An agenda-setting model of electoral competition

This paper presents a model of electoral competition focusing on the formation of the public agenda. An incumbent government and a challenger party in opposition compete in elections by choosing the issues that will key out their campaigns. Giving salience to an issue implies proposing an innovative policy proposal, alternative to the status-quo. Parties trade off the issues with high salience in voters’ concerns and those with broad agreement on some alternative policy proposal. Each party expects a higher probability of victory if the issue it chooses becomes salient in the voters’ decision. But remarkably, the issues which are considered the most important ones by a majority of votes may not be given salience during the electoral campaign. An incumbent government may survive in spite of its bad policy performance if there is no sufficiently broad agreement on a policy alternative. We illustrate the analytical potential of the model with the case of the United States presidential election in 2004.Agenda, elections, political competition, issues, salience, agreement.

A model of stigma in the fed funds market

It is often the case that banks in the US are willing to borrow in the fed funds market (the interbank market for funds) at higher rates than the ones they could obtain by borrowing at the Fed's discount window. This phenomenon is commonly explained as the consequence of the existence of a stigma effect attached to borrowing from the window. Most policymakers and empirical researchers consider the stigma hypothesis plausible. Yet, no formal treatment of the issue has ever been provided in the literature. In this paper, we fill that gap by studying a model of interbank credit where: (1) banks benefit from engaging in intertemporal trade with other banks and with outside investors; and (2) informational frictions limit those trade opportunities. In our model, banks obtain loans in an over-the-counter market (involving search, bilateral matching, and negotiations over the terms of the loan) and hold assets of heterogeneous qualities which in turn determine their ability to repay those loans. When asset quality is not perfectly unobservable by outside investors, information about the actions taken by a bank in the credit market may influence the price at which it can sell its asset. In particular, under some conditions, discount window borrowing may be regarded as a negative signal about the quality of the borrower's assets. In such cases, some of the banks in our model, just as in the data, are willing to accept loans in the interbank market at higher rates than the ones they could obtain at the discount window.Interbank market, Private information, Signaling, Banking

Cerebral and cardiovascular effects of analgesic doses of ketamine during a target controlled general anesthesia: a prospective randomized study

Introduction: Ketamine is increasingly being used in various pain settings. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of an analgesic dose of ketamine in the bispectral index (BIS), spectral edge frequency (SEF-95), density spectral array (DSA), cerebral oximetry (rSO2) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) during general anaesthesia with a target controlled infusion. Methods: A prospective, single-blinded and randomized study on adult patients scheduled for elective spine surgery was carried out. After anaesthesia induction with propofol, remifentanil and rocuronium, when a stable BIS value (45-55) was achieved, an automatic recording of BIS, SEF-95, rSO2 and MAP values during 9 min was performed to establish patients baseline values. Subsequently, patients were randomly assigned to receive a ketamine bolus dose of 0.2 mg/kg, 0.5 mg/kg or 1 mg/kg; all variables were recorded for additional 9 min after the ketamine bolus, in the absence of any surgical stimulus. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant in the statistical analysis. Results and discussion: Thirty-nine patients were enrolled in the study. Our results show a dose-related increase of SEF-95 and BIS values. DSA demonstrate a shift in the frequency range and power distribution towards higher frequencies. Our results do not show significant differences in MAP and rSO2 values. Conclusion: When ketamine is used intraoperatively in analgesic doses, the anaesthetist should anticipate an increase in SEF-95 and BIS values which will not be associated with the level of anaesthesia.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Automatic histogram threshold using fuzzy measures

In this paper, an automatic histogram threshold approach based on a fuzziness measure is presented. This work is an improvement of an existing method. Using fuzzy logic concepts, the problems involved in finding the minimum of a criterion function are avoided. Similarity between gray levels is the key to find an optimal threshold. Two initial regions of gray levels, located at the boundaries of the histogram, are defined. Then, using an index of fuzziness, a similarity process is started to find the threshold point. A significant contrast between objects and background is assumed. Previous histogram equalization is used in small contrast images. No prior knowledge of the image is required.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pokdarkamtibmas Pamulang sebagai Implementasi Kemitraan dalam Konteks Community Policing

