bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mitigating Wax Deposition From Crude Oils: Correlations Between Physical-Chemical Properties of Crude Oils and the Performance of Wax Inhibitors
Authors: Perez Peter L. , Gurnon A. Kate , Chichak Kelly , McDermott John , de Paulo Jaqueline , Peng Wenqing , Xie Xiaoan
Published: April 2016

In this paper, we explore the correlations between the effectiveness of several wax inhibitors and physico-chemical properties of crude oils. First, the effects of the type of fluid was studied by dissolving refined paraffin waxes in non-waxy crude oils—here termed "doctored" crude oils—of different properties and comparing the wax appearance temperature and pour point of the doctored crude oils to those determined for a model waxy fluid used in previous studies [1]. After treating the doctored crude oils with wax inhibitors, the ability of the chemicals to depress pour point was examined. Even though the paraffin waxes in these fluids were exactly the same, marked differences in the effectiveness of the chemicals were observed. The doctored condensate was very responsive to the inhibitors in a similar manner to that observed for the model waxy fluid, while doctored crude oils from the Middle East showed a significantly reduced response to most inhibitors. The results are discussed in terms of the differences in solubility of the paraffin waxes, and the chemical composition of the crude oils.

Secondly, the influence of a wide range of crude oil properties on the effectiveness of wax inhibitors was investigated by treating seven (7) crude oils of different geographical origin with five (5) wax inhibitors and evaluating their performance to reduce wax deposits in a cold finger experiments. Distinct crude oil behaviors were observed in terms of their responsiveness to the wax inhibitors. Some crude oils were equally responsive to wax inhibitors, while others showed moderate response, and one was not responsive at all. The results are clear examples of the crude oil "specificity", and demonstrate the risks of using model waxy fluids, or even different crude oils, to extrapolate the performance of wax inhibitors. Additives that worked well in model fluids might not work at all in real crude oils.

Lastly, physical properties of crude oils and molecular characteristics derived from high-temperature gas chromatography (HTGC) were used to seek a correlation to wax inhibition performance using chemometrics tools, specifically, principal component analysis (PCA). Preliminary results from the PCA approach indicate that several crude oil properties affect inhibition efficiency. The analysis suggests that the efficiency of the inhibitors studied here increases for crude oils with lower wax appearance temperature, lower pour point and lower carbon number distribution. It could also be inferred that inhibition efficiency was improved in crude oils containing higher amounts of asphaltenes but low wax content.
Recommended Practice for Structural Integrity Management of Floating Offshore Structures – A DeepStar 12401 Product
Authors: Wisch David , Spong Robert
Published: April 2016

With recent technologies and exploration expanding the commercial viability of many deepwater fields, offshore operators now must contend with ways to keep their aging floating structures on station up to, and in many cases, beyond their original service life. As a result, there is a growing need within industry for a recommended practice focused solely on the Structural Integrity Management (SIM) of floating structures that provides guidance to operators and engineers in the development and implementation of SIM programs as well as to assess the fitness-for-purpose of a floating system over the original service life and beyond. Recognizing this need, DeepStar® initiated Project 12401 to develop a draft SIM Recommended Practice (RP) for floating offshore structures that covers hull, mooring, topsides structures and marine systems (e.g., ballast systems, propulsion, etc.). DeepStar® is a joint industry technology development project focused on advancing the technologies to meet its members’ deepwater business needs to deliver increased production and reserves. Members are comprised of various international oil and gas operators.

This paper describes the content and benefits of this new draft RP. The development process and required components of a floating structure SIM program are defined within the RP, which are currently not available in other industry RPs. Additionally, the overall implementation elements (i.e., Data, Evaluation, Strategy and Program) and associated processes required to manage a floating structure's integrity and confirm fitness-for-purpose over the service life (i.e., from commissioning to decommissioning) are covered. This includes assessment initiators (e.g., triggers for assessments) and a stepwise assessment process used to demonstrate the fitness of a floating structure. Guidance on assessing the fitness and viability of a floating structure for continued service beyond its original service life (sometimes referred to as "life extension") is also contained within the RP and described within this paper.
Advances in Model Scale Testing of Floating Offshore Wind Turbines Utilizing the W2 Wind/Wave Basin
Authors: Fowler Matthew J. , Goupee Andrew J. , Viselli Anthony M.
Published: April 2016

