Hedging Alberta Government's Oil and Gas Revenue: Is Acting Like a Farmer a Viable Strategy?

The provincial government of Alberta in Canada experiences significant annual revenue variability arising from changes in crude oil and natural gas prices. This research evaluated whether Alberta’s non-renewable revenue risk could be managed using a derivatives hedging program. Results from a historical hedging simulation approach suggested that such a program would not have been the most effective method of managing revenue risk over the period of 1995-96 to 2003-04. Total impacts of hedging would have varied from Can-$8 Billion to Can$6 Billion over this time period. These results suggest the Alberta government explore alternative methods to manage non-renewable resource revenue risk.Government Hedging, Risk Hedging, Public Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty, Q480, G11,

Racionalidades campesinas en los Andes del Sur : reflexiones en torno al cultivo de la quinua y otros vegetales andinos

International audienceThis book originated in a workshop organised in La Paz (Bolivia) in December 2008, as part of the Franco-Bolivian ANR-EQUECO programme, with the aim of reflecting on socio-environmental changes in agriculture in the southern Andes over the last 1,000 years. Subsequently, as a result of international collaborations, including the Franco-Argentine ECOS programme, the editors invited other experts to contribute their work to these reflections. The authors of this book - archaeologists, anthropologists, geographers, geneticists, agronomists and ecologists - represent a balanced panel of human and biophysical sciences. All have direct and recent experience of the current or past reality of the societies and natural environment of the Southern Andes. Despite the diversity of their respective disciplines and perspectives, the authors have endeavoured to make their contributions accessible to a non-specialist audience, presenting tables and figures to facilitate understanding of the data and using a glossary to define, where necessary, certain technical or vernacular terms. The temporal scope of the book covers pre-Hispanic periods to the present, while geographically, it covers the southern altiplano and inter-Andean valleys of southern Bolivia, the puna and valleys of northwestern Argentina, and the contrasting regions of Chile.Este libro tuvo su origen en un taller cuyo objetivo fue reflexionar sobre los cambios socio ambientales en la agricultura del sur andino en los últimos 1.000 años, encuentro organizado en La Paz (Bolivia) en diciembre de 2008, en el marco del programa franco-boliviano EQUECO. Luego, como fruto de colaboraciones internacionales entre ellas el programa franco-argentino ECOS, los editores invitaron a otros expertos más para que aporten con sus trabajos a estas reflexiones.Los autores de este libro –arqueólogos, antropólogos, geógrafos, genetistas, agrónomos y ecólogos– representan un panel equilibradoentre ciencias humanas y biofísicas. Todos cuentan con una experiencia directa y reciente de la realidad actual o pasada de las sociedades y del ambiente natural de los Andes del Sur. A pesar de la diversidad de sus respectivas disciplinas y perspectivas, los autores se aplicaron en hacer sus contribuciones accesibles al público no especializado, presentando tablas y figuras que faciliten la comprensión de los datos y utilizando un glosario para definir, cuando necesario, ciertos términos técnicos o vernaculares. El alcance temporal del libro cubre desde los períodos prehispánicos hasta el presente mientras que en lo geográfico, recorre desde el altiplano sur y los valles interandinos del sur de Bolivia, hasta la puna y los valles del noroeste de Argentina pasando por las contrastadas regiones de Chile

