Important National Asset Research Articles

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FACTORS OF USE AND CONSERVATION OF WATER RESOURCES IN ZHYTOMYR REGION

The water resources of Zhytomyr region are an important national asset, the condition of which affects people's health, economic development and the "good" environmental condition of the region. The current state of water resources in Zhytomyr region is of some concern due to a number of challenges, including: water pollution with organic materials, nutrients and toxic elements due to incomplete or no wastewater treatment, leaching of pollutants from agricultural land and plastic waste. The challenges also include limited access to quality drinking water in some regions, underdeveloped water supply and sanitation systems, unregulated water consumption and violations of water protection regulations, and hydromorphological changes related to hydropower and water flow regulation, including problems with coastal protection zones and water protection zones, as well as the effects of climate change, including floods and droughts.Taking this into consideration, conducting a SWOT analysis for the use and conservation of water resources in Zhytomyr region gets a particular relevance. The purpose of the study is to conduct a SWOT analysis that will not only allow a deeper analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the regional water management system, but also to identify potential opportunities for improvement and risk reduction. The SWOT analysis will serve as the basis for developing strategies that will promote the conservation and rational use of water resources, strengthen the environmental well-being of the region, and ensure sustainable economic development and public health in Zhytomyr Region.

Investigation of the Geometrical Deterioration of Paved Superstructure Tramway Tracks in Budapest (Hungary)

In the 21st century, one of the key requirements is to develop and maintain our infrastructure facilities most efficiently using the available resources. Tramways are of significant national economic importance and represent an important national asset. There are currently seven different types of superstructure systems in Hungary, based on the national regulations and the related requirements currently in force. This paper compares the paved tramway superstructure systems in the context of track geometry, through-rolled axle tons of track, and the age of track sections. Paved tracks have many benefits, but the main ones are easier maintenance and road traffic use. Elastically supported continuous rail bedding (ESCRB; in Hungary, this is known as “RAFS”) and “large” slab superstructure systems are used to create paved superstructure systems. Road crossings use the latter systems, while heavily loaded lines use several ESCRB systems. This article examines the geometrical changes in several ESCRB superstructure systems. A TrackScan 4.01 instrument was used to take measurements in June and September 2021 and in April 2022, September 2022, and May 2023. Track gauge, alignment, and longitudinal level are examined. Regardless of the ESCRB superstructure system or age, a medium-loaded line’s track gauge trendline increases, which means that the track gauge is widening and, regardless of traffic load or age, the average longitudinal level is constantly increasing from year to year. When it is a medium-loaded line, the average value of alignment increases slightly, and the trendline is almost straight, but it decreases when it is an extremely heavily loaded line. The authors will analyze how the reference track section will change in the future. Based on the results, it is important to assess how subsequent measurements affect the trend lines. Because the data evaluations show similar results, comparing open tramway tracks to paved ones is crucial.

How do we drive a renaissance for national island conservation in Australia?

Australia’s approach to managing and conserving its offshore islands as important national assets warrants urgent review. There is a growing realisation that the current trajectory of loss of natural heritage on islands must be reversed, particularly in an era of increasing climate change. We propose a role description and an organisational model for a national Australian Islands Alliance that champions conservation action, prioritises investments aligned to risks, and that connects partners at a strategic national level. A national alliance offers important opportunity to assess threats and report on condition. Four key foundations underpin a national alliance dedicated to championing island care and expert management: (1) management informed by evidence; (2) sound return on investment; (3) national coordination in partnership with States and Territories; and (4) community participation inclusive of Aboriginal peoples’ and Torres Strait Islanders’ custodial rights and interests. The message from experiences shared across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region is that traditional island custodians and stakeholders are vital partners to restoration efforts. These shared learnings collectively demonstrate the time is now for Australia to move forward with a respectful and unified direction to progress successful and sustainable island conservation and restoration.

