DIPL 3800 Investigating International Relations

This class is intended to accomplish two goals. First, this is a class for you to develop tools to pose empirical questions and answer them in a social scientific fashion. Second, as this class is an essential prerequisite to DIPL 4101, you will finish this class having developed a template for your senior project. To accomplish this first goal, we will spend the bulk of class time on understanding both qualitative and quantitative research. The second goal is one of application – you will use insights picked up throughout the class to produce a research design of your own for use in DIPL 4101. It is worth stressing that this class will be daunting. We will work at a pace faster than other sections, and we will cover more material. Graduate students often find this material a challenge. This is not because the material is impossible – but rather because it involves thinking in unaccustomed ways. The second part of the course also involves a great deal of math, which many of us were taught to avoid

DIPL 6153 Comparative Political Economy of Development

This course deals with selected topics in economic development covering both macro and micro aspects. We will learn about the growth models (Sollow and modern models), history and expectations, inequality, institutional economics, agricultural markets and financial markets as well as foreign aid and development assistance. This course is a complementary to the topics covered in detailed in DIPL6155 (Advanced Economic Aspects of International Relations). “Political Economy” is not a unified discipline, and there are studies using the term that have radically different perspectives. Therefore it may be the case that some of you feel that why we study those topics in this course and where we are heading. So here is my big picture. Traditional economics, which is sometimes referred to as neoclassical economics, hinge on certain assumptions. The growth models are not the exceptions (particularly the Solow model is naturally classified as neoclassical model) and they are based on many implicit and explicit assumptions. In a context of development, under ideal circumstances, as the Solow model predicts, people save and invest, and thus capital stock is accumulated which leads to economic growth at least to some extent. However, unfortunately, the process is not automatic at all in practice. We need macroeconomic stabilization in order for the sizable investment realized. Nevertheless, stabilization is not the sufficient condition for development–we also need lots and lots more preconditions. The world and society are more complicated and countries and regions are more varied than the traditional economics assumes, and thus considering the role of government, legal framework, and market structures are important. Fortunately, there has been a rapid advancement in economics in last several decades and many useful frameworks, with which we can approach to more realistic structures, have been provided (i.e. more rich frameworks explaining why and how countries and regions differ). I would like to pick up several of those frameworks which are important and relevant to “development” in the second half. This is what I consider “political economy of development”. Of course, I am not discounting the topics we covered in the first half–we should regard the newer frameworks as complements rather than substitutes to the neoclassical models. The Solow model, indeed, is quite useful and practical as a first approximation. Course materials are designed to develop analytical skills and you should be equipped with economic mind after the semester. The emphasis of this course is on analytical thinking and the goal is that you get a hands-on taste of how economists approach problems of development. Rather than just being informed of factual knowledge, you can acquire ability and skill to understand backgrounds of certain phenomena and analyze how we might bring about improvements. To this end, the bulk of the course will be devoted to in-depth analysis of fundamental economic questions and I will introduce theoretical models in each topic. A model is a simplified and abstract representation of reality, in the sense that it isolates and focuses on the most important elements of a situation and neglects the others. If and when you confront real world problems, you will find it necessary to adapt these principles to all the details and nuances of reality. Unfortunately we will stick to most basic models in this course due to time and technical constraints, however, they will enable you to pursue their refinements in future

НАГРАДУВАЊЕ И МОТИВИРАЊЕ НА ВРАБОТЕНИТЕ

Организацијата за да постигне добри резултати во работењето секогаш мора да има подготвени и мотивирани работници. Мотивацијата, гледано од аспект на успехот на една организација, е од голема важност за постигнување на поставените цели. Иако постојат различни теории за мотивација и ниво на мотивација, важно е да се забележи дека секоја организација прво мора да ја препознае важноста на мотивирањето на своите вработени. Надоместоците на вработените, како основен мотивациски фактор, се поврзани со резултатите од работата, а некои со самата организација. Паралелно со материјалните надоместоци, кои ја формираат основата на системот на мотивација, неопходно е да се развие и систем на нематеријални стимулации за работа, кои ги задоволуваат различните потреби на вработените во организациите, како почит, статус, флексибилност во работното време, пофалби и сл

