Sensation Seeking and Perceived Need for Structure Moderate Soldiers’ Well-Being Before and After Operational Deployment

This study examined associations between sensation seeking and perceived need for structure, and changes in reported well-being among deployed soldiers. Participants (n = 167) were assessed before and after a six-month deployment to south Afghanistan. Results indicated that although well-being declined in the soldier sample as a whole following deployment, the degree of decrease was significantly different among soldiers with different personality profiles. Differences were moderated by soldiers’ level of sensation seeking and perceived need for structure. Results are discussed in terms of a person-environment fit theory in the context of preparation and rehabilitation of deployed military personnel

Reducing the Asymmetry of Information Through the comparison of the Relative Efficiency of Several Regional Monopolies

Following the process initiated by Chile in the early 1980s, most countries in South America have undergone deep transformations in their electric industries. In this new playing field, the comparison of the relative efficiency of several regional monopolies seems to be a potentially valuable tool to reduce the asymmetry of information that is involved in the regulator-firm relationship. However, to be useful in the regulatory process, productive frontier estimates require a broad set of comparable firms and detailed information about them. This availability of data, although a necessary condition, is far from sufficient. One must also count on adequate techniques. In this paper we carry out an efficiency analysis in the electricity distribution sector in South America using different techniques, stating the conditions under which they become a useful tool in crafting an efficient regulation of the firms in that sector. Despite the particular results found here, the paper underscores the importance of conducting a consistency analysis whenever using efficiency measures in applied regulation.electric industries; efficiency; regional monopolies; asymmetry of information

Monitoring SO2 emission at the Soufriere Hills Volcano: implications for changes in erruptive conditions

FLWINinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Technical Change and Catching-up: The Electricity Distribution Sector in South America

The main purpose of this paper is to analyze technical change in the electricity distribution sector in South America, in the period 1994-1997. We do so by estimating a Maximum Likelihood stochastic frontier. We found that there is no evidence of catching up effects in the sector during this period. Besides, there is partial evidence that suggests that countries which reformed their electricity sector had a better performance than those which did not. We also found an increase in the capital share in the countries that made the reform and an increment in the labor share in the ones that did not make the reform.Technical change; Catching-Up; Stochastic frontier

Short- and long-term evolution in our arms race with cancer: Why the war on cancer is winnable.

Human society is engaged in an arms race against cancer, which pits one evolutionary process-human cultural evolution as we develop novel cancer therapies-against another evolutionary process-the ability of oncogenic selection operating among cancer cells to select for lineages that are resistant to our therapies. Cancer cells have a powerful ability to evolve resistance over the short term, leading to patient relapse following an initial period of apparent treatment efficacy. However, we are the beneficiaries of a fundamental asymmetry in our arms race against cancer: Whereas our cultural evolution is a long-term and continuous process, resistance evolution in cancer cells operates only over the short term and is discontinuous - all resistance adaptations are lost each time a cancer patient dies. Thus, our cultural adaptations are permanent, whereas cancer's genetic adaptations are ephemeral. Consequently, over the long term, there is good reason to expect that we will emerge as the winners in our war against cancer

The case for international coordination of electricity regulation : evidence from the measurement of efficiency in South America

A decade long experience shows that monitoring the performance of public and private monopolies in South America is proving to be the hard part of the reform process. The operators who control most of the information needed for regulatory purposes have little interest in volunteering their dissemination unless they have an incentive to do so. The authors argue that, in spite of, and maybe because of, a much weaker information base and governance structure, South America's electricity sector could pursue an approach that relies on performance rankings based on comparative efficiency measures. The authors show that with the rather modest data currently available publicly, such an approach could yield useful results. They provide estimates of efficiency levels in South America's main distribution companies between 1994 and 2000. Moreover, the authors show how relatively simple tests can be used by regulators to check the robustness of their results and strengthen their position at regulatory hearings.Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Enterprise Development&Reform,Labor Policies,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Geographical Information Systems,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Educational Technology and Distance Education

The Development of Group Stereotypes from Descriptions of Group Members: An Individual Difference Approach

This research examined the effects of Personal Need for Structure, Need for Closure, and Personal Fear of Invalidity on information processing during the development of stereotypes. In Study 1, participants read as many group member descriptions as they wanted before expressing group stereotypes. Participants higher in Personal Fear of Invalidity sought more information; they also developed more detailed stereotypes when they received more information, whereas participants lower in Personal Fear of Invalidity did not. There was a tendency for participants higher in Need for Structure & Closure to develop less accurate stereotypes. Finally, participants higher in Need for Structure & Closure or Personal Fear of Invalidity were less confident about their stereotypes when they received more information, whereas participants lower in Need for Structure & Closure or Personal Fear of Invalidity were more confident. In Study 2, participants were presented with two, four, or eight descriptions of group members before expressing stereotypes. Participants lower in Personal Fear of Invalidity developed more detailed stereotypes when they received more information, whereas participants higher in Personal Fear of Invalidity did not. When two or eight group member descriptions were presented (fewer or more than participants probably would have chosen themselves), participants higher in Personal Fear of Invalidity and lower in Need for Structure & Closure generated the most accurate stereotypes. Finally, participants higher in Need for Structure & Closure did not differ in stereotype confidence as a function of how much information they received, whereas participants lower in Need for Structure & Closure were more confident when they received more information. These results indicate that cognitive style plays a role in the development of group stereotypes

Beyond categorization: new directions for theory development about entrepreneurial internationalization

Categorizations emphasizing the earliness of internationalization have long been a cornerstone of international entrepreneurship research. Here we contend that the prominence of categories has not been commensurate with theory development associated with them. We draw on categorization theory to explain why earliness-based categories are persistent, and argue that a greater focus on notions related to opportunity can open new avenues of research about the entrepreneurial internationalization of business. We propose and discuss three directions for opportunity-based research on entrepreneurial internationalization, involving context, dynamics and variety

A practical implementation of the Overlap-Dirac operator

A practical implementation of the Overlap-Dirac operator ${{1+\gamma_5\epsilon(H)}\over 2}$ is presented. The implementation exploits the sparseness of $H$ and does not require full storage. A simple application to parity invariant three dimensional SU(2) gauge theory is carried out to establish that zero modes related to topology are exactly reproduced on the lattice.Comment: Y-axis label in figure correcte