Increased interest in floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) technology has stimulated the development of new testing facilities and techniques to support the design of these structures. This paper presents some specific challenges of testing FOWTs and how these requirements have driven the development of wind/wave basins capable of providing both high quality wind and wave environments necessary to test these structures. Previous experience by the University of Maine (UMaine) and others as part of the DeepCwind Consortium in testing 1/50th-scale FOWTs at the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) Offshore Basin has supported the development of UMaine's Harold Alfond W2 Ocean Engineering Laboratory (W2), which includes a movable, open-jet wind machine specifically designed to provide a high quality wind field for testing FOWTs. A calibration testing campaign of this newly constructed facility will recreate a subset of the tests performed at MARIN. The new test campaign will contain system identification, wind turbine performance characterization, wave only, wind only, and combined wind/wave test cases utilizing both regular and irregular wave specifications. This paper will focus on the initial phase of this campaign which includes select system identification and regular wave tests. The test specimen is the same used in the original test program performed at MARIN and consists of the 1/50th-scale model semi-submersible along with the 1/50th-scale model version of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 5MW Reference Wind Turbine. Results from the new test campaign are studied and compared with the data from the 2011 MARIN test. Differences in data collection methods, basin geometry, model specifics and test methods were expected and are discussed for this initial phase. In particular, differences in the basin geometry necessitate development of a truncated mooring system to emulate the response of the full mooring system used at MARIN. The implications of utilizing this method are discussed as well as additional areas of future work to be completed in subsequent phases of the validation test campaign.
Progress in the Development of Test Methods and Flexible Composite Risers for 3000 m Water Depths
Authors: Anderson T. A. , Fang B. , Attia M. , Jha V. , Dodds N. , Finch D. , Latto J.
Published: April 2016

The primary aim of the present development program is to enhance access to deepwater fields in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, and West Africa by reducing system, transportation and installation costs for flexible production pipe technology. To accomplish that goal composite materials are being incorporated in hybrid unbonded flexible pipe structures to enhance their overall system performance and expand the operational design envelope. The use of composite materials enables significant improvements in operating pressures at larger pipe diameters, reduced weight and top tension, and the enhanced resistance to CO2 and H2S drives further improvements in the structural sour service performance and lifespan.

GE Global Research and GE Oil & Gas, with the support of Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA), embarked on a development program to qualify flexible pipe with an internal diameter of greater than seven inches for ultra-deepwater applications. The concept consists of an optimally engineered combination of metallic and composite reinforcing layer technologies. This hybrid design approach allows the pipe system properties to be tailored to yield the optimal result for any application conditions. The approach offers performance advantages including reduced risk on critical end fitting technology, continuous reinforcement of the liner eliminating discontinuities and local strains by fusing together the reinforcement and liner, superior matrix chemical resistance by using industry proven thermoplastic materials, and a reduced layer count leading to easier inspection.

This paper will provide an overview of the progress made during the collaborative RPSEA program and specifically, will highlight the bespoke testing capabilities developed for the new composite pipe layer. Although there are several individual standards, specifications and Joint Industry Projects (JIP) in relation to composite pipes that address some of the required tests, there remains a general lack of consensus with regard to specific testing standards and understanding of the long term performance, especially considering the variety of composite pipe technologies being developed by the industry. This paper will highlight the results from mid-scale burst testing along with analysis validation, and a bespoke rotating bending fatigue test rig used to assess the bending fatigue of the composite pipe structure. Lastly, progress toward the use of sub-scale tests allied with analysis to more rapidly assess the fatigue life will be discussed.
Impacts of Wind Turbulence on the Performances of a Semisubmersible-Type and a TLP-Type Wind Turbine
Authors: Udoh Ikpoto E. , Zou Jun , Edgar Craig
Published: April 2016

Analysis assumptions in the design of floating offshore wind turbines can lead to inadequate designs that ultimately affect performance and cost of the system. One of the common assumptions made is the use of steady wind fields for analysis and design. In reality, the dynamic components of wind fields, known as wind turbulence, can be significant thus inducing significant responses in the system not captured by the assumption of steady winds. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of turbulent wind fields on the performances of a semisubmersible-type and a Tension Leg Platform (TLP)-type offshore wind turbine.

The wind turbine implemented in this study is the 5 MW reference turbine developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the U.S. The selected semisubmersible platform has been studied in the Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration Continuation (OC4) project by NREL, while the TLP concept is a three-column TLP developed and sized by Houston Offshore Engineering, an Atkins company. To address the identified concern, the method implemented is a coupled aerodynamic-elastic-hydrodynamic-control approach, which accounts for all important effects in estimating the responses and generated power of the system. Representative load cases with and without wind turbulence are considered to delineate turbulence-induced impacts on the two concepts.

The system characteristic responses, such as nacelle accelerations, towerbase forces, towerbase moments, generated power, and platform motions, are focused on and compared. The extent to which the listed results are affected by wind turbulence depends on the characteristics of each floating platform. Discussions provided in this paper relate the observed responses to the platform characteristics.

