The efficiency of remanufacturing in a dynamic input–output model

For industrialised economy of ourdays, remanufacturing represents perhaps the largest unexploited resource and opportunity for realising a greater growth of the economy in an environmental-conscious manner. The aim of this paper is to investigate of the impact of remanufacturing in the economy from an economic-efficiency point of view. In static context this phenomenon was analysed in the literature. We use the multi-sector input–output framework in a dynamic context to study intra-period relationships of the sectors of economy. We extend the classical dynamic input–output model taking into consideration the activity of remanufacturing .We try to answer the question, whether the remanufacturing/reuse increases the growth possibility of an economy. We expose a sufficient condition concerning the effectivity of an economy with remanufacturing. By this evaluation we analyse a possible sustainable development of the economy on the basis of the product recovery management of industries.

Maximizing the Efficiency of Greenhouse Gas Related Consumer Policy

Consumer policy approaches regarding green products and solutions can be differentiated by their main focus. “Green positioning” is basically targeted at environmentally aware consumers, while “efficiency-focused positioning” concentrates on the efficiency gain of the product or solution, targeting the whole society, regardless of consumers' environmental awareness. The paper argues that the scope and total environmental benefit can be increased if green products or solutions are promoted in different ways, not only as “green” but also based on other arguments (like cost-efficiency, return on investment, etc.). The paper suggests a model for improving the efficiency of greenhouse gas (GHG)-related consumer policy. Based on the marginal social cost curve and the marginal private cost curve, different (green, yellow, and red) zones of action are identified. GHG mitigation options chosen from those zones are then evaluated with the help of profiling method, addressing the barriers to implementation. Profiling may help design an implementation strategy for the selected options and make consumer policy more effective and acceptable for mass market. Case study results show three different ways of positioning of GHG-related consumer policy in Hungary from 2000 and give practical examples of profiling, based on the latest marginal social cost curve and the contemporary energy saving policy of the state regarding the residential sector.

Monetáris hatásosság közösségi szinten (The community level efficiency of monetary policy)

A monetáris integráció központi szereplője a Közösség jegybankja. A közös valuta értékállóságának közvetlenül fő meghatározója a jegybank. Mozgásterét azonban több tényező alakítja. E tanulmány az intézményi és stratégiai, a tagállami (decentralizált fiskális) és a pénzpiaci környezet függvényében vizsgálja az Európai Központi Bank (ECB) lehetőségeit és monetáris politikájának hatásosságát. / === / The efficiency of the European Economic and Monetary Union is a big dilemma of European applied economics. The first part introduces the monetary policy made by ECB. Rates and objectives are the framework of efficiency analysis. The second part details the common pool resource problem in the community of EMU countries, and describes the prisoner's dilemma of indebting in a currency community. The EMU practice shows free riding behavior of many member states what generally causes higher default risks. The increasing indebtedness shows dysfunction too, as the ECB must adjust the interest rate to the higher default risk which means cost premiums for fiscally disciplined countries as well. The third part analyses the efficiency of the ECB through the standards of monetary transmission. The updated criteria can explain any success or failure of the ECB in a not perfectly homogeneous community. The measures of transmission used in the study are the way of financing (banks vs. market), terms of financing, structure of the banking sector, private sector indebtedness, structure of savings and wealth, price elasticity, interest rate elasticity, wage elasticity. They show that the single monetary policy can create tension in the community not only because of the fiscal differences but also due to money market discrepancies.

A kohéziós politika hatékonysága (The efficiency of cohesion policy)

A kohéziós politika hatékonyságát, eredményességét és szabályszerűségét a nemzetállami szint mellett közösségi szinten is értelmezhetjük. Azonban a közösségi szint nem a tagállami részek összege, hanem annál sokkal jelentősebb. Ha a közösségi szinten nem támasztható alá a kohéziós politika szükségszerűsége, akkor annak költségvetése és ezáltal jelentősége az EU következő pénzügyi perspektívájában csökkenhet, amelynek súlyos kihatásai lennének a tagállamok és régióik közötti kohéziós folyamatokra. Éppen ezért fontos a kohéziós politika objektív és részletes elemzése tagállami szinten, valamint a közösségi szintű kohéziós politika kritikáinak és a különböző reformelképzeléseknek vizsgálata. / === / The efficiency, effectiveness and regularity of cohesion policy can be defined both on the community level and on the national level. But the community level more than the sum of the member states. If the necessity of the cohesion policy cannot be backed sufficiently, then its budget of the policy can be decreased in the next financial framework of the EU. This could deeply undermine the process of convergence of the less developed regions of the member states. This is why the objective and detailed analysis of the cohesion policy is important, together with knowing the criticisms and reform proposals of the community level cohesion policy.

