Search results for "Social Sciences & Humanities"
showing 10 items of 14 documents
Primary Student-Teachers' Conceptual Understanding of the Greenhouse Effect: A Mixed Method Study
2011
International audience; The greenhouse effect is a reasonably complex scientific phenomenon which can be used as a model to examine students' conceptual understanding in science. Primary student-teachers' understanding of global environmental problems, such as climate change and ozone depletion, indicates that they have many misconceptions. The present mixed methods study examines Finnish primary student-teachers' understanding of the greenhouse effect based on the results obtained via open-ended and closed-form questionnaires. The open-ended questionnaire considers primary student-teachers' spontaneous ideas about the greenhouse effect depicted by concept maps. The present study also uses …
Experimental duopolies under price guarantees
2011
In a symmetric differentiated experimental duopoly we test the ability of Price Guarantees (PGs) to raise prices above the competitive levels. Different types of PGs ("aggressive" and "soft" price-beating and price-matching) are implemented either as an exogenously imposed market rule or as a business strategy. Our results show that PGs may lead close to the collusive outcome, depending on whether the interaction between duopolists is repeated and provided that the guarantee is not of the "aggressive" price-beating type.
"Compiling the Actuarial Balance for Pay-As-You-Go Pension Systems. Is it better to use the Hidden Asset or the Contribution Asset?"
2013
The aim of this paper is twofold: to establish the connection between the "contribution asset" (CA) and the "hidden asset" (HA) and to determine whether using either of them to compile the actuarial balance sheet in the pay-as-you-go (PAYG) pension system will provide a reliable solvency indicator. With these aims in mind, we develop a model based on those first put forward by Settergren and Mikula (2005) and Boado-Penas et al. (2008) to obtain the analytical properties of the CA and to confirm its soundness as a measure of the assets of a PAYG scheme. Our model also enables us to explore whether, and to what extent, the HA can be considered a second alternative measure of the assets for PA…
Immigration, factor endowments and the productive structure of Spanish regions, 1996-2005.
2012
The participation of immigrants in the Spanish labour market has increased from less than 3% in 1996 to more than 13% in 2005. The factor proportion model of production was used to examine the impact of such a large labour supply shock on the industrial structure of Spanish regions. The results confirm that, first, labour endowment differences across regions help to explain the regional patterns of industry specialization. Second, immigrants and natives act as complementary factors in most industries. Third, the importance of immigration is relatively small compared with production technique changes and idiosyncratic industry changes in explaining the overall changes in industrial structure. …
ISARIC-COVID-19 dataset: A Prospective, Standardized, Global Dataset of Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19
2022
The International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC) COVID-19 dataset is one of the largest international databases of prospectively collected clinical data on people hospitalized with COVID-19. This dataset was compiled during the COVID-19 pandemic by a network of hospitals that collect data using the ISARIC-World Health Organization Clinical Characterization Protocol and data tools. The database includes data from more than 705,000 patients, collected in more than 60 countries and 1,500 centres worldwide. Patient data are available from acute hospital admissions with COVID-19 and outpatient follow-ups. The data include signs and symptoms, pre-existing como…
Regional Input–Output Tables and the FLQ Formula: A Case Study of Finland
2013
Flegg A. T. and Tohmo T. Regional input – output tables and the FLQ formula: a case study of Finland, Regional Studies. This paper examines the use of location quotients (LQs) in constructing regional input – output tables. Its focus is on the modified FLQ formula proposed by Flegg and Webber in 1997. Using data for twenty Finnish regions of widely different size, a regression model is developed to assist in the selection of a value for the unknown parameter δ in this formula. It is found that the FLQ yields results far superior to those from standard LQ-based formulae. The FLQ-based initial set of regional input coefficients could be used to build the non-survey foundations of a hybrid mod…
Total Factor Productivity Convergence Amongst Italian Regions: Some Evidence from Panel Unit Root Tests
2009
Byrne J. P., Fazio G. and Piacentino D. Total factor productivity convergence among Italian regions: some evidence from panel unit root tests. Regional Studies. This paper employs panel unit root tests to investigate convergence in total factor productivity (TFP) among Italian regions. These tests provide an inference valid in the presence of heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence, and when the cross-sectional dimension is smaller than the time dimension, allowing the investigation of convergence among different subsets of regions. The results add a further dimension to the conventional view on growth dynamics in the Italian peninsula depicting a lack of regional TFP convergence not o…
Sociodemographic and behavioural correlates of lifetime number of sexual partners: findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.
2018
BackgroundNo current data are available on correlates of lifetime sexual partners at older ages. This study aimed to explore correlates of the lifetime number of sexual partners in a sample of older adults.MethodData were from 3054 men and 3867 women aged ≥50 years participating in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Participants reported their lifetime number of sexual partners and a range of sociodemographic characteristics and health behaviours. Multivariable multinomial logistic regression was used to examine correlates of lifetime number of sexual partners, with analyses performed separately for men and women and weighted for non-response.ResultsYounger age, being separated/divor…
DO TRANSPORT COSTS HAVE A DIFFERENTIAL EFFECT ON TRADE AT THE SECTORAL LEVEL?
2008
This article aims to analyse the determinants of transport costs and to investigate their influence in international trade with a sample of disaggregate trade data. First, we estimate a transport-cost function using cross-section data on maritime and overland transport for four sectors: agro-industry, ceramic tiles, motor vehicle parts and accessories, and electrical and mechanical household appliances, obtained from interviews held with Spanish exporters and logistics operators in 2001. Second, we study the relationship between transport costs and trade and estimate the elasticity of trade with respect to transport costs for each sector. Important differences for high value- and low value-…
PRICE CONVERGENCE IN THE EUROPEAN CAR MARKET
2008
International audience; This paper examines price convergence in the European Union car market over the period 1995-2005. We find that there is a clear evidence of price convergence among the EU15 countries, but not before 1999. Moreover, countries of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) started convergence previously to the EU15 as a whole. Finally, exchange rate changes have significantly contributed to price dispersion over time across countries. The results provide significant evidence that trade liberalization and the EMU have enhanced the process of regional integration in the European automobile industry, even though there is room for further measures to promote integration.