Social Networks and Everyday Practices in Russia

My doctoral dissertation in sociology and Russian studies, Social Networks and Everyday Practices in Russia, employs a "micro" or "grassroots" perspective on the transition. The study is a collection of articles detailing social networks in five different contexts. The first article examines Russian birthdays from a network perspective. The second takes a look at health care to see whether networks have become obsolete in a sector that is still overwhelmingly public, but increasingly being monetarised. The third article investigates neighbourhood relations. The fourth details relationships at work, particularly from the vantage point of internal migration. The fifth explores housing and the role of networks and money both in the Soviet and post-Soviet era. The study is based on qualitative social network and interview data gathered among three groups, teachers, doctors and factory workers, in St. Petersburg during 1993-2000. Methodologically it builds on a qualitative social network approach. The study adds a critical element to the discussion on networks in post-socialism. A considerable consensus exists that social networks were vital in state socialist societies and were used to bypass various difficulties caused by endemic shortages and bureaucratic rigidities, but a more debated issue has been their role in post-socialism. Some scholars have argued that the importance of networks has been dramatically reduced in the new market economy, whereas others have stressed their continuing importance. If a common denominator in both has been a focus on networks in relation to the past, a more overlooked aspect has been the question of inequality. To what extent is access to networks unequally distributed? What are the limits and consequences of networks, for those who have access, those outside networks or society at large? My study provides some evidence about inequalities. It shows that some groups are privileged over others, for instance, middle-class people in informal access to health care. Moreover, analysing the formation of networks sheds additional light on inequalities, as it highlights the importance of migration as a mechanism of inequality, for example. The five articles focus on how networks are actually used in everyday life. The article on health care, for instance, shows that personal connections are still important and popular in post-Soviet Russia, despite the growing importance of money and the emergence of "fee for service" medicine. Fifteen of twenty teachers were involved in informal medical exchange during a two-week study period, so that they used their networks to bypass the formal market mechanisms or official procedures. Medicines were obtained through personal connections because some were unavailable at local pharmacies or because these connections could provide medicines for a cheaper price or even for free. The article on neighbours shows that "mutual help" was the central feature of neighbouring, so that the exchange of goods, services and information covered almost half the contacts with neighbours reported. Neighbours did not provide merely small-scale help but were often exchange partners because they possessed important professional qualities, had access to workplace resources, or knew somebody useful. The article on the Russian work collective details workplace-related relationships in a tractor factory and shows that interaction with and assistance from one's co-workers remains important. The most interesting finding was that co-workers were even more important to those who had migrated to the city than to those who were born there, which is explained by the specifics of Soviet migration. As a result, the workplace heavily influenced or absorbed contexts for the worker migrants to establish relationships whereas many meeting-places commonly available in Western countries were largely absent or at least did not function as trusted public meeting places to initiate relationships. More results are to be found from my dissertation: Anna-Maria Salmi: Social Networks and Everyday Practices in Russia, Kikimora Publications, 2006, see www.kikimora-publications.com.

Preparation of lithium amalgam

Lithium amalgam is useful in effecting Wurtz type intramolecular and intermolecular coupling reactions.

Occupational chronic solvent encephalopathy in Finland 1995 - 2007 : incidence and diagnostic methods

