Sharing services, saving money? Five risks to cost saving when organizations share administrative services

Shared services are a popular reform for governments under financial pressure. The hope is to reduce overheads and increase efficiency by providing support services like HR, finance and procurement once to multiple agencies. Drawing on insights from organization theory and political science, we identify five risks that shared services won’t live up to current expectations. We illustrate each with empirical evidence from the UK, Ireland and further afield, and conclude with suggestions on how to manage these risks.

US Dollar Carry Trades in the Era of 'Cheap Money'

In this paper, we employ a unique dataset of actual US dollar (USD) forward positions against a number of currencies taken by so-called Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs). We investigate to what extent these positions exhibit a pattern of USD carry trading or other patterns of currency trading over the recent period of the ultra-loose US monetary policy. Our analysis indeed shows that USD positions against emerging market currencies are characterised by a pattern of carry trading. That is, the USD, as the lower yielding currency, is associated with short positions. The payoff distributions of these positions, moreover, are found to have positive Sharpe ratios, negative skewness and high kurtosis. On the other hand, we find that USD positions against other advanced country currencies have a pattern completely opposite to carry trading which is in line with uncovered interest parity trading; that is, the lower (higher) yielding currency is associated with long (short) positions.

Macrofaunal assemblages from mud volcanoes in the Gulf of Cadiz

Desde a descoberta em 1999 do primeiro vulcão de lama no Golfo de Cádis, cerca de 40 locais, de profundidade variável entre os 200 e os 3900 m, com diferentes graus de emissão de hidrocarbonetos foram localizados e amostrados dentro do programa IOC-UNESCO “Training Through Research (TTR) “ e mais recentemente dentro do projecto europeu HERMES. Neste estudo investigamos as comunidades da macrofauna dos vulcões de lama do Golfo de Cádis utilizando uma diversidade de equipamento de amostragem quantitativo e não quantitativo. Mais de 14550 espécimes foram examinados e incluídos nos diferentes grupos taxonómicos, sendo fornecida uma lista taxonómica detalhada com o menor nível taxonómico possível. A biodiversidade, distribuição dos principais taxa, as espécies quimiossintéticas e a biodiversidade regional e substituição de espécies são apresentados e discutidos. Dentro da macrofauna, os bivalves (nomeadamente super-familia Thyasiroidea, espécies quimisimbióticos e comunidade de bivalves) e os ofiurideos são estudados em pormenor. Os Thyasiroidea colhidos nos vulcões de lama do Golfo de Cádis são revistos. Das sete espécies identificadas, apenas uma Thyasira vulcolutre. sp. nov se encontra associada a um ambiente quimiossintético. Esta espécie é restrita a locais activos, mas não se verificam padrões de distribuição para as outras espécies. Os bivalves quimiosimbióticos amostrados são revistos. Das 10 espécies fortemente associadas a ambientes quimiossintéticos duas Solemyidae, Petrasma elarraichensis sp. nov. e Acharax gadirae sp. nov., uma Lucinidae, Lucinoma asapheus sp. nov., e uma Vesicomyidae, Isorropodon megadesmus sp. nov. são descritas e comparadas com similares das respectivas famílias. As comunidades de bivalves foram analisadas em detalhe e do estudo de 759 espécimes (49 espécies em 21 familias) descreve-se a diversidade e padrões de distribuição. Os Ophiuroidea amostrados nos vulcões de lama e ambientes batiais adjacentes são revistos. Treze espécies são incluídas em 4 famílias, Ophiacanthidae, Ophiactidae, Amphiuridae e Ophiuridae e são identificadas, tendo sido descrita uma nova espécie Ophiopristis cadiza sp. nov. Rácios isotópicos (δ13C, δ15N, δ34S) foram determinados em várias espécies no intuito de investigar a ecologia trófica das comunidades bênticas dos vulcões do Golfo de Cádis. Os valores de δ13C para os bivalves Solemyidae, Lucinidae e Thyasiridae estão de acordo com os valores para outros bivalves conhecidos por possuírem simbiontes tiotróficos. Por outro lado os valores de δ13C e δ34S para Bathymodiolus mauritanicus sugerem a ocorrência de metanotrofia. A análise da fauna heterotrófica indica igualmente que as espécies habitantes da cratera dos vulcões de lama derivam a sua nutrição de fontes quimiossintéticas. A indicação pela análise isotópica que as bactérias autotróficas contribuem substancialmente para a nutrição dos bivalves hospedeiros, levou-nos a investigar os endossimbiontes e as suas relações filogenéticas relativamente a outros bivalves através da análise comparativa de análises de sequências de 16S ribossomal RNS. Análises moleculares PCR-DGGE (Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis) e clonagem de genes de bacterias 16S rRNA confirmaram a presença de simbiontes oxidantes de enxofre e colocam a possibilidade de uma simbiose dupla para o B. mauritanicus. A diversidade microbiana dentro dos Frenulata foi igualmente estudada recorrendo a métodos moleculares e revelou a não existência de padrão entre espécies, vulcões, profundidade e idade do animal sugerindo assim a não procura de simbiontes específicos.

