Strategy-Proofness of Stochastic Assignment Mechanisms

This paper seeks to identify which algorithm to employ in a situation where goods are distributed to individuals without using money, while treating everyone equally and respecting each individual's preferences. I compare two stochastic assignment mechanisms: Random serial dictatorship (RSD) and top trading cycles with random endowments (TTC). In standard theory, both algorithms are strategy-proof and yield the optimal result. In the experiment, RSD outperforms TTC. This can be attributed to a more dominant strategy play under RSD. Generally, subjects with extremely high and low levels of contingent reasoning play their dominant strategies. These results suggest that one optimal algorithm may outperform another one if individuals are boundedly rational

ASEAN plus China: Verliert die EU den Anschluss? Bilaterale Handelsabkommen der EU auf dem Prüfstand

"Am 1. Januar 2010 trat die drittgrößte Freihandelszone der Welt zwischen sechs ASEAN-Staaten und China (ACFTA) in Kraft, die neben weitgehenden Zollsenkungen auch partielle Liberalisierungen bei Dienstleistungen und Investitionen vorsieht. Die Liberalisierung ist recht ehrgeizig – selbst angesichts begrenzter Ausnahmeregelungen vom sofortigen Zollabbau für gewisse sensitive Produkte. ACFTA dürfte somit bei Produkten ohne Ausnahmeregelung und mit hoher Zollsenkung zu Wettbewerbsnachteilen für die EU führen. Dies gilt umso mehr, als die Verhandlungen zwischen der EU und der gesamten ASEAN-Region über ein umfassendes Freihandelsabkommen im März 2009 ausgesetzt wurden. Dagegen war China mit einer stufenweise erfolgenden Liberalisierung erfolgreich mit ASEAN insgesamt, nicht zuletzt auch, weil es die Agenda nicht wie die EU mit politischen Themen wie Menschenrechte, Arbeits- und Sozialstandards beladen hatte. Auch die EU sollte hier mehr Flexibilität zeigen. Die EU will jetzt mit den einzelnen ASEAN-Staaten Abkommen aushandeln, zunächst mit Singapur und Vietnam. Ein Handelsvertrag mit Singapur sollte zwar relativ zügig möglich sein. Allerdings scheint es sehr fraglich, ob dieser als Modell für die Abkommen mit den übrigen ASEAN-Staaten dienen kann, die sich in Wirtschaftsstruktur und Liberalisierungswillen meist stark von Singapur unterscheiden. Es wäre daher wichtig für die EU, gewisse gemeinsame Mindeststandards für alle Einzelabkommen zu definieren, um so die Regelungsvielfalt etwas zu begrenzen. Mittelfristig sollte die EU zudem den regionalen Ansatz mit ASEAN insgesamt wieder aufgreifen und langfristig eine Multilateralisierung der Regelungen anstreben. Auch grundsätzlich sollte die EU ihre Strategie überdenken, immer neue bilaterale Handelsabkommen zu schließen, weil sie damit das 'Race for Markets' und den Bilateralismus immer mehr anheizt. Bilaterale Handelsabkommen schaffen zwar wichtige neue Liberalisierung gerade auch bei WTO-plus-Themen. Doch sie benachteiligen Drittstaaten und erhöhen die Transaktionskosten gerade für KMUs (Spaghetti-Bowl-These). Zudem spricht vieles dafür, dass sie Stolpersteine für die multilaterale Liberalisierung sind. Stattdessen sollte die EU mehr Verantwortung für das multilaterale Regelwerk des Welthandels übernehmen und sich nachdrücklich dafür einsetzen, die Handlungsfähigkeit der WTO wieder zu stärken. Dies ließe sich etwa mit plurilateralen Abkommen im Rahmen der WTO erreichen, für die die EU mit Nachdruck werben sollte." (Autorenreferat

Lebensqualität, psychische Gesundheit, Einsamkeit und Adhärenz an Schutzmassnahmen während der Covid-19-Pandemie : Schlussbericht zum Covid-19 Social Monitor

