The Effects of Currency Protectionism on the Exports of the Trade Partners - A Composite Index

The competitive exchange rate devaluation (or currency protectionism) is a phenomenon of global political economy, which goes hand in hand with trade activities. The causes, consequences and effects of monetary protectionism for the concerned countries have been thoroughly analyzed on the basis of existing literature. An important element of analysis is the different effects of the implementation of protectionist policy measures on trading partners. An example of currency protectionism nowadays is the currency competition between the US and China. Although the US is the "hegemon" of the modern international economic-political system, China's continuous, upward and rapid economic course has weakened the primacy of the US, with consequences that are perceived in the global economic system. Of course, China has been accused of practices of economic "mercantilism." On the basis of these mercantilist accusations, a kind of war broke out with the US. But the main question is this: how are the exports of trading partners affected by this currency competition? To be able to answer this question more fully, a quantitative tool should be created that can interpret the effects of currency competition on trading partners. This study will try answering this question by using the case study of U.S. - China currency competition. The methodology applied is the creation of a Composite Index.

A Framework for Modelling Economic Regional Location Processes Under Uncertainty

This paper deals with the theoretical analysis of the spatial concentration and localization of firms and employees over a set of regions. In particular, it provides a simple site-selection theoretical model to describe the probabilistic framework of the location patterns. The adopted quantitative tool is the stochastic theory of urns. The model moves from the empirical evidence of the deviation of the spatial location of companies from the uniform distribution and of employees from the distribution of firms. Factors leading to such deviations are taken into consideration. Specifically, we formalize a decision problem grounded on the economic attributes of the regions and also on the distribution of the existing firms and employees in the territory. To our purpose, the site-selection model is presented as a stepwise process.

IVEN: A quantitative tool to describe 3D cell position and neighbourhood reveals architectural changes in FGF4-treated preimplantation embryos

Architectural changes at the cellular and organism level are integral and necessary to successful development and growth. During mammalian preimplantation development, cells reduce in size and the architecture of the embryo changes significantly. Such changes must be coordinated correctly to ensure continued development of the embryo and, ultimately, a successful pregnancy. However, the nature of such transformations is poorly defined during mammalian preimplantation development. In order to quantitatively describe changes in cell environment and organism architecture, we designed Internal Versus External Neighbourhood (IVEN). IVEN is a user-interactive, open-source pipeline that classifies cells into different populations based on their position and quantifies the number of neighbours of every cell within a dataset in a 3D environment. Through IVEN-driven analyses, we show how transformations in cell environment, defined here as changes in cell neighbourhood, are related to changes in embryo geometry and major developmental events during preimplantation mammalian development. Moreover, we demonstrate that modulation of the FGF pathway alters spatial relations of inner cells and neighbourhood distributions, leading to overall changes in embryo architecture. In conjunction with IVEN-driven analyses, we uncover differences in the dynamic of cell size changes over the preimplantation period and determine that cells within the mammalian embryo initiate growth phase only at the time of implantation.

Should Ghana Legalize the Commercial Use of Motor Bikes and Tricycles as Means of Public Transport? A Case Study of Five Selected Regions in Ghana

In the wave of raging debate, even on the floor of parliament, as to whether it would be expedient to commercialize Bikes’ usage in Ghana, it is important to look at its benefits or otherwise. Hence, the study sought to show whether Ghana should legalize the commercial use of motor cycles and tricycles operations. The design was a descriptive study which used quantitative tool to show public acceptance or rejection of commercializing the use of motorcycles and tricycles in Ghana. The study was based on the use of questionnaires for the data collection and were analyzed using Microsoft Excel. The sample population considered was Five (5) Regions in Ghana which are Central, Greater Accra, Bono, Bono East and Northern Regions. Questionnaires of 460 were drawn for the study. It was found out, among others, that many of the riders do not possess licenses; riders are aware of robbery incidents perpetuated by their colleagues; police harassments and passenger pressure are strong reasons for not observing traffic regulations; unfavorable road architecture; the activity is a good source of income. It was therefore recommended that, the okada/pragia/keke/motor king/motor kia operations should be legalized for commercial use with regulations and strict compliance by actors or operators.

Should Ghana Legalize the Commercial Use of Motor Bikes and Tricycles as Means of Public Transport? A Case Study of Five Selected Regions in Ghana

In the wave of raging debate, even on the floor of parliament, as to whether it would be expedient to commercialize Bikes’ usage in Ghana, it is important to look at its benefits or otherwise. Hence, the study sought to show whether Ghana should legalize the commercial use of motor cycles and tricycles operations. The design was a descriptive study which used quantitative tool to show public acceptance or rejection of commercializing the use of motorcycles and tricycles in Ghana. The study was based on the use of questionnaires for the data collection and were analyzed using Microsoft Excel. The sample population considered was Five (5) Regions in Ghana which are Central, Greater Accra, Bono, Bono East and Northern Regions. Questionnaires of 460 were drawn for the study. It was found out, among others, that many of the riders do not possess licenses; riders are aware of robbery incidents perpetuated by their colleagues; police harassments and passenger pressure are strong reasons for not observing traffic regulations; unfavorable road architecture; the activity is a good source of income. It was therefore recommended that, the okada/pragia/keke/motor king/motor kia operations should be legalized for commercial use with regulations and strict compliance by actors or operators.