Party-group relations in new southern European democracies in the crisis era

UID/CPO/04627/2013 PTDC/IVC-CPO/1864/2014publishersversionpublishe

A psychological perspective on money

A thriving field of inquiry, the psychological science of money has recently witnessed an upsurge in research attention. In the present volume, we bring together and integrate a number of theoretical perspectives on the question of ‘how does money affect people’s mind, brain, and behavior?’ Importantly, we go beyond previous reviews by zooming in on the biological and psychological processes—triggered by money—that shape people’s experiences and behavior. Three central topics, which recur throughout the volume, are as follows: First, researchers have studied the time course by which the human mind processes money, identifying a crude and quick processing stage that occurs directly after money-related stimuli are perceived. Second, researchers have studied the biological underpinnings of money, pinpointing the role of the reward circuit (e.g., the ventral striatum) in processing money. Third, researchers have studied how money inputs into meaning-making processes that help people to make sense of the situation they find themselves in. Classic and recent insights are discussed in the context of each of these themes, with a special focus on the link between money and behavioral outcomes (e.g., performance, decisions, cooperation). As such, the present volume works towards a broad, yet process-oriented understanding of the impact of money on human action

The Art of Saying No : The Economics and Ethics of Healthcare Rationing

It follows from resource scarcity that some form of healthcare rationing is unavoidable. This implies that potentially beneficial medical treatments must be denied to patients to avoid unacceptable sacrifices in other areas of society. By focusing on four, core, conceptual themes – individual responsibility, paternalism, incentives, and inequality – this thesis explores the matter of finding justifiable grounds for saying no in the context of health care. By combining the perspectives of welfare economics and population-level ethics, the author explicate and discusses conflicting moral values involved in healthcare rationing. Four papers form the foundation for this thesis. Paper I articulates the potential role of individual responsibility as a welfarepromoting, rationing tool by exploring when healthcare services exhibit characteristics that facilitate individual responsibility for private financing. Paper II explores the normative relevance of individuals’ time preferences in healthcare rationing and when paternalism can be justified in the context of individuals’ intertemporal health choices. Paper III examines the compatibility between incentive-based organ donation and the ethical platform for setting priorities in Sweden. Paper IV empirically  investigates the existence of horizontal inequalities in using waiting lists to ration care. From the discussion it is suggested, inter alia, that: I) Prospective responsibility as opposed to retrospective responsibility is a more productive notion of responsibility when discussing actual policies. However, potential positive effects need to be weighed against the increased economic inequality that it is likely to invoke. II) Although cost-effectiveness analysis provides valuable input when making rationing decisions it should not be viewed as a decision rule, since it is based on utilitarian values that constantly need to be balanced against other nonutilitarian values. III) Potentially, increased health could negatively affect individuals’ well-being if it creates opportunities that they are unable to take advantage of. This needs to be taken into account before embarking on paternalistic policies to improve health – policies that often target the lower socioeconomic segment. The author concludes that decisions on rationing cannot be computed through a simple formula. Moreover, given that rationing is bound to be associated with reasonable disagreements we are unlikely to ever fully  resolve these disagreements. However, by explicitly stating conflicting moral values we are more likely to narrow the disagreements and achieve a healthcare system that is both fairer and more efficient

Above-threshold leakage in semiconductor lasers : an analytical physical model

We present an analytical physical model for above-threshold leakage in semiconductor lasers. The model can be applied to estimate whether heterobarrier lowering and accompanying overbarrier leakage are within reach of having serious deleterious effects on laser performance. The model uses two-dimensional fully self-consistent numerical equations that arise from comprehensive systems of partial coupled differential equations. The effect of temperature and doping on laser efficiency is analyzed for two lasers, one designed for operation at 1.3 µm and the other at 1.55 µm. Both devices are assumed to be built in the InGaAsP-InP material system. We show that, even in a 1.55-µm laser, overbarrier leakage can cause severe performance degradation at typical operating temperatures and doping levels, and we argue that overbarrier leakage deserves to be treated as a potential threat to laser performance at telecommunication wavelength

Aanbeveling Toelichting NEN-EN 12464-1 Werkplekverlichting binnen

Nieuwe internationale norm voor binnenverlichting (NEN-EN 12464-1

Interface transparency of superconductor/ferromagnetic multilayers

Quantum Matter and Optic