Seit März 2020 stellte die Covid-19-Pandemie die Schweizer Bevölkerung laufend vor grosse gesellschaftliche Herausforderungen. Mit dem Projekt Covid-19 Social Monitor stand seit Ende März 2020 ein kontinuierliches Monitoring zu sozialen und gesundheitlichen Veränderungen der Bevölkerung zur Verfügung. Aktuelle Ergebnisse des Monitorings wurden jeweils wenige Tage nach Erhebung auf der Webseite https://covid19.ctu.unibe.ch präsentiert und diverse Indikatoren konnten bzw. können über die Zeit und nach Subgruppen betrachtet werden. Der vorliegende Schlussbericht steht ergänzend und zusammenfassend zu den Resultaten auf der Webseite und gibt einen Überblick über Veränderungen im Lauf der Pandemie zwischen März 2020 und November 2022. Der Fokus liegt dabei auf dem allgemeinen Wohlbefinden, der psychischen Befindlichkeit (inkl. Kinder und Jugendliche) und dem Einsamkeitsempfinden. Zudem wird die Adhärenz der Bevölkerung an Schutzmassnahmen zur Eindämmung der Pandemie betrachtet

Implementation of the interdisciplinary curriculum Teaching and Assessing Communicative Competence in the fourth academic year of medical studies (CoMeD)

Introduction: Implementation of a longitudinal curriculum for training in advanced communications skills represents an unmet need in most German medical faculties, especially in the 4rth and 5th years of medical studies. The CoMeD project (communication in medical education Düsseldorf) attempted to establish an interdisciplinary program to teach and to assess communicative competence in the 4th academic year. In this paper, we describe the development of the project and report results of its evaluation by medical students

Les droits disciplinaires des fonctions publiques : « unification », « harmonisation » ou « distanciation ». A propos de la loi du 26 avril 2016 relative à la déontologie et aux droits et obligations des fonctionnaires

The production of tt‾ , W+bb‾ and W+cc‾ is studied in the forward region of proton–proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.98±0.02 fb−1 . The W bosons are reconstructed in the decays W→ℓν , where ℓ denotes muon or electron, while the b and c quarks are reconstructed as jets. All measured cross-sections are in agreement with next-to-leading-order Standard Model predictions.The production of $t\overline{t}$, $W+b\overline{b}$ and $W+c\overline{c}$ is studied in the forward region of proton-proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.98 $\pm$ 0.02 \mbox{fb}^{-1}. The $W$ bosons are reconstructed in the decays $W\rightarrow\ell\nu$, where $\ell$ denotes muon or electron, while the $b$ and $c$ quarks are reconstructed as jets. All measured cross-sections are in agreement with next-to-leading-order Standard Model predictions

Measurement of CP violation parameters and polarisation fractions in Bs0→J/ψK‾∗0 {\mathrm{B}}_{\mathrm{s}}^0\to \mathrm{J}/\psi {\overline{\mathrm{K}}}^{\ast 0} decays

The first measurement of ${C\!P}$ asymmetries in the decay ${B_s^0\to J/\psi \overline{K}^{*}(892)^{0}}$ and an updated measurement of its branching fraction and polarisation fractions are presented. The results are obtained using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $3.0\,fb^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions recorded with the LHCb detector at centre-of-mass energies of $7$ and $8\,\mathrm{TeV}$. Together with constraints from ${B^0\to J/\psi \rho^0}$, the results are used to constrain additional contributions due to penguin diagrams in the ${C\!P}$-violating phase ${{\phi}_{s}}$, measured through ${B_s^0}$ decays to charmonium.The first measurement of CP asymmetries in the decay ${B}_s^0\to J/\psi {\overline{\mathrm{K}}}^{\ast }{(892)}^0$ and an updated measurement of its branching fraction and polarisation fractions are presented. The results are obtained using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb^{−}^{1} of proton-proton collisions recorded with the LHCb detector at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. Together with constraints from B$^{0}$ → J/ψ ρ$^{0}$, the results are used to constrain additional contributions due to penguin diagrams in the CP -violating phase ϕ$_{s}$ , measured through B$_{s}^{0}$ decays to charmonium.The first measurement of ${C\!P}$ asymmetries in the decay ${B_s^0\to J/\psi \overline{K}^{*}(892)^{0}}$ and an updated measurement of its branching fraction and polarisation fractions are presented. The results are obtained using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $3.0\,fb^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions recorded with the LHCb detector at centre-of-mass energies of $7$ and $8\,\mathrm{TeV}$. Together with constraints from ${B^0\to J/\psi \rho^0}$, the results are used to constrain additional contributions due to penguin diagrams in the ${C\!P}$-violating phase ${{\phi}_{s}}$, measured through ${B_s^0}$ decays to charmonium