Maximizing the Efficiency of Greenhouse Gas Related Consumer Policy

Consumer policy approaches regarding green products and solutions can be differentiated by their main focus. “Green positioning” is basically targeted at environmentally aware consumers, while “efficiency-focused positioning” concentrates on the efficiency gain of the product or solution, targeting the whole society, regardless of consumers' environmental awareness. The paper argues that the scope and total environmental benefit can be increased if green products or solutions are promoted in different ways, not only as “green” but also based on other arguments (like cost-efficiency, return on investment, etc.). The paper suggests a model for improving the efficiency of greenhouse gas (GHG)-related consumer policy. Based on the marginal social cost curve and the marginal private cost curve, different (green, yellow, and red) zones of action are identified. GHG mitigation options chosen from those zones are then evaluated with the help of profiling method, addressing the barriers to implementation. Profiling may help design an implementation strategy for the selected options and make consumer policy more effective and acceptable for mass market. Case study results show three different ways of positioning of GHG-related consumer policy in Hungary from 2000 and give practical examples of profiling, based on the latest marginal social cost curve and the contemporary energy saving policy of the state regarding the residential sector.

Efficiency of Effectiveness? The Hungarian Practice of Using the EU Funds

Efficiency or effectiveness? It not just the matter of definition. Experts and researchers have to make a difference between the qualitative and quantitative approach. The efficiency of EU subsidies means the ratio of the committed and disposable amount of EU subsidies can be measured, which was used and paid out within the given timeframe and along the legal regulations. The effectiveness of EU subsidies needs a much more complicated and complex approach than efficiency. The effectiveness of usage on a project level can be measured by the ‘added value’ of the project; and on the programme level by the added GDP growth or employment rate. The following research essentially analyses the project level or micro-effectiveness, however, it discusses the results of some macro-analyses as well (qualitative approach).

The effect of group counseling on the self-esteem, attendance, and counselor utilization of immigrant Hispanic secondary limited English proficient students

As the population of the United States becomes more diverse and the immigrant Hispanic, limited English proficient (LEP) school age population continues to grow, understanding and addressing the needs of these students becomes a pressing question. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of group counseling, by a bilingual counselor, on the self-esteem, attendance and counselor utilization of Hispanic LEP high school students. The design for this study was a quasi-experimental design. The experimental and control groups consisted of one class from each of the four levels of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), I-IV. The counseling intervention, the independent variable, was delivered by a bilingual counselor once a week, for fifteen weeks.^ A total of 112 immigrant Hispanic LEP students selected from the total ESOL student population participated in the study. The experimental and control groups were administered the Culture Free Self Esteem Inventory (CFSEI) Form AD as a pretest and posttest. The Background Information Questionnaire (BIQ) was utilized to gather information on counselor utilization and demographic data. Attendance data were obtained from the students' computer records. At the conclusion of the study the differences between the experimental and control groups on the three dependent variables were compared.^ Statistical analyses of the data were done using SPSS statistical software. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was utilized to determine if there were significant differences in the self-esteem scores, attendance and counselor utilization. Correlational analyses was utilized to determine if there was a relationship between English language proficiency and self-esteem and between acculturation level and self-esteem.^ The study results indicate that there were no significant differences in the self-esteem scores and attendance of the subjects in the experimental group at the completion of the group counseling treatment. Counselor utilization was statistically significant for the targeted population. A relationship was found between English language proficiency level and self-esteem scores for students in ESOL levels II, III and IV. No significant correlation was found between acculturation and self-esteem.^ Research on the dropout rates of LEP coupled with the results of this study show that students at the intermediate and advanced levels of ESOL (III and IV) exhibit more positive self-esteem and achieve higher graduation rates that levels I and II. LEP students at levels I and II, once they became familiar with the role and function of school counselors through group counseling, utilized their services. ^

