Homogeneous discrete time alternating compound renewal process: A disability insurance application

Discrete time alternating renewal process is a very simple tool that permits solving many real life problems. This paper, after the presentation of this tool, introduces the compound environment in the alternating process giving a systematization to this important tool.The claim costs for a temporary disability insurance contract are presented. The algorithm and an example of application are also provide

Exploring the Integration of Disability Awareness into Tertiary Teaching and Learning Activities

A desire to have every student attending our University be aware of, and reflect on, disability in their studies and future careers, initiated our project to explore how to enhance disability awareness within all our University’s papers. In this project we systematically reviewed pertinent literature and ran an action research workshop for staff. Strategies to enhance disability awareness identified in the literature and workshop were presented and verified at an interactive conference presentation. Embedding disability awareness into curricula is challenging; staff considered themselves powerless to bring about change in their departments, but thought that one way to do so would be by modelling inclusive behaviour and by introducing subtle inclusive practices into papers taught. The identified strategies may be of use to others contemplating similar curricular modifications

ISNAR’s Transition Process from AGM03 to March 2004

This paper has been prepared at the request of the ISNAR Board of Trustees, and addresses readers who are familiar with the CGIAR and its evolution. It has two objectives:(1) to document, as part of the center's historical record, the process that led up to the closure of ISNAR as an independent organization and its transformation into a distinct Program of IFPRI. This will be done by providing an overview of the last years of ISNAR's life and by analyzing the progression of events from early 2002 to the closing of the doors of ISNAR as an independent center on 31 March 2004(2) to attempt to draw the first lessons from the process, and to make a few suggestions for the future of the ISNAR Program within IFPRI.The paper has four main sections. The first section reviews the key facts of the transition presented in a detailed time line, and divided into three periods: events before AGM03, what happened at AGM03, and events afterwards until the closure of the center. An analysis of the costs of the transition completes this section. The second section briefly places the ISNAR transition in the context of the planned realignment of the current CGIAR structure. The third section analyzes the transition process from ISNAR's perspective, distinguishing between positive outcomes and difficulties experienced. The fourth and last section attempts to discuss lessons learned and makes a few suggestions for the future ISNAR Program

Monounireducible Nonhomogeneous Continuous Time Semi-Markov Processes Applied to Rating Migration Models

Monounireducible nonhomogeneous semi- Markov processes are defined and investigated. The mono- unireducible topological structure is a sufficient condition that guarantees the absorption of the semi-Markov process in a state of the process. This situation is of fundamental importance in the modelling of credit rating migrations because permits the derivation of the distribution function of the time of default. An application in credit rating modelling is given in order to illustrate the results

Stochastic cash flows modelled by homogeneous and non-homogeneous discrete time backward semi-Markov reward processes

The main aim of this paper is to give a systematization on the stochastic cash flows evolution. The tools that are used for this purpose are discrete time semi-Markov reward processes. The paper is directed not only to semi-Markov researchers but also to a wider public, presenting a full treatment of these tools both in homogeneous and non-homogeneous environment. The main result given in the paper is the natural correspondence of the stochastic cash flows with the semi-Markov reward processes. Indeed, the semi-Markov environment gives the possibility to follow a multi-state random system in which the randomness is not only in the transition to the next state but also in the time of transition. Furthermore, rewards permit the introduction of a financial environment into the model. Considering all these properties, any stochastic cash flow can be naturally modelled by means of semi-Markov reward processes. The backward case offers the possibility of considering in a complete way the duration inside a state of the studied system and this fact can be very useful in the evaluation of insurance contract

