Mathematics primary teacher training in the context of the european higher education area

The future implementation of the European Higher Education Area requires thorough reflection on how to design and develop teacher training courses. In this reflection, it is important to reconsider, among other issues, (a) the role of prospective teachers in their own learning process and (b) the professional competencies that they must develop in the course of their higher education. Since 2003, the University of Granada has undertaken the development of pilot experiences to adapt some degree programs to this new framework. One of these degrees is Teacher in Primary Education degree, which includes several courses that focus on promoting prospective teachersÕ development of mathematical and pedagogical knowledge. In this paper how to organize future teachersÕ learning through practical activities in one of these courses is described. Firstly, the general process of adapting the course is analysed. Secondly, its theoretical and practical structure, with some examples of practical activities, are described. Finally, some results of the implementation are discussed

State intervention, local indebtedness, investment overheating and their systemic background during global crisis in China

This paper focuses on the immediate economic and systemic reasons of steadily increasing local government indebtedness and investment overheating in China. These two phenomena emerged between 2008 and 2011 as a direct consequence of an external shock caused by the global crisis and the subsequent internal reaction in the form of intensified stimulating state intervention. New chances for resource distribution and investments through state intervention mobilized distribution priorities and politically rational economic behavior of actors, characteristic to party-state systems. Locations of mobilization were defined by the decentralized Chinese system specifics along the intertwined institutional party-state structure. Systemic characteristics and its Chinese specifics together resulted in investment overheating, and steadily growing local indebtedness through large and state-owned enterprises and local governments. This process was further amplified by the characteristics of transforming economy in China as actors in the private sphere were mobilized by the increased input demand of those privileged by the systemic priorities of state intervention

Returns and Volatility of Eurozone Energy Stocks

This paper constitutes a first analysis on stock returns and stock return volatility of energy corporations from the Eurozone. According to our results, the gas market does not play a role for the pricing of Eurozone energy stocks. However, changes in the Euro to U.S. Dollar exchange rate as well as developments at the money and especially at the oil market strongly affect returns of the energy stock portfolios analyzed. While oil price hikes negatively impact on stock returns of European utilities, they lead to an appreciation of oil and gas stocks. Most importantly, we show that oil market volatility negatively affects European oil and gas stocks. In contrast, energy stock volatility is not driven by volatility of the resource market, but only by its own dynamics. --Energy stocks,resource prices,volatility,asset pricing

On the willingness-to-pay for Elodea removal in the Fairbanks North Star Borough

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2018The empirical research conducted herein addresses a public need for the funding of a project that would eradicate Elodea in the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB). The eradication project has been outlined and approved by State and Federal agencies and has gathered funding to begin the eradication process. The study aims to develop a mean willingness-to-pay value for survey participants by shifting the funding burden to property tax payers. This body of work includes a primer on Elodea in the borough, an overview of contingent valuation, a parametric approach to willingness-to-pay, and results of the study conducted on Fairbanks property owners. The average willingness-to-pay per survey respondent is $50.32. In addition, 72$10, $30,$60, or $120 per year for 4 years to fund the proposed program. A penalized maximum log-likelihood estimation found that the most significant predictors for the likelihood of a yes vote are the respondent's perceived risk to the ecosystem and recreational opportunities. Additionally, the respondents concern for the use of herbicides in the borough to treat the Elodea infestation is highly significant. The high level of prior knowledge throughout the survey indicates that respondents had established view on Elodea prior to the survey.Introduction -- An Elodea Primer for the Fairbanks North Star Borough -- What is Elodea? -- Natural and Recreational Impacts of Elodea Infestations -- Treatment Options -- Elodea Eradication Project in the Interior -- Literature Review -- Introduction to Contingent Valuation -- A Brief History on Contingent Valuation -- Willingness-to-Pay vs. Willingness-to-Accept -- Convergent Validity for Hypothetical Dichotomous Choice Formats -- Willingness-to-Pay Elicitation Methods -- A Parametric Approach to Referendum Based Willingness-To-Pay -- Introduction -- Random Utility Model -- Penalized Log Likelihood Maximization for Dichotomous Choice Data -- Willingness-To-Pay Estimations -- Willingness-To-Pay for Elodea Removal in the Fairbanks North Star Borough -- Sampling -- Survey instrument -- Data -- Logit estimation and mean WTP results -- Discussion of Results -- Conclusion -- Appendix A -- Appendix B -- References

Risk management in a mega-project: the Universal EXPO 2015 case

The paper analyses the literature on risk management in mega-projects suggesting possible mitigation actions to be considered in the stakeholders' management. EXPO 2015 represents a perfect project to understand the strength of a rigorous methodological approach to uncertainty and the need for a mature consciousness at managerial level on these topics. Analysing real available data on this project, the number of visitors appears overestimated, so, by adopting a framework, called SHAMPU, the paper quantifies the relative impact and provides possible mitigation actions. Practical actions crossing the risk management phases in mega projects proposed by literature are suggested in the conclusions

Make-or-Buy Decisions in Patent Related Services

Among the most prominent theoretical frameworks dealing with the economic underlyings of firms’ make-or-buy decisions are Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) and the Resourced Based View (RBV). Relying on panel data covering 107 European firms over eight years I test predictions from both TCE and RBV with regard to the outsourcing of patent related services simultaneously. Modelling the share of outsourced patent applications in a Negative Binomial Panel Regression Model I find joint explanatory power of both approaches. My findings support previous literature arguing for an integration of TCE and RBV to a comprehensive theoretical framework of firms make-or-buy decisions

Specialisation : pro and anti-globalizing 1990-2002

Specialization alters the incidence of trade costs to buyers and sellers, with pro-and anti-globalizing effects on 76 countries from 1990-2002. The structural gravity model yields measures of Constructed Home Bias and the Total Factor Productivity effect of changing incidence. A bit more than half the world's countries experience declining constructed home bias and rising real output while the remainder of countries experi- ence rising home bias and falling real output. The effects are big for the outliers. A novel test of the structural gravity model restrictions shows it comes very close in an economic sense

Report on argumentation and teacher education in Europe

This document will ultimately form part of a comprehensive package of materials for teacher education and professional development in argumentation. The initial deliverable from Kaunas University of Technology described the rhetorical basis of argumentation theory for pre‐ and in‐service teachers, whilst this state of the art report sets out the current and rather unsatisfactory status of argumentation in curricula, initial teacher training/education and teacher professional development, across the fifteen S‐TEAM partner countries. We believe that this is a representative sample and that the report can be taken as a reliable snapshot of the situation in Europe generally

Insurgency and credible commitment in autocracies and democracies

This paper suggests a new factor that makes civil war more likely: the inability of political actors to make credible promises to broad segments of society. Lacking this ability, both elected and unelected governments pursue public policies that leave citizens less well-off and more prone to revolt. At the same time, these actors have a reduced ability to build an anti-insurgency capacity in the first place, since they are less able to prevent anti-insurgents from themselves mounting coups. But while reducing the risk of conflict overall, increasing credibility can, over some range, worsen the effects of natural resources and ethnic fragmentation on civil war. Empirical tests using various measures of political credibility support these conclusions.Population Policies,Parliamentary Government,Economic Theory&Research,Social Conflict and Violence,Politics and Government