1,031 research outputs found
Pension liabilities in the financial statements
No full textThis chapter describes the reporting of pension liabilities in the annual accounts of employers. The chapter focusses on Dutch GAAP (RJ) and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), more specifically accounting standards RJ 271 and IAS 1
Family planning success in two cities in Zaire
No full textBoth projects described here, Matadi and Kananga, helped health providers in those two cities offer clinical family planning services. But their approaches differed markedly. The family education program in Matadi concentrated on pioneering community-based distribution of contraceptives, with carefully supervised distributors. The Kanaga Project emphasized clinical supervision and pleasing the clients; introduced social marketing with loose supervision of retailers; and provided an information team skilled in face-to-face group meetings, plus a weekly radio program. Four factors common to both projects seemed to contribute to their success: The single-minded dedication of staff members to making family planning work. An uninterrupted supply of affordable contraceptive methods available through outlets at many locations. Enough organizational autonomy to be able to respond to problems as they arose. Such autonomy made project personnel identify more with project goals and feel responsible for achieving project objectives. Regular and supportive supervision of those responsible for service delivery. Both projects emphasized regular contact with clinic personnel - Matadi also included distributors. These contacts bolstered morale by showing that the project administration was closely following service providers'activities and by transmitting to providers the staff's enthusiam for project activities. Supervisory visits included administrative functions such as collecting service statistics and controlling inventory, but these activities were handled in a friendly, nonthreatening manner that encouraged service providers to perform their tasks well. The fourth factor is adequate funding. Both projects had special funding that allowed them to experiment with approaches for increasing contraceptive prevalence. That funding may partly explain their organizational autonomy and may have contributed to the sense of purpose and esprit de corps that developed among project staff. Larger-scale programs in Zaire have operated with significant financial constraints, so it would be unfair to compare them with these more successful projects. Special funding does not guarantee project success but may make it far more likely, conclude the authors.Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Adolescent Health,ICT Policy and Strategies,Early Child and Children's Health,Reproductive Health
"Causes, Consequences and Dynamics of 'Complex' Distributions of Technological Activities: The Case of Prolific Inventors"
No full textWe provide a framework for understanding the causes and consequences of the observed shapes of the distributions of individual inventors' productivities. We review a literature that begins with Lotka's (1926) "law" regarding the persistence of variability in scientific productivity at any point in time and also over time. We discuss use of the "power law" and the Pareto distribution to describe and explain the empirical distributions. We focus on the upper parts of the frequency distributions for inventors exploring the processes underlying knowledge accumulation at the individual level, including its features, characteristics, and structural trends. Finally we explore the specific processes by which these individuals create, maintain, and increase knowledge accumulation as their careers evolve.patents, inventors, prolific, lotka
Comparative genomics of Beauveria bassiana : Uncovering signatures of virulence against mosquitoes
No full textBackground: Entomopathogenic fungi such as Beauveria bassiana are promising biological agents for control of malaria mosquitoes. Indeed, infection with B. bassiana reduces the lifespan of mosquitoes in the laboratory and in the field. Natural isolates of B. bassiana show up to 10-fold differences in virulence between the most and the least virulent isolate. In this study, we sequenced the genomes of five isolates representing the extremes of low/high virulence and three RNA libraries, and applied a genome comparison approach to uncover genetic mechanisms underpinning virulence. Results: A high-quality, near-complete genome assembly was achieved for the highly virulent isolate Bb8028, which was compared to the assemblies of the four other isolates. Whole genome analysis showed a high level of genetic diversity between the five isolates (2.85-16.8 SNPs/kb), which grouped into two distinct phylogenetic clusters. Mating type gene analysis revealed the presence of either the MAT1-1-1 or the MAT1-2-1 gene. Moreover, a putative new MAT gene (MAT1-2-8) was detected in the MAT1-2 locus. Comparative genome analysis revealed that Bb8028 contains 163 genes exclusive for this isolate. These unique genes have a tendency to cluster in the genome and to be often located near the telomeres. Among the genes unique to Bb8028 are a Non-Ribosomal Peptide Synthetase (NRPS) secondary metabolite gene cluster, a polyketide synthase (PKS) gene, and five genes with homology to bacterial toxins. A survey of candidate virulence genes for B. bassiana is presented. Conclusions: Our results indicate several genes and molecular processes that may underpin virulence towards mosquitoes. Thus, the genome sequences of five isolates of B. bassiana provide a better understanding of the natural variation in virulence and will offer a major resource for future research on this important biological control agent.</p
