Problems of operationalizing the concept of a cost-of-living index

The aim of our paper is to discuss the problems of operationalizing the concept of a .cost-of-living-index. (COLI). For this purpose we are first undertaking a theoretical analysis of Diewert’s theory of superlative index numbers as one possible approach to approximate a COLI. We show that Diewert.s superlative index approach is arguable in many points and that the approach requires restrictive assumptions which are not likely to be met in observed households behaviour. To get a better idea about the deviation of observed households behaviour from the neoclassical assumptions about utility maximizing behaviour, we are estimating an Almost Ideal Demand System and a Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System with cross section micro data from the German income and expenditure survey. Using the results of the demand system estimations we calculate COLIs and compare them with superlative index numbers and the Laspeyres price index.cost-of-living index; superlative index numbers; Diewert; demand systems

Bearing children in unstable times: psychological traits and early parenthood in a lowest-low fertility context, Rostock 1990 - 1995

In this paper, we analyze a unique longitudinal data set from Rostock in Eastern Germany. Data collection began in the communist era and has been followed up until today. Employing proportional-hazard models, we use psychological individual-level measures (such as personality traits, social and cognitive resources, coping styles, etc.) at age 20 as determinants of the subjects´ subsequent transition rate to parenthood. We find strong evidence to support the notion that psychological factors function as proximate determinants of differential fertility. We conclude that psychological individual-level data are important in understanding patterns, especially during times when society faces massive and incalculable upheavals.

Problems of operationalizing the concept of a cost-of-living index

The aim of our paper is to discuss the problems of operationalizing the concept of a .cost-of-living-index. (COLI). For this purpose we are first undertaking a theoretical analysis of Diewert’s theory of superlative index numbers as one possible approach to approximate a COLI. We show that Diewert.s superlative index approach is arguable in many points and that the approach requires restrictive assumptions which are not likely to be met in observed households behaviour. To get a better idea about the deviation of observed households behaviour from the neoclassical assumptions about utility maximizing behaviour, we are estimating an Almost Ideal Demand System and a Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System with cross section micro data from the German income and expenditure survey. Using the results of the demand system estimations we calculate COLIs and compare them with superlative index numbers and the Laspeyres price index

Problems of operationalizing the concept of a cost-of-living index

The aim of our paper is to discuss the problems of operationalizing the concept of a .cost-of-living-index. (COLI). For this purpose we are first undertaking a theoretical analysis of Diewert’s theory of superlative index numbers as one possible approach to approximate a COLI. We show that Diewert.s superlative index approach is arguable in many points and that the approach requires restrictive assumptions which are not likely to be met in observed households behaviour. To get a better idea about the deviation of observed households behaviour from the neoclassical assumptions about utility maximizing behaviour, we are estimating an Almost Ideal Demand System and a Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System with cross section micro data from the German income and expenditure survey. Using the results of the demand system estimations we calculate COLIs and compare them with superlative index numbers and the Laspeyres price index

Integrated Circuit Design in US High-Energy Physics

This whitepaper summarizes the status, plans, and challenges in the area of integrated circuit design in the United States for future High Energy Physics (HEP) experiments. It has been submitted to CPAD (Coordinating Panel for Advanced Detectors) and the HEP Community Summer Study 2013(Snowmass on the Mississippi) held in Minnesota July 29 to August 6, 2013. A workshop titled: US Workshop on IC Design for High Energy Physics, HEPIC2013 was held May 30 to June 1, 2013 at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). A draft of the whitepaper was distributed to the attendees before the workshop, the content was discussed at the meeting, and this document is the resulting final product. The scope of the whitepaper includes the following topics: Needs for IC technologies to enable future experiments in the three HEP frontiers Energy, Cosmic and Intensity Frontiers; Challenges in the different technology and circuit design areas and the related R&D needs; Motivation for using different fabrication technologies; Outlook of future technologies including 2.5D and 3D; Survey of ICs used in current experiments and ICs targeted for approved or proposed experiments; IC design at US institutes and recommendations for collaboration in the future

