The Spot AUD/USD Foreign Exchange Market: Evidence from High Frequency Data

Using a high-frequency data set of the spot Australian dollar/US dollar this study examines the distribution of quotes, spreads and returns across the trading “day”. By identifying the direction of trade and the subsequent quote returns from contributing banks the segmented nature of the market into market-makers, and informed and uninformed traders is investigated. The results suggest that the information advantage held by informed traders is quickly eroded by the price discovery process of other institutions. Also the analysis is revealing of discontinuities in trading and the volatility of pricing across the trading “day”.

Factors Affecting Trade in Mexican Imports of Poultry Meat from the United States

U.S. exports of poultry to Mexico have increased steadily since NAFTA came into force in January 1994. The Mexican poultry industry has become increasingly concerned about these exports, arguing that it cannot compete with U.S. products. The Mexicans argue that U.S. poultry exports to Mexico are duty free under NAFTA (as of January 1, 2003). The Mexican industry also argues that U.S. poultry benefits from low-priced feed resulting from U.S. Government farm programs. We analyzed the impact of tariffs and U.S. feed grain programs on U.S. exports of poultry, and find that other factors appear to be more important in explaining trade. Specifically, Mexican preferences for dark meat provide large price incentives for U.S. exporters, while Mexican Government policies in support of its grain sector penalize poultry producers in Mexico.International Relations/Trade,

Living the Call Centre –Global, Local, Work, Life, Interfaces.

This thesis explores ideas about the changing nature of work and general social change. It does this by examining the global call centre industry. The call centre industry serves as a case study within which ideas about globalization and the lived experience of it can be explored. The thesis explored the work and non work lives of those involved with the industry in the North East of England and the Indian subcontinent. The research made extensive use of qualitative interverviews

The Lessons of the Living Dead: Marcel\u27s Journey from Balbec to Douville-Féterne in Proust\u27s Cities of the Plain: Part Two

By analyzing the narrative of Marcel\u27s journey by the little train from Balbec to Douville-Féterne the essay engages with the Proust criticism of Georges Poulet, Paul de Man, and Julia Kristeva to support Hayden White\u27s claim that it is legitimate to read Proust\u27s narrative as an allegory of figuration itself. Like the Madeleine episode, this one serves as a point from which retrospection and prospection radiate. Central to the discussion is the description of Verdurins\u27 dinner party guests as they stand ready to board the train on the platform at Graincourt: their vivacity, compared to a sort of extinction, suggests a chiasmus between life and death, past and present, experience and reading, and phenomenon and figuration that enriches and integrates Poulet\u27s phenomenological glosses, de Man\u27s rhetorical analysis, and the Kristevan approach to Proust\u27s text. In close proximity to the Verdurins\u27 guests, Marcel is struck chiefly by their remoteness, their pastness, their distance: the figural and phenomenal instability of space and time finally converge in Marcel himself as Proust effects a biblical joke

Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation of sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas) tuber and regeneration of transformed tissue

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, Johannesburg, February 1998.Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatasy is one of the six biggest crops in the world, its high nutritional content and large yield in tropical areas making it a useful food source, especially in developing countries. Genetic engineering has the ability to overcome factors such as insect and disease damage which are currently limiting its potential. With this in mind research has been conducted into the development of a protocol to generate transgenic sweet potato from tubers of a local South African cultivar, blesbok. A protocol has been developed which appears capable of generating transgenic plants. Transformation of blesbok tuber tissue was carried out by Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transfer of three different binary vectors containing the uidA gene encoding l3-glucuronidase, the npt I 1 gene conferring kanamycin resistance and the bar gene conferring L-phosphinothricin resistance. Long term, stable expression of kanamycin and L-phosphinothricin .resistance was confirmed with kanamycin and Lphosphinothricin screening. Long term, stable expression of l3-glucuronidase was confirmed with fluorescence histochemical studies employing ImaGene Red™. This was further confirmed with quantitative assays of l3-giucuronidase activity using 4· methylumbelliferyl-f-Dcglucuronic acid which showed an average activity of 2.82 nmole.mln'l.mg" protein. Long term, stable integration of uidA into the plant genome was confirmed with polymerase chain reaction amplification screening. Transformed tuber tissue was regenerated via shoot organogenesis to stem structures similarly produced from non transformed tuber tissue. This was achieved for optimised transformation conditions and focused on shoot induction with 2 mg.l" of the auxin 2,4-dichlorophenoxyucetic acid and 0.2 mg.l" of the cytokinin 6-benzylaminopurine. The stems produced still need to be stimulated to develop fully into transgenic plants. This will probably require a sharp increase in the cytokinin.auxin concentration ratio after initial shoot induction.MT201

