Consumer protection and financial literacy : lessons from nine country studies

The recent turmoil in financial markets worldwide has emphasized the need for adequate consumer protection and financial literacy for long-term stability of the financial sector. This Working Paper aims to summarize key lessons from reviews of consumer protection and financial literacy in nine middle-income countries of Europe and Central Asia (Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, the Russian Federationand Slovakia). All the country assessments used a systematic common approach, based on a set of Good Practices for Consumer Protection and Financial Literacy developed by the World Bank's Europe and Central Asia Region. The objective of the Working Paper is to contribute to the international dialog on strengthening financial consumer protection and financial literacy in emerging markets.A financial consumer protection regime should meet three objectives. First, consumers should receive accurate, simple, comparable information of a financial service or product, before and after buying it. Second, consumers should have access to expedient, inexpensive and efficient mechanisms for dispute resolution with financial institutions. Third, consumers should be able to receive financial education when and how they want it. A common challenge among the nine countries is the need of an adequate institutional structure for financial consumer protection. However independent of the specific institutional structures, financial consumers should have one single agency where to submit complaints and inquiries. Financial institutions should be required to apply fair, non-coercive and reasonable practices when selling and advertising financial products and services to consumers. Personal data should also be carefully protected.Financial Literacy,Access to Finance,Emerging Markets,Debt Markets,Bankruptcy and Resolution of Financial Distress

Puff, an Interactive Microwave Computer Aided Design Program for Personal Computers

We will demonstrate a CAD program designed for the lay out and analysis of microstrip circuits. The program runs on the IBM PC or AT. Circuit elements are selected from a parts list and drawn on the screen using the cursor keys. The analysis may then be performed, directly from the screen drawing. Puff has been used by microwave students in classes at the California Institute of Technology and the University of California at Los Angeles

Elf: computer automation and error correction for a microwave network analyzer

A microwave measurement system has been developed that combines a personal computer (PC) and an conventional vector network analyzer to yield a full complex-error-corrected automatic network analyzer. The system consists of a Hewlett-Packard HP 8410C network analyzer, an HP 8350B sweep oscillator, and an IBM PC. A program called Elf runs on the PC, performing calibration and measurement algorithms and providing a flexible, menu-oriented user interface. The system, when calibrated, achieves a worst-case measurement error vector of magnitude ≤ 0.02 for transmission and reflection coefficient measurements over the 2-12.4-GHz frequency range and has a measurement speed of three frequency points/s. Elf provides an inexpensive method for upgrading the HP 8410 to achieve the high accuracy of an automatic network analyzer

Pulsed Film Cooling on a Turbine Blade Leading Edge

Unsteadiness in gas turbine film cooling jets may arise due to inherent unsteadiness of the flow through an engine or may be induced as a means of flow control. The traditional technique used to evaluate the performance of a steady film cooling scheme is demonstrated to be insufficient for use with unsteady film cooling and is modified to account for the cross coupling of the time dependent adiabatic effectiveness and heat transfer coefficient. The addition of a single term to the traditional steady form of the net heat flux reduction equation with time averaged quantities accounts for the unsteady effects. An experimental technique to account for the influence of the new term was devised and used to measure the influence of a pulsating jet on the net heat flux in the leading edge region of a turbine blade. High spatial resolution data was acquired in the near-hole region using infrared thermography coupled with experimental techniques that allowed application of the appropriate thermal boundary conditions immediately adjacent to the film cooling hole. The turbine blade leading edge was simulated by a half cylinder in cross flow with a blunt afterbody. The film cooling geometry consisted of a coolant hole located 21.5° from the leading edge, angled 20° to the surface and 90° from the streamwise direction. Investigated parameters include pulsation frequency, duty cycle, and waveform shape. Separate experiments were conducted in a water channel to provide visualization of the unsteady coolant propagation behavior. Further insight into the flow physics was obtained through computational simulations of the experimental apparatus. The computational results afforded time resolved flow field and net heat flux reduction data unobtainable with the experimental techniques. A technique to predict the performance of an unsteady film cooling scheme through knowledge of only the steady film cooling behavior was developed and demonstrated to be effective