Cholesterol-Independent Effects of Methyl-β-Cyclodextrin on Chemical Synapses

The cholesterol chelating agent, methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MβCD), alters synaptic function in many systems. At crayfish neuromuscular junctions, MβCD is reported to reduce excitatory junctional potentials (EJPs) by impairing impulse propagation to synaptic terminals, and to have no postsynaptic effects. We examined the degree to which physiological effects of MβCD correlate with its ability to reduce cholesterol, and used thermal acclimatization as an alternative method to modify cholesterol levels. MβCD impaired impulse propagation and decreased EJP amplitude by 40% (P<0.05) in preparations from crayfish acclimatized to 14°C but not from those acclimatized to 21°C. The reduction in EJP amplitude in the cold-acclimatized group was associated with a 49% reduction in quantal content (P<0.05). MβCD had no effect on input resistance in muscle fibers but decreased sensitivity to the neurotransmitter L-glutamate in both warm- and cold-acclimatized groups. This effect was less pronounced and reversible in the warm-acclimatized group (90% reduction in cold, P<0.05; 50% reduction in warm, P<0.05). MβCD reduced cholesterol in isolated nerve and muscle from cold- and warm-acclimatized groups by comparable amounts (nerve: 29% cold, 25% warm; muscle: 20% cold, 18% warm; P<0.05). This effect was reversed by cholesterol loading, but only in the warm-acclimatized group. Thus, effects of MβCD on glutamate-sensitivity correlated with its ability to reduce cholesterol, but effects on impulse propagation and resulting EJP amplitude did not. Our results indicate that MβCD can affect both presynaptic and postsynaptic properties, and that some effects of MβCD are unrelated to cholesterol chelation

Localized thinning for strain concentration in suspended germanium membranes and optical method for precise thickness measurement

We deposited Ge layers on (001) Si substrates by molecular beam epitaxy and used them to fabricate suspended membranes with high uniaxial tensile strain. We demonstrate a CMOS-compatible fabrication strategy to increase strain concentration and to eliminate the Ge buffer layer near the Ge/Si hetero-interface deposited at low temperature. This is achieved by a two-steps patterning and selective etching process. First, a bridge and neck shape is patterned in the Ge membrane, then the neck is thinned from both top and bottom sides. Uniaxial tensile strain values higher than 3% were measured by Raman scattering in a Ge membrane of 76 nm thickness. For the challenging thickness measurement on micrometer-size membranes suspended far away from the substrate a characterization method based on pump-and-probe reflectivity measurements was applied, using an asynchronous optical sampling technique.EC/FP7/628197/EU/Heat Propagation and Thermal Conductivity in Nanomaterials for Nanoscale Energy Management/HEATPRONAN

Reference Model for Improving the Process of Enterprise Software Product in the Ecuasis Company

This research work arose to improve the process of enterprise software products for the creation of software companies, through the development of a reference model based on lean startup proposed methodologies to the effect of selective and comparative study of the main methodologies of the entrepreneurship, the methodology to identify that best suits our purpose to generate the proposed model. Finally, generates and implements the proposed model and check the validity by applying a practical case study

Development of a Model for Quality Process Stage Development Software Applied Unit Systems UTMACH

In the present investigation discloses some models or standards focused on system development process. Pretending to give a solution to the user dissatisfaction that causes no profiling to develop quality system. And with reference to the systems unit of the Technical University of Machala and under the investigative process that took place it was detected that there is no order of development in the Unit, the various schedules that are performed many times outside the scope of work team. Due to this circumstance and aims these preliminary detected based on a comparative analysis of the various models or standards applied quality system to create a working environment that allows Systems Unit improve the system development process. Forming itself the quality model system that will engage the Systems Unit

Measuring Angular Diameter Distances through Halo Clustering

Current and upcoming wide-field surveys for weak gravitational lensing and the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect will generate mass-selected catalogues of dark matter halos with internal or followup photometric redshift information. The angular power spectrum of these halos provides additional information that complements the previously-studied number counts. In particular, using the shape of the linear power spectrum as a standard ruler that is calibrated by cosmic microwave background measurements, we find that a survey of 4000 sqr. deg. and a mass threshold of 10^14 M_sun can be used to determine the comoving angular diameter distance as a function of redshift. In principle, this test also allows an absolute calibration of the distance scale and measurement of the Hubble constant. This test is largely insensitive to the details of halo mass measurements, mass function, and halo bias. Determination of these quantities would further allow a measurement of the linear growth rate of fluctuations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; final version published in ApJ Letter