Developments, Issues, and Initiatives in Retail Payments

Innovations in basic information technologies, in payment applications, and in the availability of global markets, as well as substantial changes in financial sector policy, have fundamentally changed how the retail payments system in Canada operates. Principally, the volume and types of electronic payments have grown, and there is increased participation by diverse groups of financial and non-financial institutions as providers of retail payment services. The resulting policy problem for payment systems is how best to benefit from efficiency gains while managing payment risks. O'Connor examines the effect of the technological and legislative changes and the initiatives developed by the public and private sectors in such areas as the market arrangements for services; customer risks and costs for settling large-value retail payments; the security of payment information and the efficiency with which it is transmitted; and the effects of differing regulatory regimes on competition among providers of retail payment services.

Credit in a Tiered Payments System

Payments systems are typically characterized by some degree of tiering, with upstream firms (clearing agents) providing settlement accounts to downstream institutions that wish to clear and settle payments indirectly in these systems (indirect clearers). Clearing agents provide their indirect clearers with an essential input (clearing and settlement services), while also competing directly with them in the retail market for payment services. The authors construct a model of a clearing agent with an indirect clearer to examine the clearing agent's incentives to lever off its upstream position to gain a competitive advantage in the retail payment services market. The model demonstrates that a clearing agent can attain this competitive advantage by raising the indirect clearer's costs, but that the incentive to raise these costs is mitigated by credit risk to the clearing agent from the provision of uncollateralized overdrafts to its indirect clearer. The results suggest that tiered payments systems, which require clearing agents to provide overdraft facilities to their indirect clearers, may result in a more competitive retail payment services market.Financial institutions; Financial services; Market structure and pricing; Payment, clearing, and settlement systems

Wireless Monitoring Systems for Long-Term Reliability Assessment of Bridge Structures based on Compressed Sensing and Data-Driven Interrogation Methods.

The state of the nation’s highway bridges has garnered significant public attention due to large inventories of aging assets and insufficient funds for repair. Current management methods are based on visual inspections that have many known limitations including reliance on surface evidence of deterioration and subjectivity introduced by trained inspectors. To address the limitations of current inspection practice, structural health monitoring (SHM) systems can be used to provide quantitative measures of structural behavior and an objective basis for condition assessment. SHM systems are intended to be a cost effective monitoring technology that also automates the processing of data to characterize damage and provide decision information to asset managers. Unfortunately, this realization of SHM systems does not currently exist. In order for SHM to be realized as a decision support tool for bridge owners engaged in performance- and risk-based asset management, technological hurdles must still be overcome. This thesis focuses on advancing wireless SHM systems. An innovative wireless monitoring system was designed for permanent deployment on bridges in cold northern climates which pose an added challenge as the potential for solar harvesting is reduced and battery charging is slowed. First, efforts advancing energy efficient usage strategies for WSNs were made. With WSN energy consumption proportional to the amount of data transmitted, data reduction strategies are prioritized. A novel data compression paradigm termed compressed sensing is advanced for embedment in a wireless sensor microcontroller. In addition, fatigue monitoring algorithms are embedded for local data processing leading to dramatic data reductions. In the second part of the thesis, a radical top-down design strategy (in contrast to global vibration strategies) for a monitoring system is explored to target specific damage concerns of bridge owners. Data-driven algorithmic approaches are created for statistical performance characterization of long-term bridge response. Statistical process control and reliability index monitoring are advanced as a scalable and autonomous means of transforming data into information relevant to bridge risk management. Validation of the wireless monitoring system architecture is made using the Telegraph Road Bridge (Monroe, Michigan), a multi-girder short-span highway bridge that represents a major fraction of the U.S. national inventory.PhDCivil EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116749/1/ocosean_1.pd

Core-Collapse Supernova Simulations including Neutrino Interactions from the Virial EOS

