scholarly journals Moscow International University Ranking: critical review and geopolitical effects

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrique Orduña-Malea ◽  
Carmen Pérez-Esparrells
Keyword(s):  
Developed Countries ◽  
Political Strategy ◽  
Russian Government ◽  
University Ranking ◽  
Webometric Indicators ◽  
Global University ◽  
The Usa ◽  
International University ◽  
Vladimir Putin ◽  
Russian Universities

The Moscow International University Ranking (MosIUR) is a global university ranking launched in 2017 with the intention of evaluating universities by considering three essential dimensions (education, research, and knowledge transfer). This ranking was designed and developed by the Russian Union of Rectors following a direct request from President Vladimir Putin. The objective of this work is to perform a threefold analysis of this ranking. First, a methodological analysis is carried out, focused on describing the nature of the indicators and sources employed. Second, a geopolitical analysis aims to determine how countries are represented in this new global ranking. Third, a webometric analysis is done, focused on the online visibility of the ranking. The results reveal MosIUR to be a ranking with an outstanding number of webometric indicators and clearly oriented towards transference to society. However, some methodological concerns arise regarding a few metrics. The geopolitical position of developed countries is similar to that in other global rankings, but slight differences emerge, such as the stronger presence of Russian universities. The cybermetric analysis confirms that, despite being international, this ranking is strongly limited to Russia. It can be concluded that, except for the palpable predominance of the USA, each ranking tends to place universities from their own country in a better position. The creation of MosIUR by the Russian government can thus be perceived as a political strategy to improve the reputation of Russian universities, increase funding, and accelerate their transformation into world-class universities.

Global Financial Crisis and Its Impact on Russia

2009 ◽  
pp. 9-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kudrin
Keyword(s):  
Monetary Policy ◽  
Fiscal Policy ◽  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Central Bank ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Real Economy ◽  
Energy Prices ◽  
Russian Government ◽  
The Real

The article examines the causes of origin and manifestation of the current global financial crisis and the policies adopted in developed countries in 2007—2008 to deal with it. It considers the effects of the financial crisis on Russia’s economy and monetary policy of the Central Bank in the current conditions as well as the main guidelines for the fiscal policy under different energy prices. The measures for fighting the crisis that the Russian government and the Central Bank use to support the real economy are described.

Pain-Prescription Differences - An Analysis of 500,000 Discharge Summaries

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saskia Preissner ◽  
Vishal B. Siramshetty ◽  
Mathias Dunkel ◽  
Paul Steinborn ◽  
Friedrich C. Luft ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pain Therapy ◽  
Opioid Analgesic ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Discharge Summary ◽  
Pain Reliever ◽  
Regulatory Guidelines ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Prescription Rates ◽  
East West ◽  
Discharge Summaries

Background: Pain-relief prescriptions have led to an alarming increase in drug-related abuse. Objective: In this study, we estimate the pain reliever prescription rates at a major German academic hospital center and compare with the nationwide trends from Germany and prescription reports from the USA. Methods: We analysed >500,000 discharge summaries from Charité, encompassing the years 2006 to 2015, and extracted the medications and diagnoses from each discharge summary. Prescription reports from the USA and Germany were collected and compared with the trends at Charité to identify the frequently prescribed pain relievers and their world-wide utilization trends. The average costs of pain therapy were also calculated and compared between the three regions. Results: Metamizole (dipyrone), a non-opioid analgesic, was the most commonly prescribed pain reliever at Charité (59%) and in Germany (23%) while oxycodone (29%), a semi-synthetic opioid, was most commonly ordered in the USA. Surprisingly, metamizole was prescribed to nearly 20% of all patients at Charité, a drug that has been banned for safety reasons (agranulocytosis) in most developed countries including Canada, United Kingdom, and USA. A large number of prospective cases with high risk for agranulocytosis and other side effects were found. The average cost of pain therapy greatly varied between the USA (125.3 EUR) and Charité (17.2 EUR). Conclusion: The choice of pain relievers varies regionally and is often in disagreement with approved indications and regulatory guidelines. A pronounced East-West gradient was observed with metamizole use and the opposite with prescription opioids.

What Should We Know About the Origins of International Investment Law?