The Impact of a Culturally Responsive Intervention on Perceived Career Barriers, Ethnic Identity, Student Motivation and Engagement, and Career Decision Making Self-Efficacy of Middle School Minority Females

This study investigated the impact of a culturally responsive intervention on perceived career barriers, ethnic identity, student motivation and engagement, and career decision making self-efficacy of middle school minority females. The author analyzed data from the Female Leadership Academy for Minority Excellence (FLAME) program at a local rural middle school. Data was collected from 34 Black female middle school students who participated in the program. The study was a repeated measures quasi-experimental, quantitative single group pre-test, mid-test, and post-test design. According to results from a series of repeated measures ANOVAs, significant differences were found between pre-group, mid-group, and post-group scores. Upon further analysis, significant differences were found between specific subscales of the student motivation and engagement survey. Specifically, differences were found between pre-group and mid-group and pre-group and post-group scores on the Performance Approach Orientation (ME_PerfApproach) subscale. Differences were also found between pre-group and post-group scores on the self-efficacy subscale (ME_SelfE) as well as between pre-group and mid-group and between mid-group and post-group scores for the Engagement Behavioral subscale (ME_Bx). Regarding the last research question, significant differences were found between pre-group and post-group and mid-group and post-group scores when examining perceived career barriers. The results from the Career Decision Making Self-Efficacy and the Ethnic Identity scale did not yield significant results. These results provide initial support in suggesting that culturally responsive career development programs do impact career development of minority middle school females especially in the areas of student motivation and engagement and perceived career barriers

The effects of atomic oxygen on the thermal emittance of high temperature radiator surfaces

Radiator surfaces on high temperature space power systems such as SP-100 space nuclear power system must maintain a high emittance level in order to reject waste heat effectively. One of the primary materials under consideration for the radiators is carbon-carbon composite. Since carbon is susceptible to attack by atomic oxygen in the low earth orbital environment, it is important to determine the durability of carbon composites in this environment as well as the effect atomic oxygen has on the thermal emittance of the surface if it is to be considered for use as a radiator. Results indicate that the thermal emittance of carbon-carbon composite (as low as 0.42) can be enhanced by exposure to a directed beam of atomic oxygen to levels above 0.85 at 800 K. This emittance enhancement is due to a change in the surface morphology as a result of oxidation. High aspect ratio cones are formed on the surface which allow more efficient trapping of incident radiation. Erosion of the surface due to oxidation is similar to that for carbon, so that at altitudes less than approximately 600 km, thickness loss of the radiator could be significant (as much as 0.1 cm/year). A protective coating or oxidation barrier forming additive may be needed to prevent atomic oxygen attack after the initial high emittance surface is formed. Textured surfaces can be formed in ground based facilities or possibly in space if emittance is not sensitive to the orientation of the atomic oxygen arrival that forms the texture

Surface parameters of stannic oxide in powder, ceramic, and gel form by nitrogen adsorption techniques Interim report

Surface parameters of stannic oxide in powder, ceramic, and gel form by nitrogen adsorption techniques - analysis of adsorption isotherm

Millimeter-Wave Diffraction by a Photo-Induced Plasma Grating

Optical gratings are used extensively for beamsteering in the visible and IR range of the spectrum. Change in the dielectric permittivity of a semiconductor medium resulting from the excitation of a nonequilibrium electron-hole plasma makes it possible to extend this technique to MMW frequencies. A photo-induced plasma grating (PIPG) can be easily rewritten by changing the illumination pattern. So this technique can be used in optically controllable MMW antennas. Initial experimental work studied the diffraction of MMW propagating along a dielectric waveguide containing a PIPG. This paper reports on the diffraction of MMW propagating in free space, steered by the PIPG

Using click-evoked auditory brainstem response waveforms to measure hearing Loss in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)

Developing an improved methodology for efficient and informative hearing assessment in marine mammals would prove insightful in expanding current knowledge regarding marine mammal hearing sensitivity, particularly in studying the effects of anthropogenic noise. This study examines the click-evoked auditory brainstem response in relation to upper frequency limit of hearing in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) as a proxy for hearing capacity