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- Chapter1 Introduction
- Chapter 2 The 1999 Fund-Wide TA Evaluation
- Chapter 3 Trends and Patterns in the Allocation of TA Resources
- Chapter 4 Identifying TA Needs and the Allocation of TA Resources
- Chapter 5 The Process of TA Delivery
- Chapter 6 Measuring the Effectiveness of TA:Tracking Implementation and Factors Influencing Progress and Implementation
- International Monetary Fund. Independent Evaluation Office
- Published Date:
- October 2005
Summary of Major Findings and Recommendations
This evaluation examines the technical assistance (TA) provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to its member countries. The evaluation is based on desk reviews of a broad sample of countries, analyses of cross-country data on TA, six in-depth country case studies (including field visits and interviews with counterparts, authorities, and donors), reviews of past evaluations, and interviews with IMF staff and other stakeholders.1
The objective of IMF TA was defined in the most recent policy statement on the subject: "The objective of the IMF TA is to contribute to the development of the productive resources of member countries by enhancing the effectiveness of economic policy and financial management. The IMF TA works to achieve this objective in two ways. First, much of the IMF's TA seeks to support the efforts of members to strengthen their capacity—in both human and institutional resources—to formulate and implement sustainable, growth-oriented and poverty-reducing macroeconomic, financial, and structural policies. Second, the IMF assists countries in the design of appropriate macroeconomic and structural policy reforms, taking account of the lessons learned by other countries in addressing similar economic policy concerns."2
The above objective encompasses a very diverse and broad range of TA activities. It includes not only support for long-term institution building in the countries themselves, but also fact-finding and analytical activities that allow the IMF to advise countries on specific policies or in the design of IMF-supported programs. This very wide definition presents special analytical challenges, both in identifying TA priorities as well as in evaluating the effectiveness of TA.
With this in mind, and in an effort to derive operational lessons to enhance the effectiveness of IMF TA, this evaluation unbundles the TA process into three stages—prioritization, delivery, and monitoring and evaluation of impact—and asks three sets of questions:
- Prioritization and resource allocation. How are countries' TA needs identified? Are they derived from a process able to compare short-and medium-term needs or priorities across sectors and reallocate resources effectively, taking account of evidence on outcomes? What can be done to make the process more strategic so as to increase the relevance of the TA program?
- The delivery process. How effective is the delivery of TA? What factors influence the effectiveness of the various modalities of delivery, including the country-specificity of the diagnosis and proposed solutions, as well as domestic ownership of the recommendations?
- Monitoring progress and evaluating impact. How is progress being tracked and what factors contribute to the impact of TA? What factors are under the control of the IMF or outside it? What can be learned to improve the IMF's own monitoring and evaluation activities so that lessons from past TA can be a guide for future allocations and design of TA?
In trying to assess the effectiveness of technical assistance, we distinguish between the impact at different stages of the results chain—the immediate improvements in the technical capabilities of agencies receiving TA; the ability of agencies to then apply and enforce that increased capability; and whenever possible, ultimate outcomes on the ground. Attribution of results to the effects of TA clearly becomes more difficult the further out the results chain we go. While such assessments inevitably rely heavily upon qualitative judgments, we have drawn upon various performance indicators and benchmarks wherever possible. (These issues are discussed in greater detail in Chapter 6.)
The first section of this summary presents the main findings. The second section summarizes the major recommendations.
Major Findings3
Resources devoted to TA (Chapter 3)
- The IMF provides annually about 300 person-years of direct TA services, amounting to $80 million and equivalent to about 10 percent of the gross administrative budget of the institution.4About 30 percent of it is financed externally. Taking account of indirect support activities and other allocated fixed costs, total expenditure on TA and related activities amounts to about $190 million, or about 23 percent of the gross administrative budget.5 Whatever definition is used, the volume of IMF TA is quite small relative to efforts by bilateral donors.6
- About 70 percent of IMF TA is directed to countries with per capita income below $1,000. TA seems to be well targeted toward the low-income countries. In fact, we found that the less the per capita income of a country the more the TA provided by the IMF (corrected by population and other factors). The volume of IMF TA provided to countries also seems to be positively associated with the country having a program supported by the PRGF or the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), the amount of external financing available, and whether the country is a post-conflict economy.
How TA priorities are being set (Chapter 4)
- At present, TA activities seem to be driven, in large part, by the specific needs of IMF-supported programs and by the new Fund-wide initiatives, such as Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSCs), Financial Sector Assessment Programs (FSAPs), and anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) assessments. These initiatives have become more important drivers of TA activities than the country-specific policy directions and priorities that emanate from Article IV consultations or the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) process.
- We found a weak link between TA priorities and Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) or with key policy issues identified in Article IV consultations. In most cases, the PRS process has still not been able to clearly identify major capacity-building needs that could then be taken up by TA. This is a major shortcoming because the PRSP was expected to become the vehicle to provide guidance on broad priorities for the IMF in low-income countries.
- TA activities do not appear to be guided by a medium-term country-based policy framework that would set TA priorities in the IMF areas of expertise across sectors, program needs, and institutional initiatives, and that would be able to balance TA demands stemming from short-term policy needs with medium-term capacity-building needs. This also reduces the possibility of a demand-driven reallocation of TA resources across areas of expertise within the institution.
- That said, individual functional departments have taken a number of important initiatives to be more strategic in setting intra-sector TA priorities and looking at track records in implementation. For example, the preparation of country strategy briefs, departmental assessment missions, and a more country-centered system for evaluating TA requests are facilitating a more coherent process to identify priorities within functional departments. However, they are not a substitute for a medium-term policy framework that can compare a country's TA needs across departmental lines or institutional initiatives.
- Several initiatives were introduced in 2001 in an effort to provide more strategic coherence to setting TA priorities. These included a system of prioritization filters for TA requests and a pilot initiative to incorporate technical assistance consultations (TCs) into Article IV consultations. The latter were discontinued because staff concluded they were not helpful in identifying TA priorities, while they unduly overloaded Article IV consultations. This evaluation believes the TC initiative was appropriate in spirit but flawed in implementation. There were few incentives for staff and the authorities to take the exercise seriously, since there was no clear link to actual allocation decisions. It was probably also excessive to attempt such an exercise every year. In any event, most of the TC exercises became pro forma, with no serious assessments of how well previous TA had worked or attempts to identify priorities for future TA linked to the country's overall strategy.
- The TA filters, as currently formulated, are a poor vehicle to provide a meaningful and strategic basis for TA prioritization within and among countries. Some are too broad, hence they do not provide sufficient selectivity (for example, no theme is excluded from the "key policy initiative" filter); some inadvertently exclude areas where there is currently a significant amount of TA being provided (for example, the "main program areas" filter excludes middle-income countries with IMF-supported programs); while some can even give inappropriate signals if followed too mechanically (such as, "a priori" bias in favor of short-term TA missions independently of country context). Taken together, the system of filters appears to be "over determined."
- What is needed is a prioritization of TA based on a shared vision with the authorities on a medium-term (multiyear) policy framework. This would allow the IMF and the authorities to compare TA priorities across demands emerging from programs, institutional and departmental initiatives, policy directions emanating from Article IV consultations, and (when applicable) the PRS process. It would also put into perspective short-term TA needs (associated with policy advice) with longer-term institutional building, and prevent short-term demands from dominating the TA program.
- Deriving TA priorities in the context of a medium-term framework would also help early on the discussion with other TA providers on an appropriate division of labor. This is a critical first step to improve the coordination of TA with other providers—an area where both IMF staff and donors felt improvements were needed.
- For this process to be successful, area departments must play a leading role. While initiatives taken by the functional departments permit a better prioritization within a particular sector, only the area departments are in a position to set priorities across department lines and between short-term and medium-term needs. Resident representatives should play a key role in this area given their in-depth country knowledge and links with the authorities.
- This evaluation finds that the short-term focus of the current budgeting and TA Resource Allocation Plan (RAP) processes within the IMF hampers medium-term planning for TA. Moreover, without a mechanism to enhance predictability in the provision of IMF TA over the medium term, it will be more difficult for the IMF to coordinate and leverage its TA efforts with those of other TA providers.
The process of TA delivery (Chapter 5)
- Counterparts in member countries have generally been satisfied with the resident experts provided by the IMF, particularly their hands-on role in training and coaching, accessibility, and emphasis on team work. These attributes were highly valued by counterparts.
- The evaluation does not support the findings of the 1999 internal IMF evaluation that TA provided by short-term missions is a priori more cost effective than that provided by resident experts. The relative merits of missions versus resident experts depend heavily on country-specific circumstances, particularly the degree of institutional development.
- The evaluation finds the involvement of the authorities in the preparation of terms of reference (TOR), particularly for long-term experts, to be generally passive. In fact, these are usually prepared by staff for approval by the authorities, frequently without significant engagement by the relevant local officials. This tends to reduce the ownership of the activity and often masks important differences in expectations about final objectives between the authorities and staff, as well as specific policy commitments that are necessary to assure the success of the TA activity. This is a particular problem when the officials in the agencies directly receiving TA, and in charge of implementation, are not sufficiently involved in the formulation process. The case studies suggest that greater up-front involvement by local officials was generally associated with better results.
- Often, TA effectiveness has been undermined by a lack of awareness of institutional, organizational, or managerial features of the recipient country. An unclear distribution of decisionmaking authority and accountability may constrain implementation. More fundamentally, a dysfunctional civil service is a major obstacle to sustaining capacity-building efforts. Progress in civil service reform is, therefore, essential to enhance the effectiveness of TA. While such progress takes time and is generally beyond the IMF's control, a good understanding of the institutional context and absorptive capacity can be especially important in cases where there is a sudden and sharp increase in TA activity in new environments with which IMF staff is less familiar.
- Country officials suggested that more informal and iterative discussions on a broader set of options before the wrap-up meetings at the end of a TA mission would contribute to enhancing ownership of recommendations. A more interactive approach during the drafting of recommendations would help to ensure that constraints on the ground are fully taken into account. Again, this becomes more serious in short-term missions where less time is available for such interaction prior to the final drafting of recommendations.
- Inadequate dissemination of TA reports within and across agencies in the country is a major problem in environments where bureaucratic and institutional practices limit the free flow of information. This reduces the externalities of the TA activity—which is an especially serious shortcoming in environments with a significant rotation of personnel and hence weak institutional memory. The problem of dissemination is compounded by the fact that many TA reports are classified as confidential by the authorities.
- This evaluation found many instances of weak coordination between the IMF and donors working in similar areas. Coordination failures occurred even under the umbrella of the Technical Cooperation Action Plans (TCAPs). Communication with the World Bank is much better than with other donors, but coordination can still be hampered by differences in objectives, and organizational approach, which can result in various principle-agent problems in the absence of an overall coordinating framework. While coordination with donors should ultimately be the authorities' responsibility, this is often not the case owing to weak institutional capacity and the fact that the PRSP is not yet sufficiently operational to play such a role in most low-income countries. As a result, the burden of coordinating donors' efforts often falls to a major single donor or multilateral institution. When the overall involvement of donors is strong in a particular country, and the IMF provides a relatively small fraction of TA, it is not always possible or even appropriate for the IMF to provide leadership in coordinating overall TA efforts. However, it should still seek to coordinate better with donors working in similar areas and, in low-income countries, should help governments make the PRS an effective coordinating vehicle on which it can align its own efforts.
Monitoring the impact of TA and evaluating factors influencing it (Chapter 6)
- The case studies show that, as far as institution building is concerned, progress has generally been achieved in enhancing the technical capabilities of the agencies that the IMF typically supports. Significant variability was found, however, on whether agencies have been able to make full use of those increased capabilities in order to have an impact on the ground or on the ultimate objectives of TA. It is critical that the IMF should understand fully what prevents agencies from doing so.
- Part of the problem is that the present IMF documentation and reporting does not clearly unbundle and track the different stages of TA progress toward its final objectives. Specifically, this documentation is weak in:
- — defining at the outset what are the indicators (benchmarks) that will be monitored to judge whether or not progress is occurring, and how explicitly these indicators have been discussed with the authorities, for example, are these mutually agreed indicators;
- — differentiating between the outcomes of pointed policy advice type of TA (for example, how to restructure or close a specific state bank) and outcomes linked to longer-term capacity building in the same area (such as the ability of agencies to supervise the banking sector and improve their asset position); and
- — unbundling between short- and medium-term indicators that capture different stages of the results chain, for example (1) indicators that track the improved technical abilities of agencies receiving TA; (2) indicators that show whether these agencies are actually enforcing that increased know-how, for example, whether they are performing their final responsibilities; and (3) indicators that track the economic outcomes of that enforcement.
- The absence of a clear unbundling of these stages and the factors influencing the lack of progress limit the ability to use past track record in implementing TA in making decisions about future TA. This is critical because there may be good reasons why TA recommendations have not been implemented. An understanding of these constraints and what can or should be done to overcome them is crucial to setting future priorities.
- Frequently, political interference or lack of support by the authorities prevents agencies from using effectively the new knowledge transmitted by TA. Indeed, the case studies suggest that such resistance by vested interests may mount as these agencies increase their know-how and improve their potential to act. The evaluation found that in these cases the reporting from the field on constraints to progress has often not been candid enough, so that the ways to address such obstacles were generally not discussed frankly with the authorities.
- An understanding of such obstacles and what the authorities can do about them in the future is critical when discussing future TA activities. Up-front commitments to facilitate the effective use of the new knowledge by agencies provide a critical signal of the authorities' commitment and ownership.
- Tensions among government agencies, a high rotation of officials, and a weak judicial framework are major constraints to the effectiveness of TA. The weak judicial system often limits the ability of agencies to enforce the new knowledge created by TA activities. This constraint is particularly serious in the areas of banking supervision, tax administration, and customs.
- Establishing cash charges for the provision of IMF TA has been suggested as a rationing device that would simultaneously identify high-priority TA needs, reduce any presumed excess demand for TA, and help the IMF finance the cost of TA. The evidence collected does not allow us to reach definite conclusions on these issues—because we do not have a sufficient basis to compare the present situation with an alternative counterfactual.
- However, we are skeptical that cash charges would be a sufficient screening device to help signal ownership and commitment and identify high-priority TA needs. Furthermore, a cash charge policy needs to take into account that two-thirds of IMF-financed TA is directed to countries below $1,000 per capita income. Thus, significant cost recovery will involve charging countries in this income range.
- This evaluation believes that stronger involvement by the authorities in designing TA activities and early commitments to better empower the agencies receiving TA (to implement their new knowledge) are alternative screening vehicles to signal ownership and commitment, with the greatest potential for enhancing the probability of success of the TA activity.
We make six broad recommendations designed to improve priority setting, delivery, tracking, and evaluation. They assume—in line with the current policy statement on TA—that "capacity building" in the IMF's primary areas of responsibility continues to be a major objective of the IMF's technical cooperation activities. This requires more effective mechanisms than exist at present for meshing the IMF's overall strategic objectives with a system for allocating TA resources within a country-driven framework.
- 1. The IMF should develop a medium-term country policy framework for setting TA priorities, incorporating country-specific strategic directions and linked to more systematic assessments of factors underlying past performance.
A number of managerial approaches to establishing such a framework are possible, but the following suggestions could be considered:
- In low-income member countries, the PRS process provides the natural vehicle to identify TA capacity-building priorities in the core areas of expertise of the IMF, although it has typically not yet been used effectively for this purpose. The PRSP should form the basis for a dialogue between the IMF and the authorities on TA priorities for the medium term, with a clear indication of what is expected from each side in order to improve accountability. It should provide the vehicle for collaboration and division of labor with other donors and hence help the overall coordination of TA. The IMF needs to engage countries to help them articulate their medium-term capacity-building needs in its areas of responsibility, in accordance with the PRSP.
- For other member countries, the institutional framework for deriving medium-term strategic priorities is less clear-cut, and a variety of approaches may work best, depending on country circumstances and the intensity of the members' demand for IMF TA. In cases where there is a relatively high provision of IMF TA, the framework may require periodic in-depth TA consultations with the authorities (possibly every three years) comprising a retrospective analysis of past progress and a forward-looking exercise to identify priorities. To avoid the lack of incentives of the past TC initiative, the resulting TA priorities need to feed more directly into the IMF's own mechanisms for committing its TA resources. For other countries, a less comprehensive approach, possibly built around Article IV consultations, may suffice.
- Resident representatives could play a greater role in developing these frameworks and this role should be explicitly acknowledged in the TOR for these positions.
- The RAP process should continue as the main annual interaction between the area and functional departments for determining TA activities. In addition to incorporating TA activities stemming from the medium-term framework, it will also incorporate new TA activities that may emerge from the needs of programs or from unexpected new demands from the authorities. This will prevent TA activities from being preempted by short-term needs while at the same time recognizing the need of flexibility to accommodate these types of demands.
- As the IMF moves into a multiyear budget framework, the RAP could also evolve toward a multiyear RAP helping reallocate TA resources within the institution over a longer horizon. For this process to work, each area department would need to spell out their proposed TA country priorities (based on each country policy framework and with the authorities, as discussed earlier), including ranking of priorities across countries in the departments, the list being more notional for the outer years. This approach would allow a comparison between demands from the area departments in the outer years and the existing supply and composition of skills in the functional departments; it would help identify pressure points in the future that would call for a gradual reallocation of resources within and across functional departments. This multi-year budget process and the associated multi-year RAP would make the allocation of TA resources more responsive to demand as time passes.
- This strengthened role of area departments in preparing a multiyear plan of TA priorities (including prioritization across countries) will require both incentives and resources. Senior management in the area departments should ensure that staff considers TA as an integral part of the assistance strategy to countries, with due recognition in staff performance assessments.
2. The IMF should develop more systematic approaches to track progress on major TA activities and to identify reasons behind major shortfalls.
- At the outset of major TA activities, the IMF staff and the authorities should agree on how progress and success of the TA activity will be measured. Suitable indicators or markers of progress over time should be identified. This will avoid the emergence of divergent expectations and provide incentives for more timely reassessments if progress is seriously off track.
- To assist in this process, the IMF staff should unbundle much more clearly the different stages (of the results chain) through which TA may have a final impact, and then explicitly monitor these stages (examples of this approach are provided in Chapter 6). Specifically, it should differentiate between:
- — progress in improving the technical capacities of agencies receiving TA;
- — whether agencies are making effective use of that increased technical capacity, as well as reasons on why this is not happening; and
- — the impact on the ground in terms of relevant economic outcomes.
- Resident experts and headquarters staff in charge of backstopping activities should be candid in reporting obstacles to progress, including political interference or lack of support from the authorities that prevent agencies from making effective use of their improved technical capacity.
- A clearer articulation of benchmarks for measuring progress and the factors behind shortfalls is critical if past track records in implementing TA are to be a useful guide for future TA allocations. To have reallocations of TA across countries based on track records, these monitoring practices will have to be comparable and transparent across countries. The new Technical Assistance Information and Management System (TAIMS) could be the vehicle through which enhanced monitoring practices become unified and more transparent across the institution.
3. Greater involvement by the authorities and counterparts in the design of TA activities and arrangements for follow-up should be emphasized as a signal of ownership and commitment.
- We recommend that IMF staff request the authorities and specialized counterparts to fully participate in the preparation of the TORs and devote sufficient time to help design the activity. Willingness to do so should be one of the factors taken into account in decisions on TA resource allocation.
- For more complex multiyear TA activities, a letter of agreement between the authorities and the IMF could specify commitment and resources including (1) mutually agreed milestones of progress; (2) resource commitments by both the IMF and the authorities—the authorities' commitment is important to assure sustainability beyond the life of the IMF TA activity; and (3) the critical policy steps that are required from the authorities to ensure necessary institutional changes, such as decrees or the preparation of legislation that complement the TA activity. Early on, staff should help authorities identify the critical legislation or judicial reforms necessary for agencies receiving TA to make the most effective use of it.
4. Stronger efforts should be made by TA experts to identify options and discuss alternatives with local officials prior to drafting TA recommendations.
- The receptivity of TA recommendations seems to be enhanced greatly when IMF experts engage counterparts early on in the design of the activity, explain its motivation, and try to assess the institutional subtleties of the specific environment. A major feedback received in the field concerned the need to allow enough time for informal discussions prior to issuing recommendations and the wider consideration of options. TA missions should allow enough time to incorporate these factors even if the result is somewhat longer missions and correspondingly fewer TA activities.
5. The program of ex post evaluations of TA should be widened and more systematic procedures for disseminating lessons put in place.
Recent initiatives have already moved in the direction of more systematic monitoring and assessment, and should be continued and strengthened.
- The Office of Technical Assistance Management (OTM), in collaboration with other departments, should continue to prepare and update a program of ex post evaluations of TA, including broad TA topics, subregions, or countries that have been heavy users of TA.
- While the TA-providing departments themselves should undertake self-assessments, there would be merit in continuing to undertake selected ex post evaluations by units not directly involved in providing TA, in order to enhance accountability and give a fresh perspective.
- The findings of these evaluations should be made more widely available within the IMF to maximize their potential benefits and avoid the loss of institutional memory. A stock-taking exercise of past and ongoing evaluations throughout the IMF should take place periodically and be made available to management and the Executive Board.
- OTM should also prepare regular reviews assessing shifts in the demand for TA across subject areas that may entail the need to reallocate resources across the functional departments that provide TA.
6. The prioritization filters should be discontinued or replaced by ones that would more effectively guide TA allocation. Either course of action involves strategic decisions on trade-offs that need to be taken explicitly.
- An effective priority-setting process needs two key components: (1) strategic direction by the Executive Board and management on those areas where the IMF will seek to maintain or develop "core competencies" in its TA activities; and (2) an internal resource allocation system that allocates effectively between competing demands, guided by these overall strategic objectives.
- Different approaches to balancing these two components are possible—essentially involving a decision on how decentralized the process should be. Whatever the choice made on this balance, within the IMF's core competencies, priority setting should be derived from each country's own strategy with a heavy involvement of area departments (Recommendation 1), according to modalities that select activities with stronger ownership and country commitment (Recommendations 3 and 4), and greater selectivity linked to a more systematic assessment of where TA is being used effectively (Recommendations 2 and 5). Typical dilemmas, such as the balance between short-term/policy advice TA and institution building, between "upstream" and "downstream" approaches to TA, and between TA associated with the IMF global initiatives and country-driven needs, would be resolved on a country-by-country basis.
- The advantage of a more decentralized approach is that TA can be closely aligned with specific country needs and circumstances—which is important given the large variation in country circumstances within the IMF membership. However, given that the TA resources of the IMF are small relative to global efforts, such approach has the risk of spreading the expertise of the IMF too thinly—even within the areas of mandate of the institution. Institution-building activities with long-term experts and strong external financing may lock resources and direct technical staff to backstopping activities—reducing the ability to respond to crisis. If Board and management give significant weight to these dangers, more specific guidelines may need to be issued circumscribing the coverage of the IMF TA program. For example, the IMF may like to think about how much it should get involved in institution building, in downstream approaches to TA, and how much importance should be given to the new institutional initiatives as prime drivers of TA. Providing guidance in these directions may help build a critical mass of expertise, but it may do so at the expense of adaptability to country circumstances. These are the key trade-offs that should be decided as part of the overall TA strategy.
Final Observations
Many of the previous recommendations will entail more staff-intensive approaches to providing TA—from prioritization, to delivery, to monitoring and evaluation. Moreover, if the choice made on strategic priorities is that the IMF should continue to be engaged in medium-term capacity-building efforts, this will call for an even closer collaboration with donors, including in the context of the PRS framework for low-income countries.
On the assumption that the present resource envelope for TA would not be significantly expanded, the above recommendations would probably result in fewer and more selective TA activities to be provided by the IMF. Doing fewer activities, but improving their relevance and probability of success, would, in our view, be an acceptable trade-off that can be made within the current resource envelope. Moreover, requiring more substantive and active involvement by the authorities in articulating priorities, formulating TA requests, drafting TOR, and providing adequate support throughout (and perhaps beyond) the life of the TA activity will also help self-regulate demand and result in fewer but more clearly owned TA requests.
The case studies comprise Cambodia, Honduras, Niger, Ukraine, Yemen, and Zambia, representing countries with regional and institutional diversity. Individual country reports are available on the IEO's website at http://www.imf.org/ieo. Except for Ukraine, all these countries are eligible for loans from the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). About 65 percent of IMF TA is provided to PRGF-eligible countries.
This evaluation does not assess the role of the new regional technical assistance centers (RTACs) because their experience is too recent for an effective evaluation. A review of preliminary experiences is currently being undertaken by the Office of Technical Assistance Management (OTM).
This concept of TA services includes field activities and travel and TA-related activities at headquarters by the IMF departments providing TA. This figure excludes IMF Institute (INS) activities. Including the INS, the total direct costs are about $98 million, or 12 percent of the administrative budget.
This figure includes INS.
As reported by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the aggregate level of technical cooperation in areas related to IMF's technical assistance amounted to about $3.5 billion in 2003. This figure includes assistance to strengthen the administrative apparatus in government planning and to promote good governance, assistance to finance and banking in both formal and informal sectors, and assistance to trade policy and planning. Training is included in these figures.


