Counterparty Credit Limits: An Effective Tool for Mitigating Counterparty Risk?

A counterparty credit limit (CCL) is a limit imposed by a financial institution to cap its maximum possible exposure to a specified counterparty. Although CCLs are designed to help institutions mitigate counterparty risk by selective diversification of their exposures, their implementation restricts the liquidity that institutions can access in an otherwise centralized pool. We address the question of how this mechanism impacts trade prices and volatility, both empirically and via a new model of trading with CCLs. We find empirically that CCLs cause little impact on trade. However, our model highlights that in extreme situations, CCLs could serve to destabilize prices and thereby influence systemic risk

Charting the Course for Energy Efficiency in New York: Lessons from Existing Programs

This report examines the performance of the existing suite of energy efficiency efforts run by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the state’s investor owned utilities. The latest data shows that through 2014 EEPS program administrators had achieved 79 percent of their to-date savings goals. The report focuses on the best ways to transition from the EEPS program model to the emerging REV model. Reviewing publicly available information, this analysis takes stock of what the EEPS has achieved and calls for a REV planning and delivery program that builds upon lessons learned from decades of past efforts to achieve self-sustaining efficiency markets. It 1) describes the proposed changes to energy efficiency delivery currently under consideration by the Cuomo Administration, 2) reviews overall EEPS performance through the third quarter of 2014, 3) recommends a framework to serve as the basis for future decision-making, and 4) makes additional recommendations for the future of energy efficiency efforts in New York State

Experiences of people taking opioid medication for chronic non-malignant pain : a qualitative evidence synthesis using meta-ethnography

Objective To review qualitative studies on the experience of taking opioid medication for chronic non-malignant pain (CNMP) or coming off them. Design This is a qualitative evidence synthesis using a seven-step approach from the methods of meta-ethnography. Data sources and eligibility criteria We searched selected databases—Medline, Embase, AMED, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Scopus (Science Citation Index and Social Science Citation Index)—for qualitative studies which provide patients’ views of taking opioid medication for CNMP or of coming off them (June 2017, updated September 2018). Data extraction and synthesis Papers were quality appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool, and the GRADE-CERQual (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation working group - Confidence in Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research) guidelines were applied. We identified concepts and iteratively abstracted these concepts into a line of argument. Results We screened 2994 unique citations and checked 153 full texts, and 31 met our review criteria. We identified five themes: (1) reluctant users with little choice; (2) understanding opioids: the good and the bad; (3) a therapeutic alliance: not always on the same page; (4) stigma: feeling scared and secretive but needing support; and (5) the challenge of tapering or withdrawal. A new overarching theme of ‘constantly balancing’ emerged from the data. Conclusions People taking opioids were constantly balancing tensions, not always wanting to take opioids, and weighing the pros and cons of opioids but feeling they had no choice because of the pain. They frequently felt stigmatised, were not always ‘on the same page’ as their healthcare professional and felt changes in opioid use were often challenging

Developing Flexible Discrete Event Simulation Models in an Uncertain Policy Environment

On February 1st, 2010 U.S. President Barack Obama submitted to Congress his proposed budget request for Fiscal Year 2011. This budget included significant changes to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), including the proposed cancellation of the Constellation Program. This change proved to be controversial and Congressional approval of the program's official cancellation would take many months to complete. During this same period an end-to-end discrete event simulation (DES) model of Constellation operations was being built through the joint efforts of Productivity Apex Inc. (PAl) and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) teams under the guidance of NASA. The uncertainty in regards to the Constellation program presented a major challenge to the DES team, as to: continue the development of this program-of-record simulation, while at the same time remain prepared for possible changes to the program. This required the team to rethink how it would develop it's model and make it flexible enough to support possible future vehicles while at the same time be specific enough to support the program-of-record. This challenge was compounded by the fact that this model was being developed through the traditional DES process-orientation which lacked the flexibility of object-oriented approaches. The team met this challenge through significant pre-planning that led to the "modularization" of the model's structure by identifying what was generic, finding natural logic break points, and the standardization of interlogic numbering system. The outcome of this work resulted in a model that not only was ready to be easily modified to support any future rocket programs, but also a model that was extremely structured and organized in a way that facilitated rapid verification. This paper discusses in detail the process the team followed to build this model and the many advantages this method provides builders of traditional process-oriented discrete event simulations

Laboratory Simulation of the Effect of Rocket Thrust on a Precessing Space Vehicle

Ground tests of solid propellant rocket motors have shown that metal-containing propellants produce various amounts of slag (primarily aluminum oxide) which is trapped in the motor case, causing a loss of specific impulse. Although not yet definitely established, the presence of a liquid pool of slag also may contribute to nutational instabilities that have been observed with certain spin-stabilized, upper-stage vehicles. Because of the rocket's axial acceleration, absent in the ground tests, estimates of in-flight slag mass have been very uncertain. Yet such estimates are needed to determine the magnitude of the control authority of the systems required for eliminating the instability. A test rig with an eccentrically mounted hemispherical bowl was designed and built which incorporates a follower force that properly aligns the thrust vector along the axis of spin. A program that computes the motion of a point mass in the spinning and precessing bowl was written. Using various RPMs, friction factors, and initial starting conditions, plots were generated showing the trace of the point mass around the inside of the fuel tank. The apparatus will incorporate future design features such as a variable nutation angle and a film height measuring instrument. Data obtained on the nutational instability characteristics will be used to determine order of magnitude estimates of control authority needed to minimize the sloshing effect