Comparing Exchange Market Pressure in West and Southern African Countries

We compare the performance of Cape Verde and Mozambique concerning financial credibility as measured by Exchange Market Pressure, an institutional feature that has often been overlooked in the literature as a relevant institution for economies. Drawing on previous research by Macedo et al. (2009), we expand their analysis and, using several definitions of “financial credibility”, all related to different angles on Exchange Market Pressure indices, we conclude that - against reasonable benchmarks in their respective regions - financial credibility has been very good for Cape Verde and fairly good for Mozambique. JEL codes: C22, E44, F31, F33Exchange Rate Regime, Exchange Market Pressure, EGARCH

Cuticular Hydrocarbon Variation of Castes and Sex in the Weaver Ant Camponotus textor (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Cuticular hydrocarbons play important roles as chemical signatures of individuals, castes, sex and brood. They also can mediate the regulation of egg laying in ants, by informing directly or indirectly the reproductive status of queens. In this study we asked whether cuticular hydrocarbon profiles are correlated with castes and sex of Camponotus textor. Cuticular hydrocarbons were extracted from part of a mature colony (80 workers, 27 major workers, 27 queens, 27 virgin queens and 27 males). Results showed that cuticular hydrocarbons varied quantitatively and qualitatively among the groups and this variation was sufficiently strong to allow separation of castes and genders. We discuss the specificity of some compounds as possible regulatory compounds of worker tasks and reproduction in C. textor

The Amazon in the crossfire. Review of the special chapter of the UN World Drug Report 2023 on the Amazon Basin

This article reviews the chapter of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) World Drug Report (WDR) 2023 on ‘The Nexus Between Drugs and Crimes that Affect the Environment and Convergent Crime in the Amazon Basin’. The WDR 2023 gathers the evidence on the multiple impacts of a complex crime ecosystem on natural and social systems in the four countries that share most of the Amazon Basin. Evidence on the magnitude and complexity of the impacts of drug-related crime, crimes that affect the environment, and convergent crime suggests the need for comprehensive approaches at different levels of policymaking and its implementation. So far, the siloed approaches of the UN drug control and criminal justice and crime prevention regimes, replicated in many of its Member States, do not properly reflect the situaton in areas like the Amazon. The WDR 2023 is considered to make a meaningful contribution to bridge the wide gaps between policy debates and realities on the ground

Official Statistics: Historical Trajectory and Contemporary Threat Related to Big Data Adoption

Official Statistics are the relevant set of information to support decisions in modern societies. This relevance is a result of a historical process summarized in this Completed Research Paper. Based on this historical trajectory, the study advances to the current features of this business called Official Statistics. Information life cycle and the Business architecture, defined by Radermacher (2020), are discussed and checked under the perspective of Big Data adoption. In sequence, the features of the Official Statistics and their operators, the National Statistics Offices, are analyzed considering the risk of a failure in the Big Data adoption process. The methodology mixed literature review with documental research. Recommendations for future studies are proposed in the end

Hydrodynamic characterization of bubble column using Dynamical High Order Decomposition approach

Bubble columns are present in several applications, such as chemical and biochemical reactors and petrochemical and environmental engineering industries. This variety of applications is why understanding the bubble columns' dynamics is essential. This paper aims to describe a 2D bubble column system by a data-driven method to comprehend its dynamics better. We provided a set of simulations considering different superficial velocities to produce training data. With this data set, we compared two approaches: the Fast Fourier transformation (FFT) and the High-Order Dynamic Mode Decomposition (HODMD). Our results showed that FFT could not adequately describe the system as it has been done for a long time in the industry. However, with a few measurement points, HODMD can well represent and reconstruct the dynamics of this complex dispersed multiphase flow system.Comment: 20 page