Disaster risk financing and contingent credit : a dynamic analysis

This paper aims to assist policy makers interested in establishing or strengthening financial strategies to increase the financial response capacity of developing country governments in the aftermath of natural disasters, while protecting their long-term fiscal balance. Contingent credit is shown to increase the ability of governments to self-insure by relaxing their short-term liquidity constraints. In many situations, contingent credit is most effectively used to facilitate risk retention for middle layers, with reserves used for bottom layers and risk transfer (for example, reinsurance) for top layers. Discussions with governments on the optimal use of contingent credit instruments as part of a sovereign catastrophe risk financing strategy can be guided by the output of a dynamic financial analysis model specifically developed to allow for the provision of contingent credit, in addition to reserves and/or reinsurance. This model is illustrated with three country case studies: agricultural production risks in India; tropical cyclone risk in Fiji; and earthquake risk in Costa Rica.Insurance&Risk Mitigation,Access to Finance,Debt Markets,Bankruptcy and Resolution of Financial Distress,Financial Intermediation

Stand-alone solar-pv hydrogen energy systems incorporating reverse osmosis

The world’s increasing energy demand means the rate at which fossil fuels are consumed has increased resulting in greater carbon dioxide emissions. For many small (marginalised) or coastal communities, access to potable water is limited alongside good availability of renewable energy sources (solar or wind). One solution is to utilise small-scale renewably powered stand-alone energy systems to help supply power for everyday utilities and to operate desalination systems serving potable water (drinking) needs reducing diesel generator dependence. In such systems, on-site water production is essential so as to service electrolysis for hydrogen generation for Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Whilst small Reverse Osmosis (RO) units may function as a (useful) dump load, it also directly impacts the power management of stand-alone energy systems and affects operational characteristics. However, renewable energy sources are intermittent in nature, thus power generation from renewables may not be adequate to satisfy load demands. Therefore, energy storage and an effective Power Management Strategy (PMS) are vital to ensure system reliability. This thesis utilises a combination of experiments and modelling to analyse the performance of renewably powered stand-alone energy systems consisting of photovoltaic panels, PEM electrolysers, PEM fuel cells, batteries, metal hydrides and Reverse Osmosis (RO) under various scenarios. Laboratory experiments have been done to resolve time-resolved characteristics for these system components and ascertain their impact on system performance. However, the main objective of the study is to ascertain the differences between applying (simplistic) predictive/optimisation techniques compared to intelligent tools in renewable energy systems. This is achieved through applying intelligent tools such as Neural Networks and Particle Swarm Optimisation for different aspects that govern system design and operation as well as solar irradiance prediction. Results indicate the importance of device level transients, temporal resolution of available solar irradiance and type of external load profile (static or time-varying) as system performance is affected differently. In this regard, minute resolved simulations are utilised to account for all component transients including predicting the key input to the system, namely available solar resource which can be affected by various climatic conditions such as rainfall. System behaviour is (generally) more accurately predicted utilising Neural Network solar irradiance prediction compared to the ASHRAE clear sky model when benchmarked against measured irradiance data. Allowing Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) to further adjust specific control set-points within the systems PMS results in improvements in system operational characteristics compared to using simplistic rule-based design methods. In such systems, increasing energy storage capacities generally allow for more renewable energy penetration yet only affect the operational characteristics up to a threshold capacity. Additionally, simultaneously optimising system size and PMS to satisfy a multi-objective function, consisting of total Net Present Cost and CO2 emissions, yielded lower costs and carbon emissions compared to HOMER, a widely adopted sizing software tool. Further development of this thesis will allow further improvements in the development of renewably powered energy systems providing clean, reliable, cost-effective energy. All simulations are performed on a desktop PC having an Intel i3 processor using either MATLAB/Simulink or HOMER

Redesign and Analysis for Landing Gear Components

A project for Collins Aerospace, the company I co-op at, where I will redesign several components of a landing gear for a military program. Any structural/stress analysis will also be performed. The goal is to reduce weight while maintaining strength and structural integrity