The Abstract Image of God: The Case of the Dutch Youth

A process of secularisation can be observed in all European countries: church membership declines and religious institutions lose their monopoly. This is strongest among Dutch youngsters, but it does not automatically lead to a loss of religion. Instead it is a process of individualisation of religion. Youngsters nowadays construct a personal framework of meaning by choosing from available religious traditions in a process of bricolage, just as they do when they construct youth culture. Since 82% of Dutch youngsters pray at least sometimes, prayer seems to be the most persistent religious element. There is great similarity between the way the young pray: it is psychological by nature in that it gives strenght to accept the inevitable like the death of a relative, and the action of praying is meditational in that youngsters ponder and think. Prayer functions as a mechanism to make an inventory of daily life and as a therapeutic ritual to keep their life in balance. It is typically performed when they are alone, in bed, at night. Youngsters spontaneously mention God as the direction of their prayer, but they define God using impersonal and abstract terms.Le processus de sécularisation est présent dans tous les pays d’Europe: déclin de l’appartenance à l’Église, perte de monopole des institutions religieuses. Cela est particulièrement vrai de la jeunesse néerlandaise. Cela ne signifie pas l’abandon de la religion, mais plutôt qu’on assiste à un processus d’individualisation de la religion. Les jeunes d’aujourd’hui « bricolent » leur système de sens personnel en sélectionnant parmi les traditions religieuses disponibles, en procédant de la même manière que pour la culture jeune. 82 % des jeunes Néerlandais prient, au moins, de temps en temps, ce qui fait de la prière l’indicateur religieux le plus résistant. La façon dont ils prient est assez homogène : à caractère psychologique, la prière leur donne la force d’accepter l’inévitable, telle que la mort d’un proche ; elle leur offre un espace de méditation et de réflexion ; la prière les aide à faire le bilan de leur vie au quotidien, elle fonctionne comme un rituel thérapeutique qui leur assure un équilibre. Ils y recourent de préférence quand ils sont seuls, couchés, la nuit. Les jeunes désignent spontanément Dieu comme le destinataire de leur prière, mais pour définir Dieu ils usent de termes impersonnels et abstraits.El proceso de secularizatión está presente en todos los países de Europa : declinación de la pertenencia a la Iglesia, pérdida de monopolio de las instituciones religiosas. Eso se da de manera muy visible en la juventud neerlandesa. Esto no significa que se abandona la religión sino que se produce un proceso de individualization de la religion. Los jóvenes de hoy ‘hacen bricolage’ de su sistema de sentido personal seleccionando entre tradiciones religiosas disponibles, tal como proceden en et campo de la cultura. El 82 % de los jóvenes Neerlandeses rezan, por to menos de vez en cuando, siendo por eso las oraciones el indicador religioso más resistente. Entre ellos, la manera de rezar es bastante homogénea : de carácter psicológico, la oración les da fuerza para aceptar lo inevitable, como elfallecimiento de unfamiliar, les ofrece un espacio de meditatión y de reflexión ; los ayuda a hacer el balance de su vida en lo cotidiano, y funciona como un ritual terapéutico que les asegura cierto equilibrio. Los jóvenes rezan preferentemente cuando están solos, acostados, de noche. Designan espontáneamente a Dios como el destinatario de su oración, pero cuando describen a Dios usan términos impersonates y abstractos

Projets entrepreneuriaux des etudiants algeriens et comparaison internationale

Les expériences des pays industrialisés dans la création de la richesse par le développement et la diversification de l’appareil productif, interrogent et suscitent un intérêt grandissant auprès des pays en voie de développement et émergents. Ces dernières décennies, plusieurs études, ont réussi à faire le rapprochement entre l’entrepreneuriat et le développement économique des pays (thomas et mueller, 2000), la création d’emplois (birch, 1987), la croissance économique (acs et armington, 2003) et l’innovation (reynolds et al., 1994). Toutefois, la question de l’entrepreneuriat des étudiants algériens demeure inexistante. A cet effet, cette communication a pour objectif de présenter certains résultats de l’enquête menée auprès des étudiants algériens (2011), parallèlement à leurs homologues canadiens (Québec) et européens (France et Belgique), vise à comparer leurs intentions d’entreprendre et à faire ressortir les différences quant aux facteurs psychologiques, socioculturels et économiques pouvant influencer cette intention. Les résultats semblent démontrer en premier lieu, que les analyses auprès de l’ensemble de l’échantillon confirment la pertinence de la théorie du comportement planifié (tcp) d’ajzen (1991). Cependant, les résultats des analyses par groupes culturels, démontrent que la tcp et les variables de contrôle ne sont pas significatifs pour les étudiants algériens contrairement à ceux des étudiants canadiens et européens qui se distinguent peu. Compte tenu du contexte socioéconomique algérien, on pourrait en déduire que l’entrepreneuriat algérien des étudiants universitaires soit davantage un entrepreneuriat de nécessité que d’opportunité. Mots clés : Entrepreneuriat, Étudiants, Intention d’entreprendre, groupes culturels, facteurs d’influence à la création

Conceptualizing autonomy in the context of chronic physical illness: relating philosophical theories to social scientific perspectives

The aim of this article is to conceptualize autonomy in the context of chronic physical illness. To this end, we compare and contrast a selection of contemporary philosophical theories of autonomy with social scientific perspectives on chronic illness, particularly models of disability and symbolic interactionism. The philosophical theories mainly depart from a positive conceptualization of autonomy, which involves actively shaping one's life and identifying with fundamental values. This conceptualization is preferred over a negative conceptualization, which defines autonomy as non-interference, for its compatibility with social models of disability and with the assumption that people are interdependent. Interference may disable, but also enable people with a chronic illness to shape their lives. What matters is that people can realize what they want to realize. We suggest that, in the context of chronic physical illness, autonomy might be conceptualized as correspondence between what people want their lives to be like and what their lives are actually like. Disturbed autonomy might be restored either by expanding opportunities to arrange life or by adjusting how one wants life to be arranged. The grounds for the latter approach might be questioned, first, if people have not adjusted what they want carefully, and second, if reorganization of the material and social environment would have made it unnecessary to adjust one's arrangement of life