Measurement of the J/ψ pair production cross-section in pp collisions at s=13 \sqrt{s}=13 TeV

The production cross-section of J/ψ pairs is measured using a data sample of pp collisions collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 279 ±11 pb$^{−1}$. The measurement is performed for J/ψ mesons with a transverse momentum of less than 10 GeV/c in the rapidity range 2.0 < y < 4.5. The production cross-section is measured to be 15.2 ± 1.0 ± 0.9 nb. The first uncertainty is statistical, and the second is systematic. The differential cross-sections as functions of several kinematic variables of the J/ψ pair are measured and compared to theoretical predictions.The production cross-section of $J/\psi$ pairs is measured using a data sample of $pp$ collisions collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 13 \,{\mathrm{TeV}}$, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $279 \pm 11 \,{\mathrm{pb^{-1}}}$. The measurement is performed for $J/\psi$ mesons with a transverse momentum of less than $10 \,{\mathrm{GeV}}/c$ in the rapidity range $2.0<y<4.5$. The production cross-section is measured to be $15.2 \pm 1.0 \pm 0.9 \,{\mathrm{nb}}$. The first uncertainty is statistical, and the second is systematic. The differential cross-sections as functions of several kinematic variables of the $J/\psi$ pair are measured and compared to theoretical predictions

Measurement of forward W→eνW\to e\nu production in pppp collisions at s=8 \sqrt{s}=8\,TeV