Findings of this paper offer significant insight when considering hull form selection. The primary contribution of this work is to increase the depth of understanding on the importance of wind turbulence in the response characteristics of semisubmersible-type and TLP-type wind turbine platforms.
Faitgue Reliability Assessment for Life Extension of Offshore Structures
Authors: Sahasakkul Watsamon , Nguyen Hieu , Sari Ali
Published: April 2016

This study is focused on the prediction of the remaining life of an offshore structure using the fatigue reliability analysis. Our objective is to propose an alternative approach to assess long-term fatigue damage using a reliability analysis for life extension studies of offshore structures. In this approach, hot-spot stress response spectra in the frequency domain, considering stress concentration factors and stress transfer function, are generated using spectral fatigue method. Damage of the hot spots for a given sea state is carried out using products of the hot-spot stress response spectra. For reliability analysis, the limit state for fatigue damage is formed in terms of fatigue damage, fatigue capacity, randomness of environmental data, and other critical parameters of S-N curves. The probability of failure due to long-term fatigue damage is evaluated using reliability methods. The results of long-term reliability of fatigue damage are validated against other approaches such as Monte Carlo simulations.
Active RFID - The Case For Acceptance Of The IEEE Standard
Authors: Nabrotzky Ed
Published: April 2016

Objectives/Scope

Supply chain optimization is now an imperative for corporations, unfortunately existing track and trace functionality has not been previously available to cover the end to end supply chain. This is especially true in the Oil & Gas industry which is hampered by poor visibility of assets and equipment affected by onshore and offshore locations, large lay down yards and harsh environments. Historically, one of the greatest impediments to a complete solution has been the varied proprietary active tagging systems that do not allow for interoperability.

Methods, Procedures, Process

Unlike Passive RFID, which has been based on a universally accepted standard protocol, Active RFID has been based primarily on proprietary protocols. As a result, Active RFID systems have been highly expensive and inflexible. This has driven industry leading companies to express their support for an interoperability standard, similar to the EPC standard for passive RFID. The IEEE 802.15.4 standard, has risen to the top of that list. Specifically developed for active RFID, and based on Wi-Fi, this standard promotes interoperability for asset tracking using active RFID based tags and systems.

Driving the movement forward are new products such as the first (and only) intrinsically safe, dual technology tag – IEEE based active and passive RFID. This dual technology results in quickly locating the area of the asset as well as locating the specific item among a stack of like items.

Results, Observations, Conclusions

The acceptance of the IEEE 802.15.4 open standard for active RFID will encourage innovation and product interoperability that customers have been demanding and will ultimately benefit them by offering a choice of providers and thus eliminating licensing fees and legacy encumbrances, and unreliable technical performance. While end users will realize lower overall costs associated with implementing an active solution, manufacturers will benefit from the lower entry to market which will lead to the greater acceptance of active RFID across the marketplace.
Petrobras Approach to FPSO Cost Reduction
Authors: Nunes Giovani Cavalcanti , Lopreato Luiz Guilherme Roquette , Da Silva Ferreira Marcos Donato Auler , Vilamea Eduardo Marcal , De Oliveira Galileu Paulo Henke Alves
Published: April 2016

The standardization process was initiated nearly a decade ago under a thriving scene of the oil industry. At that time, Petrobras had already had a long experience designing, contracting and participating in offshore production units. This vast experience showed that eventual optimization obtained with tailor made solutions tended to lose attractivity, regarding schedules and costs, when compared with identical projects. This perception motivated a movement towards standardization and a radical change in design philosophy. This initiative has proven to be applicable to a wide range of crudes and several units have been contracted since. The first standardized projects developed by Petrobras, were the P-58 and P-62 FPSOs, two similar units to operate at Baleia Azul and Roncador fields, respectively. These units are operating with very good results. Since then, eight "Replicants" were contracted to Brazilian shipyards and the first unit should be producing next year.

Despite the success of standardization, in current scenario of cost reduction, incrementing the capacity of new FPSO units is a major option to be evaluated. In this context, this paper will present Petrobras strategy towards EPC of its FPSOs and how cost reduction is planned. Future trends will also be discussed.
Analysing Scour Interaction Between Submarine Pipelines, Valve Stations And Mechanical Protection Structures
Authors: Harris John , Whitehouse Richard , Todd David , Gunn Iain , Lewis Richard
Published: April 2016

Subsea pipeline networks with components such as Wye-pieces and Pipeline End Manifolds (PLEMs) require protection from mechanical impacts. Pipeline scour is well understood and scour at solid caissons/gravity base foundations and piled foundations has been studied (Whitehouse, 1998; Whitehouse, et al., 2011; Sumer and Fredsøe, 2002). The scouring at small subsea gravity protection structures has received less attention than those with piles (Ottesen Hansen, 1997; Fog and Krogh, 2001) and hence there is uncertainty about predicting scour at such structures (Whitehouse, et al., 2010).

