Symbolic meanings and e-learning in the workplace: The case of an intranet-based training tool

This article contributes to the debate on work-based e-learning, by unpacking the notion of ‘the learning context’ in a case where the mediating tool for training also supports everyday work. Users’ engagement with the information and communication technology tool is shown to reflect dynamic interactions among the individual, peer group, organizational and institutional levels. Also influential are professionals’ values and identity work, alongside their interpretations of espoused and emerging symbolic meanings. Discussion draws on pedagogically informed studies of e-learning and the wider organizational learning literature. More centrally, this article highlights the instrumentality of symbolic interactionism for e-learning research and explores some of the framework’s conceptual resources as applied to organizational analysis and e-learning design. </jats:p

Biodiversity increases and decreases ecosystem stability

International audienc

Deficit Targeting Strategies: Fiscal Consolidation And The Probability Distribution Of Deficits Under The Stability Pact

Using stochastic simulations, this article analyses the probability distribution of a country's deficit ratio under fixed exchange rates and a variety of monetary and fiscal policy rules. The purpose is to show how the probability of an 'excessive deficit', defined by Europe's Stability Pact as a deficit to GDP ratio above 3 per cent, varies with different deficit targets and policy rules. Using a macro model, we find that when subject to historically consistent shocks, these fiscal ratios typically have a wide distribution, with fat tails and significantly longer tails on the upper side. That means fiscal targets may have to be country-specific and conservative, and that fiscal policy has to be forward-looking to keep the probability of excessive deficits below acceptable limit

Sex differences in Parkinson's disease: A transcranial magnetic stimulation study

Background Demographic and clinical studies imply that female sex may be protective for PD, but pathophysiological evidence to support these observations is missing. In early PD, functional changes may be detected in primary motor cortex using transcranial magnetic stimulation. Objective We hypothesised that if pathophysiology differs between sexes in PD, this will be reflected in differences of motor cortex measurements. Methods Forty‐one newly diagnosed PD patients (22 males, 19 females) were clinically assessed using MDS‐UPDRS part III, and various measures of cortical excitability and sensorimotor cortex plasticity were measured over both hemispheres, corresponding to the less and more affected side, using transcranial magnetic stimulation. Twenty‐three healthy (10 men, 13 women) participants were studied for comparison. Results Among patients, no significant differences between sexes were found in age, age of diagnosis, symptom duration, and total or lateralized motor score. However, male patients had disturbed interhemispheric balance of motor thresholds, caused by decreased resting and active motor thresholds in the more affected hemisphere. Short interval intracortical inhibition was more effective in female compared to male patients in both hemispheres. Female patients had a preserved physiological focal response to sensorimotor plasticity protocol, whereas male patients showed an abnormal spread of the protocol effect. Conclusion The study provides one of the first neurophysiological evidences of sex differences in early PD. Female patients have a more favorable profile of transcranial magnetic stimulation measures, possibly reflecting a more successful cortical compensation or delayed maladaptive changes in the sensorimotor cortex. © 2019 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Societ

The stock market impact of German reunification: international evidence

This study uses a country beta market model and a multivariate GARCH conditional beta model to examine if German reunification has impacted upon country returns, across different nations. The results suggest a stronger reaction in European countries particularly those with closer economic links. The analysis also revealed that the most significant individual events occur in August 1990.