The impact of investment in education on economic development: Spain in comparative perspective (1860-2000)

Throughout the 19th century and until the mid-20th century, in terms of long-terminvestment in human capital and, above all, in education, Spain lagged far behind theinternational standards and, more specifically, the levels attained by its neighbours inEurope. In 1900, only 55% of the population could read; in 1950, the figure was 93%.This no doubt contributed to a pattern of slower economic growth in which thephysical strength required for agricultural work, measured here through height, had alarger impact than education on economic growth. It was not until the 1970s, with thearrival of democracy, that the Spanish education system was modernized and theinfluence of education on economic growth increased.

Evolution of intraspecific variation : a comparative phylogenetic approach

Understanding the evolution of intraspecific variance is a major research question in evolutionary biology. While its importance to processes operating at individual and population levels is well-documented, much less is known about its role in macroevolutionary patterns. Nevertheless, both experimental and theoretical evidence suggest that the intraspecific variance is susceptible to selection, can transform into interspecific variation and, therefore, is crucial for macroevolutionary processes. The main objectives of this thesis were: (l) to investigate which factors impact evolution of intraspecific variation in Polygonaceae and determine if evolution of intraspecific variation influences species diversification; and (2) to develop a novel comparative phylogenetic method to model evolution of intraspecific variation. Using the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae, as a study system, I demonstrated which life-history and ecological traits are relevant to the evolution of intraspecific variation. I analyzed how differential intraspecific variation drives species diversification patterns. I showed with computer simulations the shortcomings of existing comparative methods with respect to intraspecific variation. I developed a novel comparative model that readily incorporates the intraspecific variance into phylogenetic comparative methods. The obtained results are complimentary, because they affect both empirical and methodological aspects of comparative analysis. Overall, I highlight that intraspecific variation is an important contributor to the macroevolutionary patterns and it should be explicitly considered in the comparative phylogenetic analysis. - En biologie évolutive comprendre l'évolution de la variance intraspécifique est un axe de recherche majeur. Bien que l'importance de cette variation soit bien documentée au niveau individuel et populationnel, on en sait beaucoup moins sur son rôle au niveau macroévolutif. Néanmoins, des preuves expérimentales et théoriques suggèrent que la variance intraspécifique est sensible à la sélection et peut se transformer en variation interspécifique. Par conséquent, elle est cruciale pour mieux comprendre les processus macroévolutifs. Les principaux objectifs de ma thèse étaient : (i) d'enquêter sur les facteurs qui affectent l'évolution de la variation intraspécifique chez les Polygonaceae et de déterminer si l'évolution de cette dernière influence la diversification des espèces, et (2) de développer une nouvelle méthode comparative permettant de modéliser l'évolution de la variation intraspécifique dans un cadre phylogénétique. En utilisant comme système d'étude la famille du sarrasin, les Polygonacées, je démontre que les traits d'histoire de vie sont pertinents pour comprendre l'évolution de la variation intraspécifique. J'ai également analysé l'influence de la variation intraspécifique au niveau de la diversification des espèces. J'ai ensuite démontré avec des données simulées les limites des méthodes comparatives existantes vis à vis de la variation intraspécifique. Finalement, j'ai développé un modèle comparatif qui intègre facilement la variance intraspécifique dans les méthodes comparatives phylogénétiques existantes. Les résultats obtenus lors de ma thèse sont complémentaires car ils abordent aspects empiriques et méthodologiques de l'analyse comparative. En conclusion, je souligne que la variation intraspécifique est un facteur important en macroévolution et qu'elle doit être explicitement considérée lors d'analyses comparatives phylogénétiques.

Comparative phylogeography of mutualists and the effect of the host on the genetic structure of its partners.

Whether or not species participating in specialized and obligate interactions display similar and simultaneous demographic variations at the intraspecific level remains an open question in phylogeography. In the present study, we used the mutualistic nursery pollination occurring between the European globeflower Trollius europaeus and its specialized pollinators in the genus Chiastocheta as a case study. Explicitly, we investigated if the phylogeographies of the pollinating flies are significantly different from the expectation under a scenario of plant-insect congruence. Based on a large-scale sampling, we first used mitochondrial data to infer the phylogeographical histories of each fly species. Then, we defined phylogeographical scenarios of congruence with the plant history, and used maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches to test for plant-insect phylogeographical congruence for the three Chiastocheta species. We show that the phylogeographical histories of the three fly species differ. Only Chiastocheta lophota and Chiastocheta dentifera display strong spatial genetic structures, which do not appear to be statistically different from those expected under scenarios of phylogeographical congruence with the plant. The results of the present study indicate that the fly species responded in independent and different ways to shared evolutionary forces, displaying varying levels of congruence with the plant genetic structure