Assessment of physical, chemical and dissolved trace metals parameters of marine water quality in East Malaysia’s port

A port is an important national asset that needs to be carefully protected. Ports should be maintained to preserve both public health and the natural environment. This study focused on determining the status of a port in Peninsular Malaysia based on water quality analysis. Marine water samples in the port were collected from eight sampling locations. Fifteen physical and chemical parameters and trace metal concentrations were measured in-situ and in a laboratory using standard methods. The ranges of the results were as follows; 26.6–32.2 °C for temperature, 7.2–9.5 for pH, 7.18–8.55 mg/L for DO, 6.27–423.33 NTU for turbidity, 41–751 mg/L for TSS, 1.1–10.5 mg/L for BOD5, 57–2791 mg/L for COD, 6.00–679.50 mg/L for O&G, and 0.17–7.28 mg/L for NH3-N. The trace metal concentrations were as follows; 0.000–0.080 mg/L for Al, 0.000–0.048 mg/L for Cr, 0.001–0.197 mg/L for Cu, 0.002-0.821 mg/L for Fe, 0–0.038 mg/L for Ni, and 0.001– 0.068 mg/L for Zn. The parameters of total suspended solid, chemical oxygen demand, oil and grease, ammonia-nitrogen and Cu were mostly unacceptable in terms of water quality and sources of pollution. It stemmed from the phenomenon of the tides, port activities and the diversity of shipload, effects of antifouling ship, sewage and stormwater runoff are the main contributors of marine pollution. Therefore, water quality monitoring and control of the release of untreated organic and dissolved metal wastes into marine waters are greatly needed.

Plant communities responding to grazing pressure by sheep in an Alpine meadow.

The Chinese grassland ecosystem is an important national asset that not only impacts climate regulation, soil and water conservation, wind protection, and soil carbon and nitrogen fixation but is also an important contributor to maintaining grassland biodiversity while supporting livestock production. Grasslands are a key component contributing to the productivity of grazing animals but also provide basic food production via livestock grazing for herder survival. Grazing is the most basic means of grassland utilization but is considered one of the more important disturbance factors controllable by humans that has a universal and profound impact on the grassland ecosystem due to animal density and over grazing. For Alpine grasslands, it is not clear what grazing intensity (GI) can be achieved to improve plant biodiversity and vegetative nutritional value while improving sheep productivity. This field experiment was conducted for 7 yr comparing the impact of different GI on vegetation community characteristics, nutritional value, and sheep growth performance on the Alpine meadows of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. The GI measured were: Control: 0 sheep/ha; Low: 3.7 sheep/ha; Medium: 5.3 sheep/ha; and Heavy: 7.6 sheep/ha. The grazing experiment started in 2008, but experimental data collection and analyses were collected for the final 4 yr of 2015 through 2018. All grazing intensities >0 sheep/ha reduced (P < 0.05) plant height (27%, 46%, and 48%, respectively, for 3.7, 5.3, and 7.6 sheep/ha), ground coverage (16%, 24%, and 48%), and above ground biomass (2%, 42% and 53%) of the various plant communities while increasing (P < 0.05) the grass community density (individuals/m2) compared to a nongrazed Control. With increasing GI, the community height, coverage, and above-ground biomass decreased (P < 0.05), and the plant community density increased then decreased (P < 0.05) compared to Control. As GI increased, the available community biomass nutritional quality increased (P < 0.05). Comprehensive analysis showed that the community density (quantity) and nutritional quality were the highest when the GI was 5.3 sheep/ha. The higher the GI, the greater the grass’s nutritive value with lower above-ground net primary production (ANPP). When GI was the highest, the average daily gain (ADG) per hectare was the highest in the short term, but the highest GI endangers the ANPP and profitability of the grassland grazing ecosystem in the long term. Targeting a moderate GI (5.3 sheep/ha) can provide 78% of the ADG per hectare of the highest GI, which meets the requirement of maintaining a sustainable grazing grassland.

IDENTIFICATION OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE USING DATA MINING TECHNIQUES

Critical Infrastructure (CI) is a term used to describe important national assets for producing or distributing a continuous flow of essential goods or services. They are marked by immense complexity, characterized predominantly by strong intra and interdependencies as well as hierarchies. These interconnections take many forms, including flows of information, shared security, physical flows of commodities, and others. Previous research has illustrated the relationship between the physical impacts of natural disasters and the social and economic factors on CI. Some research emphasized more the role of CI interdependencies and their importance and influence over the functioning of industries while others have looked the impacts due to disruption of CI after disasters. Nowadays comprehensive identification of all interdependency relationships of CI remains a challenge. As the complexity and interconnectedness of a country's CI evolve, threats and vulnerabilities increase. Thus, investigating how a set of CI interacts and identification of criticality of CI becomes an important topic. This research has made utilization of data mining techniques and proposes a method to identify the criticality of Critical Infrastructure so that to develop better disaster protection and prevention management.

