Accountability of Central Banks: Aspects and Quantification

This paper starts with a discussion of the various aspects of accountability of central banks. On the basis of this discussion we construct an indicator for accountability for 16 central banks, including the European Central Bank. It is shown that the degree of accountability differs considerably and that the ECB has a rather low score. The indicator is used to examine the relationship between central bank independence and accountability. It is concluded that although there appears to be a negative relationship between independence and accountability, this does certainly not imply that a central bank cannot both be independent and accountable.central bank independence;central bank accountability;European central bank

Optimization of commercial net spacers in spiral wound membrane modules

CFD simulations have been used to determine mass transfer coefficients and power consumption of commercial net spacers. The simulations show transversal and longitudinal vortices, vortex shedding and instationary flow behavior leading to the enhanced mass transfer in spacer filled-channels compared to empty channels. The results of the simulations were validated with experiments and compared with data reported in literature, showing satisfactory agreement. Furthermore, CFD simulations were used to optimize the geometry of commercial net spacers in terms of mass transfer and power consumption. The performance of these optimized spacer geometries will be used as reference for future work on the development of new high-performance spacer shapes

MIGRATION AND RURAL ASSETS: EVIDENCE FROM SURVEYS IN THREE SEMI-ARID REGIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA, INDIA AND BOTSWANA

Consumer/Household Economics,

Visual pathways from the perspective of cost functions and multi-task deep neural networks

Vision research has been shaped by the seminal insight that we can understand the higher-tier visual cortex from the perspective of multiple functional pathways with different goals. In this paper, we try to give a computational account of the functional organization of this system by reasoning from the perspective of multi-task deep neural networks. Machine learning has shown that tasks become easier to solve when they are decomposed into subtasks with their own cost function. We hypothesize that the visual system optimizes multiple cost functions of unrelated tasks and this causes the emergence of a ventral pathway dedicated to vision for perception, and a dorsal pathway dedicated to vision for action. To evaluate the functional organization in multi-task deep neural networks, we propose a method that measures the contribution of a unit towards each task, applying it to two networks that have been trained on either two related or two unrelated tasks, using an identical stimulus set. Results show that the network trained on the unrelated tasks shows a decreasing degree of feature representation sharing towards higher-tier layers while the network trained on related tasks uniformly shows high degree of sharing. We conjecture that the method we propose can be used to analyze the anatomical and functional organization of the visual system and beyond. We predict that the degree to which tasks are related is a good descriptor of the degree to which they share downstream cortical-units.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure

Natural handicaps in Dutch agricultural areas : assessment of less favoured areas based on economic criteria

Smit en Brouwer (2009) hebben bodems met een landbouwkundige handicap geselecteerd aan de hand van biofysische criteria. De relevante biofysische criteria waren gerelateerd aan bodemeigenschappen: drainage, textuur, aanwezigheid van stenen en chemische eigenschappen. Textuur en aanwezigheid van stenen zijn onderverdeeld in verschillende klassen: grof materiaal, grof en middelgrof zand, zware klei, veengronden, zwel en krimpverschijnselen en het opkomen van stenen uit de ondergrond. Verzilting is de enige chemische eigenschap die relevant is voor Nederland. Naast een selectie van gebieden op grond van biofysische eigenschappen, moet ook een verfijnde selectie worden uitgevoerd. Deze verfijnde selectie is gebaseerd op de verschillen in saldo per hectare tussen gebieden met en zonder de landbouwkundige gevolgen van de biofysische eigenschappen. De belangrijkste landbouwkundige gevolgen voor de verschillende categorieën waren de gevoeligheid voor winderosie bij grof en middelgrof zand; de beperkingen van de bewerkbaarheid van de grond en de beperkingen in het bouwplan op de zware kleigronden en lagere netto productie en de onmogelijkheid om maïs te verbouwen op veengronde

Water scarcity and institutional change: lessons in adaptive governance from the drought experience of Perth, Western Australia

Urban water systems will be increasingly challenged under future climates and global pressures. Meeting challenges by reconfiguring water systems to integrate supplies and deliver multifunctional uses is technically well described. Adjusting the institutions that frame the management of these systems is not well operationalized in practice or conceptualized in theory. This study seeks to address this gap through an institutional analysis of Perth, Australia, a city where drought crisis has put under pressure both management practices and the institutional setting that underlies them. The study found that while trusted practices moderated water scarcity, the stability of the institutional setting may not facilitate a shift toward adaptable institutional configurations suited to future conditions. The results identified three key ingredients for a flexible institutional setting: (i) feedbacks in the system through better information management, (ii) reflexive dialogue and strategic use of projects to generate greater learning opportunities, and (iii) policy level support for sector-wide collaboration through progressive agendas, incentives for innovation and capacity building in stakeholder and community engagement. Further, the results suggest that a deeper understanding of institutional dynamics is needed to enable adaptive governance. The paper provides an analytical framework for diagnosing how greater adaptive capacity might be mobilized through influencing these dynamics

