Alternative Exchange Research Articles

A poly(vinyl alcohol)-based composite membrane with immobilized phosphotungstic acid molecules for direct methanol fuel cells

Phosphotungstic acid (H3PW12O40, HPW) molecules were anchored onto carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by electrostatic self-assembly using poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA); subsequent incorporation of these particles into poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) afforded a methanol-blocking membrane for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) application. The prepared membrane exhibited a significantly higher proton conductivity of 9.4mScm−1 at 60°C and satisfactory proton conductivity stability over a 120-h test than a PVA membrane. Moreover, the composite membrane showed a decrease in the methanol permeability by ∼40% compared to a PVA membrane (6.10×10−7cm2s−1) and much better proton-to-methanol selectivity because of a higher dimensional stability after the incorporation of CNTs. A single DMFC based on the prepared membrane exhibited a maximum power density of 16mWcm−2 at 60°C. Thus, CNT-PDDA-HPW/PVA membranes have a great potential as an alternative proton exchange membrane for DMFC application.

Everyday Utopias: The Conceptual Life of Promising Spaces

Everyday Utopias: The Conceptual Life of Promising Spaces

Exchange rate regime switching in Malaysia and Singapore in response to China’s move to a basket peg: A DSGE analysis

Motivated by the observation that when China broke from its US dollar peg in 2005, Malaysia and Singapore likewise loosened their currency ties to the US dollar, this paper considers how these two countries might best respond to a hypothetical transition by China to a new basket peg regime. We specify five alternative exchange rate strategies that encompass fixed, basket, and floating regimes and gradual versus sudden transitions. To project outcomes for macroeconomic variables under these alternative regimes, we apply a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model of a small open economy and incorporate exogenous shocks as actually occurred from 2005 Q1 to 2014 Q4. We then compare the strategies based on values of a cumulative loss function defined on the output gap, the inflation rate, and the real effective exchange rate. The exercise reveals that a gradual adjustment to a basket peg with long-term optimal weights is the first-best policy for both countries, where optimal weights are derived to minimize the loss function. Further, both a sudden shift to a basket peg with optimal weights and a sudden shift to a floating rate regime are superior to maintaining the dollar peg in Malaysia, but not to maintaining the existing basket peg in Singapore.

Remittances and Current Account Dynamics

This paper examines the impact of remittances on current account dynamics under alternative monetary and exchange rate policies. The main findings suggest that altruistic remittances precipitate a current account deficit under a fixed exchange rate regime, whereas a surplus is realized when monetary policy follows a Taylor‐type rule. Furthermore, self‐interest remittances are associated with a current account surplus under a Taylor rule that manages real exchange rate variability or a Taylor rule with aggressive nontradeable inflation targeting.

Reaction Kinetics of Gas–Solid Exchange Using Gas Phase Isotopic Oxygen Exchange

The oxygen transport kinetics of heterogeneous gas–solid exchange has been investigated on the basis of a two-step reaction mechanism, linking surface catalysis to solid-state self-diffusion, via gas phase isotopic oxygen exchange on the mixed ionic electronic conductor (MIEC) La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3–x (LSCF) and electronic conductor (La0.8Sr0.2)0.95MnO3±x (LSM). The catalytic activity of LSCF is higher than that of LSM toward the elementary step of oxygen dissociation, likely caused by a higher vacancy concentration. The apparent activation energy for surface exchange of LSCF is lower than values obtained from bulk characterization techniques. The diffusion coefficient (D) for LSM at different temperatures shows a huge deviation from literature values, and an alternate exchange mechanism has been proposed. The fast transport pathway is attributed to the substoichiometry of LSM in the near surface region. These results have significant implications for the improvement of the oxygen reduction reaction for t...

