ORGANIZATIONAL REFORM AND THE EXPANSION OF THE SOUTH’S VOICE AT THE FUND

What organizational reforms might increase the influence of developing member countries within the International Monetary Fund? In this paper we argue that a variety of organizational changes are both feasible and could substantially increase the ability of developing countries to articulate policy alternatives and advance change. We focus particularly on changes in the recruitment, training, career paths and deployment of the Fund’s staff. Our recommendations address two general issues. First, we explore ways to diversify the “intellectual portfolio” of the staff by drawing more effectively on hands-on knowledge of the concrete circumstances that shape policy outcomes in the South. More mid-career hiring of staff with practical experience inside developing country institutions could increase the degree to which the distinctive institutional circumstances of developing members are taken into account in formulating Fund policies and implementing them. Allocating a larger share of the Fund’s resources to research consulting contracts for researchers and institutions based in developing countries could also expand input of ideas that reflect the experience of member countries from the South. Second, large asymmetries in workload currently make it difficult for those working on the needs of developing members to formulate and advocate alternative policies. We suggest a number of ways in which even modest reallocation and addition of staff resources might create breathing space that would allow Executive Directors from developing countries to play a larger role in shaping the Fund’s policies.

Titanium additions to MgB2 conductors

A series of doping experiments are reported for MgB2 conductors that have been synthesized using doped boron fibers prepared by chemical vapor deposition(CVD) methods. Undoped MgB2 samples prepared from CVD prepared fibers consistently give critical current densities, Jc, in the range of 500,000 A/cm^2 in low field at 5K. These values fall by a factor of about 100 as the magnetic field increases to 3T. For heavily Ti-doped boron fibers where the B/Ti ratio is comparable to 1, there is a substantial suppression of both Tc, superconducting volume fraction, and Jc values. If, however, a sample with a few percent Ti in B is deposited on a carbon coated SiC substrate and reacted at 1100 degrees C for 15 min, then Tc is suppressed only a couple of degrees Kelvin and critical current densities are found to be approximately 2-5 x 10^6 A/cm^2 for superconducting layers ranging from 4-10 micrometers thick. These materials show Jc values over 10,000 A/cm^2 at 25K and 1.3 T.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Synthesis and Processing of MgB2MgB_2 powders and wires

Sintered powders and wires of superconducting $MgB_2$ have been fabricated under a variety of conditions in order to determine details of the diffusion of the $Mg$ into $B$ and to study the types of defects that arise during growth. For samples prepared by exposure of boron to $Mg$ vapor at $950^{\circ}C$, the conversion of particles of less than $100\mu m$ size particles to $MgB_2$ is complete in about $2 h$. The lattice parameters of the $MgB_2$ phase determined from X-ray are independent of the starting stoichiometry and the time of reaction. Wire segments of $MgB_2$ with very little porosity have been produced by reacting $141 \mu m$ diameter boron fibers in an atmosphere of excess $Mg$ vapor at $950^{\circ}C$. Defects in the reacted fibers are predominantly the voids left as the boron is converted to $MgB_2$

Perceptions of Stress Experienced by Student-Athletes in an Education Opportunity Program

Stress has been shown to have a negative impact on psychological and physical health. Individuals who experience chronic stress are at increased risk for serious health conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, coronary disease and some cancers as well as mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, disordered eating and substance use. The resulting conditions impact any area of an individual’s life such as academic or career endeavors. In the case of college students, experiences of stress impact student achievement and persistence. Research on student- athletes, underrepresented, first generation, and low-income students has shown these populations to be at increased risk for stress and the negative effects of stress experiences. This study aims to increase understanding of the experiences of student-athletes in an Education Opportunity Program (EOP). Participants indicated that they felt stressed sometimes to fairly often but felt in control of their lives. They identified academics, social, and personal wellness issues as concerns which caused them to experience stress. The new insights gained by this study will expand research in this area and could improve efforts by The College at Brockport EOP counselors to serve their student-athletes

Alien Registration- Finnemore, James (Fort Fairfield, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/35488/thumbnail.jp

Developments in Superconductivity

Key experiments leading to our present understanding of superconductivity are reviewed

Sir Neil and Glengyle

This broadside ballad about love and murder is of Scottish origin. It was first printed in Peter Buchan’s Ancient Ballads of the North of Scotland in 1828. Gavin Greig, in Folk-Song of the North-East, wrote that it seemed to be an 18th century ballad.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/songstorysamplercollection/1055/thumbnail.jp

Alien Registration- Finnemore, George W. (Bridgewater, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/26280/thumbnail.jp

Loan products to manage liquidity stress when broad-based black empowerment enterprises invest in productive assets

Investments in productive assets by broad-based black economic empowerment (BEE) enterprises in South Africa (SA) during the 1990s have been constrained, in part, by a lack of access to capital. Even if capital can be sourced, BEE businesses often face a liquidity problem, as conventional, equally amortized loan repayment plans do not take into account the size and timing of investment returns, or there are lags in the adjustment of management to such new investments. This paper describes five alternative loan products to the conventional equally amortized loan: the single payment non-amortized loan; the decreasing payment loan; the partial payment loan; the graduated payment loan; and the deferred payment loan. Recent SA experience with the graduated payment loan and the deferred payment loan suggests that there is scope to alleviate the liquidity problem if a wholesaler of funds can offer such terms to private banks and venture capital investors who then on-lend to finance BEE asset investments that are otherwise considered relatively high credit risks. This would shift the liquidity problem away from the client to the wholesaler of the funds, but requires access to capital at favourable interest rates. Such capital could be sourced from empowerment funds earmarked by the private sector, donors and government.Financial Economics,