Employment Protection Legislation and Labor Markets in Transition: Assessing the Effects of the Labor Code in Armenia

The effects of employment protection legislation (EPL) on a country's labor market are clear in theory but empirical evidence is only starting to catch up. In particular, EPL is not robust as an indicator of overall unemployment, but previous panel data analyses have shown it affects the flow of workers into and out of employment. Examining monthly and quarterly data from Armenia, I find that the country's package of EPL has this same effect, and worker flows have slowed under the country's new Labor Code. The paradox of where Armenia's workforce is going still remains but can be hypothesized as entering the informal sector.employment protection legislation, labor markets, transition

Violence in Peace: Understanding Increased Violence in Early Post-Conflict Transitions and Its Implications for Development

conflict, peace agreements, institution building, development

Magnitude and Extent of Contaminated Sediment and Toxicity in Chesapeake Bay

INTRODUCTION: This report summarizes the results of NOAA's sediment toxicity, chemistry, and benthic community studies in the Chesapeake Bay estuary. As part of the National Status and Trends (NS&T) Program, NOAA has conducted studies to determine the spatial extent and severity of chemical contamination and associated adverse biological effects in coastal bays and estuaries of the United States since 1991. Sediment contamination in U.S. coastal areas is a major environmental issue because of its potential toxic effects on biological resources and often, indirectly, on human health. Thus, characterizing and delineating areas of sediment contamination and toxicity and demonstrating their effect(s) on benthic living resources are viewed as important goals of coastal resource management. Benthic community studies have a history of use in regional estuarine monitoring programs and have been shown to be an effective indicator for describing the extent and magnitude of pollution impacts in estuarine ecosystems, as well as for assessing the effectiveness of management actions. Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuarine system in the United States. Including tidal tributaries, the Bay has approximately 18,694 km of shoreline (more than the entire US West Coast). The watershed is over 165,000 km2 (64,000 miles2), and includes portions of six states (Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia) and the District of Columbia. The population of the watershed exceeds 15 million people. There are 150 rivers and streams in the Chesapeake drainage basin. Within the watershed, five major rivers - the Susquehanna, Potomac, Rappahannock, York and James - provide almost 90% of the freshwater to the Bay. The Bay receives an equal volume of water from the Atlantic Ocean. In the upper Bay and tributaries, sediments are fine-grained silts and clays. Sediments in the middle Bay are mostly made of silts and clays derived from shoreline erosion. In the lower Bay, by contrast, the sediments are sandy. These particles come from shore erosion and inputs from the Atlantic Ocean. The introduction of European-style agriculture and large scale clearing of the watershed produced massive shifts in sediment dynamics of the Bay watershed. As early as the mid 1700s, some navigable rivers were filled in by sediment and sedimentation caused several colonial seaports to become landlocked. Toxic contaminants enter the Bay via atmospheric deposition, dissolved and particulate runoff from the watershed or direct discharge. While contaminants enter the Bay from several sources, sediments accumulate many toxic contaminants and thus reveal the status of input for these constituents. In the watershed, loading estimates indicate that the major sources of contaminants are point sources, stormwater runoff, atmospheric deposition, and spills. Point sources and urban runoff in the Bay proper contribute large quantities of contaminants. Pesticide inputs to the Bay have not been quantified. Baltimore Harbor and the Elizabeth River remain among the most contaminated areas in the Unites States. In the mainstem, deep sediment core analyses indicate that sediment accumulation rates are 2-10 times higher in the northern Bay than in the middle and lower Bay, and that sedimentation rates are 2-10 times higher than before European settlement throughout the Bay (NOAA 1998). The core samples show a decline in selected PAH compounds over the past several decades, but absolute concentrations are still 1 to 2 orders of magnitude above 'pristine' conditions. Core data also indicate that concentrations of PAHs, PCBs and, organochlorine pesticides do not demonstrate consistent trends over 25 years, but remain 10 times lower than sediments in the tributaries. In contrast, tri-butyl-tin (TBT) concentrations in the deep cores have declined significantly since it=s use was severely restricted. (PDF contains 241 pages

The Cluster Wind from Local Massive Star Clusters

Results of a study of the theoretically predicted and observed X-ray properties of local massive star clusters are presented, with a focus on understanding the mass and energy flow from these clusters into the ISM via a cluster wind. A simple theoretical model, based on the work of Chevalier & Clegg (1985), is used to predict the theoretical cluster properties, and these are compared to those obtained from recent Chandra observations. The model includes the effect of lower energy transfer efficiency and mass-loading. In spite of limited statistics, some general trends are indicated; the observed temperature of the diffuse X-ray emission is lower than that predicted from the stellar mass and energy input rates, but the predicted scaling of X-ray luminosity with cluster parameters is seen. The implications of these results are discussed.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figues, accepted for publication in MNRA

Relationship between tonic and phasic craving for alcohol.