text: Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums :: View topic - Hi~~everyone. Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!" FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in Hi~~everyone. Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Making Friends View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message Jee-younJoined: 09 Jul 2003Posts: 1 Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2003 4:01 am Post subject: Hi~~everyone. Hello~ My name is Jee-youn. I am girl. I live in Korea. I am 17 years olds . My hobby is music listening and Movie example . My E-mail address: [email protected] I like to make friend with you. Thank you ._________________Hi My name is Jee youn. I'm 17, I am Korean. I love to Music listening and Movie example. I stature usually Is small.Last edited by Jee-youn on Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:35 pm; edited 1 time in total Back to top DkqkdjaakJoined: 09 Jul 2003Posts: 5Location: Busan,Korea Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2003 4:17 pm Post subject: Hi~~~ jee-youn Hi~~ Jee-youn. The computer it teaches ago before and it gives and and it is grateful .. The letter it writes there is an awareness fun,! Bye-bye_________________Hi^^** Nice to meet you... My name is su-min kim I'm 19 years oid and I live busan in korea... I love to song and computer game... Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Making Friends All times are GMT - 8 Hours Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Student Forums----------------ComputersCurrent NewsCultureEnglish SchoolsFamilyFilm and CinemaFoodHealth and FitnessHelp CenterHobbiesHolidaysLearning EnglishLiteratureMaking FriendsMusicOpinionsPetsScienceSportsThe Strange and MysteriousTOEFL and Other English ExamsTravel You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum Dave's ESL Cafe is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. Banner Advertising | Bookstore / Alta Books | FAQs | Articles | Interview with Dave Copyright © 2018 Dave's ESL Cafe | All Rights Reserved | Contact Dave's ESL Cafe | Site Map Teachers College, Columbia University: Train to Teach English Here or Abroad Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group