DIPL 6155 Advanced Economic Aspects of International Relations

A main goal of graduate level work in international economics is to provide students with a framework in which to analyze concepts and issues that may have previously been assumed to be obvious or extremely complicated. In pursuing this objective you are likely to discover that many of the ideas and perceptions you have about international economics are incomplete or wrong. During the course we will focus attention on hot button issues in the subject of international trade. We will cover issues like globalization, integration and preferential trade agreements, outsourcing, flows of labor – economic immigrants, asylum seekers, environmental immigrants, power shift towards China, inequality. From the beginning, students will read articles that raise questions about the relevance of historical theories and issues that are very germane to the modern world. Starting with Riccardian models we will follow up with various trade policies such as tariffs, quotas and the manipulation of exchange rates. Throughout the course emphasis will be placed on real world analyses and developments. Frequently, both sides of controversial issues will be explored. The format of the course will emphasize interactive discourse among students and between the students and the instructor. Students are expected to have read the material assigned for each class and to be prepared for a spirited discussion. Students will be expected to be aware of current international economic developments and to be prepared to discuss them at each class. Each class will start with a short student presentation of a current interest topic and class discussion of the issue. As preparation for this part of the course students should read regularly The Economist and a good daily newspaper such as the Financial Times or The Wall Street Journal. Students are requested to register for and look regularly at the Dismal Scientist website for which they should receive a password and registration information with the textbook

Carbon monoxide-releasing antibacterial molecules target respiration and global transcriptional regulators

Carbon monoxide, a classical respiratory inhibitor, also exerts vasodilatory, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic effects. CO-releasing molecules have therapeutic value, increasing phagocytosis and reducing sepsis-induced lethality. Here we identify for the first time the bacterial targets of Ru(CO)(3)Cl(glycinate) (CORM-3), a ruthenium-based carbonyl that liberates CO rapidly under physiological conditions. Contrary to the expectation that CO would be preferentially inhibitory at low oxygen tensions or anaerobically, Escherichia coli cultures were also sensitive to CORM-3 at concentrations equimolar with oxygen. CORM-3, assayed as ruthenium, was taken up by bacteria and rapidly delivered CO intracellularly to terminal oxidases. Microarray analysis of CORM-3-treated cells revealed extensively modified gene expression, notably down-regulation of genes encoding key aerobic respiratory complexes. Genes involved in metal metabolism, homeostasis, or transport were also differentially expressed, and free intracellular zinc levels were elevated. Probabilistic modeling of transcriptomic data identified the global transcription regulators ArcA, CRP, Fis, FNR, Fur, BaeR, CpxR, and IHF as targets and potential CO sensors. Our discovery that CORM-3 is an effective inhibitor and global regulator of gene expression, especially under aerobic conditions, has important implications for administration of CO-releasing agents in sepsis and inflammatio

In silico engineering of Pseudomonas metabolism reveals new biomarkers for increased biosurfactant production

Background Rhamnolipids, biosurfactants with a wide range of biomedical applications, are amphiphilic molecules produced on the surfaces of or excreted extracellularly by bacteria including Pseudomonas aeruginosa. However, Pseudomonas putida is a non-pathogenic model organism with greater metabolic versatility and potential for industrial applications. Methods We investigate in silico the metabolic capabilities of P. putida for rhamnolipids biosynthesis using statistical, metabolic and synthetic engineering approaches after introducing key genes (RhlA and RhlB) from P. aeruginosa into a genome-scale model of P. putida. This pipeline combines machine learning methods with multi-omic modelling, and drives the engineered P. putida model toward an optimal production and export of rhamnolipids out of the membrane. Results We identify a substantial increase in synthesis of rhamnolipids by the engineered model compared to the control model. We apply statistical and machine learning techniques on the metabolic reaction rates to identify distinct features on the structure of the variables and individual components driving the variation of growth and rhamnolipids production. We finally provide a computational framework for integrating multi-omics data and identifying latent pathways and genes for the production of rhamnolipids in P. putida. Conclusions We anticipate that our results will provide a versatile methodology for integrating multi-omics data for topological and functional analysis of P. putida toward maximization of biosurfactant production