Globalization and culture shaping the gender gap: A comparative analysis of urban Latin America and East Asia (1970 - 2000)

In this paper we present: 1. The available data on comparative gender inequality at themacroeconomic level and 2. Gender inequality measures at the microeconomic and case studylevel. We see that market openness has a significant effect on the narrowing of the human capitalgender gap. Globalization and market openness stand as factors that improve both the humancapital endowments of women and their economic position. But we also see that the effects ofculture and religious beliefs are very different. While Catholicism has a statistically significantinfluence on the improvement of the human capital gender gap, Muslim and Buddhist religiousbeliefs have the opposite effect and increase human capital gender differences.In the second global era, some Catholic Latin American countries benefited from market opennessin terms of the human capital and income gender gap, whereas we find the opposite impact inBuddhist and Muslim countries like China and South Korea where women s economic positionhas worsened in terms of human capital and wage inequality.

Role of technetium-99m diphosphonate and gallium-67 citrate bone scanning in the early diagnosis of infectious spondylodiscitis: a comparative study

A comparative study of the parts played by technetium-99m diphosphonate and gallium-67 citrate bone scanning in the early diagnosis of infectious spondylodiscitis is presented. Nineteen patients were included in the study. All patients (11 men aged 19-70 years and eight women aged 18-72 years) had a history of back pain varying in duration from one to 15 weeks. A 99mTc diphosphonate bone scan was positive in 17 patients. The two patients with negative results had less than two weeks of back pain. The 67Ga citrate bone scan showed uptake in all patients.

Role of technetium-99m diphosphonate and gallium-67 citrate bone scanning in the early diagnosis of infectious spondylodiscitis: a comparative study

A comparative study of the parts played by technetium-99m diphosphonate and gallium-67 citrate bone scanning in the early diagnosis of infectious spondylodiscitis is presented. Nineteen patients were included in the study. All patients (11 men aged 19-70 years and eight women aged 18-72 years) had a history of back pain varying in duration from one to 15 weeks. A 99mTc diphosphonate bone scan was positive in 17 patients. The two patients with negative results had less than two weeks of back pain. The 67Ga citrate bone scan showed uptake in all patients.

Senescence rates are determined by ranking on the fast-slow life-history continuum.

Comparative analyses of survival senescence by using life tables have identified generalizations including the observation that mammals senesce faster than similar-sized birds. These generalizations have been challenged because of limitations of life-table approaches and the growing appreciation that senescence is more than an increasing probability of death. Without using life tables, we examine senescence rates in annual individual fitness using 20 individual-based data sets of terrestrial vertebrates with contrasting life histories and body size. We find that senescence is widespread in the wild and equally likely to occur in survival and reproduction. Additionally, mammals senesce faster than birds because they have a faster life history for a given body size. By allowing us to disentangle the effects of two major fitness components our methods allow an assessment of the robustness of the prevalent life-table approach. Focusing on one aspect of life history - survival or recruitment - can provide reliable information on overall senescence.

Comparative phylogeography in a specific and obligate pollination antagonism.

In specific and obligate interactions the nature and abundance of a given species can have important effects on the survival and population dynamics of associated organisms. In a phylogeographic framework, we therefore expect that the fates of organisms interacting specifically are also tightly interrelated. Here we investigate such a scenario by analyzing the genetic structures of species interacting in an obligate plant-insect pollination lure-and-trap antagonism, involving Arum maculatum (Araceae) and its specific psychodid (Diptera) visitors Psychoda phalaenoides and Psycha grisescens. Because the interaction is asymmetric (i.e., only the plant depends on the insect), we expect the genetic structure of the plant to be related with the historical pollinator availability, yielding incongruent phylogeographic patterns between the interacting organisms.Using insect mtDNA sequences and plant AFLP genome fingerprinting, we inferred the large-scale phylogeographies of each species and the distribution of genetic diversities throughout the sampled range, and evaluated the congruence in their respective genetic structures using hierarchical analyses of molecular variances (AMOVA). Because the composition of pollinator species varies in Europe, we also examined its association with the spatial genetic structure of the plant.Our findings indicate that while the plant presents a spatially well-defined genetic structure, this is not the case in the insects. Patterns of genetic diversities also show dissimilar distributions among the three interacting species. Phylogeographic histories of the plant and its pollinating insects are thus not congruent, a result that would indicate that plant and insect lineages do not share the same glacial and postglacial histories. However, the genetic structure of the plant can, at least partially, be explained by the type of pollinators available at a regional scale. Differences in life-history traits of available pollinators might therefore have influenced the genetic structure of the plant, the dependent organism, in this antagonistic interaction.