The design of subsea structures requires a composite assessment of scour and stability for the protected asset and the protection structure itself. A closed structure may lead to the formation of a scour footprint that is quite similar to a solid caisson or gravity base. For an open structure, the contribution to scour interaction from the different components is more difficult to assess.

Large-scale mobile bed laboratory experiments evaluated scour for a surface laid pipeline, with a spur and valves, and a generic subsea protection structure with mudmats and a perimeter skirt. Bathymetry mapping was achieved with a high precision underwater laser scanner. The experiments evaluated the contributions to scour arising from the different subsea components.

Sediment mobility was a key factor, with the perimeter skirt able to resist scour over part of its length when the mobility was low/moderate, whereas in a high mobility environment the skirt was completely undermined. The foundation beams were underscoured quite quickly and the eroded sediment was flushed out through the perforated mudmats, highlighting the importance of mudmat design. The scour pattern and rate was similar with or without the pipeline in place. The underscouring of the beams caused settlement and tilting of the structure, highlighting the importance of assessing scour and scour countermeasures for these types of structure. The scour assessment needs to be integrated into the structural, geotechnical and functional performance study for any structure and the new results illustrate the importance of understanding effects related to sediment mobility, the prevailing direction of currents, the design of mudmats and skirts, and the need for additional scour countermeasures.
Technical and Economic Readiness Review of CFD-Based Numerical Wave Basin for Offshore Floater Design
Authors: Kim Jang Whan , Jang Hyunchul , Baquet Aldric , O'Sullivan Jim , Lee Sungwook , Kim Booki , Read Alex , Jasak Hrvoje
Published: April 2016

As Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and High Performance Computing (HPC) technologies matured in many other industries, the offshore industry has begun to recognize CFD-based Numerical Wave Basin (NWB) as a design tool to evaluate offshore floater design more efficiently and with less uncertainty than the conventional ways relying on empirical methods. The recent NWB technology development has focused on the customization of CFD software for offshore design practices and validation of the developed analysis tools/procedures against physical model tests. Development has now extended to simulation of fully coupled hull-mooring-riser systems.

Technology readiness of the NWB for field application is demonstrated for two benchmark problems: Vortex-induced motion of a multi-column floaterGlobal performance of a multi-column floater in extreme wave environment

The results indicates that the CFD-based numerical wave basin, although still computationally expensive, is technically ready to be a complementary tool to physical wave basin for offshore platform global performance design.
Development of Novel Integrity Assurance Approach for Technology Qualification of New Subsea Technologies by Deepstar®
Authors: Furtado S. , Hamedifar H. , Mateen K. , Huyse L. , Rivero L. M. , Kusinski G.
Published: April 2016

Deployment of new technologies could give rise to unknown modes of failures resulting in a lack of success for the technology. With no or limited failure data available in the field, the integrity of the equipment is ensured through testing and qualification. Individual companies have methodologies but they vary from company to company and the level of testing before a technology is considered qualified from the point of integrity also varies. This results in repeated qualification of the same technology, impacting project time-lines and costs. Further, the inference that the system has the required integrity remains qualitative and the testing carried out can be sufficient or excessive, with consequence on costs. A Deepstar® study has been carried out to develop a methodology where integrity of the various components of the new technology could be quantified, even in the absence of failure data from the field. The study recognized the importance of having a common understanding and definition of key principles used in technology qualification and a common view on integrity assurance acceptance criteria among the oil and gas industry. Integrity Assurance of a technology, defined here as the assurance to meet a specified set of integrity requirements at every point during its design life, is the novel methodology proposed and outcome of the Deepstar® study. The Integrity Assurance index accounts for both integrity and reliability of a system and it is ultimately expressed as a function of the mean life, the confidence in the probability of failure estimated and the expected life of a technology operating in a subsea environment. A particularly innovative approach is the introduction of failure categories using an association to Weibull distributions representative of a series of subsea equipments, based on the population statistics from failure distributions of similar equipment in O&G as well as in other adjacent industries. The methodology developed provides a link between a qualitative assessment and a quantitative analysis that can be used to evaluate the integrity qualification of new technologies used in complex subsea systems. The application of methodology will be illustrated here. Future work can use the Integrity Assurance index developed from component levels to estimate the overall system integrity. The achieved system integrity can then be compared to acceptance criteria to have a common definition for the qualification of the new technology from the point of view of integrity and reliability. Upon industry acceptance, this conceptual method could provide the Operators with the additional level of confidence in the integrity of a new system and a measure of the degree of technical risks involved in operations.
Case Studies and Cost Savings Associated With Fit-For-Purpose Abandonment Systems
Authors: Olstad Delaney Michael
Published: April 2016

The development of innovative technologies and the effective application of late-stage intervention and abandonment systems in the oil and gas industry have resulted in cost savings and an increased standard of safety. This paper examines the successes of fit-for-purpose systems specifically designed for operations on load bearing offshore platform projects in an efficient manner.

