for the ECB monetary policy to pay close attention to the information content of money in the form of M3. However, the authors argue the ECB should make use of the so-called price gap or real money gap concept rather than the reference value as the latter runs the risk of giving misleading policy recommendations and compromising the indicator quality of the stock of money. Making use of M3 seems all the more rational as currently no better inflation indicator appears to exist in providing inflation forecasts in the euro area. --P-star,real money gap,excess liquidity,ECB
On the cost of delayed currency fixing announcements
No full textIn Foreign Exchange Markets vanilla and barrier options are traded frequently. The market standard is a cutoff time of 10:00 a.m. in New York for the strike of vanillas and a knock-out event based on a continuously observed barrier in the inter bank market. However, many clients, particularly from Italy, prefer the cutoff and knock-out event to be based on the fixing published by the European Central Bank on the Reuters Page ECB37. These barrier options are called discretely monitored barrier options. While these options can be priced in several models by various techniques, the ECB source of the fixing causes two problems. First of all, it is not tradable, and secondly it is published with a delay of about 10 - 20 minutes. We examine here the effect of these problems on the hedge of those options and consequently suggest a cost based on the additional uncertainty encountered. --exotic options,currency fixings
Measuring (Oblique) Wave Run-Up and Overtopping with Laser Scanners
No full textWave overtopping is commonly measured using overtopping tanks. In this paper, an alternative system is developed by using two laser scanners. It measures wave run-up, as well as layer thicknesses and front velocities, both during normally and obliquely incident waves on a dike in the field. The paper considers the first field validation tests with the system, with normal and oblique waves generated by the wave run-up simulator on a grass dike slope. Furthermore, a range of environmental conditions are simulated, to determine the robustness of the system. From the measured distance and reflection, the run-up is determined, which corresponds well to the observed run-up. From the data, the layer thickness and front velocity are determined as well. Layer thicknesses and front velocities are determined reliably with the laser scanners. Also, the (virtual) wave overtopping discharge can be calculated, which corresponds well with the most commonly used overtoppingequations.Hydraulic Structures and Flood RiskEnvironmental Fluid Mechanic
Effect of Venting Holes to Relieve Wave Impact Pressures on Flood Gates with Overhangs
No full textFlood gates in storm surge barriers or outlet sluices can be prone to violent wave impacts. When an obstruction is present at the sea side above the gate, confinement of the incoming waves can lead to impulsive wave loads, even when the waves are non-breaking. The large loads can increase the stresses in the gate and structure considerably. One of the measures that is often discussed to relieve the pressures of these impacts is to apply small openings in the gates. In this paper the potential effect of these venting holes on the wave impact loads is determined. The decrease in impact pressure impulse is determined for a range of venting hole geometries is determined by numerical 2D and 3D solutions of a schematized wave impact. In this model the pressure impulse P (integral of the local pressure over the small impact duration) is determined directly by the so-called pressure impulse theory. The potential decrease in pressure impulse due to wave impacts is presented. Moreover, some initial CFD modelling is applied, and the applicability of the pressure impulse theory is discussed.Hydraulic Structures and Flood Ris
Global stability of a model for competing predators
No full textThe author proves conditions for global stability of a model for competing predators by using Lyapunov functions, and gives several examples</p
Measures of excess liquidity
No full textThe aim of this note is to provide an overview of various measures of excess liquidity, which can be defined as the deviation of the actual stock of money from an estimated equilibrium level. Given their dynamic nature, the excess liquidity measures under review are - in the light of long and variable lags of monetary policy - very useful tools to quantify future price pressures. In addition, excess liquidity measures consider inflation as a purely monetary phenomenon: neither the output gap nor liquidity gap - although both form an integral part of the concepts - an be held responsible for inducing a persistent rise in the price level. Despite strong theoretical support, the usefulness of excess liquidity measures depends on the stability of money demand, a question which has of course to be answered in the realm of empirical research. --P-star,excess liquidity,monetary policy,ECB
Model Driven Manufacturing Process Design and Managing Quality
