Veto players and equilibrium uniqueness in the Baron-Ferejohn model

In political economy, the seminal contribution of the Baron–Ferejohn bargaining model constitutes an important milestone for the study of legislative policy making. In this paper, we analyze a particular equilibrium characteristic of this model, equilibrium uniqueness. The Baron–Ferejohn model yields a class of payoff-unique stationary subgame perfect equilibria (SSPE) in which players’ equilibrium strategies are not uniquely determined. We first provide a formal proof of the multiplicity of equilibrium strategies. This also enables us to establish some important properties of SSPE. We then introduce veto players into the original Baron–Ferejohn model. We state the conditions under which the new model has a unique SSPE not only in terms of payoffs but also in terms of players’ equilibrium strategies

Use of Prophylactic Antibiotics in Aspiration Pneumonia

PMID = 3032130

When Is It Optimal to Delegate: The Theory of Fast-Track Authority

With fast-track authority (FTA), the US Congress delegates trade-policy authority to the President by committing not to amend a trade agreement. Why would it cede such power? We suggest an interpretation in which Congress uses FTA to forestall destructive competition between its members for protectionist rents. In our model: (i) FTA is never granted if an industry operates in the majority of districts; (ii) The more symmetric the industrial pattern, the more likely is FTA, since competition for protectionist rents is most punishing when bargaining power is symmetrically distributed; (iii) Widely disparate initial tari§s prevent free trade even with FTA

When is it Optimal to Delegate: The Theory of Fast-track Authority

With fast-track authority (FTA), the US Congress delegates trade-policy authority to the President by committing not to amend a trade agreement. We suggest an interpretation in which Congress uses FTA to forestall destructive competition between its members for protectionist rents. We show that FTA is never granted if an industry is operating in the majority of districts. Second, the more equally distributed are the industries across districts and the more similar are the industries' sizes, the more likely it is that FTA is granted. This is true since competition over rents is most punishing when bargaining power is symmetrically distributed, and in that case the ex ante expected welfare of each district is lower without FTA. Third, if existing levels of protection are very different across industries, even if FTA is granted, it may not lead to free trade because a majority of industries may prefer the status quo to free trade.

Fast-Track Authority: A Hold-Up Interpretation.

A central institution of US trade policy is Fast-Track Authority (FT), by whichCongress commits not to amend a trade agreement that is presented to it for ratifica-tion, but to subject the agreement to an up-or-down vote.We offer a new interpretation of FT based on a hold-up problem. If the US gov-ernment negotiates a trade agreement with the government of a smaller economy, asthe negotiations proceed, businesses in the partner economy, anticipating the openingof the US market to their goods, may make sunk investments to take advantage ofthe US market, such as quality upgrades to meet the expectations of the demandingUS consumer. As a result, when the time comes for ratification of the agreement, thepartner economy will be locked in to the US market in a way it was not previously.At this point, if Congress is able to amend the agreement, the partner country hasless bargaining power than it didex ante, and so Congress can make changes that areadverse to the partner. As a result, if the US wants to convince such a partner countryto negotiate a trade deal, it mustfirst commit not to amend the agreementex post.Inthis situation, FT is Pareto-improving

Fırçasile apartıman yapan bir ressam:Ali Sami Bey!

Taha Toros Arşivi, Dosya No: 118-Ali Sami BoyarUnutma İstanbul projesi İstanbul Kalkınma Ajansı'nın 2016 yılı "Yenilikçi ve Yaratıcı İstanbul Mali Destek Programı" kapsamında desteklenmiştir. Proje No: TR10/16/YNY/010

STEM and Social Sciences Students’ Language-Oriented Academic Challenges in English Medium of Instruction (EMI) Programs: The Case of An International University in Kazakhstan

