Numerical Study of Velocity Statistics in Steady Counterflow Quantum Turbulence

We investigate the velocity statistics by calculating the Biot--Savart velocity induced by vortex filaments in steady counterflow turbulence investigated in a previous study [Phys. Rev. B {\bf 81}, 104511 (2010)]. The probability density function (PDF) obeys a Gaussian distribution in the low-velocity region and a power-law distribution $v^{-3}$ in the high-velocity region. This transition between the two distributions occur at the velocity characterized by the mean inter-vortex distance. Counterflow turbulence causes anisotropy of the vortex tangle, which leads to a difference in the PDF for the velocities perpendicular to and parallel to the counterflow.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figure

The vertex groups of connected tree products of groupoids and HNN groupoids

Imperial Users onl

Operationalizing the State: Notes on Military Responses to Environmental Disasters

Over the past decade, Canadians have seen our armed forces increasingly deployed in response to environmental disasters. In 1996, the Saguenay River in eastern Quebec flooded, destroying homes in the region and bursting hydroelectric dams. In 1996 the Red River overflowed its banks, flooding large areas of central Manitoba; the largest Canadian military force deployed since the Korean War (8400 personnel) was sent in to contain the flood and deliver emergency supplies under Operation Assistance. In response to the Ice Storm in 1998, which left millions of Canadians in Quebec and eastern Ontario without power, the Department of National Defence launched Operation Recuperation, which it called “the largest deployment of troops ever to serve on Canadian soil in response to a natural disaster” (www.forcesgc.ca/site/operations/recuperation_e.asp). Climate change and the growing incidence of extreme weather mean we have most likely not seen the last of this new humanitarian role for the military

The nexus between mobile phones diffusion, financial inclusion and economic growth: evidence on African countries.

Doctor of Philosophy in Finance. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2018.The following thesis comprises three discrete empirical essays on the interplay among mobile phones diffusion, financial inclusion and economic growth in Africa. The first essay examines the condition of financial inclusion and its determinants in Africa. Using the World Development Indicators and the Principal Component Analysis to compute the financial inclusion index for 49 African countries over the period 2004 to 2016, the study finds low levels of financial inclusion in Africa compared to other regions. The region is also characterised by large financial inclusion gaps as shown by the minimum and maximum financial inclusion levels of 0 percent and 82 percent respectively. Since policymakers have over the past decade embraced both financial inclusion and economic growth as key policy initiatives, the second essay examines the interplay between financial inclusion and economic growth in terms of the transmission effect and nature of causality. To the best of the researcher’s knowledge, this is the first study to explore the transmission effect between financial inclusion and economic growth using a unique and robust Cointegrated Panel Structural Vector Autoregressive model. The study finds the existence of a cointegrating relationship between financial inclusion and economic growth. It also provides evidence that the relationship between financial inclusion and economic growth in Africa is growth-led supporting the demand following hypothesis. The increased internet-enabled phones adoption in Africa has also caused much optimism and speculation regarding its effects on financial inclusion. Policymakers, various studies and the media have all vaunted the potentials of mobile phones for financial inclusion. Therefore, this study examines the interplay between mobile phones and financial inclusion in Africa for the 2004-2016 period using pairwise Granger causality test and found that mobile phones Granger cause financial inclusion. The literature on financial inclusion has identified high-quality institutions and governance as the determinants of financial inclusion. Lack of deeper understanding of these issues results in ill-informed policy designs. Despite the cascading literature on issues impacting financial inclusion, the empirical literature on the impact of institutional quality and governance on financial inclusion are rare. Therefore, the third essay evaluates the impacts of institutional quality and governance on financial inclusion in Africa. Applying the two-step system generalised method of moments model, the study finds a positive relationship between institutional quality, governance and financial inclusion, indicating that good governance and economic freedom can lead to increases in financial inclusion. The study concluded that African countries have low levels of financial inclusion with a strong relationship between financial inclusion and other variables such as mobile phones diffusion, bank competition, financial stability, institutional quality and governance. The study recommended institutions to make the most out of the high concentration of the rural population to rollout high-volume transactions, rather than clustering in areas with the high-value transaction and to craft policies that remove restrictions to entrance in the banking sector thereby enhancing bank competition. Policymakers should also not just focus on enhancing financial inclusion, without corresponding improvements in institutional quality, governance, financial sector size, financial stability and financial sector development as they positively contribute to financial inclusion. The study also recommended the implementation of pro-growth policies and a review of existing banking sector policies to eradicate unnecessary barriers to financial inclusion

