Suchergebnisse

Over the past 2 decades, Taiwan has introduced a series of decentralization reforms in school administration and curriculum. Teachers, who are at the center of these reforms, are expected to enrich their knowledge and cultivate strong beliefs regarding these reforms; the teachers' beliefs and knowledge are not only affected by their personal profile but also by contextual factors of structure and culture at all levels. I conducted this study in order to explore these factors and determine how they affect teachers' beliefs and practices. Qualitative methods guided this study in which a case-study approach was used. The findings of this study highlight a variety of factors that were identified by teachers. Contextual factors of structure and culture identified by the teachers include the context of the classroom, school administration and top-down authority, teachers' culture, and government policy. The personal factors include personality, educational background and teacher preparation, demographic profiles, and teachers' abilities. For the purpose of developing a comprehensive and culturally sensitive model of belief development, implications for practice and future research are provided.

We examine whether economic and military competence of political leaders affect their duration in office. We introduce leader heterogeneity in the selectorate theory of Bueno de Mesquita et al. (2003) and derive the hypothesis that in the presence of a revolutionary threat, economic competence is negatively related to political survival, but that the effect is moderated by the size of the winning coalition. As military and economic competence are negatively correlated, the opposite holds for military competence. We present empirical estimates using proxies for military and economic competence in a parametric Weibull duration model that support our theoretical predictions.

Abstract
Based on comparison between age sets in Africa and the social age structure of the Dai people in China, this paper examines the forms, functions and evolution of the age groups of the De'ang people in Yunnan Province, China. The age groups of De'ang people are unique in that only two distinct age grades (the youth and the elderly) are organized, both of which have different social functions. This pattern provides an important reference for further discussion on the relationships between age sets and age grades, as well as forms and types of age-class systems.

Zijn politieke leiders van belang? Bijvoorbeeld, heeft een buitenwettelijke leiderschapswisseling een effect op economische groei? En heeft politiek stabiliteit hogeropgeleide leiders tot gevolg? Dit zijn enkele van de vragen die behandeld worden in het proefschrift van Shu Yu. Shu concludeert dat in het decennium na een staatsgreep, de economische groeivoet in landen, waar een staatsgreep heeft geleid tot een leiderschapswisseling, significant verschilt van landen, waar een staatsgreep mislukte. De rijkere landen hebben een lage groeivaet, terwijl de armste landen een hogere groeivoet hebben. Om te bepalen of politieke stabiliteit invloed heeft op de selectie van leiders, heeft Shu een theoretisch model geconstrueerd, waarin het optimaal is een hoogopgeleide leider met lage militaire vaardigheden te kiezen als het regime stabiliseert. Empirisch bewijs bevestigt de voorspelling van het model. Shu toont aan dat het overleven van politieke leiders afhangt van de kenmerken van deze leiders, in het bijzonder hun opleidingsniveau en hun militaire achtergrond. Shu laat zien dat, onder een revolutionaire dreiging, economische competentie schadelijk kan zijn voor politiek overleven, maar dat dit effect minder sterk is als de winnende coalitie groter wordt. Bovendien, het tegenovergestelde is waar voor de militaire kundigheid. Empirisch bewijs ondersteunt deze propositie als data wordt gebruikt voor de periode 1875-2004. Shu heeft ook onderzoek gedaan naar het effect van leiders op buitenlands beleid. Zich richtend op de overeenstemming van landen met de V.S. in de Algememe Vergadering van de V.N., vind zij dat leiders, die hun opleiding in het buitenland hebben genoten, loyaliteit aan hun eigen land moeten aantonen door minder in overeenstemming met de V.S. te stemmen dan leiders zonder buitenlandse opleiding. ; Do political leaders matter? For instance, does an extra-legal leadership change affect economic growth? And does political stability result in more educated leaders? These are some of the questions dealt with in the thesis of Shu Yu. Shu concludes that in the decade after a coup d'état, the economic growth rate in countries where a coup d'état caused a leadership change is significantly different from the economic growth rate in countries where a coup attempt failed. The richer countries have lower growth rates while the poorest countries have higher growth rates. To examine whether political stability influences leader selection, Shu builds a theoretical model to show that it is optimal to choose a highly educated leader with less military skills as the regime stabilizes. Empirical evidence shows support for the model's prediction. Shu shows that political leader survival also depends on leaders themselves, especially their educational and military background. She derives the proposition that, under a revolutionary threat, economic competence can be detrimental to political survival, but that the effect decreases as the winning coalition grows. Moreover, the reverse holds for military attainment. Empirical evidence supports the proposition when using data for the period 1875-2004. Shu also examines the impact of leaders on foreign policies. Focusing on countries' alignment with the U.S. at the UNGA for the period 1970-2011, she finds that foreign-educated leaders need to signal loyalty to their own state by voting significantly less in line with the U.S. than domestically educated leaders.

