Can Currency Demand Be Stable Under a Financial Crisis? The Case of Mexico

The paper finds strong evidence that real currency demand in Mexico remained stable throughout and after the financial crisis in Mexico. Cointegration analysis using the Johansen-Juselius technique indicates a strong cointegration relationship between real currency balances, real private consumption expenditures, and the interest rate. The dynamic model for real currency demand exhibits significant parameter constancy even after the financial crisis as indi-cated by a number of statistical tests. The paper concludes that the significant reduction in real currency demand under the financial crisis in Mexico could be appropriately explained by the change in the variables that historically explained the demand for real cash balances in Mexico. This result supports the Bank of Mexicoís use of a reserve money program to implement monetary policy under the financial crisis. Copyright 2001, International Monetary Fund

Exploring Participatory Design Methods to Engage with Arab Communities

ArabHCI is an initiative inaugurated in CHI17 SIG Meeting that brought together 45+ HCI Arab and non-Arab researchers/practitioners who are conducting/interested in HCI within Arab communities. The goal of this workshop is to start dialogs that leverage our "insider" understanding of HCI research in the Arab context and assert our culture identity in design in order to explore challenges and opportunities for future research. In this workshop, we focus on one of the themes that derived our community discussions in most of the held events. We explore the extent to which participatory approaches in the Arab context are culturally and methodologically challenged. Our goal is to bring researchers/practitioners with success and failure stories while designing with Arab communities to discuss methods, share experiences and learned lessons. We plan to share the results of our discussions and research agenda with the wider CHI community through different social and scholarly channels

Height counting of unlabeled interval and N-free posets

AbstractThis paper enumerates according to height the classes of unlabeled N-free posets, interval orders, and posets that are both N-free and interval orders. The last two classes are enumerated according to height in terms of generating functions. We apply an algorithmic method for height counting of connected N-free posets. Numerical results for n-element posets of height k, 1⩽k⩽n⩽14, are included

Quantitative determination of potential urine biomarkers of respiratory illnesses using new targeted metabolomic approach

Western Economic Diversification Canada, AllerGen NCE, Saskatchewan Health Research FoundationPeer ReviewedThe diagnosis of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be challenging due to the overlap in their clinical presentations in some patients. There is a need for a more objective clinical test that can be routinely used in primary care settings. Through an untargeted 1H NMR urine metabolomic approach, we identified a set of endogenous metabolites as potential biomarkers for the differentiation of asthma and COPD. A subset of these potential biomarkers contains 7 highly polar metabolites of diverse physicochemical properties. To the best of our knowledge, there is no liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method that evaluated more than two of the target metabolites in a single analytical run. The target metabolites belong to the families of monosaccharides, organic acids, amino acids, quaternary ammonium compounds and nucleic acids, rendering hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) an ideal technology for their quantification. Since a clinical decision is to be made from patients data, a fully validated analytical method is required for biomarker validation. Method validation for endogenous metabolites is a daunting task since current guidelines were designed for exogenous compounds. As such, innovative approaches were adopted to meet the validation requirements. Herein, we describe a sensitive HILIC-MS/MS method for the quantification of the 7 endogenous urinary metabolites. Detection was achieved in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode with polarity switching, using quadrupole-linear ion trap instrument (QTRAP 6500) as well as single ion monitoring in the negative-ion mode. The method was fully validated according to the regulatory guidelines. Linearity was established between 6 and 21000 ng/mL and quality control samples demonstrated acceptable intra- and inter-day accuracy (85.7%-112%), intra- and inter-day precision (CV% <11.5%) as well as stability under various storage and sample processing conditions. To illustrate the method's applicability, the validated method was applied to the analysis of a small set of urine samples collected from asthma and COPD patients. Preliminary modelling of separation was generated using partial least square discriminant analysis (R2 0.752 and Q2 0.57). The adequate separation between patient samples confirms the diagnostic potential of these target metabolites as a proof-of-concept for the differentiation between asthma and COPD. However, more patient urine samples are needed in order to increase the statistical power of the analytical model

Perception of Preparers and Auditors on New Revenue Recognition Standard (IFRS 15): Evidence From Egypt

