2,508 research outputs found
Afghanistan. peacebuilding in a regional perspective ; Solstrand, Norway 22-24 September 2002
No full textArne Strand ; Kristian Berg Harpviken ; Astri Suhrk
Sex differences in Cognitive Abilities Test scores: a UK national picture
No full textBackground and aims. There is uncertainty about the extent or even existence of sex differences in the mean and variability of reasoning test scores ( Jensen, 1998; Lynn, 1994, ; Mackintosh, 1996). This paper analyses the Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) scores of a large and representative sample of UK pupils to determine the extent of any sex differences.
Sample. A nationally representative UK sample of over 320,000 school pupils aged 11-12 years was assessed on the CAT (third edition) between September 2001 and August 2003. The CAT includes separate nationally standardized tests for verbal, quantitative, and non-verbal reasoning. The size and recency of the sample is unprecedented in research on this issue.
Methods. The sheer size of the sample ensures that any sex difference will achieve statistical significance. Therefore, effect sizes (d) and variance ratios (VR) are employed to evaluate the magnitude of sex differences in mean scores and in score variability, respectively.
Results. The mean verbal reasoning score for girls was 2.2 standard score points higher than the mean for boys, but only 0.3 standard points in favour of girls for non-verbal reasoning (NVR), and 0.7 points in favour of boys for quantitative reasoning (QR). However, for all three tests there were substantial sex differences in the standard deviation of scores, with greater variance among boys. Boys were over represented relative to girls at both the top and the bottom extremes for all tests, with the exception of the top 10% in verbal reasoning.
Conclusions. Given the small differences in means, explanations for sex differences in wider domains such examination attainment at age 16 need to look beyond conceptions of `ability'. Boys tend to be both the lowest and the highest performers in terms of their reasoning abilities, which warns against the danger of stereotyping boys as low achievers
Afghanistan. peacebuilding in a regional perspective ; Solstrand, Norway 22-24 September 2002 / Arne Strand ; Kristian Berg Harpviken ; Astri Suhrke
No full textNation
No full textThe state of civic participation in the U.S. is the subject of much hand-wringing. The lament is generally that citizens are withdrawn - that civic life is less vibrant than it once was and should be. This book review welcomes Downsizing Democracy: How America Sidelined its Citizens and Privatized its Public, by Matthew Crenson & Benjamin Ginsburg (2002), as an alternative to the tendency to blame citizens for the current malaise. Crenson & Ginsburg make the case that the government itself has disinvited civic participation in several key ways. The author observes that, notwithstanding this lack of invitation, citizens can and should still take on themselves the responsibility for civic action - not just in traditional political spheres, but in the myriad venues of our everyday lives.525-2927
Assessing Microfinance: The Bosnia and Herzegovina Case
No full textMicrofinance is often hailed both as a tool for fighting poverty and as a tool for post-conflict reconciliation. This paper explores the use of microfinance in post-civil war Bosnia and Herzegovina, assessing its results in terms of both goals. As it combined high unemployment with a highly educated population in an institutionally open context, Bosnia and Herzegovina provides a crucial test of the effect of microfinance. If unambiguous signs of success cannot be found in a case with such favorable conditions, this would raise serious questions about the potential benefits of microfinance. The paper draws together evidence from a series of independent reviews of microfinance in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to assess its impact in terms of economic performance, the economic system, social welfare and post-conflict integration. Based on this case study, microfinance appears a better tool for dealing with poverty than with social integration or institution building.micro finance, post-conflict, poverty alleviation, economic development, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Strategic climate policy with offsets and incomplete abatement : carbon taxes versus cap-and-trade
