Measuring Income Inequality in Euroland

In this paper we propose an aggregate measure of income inequality for the founding countries of the European monetary union. Applying the methodology of the Theil index we are able to derive a measure for Euroland as a whole by exploiting information from two data sets: the European Community Household Panel and the Luxembourg Income Study. The property of additive decomposability allows us to determine each country's contribution as well as that of each demographic group to overall income inequality. In addition the impact of government transfers on this inequality measure is assessed.

Heterogeneous Employment Effects of Job Search Programmes: A Machine Learning Approach

We systematically investigate the effect heterogeneity of job search programmes for unemployed workers. To investigate possibly heterogeneous employment effects, we combine non-experimental causal empirical models with Lasso-type estimators. The empirical analyses are based on rich administrative data from Swiss social security records. We find considerable heterogeneities only during the first six months after the start of training. Consistent with previous results of the literature, unemployed persons with fewer employment opportunities profit more from participating in these programmes. Furthermore, we also document heterogeneous employment effects by residence status. Finally, we show the potential of easy-to-implement programme participation rules for improving average employment effects of these active labour market programmes

Partial substitution of concentrates by maize silage in rations for organic dairy cows and its influence on performance and utilization efficiency

The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of partial substitution of purchased concentrates with maize silage on feed intake, energy and nutrient supply, milk production and feed utilization efficiency in organic dairy cows. In the experiment, two winter rations were compared. In the experimental group (E) 2/3 of average herd concentrate intake were replaced by maize silage. In group E total dry matter, protein und energy intake was significantly lower than in the control group (C) (16.3 and 17.8 kg, 99 and 110 MJ NEL, 2170 and 2460 g crude protein, respectively). Milk yield decreased in group E by 1.7 kg, which was not statistically significant. Ruminal nitrogen balance and dietary protein to energy ratio was significantly lower in group E as compared to group C (-8 and 22 g, 21 and 24 g/MJ NEL, respectively). The diet for group E had no effect on milk composition, except milk urea content, which was in tendency lower in group E (15 and 17 mg 100ml-1). Estimated milk yield from forage was considerably higher in group E (15.9 vs 13.5 kg). Efficiency of nitrogen (N) utilization was tendencially higher in group E

Sylvian fissure and parietal anatomy in children with autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by deficits in social functioning and language and communication, with restricted interests or stereotyped behaviors. Anatomical differences have been found in the parietal cortex in children with ASD, but parietal subregions and associations between Sylvian fissure (SF) and parietal anatomy have not been explored. In this study, SF length and anterior and posterior parietal volumes were measured on MRI in 30 right-handed boys with ASD and 30 right-handed typically developing boys (7–14 years), matched on age and non-verbal IQ. There was leftward SF and anterior parietal asymmetry, and rightward posterior parietal asymmetry, across groups. There were associations between SF and parietal asymmetries, with slight group differences. Typical SF asymmetry was associated with typical anterior and posterior parietal asymmetry, in both groups. In the atypical SF asymmetry group, controls had atypical parietal asymmetry, whereas in ASD there were more equal numbers of individuals with typical as atypical anterior parietal asymmetry. We did not find significant anatomical-behavioral associations. Our findings of more individuals in the ASD group having a dissociation between cortical asymmetries warrants further investigation of these subgroups and emphasizes the importance of investigating anatomical relationships in addition to group differences in individual regions.This study was supported by a program project grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (U19 DC 03610), which is part of the NICHD/NIDCD funded Collaborative Programs on Excellence in Autism, as well as funding for the GCRC at Boston University School of Medicine (M01-RR0533). We thank all of our research assistants for help in collecting the data and Andrew Silver, Melanee Schuring, Danielle Delosh, and Jeremy Siegal for completing the total hemisphere measurements. We also extend our sincere gratitude to the children and families who participated in this study. (U19 DC 03610 - National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders; NICHD/NIDCD; M01-RR0533 - Boston University School of Medicine)Published versio

Human – [Me]dia – [I]nteraction. Theoretical and Conceptual Considerations on «Digital Literacy» in Schools and the Role of Media Education in the Next Society

