Willingness to pay for genetically modified food and non-food products

This paper presents estimates of consumers' willingness to pay for a GM food and non-food product based on data collected in a choice experiment. The choice experiment was part of a survey of 1510 randomly selected consumers in Germany that was mailed in spring 2005. Attitudes towards gene technology, institutions and technical progress were measured using 22 items. A factor analysis revealed five factors describing consumer attitudes: support, risk, trust, attitude towards technical progress and attitude towards technical innovation. Based on these factors we identify four different classes of consumers in a latent class model for both products. Analysis of these classes shows strong differences between willingness to pay estimates for benefits compared to risk reduction as well as differences between the classes.Consumer/Household Economics,

Повышение рационального использования человеческого потенциала

Реферат Выпускная квалификационная работа содержит 131 страницу, 20 рисунков, 39 таблиц, 50 использованных источников, 6 приложений. Ключевые слова: персонал, человеческий потенциал, рациональное использование, адаптация, компетенции, ПАО «ТРК», социальная ответственность компании. . Объектом исследования в работе является: рациональное использование человеческого потенциала компании. . Цель работы - рассмотрение методов повышения рационального использования человеческого потенциала современной компании . В процессе исследования проводились: 1) рассмотрение деятельности компании за 2011 – 2015 гг.; оценка действующей в компании системы управления персоналом и человеческого потенциала компании; 3) внесение предложений по совершенствованию действующей системы управления человеческим потенциалом компании (с расчетом экономической эффективности от внесенных предложений). . В результате исследования: внесены предложения по внедрению в кадровую работу системы периодической сверки компетенций и улучшению работы с кадровым резервом; проведен расчет экономии от внедрения предлагаемых мероприятий . Степень внедрения: запланировано применение внесенных по результатам проведенного исследования предложений в деятельность компании в 2016 г. . Область применения: управление персоналом и человеческим потенциалом в ПАО «ТРК». . Экономическая эффективность/ значимость работы: сумма полученной экономии составит 4 165 тыс. руб. в год. . В будущем планируется: применение внесенных по результатам проведенного исследования предложений в деятельность компании.abstract Final qualifying work includes 131 page, 20 figures, 39 tables, 50 sources used, 6 applications. Keywords: personnel, human potential, rational use, adaptation, competence, PJSC "TRK" social responsibility of the company. . The object of research is in: the rational use of human resources. . Purpose - to examine the methods of enhancing the rational use of the human potential of the modern company. The study carried out: 1) review of the activities of the company for 2011 - 2015 .; assessment of the current in the company personnel management and human resources of the company; 3) make proposals to improve the existing control system of the human potential of the company (with the calculation of the cost-effectiveness of the proposals). . As a result of the study: made suggestions for the implementation of the personnel working in the periodic verification of competency of the system and improvement of work with the personnel reserve; calculated the savings from the implementation of the proposed activities. Degree of implementation: planned application made by the results of the research proposals in the company's activity in 2016. Field of application: personnel management and human potential in PJSC "TRK". . Cost-effectiveness / value of the work: the sum of the savings will amount to 4165 thousand rubles.. in year. . In the future: an application made on the results of the research proposals in the company's activities

Dietary patterns of adolescents in Germany - Associations with nutrient intake and other health related lifestyle characteristics

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study was to identify dietary patterns among a representative sample of German adolescents and their associations with energy and nutrient intake, socioeconomic and lifestyle characteristics, and overweight status.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In the analysis, data from the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents were used. The survey included a comprehensive dietary history interview conducted among 1272 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. Dietary patterns were determined with principal component analysis (PCA) based on 48 food groups, for boys and girls separately.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Three dietary patterns among boys and two among girls were identified. Among boys, high adherence to the 'western' pattern was associated with higher age, lower socioeconomic status (SES), and lower physical activity level (PA). High adherence to the 'healthy' pattern among boys, but not among girls, was associated with higher SES, and higher PA. Among boys, high adherence to the 'traditional' pattern was associated with higher age. Among girls, high adherence to the 'traditional and western' pattern was associated with lower age, lower SES and more hours watching TV per day. The nutrient density of several vitamins and minerals, particularly of B-vitamins and calcium, increased with increasing scores of the 'healthy' pattern among both sexes. Conversely, with increasing scores of the 'western' pattern among boys, most nutrient densities decreased, particularly of fibre, beta-carotene, vitamin D, biotin and calcium. Among girls with higher scores of the 'traditional and western' pattern, nutrient densities of vitamin A, C, E, K and folate decreased. Among boys, high adherence to the 'traditional' pattern was correlated with higher densities of vitamin B₁₂and vitamin D and lower densities of fibre, magnesium and iron. No significant associations between dietary patterns and overweight were found.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Higher scores for dietary patterns characterized by higher consumption of take away food, meat, confectionary and soft drinks ('western' and 'traditional and western') were found particularly among 16- to 17-years old boys and among adolescents with lower SES. These patterns were also associated with higher energy density, higher percent of energy from unsaturated fatty acids and lower percent of energy from carbohydrates as well as lower nutrient densities of several vitamins and minerals. Therefore, nutritional interventions should try to focus more on adolescents with lower SES and boys in general.</p

