Continental regionalism: Brazil's prominent role in the Americas. CEPS Working Document No. 374, February 2013

Brazil has a dual identity as a Latin American country and one of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). The regional and global dimensions of Brasilia’s foreign policy have been closely intertwined. Inspired by the idea of development and autonomy in the last ten years, Brazil has assumed a stronger regional leadership role. The result has been the emergence of a South American space, with Mercosur and Unasur as the main integration schemes. For Brazil, regionalism is not only a goal in itself but also an instrument for exerting global influence and for ‘soft-balancing’ the United States. Washington’s lower profile in the region has facilitated Brazil’s rise as a regional and even continental player, with a strong influence on the Latin American puzzle composed of many different pieces or concentric circles.

Explaining Euroskepticism as a function of regional representation. ACES Working Papers No. 3, August 2008

Recent scholarship has suggested that nation-states will gradually fade away in favor of regions and super-regions as the main actors within a European Union characterized by strong regional identities. At the same time, recent developments have shown that citizen support for European integration is essential for any future development of the Union. The puzzle inspiring this paper is the finding that the greatest support for the EU increasingly stems from minority nationalist regions seeking to bypass their central states to achieve their policy goals at the EU level. This paper empirically tests this suggestion, while shedding light on the relationship between the quality of representation of regional interests at the EU level and positive citizen attitudes towards the EU. In particular, it finds two explanations for cross-regional variation in the relationship between Euroskepticism and representation: (1) a cultural explanation, embodied by a difference in the nature and quality of representation between regions that are linguistically distinctive and regions that are not; and (2) an institutional explanation, embodied by a difference in the nature and quality of representation between regions from federal and non-federal member states. The paper uses an eclectic methodological approach, first utilizing multivariate regression analysis, estimating logistic and ordinal logit models that help explain variation in Euroskepticism at the regional level. The results are then complemented by the findings of in-depth elite interviews of regional representatives - more specifically the directors of a selection of the many regional information offices present in Brussels. This paper takes the study of Euroskepticism to a new level, as most previous scholarly work has focused on explanations at the individual or at the member state level. At the same time it strengthens the notion of a growing importance of a "Europe of the regions."

Hegemony Without Stability: The fiscal and political vulnerabilities of monetary union. ACES Cases No. 2011.2

The crisis has forced the Euro area to establish an emergency fund that supports member states experiencing a sovereign debt crisis. The difficulties of coming up with such a fund for Greece and other Euro area members stands in marked contrast to the balance of payments support that non-Euro members like Hungary received, swiftly and quietly. In order to solve this puzzle, we first establish the difference between EU interventions and IMF programs and, second, trace the evolution of crisis management with France and Germany in the lead. The lens of hegemonic stability theory suggests that the Franco-German leadership is too weak to provide stability and the extensive use of conditionality is one symptom of this weakness. Providing incentives for cooperation "after hegemony" (Keohane) is the unresolved issues troubling the monetary union. Its dominant powers must acknowledge that markets perceive monetary union to be already politically more integrated than its lack of fiscal integration suggests.

Zalpha-domains: At the intersection between RNA editing and innate immunity

The involvement of A to I RNA editing in antiviral responses was first indicated by the observation of genomic hyper-mutation for several RNA viruses in the course of persistent infections. However, in only a few cases an antiviral role was ever demonstrated and surprisingly, it turns out that ADARs - the RNA editing enzymes - may have a prominent pro-viral role through the modulation/down-regulation of the interferon response. A key role in this regulatory function of RNA editing is played by ADAR1, an interferon inducible RNA editing enzyme. A distinguishing feature of ADAR1, when compared with other ADARs, is the presence of a Z-DNA binding domain, Zalpha. Since the initial discovery of the specific and high affinity binding of Zalpha to CpG repeats in a left-handed helical conformation, other proteins, all related to the interferon response pathway, were shown to have similar domains throughout the vertebrate lineage. What is the biological function of this domain family remains unclear but a significant body of work provides pieces of a puzzle that points to an important role of Zalpha domains in the recognition of foreign nucleic acids in the cytoplasm by the innate immune system. Here we will provide an overview of our knowledge on ADAR1 function in interferon response with emphasis on Zalpha domains.