Application of data mining techniques for the investigation of track geometry and stiffness variation

Railway tracks are one of the most important national assets of many countries. The major part of the annual budget of railway companies concerns repairing, improving, and maintaining railway tracks, which is a challenge for railway managers. The logical method of repair and maintenance should take into account all the economic and technical aspects of the problem and proper management of track maintenance—without knowing the factors and parameters responsible for the track failure—quality control methods, and finally, the choice of the appropriate repair methods. Railway track geometry is the main factor that identifies the track behavior and condition. It is based on measuring the geometric parameters of the track determined by the track quality indices. The existing track quality indices mostly represent the geometrical condition of the railway track superstructure. In the past years, the effects of track bed stiffness on the track condition have been investigated. This paper investigates the railway track condition based on the railway track geometry parameters as well as the vertical track stiffness. A method for continuous measurement of track stiffness along a railway line is described and demonstrated. By measuring the track geometry parameters and stiffness, the superstructure and the substructure condition of the railway track are assessed. In addition, the relation between these data is investigated by using data mining techniques such as classification, decision tree, clustering, and dominant wavelength filtering. It is shown that filtering the data based on the dominant wavelength provides the best correlation between the track geometry in the vertical direction and stiffness.

Impacts of Mau Forest Catchment on the Great Rift Valley Lakes in Kenya

Remote sensing and GIS applications are being widely used for various projects relating to natural resource management. Forests are very important national assets for economic, environmental protection, social and cultural values and should be conserved in order to realize all these benefits. Kenya’s forests are rapidly declining due to pressure from increased population, technological innovation, urbanization human development and other land uses. Mau forest is one of the major forests in Kenya that is a catchment area for many Great Rift Valley lakes within the country and faces a lot of destruction. Continued destruction of the Mau forest will cause catastrophic environmental damage, resulting in massive food crises and compromising the livelihoods of millions of Kenyans, and the possible collapse of the tourism industry. The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between the increasing rate of deforestation and the reduction of the volumes of water in the neighboring lakes between the years 1989 to 2010. Satellite images from Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) were used for the detection of changes in the Mau forest and the dynamics of the neighboring water bodies that included lakes: Naivasha, Baringo, Nakuru, Elementaita and Bogoria. The research showed that from a period of 1989 to 2010 Mau forest has been decreasing due to deforestation and the water bodies have irregular dynamics in that, from 1989 to 2000, there was rise in the volume of water, this is attributed to the El Nino rains experienced in the country during the year 1997 and 1998. But between 2000 and 2010 the volume decreased as the forest is also decreasing. It is recommended that the government creates awareness to sensitize the public on the importance of such forests as catchment areas in Kenya.

Access and Finance Issues: The University of Alabama’s Education Policy Center

Established in the 1920s, the Education Policy Center (EPC) is the oldest center or institute at The University of Alabama. Our work centers on four interrelated areas: (a) access and finance of public higher education, (b) college completion, (c) Pell Grants, and (d) rural community colleges. As place-based institutions with service delivery areas typically assigned by state law/statute or regulations (Friedel, Killacky, Katsinas, & Miller, 2014), given the emphasis on place-based solutions following the 2009 and 2010 White House Memoranda on Place-Based Policies, why haven’t the United States Departments of Education and Agriculture funded research on rural community colleges? As long as the discredited urbanicity definition continues to be used in Washington, America’s 553 rural community colleges will likely operate well below the radar screen, and an important national asset will be underutilized. Since the last major foundation-funded rural community college program ended in 2002 when the Ford Foundation closed its Rural Community College Initiative (Kennamer & Katsinas, 2010), the lack of federal initiatives to illuminate the good works of these institutions is needed even more. If rural community college enrollments are just over a third of total enrollments, every federally appointed commission and study group should include a third of its representatives from rural community colleges.