Core-collapse supernova explosions are driven by a central engine that converts a small fraction of the gravitational binding energy released during core collapse to outgoing kinetic energy. The suspected mode for this energy conversion is the neutrino mechanism, where a fraction of the neutrinos emitted from the newly formed protoneutron star are absorbed by and heat the matter behind the supernova shock. Accurate neutrino-matter interaction terms are crucial for simulating these explosions. In this proceedings for IAUS 331, SN 1987A, 30 years later, we explore several corrections to the neutrino-nucleon scattering opacity and demonstrate the effect on the dynamics of the core-collapse supernova central engine via two dimensional neutrino-radiation-hydrodynamics simulations. Our results reveal that the explosion properties are sensitive to corrections to the neutral-current scattering cross section at the 10-20% level, but only for densities at or above $\sim 10^{12}$ g cm$^{-3}$Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, appears in Proc. IAU Symposium 331, SN 1987A, 30 years later - Cosmic Rays and Nuclei from Supernovae and Their Aftermath

Developing an understanding of Post Traumatic Growth : Implications and application for research and intervention

Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) has been shown to occur following a range of traumatic experiences and interest in the construct has increased exponentially in recent years. Through a systematic literature review, this paper explores PTG’s philosophical and theoretical foundations, reviews some of the controversies surrounding its definition, measurement, and characterisation, and seeks to elicit some common factors supporting its development. Of particular interest are the potential applications and implications of these factors in broader contexts. PTG’s theoretical links to Expert Companionship, Organismic Valuing Theory, and Self Determination Theory, and the role of narrative in rebuilding personality, all indicate alignment with the philosophy and practice of positive psychology. While the study of this area is still evolving, this paper suggests there are many potential applications and implications of PTG

The coaching ripple effect: The effects of developmental coaching on wellbeing across organisational networks

Background It has been argued that the quality of daily interactions within organisations effects the wellbeing of both individuals and the broader organisation. Coaching for leadership development is one intervention often used to create organisation-wide changes in culture and wellbeing. Leadership style has been associated with employee stress and wellbeing. Coaching has also been shown to improve individual level measures of wellbeing. However, almost all the research into the effectiveness of coaching interventions assumes a linear model of change, and expects that any flow-on effects are also linear. In other words, much of the research assumed that any change in the leader has relatively uniform effects on the wellbeing of others, and that these effects can be adequately accessed via standard linear statistical analyses. We argue that linear approaches do not take the complexity of organisations seriously, and that Complex Adaptive Systems theory (CAS) provides a useful non-linear approach to thinking about organisational change and the wellbeing of individuals embedded in these systems. The relatively new methodology of Social Network Analysis (SNA) provides researchers with analytic tools designed to access the relational components of complex systems. This paper reports on changes observed in the relational networks of an organisation following a leadership coaching intervention. Methods An AB design coaching intervention study was conducted across an organisation (N = 225). Wellbeing measures were taken for all employees and a social network analysis was conducted on the degree and quality of all organisational interactions. Twenty leaders (n = 20) received 8 coaching sessions. Individual self report measures of goal attainment as well as 360 feedbacks on transformational leadership were assessed in the control, pre and post intervention periods. Results A significant increase in the goal attainment, transformational leadership and psychological wellbeing measures were observed for those who received coaching. Average change in the perceived quality of interaction improved for those who received coaching. However there was a decline in the perceived quality of the interaction others believed they were having with those who were coached. It was also found that the closer any member of the network was identified as being connected to those who received coaching, the more likely they were to experience positive increases in wellbeing. Conclusions This research highlights the influence of leadership coaching beyond the individual leader, and has important implications for organisational wellbeing initiatives and how we measure the impact of interventions aimed at organisational change. Our findings suggest a more nuanced approach is needed in designing interventions in complex adaptive systems

First Steps on the Quality Journey

The Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) prides itself on its paramount attention to quality. CHS hydrographers and cartographers have long held the banner of ‘quality’ as the ‘flagship of service’. The dramatic revolution in technology, client demands and organisational culture has shaken the historic pillars of quality assurance in CHS. In response, CHS is moving to reinforce this foundation of quality with a new business model anchored by the culture of a Quality Management System. This paper will reflect on the changed environment that faces CHS and the quality lessons in the global marketplace that can be applied to a hydrographic organisation. It will explore the first steps that CHS has taken on this journey as it moves toward the goal of becoming an ISO 9000 certified ‘quality-organisation’