A Mixed-Motives Model of Private Transfers with Subjectively-Assessed Recipient Need: Evidence from a Poor, Transfer-Dependent Economy

We extend the mixed-motives model of transfer derivatives developed by Cox et al (2004) introducing subjectively-assessed recipient need in place of an absolute income threshold at which the donor’s dominant motive switches from altruism to exchange. This refinement provides a theoretically justifiable threshold amenable to empirical measurement. We test the extended model with customized survey data from Tonga and find evidence consistent with Cox et al in support of altruism for households below the threshold, but, we also find a positive, exchange-motivated relationship for those above the threshold. We conclude that either crowding-out or crowding-in of private transfers can occur when the recipient’s welfare improves, depending on the household’s pre-transfer welfare level. This also has implications for the distributional impact of private transfers and could explain why poverty reduction can be accompanied by increased income inequality.

Assessing the poverty impacts of remittances with alternative counterfactual income estimates

We estimate the impacts of remittances on poverty with survey data from Tonga, a poor Pacific island country highly dependent on international migrants’ remittances. The sensitivity of poverty impacts to estimation method is tested using two methods to estimate migrants’ counterfactual incomes; bootstrap prediction with self-selection testing and propensity score matching. We find consistency between the two methods, both showing a substantial reduction in the incidence and depth of poverty with migration and remittances. With further robustness checks there is strong evidence that the poorest households benefit from migrants’ remittances, and that increased migration opportunities can contribute to poverty alleviation.

Rejuvenation and Memory in model Spin Glasses in 3 and 4 dimensions

We numerically study aging for the Edwards-Anderson Model in 3 and 4 dimensions using different temperature-change protocols. In D=3, time scales a thousand times larger than in previous work are reached with the SUE machine. Deviations from cumulative aging are observed in the non monotonic time behavior of the coherence length. Memory and rejuvenation effects are found in a temperature-cycle protocol, revealed by vanishing effective waiting times. Similar effects are reported for the D=3$site-diluted ferromagnetic Ising model (without chaos). However, rejuvenation is reduced if off-equilibrium corrections to the fluctuation-dissipation theorem are considered. Memory and rejuvenation are quantitatively describable in terms of the growth regime of the spin-glass coherence length.Comment: Extended protocols. Accepted in Phys. Rev. B. 10 postscript figure

Remittances and Subjective Welfare in a Mixed-Motives Model: Evidence from Fiji

To analyze migrants’ remittance motivations we extend the mixed-motives model of private transfers developed by Cox et al (2004), incorporating subjectively-assessed recipient welfare. We test the model with customized survey data from Fiji, finding evidence supportive of altruism for households below a subjective threshold level, indicating that international migrants’ remittances provide important social protection coverage to households where formal social protection systems are lacking.Unlike previous studies, we also find a positive, exchange-motivated relationship for those above the threshold. The conventional linear model applied to the same sample uncovers neither relationship. We conclude that either crowding-out or crowding-in of remittances can occur when recipients’ welfare improves, depending on the household’s pre-transfer welfare level. The net effects of recipients’ welfare improvements on remittances, and the effects of remittances on poverty alleviation and income distribution, are consequently more complex and ambiguous than previous studies suggest.

Role of growth factors in the pathogenesis of tissue fibrosis in systemic sclerosis.

The most severe clinical and pathologic manifestations of systemic sclerosis (SSc) are the result of a fibrotic process characterized by the excessive and often progressive deposition of collagen and other connective tissue macromolecules in skin and numerous internal organs. The mechanisms involved in the initiation and progression of the remarkable fibrotic process in SSc remain largely unknown. Extensive recent studies have indicated that a variety of polypeptide growth factors play a crucial role in this process. The most commonly implicated growth factors include transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Here, the experimental evidence supporting the participation of various growth factors in the pathogenesis of the fibrotic process in SSc and the molecular mechanisms involved will be reviewed

Helicopter Wake Encounters in the Context of RECAT-EU

This work presents a first attempt to apply the RECAT-EU (European Wake Turbulence Categorisation and Separation Minima) methodology of fixed-wing aircraft separation to helicopters. The approach is based on a classification of helicopters in categories using their rotor diameter and weight combined with wake comparisons between different classes of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Where necessary the upset caused by a wake encounter to a simple helicopter model is used to establish safe separation distances. The work is based on a very limited amount of data for wake strengths but shows that the principles of the RECAT-EU methodology are directly applicable to helicopters at least for landing and take-off. This research calls for further measurements of helicopter wakes with modern methods so that the suggested separation distances can be further ascertained and ultimately refined allowing for better and safer integration of fixed and rotary-wing traffic at airports

Dividing the Ontology Alignment Task with Semantic Embeddings and Logic-based Modules

Large ontologies still pose serious challenges to state-of-the-art ontology alignment systems. In this paper we present an approach that combines a neural embedding model and logic-based modules to accurately divide an input ontology matching task into smaller and more tractable matching (sub)tasks. We have conducted a comprehensive evaluation using the datasets of the Ontology Alignment Evaluation Initiative. The results are encouraging and suggest that the proposed method is adequate in practice and can be integrated within the workflow of systems unable to cope with very large ontologies

The regulation of psychological distance in long-distance relationships

Diese Dissertation untersuchte individuelle Anpassungsprozesse, die psychologische Distanz in Fernbeziehungen (FB) reflektieren und regulieren. Es wurde postuliert, dass Beziehungsqualität und -stabilität ohne Präsenz des Partners gesichert wird, indem viele kompensatorischen Prozesse auf die wahrgenommene Verfügbarkeit des Partners (Bowlby, 1969/1980), abzielen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen dass die im Vergleich zu zusammenlebenden Paaren erhöhte Bindungsängstlichkeit bei FBs die inkonsistente Verfügbarkeit des Partners reflektiert, und insgesamt für die Beziehungsentwicklung weniger schädlich ist als Vermeidung. Bindung reguliert ferner die psychologische Distanz durch den Einfluss auf adaptive Kommunikationsprozesse. Wenn Aspekte wie sexuelle Zufriedenheit nicht kompensiert werden können, scheinen FBs ihre Einschätzung der Beziehung stark auf Momente des Sehens und die Beziehungsqualität zurückzuführen.This dissertation proposed how relationship quality and stability in long-distance relationships (LDRs) is maintained without physical presence of the partner by basing compensatory processes on perceived partner availability, a core component of attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969/1980). The findings indicate that heightened anxiety reflects the inconsistent partner availability in LDRs, and is less detrimental to relationship development than avoidance. Attachment orientations further regulated the psychological distance between partners by influencing adaptive and protective communicative processes. There was indication that when relational aspects, such as sexual satisfaction, cannot be compensated for, LDRs base their evaluation on face-to-face experiences and general relationship quality indicators.