So far in this course we have dealt entirely with the evolution of characters that are controlled by simple Mendelian inheritance at a single locus. There are notes on the course website about gametic disequilibrium and how allele frequencies change at two loci simultaneously, but we didn’t discuss them. In every example we’ve considered we’ve imagined that we could understand something about evolution by examining the evolution of a single gene. That’s the domain of classical population genetics. For the next few weeks we’re going to be exploring a field that’s actually older than classical population genetics, although the approach we’ll be taking to it involves the use of population genetic machinery. If you know a little about the history of evolutionary biology, you may know that after the rediscovery of Mendel’s work in 1900 there was a heated debate between the “biometricians” (e.g., Galton and Pearson) and the “Mendelians” (e.g., de Vries, Correns, Bateson, and Morgan). Biometricians asserted that the really important variation in evolution didn’t follow Mendelian rules. Height, weight, skin color, and similar traits seemed to

Human biochemical genetics

世界経済・社会統計 = World development indicators

计量经济分析 = Econometric analysis

How has Japan become a major economic power, a world leader in the automotive and electronics industries? What is the secret of their success? The consensus has been that, though the Japanese are not particularly innovative, they are exceptionally skilful at imitation, at improving products that already exist. But now two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hiro Takeuchi, turn this conventional wisdom on its head: Japanese firms are successful, they contend, precisely because they are innovative, because they create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. Examining case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, 3M, GE, and the U.S. Marines, this book reveals how Japanese companies translate tacit to explicit knowledge and use it to produce new processes, products, and services.

The knowledge-creating company : how Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation

The reference human genome sequence set the stage for studies of genetic variation and its association with human disease, but epigenomic studies lack a similar reference. To address this need, the NIH Roadmap Epigenomics Consortium generated the largest collection so far of human epigenomes for primary cells and tissues. Here we describe the integrative analysis of 111 reference human epigenomes generated as part of the programme, profiled for histone modification patterns, DNA accessibility, DNA methylation and RNA expression. We establish global maps of regulatory elements, define regulatory modules of coordinated activity, and their likely activators and repressors. We show that disease- and trait-associated genetic variants are enriched in tissue-specific epigenomic marks, revealing biologically relevant cell types for diverse human traits, and providing a resource for interpreting the molecular basis of human disease. Our results demonstrate the central role of epigenomic information for understanding gene regulation, cellular differentiation and human disease.

Integrative analysis of 111 reference human epigenomes

textDeveloping a dynamic SME sector is essential for
countries transforming their centrally planned economy into a market
oriented one. New firm formation is the major driver of this transition.
Obviously, entrepreneurial energy is a necessary condition for new firm
formation. This paper uses 2004 survey data from the 25 EU member states
and the US to explain country differences in entrepreneurial energy. This
energy is captured as latent and actual entrepreneurship. Latent
entrepreneurship is measured by the probability of a declared preference
for self-employment over employment. Next to demographic variables such as
gender, age, education level and whether parents are self-employed, the
set of explanatory variables used includes country specific effects,
measures of risk tolerance, internal and external locus of control and
four perceptions of obstacles . The obstacle variables include the
perception by respondents of administrative complexities, of availability
of financial support, of accessibility of information for start-up and
whether the current economic climate is favorable. Specific attention is
devoted to differences between the eight former communist member states
and the 17 other EU member states. The most striking result is the higher
influence of risk tolerance in shaping both latent and actual
entrepreneurship in transition economies relative to market economies.

/pdf/entrepreneurship-in-the-old-and-new-europe-1w4vxvetlo.pdf

Entrepreneurship in the Old and New Europe

To achieve herd immunity against COVID-19, it is crucial to know the drivers of vaccination intention and, thereby, vaccination. As the determinants of vaccination differ across vaccines, target groups and contexts, we investigate COVID-19 vaccination intention using data from university students from three countries, the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal. We investigate the psychological drivers of vaccination intention using the 5C model as mediator. This model includes five antecedents of vaccination: Confidence, Complacency, Constraints, Calculation and Collective Responsibility. First, we show that the majority of students have a positive propensity toward getting vaccinated against COVID-19, though only 41% of students are completely acceptant. Second, using the 5C model, we show that 'Confidence' (β = 0.33, SE = 03, p < .001) and 'Collective Responsibility' (β = 0.35, SE = 04, p < .001) are most strongly related to students' COVID-19 vaccination intention. Using mediation analyses, we show that the perceived risk and effectiveness of the vaccine as well as trust in the government and health authorities indirectly relate to vaccination intention through 'Confidence'. The perceived risk of COVID-19 for one's social circle and altruism, the need to belong and psychopathy traits indirectly relate to vaccination intention through 'Collective Responsibility'. Hence, targeting the psychological characteristics associated with 'Confidence' and 'Collective Responsibility' can improve the effectiveness of vaccination campaigns among students.

/pdf/psychological-characteristics-and-the-mediating-role-of-the-4rb644ydqg.pdf

Psychological characteristics and the mediating role of the 5C Model in explaining students' COVID-19 vaccination intention.

Market dynamics in the Netherlands: Competition policy and the role of small firms

Understanding the role of entrepreneurship for economic growth

textThroughout the first three-quarters of the last century, the economies of scale and scope present in production, distribution, management and RD Teece, 1993; Brock and Evans, 1989). This development towards large-scale activity was visible in most of the OECD countries (Audretsch, Thurik, Verheul and Wennekers, 2002). The importance of entrepreneurship and small business seemed to be fading. At the same time it was recognized that the small business sector was in need of protection for both social and political reasons, but not on the grounds of economic efficiency (Audretsch and Thurik, 2000).

/pdf/understanding-the-role-of-entrepreneurship-for-economic-2sxvpcolrm.pdf

Roy Thurik

Papers

Entrepreneurship in the Old and New Europe

Psychological characteristics and the mediating role of the 5C Model in explaining students' COVID-19 vaccination intention.

Market dynamics in the Netherlands: Competition policy and the role of small firms

Understanding the role of entrepreneurship for economic growth

Understanding the Role of Entrepreneurship for Economic Growth, 1976-2000