Trade in financial services, capital flows, and the value-at-risk of countries

In light of the recent financial crises in the emerging markets, the coming-into-force of the financial services agreement under the GATS has been considered a success. While the agreement provides for little new liberalization but rather formalizes the status quo, it was feared that governments could even backtrack on previous commitments in the belief that more open markets could increase the degree of susceptibility by undermining financial stability. Strengthening the financial system's ability to evaluate and manage risk has therefore been identified as a precondition for more ambitious liberalization efforts in the future (Dobson and Jacquet, 1998). Encouragingly, in some countries banks have begun to implement Value-at-Risk approaches as a tool to assess their balance sheet vulnerability. As this paper argues, such an approach could also play a useful role in determining the extent of market risk on the macroeconomic level, with potentially important implications regarding trade in financial services, capital account convertibility, and international crisis management. --Financial crises,trade liberalization,capital flows,risk management

Deep Discount Group Pass Programs as Instruments for Increasing Transit Revenue and Ridership

Transit properties in the USA have historically experienced loss of market share and low levels of farebox recovery. They resorted to service expansion to maximize subsidies. Experience suggests that: (a) fare increases have not had the desired effect; (b) fare reductions can boost ridership but can also reduce revenue and increase subsidies. The challenge lies with the adoption of such strategies as deep discount group pass programs that can produce more marginal revenue than cost. Deep discount transit pass programs provide groups of people with unlimited-ride transit passes in exchange for a contractual payment for or on behalf of pass users by an employer or other organizing body. Although successes of deep discount group pass programs are documented, there is substantial skepticism toward their wide-scale deployment because transit management perceives them as “special treatments” or “favors” to participants. Management fears such perception could raise questions about equity because they fail to see the fundamental difference in the fare structure of the “group pass” from individual ticket purchases. Group passes operate in a manner analogous to insurance programs. The deep discount program cases studied consistently revealed either higher revenues per boarding than the system-wide average or higher total revenues from target markets with the program than without it. Employment-based programs yielded the highest net revenues to operators. Although agencies recognize the factors for price determination, research reveals that no systematic methodology exists and pass prices are largely determined by watching what others have done. This dissertation has developed a methodology to aid operators in determining deeply discounted but favorable pass prices. The methodology considers: revenue lost from existing riders at prevailing fares; level of patronage in the primary location of transit use; any additional costs necessitated by the program; attractiveness of program terms to participants; and a policy goal of increasing operating revenue. The methodology permits the investigation of alternative objective functions and thus can serve as a common tool for transit agencies, employers and other constituents who may choose to maximize or minimize either the price of the pass or the number of participants subject to sets of constraints

Laser velocimetry in highly three-dimensional and vortical flows

The need for experimentally determined 3-D velocity information is crucial to the understanding of highly 3-dimensional and vortical flow fields. In addition to gaining an understanding of the physics of flow fields, a correlation of velocity data is needed for advanced computational modelling. A double pass method for acquiring 3-D flow field information using a 2-D laser velocimeter (LV) is described. The design and implementation of a 3-D LV with expanded capabilities to acquire real-time 3-D flow field information are also described. Finally, the use of such an instrument in a wind tunnel study of a generic fighter configuration is described. The results of the wind tunnel study highlight the complexities of 3-D flow fields, particularly when the vortex behavior is examined over a range of angles of attack

Representing Complexity in Part-Whole Relationships within the Foundational Model of Anatomy

The Foundational Model of Anatomy (FMA) is a frame-based ontology that represents declarative knowledge about the structural organization of the human body. Part-whole relationships play a particularly important role in this representation. In order to assure that knowledge-based applications relying on the FMA as a resource can reason about anatomy, we have modified and enhanced currently available schemes of meronymic relationships. We have introduced and defined distinct partitions for decomposing anatomical structures and attributed the part relationships in order to eliminate ambiguity and enhance specificity in the richness of meronymic relationships within the FMA

PROLONGED EFFECTS OF MODIFIED PNF STRETCH TECHNIQUES ON HIP JOINT FLEXIBILITY

PURPOSE AND METHODS The purpose of this study was to evaluate the acute and prolonged effects of three stretching techniques on hip joint flexibility. Seventy-five male and female college students volunteered to participate in this study. The participants were evenly divided among five groups, and they were tested on three different days. Active range of motion (ROM) during hip joint flexion was the dependent variable. Three measures of ROM were obtained each day; prior to the treatment (baseline) each day; immediately after the treatment (post 0) each day; and then 5 minutes after the treatment on one day (post 5). 15 minutes after the treatment on another day (post 15), and 30 minutes after the treatment on another day (post 30). Each treatment group performed a different stretching maneuver. The PIC group performed a passive stretch (P) of the hip extensors followed by an isometric contraction (1) of the extensors and a concentric contraction (c) of the hip flexors. The PC group performed a passive stretch (P) of the hip extensors followed by a concentric contraction (c) of the hip flexors. The third treatment group, the C group, performed a concentric contraction (c) of the hip flexors. There were also two control groups which performed no stretching. One was a resting control whose members sat quietly when not being tested and the other was an active control whose members walked at a moderate intensity between the measurements of active flexibility. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION The results indicated that all three stretch treatment groups (PIC, PC, and C) exhibited significant acute increases in flexibility (i.e., at post 0) compared to both the active and resting control groups. Mean improvements were 9 degrees for PIC, 5 degrees for PC, and 4 degrees for C. However, 5 minutes after treatment (at post 5), ROM remained elevated above baseline levels only in the PIC and PC groups. ROM had returned to baseline levels at post 15 and post 30 in all groups. These results indicate the PNF stretching techniques results in an acute improvement in ROM. However, the duration of the improvement is short-lived (less than 15 minutes) and dependent upon the stretching technique that is used