Economics of public governance with strategic production of information: four essays

SUMMARY This paper analyses the outcomes of the EEA and bilateral agreements vote at the level of the 3025 communities of the Swiss Confederation by simultaneously modelling the vote and the participation decisions. Regressions include economic and political factors. The economic variables are the aggregated shares of people employed in the losing, Winning and neutral sectors, according to BRUNETTI, JAGGI and WEDER (1998) classification, Which follows a Ricardo-Viner logic, and the average education levels, which follows a Heckscher-Ohlin approach. The political factors are those used in the recent literature. The results are extremely precise and consistent. Most of the variables have the predicted sign and are significant at the l % level. More than 80 % of the communities' vote variance is explained by the model, substantially reducing the residuals when compared to former studies. The political variables do have the expected signs and are significant as Well. Our results underline the importance of the interaction between electoral choice and participation decisions as well as the importance of simultaneously dealing with those issues. Eventually they reveal the electorate's high level of information and rationality. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Unser Beitrag analysiert in einem Model, welches gleichzeitig die Stimm- ("ja" oder "nein") und Partizipationsentscheidung einbezieht, den Ausgang der Abstimmungen über den Beitritt zum EWR und über die bilateralen Verträge für die 3025 Gemeinden der Schweiz. Die Regressionsgleichungen beinhalten ökonomische und politische Variabeln. Die ökonomischen Variabeln beinhalten die Anteile an sektoriellen Arbeitsplatzen, die, wie in BRUNETTI, JAGGIl.1I1d WEDER (1998), in Gewinner, Verlierer und Neutrale aufgeteilt Wurden, gemäß dem Model von Ricardo-Viner, und das durchschnittliche Ausbildungsniveau, gemäß dem Model von Heckscher-Ohlin. Die politischen Variabeln sind die in der gegenwärtigen Literatur üblichen. Unsere Resultate sind bemerkenswert präzise und kohärent. Die meisten Variabeln haben das von der Theorie vorausgesagte Vorzeichen und sind hoch signifikant (l%). Mehr als 80% der Varianz der Stimmabgabe in den Gemeinden wird durch das Modell erklärt, was, im Vergleich mit früheren Arbeiten, die unerklärten Residuen Wesentlich verkleinert. Die politischen Variabeln haben auch die erwarteten Vorzeichen und sind signifikant. Unsere Resultate unterstreichen die Bedeutung der Interaktion zwischen der Stimm- und der Partizipationsentscheidung, und die Bedeutung diese gleichzeitig zu behandeln. Letztendlich, belegen sie den hohen lnformationsgrad und die hohe Rationalität der Stimmbürger. RESUME Le présent article analyse les résultats des votations sur l'EEE et sur les accords bilatéraux au niveau des 3025 communes de la Confédération en modélisant simultanément les décisions de vote ("oui" ou "non") et de participation. Les régressions incluent des déterminants économiques et politiques. Les déterminants économiques sont les parts d'emploi sectoriels agrégées en perdants, gagnants et neutres selon la classification de BRUNETTI, JAGGI ET WEDER (1998), suivant la logique du modèle Ricardo-Viner, et les niveaux de diplômes moyens, suivant celle du modèle Heckscher-Ohlin. Les déterminants politiques suivent de près ceux utilisés dans la littérature récente. Les résultats sont remarquablement précis et cohérents. La plupart des variables ont les signes prédits par les modèles et sont significatives a 1%. Plus de 80% de la variance du vote par commune sont expliqués par le modèle, faisant substantiellement reculer la part résiduelle par rapport aux travaux précédents. Les variables politiques ont aussi les signes attendus et sont aussi significatives. Nos résultats soulignent l'importance de l'interaction entre choix électoraux et décisions de participation et l'importance de les traiter simultanément. Enfin, ils mettent en lumière les niveaux élevés d'information et de rationalité de l'électorat.

Characterization of an interaction between fetal hemoglobin and lipid A of LPS resulting in augmented induction of cytokine production in vivo and in vitro.

A previously described extract of sheep fetal liver was reported to reverse many of the cytokine changes associated with aging in mice, including an augmented spleen cell ConA-stimulated production of IL-4 and decreased production of IL-2. Similar effects were not seen with adult liver preparations. These changes were observed in various strains of mice, including BALB/c, DBA/2 and C57BL/6, using mice with ages ranging from 8 to 110 weeks. Preliminary characterization of this crude extract showed evidence for the presence of Hb gamma chain, as well as of lipid A of LPS. We show below that purified preparations of sheep fetal Hb, but not adult Hb, in concert with suboptimally stimulating doses of LPS (lipid A), cooperate in the regulation of production of a number of cytokines, including TNFalpha and IL-6, in vitro. Furthermore, isolated fresh spleen or peritoneal cells from animals treated in vivo with the same combination of Hb and LPS, showed an augmented capacity to produce these cytokines on further culture in vitro. Evidence was also obtained for a further interaction between CLP, LPS and fetal Hb itself in this augmented cytokine production. These data suggest that some of the functional activities in the fetal liver extract reported earlier can be explained in terms of a novel immunomodulatory role of a mixture of LPS (lipid A) and fetal Hb.