공공데이터 유형화를 위한 분류체계 설계에 관한 사례 연구 -미래창조과학부 산하기관의 공공데이터를 중심으로-

오늘날의 공공데이터는 일상생활의 편의증진, 새로운 비즈니즈 및 일자리 창출 등의 사회 경제적 가치와 부가적 잠재력을 지닌 중요한 국가자산으로 인식되고 있어 해외 선진국들은 공공데이터를 적극 개방하고 민간 활용을 위한 다양한 정책들을 경쟁적으로 추진하고 있으며, 우리나라 정부도 창조경제를 지원하는 새로운 정부운영 패러다임으로 정부3.0 정책을 추진하고 있으나, 개방된 공공데이터는 공급자 관점의 분류체계로 유형화되어 있어 수요자 관점의 접근이나 정보소재 파악이 어려워 민간 활용를 확대하기에는 한계가 있다. 본 연구에서는 기존 공공데이터 개방 서비스의 분류체계에 대해 조사 분석하여 미래창조과학부 산하기관이 보유하고 있는 공공데이터를 대상으로 민간 활용 활성화를 위한 사용자 관점의 데이터 개념을 정의하고 새로운 분류체계를 설계하여 정보관리 관점에 따른 5개 유형과 정보활용 관점에 따른 7개 분야, 21개 세부 분야의 분류체계를 도출하였다. Today's public sector information is considered an important national asset that has social and economic value. Hence, developed countries are competitively promoting various policies to actively promote access to public sector information and the use of such information for private purposes. The Korean government is also boosting the Government 3.0 policy as a new governmental management paradigm that supports the creative economy. Despite these governmental efforts, since open public sector information is only classified from the supplier's perspective, it is difficult to have access to information for private application from the consumer's perspective and expand private applications because of the problems in identifying the information source. In this study, the concept of data from the user's perspective for the activation of private applications was defined by focusing on public sector information obtained by affiliated organizations of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning(MSIP). The new classification system was designed by analyzing the classification system of conventional open services of public sector information through investigation.

RFID sensor network-based automation system for monitoring and tracking of sandalwood trees

Radio frequency identification RFID emerges as one of the converging technologies. It is a powerful medium for identification of any object and leads all methods in auto ID umbrella. RFID is now key technology in the field of asset tracking. In India, sandalwood is considered to be an important national asset. In this paper, a novel method is proposed to monitor illegal cutting of sandalwood trees in the forest. In India, it is maintained by forest department. There are many problems in maintaining that since it is a very expensive one. Our forest department and police department face a number of challenges in safeguarding this important national asset. Main objective of this work is to monitor each tree continuously and to control smuggling. Latest RFID sensor network helps us to solve this problem. RFID tags are placed in the tree and using RFID readers it is continuously monitored. If the tree is cut by unauthorised person, sensors will trigger the transceiver to transmit tag ID and alert signal to the control room. For this, ZigBee network and mobile network are used.

PRS16 Socioeconomic Burden of COPD in Ukraine: 2012-2020 Perspective Modeling

According to the GOLD report (2011), COPD is associated with significant economic burden. For Ukraine as for developing country, the human capital (employed economically active population) is the most important national asset and COPD-related work-place loss may represent a serious threat for Ukrainian economics. Via the best fit (least square) linear regression forecast we modeled the 2012-2020 dynamics of the key socioeconomic and COPD-related epidemiological indicators for general Ukrainian population and employed economically active population. Modeling was based on the 2005-2011 reports of the Ukrainian National Center of Statistics and data from WHO. Using forecasting results the number of new COPD cases and COPD-related deaths 2012-2020 was calculated. Also we calculated and compared 2012 and 2020 direct and indirect costs. According to the forecasting results, number of total Ukrainian population and employed economically active population could amount 45453100 and 20393267, respectively, in 2012 and 43484907 and 20845448, respectively, in 2020. Number of COPD patients in 2012 and 2020 could be 1766748 and 1731332, respectively, in general population and 792680 and 829952, respectively, in employed economically active population. Number of 2012-2020 new COPD cases and COPD related deaths could be 1230750 and 56207, respectively, in general population and 570737 and 25892, respectively, in employed economically active population. We estimated that in 2012 direct COPD costs could be 87,17% greater than indirect COPD costs and could amount to €326367598 vs. €193607579,9, respectively. In 2020 indirect COPD costs could 1,47% exceed the direct costs and could amount €496997427,8 vs. 489796409, respectively. Results of modeling show that socioeconomic burden of COPD will be significant for Ukraine during the 2012-2020 periods. COPD costs will rise with the significant growth of indirect costs, which may be typically for Ukraine as for developing country.