Vibronic activity probed by laser jet spectroscopy

Laser jet spectroscopy is applied to study the vibronic activity in (beta)-methylnaphthalene and phenanthrene. Results of these studies indicate that the technique is invaluable in the determination of the mechanisms and spectral manifestations of vibronic coupling in large polyatomic species;In the S(,1) state of (beta)-methylnaphthalene, a Duschinsky rotation of normal coordinates results in extensive mode mixing as evidenced by highly structured single vibronic level (SVL) fluorescence spectra and drastic absorption/fluorescence mirror symmetry breakdown (MSB). The rotation is shown to be well modeled by simple first order perturbation formulae which readily reproduce the observed spectra. Additionally, anharmonicities to fourth order are apparent from the spectra of the molecule;In phenanthrene, absorption/fluorescence MSB is shown to be primarily the result of Condon/Herzberg-Teller transition moment interferences and model calculations again indicate that simple first order formulae can be used to reproduce the observed spectra. While mode mixing does not appear to be important for totally symmetric modes of the molecule, vibronically induced transitions of b(,2) symmetry clearly indicate mixing from a Duschinsky rotation;in these normal modes. Mixing as a result of Fermi resonances is also observed for some levels; *DOE Report IS-T-1205. This work was performed under Contract W-7405-eng-82 with the U.S. Department of Energy

Deeper Learning and District-Level Curriculum Leadership: A Case Study of One Large Public School District

A key element within school accountability frameworks across the United States is student performance as measured by standardized assessments. Scholars have argued that these types of assessments and accountability systems have narrowed the curriculum to emphasize students\u27 development of discrete, specialized skills. Researchers have recently suggested that deeper learning approaches will better support students in building the skills and understanding needed for life and work. Unfortunately, deeper learning has not commonly been observed at the school-wide level. Recent research suggested that a prevailing culture of district-level curriculum leadership serves as a potential barrier to the enactment of deep learning in schools. The purpose of this instrumental case study was to generate a detailed description of the beliefs, values, and attitudes that characterize the culture of district-level curriculum leadership in one large public school district. The findings were then compared to the conditions scholars have suggested as supportive of deeper learning. Data were collected from 22 interviews, 13 documents, and two observations. Participants included six district-level curriculum leaders, three school principals, and 12 teachers. A key feature of the culture in Haggerty, the sampled district, was its commitment to a uniform curricular approach across schools. Specifically, findings indicated a high degree of prescriptiveness concerning content and instructional materials. While the literature suggested this form of prescriptiveness has typically been enacted through centralized control, the approach to influencing teachers in Haggerty did not include mandates or other forms of coercion through power. One important condition to support deeper learning is that the district culture reduces emphasis on pacing for coverage of curriculum and, concurrently, increases flexibility for teachers to address the unique and varied needs and interests of students. While the curriculum leaders in Haggerty encouraged teachers to serve student needs and interests, the culture also placed value on curricular coverage. Teachers in the district’s classrooms were faced with daily decisions regarding whether to adjust the prescribed approach to meet unexpected needs or interests or remain faithful to the district’s curricular guidance. As the culture did not use power to police or punish non-compliance, the decisions being made by teachers, teams, and schools resulted in variability across the system. While the prescribed curriculum in Haggerty was well defined, guidance concerning daily decision-making was not as systemic. For deeper learning to proliferate, district-level curriculum leaders need to develop teachers’ knowledge and understanding regarding decisions that shape those experiences for students. Haggerty’s leaders were aware of this tension and the data indicated that some degree of reculturing was taking place in the district. Beyond the one tension that was described, the culture in the district was evolving in ways that align well with the conditions identified as supportive of deeper learning. The findings from this study may support district curriculum leaders in analyzing their own cultures and considering what aspects may need reculturing. However, more studies are needed to richly describe existing cultures of curriculum leadership and to adequately characterize cultures that are most aligned with the conditions necessary for deeper learning to proliferate