The Uses and Abuses of the Euro in the Canadian Currency Debate. Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series, Vol. 3 No. 3, August 2003

(From the introduction). In the late 1990s, some prominent Canadian economists – notably Thomas Courchene, Herbert Grubel, Richard Harris, and Robert Mundell – began arguing that a North American common currency would solve the problems underlying the growing gap between U.S. and Canadian real GDP per capita.1 They succeeded in provoking a lively economic policy debate that occurred in parallel with the launch of the euro. The purpose of this paper is to examine the uses – and abuses – of European parallels by both sides in the economic policy debate that peaked in the 1999-2001 period. The body of the paper begins by providing an understanding of the European case. Hence, the second section outlines our interpretation of the major developments in the birth of the euro. The third section, the core of the paper, examines in detail the use of European parallels in the Canadian currency debate. We start by providing a brief overview of the protagonists in the debate. We then continue by arguing that the euro provided a “temporal spur” for the Canadian discussion but that it was only one among several important factors. We argue further that the proponents of a North American common currency relied very little on the European experience to support their case for the need for a common currency. Where they did use the European experience, however, was in their analysis of the institutional form that a common currency in North America might take. We argue that the opponents of a North American common currency were correct in viewing this as an abuse of the European parallel. In the concluding fourth section, we summarize our findings and argue that the most important parallel between the European and North American forces for a common currency is that both were driven primarily by politics

Globalization's Problematic for Labour: Three Paradigms

Globalization's impact on workers worldwide is contested. The nature of labour's responses is similarly contested. To a significant degree this contestation arises because of different conceptualizations of 'globalization'. I distinguish between three paradigms of globalization: neoclassical liberalism, anti-neoliberal globalism and multi-centred statism. I analyze each paradigm in terms of their identification of globalization’s problematic for labour and the responses from labour that they suggest. The positions of China and India in these problematics and responses are discussed

Transply crack density detection by acousto-ultrasonics

The acousto-ultrasonic method was applied to a PMR-15 8-harness, satin Celion 3000 fabric composite to determine the extent of transply cracking. A six-ply 0/90 laminate was also subjected to mechanical loading, which induced transply cracking. The stress wave factor (SWF) is defined as the energy contained in the received signal from a 2.25-MHz center frequency transducer. The correlation of the SWF with transply crack density is shown

Globalization and the Welfare State: Four Hypotheses and Some Empirical Evidence

This paper examines some implications of the 'new globalism' for the welfare state. We examine four hypotheses about globalization and their implications for welfare state spending: the 'downward harmonization', 'upward convergence', 'convergence clubs' and 'globalization irrelevance' hypotheses. We provide evidence concerning these hypotheses by examining changes in the levels of welfare state spending for a subset of OECD countries. We find some evidence for a convergence of welfare state spending, not universally, but among countries with similar political institutions. Domestic political institutions, therefore, may affect the way in which countries respond to globalization pressures.Globalism; Globalization

Behavior of oceanic crustal magnetization at high temperatures: Viscous magnetization and the marine magnetic anomaly source layer

Although the source layer for marine magnetic anomalies has been assumed to be the extrusive basalts of uppermost ocean crust, recent studies indicate that lower crustal rocks may also contribute. Because the temperature at which magnetization of crustal rocks achieves long-term stability is crucial to any source layer contribution, we undertook high-temperature VRM (viscous remanent magnetization) experiments on samples of basalt, dike and gabbroic sections. Samples were heated at temperature intervals up to Tc, while a magnetic field was applied for periods between 6 hours and 28 days. Results show that the dike and gabbro samples achieve maximum VRM acquisition near 250°C, well below the Tc of 580°C. The basalt sample shows a peak at 68°C, also well below Tc. Results of this pilot study indicate that the critical isotherm for stable magnetization acquisition is defined by the VRM behavior of the specific crustal section

Managing Liberalization and Globalization in Rural China: Trends in Rural Labour Allocation, Income and Inequality

China’s integration into the global economy, while rapid, has been managed as part of a wider liberalization process. The structural changes in the rural economy arising from these twin processes have led to widening intra-rural inequalities. To address these, the central leadership has, in Polanyian manner, moved to counter some of the adverse effects of liberalization and globalization. We discuss this dynamic as it has affected rural China. We analyze results from a national data set covering the period 1991-2006 to assess the extent to which the state has been successful in protecting society from the advance of market forces. We find positive outcomes in terms of real earnings growth and poverty reduction but negative outcomes in terms of the rise in open unemployment and in terms of increasing intra-rural income inequality, although this was noticeably more pronounced in the 1991-2000 period than in the 2000-2006 period when more active government redistributive mechanisms were in place

Use of kidney trajectory charts as an adjunct to chronic kidney disease guidelines- a qualitative study of general practitioners

Objectives:Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects up to 11% of the population. General practice is at the forefront of the identification of patients with declining kidney function, and appropriate monitoring and management of patients with CKD. An individualized and patient-centred approach is currently recommended in guidelines, but would be enhanced by more detailed guidance on how this should be applied to different age groups, such as use of a kidney trajectory chart. We explored the opinion of general practitioners (GPs) about the potential utility of kidney trajectory charts.Methods: Qualitative study interviewing 27 Australian GPs about their management of chronic kidney disease. GPs were presented with charts that plotted percentiles of kidney function (eGFR) with age and discussed how they would use the charts manage to patients with declining kidney function. GPs’ opinion was sought as to how useful these charts might be in clinical practice.Results:Most GPs were positive about the use of kidney trajectory charts to assist them with recognition and management of declining kidney function in general practice: e.g, comments included a “valuable tool”, “a bit of an eye opener”,” will help me explain to the patients”, “I’ll stick it on my wall.”. GPs responded that the charts could help monitor patients, trigger early recognition of a younger patient at risk, and assist with older patients to determine when treatment may not be warranted. GPs also thought that charts could also be useful to motivate patients and help them monitor their own condition.Conclusions:Use of percentile charts in conjunction with the current CKD guidelines help support a patient-centred model of care. Kidney trajectory charts can help patients to understand their risk of further kidney damage or decline. Research on the use of these charts in clinical practice should be undertaken to further develop their use

An Application of the Utah State University Watershed Simulation Model to the Entiat Experimental Watershed, Washington State

To study the effects of a forest fire on runoff characteristics, the Utah State University Watershed Simulation Model (USUWSM) has been applied to three small drainage areas in the Entiat Experimental Watershed which is located within the Wenatchee National Forest of central Washington. Each component of the USUWSM has been described in the report, including structural changes to the model that were necessary to achieve reasonable agreement between observed and simulated runoff hydrographs. Lack of information on the spatial distribution and precipitation due to the absence of an adequate precipitation gaging network on or close to the study area was a severe handicap to the simulation study. Only a very short period of post-fire streamflow record was available and thus it was possible to make only qualative conclusions regarding the effects of the forest fire on runoff characteristics