Evolution of Outcrossing in Experimental Populations of Caenorhabditis elegans

Caenorhabditis elegans can reproduce exclusively by self-fertilization. Yet, males can be maintained in laboratory populations, a phenomenon that continues to puzzle biologists. In this study we evaluated the role of males in facilitating adaptation to novel environments. For this, we contrasted the evolution of a fitness component exclusive to outcrossing in experimental populations of different mating systems. We introgressed a modifier of outcrossing into a hybrid population derived from several wild isolates to transform the wild-type androdioecious mating system into a dioecious mating system. By genotyping 375 single-nucleotide polymorphisms we show that the two populations had similar standing genetic diversity available for adaptation, despite the occurrence of selection during their derivation. We then performed replicated experimental evolution under the two mating systems from starting conditions of either high or low levels of diversity, under defined environmental conditions of discrete non-overlapping generations, constant density at high population sizes (N = 10(4)), no obvious spatial structure and abundant food resources. During 100 generations measurements of sex ratios and male competitive performance showed: 1) adaptation to the novel environment; 2) directional selection on male frequency under androdioecy; 3) optimal outcrossing rates of 0.5 under androdioecy; 4) the existence of initial inbreeding depression; and finally 5) that the strength of directional selection on male competitive performance does not depend on male frequencies. Taken together, these results suggest that androdioecious males are maintained at intermediate frequencies because outcrossing is adaptive.

How much Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) is needed for Long-term Success?

According to the STEP research framework, entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is one key element of transgenerational value creation. EO refers to key entrepreneurial processes in a company, i.e. to the methods, practices and decision-making styles managers use to act entrepreneurially. 3 EO consists of five main dimensions and several sub dimensions. However, there is a puzzle. Many studies suggest that the higher EO, the more successful a company is. But this seems not always to be true. Just think of many of the dot.com firms at the end of the 1990s. Firm members could act very autonomously, the companies were very innovative, took high risks, were very proactive and very aggressive in the market. However, most of them were not able to survive for more than a few years. So how entrepreneurial has a firm to be in order to achieve long-term success?

Dreams for Dead Bodies : Blackness, Labor, and the Corpus of American Detective Fiction /

Robinson argues that the detective genre’s lineage lies in experimental works on the margins of what we recognize as classical detective fiction today. Authors like Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, Pauline Hopkins, and Rudolph Fisher drew on detective fiction’s puzzle-elements to wrestle with complicated questions about race and labor in the U.S.

Mexico's dilemma,

Five articles reprinted from the Saturday evening post, with new material added.

Images of a Broken World

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-08

How peripheral a phenomenon is it?: On the interaction of DP-internal ellipsis, degree inversion, and islands

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Detection of fruit and the selection of primate visual pigments for color vision

Primates have X chromosome genes for cone photopigments with sensitivity maxima from 535 to 562 nm. Old World monkeys and apes (catarrhines) and the New World ( platyrrhine) genus Alouatta have separate genes for 535-nm ( medium wavelength; M) and 562-nm ( long wavelength; L) pigments. These pigments, together with a 425-nm ( short wavelength) pigment, permit trichromatic color vision. Other platyrrhines and prosimians have a single X chromosome gene but often with alleles for two or three M/L photopigments. Consequently, heterozygote females are trichromats, but males and homozygote females are dichromats. The criteria that affect the evolution of M/L alleles and maintain genetic polymorphism remain a puzzle, but selection for finding food may be important. We compare different types of color vision for detecting more than 100 plant species consumed by tamarins ( Saguinus spp.) in Peru. There is evidence that both frequency-dependent selection on homozygotes and heterozygote advantage favor M/L polymorphism and that trichromatic color vision is most advantageous in dim light. Also, whereas the 562-nm allele is present in all species, the occurrence of 535- to 556-nm alleles varies between species. This variation probably arises because trichromatic color vision favors widely separated pigments and equal frequencies of 535/543- and 562-nm alleles, whereas in dichromats, long-wavelength pigment alleles are fitter.