English Medium of Instruction (EMI), that is teaching subjects in English, is becoming a new phenomenon across Kazakhstani Higher Education. However, students have the language challenges when studying in English since it is not their first language. Therefore, the study has investigated STEM (i.e. Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) and Social sciences students‟ perceptions on choosing EMI and language challenges in EMI academic environment in an international university whose practices can be translated to other state universities newly implementing EMI. The research questions that guided study are as follows: What are STEM and Social sciences students‟ and teaching administrative staff perceptions of EMI and how do they describe and address the students‟ language challenges in academic contexts in EMI programs? The study is drawn upon qualitative case study research design employing interviews with 3 teaching-administrative staff members from 3 departments (2 STEM and 1 social sciences school), 1 university administrator as well as 1 focus group and 7 in-depth interviews with students. The data indicate that STEM and social sciences students have different level of language challenges. However, what was similar across the majors is that their challenges were mostly oriented on writing and speaking. Professors showed their awareness about the language challenges of students, although their understanding differed a bit in some details such as the nature of listening challenges caused by professors‟ language deficiency. In contrast, support provided by university and professors reportedly addresses students‟ academic difficulties during their studies. Yet, unlike social sciences, in STEM areas students are less likely to get their language improved by the end of their studies. Overall, the study suggest professors to interact with students more to learn and address students‟ language challenges. As EMI cannot guarantee students‟ English improvement, students may enhance the language by creating English environment around themselves. Английский язык обучения (EMI), то есть обучение предметов на английском языке, стало новым феноменом в Казахстанском высшем образовании. Тем не менее, у учащихся возникают трудности в ходе обучения на английском языке, так как английския язык не является их родным языком. В этой связи, в данном исследовании изучены восприятия и причины выбора обучения на английском языке студентов СТЕМ (то есть наук, технологии, инженерии и математики) и социальных наук, а также их языковые проблемы в академической среде международного университета, практики которого могут быть переведены в другие государственные университеты, внедряющие обучение на английском языке. Вопросы, которыми руководилось исследование, состоят в следующем: Что представляют собой восприятия студентов STEM и социальных наук, а также преподавательского- административного персонала университета об обучении на английском языке, а также какие языковые проблемы возникают и студентов в академическом контексте программ с английским языком обучения и как эти сложности решаются? Данная работа основано на качественном методе исследования, в котором использовалось интервью с 3 преподавателями-администраторами из двух факультетов STEM и одного факультета социальных наук, 1 администратором университета, а также 1 фокус-группа и 6 интервью со студентами. Данные исследования показывают, что студенты STEM и социальных наук имеют разный уровень языковых проблем. Однако одинаковым является то, что их проблемы в основном ориентированы на письмо и устную речь. Профессора продемонстрировали свою осведомленность о языковых проблемах студентов, хотя их понимания немного отличались в некоторых деталях, например, в таких, как характер проблем с аудированием, вызванных языковой недостаточностью преподавателей. Поддержка, предоставляемая университетами и преподавателями, отвечает нуждам студентов, чтобы справляться трудностями академического языка. Тем не менее, в отличие от студентов социальных наук, в СТЕМ областях студенты, очевидно, имеют меньше шансов улучшить свой язык по окончанию университета. Исследование рекомендует преподавателям более тесно взаимодействовать со студентами, чтобы они, то есть преподаватели, могли узнать и предоставить поддержку в решении языковых проблем студентов. Поскольку обучение на английском языке не может гарантировать улучшение английского языка, студенты сами могут улучшить язык, создав вокруг себя английскую среду

From Stimulus to Representation: Target Identification in Rapid Serial Visual Presentation

This dissertation investigated the relationship between target identification and temporal integration with three studies. Rapid serial visual presentation tasks were used to investigate empirical questions, where two targets are embedded in a set of distracters, and the task is to identify targets. Temporal integration is a phenomenon that temporally separated targets fall into the same perceptual episode. The first study investigated whether a change in low-level stimulus features (color/contrast) influences temporal attention and integration. The results showed that a categorical change of target color decreases the competition between targets resulting in better target identification and more frequent integrations. Besides, the study confirmed the literature that high contrast stimuli mask low contrast stimuli if their temporal proximity is close. The second study investigated if Gestalt properties influence the temporal binding of targets and target identification. In addition to studies that show parts of objects are grouped in space, the second study showed that if temporally separated targets form a figure, their integrated percepts and identifications are facilitated. Lastly, how a change in mental state with consumption of cocoa flavanols, which increases blood flow in brain arteries, influences target identification and integrations were investigated. There was no effect of cocoa flavanols on temporal attention and integration. In addition, the study showed that cocoa flavanols improve the efficiency of visual search. In sum, target identification and integration are both influenced by exogenous stimuli properties and by flavanol-induced changes in mental state, and often also in a similar direction

Bilgi Yönetim Sisteminin Etkinliği Üzerinde Bilgi Profesyonellerinin Tutum ve Davranışlarının Etkisinin İncelenmesi: Türk Firmaları Üzerine Bir Araştırma

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between attitudes, behaviours of knowledge professionals, and the efficiency of knowledge management process on the effectiveness of knowledge management system in Turkish private sector companies. The data were gathered from knowledge professionals (N=304) currently employed in different sectors, located in Turkey. The factor, correlation, duncan and regression tests were conducted to analyze the relationship between the variables. The empirical findings indicate that attitudes of knowledge professionals and administrative behaviours of employees have a significant positive effect on effectiveness of knowledge management system. There has been no significant relationship found between the efficiency of process and the effectiveness of the system.Bu çalışmanın amacı, bilgi profesyonelleri olarak bilinen bilgi işçilerinin ve bilgi sağlayıcılarının tutum ve davranışları ile bilgi yönetim sürecinin etkinliğinin bilgi yönetim sistemi üzerindeki etkilerini araştırmaktır. Araştırma örneklemini Türkiye'de faaliyette bulunan çeşitli özel şirletlerde çalışan bilgi profesyonelleri (N = 304) oluşturmaktadır. Çalışmada değişkenler arasındaki ilişkiyi analiz etmek içinfaktör, korelasyon, duncan ve regresyon testleri yapılmıştır. Araştırma bulguları, bilgi profesyonellerinin idari davranışları, tutumları ile bilgi yönetim sistemi üzerinde olumlu etkisini ortaya koyarken, bilgi yönetim sisteminin etkinliği arasında anlamlı bir ilişkiye rastlanmamıştır