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Back in July, Samsung announced the entry-level Galaxy Chat smartphone. The specs of this device is nothing extra-ordinary, however it comes with a touchscreen display and a unique form-factor similar to the previously launched Samsung Galaxy Y Pro Duos and HTC ChaCha. Samsung Galaxy Chat runs on the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) OS. Sadly, this device is not expected to get the Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) update and you might get stuck forever with the ICS.
Samsung Galaxy Chat comes with a dedicated Samsung ChatOn key which allows you to share text, animations and images with your friends. Samsung has not yet officially launched this device in India, however popular online retailers such as Saholic and Infibeam has already started selling this device in India. Mahesh Telecom, a popular retailer in Mumbai is also selling this affordable smartphone in India.
Samsung Galaxy Chat features a 3 inch QVGA touchscreen display, sporting a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, 850 MHz processor, Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) OS, full QWERTY keyboard, TouchWiz UI, 2 megapixel rear-facing camera, VGA front-facing camera for video calls, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, 3G connectivity and more.
Other features include a 3.5 mm headset jack, FM Radio with RDS, 4 GB internal memory, MicroSD card slot, 32 GB expandable memory, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0, Google Play Store, GPS with A-GPS, up to 520 hours of stand-by time, up to 15 hours of talk-time and a 1200 mAh battery.
Samsung Galaxy Chat is pre-loaded with the Samsung's AllShare Play and S Planner app which allows you to play multimedia from other connected devices and manage your schedule respectively. This handset comes with a price-tag of Rs.8500 in India. To get this handset, head over to Saholic or Infibeam.


