Number Of Commitments Research Articles

Article 3 - The Evolution of Deep Trade Agreements

This paper takes a first look at new data on the content of Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs). The data contain detailed information on the eighteen policy areas most frequently covered in PTAs, focusing on the stated objectives, substantive commitments, and other aspects such as transparency, procedures and enforcement. A number of new stylized facts emerge: (i) PTAs have reduced trade-weighted average tariff rates to less than 5 percent for more than two-thirds of countries; (ii) the number of commitments in PTAs has increased over time, particularly since the 2000s and in areas aiming at facilitating flows of services, goods and capital; (iii) deepening commitments have been accompanied by an increase in regulatory requirements, namely on enforcement; (iv) developing countries tend to have fewer commitments in PTAs, with larger gaps in areas such as labor and environment; (v) PTAs are more similar within blocs, but similarity can be significant even across blocs. The paper also discusses the challenges of quantification of PTA “depth” and its effects and proposes a research agenda for future work on trade agreements.

Peculiarities of determining propriety of a party in public legal disputes on appealing decisions of medical and social expert commissions and military physician boards by the Ministry of defence of Ukraine

In the process of developing a legal democratic state on the way to European integration, the Ukrainian society and the state as a subject of law face the next tasks related to the implementation in national legislation, the state policy of standards and principles of international law, embodied, in particular, in the provisions of international agreements between Ukraine and the European community.
 One of the significant agreements that contributed to the revision of the conceptional approaches to law-making and enforcement activities in Ukraine is “The Agreement on Association between Ukraine, on the one hand, and the European Union, the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, on the other hand”, ratified Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the European Parliament on September 16, 2014. Under this Agreement, Ukraine undertook a number of commitments, in particular to increase the level of social protection of the population (Article 420 of the Agreement). In order to achieve this goal, among others an effective system of organizational and legal guarantees (means and measures) for ensuring social rights of citizens should be functioning in the state, which in turn should be based on the close cooperation of Ukraine with the European community in the field of justice, freedom and security with to ensure the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms of states (Article 1 of the Agreement). In accordance with the Regulations of article 14 of the Agreement within the framework of such cooperation, the state should attach particular importance to the establishment of the rule of law and the strengthening of institutions of all levels in the field of administration generally and law enforcement and judicial authorities in particular. Cooperation should be aimed, in particular, at strengthening the judiciary, improving its effectiveness, ensuring its independence and impartiality and fight against corruption, and should be based on the principle of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Analisis Portofolio Optimal : Pendekatan Mean Variance Pada Harga Komoditas Pangan di Kota Padang

Investment is a number of commitments or a number of funds or resources made at this time with the aim of obtaining future profits. One method that can be used to form an optimal portfolio is to use the mean variace approach. Asset selection is carried out on food commodities namely rice, eggs, cooking oil, granulated sugar, and red chili. From the data processing it is found that the weight of each commodity is cooking oil (99.95%), eggs (0.03%), granulated sugar (0.04%), red chili is negative (-0.02%), and rice (0.00%). So that it can be estimated that the expected profit is -0.0024% and risk is 0.0001%.

An EU-US Trade Agreement on Industrial Goods: A Preliminary Evaluation From an EU Perspective

In the midst of various trade tensions the EU and the US have plotted a way forward for their trade relations. Amongst a number of commitments they have taken, they are seeking to negotiate a trade agreement on industrial goods. This article aims to provide a preliminary evaluation, mainly from an EU perspective, of what such an agreement may entail, both from a negotiations perspective, as well as from the perspective of what the final agreement might look like. In this regard the article first analyses the various elements that need to be negotiated upon, mainly following the structure of the EU mandate EU mandate. It subsequently evaluates that even though the challenges are manifold, the agreement will bring benefits of both a trade and economic nature, as well as of a political nature. In this context it concludes that the efforts to achieve this agreement should be given the fullest support.

Furthering Open Justice in the Open Government Partnership: Updating the Findings

Among the commitments undertaken by the governments participating in the OGP, there is a growing number of commitments to improve the provision of justice services. Successfully implementing these commitments can entail a reform opportunity that the justice sector needs so as to improve its legitimacy vis-a-vis society, as well as its internal functioning.

The Italian Competition Authority Clears a Co-Marketing Agreement for the Commercialization of a Drug Imposing a Number of Commitments on the Parties

The Italian Competition Authority (ICA) has closed by a commitment decision an Article 101 TFEU investigation into a co-marketing agreement. The parties offered to amend the agreement by removing and eliminating the clauses of the agreement that were thought to be conducive to market sharing between the parties. Arguably, the ICA saw that the co-marketing agreements might have pro-competitive effects if they are not price-fixing or market sharing arrangements in disguise.