In May 2014, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued long-awaited converged standard on revenue recognition, IFRS 15 and ASU 2014-09 (Topic 606) Revenue from Contracts with Customers, that sets out the principles for when revenue should be recognized and how it should be measured, together with related disclosures and will replace the all current revenue standards in IFRS and US.GAAP. Although the actual implementation is still in the future, now is the time for all preparers, auditors and users of financial statement to understanding of the new recognition and disclosure requirements and prepare to implement them, because the new provisions of IFRS 15 will impact in all entities in all industries, but the extent of the impact can vary significantly. This paper test the perception of Egyptian preparers and auditors on IFRS 15, we focus on the level of familiarity, standard clarity and ease of application across different business sectors in Egypt. The final sample of the study consisted of 31 auditors and 34 preparers (which consist of chief accountants, account executives and etc.), a majority of the participants (88.3%) were from local accounting firms or Listed companies operating in various business sectors. Both the auditors and preparers are experienced accountants with mean years of experience of 7.6 and 8.56 years respectively. We find that generally Egyptian accountants and auditors surveyed are still not ready to adopt and did not have sufficient knowledge about IFRS15, as well as, they afraid of the new revenue recognition requirement (which increased discretion and professional judgment in revenue recognition) and its potential impact on different industries.In May 2014, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued long-awaited converged standard on revenue recognition, IFRS 15 and ASU 2014-09 (Topic 606) Revenue from Contracts with Customers, that sets out the principles for when revenue should be recognized and how it should be measured, together with related disclosures and will replace the all current revenue standards in IFRS and US.GAAP. Although the actual implementation is still in the future, now is the time for all preparers, auditors and users of financial statement to understanding of the new recognition and disclosure requirements and prepare to implement them, because the new provisions of IFRS 15 will impact in all entities in all industries, but the extent of the impact can vary significantly. This paper test the perception of Egyptian preparers and auditors on IFRS 15, we focus on the level of familiarity, standard clarity and ease of application across different business sectors in Egypt. The final sample of the study consisted of 31 auditors and 34 preparers (which consist of chief accountants, account executives and etc.), a majority of the participants (88.3%) were from local accounting firms or Listed companies operating in various business sectors. Both the auditors and preparers are experienced accountants with mean years of experience of 7.6 and 8.56 years respectively. We find that generally Egyptian accountants and auditors surveyed are still not ready to adopt and did not have sufficient knowledge about IFRS15, as well as, they afraid of the new revenue recognition requirement (which increased discretion and professional judgment in revenue recognition) and its potential impact on different industries.In May 2014, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued long-awaited converged standard on revenue recognition, IFRS 15 and ASU 2014-09 (Topic 606) Revenue from Contracts with Customers, that sets out the principles for when revenue should be recognized and how it should be measured, together with related disclosures and will replace the all current revenue standards in IFRS and US.GAAP. Although the actual implementation is still in the future, now is the time for all preparers, auditors and users of financial statement to understanding of the new recognition and disclosure requirements and prepare to implement them, because the new provisions of IFRS 15 will impact in all entities in all industries, but the extent of the impact can vary significantly. This paper test the perception of Egyptian preparers and auditors on IFRS 15, we focus on the level of familiarity, standard clarity and ease of application across different business sectors in Egypt. The final sample of the study consisted of 31 auditors and 34 preparers (which consist of chief accountants, account executives and etc.), a majority of the participants (88.3%) were from local accounting firms or Listed companies operating in various business sectors. Both the auditors and preparers are experienced accountants with mean years of experience of 7.6 and 8.56 years respectively. We find that generally Egyptian accountants and auditors surveyed are still not ready to adopt and did not have sufficient knowledge about IFRS15, as well as, they afraid of the new revenue recognition requirement (which increased discretion and professional judgment in revenue recognition) and its potential impact on different industries. © 2016 FEB USK. All rights reserved. Â