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Slate's recent piece on the forbidden love of a couple suffering from dementia has hit a nerve. The pair (82 and 95, respectively) met at an assisted-living facility and embarked on a relationship that quickly grew passionately physical. When 95-year-old Bob's son walked in on his father receiving oral sex from his girlfriend, Dorothy, he pitched a fit, complained to the home's management - who separated them - and then summarily moved his father to another facility, citing concerns for Bob's health - after which Dorothy went into steep decline.
The story raises a number of thorny issues: Do administrators and guardians have the right to deny sex lives to patients? It is not as if these are children who could be psychologically harmed by it; one assumes that these are adults who have enjoyed normal sexual relationships throughout their lives. What constitutes "consent"? While both parties' faculties may have been compromised, they were also on an equal footing. Perhaps most importantly, the relationship seemed to bring the couple tremendous happiness; who was it harming? Although Bob's son is unquestionably cast as the villain of the piece, he was within his rights as his father's legal guardian to try to safeguard his father's well-being as he saw fit; would it not be equally high-handed for a court or administrator to override his judgment, or perhaps his values?
The article suggests that Bob's son's reaction was as much "ick factor" at the thought (and sight) of his nonogenarian father's active sex life as reasoned concern. It is certainly true that as a society we're conditioned to think of old-folks' sex as automatically risible and somewhat grotesque. When it came out that Sandra Day O'Connor's husband, suffering from dementia, had acquired a "girlfriend" in his home, no one's reaction was revulsion, and Mrs. O'Connor's attitude - that the friendship made him happy and was no reflection on her marriage to the man he had been -seemed humane and reasonable. Had the story involved the sordid sexual element, would people have been as sympathetic?
Stripped of societal context and even the emotional complexities of a "real" relationship, there is a basic quality to the sex in this case - as both emotional and physical need - that is somewhat jarring. We've made such a cult of sexiness, eroticism, procreation and sexual politics, that this kind of innocent sex between two people with dementia is perhaps the only kind left unexamined. While the story is a tragic one, it's making us think about things we don't want to - never a bad thing - and maybe showing that attraction can run deeper than we know.
An Affair to Remember An Affair To Remember [Slate]
Related: Justice O'Connor's Husband Finds New Love [CBS News]


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Robot buses at Heathrow. Robot haulers deployed to Afghanistan. Is the Isaac Asimov estate getting kickbacks for all the future that's happening this weekend or what?
This latest robo-development involves the U.S. Army's deployment of four Lockheed Martin Squad Mission Support Systems to war-torn Afganistan. As the largest robot transports ever deployed in Army history, these heavy haulers can carry a half ton of supplies for 125 miles before it's time to recharge. The vehicle can also serve as an evac unit for soldiers wounded in the field. [CNET]
You can keep up with Jack Loftus, the author of this post, on Twitter and Facebook.


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Where's my money? Renoir, who definitely has a better ground game, comes from a working class family (Steeler Country) and started his trade in a porcelain factory before going to art school. Ultimately becoming friends, Caillebotte hails from upper-class Parisian and is a bit more flashy and a Realist. How will all this translate in Texas? Someone is definitely getting wet and I believe the term is "ender." The interviews continue….
Title: Peppers
Medium: Oil on gessoed panel, 18×24 inches
Website: http://www.megdwyer.com/
Medium: Oil on canvas, 56×45 inches
Title: Oversee
Medium: Acrylic on canvas, 100×120 cm
Website: http://www.hesthervandoornum.nl
Title: THAT THEY MIGHT BE LOVELY
Medium: Archival Pigment Print, 20×27 inches
Website: http://www.keshabruce.com Blog: http://www.keshabrucestudio.com


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All News Releases By Date
Looking for Green, Municipalities Start with Energy Efficiency through EPA Challenge
Release Date: 04/21/2008
Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017
(Boston, Mass. – April 21, 2008) – What does it mean to be green? This Earth Day, one answer can be found in the more than 100 communities that have committed to curb energy use, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and save money through EPA New England's Community Energy Challenge.
Across New England, 110 communities - located in all six New England states - have pledged to assess energy use, improve energy efficiency by 10 percent or more, save money, and work to expand renewable energy choices. Nearly 3.5 million people, representing 25 percent of New England's total population, live in the cities and towns that have signed on to the challenge.
"There is a growing energy revolution in New England," said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator of EPA's New England office. "The 10 percent reduction is only the beginning. In our cities and towns, we see innovation – cutting edge energy technologies, and more than that, the power of collaboration."
Communities across New England are working with EPA, regional utilities, non-profits, and businesses through a variety of programs to find and promote cost effective energy efficiency measures. Through the Community Energy Challenge, cities and towns can take advantage of free EPA ENERGY STAR tools and resources to assess, or benchmark, building energy use in schools, municipal buildings and/or wastewater facilities. Participants also have access to a network of organizations, professionals and funding opportunities that can help them improve energy efficiency and take advantage of renewable energy resources in their community.
"Improving energy efficiency is the first critical step to reducing greenhouse gas emissions for New England municipalities," said Kim Lundgren Director ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability - Northeast Region. "ICLEI and EPA have been long-standing partners on driving climate protection initiatives at the local level. EPA New England's Community Energy Challenge is another complementary resource for ICLEI members, enabling local governments to identify opportunities for savings in their existing buildings."
The New England Community Energy Challenge is a regional program of the ENERGY STAR Challenge, a nationwide campaign to improve energy efficiency in commercial and industrial buildings across the United States by 10 percent or more. Cities and towns that join the New England Community Energy Challenge sign on to be an ENERGY STAR partner, and pledge to support energy efficiency measures. Nationally, Americans, with the help of all the ENERGY STAR programs, saved $16 billion in energy costs, and prevented 40 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2007 alone, equivalent to the annual emissions from 27 million vehicles.
We are pleased to work with EPA New England and its Community Energy Challenge cities and towns. Helping municipal facilities reduce energy consumption is an important goal not just on Earth Day, but every day of the year," said Tim Stout, Vice President for Energy Efficiency at National Grid. "This team effort helps our communities save money and the environment."
The 110 municipalities, school and water districts in the Challenge represent the diversity of New England's cities and towns - large and small - ranging from Wales, NH (population ~380) to Boston, MA (population ~590,000). Participants in EPA's New England Community Energy Challenge include:
Connecticut: Burlington, Canton, Colchester, Cromwell, Danbury, East Haven, East Lyme, Fairfield, Hamden, Harwinton, Norfolk, Norwalk, Portland, Ridgefield, Stamford, West Hartford
Massachusetts: Acushnet, Arlington, Billerica, Boston, Brockton, Cambridge, Charles River Pollution District, Cohasset, Dartmouth, Dedham, Easton, Groton, Hanson, Haverhill, Ipswich, Lancaster, Lowell, Malden, Mansfield, Medfield, Medford, Melrose, Methuen, Milton, Needham, Newton, New Bedford, Newburyport, Northampton, Plymouth, Quincy, Salem, Sharon, Somerville, Southeastern Regional School District, Springfield, Tisbury, Wales, Waltham, Warwick, Westwood, Woburn
Maine: Berwick, Denmark, Falmouth, Kennebec Sanitary Treatment District, Kingfield, Kittery, Madison, Mechanic Falls, Stockton Springs
New Hampshire: Acworth, Alstead, Alton, Antrim, Barrington, Bedford, Brookline, Chester, Colebrook, Dover, Enfield, Fitzwilliam, Gilmanton, Hampton, Hancock, Hanover, Hillsborough, Hopkinton, Hudson, Lincoln, Manchester, Marlborough, Nashua, New Boston, Peterborough, Raymond, Rochester, Rollinsford, Sanbornton, Shelburne, Somersworth, Tuftonboro
Rhode Island: East Greenwich, North Providence, South Kingstown, Warwick
Vermont: Brattleboro, Burlington, Essex Junction, Hinesburg, Putney, Richmond, S. Burlington
More information:
- EPA's New England Community Energy Challenge web site will feature an updated map of the communities by 10:00 am, April 22 Earth Day (epa.gov/region1/eco/energy/energy-challenge.html)
- The ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool (energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=evaluate_performance.bus_portfoliomanager)
# # #
Search this collection of releases | or search all news releases
View selected historical press releases from 1970 to 1998 in the EPA History website.