The occurrence of occupational chronic solvent encephalopathy (CSE) seems to decrease, but still every year reveals new cases. To prevent CSE and early retirement of solvent-exposed workers, actions should focus on early CSE detection and diagnosis. Identifying the work tasks and solvent exposure associated with high risk for CSE is crucial. Clinical and exposure data of all the 128 cases diagnosed with CSE as an occupational disease in Finland during 1995-2007 was collected from the patient records at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) in Helsinki. The data on the number of exposed workers in Finland were gathered from the Finnish Job-exposure Matrix (FINJEM) and the number of employed from the national workforce survey. We analyzed the work tasks and solvent exposure of CSE patients and the findings in brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG), and event-related potentials (ERP). The annual number of new cases diminished from 18 to 3, and the incidence of CSE decreased from 8.6 to 1.2 / million employed per year. The highest incidence of CSE was in workers with their main exposure to aromatic hydrocarbons; during 1995-2006 the incidence decreased from 1.2 to 0.3 / 1 000 exposed workers per year. The work tasks with the highest incidence of CSE were floor layers and lacquerers, wooden surface finishers, and industrial, metal, or car painters. Among 71 CSE patients, brain MRI revealed atrophy or white matter hyperintensities or both in 38% of the cases. Atrophy which was associated with duration of exposure was most frequently located in the cerebellum and in the frontal or parietal brain areas. QEEG in a group of 47 patients revealed increased power of the theta band in the frontal brain area. In a group of 86 patients, the P300 amplitude of auditory ERP was decreased, but at individual level, all the amplitude values were classified as normal. In 11 CSE patients and 13 age-matched controls, ERP elicited by a multimodal paradigm including an auditory, a visual detection, and a recognition memory task under single and dual-task conditions corroborated the decrease of auditory P300 amplitude in CSE patients in single-task condition. In dual-task conditions, the auditory P300 component was, more often in patients than in controls, unrecognizable. Due to the paucity and non-specificity of the findings, brain MRI serves mainly for differential diagnostics in CSE. QEEG and auditory P300 are insensitive at individual level and not useful in the clinical diagnostics of CSE. A multimodal ERP paradigm may, however, provide a more sensitive method to diagnose slight cognitive disturbances such as CSE.

Tax havens and their impacts on the non-haven countries

Tax havens have attracted increasing attention from the authorities of non-haven countries. The financial crisis exacerbates the negative attitude to tax havens. Offshore zones are now under strong pressure from the international, both financial and political institutions. Thus, the thesis will focus on the current problem of the modern economy, namely tax havens and their impact on the non-haven countries. This thesis will be based on the several articles, in particular “Tax Competition With Parasitic Tax Havens” by Joel Slemrod and John D. Wilson (University of Michigan, 2009) and “Do Havens Divert Economic Activity” by James R. Hines Jr., C. Fritz Foley and Mihir A. Desai (Ross School of Business, 2005). This paper provides two completely different and contradictory viewpoints on the problem of coexisting tax havens and non-haven countries. There are two models, examined in this work, present two important researches. The first one will be concentrated on the positive effect from tax havens whereas the last model will be focused on the completely negative effect from offshore jurisdictions. The first model gives us a good explanation and proof of its statement why tax havens can positively influence on nearby high-tax countries. It describes that the existence of offshore jurisdictions can stimulate the growth of operations and facilitates economic activity in non-haven countries. In contrast to above mentioned, the model with quite opposite view was presented. This economic model and its analysis confirms the undesirability of the existence of offshore areas. Taking into consideration, that the jurisdictions choose their optimal policy, the elimination of offshores will have positive impact on the rest of countries. The model proofs the statement that full or partial elimination of tax havens raises the equilibrium level of the public good and increases country welfare. According to the following study, it can be concluded that both of the models provide telling arguments to prove their assertions. Thereby both of these points of view have their right to exist. Nevertheless, the ongoing debate concerning this issue still will raise a lot of questions.

Preparation and NMR spectra of four isomeric diformyl2.2]paracyclophanes (cyclophanes 66)

Four isomeric dialdehydes 4, readily available from cycloaddition of propiolic aldehyde (2) to 1,2,4,5-hexatetraene (1), were separated by chromatography and recrystallization, and were characterized by their spectroscopic data. The individual isomers can now be easily identified from their H-1 NMR spectra even if only one of them is present.

Sociobiology in turmoil again

Altruism is defined as any behaviour that lowers the Darwinian fitness of the actor while increasing that of the recipient. Such altruism (especially in the form of lifetime sterility exhibited by sterile workers in eusocial insects such as ants, bees, wasps and termites) has long been considered a major difficulty for the theory of natural selection. In the 1960s W. D. Hamilton potentially solved this problem by defining a new measure of fitness that he called inclusive fitness, which also included the effect of an individual's action on the fitness of genetic relatives. This has come to be known as inclusive fitness theory, Hamilton's rule or kin selection. E. O. Wilson almost single-handedly popularized this new approach in the 1970s and thus helped create a large body of new empirical research and a large community of behavioural ecologists and kin selectionists. Adding thrill and drama to our otherwise sombre lives, Wilson is now leading a frontal attack on Hamilton's approach, claiming that the inclusive fitness theory is not as mathematically general as the standard natural selection theory, has led to no additional biological insights and should therefore be abandoned. The world cannot but sit up and take notice.

