Financial contagion among members of the EU-8: a cointegration and granger causality approach

The aim of this paper is to examine whether the banking crisis in the US and Western Europe that began in August 2007 spilled over to the currencies the EU-8 such that it could be viewed as financial contagion. The currencies of the EU-8 that will be studied are of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia, daily, from 2005 to 2008

The Canadian ‘Model Forest’ approach : a way forward for Tasmania?

Forest policy and forestry management in Tasmania have undergone a number of changes in the last thirty years, many explicitly aimed at improving industry sustainability, job security, and forest biodiversity conservation. Yet forestry remains a contentious issue in Tasmania, due to a number of interacting factors, most significant of which is the prevalence of a ‘command and control’ governance approach by policymakers and managers. New approaches such as multiple-stakeholder decision-making, adaptive management, and direct public participation in policymaking are needed. Such an approach has been attempted in Canada in the last decade, through the Canadian Model Forest Program, and may be suitable for Tasmania. This paper seeks to describe what the Canadian Model Forest approach is, how it may be implemented in Tasmania, and what role it may play in the shift to a new forestry paradigm. Until such a paradigm shift occurs contentions and confrontations are likely to continue

Prominence and flare fine structure from cross-field thermal conduction

Thermal conduction across a magnetic field is strongly suppressed compared with conduction along the field. However, if a flare is heated by a highly filamented beam directed along the field, then the array of heated cells in a cross-section of the flare will result in both small spatial scales (with consequently large temperature gradients) and a large surface area for the heated volume, providing a geometrical enhancement of the total cross-field energy flux. To investigate the importance of this filamentary geometry, we present a simple model of a single heated filament surrounded by an optically thin radiating shell, obtain an analytical expression for the stable equilibrium temperature profile within the shell, and use this to impose limits on the size of filament for which this model is appropriate. We find that this mechanism by itself is capable of transporting a power of the same order as a large flare, with a moderate range of filament sizes. The length scales are substantially smaller than can be resolved at present, although they should be regarded as underestimates.Comment: 7 pages, LaTeX, 4 figures. Source, figures and PS at http://www.astro.gla.ac.uk/preprints/95-05.html . To appear in A&

Making Ends Meet on Low Wages: The 2008 North Carolina Living Income Standard

Estimates incomes required to meet basic needs in the state by family type, region, and county compared to the federal poverty line and minimum wage. Analyzes changes in labor market conditions and suggests ways to support those who fall below the LIS