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University of Minnesota professor's research hijacked
Dr. Gary Remafedi was at a pediatrics conference in Toronto last month when he first learned that someone was using his name to justify the very thing he'd spent his life fighting.
"My inbox started filling up with messages from colleagues saying, 'You might want to check this out,'" Remafedi recalls. "Some of them were saying, 'Do you really believe this?'"
When the University of Minnesota Medical School professor followed the links he was being sent, he was dismayed. A group called the American College of Pediatricians had sent a letter to more than 14,000 superintendents across the country, claiming that the best thing schools can do for students who come out of the closet is nothing at all: no support, no affirmation, no gay-straight alliance clubs on campus.
The letter, and the Facts About Youth website it pointed school officials to, was dense with footnotes citing scientific studies. Remafedi's research was at the top of the list.
The ACP argues that schools shouldn't support gay teens because they're probably just confused. "Most adolescents who experience same-sex attraction...no longer experience such attractions at age 25," the letter says, citing a 1992 study by Remafedi.
Except that's not what Remafedi's research suggested at all. His work showed that kids who are confused about their sexuality eventually sort it out—meaning many of them accept being gay.
"What was so troubling was that these were fellow doctors, fellow pediatricians," Remafedi says. "They knew better, and they have the same ethical responsibilities to their patients that I do, but they deliberately distorted my research for malicious purposes."
The ACP also claimed that the longer you can keep kids from identifying as gay, the less likely they are to kill themselves. Again, Remafedi's research was footnoted.
In this case, Remafedi says, the ACP missed the larger point: Kids who come out at a younger age are more likely to kill themselves because they are less able to deal with the stigma and isolation of being gay. If anything, the research shows the need for more support.
"It's obvious that they didn't even read my research," Remafedi says. "I mean, they spelled my name wrong every time they cited it."
Remafedi started studying sexual orientation among teens in the 1980s, at a time when almost nothing was known about the subject.
"People didn't really believe that gay teens existed," he says. "The assumption was that everyone was straight, and then some people became gay as adults."
But Remafedi wasn't convinced, and with the AIDS crisis ramping up, he thought there might be a risk to teenagers that doctors weren't considering. He finally managed to convince Minnesota officials to let him include a few questions about sexual orientation in a statewide student survey, and the results confirmed his hypothesis: Many of the kids reported some kind of same-sex attraction.
After more lobbying, Remafedi got the Department of Health to put up money for the Youth and AIDS Project, a center in Loring Park that offers HIV counseling and health services for teens.
But while scientists like Remafedi were expanding our understanding of teen sexuality, culture warriors on the right were pushing back. For decades, groups like the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) have argued that people are gay because of some trauma in their childhood, and that through "restorative therapy" they can be "cured" and be heterosexual.
In 2002, the American Association of Pediatrics, the 60,000-member professional organization for doctors, endorsed same-sex adoption. In protest, the most conservative members split off and formed the American College of Pediatricians. The college won't disclose how many members it has, but estimates put it around 200.
The two groups clashed again when the AAP published Just the Facts, a handbook for schools on teen sexual orientation. Written with the national associations of psychologists, social workers, and teachers, Just the Facts collected up-to-date research to debunk restorative therapy and offer schools advice on how to help gay students feel safe.
In March, the ACP fired back with its own publication for schools, Facts About Youth. Mimicking the rival publication, the ACP filled its handbook with more than 100 footnotes citing studies. The difference is that some of the researchers, like Remafedi, say the ACP cherry-picked, manipulated, and misstated that research.
Francis Collins, the director of the National Institute of Health, found the ACP using his work on genetics to argue that gay kids can be cured. Last month he accused the college of taking his work out of context, calling the pamphlet "misleading and incorrect."
Warren Throckmorton, a therapist who specializes in sexual orientation issues, also asked to have his research removed from the study.
"The letter and the website are just disingenuous," he says. "They say they're impartial and not motivated by political or religious concerns, but if you look at who they're affiliated with and how they're using the research, that's just obviously not true."
Indeed, the names attached to the publication read like a who's-who of the anti-gay medical message machine: Arthur Goldberg, a felon who bilked billions of dollars in a municipal-bond scheme and founded the Jewish gay-cure group JONAH; Joe Nicolosi, one of the leaders of the "ex-gay" organization NARTH; and George Rekers, the founder of the Family Research Council who fell from grace last month when he was photographed by the Miami New Times returning from a European vacation with a 20-year-old male prostitute.
Remafedi also wrote a letter to the American College of Pediatricians, asking them to stop citing his research. But the college isn't budging. Reached at his Florida headquarters, Dr. Tom Benton, the group's president, says he has every right to use any research he wants.
"I have the utmost respect for Dr. Remafedi," says Benton, who is a pediatrician. "He does good work. The fact is, his research supports our conclusions, even if he doesn't."
Which is why, Benton says, he won't be taking down references to Remafedi's work or making any corrections.
All of which leaves Remafedi frustrated. "I've considered litigation," he says. "It was libelous. On a personal level, when I'm dead and buried, I don't want my work to be associated with these types of organizations and ideas."
But more than that, Remafedi says, the episode makes him sad and fearful for the impact groups like the ACP will have on kids. He thinks of an elementary-school boy he treated recently for an eating disorder that was set off by a parent's fear that he was gay.
"This isn't just academic," he says. "I do my research to help expand our understanding and give us more information so that we can improve children's lives and their health. So when people try to confuse the issue, or to say things they know aren't true, my reaction to that is disgust."


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Education and outreach are key to the success of any recycling program. APR strives to be a source of information to the general public and industry, ensure that the general public understands how plastics can be recycled, and encourage participation in collection programs. The organizations below share those same goals, and have also developed extensive resources to build successful recycling programs.
Click the banners below for more information about the resources developed by each organization.


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Intriguing Ipoh Cave Temples
It's a fact that Ipoh is famous for its limestone caves, and in this entry obviously gonna be about the Chinese temples built within the caves.
Firstly, the Kek Look Tong – my favourite.
It has a clean, quiet and cool environment probably because it's inside a housing area, at Gunung Rapat to be exact. Also, it's well-known for the garden located at the other side of the hill.
Finding the place may be a challenge, but not to worry. Just follow the signboard directions.
At the entrance, you'll be greeted by the mouth of the cave. Inside the cave, it's surrounded by stalactites and stalagmite formations, providing a peaceful prayer site for Buddhist devotees and general visitation for the public.
Entrance is free and to get to the other side, you'll have to go through the cave.
This is the stairs leading to The Garden. Was kinda wet when I was there.
After a short walking distance, the "hidden" garden will be seen.
This garden is an award winning landscape which features one of the longest reflexology footpaths in Ipoh.
Also, a jogging path circling two lakes.
Basically it has one of the best scenic views in town. A must-visit if you're dropping by Ipoh.
Next on the list is Sam Poh Tong.
Discovered in 1912, it's a Chinese Buddhist Temple within a natural limestone hill. Developed by the Buddhist community and it's an international tourist attraction.
I come here every year for Cheng Beng – my grandparents' ash remains are here.
In this apartment-like building, which is built within the cave, is where the ashes are kept. They are kept in small cubicles with containers, usually pots.
The joss sticks area. During Cheng Beng, this area is always covered with smoke and it hurts my eyes all the time!
Pretty self-explanatory – people burn things that are "sent" to be deceased.
Another attraction is a beautiful pavilion and a landscaped garden with a fish pool, which was also awarded the "Best Landscaped Garden".
Other than that, a small pathway inside the cave leads to a small garden.
Visitors usually head to the garden when there's no festival.
This is the view of the garden at the other end of the cave. The atmosphere is usually cool and quiet.
One of the shrine at the garden. And not forgetting, a tortoise pond.
The pond used to have lots of tortoises back then, but now it has reduced recently. Feeding is allowed with the vegetable purchased at the entrance.
Lastly, the final featured cave temple is Ling Sen Tong, which is the first temple along the street towards Sam Poh Tong.
This temple is not as famous as the previous two but it's definitely worth a short visit as well.
As usual, it's a place for devotees to pray. And besides that, there are many statues of various gods and goddesses.
One notable statue is the prominent Kuan Yin, which is probably the tallest one around if I'm not mistaken.
A pinkish horse with wings.
You might recognize them from a Chinese classic – Journey to the West. Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie
in case you don't know.
By the way, there's a statue which is quite attractive. Surprisingly, this "god" statue looks very familiar.
Oh wait, not a statue – he's the blogger from kenwooi.com!


