Gap management: managing interest rate risk in banks and thrifts

Bank profits ; Asset-liability management ; Interest rates ; Risk

Design and test of a prototype scale ejector wing

A two dimensional momentum integral analysis was used to examine the effect of changing inlet area ratio, diffuser area ratio, and the ratio of ejector length to width. A relatively wide range of these parameters was considered. It was found that for constant inlet area ratio the augmentation increases with the ejector length, and for constant length: width ratio the augmentation increases with inlet area ratio. Scale model tests were used to verify these trends and to examine th effect of aspect ratio. On the basis of these results, an ejector configuration was selected for fabrication and testing at a scale representative of an ejector wing aircraft. The test ejector was powered by a Pratt-Whitney F401 engine developing approximately 12,000 pounds of thrust. The results of preliminary tests indicate that the ejector develops a thrust augmentation ratio better than 1.65

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW-FEDERAL INSTRUMENTALITY- McCULLOCH v. MARYLAND IN CANADA AND AUSTRALIA

The British North America Act of 1867 expressly exempts from taxation certain governmental instrumentalities. Section 125 of that Act provides that no Lands or Property belonging to Canada or any Province shall be liable to taxation. This restriction applies to both Dominion and Provincial governments. W. H. P. Clement writes that this provision was a precautionary measure to prevent the Dominion from levying taxes for federal purposes upon property held by the Crown for provincial purposes, and vice versa. It would operate no doubt to exempt from custom\u27s duties goods purchased abroad by a provincial government. . . . Where a corporation received certain lands from the Dominion in aid of the construction of a railroad, such lands were held to be taxable under an Alberta act of 1907, although the patents had not been actually granted. However, as Justice Anglin was careful to point out in his concurring opinion, the full effect is given to section 125 . . . by holding that it precludes the taxation of whatever interest the Crown holds in any land or property: and that so long as such interest subsists, the taxation of any other interest in the land and any sale or other disposition made of it to satisfy unpaid taxes, while valid, is always subject to the rights of the Crown which remain unaffected thereby

Is It Evolution Yet? A Critique of Evolutionary Archaeology

The application of Darwinian evolutionary theory to archaeology has taken two divergent and rather distinct paths over the past two decades. According to one program, often referred to as evolutionary archaeology, cultural change as seen in the archaeological record can best be explained in terms of the direct action of natural selection and other Darwinian processes on heritable variation in artifacts and behavior. The other approach, referred to as evolutionary or behavioral ecology, explains cultural and behavioral change as forms of phenotypic adaptation to varying social and ecological conditions, using the assumption that natural selection has designed organisms to respond to local conditions in; fitness-enhancing ways. We argue that the primary conflict between the two approaches centers on fundamental differences in the way they view the explanatory role of phenotypic variation and more specifically a disagreement over whether behavioral innovation is random with respect to adaptive value (including related issues of current versus future selective advantage and the- explanatory role of intentions). These differences lead to contrasts in explanatory scope, empirical application, and theoretical conclusions, which in turn provide the basis for our evaluation of the relative utility of each approach for explaining archaeological phenomena

Effects of a Form of Equine-Facilitated Learning on Heart Rate Variability, Immune Function, and Self-Esteem in Older Adults

Equine-facilitated learning (EFL) helps people access their immediate sensations and feelings because horses, as prey animals, are continually aware of their environment and provide instant feedback to human behaviors and emotions. We hypothesize that during EFL, older people become more aware of their bodily sensations and emotions, leading to increased heart rate variability (HRV), improved self-esteem (Rosenberg scale), and improved immune function. Twenty-four subjects (age \u3e 55) participated in a single 15-minute EFL activity, Con Su Permiso, during which they focused on their bodily sensations and the responses of the horse as they moved toward and around the horse. Subjects served as their own control, interacting with a human. Pre and post measures of HRV were obtained from humans and horses; self-esteem score and immune response (salivary immunoglobulin A, sIgA) from humans. During equine and control interactions, the subject’s HRV (and the horse’s when present) was monitored, while being synchronized with a video recording. An exit interview was conducted after each interaction. Words and gestures relating to feelings and sensations were categorized as positive, neutral, or negative. Human heart and respiration rates as well as HRV (SDRR) increased significantly during interactions with horses and humans compared to baseline (paired t-test, p \u3c 0.05). During equine interactions, human HRV frequency spectrum shifted somewhat to the very low frequency (VLF) range (p \u3c 0.05). The four horses’ HR and HRV responses were varied, but in all cases HRV frequency peaks were predominantly in the VLF range. Human self-esteem increased during interactions with horses and humans (p \u3c 0.05) but sIgA did not change. During exit interviews participants used more positive and fewer negative gestures (p \u3c 0.05) describing the equine experience compared to control; words and gestures were more consistent with each other. These findings mostly support our hypothesis and suggest that engaging with horses benefits humans, indicating an enlivened state without stress