Consumer Valuation of Fuel Economy in the Australian Automobile Market

The marginal value that an Australian consumer places on fuel economy isestimated with a hedonic model of prices of new passenger vehicles purchased in 2014.The hedonic model is estimated with 1,802 observations of all sub-models of 105 chosenmodels that represent 25 makes. Few studies have been focused on this valuation in theAustralian market. This study is also unique in that it accounts for three different types offuel, various vehicle types including hybrids, sports utility vehicles, and sports cars, as wellas new technological attributes that enhance a driver’s experience. The estimatedcoefficient for travel cost in the log-linear specification of the hedonic model, indicates thata one-dollar per 100 kilometer decrease in travel cost increases the marginal willingness topay for a new vehicle 1.69 percent, all else equal. The estimated coefficient for travel costimplies that a marginal consumer would be willing to pay, on average, $AUS 1,427 for thesavings in fuel costs from a one liter per 100 kilometer reduction in fuel consumption. Incomparison, the present value of directly estimated savings in fuel costs is$AUS 2,116,given a 1.2 percent discount rate. Thus, the marginal consumer seems to undervalue fueleconomy. The marginal consumer is also willing to pay a 6.45 percent premium for ahybrid vehicle and a 4.84 percent premium for a sports utility vehicle. An owner’s desiresto reduce adverse environmental impacts of a vehicle and acquire status for herenvironmental concerns are motivations that underlie these premia and are separate from adesire to economize on fuel costs

Viejos mitos para "nuevos" tiempos: el mito del Minotauro como reivindicación de la alteridad y espejo escéptico frente a los grandes relatos

El objetivo de este trabajo es mostrar y analizar las variaciones que sufre el mito del Minotauro en las obras de dos escritores familiarizados con el mundo clásico como Julio Cortázar en Los Reyes y Jorge Luis Borges en el cuento «La casa de Asterión». Se indaga en las posibles razones que los animaría a volver sobre la tradición clásica, especialmente griega, y a actualizar el mito del Minotauro a finales de la década de los años cuarenta en una reescritura intertextual propia de la posmodernidad que arranca de distintos hipotextos; entre ellos, la Biblioteca de Apolodoro, la Descripción de Grecia de Pausanias, Hipólito de Eurípides, o Plutarco en los capítulos dedicados al Minotauro en la Vida de Teseo de Vidas paralelas. Para ello, se parte de la hipótesis de que ambos escritores miraron y leyeron con escepticismo el mitema en sus distintas configuraciones, reforzando la historia con aspectos imprevisibles y fantásticos y combatiendo la fe en la razón griega.The objective of this work is to show and analyze the variations that the myth of the Minotaur undergoes in the works of two writers familiar with the classical world, such as Julio Cortázar in Los Reyes and Jorge Luis Borges in his tale “La casa de Asterión”. In this study, we investigate the possible reasons that would encourage them to return to the classical tradition, especially the Greek one, and to update the myth of the Minotaur at the end of the 1940s in an intertextual rewriting. This is a typical trait of postmodernity that starts from different hypotexts; among them, Apollodorus’ Library, Pausanias’ Description of Greece, Euripides’ Hippolytus and Plutarch in his chapter about Theseus in Parallel Lives. For this, this work is based on the hypothesis that both writers looked and read with skepticism the mytheme in its different configurations, reinforcing the story with unpredictable and fantastic aspects, and fighting the faith in the Greek reason.El objetivo de este trabajo es mostrar y analizar las variaciones que sufre el mito del Minotauro en las obras de dos escritores familiarizados con el mundo clásico como Julio Cortázar en Los Reyes y Jorge Luis Borges en el cuento «La casa de Asterión». Se indaga en las posibles razones que los animaría a volver sobre la tradición clásica, especialmente griega, y a actualizar el mito del Minotauro a finales de la década de los años cuarenta en una reescritura intertextual propia de la posmodernidad que arranca de distintos hipotextos; entre ellos, la Biblioteca de Apolodoro, la Descripción de Grecia de Pausanias, Hipólito de Eurípides, o Plutarco en los capítulos dedicados al Minotauro en la Vida de Teseo de Vidas paralelas. Para ello, se parte de la hipótesis de que ambos escritores miraron y leyeron con escepticismo el mitema en sus distintas configuraciones, reforzando la historia con aspectos imprevisibles y fantásticos y combatiendo la fe en la razón griega