Diverse economies and alternative spaces: An overview of approaches and practices

Although the origins of the theoretical debate regarding political–economic alternatives are as old as Proudhon, Marx and Engels, discussion concerning alternative economic and political spaces has come to the foreground very recently. More specifically, in the field of geography the most influential approach has been that associated with work on diverse economies, developed initially by Gibson-Graham. Research in this area has increased at a significant rate, revealing a multitude of practices in what we call the hidden ‘neverland’ all over the world, while simultaneously posing a number of new and open questions. This article begins with a review of the main theoretical, methodological and epistemological assumptions underpinning the diverse economies approach. This is followed by a discussion of four concrete types of diverse/alternative spaces; those in post-socialist countries, alternative exchange networks, alternative food networks and the Mondragon cooperative corporation in Spain. The article concludes by arguing that while the debate on alternative and diverse economies may reflect a willingness on the part of the scholars to cooperate in order to build a postcapitalist future, it is also necessary to consider the possibilities and constraints operating at different scales, from individual to global, in order to consider the extent to which alternatives may be successful.

Exchange Arrangements and Speculative Attacks: Is there a link?

The purpose of this article is to empirically investigate which exchange rate arrangements are associated with more speculative attacks in the foreign exchange market, a relationship which is estimated using a least squares dummy variables panel data model. Also, this article addresses the issue of measurement errors in the classification of exchange rate regimes by using four different classification schemes. Three de facto and one de jure classifications are used. Consequently, the sensitivity of these results to alternative exchange rate classifications is also tested. The empirical findings indicate clear support for fixed regimes particularly in emerging and developing countries.

Practical considerations for reliable stress and oxygen surface exchange coefficients from bilayer curvature relaxation measurements

The curvature relaxation technique is a new electrode-free method for simultaneously measuring a material’s chemical oxygen surface exchange coefficient and stress state under controlled atmosphere and temperature conditions. Provided certain conditions are met, this in situ/in operando technique can be used to accurately measure the oxygen surface exchange coefficients and stress states of dense, porous, thin, or thick film oxygen exchange materials. The present paper provides a detailed, practical discussion of these conditions and compares the curvature relaxation technique to alternative oxygen surface exchange coefficient measurement approaches.

Potential for energy savings by heat recovery in an integrated steel supply chain

Heat recovery plays an important role in energy saving in the supply chain of steel products. Almost all high temperature outputs in the steel industry have their thermal energy exchanged to preheat inputs to the process. Despite the widespread development of heat recovery technologies within process stages (process heat recovery), larger savings may be obtained by using a wider integrated network of heat exchange across various processes along the supply chain (integrated heat recovery). Previous pinch analyses have been applied to optimise integrated heat recovery systems in steel plants, although a comparison between standard process heat recovery and integrated heat recovery has not yet been explored. In this paper, the potential for additional energy savings achieved by using integrated heat recovery is estimated for a typical integrated steel plant, using pinch analysis. Overall, process heat recovery saves approximately 1.8GJ per tonne of hot rolled steel (GJ/thrs), integrated heat recovery with conventional heat exchange could save 2.5GJ/thrs, and an alternative heat exchange that also recovers energy from hot steel could save 3.0GJ/thrs. In developing these networks, general heat recovery strategies are identified that may be applied more widely to all primary steel production to enhance heat recovery. Limited additional savings may be obtained from the integration of the steel supply chain with other industries.

