Do public subsidies stimulate private R&D spending?

The objective of this paper is to contribute to the empirical literature that evaluates the effects of public R&D support on private R&D investment. We apply a matching approach to analyze the effects of public R&D support in Spanish manufacturing firms. We examine whether or not the effects are different depending on the size of the firm and the technological level of the sectors in which the firms operate. We evaluate the effect of R&D subsidies on the subsidized firms, considering both the effect of subsidies on firms that would have performed R&D in the absence of public support and also the effect of inducement to undertake R&D activities. We also analyze the effect that concession of subsidies might have on firms which do not enjoy this type of support. The main conclusions indicate absence of “crowding-out”, either full or partial, between public and private spending and that some firms - mainly small and operating in low technology sectors - might not have engaged in R&D activities in the absence of subsidies.     

Hispano‐Arabic studies in the new millennium: the United States and Canada

The decade from 1992 to 2002 saw extensive activity by North American scholars in Hispano‐Arabic studies, both in broad themes related to the 500^th anniversary of 1492 and in such subfields as literature, language/linguistics, religion, history, science/technology, philosophy, and art/architecture. The article provides an overview of scholarly trends and a bibliography of works published during the relevant period.     

Utility of icteric index in clinical laboratories: more than a preanalytical indicator

IntroductionTotal bilirubin tests are highly demanded in clinical laboratories. Since icteric index (I-index) has zero cost, we aimed to evaluate its clinical utility and cost-effectiveness to determine if total bilirubin is necessary to be tested. We took into account if haemolysis could interfere to icteric index determination.Material and methodsRetrospectively we reviewed I-index results in two cohorts (43,372 and 8507 non-haemolysed and haemolysed samples, respectively). All determinations were done using Alinity c chemistry analysers (Abbott Diagnostics). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the optimal index cut-off to discriminate between normal and abnormal bilirubin concentration (20.5 µmol/L).ResultsThe ROC curve analysis suggested 21.4 µmol/L as the optimal I-index cut-off but differences in sensitivity and specificity were detected between patient derivation. For rejecting purpose, 15.4 µmol/L and 17.1 µmol/L I-index thresholds were selected based on patient derivation (inpatients and emergency room; and primary care and outpatients, respectively) with 97% sensitivity and 0.25% false negative results. Sensitivity was much lower in haemolysed samples. We selected 34.2 µmol/L I-index as threshold to detect hyperbilirubinemia with 99.7% specificity and 0.26% false positive results, independent of haemolysis. With the icteric index cut-offs proposed, we would save 66% of total bilirubin requested and analyse total bilirubin in around 2% of samples without total bilirubin requested.ConclusionsThis study supports the use of I-index to avoid bilirubin determination and to identify patients with hyperbilirubinemia. This work considers that the economic and test savings could help to increase the efficiency in clinical laboratories.     

Adolescents’ profiles based on student agency and teacher autonomy support: does interpersonal justice matter?

In this study, we adopted a person-oriented approach to (a) identify latent profiles of adolescents characterized by unique patterns of perceived teacher autonomy support and student agency, (b) investigate whether perceived interpersonal justice can predict profile membership and (c) compare different profiles in relation to personal responsibility. Participants were 545 Italian secondary school students (55% boys, 94% born in Italy, M_age = 14.24, SD_age = .53). Five adolescents’ profiles emerged: disengaged (24%), average students (34%) and committed (28%), with low, mean and high scores, respectively, in both teacher autonomy support and agency; resistant (5%), with low scores in teacher autonomy support and high scores in agency; compliant (9%), with high scores in teacher autonomy support and low scores in agency. Perceptions of interpersonal justice significantly predicted profile membership in the comparison of almost all profiles. Several significant differences in responsibility among profiles also emerged. Implications of the findings for practices and policies are discussed.

     

Young people’s perceptions of advice about sexual risk taking

Sexual and reproductive health indicators for young people in the USA have improved in recent decades, but teenage pregnancies remain high, and large differences between Whites and non-Whites persist in teenage births, abortions, and the acquisition of sexually transmitted infections. Prior research shows that young people are receptive to communication about sex from parents and friends, but peers have been found to be more influential on sexual risk taking. In this study of 617 young people aged 13–20 years in high-risk neighbourhoods for teenage pregnancy in New Jersey, we asked whether sexually inexperienced young people differed from sexually experienced young people in their level of receptivity to the recommendations from their parents, friends, and others about whether to have sex before marriage and whether to use a condom if sexually active. The results showed that the sexually inexperienced were more receptive to messages from figures of authority in their life than those sexually experienced. We also found that stronger message intensity from parents, friends, and others to delay sex until marriage and to use a condom if sexually active was associated with lower sexual intentions in the next six months and the use of a condom if sexually active in the last three months.     

Teaching interactive practices and burnout: a study on Italian teachers

The purpose of the present study was to analyse the role played by teaching interactive practices (measured through a self-report Likert scale) in predicting teacher burnout, after controlling for school grade (primary vs. secondary school) and teaching experience. Participants were 282 Italian teachers equally distributed between primary and secondary schools. Teaching interactive practices were investigated through a purpose-built questionnaire concerning teacher- versus student-centred practices. Burnout was studied using the Maslach Burnout Inventory in its three-dimensional—Emotional Exhaustion, Low Personal Accomplishment and Depersonalization—Italian version. An explorative factor analysis on the questionnaire displayed three dimensions of teaching practices, namely student-centred practices focused on flexibility, student-centred practices focused on participation and teacher-centred practices. The main results showed that, irrespective of school grade and teaching experience, the adoption of interactive practices favouring students’ participation negatively predicted burnout; on the contrary, teacher-centred practices and flexibility positively predicted it. The result implications for educational processes and teacher training are discussed in the conclusion.     

Career Development Tasks of Mexican American Adolescents: An Exploratory Study

This interview-based study explored the extent to which four academically successful Mexican American adolescents were engaged in age appropriate career development tasks as suggested by Super's (1957, 1984) theory. It also explored the adolescent's understanding of the role that ethnicity played in their career related behaviors. Findings suggest that these Hispanic adolescents were engaged in age appropriate tasks according to Super's theory and that both family and ethnic related factors were relevant to their career development.