Early life conditions and financial risk–taking in older age

Using life-history survey data from eleven European countries, we investigate whether childhood conditions, such as socioeconomic status, cognitive abilities and health problems influence portfolio choice and risk attitudes later in life. After controlling for the corresponding conditions in adulthood, we find that superior cognitive skills in childhood (especially mathematical abilities) are positively associated with stock and mutual fund ownership. Childhood socioeconomic status, as indicated by the number of rooms and by having at least some books in the house during childhood, is also positively associated with the ownership of stocks, mutual funds and individual retirement accounts, as well as with the willingness to take financial risks. On the other hand, less risky assets like bonds are not affected by early childhood conditions. We find only weak effects of childhood health problems on portfolio choice in adulthood. Finally, favorable childhood conditions affect the transition in and out of risky asset ownership, both by making divesting less likely and by facilitating investing (i.e., transitioning from non-ownership to ownership)

Neimark-Sacker bifurcation for the discrete-delay Kaldor model

We consider a discrete-delay time, Kaldor non-linear business cycle model in income and capital. Given an investment function, resembling the one discussed by Rodano, we use the linear approximation analysis to state the local stability property and local bifurcations, in the parameter space. Finally, we will give some numerical examples to justify the theoretical results.business cycle; Neimark-Sacker bifurcation; discrete-delay time

Internally Displaced Persons

There were estimated to be over 20 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) at the end of 1999, a number that surpasses global estimates of refugees. Displacement exposes IDPs to new hazards and accrued vulnerability. These dynamics result in greater risk for the development of illness and death. Often, access of IDPs to health care and humanitarian assistance is excluded deliberately by conflicting parties. Furthermore, the arrival of IDPs into another community or region strains local health systems, and the host population ends up sharing the sufferings of the internally displaced. Health outcomes are dismaying. From a health perspective, the best option is to avoid human displacement. WHO contributes to the prevention of displacement by working for sustainable development. Placing health high on the political agenda helps maintain stability, and thereby, reduce the likelihood for displacement. Primary responsibility for assisting IDPs, irrespective of the cause, rests with the national government. However, where the government is unwilling or unable to provide the necessary aid, the international humanitarian community must step in, with WHO playing a major role in the health sector. There is consensus among the partners of the World Health Organization (WHO) that, in emergencies, the WHO must: 1) take the lead in rapid health assessment, epidemiological and nutritional surveillance, epidemic preparedness, essential drugs management, control of communicable diseases, and physical and psychosocial rehabilitation; and 2) provide guidelines and advice on nutritional requirements and rehabilitation, immunisation, medical relief items, and reproductive health. If the vital health needs of IDPs—security, food, water, shelter, sanitation and household items—are not satisfied, the provision of health services alone cannot save lives. Community participation is essential, and community participation implies bolstering the assets and capacities of the beneficiarie

Relevant in Times of Turmoil: WHO and Public Health in Unstable Situations

For millions of people world-wide, surviving the pressure of extreme events is the predominant objective in daily existence. The distinction between natural and human-induced disasters is becoming more and more blurred. Some countries have known only armed conflict for the last 25 years, and their number is increasing. Recently, humanitarian sources reported 24 ongoing emergencies, each of them involving at least 300,000 people "requiring international assistance to avoid malnutrition or death”. All together, including the countries still only at risk and those emerging from armed conflicts, 73 countries, i.e., almost 1.8 trillion people, were undergoing differing degrees of instability. Instability must be envisioned as a spectrum extending between "Utopia” and "Chaos”. As emergencies bring forward extreme challenges to human life, medical and public health ethics make it imperative for the World Health Organisation (WHO) to be involved. As such, WHO must enhance its presence and effectiveness in its capacity as a universally accepted advocate for public health. Furthermore, as crises become more enmeshed with the legitimacy of the State, and armed conflicts become more directed against countries' social capital, they impinge more on WHO's work, and WHO must reconcile its unique responsibility in the health sector, the humanitarian imperative and the mandate to assist its primary constituents. Health can be viewed as a bridge to peace. The Organization specifically has recognised that disasters can and do affect the achievement of health and health system objectives. Within WHO, the Department of Emergency and Humanitarian Action (EHA) is the instrument for intervention in such situations. The scope of EHA is defined in terms of humanitarian action, emergency preparedness, national capacity building, and advocacy for humanitarian ^principles. The WHO's role is changing from ensuring a two-way flow of information on new scientific developments in public health in the ideal all-stable, all-equitable, well-resourced state, to dealing with sheer survival when the state is shattered or is part of the problem. The WHO poses itself the explicit goals to reduce avoidable loss of life, burden of disease and disability in emergencies and post-crisis transitions, and to ensure that the Humanitarian Health Assistance is in-line with international standards and local priorities and does not compromise future health development. A planning tree is presented. The World Health Organization must improve its own performance. This requires three key pre-conditions: 1) presence, 2) surge capacity, and 3) institutional support, knowledge, and competencies. Thus, in order to be effective, WHO's presence and surge capacity in emergencies must integrate the institutional knowledge, the competencies, and the managerial set-up of the Organizatio

