Working paper
The Value of Information in Technology Adoption: Theory and Evidence from Bangladesh
The Informational paradigm of discourse to the XXIst century is replaced by communicative; due to the spread of the Internet, new features and models of communication based on the subject-to-subject concept of hypertext are formed. Tekstogennost’ as a set of anthropogenically-technical factors of generation, transmission, exchange texts of public communication, leading to the formation and operation of new types of vehicles and generators of information in all spheres of life, which have an impact on them, becomes the essential characteristic of socio-economic discourse. The role of the professional communication support (PR, mass media) of all processes becomes more essential. Thus, the textual, philological, humanitarian dimension determines the effectiveness of social development.
Projects and reforms targeting infrastructure services can affect consumer welfare through changes in the price, coverage, or quality of the services provided. The benefits of improved service quality—while significant—are often overlooked because they are difficult to quantify. This article reviews methods of evaluating the welfare implications of changes in the quality of infrastructure services within the broader theoretical perspective of welfare measurement. The study outlines the theoretical assumptions and data requirements involved, illustrating each method with examples that highlight common methodological features and differences. The article also presents the theoretical underpinnings and potential applications of a new approach to analysing the effects of interruptions in the supply of infrastructure services on household welfare.
Proceedings of the 2013 IEEE 14th International Conference on Information Reuse and Integration (IEEE IRI 2013) , 14-16 August 2013, San Francisco, Ca, USA.
We are witnessing now a coming closer together of two pedagogical movements – that of media education (media literacy) and that of information literacy, both of them having previously existed parallel to each other, and without actually crossing each other’s path.
To test a novel social network HIV risk-reduction intervention for MSM in Russia and Hungary, where same-sex behavior is stigmatized and men may best be reached through their social network connections.
DESIGN:A two-arm trial with 18 sociocentric networks of MSM randomized to the social network intervention or standard HIV/STD testing/counseling.
SETTING:St. Petersburg, Russia and Budapest, Hungary.
PARTICIPANTS:Eighteen 'seeds' from community venues invited the participation of their MSM friends who, in turn, invited their own MSM friends into the study, a process that continued outward until eighteen three-ring sociocentric networks (mean size = 35 members, n = 626) were recruited.
INTERVENTION:Empirically identified network leaders were trained and guided to convey HIV prevention advice to other network members.
MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURES:Changes in sexual behavior from baseline to 3-month and 12-month follow-up, with composite HIV/STD incidence, measured at 12 months to corroborate behavior changes.
RESULTS:There were significant reductions between baseline, first follow-up, and second follow-up in the intervention versus comparison arm for proportion of men engaging in any unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) (P = 0.04); UAI with a nonmain partner (P = 0.04); and UAI with multiple partners (P = 0.002). The mean percentage of unprotected anal intercourse acts significantly declined (P = 0.001), as well as the mean number of UAI acts among men who initially had multiple partners (P = 0.05). Biological HIV/STD incidence was 15% in comparison condition networks and 9% in intervention condition networks.
CONCLUSION:Even where same-sex behavior is stigmatized, it is possible to reach MSM and deliver HIV prevention through their social networks.
The matters of information presentation subject to specific problems of information innovation support of research and development (R&D ) results are discussed.
The paper examines the structure, governance, and balance sheets of state-controlled banks in Russia, which accounted for over 55 percent of the total assets in the country's banking system in early 2012. The author offers a credible estimate of the size of the country's state banking sector by including banks that are indirectly owned by public organizations. Contrary to some predictions based on the theoretical literature on economic transition, he explains the relatively high profitability and efficiency of Russian state-controlled banks by pointing to their competitive position in such functions as acquisition and disposal of assets on behalf of the government. Also suggested in the paper is a different way of looking at market concentration in Russia (by consolidating the market shares of core state-controlled banks), which produces a picture of a more concentrated market than officially reported. Lastly, one of the author's interesting conclusions is that China provides a better benchmark than the formerly centrally planned economies of Central and Eastern Europe by which to assess the viability of state ownership of banks in Russia and to evaluate the country's banking sector.
The paper examines the principles for the supervision of financial conglomerates proposed by BCBS in the consultative document published in December 2011. Moreover, the article proposes a number of suggestions worked out by the authors within the HSE research team.