131 research outputs found
Hidden Strains: Understanding Schizophrenia's Impact on Families and Communities
"Hidden Strains: Understanding Schizophrenia's Impact on Families and Communities" examines the challenges family caregivers of schizophrenia patients face in Romania. This study uncovers the socio-economic burdens and limited psychiatric support, particularly in rural areas, compounded by societal stigma. A significant finding is the caregivers' knowledge gap about schizophrenia, underscoring the need for mental health education for early detection and stigma reduction. The research stresses the vital roles of family and community in schizophrenia care, advocating for more community resources. It introduces innovative care models like the "Open Dialogue Approach" from Scandinavia, suggesting solutions for Romania's mental health challenges. Broadening its view, "Hidden Strains" contrasts Romanian mental health issues with global trends, emphasizing the urgency of mental health reforms. Concluding with recommendations for worldwide application, this work offers insights for professionals, caregivers, and policymakers, and resonates universally despite its Romanian foundation
Inscribing markets, shaping policy: a sociological investigation into the yield curve
This thesis investigates the central mediating role of a device, the yield curve, in the enactment of sociomaterial agencements in and around the secondary market for sovereign bonds. In part 1, it traces the historical developments by which the yield curve came to sit within the arrangements constituting government bond markets and later central banks, and the market and policy practices which it engendered. In part 2, it studies the contemporary organising of social order in the interaction between financial markets and central banks, and the perpetual reassembling of arrangements as a response to crises. The thesis relies primarily on a set of 51 elite and in-depth interviews with buy-side fund managers and traders, investment bankers, arbitrage traders in hedge funds, and central bankers, across Edinburgh, London, Frankfurt, and New York. Additionally, a set of primary and secondary documents from various sources, including the Bank of England and stockbroking firms, informs the historical analysis of the rise of government bond markets (UK and US) and the architecture of monetary governance in the UK.
The findings in Part 1âs chapter 3 and chapter 4 follow a performativity argument to show how, as the yield curve became a core part of government bond markets, it shaped those very same markets which it was purported to represent. By assisting in the development of a novel set of evaluation practices in stockbroking firms in the City of London, it led to the consolidation of the gilt market. It was also a crucial component of the sociomaterial arrangements of investment banks in the US through which derivatives emerged and via which the risk-neutral world of âno-arbitrageâ was established. In turn, the yield curve was itself shaped as it came to sit within multiple sociomaterial arrangements and practices - from derivatives desks to arb desks and central banks â and thus took on multiple ontologies, from an object with which to extract value, to a risk management object, and from a mathematical universe to be solved via calculation, to a representation of market expectations. Chapter 5 elaborates on how the sociomaterial agencement of inflation-targeting central banking in the 1990s was the outcome of a long and complex process of reconfigurations of the alignments between central banks and bond markets, in the context of processes of financialisation and liberalisation of markets, that ultimately put the yield curve at the centre of the central bankâs sociomaterial arrangements and practices.
Part 2âs chapter 6 switches gears and turns the focus on the ways in which, rather than leading to chaos or social disorder, the multiplicity of agencements explored in the previous chapters render order by way of a set of routinised and institutionalised practices. As a mutable mobile, the yield curve acts as a coordinating device around which fictional expectations and âarbitrageâ practices revolve, thus exhibiting a level of universality that transcends the locality of specific sociomaterial arrangements and, even more crucially, connects them. Nevertheless, chapter 7 shows how fragile this social order is as a set of crises threaten to disrupt it. As a response, the various sociomaterial arrangements reconfigured and reassembled âthe socialâ in order to weather the crisesâs threats and to re-establish social order
The Endogenous Nature of Corporate Governance: A Comparison of Consumer and Producer Co-ops
Whether by borrowing governance measures from one organizational type and applying them to another, or by promoting a single governance model, policymakers are standardizing corporate governance. Differences between firms are overlooked as blanket governance measures are applied that treat all affected firms the same. The problem is that corporate governance is not a one-size-fits-all phenomenon. Applying governance measures originally designed for other firms may produce sub-optimal results.
