The effect of home computer use on children's cognitive and non-cognitive skills

In this paper we investigate the effect of using a home computer on children's development. In most OECD countries 70% or more of the households have a computer at home and children use computers quite extensively, even at very young ages. We use data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), which follows an Australian cohort born in 1999/2000. Skills and computer usage information is collected when children are approximately 5 and 7 years old. For cognitive skills, our results indicate that computer time has a positive effect. For non-cognitive skills the evidence is mixed, the effect depending on the score and the age of the children. We test the robustness of our results by comparing OLS, IV and Value Added estimators. Generally, the IV estimates are larger and the Value Added estimates lower than the OLS ones. However the pattern of the results is quite consistent. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Generation of Noise Time Series with arbitrary Power Spectrum

Noise simulation is a very powerful tool in signal analysis helping to foresee the system performance in real experimental situations. Time series generation is however a hard challenge when a robust model of the noise sources is missing. We present here a simple computational technique which allows the generation of noise samples of fixed length, given a desired power spectrum. A few applications of the method are also discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figure

Services and sustainable development : a conceptual approach

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.For the vast majority of countries, regardless of developmental status, services make a critical contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), are an important source of employment, and serve as vital inputs into production processes. Services are crucial for the development of economies and provide a significant contribution towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) identified in the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda (UN 2015). The nature of the relationship between services and the attainment of sustainable and inclusive economic growth is complex and multifaceted. Services can drive sustainable development outcomes through both growth and non-growth channels. The growth channel includes impacts from domestic production and services trade performance as both affect the productivity and efficiency of the domestic economy. In contrast to the relationship between economic growth and services, which has been well documented in numerous studies, less research has been devoted to the non-growth dimensions of services

Retrofit Proposals for Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort in Historic Public Buildings: The Case of the Engineering Faculty’s Seat of Sapienza University

The building sector greatly contributes to energy consumption and Greenhouse Gas emissions, relating to the whole building life cycle. Boasting a huge building heritage of historical and architectural value, Europe faces challenging retrofit perspectives, as the potential for high energy efficiency has to be exploited while preserving the buildings' original characteristics. The present work aims to feature the influence of a passive strategy on a heritage building in a mild climate. As historical its facade cannot be modified, its large glazing areas involve multiple issues, such as an increase in the heating (QH) and cooling (QC) energy demands and the risk of thermal discomfort. Thus, window replacement was proposed for retrofitting. A dynamic simulation model in TRNSYS was validated with experimental data collected by the continuous monitoring of walls of different thicknesses and orientations. Solutions from replacement with Double Glazing Units (DGUs) with improved thermal insulation, to internal shading activation were applied. All configurations were compared in terms of QH, QC, thermal performance of the building and user comfort (Fanger). Low-e DGU enabled the saving of up to 14% of the annual energy demand, and shading also offered good results in summer, reducing QC by 19%. In summer, DGU involved a maximum PPD reduction of 10 units

Tuberculosis in Malta : comparisons between the young and elderly in a low incidence country

Background: Malta has one of the lowest reported incidence rates of tuberculosis in Western Europe, and was approaching the elimination phase. It was observed that a disproportionate number of cases were occurring among persons of advanced age. Objective: To investigate the epidemiology of tuberculosis in the elderly Malta-born population. Methods: A retrospective review of national TB surveillance data from 1995 to 2005 with estimation of 11-year means. Age stratified comparisons between the general, the younger, and the elderly Malta-born populations were made. Results: One hundred and seventeen Malta-born patients were included in the study; 99% of all notified cases. The mean stratified incidence rates of TB among the general population, those less than 65 years of age, and the elderly (65 years and over) were 2.8, 1.6, amd 10.6 per 100,000 person-years respectively. When the study sample was stratified wnto 15-year age groups, their mean TB incidence showed an exponential increase. All major age groups showed a fall in incidence, with the elderly group featuring the steepest decline od about 5% per year. The stratified incidence ratio of males to females, and pulmonary to extra-pulmonary TB was greatest in the elderly. Relapse occurred more commonly amongst elderly males. Conclusion: Contrasting age-stratified differences in incidence, gender, site, relapse, and mortality rates were discovered between the two major age groups, with the elderly forming a sub-population with distinct TB-related characteristics. Thus, the elderly, even when living in very low TB-incidence regions, should receive particular consideration.peer-reviewe