The Basel Process and regional harmonisation in Asia

This paper examines the move toward greater harmonisation in banking supervision in Asia. Central banks in the Asia Pacific region have strengthened their cooperation through various channels. Equally important, international institutions including the Bank for International Settlements have responded to such trends by becoming more involved in regional forums and better accommodating the needs of regional economies. It discusses globalisation and regionalisation and concludes that they are not mutually exclusive concepts; instead they are complementary, as society can exploit the opportunities brought by the free economy while at the same time instilling prudence in the economy and the financial system. The so-called Basel Process is a key element of the global financial system. The influence of market participants has rendered the Basel Process more transparent and market oriented. On the other hand, rapid financial innovation has necessitated the cooperation of various Basel-based committees under the umbrella of the Financial Stability Forum. The paper points out that regional harmonisation can be achieved through the Basel Process and concludes that cooperation should be pursued in both crisis management and crisis prevention, emphasizing role of central banks in the latter

Strike action and self-help associations: Protest and culture of African workers after World War I, Zimbabwe

African Studies Seminar series. Paper presented 26 October 1987The years immediately following the armistice of the First World War witnessed the rapid growth of labour movements throughout the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, despite the region's relative weakness of capitalist penetration, the period was punctuated by stirrings of industrial discontent among African workers, apart from a contemporary spate of strikes by European workers in settler-dominated southern Africa. The places affected ranged from Freetown to Cape Town, from Lagos to Lourenco Marques, from Nairobi to Johannesburg and many other industrial centres. Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, was no exception. In the period from 1918 to 1921 African workers are known to have mounted several work stoppages in major towns, railways, mines, etc. throughout the colony. None of these disputes was more than a 'skirmish', lasting only a short while, but together they constituted a militant strike movement or movements. The first part of this essay is an attempt to describe this upsurge of labour protest. The protest on such a scale was perhaps the earliest of its kind in the colony's history and much of it has so far remained in obscurity; as such, it deserves to be accounted in detail. The image of the African worker that can be obtained from the first part is, insofar as its concern is restricted to the protest scenes, inescapably a very much simplified and abridged one: he is to be depicted as a man rationally and milltantly responding to economic realities of an industrial society. In order to probe more deeply into the character of the African worker, the labour protest of 1918-21 needs to be placed on a wider historical canvass. For this purpose, the second part of this essay addresses itself to a case study of the Tonga or Zambesi municipal workers in Salisbury (Harare) who staged a strike in August 1919. Its emphasis is upon penetrating the interior of the world which African migrants created in the face of everyday problems—a world, made of intimate human ties, where people found natural and effective forms of self-protection and self-assertion in the industrial situation

Shaping a more prosperous, sustainable future

Firma Fujitsu, prowadząc w Łodzi Global Delivery Center świadczące usługi dla globalnych klientów, bazuje na wzajemnym zaufaniu i dobrych relacjach z administracją rządową, lokalną społecznością i ze środowiskiem akademickim. Artykuł podsumowuje wizję Fujitsu mającą prowadzić ku dostatniej i stabilnej przyszłości. Pojęciem Human Centre Intelligent Society, Fujitsu określa społeczeństwo, w którym wspierani przez technologię informacyjną ludzie tworzą innowacyjne wartości służące wszystkim. Fujitsu koncentruje swoje wszystkie zasoby na realizacji tej wizji we współpracy ze swoimi klientami i partnerami. Artykuł rozpoczyna się od krótkiej prezentacji firmy i dalej omawia wizję Fujitsu, wyjaśniając: (1) czym przyszłość będzie różnić się od teraźniejszości; (2) na czym będzie polegać dążenie do innowacyjności; (3) co Fujitsu zamierza robić dla swoich klientów i społeczeństwa. Bardzo ważnym czynnikiem budowy pomyślnej przyszłości jest kształtowanie ekosystemu, tworzącego nowe wartości dla ludzi. W skład ekosystemu wchodzić będą różni udziałowcy – firmy biznesowe, instytucje akademickie i badawcze, administracja rządowa, społeczności i indywidualne osoby. Mamy nadzieję, że współpraca tego typu uczestników ekosystemu z Polski i Japonii będzie się rozwijać, co przyczyni się do wspólnego budowania lepszej przyszłości.The organizers of the conference wish to acknowledge the National Bank of Poland’s generous funding of this publication

Inhibition of Transpiration from the Inflorescence Extends the Vase Life of Cut Hydrangea Flowers

