Dutch Disease Scare in Kazakhstan: Is it real?

In this paper we explore the evidence that would establish that Dutch disease is at work in, or poses a threat to, the Kazakh economy. Assessing the mechanism by which fluctuations in the price of oil can damage non-oil manufacturing—and thus long-term growth prospects in an economy that relies heavily on oil production—we find that non-oil manufacturing has so far been spared the perverse effects of oil price increases from 1996 to 2005. The real exchange rate in the open sector has appreciated over the last couple of years, largely due to the appreciation of the nominal exchange rate. We analyze to what extent this appreciation is linked to movements in oil prices and oil revenues. Econometric evidence from the monetary model of the exchange rate and a variety of real exchange rate models show that the rise in the price of oil and in oil revenues might be linked to an appreciation of the U.S. dollar exchange rate of the oil and non-oil sectors. But appreciation is mainly limited to the real effective exchange rate for oil sector and is statistically insignificant for non-oil manufacturing.

Dutch disease scare in Kazakhstan: Is it real?

In this paper we explore the evidence that would establish that Dutch disease is at work in, or poses a threat to, the Kazakh economy. Assessing the mechanism by which fluctuations in the price of oil can damage non-oil manufacturing—and thus long-term growth prospects in an economy that relies heavily on oil production—we find that non-oil manufacturing has so far been spared the perverse effects of oil price increases from 1996 to 2005. The real exchange rate in the open sector has ap-preciated over the last couple of years, largely due to the appreciation of the nominal exchange rate. We analyze to what extent this appreciation is linked to movements in oil prices and oil revenues. Econometric evidence from the monetary model of the exchange rate and a variety of real exchange rate models show that the rise in the price of oil and in oil revenues might be linked to an appreciation of the U.S. dollar exchange rate of the oil and non-oil sectors. But appreciation is mainly limited to the real effective exchange rate for oil sector and is statistically insignificant for non-oil manufacturing.price level; inflation; Balassa-Samuelson; tradables; house prices; regulated prices; Europe; transition

The Rowland Clark (41RR77) Site, Red River County, Texas : Editor\u27s Introduction

The Rowland Clark (41RR77) and Dan Holdeman (41RR11) archaeological sites were excavated in the late 1970s and early 1980s by Gregory Perino of the Museum of Red River in Idabel, Oklahoma. Manuscripts on those investigations were prepared by Perino shortly after the conclusion of the work, but these were never published, remaining instead on file at the Museum of the Red River

Development of an observational instrument for measuring role behavior in social work groups.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

Therapy outcome in two individuals with jargon aphasia and neologisms

Two individuals with jargon aphasia with similar clinical profiles received identical phonological therapy but responded differently to the therapy-P9 did not show any positive gains but FF showed improved naming. Analysis showed that FF and P9 had comparable performance in the semantic domain but P9 had poorer phonological skills. FF also showed a decrease in the number of neologisms and an increase in similarity with the target following therapy. Discussion will focus on the importance of exploring underlying linguistic processes before initiating therapy and the importance of analyzing both quality and quantity of errors to measure the impact of therapy

Predicting early post-stroke aphasia outcome from initial aphasia severity

Background: The greatest degree of language recovery in post-stroke aphasia takes place within the first weeks. Aphasia severity and lesion measures have been shown to be good predictors of long-term outcomes. However, little is known about their implications in early spontaneous recovery. The present study sought to determine which factors better predict early language outcomes in individuals with post-stroke aphasia. Methods: Twenty individuals with post-stroke aphasia were assessed <72 h (acute) and 10–14 days (subacute) after stroke onset. We developed a composite score (CS) consisting of several linguistic sub-tests: repetition, oral comprehension and naming. Lesion volume, lesion load and diffusion measures [fractional anisotropy (FA) and axial diffusivity (AD)] from both arcuate fasciculi (AF) were also extracted using MRI scans performed at the same time points. A series of regression analyses were performed to predict the CS at the second assessment. Results: Among the diffusion measures, only FA from right AF was found to be a significant predictor of early subacute aphasia outcome. However, when combined in two hierarchical models with FA, age and either lesion load or lesion size, the initial aphasia severity was found to account for most of the variance (R 2 = 0.678), similarly to the complete models (R 2 = 0.703 and R 2 = 0.73, respectively). Conclusions: Initial aphasia severity was the best predictor of early post-stroke aphasia outcome, whereas lesion measures, though highly correlated, show less influence on the prediction model. We suggest that factors predicting early recovery may differ from those involved in long-term recovery

Methods to Enhance Verbal Communication between Individuals with Alzheimer's Disease and Their Formal and Informal Caregivers: A Systematic Review

Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia in older adults. Although memory problems are the most characteristic symptom of this disorder, many individuals also experience progressive problems with communication. This systematic review investigates the effectiveness of methods to improve the verbal communication of individuals with Alzheimer's disease with their caregivers. The following databases were reviewed: PsychINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, REHABDATA, and COMDIS. The inclusion criteria were: (i) experimentally based studies, (ii) quantitative results, (iii) intervention aimed at improving verbal communication of the affected individual with a caregiver, and (iv) at least 50% of the sample having a confirmed diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. A total of 13 studies met all of the inclusion criteria. One technique emerged as potentially effective: the use of memory aids combined with specific caregiver training programs. The strength of this evidence was restricted by methodological limitations of the studies. Both adoption of and further research on these interventions are recommended

Mini-Mental State Exam Status of Community-Dwelling Cognitively Intact Centenarians

Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) scores for 247 community-dwelling, well-functioning individuals in their 60s (n = 88), in their 80s (n = 92), and 100 or older (n = 67) were compared to examine overall and component MMSE differences. The concomitant influences of visual or literacy deficits, gender, education, race, income, and activities of daily living on MMSE performance were analyzed. Mean MMSE scores of 27.8, 27.1, and 24.8, respectively, for the three cohorts were significantly different, even when all concomitant variables were controlled. After the concomitant variables were controlled, results indicated that there were no age group differences on five MMSE items: naming, repeating, listening and obeying, reading and obeying, and writing sentences. Participants with visual or literacy deficits scored 1.5 points lower than other partimcipants, and displayed performance deficits in four items form the Read & Write MMSE division: naming, reading and obeying, writing sentences, and praxis. Education and gender were significant covariates for total and divisional MMSE scores