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 122-131
Author(s):  
Sarah M. Alshahrani
Keyword(s):  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
International Investment ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
International Investment Law ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Investment Law ◽  
Investment Treaties ◽  
The Impact

AbstractInternational investment law, particularly the global backlash against investment treaties, has evolved recently. This article aims to clarify how international investment law evolved over history, from the early Arab traders in the 7th century to the Ottoman Empire, to understand its hidden aims. It investigates the practice of signing investment treaties, which appear first during the Fatimid Caliphate2 and Mamluk Sultanate3 periods. It then explains when control over foreign investment started to diminish during the Ottoman Empire period.4 Further, it explains the links between the USA Friendship, Commerce and Navigation treaties (FCNs), and current investment treaties, explaining the impact of colonization and imperialism on drafting treaty provisions. Within this historical context, this article illustrates the need to understand the roots of international investment law in order to urge Arab countries to terminate or renegotiate current bilateral investment treaties (BITs) as a number of developing and developed countries have done.

scholarly journals Tuberculosis presenting as dacryoadenitis in the USA

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. e231694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry Ross Powers ◽  
Mark Anthony Diaz ◽  
Julio C Mendez
Keyword(s):  
Correct Diagnosis ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Histopathological Analysis ◽  
Orbital Mass ◽  
Antituberculosis Therapy ◽  
The Usa ◽  
History Of ◽  
Patient’S History ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Filipino Woman

A 25-year-old Filipino woman living in the USA was evaluated for a 5-month history of left eye pain and a subsequent orbital mass. Histopathological analysis of the lacrimal mass showed a mixed inflammatory process with necrotising granulomas and positive cultures for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. She was treated with antituberculosis therapy, with resolution of symptoms. Tuberculosis dacryoadenitis is extremely rare in the USA and other developed countries. It requires a high degree of clinical suspicion with special attention to the patient’s history to make the correct diagnosis. It can be treated successfully with antituberculosis therapy.

Macroeconomic conditions are only an illusion, not the solution, to firm sustainability: unveiling the new dimension of stakeholder well-being

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahid Irshad Younas ◽  
Mahvesh Khan ◽  
Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh Al-Faryan
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Macroeconomic Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Macroeconomic Conditions ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
The One

Purpose The purpose of the study is to explore the misconception that in developed countries, macroeconomic performance lead to sustainable firms or improves stakeholder well-being. The results may be the opposite or even worse. Design/methodology/approach This study examined this misconception using balanced panel data from 1,122 firms from different sectors of the US economy and data on macroeconomic performance from the World Bank. Findings The results of the one-step generalised method of moments indicate that most macroeconomic performance indicators had significant and negative impacts on firm sustainability and stakeholder well-being. Practical implications From a societal perspective, the results illustrate that the fruits of macroeconomic performance of the US economy do not reach stakeholders through firms’ sustainability. Thus, linking the economy’s macroeconomic performance with firm sustainability is vital for sustainably uplifting society and for stakeholder well-being. Originality/value From a policy perspective, this study reveals that the greater focus on macroeconomic performance in the USA over the past decades has resulted in lower firm sustainability because of the malfunctioning of social, economic, environmental and governance factors. This has negatively influenced stakeholder well-being in the country.

Criteria for the Evaluation of Social Policy Effectiveness of States

2014 ◽  
pp. 87-97
Author(s):  
V. Sautkina
Keyword(s):  
Developed Countries ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Educational Services ◽  
State Control ◽  
National Education ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Government ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Cost

The following article is devoted to the study of current state of national education and healthcare systems. The cost of services in these areas constantly increases, there for even developed countries are forced to make significant efforts in order to maintain earlier achieved results. Due to this reason countries entered into the period of constant reforms with the purpose of maintaining that high level of health and educational services for all segments of population with a constant reduction of its volume of financing. The legal aspects of these changes are requiring manifestation of the will of politicians in order to overcome the opposition of parties which are defending their interests. As an example, the main opponents of the healthcare reforms proposed by Barak Obama in the USA are Republicans who are concerned about a significant increase of a state control over the entire national insurance system. The author comes to the conclusion that only joint actions of the government and every segment of population might actually improve the quality of medical and educational services.