No full textThis paper provides a first analysis of optimal offset policies by a"policy bloc"of fossil fuel importers implementing a climate policy, facing a (non-policy) fringe of other importers, and a bloc of fuel exporters. The policy bloc uses either a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade scheme, jointly with a fully efficient offset mechanism for reducing emissions in the fringe. The policy bloc is then shown to prefer a tax over a cap-and-trade scheme, since 1) a tax extracts more rent as fuel exporters reduce the export price, and more so when the policy bloc is larger relative to the fringe; and 2) offsets are more favorable to the policy bloc under a tax than under a cap-and-trade scheme. The optimal offset price under a carbon tax is half the tax rate; under a cap-and-trade scheme the quota and offset price are equal. The domestic carbon and offset price are both higher under a tax than under a cap-and-trade scheme when the policy bloc is small; when it is larger the offset price can be higher under a cap-and-trade scheme. Fringe countries gain by mitigation in the policy bloc, and more under a carbon tax since the fuel import price is lower, and since the price obtained when selling offsets is often higher (always so for a large fringe).Climate Change Economics,Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Energy Production and Transportation,Markets and Market Access,Environment and Energy Efficiency
MRE11 facilitates the removal of human topoisomerase II complexes from genomic DNA
No full textTopoisomerase II creates a double-strand break intermediate with topoisomerase covalently coupled to the DNA via a 5'-phosphotyrosyl bond. These intermediate complexes can become cytotoxic protein-DNA adducts and DSB repair at these lesions requires removal of topoisomerase II. To analyse removal of topoisomerase II from genomic DNA we adapted the trapped in agarose DNA immunostaining assay. Recombinant MRE11 from 2 sources removed topoisomerase IIalpha from genomic DNA in vitro, as did MRE11 immunoprecipitates isolated from A-TLD or K562 cells. Basal topoisomerase II complex levels were very high in A-TLD cells lacking full-length wild type MRE11, suggesting that MRE11 facilitates the processing of topoisomerase complexes that arise as part of normal cellular metabolism. In K562 cells inhibition of MRE11, PARP or replication increased topoisomerase IIalpha and beta complex levels formed in the absence of an anti-topoisomerase II dru
Taxes versus Cap-and-Trade in Climate Policy when only some Fuel Importers Abate
No full textI study climate policy choices for a “policy bloc” of fuel-importers, when a “fringe” of other fuel importers have no climate policy, fuel exporters consume no fossil fuels, and importers produce no such fuels. The policy bloc and exporter blocs act strategically in fossil fuel markets. When the policy bloc sets a carbon tax, the fuel import price set by the exporter is reduced, and more so when the policy bloc is larger. The carbon tax then serves to extract the exporter’s rent. The fringe also gains from reduced fuel import prices, and gains more when the policy bloc is larger. When the policy bloc sets an emissions cap, fuel demand becomes less price elastic. In response, a monopolistic exporter sets the fuel export price higher than under a tax, which hurts both the policy bloc and the fringe. This effect can be stronger when the policy bloc is larger, so that the fringe loses when the policy bloc is larger, opposite to the tax policy case. Overall, a cap is inferior to a tax for fossil fuel importers, both those that implement a climate policy, and those that do not.climate policy, carbon taxes, cap-and-trade schemes, carbon emissions, strategic trade policy
Strand separation establishes a sustained lock at the Tus-Ter replication fork barrier
No full textThe bidirectional replication of a circular chromosome by many bacteria necessitates proper termination to avoid the head-on collision of the opposing replisomes. In Escherichia coli, replisome progression beyond the termination site is prevented by Tus proteins bound to asymmetric Ter sites. Structural evidence indicates that strand separation on the blocking (nonpermissive) side of Tus-Ter triggers roadblock formation, but biochemical evidence also suggests roles for protein-protein interactions. Here DNA unzipping experiments demonstrate that nonpermissively oriented Tus-Ter forms a tight lock in the absence of replicative proteins, whereas permissively oriented Tus-Ter allows nearly unhindered strand separation. Quantifying the lock strength reveals the existence of several intermediate lock states that are impacted by mutations in the lock domain but not by mutations in the DNA-binding domain. Lock formation is highly specific and exceeds reported in vivo efficiencies. We postulate that protein-protein interactions may actually hinder, rather than promote, proper lock formation.Accepted Author ManuscriptBN/Nynke Dekker LabBN/Cees Dekker LabBN/Martin Depken La
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