The reason for the sub-optimal results is that corporate governance is believed to be endogenously determined. Firms choose their optimal governance structures and behaviours based on their specific characteristics and the governance issues they face. Any misalignment between the governance measures a firm must adopt and the measure that is best for the firm (given its characteristics) could negatively impact the firmâs corporate governance, and ultimately its performance
Extending Hansmannâs theory of ownership to look at the governance of co-operatives, this thesis finds support for the belief that corporate governance is endogenous. Using data from the Co-operative Business Study and three types of statistical tests, Principal Component Analysis, t-tests, and Pearsonâs chi-square tests, producer and consumer co-ops are compared to determine: 1) whether the two co-op types differ in terms of their firm specific characteristics, and 2) whether any discovered differences are associated with differences in corporate governance measures.
Results suggest that consumer co-ops have higher control costs, and their boards are more involved in overseeing management. In other words, there is an association between how much it costs members to control their co-op and the degree to which management is overseen by the board or by members. These results reinforce the point that corporate governance is endogenous, and they should give policymakers pause when developing governance measures; standardized governance measures may produce sub-optimal results because firm-specific characteristics need to be considered.
Instead of developing broadly applied governance measures, policymakers may be better served by creating policies that enhance board cohesiveness and improve directorsâ ability to function as a team. By focusing on board membersâ soft skills, policymakers can improve corporate governance while still allowing firms to determine their own optimal governance structures and behaviours
Creating for the Stage and Other Spaces: Questioning Practices and Theories
Abstract (ENGLISH)-This volume brings together most of the interventions by artists and scholars of the Third EASTAP Conference (European Association for the Study of Theatre and Performance), which should have been held in Bologna from 27 February to 1 March 2020, scheduled among the events of the VIE Festival 2020 and the activities of the Department of the Arts / DAMSLab. When everything was ready, the Conference, the last part of the Festival and the DAMSLab programme were suddenly canceled due to the first restrictions related to the pandemic. Following those sudden and unexpected events, the need to leave memory of the project arose from many quarters. It was thus decided to propose a publication which, while significantly differentiating from the original structure designed for the Conference, explicitly and directly refers to it, remaining an exceptional and significant testimony of the state of studies on theatre and performance in the pre-Covid era. The Conference plan envisaged two macro-sectors which concerned, one, the practices and theories relating to the composition of the texts; the other, the practices and theories relating to the composition of performative events referable to the methods of scenic writing. The volume takes up this polarity by framing it in a different division of relations, which explains â thanks to the groupings and their titles both the relations between text and text and those between sector and sector. The most consistent chapters are dedicated to performance and post-dramatic textuality: Questioning performance: theories and practices (17 reports) and Creating text for the stage: theories and practices (21 reports). The other chapters then come to place themselves in the force field described by these main groupings. Perfomer's body: the dancer, the actor (6 reports) and Creating for other spaces: landscape, sound, multimedia (7 reports) are ideally framed in the polarity of the performace, where to highlight the centrality of the body and the relational dynamics activated by spaces, sounds, and new technologies. Collective creations and community plays (7 reports), on the other hand, focuses on performance and new textuality. __________
Abstract (ITALIANO)-Il presente volume riunisce la maggior parte degli interventi di artisti e studiosi del III Convegno EASTAP (European Association for the Study of Theatre and Performance), che avrebbe dovuto tenersi a Bologna dal 27 febbraio al 1 marzo 2020, calendarizzato tra gli eventi di VIE Festival 2020 e le attivitĂ del Dipartimento delle Arti/DAMSLab. Quando tutto era ormai pronto, il Convegno, lâultima parte del Festival e il programma DAMSLab sono stati improvvisamente annullati a causa delle prime restrizioni legate alla pandemia. In seguito a quei repentini e inattesi eventi, è nata lâesigenza da piĂš parti avvertita di lasciare memoria del progetto. Si è deciso cosĂŹ di proporre una pubblicazione che, pur differenziandosi sensibilmente dalla struttura originaria pensata per il Convegno, a esso si richiamasse esplicitamente e direttamente, restando eccezionale e significativa testimonianza dello stato degli studi sul teatro e la performance nellâera pre-Covid. Il piano del Convegno prevedeva due macrosettori che riguardavano, lâuno, le pratiche e le teorie relative alla composizione dei testi; lâaltro, le pratiche e le teorie relative alla composizione di eventi performativi riferibili alle modalitĂ della scrittura scenica. Il volume riprende questa polaritĂ inquadrandola in una diversa ripartizione delle relazioni, che esplicita â grazie ai raggruppamenti e ai loro titoli â sia le relazioni fra testo e testo che quelle fra settore e settore. Alla performance e alla testualitĂ postdrammatica sono dedicati i capitoli piĂš consistenti: Questioning performance: theories and practices (17 relazioni) e Creating text for the stage: theories and practices (21 relazioni). Gli altri capitoli si vengono quindi a posizionare nel campo di forze descritto da questi raggruppamenti principali. Perfomerâs body: the dancer, the actor (6 relazioni) e Creating for other spaces: landscape, sound, multimedia (7 relazioni) si inquadrano idealmente nella polaritĂ della performace, dove evidenziare la centralitĂ del corpo e le dinamiche relazionali attivate dagli spazi, dai suoni e dalle nuove tecnologie. Collective creations and community plays (7 relazioni) si orienta invece fra performance e nuova testualitĂ
The European Central Bank & crises measures. The role of the ECB during the euro-crisis and COVID-19 pandemic: investigating the independence and accountability.
This thesis investigates the role of the European Central Bank (ECB) during the eurocrisis and the COVID19 pandemic. It asks the question of whether the role of the ECB has affected the balance between independence and accountability. It does so by using a combination of economic and political theories to analyse the legal framework and actions of the ECB. This thesis furthermore places the actions in perspective by comparing with the US Federal Reserve (FED). This thesis starts in chapter 2 by examining the origins of central bank independence (CBI). Chapter 3 continues by defining the concept of accountability. This thesis uses the work of Amtenbrink (1999) to generate criteria for accountability. This chapter further examines the independence and accountability of the ECB and FED before the euro-crisis. Chapter 4 continues by examining the actions of the ECB through conventional policies. The role of the ECB during the euro crisis through its conventional policies was larger than expected. Chapter 5 of this research continues by evaluating the role of the ECB through its unconventional policies. Its role increased and changed from a cautious and conservative central bank to a more active bank. Chapter 6 of this thesis continues by examining the role of the ECB during the COVID19 crisis. Chapter 7 continues by discussing the judicial review. The level of judicial review both indicates the level of independence and the first step towards accountability. Chapter 8 continues by discussing the various methods of accountability. This chapter concludes that transparency has improved but that the main method of accountability has failed. Chapter 9 concludes that the new role of the ECB required higher levels of accountability. The accountability however did not develop to the level required, thus upsetting the balance between independence and accountability
Central Bank of Nigeria, Corporate Governance and the Quest for Sustainable Banking System in Nigeria: An Exploratory Analysis
This study intends to achieve two objectives. First, the thesis seeks to thoroughly investigate the role of the Central Bank of Nigeria in ensuring that banks comply with the code of corporate governance (CG) and secondly to examine the level of compliance with the law of corporate governance by Nigeria banks pre 2009 and post 2009.
Various activities such as insider abuse, poor governance practices, erosion of depositorsâ funds and poor compliance culture which are considered inimical to the sustainable banks in Nigeria, necessitate a research study of this nature. This study will help unravel the challenges affecting compliance in the Nigeria banking sector, based on the perceptions gotten from the respondents.
Three theories were considered suitable for this research, one the agency theory because of its dominant position in corporate governance. The second theory used for this work was the stakeholder theory. This theory was considered appropriate due to the governance issues affecting banks and number of stakeholders involved in banks compared to non-financial firms and finally institutional isomorphism theory, because of the institutional factors prevalent in a developing nation like Nigeria.
Employing an interpretivism research philosophy, the research study adopts a qualitative research strategy. Data was collected using semi-structured, face-to-face/telephone interviews from three groups of stakeholders (regulators, bank employees and bank depositors). To aid data triangulation and improve the credibility and trustworthiness of the data collected, other sources of data, such as focus group and document review, were also collected. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.
In highlighting the barriers to compliance of corporate governance codes in the banks under the purview of the Central Bank of Nigeria, this study revealed that factors such as regulatory forbearance and regulatory capture are still affecting the effectiveness of the CBN in ensuring the banks are fully compliant to the CG codes.