Креирање на стратегија за правилно наградување на вработените во организацијата

Наградувањето на вработените, според многумина, се смета за најсложена и најчувствителна функција во управувањето со човечките ресурси на секоја организација. Со наградувањето, помеѓу другото, треба да се мотивираат вработените да се однесуват и да работат на начин преку кој ќе се обезбедицелосно остварување на индивидуалните и организациски цели и интереси.За да создадат поволно работно опкружување кое ќе ги поттикнува вработените на креативен и иновативен однос кон работата, организациите применуваат стратегија за правилно наградување на вработените. Станува збор за процес кој се остварува со креирање и управување на систем на наградување, кој подразбира плати, стимулации и други надоместоци кои работодавецот ги обезбедува за вработените, во замена за вложениот труд. Креирањето на ефикасен систем на наградување се занимава со формулирање и имплементација на политики и процеси, со цел остварување фер, правично и конзистентно наградување навработените, во согласност со нивната вредност за организацијата. Клучни зборови: стратегија, наградување, управување, човечки ресурси, плати

Comparative Political Economy of Development

This course deals with selected topics in economic development covering both macro and micro aspects. We will learn about the growth models (Sollow and modern models), history and expectations, inequality, institutional economics, agricultural markets and financial markets as well as foreign aid and development assistance. This course is a complementary to the topics covered in detailed in DIPL6155 (Advanced Economic Aspects of International Relations). “Political Economy” is not a unified discipline, and there are studies using the term that have radically different perspectives. Therefore it may be the case that some of you feel that why we study those topics in this course and where we are heading. So here is my big picture. Traditional economics, which is sometimes referred to as neoclassical economics, hinge on certain assumptions. The growth models are not the exceptions (particularly the Solow model is naturally classified as neoclassical model) and they are based on many implicit and explicit assumptions. In a context of development, under ideal circumstances, as the Solow model predicts, people save and invest, and thus capital stock is accumulated which leads to economic growth at least to some extent. However, unfortunately, the process is not automatic at all in practice. We need macroeconomic stabilization in order for the sizable investment realized. Nevertheless, stabilization is not the sufficient condition for development–we also need lots and lots more preconditions. The world and society are more complicated and countries and regions are more varied than the traditional economics assumes, and thus considering the role of government, legal framework, and market structures are important. Fortunately, there has been a rapid advancement in economics in last several decades and many useful frameworks, with which we can approach to more realistic structures, have been provided (i.e. more rich frameworks explaining why and how countries and regions differ). I would like to pick up several of those frameworks which are important and relevant to “development” in the second half. This is what I consider “political economy of development”. Of course, I am not discounting the topics we covered in the first half–we should regard the newer frameworks as complements rather than substitutes to the neoclassical models. The Solow model, indeed, is quite useful and practical as a first approximation. Course materials are designed to develop analytical skills and you should be equipped with economic mind after the semester. The emphasis of this course is on analytical thinking and the goal is that you get a hands-on taste of how economists approach problems of development. Rather than just being informed of factual knowledge, you can acquire ability and skill to understand backgrounds of certain phenomena and analyze how we might bring about improvements. To this end, the bulk of the course will be devoted to in-depth analysis of fundamental economic questions and I will introduce theoretical models in each topic. A model is a simplified and abstract representation of reality, in the sense that it isolates and focuses on the most important elements of a situation and neglects the others. If and when you confront real world problems, you will find it necessary to adapt these principles to all the details and nuances of reality. Unfortunately we will stick to most basic models in this course due to time and technical constraints, however, they will enable you to pursue their refinements in future