CPA Evolution: Curriculum revision for Higher Education

Recent proposals from the National Association of States Board of Accountancy and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants aim to modify the CPA license model to reflect the knowledge and abilities that new CPAs will need both now and in the future. The Uniform CPA Examination has recently undergone its most significant modification in many years thanks to the CPA Evolution project. This article discusses the exam\u27s revised structure and content, evaluates the anticipated effects of those changes on accounting education, and explains how colleges will need to modify their curricula to meet the new exam core Plus requirements. Today\u27s accountants and the accounting industry require different technical capabilities than they did even a few years ago. For the accounting profession to advance, proficiency in technology, data analytics, risk management, and IT governance are becoming crucial competencies. The joint CPA Evolution project of the AICPA and NASBA acknowledges the rapidly evolving abilities and competences needed by today\u27s CPAs. The quick development of technical advancements, such as data analytics, robots, and artificial intelligence, among others, is significantly altering the way CPAs do their business. Additionally, this report illustrates the constraints that the COVID-19 placed on the world\u27s environment and economy. The CPA profession is changing, and data from IPEDS and responses from participating U.S. universities and public accounting companies enable us to assess the effects of this change on both the supply and demand of new accounting. The public accounting firms have started to fill the technology and data analytics talent gaps among accounting recruits by hiring non-accounting staff, according to the AICPA\u27s 2021 Accounting Graduate Supply and Demand Report, which includes a survey of the hiring practices of public accounting firms. According to the research, new hires of master\u27s graduates increased by 2% in 2020, despite a 10% decline in the total hiring of new accounting graduates

Redefining taarab in relation to local and global influences

To refer to the origin of taarab as a direct importation of Egyptian music by the Arab upper class (Topp 1994:153) is a plausibility without solid evidence. To define it as a style of music played for entertainment at weddings and other festive occasions all along the Swahili Coast (153) is to exclude other styles of music, indeed played for entertainment at weddings and other festive occasions all along the Swahili Coast. To say that taarab contains all the features of a typical `Indian Ocean music`, combining influences from Egypt, the Arabian peninsula, India and the West with local musical practices (153) is apparently true but does not adequately capture the ambiguities and complexities of its protean nature. Refening to taarab as the Swahili popular `salon` music whose song may be recorded or, as often is the case, orally transmitted (King`ei 1992:29) is misleading, for taarab is not always `salon` music and the method and process of creating and transmitting a song in taarab is not the same as that of other forms of African music. To state that taarab has transcended its local Swahili boundaries to be consumed in other communities including other cities in East and Central Africa (Ntarangwi 1998: 150) is a valid statement from a point of view of media, change and spread, but still leaves out a lot to be said. Taarab, like so many complex living things, refuses to be thrust into neat bags or squeezed into terse all-embracing definitions. It is an ongoing process whose form(s) are amorphous, assuming different structures, roles, functions and epithets triggered by a number of factors. That notwithstanding - whatever forms, role and function taarab exhibits at different stages, its making consists of five major components or processes: the composition of the lyric, the composition of musical patterns, the extemporized performance of its song, instrumentation and audience

The Swahili novelist at the crossroad: the dilemma of identity and fecundity

\"Are there any national literatures in black Africa yet? The simple answer is no. [...] If one examines the development of the African language literature that do exists, one is struck by certain recurring tendencies. Many of the books produced, particularly the early works, are of a predominantly moralistic nature. Sometimes they are retelling of folk stories or Bible stories, sometimes imitations of European religious literature, sometimes both.\\\" (Lindfors 1997: 121; 123) Certain anomalies are obvious in the above extract. Swahili written literature with its long-standing tradition, dating far back to the 17th century, has relativly gathered its own aesthetic criteria, values and sensibility, hence \\\''own\\\'' integrity and world view. I dare say that Lindfors will be suprised to learn today, how fast the Swahili novel has developed since when he had left it when he read Andrzejewski et al (1985) and Gérard (1981), who (by the way), themselves did not then see the their works as presenting a complete picture of African literatures in African languages. This essay aims at showing the predicament of the Swahili novelist at the crossroads and how, in a contemporary situation, s/he works out his or her strategies towards resolving the impasses

An Improved Slant Path Attenuation Prediction Method in Tropical Climates

An improved method for predicting slant path attenuation in tropical climates is presented in this paper. The proposed approach is based on rain intensity data R_0.01 (mm/h) from 37 tropical and equatorial stations; and is validated by using the measurement data from a few localities in tropical climates. The new method seems to accurately predict the slant path attenuation in tropical localities, and the comparative tests seem to show significant improvement in terms of the RMS of the relative error variable compared to the RMS obtained with the SAM, Crane, and ITU-R prediction models