COMPETITION AND GROWTH: A TIME SERIES ANALYSIS FOR SOUTH KOREA

By utilising South Korea’s annual data from 1986 to 2004, the regression results are found to be consistent with the hypothesis that more intense competition makes a substantial contribution to real per capita income growth rate. It is also evident in the structural change analysis that competition has intensified due to the regulatory reform over the period 1999 to 2004, which in turn enhanced the real per capita income growth rate. It has been observed that competition is highly sensitive to real per capita income growth rate. Therefore, the choice of South Korea’s policy instruments should be based upon the intensity of competition through the market monitoring mechanism of large companies (e.g., private lawsuits for damage compensation in antitrust cases) as well as regulatory reform.Competition, Real Per Capita Income Growth Rate, Structural Break Analysis, Market Monitoring Mechanism

Modified Fermi's golden rule rate expressions

Fermi's golden rule (FGR) serves as the basis for many expressions of spectroscopic observables and quantum transition rates. The utility of FGR has been demonstrated through decades of experimental confirmation. However, there still remain important cases where the evaluation of a FGR rate is ambiguous or ill-defined. Examples are cases where the rate has divergent terms due to the sparsity in the density of final states or time dependent fluctuations of system Hamiltonians. Strictly speaking, assumptions of FGR are no longer valid for such cases. However, it is still possible to define modified FGR rate expressions that are useful as effective rates. The resulting modified FGR rate expressions resolve a long standing ambiguity often encountered in using FGR and offer more reliable ways to model general rate processes. Simple model calculations illustrate the utility and implications of new rate expressions.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Interpolation for molecular dynamics simulations: from ions in gas phase to proteins in solution

The interpolation technique has shown many promises for simulating chemical dynamics with quantum chemical accuracy at molecular mechanics speed. This is achieved by constructing analytic potential energy surfaces with quantum chemical information at multiple conformational points, without assuming any functional form for the potentials. Here, we briefly review the course the method was developed over the past few decades, with a special focus on the activities in Korea. We also describe its strengths and weaknesses toward describing condensed phase chemical dynamics with the present implementations. Perspectives for future developments toward increasing applicability are discussed as concluding remarks. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.1122Ysciescopu

Bamboo Bicycles in Kisumu, Kenya

This study assesses the feasibility of initiating a bamboo bicycle production facility in the Millennium City of Kisumu, Kenya, drawing on a previous study analyzing a similar venture in Kumasi, Ghana, another of the Millennium Cities

Characterization of the Si/SiO\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e Interface Formed by Remote Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition from SiH\u3csub\u3e4\u3c/sub\u3e/N\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3eO with or without Chlorine Addition

The Si/SiO2interface formed by remote plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RPECVD) at low temperature with SiH4/N2O or SiH4/N2O/Cl2 was studied and compared with thermal oxidation. The interface of the CVD SiO2 without chlorine addition is rougher than that with chlorine addition. But the surface roughness of CVD SiO2 films increases with chlorine addition. The thermal oxidation induces strong interface strains, and the strains generated by the CVD SiO2 without chlorine addition are stronger and are distributed more nonuniformly than those by the chlorinated SiO2. It is believed that chlorine addition during RPECVD affects the initial stages of deposition, and chlorine is combined with Si dangling bonds existing at the Si/SiO2interface through the formation of Si–Cl x bonds. It was also found that with chlorine addition during RPECVD, the strained layer thickness, interface trap density, and suboxide density could be lowered significantly

I Am Fine but You Are Not: Optimistic Bias and Illusion of Control on Information Security

Information security is a critically important issue in current networked business and work environments. While there is extensive publicity on the increasing incidents of numerous information security breaches and their serious consequences, recent surveys and research on information security repeatedly identify the low levels of user and managerial awareness as a key obstacle to achieving a good information security posture. The main motivation of our research emanates from this contradicting phenomenon: increased vulnerability to information security breaches yet the low level of user and managerial awareness on information security threats. In this research, we study this dissonance by addressing a cognitive bias, optimistic bias, that is, the tendency of people to believe that negative events are less likely to happen to them than to others and that positive events are more likely to happen to them than others. Using a survey, we find that users demonstrate optimistic bias in their risk perceptions associated with information security. This self-serving bias is also found to be related to a perception of controllability with information security threats. These results have practical implications for designing security awareness programs by suggesting that risk communication and management efforts are likely to fail unless they consider this bias

Angiogenic Factors and Renal Disease in Pregnancy

Background. Preeclampsia is difficult to diagnose in patients with underlying renal disease and proteinuria. Prior studies show that there is an angiogenic factor imbalance with elevated levels of antiangiogenic proteins soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt1) and soluble endoglin (sEng) and reduced levels of the proangiogenic protein, placental growth factor (PlGF) in women with preeclampsia. These angiogenic biomarkers may be useful in distinguishing preeclampsia from other conditions of pregnancy, which may present with overlapping clinical characteristics. Cases. Case 1: A multiparous woman at 18 weeks gestation with nephrotic syndrome presented with hypertensive emergency and worsening renal insufficiency. She underwent induction of labor for severe preeclampsia. Her sFlt1 and sEng levels were at the 97 percentile while her PlGF level was undetectable (less than the 1st percentile). Case 2: A nulliparous woman with lupus nephritis at 22 weeks gestation presented with fetal demise and heart failure. Three weeks previously, the patient had developed thrombocytopenia and hypertensive urgency. She underwent dilation and evacuation. Her angiogenic profile was consistent with severe preeclampsia. Conclusion. Angiogenic factors may provide evidence to support a diagnosis of preeclampsia in patients with preexisting renal disease and proteinuria, conditions in which the classical definition of hypertension and proteinuria cannot be used