General approach for electrochemical functionalization of glassy carbon surface by in situ generation of diazonium ion under acidic and non-acidic condition with a cascade protocol

Immobilization of catechol derivatives on GC electrode surfaces can be performed by in situ generation and reduction of nitrocatechol. We present the oxidative nitration of catechol in the presence of nitrous acid followed by electrochemically reduction of the generated nitro aromatic group to the corresponding amine group and its conversion to diazonium cation at the electrode surface to yield a surface covalently modified with catechol. In this manner, some derivatives of catechol can be immobilized on the electrode surface. Whole of the process is carried out in Triethylammonium acetate ionic liquid as an inert and neutral medium (pH∼7.0). Surface coverage can be easily controlled by the applied potential, time and concentration of catechol. After modification, the electrochemical features of modified surface have been studied. Also modified GC electrode exhibited remarkable catalytic activity in the oxidation of NADH. The catalytic currents were proportional to the concentration of NADH over the range 0.01-0.80 mM. This condition can be used for modification of GC surfaces by various aromatic molecules for different application such as design of sensors and biosensors. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gambling participation and problem gambling severity in a stratified random survey : Findings from the second social and economic impact study of gambling in Tasmania

Demographic characteristics associated with gambling participation and problem gambling severity were investigated in a stratified random survey in Tasmania, Australia. Computer-assisted telephone interviews were conducted in March 2011 resulting in a representative sample of 4,303 Tasmanian residents aged 18 years or older. Overall, 64.8 % of Tasmanian adults reported participating in some form of gambling in the previous 12 months. The most common forms of gambling were lotteries (46.5 %), keno (24.3 %), instant scratch tickets (24.3 %), and electronic gaming machines (20.5 %). Gambling severity rates were estimated at non-gambling (34.8 %), non-problem gambling (57.4 %), low risk gambling (5.3 %), moderate risk (1.8 %), and problem gambling (.7 %). Compared to Tasmanian gamblers as a whole significantly higher annual participation rates were reported by couples with no children, those in full time paid employment, and people who did not complete secondary school. Compared to Tasmanian gamblers as a whole significantly higher gambling frequencies were reported by males, people aged 65 or older, and people who were on pensions or were unable to work. Compared to Tasmanian gamblers as a whole significantly higher gambling expenditure was reported by males. The highest average expenditure was for horse and greyhound racing ($AUD 1,556), double the next highest gambling activity electronic gaming machines ($AUD 767). Compared to Tasmanian gamblers as a whole problem gamblers were significantly younger, in paid employment, reported lower incomes, and were born in Australia. Although gambling participation rates appear to be falling, problem gambling severity rates remain stable. These changes appear to reflect a maturing gambling market and the need for population specific harm minimisation strategies. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York.

North Korean human rights and the international community: responding to the UN Commission of Inquiry

Of all the difficult conversations to have with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) regime, the one over human rights has proven the most troubling for the international community. Once human rights issues are placed on the table, diplomatic efforts become quickly de-railed. Because of this, and because issues such as non-proliferation are seen as more pressing than human rights, there has been a conspicuous absence of any official, systematic response to the question of human rights violations in North Korea. Of course, most human rights campaigns experience some amount of politicisation. This is unsurprising, given the deeply political nature of the very concept of human rights. The North Korean human rights issue, however, suffers from this phenomenon more than most, tied up as it is with wider ideological battles that hark back to the circumstances of the division of the Korean peninsula. In this context, the 2014 report delivered by the United Nations (UN) Commission of Inquiry (COI) into North Korean human rights represents an effort to move above and beyond the politicisation of the issue and was largely successful in this regard.

Economic freedom and productivity growth in resource-rich economies

The focus of this paper is to test whether free market institutions that protect property rights and support freedom of choice and voluntary exchange can change the curse of natural resources into a blessing. To examine the above question, this paper uses the Fraser Institute's economic freedom index and its five sub-indices, namely government size, property rights, access to sound money, freedom to trade, and setting proper regulations. Using data from 99 sample countries over the period 1970-2010, the system GMM estimates suggest that the negative growth effects of resource rents may turn positive in countries with greater economic freedom.