No full textBesides decisions in design, decisions made in process planning determine the conditions for manufacturing the right quality. Hence systematic process planning is a key enabler for robust product realization from design through manufacturing. Current work methods for process planning and quality assurance lack efficient system integration. As a consequence companies spend unnecessary lot of non-value adding time on managing quality. This paper presents a novel model-based approach to integrate process planning and quality assurance. The presented model enables a more efficient and holistic way for managing quality from design to manufacturing. New possibilities to communicate process design intent and present important quality assurance information in a more structured and comprehensive way is also enabled.QC 20160815MPQP - Modelldriven beredning och kvalitetssäkrin
Spatial attention related SEP amplitude modulations covary with BOLD signal in S1-a simultaneous EEG-fMRI study
No full textRecent studies investigating the influence of spatial-selective attention on primary somatosensory processing have produced inconsistent results. The aim of this study was to explore the influence of tactile spatial-selective attention on spatiotemporal aspects of evoked neuronal activity in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1). We employed simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG)-functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 14 right-handed subjects during bilateral index finger Braille stimulation to investigate the relationship between attentional effects on somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) components and the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal. The 1st reliable EEG response following left tactile stimulation (P50) was significantly enhanced by spatial-selective attention, which has not been reported before. FMRI analysis revealed increased activity in contralateral S1. Remarkably, the effect of attention on the P50 component as well as long-latency SEP components starting at 190 ms for left stimuli correlated with attentional effects on the BOLD signal in contralateral S1. The implications are 2-fold: First, the correlation between early and long-latency SEP components and the BOLD effect suggest that spatial-selective attention enhances processing in S1 at 2 time points: During an early passage of the signal and during a later passage, probably via re-entrant feedback from higher cortical areas. Second, attentional modulations of the fast electrophysiological signals and the slow hemodynamic response are linearly related in S1. © The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved
Central bank independence : a critical view
No full textWhile expansive literature on central bank independence contains some criticisms to the independent central bank quasi-paradigm, few critical analyses have been undertaken in the years between Friedman (1962) and Posen (1994). The author extends Posen's analysis to developing countries, discussing more broadly and systematically the reasons why merely instituting an independent central bank may not bring about its professed benefits, especially in developing countries. The author argues that widely reported empirical tests that are purported to support the central bank independence proposition are plagued by potential problems of simultaneity, reverse causality, missing variables, and measurement errors. Yet one can not make positive recommendations about institutional arrangements for central banks if causality relations are not well established. Institutions are shaped by a country's record of and preferences for inflation and may have little influence on them. The author also argues that the purported benefits of an independent central bank may be eroded by conflicts between fiscal and monetary policy and by inherent problems of central bank institutional design (especially mechanisms for board appointments, public accountability, and budgetary control). If these institutional problems are not solved, problems of dynamic inconsistency traditionally associated with monetary policy are not eliminated,but merely transformed. The author suggests that the benefits of central bank independence are less likely obtained in less developed countries with shallow financial markets. Accordingly, central bank independence should be granted at a later stage in a country's financial sector development. If a less developed country seeks to establish a low-inflation path, it should concentrate on instituting financial policy reforms (such as liberalization and privatization) that bolster opposition to inflation rather than easily reversible and practically meaningless changes in legal and institutional structures. This will better ensure the sustainability -- and hence the credibility -- of the government's anti-inflation stance. Fiscal policy is often at the root of macroeconomic disturbances in developing countries. Fiscal policy is more deserving of special protection from politics because of fiscal dominance over monetary policy and its greater vulnerability to private interests. The author suggests that the solution might be to make fiscal policy less susceptible to political pressures by creating an independent fiscal board. Tying the fiscal hands of government may seem a far-fetched idea. But would it not make more sense to force discipline on fiscal policy directly rather than indirectly through monetary policy?Economic Theory&Research,National Governance,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Stabilization,Macroeconomic Management
