56 research outputs found
Labor regulation and employment in India's retail stores
No full textA new dataset of 1,948 retail stores in India shows that 27 percent of the stores find labor regulations as a problem for their business. Using these data, author analyzes the effect of labor regulations on employment at thestore level. The author foound that flexible labor regulations have a strong positive effect on job creation. The author estimates show that labor reforms are likely to increase employment by 22 percent of the current level for an average store. The author also addresses the issue of informality in India's retail sector. The author findings suggest that more flexible labor laws can encourage firms to operate in the more efficient formal retail sector. According to author estimates, labor reforms can reduce the level of informality by as much as 33 percent.Labor Markets,Labor Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Regulatory Regimes,Labor Standards
Are labor regulations driving computer usage in India's retail stores ?
No full textA recent survey of 1,948 retail stores in India conducted by the World Bank's Enterprise Surveys shows that 19 percent of the stores use computers for their business. In some states like Kerala, computer use is as high as 40 percent. Using this data the author finds labor regulation as an important determinant of computer use. His estimates suggest that when faced with burdensome labor regulations, the probability of using a computer rises by over 36 percentage points for an average store. These findings formally confirm a commonly held but untested view that labor regulation may be responsible for the spread of labor saving modern technology.Labor Markets,Regulatory Regimes,Public Sector Regulation,Urban Economics,Public&Municipal Finance
Power, value, and the individual exchange: towards an improved conceptualization of terrorist finance
No full textThis thesis finds that the term ‘terrorist financing’ is a misnomer in that much of the activity encompassed by that term involves neither terrorism nor money. Instead, terrorist financing more accurately refers either to the flow of economic and material value to ‘terrorist’ actors or specific material expressions of support to ‘terrorism,’ however that contested term is defined. This finding not only directly challenges the dominant ways terrorist finance is now conceptualized, but also provides the first unified coherent conceptual framework capable of supporting systematic analysis of the topic. This thesis arrives at this conclusion by first critically examining the various – and often contradictory or incoherent – normative, legal, and political contexts that dominate ‘orthodox’ thinking on terrorism and terrorist finance, and then relocating the financing of terrorism squarely in context of the everyday realities of how terrorism and terrorist actors interact with global and local political economies. This thesis goes beyond existing critical works on terrorist financing, and constructs the necessary conceptual foundation for a vastly more coherent, systematic, and ultimately useful understanding of the financial and economic dimensions of terrorism
Hundreds of variants clustered in genomic loci and biological pathways affect human height
No full textMost common human traits and diseases have a polygenic pattern of inheritance: DNA sequence variants at many genetic loci influence the phenotype. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified more than 600 variants associated with human traits(1), but these typically explain small fractions of phenotypic variation, raising questions about the use of further studies. Here, using 183,727 individuals, we show that hundreds of genetic variants, in at least 180 loci, influence adult height, a highly heritable and classic polygenic trait(2,3). The large number of loci reveals patterns with important implications for genetic studies of common human diseases and traits. First, the 180 loci are not random, but instead are enriched for genes that are connected in biological pathways (P = 0.016) and that underlie skeletal growth defects (P<0.001). Second, the likely causal gene is often located near the most strongly associated variant: in 13 of 21 loci containing a