Corporate social responsibility, economic globalization and developing countries: a case study of the ready made garments industry in Bangladesh

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the state of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in labour-intensive industries in developing countries in the context of economic globalization. Using the ready-made garments’ (RMG) industry in Bangladesh as a case study, challenges and key issues relating to CSR are highlighted. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws from the review of existing literature, and the content analysis of two leading newspapers in Bangladesh for a period of one year (July 2012-June 2013) to identify the key and contemporary issues related to CSR in the RMG industry. Findings – Findings identify the contemporary issues of concerns associated with CSR in the RMG industry, relating them to the debate on the applicability of Carroll’s CSR pyramid to developing countries. The findings suggest that non-compliance of CSR in labour-intensive industries is a function of the nature of economic globalization. The need for a stakeholder approach towards CSR for the profitability and sustainability of this industry is also highlighted. Practical implications – This paper makes contributions to two different but important interrelated discourses on CSR and economic globalization. It also provides insights into the complexity involved in CSR in labour-based export industries in developing countries and acts as a springboard for further research. Originality/value – The paper is the first to look at all major issues of concern regarding CSR in theRMG industry in Bangladesh. As Bangladesh is an exemplar of developing countries andRMGis a typical starter industry, the findings are generalizable to similar industries in other developing countries.

Migration and the right to social security: perceptions of off-farm migrants' rights to social insurance in China's Jiangsu Province

In 2001 China ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. By so doing the national government became legally bound, "to the maximum of its available resources", to achieve "progressively" full realization of the rights specified in the Covenant. Included amongst these entitlements is the "right of everyone to social security, including social insurance". This paper uses data from Jiangsu to examine the extent to which urbanites agree that previously disenfranchised migrants have the same right to social insurance as the urban population. Many urbanites fear that their existing entitlements to social protection will be diluted if social insurance coverage is extended to include new populations. Accordingly, state agencies and the media have sought to promote acceptance of a more positive view of migrant workers than has traditionally prevailed within towns and cities. We find that younger urban residents, urban residents who already have social insurance and urban residents working in the state-owned sector are more likely to agree that migrants have the same right to social insurance as the urban population. © 2007 Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Energy consumption and output: time series evidence from non-OECD developing countries

Statistically significant association between energy consumption and economic growth is now well established in the literature. However, it still remains an unsettled issue whether economic growth is the cause or effect of energy consumption. The importance of identifying the direction of causality emanates from its relevance in national policy-making issues regarding energy conservation. Energy conservationissue is more important when energy acts as a contributing factor in economic growth than when it is used as a result of higher economic growth. In this backdrop, it is justified to search causal relationship between energy consumption and national output (GDP) of those countries that are expected to have higher energy consumption in future. Evidence shows that countries classified as non-OECD Asia will have the highest growth in energy consumption (3.7 percent) over the period 2003-2030. This forecasted energy consumption in these countries will have significant policy implication in the area of energy conservation. Hence, the present paper attempts to identify the direction of causality between energy consumption and output in the context of six major energy dependent non-OECD Asian countries.However, since the traditional bivariate approach suffers from omitted variable problems (Stern 1993, Masih and Masih, 1996 and Asafu-Adjaye, 2000), this paper employs a trivariate demand side approach consisting of energy consumption, income and prices. The countries selected for this purpose are Bangladesh, China, India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand. Moreover, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) data of 2005, these six countries contribute 81.35% of the energyconsumption by all non-OECD Asian countries (aggregate energy consumption of 2005 by all non-OECD Asian countries is 113.60 quadrillion BTU while for these six countries alone the consumption is 92.42 quadrillion BTU).

A longitudinal study of the association of adolescent polydrug use, alcohol use and high school non-completion

AIMS: Failure to complete high school predicts substantial economic and social disadvantage in adult life. The aim of this study was to determine the longitudinal association of mid-adolescent polydrug use and high school non-completion, relative to other drug use profiles. DESIGN: A longitudinal analysis of the relationship between polydrug use in three cohorts at grade 9 (age 14-15 years) and school non-completion (reported post-high school). SETTING: A State-representative sample of students across Victoria, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 2287 secondary school students from 152 high schools. The retention rate was 85%. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was non-completion of grade 12 (assessed at age 19-23 years). At grade 9, predictors included 30-day use of eight drugs, school commitment, academic failure and peer drug use. Other controls included socio-economic status, family relationship quality, depressive symptoms, gender, age and cohort. FINDINGS: Three distinct classes of drug use were identified-no drug use (31.7%), mainly alcohol use (61.8%) and polydrug use (6.5%). Polydrug users were characterized by high rates of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use. In the full model, mainly alcohol users and polydrug users were less likely to complete school than non-drug users [odds ratio (OR) = 1.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.17-2.03) and OR = 2.51, 95% CI = 1.45-4.33), respectively, P < 0.001]. These effects were independent of school commitment, academic failure, peer drug use and other controls. CONCLUSIONS: Mid-adolescent polydrug use in Australia predicts subsequent school non-completion after accounting for a range of potential confounding factors. Adolescents who mainly consume alcohol are also at elevated risk of school non-completion.