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Investment decisions must take into account a perennial and unpredictable constant: stock market volatility. Some years, as in 2011, the fluctuation of stocks is more pronounced. At other times, volatility is almost like a sleeping giant and hardly noticeable.
Day-to-day portfolio management is not just a process of growing capital or producing adequate income, but also controlling volatility to make sure it doesn't exceed clients' expectations. For financial advisors, this particular chore means coming up with ways to keep a lid on both risk and volatility.
There are various approaches to volatility management and ETPs offer innovative ways at helping advisors to achieve optimal results.
Trading Volatility
The VIX — short for Volatility Index — is one of the best known barometers of stock market fear. The VIX is a measure of expected future volatility calculated by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). It is quoted in percentage points and roughly translates to the expected movement in the S&P 500 over the next 30 days, which is annualized.
ETPs like the iPath Inverse S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (II) (IVOP) and the iPath S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN (VXZ) allow traders to customize the duration of their exposure to volatility.
Other VIX-based ETPs like the VelocityShares Inverse VIX Short-Term ETN (XIV) offer inverse or opposite exposure to stock market volatility, while products like the VelocityShares 2x Short-Term ETN (TVIX) aim for 200 percent daily leveraged exposure.
It's important for advisors to understand that VIX ETPs do not perfectly track the spot prices for the CBOE Volatility Index because they use futures, which could be in contango. Finally, VIX-based products are offered in either ETF or ETN wrappings from Barclays iPath, Citigroup C-Tracks, Credit Suisse, ProShares, UBS E-TRACS and VelocityShares.
While many investors reject the notion of investing or trading off of volatility, some advisors welcome it as an opportunity, so long as they can control it.
Stock Selection
Screening stocks with lower volatility or beta is one strategy for managing market volatility. The idea is to be invested in the market, but with stocks that have less wild movements compared to the rest of the market.
The Russell 1000 Low Beta ETF (LBTA) is designed to deliver exposure to stocks that have low predicted beta using a screening and ranking methodology. Starting with the lowest beta stock, a target portfolio is created by adding the next lowest beta stocks until the target portfolio has a total capitalization of 35% of the Russell 1000 Index. A portfolio of up to 200 stocks of the Russell 1000 Index are selected to optimally track the returns of the target portfolio while managing turnover and neutralizing exposure to other factors, such as volatility and momentum. LBTA is linked to the Russell-Axioma U.S. Large Cap Low Beta Index and charges 0.20% net annual expenses.
The PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio (SPLV) is another ETF that applies a similar strategy. SPLV consists of the 100 stocks from the S&P 500 Index with the lowest realized volatility over the past 12 months. Volatility is a statistical measurement of the magnitude of up and down asset price fluctuations over time. The fund's annual expense ratio is 0.25%.
Dialing Down (or Up)
Emerging market stocks is a high risk/high reward investment category packed with volatility. During the 2008-09 financial crisis, the volatility in emerging markets was especially large. After sinking more than 52% in 2008, emerging market stocks bounced back with a remarkable 75% gain the following year. The Direxion S&P Latin America 40 Volatility Response Shares (VLAT) attempts to tame the wild ride. The fund reallocates exposure between equities and U.S. Treasury Bills based up recent volatility levels of the S&P Latin America 40 Index. When volatility exceeds the targeted risk level of 18 percent, the exposure to equities is reduced and the exposure to T-bills is increased. Conversely when volatility drops below targeted risk levels, equity exposure is increased proportionately.
VLAT's strategy of increasing or decreasing market exposure based upon targeted risk levels is different from other volatility strategies like selecting low beta or low volatility stocks. "This is a better risk-adjusted return versus buying static or traditional market index ETFs," said Edward Egilinsky, Managing Director, Head of Alternatives at Direxion Shares. "It also avoids some of the contango issues that face VIX-based products and can be used as a buy-and-hold investment."
How does VLAT calculate the optimal level of exposure to stocks? It accomplishes this task by taking the fund's targeted volatility level of 18% and dividing it by the S&P Latin America 40 index's volatility level. Exponential volatility of just 10%, for example, would result in an asset mix of zero to T-bills while up to 150% could be allocated to stocks. On the other hand, if volatility soared to 88%, the asset mix would change with T-bills getting 80% exposure and stocks just 20%.
Portfolio Application
Where do ETFs that aim to reduce stock market volatility fit within an investment portfolio?
"The most common will likely be for investors who are worried about volatility to move some of their conventional 'core' asset allocation into these 'low-volatility' funds," said Michael Iachini, CFA, CFP and managing director of ETF Research at Charles Schwab Investment Advisory. "Low-volatility funds are harder to use tactically, since they're still exposed to the market and will likely fall in value during a downturn. In this sense, they can be used as a bit of a tactical hedge for investors whose outlook on the market is generally negative. Moving to a low-volatility fund can be seen as somewhere between being fully invested in the market and moving assets out of stocks and into bonds or cash."
Another strategy is to use beta and volatility busting ETPs in more volatile asset classes like emerging markets or small cap stocks. This allows clients to still be invested, but to mute the unwanted gyrations. Ultimately, managing volatility is an achievable milestone and ETPs can help. L


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Mailbox Monday
Welcome to Mailbox Monday, a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued, and now hosted on its own blog. Another week has flown by, all too quickly, and my mailbox exploded. I only accepted a few of these books but think they all look terrific. These books were in my mailbox last week:
- Circling the Sun by Paula McLain came from Random House
- Losing Faith by Adam Mitzner came from Simon & Schuster
- Orhan's Inheritance by Aline Ohanesian came from Algonquin Books
- When the Moon is Low by Nadia Hashimi came from Harper Collins
- Orient by Christopher Bollen came from Harper Collins
- Balm by Dolen Perkins-Valdez came from Harper Collins
- Love is Red by Sophie Jaff came from Harper Collins
- a book club set of The Hurricane Sisters by Dorothea Benton Frank came from Book Club Girl
- a book club set of Last Night at the Blue Angel by Rebecca Rotert came from Book Club Girl
- Born Survivors by Wendy Holden came from Harper Collins
- Beach Town by Mary Kay Andrews came from Tandem Literary
- Legend by Eric Blehm came from Random House
- The Cake Therapist by Judith Fertig came from Penguin
- Second Chance Friends by Jennifer Scott came from Penguin
- Find the Good by Heather Lende came from Algonquin Books
- The Truth and Other Lies by Sascha Arango came from Simon & Schuster
- The Pink Suit by Nicole Mary Kelby came from Hachette
What did you find in your mailbox last week?
April 6, 2015 8:30 am
Oooh – I want to get my hands on Circling the Sun! I loved The Paris Wife 🙂
April 6, 2015 9:18 am
Wow, what a haul!
April 6, 2015 2:05 pm
You kept your mail carrier busy this week! The Cake Therapist and The Pink Suit are definitely on my list…some day!
April 6, 2015 2:19 pm
Wow, that's lot of books! I would love to read Born Survivors. Happy reading!
April 6, 2015 3:29 pm
A great mailbox, I also got Beach Town.
holdenj permalinkApril 6, 2015 6:56 pm
I always look forward to the new Mary Kay Andrews every year! Hope it's good!


