Prospective NATO or EU Membership and Institutional Change in Transition Countries

This paper quantifies the impact of incentives related to potential membership on institutional change as measured by the World Bank Governance Indicators (WBGI). Based on a panel of 25 transition countries for the period from 1996 to 2008 we show that pre-accession incentives provided by EU and NATO clearly matter for institutional development. In addition, path-dependency determined by cultural norms may be overcome by economic liberalization while foreign aid seems to hamper institutional development.EU, NATO, transition economies, institutional change, governance

Molecular Mechanisms of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease was first discovered in 1906 by Alois Alzheimer. It is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the buildup of toxic amyloid plaque and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles, which results in the progressive loss of cognitive function and memory. Since its discovery, the disease has become a growing health concern, particularly in the developed world, where the ageing demographics have contributed to an increase in its prevalence and incidence. The earliest research into the disease focused on neurochemical analyses and resulted in the formulation of the cholinergic hypothesis. The mechanism of disease was explained as the degeneration of the cholinergic system and a reduction in acetylcholine. While much data supports this hypothesis, it fails to explain the accumulation of amyloid plaque, a hallmark of the disease. Analysis of the genetic factors in familial Alzheimer’s disease, and the discovery of the higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease amongst individuals with Down’s syndrome led to the more comprehensive amyloid cascade hypothesis. The failure of both amyloid centric drugs and cholinesterase inhibitors to have a significant impact on disease progression has caused some to have rejected both these hypotheses to focus on other possible causes. However, there is undoubtedly a wealth of data in support of both the cholinergic hypothesis and the amyloid cascade hypothesis. Understanding the functional relationship between the cholinergic system and the formation of beta amyloid plaques may lead to a greater understanding of the mechanism of disease and provide a target for more effective therapy

Monetary Policy, Global Liquidity and Commodity Price Dynamics

This paper examines the interactions between money, interest rates, goods and commodity prices at a global level. For this purpose, we aggregate data for major OECD countries and follow the Johansen/Juselius cointegrated VAR approach. Our empirical model supports the view that, when controlling for interest rate changes and thus different monetary policy stances, money (defined as a global liquidity aggregate) is still a key factor to determine the long-run homogeneity of commodity prices and goods prices movements. The cointegrated VAR model fits with the data for the analysed period from the 1970s until 2008 very well. Our empirical results appear to be overall robust since they pass inter alia a series of recursive tests and are stable for varying compositions of the commodity indices. The empirical evidence is in line with theoretical considerations. The inclusion of commodity prices helps to identify a significant monetary transmission process from global liquidity to other macro variables such as goods prices. We find further support of the conjecture that monetary aggregates convey useful information about variables such as commodity prices which matter for aggregate demand and thus inflation. Given this clear empirical pattern it appears justified to argue that global liquidity merits attention in the same way as the worldwide level of interest rates received in the recent debate about the world savings and liquidity glut as one of the main drivers of the current financial crisis, if not possibly more.Commodity prices, cointegration, CVAR analysis, global liquidity, inflation, international spillovers

Prospective NATO or EU Membership and Institutional Change in Transition Countries

This paper quantifies the impact of incentives related to potential membership on institutional change as measured by the World Bank Governance Indicators (WBGI). Based on a panel of 25 transition countries for the period from 1996 to 2008 we show that pre-accession incentives provided by EU and NATOclearly matter for institutional development. In addition, path-dependency determined by cultural norms may be overcome by economic liberalization while foreign aid seems to hamper institutional development.EU,NATO, transition economies, institutional change,governance

Prospective NATO or EU Membership and Institutional Change in Transition Countries

This paper quantifies the impact of incentives related to potential membership on institutional change as measured by the World Bank Governance Indicators (WBGI). Based on a panel of 25 transition countries for the period from 1996 to 2008 we show that pre-accession incentives provided by EU and NATO clearly matter for institutional development. In addition, path-dependency determined by cultural norms may be overcome by economic liberalization while foreign aid seems to hamper institutional development.EU, NATO, Transition Economies, Institutional Change, Governance

Global Liquidity and Commodity Prices: A Cointegrated VAR Approach for OECD Countries

This paper examines the interactions between money, consumer prices and commodity prices at a global level from 1970 to 2008. Using aggregated data for major OECD countries and a cointegrating VAR framework, we are able to establish long run and short run relationships among these variables while the process is mainly driven by global liquidity. According to our empirical findings, different price elasticities in commodity and consumer goods markets can explain the recently observed overshooting of commodity over consumer prices. Although the sample period is rather long, recursive tests corroborate that our CVAR fits the data very well.Commodity prices, cointegration, CVAR analysis, global liquidity, inflation, international spillovers

Monetary Policy, Global Liquidity and Commodity Price Dynamics

This paper examines the interactions between money, interest rates, goods and commodity prices at a global level. For this purpose, we aggregate data for major OECD countries and follow the Johansen/Juselius cointegrated VAR approach. Our empirical model supports the view that, when controlling for interest rate changes and thus different monetary policy stances, money (defi ned as a global liquidity aggregate) is still a key factor to determine the long-run homogeneity of commodity prices and goods prices movements. The cointegrated VAR model fi ts with the data for the analysed period from the 1970s until 2008 very well. Our empirical results appear to be overall robust since they pass inter alia a series of recursive tests and are stable for varying compositions of the commodity indices. The empirical evidence is in line with theoretical considerations. The inclusion of commodity prices helps to identify a signifi cant monetary transmission process from global liquidity to other macro variables such as goods prices. We fi nd further support of the conjecture that monetary aggregates convey useful information about variables such as commodity prices which matter for aggregate demand and thus infl ation. Given this clear empirical pattern it appears justifi ed to argue that global liquidity merits attention in the same way as the worldwide level of interest rates received in the recent debate about the world savings and liquidity glut as one of the main drivers of the current fi nancial crisis, if not possibly more.Commodity prices; cointegration; CVAR analysis; global liquidity; infl ation; international spillovers

Unmaking as Making

Artist Viola Bordon examines the processes of touch, unmaking, and materially dictated aesthetics regarding her studio practice. The philosophical ideas of absence are used to establish a purpose for undoing, which is then explored as a learning process. This process is complicated by the sense of touch, resulting in formal aesthetics that are materially inspired

Effect of EPIC panel presentations on the attitudes of EMU students toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals are affected by stigma in the workplace, health-care settings, their families, and their communities. Some people believe that being LGB or Tis unnatural. LGBT individuals are commonly stigmatized, which makes them feel rejected and disrespected for who they are. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of Eastern Pride & Identity Coalition (EPIC) panels on the LGBT-related attitudes of students at EMU. EPIC is a group of students, faculty, staff, and community members who serve as a panel of individuals and go into classrooms to talk about their own experiences in the LGBT community. What is currently unclear is how these panels influence students\u27 attitudes toward LGBT populations. To discern this I developed a survey that measures LGBT-related attitude change. Students whose classes scheduled an EPIC panel presentation completed the surveys online both before and after they saw the EPIC panel. It was hypothesized that EPIC panels have a positive impact on students\u27 attitudes toward LGBT individuals. The results indicated a significant change in attitude over time, which indicates that attitudes were more favorable after intervention. It was also hypothesized that the attitude toward LGBT individuals would be more positive based on the composition of the panel. The results indicated that the composition of the panel does not increase participants\u27 attitude change toward a particular subgroup. The results of this work should have repercussions for the reduction of stigmatization and acceptance of LGBT individuals by members of the community who might not have contact with such populations