The Bank of Canada's Business Outlook Survey

Since the autumn of 1997, the regional offices of the Bank of Canada have conducted quarterly consultations with businesses across Canada. Timed to feed into the process that precedes the Bank’s fixed dates for announcing monetary policy decisions, the consultations (now referred to as the Business Outlook Survey) are structured around a questionnaire which is sent to 100 firms that reflect the Canadian economy in terms of region, type of business activity, and firm size. Martin describes both the consultation process and the questionnaire and makes an initial assessment of the data gathered during the business interviews. The article includes charts and correlation tables that illustrate the responses to the key questions included in the survey.

The Bank of Canada's Business Outlook Survey: An Assessment

Since the autumn of 1997, the Bank of Canada's regional offices (located in Halifax, Montréal, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver) have conducted consultations with businesses across Canada on a quarterly basis. These consultations are now referred to as the Business Outlook Survey (BOS). The BOS provides a timely source of information on what businesses are experiencing and planning. Business consultations are timed to feed into the decision-making process that precedes the Bank's fixed dates for announcing monetary policy decisions. The consultations are structured around a questionnaire. Every quarter, 100 firms that reflect the diverse composition of the Canadian economy in terms of region, type of business activity, and firm size are interviewed. Because the BOS is a relatively new tool, the survey time series is short. The assessment presented in this paper, which is based on charts and correlations, is intended as an initial guide. The findings suggest that the survey serves as a barometer of the Canadian economy and provides leading signals of future activity. The interview responses also inform the Bank about production-capacity constraints, labour shortages, and inflation expectations.Business fluctuations and cycles; Domestic demand and components

The inequality of maternal health in urban sub-Saharan Africa

Numerous studies document the urban poor disadvantage in child health conditions in African cities. This study uses DHS data from 23 countries in sub-Saharan Africa to examine whether the urban poor experience comparable disadvantages in maternal health. The results show that although the urban poor on average receive better antenatal and delivery care than rural residents, they consistently have poorer maternal health indicators than the urban non-poor. Further analyses based on a multilevel approach reveal significant variations in urban maternal health inequalities across countries of sub-Saharan Africa. The urban poor disadvantage is more pronounced in countries with better average maternal health indicators, where the urban poor tend to be even worse off than rural residents

A multilevel analysis of the determinants of HIV testing in Zimbabwe: evidence from the demographic and health surveys

Introduction Zimbabwe is still burdened with HIV epidemic and the government has an ambitious aim in the post-2015 era to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. To achieve this, the government has set up the 90-90-90 strategic milestones to be achieved by 2020. It is daunting task to increase HIV testing uptake from current estimate of 56%to 90% to meet these targets. The current government’s initiative requires an understanding of determinants of HIV testing. Objectives The specific objectives of this study are to: (i) identify the individual and community-level determinants of HIV testing, focussing on predisposing, enabling and perceived need factors (PREP); and (ii) establish gender differences. Material and Methods We applied multilevel logistic regression models to nationally-representative samples of 17,797women and 14,587 men from the 2005/6 and 2010/11 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Surveys to examine the determinants of HIV testing. Results HIV testing uptake increased significantly between 2005/6 and 2010/11, especially for women (females OR=5.60; males OR=2.57). Most PREP factors associated with HIV testing are largely consistent with patterns in Southern Africa (e.g. higher uptake by women and those who are wealthier), but unique patterns have also emerged. In particular, results reveal important gender differences: rural residence is associated with lower uptake of HIV testing for women (OR=0.74) but higher for men (OR=1.16); community wealth is a more important factor in enabling HIV testing than household wealth for women, but the converse is true for men; and individual-level, rather than community-level stigma is important for women, while for men, it is community-level stigma that is important. Conclusion Observed gender disparities in determinants of HIV testing calls for gender specific response. Couple-oriented HIV counselling and testing services where men accompany their spouse to HIV screening during pregnancy may help increase HIV testing uptake for males and reduce gender disparities

