ICT and productivity in Europe and the United States

The surge in labour productivity growth in the United States in the late 1990s has prompted much speculation about the capacity of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to structurally increase growth. The simultaneous slowdown in productivity growth in the EU suggests the European countries are falling behind. In this paper we will analyse labour productivity growth in 51 industries in Europe and the United States. Using shift-share techniques we identify the industries in which the U.S. has gained a lead and the underlying reasons for this. The results show that the U.S. has grown faster than the EU because of a larger ICT producing sector and faster growth in services industries that make intensive use of ICT. Lagging growth in Europe is concentrated in wholesale and retail trade and the securities industry.

ICT and productivity in Europe and the United States

The surge in labour productivity growth in the United States in the late 1990s has prompted much speculation about the capacity of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to structurally increase growth. The simultaneous slowdown in productivity growth in the EU suggests the European countries are falling behind. In this paper we will analyse labour productivity growth in 51 industries in Europe and the United States. Using shift-share techniques we identify the industries in which the U.S. has gained a lead and the underlying reasons for this. The results show that the U.S. has grown faster than the EU because of a larger ICT producing sector and faster growth in services industries that make intensive use of ICT. Lagging growth in Europe is concentrated in wholesale and retail trade and the securities industry.

International Comparisons of R&D Expenditure: Does an R&D PPP Make a Difference?

Purchasing power parities (PPPs) for R&D expenditure in 19 manufacturing industries are developed for France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom relative to the United States for the years 1997 and 1987. These PPPs are based on R&D input prices for specific cost categories and differ substantially from current practice of comparing R&D expenditure using GDP PPPs and deflators. After taking into account differences in the relative price of R&D labor and materials, separate PPPs for other R&D cost categories are less essential, and a simpler version using GDP PPPs for these other categories should suffice. Our preferred PPPs are used to compare international R&D costs and intensity. The results suggest that the efforts devoted to R&D in each country are more similar across countries than is apparent using the nominal R&D intensities that are currently the norm.

Subsampling of large light trap catches of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)

Analyses of 2 light trap catches comprising 6 041 and 1 598 Culicoides showed that the reliability of subsampling such catches increased with subsample size, while the subsampling error decreased with an increase in the number of individuals per species present in a subsample. Subsamples comprising approximately 500 Culicoides are deemed sufficient for comparing population densities between sites and sampling occasions and also give an acceptable indication of relative species abundance at a site. It is recommended that species for which the mean number of specimens in subsamples originating from 3 catches at a site is less than 7, should not be included in biometric analyses aimed at comparisons of population densities. For all other species a test level of 1% rather than 5% should be used for such comparisons. When species ratios obtained from subsampled catches are employed as indicators of abundance, the chi-squared test should be utilized at a 1% level if the ratios originate from 3 catches at a site and at a 0,1% level if only one catch per site is made. Due to poor representativeness of small catches, it is suggested that species for which fewer than 7 individuals are present in a single subsample, be excluded from chi-squared tests. A 5-point procedure for subsampling a large light trap collection of Culicoides is given.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.mn201

A survey of annoyance of livestock by Simulium chutteri Lewis along the Orange River, South Africa (Diptera: Simuliidae)

A survey by means of questionnaires was conducted along the Orange River to determine the extent of blackfly annoyance to livestock during 1984-1988. Severe annoyance reached peaks during September-November and increased over the years. Annoyance levels decreased with distance from the river with occasional severe annoyance as far away as 76 km. Annoyance levels increased with distance downstream from the P. K. le Roux dam to Augrabies (750 km). Greater water releases for increased irrigation and electricity generation may be an important reason for the higher annoyance levels. Present day high and increasing irrigation water requirements and the great length of the river probably render control by water level fluctuations impractical. Loss of condition of especially small livestock is the main consequence of annoyance by female blackflies. Decreased percentage lambing and occasional deaths were also reported.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.mn201

Fitting the Gompertz function to dose-response data of larval tick populations

Samples of 6, 1st generation larval populations of Boophilus decoloratus, originating from field collected females, were subjected to increasing doses of the organophosphate acaricide, Dioxathion. The dose-response relationship for 3 populations showed random heterogeneity, where systematic deviations from the linear probit lines were observed for the other 3 populations. Logistic and Gompertz regressions were also fitted for all 6 populations. Probit regressions fitted best for 2 populations exhibiting heterogeneous responses. The logistic regression fitted best for 1 population with heterogeneous responses and 1 population with systematic deviating responses. The Gompertz regression fitted best for the 2 remaining populations exhibiting systematic deviating responses. The Gompertz function may be useful in describing the dose-response relationship obtained for certain acaricidal toxicity tests.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.mn201

How is a professional development programme related to the development of university teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs and teaching conceptions?

This study explores how the impact of a five ECTS professional development programme for university teachers affects their self-efficacy beliefs and teaching conceptions using a mixed methods approach. For the quantitative part of the study, participants completed pre-post surveys. From these surveys, we find that the programme led to an overall significant increase in reported self-efficacy beliefs. A sub-sample of ten participants participated in the qualitative part, which consists of four phases: three reflective assignments and an interview. Individual teachers demonstrate a dominant teaching conception in each phase and in almost half of the sub-sample it developed over time, moving from a teacher-centered to a more student-centered conception. When examining the development of self-efficacy and teaching conceptions collectively, three development groups are identified. Noteworthy is that teacher development is credited to the programme as a whole and not to a specific aspect

On sampling tick populations : the problem of overdispersion

Data collected on both free-living and parasitic tick populations are likely to be overdispersed. The use of means from few replicate samples of overdispersed data as quantitative estimators of tick population density is in turn likely to lead to inaccurate interpretations which may be scientifically misleading. In this paper ways of estimating overdispersion are listed and suggestions for the use of correct statistical tests for handling overdispersed data are given.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.mn201