Debt containment rules in the era of true and fair accounting : fiscal leeway between hammer and anvil

Deviations from modern public sector accounting principles and standards are potentially politically motivated. To avoid jeopardizing adherence to the institutionalized self-constraining debt brake mechanisms, financial flexibility is aimed to be preserved in the institutional framework governing public finances. This paper elaborates and discusses potential tensions between debt containment rules and the application of true and fair accounting at the example of three Swiss cantons by building on case-based empirical evidence, which was gained out of semi-structured interviews. Abweichungen gegenüber den heutigen Rechnungslegungsstandards und -prinzipien des öffentlichen Gemeinwesens sind potentiell politisch motiviert. Um die Einhaltung der selbst auferlegten Schuldenbremsen nicht zu gefährden, ist man versucht finanzpolitischen Spielraum zu bewahren und den institutionellen Rahmen zur Steuerung öffentlicher Finanzen entsprechend zu gestalten und auszurichten. Dieser Beitrag untersucht und diskutiert mögliche Spannungsfelder zwischen Schuldenbremse-Regelungen und der Anwendung von modernen Rechnungslegungsnormen am Beispiel von drei Kantonen

Photoconductivity & photoelectron emission of LiGaO2 crystal excited in intrinsic absorption range

This research is funded by the Latvian Council of Science, project “Research of luminescence mechanisms and dosimeter properties in prospective nitrides and oxides using TL and OSL methods], project No. lzp-2018/0361.The photoelectric response spectra were studied in a LiGaO2 crystal. The obtained spectra were interpreted as the release and diffusion of charge carriers, as well as external photoemission of electrons. The charge carrier release starts from excitation with a photon with energy greater than the optical gap of the LiGaO2 crystal (∼6 eV). The efficiency of generation of charge carriers exponentially increases up to 8 eV with saturation beginning from 9 eV. The nature of the photoelectric response is attributed to the Dember effect corresponding to the higher mobility of electrons compared to holes. The low yield of the internal photoelectron in the range of the intrinsic absorption band at 6 eV is associated with its exciton nature. Above 9.5–10 eV, an additional response was revealed that was interpreted as external photoelectron emission with a threshold of about Eth = 10.1 ± 0.2 eV. The relative emission yield of electrons increases as (hν - Eth)3, which corresponds to indirect transitions between the valence and conduction bands. The emission of photoelectrons for the direct band-to-band transitions increases linearly with the photon energy and the corresponding threshold is defined as 12.7 ± 0.2 eV.Latvian Council of Science lzp-2018/0361; Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART

Call Energie Projekt : Kantonale Beteiligungen an EVUs im Kontext moderner Finanzberichterstattung am Beispiel des Kantons Graubünden

Schweizer Kantone sind massgeblich an Energieversorgungsunternehmen (EVU) beteiligt. So befinden sich beispielsweise Unternehmen wie Axpo, Alpiq, BKW oder Repower AG mehrheitlich im Besitz eines oder mehrerer Kantone. Im Rahmen des ersten Working Papers wurde untersucht, wie eine modernere Finanzberichterstattung wie HRM2 oder IPSAS, Chancen und Risiken aus öffentlich-rechtlichen Beteiligungsportfolios an EVUs transparenter darstellen kann und somit einen breiteren politischen Diskurs über strategische Beteiligungsentscheide ermöglicht. Das zweite Working Paper dieser Serie knüpft an die Ergebnisse des ersten Papers an, indem die betriebswirt-schaftlichen, finanzrechtlichen und finanzpolitischen Implikationen der Einführung von HRM2 in Sinne einer modernen und transparenten Finanzberichterstattung dargelegt werden. Die Ergebnisse beruhen auf einer Fallstudie des Kantons Graubünden und seiner namhaften Beteiligung an der Repower AG. Als Datengrundlage dienen 4 Experteninterviews mit Vertretern des Kantons Graubünden sowie die Jahresrechnungen der Jahre 2011 bis 2015. Zudem wurde die neu erarbeitete Eignerstrategie, welche der Kanton Graubünden für seine Beteiligung an der Repower AG ausgearbeitet hat, mitberücksichtigt. Die Resultate zeigen, dass im Rahmen der HRM2-Einführung eine neue Zuteilung der Repower-Beteiligung vom Verwaltungsvermögen ins Finanzvermögen stattgefunden hat, was Implikationen in mehreren Bereichen zur Folge hatte. Die HRM2 Empfehlungen werden im neuen Finanzhaushaltsgesetz (FHG) in Graubünden umgesetzt, wodurch sie Gesetzescharakter erhielten und somit finanzrechtlich relevant sind. Aus betriebswirtschaftlicher Perspektive wurde eine Marktbewertung der Beteiligungen vorgenommen, was insbesondere im Kontext tiefer Strommarktpreise und tieferen Ertragsprognosen der Repower AG zu substantiellen Wertkorrekturen in der Bilanz, bzw. der Erfolgsrechnung und den daraus folgenden Erfolgsbelastungen führte. Aus finanzpolitischer Perspektive ergibt sich dadurch die Fragestellung, wie mit (veräusserbaren) Beteiligungen ohne Renditepotential umzugehen ist. Aus dieser Fragestellung lässt sich ein Zielkonflikt ableiten, da Beteiligungen im Finanzvermögen primär zur Renditeabsicht gehalten werden, und weniger deshalb, weil damit eine öffentliche Aufgabe sowie regional- und volkswirtschaftliche Ziele verfolgt werden. Konkret stellt sich die Frage, ob die Zuordnung der Beteiligungen am EVU Repower AG zum Finanzvermögen, allenfalls zu überprüfen ist