The inequality trap. A comparative analysis of social spending between 1880 and 1933

[spa] Utilizando dos indicadores alternativos de redistribución –las transferencias sociales y el gasto social- durante el periodo de tiempo comprendido entre 1880 y 1933, y utilizando dos indicadores alternativos de desigualdad –el porcentaje de explotaciones agrarias no familiares y los top income shares-, este papel muestra que, al contrario de lo que muchos estudios sobre los origines del Estado del Bienestar suelen sugerir, la desigualdad no favoreció el desarrollo de la política social ni siquiera en sus etapas iniciales. Ello significa que la política social se desarrolló más rápidamente en los países que previamente ya eran más igualitarios, lo que sugiere que los países con más desigualdad se encontraban en una especie de trampa de la desigualdad, donde la desigualdad en si misma fue uno de los obstáculos a la redistribución.

The inequality trap. A comparative analysis of social spending between 1880 and 1933

[spa] Utilizando dos indicadores alternativos de redistribución –las transferencias sociales y el gasto social- durante el periodo de tiempo comprendido entre 1880 y 1933, y utilizando dos indicadores alternativos de desigualdad –el porcentaje de explotaciones agrarias no familiares y los top income shares-, este papel muestra que, al contrario de lo que muchos estudios sobre los origines del Estado del Bienestar suelen sugerir, la desigualdad no favoreció el desarrollo de la política social ni siquiera en sus etapas iniciales. Ello significa que la política social se desarrolló más rápidamente en los países que previamente ya eran más igualitarios, lo que sugiere que los países con más desigualdad se encontraban en una especie de trampa de la desigualdad, donde la desigualdad en si misma fue uno de los obstáculos a la redistribución.

Profiles of Second Language Learners in Bilingual Education: A Comparative Study of the Characteristics of Finnish and American Students

The purpose of this comparative study is to profile second language learners by exploring the factors which have an impact on their learning. The subjects come from two different countries: one group comes from Milwaukee, US, and the other from Turku, Finland. The subjects have attended bilingual classes from elementary school to senior high school in their respective countries. In the United States, the subjects (N = 57) started in one elementary school from where they moved on to two high schools in the district. The Finnish subjects (N = 39) attended the same school from elementary to high school. The longitudinal study was conducted during 1994-2004 and combines both qualitative and quantitative research methods. A Pilot Study carried out in 1990-1991 preceded the two subsequent studies that form the core material of this research. The theoretical part of the study focuses first on language policies in the United States and Finland: special emphasis is given to the history, development and current state of bilingual education, and the factors that have affected policy-making in the provision of language instruction. Current language learning theories and models form the theoretical foundation of the research, and underpin the empirical studies. Cognitively-labeled theories are at the forefront, but sociocultural theory and the ecological approach are also accounted for. The research methods consist of questionnaires, compositions and interviews. A combination of statistical methods as well as content analysis were used in the analysis. The attitude of the bilingual learners toward L1 and L2 was generally positive: the subjects enjoyed learning through two languages and were motivated to learn both. The knowledge of L1 and parental support, along with early literacy in L1, facilitated the learning of L2. This was particularly evident in the American subject group. The American subjects’ L2 learning was affected by the attitudes of the learners to the L1 culture and its speakers. Furthermore, the negative attitudes taken by L1 speakers toward L2 speakers and the lack of opportunities to engage in activities in the L1 culture affected the American subjects’ learning of L2, English. The research showed that many American L2 learners were isolated from the L1 culture and were even afraid to use English in everyday communication situations. In light of the research results, a politically neutral linguistic environment, which the Finnish subjects inhabited, was seen to be more favorable for learning. The Finnish subjects were learning L2, English, in a neutral zone where their own attitudes and motivation dictated their learning. The role of L2 as a means of international communication in Finland, as opposed to a means of exercising linguistic power, provided a neutral atmosphere for learning English. In both the American and Finnish groups, the learning of other languages was facilitated when the learner had a good foundation in their L1, and the learning of L1 and L2 were in balance. Learning was also fostered when the learners drew positive experiences from their surroundings and were provided with opportunities to engage in activities where L2 was used.

