3,623 research outputs found
Sovereign Wealth Funds: Form and Function in the 21st Century
As representatives of nation-states in global financial markets, sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) share a common form and many functions. Arguably their form and functions owe as much to a shared (global) moment of institutional formation as they owe their form and functions to the hegemony of Anglo-American finance over the late 20th and early 21st centuries. We distinguish between the immediate future for SWFs in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, and two possible long-term scenarios; one of which sees SWFs becoming financial goliaths dominating global markets, while the other sees SWFs morphing into nation-state development institutions that intermediate between financial markets and the long-term commitments of the nation-state sponsors. If the former scenario dominates, global financial integration will accelerate with attendant costs and benefits. If the latter scenario dominates, SWFs are likely to differentiate and evolve, returning, perhaps, to their national traditions and their respective places in a world of contested power and influence. Here, we clarify the assumptions underpinning the conception and formation of sovereign wealth funds over the past twenty years or so in the face of the ‘new’ realities of global finance.Sovereign Wealth Funds, Crisis, Market Performance, Long-term Investment
REDUCING TRANSPORTATION DAMAGE TO GRAPES AND STRAWBERRIES
In-transit vibration damage to grapes and strawberries results in reduced quality for the consumer and reduced profits for the produce industry. To solve this problem, the first step is to determine which vibrational frequencies are causing the damage. In various tests, grapes and strawberries were subjected to different frequencies at constant force levels. The effects of the vibration treatments were evaluated on the basis of grading, color analysis, firmness, respiration rate and ethylene production rate. The critical frequency was found to lie between 7.5 and 10 Hertz for both commodities. Color change and respiration rate were shown to be good indicators of damage in grapes. Strawberries did not show a significant effect due to color. Firmness was not affected by vibration in either commodity.Agribusiness,
The Diverse Infrared Properties of a Complete Sample of Star-Forming Dwarf Galaxies
We present mid-infrared Spitzer Space Telescope observations of a complete
sample of star-forming dwarf galaxies selected from the KPNO International
Spectroscopic Survey. The galaxies span a wide range in mid-infrared
properties. Contrary to expectations, some of the galaxies emit strongly at 8
micron indicating the presence of hot dust and/or PAHs. The ratio of this
mid-infrared dust emission to the stellar emission is compared with the
galaxies' luminosity, star-formation rate, metallicity, and optical reddening.
We find that the strength of the 8.0 micron dust emission to the stellar
emission ratio is more strongly correlated with the star-formation rate than it
is with the metallicity or the optical reddening in these systems. Nonetheless,
there is a correlation between the 8.0 micron luminosity and metallicity. The
slope of this luminosity-metallicity correlation is shallower than
corresponding ones in the B-band and 3.6 micron. The precise nature of the 8.0
micron emission seen in these galaxies (i.e., PAH versus hot dust or some
combination of the two) will require future study, including deep mid-IR
spectroscopy.Comment: 14 pages, accepted Ap
A New Zealand regional work-related sprains and strains surveillance, management and prevention programme: study protocol.
BACKGROUND: The impact and costs associated with work-related sprains and strains in New Zealand and globally are substantial and a major occupational and public health burden. In New Zealand around one-third of all sprains and strains workers compensation (ACC) claims (2019) are for back injuries, but shoulder and arm injuries are increasing at a faster rate than other sprain and strain injuries (ACC, 2020). A need exists for a change to current approaches to sprains and strains prevention, to more effectively manage this significant and persistent problem in workplaces. Designing out hazards is one of the most effective means of preventing occupational injuries and illnesses. This paper outlines the study protocol of the surveillance, management and prevention programme and describes the utilisation of prevention through design principles in the prevention of work-related sprains and strains in agriculture/horticulture/food production in the Hawkes Bay region of New Zealand. METHODS: This is a prospective mixed methods study incorporating the collection of quantitative data to describe the epidemiology of work related sprains and strains injuries presenting to the regional health centre (Hastings Health Centre) over a period of 24 months and qualitative data from participants presenting at the health centre to identify high risk industry sectors/ occupations/ workplaces and tasks and design, develop and apply prevention through design principles/ solutions/interventions to critical features of the work and work environment and undertake an outcome evaluation during the last 6 months of the project. DISCUSSION: The purpose of this project is to establish an epidemiological surveillance programme to assess the incidence and prevalence of work-related sprains and strains according to age, sex, industry sector and occupation to target efforts to prevent work-related sprains and strains, by applying prevention through design (PtD) principles in selected workplaces in agriculture. The collection of more detailed case, occupational and work history data from a sample of patients presenting at the HHC clinic will identify high risk industry sectors/occupations/workplaces and tasks. Assessment techniques will include comprehensive design, design thinking and human factors/ergonomics methodologies through co-design and participatory ergonomics techniques. The PtD solutions/ interventions implemented will be evaluated using a quasi-experimental design consisting of a pre-test/ post-test with-in subjects design with control groups that do not receive the intervention.Published onlin
Dynamic Failure in Amorphous Solids via a Cavitation Instability
The understanding of dynamic failure in amorphous materials via the
propagation of free boundaries like cracks and voids must go beyond elasticity
theory, since plasticity intervenes in a crucial and poorly understood manner
near the moving free boundary. In this Letter we focus on failure via a
cavitation instability in a radially-symmetric stressed material, set up the
free boundary dynamics taking both elasticity and visco-plasticity into
account, using the recently proposed athermal Shear Transformation Zone theory.