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A federal judge ruled Florida's law was unconstitutional and ordered the state to recognize same-sex couples married elsewhere
In the first decision on same-sex marriage with statewide impact, a federal judge ruled Thursday that Florida's gay-marriage ban is unconstitutional, ordering the state to allow the marriage of same-sex couples and to recognize marriages performed elsewhere.
"When observers look back 50 years from now, the arguments supporting Florida's ban on same-sex marriage, though just as sincerely held, will again seem an obvious pretext for discrimination," wrote U.S District Judge Robert L. Hinkle of Tallahassee. "Observers who are not now of age will wonder just how those views could have been held."
Hinkle, who stayed most of the effects of his ruling pending appeal, added: "The institution of marriage survived when bans on interracial marriage were struck down, and the institution will survive when bans on same-sex marriage are struck down. Liberty, tolerance, and respect are not zero-sum concepts. Those who enter opposite-sex marriages are harmed not at all when others, including these plaintiffs, are given the liberty to choose their own life partners and are shown the respect that comes with formal marriage. Tolerating views with which one disagrees is a hallmark of civilized society."
The judge's ruling comes after 22 individuals, including nine married couples, sued Florida to recognize their marriages or grant them marriage licenses. Plaintiffs in the case include eight same-sex couples from throughout Florida and the LGBT-rights group SAVE, represented by the ACLU of Florida.
"We are overjoyed that the judge ruled on the side of fairness by ordering the state of Florida recognize the legal marriages of the plaintiffs," SAVE Executive Director Tony Lima said in a statement.
Defendants in the case include Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Scott "respects the many views Floridians have on this issue," said Greg Blair, spokesman for the governor's reelection campaign. "He believes in traditional marriage, consistent with the constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2008. There are several cases going through the court system and the governor respects that process."
Bondi spokesman Whitney Ray declined to say whether the attorney general's office will take the case to the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. "We're reviewing the ruling," he said.
Hinkle wrote that the state presented no good argument for defending the law: "The undeniable truth is that the Florida ban on same-sex marriage stems entirely, or almost entirely, from moral disapproval of the practice."
The judge also wrote he didn't buy Bondi's defense that a "critical feature of marriage is the capacity to procreate."
"Same-sex couples, like opposite-sex couples and single individuals, can adopt, but same-sex couples cannot procreate," Hinkle wrote. "Neither can many opposite-sex couples. And many opposite-sex couples do not wish to procreate."
Said attorney Stephen Rosenthal of Podhurst Orseck in Miami, who represents the eight couples in the ACLU case: "What that means, if you read what he's saying is that, 'This is a bogus defense.'"
Bondi's defense motions in this case led to scrutiny of her own marital history. She has been divorced twice and has no children.
The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops on Thursday supported Bondi's procreation defense: "Only the union of a man and a woman in and of itself can bring forth children and thus is the very origin of society. With its unique beauty and goodness revealed, the public has a worthy interest in protecting this institution in law as a means to ensure humanity is both nurtured and strengthened."
The conservative Family Research Council in Washington blasted Hinkle's ruling. "A radical departure from natural law and human history, this Florida judge has further undermined the legitimacy of the courts in the eyes of the American people. These liberal activist judges may want to take America over the cultural cliff, but don't be surprised when more and more Americans refuse to follow," FRC Senior Fellow Chris Gacek said in a statement.
In March, eight same-sex couples who married elsewhere in the United States sued Florida to recognize their unions: Sloan Grimsley and Joyce Albu of Palm Beach Gardens; Lindsay Myers and Sarah Humlie of Pensacola; Chuck Hunziger and Bob Collier of Broward; Juan Del Hierro and Thomas Gantt Jr. of Miami; Christian Ulvert and Carlos Andrade of Miami; Richard Milstein and Eric Hankin of Miami; Robert Loupo and John Fitzgerald of Miami, and Denise Hueso and Sandra Jean Newson of Miami.
Del Hierro said he and Gantt met in 2008 as volunteers fighting the effort to amend Florida's Constitution to ban gay marriage. Now, they have a son together, Lucas, age 21 months.
"It was volunteering for Amendment 2 that really solidified our relationship," Del Hierro said. "I remember saying it might take us 20 years to undo the damage it did. To be here six years later, with our family, with our son Lucas, is surreal. Not only to do this for our son, but for our community."
On April 10, the ACLU amended its complaint by adding another plaintiff: Arlene Goldberg of Fort Myers, whose wife, Carol Goldwasser, died March 13. Goldberg and Goldwasser had been partners for 47 years. They moved from the Bronx to Florida in 1989 and married in New York in October 2011.
The ACLU suit eventually was consolidated with a similar federal case involving two couples in North Florida, one already married in Canada and the other wanting to wed.
"It's the first federal decision in Florida. When the stay is lifted, it will have statewide impact," said Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida. "What it will mean, when the stay is ultimately lifted, is that their families will be protected and strengthened. They'll start getting health insurance, pension benefits. They could protect their families with survivors benefits. These are the dramatic, practical ways that this victory will ultimately help families in Florida."
The gay-marriage battle is being waged across the nation. According to the national group Freedom to Marry, LGBT advocates have won more than 30 times in federal, state and appellate courts since June 2013, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Edith Windsor, a lesbian widow, and threw out a key portion of the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act.
Since mid-July there have been five rulings in Florida declaring the state's gay-marriage ban unconstitutional. The previous four rulings were in local courts throughout South Florida.
Hinkle's stay covered all aspects of the federal case except one: The judge ordered Goldwasser's death certificate be amended to show she was a married woman, not single at the time she died.
"The defendant Florida Surgeon General must issue a corrected death certificate for Carol Goldwasser showing that at the time of her death she was married to Arlene Goldberg," Hinkle wrote.
"Isn't that fabulous? I'm so excited," Goldberg said Thursday. "It confirms that they actually believe we were a couple. Married. We were together for 47 years and married for three in New York."
Goldberg is caring for her late wife's elderly parents. Because Florida hasn't recognized her marriage to Goldwasser, Goldberg is unable to collect her late wife's Social Security.
Bondi has until Sept. 22 to appeal the case or the ruling takes effect, allowing Goldberg to become eligible to collect Goldwasser's Social Security.
"Pam Bondi would have to go the 11th Circuit to deny survivor benefits to a woman who has been [with] her spouse for 47 years, who recently died, and would be less able to take care of her spouse's parents," Simon said. "That would be heartless."
Kathleen McGrory of the Herald/Times Tallahassee bureau contributed to this report.


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Good news for Mac users who've been meaning to play SimCity — EA has announced that the Mac version of SimCity will be released in about 2 months' time on July 11th, 2013. The Mac version of SimCity was apparently being optimized for the Mac OS X by studio which isn't Maxis, and will be available as a digital download on Origin.
The good news is that if you've already purchased SimCity, you will be able to download the Mac version of it without having to purchase it again. SimCity will require OS X Lion for you to play the game. The OS requirement might be a bit of problem for some — I know of few acquaintances who haven't upgraded to Lion.
EA mentions that Retina support is 'yet to be determined', and going by the timelines, it's unlikely that SimCity will have Retina support, at least at launch time. SimCity for Mac will be a digital-download only and you won't see it on retail stores. And since the cities are saved on EA's servers, you should be able to pick up your existing cities, regardless of which platform you've been playing on.


