Investment Equations and Financial Restrictions at Firm Level: The Case of Uruguay

Three alternative specifications of an investment equation have been tested using panel data of Uruguayan firms: a traditional accelerator model of investment, an error-correction version of the accelerator model and an Euler equation for the capital stock. These models of investment were used to test for the existence of financial constraints in the investment decision process. Our estimates confirm the existence of financial restrictions on investment decisions of Uruguayan firms in the period under consideration (1997-2000). We explored the effect on firms’ ability to finance investment of two attributes: size and foreign ownership. Regarding size, our results suggest that small firms face greater constraints in financing their desired levels of investment. We also explored whether foreign owned firms suffered less from financial restrictions than national firms. Our results leave the issue unresolved. Lastly, our estimates suggest a general increase in the severity of financial restrictions following the 1999-2000 crisis. In particular, smaller firms were most affected.

Review of Cosmic Ray experiments with underground detectors

The most important underground detectors addressing Cosmic Ray physics are described, with a special emphasis on the description of the used technology.Comment: Invited talk at 6th International Conference on advanced Technology and Particle Physics, Villa Olmo, Como, Italy, October 5-9, 1998, To be published in Nucl. Phys. B, Proc. Supp

economic assesment and issues for liberalization

Se analiza la contribución del sector servicios al crecimiento y comercio del Mercosur, a través de datos pertenecientes a las dos últimas décadas del siglo XX. Se evalúan las ventajas de la liberalización de servicios en el Mercosur para los países más pequeños

Effects of burying and removing dead leaves from the ground on the development of scab epidemics in an apple organic orchard.

Ascospores produced on scabbed leaves in the leaf litter constitute the primary inoculum causing scab infections in apple orchards during the year. The trial, carried out in a commercial organic orchard, permitted to evaluate the effects of the removal of dead leaves located on the inter-row supplemented by the ploughing in of the leaves left on the row, on the development of scab epidemics. From the first recorded contamination to harvest time, lesions on leaves and fruits were counted to determine reduction in disease incidence and severity, compared with the untreated plots. Disease severity as a function of the distance from the untreated plot was also observed, to evaluate the spore dispersal gradient within the orchard. The results show that the ploughing in and the removal of the litter reduced disease incidence by 62% on leaves, and by almost 82% on fruits to harvest. Moreover, measurements of the dispersal gradient show that the spores do not disperse, or little, beyond 20m of the untreated zone

Life After Losing an Adult Child to a Drug Overdose: A Kawa Perspective

Background: Limited research is available to occupational therapy practitioners focusing on parents’ abilities to cope with the loss of an adult child to a drug overdose. We examined the unique experiences of grieving parents from a Kawa model perspective to identify potential implications for occupational therapy. Methods: We used a qualitative approach in which 11 participants completed Kawa drawings and participated in semi-structured interviews. Results: Following a Kawa model analysis themes emerged: volatile nature of flow, support from inner circle and connection with outer circle, lonely islands, personal attributes of positivity and economics, and enhancing my river’s flow. Conclusion: The loss of an adult child to a drug overdose presents health care professionals with a unique set of grieving circumstances, including changes in life roles and abilities to participate in occupations, which can be challenging to address. As a result, this study suggests the Kawa model is an effective assessment tool that should be considered for use when working with those grieving the loss of a child to a drug overdose

An exploration of evidence-based policy in Ireland: health and social inclusion

Ireland is a small country with a history of a social partnership approach to policy making. This paper considers how the ambition of government to utilise an evidence-based approach to policy making plays out against this partnership agenda. Drawing on the authors\u27 experiences and personal reflections, the paper considers how these issues operate within a number of health and social inclusion policy areas, and it explores the role of stakeholders\u27 expectations and involvement in generating evidence for policy

SCAMP Anti-personnel Mine Roller Performance Testing

Humanistic Robotics Inc, a U.S.-based designer and manufacturer of mechanical demining machines and roboticsupport equipment, hypothesized that a well-designed roller utilized in the appropriate environments would be an important part of the mechanical demining toolkit. To test this hypothesis, HRI designed, developed and tested a novel anti-personnel mine roller—the Specialized Compact Automated Mechanical Clearance Platform Roller. This article highlights the SCAMP Roller’s unique design features, describes two testing events performed to evaluate effectiveness and discusses the test findings