Public Expenditures on Education and Health in Georgia before and during the Global Crisis

After years of stagnation and political cataclysms, Georgia tried to recover by launching radical economic and political reforms starting in 2004. The results of the reforms appeared to be impressive. The country’s GDP has more than doubled; the total volume of bank deposits is five times what it used to be. Key international indices (Doing Business Index, Economic Freedom Index, Corruption Perception Index) have also reflected the success of the reforms. The occupation of the Georgian territories by Russia in August 2008 and the global financial crisis have significantly changed the current macroeconomic environment in Georgia. The August conflict undermined investor and consumer confidence, put pressure on public finances, damaged physical and other infrastructure and undermined the banking system with a large volume of deposit withdrawals. The deepening of the international financial crisis put further pressure on currency and foreign investments. The purpose of this paper is to consider the nature and magnitude of the impact of the global financial crisis on Georgia’s social services sector and on the country’s economy as a whole. The global financial crisis had a sharp impact on the most disadvantaged members of the society. The main objectives of the paper are to describe to what extent the education and healthcare sectors were affected in Georgia and to investigate how government policies have addressed the problems which arose due to the financial crisis.Georgia, Education, Health Care Sector, Public Service Delivery, Development During the Financial Crisis, Financial Crisis in Georgia, Georgia’s education sector, Georgia’s health sector, Georgia’s macro indicators, Financial aid

Global economic crisis: Is Georgia at risk?

Most of countries have been badly affected by the tremendous global financial crisis and economic downturn happening recently. It is really difficult to predict the timing and magnitude of events caused by the global economic crises, the effects of the crisis vary from country to country. It has become a serious problem not only for those countries which belong to the world of unprecedented financial globalization, where the financial sector plays a historically large role in economic activity, but it is also an imported crisis (G20 Financial Ministers' Meeting, November,2008) for low-income countries (LICs) as well. Although Georgia's economy is quite small, it is not isolated from the recession dilemma facing the world economy. In this article I look at how the global financial crisis may affect the Georgian economic development, export-import structure, investment flows and those sectors of Georgian economy which are regarded as having suffered the most because of the financial crisis spreading around the globe. This paper is kind of attempt to find out what are the optimal measures to recover from the post-August war condition and how to avoid direct influence of the global crisis on Georgian econom

Implementation of an Exercise Program in Breast Cancer Rehabilitation to Improve Shoulder Outcomes: A Pilot Study

Purpose: To examine the effects of a group exercise program on shoulder pain, disability, range of motion, and strength. Method: This was an observational study of twenty-six patients who had undergone breast cancer surgery and were receiving physiotherapy intervention. The intervention was a supervised 8-week exercise group program. The primary outcome measure was shoulder pain and disability index (SPADI). Secondary outcome measures were shoulder range of motion of flexion and abduction and strength of shoulder flexion and abduction. Results: The average age of patients referred to the group was 56-years (range of 29 to 71 years). The average time since surgery was 6-9 months (range of 2 to 16 months). The exercise group intervention resulted in small reductions in SPADI scores (pConclusion: An 8-week group exercise program can be effectively implemented in the clinic without any seen side effects. There were improvements in shoulder range of motion and strength, and a reduction in pain and disability although not clinically significant. This pilot study assists clinicians with incorporating an exercise program for patients in breast cancer rehabilitation

Toothless Reforms? The Remarkable Stability of Female Labor Force Participation in a Top-Reforming Country

Low Female Labor Force Participation (FLFP) constitutes a foregone opportunity at both the macro and at the micro levels, potentially increasing the vulnerability of households and lowering the long-run development perspectives of a country. Most international organizations and national policy makers see low FLFP as a serious issue that needs to be addressed by adopting appropriate policies. We investigate the possible reasons of the remarkable stability of FLFP in a top-reforming upper-middle income country. Our goal is to in disentangle the different forces at work and to draw useful lessons for the design of participation-enhancing policies. Using data from a nationally representative Household Survey covering the period 2003-2015, we employ Blinder-Oaxaca (Blinder, 1973 and Oaxaca, 1973) type decomposition to decompose changes over time in FLFP levels into parts that are due to changes in observable factors versus changes in the strength of impact of these factors. This allows us to identify possible shifters of the FLFP rate and propose areas of special interest for policy making. We show that the stability of FLFP in Georgia during the period 2003-2013 is due to offsetting socio-economic changes taking place in the country, and that the increase in the last period covered by our dataset – 2013-2015 – can be attributed to the emergence of new labor opportunities for women. We conclude that, while useful, supply-side economic reforms are not sufficient to increase FLFP and need to be complemented by demand-side policies aiming at creating more and better work opportunities for women

Epoxy resin/phosphonium ionic liquid/carbon nanofiller systems: Chemorheology and properties

Epoxy nanocomposites with commercial carbon nanotubes (CNT) or graphene (GN) have been prepared using phosphonium ionic liquid [trihexyltetradecylphosphonium bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl) phosphinate, IL-f]. IL-f served simultaneously as nanofiller dispersing medium and epoxy resin catalytic curing agent. An influence of IL-f/epoxy weight ratio (3, 6 and 9/100, phr), carbon nanofiller type and content on viscosity of epoxy compositions during storage at ambient temperature was evaluated. Curing process was controlled for neat and CNT or GN modified epoxy compositions (0.25-1.0 wt.% load) using differential scanning calorimetry and rheometry. Epoxy nanocomposites exhibited slightly increased glass transition temperature values (146 to 149°C) whereas tan δ and storage modulus decreased (0.30 to 0.27 and 2087 to 1070 MPa, respectively) as compared to reference material. Crosslink density regularly decreased for composites with increasing CNT content (11 094 to 7 020 mol/m3). Electrical volume resistivity of the nanocomposites was improved in case of CNT to 4•101 Ω•m and GN to 2•105 Ω•m (nanofiller content 1 wt.%). Flame retardancy was found for modified epoxy materials with as low GN and phosphorus content as 0.25 and 0.7 wt.%, respectively (increase of limiting oxygen index to 26.5%)