SSH Connections In Chat Applications

Many operating systems and web browsers provide a terminal application to execute SSH commands and interact with servers. SSH interaction has notable overhead, especially when the user needs to run a quick command or two. This disclosure describes techniques that add SSH connections as an additional class of communication to the unified communication mechanisms included within operating systems, web browsers, and applications such as chat and email

On the (Im)possibility and Bliss of Telling My Dad, "I Love You"

While fathers seldom say "I love you" to their son(s), there is also acknowledgment that sons rarely say it to their father. Confessions of love are like notes in a melody of previous affirmations, so what is it like for a son to say it, especially if large parts of his life are spent in "connective avoidance" with his dad? Writing on the (im)possibility of eventually saying "I love you", just before he died, I offer a "blissfully poetic" account of the experience of saying it. I also reflect on the lingering significance it has had for my experience of loss and bereavement. Although this text offers no easy formula, it ends by showing what a text of bliss might eventually look like for a son in recovery. Addressing the questions, so what? And, now what, then? implications beyond the self are also considered.Sowohl Väter als auch Söhne sagen einander selten, dass sie sich lieben. Solche (Nicht-) Aussagen gründen in einer geteilten Geschichte, warum sollte also z.B. ein Sohn seinem Vater seine Liebe eingestehen, nachdem er sein ganzes Leben in einander verbundener Vermeidung verbracht hat. In diesem Beitrag schreibe über die (Un-) Möglichkeit, meinem Vater, bevor er starb, meine Liebe zu bekunden und zeige zugleich in poetischer Weise, welches Glück die Erfahrung bedeutet hat, sie schließlich doch noch auszudrücken. Obwohl ich kein einfaches Schema anbieten kann, ende ich mit einem Einblick in die Bedeutung dieses "Geständnisses" für mein eigenes Wohlbefinden. Zugleich biete ich Fragen und Lesarten an, die über mich selbst und meine eigene Involviertet hinausgehen

First my dad, then my iphone:An autoethnographic sketch of digital death

Potentially lousy singing and research poetry are used to make sense of losing - soon after he died - my iPhone containing video footage of my father singing. Since I did not back up this digital treasure, not only is he now physically dead, he is digitally dead (MONCUR, 2016) too. Considering how bereavement is shaped by digital death, in this article I focus on my experience of grief following this double loss. How is a lost video and the device that stored my memories impacting my encounter with loss? Haunting, and being haunted by, digital technology and the lost treasure, I write my way through this combined loss, showing what (im)mortality in a digital context brings me into contact with. I hope this writing connects with and encourages those struggling to persevere with similar technology-based hauntings.Es ist mir sehr schwer gefallen zu akzeptieren, dass ich - kurz nach seinem Tod - mein iPhone mit Videoaufzeichnungen meines singenden Vaters verloren habe. Da ich diesen digitalen Schatz nicht gesichert hatte, ist mein Vater nun nicht nur physikalisch, sondern auch digital tot (MONCUR 2016). Indem ich mir vergegenwärtige, wie der schmerzliche Verlust durch digitalen Tod gerahmt wurde, wende ich mich in diesem Artikel meiner Trauererfahrung nach diesem doppelten Verlusterleben zu. In welcher Weise beeinflusst das verlorene Video mit den aufgezeichneten Erinnerungen mein Erleben des Verlusts? Ich zeichne mein Ringen um die Bedeutung digitaler (Un-)Sterblichkeit nach und hoffe, andere zu ermutigen, die mit ähnlichen technologie-basierten Einschnitten zu kämpfen haben

Real-time Aerial Magnetic and Vision-aided Navigation

Aerial magnetic navigation has shown to be a viable alternative navigation method that has the potential for world-wide availability, to include over oceans. Obtaining GPS-level accuracy using magnetic navigation alone is challenging, but magnetic navigation can be combined with other alternative navigation methods that are more posed to obtaining GPS-level accuracy in their current state. This research presents an aerial navigation solution combining magnetic navigation and vision-aided navigation to aid an inertial navigation system (INS). The navigation solution was demonstrated in real-time playback using simulated magnetic field measurements and flight-test captured visual imagery. Additionally, the navigation solution was flight-tested on a USAF F-16 to demonstrate magnetic navigation in the challenging magnetic environment seen on operationally representative dynamic platforms