known skeletal growth gene, that gene was closest to the associated variant. Third, at least 19 loci have multiple independently associated variants, suggesting that allelic heterogeneity is a frequent feature of polygenic traits, that comprehensive explorations of already-discovered loci should discover additional variants and that an appreciable fraction of associated loci may have been identified. Fourth, associated variants are enriched for likely functional effects on genes, being over-represented among variants that alter amino-acid structure of proteins and expression levels of nearby genes. Our data explain approximately 10% of the phenotypic variation in height, and we estimate that unidentified common variants of similar effect sizes would increase this figure to approximately 16% of phenotypic variation (approximately 20% of heritable variation). Although additional approaches are needed to dissect the genetic architecture of polygenic human traits fully, our findings indicate that GWA studies can identify large numbers of loci that implicate biologically relevant genes and pathways
Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies 11 new loci for anthropometric traits and provides insights into genetic architecture
No full textApproaches exploiting trait distribution extremes may be used to identify loci associated with common traits, but it is unknown whether these loci are generalizable to the broader population. In a genome-wide search for loci associated with the upper versus the lower 5th percentiles of body mass index, height and waist-to-hip ratio, as well as clinical classes of obesity, including up to 263,407 individuals of European ancestry, we identified 4 new loci (IGFBP4, H6PD, RSRC1 and PPP2R2A) influencing height detected in the distribution tails and 7 new loci (HNF4G, RPTOR, GNAT2, MRPS33P4, ADCY9, HS6ST3 and ZZZ3) for clinical classes of obesity. Further, we find a large overlap in genetic structure and the distribution of variants between traits based on extremes and the general population and little etiological heterogeneity between obesity subgroups
Association analyses of 249,796 individuals reveal 18 new loci associated with body mass index
No full textObesity is globally prevalent and highly heritable, but its underlying genetic factors remain largely elusive. To identify genetic loci for obesity susceptibility, we examined associations between body mass index and similar to 2.8 million SNPs in up to 123,865 individuals with targeted follow up of 42 SNPs in up to 125,931 additional individuals. We confirmed 14 known obesity susceptibility loci and identified 18 new loci associated with body mass index (P < 5 x 10(-8)), one of which includes a copy number variant near GPRC5B. Some loci (at MC4R, POMC, SH2B1 and BDNF) map near key hypothalamic regulators of energy balance, and one of these loci is near GIPR, an incretin receptor. Furthermore, genes in other newly associated loci may provide new insights into human body weight regulation
Yesus Kristus Sebagai Wahyu Terakhir Allah Dalam Konteks Kitab Ibrani 1:1-4
No full textPenelitian ini berusaha menjawab tentang sosok Yesus Kristus yang diyakini orang-orang percaya (Kristen) tentang iman mereka yang meyakini seutuhnya bahwa Yesus Kristus (Sang Logos) itu adalah wahyu terakhir Allah, yang mana sebelumnya di dalam kitab-kitab Perjanjian Lama, Allah telah berbicara kepada umat-Nya lewat perantaraan nabi-nabi-Nya kepada Israel. Dan di zaman akhir inilah, Allah berbicara lewat perantaraan Anak-Nya yang diutus ke dalam dunia untuk menggenapi seluruh kitab Perjanjian Lama. Maksud tujuan Yesus Kristus sebagai sebuah penggenapan dari karya Allah untuk keselamatan umat manusia dari kengerian kekal Di dalam sejarah keselamatan manusia, sejak manusia pertama yang diciptakan TUHAN jatuh ke dalam dosa, manusia seharusnya menerima upahnya yaitu mati kekal karena pelanggaran atau ketidaktaatan Adam dan Hawa saat itu (Kejadian 2:17). Tetapi inisiatif Allahlah yang merencanakan keselamatan bagi manusia hingga saat ini (Kejadian 3:21). Penggenapan itu dengan mengutus Yesus Kristus yang adalah inkarnasi Allah turun ke dalam dunia, masuk dalam sejarah umat manusia. Yesus Kristus berperan sebagai Juruselamat manusia bahkan dikatakan satu-satunya jalan