Differential trajectories of tobacco smoking in people at ultra-high risk for psychosis: Associations with clinical outcomes

Objective: People at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis have a high prevalence of tobacco smoking, and rates are even higher among the subgroup that later develop a psychotic disorder. However, the longitudinal relationship between the course of tobacco smoking and clinical outcomes in UHR subjects is unknown. Methods: We investigated associations between tobacco smoking and clinical outcomes in a prospective study of UHR individuals (n = 324). Latent class mixed model analyses were used to identify trajectories of smoking severity. Mixed effects models were applied to investigate associations between smoking trajectory class and the course of attenuated psychotic symptoms (APS) and affective symptoms, as assessed using the CAARMS. Results: We identified four different classes of smoking trajectory: (i) Persistently High (n = 110), (ii) Decreasing (n = 29), (iii) Persistently Low (n = 165) and (iv) Increasing (n = 20). At two-year follow-up, there had been a greater increase in APS in the Persistently High class than for both the Persistently Low (ES = 9.77, SE = 4.87, p = 0.046) and Decreasing (ES = 18.18, SE = 7.61, p = 0.018) classes. There were no differences between smoking classes in the incidence of psychosis. There was a greater reduction in the severity of emotional disturbance and general symptoms in the Decreasing class than in the High (ES = −10.40, SE = 3.41, p = 0.003; ES = −22.36, SE = 10.07, p = 0.027), Increasing (ES = −11.35, SE = 4.55, p = 0.014; ES = −25.58, SE = 13.17, p = 0.050) and Low (ES = −11.38, SE = 3.29, p = 0.001; ES = −27.55, SE = 9.78, p = 0.005) classes, respectively. Conclusions: These findings suggests that in UHR subjects persistent tobacco smoking is associated with an unfavorable course of psychotic symptoms, whereas decrease in the number of cigarettes smoked is associated with improvement in affective symptoms. Future research into smoking cessation interventions in the early stages of psychoses is required to shine light on the potential of modifying smoking behavior and its relation to clinical outcomes.</p

Aspects of agricultural use of potato starch waste water.

Disposal of potato starch process water (average N, P2O5, K2O contents, 390, 140, 700 mg/l) on the land results in a high degree of purification. Complete purification is obtained in sandy soils if the rates do not exceed 100 to 150 mm/year. To maintain favourable conditions for biological decomposition of the organic matter the dose should be less than the water storage capacity of the soil. Disposal of the annual amount between a number of sprinkling irrigations is therefore recommended. Application rates can be adjusted to plant nutrient requirements. Optimum adjustment leads to an average yearly application of 25 mm yearly for the normal cropping pattern of the Peat Colonies. If excess supply is accepted the average value can be increased to 60 mm without harmful effects. From a computerized model study of the effect of the utilization of this waste water on farm economic results, the applications of 50 and 100 mm gave the highest returns.[227.7]. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission

Modeling Studies of the Effects of the Heterogeneous Reaction ClOOCl + HCl → Cl2 + HOOCl on Stratospheric Chlorine Activation and Ozone Depletion

The heterogeneous reaction ClOOCl + HCl → Cl2 + HOOCl was introduced into a chemical trajectory model of the stratosphere. Ten-day trajectories ending at ozonesonde stations at various northern latitudes were run to simulate the period January–March 1994. The reaction on sulfuric acid aerosol surfaces has a negligible effect on ozone chemistry if a sticking coefficient similar to that of ClONO2 + HCl is assumed. On polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) surfaces the chemical effects of the addition of this reaction depend on the fate of proposed product HOOCl: if this species photolyzes to produce either ClO + OH or Cl + HO2, then HCl is activated by the reaction with chlorine peroxide. This heterogeneous activation of chlorine by active chlorine can have a significant effect on Arctic ozone depletion rates in the days following an air parcel\u27s encounter with PSC surfaces. The ozone depletion rate usually increased but in some cases decreased, depending on the extent of PSC processing and on the initial [HCl]/[ClONO2] ratio. Averaged over 3 months, the column ozone loss rates between 350 and 675 K were accelerated by as much as 35% for a set of 10-day trajectories ending at an Arctic station. If, on the other hand, HOOCl decomposes at the surface into HCl and O2, the net effect of these reactions is to convert ClOOCl into Cl2. These species are functionally equivalent, and such a conversion does not perturb the model chemistry