Information technology and gender equality: a contradiction in terminis?

Using the data source of the Computers in Education (Comped) study, carried out under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), the status of gender and computer use in education in a number of countries has been investigated. The findings in this study indicate that the concern about gender equity expressed by many educational practitioners are right. Females know less about information technology, enjoy using the computer less than male students, and perceive more problems with software. Possible causes of this are differences in parental support, access to computers, amount of female role models and activities carried out with computers in school. Gender differences are being found both outside and inside schools. This means that both teachers and parents have to be made aware of this as a starting point for proper action. Schools rarely have a policy concerning gender issues; and when it exists, it is not directed to parents as well. The U.S.A. is the most ¿gender equal¿ country of the countries examined

A multiscale collocation method for fractional differential problems

We introduce a multiscale collocation method to numerically solve differential problems involving both ordinary and fractional derivatives of high order. The proposed method uses multiresolution analyses (MRA) as approximating spaces and takes advantage of a finite difference formula that allows us to express both ordinary and fractional derivatives of the approximating function in a closed form. Thus, the method is easy to implement, accurate and efficient. The convergence and the stability of the multiscale collocation method are proved and some numerical results are shown.We introduce a multiscale collocation method to numerically solve differential problems involving both ordinary and fractional derivatives of high order. The proposed method uses multiresolution analyses (MRA) as approximating spaces and takes advantage of a finite difference formula that allows us to express both ordinary and fractional derivatives of the approximating function in a closed form. Thus, the method is easy to implement, accurate and efficient. The convergence and the stability of the multiscale collocation method are proved and some numerical results are shown

European Union and Globalisation

Globalizace se odehrává v prostoru, ve kterém je nyní nové řízení moci a kde jsou nové struktury, které zaručují občanům jejích práva. Základní jev demokratické vlády není specificky evropský; je to všeobecný jev vztahující se ke globalizaci. Prohlubování ekonomické integrace omezilo jak obsahově tak formálně autonomii svrchovaných států v záležitostech ekonomické politiky. Nadstátní instituce, které nahrazují národní vlády, suverénním státům ve vzestupné míře odebírají základní nástroje ekonomické regulace v zájmu celého společenství. Globalizace se uskutečňuje v prostoru, ve kterém je nyní nová forma vlády a přicházejí nové struktury, které zajišťují občanská práva.Globalisation takes place in a space where there is now new control of power and there are new structures which guarantee the rights of citizens. The essential phenomenon of democratic governance is not specifically European; it is a general phenomenon relating to globalisation. Deepening economic integration has restricted, both substantively and formally, the autonomy of sovereign states in matters of economic policy. The supranational institutions which are replacing national governments increasingly take away the basis of economic regulation from sovereign states in name of interest of the Communities. Globalisation takes place in a space where there is now new control of power and there are new structures which guarantee the rights of citizens

E-voting discourses in the UK and the Netherlands

A qualitative case study of the e-voting discourses in the UK and the Netherlands was performed based on the theory of strategic niche management. In both countries, eight e-voting experts were interviewed on their expectations, risk estimations, cooperation and learning experiences. The results show that differences in these variables can partly explain the variations in the embedding of e-voting in the two countries, from a qualitative point of view

Corporate control mechanisms, voting and cash flow rights, and the performance of Dutch firms

This paper exploits several unique institutional features in the Dutch system of corporate control to examine the relations among investor protections, concentrated ownership, and firm performance. Four conclusions emerge. First, controlling shareholders do not appear to ameliorate corporate governance problems to any great extent. Second, the identity of ownership matters; when a firm is controlled by a few large individual shareholders, firm performance suffers. Expropriation costs are very high for this type of investor. Third, and somewhat at odds with the bulk of the prevailing literature, performance is enhanced when the firm is freed of equity market constraints. These results are consistent with recent theoretical models emphasizing that too much oversight can be detrimental to performance by forcing firms to underinvest in physical or human capital. Fourth, we distinguish between voting rights providing the means for intervening in firm affairs and cash flow rights providing the required motivation. Considering both rights are important for the empirical results. Apart from its substantive contributions, the paper develops a new four-step estimation strategy to control for the reverse causation problem plaguing econometric studies of corporate control mechanisms and firm performance.

The ethics of machine translation

In this paper I first describe the two main branches in machine translation research. I then go to discuss why the second of these, statistical machine translation, can cause some malaise among translation scholars. As some of the issues that arise are ethical in nature, I stop to ponder what an ethics of machine translation might involve, before considering the ethical stance adopted by some of the main protagonists in the development and popularisation of statistical machine translation, and in the teaching of translation

National Sweatfree Summit 2010

This document is part of a digital collection provided by the Martin P. Catherwood Library, ILR School, Cornell University, pertaining to the effects of globalization on the workplace worldwide. Special emphasis is placed on labor rights, working conditions, labor market changes, and union organizing.ILRF_NationalSweatfreeSummit2010Notes.pdf: 96 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Fostering Dialogue to Break the Cycle of Intergenerational Poverty

Identifies and explores factors that perpetuate the intergenerational cycle of poverty, how the problem is defined and addressed, and how to move from dialogue to action in finding solutions to the transmission of poverty from one generation to the next