Card-based protocols for securely computing the conjunction of multiple variables

Consider a deck of real cards with faces that are either black or red and backs that are all identical. Then, using two cards of different colors, we can commit a secret bit to a pair of face-down cards so that its order (i.e., black to red, or red to black) represents the value of the bit. Given such two commitments (consisting of four face-down cards in total) together with one additional black card, the “five-card trick” invented in 1989 by den Boer securely computes the conjunction of the two secret bits. In 2012, it was shown that such a two-variable secure AND computation can be done with no additional card. In this paper, we generalize this result to an arbitrary number of variables: we show that, given any number of commitments, their conjunction can be securely computed with no additional card.

The impact of cultural exceptions: audiovisual services trade and trade policy

ABSTRACTAudiovisual services such as music and movies in digital formats have gained substantial importance over the last decade, while remaining one of the sectors with the lowest number of commitments by WTO members. Based on a novel data set, this article analyses the role of trade restrictions on audiovisual services in a gravity model. We find that countries with WTO commitments trade more audiovisual services, while both exports and imports are lower for countries which impose policies to curb inflows of foreign cultural services.

The association between affective psychopathic traits, time incarcerated, and cortisol response to psychosocial stress

Previous research has demonstrated that psychopathic personality traits are significantly predictive of blunted cortisol reactivity to a performance-based stressor task (Trier Social Stress Test; TSST) in college students. However, the relationship between cortisol reactivity and psychopathy has not been explored in high risk samples such as incarcerated populations. Further, the role of imprisonment in relation to cortisol stress reactivity has not been previously explored, but could have practical and conceptual consequences in regard to rehabilitation and biological sensitivity to context, respectively. The current study tested the hypotheses that both psychopathic personality traits and amount of time incarcerated are related to cortisol blunting in response to stress among incarcerated young adults. A sample of 49 young adult male offenders was recruited to complete the TSST. Salivary hormone samples were taken just prior to and 20min post-stressor, and participants were interviewed with the Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version. Variables quantifying the amount of time at the present facility prior to the date of testing and number of commitments in juvenile facilities were also collected. Correlational analyses indicated that only number of incarcerations was related to blunted cortisol. Hierarchical Linear Modeling revealed that time incarcerated and number of commitments were related to a blunted cortisol response among responders and declining cortisol reactivity among nonresponders, respectively. Controlling for time incarcerated, psychopathic traits were significantly related to cortisol decline in response to the stressor among nonresponders, but were not related to blunted cortisol among responders. Results of this project highlight the potential biological effects of prolonged and repeated incarcerations, and extend our understanding about the relationship between psychopathic traits and cortisol reactivity in an incarcerated sample.

Tough, Tougher, Toughest?

When in opposition, Victoria¹s Liberal/National coalition made a number of commitments to be 'tough on crime'. After winning the 2010 state election, the Government arguably reformed sentencing laws more quickly and more substantially in its first year of office than any other area of policy, with several key initiatives delivered or in train. The Victorian experience exemplifies fast and forceful responses to perceived risks to community safety by new Australian Governments. While some political leaders have decried the 'law and order auction' approach by political parties, it remains a real tool in political discourse. Some of these initiatives appear inconsistent with fundamental sentencing principles, and are designed more to address public perceptions which are disconnected from the realities of criminality and incidence of offending. A more appropriate basis for criminal justice policy may require Government to prioritise addressing the causes of offending behavior, rather than penalising consequences.

Time allocations for study: evidence from Arts students in Australia

PurposeThe primary purpose of this paper is to compare time availability and its allocation amongst Arts students. In addition it aims to match time availability and use with informants' resource preferences and the variables of language background and residential status.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 109 students completed quantitatively‐based electronic and paper‐copy surveys. Empirical data from primary informants form the basis of analysis.FindingsThe paper finds that over 90 per cent of informants have non‐study commitments and over half have commitments of six or more hours per week. The largest single group (35 per cent) has obligations of six to 14 hours per week. There is only a weak correlation between a higher number of commitments a lower amount of “out‐of‐class” time to engage with study obligations. Conversely, fewer extra‐curricular obligations does not automatically lead to a higher number of hours devoted to study. Differences in resource use are small: paper copy resources are universally popular, regardless of time commitments and allocations. Non‐English‐speaking background and international students tend to have fewer non‐study commitments and devote more time to study in general than English‐speaking background and local informants.Research limitations/implicationsResearch covers one of full‐time student informants' four units and does not elicit responses from all units studied by informants.Originality/valueWhile employment has been examined as a factor affecting student performance and time availability, few studies have matched time availability and declared time allocations to study. Further, time availability as a key feature of academic study is matched against variables highly relevant to today's student populations: resource mode use; language background; and residential status.