Pre-prison experiences and environmental influences were examined to determine the effects of institutional misconduct and symptoms of depression related to adjustment in Taiwan's women's prisons. Using self-reported survey data derived from 883 Taiwanese female inmates, the findings suggest that pre-prison victimization, imprisonment stress, and social support from family members all had statistically significant effects on adjustment to life in prison. Although deviance prior to prison was highly related to institutional misconduct, reported illnesses also significantly increased the level of symptoms associated with depression. Lower levels of institutional misconduct were reported by women who committed drug offenses compared with their counterparts who committed violent offenses. The article concludes with insights from a comparative perspective and public policy implications.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Summary of Contents -- Table of Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Authors -- Executive Summary -- Abbreviations -- Chapter 1 Overview -- Motivation -- Key findings and policy messages -- Synopsis -- Future research directions -- References -- PART I: Characteristics of the Informal Economy -- Chapter 2 Understanding the Informal Economy: Concepts and Trends -- Introduction -- Definition of informality -- Database of informality measures -- Size and evolution of the informal economy -- Consistency among the various measures of informality -- Cyclical features of the informal economy -- Conclusion -- Annex 2A: Estimation methodologies -- Annex 2B: Tables -- References -- Chapter 3 Growing Apart or Moving Together? Synchronization of Informal- and Formal-Economy Business Cycles -- Introduction -- Literature review: Linkages between formal and informal sectors -- Data and methodology -- Synchronization of formal and informal business cycles -- Causal linkages between formal- and informal-economy business cycles -- Explaining the cyclicality of the informal sector -- Conclusion -- Annex 3A: Theory behind the cyclicality of the DGE-based estimates -- Annex 3B: Model specifications for measuring co-movement among informality measures -- Annex 3C: Causal linkages between formal- and informal-economy business cycles -- Annex 3D: Calibrating DGE estimates using survey-based self-employment data -- References -- PART II: Country and Regional Dimensions -- Chapter 4 Lagging Behind: Informality and Development -- Introduction -- Links between informality and development challenges -- Informality and economic correlates -- Informality and institutions -- Informality and SDGs related to human development -- Informality and SDGs related to infrastructure.

PRELIMINARY EDITION. A large percentage of workers and firms operate in the informal economy, outside the line of sight of governments in emerging market and developing economies. This may hold back the recovery in these economies from the deep recessions caused by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic—unless governments adopt a broad set of policies to address the challenges of widespread informality. This study is the first comprehensive analysis of the extent of informality and its implications for a durable economic recovery and for long-term development. It finds that pervasive informality is associated with significantly weaker economic outcomes—including lower government resources to combat recessions, lower per capita incomes, greater poverty, less financial development, and weaker investment and productivity.

Benign financing conditions since the global financial crisis and, more recently, rising financing needs have fueled a rapid increase in credit to the nonfinancial private sector, especially to the corporate sector, in emerging markets and developing economies. Credit growth has been most pronounced, and nearing the pace associated with past credit booms, in commodity exporting countries. In contrast, in commodity importers, credit-to-gross domestic product ratios are elevated but have been stable or shrinking over the past few years. That said, in a few, mostly energy exporting, emerging and developing countries, credit to the private sector is now near levels that have been associated with past episodes of financial stress.

We study whether national leaders' foreign education influences their foreign policy, measured by voting behavior at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). We hypothesize that "affinity" - pre-existing or developed while studying abroad - makes leaders with foreign education more likely to vote with their host country. At the same time, such leaders need to show sufficient distance to their host country and demonstrate "allegiance" to their own one, which will reduce voting coincidence. To test this theory we make use of data on the educational background of 831 leaders and the voting affinity between the countries they govern and those in which they studied. Over the 1975-2011 period, we find that foreign-educated leaders are less likely to vote in line with their host countries but more likely to vote in line with (other) G7 countries. We identify the causal effect of "allegiance" by investigating the differential effect of foreign education on voting in pre-election years compared to other years. The difference-in-difference-like results show that G7-educated leaders vote less in line with their host countries when facing an election. Overall, both "allegiance" and "affinity" affect foreign policy.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of wrist splint orthoses (WSOs) on forearm muscle activity and upper extremity/torso postures. Background: WSOs are ubiquitous in industry, but the literature as to their biomechanical effects is limited. Method: Study 1: Participants performed single-plane wrist exertions with or without a WSO while the electromyographic (EMG) activity of the flexor carpi radialis, flexor carpi ulnaris, and extensor carpi ulnaris was captured. Study 2: Participants performed simple computer jumper installation tasks with or without a WSO while upper extremity/torso postures were recorded. Results: Study 1: A significant interaction between WSOs and wrist angle was observed in the response of forearm muscles (e.g., normalized EMG of the flexor carpi radial is increased from 4.2% to 15.9% as flexion increased from 0° to 36° in the orthosis conditions, whereas in the no-orthosis condition it remained 5% at all wrist flexion angles). Study 2: WSOs were found to effect wrist, torso, and shoulder postures, with the orthoses creating a 48% decrease (36° vs. 18.6°) in wrist flexion and 80% decrease (15° vs. -3°) in ulnar deviation but at a cost of increased shoulder abduction of 22% (36.5° vs. 44.5°) and increased lateral bend of torso of 30% (6° vs. 7.8°). Conclusions: WSOs increased forearm muscle activity at large wrist deviation angles and induced awkward shoulder postures in tasks requiring significant wrist deviation. Application: Use of WSOs in occupational settings should be carefully considered relative to task requirements, as orthoses may do more harm than good.