A new framework for understanding inequalities between expatriates and host country nationals

An interdisciplinary theoretical framework is proposed for analysing justice in global working conditions. In addition to gender and race as popular criteria to identify disadvantaged groups in organizations, in multinational corporations (MNCs) local employees (i.e. host country nationals (HCNs) working in foreign subsidiaries) deserve special attention. Their working conditions are often substantially worse than those of expatriates (i.e. parent country nationals temporarily assigned to a foreign subsidiary). Although a number of reasons have been put forward to justify such inequalities—usually with efficiency goals in mind—recent studies have used equity theory to question the extent to which they are perceived as fair by HCNs. However, since perceptual equity theory has limitations, this study develops an alternative and non-perceptual framework for analysing such inequalities. Employment discrimination theory and elements of Rawls’s ‘Theory of Justice’ are the theoretical pillars of this framework. This article discusses the advantages of this approach for MNCs and identifies some expatriation practices that are fair according to our non-perceptual justice standards, whilst also reasonably (if not highly) efficient.

Inequalities in dental services utilization among Brazilian low-income children: the role of individual determinants

Objectives: To assess the role of the individual determinants on the inequalities of dental services utilization among low-income children living in the working area of Brazilian`s federal Primary Health Care program, which is called Family Health Program (FHP), in a big city in Southern Brazil. Methods: A cross-sectional population-based study was performed. The sample included 350 children, ages 0 to 14 years, whose parents answered a questionnaire about their socioeconomic conditions, perceived needs, oral hygiene habits, and access to dental services. The data analysis was performed according to a conceptual framework based on Andersen`s behavioral model of health services use. Multivariate models of logistic regression analysis instructed the hypothesis on covariates for never having had a dental visit. Results: Thirty one percent of the surveyed children had never had a dental visit. In the bivariate analysis, higher proportion of children who had never had a dental visit was found among the very young, those with inadequate oral hygiene habits, those without perceived need of dental care, and those whose family homes were under absent ownership. The mechanisms of social support showed to be important enabling factors: children attending schools/kindergartens and being regularly monitored by the FHP teams had higher odds of having gone to the dentist, even after adjusting for socioeconomic, demographic, and need variables. Conclusions: The conceptual framework has confirmed the presence of social and psychosocial inequalities on the utilization pattern of dental services for low-income children. The individual determinants seem to be important predictors of access.

Sex and socioeconomic inequalities of lung cancer mortality in Barcelona, Spain and Sao Paulo, Brazil

The objective of this paper was to assess sex and socioeconomic inequalities in lung cancer mortality in two major cities of Europe and South America. Official information on mortality and population allowed the estimation of sex- and age-specific death rates for Barcelona, Spain and Sao Paulo, Brazil (1995-2003). Mortality trends and levels were independently assessed for each city and subsequently compared. Rate ratios assessed by Poisson regression analysis addressed hypotheses of association between the outcome and socioeconomic covariates (human development index, unemployment and schooling) at the inner-city area level. Barcelona had a higher mortality in men (76.9/100000 inhabitants) than Sao Paulo (38.2/100 000 inhabitants); although rates were decreasing for the former (-2%/year) and levelled-off for the [after. Mortality in women ranked similarly (9.1 for Barcelona, 11.5 for Sao Paulo); with an increasing trend for women aged 35-64 years (+ 7.7%/year in Barcelona and + 2.4%/year in Sao Paulo). The socioeconomic gradient of mortality in men was negative for Barcelona and positive for Sao Paulo; for women, the socioeconomic gradient was positive in both cities. Negative gradients indicate that deprived areas suffer a higher burden of disease; positive gradients suggest that prosmoking lifestyles may have been more prevalent in more affluent areas during the last decades. Sex and socioeconomic inequalities of lung cancer mortality reinforce the hypothesis that the epidemiologic profile of cancer can be improved by an expanded access to existing technology of healthcare and prevention. The continuous monitoring of inequalities in health may contribute to the concurrent promotion of well-being and social justice.