The impact of labor market regulations
No full textThe authors investigate the impact of labor market regulations in settings where compliance is incomplete. They review some stylized facts about labor market behavior, present an analytical model that may explain such behavior, and provide a checklist for assessing the distortionary impact of a regulation such as the minimum wage. They take as their starting point the limited evidence about the distortionary effects of such regulations and argue that there may be natural limits on the efficiency losses engendered by labor market regulations. First, the regulations may not be binding at market equilibrium. For example, minimum wages may be set so low that they are ineffective. Second, even if they are binding, the relevant elasticities of supply and demand may be so low that the regulations have little impact on efficiency. Third, even if the regulations are binding and elasticities are sizable, compliance may be low. The authors argue that the likelihood of compliance will be greatest when the regulations are binding and the relevant elasticities are sizable. That is, if the distortionary costs of regulations are not rendered insignificant by the first two reasons, then the returns to noncompliance will be high and, other things being equal, employers will evade or avoid the regulations, thereby minimizing the imact on efficiency. The argument rests on profit maximization subject to a hard budget constraint. Public enterprises, which are not concerned only with profit maximization and often have softer budget constraints than the private sector, may be more willing to conform to profit-reducing regulations, but in this case the authors argue that compliance may reduce already-existing efficiency losses.Environmental Economics&Policies,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Labor Policies,Public Health Promotion,Banks&Banking Reform,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Financial Management,Poverty Assessment,Environmental Economics&Policies
Inventory for a Reverse Journey. Photographic Image and Found Object - An investigation of travel and material transformation as a paradigm of artist's practice: Ed Ruscha, Douglas Huebler, Bas jan Ader, Jimmie Durham, Gustav Metzger, Kurt Schwitters & Cian Quayle.
No full textInventory for Reverse Journey is the title of a collection of photographic artefacts and found objects, which I have collected over the last twenty years. The title refers to one specific type of artist's journey, which is applicable to the `chronotope' of my archive, as a `metaphorical journey in space and time' (Bakhtin 1981, p. 81). The `city',`provincial town', `road', `threshold' and `interior' are recurrent motifs, which Bakhtin fused together to describe the historical evolution of the novel in relation to its different genres. Bakhtin's motifs are expanded as the basis of an evolutionary nomenclature of the artist's-journey, as a form of spatial mapping and identity formation. Alongside other sources from literature (Alain Robbe-Grillet), cinema (Michelangelo Antonioni), psychoanalysis (Kierkegaard) and critical theory (Walter Benjamin) I have developed a theoretical framework, which initially originated in an empirical process, that is reflected in the antecedents of this project. The research process, as a journey itself, has concretised this approach within a systems-based practice. This is mirrored in the work of the artists under investigation, as their differences and similarities are highlighted within a broad contextual analysis. Accordingly the tone of the writing shifts its register at different points in the thesis.
My journey is just one example of several paradigmatic formations of `travel' as a strategy, which investigates the work of six different artists, as a voluntary or involuntary form of exile. A deskilled use of the photographic image is examined in the work of Ed Ruscha, Douglas Huebler and Bas jan Ader in the spatial mapping of their chosen locations. The work of these artists manifests travel, as a strategy, in a benign form of regional and expatriate exile. The investigation shifts its focus from the New World to Europe, where the work of Jimmie Durham, Gustav Metzger and Kurt Schwitters is analysed in relation to their transformation of found objects and materials, and their relationship with a former 'home'. Their position registers different degrees of the `impossibility of return' to a point of origin, which exists in the mind rather than as a physical location. The transience of their work, and use of disparate materials, is counterbalanced by their physical presence in the work. Conversely Ader, Huebler and Ruscha are linked by a scale of decreasing visibility, as they are sublimated within their work in the formation of, what is now construed as, a unique photographic presence. The starting point for which is a return to the formative years of conceptualism in the 1960's, which set the scene for Durham and Metzger from the 1970's onwards. The spectre of Schwitters practice of forming (Formung) and unforming (Entformung) is significant for my analysis of the dematerialisation of the art-work and artist, by processes of series and repetition, distance and proximity, movement and stasis. Although `travel' is a ubiquitous term, I continue to use it as a portmanteau, which carries with it the themes and `salient' features of a typology of artist's journeys. In a moment of perceived obsolescence as digital information systems engender a culture of `selective-amnesia', these thoughts have informed my work, which runs parallel to the artist case-studies, and the material transformation of the photographic image and found object
Behavioral Aspects of Bargaining and Pricing.
