Decomposing financial (in)stability in emerging economies

The analysis of the build-up of risks in emerging economies have traditionally been scarce and focused mostly on external risks, despite the recent substantial development of their financial system. This paper builds an index of financial vulnerabilities tailored to emerging economies, grouping 32 indicators around four poles: valuation and risk appetite, imbalances in the non-financial sector, financial sector vulnerabilities, and global vulnerabilities. It adopts a model-free approach, purposely departing from early warning models or complex econometric constructs, and rely on data made already available by international organisations. Our index of financial vulnerabilities enables a granular mapping of where risk originates and how it spreads to other parts of the financial system. Using various data visualisation tools and benefitting from the flexibility of our index’s methodology, we are able build a narrative of the evolution of financial stability in emerging economies from 2005 to 2015. Finally, we also discuss the relation between our index and both the business cycle (proxied by GDP) and the credit cycle (proxied by the credit-to-GDP gap).     

Institutional Monitoring: Evidence from the F‐Score

The extant literature shows that institutional investors engage in corporate governance to enhance a firm's long‐term value. Measuring firm performance using the F‐Score, we examine the persistent monitoring role of institutional investors and identify the financial aspects of a firm that institutional monitoring improves. We find strong evidence that long‐term institutions with large shareholdings consistently improve a firm's F‐Score and that such activity occurs primarily through the enhancement of the firm's operating efficiency. Other institutions reduce a firm's F‐Score. Moreover, we find evidence that, while monitoring institutions improve a firm's financial health, transient (followed by non‐transient) institutions trade on this information.     

A new professionalism for agricultural research for development

There have been repeated calls for a ‘new professionalism’ for carrying out agricultural research for development since the 1990s. At the centre of these calls is a recognition that for agricultural research to support the capacities required to face global patterns of change and their implications on rural livelihoods, requires a more systemic, learning focused and reflexive practice that bridges epistemologies and methodologies. In this paper, we share learning from efforts to mainstream such an approach through a large, multi-partner CGIAR research program working in aquatic agricultural systems. We reflect on four years of implementing research in development (RinD), the program’s approach to the new professionalism. We highlight successes and challenges and describe the key characteristics that define the approach. We conclude it is possible to build a program on a broader approach that embraces multidisciplinarity and engages with stakeholders in social-ecological systems. Our experience also suggests caution is required to ensure there is the time, space and appropriate evaluation methodologies in place to appreciate outcomes different to those to which conventional agricultural research aspires.     

The Importance of Monitoring for Developing Intra-Group Trust in Ethiopian Female Workgroups

We examine the relation between intra-group trust and monitoring in a patriarchal society, and how this relation affects workgroup performance. Data were collected from 352 women who were members of 72 female workgroups in Addis Ababa by means of field experiments and a survey. The data are analyzed using multiple mediation analysis. We find that intra-group trust needs time to develop, and that trust is higher in workgroups with more monitoring. The positive relation between monitoring and trust might be explained by women’s ambition to overcome disempowerment and negative gender stereotypes. The results also indicate positive effects of intra-group trust and monitoring on workgroup performance, and that the effect of monitoring runs through its relation with trust. The last finding stresses the importance of monitoring for developing intra-group trust in these female workgroups.     

An intelligent service matching method for mechanical equipment condition monitoring using the fibre Bragg grating sensor network

Due to the advantages of being able to function under harsh environmental conditions and serving as a distributed condition information source in a networked monitoring system, the fibre Bragg grating (FBG) sensor network has attracted considerable attention for equipment online condition monitoring. To provide an overall conditional view of the mechanical equipment operation, a networked service-oriented condition monitoring framework based on FBG sensing is proposed, together with an intelligent matching method for supporting monitoring service management. In the novel framework, three classes of progressive service matching approaches, including service-chain knowledge database service matching, multi-objective constrained service matching and workflow-driven human-interactive service matching, are developed and integrated with an enhanced particle swarm optimisation (PSO) algorithm as well as a workflow-driven mechanism. Moreover, the manufacturing domain ontology, FBG sensor network structure and monitoring object are considered to facilitate the automatic matching of condition monitoring services to overcome the limitations of traditional service processing methods. The experimental results demonstrate that FBG monitoring services can be selected intelligently, and the developed condition monitoring system can be re-built rapidly as new equipment joins the framework. The effectiveness of the service matching method is also verified by implementing a prototype system together with its performance analysis.     

Indoor air quality in mass catering plants: Occurrence of airborne eumycetes in a university canteen

The present study aimed to investigate the viable eumycetes population of indoor air sampled in a mass catering plant that produces up to 1200 meals per day. The combination of a culture-dependent and -independent approach applied in the food-processing environment was efficient for the identification of airborne eumycetes. Penicillum, Cladosporium and Alternaria were the dominant genera, while Thysanophora, Aspergillus, Rhizopus, Annulohypoxylon, Arthrinium, Aureobasidium and Trametes were found to be in minority. The size and composition of the eumycetes population found in this study do not raise specific concerns. Nevertheless, a quantitative and qualitative monitoring of these bioaerosol should be included in the progress and criticality reports of the HACCP system in the catering services where eumycetes can pose different risks, such as worsening of the overall quality of meals and/or of the work environment. Indeed, these reports are a useful tool in the preventive HACCP approach, provided that an adequate frequency of sampling is planned in order to quicken the pre-warning process.     

Counterfeiting as Private Money in Mechanism Design

We describe counterfeiting activity as the issuance of private money, one that is difficult to monitor. Our approach, which amends the basic random‐matching model of money in mechanism design, allows a tractable welfare analysis of currency competition. We show that it is not efficient to eliminate counterfeiting activity completely. We do not appeal to lottery devices, and we argue that this is consistent with imperfect monitoring.     

移动动态安防系统

随着个人私有电子设备日益完善，大量隐私信息存储于这些电子设备中，非法的越权访问导致了这类隐私信息的大量流失，本系统实现了远程监控、监督由于时间和空间阻隔而不能实时操控的电子设备的运行状况。     

汽轮机安全监测系统探头安装及注意事项

安全监视系统(TSI)是保证汽轮机安全稳定运行的保护系统,包括对汽轮机转子的运行状况进行可靠的连续检测、对汽缸的机械工作参数连续地测量,记录机组启停和运行状态。通过各种TSI探头,汽轮机运转过程中的工况变化产生电信号输入到前置器,为记录、记忆设备提供信号。     

平安城市监控系统建设中的组网问题

我国平安城市监控系统建设日趋普及,但在建设过程中存在财政投入不足而出现分区建设、分区管理的现象。这使得平安城市监控缺乏统一的管理,给城市安全防范工作带来不便。文章根据不同行业的应用需求及特点,提出监控系统整体解决方法,包括对需求的分析、功能实现的方法等。