To effectively address the market, a new system for completing interventions and abandonment operations was needed. Subsequently, a system was designed which incorporates capabilities associated with Jack Up rigs along with the quick mobilization and set up of a crane assisted rigless unit. This solution has been utilized in offshore campaigns that include all phases of abandonment operations including well diagnostics, reservoir isolation, tubular retrieval, fishing and section milling.

This paper will review the capabilities of the system along with case studies which highlight the versatility and adaptability of the system which provides an integrated solution package to the client. The system which includes a Pulling and Jacking unit also incorporates all ancillary equipment necessary to proficiently intervene and permanently abandon offshore wells. These case studies will discuss the planned parameters, examine the operations, and review the lessons learned from the projects.
Design and Installation of the Malampaya Depletion Compression Platform
Authors: Lorenti Leon , Grime Andrew , Raine Brian
Published: April 2016

The Malampaya Depletion Compression Platform (DCP) was conceived by Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) to provide additional gas compression to account for the future expected decline in well pressure from the Malampaya field. The Malampaya project is very important to the ongoing prosperity of the Philippines, with the exported gas feeding three power stations which provide up to 45% of the power needs of Luzon, the largest and most populous island in the Philippines.

The DCP consists of a sealed barge structure which is rigidly connected to four cylindrical legs, each of which is supported on individual strut-linked hexagonal pad footings. The DCP arrangement uses cylindrical rather than truss legs and the base comprised a series of linked pad footings rather than a skirted baseplate. The leg configuration was selected in an attempt to simplify the leg fabrication; whilst the use of pad footings was a result of the site geotechnical conditions.

One of the key structural innovations on the project was to design a barge to leg connection which could accommodate both the required vertical movement of the circular leg during installation, as well as form a rigid moment connection at the final design level of the barge without excessive offshore works.

One of the key geotechnical innovations was to eliminate the need for a dedicated scour protection layer around the footings, yielding savings in procurement and offshore placement. This was achieved by selecting a foundation fill material capable of resisting self-scour in the 100-year return period cyclonic storm. The use of this larger sized material was agreed in advance with potential offshore Contractors to ensure that the required surface tolerances could be readily achieved.

Offshore work prior to the arrival of the DCP consisted of seabed excavation to remove the in-situ carbonate sand and reef limestone, and replacement with the engineered rock fill to form a sufficiently level surface for placement of each of the four pad footings.

Installation of the DCP at the Malampaya site commenced after a 3 day wet-tow from the fabrication yard in Subic Bay. Base lowering commenced on the morning of 12 February 2015, with touchdown occurring on the seabed some 26 hours later. Barge raising commenced immediately thereafter with the barge clearing the water around midday on 13 February 2015. Barge raising to the final elevation was completed in the early hours of 14 February 2015, less than 2 days after initial touchdown.

As well as providing a general overview, this paper will describe some of the geotechnical and structural innnovations which ensured a successful outcome of the project.
Energizing Worldwide Oil and Gas Deepwater Developments
Authors: Dekker Martijn , McEvilly Mike , Beattie Mike , Laws Bruce , Yanosek Kassia , Goodwin Deanna , Khurana Sandeep
Published: April 2016

The oil industry has been negatively impacted by the fluctuating and declining commodity pricing trend. Many industry participants are preparing for a lower-for-longer price environment, with multiple delays and cancellations of Greenfield project developments. Longer-term, how will the industry energize deepwater developments to close the gap between cost and current commodity prices?

This manuscript is intended to provide basic background and to set the stage for a panel discussion scheduled for 2.00pm-4.30pm, Wednesday, May 4, 2016 at the conference. Panelists will discuss how breakeven deepwater oil costs have evolved to date and how they are managing development costs going forward. Some of the areas panelists will address are as follows:

Reducing supply chain costs

Using standardized or proven project designs

Improving upside potential by using third-party hosts for floating production systems

Forming alliances among service providers to enhance supply chain savings

Re-configuring fiscal terms and local content requirements with host governments
Finding the lost years of Jesus ... or not
Authors: De Bruyn Joseph J.
Published: April 2016

No abstract available.
Om gereformeerde te mag glo – ‘n tydige publikasie
Authors: De Beer Edmund J.
Published: April 2016

No abstract available.
Is Johannes 1:1 ’n ‘raaisel’? Grammatikale getuienis
Authors: Van der Watt Jan
Published: April 2016

