83 research outputs found
SET-VALUED SHORTFALL and DIVERGENCE RISK MEASURES
Risk measures for multivariate financial positions are studied in a utility-based framework. Under a certain incomplete preference relation, shortfall and divergence risk measures are defined as the optimal values of specific set minimization problems. The dual relationship between these two classes of multivariate risk measures is constructed via a recent Lagrange duality for set optimization. In particular, it is shown that a shortfall risk measure can be written as an intersection over a family of divergence risk measures indexed by a scalarization parameter. Examples include set-valued versions of the entropic risk measure and the average value at risk. As a second step, the minimization of these risk measures subject to trading opportunities is studied in a general convex market in discrete time. The optimal value of the minimization problem, called the market risk measure, is also a set-valued risk measure. A dual representation for the market risk measure that decomposes the effects of the original risk measure and the frictions of the market is proved. © 2017 World Scientific Publishing Company
Valor nutritivo del pasto estrella solo y en asociación con leucaena a diferentes edades de corte durante el año
Se evaluaron hojas (H), tallo (T) y planta entera de pasto estrella Cynodon nlemfuensis solo y asociado con Leucaena leucocephala a 28, 35 y 42 dĂas de corte en la hacienda Lucerna, norte del Valle del Cauca, Colombia (960 msnm, 24°C, 1100 mm/año, humedad relativa 75-80%, evaporaciĂłn promedia diaria al año de 3.6 mm). Se utilizĂł el mĂ©todo de subparcelas divididas, teniendo en cuenta dos Ă©pocas secas (apoyadas con riego) y dos lluviosas. En proteĂna cruda (PC) estrella asociada superĂł a estrella sola (14.48 vs 11.90; 13.60 vs 10.98; 11.68 vs 9.67%) a los 28, 35 y 42 dĂas, mientras que leucaena fue estable (29.88, 29.31 y 29.01%). La proteĂna verdadera (PV) tendiĂł a ser mayor que nitrĂłgeno no proteico (NNP) en estrella asociada y leucaena. Extracto etĂ©reo (EE), fibra cruda (FC), cenizas y extracto libre de nitrĂłgeno (ELN) no tuvieron diferencias significativas entre estrella sola y asociada. Entre especies hubo diferencias (
"Feed from the Service": Corruption and Coercion in the State-University Relations in Central Eurasia
Education in Central Eurasia has become one of the industries, most affected by corruption. Corruption in academia, including bribery, extortions, embezzlement, nepotism, fraud, cheating, and plagiarism, is reflected in the region’s media and addressed in few scholarly works. This paper considers corruption in higher education as a product of interrelations between the government and academia. A substantial block of literature considers excessive corruption as an indicator of a weak state. In contrast to standard interpretations, this paper argues that in non-democratic societies corruption is used on a systematic basis as a mechanism of direct and indirect administrative control over higher education institutions. Informal approval of corrupt activities in exchange for loyalty and compliance with the regime may be used in the countries of Central Eurasia for the purposes of political indoctrination. This paper presents the concept of corruption and coercion in the state-university relations in Central Eurasia and outlines the model which incorporates this concept and the “feed from the service” approach. It presents implications of this model for the state-university relations and the national educational systems in Central Eurasia in general and offers some suggestions on curbing corruption
Retreat into scientism, paradoxes of transparency, and corruption in education
Um dos sintomas da razĂŁo indolente (SANTOS, 2006) Ă© o recuo ao cientificismo, o qual tem sido, particularmente, acentuado nas polĂticas, cada vez mais hegemĂ´nicas, de avaliação, de prestação de contas e de responsabilização. Por isso, um dos objetivos deste texto Ă© o de colocar em causa este aparente consenso
cientificista (ou este consenso supostamente transideolĂłgico) e fazer uma breve incursĂŁo exploratĂłria ao que aqui se designa de paradoxos da transparĂŞncia. Considera-se que esses paradoxos traduzem a existĂŞncia de tensões e contradições relativas a uma dimensĂŁo central dos discursos polĂticos e educacionais contemporâneos. Com isso, o artigo pretende dar continuidade a uma linha de pesquisa que tem procurado sublinhar a relevância da necessidade de complexificar e dar maior rigor teĂłrico-conceptual Ă accountability em educação. Finalmente, tentando abrir caminho para o desenvolvimento de novas articulações e análises, chama-se a atenção para a corrupção na educação cuja complexidade ainda Ă© insuficientemente
