International Banking Secrecy: Developments in Europe Prompt New Approaches

The frequent connection between banking secrecy and various corrupt political and business practices has drawn considerable attention from non-secrecy states. In Europe, the issue presently is ripe because of the European Community\u27s plans for a unified economy in 1992. This Note begins with a moral and historical examination of banking secrecy. Then, the author reveals the banking practices and legal structures through which banking secrecy is exploited. The author next sets forth the substantive banking secrecy laws of four European states and attempts to surmise the direction of their policies regarding banking secrecy. Next, the author describes past attempts, both unilateral and bilateral, to resolve the issue. Finally, the author proposes that, although a worldwide solution hardly is imminent, the increasing economic interdependence of small groups of states, such as the European Community, mandates serious consideration of multilateral approaches to resolve the international banking secrecy issue

Etnički sukob kao unutar-grupna pojava: preliminarni okvir

The literature on "ethnic conflict" tends to focus solely on external sources of such conflict. But this unquestioning focus on ethnic conflict as due to factors in the relationship between "ethnic groups" or their elites may at times be misleading. Drawing on a critique of conflict theory as developed in the field of international relations, I point out the conceptual and methodological problems associated with the analysis of inter-group conflict, and point to the importance of within-group conflict, especially conflict between elites, as sources of external conflict. I apply this critique to the concept of ethnic conflict and point out the consequences of such questioning for understanding the causes of violent conflict along ethnic lines.U literaturi posvećenoj etničkim sukobima postoji tendencija da se u obzir uzmu samo izvanjski izvori sukoba. Takvo stajalište - da su glavni uzroci etničkih sukoba u karakteru odnosa među etničkim skupinama, odnosno njihovim elitama - može, međutim, biti pogrešno. U radu se izlaže kritika konfliktne teorije razrađene unutar znanstvenog (politologijskoga) područja međunarodnih odnosa. Kritika obuhvaća koncepcijske i metodološke probleme analize među-grupnih sukoba i ukazuje na važnost unutar-grupnih sukoba (sukoba među "domaćim" elitama) kao izvora onih prvih. U zaključku, autor ističe važnost izložene kritike za razumijevanje uzroka i izvora nasilnih sukoba koji slijede etničke markere

Evaluation of exposure-specific risks from two independent samples: A simulation study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous studies have proposed a simple product-based estimator for calculating exposure-specific risks (ESR), but the methodology has not been rigorously evaluated. The goal of our study was to evaluate the existing methodology for calculating the ESR, propose an improved point estimator, and propose variance estimates that will allow the calculation of confidence intervals (CIs).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a simulation study to test the performance of two estimators and their associated confidence intervals: 1) current (simple product-based estimator) and 2) proposed revision (revised product-based estimator). The first method for ESR estimation was based on multiplying a relative risk (RR) of disease given a certain exposure by an overall risk of disease. The second method, which is proposed in this paper, was based on estimates of the risk of disease in the unexposed. We then multiply the updated risk by the RR to get the revised product-based estimator. A log-based variance was calculated for both estimators. Also, a binomial-based variance was calculated for the revised product-based estimator. 95% CIs were calculated based on these variance estimates. Accuracy of point estimators was evaluated by comparing observed relative bias (percent deviation from the true estimate). Interval estimators were evaluated by coverage probabilities and expected length of the 95% CI, given coverage. We evaluated these estimators across a wide range of exposure probabilities, disease probabilities, relative risks, and sample sizes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We observed more bias and lower coverage probability when using the existing methodology. The revised product-based point estimator exhibited little observed relative bias (max: 4.0%) compared to the simple product-based estimator (max: 93.9%). Because the simple product-based estimator was biased, 95% CIs around this estimate exhibited small coverage probabilities. The 95% CI around the revised product-based estimator from the log-based variance provided better coverage in most situations.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The currently accepted simple product-based method was only a reasonable approach when the exposure probability is small (< 0.05) and the RR is ≤ 3.0. The revised product-based estimator provides much improved accuracy.</p

Champions, converts, doubters, and defectors: the impact of shifting perceptions on momentum for change

Maintaining momentum is a key influence on the ultimate success of large-scale change. In this paper, we develop theory to explain how stable vs. shifting change-supportive perceptions over time differentially influence the perceived momentum associated with goal-directed change (i.e., change-based momentum). We use cross-level polynomial regression and data obtained early and one year later within an organization implementing a lean manufacturing transformation to model changes in individual perceptions. Results suggest that momentum perceptions are higher for “Champions” (stable and high perceptions over time) as compared to “Converts” (increasing perceptions over time), but momentum perceptions are lower for “Defectors” (decreasing perceptions over time) as compared to “Doubters” (stable and low perceptions over time). We find that even if participants converge upon change-supportive perceptions later in the change process, early divergent perceptions influence subsequent momentum for the change. These findings highlight the important role of temporal shifts in perceptions for organizational change processes

Mandatory Disclosure of Pharmaceutical Industry-Funded Events for Health Professionals

David Henry and colleagues examine compliance with new disclosure requirements of Medicines Australia, the pharmaceutical industry representative body, and argue that they fall short and instead more comprehensive reporting standards are needed

Bianchi Type V Viscous Fluid Cosmological Models in Presence of Decaying Vacuum Energy

Bianchi type V viscous fluid cosmological model for barotropic fluid distribution with varying cosmological term $\Lambda$ is investigated. We have examined a cosmological scenario proposing a variation law for Hubble parameter $H$ in the background of homogeneous, anisotropic Bianchi type V space-time. The model isotropizes asymptotically and the presence of shear viscosity accelerates the isotropization. The model describes a unified expansion history of the universe indicating initial decelerating expansion and late time accelerating phase. Cosmological consequences of the model are also discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

A survey approach for finding cases of epilepsy.