Lasiocnemus griseicinctipes Speiser 1913
No full textLasiocnemus griseicinctipes Speiser, 1913, Figs 12, 18, 23 Lasiocnemus griseicinctipes Speiser, 1913: 141; Janssens 1952: 5; Hull 1962: 309; Oldroyd 1980: 357. Lasiocnemus anthracinus Janssens, 1952: 5, 9; Hull 1962: 309; Oldroyd 1980: 357, syn. n. Diagnosis The species is distinguished from congeners by the bluish-black, predominantly apruinose mesonotum, the white transverse band in the distal part of the wing, the entirely long, predominantly black setae on the femora and tibiae, and its distribution in western Africa. Description Head. Black; face silver pruinose, facial swelling indistinct, mystax black, four macrosetae; proboscis and palpi black, setae black; occiput grey pruinose, setae black in dorsal half and white in ventral half. Antennae, scape brown, brown setae ventrally, apruinose; pedicel brown, brown setae dorsally and ventrally, grey pruinose; postpedicel brown, grey pruinose; stylus brown, stylus and postpedicel about equal length; apical ‘seta-like’ sensory element brown. Thorax. Black, anepisternum and dorsal half of katepisternum and anepimeron grey pruinose, remaining parts brown pruinose, anepisternum setae black and katepisternum setae white; scutum bluish-black, predominantly apruinose, margins grey pruinose, surface covered with black setae, black setae on pruinose part; macrosetae: black, one notopleural seta, one supra-alar seta; scutellum grey pruinose, discal scutellar and scutellar setae long, brown. Legs, dark brown; coxa brown pruinose; prothoracic and mesothoracic femora with erect black setae anteriorly and dorsally, metathoracic femora with erect black setae on all surfaces, clubbed and widest sub-distally; tibiae with erect black setae on all surfaces, prothoracic tibiae with brown cleaning setae in distal half ventrally, metathoracic tibiae with black setae, a few white setae proximally and distally; tarsomeres with black setae, first metathoracic tarsomere with brown setae posteroventrally; empodium about half length of claw. Wings, length = 4.5–8.0 mm; cell d with only few microtrichia, wing pattern as in Fig. 12; haltere brown. Abdomen. Black; T in proximal two-thirds brown pruinose and in distal one-third grey pruinose, T 2 in proximal half with long black setae laterally, remaining T with short brown setae on brown pruinose area and white setae on grey pruinose area, S2 apruinose medially remaining part brown pruinose, S3–4 apruinose proximally and brown pruinose distally, S5–8 brown pruinose with grey pruinose distal corners. Male terminalia unknown. Female terminalia as in Fig. 18. Type material. The female lectotype, here designated to preserve taxonomic stability and make more universal the use of this name, is labelled ‘ Kamerun Duala –. VII.1912 v. Rothkirch coll. (blue label)/ Lasiocnemus griseicinctipes p. Speiser det.? type (handwritten except for ‘P. Speiser det.’)/ Spec. typ. no. (red label)/ LECTOTYPE Lasiocnemus griseicinctipes Speiser, 1913 by T. Dikow 2005 (red label)’. The specimen is directly mounted and in good condition, (MZHF). The female holotype of Lasiocnemus anthracinus is labelled ‘ Congo – belge Eala – vii – 1936 J. Ghesquière/R. Mus. Hist. Nat. Belg. I.G. 10.482/(label with gender symbol)/E. Janssens det., 1951 Lasiocnemus anthracinus E. Janssens (year and species name + author handwritten)/ Type (red label with black submarginal border)/ cf. Bull. Inst. Sc. Nat. Belg. XXVIII, 1952 no 24, p. 9, Fig. 4 ’. The specimen is double-mounted (minuten in block of foam) and is in relatively good condition (right wing, right mesothoracic leg, and metathoracic legs broken), (ISNB). The female paratype of Lasiocnemus anthracinus is labelled ‘ Congo – belge Eala – iv – 1936 J. Ghesquière/R. Mus. Hist. Nat. Belg. I.G. 10.482/ (label with gender symbol)/E. Janssens det., 1951 Lasiocnemus anthracinus E. Janssens (year and species name + author handwritten)/ Paratype (red label with black submarginal border)/ cf. Bull. Inst. Sc. Nat. Belg. XXVIII, 1952 no. 24, p. 9, Fig. 4 (issue, year, page and figure number handwritten)’. The specimen is double-mounted (minuten in block of foam) and is in good condition (right wing damaged, right postpedicel broken), (ISNB). Additional material examined. CAMEROON: 1♀ Douala, 04°02’N 009°42’E, –.vii.19121 (lectotype); DRC: 1♀ Eala, 00°04’N 018°17’E, –. vii.1936, Eala; 1♀ Eala, –. iv.1936; IVORY COAST: 1♂ Abidjan, 17 km NW, 05°26’N 004°08’W, 2–8.xi.1971; 1? Maraoué National Park, 28 km W Bouaflé, 06°59’N 005°54’W, 19.iv.1989; 1♀ Banco National Park, N Abidjan, 05°22’N 004°03’W, 23–27.iv.1989; NIGERIA: 1? Olokemeji, 07°20’N 004°03’E. Depositories: CSCA, ISNB, MZHF, NMSA, USNM. Remarks. Speiser (1913: 141) described this species from four specimens (3♀, 1♂), but only a single female syntype, here designated as the lectotype, could be found in the many museum collections studied. Type locality, distribution and biodiversity hotspot (Fig. 23): Cameroon, Douala, 04°02’N 009°42’E. Cameroon, DRC, Ivory Coast, Nigeria. Guinean Forests of West Africa.Published as part of Dikow, Torsten, 2007, Taxonomic revision of the genus Lasiocnemus (Loew, 1851) (Diptera: Asilidae: Leptogastrinae), pp. 57-74 in African Entomology 15 (1) on pages 63-66, DOI: 10.4001/1021-3589-15.1.57, http://zenodo.org/record/26980
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