Extremal principle of entropy production in the climate system

Paltridge found reasonable values for the most significant climatic variables through maximizing the material transport part of entropy production by using a simple box model. Here, we analyse Paltridge's box model to obtain the energy and the entropy balance equations separately. Derived expressions for global entropy production, which is a function of the radiation field, and even its material transport component, are shown to be different from those used by Paltridge. Plausible climatic states are found at extrema of these parameters. Feasible results are also obtained by minimizing the radiation part of entropy production, in agreement with one of Planck's results, Finally, globally averaged values of the entropy flux of radiation and material entropy production are obtained for two dynamical extreme cases: an earth with uniform temperature, and an earth in radiative equilibrium at each latitudinal point

Control of brood male production in the Argentine ant Iridomyrmex humilis (Mayr)

The influence of various social factors on the production of males was investigated in the Argentine ant, Iridomyrmex humilis. In this polygynous species, the workers which are monomorphic are unable to lay reproductive eggs, so all the males are the progeny of the queens. Although male eggs appear to be laid by mated queens throughout the year, in large stock colonies males are reared periodically (every 3 or 4 months); males develop from brood taken from these colonies at any point in the cycle and given queenless or queenright (1 to 5 queens) units. This is in striking contrast to many other species of ants where it is generally assumed that male eggs are laid seasonnally. Comparative experiments suggest that several related factors influence the rearing of males as far as the pupal stage. Worker/larva ratio: The proportion of male larvae developing in standardized units in which the worker/larva ratio was varied from 0.25 to 25 demonstrated that low ratios inhibit male production. Queen influence: In standardized units where the worker/larva ratio was high the presence of queens did not inhibit the rearing of males suggesting that there is no queen inhibitory pheromone controlling male experimental production. Data suggest evidence that queens prevent male production by means of appropriation of food. Diet: Male larvae failed to pupate in experimental societies deprived of protein. Thus, the production of males appears to be controlled by the amount of food available to larvae. This depends on foraging activity, the quantity of brood in relation to the number of workers and the number of queens in the society.

Discriminant validity and test-retest reliability of a self-administered Internet-based questionnaire testing doctors' knowledge in evidence-based medicine.

Aims and objectives  This study aimed to determine the discriminant validity and the test-retest reliability of a questionnaire testing the impact of evidence-based medicine (EBM) training on doctors' knowledge and skills. Methods  Questionnaires were sent electronically to all doctors working as residents and chief residents in two French speaking hospital networks in Switzerland. Participants completed the questionnaire twice, within a 4-week interval. The discriminant validity was examined in comparing doctors' performance according to their reported EBM previous training. Proportion of agreement between both sessions of the questionnaire, Cohen's kappa and 'uniform kappa' determined its test-retest reliability. Results  The participation rate was 9.8%/7.1% to first/second session. Performance increased according to the level of doctors' previous training in EBM. The observed proportion of agreement between both sessions was over 70% for 14/19 questions, and the 'uniform kappa' was superior to 0.60 for 15/19 questions. Conclusion  The discriminant validity and test-retest reliability of the questionnaire were satisfying. The low participation rate did not prevent the study from achieving its aims.

Male production by workers in the polygynous ant Prolasius advenus

The ability of workers to produce male individuals is reported here for the first time in a species of the formicine ant genus Prolasius. We show that Prolasius advenus workers possess ovaries and demonstrate that they are able to produce adult males in queenless colonies. We also experimentally tested the influence of queen volatiles on the level of worker reproduction. Workers produced fewer eggs in treatments where they could perceive odors from queens. Some volatile compounds emitted by queens may thus have a signaling or inhibitory effect on worker reproduction. This effect of queen presence did not entirely stop worker reproduction, however, as adult males still emerged under these conditions. Worker-produced males were absent only in treatments with the physical presence of queens. Dissections of workers collected from queenright nests in the field revealed signs of egg-laying activity in more than half of individuals. Together, these results suggest that in nature P. advenus workers produce males at least in orphaned colonies or in situations where the physical presence of queens is limited.