Also, due to the institutional factors such as judiciary system, legal system and lack of political will, the CBN is constrained from using its powers, to effect a change of the culture of compliance in the Nigeria deposit banks. Finally, the recommendations of this study provide insight into how the Central Bank of Nigeria can ensure Nigerian banks are sustainable, through the best practice of corporate governance
Updates
Richard Bud Meade worked in Human Resources at the College at Brockport from 1968-2000. He knew many of our faculty and staff and in retirement he began to circulate an email newsletter which passed on stories and news about various college retirees. This remarkable, ongoing project has captured a tremendous amount of information about the folks who built the college over the last 50 years.
This collection of his Update is searchable, and covers from the beginning in 2001 up to August, 2020. More will be added as time goes on..
History of Psychology
Openly licensed anthology focused on the theme of the History of Psychology. Contains: The Mind and the Brain by Alfred Binet; Dream Psychology: Psychoanalysis for Beginners by Sigmund Freud; The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2) by William James; The Principles of Psychology, Volume 2 (of 2) by William James; Collected Papers on Analytical Psychology by C. G. Jung; Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay; The Psychology of Arithmetic by Edward L. Thorndike
A study of the geology of the Vaalbank and Lady Frere areas in the Karoo Basin of South Africa using gravity, magnetic and gamma-ray spectrometry data: implications of groundwater potential
The Vaalbank and Lady Frere areas belong to the Elliot, Molteno and Burgersdorp Formations, that are part of the sedimentary succession of the Beaufort Group in the Karoo Basin of South Africa. There is Quaternary alluvium covering the mudstone, sandstone and shale rocks of the Beaufort Group. Dolerite and gabbro sills of the Karoo age have intruded the whole area. A number of investigations were carried out for the study namely field observations, petrographic, X-ray diffraction, airborne gamma-ray spectrometry, aeromagnetic and gravity analyses. Twenty four rock samples were collected in the field from fresh outcrops of the Karoo dolerites, Burgersdorp and Molteno formations. The measured densities and porosities show that the Karoo dolerite suite has the highest average dry density of 2.771 g/cm3 and the lowest average porosity of 3%. The Burgersdorp Formation has an intermediate average density of 2.458 g/cm3 and an intermediate average porosity of 5.4%. The Molteno Formation has the lowest average density of 2.190 g/cm3 and the highest average porosity of 14.5%. Petrographic and geochemical investigations were carried on 19 rocks samples collected in the field to determine the mineralogy character using microscopic and XRD analyses. Both petrographic and X-ray diffraction analyses revealed that the sandstones of the study area are composed of quartz as their primary mineral and feldspars as the secondary mineral. The dolerite consists of euhedral structured minerals such as magnetite, pyroxene, plagioclase and amphibole. The gamma ray maps show high spectrometric values are associated with the Burgersdorp Formation, alluvium cover and dolerite dykes. The low spectrometric values are associated with dolerite sills and ring complexes. The boundaries of the sill/ring complexes are clearly delineated by the K/U ratio and ternary maps. The magnetic maps show ring like patterns of magnetic high anomalies that are due to the sills/ring complexes whilst the numerous, narrow, linear magnetic highs are due to faults and dolerite dyke swarms. The majority of the dykes trend in a NW-SE direction and a few dykes are in a NE-SE direction. The magnetic power spectrum indicates four depths of the magnetic sources at average depths of 0.13 km, 1.60 km, 2.83 km and 12.40 km. The magnetic depth iii slices maps show that both the circular/ring like and linear anomalies extend from shallow to deeper depth of 12.4 km. The gravity map is dominated by a long wavelength gravity anomaly that increases from about -120 mGals in the northwestern corner of the study area to -110 mGals in the southeastern corner of the study area. Results from 2½D gravity modelling show that this long wavelength anomaly is due to a horizontal Moho at a depth of 47 km in the study area, which shallows outside the study area near the coast. Superimposed on it are short wavelength gravity anomalies due to low density sediments and high density dolerite intrusions. The simple 2½D models generated from five profiles traversing the study area reveal that the sediments of the Karoo Supergroup extend from the surface down to a depth 5 km below sea level attaining a maximum thickness of about 6½ km. These sediments are dykes, sills and ring complexes. The dykes and sills/ring complexes identified from gamma ray spectrometry, magnetic and gravity data results are likely to be associated with fractures, joints, cracks and fissures in the host rocks, which form preferential pathways for groundwater transmission. Hence, they could be suitable targets for groundwater
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