Asset liability management using stochastic programming

This chapter sets out to explain an important financial planning model called asset liability management (ALM); in particular, it discusses why in practice, optimum planning models are used. The ability to build an integrated approach that combines liability models with that of asset allocation decisions has proved to be desirable and more efficient in that it can lead to better ALM decisions. The role of uncertainty and quantification of risk in these planning models is considered

A review of portfolio planning: Models and systems

In this chapter, we first provide an overview of a number of portfolio planning models which have been proposed and investigated over the last forty years. We revisit the mean-variance (M-V) model of Markowitz and the construction of the risk-return efficient frontier. A piecewise linear approximation of the problem through a reformulation involving diagonalisation of the quadratic form into a variable separable function is also considered. A few other models, such as, the Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD), the Weighted Goal Programming (WGP) and the Minimax (MM) model which use alternative metrics for risk are also introduced, compared and contrasted. Recently asymmetric measures of risk have gained in importance; we consider a generic representation and a number of alternative symmetric and asymmetric measures of risk which find use in the evaluation of portfolios. There are a number of modelling and computational considerations which have been introduced into practical portfolio planning problems. These include: (a) buy-in thresholds for assets, (b) restriction on the number of assets (cardinality constraints), (c) transaction roundlot restrictions. Practical portfolio models may also include (d) dedication of cashflow streams, and, (e) immunization which involves duration matching and convexity constraints. The modelling issues in respect of these features are discussed. Many of these features lead to discrete restrictions involving zero-one and general integer variables which make the resulting model a quadratic mixed-integer programming model (QMIP). The QMIP is a NP-hard problem; the algorithms and solution methods for this class of problems are also discussed. The issues of preparing the analytic data (financial datamarts) for this family of portfolio planning problems are examined. We finally present computational results which provide some indication of the state-of-the-art in the solution of portfolio optimisation problems

Influence of Bio-Functionalized Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes on Neural Stem Cells

Single-walled carbon nanotube based materials possess unique physical properties which can be used in the biomedical and therapeutical applications. For example, biocompatible nanotubes can serve as an optical imaging tool, for use in vitro and in vivo. Several groups, including us, demonstrated that individualized nanotubes, at low concentration (quantification of this criterion has been done in this work), have no apparent cytotoxicity to cells. However, their long-term influence on cellular structures and activities have to be investigated.Our focus is on the interaction between a specific cell type, neural stem cells, and nanotubes. It is reported here that the internalized nanotubes at therapeutical concentrations can still vary the cell behavior substantially, which is of significant interest for both a fundamental biophysics and an applied bioengineering. In particular, in this work carbon nanotubes have been shown to serve as a mediator for neuronal differentiation. This effect has not been previously experimentally observed or theoretically investigated.Traditionally, research on the implantation of neural stem cells to integrate into existing circuitry and replace damaged cell populations has focused on trying to control cellular differentiation through the use of external cues. Such perturbations cause the cells to alter their structure to adapt to their surrounding and could promote a certain line of differentiation. In this study, we took a different approach by using the nanotubes as internal cues to affect the cell response.The internalization of biofunctionalized single-wall carbon nanotubes at properly chosen concentrations (1-10 pM) by neural stem cells (C17.2) has been studied. The results of our study suggest that the tubes mediate the neuronal differentiation of C17.2 cells. They are also shown here to give rise to development of a cell type not typically observed in the C17.2 cell line. Changing the wrapping of the carbon nanotubes from a specific non-biological ssDNA ($(GT)_{20}$) to a natural tRNA did not deter the mediating effect, allowing to identify the carbon nanotubes as being solely responsible for stimulating neuronal differentiation.In trying to understand the mechanisms behind the change of cell behavior observed during this stimulated differentiation, we focused on the dynamics of the asymmetric cell division. The latter gives rise to the diversity in the final population of cells. A complex dynamics has been observed, dependent on details of nanotube intervention. Disruption of the cytoskeleton fibers, such as actin and nestin, when carbon nanotubes were added has been also observed in neural stem cells. These results are worth considering when developing physical models for neural stem cell engineering and, ultimately the strategies to neurodegeneration recovery therapies

At the nexus of critical interculturalism and plurilingualism: theoretical considerations for language education