Is Johannes 1:1 a ‘riddle’? Grammatical evidence. John 1:1 is one of the most famous opening lines in the Bible. No wonder that it received its proportionate attention in scholarship which is characterised by the differences of opinion regarding several issues addressed in these verses. It is suggested that these difficulties in interpreting this verse might be an implication that it is a riddle or at least has riddle-like qualities. The question to be dealt with further is whether the grammar, which is also subject of intense discussion, supports the idea that this verse might be a riddle.Keywords: John 1:1, Riddles in John, ‘God’ or ‘god’ in John, Johannine grammar
Reg én geregtigheid – ’n Perspektief uit die brief aan Filemon
Authors: Tolmie D. Francois
Published: April 2016

Justice and justification – A perspective from the letter to Philemon. In this article, the letter to Philemon is investigated from an angle that has not received much attention thus far, namely from a forensic perspective. In order to investigate this issue, the letter is interpreted against the legal background of its time. The investigation begins with a brief discussion of the status of Onesimus. It is argued that the best way to understand the situation within which the letter originated is to accept that Onesimus had left Philemon’s household in order to ask Paul to intervene on his behalf. This is followed by a brief overview of the most important legal aspects regardin slavery in Paul’s time. Against this background, Paul’s strategy in the letter is then scrutinised. It is argued that Paul complied with all the legal requirements in his letter. However, it is then also shown that Paul went beyond existing legal requirements, because he was aware of a better kind of justice, the justice of God, or in Paul’s own terminology, the justification of God.Keywords: Letter to Philemon; Justice; Justification
Mainstreaming biodiversity and wildlife management into climate change policy frameworks in selected east and southern African countries
Authors: Kupika Olga L. , Nhamo Godwell
Published: April 2016

The Rio+20 outcomes document, the Future We Want, enshrines green economy as one of the platforms to attain sustainable development and calls for measures that seek to address climate change and biodiversity management. This paper audits climate change policies from selected east and southern African countries to determine the extent to which climate change legislation mainstreams biodiversity and wildlife management. A scan of international, continental, regional and national climate change policies was conducted to assess whether they include biodiversity and/or wildlife management issues. The key finding is that many climate change policy–related documents, particularly the National Adaptation Programme of Actions (NAPAs), address threats to biodiversity and wildlife resources. However, international policies like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol do not address the matter under deliberation. Regional climate change policies such as the East African Community, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and African Union address biodiversity and/or wildlife issues whilst the Southern African Development Community region does not have a stand-alone policy for climate change. Progressive countries like Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia have recently put in place detailed NAPAs which are mainstream responsive strategies intended to address climate change adaptation in the wildlife sector.Keywords: mainstreaming, biodiversity, wildlife, climate change policy, east and southern Africa
Dynamics and Regularization of the Kepler Problem on Surfaces of Constant Curvature
Authors: Andrade Jaime , Dàvila Nestor , Pérez-Chavela Ernesto , Vidal Claudio
Published: April 2016

We classify and analyze the orbits of the Kepler problemon surfaces of constant curvature (both positive and negative, 𝕊2and ℍ2, respectively) as functions of the angular momentum and the energy. Hill's regions are characterized, and the problem of time-collision is studied. We also regularize the problem in Cartesian and intrinsic coordinates, depending on the constant angular momentum, and we describe the orbits of the regularized vector field. The phase portraits both for 𝕊2and ℍ2are pointed out.
International monetary policy with commodity buffer stocks
Authors: Ussher Leanne
Published: April 2016

This proposal argues in favor of commodity price stabilization via international commodity buffer stocks and the tying of these stocks to the creation of a new international reserve currency. Financing commodity buffer stocks through the issuance of an international reserve makes commodity price stabilization financially viable and offers a countercyclical issuance of international reserves to fight global deflation. Both measures address the volatility of commodity prices due to a lack of private sector storage and macroeconomic demand factors. This proposal urges the reader to look back to the global Keynesian policies of the 1940s, 1960s, and 1970s for inspiration in solving today's commodity price instability and secular stagnation.
Can the Report of the ‘Five Presidents’ save the euro?
Authors: Arestis Philip
Published: April 2016

The international financial crisis of 2007/2008 and the ‘Great Recession’ that followed, along with the euro crisis, have highlighted a range of problems and difficulties that are related to some fundamental weaknesses of the euro. There are the well-known difficulties of macroeconomic policies under the Stability and Growth Pact and the more recent Fiscal Compact, including their deflationary nature and the ‘one size fits all problem’ of imposing common deficit requirements on all European Economic and Monetary Union countries. There are also problems with monetary policy in view of the fact that the European Central Bank does not properly possess the functions of a central bank, especially that of lender of last resort. We discuss the reforms that are needed, most important of which is the requirement for a substantial Economic and Monetary Union-level fiscal policy as part of political integration, along with a banking union. In this context the recent proposals of the ‘Five Presidents’ Report’ (European Commission 2015b; see, also, European Council 2012) are relevant and the question is whether they will save the euro. It is concluded that the ‘Five Presidents’ Report’ is unlikely to resolve the deep-seated problems, casting a dark shadow over the future of the euro.
A T-shirt model of savings, debt, and private spending: lessons for the euro area
Authors: Terzi Andrea
Published: April 2016