How alternative consumer markets can build community resiliency

Purpose Time banking is a form of alternative consumer market where members trade services, non-reciprocally creating a local marketplace for services. Time Banks facilitate dyadic exchanges, meeting members’ practical needs and building diverse skills. The purpose of this research was to determine the broad capabilities developed in the Time Bank economy, and to demonstrate how these capabilities were mobilised following a series of earthquakes, contributing to the larger community’s resiliency. Design/methodology/approach Taking an ethnographic approach, data were collected using a variety of methods including interviews, focus groups, participant observation and secondary research. Findings Over time, this alternative consumer market developed a significant communication and social network that members activated to solve diverse practical problems facing the community. Similar to other exchange communities, the Time Bank also fostered a strong sense of community based on reciprocity and egalitarian values. Although the Time Bank was created as a marketplace to exchange local services, during a series of devastating earthquakes, it galvanised adaptive capacities, increasing the resiliency of the local community during disaster relief and reconstruction. Research limitations/implications The data were drawn from one alternative exchange system in New Zealand. Practical implications The study shows how grassroots alternative consumer markets like Time Banks build community capacities alongside the formal economy. During normal times, this system meets consumer needs, but in extraordinary times, this system provides community shock absorbers, thereby enhancing community resiliency. Social implications The Time Bank was particularly adept at leveraging local knowledge to provide social support to those residents who were most vulnerable. Originality/value Data were collected before, during, and after the earthquakes, providing a rare opportunity to explore the process of community resiliency in action. This research extends existing theories of community resiliency explaining the development and activation of capacities by a local alternative consumer market.

An ethnography of Bitcoin: Towards a future research agenda

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are a recent socio-technical innovation that seeks to disrupt the existing monetary system. Through mundane uses of this new digital cash, they provide a social critique of the centralized infrastructures of the banking industry. This paper outlines an ethnographic research agenda for this new digital frontier of social practice and exchange and the human affordances of engaging with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Firstly we argue that the use of Bitcoin can be seen as acts of social resistance and a form of social mobility that harnesses the emergent, serendipitous and dynamic properties of digital community. We then outline the disruptive nature of borderless, affordable and instantaneous international transfers within social practice. Finally, we identify the possible permutations of trust that may be found in the technical affordances of Bitcoin and how these relate to user (pseudo)anonymity, cybertheft, cyberfraud, and consumer protection. Bringing together these three key areas we highlight the importance of understanding the ordinary (rather than extra-ordinary) uses of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. We contend that focusing upon users interactions with Bitcoin as a system and culture will shed light upon mundane acts of socio-technical disruption, acts that critique and provide alternative financial exchange practices to the economic and regulatory financial infrastructures of the centralised banking industry.

An ethnography of Bitcoin: Towards a future research agenda

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are a recent socio-technical innovation that seeks to disrupt the existing monetary system. Through mundane uses of this new digital cash, they provide a social critique of the centralized infrastructures of the banking industry. This paper outlines an ethnographic research agenda for this new digital frontier of social practice and exchange and the human affordances of engaging with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Firstly we argue that the use of Bitcoin can be seen as acts of social resistance and a form of social mobility that harnesses the emergent, serendipitous and dynamic properties of digital community. We then outline the disruptive nature of borderless, affordable and instantaneous international transfers within social practice. Finally, we identify the possible permutations of trust that may be found in the technical affordances of Bitcoin and how these relate to user (pseudo)anonymity, cybertheft, cyberfraud, and consumer protection. Bringing together these three key areas we highlight the importance of understanding the ordinary (rather than extra-ordinary) uses of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. We contend that focusing upon users interactions with Bitcoin as a system and culture will shed light upon mundane acts of socio-technical disruption, acts that critique and provide alternative financial exchange practices to the economic and regulatory financial infrastructures of the centralised banking industry.

Exchange Rate Policies and Monetary Union E ffectiveness in the East Africa Community

This paper assesses the effectiveness of East Africa Monetary Union under alternative exchange rate policies. We model four types of exchange rate policies in a two-open economy Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium model with financial micro-foundations. Findings reveal that floating exchange rate policy is preeminent for East Africa monetary union effectiveness. Partner states case study demonstrates that, first, wealth effect expansionary features are not driven under pegged exchange rate policy. Second, monetary policy transmission mechanism is ambiguous under target zone exchange rate policy. Third, Fisher effect dampening impact arises under managed floating exchange rate policy and lasts over time.