Across Europe education systems are experiencing increased numbers of migrants, immigrants and refugees in their classrooms. There is increasing emphasis on the idea interculturalism, yet there is little evidence that this will hold any more success than multiculturalism in terms of social cohesion. The aim of this theoretical paper is to explore the idea of interculturalism from the perspectives of two alternative onto-epistemological traditions, object-based and relational, each of which construct cultural and linguistic diversity in a different way. An object-based logic has its roots in colonialism and constructs cultural and linguistic diversity in a way that is binary, hierarchical and ultimately Othering of difference. A relational logic has its roots in Southern, Diasporic and Indigenous communities and constructs cultural and linguistic diversity in a way that dialogically engages with difference. We propose a pluriversal, plurilingual approach to critical interculturality as a way forward for decolonising classroom relations and we consider the implications of this for language education.En toda Europa, los sistemas educativos están experimentando un mayor número de migrantes, inmigrantes y refugiados en sus aulas. Hay un énfasis creciente en la idea de interculturalismo, pero hay poca evidencia de que esto tendrá más éxito que el multiculturalismo en términos de cohesión social. El objetivo de este artículo teórico es explorar la idea del interculturalismo desde las perspectivas de dos tradiciones alternativas epistemológicas, basadas en objetos y relacionales, cada una de las cuales construye la diversidad cultural y lingüística de una manera diferente. Una lógica basada en objetos tiene sus raíces en el colonialismo y construye la diversidad cultural y lingüística de una manera binaria, jerárquica y, en última instancia, de diferenciación. Una lógica relacional tiene sus raíces en las comunidades del sur, diáspora e indígenas y construye la diversidad cultural y lingüística de una manera que interactúa dialógicamente con la diferencia. Proponemos un enfoque pluriversal y plurilingüe de la interculturalidad crítica como una forma de avanzar hacia la descolonización de las relaciones en el aula y consideramos las implicaciones de esto para la educación lingüística.Peer Reviewe

Service learning as post-colonial discourse: Active global citizenship.

Chapter 11 from :Contesting and Constructing International Perspectives in Global Education edited by R.Reynolds, D.Bradbery, J.Brown, K.Carroll, D.Donnelly, K.Ferguson-Patrick and S.Maqueen published by Sense Publishers, Jan 2015.In this chapter we discuss, critically analyse, and report on a practice that is prevalent in global citizenship education: that of local and global service learning. Using Postcolonial Theory and Critical Pedagogy, we examine these practices, focusing on and contesting traditional conceptions of 'service' by questioning, 'who is providing a service to whom? Who benefits? And how can it be reconceptualised to enable all in the relationship to enact their entitlement as active global citizens? Our findings indicate that a critical understanding of both identity, and the socio-political and historical contexts are needed to engage as ‘active’ global citizens

Communication in the Clinical Encounter: Dealing with the Disparities

Despite basing its foundation upon the ideals of Hippocrates, Western medicine, especially in the last century, has shifted from a holistic to a more reductionist approach to understanding and treating patients. These changes are primarily a result of widespread acceptance of the biomedical model in modern medicine. Consequently, there are now significant differences in physician and patient explanatory models for the same ailment. Cancer, for example, is interpreted as primarily a physiological process by the medical community, or more simply, as a disease. The patient, on the other hand, interprets cancer as an illness, a more subjective response, covering all aspects of the patient’s life experience, including emotional, psychological, social, and cultural realms, in addition to physiological aspects. These differences in explanatory models result in disparities between physicians and patients when it comes to defining the condition, managing the condition and even defining successful outcomes. These incongruencies must be addressed through effective communication in the clinical encounter, an aspect of patient care that has proven beneficial effects on patient health outcomes. The shared treatment decision-making model best addresses these communication problems. By providing a framework for both the physician and patient to negotiate their respective explanatory models en route to a mutually agreeable treatment decision, this model is a compromise between the two extremes of patient-physician models of communication: paternalism andinformed decision-making. Ultimately, the shared treatment decision-making model establishes a clinical relationship that is no longer characterized by an inabilityto effectively negotiate and consolidate differing values due to unbalanced informational and power dynamics in a social context. By incorporating this model of communication into medical practice, physicians and patients will better understand each other, bridging the disparities apparent in current practice and allow Western medicine to once again approximate the Hippocratic ideal

Avant-propos

Multilinguales N° 8 est consacré aux « Littérature/Récits de voyage du XVeau XXIe siècles ». […] j’y ai passé seulement en poète et en philosophe ; j’en ai rapporté de profondes impressions dans mon cœur, de hauts et terribles enseignements dans mon esprit. Les études que j’y ai faites sur les religions, l’histoire, les mœurs, les traditions, les phases de l’humanité ne sont pas perdues pour moi. Lamartine, Voyage en Orient. Au XVe siècle, les progrès de la navigation et la quête des épices e..

The multiple voices of indenture history : the South Asian diasporic novel in English

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.[À l'origine dans / Was originally part of : Thèses et mémoires - FAS - Département d'études anglaises