Forecasting Core Inflation in Canada: Should We Forecast the Aggregate or the Components?

The authors investigate the behaviour of core inflation in Canada to analyze three key issues: (i) homogeneity in the response of various price indexes to demand or real exchange rate shocks relative to the response of aggregate core inflation; (ii) whether using disaggregate data helps to improve the forecast of core inflation; and (iii) whether using monthly data helps to improve quarterly forecasts. The authors show that the response of inflation to output-gap or real exchange rate shocks varies considerably across the components, although the average response remains low; they also show that the average response has decreased over time. To forecast monthly inflation, the use of disaggregate data is a significant improvement over the use of aggregate data. However, the improvements in forecasts of quarterly rates of inflation are only minor. Overall, it remains difficult to properly model and forecast monthly core inflation in Canada.Econometric and statistical methods; Inflation and prices

Hip Hop is Dead: The Rhetoric of Hip Hop

There is no doubt that Hip Hop has become a most influential international force. This animal has had many faces: two of these faces have been as a political tool as displayed by Public Enemy, and as a therapeutic release-- as I discovered while in AmeriCorps interning at AS220 for a program called Hip Hop 220, in which we took underprivileged youth and helped them to channel their energy through this art form. However, there is a dark side to this culture that includes extreme misogyny, self- sabotage, hatred, and an unhealthy obsession with status. As I reflected on these I noticed characteristics seemed to reflect themes of an anger and self hatred that had been internalized, and went beyond the realm of hip hop. And it is also within this dichotomy that we see Hip Hop’s most prominent feature, its contradiction. Previously I had read an article by a Temple University student entitled “Sure hip hop is talking, but what is it saying?” and it got me thinking, “What is it saying?” And through this question, the project was born: What is within the Rhetoric of Hip Hop? In my original proposal I had committed to taking current issues within hip hop and discussing them in essay format. I wanted to discuss identity, gender, and language use. However, after an interview with Dr. Tricia Rose that turned into a consultation, and as research progressed, I realized that all of these topics in great deal stemmed from the current co-optation of the art form itself, and that the underlying messages made a direct connection to messages received during slavery. Through more research, I discovered that capitalism’s foundation (with hyper capitalism as the drive for co-optation) was, in fact, slavery and the free labor it provided. It is here that I began to see a connection between the commercialism of today, and the capitalistic motives of the past. My question then went one step further from “what is it saying?” to “Who is allowing these messages out?” During this time I found a quote from the artist Nas from whose album I had borrowed the title. It seems that what drove the title of his album was the problem of corporate control over the artist. With this, I decided that these things could not be discussed separately as it seemed to me they all shared the same foundation. Therefore, rather than discuss them as such it was best that I attacked the heart of the matter. This altered and deepened my purpose and gave me an actual thesis statement of the following: “The conditions that helped give rise to the art form of Hip Hop, are now the very conditions that are helping to truncate its voice.” In this project I have discussed how social conditions in slavery that were manifested to protect America’s original (and forever ongoing) concern of capital investment, produced an environment that has been maintained and cultivated from then until now that marginalizes the African American. Through using rhetorical theorists like Burke, Bitzer, and Bahktin (all theorists who discussed language in terms of social identity), I have been able to not only discuss how social structures have created the “ghetto,” but also how this has influenced the rhetoric of its inhabitants. Not stopping there, I then move to show how this rhetoric is now being co-opted, and essentially how globalization is allowing the wounds of African Americans to be capitalized upon as corporations only allow out one voice within hip hop--and it is the voice that is most detrimental

Bitter crab disease studies: observations on seasonality, mortality, species susceptability and life history

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1992Incidence and average intensity of Bitter Crab Disease (BCD) in Auke Bay Tanner crabs CChionoecetes bairdi) were significantly greater during June through September of both 1989 and 1990 then during October through May. BCD is a chronic but fatal disease; crabs did not develop immunity and often died from secondary bacterial and ciliate infections. Total mortality exceeded incidence and was not significantly different between summer and winter seasons or between years. BCD appears to be host specific: red king crabs (Paralithodes camtschaticus) and Dungeness crabs (Cancer maaister) did not contract BCD post-injection. BCD amoeboid stages consistently caused disease in Tanner crabs when injected into the hemocoel, while dinospore stages did not. Waterborne challenges did not cause disease. BCD parasites did not occur intracellularly, remaining within the hemal and vascular systems. Parasites exited the host via gills and possibly esophagus. The life cycle of BCD dinoflagellates outside their hosts remains incompletely described

Maintaining Driveways

This presentation produced by Lake Champlain Sea Grant\u27s BLUE BTV initiative explains how driveways can contribute to stormwater and pollutant runoff into waterways, what cities, like Burlington, Vermont, are doing to encourage impervious driveways, and actions that individuals can take to maintain their own driveways to keep waterways clean

Best Lawn Care Practices

Lawn care practices that contribute to a healthy lawn and better water quality are described. Programs in Burlington, Vermont, are described