Mit Blick auf aktuelle technische und gesellschaftliche Entwicklungen sowie die historischen Wurzeln der Medienpädagogik wird in diesem Beitrag eine Metapher vorgeschlagen, die die Rolle der Disziplin in der nächsten Gesellschaft (Baecker 2007) beschreibt – einer Gesellschaft, die durch digitaltechnikinduzierte Entgrenzungen und Neu-Vernetzungen beeinflusst ist. Den Ausgangspunkt theoretisch-konzeptioneller Überlegungen bildet das Sozialisationskonzept, aus dem die Medienpädagogik bereits Anleihen machte. Die gegenwärtigen Entwicklungen um die Spezifika des Digitalen werfen jedoch neue Fragen auf, die eine Re-Vision des Konzepts nahelegen: Zentral wird dabei die Frage sein, welchen Anteil Medien in einer «digitalen» und «vernetzen» Welt am «Prozess der dynamischen und produktiven Verarbeitung von Realität» (Hurrelmann 2006, 28) haben. Auslöser von Konstruktionsprozessen sind nicht nur andere Menschen, sondern auch deren mediale Artefakte – Dinge, die Individuen kommunikativ vernetzen und die zunehmend mittels digitaler Werkzeuge erstellt, gestaltet und manipuliert werden. Hierdurch beeinflusst das medienschaffende Subjekt die Prozesse der Realitätsverarbeitung und -konstruktion seines sozialen Umfeldes – zumal nicht nur das Medium selbst gestaltbar ist, sondern auch die digitalen Werkzeuge. Aufgrund ihrer Programmierbarkeit, Adaptivität und Konvergenz werden sie selbst zu Kommunikationsmedien. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit gilt also der Kommunikation zwischen Menschen sowie der Kommunikation zwischen Menschen und Dingen – der symbolischen Mensch-Maschine-Interaktion. Diese Erkenntnisse liefern Einsichten über das Lernen mit und über Medien, die einer Weiterentwicklung der schulischen Medienpraxis mit dem Ziel der Förderung «Digitaler Bildung» als Grundlage dienen. Sie verweisen zugleich auf das Desiderat einer zuständigkeitsklärenden interdisziplinären Vernetzung der Medienpädagogik mit technisch-gestalterischen Disziplinen wie der Informatik.In the context of current technological and social developments and with a view to the historical roots of Media Education, this contribution presents a metaphor which describes the role of Media Education in the Next Society (Baecker 2007) – a society in which digital technology blurs traditional boundaries in education and science and opens up new opportunities for «digital» socialization. The starting point for theoretical and conceptual considerations is provided by a General Educational approach – the theory of socialization – from which Media Education has already borrowed in the past. However, technological developments have given rise to new issues which suggest that this approach should now be revisited. At the forefront of this reappraisal lies the role the media will occupy in a «digital» and «networked» world and what part it will play in the «model of dynamic and productive processing of reality» (Hurrelmann 2006, 28). Construction processes are not only triggered by other people, but also by medial artefacts – things that provide a communicative link between people and which are being increasingly generated, designed and manipulated using digital technology. Individual media creators use these tools to influence the way in which they process reality and construct their social environment; they are able to this largely because it is not just the medium itself but – due to the programmability, adaptivity and the convergence of digital tools – the tools themselves which are also being generated, thereby rendering them a medium of communication in their own right. Particular attention should therefore be paid to the communication between people as well as between people and things – to the symbolic human-machine interaction. This study provides insights into the ways in which people learn with and about media, findings which serve to develop educational media use and support «Digital Literacy». These findings also reveal the need to establish a link between Media Education and technical design-related disciplines such as Informatics which would also help to demarcate the boundaries of responsibility between the fields

The effectiveness of extension work in Daggett and Stephenson communities, Menominee County, Michigan

Typescript, etc.Digitized by Kansas State University Librarie

The unification bonus (malus) in postwall Eastern Germany

This paper presents estimates of the unification bonus for East Germans over the period 1991 to 1998. The unification bonus is defined as the discounted value of the difference between a person?s actual income and his or her counterfactual real income stream forecast for a hypothetical continuation of economic life in a static GDR. The two main issues tackled in this study are the construction of valid deflators for a comparison of real incomes during the transition from a centralized to a market economy and the estimation of plausible counterfactual income streams. Our central result is that 19 percent of East Germans received a present value malus and so can be regarded as unification losers but that the aggregate bonus is ten times the size of the aggregate malus of the sample. --Real income comparison,income distribution and mobility,economies in transition

Making in media education: An activity-oriented approach to digital literacy

Why is maker education a suitable approach for giving learners the 21st century skills they need to cope with the digital transformation? This article provides an answer and represents a defense of maker education in the field of educational science. Taking a human-media-machine interaction model as the basis for discussion, this article highlights the growing importance of digital technology as well as technological principles for human communication and interaction. Communication technology and the influence of technology on culture and society require a broad understanding of media literacy in the sense of digital literacy. By broadening the theoretical basis of media literacy education, making, coding and tinkering qualify as approaches for achieving these goals. The discussion uses the four classic dimensions of media literacy and action theory to argue in favor of these approaches