Selection principle for the Fleming-Viot process with drift −1-1

We consider the Fleming-Viot particle system consisting of $N$ identical particles evolving in $\mathbb{R}_{>0}$ as Brownian motions with constant drift $-1$. Whenever a particle hits $0$, it jumps onto another particle in the interior. It is known that this particle system has a hydrodynamic limit as $N\rightarrow\infty$ given by Brownian motion with drift $-1$ conditioned not to hit $0$. This killed Brownian motion has an infinite family of quasi-stationary distributions (QSDs), with a Yaglom limit given by the unique QSD minimising the survival probability. On the other hand, for fixed $N<\infty$, this particle system converges to a unique stationary distribution as time $t\rightarrow\infty$. We prove the following selection principle: the empirical measure of the $N$-particle stationary distribution converges to the aforedescribed Yaglom limit as $N\rightarrow\infty$. The selection problem for this particular Fleming-Viot process is closely connected to the microscopic selection problem in front propagation, in particular for the $N$-branching Brownian motion. The proof requires neither fine estimates on the particle system nor the use of Lyapunov functions.Comment: 25 page

Thinking about and working with archives and records: a personal reflection on theory and practice

Looking back over a career that has lasted 40 years (so far) the author reflects on developments in his own thinking and the influences involved. Not least amongst these are: the British public records tradition which predominated at UCL when he studied there; the American historical manuscripts tradition which was in the process of aligning with strands of postmodernism when he held visiting fellowships in the USA; the reconfiguration of Records Management in sub-Saharan Africa in response to public sector reform in which he was involved as an advisor; and the experience of teaching postgraduate students in Britain and overseas. The author’s publications have appeared in a wide range of journals and as monographs, some of them published overseas. Here he draws together the common strands that connect them. Finally he argues that hermeneutic techniques and the concept of fiduciarity deserve to be given serious consideration in debates about archive and records theory

Financial Inclusion Condition of African Countries

The title This study assessed the financial inclusion environment and its determinants in Africa. We used the Financial Inclusion index computed through the Principal Component Analysis that is generally acknowledged as the best at estimating the financial inclusion level and the two-step system GMM approach with robust and orthogonal deviation option to study countries for the period 2004 to 2016. We found wide discrepancies in financial inclusion amongst the 49 African countries under study. Only two countries had an average financial inclusion index above 50 percent, and the majority are below 40 percent validating the argument that the African region&nbsp;need immediate intervention. Hence, we concluded that the African region has financial inclusion gaps and is contestable. As such, we recommend, among other things, that policy makers should device measures to ensure an ongoing financially inclusive environment while stimulating other variables which acts as barriers to financial inclusion.&nbsp

Financial Inclusion Condition in Africa and its determinants

This study assessed&nbsp;the financial inclusion condition in Africa&nbsp;and its determinants. We used the Financial Inclusion index computed through the Principal Component Analysis to study countries for the period 2004 to 2016. We found wide discrepancies in financial inclusion amongst the 49 African countries under study. Only two countries had an average financial inclusion index above 50 percent, and the majority are below 40 percent validating the argument that the African region&nbsp;need immediate intervention. Hence, we concluded that the African region has financial inclusion gaps and is contestable. We also found a significant positive relationship between financial inclusion and other variables such as its lagged value, financial development, income level,and availability of credit and&nbsp;a negative association with&nbsp;money supply, inflation and population size.As such, we recommended that policy makers should device measures to ensure an ongoing financially inclusive environment while stimulating other variables which acts as barriers to financial inclusion