Benders, metric and cutset inequalities for multicommodity capacitated network design

Solving multicommodity capacitated network design problems is a hard task that requires the use of several strategies like relaxing some constraints and strengthening the model with valid inequalities. In this paper, we compare three sets of inequalities that have been widely used in this context: Benders, metric and cutset inequalities. We show that Benders inequalities associated to extreme rays are metric inequalities. We also show how to strengthen Benders inequalities associated to non-extreme rays to obtain metric inequalities. We show that cutset inequalities are Benders inequalities, but not necessarily metric inequalities. We give a necessary and sufficient condition for a cutset inequality to be a metric inequality. Computational experiments show the effectiveness of strengthening Benders and cutset inequalities to obtain metric inequalities.

Exact penalties for variational inequalities with applications to nonlinear complementarity problems

In this paper, we present a new reformulation of the KKT system associated to a variational inequality as a semismooth equation. The reformulation is derived from the concept of differentiable exact penalties for nonlinear programming. The best theoretical results are presented for nonlinear complementarity problems, where simple, verifiable, conditions ensure that the penalty is exact. We close the paper with some preliminary computational tests on the use of a semismooth Newton method to solve the equation derived from the new reformulation. We also compare its performance with the Newton method applied to classical reformulations based on the Fischer-Burmeister function and on the minimum. The new reformulation combines the best features of the classical ones, being as easy to solve as the reformulation that uses the Fischer-Burmeister function while requiring as few Newton steps as the one that is based on the minimum.

On Approximate KKT Condition and its Extension to Continuous Variational Inequalities

In this work, we introduce a necessary sequential Approximate-Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (AKKT) condition for a point to be a solution of a continuous variational inequality, and we prove its relation with the Approximate Gradient Projection condition (AGP) of Garciga-Otero and Svaiter. We also prove that a slight variation of the AKKT condition is sufficient for a convex problem, either for variational inequalities or optimization. Sequential necessary conditions are more suitable to iterative methods than usual punctual conditions relying on constraint qualifications. The AKKT property holds at a solution independently of the fulfillment of a constraint qualification, but when a weak one holds, we can guarantee the validity of the KKT conditions.

Design of a control system using linear matrix inequalities for the active vibration control of a plate

The study of algorithms for active vibration control in smart structures is an area of interest, mainly due to the demand for better performance of mechanical systems, such as aircraft and aerospace structures. Smart structures, formed using actuators and sensors, can improve the dynamic performance with the application of several kinds of controllers. This article describes the application of a technique based on linear matrix inequalities (LMI) to design an active control system. The positioning of the actuators, the design of a robust state feedback controller and the design of an observer are all achieved using LMI. The following are considered in the controller design: limited actuator input, bounded output (energy) and robustness to parametric uncertainties. Active vibration control of a flat plate is chosen as an application example. The model is identified using experimental data by an eigensystem realization algorithm (ERA) and the placement of the two piezoelectric actuators and single sensor is determined using a finite element model (FEM) and an optimization procedure. A robust controller for active damping is designed using an LMI framework, and a reduced model with observation and control spillover effects is implemented using a computer. The simulation results demonstrate the efficacy of the approach, and show that the control system increases the damping in some of the modes.

Landau and Kolmogoroff type polynomial inequalities

Let 0inequalitiesparallel to f((f))parallel to(2) less than or equal to A parallel to f(m)parallel to + B parallel to f parallel to/ A theta(k) + B mu(k),with certain constants theta(k)e mu(k), which hold for every f is an element of pi(n) (pi(n) denotes the space of real algebraic polynomials of degree not exceeding n).For the particular case j=1 and m=2, we provide a complete characterisation of the positive constants A and B, for which the corresponding Landau type polynomial inequalities parallel to f'parallel to less than or equal toA parallel to f parallel to + B parallel to f parallel to/ A theta(k) + B mu(k)hold. In each case we determine the corresponding extremal polynomials for which equalities are attained.