A Comparative Study of the Effectiveness of a Prefabricated Appliance and a Stabilization Appliance in the Treatment of Myofascial pain and Headache

The aim of this thesis was to evaluate the short- and long-term effectiveness of a prefabricated occlusal appliance (R) on patients with myofascial pain and headache by comparing it with the treatment of the stabilization appliance (S). Another aim was to evaluate the effect of appliance treatment on stress-related salivary parameters like cortisol and IgA, as well as on flow rate values in these patients. Sixty-five patients diagnosed with myofascial temporomandibular disorder (TMD) pain, of whom 94% suffered concomitantly from headache, at two centres for Stomatognathic Physiology, one in Sweden and one in Finland, were included in this randomized controlled trial using Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (RDC/TMD), with history questionnaires and clinical examinations performed at baseline and at 6- and 10-weeks, and 6- and 12-month follow-ups. Patients were randomly assigned either to the R or the S group. Treatment outcome was measured according to IMMPACT (Initiative on Methods, Measurements, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials), i.e. four chronic pain outcome domains: pain intensity, overall improvement, physical and emotional functioning. Changes in frequency and intensity of headache were recorded. Thirty-nine patients participated in the saliva study. Salivary analyses were performed at 6 and 10 weeks. The results revealed no differences between groups at baseline. At all follow-ups, all four outcome measures, as well as frequency and intensity of headache, showed statistically significant within-group improvement compared to baseline, without significant differences between groups. No treatment-induced changes in saliva parameters could be registered. In conclusion, the effectiveness of the prefabricated appliance seemed to be similar to that of the stabilization appliance in alleviating myofascial pain, and frequency and intensity of headache, in the short as well as the long term. However, no changes in salivary parameters were observed during treatment.

Fatigue and quality of life in breast cancer survivors: a comparative study

PURPOSE: To assess fatigue and quality of life in disease-free breast cancer survivors in relation to a sample of age-matched women with no cancer history and to explore the relationship between fatigue and quality of life.METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 202 consecutive disease-free Brazilian breast cancer survivors, all of whom had completed treatment, treated at 2 large hospitals. The patients were compared to age-matched women with no cancer history attending a primary health care center. The Piper Fatigue Scale-Revised and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument (WHOQOL-BREF) were used to measure the fatigue and quality of life, respectively. Socio-demographic and clinical variables were also obtained. The χ2 test, generalized linear model, and Spearman correlation coefficient were used for statistical purposes. The adopted level of significance was 5%.RESULTS: Breast cancer survivors experienced significantly greater total and subscale fatigue scores than comparison group (all p-values<0.05). In addition, survivors reported a poorer quality of life in physical (p=0.002), psychological (p=0.03), and social relationships (p=0.03) domains than comparison group. No difference was found for the environmental domain (p=0.08) for both groups. For survivors of breast cancer and for comparison group, the total and subscale fatigue scores were related to lower quality of life (all p-values<0.01).CONCLUSION: The findings of this study highlight the importance of assessing fatigue and quality of life in breast cancer survivors.

A comparative study of the change in diatom inferred ph of a staircase of lakes in the Algoma District, Northern Ontario /

Four staircase lakes occupying a single watershed located in the Algoma District, north of Lake Superior were chosen for this study. I examined the subfossil diatom assemblage in the top twenty centimeters of the surface sediments in each of these four lakes in an attempt to reconstruct their respective past pH history. From these analyses it was possible to test the hypothesis that the rate of change of diatom inferred pH was not significantly different in lakes located one below the other in a single "staircase" within a single watershed system. My results indicated that the four Z lakes had been acid for at least the last century. The water color of the three upper Z lakes (Z1, Z2 and Z3) was brown (>30 Pt Co units). The bottom lake (Z4) was the only clear water lake in the system «5 Pt Co units). This bottom staircase lake had no muskeg development around its shoreline. The alkaliphilous diatoms in the Z watershed system were important in determining the diatom inferred pH of the four Z lakes. The centric diatoms were extremely rare in the clearwater bottom lake (Z4). The ecology of the Eupodiscales is perhaps important in the interpretation of sediment in the more acid environment. Lake Z4 was the only one that had a progressive as well as a significant decrease in its downcore diatom inferred pH since the early 1960's. This lead me to speculate that the humic substances present in the upper three brown water lakes (Z1, Z2 and Z3) were perhaps Important in buffering them against a further decrease in water pH even though they were located within an area which was sensitive to acid precipitation.

La propriété des créances : approche comparative

"Thèse présentée à la Faculté des études supérieures de l'Université de Montréal en vue de l'obtention du grade de Docteur en Droit (L.L.D.) et à l'Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3"