Road to Royalty - Transition of Potential Queen to Queen in the Primitively Eusocial Wasp Ropalidia marginata

Ropalidia marginata, a primitively eusocial wasp, is different from typical primitively eusocial species in having docile queens who cannot be using dominance to maintain reproductive monopoly and instead appear to use a pheromone from the Dufour's gland to do so. When a docile queen is removed from her colony, one of the workers (potential queen, PQ) becomes highly aggressive, and if the queen is not returned, gradually loses her aggression and becomes the new docile queen within a few days. We hypothesized that the decrease in aggression of the PQ with time since queen removal should be correlated with her change in ovaries and pheromone profile. Because the Dufour's gland hydrocarbon composition in R.marginata can be correlated with fertility, this also gave us an opportunity to test whether PQ is different from workers in her Dufour's gland hydrocarbons. In this study, we therefore trace the road to royalty in R.marginata, that is, the transition of the PQ during queen establishment, in terms of her ovaries, aggression, and Dufour's gland hydrocarbons. Our study focuses on queen establishment, which is important for understanding how reproductive conflict can be manifested and resolved.

Demand for fish in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria

It is generally recognized from the food balance sheet prepared by experts that Nigeria is a protein deficient country. Not only is the daily intake of protein low but the contribution from animal sources is extremely low. Fish has been found to be the cheapest source of protein in Nigeria hence the consumption of fish will supply the needed protein at a relatively low cost. The study, conducted in Calabar in 1981, was analysed using stepwise ordinary least square multiple regression technique as well as Pearson correlation analysis. The regression result was used to generate some demand curves for different levels of per capital income, as well as own price elasticity of demand. The results show that both own price elasticity of demand for fresh and frozen fish decreased as the level of per capital income increased while income elasticity of demand increased as per capital income increased. The calculated per capital consumption was found to be 5.18 kilograms and 4.31 kg per annum for fresh fish and frozen fish respectively. This is considered rather small since Calabar is a sea port where fish should be more readily available. The values of own price and income elasticities indicate that more fish will be consumed at every increase in income if both production and marketing are improved

Impacto da campanha de vacinação para influenza em uma empresa

A influenza é uma das doenças respiratórias agudas mais prevalentes e importante causa de absenteísmo e presenteísmo. Entretanto, a eficácia vacinal para influenza pode alcançar 80% quando há elevada correspondência entre cepas vacinais e circulantes. Por este motivo, a empresa há anos promove campanha de vacinação, contudo, sem estimar sua efetividade (eficácia na redução da carga da doença) e o impacto econômico (produtividade) para o aprimoramento de sua política de saúde ocupacional. Considerou-se que a efetividade da campanha seria determinada pela eficácia vacinal previamente demonstrada em estudos randomizados, pelo grau de acurácia diagnóstica ou de triagem dos casos, pelo nível de adesão do profissional de saúde ao registro no prontuário e do paciente ao informar a ocorrência dos sintomas e pela cobertura vacinal alcançada. Com os objetivos de avaliar a efetividade e impacto econômico da campanha de vacinação para influenza, optou-se por um desenho estudo observacional de coorte histórico com características de estudo de intervenção baseado em dados históricos da campanha de 2008 e informações individuais sobre a frequência de sintomas respiratórios e absenteísmo, idade, gênero, função (administrativa e operacional) e renda, comorbidades relevantes e tabagismo, obtidas mediante revisão de prontuário dos 12 meses subsequentes, comparadas entre os grupos de vacinados e não-vacinados (qui-quadrado e test t) e analisadas por regressão logística, e estimada a fração prevenível (proporção de episódios potenciais de influenza evitados pela vacinação). Foram analisados os prontuários de 2.425 trabalhadores (1.651 não-vacinados e 754 vacinados) correspondendo à cobertura de 31,1%. A prevalência de influenza observada foi de 10,4% e a vacinação foi efetiva entre os trabalhadores (RR=0,51; IC95% 39-67), quando considerados os sintomas de alta probabilidade de influenza. A fração prevenível foi 0,09 (9 casos evitados a cada 100 trabalhadores vacinados). A campanha de vacinação foi mais efetiva e provocou maior impacto econômico entre os trabalhadores em regime operacional.

