Deconstructing the Consumption Function: New Tools and Old Problems

In this paper, we analyse anew the relationship between aggregate income and consumption in the United Kingdom. Our analysis entails a close examination of the structure of the data, for which we employ a variety of spectral methods which depend on the concepts of Fourier analysis. We discover that fluctuations in the rate of growth of consumption tend to precede similar fluctuations in income, which contradicts a common supposition. We also highlight the difficulty of uncovering from the aggregate data a structural equation representing the behaviour of consumers.Consumption function, Trend estimation, Seasonal adjustment, Spectral analysis

Bridging emerging market models and investors realities: the case of currency and external debt markets.

PhDOur target is to objectively quantify important aspects of emerging economies’ financial markets and deliver value adding actionable recommendations that can be used by a wide spectrum of end-users like academics, policy makers and real life investors. We create two quantitative models that capture the dynamics of global Emerging Market currencies and sovereign debt ratings. We build on the extensive literature on Emerging Market crises and introduce a number of methodological and conceptual innovations. A wide range of market stylized facts and practical and intuitive limitations dictate the way we progress with our research, from considering and selecting dependent and explanatory variables to the way we apply and interpret the model results. We first estimate a parsimonious panel specification that models and forecasts Emerging Market currency dynamics and produces trade signals for investing in one-month forward exchange rates. The second instrument models and forecasts credit ratings assigned by two of the leading rating agencies to Emerging Market sovereigns. The specifications we select are tested on the basis of their statistical and forecasting performance which is found to be solid and unbiased. The currency model is further tested based on its ability to generate profit making trading portfolios. The ratings model is also assessed based on its forecasts for forthcoming sovereign rating actions. We proceed to apply both models on real time data and compare the results from blindly following the model recommendations to a situation where an investor filters these results by superimposing his market awareness and subjective judgement. Our findings suggest that the tools developed here can reliably be integrated in an investor’s decision process. The events of late 2010 suggest that many of the ideas presented in our work can be implemented to Developed Markets and be expected to produce interesting and usable results

Review of Nikolas Rose's The Politics of Life Itself: Biomedicine, Power, and Subjectivity in the Twenty-First Century

Review of Nikolas Rose's The Politics of Life Itself: Biomedicine, Power, and Subjectivity in the Twenty-First Centur

Ν. Κούρου και Γ. Μπουρογιάννης, Ρυθμοί της Κυπριακής Κεραμικής. Σύντομη επισκόπηση με βάση τη Συλλογή του Αρχαιολογικού Μουσείου του Τμήματος Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας του Εθνικού και Καποδιστριακού Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών

Βιβλιοκρισία "Ν. Κούρου και Γ. Μπουρογιάννης, Ρυθμοί της Κυπριακής Κεραμικής. Σύντομη επισκόπηση με βάση τη Συλλογή του Αρχαιολογικού Μουσείου του Τμήματος Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας του Εθνικού και Καποδιστριακού Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών"Book Review "Ν. Κούρου και Γ. Μπουρογιάννης, Ρυθμοί της Κυπριακής Κεραμικής. Σύντομη επισκόπηση με βάση τη Συλλογή του Αρχαιολογικού Μουσείου του Τμήματος Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας του Εθνικού και Καποδιστριακού Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών

Malignant Glioma: Chemosensitivity testing and Biomarkers

Chemosensitivity testing and molecular biomarkers are commonly used methods during the management of several types of malignant tumours in routine clinical practice. The present work attempts to transfer the use of these two concepts to the management of malignant gliomas. Chemosensitivity testing was performed on twelve primary malignant glioma cultures at passage 0. The drugs tested were Temozolomide, Cisplatin and Carmustine, which are commonly administered chemotherapeutic agents in clinical practice in our institution. The results revealed that cultures derived from females or from patients under 65 years of age were more sensitive to the drugs used. More importantly, the chemosensitivity in vitro results were predictive of the clinical outcome of the donor patient. During chemosensitivity testing, Temozolomide was found to have poor in vitro effect. Increased frequency of application as well as cell cycle synchronisation of glioma cell lines were found to improve the kill efficiency of Temozolomide. Six molecules were considered as potential biomarkers. All of them were found to be effective at predicting the presence of malignant gliomas. With the exception of VEGF and PDGF-BB, this is the first report of Follistatin, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 as biomarkers for malignant gliomas. Overall age and gender of patients did not affect the biomarker results. Brain tumours represent 2% of all cancers in the UK. Early detection and treatment of glioblastoma is challenging and little progress has been made so far. This imposes a clear need for improving the diagnosis and management of malignant gliomas. This study aims to address both challenges and proposed ways of improvement

Non-cognitive Values: A Warrant of the Rationality and Responsibility of Science

Although the presence of cognitive values in science has been accepted for half a century, until recently it was claimed that the presence of non-cognitive values threatened the rationality and objectivity of science and it was a sign of a scientist’s weakness. This view appeared to be correct when cognitive and non-cognitive values were treated dichotomously, and science was seen as a set of theories and procedures. The analysis of science as a social practice shows however that this dichotomy cannot be maintained and that the scientist, when planning and conducting research, makes assumptions which include value judgments encompassing certain non-cognitive values. Ignoring the presence of non-cognitive values does not secure objectivity and rationality of science. On the contrary, since they are constitutive elements of scientific research, pretending that they do not work in research exposes science to ideologization. Rational subordination of science to them becomes a vehicle and a warrant of not only rationality but also objectivity and social responsibility of science. This in turn allows us to restore the proper place of science in culture.Although the presence of cognitive values in science has been accepted for half a century, until recently it was claimed that the presence of non-cognitive values threatened the rationality and objectivity of science and it was a sign of a scientist’s weakness. This view appeared to be correct when cognitive and non-cognitive values were treated dichotomously, and science was seen as a set of theories and procedures. The analysis of science as a social practice shows however that this dichotomy cannot be maintained and that the scientist, when planning and conducting research, makes assumptions which include value judgments encompassing certain non-cognitive values. Ignoring the presence of non-cognitive values does not secure objectivity and rationality of science. On the contrary, since they are constitutive elements of scientific research, pretending that they do not work in research exposes science to ideologization. Rational subordination of science to them becomes a vehicle and a warrant of not only rationality but also objectivity and social responsibility of science. This in turn allows us to restore the proper place of science in culture

Study of patients’ dehumanization in a hospital setting

This study aims to explore and compare the extent and the forms of patients’ dehumanization among Greek health professionals, mental health professionals and the general population