Productivity Growth of East Asia Economies' Manufacturing: A Decomposition Analysis

Applying a stochastic production frontier to sector-level data within manufacturing, this paper examines total factor productivity (TFP) growth for eight East Asian economies during 1963-1998, using both single country and cross-country regression. The analysis focuses on the trend of technological progress (TP) and technical efficiency change (TEC), and the role of productivity change in economic growth. The empirical results reveal that although input factor accumulation is still the main source for East Asian economies® growth, TFP growth is accounting for an increasing and important proportion of output growth, among which the improved TEC plays a crucial role in productivity growth.total factor productivity, technical efficiency change, technological progress, stochastic production frontier, East Asian economy

Developing a cultural competence assessment tool for people in recovery from racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds: the journey, challenges and lessons learned.

In 1997, Maryland implemented a new managed care mental health system. Consumer satisfaction, evaluation and cultural competency were considered high priorities for the new system. While standardized tools for measuring consumer satisfaction were readily available, no validated, reliable and standardized tool existed to measure the perception of people from minority groups receiving mental health services. The MHA*/MHP* Cultural Competency Advisory Group (CCAG) accepted the challenge of developing a consumer assessment tool for cultural competency. The CCAG, composed of people in recovery, clinicians and administrators used their collective knowledge and experiences to develop a 52-item tool that met standards for validity and reliability. Consultation from a researcher helped to further develop the tool into one possessing tremendous potential for statewide implementation within Maryland's Public Mental Health System. Recognizing the limitations of the study and the need for further research, this instrument is a work in progress. Strategies to improve the instrument are currently underway with the Mental Hygiene Administration's Systems Evaluation Center of the University of Maryland and several national researchers

Cancellation of the Chiral Anomaly in a Model with Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking

A perturbatively renormalized Abelian Higgs-Kibble model with a chirally coupled fermion is considered. The Slavnov identity is fulfilled to all orders of perturbation theory, which is crucial for renormalizability in models with vector bosons. BRS invariance, i.e. the validity of the identity, forces the chiral anomaly to be cancelled by Wess-Zumino counterterms. This procedure preserves the renormalizability in the one-loop approximation but it violates the Froissart bounds for partial wave amplitudes above some energy and destroys renormalizability from the second order in h bar onwards due to the counterterms. (The paper has 3 figs. in postscript which are not included; send request to the author's e-mailbox with subject: figures . The author is willing to mail hard copies of the paper.)Comment: 13 pages, plain TeX, SI 92-1

Pl@ntInvasive-Kruger: Developing an online alien plant database and identification platform

World wide, invasive plant species increasingly threaten to decrease biodiversity and modify ecosystems. South Africa's National Parks are no exception. Pl@ntInvasive-Kruger represents a partnership between SAEON, Sanparks and CIRAD, and aims to capture in a single, open-source database the current knowledge and status of Kruger National Parks' approximately 400 alien plant species. The outcomes of this collaboration will be detailed descriptions of both invasive and contained alien plants, including morphological traits, degree of invasiveness, habitat, and country of origin, current distribution, vernacular names, and documented control methods. Text is supported by clear photographs and illustrations of various diagnostic plant features. Pl@ntInvasive-Kruger utilises IDAO technology (a multimedia approach to computer-aided identification) to convey information in the database to its users. This simple platform guides users in identifying an alien plant through a series of step-wise choices and simple schematics based on morphological, habit and habitat characteristics. Final identification is expressed as the similarity (ranked percentage probability) of the unknown specimen to the type specimen information housed in the database. Pictures and supporting text for candidate species can then be accessed by the user to confirm identification. The IDAO application is compatible with a range of mobile electronic storage devices (Smartphones, PDAs and Tablets), allowing on-site identification and immediate management intervention. Pl@ntInvasive-Kruger has the capacity to educate people and inform management regarding the alien plant species found in the lowveld savanna, and to be instrumental in their control. (Texte intégral

Pl@ntInvasive-Kruger: computer-based identification and information tools to manage alien invasive species in the Kruger national park, South Africa

Invasive plant species are a major threat to the biodiversity of protected areas and South Africa's Kruger National Park (KNP), which covers some 20 000 km2, is no exception. Landscape and habitat diversity and a river network that drains highly invaded catchments outside the park make KNP highly susceptible to alien plant invasions. Efficient control of the threat requires early detection of introduced species, effective methods of eradication, and dissemination of current data to increase awareness. A collaborative project was initiated to provide a platform and a range of tools to support these actions. Methods Pl@ntInvasive-Kruger aimed to develop a suite of science-based, computer-driven tools for use by KNP managers, researchers and teams involved in alien plant control. Three applications were developed, each of which is supported by a global, multi-user database: i. The PUBLISH tool returns synthesised species information; ii. IDAO, which utilises computer-aided plant identification ; and iii. IDENTIFY, an image recognition system. Results & Discussion The online DataManager database allows data management by members for field surveys and facilitates collections management and the automated synthesis of species information. These syntheses are available as HTML pages through the PUBLISH tool, which detail descriptions and imagery of both invasive and contained alien plants, and includes information on ecology, biology and management. These data support the two identification tools. PlantInvKruger-IDAO constructs unknown species in a step-wise manner from prominent characteristics selected by the user from schematic multiple-choice menus. The IDAO application is compatible with a range of mobile electronic devices. PlantInvKruger-IDENTIFY assists, through image recognition algorithms, with the specific identification of images of plants and plant parts submitted to the database through a web interface. In both cases the suggested identification is expressed as the similarity of the unknown specimen to the type specimen information housed in the database and can be confirmed by accessing the species HTML pages. All tools are used from a collaborative web platform (Pl@ntNet) where members can also share information and documents and manage discussions (http://community.plantnet-project.org/pg/groups/561/plntinvasivekruger/). Conclusions Correct identification is an essential aspect of alien plant control programs, but is difficult and time consuming where large numbers of alien and indigenous species occur. The Pl@ntInvasive-Kruger database currently contains information on almost 400 alien plant species, with the identification tools focussing on the 113 most important species. By assisting with the identification of invasive plant species and facilitating the sharing of information between interested parties, Pl@ntInvasive-Kruger will promote biodiversity conservation in KNP. This project is a case study of the Pl@ntNet project funded by Agropolis Fondation. It is currently in the final testing and refinement stage, with evaluations being conducted with end users. (Résumé d'auteur

Banking Reform

On 3 December EY hosted a SUERF conference on banking reform with Sir Howard Davies, the Chairman of RBS, and Dame Colette Bowe, the Chairman of the Banking Standards Board, as the two keynote speakers. Professor David Miles (Imperial College) gave the SUERF 2015 Annual Lecture on Capital and Banks. The conference focused on core aspects of banking reform: the amount of capital required, the design of capital requirements (complexity versus simplicity), proportionate regulation, recovery and resolution, and risk culture