menuju ke Sorga (Yohanes 4:16). Tidak ada seorangpun, pemuka agama manapun, pendiri agama manapun yang dapat melakukan hal ini. Pribadi kedua dari Allah Trinitas inilah yang menjelma menjadi manusia bernama Yesus Kristus, sesuai dengan yang dikatakan kitab suci sebagai Juruselamat manusia. Yesus Kristus menggenapi semua pemberitaan nabi-nabi dalam keseluruhan kitab Perjanjian Lama, mulai dari kitab Taurat, kitab nabi besar dan nabi kecil, artinya sebagai wahyu terakhir atau pernyataan Allah yang final bagi keselamatan umat manusia. Dikatakan sebagai wahyu terakhir karena nubuatan kitab suci mengatakan demikian, dan dipertegas lagi oleh penulis kitab Ibrani bahwa pada zaman akhir, Allah berbicara kepada manusia lewat perantaraan Anak-Nya (Ibrani 1:2).Penelitian ini berusaha menjawab tentang sosok Yesus Kristus yang diyakini orang-orang percaya (Kristen) tentang iman mereka yang meyakini seutuhnya bahwa Yesus Kristus (Sang Logos) itu adalah wahyu terakhir Allah, yang mana sebelumnya di dalam kitab-kitab Perjanjian Lama, Allah telah berbicara kepada umat-Nya lewat perantaraan nabi-nabi-Nya kepada Israel. Dan di zaman akhir inilah, Allah berbicara lewat perantaraan Anak-Nya yang diutus ke dalam dunia untuk menggenapi seluruh kitab Perjanjian Lama. Maksud tujuan Yesus Kristus sebagai sebuah penggenapan dari karya Allah untuk keselamatan umat manusia dari kengerian kekal Di dalam sejarah keselamatan manusia, sejak manusia pertama yang diciptakan TUHAN jatuh ke dalam dosa, manusia seharusnya menerima upahnya yaitu mati kekal karena pelanggaran atau ketidaktaatan Adam dan Hawa saat itu (Kejadian 2:17). Tetapi inisiatif Allahlah yang merencanakan keselamatan bagi manusia hingga saat ini (Kejadian 3:21). Penggenapan itu dengan mengutus Yesus Kristus yang adalah inkarnasi Allah turun ke dalam dunia, masuk dalam sejarah umat manusia. Yesus Kristus berperan sebagai Juruselamat manusia bahkan dikatakan satu-satunya jalan menuju ke Sorga (Yohanes 4:16). Tidak ada seorangpun, pemuka agama manapun, pendiri agama manapun yang dapat melakukan hal ini. Pribadi kedua dari Allah Trinitas inilah yang menjelma menjadi manusia bernama Yesus Kristus, sesuai dengan yang dikatakan kitab suci sebagai Juruselamat manusia. Yesus Kristus menggenapi semua pemberitaan nabi-nabi dalam keseluruhan kitab Perjanjian Lama, mulai dari kitab Taurat, kitab nabi besar dan nabi kecil, artinya sebagai wahyu terakhir atau pernyataan Allah yang final bagi keselamatan umat manusia. Dikatakan sebagai wahyu terakhir karena nubuatan kitab suci mengatakan demikian, dan dipertegas lagi oleh penulis kitab Ibrani bahwa pada zaman akhir, Allah berbicara kepada manusia lewat perantaraan Anak-Nya (Ibrani 1:2)
Author Correction: Comprehensive analysis of chromothripsis in 2,658 human cancers using whole-genome sequencing
No full textauthor correctio
Engendering global democracy
No full textThe inadequacies of hegemonic liberal democratic ideas and institutions have been exposed by feminist theorists focusing on the marginalisation of women and by global theorists examining the impact of globalisation. These theorists have developed two distinct sets of reconstructive strategies that, until very recently, have remained in ignorance of each other. Further, both feminist and global democratic schemes have been dogged by problems in terms of their theorisation of power, politics, agency and change. Recent feminist arguments about citizenship and governance go some way to bringing together concerns about gender inequality and globalisation, but they remain centred on states and the states-system as vehicles for democratic representation and participation. This article argues that a more radical reconstructive strategy can be derived from debates about the democratisation of feminism itself. Drawing on the responses of black and third world feminists to racism in the white-dominated feminist movement, and examining their influence on efforts to organise transnationally, the article points to innovative ways of thinking about power, politics, agency and change. Together these amount to a democratic framework which has applicability beyond feminist organising and which confronts the marginalisations of both gender and globalisation
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