scholarly journals Infectious diseases acquired by international travellers visiting the USA†

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhett J Stoney ◽  
Douglas H Esposito ◽  
Phyllis Kozarsky ◽  
Davidson H Hamer ◽  
Martin P Grobusch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
International Tourist ◽  
Clinical Diagnoses ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Systemic Infections

Abstract Background Estimates of travel-related illness have focused predominantly on populations from highly developed countries visiting low- or middle-income countries, yet travel to and within high-income countries is very frequent. Despite being a top international tourist destination, few sources describe the spectrum of infectious diseases acquired among travellers to the USA. Methods We performed a descriptive analysis summarizing demographic and travel characteristics, and clinical diagnoses among non-US-resident international travellers seen during or after travel to the USA at a GeoSentinel clinic from 1 January 1997 through 31 December 2016. Results There were 1222 ill non-US-resident travellers with 1393 diagnoses recorded during the 20-year analysis period. Median age was 40 (range 0–86 years); 52% were female. Patients visited from 63 countries and territories, most commonly Canada (31%), Germany (14%), France (9%) and Japan (7%). Travellers presented with a range of illnesses; skin and soft tissue infections of unspecified aetiology were the most frequently reported during travel (29 diagnoses, 14% of during-travel diagnoses); arthropod bite/sting was the most frequently reported after travel (173 diagnoses, 15% after-travel diagnoses). Lyme disease was the most frequently reported arthropod-borne disease after travel (42, 4%). Nonspecific respiratory, gastrointestinal and systemic infections were also among the most frequently reported diagnoses overall. Low-frequency illnesses (<2% of cases) made up over half of diagnoses during travel and 41% of diagnoses after travel, including 13 cases of coccidioidomycosis and mosquito-borne infections like West Nile, dengue and Zika virus diseases. Conclusions International travellers to the USA acquired a diverse array of mostly cosmopolitan infectious diseases, including nonspecific respiratory, gastrointestinal, dermatologic and systemic infections comparable to what has been reported among travellers to low- and middle-income countries. Clinicians should consider the specific health risks when preparing visitors to the USA and when evaluating and treating those who become ill.

Is it possible to rank universities using fewer indicators? A study on five international university rankings

2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Güleda Doğan ◽  
Umut Al
Keyword(s):  
Similarity Measure ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Cosine Similarity ◽  
University Rankings ◽  
University Ranking ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Cosine Similarity Measure ◽  
International University

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the similarity of intra-indicators used in research-focused international university rankings (Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), NTU, University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP), Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Round University Ranking (RUR)) over years, and show the effect of similar indicators on overall rankings for 2015. The research questions addressed in this study in accordance with these purposes are as follows: At what level are the intra-indicators used in international university rankings similar? Is it possible to group intra-indicators according to their similarities? What is the effect of similar intra-indicators on overall rankings? Design/methodology/approach Indicator-based scores of all universities in five research-focused international university rankings for all years they ranked form the data set of this study for the first and second research questions. The authors used a multidimensional scaling (MDS) and cosine similarity measure to analyze similarity of indicators and to answer these two research questions. Indicator-based scores and overall ranking scores for 2015 are used as data and Spearman correlation test is applied to answer the third research question. Findings Results of the analyses show that the intra-indicators used in ARWU, NTU and URAP are highly similar and that they can be grouped according to their similarities. The authors also examined the effect of similar indicators on 2015 overall ranking lists for these three rankings. NTU and URAP are affected least from the omitted similar indicators, which means it is possible for these two rankings to create very similar overall ranking lists to the existing overall ranking using fewer indicators. Research limitations/implications CWTS, Mapping Scientific Excellence, Nature Index, and SCImago Institutions Rankings (until 2015) are not included in the scope of this paper, since they do not create overall ranking lists. Likewise, Times Higher Education, CWUR and US are not included because of not presenting indicator-based scores. Required data were not accessible for QS for 2010 and 2011. Moreover, although QS ranks more than 700 universities, only first 400 universities in 2012–2015 rankings were able to be analyzed. Although QS’s and RUR’s data were analyzed in this study, it was statistically not possible to reach any conclusion for these two rankings. Practical implications The results of this study may be considered mainly by ranking bodies, policy- and decision-makers. The ranking bodies may use the results to review the indicators they use, to decide on which indicators to use in their rankings, and to question if it is necessary to continue overall rankings. Policy- and decision-makers may also benefit from the results of this study by thinking of giving up using overall ranking results as an important input in their decisions and policies. Originality/value This study is the first to use a MDS and cosine similarity measure for revealing the similarity of indicators. Ranking data is skewed that require conducting nonparametric statistical analysis; therefore, MDS is used. The study covers all ranking years and all universities in the ranking lists, and is different from the similar studies in the literature that analyze data for shorter time intervals and top-ranked universities in the ranking lists. It can be said that the similarity of intra-indicators for URAP, NTU and RUR is analyzed for the first time in this study, based on the literature review.

