FDI, Regulations and Growth

The paper explores the linkage between income growth rates and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. So far the evidence is rather mixed, as no robust relationship between FDI and income growth has been established. We argue that countries need a sound business environment in the form of good government regulations to be able to benefit from FDI. Using a comprehensive data set for regulations, we test this hypothesis and find evidence that excessive regulations restrict growth through FDI only in the most regulated economies. This result holds true for different specifications of the econometric model, including instrumental variable regressions.Multinationals,Spillovers,Institutions,Development

VOICE AND TOUCH BASED INPUT

A word prediction system predicts a word based on a combination of user touch input and user voice input. The system can receive the touch input via, for example, a keyboard or other input device. In some implementations, the system can receive voice input corresponding to the touch input at substantially the same time as the touch input

BURST NOTIFICATIONS

A burst notification system can temporarily disable notifications at a user’s electronic device. The burst notification system receives notification settings for an electronic device from the user of the electronic device. The system disables wireless communications notifications as well as any other notifications (in-app notifications) received from applications installed on the electronic device. For power savings, the system may temporarily disable the electronic device’s onboard cell transceivers and WiFi transceivers which are used to receive incoming phone/voice calls, data packets, text messages, etc

A Standardized Palliative Care Referral Workflow and Educational In-Service at an Outpatient Congestive Heart Failure Clinic

Cardiovascular disease is a significant health issue in the US as it is the leading cause of death and most cited reason of hospitalizations in Medicare enrollees (Centers for Disease Control, 2014; Unroe et al., 2011). The American Colleges of Cardiology and the American Heart Association Guidelines recommend palliative care for all patients with heart failure (Yancy et al., 2013). The purpose of the scholarly project was to address the gaps in current practice by creating a standardized palliative care referral process and education for clinicians in an outpatient Advanced Congestive Heart Failure (ACHF) Clinic. A referral tracking process was defined, a pre-test and post-test were used as measures for the education, a referral process was outlined, and the number of palliative care referrals increased from 0.6% to 1.4% during the project work

Migraciones y desarrollo : nuevas teorías y evidencia

En este trabajo se plantean las interacciones entre el desarrollo y la migración teniendo en cuenta tanto las recientes aportaciones teóricas como la nueva evidencia empírica. En primer lugar, se revisan las causas de las migraciones y se documentan las principales teorías. En segundo lugar, se reflexiona sobre los efectos de las migraciones para los países en desarrollo y se pone especial énfasis en los efectos de las remesas así como en la fuga de cerebros. Finalmente, se concluye con un conjunto de recomendaciones políticas. _____________________________________In this paper we discuss the interactions between development and migration, taking into account the most recent theoretical and empirical studies. First, we review migration causes following several theoretical approaches. Second, we address the consequences of migration for sending economies, emphasizing the effects of remittances and the brain drain phenomena. Finally we conclude discussing several policy issues

La emigración hacia los países desarrollados: nueva evidencia

In spite of the relevance of international migration and of the recent advances in the theoretical literature, the evidence on its causes is still scarce and contradictory. Some datasets are not comparable and/or limited in scope, often restricted to the study of migration to only one country. This paper employs a new and comprehensive dataset on migration based on OECD national censuses that identify the country of birth of resident foreign workers and their educational level. Results lend support to the theory of human capital since migrants adopt migration decisions taking into account the wage gap between the origin and destination regions, although its effect depends on the educational (income) level of the migrants. Additionally, there is strong evidence that the larger the previous stock of migrants from the same country of origin and the larger the purchasing power parity, the higher the migration rate. Finally, this paper documents a positive effect of income growth volatility on migration propensity.international migrations, development, human capital

Quality Measures for Libraries and Information Services.

The purpose of this article is to describe briefly two quality evaluation models for academic libraries: the Portuguese investigation proposes an action model to measure the performance of the libraries of the Universidade do Porto (UP). This tool is justified by the CAF – Common Assessment Framework (an auto-evaluation tool based on the European Foundation Quality Management Excellence Model), the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP); the PAQ – Quality of Products and Services Evaluation Program of the SIBi/USP, based on the Model SERVQUAL, is an assessment research implemented in the academic libraries of the Universidade de São Paulo (USP), in Brazil. The proposal has been presented as being viable and necessary for the management of the libraries of the SIBi/USP

An analysis of the perceived effects of European Economic Monetary Union upon the hotel industry in the north of Portugal.

As a catalyst for a closer economic integration through a single currency, Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) held out the promise of welfare gains for the participating countries and their respective industries. Among the potential benefits of monetary union, EMU was expected to enhance business competition through a stability-oriented macroeconomic policy framework, including greater transparency, reduced exchange rate uncertainty, greater credibility to the policy regime and lower transactions costs, among others. Whether the hotel stakeholders perceived, or did not perceive, significant changes brought about by EMU for Portugal, and the hotel business environment in the north of Portugal in particular, was the central aim of this study. To meet this aim the following was done: First, based on a literature review focussing on the economics of integration, business management and competitiveness theories the underpinning framework of the primary research were identified and developed. In particular, this research focused on the perceptions of the hotel stakeholders towards the implications of EMU using and adapting three of Porter's models: the Diamond, Five Forces, and Value Chain models. By combining Porter's models together in an all-encompassing framework, it was possible to confirm that there are advantages in merging more than one business environment level into an integrated study procedure. Second, three sets of surveys were conducted based on the underlying analytical frameworks and knowledge of EMU and tourism/hotel industry. one survey for each of the three target groups. Together, these three surveys provided a multi-stakeholder perspective - the national, the industry and the businesses perspective - using people involved directly at each level of the business environment (the Portuguese national authorities, the hotel industry associations and the hotel businesses in the North of Portugal). Finally, the data analysis was structured into two parts based on the type of questionnaire used: structured and semi-structured. The semi-structured questionnaires were analysed using two types of content analysis, summation and explanation, using QSR NUD*IST 6 software programme. The structured questionnaires were analysed using basic descriptive methods, such as frequencies and cross tabulations. The quantitative data was analysed using the Statistical Packagefo r SocialS cience(sS PSS). One of the main conclusions the study reached through the conceptual framework used was that, EMU not only changed the business environment at a national level, but also changed the competitive and operational environment of the hotels. However, the effects expected in literature were greater than the effects observed by the hotel stakeholders and, in particular, by the business respondents

Two dimensional VOPBA reveals laminin receptor (LAMR1) interaction with dengue virus serotypes 1, 2 and 3

BACKGROUND: The search for the dengue virus receptor has generated many candidates often identified only by molecular mass. The wide host range of the viruses in vitro combined with multiple approaches to identifying the receptor(s) has led to the notion that many receptors or attachment proteins may be involved and that the different dengue virus serotypes may utilize different receptors on the same cells as well as on different cell types. RESULTS: In this study we used sequential extraction of PS Clone D cell monolayers with the detergent β-octylglucopyranoside followed by sodium deoxycholate to prepare a cell membrane-rich fraction. We then used 2 dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis to separate the membrane proteins and applied a modified virus overlay protein binding assay (VOPBA) to show that dengue virus serotypes 1, 2 and 3 all interact with the 37 kDa/67 kDa laminin receptor (LAMR1), a common non-integrin surface protein on many cell types. CONCLUSION: At least 3 of the 4 dengue serotypes interact with the 37 kDa/67 kDa laminin receptor, LAMR1, which may be a common player in dengue virus-cell surface interaction