Tag Archives: turkey

Economics successes

UD economics doctoral graduates share their accomplishments

Graduates of the University of Delaware’s doctoral program in economics have been making great strides in their chosen fields since graduation. 

Whether advising young entrepreneurs or improving methods for measuring important national statistics, these graduates have been impacting economics across the world and putting their UD doctorate degrees to good use. (more…)

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Statistical analysis unveils the hidden patterns in Eurovision voting

Voting for the Eurovision Song Contest has been scrutinised by statistics experts at UCL and Imperial College London, who have found that musical talent is unlikely to be the only element that wins scores – but that the contest is not ‘stitched up’ at the UK’s expense. 

The analysis of voting patterns over the past two decades suggests that widespread support for certain countries’ acts is, however, not driven by prejudice, as the media periodically suggests, but by positive loyalties based on culture, geography, history and migration. But these effects are relatively small – and the team found no evidence to support Sir Terry Wogan’s criticism that the contest is marred by blatant bias and discrimination. (more…)

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Mein Kampf worries fuel debate

More needs to be done to understand Hitler’s infamous autobiographical manifesto “Mein Kampf” to avoid a resurgence of anti-Semitism when its copyright expires in 2016, according to a holocaust historian.

Dr Jean-Marc Dreyfus, from The University of Manchester, says not enough is known about the book which preaches hatred against Jews, and why it is still popular in some parts of the world.

E-book sales of “Mein Kampf”, which gives a racist account of world history, have made the top spot on Amazon’s propaganda and political psychology chart and entered the top 20 bestselling iTunes politics and events titles. (more…)

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Further destabilisation in the Middle East possible according to new report

The crisis in Egypt is already having a negative effect on the Syrian civil war and contributing to further destabilisation of the wider Middle East according to a major new report. 

Professor Gareth Stansfield from the University of Exeter’s Strategy and Security Institute and the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies wrote the report, for the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), an independent think-tank for defence and security which advises governments and the wider policy community.

‘The Remaking of Syria, Iraq and the Wider Middle East’ report suggests that important as events in Cairo are, they distract Western attention from the much bigger game being played out in Syria which significantly risks changing the Levant after a century of relative territorial stability. Professor Stansfield who is also an RUSI’s senior associate fellow analysed the impact the Syrian civil war could have on the future of the Middle East state system across the Levant. (more…)

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NASA Satellites Find Freshwater Losses in Middle East

PASADENA, Calif. – A new study using data from a pair of gravity-measuring NASA satellites finds that large parts of the arid Middle East region lost freshwater reserves rapidly during the past decade.

Scientists at the University of California, Irvine; NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.; and the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., found during a seven-year period beginning in 2003 that parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran along the Tigris and Euphrates river basins lost 117 million acre feet (144 cubic kilometers) of total stored freshwater. That is almost the amount of water in the Dead Sea. The researchers attribute about 60 percent of the loss to pumping of groundwater from underground reservoirs. (more…)

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European Women Drive Majority of Engagement at Online Retail and Community Websites

comScore Releases May 2012 Overview of European Internet Usage Showing Tumblr, Otto Gruppe and Groupon among Most Women-Oriented Web Properties

London, UK, 2 July 2012 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released an overview of internet usage in Europe, showing that 395.7 million Europeans went online in May 2012 for an average of 27.6 hours each. The data for May, which includes internet usage in 49 European markets aggregated into the European region and individual reporting on 18 markets, also highlights the site categories and web properties with the highest concentration of usage among women in Europe. Tumblr.com had the highest concentration of usage among women, who accounted for 69 percent time spent on the popular social network. The report also showed that women generated the majority of time spent on multiple Retail subcategories, such as Fragrances/Cosmetics (71 percent share), Apparel (67 percent) and Department Stores (65 percent). (more…)

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Muslim Brotherhood Candidate Trails in Race for Egypt’s Presidency: UMD Poll

Majority of Egyptians Faults Brotherhood Fielding its Own Candidate

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – As Egypt prepares this week to elect its first president since the 2011 revolution, a new University of Maryland poll finds the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate tied for fourth place. Researchers describe the race as fluid.

The poll confirms the strategic damage inflicted by the Brotherhood’s decision to field its own candidate, after saying it would not. Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed (71 percent) called the decision a “mistake.”

The poll also shows Egyptians approaching the race differently from Parliamentary elections, focusing more on personal trust and the economy over party affiliation. (more…)

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