Foreign Direct Investment in Eastern Europe: Applying Traditional Models of FDI to the Transitional Countries of Eastern Europe

An empirical analysis is used to determine whether the factors that normally explain FDI flows to developing countries are also suitable to explain FDI flows to the developing countries of Eastern Europe for the years 1988-1992. It was found that a typical set of explanatory variables which explain FDI flows to non Eastern Europe developing countries very well, is not a useful set of determinants for FDI flows to Eastern Europe. Conclusions are drawn concerning the extent to which these results reflect the current state of political and economic transition taking place in Eastern Europe

Radial versus femoral access for rotational atherectomy: A UK observational study of 8622 patients

Background—Rotational atherectomy (RA) is an important interventional tool for heavily calcified coronary lesions. We compared the early clinical outcomes in patients undergoing RA using radial or femoral access. Methods and Results—We identified all patients in England and Wales who underwent RA between January 1, 2005, and March 31, 2014. Eight thousand six hundred twenty-two RA cases (3069 radial and 5553 femoral) were included in the analysis. The study primary outcome was 30-day mortality. Propensity scores were calculated to determine the factors associated with treatment assignment to radial or femoral access. Multivariable logistic regression analysis, using the calculated propensity scores, was performed. Thirty-day mortality was 2.2% in the radial and 2.3% in the femoral group (P=0.76). Radial access was associated with equivalent 30-day mortality (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.77–1.46; P=0.71), procedural success (OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.84–1.29; P=0.73), major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.80–1.38; P=0.72), and net adverse clinical events (OR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.71–1.15; P=0.41), but lower rates of in-hospital major bleeding (OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.40–0.98; P=0.04) and major access site complications (OR, 0.05; 95% CI, 0.01–0.38; P=0.004), compared with femoral access. Conclusions—In this large real-world study of patients undergoing RA, radial access was associated with equivalent 30-day mortality and procedural success, but reduced major bleeding and access site complications, compared with femoral access

An Investigation into the Relationship Between the Subjective Descriptor Aggressive and the Universal Audio 1176 FET Compressor

In popular music productions, the lead vocal is often the main focus of the mix and engineers will work hard to impart creative colouration on this source. This paper conducts listening experiments to test if there is a correlation between perceived distortion and the descriptor “aggressive” which is often used to describe the sonic signature of the Universal Audio 1176. The results from this study show compression settings that impart audible distortion are perceived as aggressive by the listener and. Furthermore, there is a strong correlation between the subjective scores for distortion and aggressive. eIt was also shown that there is a strong correlation between compression settings measured rated to have 0.5% THD and above were rated as both the most distorted and most aggressive. high aggressive scores and the audio feature roughness

Beyond Legal Realism?: Cultural Analysis, Cultural Studies, and the Situation of Legal Scholarship

Everywhere it seems that culture is in ascendance. More and more social groups are claiming to have distinctive cultures and are demanding recognition of their cultural distinctiveness. Identity politics has merged with cultural politics, so that to have an identity one must now also have a culture. Those who fail to establish their culture risk having their truth missed by the myriad of authorities--courts, admissions committees, draft boards-whose judgments help determine life fates. As a result, it sometimes seems as if almost every ethnic, religious, or social group seeks to have its culture recognized, and for precisely this reason the cultural itself has become a subject of political discourse to a much greater extent than in the past. Yet despite the growing sense that culture must be recognized, there is little consensus on what the boundaries of the cultural are, let alone how to read it in any particular instance. Moreover, the backlash against the proliferation of cultures and identities, and the politics of recognition, has been vehement. Politicians declare culture wars in an effort to reassert both the meaning and centrality of certain allegedly transcendent human values. Debates about the meaning and significance of culture become arguments about civilization itself, in which acknowledgment of cultural pluralism and its accompanying decanonization of the sacred Western texts are treated as undermining national unity, national purpose, and the meaning of being American. Political contests are increasingly fought over values and symbols, with different parties advancing competing cultural programs. With the decline of ideology as an organizing force in international relations, culture seems to provide another vantage point from which to understand new polarities.\u27 In addition, the cache of the cultural is increasingly resonant in public policy, where traditional goals like reducing crime and poverty are giving way to cultural goals like reducing the fear of crime, and eliminating the culture of dependency. The cultural is the implicit and explicit space of intervention for popular new strategies like community policing and workfare, which promise to address objective problems by altering the attitudes and experiences of the subjects of policing and welfare. Government and other formal organizations believe that it is essential to have cultural strategies in order to govern their employees and customers more effectively and manage their popular images