Investigating International Relations

This class is intended to accomplish two goals. First, this is a class for you to develop tools to pose empirical questions and answer them in a social scientific fashion. Second, as this class is an essential prerequisite to DIPL 4101, you will finish this class having developed a template for your senior project. To accomplish this first goal, we will spend the bulk of class time on understanding both qualitative and quantitative research. The second goal is one of application – you will use insights picked up throughout the class to produce a research design of your own for use in DIPL 4101. It is worth stressing that this class will be daunting. We will work at a pace faster than other sections, and we will cover more material. Graduate students often find this material a challenge. This is not because the material is impossible – but rather because it involves thinking in unaccustomed ways. The second part of the course also involves a great deal of math, which many of us were taught to avoid

Adsorption efficiency of selected natural and synthetic sorbents

Sorbents are substances binding other substances on their surface. Effective sorbents have a porous surface. The adsorption activity of the surface is closely related to the local radius of curvature of surface irregularities. Suitable sorbents are natural and synthetic solids of amorphous or microcrystalline structure (Kyncl et al. 2008). Globally, the following adsorbents are the most used: activated carbon, zeolites, silica gel, activated alumina (Bakalár et al. 2005). A characteristic of effective adsorbents is large surface area of hundreds of square meters multiply by gram to the power of minus one [m 2 ∙g −1 ]. Other important features of adsorbents include specific volume, porosity, average pore diameter, pore distribution, etc. Some natural materials or industrial waste with high adsorption capacity, which naturally reduces the overall cost of their disposal, can be used for adsorption of heavy metal cations. Some of low-cost sorbents are: lignin, chitin, seaweed/ algae, zeolites, clays, fly-ash, peat, sand grains coated with iron oxide, modified cotton and wool (Pavolová et al 2006). In experiments of Cu and Zn removal from wastewater the following adsorbents were used (Bakalár et al. 2005): - Lewatit S100, which is strongly acidic, gel-like cationic ion exchange resin with particles of equal size based on styrene-divinylbenzene copolymers. Monodisperse beads are chemically and osmotically highly stable. - Chitosan, which is prepared from chitin, naturally occurring in the shells of crustaceans, by deacetylation using strongly alkaline solution. Chitin is a homopolymer composed of β-(1-4)- -N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. The ability of crustaceans shells to bind metal ions is assigned to the presence of exoskeleton in the molecule of chitin and chitosan. - Synthetic zeolite, which is included in the group of aluminosilicates, was prepared by zeolitization of fly-ash from energy industry. - Bentonite, which is included in the group of hydrated aluminosilicates, the main ingredient is mineral montmorillonite. - Slovakit, which is an inorganic composite sorbent made from pure natural ingredients. Its composition is a subject of patent protection. The aspect of time, i.e. the time the specific sorbent reaches the maximum adsorption capacity for the heavy metal removed, is also important in removal of Cu 2+, Zn 2+ and Pb 2+ cations. The experimental measurements of cations adsorption using the above mentioned sorbents are made at the initial concentration of 10 mg∙L −1 of heavy metal. The time to reach the equilibrium for all sorbent during separation of Cu 2+ cations from model solutions of wastewater was about 60 seconds except for chitosan for which it was almost 2 minutes. This is relatively very good result. The equilibrium of Zn 2+ cations adsorption at the experimental measurements for all the selected sorbents was reached in about 80 seconds except for chitosan for which this time was 2 minutes 5 seconds. This time was on average around 20 minutes longer compared to the adsorption of Cu 2+ ions. The adsorption of Pb 2+ cations was carried out at the experimental measurements in about 83 seconds for all the selected sorbents, except for synthetic zeolite for which the time was 1 min 15 seconds. The adsorption of Pb 2+ cations compared to the cations of Cu 2+ was 23 seconds faster and compared to the cations of Zn 2+ was 3 seconds longer. The most appropriate for the removal of Cu 2+, Zn 2+, and Pb 2+ is Lewatit S100 among the used sorbents; the equilibrium was reached in approximately 35 seconds, 45 seconds, and 83 seconds for Zn 2+, Cu 2+, and Pb 2+, respectively. According to the experimental measurements the longest adsorption time was for chitosan – about 2 minutes for Cu 2+ and Zn 2+, and about 1.5 minutes for Pb 2+