Two Cases of Hallermann-Streiff Syndrome with Retinal Abnormalities

Hallermann-Streiff syndrome is a rare congenital disorder that is characterized by malformations of the craniofacial region with ocular abnormalities. Some ophthalmic signs can be observed in early age and some in adulthood. The visual functions are determined by a lot of factors including microphthalmos, cataract and fundus abnormalities. We report two cases of Hallermann-Streiff syndrome identified in our department in the last decade

CAGE - Consensus Algorithm Genetically Encouraged

Blockchain Technology has gone beyond just cryptocurrency. There is a growing need not only for development in blockchain technology to support the needs of Web 3.0, but also a need for research into Blockchain Technology. One of the fundamental components of Blockchain Technology is the consensus algorithms used to i) select a node in the network responsible for providing a block added to the blockchain; and, ii) verify that block and ensure trust between the nodes within the system. This research proposes a newly developed consensus algorithm for Blockchain Technology. This research draws on inspiration from nature and the field of evolutionary computation, and selection methods in particular. The selection method is a mixture of Darwinianism and Fatigue-based systems, used in many evolutionary algorithms. This selection method is applied successfully as a consensus algorithm in a Blockchain Technology Systems. The proposed consensus algorithm is called Consensus Algorithm Genetically Encouraged, or CAGE for short. An experimental framework was developed in which to test CAGE fairly. In this experimental framework CAGE was then tested and compared to another similar consensus algorithm, Proof-of-Elapsed-Time (PoET), many times. Results and analysis show that as the number of nodes in a blochchain technology increase, CAGE becomes more efficient in latency and throughput of block production. Analysis showed that the node distribution of CAGE was not as even as PoET. Some modifications to the algorithm were made and the tests re-run. This proved more successful and improved the distribution of node selection whilst having no effect on throughput and latency. There are some reasons why CAGE outperforms PoET, which are mentioned in the analysis and results chapters. In summary, this research developed a newly proposed consensus algorithm, CAGE, inspired by the selection methods used in evolutionary computation. CAGE was then tested many times and results show that as the number of nodes in the blockchain technology system increases CAGE outperforms PoET in terms of latency and throughput

Carotid Intima-Media Thickness Progression in HIV-Infected Adults Occurs Preferentially at the Carotid Bifurcation and Is Predicted by Inflammation.

BackgroundShear stress gradients and inflammation have been causally associated with atherosclerosis development in carotid bifurcation regions. The mechanism underlying higher levels of carotid intima-media thickness observed among HIV-infected individuals remains unknown.Methods and resultsWe measured carotid intima-media thickness progression and development of plaque in the common carotid, bifurcation region, and internal carotid artery in 300 HIV-infected persons and 47 controls. The median duration of follow-up was 2.4 years. When all segments were included, the rate of intima-media thickness progression was greater in HIV-infected subjects compared with controls after adjustment for traditional risk factors (0.055 vs. 0.024 mm/year, P=0.016). Rate of progression was also greater in the bifurcation region (0.067 vs. 0.025 mm/year, P=0.042) whereas differences were smaller in the common and internal regions. HIV-infected individuals had a greater incidence of plaque compared with controls in the internal (23% vs. 6.4%, P=0.0037) and bifurcation regions (34% vs. 17%, P=0.014). Among HIV-infected individuals, the rate of progression in the bifurcation region was more rapid compared with the common carotid, internal, or mean intima-media thickness; in contrast, progression rates among controls were similar at all sites. Baseline hsCRP was elevated in HIV-infected persons and was a predictor of progression in the bifurcation region.ConclusionsAtherosclerosis progresses preferentially in the carotid bifurcation region in HIV-infected individuals. hsCRP, a marker of inflammation, is elevated in HIV and is associated with progression in the bifurcation region. These data are consistent with a model in which the interplay between hemodynamic shear stresses and HIV-associated inflammation contribute to accelerated atherosclerosis. (J Am Heart Assoc. 2012;1:jah3-e000422 doi: 10.1161/JAHA.111.000422.)Clinical trial registrationURL: http://clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01519141

Medea in A. Embirikos’ "Argo or Aerostat Flight"

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Applying Technology Acceptance Model to measure online student residential management software acceptance

The purpose of this study is to apply the technology acceptance model developed by Davis (1989) to examine the acceptance of online-based Student Residential Management Software by university on-campus housing student residents. The study examines students’ experience of using online-based software, which is believed to influence the perceived ease of use, the perceived usefulness and the behavioural intention to use such software. The results of this study were then compared to the findings of other past studies that had applied and/or tested TAM. The study participants were selected from a university in Western Australia that had implemented Student Residential Management Software and had used it for about two semesters. A total of 227 valid questionnaires were collected, and structural equation modelling was conducted to examine the research hypotheses. The findings provide practical implications for university residential administrators and the developers and designers of residential management software for students. Further, from a theoretical perspective, this study highlights the confirmation of the technology acceptance model in the context of student residential housing management