Inequalities for zeros of associated polynomials and derivatives of orthogonal polynomials

It is well known and easy to see that the zeros of both the associated polynomial and the derivative of an orthogonal polynomial p(n)(x) interlace with the zeros of p(n)(x) itself. The natural question of how these zeros interlace is under discussion. We give a sufficient condition for the mutual location of kth, 1 less than or equal to k less than or equal to n - 1, zeros of the associated polynomial and the derivative of an orthogonal polynomial in terms of inequalities for the corresponding Cotes numbers. Applications to the zeros of the associated polynomials and the derivatives of the classical orthogonal polynomials are provided. Various inequalities for zeros of higher order associated polynomials and higher order derivatives of orthogonal polynomials are proved. The results involve both classical and discrete orthogonal polynomials, where, in the discrete case, the differential operator is substituted by the difference operator. (C) 2001 IMACS. Published by Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Characterization of generalized Bessel polynomials in terms of polynomial inequalities

Generalized Bessel polynomials (GBPs) are characterized as the extremal polynomials in certain inequalities in L-2 norm of Markov type. (C) 1998 Academic Press.

INEQUALITIES FOR ZEROS of JACOBI POLYNOMIALS VIA OBRECHKOFF'S THEOREM

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Influence of detector motion in Bell inequalities with entangled fermions

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Reformulation of variational inequalities on a simplex and compactification of complementarity problems

Many variational inequality problems (VIPs) can be reduced, by a compactification procedure, to a VIP on the canonical simplex. Reformulations of this problem are studied, including smooth reformulations with simple constraints and unconstrained reformulations based on the penalized Fischer-Burmeister function. It is proved that bounded level set results hold for these reformulations under quite general assumptions on the operator. Therefore, it can be guaranteed that minimization algorithms generate bounded sequences and, under monotonicity conditions, these algorithms necessarily nd solutions of the original problem. Some numerical experiments are presented.

Inequalities in access to education and healthcare

The burden of disease is borne by those who suffer as patients but also by society at large, including health service providers. That burden is felt most severely in parts of the world where there is no infrastructure, or foreseeable prospects of any, to change the status quo without external support. Poverty, disease and inequality pervade all the activities of daily living in low-income regions and are inextricably linked. External interventions may not be the most appropriate way to impact on this positively in all circumstances, but targeted programmes to build social capital, within and by countries, are more likely to be sustainable. By these means, basic oral healthcare, underpinned by the primary healthcare approach, can be delivered to more equitably address needs and demands. Education is fundamental to building knowledge-based economies but is often lacking in such regions even at primary and secondary level. Provision of private education at tertiary level may also introduce its own inequities. Access to distance learning and community-based practice opens opportunities and is more likely to encourage graduates to work in similar areas. Recruitment of faculty from minority groups provides role models for students from similar backgrounds but all faculty staff must be involved in supporting and mentoring students from marginalized groups to ensure their retention. The developed world has to act responsibly in two crucial areas: first, not to exacerbate the shortage of skilled educators and healthcare workers in emerging economies by recruiting their staff; second, they must offer educational opportunities at an economic rate. Governments need to lead on developing initiatives to attract, support and retain a competent workforce.

Higher order turän inequalities

The celebrated Turân inequalities P 2 n(x)-P n-x(x)P n+1(x) ≥ 0, x ε[-1,1], n ≥ 1, where P n(x) denotes the Legendre polynomial of degree n, are extended to inequalities for sums of products of four classical orthogonal polynomials. The proof is based on an extension of the inequalities γ 2 n - γ n-1γ n+1 ≥ 0, n ≥ 1, which hold for the Maclaurin coefficients of the real entire function ψ in the Laguerre-Pölya class, ψ(x) = ∑ ∞ n=0 γ nx n / n!. ©1998 American Mathematical Society.