Controlling shareholder, expropriations and firm’s leverage decision: Evidence from Chinese Non-tradable share reform

This paper examines the effect of excess control rights on the leverage decisions made by Chinese non-SOEs before and after the Non-tradable share reform (NTS reform). We find that firms with excess control rights have more excess leverage and their controlling shareholders use the resources for tunneling rather than investing in positive NPV projects. We also find that excess leverage in firms with excess control rights decreases and the market reaction to announcements of related party transactions are more positive after NTS reform. This confirms that tunneling by the controlling shareholders actually reduced. We argue that in emerging markets where legal protection for creditors and shareholders is weak, controlling shareholders borrow excess debt to tunnel through inter-corporate loans and related party transactions. Furthermore the privatization of these economies can reduce the controlling shareholders' tunneling activities and associated excess leverage which destroys firm value.

Can international human rights law accommodate bodily diversity?

This article considers recent efforts by international bodies and advocacy groups to secure the human rights of individuals with intersex variation. Identifying that these efforts are constrained by powerful assumptions about binary sex, it argues that international rights discourse looks set to regulate intersex individuals by the same protective strategies applied to the last four decades of the women's rights movement. A frank reading of legal feminist scholarship indicates several possible risks for the nascent intersex campaign. Efforts to ensure the substantive enjoyment of rights (for all) need to move beyond the constraints of a binary system in which women and sexed/sexual minorities will always be produced as other. Having argued that human rights are not contingent on biological determinants, the right to non-discrimination on the basis of sex traits is considered.

Measuring the economic consequences of racial discrimination in Australia

 Racial discrimination results in economic inefficiency. This thesis has investigated its impact and estimated, for the first time, the health-related costs attributable to racial discrimination. The study found that the Australian economy incurs substantial loss due to the burden of disease associated with the exposure of minorities to racial discrimination.

Anisotropy for metals in non-associated flow plasticity

 A constitutive model based on Non-Associated Flow rule is implemented numerically and is shown to be capable of accurate predictions of anisotropy driven phenomena, observed during the forming processes of thin sheet metals, in a more efficient manner than other traditional approaches based on Associated Flow Rule.

The economic significance of CDS price discovery

© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York Between 2005 and 2009, we document evident time-varying credit risk price discovery between the equity and credit default swap (CDS) markets for 174 US non-financial investment-grade firms. We test the economic significance of a simple portfolio strategy that utilizes fluctuation in CDS spreads as a trading signal to set stock positions, conditional on the CDS price discovery status of the reference entities. We show that a conditional portfolio strategy which updates the list of CDS-influenced firms over time, yields a substantively larger realized return net of transaction cost over the unconditional strategy. Furthermore, the conditional strategy’s Sharpe ratio outperforms a series of benchmark portfolios over the same trading period, including buy-and-hold, momentum and dividend yield strategies.

Truths and half truths: China's socio-economic reforms (1978-2010)

Truths and Half Truths is aimed at economic and social science academics and students who are interested in the dynamics of China's institutional development and societal transformation. Covering the complexity of the social, economic, and governance reforms behind the economic miracles achieved by China since its reform in 1978, and particularly in the past twenty years, this book provides much needed insight and critical thinking on major aspects of China's reform. Topics include employment, environment, anti-poverty; urbanization and rural development; education, corruption, political regime and media. Readers will be able to re-evaluate the costs and benefits of China's modernization from a point-of-view of sustainability. © 2011 Woodhead Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.

Non-wage benefits, corporate ownership and firm performance in post-communist economies: evidence from Ukraine

The economic reforms in the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe have fundamentally reshaped ownership and governance of economic production, notably through the privatization of former state-owned enterprises. These reforms were expected to transform management practices by displacing ‘cradle-to-grave’ welfare arrangements administered by state-owned enterprises. Using data drawn from two large samples of Ukrainian establishments, we investigate, in two different time points, the relationship between non-wage benefits and firm performance during the period of transition to a market economy (1994–2004). We found that non-wage benefits continued to be a critical feature of HRM practices in Ukraine during this period, and were positively associated with firm performance.