BackgroundMultiple measures are utilized to assess alcohol craving, often interchangeably. Little is known about the relationship between tonic and phasic craving. This study fills this gap in the literature by examining the association between tonic levels of alcohol craving and phasic craving for alcohol that is provoked by alcohol administration.MethodsForty-three non-treatment seeking problem drinkers underwent an initial interview and two laboratory testing sessions, where either alcohol or a saline placebo was administered intravenously. Tonic craving was assessed via the Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS) and Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS) at the initial interview. Phasic craving was assessed during the laboratory sessions (i.e., alcohol and saline administrations, single blinded) at baseline and at 3 subsequent breath alcohol concentrations (0.02, 0.04, and 0.06 g/dl).ResultsThere was a main effect of PACS in predicting phasic craving across both saline and alcohol administration conditions (p < 0.05). The OCDS was predictive of phasic craving when alcohol, but not saline, was administered (p = 0.058); the obsessive subscale (p = 0.01), but not the compulsive subscale (p > 0.10), predicted phasic craving during alcohol, as compared to saline administration.ConclusionIn sum, tonic craving captured by the OCDS was predictive of phasic craving during alcohol administration whereas the PACS more generally captured the increase in phasic craving. Therefore, these measures of tonic craving may function differently in capturing the experience of phasic craving. Implications for the utilization of the PACS and OCDS as well as assessments of craving in alcoholism research are discussed

(N,p,q) Harmonic Superspace

A family of harmonic superspaces associated with four-dimensional spacetime is described. Some applications to supersymmetric field theories, including supergravity, are given.Comment: 25 pages, latex file, improved. Minor text errors correcte

Proposed research study into the age at death and cause of death in Gypsies & Travellers

This study will identify the age of death and the major causes of death in Gypsies and Travellers. Reliable information as to the causes of death in this population is not available. This study will provide very valuable data to those working with Gypsies and Travellers, and to the community itself, as to the predominant causes of death. This will then be used to strategically design healthcare interventions. Gypsies and Travellers have poor health status and low life expectancy compared to other English-speaking minority ethnic groups. To inform healthcare service provision and interventions it is important to accurately identify the prevalent causes of death in this population and which causes differ from the general population. Gypsy or Traveller ethnic status is generally not collected on NHS systems and ethnicity is not recorded at death; therefore age and cause of death cannot be accurately determined in this community. This study will link ethnicity and cause of death data. An appropriate funding source is currently being sought

Convergence between the Penn Alcohol Craving Scale and diagnostic interview for the assessment of alcohol craving.

IntroductionThe Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS) is one of the most widely used instruments to measure craving for alcohol. Recent research has suggested that scores on the PACS can be used as a "stand in" for the diagnostic criterion of alcohol craving with a proposed cutoff of >20 on the PACS indicating a "positive" alcohol craving symptom. The present study examined the convergence between the PACS and face-to-face diagnostic interview for the assessment of alcohol craving.MethodA sample of non-treatment seeking heavy drinkers (N = 338) enrolled in experimental studies of AUD completed the PACS as well as a face-to-face diagnostic interview for AUD, which included the craving item from the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA).ResultsUsing the PACS cut-off score of >20, 12.9% (N = 43) of the sample met criteria for alcohol craving compared to 21% (N = 74) of the sample meeting criteria based on the diagnostic interview. Using the PACS cutoff of >20, sensitivity (i.e., true positive rate) was 41% and specificity (i.e., true negative rate) was 95%. Exploratory analyses suggested that a cut-off score of ≥15 achieved the optimal balance of sensitivity (67%) and specificity (81%) in our sample.ConclusionsAdvancing the assessment of alcohol craving and the conversion from DSM-IV to DSM-5 diagnostic criteria represents an important research direction. The present study recommends that a PACS score cut off of ≥15 should be used as an indicator of clinically significant alcohol craving in community samples of non-treatment seekers