Energy and helicity budgets of solar quiet regions

We investigate the free magnetic energy and relative magnetic helicity budgets of solar quiet regions. Using a novel non-linear force-free method requiring single solar vector magnetograms we calculate the instantaneous free magnetic energy and relative magnetic helicity budgets in 55 quiet-Sun vector magnetograms. As in a previous work on active regions, we construct here for the first time the (free) energy-(relative) helicity diagram of quiet-Sun regions. We find that quiet-Sun regions have no dominant sense of helicity and show monotonic correlations a) between free magnetic energy/relative helicity and magnetic network area and, consequently, b) between free magnetic energy and helicity. Free magnetic energy budgets of quiet-Sun regions represent a rather continuous extension of respective active-region budgets towards lower values, but the corresponding helicity transition is discontinuous due to the incoherence of the helicity sense contrary to active regions. We further estimate the instantaneous free magnetic-energy and relative magnetic-helicity budgets of the entire quiet Sun, as well as the respective budgets over an entire solar cycle. Derived instantaneous free magnetic energy budgets and, to a lesser extent, relative magnetic helicity budgets over the entire quiet Sun are comparable to the respective budgets of a sizeable active region, while total budgets within a solar cycle are found higher than previously reported. Free-energy budgets are comparable to the energy needed to power fine-scale structures residing at the network, such as mottles and spicules

Late Budgets

The budget forms the legal basis of government spending. If a budget is not in place at the beginning of the fiscal year, planning as well as current spending are jeopardized and government shutdown may result. This paper develops a continuous-time war-of-attrition model of budgeting in a presidential style-democracy to explain the duration of budget negotiations. We build our model around budget baselines as reference points for loss averse negotiators. We derive three testable hypotheses: there are more late budgets, and they are more late, when fiscal circumstances change; when such changes are negative rather than positive; and when there is divided government. We test the hypotheses of the model using a unique data set of late budgets for US state governments, based on dates of budget approval collected from news reports and a survey of state budget o¢ cers for the period 1988-2007. For this period, we find 23 % of budgets to be late. The results provide strong support for the hypotheses of the model.government budgeting; state government; presidential democracies; political economy; late budgets; fiscal stalemate; war of attrition

Flowdown of the TMT astrometry error budget(s) to the IRIS design

TMT has defined the accuracy to be achieved for both absolute and differential astrometry in its top-level requirements documents. Because of the complexities of different types of astrometric observations, these requirements cannot be used to specify system design parameters directly. The TMT astrometry working group therefore developed detailed astrometry error budgets for a variety of science cases. These error budgets detail how astrometric errors propagate through the calibration, observing and data reduction processes. The budgets need to be condensed into sets of specific requirements that can be used by each subsystem team for design purposes. We show how this flowdown from error budgets to design requirements is achieved for the case of TMT's first-light Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (IRIS) instrument.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Proceeding of SPIE, Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation 201

Unbalanced Books: How to Improve Toronto’s Fiscal Accountability

As Toronto gears up for a municipal election this fall, the city's poor record on fiscal accountability promises to be a central issue. As the sixth largest government in Canada, with a budget of over $11 billion annually, Toronto city hall should have its finances under better control. A 10-year comparison of planned spending changes announced in budgets with actual results reported after year-end reveals large deviations between planned and actual spending that are routine. To increase transparency and accountability, Toronto should consolidate its now separate capital and operating budgets, move to a uniform accounting basis for its budgets and year-end results, and provide multi-year budgets. City government should adhere more closely to the budgets Council votes every year.Governance and Public Institutions, Toronto, fiscal accountability

Budgets and recessions

Recessions ; Budget ; Forecasting

Household budgets and women's incomes

African Studies Center Working Paper No. 28While explaining proposed studies of aspects of "household economics" to prospective informants in two different African societies, I have been advised very quickly that "Among us, a man and his wife do not share the same purse, and that "Over here, we have a men's side and a women's side. This paper explores some of the problems of applying a "household" methodology to the study of African rural economies. It focuses on one type of household study, namely budget analysis, and suggests that the classic assumption of the household as an undifferentiated decision-making unit applies poorly to many African kinship systems. The first part of the paper is a brief discussion of household methodology and its application to Africa. The second part is devoted to an analysis of the relationship between men's and women's incomes in the rural economy of the Beti of Southern Cameroun

DRAWING UP THE FINANCIAL BUDGET IN THE CASE OF A PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION COMPANY

The drawing up of the companies’ budget represents one of the mostimportant instruments through which is accomplished an efficieny management, theevaluation of companies’ performances and personnel motivatio. Public localtransportation companies usually use budgets as comparison benchmarks for theperformances they obtain in their current activity. These bidgets represent anessential part in the unfolding of each company’s activity. This paper presents thedrawing up of the financial budgets with a public local transportation company,referring to the drawing up of purchase budgets, investments budgets and cash flowsbudgets.financial management, budget, financial budget, profit center