Human-mediated dispersal of seeds by the airflow of vehicles

Human-mediated dispersal is known as an important driver of long-distance dispersal for plants but underlying mechanisms have rarely been assessed. Road corridors function as routes of secondary dispersal for many plant species but the extent to which vehicles support this process remains unclear. In this paper we quantify dispersal distances and seed deposition of plant species moved over the ground by the slipstream of passing cars. We exposed marked seeds of four species on a section of road and drove a car along the road at a speed of 48 km/h. By tracking seeds we quantified movement parallel as well as lateral to the road, resulting dispersal kernels, and the effect of repeated vehicle passes. Median distances travelled by seeds along the road were about eight meters for species with wind dispersal morphologies and one meter for species without such adaptations. Airflow created by the car lifted seeds and resulted in longitudinal dispersal. Single seeds reached our maximum measuring distance of 45 m and for some species exceeded distances under primary dispersal. Mathematical models were fit to dispersal kernels. The incremental effect of passing vehicles on longitudinal dispersal decreased with increasing number of passes as seeds accumulated at road verges. We conclude that dispersal by vehicle airflow facilitates seed movement along roads and accumulation of seeds in roadside habitats. Dispersal by vehicle airflow can aid the spread of plant species and thus has wide implications for roadside ecology, invasion biology and nature conservation

Weak Lensing from Space I: Instrumentation and Survey Strategy

A wide field space-based imaging telescope is necessary to fully exploit the technique of observing dark matter via weak gravitational lensing. This first paper in a three part series outlines the survey strategies and relevant instrumental parameters for such a mission. As a concrete example of hardware design, we consider the proposed Supernova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP). Using SNAP engineering models, we quantify the major contributions to this telescope's Point Spread Function (PSF). These PSF contributions are relevant to any similar wide field space telescope. We further show that the PSF of SNAP or a similar telescope will be smaller than current ground-based PSFs, and more isotropic and stable over time than the PSF of the Hubble Space Telescope. We outline survey strategies for two different regimes - a ``wide'' 300 square degree survey and a ``deep'' 15 square degree survey that will accomplish various weak lensing goals including statistical studies and dark matter mapping.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, replaced with Published Versio

Supernova / Acceleration Probe: A Satellite Experiment to Study the Nature of the Dark Energy

The Supernova / Acceleration Probe (SNAP) is a proposed space-based experiment designed to study the dark energy and alternative explanations of the acceleration of the Universe's expansion by performing a series of complementary systematics-controlled measurements. We describe a self-consistent reference mission design for building a Type Ia supernova Hubble diagram and for performing a wide-area weak gravitational lensing study. A 2-m wide-field telescope feeds a focal plane consisting of a 0.7 square-degree imager tiled with equal areas of optical CCDs and near infrared sensors, and a high-efficiency low-resolution integral field spectrograph. The SNAP mission will obtain high-signal-to-noise calibrated light-curves and spectra for several thousand supernovae at redshifts between z=0.1 and 1.7. A wide-field survey covering one thousand square degrees resolves ~100 galaxies per square arcminute. If we assume we live in a cosmological-constant-dominated Universe, the matter density, dark energy density, and flatness of space can all be measured with SNAP supernova and weak-lensing measurements to a systematics-limited accuracy of 1%. For a flat universe, the density-to-pressure ratio of dark energy can be similarly measured to 5% for the present value w0 and ~0.1 for the time variation w'. The large survey area, depth, spatial resolution, time-sampling, and nine-band optical to NIR photometry will support additional independent and/or complementary dark-energy measurement approaches as well as a broad range of auxiliary science programs. (Abridged)Comment: 40 pages, 18 figures, submitted to PASP, http://snap.lbl.go

Surviving rather than thriving: Understanding the experiences of women coaches using a theory of gendered social well-being

In shifting our gaze to the sociological impact of being in the minority, the purpose of this study was to substantiate a model of gendered social well-being to appraise women coaches’ circumstances, experiences and challenges as embedded within the social structures and relations of their profession. This is drawn on indepth interviews with a sample of head women coaches within the UK. The findings demonstrate that personal lives, relationships, social and family commitments were sidelined by many of the participants in order to meet the expectations of being a (woman) coach. We locate these experiences in the organisational practices of high performance sport which hinder women coaches from having meaningful control over their lives. The complexities of identity are also revealed through the interplay of gender with (dis)ability, age and whiteness as evidence of hegemonic femininity within the coaching profession. Consequently, for many women, coaching is experienced as a ‘developmental dead-end’