Police Decree No. Pol. : SKEP/737/X/2005, explained that the implementation partnership in the community policing context is between the police and FKPM. Through FKPM expected partnership between police and community in the community policing context that can be realized. In the Pamulang Police jurisdiction, found that the role of FKPM not walk, but instead there is one other form of partnership between police and community who called Pokdarkamtibmas Pamulang, which is more active in conducting real activities of crime prevention or security driven and problem solving. Research in this thesis are to understand the position and relationship Pokdarkamtibmas Pamulang with the police and FKPM, and effectiveness Pokdarkamtibmas Pamulang in in partnership with the Police in the context of community policing realize. Primary data in this study is the result of interviews with seven resources persons from various parties, namely Metro Police Pamulang, Kelurahan Pondok Cabe Udik, FKPM, and Pokdarkamtibmas Pamulang. The results of this study showed that Pokdarkamtibmas Pamulang is also FKPM because the elements of the same members as FKPM namely: RT, RW, religious leaders, community leaders, youth leaders. But unfortunately, the formal forms of Pokdarkamtibmas Pamulang limiting community involvement. While community involvement is an important part of community based crime prevention. Also found that Pokdarkamtibmas Pamulang still not appropriate in the context of community policing

Multilevel Models For The Analysis Of Angle-specific Torque Curves With Application To Master Athletes

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)The aim of this paper was to outline a multilevel modeling approach to fit individual angle-specific torque curves describing concentric knee extension and flexion isokinetic muscular actions in Master athletes. The potential of the analytical approach to examine between individual differences across the angle-specific torque curves was illustrated including between-individuals variation due to gender differences at a higher level. Torques in concentric muscular actions of knee extension and knee extension at 60 degrees.s(-1) were considered within a range of motion between 5 degrees and 85 degrees (only torques "truly" isokinetic). Multilevel time series models with autoregressive covariance structures with standard multilevel models were superior fits compared with standard multilevel models for repeated measures to fit anglespecific torque curves. Third and fourth order polynomial models were the best fits to describe angle-specific torque curves of isokinetic knee flexion and extension concentric actions, respectively. The fixed exponents allow interpretations for initial acceleration, the angle at peak torque and the decrement of torque after peak torque. Also, the multilevel models were flexible to illustrate the influence of gender differences on the shape of torque throughout the range of motion and in the shape of the curves. The presented multilevel regression models may afford a general framework to examine angle-specific moment curves by isokinetic dynamometry, and add to the understanding mechanisms of strength development, particularly the force-length relationship, both related to performance and injury prevention.4912535Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)CAPES [PNPD/CAPES

The dust coma of Comet Austin (1989c1)

Thermal-infrared (10 and 20 micron) images of Comet Austin were obtained on UT 30.6 Apr., 1.8, 2.8, and 3.6 May 1990. The NASA-Marshall Space Flight Center 20 pixel bolometer array at the NASA 3 meter Infrared Telescope Facility in Hawaii was used. The 10.8 micron (FWHM = 5.3 microns) maps were obtained with maximum dimensions of 113 arcsec (57,500 km) in RA and 45 arcsec (23,000 km) in declination, with a pixel size of 4.2 x 4.2 arcsec. A smaller, 45 x 18 arcsec, map was obtained in the 19.2 micron (FWHM = 5.2 microns) bandpass. At the time of these observations Comet Austin's heliocentric and geocentric distances were 0.7 and 0.5 AU respectively. The peak flux density (within the brightest pixel) was 23 + or - 2 Janskys for the first three dates and only marginally lower the last day; i.e., within the observational uncertainties no evidence was found for day-to-day variability like that observed in Comet Halley. A dynamical analysis of the morphology of the extended dust emission is used to constrain the size distribution and production rate of the dust particles. The results of this analysis are compared with similar studies carried out on comets P/Giacobini-Zinner, P/Brorsen-Metcalf, P/Halley, P/Tempel 2, and Wilson (1987)

Stable propagation of pulsed beams in Kerr focusing media with modulated dispersion

We propose the modulation of dispersion to prevent collapse of planar pulsed beams which propagate in Kerr-type self-focusing optical media. As a result, we find a new type of two-dimensional spatio-temporal solitons stabilized by dispersion management. We have studied the existence and properties of these solitary waves both analytically and numerically. We show that the adequate choice of the modulation parameters optimizes the stabilization of the pulse.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Optics Letter