Investigation of Group Leadership in a Fission-Fusion Species, the Bottlenose Dolphin

Consistent leadership of group travel by specific individuals has been documented in many animals. Most species exhibiting this type of leadership have relatively stable group membership. Animals using fission-fusion grouping are not expected to use specific leaders because associations would not be frequent. Certain conditions, however, may allow this type of control over group travel to occur. First, a population would need to be small enough to allow regular associations between individuals. Second, leadership may be useful if the environment where the population in question lives is complex and requires learning to access the resources efficiently. To determine whether fission-fusion species existing under these conditions utilize specific individual leadership, I examined a small residential population of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Lower Florida Keys (LFK) where the benthic habitat is highly complex. My goals were to (1) determine whether specific individuals in this population led group travel more often than expected; (2) determine whether certain factors predicted which animals would lead most often and (3) investigate the benefits of leading to leaders and to followers in a fission-fusion society. Multiple types of data were collected to answer questions posed including dolphin behavior (for leadership analyses), fish sampling (to examine dolphin habitat use under leadership), and dolphin biopsy sampling (for genetic analyses). Results of analyses provided strong evidence for consistent leadership in this population. Leaders were female, most were mothers and on average they had larger measures of centrality within the LFK population. Leaders benefited by leading individuals who were more closely related than expected. Followers benefited from efficient access to profitable habitat. Results build on previous leadership research by expanding our knowledge about the type of species in which specific individuals lead and predictors for what types of individuals may lead. Additionally, results provide the first detailed information about benefits group members obtain by both leading and following.^

The role of group activity participation in depression among institutionalized elderly

The role of group activity participation in depression among a group of residents (N=65), age 80 and older, in a nursing home was examined using the framework of Roy's Adaptation Theory and Nolen-Hoeksema's Response Style Theory of Depression. Roy views depression as a maladaptation. Nolen-Hoeksema views group activity participation as a therapeutic distraction to break depressed moods and thus allow for positive adaptation. This study utilized data from medical records, group activity attendance, and self-report questionnaires. Demographic distributions were computed and correlational statistics were performed between subjects' participation and their degree of depression, pain experience, functional status, presence of social support, and perception of benefits. Results show a negative correlation between frequency of participation and Geriatric Depression Scale score (GDS). The wide range of measured frequencies among low GDS-scored subjects suggests that less depressed individuals exercise more freedom of choice to participate than those who are more depressed. Significant finding show a positive correlation of group activity participation with functional status in terms of ambulation. Data shows that the experience of pain was not a significant deterrent to participation. The presence of social support from the staff and family did not increase participation. However there is a lesser GDS score among subjects who had recent family/friends visit suggesting a positive role of family in decreasing depression. These results are significant not only for optimizing group therapeutic effects but also for understanding basic human and environmental correlates of depression. Study limitations are pointed out and recommendations are presented.

When group members go against the grain : an ironic interactive effect of group identification and normative content on healthy eating

Acknowledgements The research leading to these results has been funded by a Tandem Grant from the European Health Psychology Society/CREATE, awarded to the first and second author. The funder had no involvement in the study design, collection or analysis of data, writing the report, or the decision to submit this manuscript for publication.

A literature review to Examine the Validity and Reliability of group poster presentations as an assessment method of a module in an undergraduate nursing degree programme

The introduction of a poster presentation as a formative assessment method over a multiple choice examination after the first phase of a three phase “health and well-being” module in an undergraduate nursing degree programme was greeted with a storm of criticism from fellow lecturers stating that poster presentations are not valid or reliable and totally irrelevant to the assessment of learning in the module. This paper seeks to investigate these criticisms by investigating the literature regarding producing nurses fit for practice, nurse curriculum development and wider nurse education, the purpose of assessment, validity and reliability to critically evaluate the poster presentation as a legitimate assessment method for these aims.