The Uncertainty of Debt Service Payments and Economic Growth of HIPCs: Is there a Case for Debt Relief?

Debt relief, Uncertainty, Debt service, HIPC

Signal analysis of impulse response functions in MR- and CT-measurements of cerebral blood flow

The impulse response function (IRF) of a localized bolus in cerebral blood flow codes important information on the tissue type. It is indirectly accessible both from MR- and CT-imaging methods, at least in principle. In practice, however, noise and limited signal resolution render standard deconvolution techniques almost useless. Parametric signal descriptions look more promising, and it is the aim of this contribution to develop some improvements along this line.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure

On the influence of the intermolecular potential on the wetting properties of water on silica surfaces

We study the wetting properties of water on silica surfaces using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. To describe the intermolecular interaction between water and silica atoms, two types of interaction potential models are used: the standard Br\'odka and Zerda (BZ) model, and the Gulmen and Thompson (GT) model. We perform an in-depth analysis of the influence of the choice of the potential on the arrangement of the water molecules in partially filled pores and on top of silica slabs. We find that at moderate pore filling ratios, the GT silica surface is completely wetted by water molecules, which agrees well with experimental findings, while the commonly used BZ surface is less hydrophilic and is only partially wetted. We interpret our simulation results using an analytical calculation of the phase diagram of water in partially filled pores. Moreover, an evaluation of the contact angle of the water droplet on top of the silica slab reveals that the interaction becomes more hydrophilic with increasing slab thickness and saturates around 2.5-3 nm, in agreement with the experimentally found value. Our analysis also shows that the hydroaffinity of the surface is mainly determined by the electrostatic interaction, but that the van der Waals interaction nevertheless is strong enough that it can turn a hydrophobic surface into a hydrophilic surface.Comment: Article: 9 pages, 7 Figures. There is also a supplementary information file: 2 pages, 3 Figure

The Art of Printmaking: Part 1. The Tools and Techniques of the Printmaker

There are four major techniques for making original prints. A brief descriptlon of each of these -- relief processes, incised processes, planographic processes, and stencil processes -- is found in the following paragraphs. Most art museums today seek the means of reaching a wider public than is actually counted through the turnstile and, as a result, art objects have come to be a commonplace in public places of all kinds, civic and commercial. Art has even taken to the road in circulating exhibitions, art-mobiles and the like. The present series of exhibitions has been organized as an effort in this direction, to provide a first hand contact with works of art of high quality from two public collections which are ordinarily at home in Washington, D.C. and Lincoln, Nebraska. These works will be seen in eight communities over the state during a period of some fifteen months. They will be seen under circumstances that not only provide for leisurely examination and re-examination, but also the conditioning amenities of space, light, and background, and immediately accessible sources of further information. Thanks to our collaboration with the Nebraska Public Library Commission we have such facilities, in effect, a chain of branch galleries across Nebraska, where these and other exhibitions can be seen and enjoyed. To know something of the art of printmaking can be a source of various pleasures-pleasure in the mastery of tools and techniques, pleasure in simple information about people, places and things, pleasure in the inventions of the imagination, pleasure in the viewpoints of philosophy. All these possibilities are included in the hundred plus prints which comprise these exhibitions and they are available through the simple act of looking, the experience of the eye

Paintings and Sculpture from the Collection of Phillip Johnson

It is altogether pertinent that we exhibit works from the p\u27rivate collection of Philip Johnson at the Sheldon Gallery, for it was his demonstrated awareness of the arts of painting and sculpture that influenced, at least in part, his selection as the architect for the building. Such an awareness is rare in the profession, particularly an awareness of these arts in their most independent, even their most anti-architectural moods. To be sure Mr. Johnson\u27s collection has, by now, its contingent of contemporary classics in works by Baziotes, Kline, Rothko, and Hartigan, but it should be remembered that they were acquired well before their status as classics was established. In this sense the more recent acquisitions are perhaps of greater interest, on this occasion at least, in that they are evidence of the continuing freshness of vision which characterizes the collector, and, in his own right, the artist. These objects in this building are surely an extraordinary demonstration of a strictly contemporary sensibility. On behalf of the Art Association and the University, I would like to express our appreciation of Mr. Johnson\u27s willingness to lend us the larger part of his collection for this occasion

Aid and good governance: Examining aggregate unintended effects of aid

Although donors generally aim to improve governance in recipient countries by various means, critics claim that the aggregate effect of large aid flows is the deterioration of governance. Aid is said to weaken domestic accountability, sustain authoritarian regimes, increase political instability, weaken government capacities, and increase corruption. Conducting a systematic search in Web of Science, this paper reviews the empirical evidence for these unintended aggregate effects of aid on the political, administrative, and judicial dimensions of good governance. It finds that the negative effects of aid on governance are much exaggerated. The aggregate effect of aid on democracy has become more positive after the Cold War, and the effect of aid on government capacity and on reducing corruption has also improved over time. Furthermore, most studies show a positive effect of aid on political stability. These findings imply that donor intentions matter: donors that are serious about their intended effects on governance are able to mitigate the possible negative unintended effects of their aid. Keywords: aid; good governance; unintended effect

CONTEMPORARY HANDWEAVING V

Introduction CONTEMPORARY HAND WEAVING V combines the two formats used in past exhibitions to be both competitive and invitational. In the latter section eleven craftsmen are shown, in most cases by several examples of their work. In the competitive section twenty-six craftsmen are represented by thirty-six works. The selection of work in both parts indicates the great diversity and vitality found in all art today. On one side are those craftsmen who use traditional technique and design to illustrate in their works the expressive potentiality that can still be found within such limitations. Opposed to this are those craftsmen who attempt to produce new ideas of form and content through their work, and in so doing often disregard completely the more familiar definitions of weaving. Between these two opposites one finds many intermediate positions of expression which complete the selections to make this, it is hoped, a representative exhibition of hand weaving today