No full textSome remarkable results of the studies in this thesis are that individual behavior seems to be rather well described by theories taking the (im)patience of agents into account. Fairness considerations are found to play an important role not only in bargaining situations but also in competitive markets. At the same time, the impact of fairness varies with the institutional setting. Finally, investigation into the variation of trust accross the Dutch population suggests that age and education affect a basic trust propensity.
Intra-operative bacterial contamination : control and consequences
No full textEen combinatie van gedragsmaatregelen en een beter luchtinblaassysteem in de operatiekamer leidt tot een afname van het aantal bacteriën bij plaatsing van een knie- of heupprothese. Hierdoor neemt de kans af op infectie van de prothese en op problemen met wondgenezing na de operatie. Dit blijkt uit onderzoek van Bas Knobben, uitgevoerd bij de afdeling Orthopedie en de vakgroep Biomedical Engineering van het Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen. Deze bevindingen kunnen ertoe bijdragen dat gewrichtsprothesen minder vaak infecteren en vervangen moeten worden. Hij promoveert op 26 april 2006 op zijn onderzoek aan de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.
In elke operatiekamer kunnen ondanks strenge hygiënische maatregelen bacteriën voorkomen die een mogelijk risico vormen voor infectie van prothesen en problemen met wondgenezing na de operatie. Tot nu toe was de omvang hiervan onduidelijk. Uit het onderzoek van Knobben blijkt dat bij 36 procent van de plaatsingen van heupprothesen bacteriën aanwezig waren op het instrumentarium en op verwijderde botsnippers bij het inbrengen van de prothesen. Ook bleek er een verband te zijn tussen het vóórkomen van deze bacteriën en het optreden van verstoorde wondgenezing en infectie van de prothesen.
Gedragsmaatregelen
Knobben onderzocht of gedrags- en technische maatregelen, aanvullend op de gebruikelijke hygiënerichtlijnen, de kans op bacteriële besmetting tijdens de operatie verkleinen. Uit zijn onderzoek blijkt dat de combinatie van deze maatregelen in een operatiekamer de kans op aanwezigheid van bacteriën deed afnemen van 34 procent naar 8 procent. Tegelijk nam de kans op infectie van prothesen, verstoorde wondgenezing en wondinfectie beduidend af.
De gedragsmaatregelen die onder andere werden genomen, zijn het beperken van het spreken en het in- en uitlopen van de operatiekamer door het operatiekamerpersoneel, het gecontroleerd bewegen, het juiste gebruik van het neus-/mondkapje en een beter gebruik van het gebied onder de luchtstroom. Een van de technische maatregelen betrof het gebruik van een beter luchtinblaassysteem (laminaire airflow). Hierbij vindt een constante aanvoer van schone lucht plaats boven het operatiegebied en worden bacteriën via verticale luchtstromen afgevoerd.
Kosteneffectief
Met dit onderzoek toont Knobben aan dat gedragsmaatregelen en een beter luchtinblaassysteem in de operatiekamer infecties van prothesen en problemen met wondgenezing kunnen voorkomen. De maatregelen zijn bovendien kosteneffectief: de gemiddelde totale kosten per patiënt met een eerste (primaire) prothese zonder infectie zijn ongeveer € 15.000, zo’n 3,5 keer lager dan die van een patiënt met een geïnfecteerde prothese (ongeveer € 52.000). De resultaten van dit proefschrift hebben ertoe geleid dat het Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen de aanvullende gedrags- en technische maatregelen toepast bij het plaatsen van prothesen.
Verdubbeling
In Nederland zijn in 2004 ongeveer 25.000 heup- en 20.000 knieprothesen geplaatst. De belangrijkste indicatie voor het plaatsen hiervan is gewrichtsslijtage. De verwachting is dat door vergrijzing het aantal mensen dat in aanmerking komt voor deze operaties de komende twintig jaar zal verdubbelen. Bij ongeveer één tot vier procent van de patiënten treedt na plaatsing een bacteriële infectie op.
Prediction formula for the spectral wave period T-m-1,T-0 on mildly sloping shallow foreshores
No full textDuring the last decades, the spectral wave period T-m-1.,T-0 has become accepted as a characteristic wave period when describing the hydraulic attack on coastal structures, especially over shallow foreshores. In this study, we derive an empirical prediction formula for T-m-1,T-0 on shallow to extremely shallow foreshores with a mild slope. The formula was determined based on flume tests and numerical calculations, mainly for straight linear foreshore slopes. It is shown that the wave period increases drastically when the water depth decreases; up to eight times the offshore value. The bed slope angle influences the wave period slightly. For short-crested wave fields, the strong increase of T-m-1,T-0 starts closer to shore (at smaller water depths) than for long-crested wave fields
- …
