THE FEDERAL RESERVE AND EUROSYSTEM´S BALANCE SHEET POLICIES DURING THE FINANCIAL CRISIS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

The balance sheet developments of the Federal Reserve System have received increased attention during recent events. The Fed has expanded its balance sheet and also changed its composition in order to support the financial system. As a consequence the average quality of the assets have, on average, deteriorated. In a similar way, the ECB has recently implemented novel balance sheet policies. In this article we compare the balance sheet policies of these two central banks. We assess the differences in policy strategies and deduct consequences concerning the quality of the respective currencies, as well as future directions of monetary policy.Central Bank Balance Sheets, Quality of Money, Balance Sheet Analysis, Monetary Policy, Subprime Crisis

A new species of Lomanoxia Martínez from Costa Rica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Aphodiinae)

A new species of Lomanoxia Martínez is described from Costa Rica: L. canthonopsis Skelley and Howden. This represents the first member of the genus reported from Central America. The status of the tribe Lomanoxini Stebnicka is evaluated and is here synonymized under Eupariini LePeletier and Serville

Ethics and Monetary Theory: Is There a Common Middle Ground?

The current bust has brought a boom to at least one area: the subject of business ethics. While ethics in the general business realm is hotly debated, the monetary sphere is woefully neglected. Jörg Guido Hülsmann’s (2009) The Ethics of Money Production has revived interest in applying an ethical foundation to monetary theory – specifically, bouts of inflation. Given that Central Banks – those institutions entrusted with the control and issuance of a country’s currency – regularly “earn” profits far in excess of what conventional deposit banks report, an ethical assessment is in order. Pushing economics back to its original position as a “moral science” is a welcome move. Monetary economics may be the area most in need of this shift, and will yield the greatest advancements when it is finally achieved

Recasting Economics as if the Climate and Global Ecology Really Mattered

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Development and evaluation of a tool to assess television viewing during meals and fruit and vegetable consumption among families receiving services from EFNEP, FNP, and WIC

Studies have shown an association between the frequency of family meals and the meal time environment and the dietary quality of those meals, including the presence of fruits and vegetables. One aspect of meal time environment that may be an important factor is television viewing during meals. The purpose of this project was to develop and evaluate a family meal assessment tool to measure television viewing during meals and fruit and vegetable consumption within families served by the programs targeted by Indiana’s State Nutrition Action Plan (SNAP). A quantitative survey of family meal assessment questions was pilot tested with a sample of 144 participants in the three programs targeted by SNAP. The survey was then administered to 20 parents of children enrolled in Purdue\u27s Child Development lab schools to determine test-retest reliability. This sample completed the assessment twice, one week apart. A qualitative survey of how to most efficiently collect participant and intervention data was also administered. Six professionals and paraprofessionals representing the targeted populations evaluated the cover information page in a focus group setting, and 3 did so in open-ended interviews. To analyze data, principal component analysis (PCA), paired t-tests and Pearson correlation coefficients, and separate linear regression analysis were completed. The findings of this study were that all questions measuring television viewing during meals showed significant test-retest reliability (p\u3c.05). Increased television viewing during meals was negatively associated with fruit and vegetable intake (p\u3c .01). Questions were selected for the final SNAP Family Meal Assessment Tool based on response failure rates, test-retest reliability, and the relationship of family meal measures to fruit and vegetable intake. The family meal assessment questions fit on one page for ease and efficiency. The tool includes a cover page to collect data about participants and family meal education. In the future, this tool will be administered as a pretest before family meal education and again as a post-test at a follow-up visit. The tool can be easily administered and completed to effectively evaluate the impact of SNAP family meal education

Are There Threshold Concepts Associated with Learning to Become ‘Interprofessional’ and What Are the Implications for Exploring Practice-Based Learning?

Newly graduating health and social care professionals are expected to be able to work in ways that exemplify being interprofessional, that is, learning and working with others with an aim to improve collaboration and the quality of care. The threshold concepts framework (TCF) offers an approach to explore how to support students’ learning in relation to those elements of professional working. In particular, the TCF places focus on understanding how students navigate gateways or threshold concepts (TCs), which are viewed as learning experiences resulting in a transformed view of a discipline and of self: a transformation that is essential to development as a professional. This discussion piece draws upon a growing body of literature (grey literature, empirical, and theoretical work) to propose that there are TCs associated with learning to become interprofessional; for example, respect for interprofessional partnerships and person centred care. Building on the analysis of that work and the literature associated with interprofessional education, the discussion moves to consider how practice-based placements may be particularly rich sites for further exploration of becoming ‘interprofessional’ using the TCF

Feasibility study of resistance welding of aluminum alloys, stainless steel, and titanium in a hard vacuum Final report, Jun. 27, 1967 - Feb. 29, 1968

Tensile strength and X ray analysis of resistance spot welded aluminum and stainless steel alloy

Aspects of Sovereignty and the Evolving Regimes of Transboundary Water Management

This article examines the principle of State sovereignty in international law and how this affects the management of shared natural resources, in particular international watercourses. As one of the most fundamental principles of international law, State sovereignty is often considered an impediment to common management of international watercourses as it creates focus on national segments of the resource and on defining each State’s rights and entitlements to utilization. Through the study of alternative paradigms of State sovereignty, this article will endeavour to give new perspectives on how the principle can contribute to progressive development in the management of international shared resources.publishedVersio