Floating on the same plane: metropolis, money and the culture of abstraction

This article argues that the emergence of a trans-disciplinary discourse of ‘visual culture’ must be understood as, above all, a constitutively urban phenomenon. More specifically, it is in the historically new form of the capitalist metropolis, as described most famously by Simmel, that the ‘hyper-stimulus’ of modern visual culture has its social and spatial conditions. Paradoxically, however, it is as a result of this that visual culture studies is also intrinsically ‘haunted’ by a certain spectre of the invisible: one rooted in those forms of ‘real abstraction’ which Marx identifies with the commodity and the money form. Considering, initially, the canonical urban visual forms of the collage and the spectacle, these are each read in a certain relation to Simmel’s account of metropolitan life and of the money form, and, through this, to what the author claims are those forms of social and spatial abstraction that must be understood to animate them. Finally, the article returns to the entanglement of the visible and invisible entailed by this, and concludes by making some tentative suggestions about something like a paradoxical urban ‘aesthetic’ of abstraction on such a basis.

Money for nothing?: The net costs of medical training

A Masters Thesis, presented as part of the requirements for the award of a Research Masters Degree in Economics from NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea: Issues and Solutions for the 21st Century

A producer of 5.4 M bbl/d, totalling almost half of the consumption of the entire European Union, the Gulf of Guinea is a fundamental lifeline and maritime link between Europe, the Americas and Africa. Geographically positioned as a staging post for transit originating in Latin America and coupled with its relatively porous borders, the region is also the perfect stepping stone for contraband heading to European shores. While blessed with an enviable wealth of marine and mineral resources, the region is also plagued by an ever-increasing spectre of maritime piracy; accounting for around 30% of incidents in African waters from 2003 to 2011. It is for these reasons that this research centres around the issues of maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, with a particular focus on the first two decades of the 21st century. This research looks to examine the overall picture of the present state of play in the area, before going on to provide an analysis of potential regional developments in maritime security. This research begins with the analysis of concepts/phenomena that have played a notable role in the shaping of the field of maritime security, namely Globalisation and security issues in the post-Cold War era. The ensuing chapter then focuses in on the Gulf of Guinea and the issues dominating the field of maritime security in the region. The penultimate chapter presents a SWOT analysis, undertaken as part of this research with the aim of correlating opinions from a variety of sectors/professions regarding maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea. The final chapter builds upon the results obtained from the abovementioned SWOT analysis, presenting a series of potential proposals/strategies that can contribute to the field of maritime security in the region over the coming years. This research draws to a close with the presentation of conclusions taken from this particular investigation, as well as a final overview of the earlier presented proposals applicable to the field of maritime security during the second decade of the 21st century.

Money never sleeps – overnight returns in equity markets

The present research analyses overnight returns’ outperformance in relation to daytime returns. In a first stage, it will be assessed whether these returns are robust throughout time, markets and across different scopes of analysis (e.g. weekdays, months, states of the economy). In a second stage, several hypothesis will be empirically tested, in an attempt to understand what drives non-trading period returns (e.g. liquidity, market volatility). Even though several authors have analysed overnight returns and suggested several explanatory factors, there seems to be no consensus in the literature regarding its drivers.

Temporal variation in the coral reefs of the east coast of the inner gulf of Thailand

A series of permanent line transects established on fourteen reefs on the eastern seaboard of the Gulf of Thailand were monitored through a three-year period (1995- 1998) using a video transect method. Hierarchical cluster analysis shows three distinctive reef community types dominated by 1) Porites, 2) Acropora and 3) zoantharians. The reefs are developed under naturally turbid conditions and relatively low salinity due to the proximity of four major river outlets located in the uppermost area of the gulf. The number of Acroporid species on the reefs is positively correlated with distance from the major flver outlets. Eighty-seven species of scleractinian coral were found on the transects. Over the three-year period, the comparison of 1995-97-98 matched stations using Repeated Measures ANOV A reveals no significant time-dependent change in percent area cover of reef components except for an overall significant reduction in the faviid coral component. In the 1997-98 matched station comparison, statistical tests reveal significant increases in both Acropora and Porites components that translated into an overall increase in total living coral cover. These findings indicate that the overall environmental conditions have been favorable for coral growth. Outcompetition of massive corals by faster growing corals on several reefs also indicates conditions favorable for reef expansion. Growth of newlyformed Porites colonies over primary rock substrate and dead coral skeleton was presumably responsible for its rapid increase. Although these reefs are in an area of rapid industrialization and population growth, resultant anthropogenic effects have not yet stopped active coral accretion.

The claim of Amasa Stetson, of Massachusetts, on the United States, for money advanced, in fulfilling the orders of the Government while discharging the duties of Commissary General of Purchases, in time of the late war with Great Britain ; and for services rendered. --

Claim relating to the War of 1812.

Letter regarding an estimate on the amount of money needed for the construction of the road

Letter regarding an estimate on the amount of money needed for the construction of the road. The salutation is “Sir”. There is no signature, May 28, 1855.

The west coast of México, from the boundary line between the United States and México to Cape Corrientes, including the gulf of California

UANL