Fall And Rise: Changes In The Fish Community Of Triplett Creek Following Restoration Of A Channelized Reach

In the early 1970s, Triplett Creek in Morehead, Kentucky, was straightened, deepened, and widened, resulting in a rather homogenous aquatic habitat, varying little in depth, flow, and substrate. In summer of 2018, a section of the stream was “restored” in order to alleviate the bank instability and flooding problems created by the 1970s channelization, restore the health of its aquatic community, and improve recreational opportunities. Our goal was to examine changes in the fish population resulting from the extensive changes to the channel and substrate during the restoration. We studied the fish populations at four sites (two sites in the restored area and two unaltered reference sites) in June of 2018, just before the restoration work occurred, and then four times after the work occurred, in October 2018, June 2019, October 2019, and October 2020. Fishes were qualitatively sampled using backpack electrofishing and seining. Encountered fishes were identified and counted, which allowed us to assess the fish community health using the Kentucky Index of Biotic Integrity (KIBI). In June 2018, prior to any restoration work, the four sites had KIBI scores between 59 and 70, all of which rated as “good”. The two sites in the restored area had a higher proportion of nonnative species, and fewer darters compared to the reference sites. In October 2018 and June 2019, after the restoration work, the restored sites declined slightly in KIBI scores, had reduced number of species detected, especially species considered “intolerant” by KIBI, and had reduced number of darter species, while the control sites showed little change. However, in October 2019 and October 2020, KIBI metrics had greatly improved in the restored sites, becoming similar to, or surpassing, KIBI metrics in the reference sites. However, the restored sites still have considerably more nonnative species than do the reference sites, perhaps because riparian vegetation and large woody debris has yet to be established in the restored sites.https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/celebration_posters_2021/1003/thumbnail.jp

How Many Americans Are Unnecessarily Incarcerated?

While mass incarceration has emerged as an urgent national issue to be addressed, the reforms currently offered are dwarfed by the scale of the problem. The country needs bolder solutions.How can we significantly cut the prison population while still keeping the country safe? This report puts forth one answer to that question. Our path forward is not offered as the only answer or as an absolute. Rather, it is meant to provide a starting point for a broader discussion about how the country can rethink and revamp the outdated sentencing edifice of the last four decades. This report is the product of three years of research conducted by one of the nation's leading criminologists, experienced criminal justice lawyers, and statistical researchers. First, we conducted an in-depth examination of the federal and state criminal codes, as well as the convictions and sentences of the nationwide prison population (1.46 million prisoners serving time for 370 different crime categories) to estimate how many people are currently incarcerated without a sufficient public safety rationale. We find that alternatives to incarceration are more effective and just penalties for many lower-level crimes. We also find that prison sentences can safely be shortened for a discrete set of more serious crimes. Second, based on these findings, we propose a new, alternative framework for sentencing grounded in the science of public safety and rehabilitation.Many have argued that regimented sentencing laws should be eliminated and replaced with broad judicial discretion. Others counter that this would reinstate a system wherein judges are free to deliver vastly divergent sentences for the same crime, potentially exacerbating racial disparities and perpetuating the tradition of harsh sentences.This report proposes a new solution, building on these past proposals. We advocate that today's sentencing laws should change to provide default sentences that are proportional to the specific crime committed and in line with social science research, instead of based on conjecture. These defaults should mandate sentences of alternatives to incarceration for lower-level crimes. For some other crimes that warrant incarceration, they should mandate shorter sentences. Judges should have discretion to depart from these defaults in special circumstances, such as a defendant's criminal history, mental health or addiction issues, or specifics of the crime committed. This approach is grounded in the premise that the first principle of 21st century sentencing should be to protect public safety, and that sentences should levy the most effective, proportional, and cost-efficient sanction to achieve that goal. It aims to create more uniform sentences and reduce disparities, while preserving judicial discretion when needed. Our proposed sentencing defaults for each crime weigh four factors:Seriousness: Murder, for instance, should be treated as a far graver crime than writing a bad check.Victim Impact: If a person has been harmed in the commission of a crime, especially physically, weight toward a more serious sentence.Intent: If the actor knowingly and deliberately violated the law, a more severe sanction may be appropriate.Recidivism: Those more likely to reoffend may need more intervention. Our findings and recommendations, determined by applying the four factors above to the prison population, are detailed below. (The rationale for these factors and our full methodology is described in Appendix A.