Notwithstanding the modified ECB practice that saved the day, the euro area is failing to restore economic prosperity. The problem is visibly political, yet an effective solution must be economically viable. This essay articulates the reason behind the prolonged deflationary bias of euro area policies by means of a simple (‘T-shirt’) model, where private spending depends on desired savings and sustainable indebtedness. This savings–debt constraint means that any policy that inhibits debt also inhibits financial savings, spending, and jobs. After providing a solution to the conundrum of the consequence of savings in a monetary economy, this essay makes a case for reclaiming the fiscal instrument. The EU Commission's belief that it is possible to create jobs without creating new debt underscores a serious conceptual fault and a delusion that the savings–debt constraint to spending can be ignored. As long as policy-makers defy the savings–debt constraint, the euro area will continue to live dangerously.
Reviving fiscal policy in Europe: towards an implementation of the golden rule of public investment*
Authors: Truger Achim
Published: April 2016

The implementation of a golden rule of public investment as a necessary institutional reform and an important step aimed at overcoming the constraints imposed by the new European Economic Governance are proposed. The rule is widely accepted in traditional public finance and can deliver both intergenerational fairness as well as more growth and employment. The golden rule would exempt public (net) investment suitably defined from the relevant deficit targets of both the preventative and the corrective arms of the Stability and Growth Pact as well as the Fiscal Compact. That way, fiscal policy would be upgraded and would receive more room for manoeuvre and public investment as a particularly growth-enhancing public expenditure category would be strengthened. Different definitions are discussed and a pragmatic definition based on the national accounts with some modifications will be proposed. The standard reservations against a golden rule are critically assessed and mostly discarded. Although a proper implementation would need some time, this should not be an excuse for not using pragmatic short-term solutions that are readily available at the European level.
Making the euro viable: the Euro Treasury Plan*
Authors: Bibow Jörg
Published: April 2016

The euro crisis remains unresolved and the euro currency union incomplete and extraordinarily vulnerable. The euro regime's essential flaw and ultimate source of vulnerability is the decoupling of central bank and treasury institutions in the euro currency union. We propose a Euro Treasury scheme to properly fix the regime and resolve the euro crisis. The Euro Treasury Plan would establish a rudimentary fiscal union that is not a transfer union. The core idea is to create a Euro Treasury as a vehicle to pool future eurozone public investment spending and have it funded by proper eurozone treasury securities. The Euro Treasury could fulfil a number of additional purposes while operating mainly on the basis of a strict rule. The plan would also provide a much-needed fiscal boost to recovery and foster a more benign intra-area rebalancing.
On the long-run equilibrium value of Tobin's average Q
Authors: Franke Reiner , Yanovski Boyan
Published: April 2016

This note considers Tobin's average Q in a framework where firms finance investment by equities and debt. The determination of its long-run equilibrium value Q° is based on positing equality of the loan rate and, adjusted for a risk premium, the return on equities. Q° can thus be characterized as a ratio of two rates representing the somewhat modified interest costs and profits of the firms. The familiar benchmark value Q° = 1 obtains if another condition on the risk premium holds true, which may or may not be the case. An elementary numerical check demonstrates that possible deviations of Q° from unity are not overly dramatic.
Drivers of wealth inequality in euro area countries: the effect of inheritance and gifts on household gross and net wealth distribution analysed by applying the Shapley value approach to decomposition*
Authors: Leitner Sebastian
Published: April 2016

This paper investigates the sources of inequality in household gross and net wealth across eight euro area countries applying the Shapley value approach to decomposition. The research draws on micro data from the Eurosystem Household Finance and Consumption Survey 2010. Dispersion in bequests and inter vivos transfers obtained by households are found to have a remarkable effect on wealth inequality that is stronger than that of income differences. In Austria, Germany and Cyprus the contribution of real and financial assets inherited or received as gifts to gross and net wealth inequality attains about 40 per cent. Nevertheless, the distribution of household characteristics (age, education, size, number of adults and children in the household, marital status) within countries also shapes the observed wealth dispersion.
Mentale toestanden in de psychologie
Authors: Kalis Annemarie
Published: April 2016