Universities, Key to Prosperity

By almost any measure, U.S. Research Universities are consistently ranked among the best in the world. Beginning with the Morrill Act (Land Grant College Act) of 1862, federal and state policies have underscored the nation's commitment to building the finest research institutions. As such, U.S. universities have been the incubators of the nation's prosperity. E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, which I once headed, is a great example. One of its key products, nylon, was made possible because of a Harvard-educated polymer researcher who brought his knowledge to DuPont. Today, that kind of connection is everywhere, from high-tech Silicon Valley startups to cutting-edge East Coast biomedical facilities. The talent and knowledge produced by research universities underpin many of the finest U.S. achievements, from seeding the modern agricultural system to enabling the World Wide Web. But new challenges are putting these important national assets in danger. The National Research Council (NRC) committee that I chaired to assess the capacities of U.S. universities has now released recommendations for maintaining their role in national prosperity. *

Inter-Country Adoption: A Legal Perspective

In India, presently 18 million destitutes and orphan children are being looked after in various orphanages. Each year, about fifty thousand children become destitute as they are abandoned by the helpless parents and unwed mothers. Hundreds of them die from malnutrition and disease due to lack of clean water and inadequate sanitation. Since children constitute the human resource of our country and they are supremely important national asset, it is the duty of the state and the society to take effective steps to secure and safeguard their welfare and to provide opportunities to them to grow and develop their personality in a healthy atmosphere. Moral sense of society compels us to search a solution to the problems of the abandoned children and Intercountry adoption is only one of such solutions. The object of the paper is to analyse the concept of Intercountry adoption as it is existing today. A comparison of the same under the legal framework of India, United States of America and United Kingdom has also been drawn. The way in which the present Indian adoption laws with reference to Intercountry adoptions can be made efficient within the existing legal framework has also been proposed.

The self-limiting success of Iran sanctions

Economic sanctions have often been considered an important tool for disciplining adversaries and compelling them to offer important concessions. History, however, suggests otherwise. Economic penalties rarely cause states to abandon important national assets. After decades of struggling under punitive financial measures, Iran has persisted with its objectionable policies ranging from terrorism to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. All this suggests that ideological regimes that put a premium on their political priorities and which are seemingly insensitive to the mounting costs of their belligerence may not be suitable candidates for the type of cost-benefit analysis that sanctions diplomacy invites.

Environmental review of geyser basins: resources, scarcity, threats, and benefits

The world’s geysers are known for providing one of nature’s most unusual water spectacles, with most sending water upwards of about 3 m, but a few “grand” or tall geysers erupt to heights of 60 m or more. A geyser basin is a composite resource made up of geysers and hot springs that cluster around a common hydrothermal reservoir, and might also contain other hydrothermal features like fumaroles and mud pots. The world’s remaining geyser basins are exceptionally rare, and are increasingly important recreation, economic, scientific, cultural, spiritual, therapeutic, and national heritage assets. Geyser basins harbor thermophilic microorganisms that contain heat-adapted biomolecules that can be harvested to provide vital components for DNA testing, and other high-temperature industrial processes. However, geysers and other surface hydrothermal features are increasingly vulnerable, and can be quickly and irreversibly damaged. Energy development projects quenched about 249 geysers, or about half of all geysers that were not protected in a national park or reserve. About 100 geysers were driven to extinction in New Zealand, about 46 in Iceland, and about 48 in the USA. Sustaining the world’s remaining geyser basins requires protecting the hydrothermal reservoirs that support them based on an integrated management approach that takes into account the distinctive characteristics of surface hydrothermal features and the benefits that society derives from them. A framework is provided that defines geyser basin resources, the scarcity of the remaining geysers, the environmental threats, and preservation benefits. Multiple case studies of mass geyser extinction are highlighted, including a summary of the landscape changes that can accompany geothermal energy development.