conhecida e pesquisada, nomeadamente, nas suas relações com as problemáticas da transparĂŞncia e da accountability. Admite-se que as práticas de corrupção em educação, em muitas situações, sĂŁo (paradoxalmente) induzidas pela necessidade de dar resposta Ă governação baseada nos nĂşmeros, nos rankings e nas (supostas) evidĂŞncias, anulando completamente as expectativas legĂtimas em torno da transparĂŞncia dos processos educacionais e das decisões polĂticas.One symptom of “indolent reason” (SANTOS, 2006) is the retreat into scientism, which is especially marked in the increasingly hegemonic policies surrounding assessment, reporting and accountability. As such, one of the aims of this paper is to call into question this apparent consensus on scientism (a supposedly trans-ideological
consensus), and briefly explore what we define as the paradoxes of transparency. These paradoxes are found to reveal the existence of tensions and contradictions concerning a central aspect of current political and educational discourse. In doing so, the article seeks to continue a line of study which has aimed to emphasize the significance of the need for a more complex, and theoretically and conceptually rigorous understanding of accountability in education. Finally, in an attempt to pave the way for further discussion and analysis, attention is drawn to corruption in education, the complex nature of which remains insufficiently understood and studied,
notably in terms of its relationship with the problems of transparency and accountability. It is acknowledged that practices of corruption within education are, in many situations, (paradoxically) caused by the need to answer to a system of governance based on numbers, league tables, and (supposed) truths, completely nullifying legitimate expectations about the transparency of educational processes and policy decisions.Trabalho financiado por Fundos Nacionais através da FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia – no âmbito do Projeto PEst-OE/CED/UI1661/2014.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Role of Education in Economic Growth in the Russian Federation and Ukraine
This study analyses the role and impact of education on economic growth in the two largest economies of the former Soviet Bloc, namely, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. It attempts to estimate the significance of different educational levels, including secondary and tertiary education, for initiating substantial economic growth that now takes place in these two countries. This study estimates the model of endogenous economic growth and the system of linear and log-linear equations that account for different time lags in the possible impact of higher education on economic growth. The model estimation shows that there is no significant impact of educational attainment on economic growth. The results from the system of equations indicate that an increase in access of population to higher education brings positive results for the per capita GDP growth in the long term. Increasing the number of college-educated specialists leads to sustainable economic growth. The suggestion can be made that the ground for the 2000-2007 rapid economic growth in Ukraine and in the Russian Federation was laid down in early 1990s. This contradicts commonly accepted perception about the crisis decade of 1990s in the former Soviet Bloc
Losartan Decreases p42/44 MAPK Signaling and Preserves LZ+ MYPT1 Expression
Heart failure is associated with impairment in nitric oxide (NO) mediated vasodilatation, which has been demonstrated to result from a reduction in the relative expression of the leucine zipper positive (LZ+) isoform of the myosin targeting subunit (MYPT1) of myosin light chain phosphatase. Further, captopril preserves normal LZ+ MYPT1 expression, the sensitivity to cGMP-mediated vasodilatation and modulates the expression of genes in the p42/44 MAPK and p38 MAPK signaling cascades. This study tests whether angiotensin receptor blockade (ARB) with losartan decreases p42/44 MAPK or p38 MAPK signaling and preserves LZ+ MYPT1 expression in a rat infarct model of heart failure. In aortic smooth muscle, p42/44 MAPK activation increases and LZ+ MYPT1 expression falls after LAD ligation. Losartan treatment decreases the activation of p42/44 MAPK to the uninfarcted control level and preserves normal LZ+ MYPT1 expression. The expression and activation of p38 MAPK, however, is low and does not change following LAD ligation or with losartan therapy. These data suggest that either reducing or blocking the effects of circulating angiotensin II, both decreases the activation of the p42/44 MAPK signaling cascade and preserves LZ+ MYPT1 expression. Thus, the ability of ACE-inhibitors and ARBs to modulate the vascular phenotype, to preserve normal flow mediated vasodilatation may explain the beneficial effects of these drugs compared to other forms of afterload reduction in the treatment of heart failure
Business groups and corporate responsibility for the public good