The Determinants and Consequences of Foreign Direct Investment

This dissertation examines the regional economic effects of foreign direct investment (FDI). FDI is known to have benefits for both national and regional economies. These benefits include an increasing number of higher paying jobs, productivity spillovers for local firms, and elevated economic development (SelectUSA, 2020). Many governments compete to attract large FDI projects, often through the use of controversial incentive packages. Incentives are criticized because it is not clear that they affect the location of FDI and furthermore, whether the benefit of incentives outweigh the costs (Bartik, 2018). In the first paper, I assess the impact of incentives on the location of manufacturing FDI within the United States relative to other fundamental determinants. I find that agglomeration economies are among the most significant location factors. Localization economies have an elasticity of 0.92 while urbanization economies have an elasticity of 1.31. Additionally, I find that the corporate income tax rate has an elasticity of -0.46 while the investment tax credit has an elasticity of 1.56. In the second paper, I test the influence of culture and FDI in Eastern Europe. Culture has long been recognized as an important determinant of business location decisions; however, culture is difficult to disentangle from other factors (Beugelsdijk et al., 2011). In this paper I measure culture through a historical affiliation with the Habsburg Empire. This allows me to employ a regression discontinuity design to explore the effect of culture on the spatial allocation of FDI along the historical empire border. As no other characteristic impacting FDI changes along the border, any observed differences in FDI are interpreted as causal effects of cultural ties on the location of FDI. The results suggest that there are between 0.24 and 0.32 additional investments per 10,000 individuals coming from Habsburg-affiliated countries in the former empire territories of Romania and Serbia today. In the last paper, I examine the effect of FDI in rural counties in the United States. Using a combination of quasi-experimental techniques, I determine the effect of FDI on personal income and employment growth. I find limited evidence on the efficacy of targeting FDI for economic development

Consumer responsibility in the context of transition to green economy in Romania

This paper presents a quantitative research with two main directions: (1) to determine the strength of a possible association between the consumers’ expectations from the companies and their willingness to be actively involved in the transition to green economy and (2) to establish the degree to which the level of education influences the expectations of the consumer regarding green technologies when deciding to buy from a company. It was confirmed that although there is a significant level of awareness regarding the impact of companies on the environment, it is not transposed proportionally in the awareness of the consumers of their own responsibility in the transition process towards a green economy. Given the obtained results, the Romanian consumer, although aware of the importance of protecting the environment, is not convinced of his own responsibility in this process, being rather inclined to believe that it is rather an obligation of companies to ensure a transition towards a green economy than their own

Propuesta de mejora de la intervención familiar con menores en conflicto con la ley en un centro del Tercer Sector.

El propósito principal de este trabajo de fin de grado es proponer la “Dialectical Behavior Therapy” como principal metodología de intervención familiar en el centro de menores en conflicto con la ley de Castellón de la Plana, con el fin de poder cambiar las dinámicas familiares problemáticas y construir relaciones familiares sanas.En el presente trabajo de fin de grado se ha llevado a cabo un análisis tanto de la intervención familiar con menores en conflicto con la ley como del centro en el que se encuentran los menores.Para poder llevar a cabo el análisis se han utilizado dos técnicas de investigación cualitativa siendo estas la entrevista semi estructurada y la observación no participante, que se llevó a cabo durante el periodo de prácticas curriculares en el centro.Tras realizar la investigación se tomó la decisión de proponer la “Dialectical Behavior Therapy” como nueva intervención familiar debido a los beneficios que tiene para tratar las disfunciones emocionales, interpersonales y comportamentales.<br /

Separation and assay of ascorbic acid by HPLC: a review of the scientific literature