Comparison of Luminescence in LiGaO2, Al2 O3 -Ga and Al2 O3 -Li Crystals

We have studied luminescence of LiGaO 2 , Al 2 O 3 -Ga and Al 2 O 3 -Li crystals in order to reveal the nature of luminescence centres and mechanisms in these crystals. In Al 2 O 3 -Ga presence of Ga impurities determines occurrence of the 280 nm emission band, which demonstrates intra-centre character in photoluminescence and recombination character under X-ray irradiation. In Al 2 O 3 -Li crystal lithium induced luminescence is presented with the 326 nm band, which has a recombination character. Basing on spectral similarity of the main luminescence bands in pure LiGaO 2 crystal with the dopant-induced emission bands in Al 2 O 3 , and on peculiarities of the X-ray induced thermoluminescence, the adjustment of the previous luminescence interpretation is done. It is proposed that the donor-acceptor pairs with random separation distribution responsible for the 280 nm emission are represented with gallium Ga (plus an electron) and O (plus a hole) pairs, while the donor-acceptor pairs, producing the 330 nm emission band contain a lithium ion, presumably in the interstitial position Li i , and a neighbouring oxygen ion with a caught hole.Latvian Council of Science Grant No. lzp-2018/1-0361; Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART

Optical Properties of Natural and Synthetic Minerals

The results of investigation of optical absorption and photoluminescence (PL) of topaz, beryl and yttrium aluminium garnet crystals doped with different concentrations of transition ions exposed to fast neutron irradiation and electron irradiation are presented. We suppose that irradiation leads to the formation of two types of complex centers: "Me2+-F+ (or F) centre" and complex centers, which consist of a cation vacancy and an impurity (iron, manganese and chromium) ion. Exchange interaction between radiation defects and impurity ions during neutron or electron irradiation gives rise to appearance of additional absorption and luminescence band broadening in investigated crystals

UV light induced processes in pure and doped AlN ceramics

The present research has been sponsored by the Latvian Council of Science , Grant No. lzp-2018/1-0361 “Research of luminescence mechanisms and dosimeter properties in prospective nitrides and oxides using TL and OSL methods “; Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 73950 , project CAMART 2AlN ceramics samples, pure and doped with Y2O3, Eu2O3 and GaN, and produced from the same AlN powder, were studied for photoelectric effect, photoluminescence spectra and kinetics and thermoluminescence under irradiation with UV light from above- and below-bandgap spectral region. Common properties of all studied samples were found, such as presence of the complex UV-Blue and Red emission bands in PL and TL emission due to oxygen-related defects and manganese impurities, correspondingly; a new emission band at 320 nm, which is present in PL and absent in TL emission spectrum and is assigned to an oxygen-related centre; luminescence decay comprised of superposition of exponents of various duration from nanoseconds to hundreds of minutes. Among the studied samples the dopant-related luminescence was observed only in AlN:Eu2O3 at 525 nm. No effect of the dopants on fading rate of the stored TL signal was observed. Such properties of the PL and TL as luminescence intensity and relative contribution of the emission bands manifested by individual samples were explained by influence of the dopant type and ceramics sintering procedure on generation and recharging of the intrinsic and impurity defects. © 2021 The Authors. Published under the CC BY license.Latvian Council of Science , Grant No. lzp-2018/1-0361; Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 73950 , project CAMART

Influence of Stress on Electronic and Optical Properties of Rocksalt and Wurtzite MgO–ZnO Nanocomposites with Varying Concentrations of Magnesium and Zinc

The financial support of M-ERA.NET project “ZnMgO materials with tunable band gap for solar-blind UV sensors” (ZMOMUVS) is greatly acknowledged. The Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia, as the Center of Excellence, has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Program H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement no. 739508, project CAMART2. The calculations were performed at the Latvian SuperCluster (LASC) located at the Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia.The structural, electronic and optical properties of stressed MgO–ZnO nanocomposite alloys with concentrations of Zn and Mg varying from 0.125 to 0.875 were studied using ab initio simulations. Two crystal structures are considered for the initial MgO–ZnO alloys: the rocksalt Mg (Formula presented.) Zn (Formula presented.) O and wurtzite Zn (Formula presented.) Mg (Formula presented.) O phases. For rocksalt Mg (Formula presented.) Zn (Formula presented.) O, the optimized structures are stable at pressures below 10 GPa. The larger the Mg concentration and pressure, the wider the (Formula presented.) of the rocksalt phase. In contrast, the optimal geometries of wurtzite Zn (Formula presented.) Mg (Formula presented.) O reveal a diversity of possibilities, including rocksalt, wurtzite and mixed phases. These effects lead to the fact that the optical properties of wurtzite Zn (Formula presented.) Mg (Formula presented.) O not only demonstrate the properties of the wurtzite phase but also indicate the optical features of the rocksalt phase. In addition, mixed phases of Zn (Formula presented.) Mg (Formula presented.) O simultaneously provide the characteristics of both wurtzite and rocksalt phases with the same structures in different dielectric matrices. © 2022 by the authors. --//-- This is an open access publication Lin Y.-P., Piskunov S., Trinkler L., Chou M.M.-C., Chang L. "Influence of Stress on Electronic and Optical Properties of Rocksalt and Wurtzite MgO–ZnO Nanocomposites with Varying Concentrations of Magnesium and Zinc" (2022) Nanomaterials, 12 (19), art. no. 3408, DOI: 10.3390/nano12193408 published under the CC BY 4.0 licence.M-ERA.NET project “ZnMgO materials with tunable band gap for solar-blind UV sensors” (ZMOMUVS); the Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Program H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement no. 739508, project CAMART2