Peer Reviews on the Fight against Terrorism a Hidden Success of EU Security Governance?

This paper provides a first study on use of professional peer reviews by the EU to strengthen the European fight against terrorism. The first part outlines two theoretical approaches to assessing the outcome effectiveness of such peer reviews, namely compliance and learning. Peer reviews can serve both ends and have been increasingly touted as an effective tool to address transnational threats. The second part analyzes the evolution and impact of the EU's peer reviews on the fight against terrorism. Although the first peer review took several years to complete, it was regarded as a striking success that improved mutual trust and the coherence of the international fight against terrorism. It was therefore followed by a second peer review on consequence management in response to terrorist attacks. From a critical perspective, it is shown that the impact of these peer reviews could be doubted from both a compliance and learning perspective, as monitoring and flanking measures have remained too weak. The conclusions point to additional political or normative deficits of peer reviews in EU security policy-making.

The rise of the sharing economy: estimating the impact of Airbnb on the hotel industry

Peer-to-peer markets, collectively known as the sharing economy, have emerged as alternative suppliers of goods and services traditionally provided by long-established industries. We explore the economic impact of the sharing economy on incumbent firms by studying the case of Airbnb, a prominent platform for short-term accommodations. We analyze Airbnb's entry into the state of Texas, and quantify its impact on the Texas hotel industry over the subsequent decade. We estimate that in Austin, where Airbnb supply is highest, the causal impact on hotel revenue is in the 8-10% range; moreover, the impact is non-uniform, with lower-priced hotels and those hotels not catering to business travelers being the most affected. The impact manifests itself primarily through less aggressive hotel room pricing, an impact that benefits all consumers, not just participants in the sharing economy. The price response is especially pronounced during periods of peak demand, such as SXSW, and is due to a differentiating feature of peer-to-peer platforms -- enabling instantaneous supply to scale to meet demand.Accepted manuscrip

Addressing STEM Geek Culture Through Peer Learning

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.STEM is generally considered to be a male-dominated environment. The geek culture that often leads to social issues, and the gender imbalance that leads to fewer girls choosing a STEM subject, are becoming important topics of research. Peer learning has been widely used across the world to support retention and better grades with a more recent focus on adopting this approach to tackle issues around gender imbalance and perceived ‘laddish’ culture. Through peer learning, students are encouraged to work alongside their tutors, and to practice the critical soft skills that they will need as they move into the workplace. This paper explores the role of gender and geek culture, considering how students can break down the stereotypes while moving away from didactic approaches. The gender gap in STEM has narrowed, but women are still underrepresented. ‘Geek culture’ often creates a high-tech, androcentric environment. Policy makers have agreed that the geek culture needs to be researched and its impact identified. Social interactions and relations are the reflection of interpersonal values, and the peer norms may affect a students’ engagement and motivations in STEM subjects. The discussion will examine how peer learning can prepare students in Higher Education and offer insights into creating an environment in which students can become partners. Peer learning can represent a significant step in enabling students to become more engaged in their learning and is becoming an important element across institutions globally. There is a plethora of approaches to peer learning and it is encouraging to observe how students transform and mature by participating in the scheme. Evidence is accumulating that peer learning can enable students to become more confident and independent, enhancing not only their transition into Higher Education but also into industry. Peer learning can have a positive influence across the disciplines and supports students in achieving more than they might otherwise do. It can also examine, in an informal way, the gender issues, laddish and geek culture, and promote the sense of belongingness in STEM disciplines. This paper will inform readers about how peer learning can reconstruct the geek culture and transform it from self-centred to forming relationships and overcoming social issues. With regard to Higher Education specifically, we try to understand the different situational frames that are being generated by such cultures, how we can influence those stereotypes, and make them more acceptable and more inclusive

Unfinished Business: Are Today’s P2P Networks Liable for Copyright Infringement?