XVII International AIDS Conference: From Evidence to Action ‐ AIDS 2008 and the global response to AIDS

The impact of the XVII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2008) was reflected in a number of commitments from political and business leaders, who announced initiatives ranging from implementing comprehensive sexual education for young people in Latin America to reducing regulatory barriers and the price of drugs in the host country. The unprecedented media coverage brought attention and public awareness to the epidemic in Latin America.Several meetings and sessions at AIDS 2008 also addressed the potential for the International AIDS Conference to play an even stronger role in tracking progress towards universal access and in improving accountability in the global response to AIDS, particularly given some of the inherent weaknesses in the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) review process. The impact of AIDS 2008 was strongest in Mexico, the host country, and in Latin America. Highlights included the policy changes announced by President Calderon on pharmaceutical manufacturing to the focus on sex workers and gay and other MSM in marches, activism and the conference programme.The next two years will determine whether the successes reported in Mexico are sustained and whether there is progress in addressing the barriers that continue to hamper an evidence-based response to HIV/AIDS. The next International AIDS Conference is scheduled for the universal address deadline of 2010.

The Determinants of GATS Commitment Coverage

This paper investigates hypotheses about the determinants of trade and investment liberalisation with a particular focus on the market access and national treatment commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). We set up a database of these GATS commitments and use the ratio of all commitments listed by a country to the possible number of commitments as a measure of liberalisation of market access/national treatment. Our empirical analysis suggests that larger and ‘richer’ countries commit to more liberal regimes of market access and national treatment. This is surprising since economic theory predicts the largest welfare gains for low‐skilled abundant (skilled‐labour/physical‐capital‐scarce) economies. Also, our findings suggest that liberalisation is stronger among geographically close countries with strong ties in goods trade.

Why Democracies May Actually Be Less Reliable Allies

Recent research builds on the observation that democracies have more durable alliances to argue that democracies make more reliable allies. This need not be the case. Alliances serve as commitment devices, adding ex ante credibility to states' claims about ex post behavior. Variation in alliance durability must reflect differences in the desirability of formalizing alignments. Put simply, democracies are “most improved” by formal commitments. We offer two related explanations for why democracies might actually be less reliable alliance partners. Information costs for participating in policymaking and the advantages of organized interest groups combined with distributional incentives generated by the periodic turnover of governments may conspire to make informal commitments on the part of democracies problematic. Determining the net effect of democratic virtue and vice is best done empirically. We test alliance reliability by focusing on intervention, rather than on the duration or the number of commitments. Our results suggest that democracies make less reliable allies.

The efficiency of repeaters based on the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen effect for quantum cryptography in a damping channel

Based on the fundamental Holevo inequality and on the direct calculations, it is argued that the number of commitments required per one bit in a key in a damping channel increases exponentially with channel length. It is shown that the conclusion drawn recently by Duan et al. [4] that the exponential increase in resources for quantum cryptography in a damping channel can be reduced to the polynomial law by generating a through Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen pair is erroneous. Therefore, the results of [4] do not solve the fundamental problem restricting practical application of quantum cryptography at distances larger than the damping length.

Review of studies on committed patients: Methodologic problems when determining the diagnostic profile

This paper reviews studies on the diagnostic profile of committed psychiatric patients. Most studies find that schizophrenia is the commonest diagnosis among these patients. The percentage of schizophrenics among committed patients varies, but many studies find figures between 30% and 50%. Comparison of commitments internationally is, however, problematic, and various sources of error and methodologic problems are discussed. These include limited representativity in the individual study, the risk of selection bias due to lack of drop-out analyses, and poor external validity. Attempts to reduce the number of commitments must be based on knowledge of the main target group among committed patients. This seems to be patients with schizophrenia and, therefore, ensuring optimal treatment of these patients in both an inpatient and an outpatient setting is essential.