An industry analysis of the power of human capital for corporate performance: Evidence from South Africa

Even in industrialised emerging economies, the value-generating competencies of a workforce, known as its human capital efficiency, are a key resource for commercial success. The objective of this research is to empirically investigate the relationship between human capital efficiency (as measured by value-added human capital) and the financial and market performance of companies listed on the Main Board and Alternative Exchange (ALT-X) of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Return on assets, revenue growth and headline earnings per share were used as financial performance indicators; while market-to-book ratio and total share return were used to measure market performance. Multivariate regressions were performed, with panel data covering 390 companies in the financial, basic materials, consumer services, consumer goods, industrial and technology industries from 2001 to 2011. First, human capital efficiency was found to have no effect on the market performance of listed companies in South Africa. Secondly, higher human capital efficiency was found to result in the extraction of greater returns from both tangible and intangible assets in all industries. Thirdly, higher profitability was found to be associated with higher human capital efficiency in almost every industry in South Africa, with the exception of the technology industry, where human capital efficiency was found to be independent of headline earnings per share. Finally, higher revenue growth was found to be positively associated with human capital efficiency in those industries which are not consumer-driven. In the consumer-driven industries, human capital efficiency contributes to bottom line profitability even though it is not a driver for revenue growth. Overall, the results of this study confirm that human capital efficiency enhances a company’s financial performance, whether it be through a greater capacity for production and service delivery, tighter cost controls or better use of company resources. Management in all South African industries are encouraged to develop the value-creating abilities of their employees through employer-driven personnel enrichment and training programs and by incentivising workers to pursue further education.

Novel methanol-blocking proton exchange membrane achieved via self-anchoring phosphotungstic acid into chitosan membrane with submicro-pores

A novel chitosan/phosphotungstic acid composite proton exchange membrane was prepared by self-anchoring phosphotungstic acid into chitosan membrane with submicro-pores (smpCTS/HPW). The smpCTS/HPW membrane exhibits enhanced proton conductivity and excellent methanol-blocking performance. The proton conductivity of the composite membrane is significantly affected by the content of HPW which could be modulated by introducing soft template P123 into the membrane to obtain varied porosity. The highest proton conductivity (σ) of the composite membrane, 2.9×10−2Scm−1 at 80°C, was achieved with soft template P123 content of 40%. Moreover, the smpCTS/HPW membrane showed very stable proton conductivity under deionized water condition due to HPW molecules self-anchored in the CTS matrix. The methanol permeability (P) of 40%-smpCTS/HPW membrane was 4.7×10−7cm2s−1, which was 60% lower than that of Nafion 212 membrane. The highest selectivity factor (σ/P), 2.27×104Scm−3s, was obtained on 40%-smpCTS/HPW membrane. A direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) based on the 40%-smpCTS/HPW membrane achieved a peak power density of 16mW/cm2 at 80°C. This study indicates the promising potential of smpCTS/HPW membrane as alternative proton exchange membrane for DMFCs application.

The Structural Behavior of China-U.S. Trade Flows

We examine Chinese-US trade flows over the 1994-2012 period, and find that, in line with the conventional wisdom, the value of China’s exports to the US responds negatively to real renminbi (RMB) appreciation, while import responds positively. Further, the combined empirical price effects on exports and imports imply an increase in the real value of the RMB will reduce China’s trade balance. The use of alternative exchange rate measures and data on different trade classifications yields additional insights. Firms more subject to market forces exhibit greater price sensitivity. The price elasticity is larger for ordinary exports than for processing exports. Finally, accounting for endogeneity and measurement error matters. Hence, the purging the real exchange rate of the portion responding to policy, or using the deviation of the real exchange rate from the equilibrium level yields a stronger measured effect than when using the unadjusted bilateral exchange rate.