In June 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the decision in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios v. Grokster Ltd., a case that asked whether peer-to-peer networks may be held liable for facilitating the illegal distribution of music over the internet. The music industry petitioned the Supreme Court to settle the disagreement between the circuit courts over the standard of liability for aiding in copyright infringement. The case was based on a clash between the protection of technological innovation and the protection of artistic works. This iBrief examines the circuit split and the Grokster opinion and discusses the questions of liability left unresolved by the Supreme Court. It argues that further clarification of the Sony rule is still needed in order to encourage the proliferation of legitimate peer-to-peer networks by protecting their services while discouraging illegitimate file-sharing activities

Hail to the thief: a tribute to Kazaa

THIS PAPER CONSIDERS THE ONGOING LITIGATION against the peer-to-peer network KaZaA. Record companies and Hollywood studios have faced jurisdictional and legal problems in suing this network for copyright infringement. As Wired Magazine observes: “The servers are in Denmark. The software is in Estonia. The domain is registered Down Under, the corporation on a tiny island in the South Pacific. The users—60 million of them—are everywhere around the world.” In frustration, copyright owners have launched copyright actions against intermediaries—like against Internet Service Providers such as Verizon. They have also embarked on filing suits against individual users of file-sharing programs. In addition, copyright owners have called for domestic- and international-law reform with respect to digital copyright. The Senate Committee on Government Affairs of the United States Congress has reviewed the controversial use of subpoenas in suits against users of file-sharing peer-to-peer networks. The United States has encouraged other countries to adopt provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998 in bilateral and regional free-trade agreements

From guided to self-regulated performance of domain-general skills

The fading of instructional scripts can be regarded as necessary for allowing learners to take over control of their cognitive activities during the acquisition of skills such as argumentation. There is, however, the danger that learners might relapse into novice strategies after script prompts are faded. One possible solution could be monitoring by a peer with respect to the performance of the strategy to be learned. We conducted a 2×2-factorial experiment with 126 participants with fading and peer monitoring as between-subjects factors to test the assumptions that (1) the combination of a faded script and peer monitoring has a positive effect on strategy knowledge compared to only one or none of the two types of support; and (2) this effect is due to a greater amount of self-regulated performance of the strategy after the fading of the script when peer monitoring takes place. The findings support these assumptions

Do Peers Affect Student Achievement? Evidence from Canada Using Group Size Variation

We provide the first empirical application of a new approach proposed by Lee (2007) to estimate peer effects in a linear-in-means model. The approach allows to control for group-level unobservables and to solve the reflection problem, without imposing ad hoc exclusion restrictions or requiring peers to be randomly assigned to groups. We investigate the presence of peer effects in student achievement in mathematics, science, french and history at the end of secondary school in the province of Quebec (Canada). We use an original dataset that covers three fourth of all schools in Quebec and contains test scores to the standardized provincial exam required for graduation. We estimate the model using both maximum likelihood and methods based on instrumental variables. We find evidence of peer effects. The endogenous peer effect is positive, when significant, and some contextual peer effects matter. Issues of weak identification that may be present in our estimates are analyzed using calibrated Monte Carlo simulations. We find that identification is much helped by a high variance in peer group sizes.Peer Effects, Student Achievement, Reflection Problem

Implementation-effectiveness trial of an ecological intervention for physical activity in ethnically diverse low income senior centers.

BackgroundAs the US population ages, there is an increasing need for evidence based, peer-led physical activity programs, particularly in ethnically diverse, low income senior centers where access is limited.Methods/designThe Peer Empowerment Program 4 Physical Activity' (PEP4PA) is a hybrid Type II implementation-effectiveness trial that is a peer-led physical activity (PA) intervention based on the ecological model of behavior change. The initial phase is a cluster randomized control trial randomized to either a peer-led PA intervention or usual center programming. After 18 months, the intervention sites are further randomized to continued support or no support for another 6 months. This study will be conducted at twelve senior centers in San Diego County in low income, diverse communities. In the intervention sites, 24 peer health coaches and 408 adults, aged 50 years and older, are invited to participate. Peer health coaches receive training and support and utilize a tablet computer for delivery and tracking. There are several levels of intervention. Individual components include pedometers, step goals, counseling, and feedback charts. Interpersonal components include group walks, group sharing and health tips, and monthly celebrations. Community components include review of PA resources, walkability audit, sustainability plan, and streetscape improvements. The primary outcome of interest is intensity and location of PA minutes per day, measured every 6 months by wrist and hip accelerometers and GPS devices. Secondary outcomes include blood pressure, physical, cognitive, and emotional functioning. Implementation measures include appropriateness & acceptability (perceived and actual fit), adoption & penetration (reach), fidelity (quantity & quality of intervention delivered), acceptability (satisfaction), costs, and sustainability.DiscussionUsing a peer led implementation strategy to deliver a multi-level community based PA program can enhance program adoption, implementation, and sustainment.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, USA ( NCT02405325 ). Date of registration, March 20, 2015. This website also contains all items from the World Health Organization Trial Registration Data Set