The relationship between transpiration from the inflorescence and the vase life of cut hydrangea 'Endless Summer' flowers was studied. In the defoliated cut flowers, the vase life increased with a decreasing number of decorative florets. Cut flowers having small inflorescences with 189 decorative florets exhibited a lower level of transpiration (7 g.day(-1)) and longer vase life (15 days) than those having large inflorescences with 422 decorative florets. The stomatal conductivity of the decorative sepals was very low, ranging from 2.7 mmol.m(-2).s(-1) to 3.3 mmol.m(-2).s(-1), and approximately 6% of the stomata were observed to be open microscopically. In addition, diurnal change of transpiration from a defoliated cut flower was not observed. These observations indicate that most of the transpiration from the sepals is through cuticular transpiration. The use of defoliated cut flowers that do not bear too many decorative florets and treatments that suppress transpiration from the surface of the decorative sepals would be effective for the vase life extension of cut hydrangea flowers.ArticleHorticulture Journal. 84(2):156-160 (2015)journal articl

Low oxygen consumption in slow sand filtration by effective removal of floating algae

Slow Sand Filtration (SSF) is a biolofical system to purify tap water. In this study, dissolced oxygen concentration and its diurnal changes were measured at three different production rate was almost the same in there three different SSF plants. Different tratments of floating algae were done in these SSF plants. The daily respiration rate at the Sodeyama plant was the lowest rate. The floating algae were effectively removed at this plant. Therefore, oxygen consumption by floating algae became minimal. The removal of floating algae reduces oxygen depression, even in the nighttime. Hence, it is effective remove of floating algae to make desirable filtrate water.Article信州大学山地水環境教育研究センター研究報告 2: 117-120(2004)departmental bulletin pape

Microvascular Pattern of the Retina in the Japanese Monkey (Macaca fuscata fuscata)

The microvascular architecture of the retina in the Japanese monkey was revealed using scanning electron microscopy of microvascular corrosion casts. At the optic nerve disc, the central retinal artery radiated to four primary retinal arterioles: the superior and inferior temporal arterioles and superior and inferior nasal arterioles. A dense retinal capillary network showed regional differences in density. The capillary networks observed were divided in four parts: the optic nerve disc, macula, equator, and ora serrata. At the optic nerve disc, the network was a multi-laminar structure containing the radial peripapillary capillaries in parallel with the nerve fibers at the innermost layer. At the macula, the retinal capillaries formed a ring around the central fovea which is an avascular area. At the equatorial part, the network was observed to be double-layered: a superficial capillary network located in the nerve fiber layer and a deep capillary network located at the external nuclear lamina. The former showed a 30-50 μm wide capillary-free zone (CFZ) around arterioles. The latter was undulated in smaller capillaries without the CFZ. At the ora serrata, the network changed to a single layer with coarse ovoid meshes, and the CFZ developed to 50-70 μm in width around arterioles. Hence, the microvasculature of the retina in the Japanese monkey showed regional variations correlating with the fine structure of the retinal layers, e.g., the multi-laminar capillary network for the thick nerve fiber layer at the optic nerve disc part, and the central avascular fovea for the absence of any structure inside the external nuclear lamina. Capillary-free zone occurred since the retinal capillaries were located in the same level as the arterioles

Spiral Structures in the Wall of the Hepatic Venous System in the Dog

Unique spiral structures, located in the wall of the hepatic venous system in the dog, were examined in the central veins and the hepatic venous branches, utilizing microvascular corrosion casting and freeze-fracture technique in scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy of tissue sections. The whole hepatic venous system was divided into 4 portions: the central, sublobular, collecting and branches of the hepatic veins. The central vein was spindle-shaped with several compressions. Removing the endothelial cells of the central vein, pathways of venous sinusoids were like a labyrinth. In the sublobular veins, spiral structures distinctly appeared as the diameter increased. Beneath the endothelial cells in the constricted portions, smooth muscle bundles were found. The spiral structures gradually became irregular in the collecting veins and discontinuous to form shallow constrictions in cast thicker branches of the intrahepatic veins. A single, fine spindle of the central vein was formed by the arrangement of liver cells. The spiral structures of the sublobular vein were formed by smooth muscle bundles. Irregularity of the spiral structures in the collecting veins was caused by smooth muscle bundles anastomosing with adjacent ones. Disappearance of the spiral structure in cast thicker branches of the intrahepatic veins was due to absence of muscle bundles

Do Americans Perceive Diverse Judges as Inherently Biased

Although women and minorities hold an increasing share of judgships in the United States, they remain underrepresented. We explore Americans’ perceptions of the bias of women and minority judges – one of the possible challenges to creating a diverse bench. We argue that prejudice against these groups manifests in a subtle way, in the belief that diverse judges cannot fairly adjudicate controversies that involve their ingroup. To test our theory, we use a list experiment specifically developed to minimize social desirability effects. We find that many respondents rate female and Hispanic judges to be biased decision makers. Our results highlight the nature of prejudice against female and Hispanic judges and suggest multiple important implications. They shed light on the reasons why female and Hispanic candidates for judgships may win at a lower rate and also suggest negative implications for the legitimacy of their decisions