This paper analyses the relationship between Business Groups as a distinct way of organizing economic activities and their relation to the public good. We first analyze the phenomenon of Business Groups and discuss some of their core features. Subsequently, the paper moves to analyzing the existing literature on Business Groups and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as the most common label for the topic of this Special Issue. Subsequently, specific peculiarities of Business Groups in the context of CSR and their contribution to the public good are fleshed out. Based on this analysis, the paper delineates some implications for the field of CSR and the wider debate on the nature of the firm. We close with some perspectives for future research
Women on boards of Malaysian firms: Impact on market and accounting performance
We seek to offer some reconciliation for the conflicting theoretical arguments and empirical findings regarding the impact of women’s participation in boards on firms’ performance.We suggest that this impact differs in relation to market- and accounting-performance, and it is firm-specific, and varies by firms’ ownership type and the composition of their boards.These arguments find theoretical underpinnings in agency and resource-dependency theories, combined with behavioral and discrimination theories that articulate women behavior in the workplace and market perception of gender equality.The empirical analysis is based on a dataset of 841 publicly-listed firms in Malaysia.The results show positive impact of women’s participation on accounting-performance and negative impact on market-performance, suggesting that women directors create economic value, which is undervalued by the market. We interpret the findings with reference to the perception of women’s role in society and business in Malaysia, and the nature of corporate governance and ownership types prevalent among Malaysian firms.We suggest that the relationships might be context-specific, and hence the desired level of women’s participation varies across countries.We discuss the normative implications of the findings for government authorities considering legislation of gender-quota on boards, and for firms
Corporate Social Responsibility and Different Stages of Economic Development: Singapore, Turkey, and Ethiopia
Uso de mĂ©todos quĂmicos para obtener polvos cerámicos del sistema (Sn, Ti)O<sub>2</sub>
The (Sn,Ti)O2 system has a great interest due to its technological applications such as gas sensor and varistor. Although the thermodynamic properties and the kinetics of spinoidal decomposition in this system have been extensively studied, the general properties and applications of SnO2 – TiO2 binary compositions have been not investigated yet in depth. On the other hand, little work has been done to optimize the synthesis methods to obtain (Sn,Ti)O2 ceramic powders, with pre – determinate physical and chemical characteristics. In this work the ceramic powders has been obtained by coprecipitation and polymeric precursor (Pechini) methods. The different physical chemistry phenomena that occurred during the synthesis were discussed. The (Sn,Ti)O2 ceramic powders were characterized with X- ray diffraction (XRD), thermal analysis (DTA/ TG) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The knowledge about of steps and variables of synthesis process acquired with development of this work, we permited to obtain (Sn, Ti)O2 nanometers particles to low temperatures: to 450°C for coprecipitation method and to 600°C for Pechini method. The spinodal decomposition that ocurr to 900°C was discussed also.El sistema (Sn,Ti)O2, puro o dopado, tiene gran interĂ©s por las potencialidades tecnolĂłgicas que presenta como sensor de gas y varistor. A pesar del amplio estudio realizado de este sistema binario, respecto a las propiedades termodinámicas y cinĂ©ticas de la descomposiciĂłn espinoidal que en Ă©l se presenta, sus propiedades y sus posibles aplicaciones no se han abordado con profundidad. Por otro lado, se ha realizado muy poco trabajo para optimizar mĂ©todos de sĂntesis que permitan obtener polvos cerámicos de (Sn,Ti)O2, puro o dopado, con caracterĂsticas fĂsicas y quĂmicas pre-determinadas. En este trabajo se realizĂł la sĂntesis de polvos cerámicos de este sistema utilizando los mĂ©todos de coprecipitaciĂłn y precursor polimĂ©rico (Pechini) y se discutieron los diferentes fenĂłmenos fisicoquĂmicos que ocurren durante la sĂntesis. Los polvos obtenidos se caracterizaron con DifracciĂłn de Rayos X (DRX), análisis tĂ©rmicos (ATD/TG) y Microscopia ElectrĂłnica de Barrido (MEB). La determinaciĂłn de las diferentes etapas del proceso, como de los parámetros involucrados en el mismo, permitiĂł el control de la sĂntesis y la obtenciĂłn de partĂculas nanomĂ©tricas del sistema (Sn,Ti)O2 a temperaturas bajas: 450°C para coprecipitaciĂłn y 600°C para el mĂ©todo Pechini. Además, se discutiĂł el fenĂłmeno de descomposiciĂłn espinoidal que presentan las muestras tratadas a 900°C
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