Identify persons with epilepsy by first looking for prescriptions for particular antiseizure drugs. Follow these prescriptions from the pharmacies to the physicians who wrote them for patients. Ask the physicians whether the patients have epilepsy. Finally, contact the patients who do have epilepsy to elicit information about the impact of that condition on their lives. With these steps, it may be possible to carry out successfully a probability survey of epilepsy in the United States population. To learn more about this approach, a field test was funded by the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke (NINCDS) of the Public Health Service. From 1978 through 1982, the work was planned, carried out, and evaluated by Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC. Epilepsy is a sensitive topic to ask about in a survey. Also, the condition is sufficiently rare to render ordinary survey approaches inefficient. Even if rarity were not an issue, there would be the problem of response error because a person with epilepsy does not, as a rule, have much clinical information on his or her condition. Better information lies with the physician who provides the care, but many physicians are busy with their practices. Furthermore, their record systems are usually not designed for easy retrieval of information, unless the names of patients are available. In the survey approach considered here, the names of patients are obtained through a random sampling of prescriptions for antiseizure drugs. The field test was divided into three phases with special activities reserved for each. The most important problem confronted was how to safeguard the confidentiality of relationships between pharmacist and patient and between physician and patient. Special guidelines on confidentiality were put into effect for the data collection. These guidelines, however, contributed to serious problems of nonresponse-especiallyfor physicians. This article provides a brief account of the field test, including a rationale for the survey strategy of finding cases of epilepsy through prescriptions for antiseizure drugs

Cosmogenic neutron production at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

Neutrons produced in nuclear interactions initiated by cosmic-ray muons present an irreducible background to many rare-event searches, even in detectors located deep underground. Models for the production of these neutrons have been tested against previous experimental data, but the extrapolation to deeper sites is not well understood. Here we report results from an analysis of cosmogenically produced neutrons at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. A specific set of observables are presented, which can be used to benchmark the validity of geant4 physics models. In addition, the cosmogenic neutron yield, in units of 10-4 cm2/(g·μ), is measured to be 7.28±0.09(stat)-1.12+1.59(syst) in pure heavy water and 7.30±0.07(stat)-1.02+1.40(syst) in NaCl-loaded heavy water. These results provide unique insights into this potential background source for experiments at SNOLAB

KELT-20b: A Giant Planet With A Period Of P ~ 3.5 Days Transiting The V ~ 7.6 Early A Star HD 185603

We report the discovery of KELT-20b, a hot Jupiter transiting a early A star, HD 185603, with an orbital period of days. Archival and follow-up photometry, Gaia parallax, radial velocities, Doppler tomography, and AO imaging were used to confirm the planetary nature of KELT-20b and characterize the system. From global modeling we infer that KELT-20 is a rapidly rotating ( ) A2V star with an effective temperature of K, mass of , radius of , surface gravity of , and age of . The planetary companion has a radius of , a semimajor axis of au, and a linear ephemeris of . We place a upper limit of on the mass of the planet. Doppler tomographic measurements indicate that the planetary orbit normal is well aligned with the projected spin axis of the star ( ). The inclination of the star is constrained to , implying a three-dimensional spin–orbit alignment of . KELT-20b receives an insolation flux of , implying an equilibrium temperature of of ∼2250 K, assuming zero albedo and complete heat redistribution. Due to the high stellar , KELT-20b also receives an ultraviolet (wavelength nm) insolation flux of , possibly indicating significant atmospheric ablation. Together with WASP-33, Kepler-13 A, HAT-P-57, KELT-17, and KELT-9, KELT-20 is the sixth A star host of a transiting giant planet, and the third-brightest host (in V ) of a transiting planet

Constraints on Nucleon Decay via "Invisible" Modes from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

Data from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory have been used to constrain the lifetime for nucleon decay to ``invisible'' modes, such as n -> 3 nu. The analysis was based on a search for gamma-rays from the de-excitation of the residual nucleus that would result from the disappearance of either a proton or neutron from O16. A limit of tau_inv > 2 x 10^{29} years is obtained at 90% confidence for either neutron or proton decay modes. This is about an order of magnitude more stringent than previous constraints on invisible proton decay modes and 400 times more stringent than similar neutron modes.Comment: Update includes missing efficiency factor (limits change by factor of 2) Submitted to Physical Review Letter