Potholes and Paperwork: Improving Cross-Border Integration and Regulation of the Automotive Industry

Divergent regulations and border regimes in Canada and the US are threatening the integrated, cross-border structure of the Canadian auto industry. It is time for common regulations governing safety, fuel consumption and environmental protection, and faster, more efficient border clearances.trade policy, Auto Pact, automotive industry

Navigating New Trade Routes: The rise of Value chains, and the Challenges for Canadian Trade Policy

In the new paradigm of international trade, Canada needs a trade policy that recognizes both the increasing importance of global value chains and the critical role of Canada-US commercial and regulatory integration in gaining full benefit from their exploitation.border papers, international policy

Coagulation and anticoagulation in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an incurable, progressive interstitial lung disease with a prognosis that is worse than that of many cancers. Epidemiological studies have demonstrated a link between IPF and thrombotic vascular events. Coagulation and fibrinolytic systems play central roles in wound healing and repair, processes hypothesised to be abnormal within the IPF lung. Animal models of pulmonary fibrosis have demonstrated an imbalance between thrombosis and fibrinolysis within the alveolar compartment, a finding that is also observed in IPF patients. A systemic prothrombotic state also occurs in IPF and is associated with increased mortality, but trials of anticoagulation in IPF have provided conflicting results. Differences in methodology, intervention and study populations may contribute to the inconsistent trial outcomes. The new oral anticoagulants have properties that may prove advantageous in targeting both thrombotic risk and progression of lung fibrosis

Monopole Spectra in non-Abelian Gauge Theories

We study the continuum limit of the length spectrum of magnetic monopole structures found after various Abelian projections of pure gauge SU(2), including the maximally Abelian gauge. We comment on Gribov copies, and measurements of the string tension.Comment: Talk presented at LATTICE96(topology) LaTeX, with 4 LaTeX figure

Should subsistence agriculture be supported as a strategy to address rural food insecurity?

At first glance South Africa’s black farming sector appears to contribute rather minimally to overall agricultural output in South Africa. However, despite the complexity involved in this sector and the often marginal conditions in which agriculture is practised it appears to be important to a large number of black households. Furthermore, the significance they attach to subsistence agriculture as means of supplementing household food supplies seems to heavily outweigh other reasons for engaging in agriculture. Some South African researchers have indicated the contribution subsistence production makes to household food security, despite the prevalent complexities and the low input nature of this production. Statistics South Africa’s Labour Force Survey data from 2001 to 2007 and a case study of subsistence farming in Limpopo Province are used to support the argument that, despite the complexity of this sector, the more than 4 million subsistence farmers, need and merit greater support. Such support should be based on the local context, build on and, where appropriate, improve existing local practices, while addressing various existing threats to this type of production. Recommendations are made as to what policy makers need to consider when considering how best to support subsistence production.subsistence production, Labour Force Survey, traditional crops, local agricultural practices, Consumer/Household Economics,

Glueballs and topology with O(a)-improved lattice QCD

We present evidence for unquenching effects in N_f=2, 16^3 32 ensembles by comparing with `equivalent' quenched data at r_0~5.0. A (small) VEV for torelons signals (weak) string breaking. A 15-20 % reduction in the scalar glueball mass relative to quenched is argued to be (in part at least) a discretisation effect. We find a chiral suppression of the topological susceptibility consistent with expectations, and agreement between fermionic and gluonic methods for measuring the topological charge.Comment: 4pp LaTeX, 4 EPS figures. Contribution to Lattice2001(confinement