Gross Job Flows in Ukraine: Size, Ownership and Trade Effects

This paper documents and analyses gross job flows and their determinants in Ukraine using a unique data set of more than 2200 Ukrainian firms operating in both the manufacturing and the non-manufacturing sector for the years 1998-2000. There are several important findings in the paper. Job destruction is dominating job creation in both 1999 and 2000. In connection with other evidence we infer from this that Ukraine is only at the beginning of the restructuring process. The most clear-cut result of our analysis is the strong positive effect of new private firms on net employment growth, a finding established for other transition economies as well. At the same time, we do not find differences in the employment growth of state-owned and privatised firms. Apart from ownership effects we also find, at the firm level, an inverse correlation of size and net employment growth and of size and job reallocation. Finally, we establish that strong foreign trade links force firms to shed labour more aggressively and to engage in more restructuring when trade is directed to and originating from Western economies. This disciplining function is absent when the trade flows are confined to CIS countries.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39906/3/wp521.pd

The effects of bilingualism on speakers who stutter during late childhood

Objectives: To examine stuttering by children speaking an alternative language exclusively (LE) or with English (BIL) and to study onset of stuttering, school performance and recovery rate relative to monolingual speakers who stutter (MONO). Design: Clinical referral sample with supplementary data obtained from speech recordings and interviews. Setting: South-East England, 1999–2007. Participants: Children aged 8–12 plus who stuttered (monolingual and bilingual) and fluent bilingual controls (FB). Main outcome measures: Participants’ stuttering history, SATS scores, measures of recovery or persistence of stuttering. Results: 69 (21.8%) of 317 children were bilingual. Of 38 children who used a language other than English at home, 36 (94.7%) stuttered in both languages. Fewer LE (15/38, 39.5%) than BIL (23/38, 60.5%) children stuttered at first referral to clinic, but more children in the fluent control sample were LE (28/38, 73.7%) than BIL (10/38, 26.3%). The association between stuttering and bilingual group (LE/BIL) was significant by x2 test; BIL speakers have more chance of stuttering than LE speakers. Age at stuttering onset and male/female ratio for LE, BIL and MONO speakers were similar (4 years 9 months, 4 years 10 months and 4 years 3 months, and 4.1:1, 4.75:1 and 4.43:1, respectively). Educational achievement was not affected by bilingualism relative to the MONO and FB groups. The recovery rate for the LE and MONO controls together (55%) was significantly higher by x2 test than for the BIL group (25%). Conclusions: BIL children had an increased risk of stuttering and a lower chance of recovery from stuttering than LE and MONO speakers

Atomic screening of nuclear transitions

In the analysis of time-reversal and Mössbauer absorption experiments, it is important to consider atomic processes which interfere with the direct nuclear transition. Interaction of the photon with the atomic electrons causes the radiation to acquire a phase shift, specified by the interference parameter ξ(L_π). We present theoretical expressions for ξ and compare our calculated values with experiment. Satisfactory agreement is obtained. In particular, an apparent violation of time-reversal invariance in the 129-keV transition of ^(191)Ir is fully explained by these effects

Cosmic Strings, Zero Modes and SUSY breaking in Nonabelian N=1 Gauge Theories

We investigate the microphysics of cosmic strings in Nonabelian gauge theories with N=1 supersymmetry. We give the vortex solutions in a specific example and demonstrate that fermionic superconductivity arises because of the couplings and interactions dictated by supersymmetry. We then use supersymmetry transformations to obtain the relevant fermionic zero modes and investigate the role of soft supersymmetry breaking on the existence and properties of the superconducting strings.Comment: 12 pages, RevTex, submitted to Phys. Rev.

DEveloping a Complex Intervention for DEteriorating Patients using Theoretical Modelling (DECIDE study): study protocol

AIM: To develop a theory-based complex intervention (targeting nursing staff), to enhance enablers and overcome barriers to enacting expected behaviour when monitoring patients and responding to abnormal vital signs that signal deterioration. DESIGN: A mixed method design including structured observations on hospital wards, field notes, brief, un-recorded interviews and semi-structured interviews to inform the development of an intervention to enhance practice. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with nursing staff using a topic guide informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework. Semi-structured interviews will be transcribed verbatim and coded deductively into the 14 Theoretical Domains Framework domains and then inductively into 'belief statements'. Priority domains will be identified and mapped to appropriate behaviour change techniques. Intervention content and mode of delivery (how behaviour change techniques are operationalised) will be developed using nominal groups, during which participants (clinicians) will rank behaviour change techniques /mode of delivery combinations according to acceptability and feasibility. Findings will be synthesised to develop an intervention manual. DISCUSSION: Despite being a priority for clinicians, researchers and policymakers for two decades, 'sub-optimal care' of the deteriorating ward patient persists. Existing interventions have been largely educational (i.e., targeting assumed knowledge deficits) with limited evidence that they change staff behaviour. Staff behaviour when monitoring and responding to abnormal vital signs is likely influenced by a range of mediators that includes barriers and enablers. IMPACT: Systematically applying theory and evidence-based methods, will result in the specification of an intervention which is more likely to result in behaviour change and can be tested empirically in future research. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Health informatics education for clinicians and managers - What's holding up progress?

This paper reports outcomes of a national survey of health informatics (HI) education and training carried out in the UK. A questionnaire to elicit details of HI and IT skills teaching was derived from a national consensus document (Learning to Manage Health Information, LtMHI). Forms were sent to all pre-qualification medical and nursing schools and to a stratified sample of postgraduate and post-registration programmes. Three case studies were carried out in acute hospital trusts to gain insight into opportunities for continuing professional development in health informatics and IT. Our evidence suggests that in the UK, health informatics is not yet integrated into the clinical curriculum. Nearly all the pre-qualification courses made some provision for teaching IT skills. Nonetheless, many respondents felt that students did not receive sufficient training. There was considerable variation in the amount of HI teaching provided in the different educational sectors. The case studies suggested very little HI training was provided for clinical staff and take-up of provision was not monitored. A number of factors are holding up progress, the most important being a lack of staff with the knowledge and skills to provide academic leadership. The paper outlines some steps that need to be taken to ensure health informatics is embedded in all clinical curricula. © 2003 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Semi-Empirical Bound on the Chlorinr-37 Solar Neutrino Experiment

The Kamiokande measurement of energetic Boron-8 neutrinos from the sun is used to set a lower bound on the contribution of the same neutrinos to the signal in the \Chlorine\ experiment. Implications for Beryllium-7 neutrinos are discussed.Comment: Latex, 6 pages + 1 postscript figure (included). UTAPHY-HEP-

Joint design for improved fatigue life of diffusion-bonded box-stiffened panels

Simple photoelastic models were used to identify a cross-section geometry that would eliminate the severe stress concentrations at the bond line between box stiffeners diffusion bonded to a panel skin. Experimental fatigue-test data from titanium test specimens quantified the allowable stress in terms of cycle life for various joint geometries. It is shown that the effect of stress concentration is reduced and an acceptable fatigue life is achieved