We demonstrate the existence (in amorphous systems) of fast cavitation modes
accompanied by extensive plastic deformations and discuss the revealed physics.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Dynamic ductile to brittle transition in a one-dimensional model of viscoplasticity
We study two closely related, nonlinear models of a viscoplastic solid. These
models capture essential features of plasticity over a wide range of strain
rates and applied stresses. They exhibit inelastic strain relaxation and steady
flow above a well defined yield stress. In this paper, we describe a first step
in exploring the implications of these models for theories of fracture and
related phenomena. We consider a one dimensional problem of decohesion from a
substrate of a membrane that obeys the viscoplastic constitutive equations that
we have constructed. We find that, quite generally, when the yield stress
becomes smaller than some threshold value, the energy required for steady
decohesion becomes a non-monotonic function of the decohesion speed. As a
consequence, steady state decohesion at certain speeds becomes unstable. We
believe that these results are relevant to understanding the ductile to brittle
transition as well as fracture stability.Comment: 10 pages, REVTeX, 12 postscript figure
Star formation in galaxies at z~4-5 from the SMUVS survey: a clear starburst/main-sequence bimodality for Halpha emitters on the SFR-M* plane
We study a large galaxy sample from the Spitzer Matching Survey of the
UltraVISTA ultra-deep Stripes (SMUVS) to search for sources with enhanced 3.6
micron fluxes indicative of strong Halpha emission at z=3.9-4.9. We find that
the percentage of "Halpha excess" sources reaches 37-40% for galaxies with
stellar masses log10(M*/Msun) ~ 9-10, and decreases to <20% at log10(M*/Msun) ~
10.7. At higher stellar masses, however, the trend reverses, although this is
likely due to AGN contamination. We derive star formation rates (SFR) and
specific SFR (sSFR) from the inferred Halpha equivalent widths (EW) of our
"Halpha excess" galaxies. We show, for the first time, that the "Halpha excess"
galaxies clearly have a bimodal distribution on the SFR-M* plane: they lie on
the main sequence of star formation (with log10(sSFR/yr^{-1})<-8.05) or in a
starburst cloud (with log10(sSFR/yr^{-1}) >-7.60). The latter contains ~15% of
all the objects in our sample and accounts for >50% of the cosmic SFR density
at z=3.9-4.9, for which we derive a robust lower limit of 0.066 Msun yr^{-1}
Mpc^{-3}. Finally, we identify an unusual >50sigma overdensity of z=3.9-4.9
galaxies within a 0.20 x 0.20 sq. arcmin region. We conclude that the SMUVS
unique combination of area and depth at mid-IR wavelengths provides an
unprecedented level of statistics and dynamic range which are fundamental to
reveal new aspects of galaxy evolution in the young Universe.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures, 1 table. Re-submitted to the ApJ, after
addressing referee report. Main changes with respect to v1: a new section and
a new appendix have been added to investigate further the origin and
robustness of the sSFR bimodality. No conclusion change
Dust Properties and Star-Formation Rates in Star-Forming Dwarf Galaxies
We have used the Spitzer Space Telescope to study the dust properties of a
sample of star-forming dwarf galaxies. The differences in the mid-infrared
spectral energy distributions for these galaxies which, in general, are low
metallicity systems, indicate differences in the physical properties, heating,
and/or distribution of the dust. Specifically, these galaxies have more hot
dust and/or very small grains and less PAH emission than either spiral or
higher luminosity starburst galaxies. As has been shown in previous studies,
there is a gradual decrease in PAH emission as a function of metallicity.
Because much of the energy from star formation in galaxies is re-radiated in
the mid-infrared, star-formation rate indicators based on both line and
continuum measurements in this wavelength range are coming into more common
usage. We show that the variations in the interstellar medium properties of
galaxies in our sample, as measured in the mid-infrared, result in over an
order of magnitude spread in the computed star-formation rates.Comment: 25 pages, 11 figures, 4 tables, ApJ accepte
Extended Fermi coordinates
We extend the notion of Fermi coordinates to a generalized definition in
which the highest orders are described by arbitrary functions. From this
definition rises a formalism that naturally gives coordinate transformation
formulae. Some examples are developped in which the extended Fermi coordinates
simplify the metric components.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figur
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