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After over a decade of decreased water diversions to LosAngeles, a rising Mono Lake laps at the bases of tufa towers.Photo by Elin Ljung.
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Repairing a Damaged Ecosystem
The long legal struggle that saved Mono Lake also set the stage for restoring many of the Mono Basin's damaged resources. Today, Mono Lake is rising and its streams are in the early stages of re-establishing the natural processes that once supported lush cottonwood-willow forests and thriving fish populations. As this recovery proceeds over the next 20 years, there will be much to observe, document, and learn. Restoration is an emerging field of knowledge—half science, half art. Mono Lake's recovery over the next 20 years offers a dynamic lesson in restoration that we are all privileged to witness.
Before the turn of the century, all water in the Mono Basin watershed flowed into Mono Lake. Millions of migratory waterbirds depended on the lake's unique ecosystem, teeming with brine shrimp and alkali flies, and on its associated mix of habitat types, including islands, protected lagoons and lake-fringing springs and wetlands. The mouths of streams, where the fresh water mixed with the lake's briny water, provided particularly productive environments where waterbirds could rest, bathe and feed. Up from the lake, Mono Lake's tributary streams meandered through the arid Great Basin landscape, supporting lush bottomlands in the stream floodplain. These "wooded wetlands" featured multistoried cottonwood forests, deep meandering multiple stream channels, backwater ponds, and wet meadows.
Between 1852 and 1941, the Mono Basin was just beginning to be impacted on mostly a small scale by Euro-American settlers. Streams were partially diverted to irrigate ranches, but this water remained in the watershed, flowing eventually to Mono Lake. Sheep and cattle grazing on various ranches damaged streambanks and vegetation. But it wasn't until 1941, with the extension of the Los Angeles Aqueduct to the Mono Basin, that large-scale damage began to take place. Four creeks were diverted into the aqueduct, drying up the streams below the diversion dams. Riparian vegetation died, fisheries were destroyed, and occasional floods tore through the desiccated floodplains plugging up side channels and turning the main channels into wide, straight washes. Deprived of most of its inflow, Mono Lake dropped 45 vertical feet, lost half its volume, and doubled in salinity by 1982. The result was a fragmented and poorly functioning ecosystem. Islands where California Gulls nested became peninsulas accessible to predators. Toxic alkali dust storms arose on windy days from exposed salt flats. The numbers of ducks and geese plummeted by 99%.
As a result of litigation pursued by the Mono Lake Committee, National Audubon Society, California Trout and others, first the courts and subsequently the State Water Resources Control Board ordered restoration of the area's damaged resources. The L.A. Department of Water and Power is responsible for implementing the Water Board-approved restoration plan.
Today, Mono Basin restoration is aimed at restoring natural processes and ecological function. Raising the level of the lake will lower its salinity, reduce dust storms and reconnect the lake to springs and deltas. Reinstating stream flows that mimic natural flows, particularly the annual spring flood, will provide the dynamic energy needed to rebuild deep stream channels and pools, re-grow riparian forests and reestablish healthy floodplains.
Because water will continue to be diverted to L.A., the Mono Basin resources will not be completely restored. The lake will still be 25 feet lower than its prediversion level, the streams will carry less annual flow than they once did, and the former cottonwood-willow riparian forests will take 50 years to mature. Certain features, most notably the delta of Rush Creek, have been so downcut by incision that they cannot be brought back in anything less than geologic time.
Perhaps the greatest lesson of Mono Lake is that it is always better to prevent damage than to rely on restoration. Nonetheless, restoration holds promise that many of the Mono Basin's damaged resources may recover.
Part of the mission of the Mono Lake Committee is to restore the important habitats of the Mono Basin. The Committee believes that the best and most cost-effective method of restoration is re-establishing natural processes. This means establishing peak flows on the creeks that give the creeks enough energy to recreate their former habitats without significant intervention or continued maintenance. When past degradation is such that it is difficult to reinstate natural processes, the Committee supports a limited "helping hand," such as reopening side channels on the streams to raise water tables and provide complex habitat, or planting native vegetation to jump-start streambank recovery.
Today, the Mono Lake Committee serves as "watchdog" for the restoration process, reviewing annual monitoring reports produced by consultants hired by the LADWP, commenting on any changes to the program proposed by LADWP or others, and generally participating actively as an "interested party" in all aspects of the restoration. In addition, the Committee organizes volunteer restoration events that support the Water Board-approved restoration program and offers restoration interpretive activities.
There are many ways you can participate in and celebrate the Mono Basin's recovery. The Mono Lake Committee organizes a number of volunteer events each year to plant trees, eradicate exotic weeds, or census shorebirds. We also have an ongoing Photopoint Project in which participants select a favorite restoration site to photograph on an annual basis. Our annual Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua is a chance for you to learn more about the Mono Basin's birds and how they are responding to restored habitats on the streams and around the lake. This is a very exciting time at Mono Lake--we hope you'll participate in some way in restoring Mono Lake!
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Energy and Power of Transportation Systems
Energy and Power of Transportation Systems will prepare students to meet the expectations of employers in this industry and to interact and relate to others. Students will learn the technologies used to provide products and services in a timely manner. The businesses and industries of the...
- Grade Range: 9, 10, 11, 12, Postsecondary


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Published by paul at 2:51 PM under Kit Building | VFD
I've always been intrigued by vacuum fluorescent displays (VFDs) so I picked up the Ice Tube Clock Kit from AdaFruit Industries that uses a Russian VFD tube.
(Click any photo for a 1024x768 image.)
Here's what came in the kit:
And here are a couple of shots of the VFD tube. It has 8 x 7-segment digits, with decimal points and a minus sign.
There's a great page on AdaFruit's website that describes the circuit and the calculations that went into designing it - check it out!
The building instructions are very thorough, as always, and this time includes test points as building progresses. On the left is a shot of testing the 7805 regulator, and on the right is testing the voltage booster circuit for the VFD.
Once I had the main board made, it was time to thread the VFD into it's PCB. This was a finnicky task but with patience it only took 15 minutes. The leads from the VFD bend very easily, which is a blessing and a curse. On the left you can see what I mean, and on the right I've got it ready to solder.
And here's it soldered and nicely clipped.
Did a quick test and it worked! Then I put in the final few components on the main board and assembled the laser-cut perspex case.
Here are a couple of shots of the completed main PCB:
And the clock itself... and in it's final resting place.
Hope you enjoyed the photos - let me know if these kinds of posts are interesting!
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Click here to view our full Returns Policy.


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By Ben Hayward | Spanish Football Writer
Almost an entire life at just one club. Carles Puyol, Xavi and Lionel Messi have agreed new contracts with Barcelona and their stay at Camp Nou means the side's spine is now secure for many years to come.
Club captain Puyol extends his current contract to 2016, while midfielder Xavi has agreed a two-year prolongation to the same date and Messi's renewal sees his deal expire in 2018. The three spectacular symbols of what is widely regarded as the world's greatest-ever club side are set to spend their entire footballing life at Barca. And many a Blaugrana fan will be happy about that.
While Messi's new contract will see him stay at Camp Nou until the age of 30 when, scarily, he could still be in his prime, the Puyol and Xavi deals are likely to raise more question marks; the defender will be 38 when that agreement expires and the midfielder 36.
The contracts, of course, are shrouded in symbolism - the Catalan club are rewarding two of their greatest servants and most emblematic players (between them Xavi and Puyol have played well over 1,000 times for the Blaugrana) with lifetime deals. Barcelona, it is worth remembering, renewed defender Eric Abidal in 2011, even though the full-back was sidelined with a tumour in his liver and subsequently required a transplant which has kept him out ever since.
Puyol has had his problems with injuries and was sidelined for much of last season. The captain's no-nonsense defending has seen him pick up perhaps more injuries than many others would; his bravery both admirable and astonishing yet at times counter-productive. Meanwhile, Xavi, at 32, has already played more games for the Catalan club than anyone else and has paled slightly as a player over the last two years. So can they really carry on for another three-and-a-half seasons?
|Puyol: 1999-2016
|Xavi: 1998-2016
|Messi: 2004-2018
Barca believe they can. Puyol has gone on record several times as saying he wants to play until he is 40, while Xavi remains as committed and as competitive as ever before. Both players are incredibly influential on the pitch and off it, organising the Catalans' at the back and in the centre of the park, respectively, while leading in the dressing room as well. Even if their playing time is reduced, they will have a significant part to play.
But both take care of themselves, too. Puyol and Xavi are an example to their team-mates, leading healthy lifestyles with a focus on fitness and diet. They are doing everything they can to prolong their careers and Barcelona are reaping the benefits.
Messi, too, changed his diet when Pep Guardiola took over as coach and the Argentine has since gone on to become the best in the world. In their positions, Xavi and Puyol are arguably the finest footballers around, also. And although they will need to be rested on occasions in the coming seasons to allow them to recover as the years start to weigh on their brittle bodies, Barca have sent a clear message to their rivals with this triple renewal: the spine of the world's greatest club side is here to stay for some time to come.
Follow Ben Hayward on


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Centennial of the demise of St. Nicholas of Japan Equal-to-the-Apostles marked in Tokyo
On February 16, 2012, a solemn divine service was held at the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Tokyo to mark the centennial of the demise of St. Nicholas of Japan Equal-to-the-Apostles. The cathedral is known more popularly as the Nikolai-do. Expressed in this name is respect of ordinary Japanese for the memory of Russia's great son who brought Orthodox faith to the islands of the Land of the Rising Sun.
Hieromonk Nikolay (Kasatkin) came to Japan in 1861 to serve as a priest at the Russian consulate in Hodata. A Russian Orthodox mission was established in 1870 in Japan. Father Nikolay became its leader in the rank of archimandrite and since 1880 as bishop of Revel, vicar of the diocese of Riga. Through his efforts, Holy Scriptures and the liturgical books were translated into Japanese, a seminary was established, primary schools for boys and girls, a library, an orphanage and other institutions were opened and the Church Messenger magazine in Japanese began to come out.
Bishop Nikolay passed in the Lord on February 3 (16), 1912. After his death, Emperor Maiji gave his permission to bury him within the city, at the Yanaka Cemetery. On April 10, 1970, Bishop Nikolay was canonized as a saint equal to the Apostles. The divine service in his honour was composed by Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) of Leningrad and Novgorod.
The Divine Liturgy at the cathedral on the commemorative day was led by Bishop Seraphim of Sendai. He was assisted by the rector of the Tokyo Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church, Archpriest Nikolay Katsyuban, and the clergy of the Japanese Autonomous Orthodox Church. After the dismissal, Metropolitan Daniel of Tokyo and All Japan addressed the congregation speaking about the magnificence of St. Nicholas's work to enlighten Japanese people with the light of the good news of Christ.
After that, the clergy led by bishops of the Japanese Church said a thanksgiving at the grave of St. Nicholas at the Yanaka Cemetery, and Bishop Seraphim said the lity for the deceased hierarchs of the Japanese Church who were buried there.
A reception was held at the church hall in the Resurrection Cathedral for those who came for the celebrations.
The celebrations devoted to the centennial of the demise of St. Nicholas Equal-to-the-Apostles will be continued during the forthcoming visit to Japan by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia who is expected to come to Japan in September 2012.
Source: mospat.ru


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