China–US trade flow behavior: the implications of alternative exchange rate measures and trade classifications

The authors examine Chinese-US trade flows over the 1994–2012 period, and find that, in line with the conventional wisdom, the value of China’s exports to the US responds negatively to real renminbi (RMB) appreciation, while imports respond positively. Further, the combined price effects on exports and imports imply an increase in the real value of the RMB will reduce China’s trade balance. The use of alternative exchange rate measures and data on different trade classifications yields additional insights. Firms more subject to market forces exhibit greater price sensitivity. The price elasticity is larger for ordinary exports than for processing exports. Finally, accounting for endogeneity and measurement error matters. Hence, purging the real exchange rate of the portion responding to policy, or using the deviation of the real exchange rate from the equilibrium level yields a stronger measured effect than when using the unadjusted bilateral exchange rate.

Reasons for failing offers in a Kidney Paired Donation program: A 7-year analysis

Aim Computer-identified possible Kidney Paired Donation (KPD) exchanges are presented as offers to participating transplant programs and eventually converted into transplants. We evaluated reasons why these offers failed to progress into successful transplants. Methods/Results The Alliance for Paired Donation (APD) has an optimization algorithm to generate possible KPD exchanges, which are presented to transplant centers for their review as offers. Each offer may be composed of one to multiple 1-way exchanges. We tracked the progress in moving from offers to transplants and recorded the reason for failure. Between January 2008 and August 2014, the APD made 981 offers. Of these offers 181 resulted in transplants while 800 failed, namely 268 failed for specific reasons while 529 failed as they were dependent on the same 268 1-ways. Overall, specific reasons accounted for 57% of all failures with: 25% positive flow crossmatch (FXM); 13% competing offer outside the APD; and, 19% declined of donors by transplant centers (Fig. 1). Our detail analysis showed that the 25% positive FXM with negative virtual crossmatch (VXM) correlated with an increased number of highly sensitized patients: the pool of sensitized patients with a PRA >80% has increased from 31% in 2008 to 47% in 2014. Since many patients choose to enroll in multiple KPD registries some offers resulted in futile exchanges with patients already committed to alternative exchanges. Finally, donors were declined by transplant centers. To avoid these specific reasons for failure, the APD has begun pre-review consulting about donors and recipients prior to making a formal offer. Conclusions To prevent specific reasons for failure the APD has implemented the following changes: (1) testing of all donors for HLA-DQA, DPA and DPB; (2) expansion of the donor pool to increase options for highly sensitized patients; and (3) improved coordination with other KPD programs to avoid competing offers. Download : Download full-size image

Google Trends and Forecasting Performance of Exchange Rate Models

In this paper, internet search data provided from Google Trends is utilized to nowcast the known variates of alternative exchange rate determination models. The sample covers 12 OECD countries’ exchange rates for the period from Jan 2004 to June 2014. The results indicate that inclusion of Google Trends-based nowcasting values of macro fundamentals to the current set of government released-macro-economic variables improve the out-of-sample forecast of Purchasing Power Parity model in seven currency pairs and of Monetary model in four currency pairs. In this paper we claim that, for proper testing of the structural models, since there is a lag in the release of official data on macro fundamentals, the literature should focus more on using ex ante variables on current macro fundamentals and nowcasting of these variables with utilization of Google Search Inquiries can be one alternative for this purpose.

Oil dependency and exchange rate regimes in Arab oil economies: time to rethink the paradigm

This study examines implications of the current exchange rate regimes on the macroeconomic and growth performance of five Arab oil-producing countries: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Sudan, Algeria and Yemen. The study evaluates alternative exchange rate regime policy options towards exploring an optimal exit strategy to ensure successful transition to more sustainable exchange rate regime, especially in the fixed regime economies of Saudi Arabia and the UAE. This study proposes the adoption of a transparent broad basket, band and crawl (BBC) regime by the Arab oil economies in order to provide a better alternative to the existing fixed pegs or dirty floats. However, it is imperative to note that, the timing of the exit from the current regime and the extent of institutional development and market sophistications are very critical to successful transition to more sustainable regime that would provide a larger scope for counter-cyclical policies and diversification in these economies.