Intermediaries as Quality Assessors in Markets with Asymmetric

. Intermediaries often arise in order to facilitate trade in markets characterized by asymmetric information. In this paper we study the intermediary role of tour operators in the market for package tourism. Policymakers have tried to address information asymmetries in this market by providing hotel ratings. We show that those ratings are not accurate indicators of quality and that tour operators play a vital role by pooling together information about different holiday destinations and providing their own ratings of accommodations. We also find that significant price variation exists across countries, and that some countries systematically under- or over-rate their hotels.intermediaries, middlemen, asymmetric information, tourism industry.

Hot-Pressed Dowels in Bonded-In Rod Timber Connections

Bonded-in rod connections are becoming a more and more popular method in the constructionindustry for connecting timber. These connections are favored for their versatility. The most commonly used system is bonded-in steel rods, which are typically prone to brittle failures. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of hot-pressed wooden rods as an alternative to conventional steel bonded-in rod systems, which have better material harmonization and exclude the use of adhesives. The proposed connection was applied to the practical situation of a beam splice in flexure to determine its potential. The results showed that ductile failure mode occurred at high rotations at which peak loads were displayed. A theoretical model was developed and found to be accurate compared with the experimental results. This type of connection has good ductility, which suggests its application in domestic timber framing in regions of high seismicity would be practical

EUROMOD Country Report - Cyprus

The EUROMOD Country Reports have the double function of describing the scope of the EUROMOD simulations, including the underlying assumptions, and providing the validation of these simulations against official statistics. The Country Report for Cyprus is prepared by the CY EUROMOD National Team each year, and made available by the JRC on time for the EUROMOD public release of the model at the beginning of each year.JRC.B.2 - Fiscal Policy Analysi

Systematic approaches towards template-free synthesis of EMT-type zeolites

Presently it is understood that 18-crown-6 ether is necessary as an organic template to synthesise pure and well crystalline EMT-type zeolites. This is problematic for optimisation of organic-free synthesis of zeolites. We report a new method to synthesise pure zeolite EMC-2 using a lower amount of 18-crown-6 ether than previously reported. At these low 18-crown-6 ether concentrations, FAU-type zeolites were not seen to co-crystallise. We observe that the crystallinity of the EMT-type zeolite is proportional to the amount of 18-crown-6 ether added in the synthesis. The as-synthesised zeolites were characterised using X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and solid state nuclear magnetic resonance. These findings are a crucial step towards understanding template roles and designing syntheses for zeolites without the use of toxic organic templates.</p

Zeolites fit for a crown:Studying organic-framework host-guest interactions through thermogravimetric techniques

Every year millions of tons of zeolites are produced, being used as molecular sieves, hydrocracking catalysts, gas-capture materials and for emerging novel applications. There is a demand to synthesise new zeolites with bespoke frameworks, which are tailor-made for a chosen application. To achieve these ‘designer zeolites’ it is crucial to fully understand the host-guest interactions between organic additives and zeolitic frameworks. Here we have studied four different zeolites, synthesised with the same organic additive, 18-crown-6 ether, which show observable differences in the host-guest interactions. We demonstrate that the framework geometry dominates the decomposition temperature, enthalpy and mechanism. The zeolites show unique decomposition features, emphasising experimental differences in how the organic additive and framework interact.</p

Hybrid Genetic Bees Algorithm applied to Single Machine Scheduling with Earliness and Tardiness Penalties

This paper presents a hybrid Genetic-Bees Algorithm based optimised solution for the single machine scheduling problem. The enhancement of the Bees Algorithm (BA) is conducted using the Genetic Algorithm's (GA's) operators during the global search stage. The proposed enhancement aims to increase the global search capability of the BA gradually with new additions. Although the BA has very successful implementations on various type of optimisation problems, it has found that the algorithm suffers from weak global search ability which increases the computational complexities on NP-hard type optimisation problems e.g. combinatorial/permutational type optimisation problems. This weakness occurs due to using a simple global random search operation during the search process. To reinforce the global search process in the BA, the proposed enhancement is utilised to increase exploration capability by expanding the number of fittest solutions through the genetical variations of promising solutions. The hybridisation process is realised by including two strategies into the basic BA, named as â\u80\u9creinforced global searchâ\u80\u9d and â\u80\u9cjumping functionâ\u80\u9d strategies. The reinforced global search strategy is the first stage of the hybridisation process and contains the mutation operator of the GA. The second strategy, jumping function strategy, consists of four GA operators as single point crossover, multipoint crossover, mutation and randomisation. To demonstrate the strength of the proposed solution, several experiments were carried out on 280 well-known single machine benchmark instances, and the results are presented by comparing to other well-known heuristic algorithms. According to the experiments, the proposed enhancements provides better capability to basic BA to jump from local minima, and GBA performed better compared to BA in terms of convergence and the quality of results. The convergence time reduced about 60% with about 30% better results for highly constrained jobs

Influence of alkali metal cations on the formation of zeolites under hydrothermal conditions with no organic structure directing agents

Alkali metal cations play an important role in directing formation of zeolite frameworks in the absence of organic structure directing agents.</p

The peer mental health stigmatization scale‐revised ( PMHSS ‐R): Psychometric properties and cross‐cultural factorial invariance in university students in Ireland and Argentina

Introduction: The study aimed to assess the psychometric quality of the Peer Mental Health Stigmatization Scale – Revised (PMHSS-R), by examining its factorial structure among young adults in Ireland and Argentina. Method: A total of 429 participants aged between 18 and 25 years old were recruited (n = 187 Ireland, n = 242 Argentina). The PMHSS-R was completed by Irish participants and was translated, pilot-studied, and subsequently completed by Argentinian participants. Results: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis demonstrated optimal factor loadings for an eight-item solution and acceptable internal consistency for both scale dimensions in the Argentinian sample. Satisfactory levels of partial scalar invariance were achieved between countries, indicating that the scale measures mental health stigma consistently across cultures. Discussion and Conclusions: Our findings highlight the PMHSS-R as a crossculturally valid and reliable psychometric instrument to evaluate interventions targeting stigma. In conclusion, the PMHSS-R can be used in cross-cultural research to compare levels of mental health stigma and investigate the interplay between stigma and other psychologically relevant constructs between different countries and cultural contexts.Fil: Tisocco, Franco. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología; ArgentinaFil: Nearchou, Finiki. Universidad de Dublin; IrlandaFil: Hennessy, Eilis. Universidad de Dublin; IrlandaFil: Fernandez Liporace, Maria Mercedes. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Childhood maltreatment and the risk of impaired glucose metabolism or type 2 diabetes in young adults: findings from the Lifelines Cohort Study

We examined the associations between childhood maltreatment and the risk of impaired glucose metabolism (IGM) or type 2 diabetes (T2D) in young adults aged 18–35. Participants ( N = 8506) from the Lifelines Cohort Study without IGM or diabetes at baseline (2007–2013) were included. Childhood maltreatment was assessed by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and incident IGM/T2D was assessed by haemoglobin A1c levels (≥5.7%) in 2014–2017. There were 223 (2.6%) cases of IGM/T2D during the follow-up period. After adjusting for sociodemographic and health/lifestyle covariates and follow-up time, only the CTQ Sexual Abuse subscale was significantly associated with IGM/T2D (RR = 1.05 [95% CI = 1.01, 1.10]). The association remained when additionally accounting for depressive and anxiety symptoms (RR = 1.05 [95% CI = 1.00, 1.09]). Childhood sexual abuse was associated with an increased risk of IGM/T2D in young adults, highlighting the long-term metabolic consequences of childhood maltreatment