Gate Defined Quantum Confinement in Suspended Bilayer Graphene

Quantum confined devices that manipulate single electrons in graphene are emerging as attractive candidates for nanoelectronics applications. Previous experiments have employed etched graphene nanostructures, but edge and substrate disorder severely limit device functionality. Here we present a technique that builds quantum confined structures in suspended bilayer graphene with tunnel barriers defined by external electric fields that break layer inversion symmetry, thereby eliminating both edge and substrate disorder. We report clean quantum dot formation in two regimes: at zero magnetic field B using the single particle energy gap induced by a perpendicular electric field and at B > 0 using the quantum Hall ferromagnet {\nu} = 0 gap for confinement. Coulomb blockade oscillations exhibit periodicity consistent with electrostatic simulations based on local top gate geometry, a direct demonstration of local control over the band structure of graphene. This technology integrates single electron transport with high device quality and access to vibrational modes, enabling broad applications from electromechanical sensors to quantum bits.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures, includes supplementary informatio

Cues from neuroepithelium and surface ectoderm maintain neural crest-free regions within cranial mesenchyme of the developing chick

Within the developing vertebrate head, neural crest cells (NCCs) migrate from the dorsal surface of the hindbrain into the mesenchyme adjacent to rhombomeres (r)1 plus r2, r4 and r6 in three segregated streams. NCCs do not enter the intervening mesenchyme adjacent to r3 or r5, suggesting that these regions contain a NCC-repulsive activity. We have used surgical manipulations in the chick to demonstrate that r3 neuroepithelium and its overlying surface ectoderm independently help maintain the NCC-free zone within r3 mesenchyme. In the absence of r3, subpopulations of NCCs enter r3 mesenchyme in a dorsolateral stream and an ectopic cranial nerve forms between the trigeminal and facial ganglia. The NCC-repulsive activity dissipates/degrades within 5-10 hours of r3 removal. Initially, r4 NCCs more readily enter the altered mesenchyme than r2 NCCs, irrespective of their maturational stage. Following surface ectoderm removal, mainly r4 NCCs enter r3 mesenchyme within 5 hours, but after 20 hours the proportions of r2 NCCs and r4 NCCs ectopically within r3 mesenchyme appear similar

The Universality of Penrose Limits near Space-Time Singularities

We prove that Penrose limits of metrics with arbitrary singularities of power-law type show a universal leading u^{-2}-behaviour near the singularity provided that the dominant energy condition is satisfied and not saturated. For generic power-law singularities of this type the oscillator frequencies of the resulting homogeneous singular plane wave turn out to lie in a range which is known to allow for an analytic extension of string modes through the singularity. The discussion is phrased in terms of the recently obtained covariant characterisation of the Penrose limit; the relation with null geodesic deviation is explained in detail.Comment: 36 pages, LaTeX2e, 4 figure

An Improved Model for Assessing the Viability of Small developers During Lending Applications

Credit assessment processes are onerous, vague and require extensive financial literacy on the part of the borrower. This research focused on the development of a model that improves clarity about Australian lenders' evaluation of the viability of lending proposals of small developers

The development of a good governed costing management model for Mandela Bay Development Agency projects within the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipal boundaries

The purpose of this single case study was to investigate the variables that determine the perceived success of the costing management of Mandela Bay Development Agency Projects (MBDA). Eleven propositions namely Strategic Planning, Stakeholders, Procurement Processes, Contracts, Design Management, Implementation Management, Internal Regulatory Structures, Outside Advice, Human Behaviour, Risk Management and Governance Structure, were identified that could influence costing management of MBDA projects. By using qualitative research methods, the MBDA was compared with three other agencies with similar mandates, by means of four semi-structured interviews, in order to identify similarities and differences between the organisations in terms of costing management. The results of nine in-depth interviews with MBDA project role players, with open ended questions about the participants’ views on the factors that influence costing management, were used to discover themes that were overlooked in the proposed model of perceived success of costing management of MBDA projects. Most of the propositions as per the proposed model for the perceived success of costing management of MBDA projects were confirmed to have a positive relationship to the costing management of MBDA projects. The model was revised after the results were presented to include two ante-ceding variables that were overlooked in the literature review, but emerged from the data namely Funding Model and Compliance to Legislation. The identification of the additional variables namely Team Dynamics (replacing Human Behaviour) and Planning Model are important aspects to be considered in relation to the costing management of MBDA projects. With the focus on good governance and the MBDA’s good record of clean and unqualified audits, it is to be noted that the performance of government projects is usually measured against progress and expenditure and not necessarily against the value for money and the quality of the completed project