Críticas ao ‘gato’ e o ‘gato’ como crítica: um estudo etnográfico das insinuações realizado a partir da eletricidade na Favela Santa Marta, no Rio de Janeiro

Este artigo objetiva analisar as críticas à instalação clandestina de energia elétrica – conhecida como “gato” – e como ela pode ao mesmo tempo ser pensada como crítica, partindo da observação etnográfica da troca de acusações entre moradores da Favela Santa Marta, no Rio de Janeiro, e agentes da concessionária de energia elétrica Light, na era das Unidades de Polícia Pacificadora (UPPs). Observou-se a predominância dos dois lados da insinuação de fraude, uma acusação velada de roubo – de energia de umlado, de dinheiro do outro. A relação entre prestadora e clientes persiste entre o pagamento da conta supostamente abusiva e a tolerância ao “gato” supostamente praticado pelos moradores

Dashboard per monitorare lo sviluppo software: criticità, vantaggi

Lo scopo di questa tesi e studiare l’uso di ”cruscotti” (in inglese Dashboard) per il monitoraggio dello sviluppo software, approfondendo i metodi di raccolta delle metriche e come esse vengono gestite. Nello specifico, analizzerò l’ambiente di sviluppo Compositional Agile System (CAS), sviluppando un nuovo plugin per l’IDE Microsoft Visual Studio Code, che e open source. Verranno proposti nuovi metodi di implementazione e utilizzo delle Dashboard e possibili miglioramenti dell’ambiente CAS

Críticas ao ‘gato’ e o ‘gato’ como crítica: um estudo etnográfico das insinuações realizado a partir da eletricidade na Favela Santa Marta, no Rio de Janeiro

Este artigo objetiva analisar as críticas à instalação clandestina de energia elétrica – conhecida como “gato” – e como ela pode ao mesmo tempo ser pensada como crítica, partindo da observação etnográfica da troca de acusações entre moradores da Favela Santa Marta, no Rio de Janeiro, e agentes da concessionária de energia elétrica Light, na era das Unidades de Polícia Pacificadora (UPPs). Observou-se a predominância dos dois lados da insinuação de fraude, uma acusação velada de roubo – de energia de umlado, de dinheiro do outro. A relação entre prestadora e clientes persiste entre o pagamento da conta supostamente abusiva e a tolerância ao “gato” supostamente praticado pelos moradores

La santé face aux inégalités et aux discriminations

L’étude de la différenciation sociale et celle de la (re)production des inégalités qui lui est consubstantielle constituent sans aucun doute l’un des axes centraux autour desquels s’est construite la réflexion sociologique (Dubet, 2011 ; Duvoux, 2017). Certains vont d’ailleurs jusqu’à affirmer qu’il n’y aurait de sociologie que dans l’étude « des rapports inégaux et des figures de la différence » (Passeron, 1981 : 7). Comme le pointe Bernard Lahire, « [l]es faits d’inégalité ou de domination sont têtus : ils se mesurent, s’objectivent et se constatent dans tous les domaines de pratiques » (2019 : 43). Dès lors, la sociologie met inévitablement au jour les dissymétries et les structures inégalitaires qui traversent nos sociétés et s’observent dans des domaines et à des échelles très variables