Mental states in psychology

Many of our thoughts, emotions and motivations have intentional content: they are ‘about’ something. In this paper I present my VENI research project, which starts from the observation that the everyday practice of empirical psychological research is built on the idea that mental states have content. However, empirical psychology lacks a clear view on how mental content should be understood and how mental states could be causally efficacious in virtue of their content. I focus on mental states that play a role in psychiatric symptomatology, and develop an interpretivist answer to these questions. I also offer some suggestions showing how an interpretivist notion of mental content could be used in empirical research on psychiatric symptoms.
Anachronistische waarden
Authors: Mooij J.J.A.
Published: April 2016

Anachronistic values

A value becomes anachronistic when it no longer fits current historical conditions (institutions, technology, culture, etc.). From an ‘idealist’ perspective, this fact does not tell against the old value (accepted as true), but rather against the new conditions. However, from a ‘naturalist’ perspective which takes values to be the product of human interests and (therefore) as interconnected with a given historical context, such a conflict seems to make a value obsolete. But this is neither an empirical law nor a normative rule. A defence of anachronistic values might still be perfectly reasonable. It is argued that such reasonableness depends mainly on three criteria: (un)certainty, scope and weight.
Wat maakt blind? Liefde? Of Wetenschap?
Authors: Bransen Jan , Hutschemaekers Giel
Published: April 2016

Blindness in therapy? Love? Or science?

In this paper we dispute what seems an obvious truism these days: that increasing the influence of scientific research on psychotherapy is a good thing. We begin with an exploration of two distinct capacities that contribute in significant ways to human flourishing: knowledge and love. We then argue that modern society rather onesidedly capitalizes on the growth of scientific knowledge. This has an important drawback because the dominant model of growth presupposed in scientific research is built on the idea of reducing the potentially disturbing influence of the subjective engagement of the scientist with the object of knowledge. This is ordinarily quite a fruitful idea that has, however, paradoxically bad effects in evidence-based therapy. This is the case, we argue, because in a scientifically informed therapy the therapist should, in some sense, try to be blind to the effects of his expertise on his clients’ expectations of his expertise. A scientific, disengaged perspective therefore frustrates the therapist’s need to invest in the formation of a charitable relationship with his clients. Next we argue that the popular prejudice against love – that it is blind – is not as plausible as it is considered to be. To be sure, love invites cognition to accept a subservient role, but, we argue, this has some advantages too. It encourages the lover to discern particularly positive and promising features of the object of his love, and this, we argue, is crucial to a successful therapy in two ways. On the one hand, the therapist needs to engage with these positive and promising features to succeed in building the needed charitable relationship with his clients. And on the other hand clients often go into therapy because they lack access to their own positive and promising features and are therefore unable to entertain a charitable relationship with themselves. We conclude that with respect to psychotherapy there might be good reason for contemporary society to capitalize on the growth of love, rather than the growth of knowledge.
Liefde en persoonlijke identiteit
Authors: van Stee Annemarie
Published: April 2016

Love and personal identity. Everyday loves, ambiguous selves

What we love matters for who we are. The idea may be self-evident, but how should it be understood exactly? One way is to conceptualize the formative influence of love on our identities in terms of ‘identification’: loving shapes who we are as we (volitionally) identify with the interests of the beloved and accept them as our own. Harry Frankfurt has fleshed out an influential identification-view along these lines. However, the identification-account is insufficiently able to accommodate the ambiguous nature of everyday loving and the way in which these ambiguities affect our identity. A second way in which the formative influence of love on our identity can be conceptualized is as ‘relation’: we are indeed shaped by what we love but the (affective-volitional) character of the relation in which we stand to our loved ones determines our identity. The latter view is capable to account for ambiguous loves and corresponding ambiguities in the self. Also, it gives prominence to the practical problem of loving, that is, to the question of how to relate to the people we love. It offers a more realistic perspective on that problem, as it takes the enduring differences between us and our beloveds into account, as well as the intersubjective character of loving. In sum: how we love what we love shapes who we are.
Schijnbare syntactische feniksen
Authors: Van de Velde Freek
Published: April 2016

Apparent syntactic phoenixes

This article investigates ‘syntactic phoenixes’: obsolete or obsolescent constructions that unexpectedly regain currency in language use. Four case studies are investigated to gain insight in the reasons for the revival of these old constructions: (i) transparent free relatives, (ii) the complex preposition-like combination wat betreft, (iii) accusativus and nominativus cum infinitivo (ACI/NCI) and (iv) bare infinitive with the young modal hoeven. In all cases, the (temporary) reversal of the diachronic trends in the internal syntax of these constructions is argued to be driven by an analogical pull by cognate constructions. As such, the phoenixes are in fact illusions: the revival only affects a particular corner of the whole construction, namely where it borders on the neighbouring construction. The diachronic developments underscore the need to take into account the impact of the broad grammatical environment in which syntactic changes take place in grammaticalisation.