Macrospin approximation and quantum effects in models for magnetization reversal

The thermal activation of magnetization reversal in magnetic nanoparticles is controlled by the anisotropy-energy barrier. Using perturbation theory, exact diagonalization and stability analysis of the ferromagnetic spin-s Heisenberg model with coupling or single-site anisotropy, we study the effects of quantum fluctuations on the height of the energy barrier. Opposed to the classical case, there is no critical anisotropy strength discriminating between reversal via coherent rotation and via nucleation/domain-wall propagation. Quantum fluctuations are seen to lower the barrier depending on the anisotropy strength, dimensionality and system size and shape. In the weak-anisotropy limit, a macrospin model is shown to emerge as the effective low-energy theory where the microscopic spins are tightly aligned due to the ferromagnetic exchange. The calculation provides explicit expressions for the anisotropy parameter of the effective macrospin. We find a reduction of the anisotropy-energy barrier as compared to the classical high spin-s limit.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figure

Searches at HERA for Squarks in R-Parity Violating Supersymmetry

A search for squarks in R-parity violating supersymmetry is performed in e^+p collisions at HERA at a centre of mass energy of 300 GeV, using H1 data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 37 pb^(-1). The direct production of single squarks of any generation in positron-quark fusion via a Yukawa coupling lambda' is considered, taking into account R-parity violating and conserving decays of the squarks. No significant deviation from the Standard Model expectation is found. The results are interpreted in terms of constraints within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), the constrained MSSM and the minimal Supergravity model, and their sensitivity to the model parameters is studied in detail. For a Yukawa coupling of electromagnetic strength, squark masses below 260 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level in a large part of the parameter space. For a 100 times smaller coupling strength masses up to 182 GeV are excluded.Comment: 32 pages, 14 figures, 3 table

Forward pi^0 Production and Associated Transverse Energy Flow in Deep-Inelastic Scattering at HERA

Deep-inelastic positron-proton interactions at low values of Bjorken-x down to x \approx 4.10^-5 which give rise to high transverse momentum pi^0 mesons are studied with the H1 experiment at HERA. The inclusive cross section for pi^0 mesons produced at small angles with respect to the proton remnant (the forward region) is presented as a function of the transverse momentum and energy of the pi^0 and of the four-momentum transfer Q^2 and Bjorken-x. Measurements are also presented of the transverse energy flow in events containing a forward pi^0 meson. Hadronic final state calculations based on QCD models implementing different parton evolution schemes are confronted with the data.Comment: 27 pages, 8 figures and 3 table

Multi-Jet Event Rates in Deep Inelastic Scattering and Determination of the Strong Coupling Constant

Jet event rates in deep inelastic ep scattering at HERA are investigated applying the modified JADE jet algorithm. The analysis uses data taken with the H1 detector in 1994 and 1995. The data are corrected for detector and hadronization effects and then compared with perturbative QCD predictions using next-to-leading order calculations. The strong coupling constant alpha_S(M_Z^2) is determined evaluating the jet event rates. Values of alpha_S(Q^2) are extracted in four different bins of the negative squared momentum transfer~\qq in the range from 40 GeV2 to 4000 GeV2. A combined fit of the renormalization group equation to these several alpha_S(Q^2) values results in alpha_S(M_Z^2) = 0.117+-0.003(stat)+0.009-0.013(syst)+0.006(jet algorithm).Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, this version to appear in Eur. Phys. J.; it replaces first posted hep-ex/9807019 which had incorrect figure 4

Multiplicity Structure of the Hadronic Final State in Diffractive Deep-Inelastic Scattering at HERA

The multiplicity structure of the hadronic system X produced in deep-inelastic processes at HERA of the type ep -> eXY, where Y is a hadronic system with mass M_Y< 1.6 GeV and where the squared momentum transfer at the pY vertex, t, is limited to |t|<1 GeV^2, is studied as a function of the invariant mass M_X of the system X. Results are presented on multiplicity distributions and multiplicity moments, rapidity spectra and forward-backward correlations in the centre-of-mass system of X. The data are compared to results in e+e- annihilation, fixed-target lepton-nucleon collisions, hadro-produced diffractive final states and to non-diffractive hadron-hadron collisions. The comparison suggests a production mechanism of virtual photon dissociation which involves a mixture of partonic states and a significant gluon content. The data are well described by a model, based on a QCD-Regge analysis of the diffractive structure function, which assumes a large hard gluonic component of the colourless exchange at low Q^2. A model with soft colour interactions is also successful.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Eur. Phys. J., error in first submission - omitted bibliograph