A measurement of the cross-section for $W \to e\nu$ production in $pp$ collisions is presented using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $2\,$fb$^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=8\,$TeV. The electrons are required to have more than $20\,$GeV of transverse momentum and to lie between 2.00 and 4.25 in pseudorapidity. The inclusive $W$ production cross-sections, where the $W$ decays to $e\nu$, are measured to be \begin{align*} \begin{split} \sigma_{W^{+} \to e^{+}\nu_{e}}&=1124.4\pm 2.1\pm 21.5\pm 11.2\pm 13.0\,\mathrm{pb},\\ \sigma_{W^{-} \to e^{-}\bar{\nu}_{e}}&=\,\,\,809.0\pm 1.9\pm 18.1\pm\,\,\,7.0\pm \phantom{0}9.4\,\mathrm{pb}, \end{split} \end{align*} where the first uncertainties are statistical, the second are systematic, the third are due to the knowledge of the LHC beam energy and the fourth are due to the luminosity determination. Differential cross-sections as a function of the electron pseudorapidity are measured. The $W^{+}/W^{-}$ cross-section ratio and production charge asymmetry are also reported. Results are compared with theoretical predictions at next-to-next-to-leading order in perturbative quantum chromodynamics. Finally, in a precise test of lepton universality, the ratio of $W$ boson branching fractions is determined to be \begin{align*} \begin{split} \mathcal{B}(W \to e\nu)/\mathcal{B}(W \to \mu\nu)=1.020\pm 0.002\pm 0.019, \end{split} \end{align*} where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic.A measurement of the cross-section for $W \to e\nu$ production in $pp$ collisions is presented using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $2\,$fb$^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=8\,$TeV. The electrons are required to have more than $20\,$GeV of transverse momentum and to lie between 2.00 and 4.25 in pseudorapidity. The inclusive $W$ production cross-sections, where the $W$ decays to $e\nu$, are measured to be \begin{equation*} \sigma_{W^{+} \to e^{+}\nu_{e}}=1124.4\pm 2.1\pm 21.5\pm 11.2\pm 13.0\,\mathrm{pb}, \end{equation*} \begin{equation*} \sigma_{W^{-} \to e^{-}\bar{\nu}_{e}}=\,\,\,809.0\pm 1.9\pm 18.1\pm\,\,\,7.0\pm \phantom{0}9.4\,\mathrm{pb}, \end{equation*} where the first uncertainties are statistical, the second are systematic, the third are due to the knowledge of the LHC beam energy and the fourth are due to the luminosity determination. Differential cross-sections as a function of the electron pseudorapidity are measured. The $W^{+}/W^{-}$ cross-section ratio and production charge asymmetry are also reported. Results are compared with theoretical predictions at next-to-next-to-leading order in perturbative quantum chromodynamics. Finally, in a precise test of lepton universality, the ratio of $W$ boson branching fractions is determined to be \begin{equation*} \mathcal{B}(W \to e\nu)/\mathcal{B}(W \to \mu\nu)=1.020\pm 0.002\pm 0.019, \end{equation*} where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic.A measurement of the cross-section for W → eν production in pp collisions is presented using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2 fb$^{−1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV. The electrons are required to have more than 20 GeV of transverse momentum and to lie between 2.00 and 4.25 in pseudorapidity. The inclusive W production cross-sections, where the W decays to eν, are measured to be ${\sigma}_{W^{+}\to {e}^{+}{\nu}_e}=1124.4\pm 2.1\pm 21.5\pm 11.2\pm 13.0\kern0.5em \mathrm{p}\mathrm{b},$ ${\sigma}_{W^{-}\to {e}^{-}{\overline{\nu}}_e}=809.0\pm 1.9\pm 18.1\pm \kern0.5em 7.0\pm \kern0.5em 9.4\,\mathrm{p}\mathrm{b},$ where the first uncertainties are statistical, the second are systematic, the third are due to the knowledge of the LHC beam energy and the fourth are due to the luminosity determination

Measurement of the B0s→μ+μ− Branching Fraction and Effective Lifetime and Search for B0→μ+μ− Decays

A search for the rare decays Bs0→μ+μ- and B0→μ+μ- is performed at the LHCb experiment using data collected in pp collisions corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 4.4  fb-1. An excess of Bs0→μ+μ- decays is observed with a significance of 7.8 standard deviations, representing the first observation of this decay in a single experiment. The branching fraction is measured to be B(Bs0→μ+μ-)=(3.0±0.6-0.2+0.3)×10-9, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The first measurement of the Bs0→μ+μ- effective lifetime, τ(Bs0→μ+μ-)=2.04±0.44±0.05  ps, is reported. No significant excess of B0→μ+μ- decays is found, and a 95% confidence level upper limit, B(B0→μ+μ-)<3.4×10-10, is determined. All results are in agreement with the standard model expectations.A search for the rare decays $B^0_s\to\mu^+\mu^-$ and $B^0\to\mu^+\mu^-$ is performed at the LHCb experiment using data collected in $pp$ collisions corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 4.4 fb$^{-1}$. An excess of $B^0_s\to\mu^+\mu^-$ decays is observed with a significance of 7.8 standard deviations, representing the first observation of this decay in a single experiment. The branching fraction is measured to be ${\cal B}(B^0_s\to\mu^+\mu^-)=\left(3.0\pm 0.6^{+0.3}_{-0.2}\right)\times 10^{-9}$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The first measurement of the $B^0_s\to\mu^+\mu^-$ effective lifetime, $\tau(B^0_s\to\mu^+\mu^-)=2.04\pm 0.44\pm 0.05$ ps, is reported. No significant excess of $B^0\to\mu^+\mu^-$ decays is found and a 95 % confidence level upper limit, ${\cal B}(B^0\to\mu^+\mu^-)<3.4\times 10^{-10}$, is determined. All results are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations