Analysing major determinants of European FDI into the Mediterranean countries

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is known as a very relevant driver of economic growth and has found increased attention in recent trade research. Existing theories differ, however, in their conclusion regarding the relation between trade in goods and FDI: they appear to be either complements or substitutes depending on the theory applied and specific country conditions. Benefits or losses for individual member countries resulting from these different relationships are relevant for evaluating the effects of regional trade areas as established by the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. This paper offers an empirical analysis of the connection between trade and FDI flows in the agribusiness sector in the context of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. It contributes to the limited literature in this area by providing an overview on relevant theories and their conclusion on the relationship between trade and FDI. Determinants implied by the single theories are identified and reasonable proxies derived for the carried out econometric analysis. The empirical analysis shows mixed evidence on the complementary or substitutive relationship of FDI and trade in agricultural goods. For comparison and better interpretation of determinants’ impacts identified by the econometric analysis, a further analysis between the EU15 and the Mercosur countries is carried out. Finally, further research needs in this area of trade analyses are identified for the specific case of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership.Foreign Direct Investment, Trade, EU-Med Partnership, International Relations/Trade,

Impact assessment of trade liberalisation between EU and Mercosur countries

Ongoing bilateral trade negotiations between the Mercosur group and the EU since 2000 on agricultural products served as incitement to analyse the impacts of possible outcomes. The objective of this paper is to quantitatively assess impacts of bilateral liberalisation scenarios on EU25 and Mercosur markets as well as their bilateral trade flows. For this purpose, the CAPRI model, which has already been applied to several multi- and bilateral trade liberalisation scenarios in the past, has been adopted in several ways. (1) Trading blocks in CAPRI have been expanded so that the Mercosur countries are now represented with country specific behavioural functions and explicit trade flows. (2) The parameters of these behavioural functions have been calibrated using recently estimated supply and demand elasticities (CAP, E. ET AL., 2006) as prior information in a constrained Bayesian framework (HECKELEI, T. ET AL., 2005). (3) Two different baselines scenarios varying in the assumed production potential of the Mercosur countries were defined with experts from these countries. This approach reflects that developments in Mercosur countries are very dynamic with lots of uncertainties. It also provides analysis of results dependent on baselines which is an innovation in CAPRI (technically and qualitatively). In this paper three selected scenarios are analysed. The first scenario reflects an unilateral partial liberalisation between the EU25 and the Mercosur countries by allocating additional Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs) to the Mercosur countries for certain products based on an official EU proposal (USDA, 2005). The second scenario combines the partial unilateral liberalisation with the multilateral WTO G20 proposal. Sensitive products are defined according to JEAN, S. et al. (2006). The third comprises a bilateral full liberalisation between the EU25 and the Mercosur countries by allowing quota and duty free access in both directions for all agricultural products. The results focus on welfare effects and the market balances of seven key commodities (wheat, maize, rice, soybeans, bovine meat, chicken and pork). Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis on the elasticities of substitution between foreign and domestic produced goods that drive demand of trade flows is provided and shows that the choice of those elasticities is very crucial with respect to model results.Trade liberalisation, Mercosur, CAPRI, Armington., Demand and Price Analysis, International Relations/Trade,

Primary goals, information-giving and men\u27s understanding: A qualitative study of Australian and UK doctors\u27 varied communication about PSA screening

Objectives: (1) To characterise variation in general practitioners’ (GPs’) accounts of communicating with men about prostate cancer screening using the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, (2) to characterise GPs’ reasons for communicating as they do and (3) to explain why and under what conditions GP communication approaches vary. Study design and setting: A grounded theory study. We interviewed 69 GPs consulting in primary care practices in Australia (n=40) and the UK (n=29). Results: GPs explained their communication practices in relation to their primary goals. In Australia, three different communication goals were reported: to encourage asymptomatic men to either have a PSA test, or not test, or alternatively, to support men to make their own decision. As well as having different primary goals, GPs aimed to provide different information (from comprehensive to strongly filtered) and to support men to develop different kinds of understanding, from population-level to ‘gist’ understanding. Taking into account these three dimensions (goals, information, understanding) and building on Entwistle et al’s Consider an Offer framework, we derived four overarching approaches to communication: Be screened, Do not be screened, Analyse and choose, and As you wish. We also describe ways in which situational and relational factors influenced GPs’ preferred communication approach. Conclusion: GPs’ reported approach to communicating about prostate cancer screening varies according to three dimensions—their primary goal, information provision preference and understanding sought—and in response to specific practice situations. If GP communication about PSA screening is to become more standardized in Australia, it is likely that each of these dimensions will require attention in policy and practice support interventions

Perspectives of Year 12 Students From Five Catholic Secondary Schools in Western Australia Towards Teaching as a Career

The purpose of this research was to review the ways in which Year 12 Catholic school students perceive teaching as a career and to explore the people, contexts and factors that have influenced these perspectives. Schools are being increasingly challenged to revisit the role of the educator in today’s rapidly changing educational landscape. Best practice teaching and learning is at the forefront of this consideration. Attracting talented and committed students to the teaching profession is crucial if schools are going to play a part in adequately teaching and preparing future generations for society (Weldon, 2015). It follows therefore that both the profession itself and the status of the profession must be appealing to passionate, committed and high-calibre students (Laming, 2019; Masters 2014; 2015; Parliament of Australia, 2019). Underpinning the purpose of this study are the beliefs that student perspectives surrounding careers lead to decisions that manifest in university course preferences and that those perspectives can be influenced. The study was qualitative in nature with a constructivist epistemology. Interpretivism was employed as a theoretical perspective using the lens of symbolic interactionism. An instrumental case study was chosen as the research methodology. Qualitative methods of data collection were predominately employed. The methods of research included semi-structured interviews with five career counsellors, 470 Year 12 student online surveys, five Year 12 student focus group interviews, with a total of 109 students and researcher field notes. The data was analysed using the Miles and Huberman interactive model of data management and analysis (2014). The results of the study provided responses to three specific research questions, which emanated from the literature review. The student perspectives of teaching as a career covered four themes that included the purpose of teaching, positive perspectives of teaching, negative perspectives of teaching and perspectives of the status of teaching as a career. Both the students and the career counsellors identified influences upon these perspectives. The students clearly identified experiences with teachers and students as the most significant influencers on their perspectives towards teaching as a career. The specific experiences are identified and presented iv as either positive or negative influences upon the student perspectives of teaching as a career. As a result of the research, a conceptual design was proposed to explain the domains of influence on student perspectives of teaching as a career. The study presents the implications for the teaching profession alongside recommendations. The research proposes highly contextualised topics for further research and possible additions to the body of published literature relating to student perspectives of teaching as a career

To Treat or to Teach: Comparing Strategies to Reduce Escape-Maintained Behavior

Differential negative reinforcement of alternative behavior (DNRA) reduces escape-maintained challenging behavior, but can result in lost instructional time. Instructional time could be maintained through interventions like curricular revision (CR), but the efficacy of CR is less established. We compared DNRA and CR for 3 children with age-typical intellectual functioning whose challenging behavior was maintained by escape from academic tasks. During DNRA, we taught the child to appropriately request a different, mastered task. During CR, we broke the original task into simpler components until the child mastered each component, but still permitted escape following challenging behavior. Curricular revision resulted in less challenging behavior than DNRA for one participant. For the other two participants, DNRA was initially more effective than CR, but participants rarely engaged with the academic task. Challenging behavior was equally suppressed across conditions once extinction for challenging behavior was added to CR. Curricular revision also resulted in each child spending substantially more time engaged with the new task than the mastered task. Curricular revision did not increase the likelihood of treatment relapse relative to DNRA for any participant. Thus, CR may be a desirable option for treating escape-maintained behavior

Decision makers\u27 experience of participatory dynamic simulation modelling: Methods for public health policy

Background: Systems science methods such as dynamic simulation modelling are well suited to address questions about public health policy as they consider the complexity, context and dynamic nature of system-wide behaviours. Advances in technology have led to increased accessibility and interest in systems methods to address complex health policy issues. However, the involvement of policy decision makers in health-related simulation model development has been lacking. Where end-users have been included, there has been limited examination of their experience of the participatory modelling process and their views about the utility of the findings. This paper reports the experience of end-user decision makers, including senior public health policy makers and health service providers, who participated in three participatory simulation modelling for health policy case studies (alcohol related harm, childhood obesity prevention, diabetes in pregnancy), and their perceptions of the value and efficacy of this method in an applied health sector context. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with end-user participants from three participatory simulation modelling case studies in Australian real-world policy settings. Interviewees were employees of government agencies with jurisdiction over policy and program decisions and were purposively selected to include perspectives at different stages of model development. Results: The ‘co-production’ aspect of the participatory approach was highly valued. It was reported as an essential component of building understanding of the modelling process, and thus trust in the model and its outputs as a decision-support tool. The unique benefits of simulation modelling included its capacity to explore interactions of risk factors and combined interventions, and the impact of scaling up interventions. Participants also valued simulating new interventions prior to implementation in the real world, and the comprehensive mapping of evidence and its gaps to prioritise future research. The participatory aspect of simulation modelling was time and resource intensive and therefore most suited to high priority complex topics with contested options for intervening. Conclusion: These findings highlight the value of a participatory approach to dynamic simulation modelling to support its utility in applied health policy settings

Visibility bound caused by a distinguishable noise particle

We investigate how distinguishability of a "noise" particle degrades interference of the "signal" particle. The signal, represented by an equatorial state of a photonic qubit, is mixed with noise, represented by another photonic qubit, via linear coupling on the beam splitter. We report on the degradation of the "signal" photon interference depending on the degree of indistinguishability between "signal" and "noise" photon. When the photons are principally completely distinguishable but technically indistinguishable the visibility drops to the value 1/sqrt(2). As the photons become more indistinguishable the maximal visibility increases and reaches the unit value for completely indistinguishable photons. We have examined this effect experimentally using setup with fiber optics two-photon Mach-Zehnder interferometer.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, Accepted to Phys. Rev.