In vitro conservation of Malaysian biodiversity—achievements, challenges and future directions

Malaysia is fortunate and proud to contain some of the world’s richest biodiversity. In Malaysia, there are an estimated 185,000 species of fauna and 12,500 species of flowering plants, many of which are endemic to tropical forests in this region. Indeed, such diversity is an important and invaluable national asset to safeguard both present and future generations. In vitro conservation offers possible techniques for the preservation of plant germplasm that at present is difficult to maintain or is maintained with limited success. Research at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (The National University of Malaysia) focuses on the cryopreservation of woody fruit species with seeds that cannot tolerate cryopreservation (recalcitrant or intermediate). Among the plants with recalcitrant seeds are such traditionally important edible tropical fruits as mangosteen, langsat, and rambai (Garcinia mangostana, Lansium domesticum, and Baccaurea motleyana). Citrus aurantifolia, Citrus suhuiensis, Citrus madurensis, Citrus hystrix, and Fortunella polyandra are among the Citrus and Citrus-related species studied. Cryopreservation studies include the Nepenthes species (pitcher plants) of Malaysia. Fundamental research on desiccation and low-temperature tolerance and on the physiology of desiccation are used to understand seed behavior, a prerequisite for the development of successful conservation techniques. At the same time, cryopreservation protocols for several Citrus and forestry species were developed for embryonic axes and adventitious shoots, mainly using rapid dehydration and PVS2 vitrification techniques. There are no successful standard techniques or protocols for species with highly recalcitrant seeds such as Garcinia species. Modification of existing protocols or development of new methods is required, but this can be accomplished only when a detailed understanding of the recalcitrant nature of the seeds or explants is achieved. While we have considerable knowledge concerning the basics of biochemical processes and some molecular data from work on desiccation-tolerant seeds, a great need remains for understanding the cause of the recalcitrance or desiccation sensitivity of these seeds. It may be necessary to use a systems biology approach that exploits the “omics” technologies to generate global molecular data. In combination with bioinformatics for data integration and analyses, this approach would move toward improved modeling of the biological pathways associated with the development of recalcitrant seeds.

Collection and Analysis of Critical Infrastructure Interdependency Relationships

Critical infrastructure represents important national assets for producing or distributing continuous flows of essential goods or services. When one aspect of the critical infrastructure shuts down due to an external disruption, other portions of the system that need those goods or services are likely to stop shortly thereafter, thus exacerbating the damage caused by the external disruption. Literature on critical infrastructure interdependency (CII) shows a need for analyzing failure records with time information from different types of critical infrastructure. This paper presents a knowledge discovery process for CII to extract records of frequent patterns of critical infrastructure failure that are directly or indirectly triggered by external disruptions. The knowledge discovery process, including integration of critical infrastructure failure records and their transformation into the data format needed by a data mining algorithm, is described. The paper includes a discussion on a disaster mitigation approach that could be used to stop CII-related failure events, and it includes the analysis of the results of sample critical infrastructure failure records. Disaster mitigation officials can employ the proposed approach to explore CII and to design countermeasures when a disaster hits.

Origins of Travelling Stock Routes. 1. Connections to Indigenous traditional pathways

Travelling Stock Routes (TSRs) are networks of grazing routes and reserves situated throughout much of south-eastern Australia, and thought to have originated from the informal tracks of early European explorers, pastoralists and settlers. However, the historic development of TSRs has been poorly documented, and mostly confined to the classic pastoral account. An alternative perspective is that many TSRs may have originated from previous Indigenous traditional pathways, which are known to have existed before European settlement. By examining available literature and maps, we found evidence which suggests that several TSRs, which follow the routes of early explorers, settlers or pastoralists, have developed from previous traditional pathways. Adoption of Indigenous pathways into the present-day stock route system has most likely occurred by (1) ‘passing on’ of knowledge of pathways by Indigenous guides and trackers, (2) observations of physical evidence of pathways by early Europeans, and their subsequent adoption, and (3) shared development of some TSRs as a result of Indigenous people working in the pastoral industry. These findings highlight the significant cultural heritage values of the TSR network, and the need to appropriately protect and manage this important national asset.

A note on portfolio choice for sovereign wealth funds

For many oil exporting countries, crude oil or gas reserves are the single most important national assets. Any change in the value of reserves directly and materially affects these countries’ wealth, and thus the wellbeing of their citizens. Figure 8.1 serves as an illustration for the violent nature of oil price changes that can have a destabilizing effect on the economy via volatile real exchange rates.