Part I: Latent heat of vaporization of n-decane. Part II: Heat and mass transfer from a cylinder placed in a turbulent air stream - Sherwood and Frössling numbers as a function of free stream turbulence level and Reynolds number

Part I

The latent heat of vaporization of n-decane is measured calorimetrically at temperatures between 160° and 340°F. The internal energy change upon vaporization, and the specific volume of the vapor at its dew point are calculated from these data and are included in this work. The measurements are in excellent agreement with available data at 77° and also at 345°F, and are presented in graphical and tabular form.

Part II

Simultaneous material and energy transport from a one-inch adiabatic porous cylinder is studied as a function of free stream Reynolds Number and turbulence level. Experimental data is presented for Reynolds Numbers between 1600 and 15,000 based on the cylinder diameter, and for apparent turbulence levels between 1.3 and 25.0 per cent. n-heptane and n-octane are the evaporating fluids used in this investigation.

Gross Sherwood Numbers are calculated from the data and are in substantial agreement with existing correlations of the results of other workers. The Sherwood Numbers, characterizing mass transfer rates, increase approximately as the 0.55 power of the Reynolds Number. At a free stream Reynolds Number of 3700 the Sherwood Number showed a 40% increase as the apparent turbulence level of the free stream was raised from 1.3 to 25 per cent.

Within the uncertainties involved in the diffusion coefficients used for n-heptane and n-octane, the Sherwood Numbers are comparable for both materials. A dimensionless Frössling Number is computed which characterizes either heat or mass transfer rates for cylinders on a comparable basis. The calculated Frössling Numbers based on mass transfer measurements are in substantial agreement with Frössling Numbers calculated from the data of other workers in heat transfer.

Aspectos psicossociais do impedimento laboral por motivos de saúde em trabalhadores de cozinhas industriais

Este estudo teve por objetivo investigar a relação trabalho / saúde em trabalhadores de cozinhas industriais, focalizando o aspecto socioeconômico e outras dimensões da vida social (estresse no trabalho e eventos de vida produtores de estresse), incluindo-se morbidade (obesidade, doenças crônicas e transtornos mentais comuns), condição laboral (incômodos ambientais e acidentes de trabalho) e comportamentos relacionados à saúde (consumo alimentar, tabagismo e álcool). Utilizando dados coletados nos nove Restaurantes Populares do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, apresentam-se três artigos. O primeiro descreve a população de estudo, considerando três grupos ocupacionais: Administrativos, Cozinheiros e Copeiros, e os Auxiliares de Serviços Gerais. O segundo artigo investiga a associação entre as características psicossociais e o impedimento laboral por motivos de saúde, considerando uma análise hierarquizada e, finalmente, o terceiro artigo discute a certificação da reprodutibilidade, na população de estudo, do questionário sueco da versão para o português do Demand-Control Questionnaire (DCQ), utilizado para avaliar estresse no ambiente de trabalho. Os homens representaram 62,7% do total de trabalhadores. A idade média dos funcionários foi de 35,1 anos, (DP=10,3). A renda familiar líquida foi de até dois salários mínimos para 60% dos trabalhadores. Obteve-se para o tempo de trabalho em cozinhas, uma média de 59,8 meses, tendo variado de um mínimo de 2 meses e máximo de 30 anos. A prevalência de doenças que tinham diagnóstico médico foi de 15,0% para Doença Osteomusculares Relacionadas ao Trabalho (DORT); 14,3% para Hipertensão Arterial Sistêmica; 12,7% para Gastrite; e, 2,1% para Diabete Mellitus tipo II. O acidente de trabalho corte foi relatado por 20,2% dos trabalhadores, seguido de contusão com 16,0%. A prevalência de acidentes de trabalho foi mais expressiva entre os ASG. A prevalência de impedimento laboral por motivos de saúde foi de 10,8%. Os modelos resultantes das análises multivariadas de associação entre impedimentos das atividades laborais e as variáveis que permaneceram no modelo final após o ajustes das variáveis indicaram que aqueles que referiram estado geral de saúde regular e ruim tiveram uma razão de prevalência de três para impedimento das atividades laborais comparados aos de muito bom e bom estado geral de saúde (RP: 3,59; IC:1,44-8,97). Os trabalhadores que exerciam suas atividades nos restaurante localizados na área 2 (Bangu, Central do Brasil, Maracanã e Niterói) apresentaram RP:2,38; IC:1,15-4,91) para ausências no trabalho quando comparados aos da área 1 (Barra Mansa, Campos, Itaboraí, Duque de Caxias e Nova Iguaçu). A confiabilidade da escala do DCQ, teste-reteste, produziu um Coeficiente de Correlação Intraclasse para as dimensões: demanda psicológica, controle do trabalho e apoio social no trabalho de 0,70, 0,68 e 0,80, respectivamente, sendo considerados bom. Este estudo reforça a importância dos aspectos psicossociais na ocorrência do impedimento por motivos de saúde e contribui para o conhecimento dessas relações. Sugere-se realizar estudos com desenho longitudinal, que permitam aprofundar o conhecimento sobre os determinantes psicossociais do trabalho e o absenteísmo.