Disciplina Botanică farmaceutică şi Biologie celulară, Facultatea de Farmacie, UMF “Carol Davila” Bucureşti, Romania, Disciplina Chimie Analitică, Facultatea de Farmacie, UMF “Carol Davila” Bucureşti, RomaniaObiectivul studiului: Analiza publicaţiilor relevante în privinţa metodelor de separare şi dozare a acidului ascorbic prin HPLC (excluzând metodele LC/MS), pentru stabilirea principalelor caracteristici ale acestora, care să ghideze selecţia unei metode în funcţie de obiectivele urmărite şi resursele disponibile. Materiale şi metode: S-a realizat o interogare computerizată Medline utilizând cuvinte-cheie adecvate (“HPLC AND ascorbic”), iar rezultatele returnate au fost revizuite pentru selectarea celor relevante. S-au analizat în special date referitoare la tipul de coloană, fază mobilă, debit şi tipul de eluţie (izocratică sau în gradient); metoda de detecţie; limita de detecţie; timpul de rulare a analizei; prepararea probelor (în funcţie de matricea analitică); datele referitoare la validitatea metodei şi stabilitatea acidului ascorbic în cursul analizei. Rezultate şi discuţii: Interogarea Medline a returnat 1881 de articole, publicate între anii 1975 şi 2014, dintre care 122 au fost selectate ca relevante pentru analiză. Au fost dezvoltate metode pentru o largă varietate de probe biologice. S-au utilizat mai multe coloane cromatografice (faze staţionare), dar majoritatea metodelor publicate au aplicat coloane cu fază inversă. În principal se utilizează detecţia electrochimică (peste 40% din publicatiile analizate) sau UV (de cele mai multe ori în jurul valorii de 254 nm; peste 40% din articole), mai puţin cea fluorimetrică în urma derivatizării pre- sau postcoloană (sub 10% din articole). S-a propus o varietate considerabilă de faze mobile, de cele mai multe ori cu un pH acid (3-4) şi o componentă majoritară apoasă (≥ 70%). Limitele de detecţie publicate au fost de ordinul microgramelor şi picogramelor, iar durata separărilor a variat între 3-5 şi 60 minute. Acurateţea diverselor metode publicate a fost în toate cazurile de peste 90%. Numeroase publicaţii evidenţiază problemele de stabilitate a acidului ascorbic şi propun diverse soluţii pentru protecţia acestuia în cursul analizelor. Concluzii: Marea varietate de metode permite dozarea adecvată a acidului ascorbic dintr-o varietate de matrice, dar există încă limitări în comparabilitatea inter-laboratoare

The effects of tryptophan loading on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity in adults:A remote double blind randomised controlled trial

BackgroundDespite the impact and prevalence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), current treatment options remain limited and there is a drive for alternative approaches, including those building on evidence of a role for tryptophan (TRP) and serotonin (5-HT). This study aimed to evaluate the effect of acute TRP loading on attention and impulsivity in adults with ADHD.Trial design and methods We conducted a remote double blind randomised controlled trial (RCT) using TRP loading to examine the effects of a balanced amino acid load in comparison to low and high TRP loading in individuals with ADHD (medicated, N = 48, and unmedicated, N = 46) and controls (N = 50). Participants were randomised into one of three TRP treatment groups using stratified randomisation considering participant group and gender using a 1:1:1 ratio. Baseline testing of attention and impulsivity using the Test of Variables of Attention Task, Delay Discounting Task, and Iowa Gambling Task was followed by consumption of a protein drink (BAL, LOW, or HIGH TRP) before repeated testing. Results and ConclusionsNo effects of TRP were observed for any of the measures. In the present study, TRP loading did not impact on any measure of attention or impulsivity in those with ADHD or Controls. The findings need to be confirmed in another trial with a larger number of patients that also considers additional measures of dietary protein, plasma TRP and aggression. (Registration ID ISRCTN15119603)<br/

The effects of different exercise approaches on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity in adults: a randomised controlled trial

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder results in significant functional impairment and current treatments, particularly for adults are limited. Previous research indicates that exercise may offer an alternative approach to managing ADHD but research into different types of exercise and adult populations is limited. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of acute exercise (aerobic cycling vs mind-body yoga exercises) on symptoms of ADHD in adults. Adults with ADHD (N=82) and controls (N=77) were randomly allocated to 10 minutes of aerobic (cycling) or mind-body (Hatha yoga) exercise. Immediately before and after exercise, participants completed the Test of Variables of Attention Task, Delay Discounting Task, and Iowa Gambling Task to measure attention and impulsivity. Actigraphy measured movement frequency and intensity. Both groups showed improved temporal impulsivity post-exercise, with cycling beneficial to all, whilst yoga only benefited those with ADHD. There were no effects of exercise on attention, cognitive or motor impulsivity, or movement in those with ADHD. Exercise reduced attention and increased movement in controls. Exercise can improve temporal impulsivity in adult ADHD but did not improve other symptoms and worsened some aspects of performance in controls. Exercise interventions should be further investigate

Artificial Intelligence as a Substitute for Human Creativity

Creativity has always been perceived as a human trait, even though the exact neural mechanisms remain unknown, it has been the subject of research and debate for a long time. The recent development of AI technologies and increased interest in AI has led to many projects capable of performing tasks that have been previously regarded as impossible without human creativity. Music composition, visual arts, literature, and science represent areas in which these technologies have started to both help and replace the creative human, with the question of whether AI can be creative and capable of creation more realistic than ever. This review aims to provide an extensive perspective over several state-of-the art technologies and applications based on AI which are currently being implemented into areas of interest closely correlated to human creativity, as well as the economic impact the development of such technologies might have on those domains