Never married and earnings: evidence from Russia

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (12) ◽  
pp. 1513-1526
Author(s):  
Edgar Demetrio Tovar-García
Keyword(s):  
Work Experience ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Wage Premium ◽  
Dynamic Panel Data ◽  
Wage Penalty ◽  
Russian Government ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Never Married ◽  
Civil Status ◽  
Wage Earnings

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of civil status on wage earnings in post-Soviet Russia. Education and work experience are the key explanatory variables according to the Mincer function. In view of that, here, an extension of the Mincer equation is estimated, focusing on never married individuals versus other civil status (married people). Thus, testing the female wage penalty and the male wage premium hypotheses.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on dynamic panel data models, underlining the autoregressive nature of earnings, controlling for time-invariant independent variables and adding marriage as an explanatory variable. The models are estimated using longitudinal data over the years 2000–2017, taken from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey.FindingsThe results indicate that never married Russians do not obtain higher levels of wage earnings in comparison with those who are married or correspond to other civil status. However, there is evidence supporting a wage premium for men and weak evidence of a penalty for women. That is, the regression results indicate a wage penalty for never married men and a wage premium for never married women, yet this last finding is not robust. Therefore, the general findings of this research only partially agree with the most recent evidence in developed countries, where marriage is not anymore associated with wages.Originality/valueThese findings are highly relevant for public policies related to family development, a major concern for the Russian Government during the last two decades. There is a common idea that avoiding marriage is associated with intentions to obtain higher levels of earnings, but this is a problem of myopia.

scholarly journals LOBBYING IN THE SYSTEM OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC PRIORITIES OF UKRAINE

2020 ◽  
pp. 53-69
Author(s):  
Olena GOLOVNYA
Keyword(s):  
Regional Integration ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Business And Society ◽  
Electoral Campaigns ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Government

The article is devoted to the research of lobbying activities as an important component of the process of forming the state policy of socio-economic development. The author emphasizes that the Ukrainian economy has a high dependence on the external environment, as well as high sensitivity to global economic fluctuations. In turn, the openness of the country's economy is a significant factor in its involvement in modern value chains, global and regional integration. It is determined that securing a full-fledged public-private partnership in the modern world requires lobbying as a deliberate influence on the public by the authorities in order to make a number of economic decisions. The study found that the structure of the phenomenon of "lobbying" includes three main components: object, subject, technology. Thus, lobbying in the modern world appears to be a complex process of purposeful influence on the government in order to obtain the desired solution. The purpose of lobbying structures activities is often a series of decisions, in which the adoption of laws concerning economic activity and investment, innovation, and customs policies is of great importance. It is revealed that lobbying requires an extensive network of institutions and organizations - from trade unions and business owners to the media and civil society organizations. Significant influence on the advancement of national socio-economic priorities is exercised by consulting firms, mass media, non-state think tanks, various industry associations. Lobbying in developed countries is a tool for cooperation and communication that leads to progressive decisions that are beneficial to both business and society. This confirms the progressive experience of the USA and the EU. The study draws attention to the fact that Ukraine mainly practices shadow lobbying, since the activities of domestic lobbyists are not regulated by any legislative acts. This is explained by the fact that our business and political leaders benefit from such interaction when large financial and industry groups sponsor, large decision-makers and expensive electoral campaigns.

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