Igualdad de sacrificio: una aplicación para el IRPF en Bizkaia

En el presente trabajo pretendemos analizar la reforma fiscal llevada a cabo en el territorio histórico de Bizkaia en el ejercicio 2.006, y que entró en vigor el 1 de enero de 2.007. En concreto, se pretende analizar el efecto que tuvo sobre los contribuyentes, desglosándolo por niveles de renta. Con este objeto, planteamos la hipótesis de igualdad de sacrificio, y contrastamos su cumplimiento en los años 2.006 y 2.007, esto es, el último año previo a la entrada en vigor de la reforma y el primero en el que se aplico la nueva normativa. Los resultados muestran que, si bien en el año 2.006 no se cumplía el principio de igualdad de sacrificio, en el año 2.007 hay evidencia a favor de que sí se estuviese cumpliendo. Finalmente, se proponen formas funcionales impositivas alternativas a la empleada en la hipótesis de igualdad de sacrificio, observándose unos resultados similares a los obtenidos mediante la hipótesis de igualdad de sacrificio.

Igualdad de sacrificio: una aplicación para el IRPF español

Es bien sabido que el Impuesto sobre la Renta de las Personas Físicas (IRPF) es un impuesto progresivo (aumenta la proporción a pagar cuando aumenta la renta). Aun así es importante saber si el esfuerzo o la pérdida de utilidad que asume cada individuo en el pago del impuesto es el mismo, es decir, si se cumple el principio de igualdad de sacrificio. En este trabajo se plantea si el impuesto sobre la renta en España cumplió este principio en los años 2006 y 2007, y si la reforma fiscal que hubo en estos años nos acercó o alejó de su cumplimiento. La respuesta es que, en líneas generales, sí se cumple, suponiendo esta reforma una mejora relevante para la consecución de este objetivo.

Elasticidade-PIB do Imposto de Renda Pessoa Física e Jurídica

O objetivo específico da presente dissertação é estimar a elasticidade-PIB do Imposto de Renda Pessoa Física (IRPF) e Imposto Renda Pessoa Jurídica (IRPJ) no Brasil entre 1986 e 2012. A pesquisa também incorpora em seus objetivos uma análise técnica a respeito da tributação e seus impactos sobre o sistema econômico, tanto a nível microeconômico e macroeconômico, além de abordar o IRPF e IRPJ em seu aspecto econômico e jurídico. No tratamento metodológico são utilizados modelos de Vetor de Correção de erros (VEC) para estimar as elasticidades-PIB do IRPF e IRPJ. Os resultados apontam uma elasticidade-PIB, tanto para IRPF quanto IRPJ, acima da unidade, na maioria dos modelos estimados, e existem períodos determinados que impactam consideravelmente sobre à arrecadação desses tributos.