Need-for-treatment criteria for involuntary civil commitment: impact in practice

There has been considerable discussion in the literature on the differences between criteria for involuntary commitment that are based on dangerousness and criteria based on need for treatment. A number of states have adopted clinical criteria, and other state legislatures are actively considering them. Some libertarians argue that dangerousness is constitutionally required if a person is to undergo the loss of liberty involved in commitment. Citing widely publicized data from the state of Washington, they predict that a return to clinical criteria would result in a deluge of inappropriate commitments. Some clinicians counter that use of clinical criteria would result in selection of a much more appropriate clinical population and point to research indicating that strict observation of the need-for-treatment provisions of the APA model commitment statute would actually decrease the number of commitments. The author examines state hospital admission and census data from eight states that added need-for-treatment criteria to their commitment codes between 1975 and 1990 and argues that the data indicate that there is little reason to believe that such changes would result in the deluge of admissions predicted by the critics.

An Analysis of Commitments Made by Student Clinicians in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology

This study identified and classified commitments made by student clinicians in speech-language pathology and audiology supervisory conferences and provides a methodology for documenting change in supervisees' behavior as a result of supervisory interaction. Five different types of commitments were isolated and served as the basis of the Commitment Classification System. They included clinical procedures, clinical process administration, supervisory procedures, supervisory process administration, and academic information/teaching function. The independent variables were condition (written agreement or no written agreement between supervisee and supervisor), order of conditions, experience level of supervisee, week number within each condition, and type of commitments. Frequency data were collected for 6 consecutive weeks. The resulting 1,389 commitments made by 64 student clinicians in 384 individual conferences at 12 universities were analyzed within a multiple analysis of variance. Significant findings (p less than .05) indicated that the greatest number of commitments made involved planning, analysis, and evaluation of the clinical process with particular attention on client behavior; and the number of commitments made was a function of written accountability and order of conditions.

"Aversive" Group Therapy

Capitalizing on the negative reactions many inmates have toward group therapy, several psychologists at the National Training School for Boys in Washington, D.C., established mandatory attendance in a special therapy group for anyone repeatedly committed to segregation. The object was to decrease the number of commitments to the segregation unit and thereby increase the amount of time the inmate was exposed to correc tional treatment. Favorable results are reported. A discussion of the rationale includes an outline of the specific steps employed in utilizing this "aversive" model for behavior modification.

Linguistics as a Genetic Science

I am designedly using the term 'genetic' rather than 'historical' in this context because, after having been for thirty years a devotee of the discipline conventionally labeled 'historical linguistics', I have at present grave misgivings about the unqualified suitability of the label and, far more important, I have become alert to the implications of its possible inappropriateness. To begin with, the label 'history', like many terms of ancient scholarship, is fraught with imprecision. It refers to an analytical discipline concerned with the study of the past, but also with a segment of that past regardless of any analysis, as long as there exist any written records. Only thus can we explain the fact that prehistory designates, at least in normal usage, another, earlier segment along the time axis, whereas such terms as prelinguistics (which may or may not have been coined) and prephilology (which has actually been toyed with on one occasion) could meaningfully refer only to a prescientific stage of a discipline; that is to say, to cognition itself, not to an object of cognition. My second source of doubt is the awareness that any serious work of history involves a number of commitments on the part of the practitioner not only as to the purpose, scope, and techniques of his research, but also as to the forces credited with causing change. This hard core of curiosity about causation in general, with special reference to evolution, must, of course, be shared not only by straight historians, i.e. students of broadly significant events in the succession of human societies, but also by scholars combining a special topical expertise with a flair for sequential reconstruction-say, art historians or historically oriented analysts of jurisprudence. To my surprise, I discovered before long that, despite the familiarity of many old-style linguists with an astonishing profusion of historical details, very few among them operated explicitly with any clearly delineated philosophy of history. True, Emile Littr6, the late-19th-century author of a massive dictionary of Modern French, had, at the outset, a generous share of close contacts with Auguste Comte's positivism; also, Otto Jespersen's disputed optimistic belief in the steady improvement of language as a toolwitness his book Efficiency in linguistic change-implied a sharply silhouetted world view, as one would expect of the rationalistic author of a publication entitled The philosophy of grammar. But, generally speaking, among the older linguists addicted to the historical approach, particularly those immersed in etymology, it is easier to find individuals with a strong side-interest in various facets of material civilization, in navigation and caravan routes, and even in botany (cf. Vittorio Bertoldi), ichthyology (witness Paul Barbier), and ornithology (I refer you to Richard Riegler) than persons with any pronounced