Image scoring and cooperation in a cleaner fish mutualism

Humans are highly social animals and often help unrelated individuals that may never reciprocate the altruist's favour(1-5). This apparent evolutionary puzzle may be explained by the altruist's gain in social image: image-scoring bystanders, also known as eavesdroppers, notice the altruistic act and therefore are more likely to help the altruist in the future(5-7). Such complex indirect reciprocity based on altruistic acts may evolve only after simple indirect reciprocity has been established, which requires two steps. First, image scoring evolves when bystanders gain personal benefits from information gathered, for example, by finding cooperative partners(8-10). Second, altruistic behaviour in the presence of such bystanders may evolve if altruists benefit from access to the bystanders. Here, we provide experimental evidence for both of the requirements in a cleaning mutualism involving the cleaner fish Labroides dimidiatus. These cleaners may cooperate and remove ectoparasites from clients or they may cheat by feeding on client mucus(11,12). As mucus may be preferred over typical client ectoparasites(13), clients must make cleaners feed against their preference to obtain a cooperative service. We found that eavesdropping clients spent more time next to 'cooperative' than 'unknown cooperative level' cleaners, which shows that clients engage in image-scoring behaviour. Furthermore, trained cleaners learned to feed more cooperatively when in an `image-scoring' than in a 'non-image-scoring' situation.

On labour market dualism in the Lewis model: A comment

In a special issue of this journal commemorating the 50th anniversary of W. Arthur Lewis's (The Manchester School, Vol. 28 (1954), No. 2, pp. 139-191) seminal paper, the Lewis model is treated as a model of labour market dualism (Fields, The Manchester School, Vol. 72 (2004), No. 6, pp. 724-735). This interpretation is flawed for a number of reasons. First, it overemphasizes the role ascribed by Lewis to intersectoral earnings differentials in his original model. Second, it fails to acknowledge that a major shortcoming of the model was its inability to account for the widening intersectoral earnings differential observed across a wide range of developing economies. For Lewis himself this was one of the 'major theoretical puzzles of the period' (1979, p. 150). Third, it ignores Lewis's subsequent revision of the model (Lewis, The Manchester School, Vol. 47 (1979), No. 3, pp. 211-229) that, ironically, incorporates a dual labour market to resolve this puzzle. However, for Lewis the critical issue was dualism within the modern sector, not, as Fields understands it, labour market dualism between the modern and traditional sectors. Fields's appreciation of the contribution of the Lewis model to understanding the process of wage determination in developing economies is therefore misplaced.

The risk premium for equity: implications for resource allocation, welfare and policy

Analysis of the equity premium puzzle has focused on private sector capital markets. The object of this paper is to consider the welfare and policy implications of each of the broad classes of explanations of the equity premium puzzle. As would be expected, the greater the deviation from the first-best outcome implied by a given explanation of the equity premium puzzle, the more interventionist are the implied policy conclusions. Nevertheless, even explanations of the equity premium puzzle consistent with a general consumption-based asset pricing model have important welfare and policy implications.

ANÁLISE DAS MUDANÇAS DOS FATORES DETERMINANTES DA ESTRUTURA DE CAPITAL EM FUNÇÃO DO CICLO DE VIDA DAS EMPRESAS BRASILEIRAS SÃO BERNARDO DO CAMPO

As várias teorias acerca da estrutura de capital despertam interesse motivando diversos estudos sobre o assunto sem, no entanto, ter um consenso. Outro tema aparentemente pouco explorado refere-se ao ciclo de vida das empresas e como ele pode influenciar a estrutura de capital. Este estudo teve como objetivo verificar quais determinantes possuem maior relevância no endividamento das empresas e se estes determinantes alteram-se dependendo do ciclo de vida da empresa apoiada pelas teorias Trade Off, Pecking Order e Teoria da Agência. Para alcançar o objetivo deste trabalho foi utilizado análise em painel de efeito fixo sendo a amostra composta por empresas brasileiras de capital aberto, com dados secundários disponíveis na Economática® no período de 2005 a 2013, utilizando-se os setores da BM&FBOVESPA. Como resultado principal destaca-se o mesmo comportamento entre a amostra geral, alto e baixo crescimento pelo endividamento contábil para o determinante Lucratividade apresentando uma relação negativa, e para os determinantes Oportunidade de Crescimento e Tamanho, estes com uma relação positiva. Para os grupos de alto e baixo crescimento alguns determinantes apresentaram resultados diferentes, como a singularidade que resultou significância nestes dois grupos, sendo positiva no baixo crescimento e negativa no alto crescimento, para o valor colateral dos ativos e benefício fiscal não dívida apresentaram significância apenas no grupo de baixo crescimento. Para o endividamento a valor de mercado foi observado significância para o Benefício fiscal não dívida e Singularidade. Este resultado reforça o argumento de que o ciclo de vida influência a estrutura de capital