The Effect of Pension Generosity on Early Retirement: A Microdata Analysis for Europe from 1967 to 2004

Using pseudo-panel microdata we show that pension generosity affects early retirement decisions. The changes in the average replacement rate and decreases in wealth accrual between 1967 and 2004 have caused an increase in early retirement probabilities from 16% to 63%.Early Retirement; Pension Systems; Pension Neutrality; Pension Generosity; SHARE

Does Job Satisfaction Improve the Health of Workers?: New Evidence Using Panel Data and Objective Measures of Health

This paper evaluates the relationship between job satisfaction and measures of health of workers using the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP). Methodologically, it addresses two important design problems encountered frequently in the literature: (a) cross-sectional causality problems and (b) absence of objective measures of physical health that complement self-reported measures of health status. Not only does using the panel structure with individual fixed effects mitigate the bias from omitting unobservable personal psycho-social characteristics, but employing more objective health measures such as health-system contacts and disability addresses such measurement problems relating to self-report assessments of health status. We find a positive link between job satisfaction (and changes over time therein) and subjective health measures (and changes therein); that is, employees with higher or improved job satisfaction levels feel healthier and are more satisfied with their health. This observation also holds true for more objective measures of health. Particularly, improvements in job satisfaction over time appear to prevent workers from (further) health deterioration.Job satisfaction, well-being, health, panel data analysis

The effect of pension generosity on early retirement : a microdata analysis for Europe from 1967 to 2004

Using pseudo-panel microdata we show that pension generosity affects early retirement decisions. The changes in the average replacement rate and decreases in wealth accrual between 1967 and 2004 have caused an increase in early retirement probabilities from 16% to 63%

Semantic Shift to Pragmatic Meaning in Shared Decision Making: Situation Theory Perspective

The way humans establish communication depends on the generation and conveyance of meaning. Linguistically, meaning in information is dependent on the meaning that is ascribed to signifiers in the context of the communication. These signifiers can include items such as words, phrases, signs, and symbols. Conveyance of meaning may, however, imprecise and prone to error. The meaning of information in communication may arise from a change in the context in which a signifier is placed (intrinsic), or a change in the paradigm with which the signifier and context are perceived (extrinsic). In simple situations, where paradigms are reconcilable, semantic shift is solely intrinsic. In complex situations, where differing paradigms will generally lead to irreconcilable perspectives (paradoxes and dualities); the semantic shift will be both intrinsic and extrinsic. Decisions are based on an individual\u27s (or individuals\u27 shared) understanding and understanding is in turn contingent on perspective. Decision making will, therefore, be affected by discrepancies in meaning. It is critical to understand the nature of the discrepancies where shared awareness is necessary to enable group decisions. The theoretical construct presented recognizes that (1) a semantic shift may be required where multiple perspectives based on different paradigms come into play and (2) a semantic shift may introduce error, inefficiency, noise or redundancy. Therefore, individual limits can be recognized via shared awareness, which can be studied with situation theory. © 2015 WIT Press

Risk-and-Resiliency-Intelligent Supply Chain (RRiSC)

This work proposes a risk-and-resiliency-intelligent supply chain (RRiSC) tool which is an SC risk management framework that leverages cutting-edge technologies in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data Analytics (BDA), and Digital Twins (DT) to develop specific capabilities for SC risk management. RRiSC is a convergence of mature tools and techniques embedded in three modules: Modeling, Simulation, and Visualization – all together integrate the optimization, simulation, and data analytics to test the performance of the whole supply network under different scenarios through measuring the vital KPIs, identifying the vulnerabilities, and setting proactive plans to diminish risks consequences

How does subjective well-being evolve with age? A literature review

This literature review provides an overview of the theoretical and empirical research in several disciplines on the relation between ageing and subjective well-being, i.e., how subjective well-being evolves across the lifespan. Because of the different methodologies, data sets and samples used, comparison among disciplines and studies is difficult. However, extant studies do show either a U-shaped, inverted U-shaped or linear relation between ageing and subjective well-being

Genome-wide scan for five brain oscillatory phenotypes identifies a new qtl associated with theta eeg band

Brain waves, measured by electroencephalography (EEG), are a powerful tool in the investigation of neurophysiological traits and a noninvasive and cost-effective alternative in the diagnostic of some neurological diseases. In order to identify novel Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) for brain wave relative power (RP), we collected resting state EEG data in five frequency bands (d, ¿, a, ß1, and ß2) and genome-wide data in a cohort of 105 patients with late onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD), 41 individuals with mild cognitive impairment and 45 controls from Iberia, correcting for disease status. One novel association was found with an interesting candidate for a role in brain wave biology, CLEC16A (C-type lectin domain family 16), with a variant at this locus passing the adjusted genome-wide significance threshold after Bonferroni correction. This finding reinforces the importance of immune regulation in brain function. Additionally, at a significance cutoff value of 5 × 10-6, 18 independent association signals were detected. These signals comprise brain expression Quantitative Loci (eQTLs) in caudate basal ganglia, spinal cord, anterior cingulate cortex and hypothalamus, as well as chromatin interactions in adult and fetal cortex, neural progenitor cells and hippocampus. Moreover, in the set of genes showing signals of association with brain wave RP in our dataset, there is an overrepresentation of loci previously associated with neurological traits and pathologies, evidencing the pleiotropy of the genetic variation modulating brain function.This project is supported by “European Commission” and “European Regional Development Fund” under the project “Análisis y correlación entre el genoma completo y la actividad cerebral para la ayuda en el diagnóstico de la enfermedad de Alzheimer” (Project 1317_AD-EEGWA), (Cooperation Programme INTERREG V-A Spain-Portugal POCTEP 2014–2020) and the COMPETE 2020-Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Portugal 2020. Portuguese funds are supporting this work through FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação in the framework of the project “Institute for Research and Innovation in Health Sciences” (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007274). SM, AML, NP and IG are funded by FCT: CEECIND/00684/2017, IF/01262/2014, SFRH/BPD/97414/2013 and CEECIND/02609/2017, respectively. MA is funded by the Grant RYC-2015-18241 from the Spanish Government. Spanish funds are supporting this work through “Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación–Agencia Estatal de Investigación” and “European Regional Development Fund” under project PGC2018-098214-A-I00 and by “CIBER en Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN)” through “Instituto de Salud Carlos III” co-funded with “European Regional Development Fund” funds

Peer Effects on Weight Status, Dietary Behaviour and Physical Activity among Adolescents in Europe: Findings from the I.Family Study

This study uses survey data from the I.Family Study to investigate the association between adolescent and peer overweight in a sample of adolescents aged 12–16 from six European countries. We find clear evidence of peer effects on body mass index, waist circumference, and body fat, which are stronger among adolescents at the upper end of overweight distribution. We also provide evidence that both consumption of less healthy foods and time spent in leisure time physical activity and audio-visual media are positively associated with similar behaviours among friends. These observations may suggest that peer effects on adolescent overweight operate by influencing friends’ behaviour patterns, especially unhealthy food consumption and physical (in)activity