Towards a New (European Research) Deal: The Case for Enhanced Fiscal Policy Coordination on Research and Innovation. Bruges European Economic Policy (BEEP) Briefing 20/2008

The paper reviews the evolution of research and innovation in the EU and assesses how current policies and programmes have influenced the development of Europe's research landscape. Based on existing literature, evaluation reports and practice, the paper critically examines the effectiveness of current European research funding instruments in a context of open innovation and in the presence of global spillovers. It therefore develops a subsidiarity test to assess whether current rationales still prove sufficient to justify policy intervention in this area. The paper sheds light on how to improve the effectiveness of EU action by enriching it by the use of coordinated fiscal policy for research funding. This will constitute an incentive to genuine bottom-up research, development and innovation (R&D&I) and a stimulus to local investments in innovation. The paper also assesses the potentials of a reinforced open method of coordination as well as a review of state aid law in the field of research funding in the EU

Alien Registration- Di Pietrantonio, Petronilla (Portland, Cumberland County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/25542/thumbnail.jp

Alien Registration- Di Pietrantonio, Mary (Portland, Cumberland County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/25655/thumbnail.jp

A Computational Model of Team-based Dynamics in the Workplace: Assessing the Impact of Incentive-based Motivation on Productivity

Large organizations often divide workers into small teams for the completion of essential tasks. In an effort to maximize the number of tasks completed over time, it is common practice for organizations to hire workers with the highest level of education and experience. However, despite capable workers being hired, the ability of teams to complete tasks may suffer if the workers\u27 individual motivational needs are not satisfied. To explore the impact of incentive-based motivation on the success of team-based organizations, we developed an agent-based model that stochastically simulates the proficiency of 100 workers with varying abilities and motive profiles to complete time-sensitive tasks in small teams. The model is initialized by randomly assigning each of the 100 workers an ability value (1 through 5) and a motive profile from initial probability distributions. A motive profile is a 3-parameter equation that quantifies a worker\u27s tendency to actualize his or her potential based on the individual\u27s motivational needs for affiliation, achievement, and power. The model creates new tasks as workers become available; each new task is assigned a random difficulty value and a team of 2 to 4 workers. During each time step, each worker contributes to their assigned task at a rate determined by the worker\u27s ability and motive profile. At the end of 365 time steps (1 year), the model outputs the total number of completed tasks, which is the primary measurement of productivity. By simulating the model hundreds of times for different sets of initial distributions and analyzing output, we are able to determine which worker attributes lead to increased team-based productivity. Results aid in understanding optimal hiring and human resource allocation in a team-based organization

International agencies and the reform of food subsidies in Egypt after the revolution of 2011

Egypt has a very expensive and extensive food subsidy system representing a heavy burden on the State’s public budget. At the same time, however, these subsidies secure the livelihood of the most vulnerable part of the Egyptian population. While this situation is not sustainable in its current form, no agreement on the extent of the reforms needed and how they should be conducted has yet been reached. This research aims to examine the different viewpoints of stakeholders involved in this issue as well as it intends to investigate the position of different international agencies on food subsidies in general, and in Egypt in particular. Furthermore, does this thesis look at how international agencies influence government decisions on food subsidy reforms and it attempts to determine the other factors of importance in this matter. The analysis is being based on publications from these institutions and on interviews conducted with stakeholders involved in food subsidies reforms. This allowed us to conclude that all actors agree on the fact that the Egyptian food subsidy system needs to be reformed due to its high cost and because it is not sufficiently targeted and suffers important leakages. Regarding the changes that should be introduced, two main positions can be identified; the financial institutions advocate for an immediate switch to a less costly cash transfer system, while the UN organizations, although not against cash transfers, argue that those are not sufficient in protecting the livelihood of the poor in Egypt and are rather in favor of keeping and improving the current systems

Alien Registration- Di Pietrantonio, Antonio (Portland, Cumberland County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/25621/thumbnail.jp

Alien Registration- Di Pietrantonio, Agustino (Portland, Cumberland County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/25619/thumbnail.jp

Alien Registration- Di Pietrantonio, Mary (Portland, Cumberland County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/25655/thumbnail.jp

Alien Registration- Di Pietrantonio, Antonio (Portland, Cumberland County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/25621/thumbnail.jp