Preferences, power, and the determination of working hours

Preferences, power, and the determination of working hour

The Geographic Distribution of Bowhead Whales, Balaena mysticetus, in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas: Evidence from Whaleship Records, 1849–1914

We have extracted, digitized, and analyzed information about bowhead whales, Balaena mysticetus, contained in records of whaling cruises that were undertaken in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas from 1849 to 1914. Our database consists of 65,000 days of observations which provide insights into whether this bowhead stock may comprise more than one population

Social or economic class? False dichotomies, reductionism and abstract categories

Against the backdrop of socio-economic conflict, this paper analyses a number of approaches to classes in the economics, political economy and sociology literatures. Our argument is structured into two themes which consider: (i) class and individualism; (ii) social and economic classes. We also consider deductive and inductive class analyses within these themes. This typology is used to classify the methodological approaches of scholars from a variety of traditions, thereby providing a basis for assessing their congruence, and the plausibility of developing an integrated perspective on class, spanning heterodox economics and sociology. Initial discussion considers classical political economy and its Marxian derivatives, including Lenin’s criteria for categorising classes, and relatively recent approaches derived from economics, political economy (in the Marxian tradition), and sociology. Based on our analysis of the two themes identified we argue that the abstract pairs of categories — class-individual, social-economic — should not be falsely dichotomised. In addition, we argue that a reductionist approach to class (be it economic or micro-reductionism) only provides a partial account, and fails to capture the complexity of class in relation to other forms of social stratification

Community economic development : an approach for urban-based economies

vi, 203 p

New Labour and work-time regulation: a Marxian analysis of the UK economy

This paper examines the impact of work-time regulation, introduced by the UK's New Labour governments (1997 to 2010). In doing so, we return to Marx's hypotheses regarding the length of the working day. These include the arguments that class conflict over the length of the working day is inherently distributional in a surplus-value sense and that workers often display a preference for reduced hours even with a proportionate reduction in pay. Our quantitative Marxist methodology provides a way of assessing the pattern of surplus-value before and during the period of office of the New Labour governments and the distributional effects of regulation. The impact of such regulations on workers' preferences are examined through an investigation of British Household Panel Survey data. Although many have been sceptical concerning the record of the last Labour governments, policies such as the Working Time Regulations (1998) and the Work-Life Balance Campaign (2000) are found to have been noteworthy innovations in the labour market. This is all the more important given recent moves by the successor government to weaken work-time regulation. Our results suggest the impact of these policy initiatives was broadly favourable, though the effect on men and women was different

Transcriptional regulatory network analysis during epithelial-mesenchymal transformation of retinal pigment epithelium

PURPOSE: Phenotypic transformation of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells contributes to the onset and progression of ocular proliferative disorders such as proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). The formation of epiretinal membranes in PVR may involve an epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) of RPE cells as part of an aberrant wound healing response. While the underlying mechanism remains unclear, this likely involves changes in RPE cell gene expression under the control of specific transcription factors (TFs). Thus, the purpose of the present study was to identify TFs that may play a role in this process. METHODS: Regulatory regions of genes that are differentially regulated during phenotypic transformation of ARPE-19 cells, a human RPE cell line, were subjected to computational analysis using the promoter analysis and interaction network toolset (PAINT). The PAINT analysis was used to identify transcription response elements (TREs) statistically overrepresented in the promoter and first intron regions of two reciprocally regulated RPE gene clusters, across four species including the human genome. These TREs were then used to construct transcriptional regulatory network models of the two RPE gene clusters. The validity of these models was then tested using RT-PCR to detect differential expression of the corresponding TF mRNAs during RPE differentiation in both undifferentiated and differentiated ARPE-19 and primary chicken RPE cell cultures. RESULTS: The computational analysis resulted in the successful identification of specific transcription response elements (TREs) and their cognate TFs that are candidates for serving as nodes in a transcriptional regulatory network regulating EMT in RPE cells. The models predicted TFs whose differential expression during RPE EMT was successfully verified by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis, including Oct-1, hepatocyte nuclear factor 1 (HNF-1), similar to mothers against decapentaplegic 3 (SMAD3), transcription factor E (TFE), core binding factor, erythroid transcription factor-1 (GATA-1), interferon regulatory factor-1 (IRF), natural killer homeobox 3A (NKX3A), Sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 (SREBP-1), and lymphocyte enhancer factor-1 (LEF-1). CONCLUSIONS: These studies successfully applied computational modeling and biochemical verification to identify biologically relevant transcription factors that are likely to regulate RPE cell phenotype and pathological changes in RPE in response to diseases or trauma. These TFs may provide potential therapeutic targets for the prevention and treatment of ocular proliferative disorders such as PVR

Investigating the impact of remote neuroanatomy education during the COVID-19 pandemic using online examination performance in a National Undergraduate Neuroanatomy Competition

Neuroanatomy is a notoriously challenging subject for medical students to learn. Due to the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, anatomical education transitioned to an online format. We assessed student performance in, and attitudes toward, an online neuroanatomy assessment compared to an in-person equivalent, as a marker of the efficacy of remote neuroanatomy education. Participants in the National Undergraduate Neuroanatomy Competition (NUNC) 2021 undertook two online examinations: a neuroanatomically themed multiple-choice question paper and anatomy spotter. Students completed pre- and post-examination questionnaires to gauge their attitudes toward the online competition and prior experience of online anatomical teaching/assessment. To evaluate performance, we compared scores of students who sat the online (2021) and in-person (2017) examinations, using 12 identical neuroradiology questions present in both years. Forty-six percent of NUNC 2021 participants had taken an online anatomy examination in the previous 12?months, but this did not impact examination performance significantly (p?>?0.05). There was no significant difference in examination scores between in-person and online examinations using the 12 neuroradiology questions (p?=?0.69). Fifty percent of participants found the online format less enjoyable, with 63% citing significantly fewer networking opportunities. The online competition was less stressful for 55% of participants. This study provides some evidence to suggest that student performance is not affected when undertaking online examinations and proposes that online neuroanatomy teaching methods, particularly for neuroradiology, may be equally as effective as in-person approaches within this context. Participants perceived online examinations as less stressful but raised concerns surrounding the networking potential and enjoyment of online events.Peer reviewe

How to do realistic political theory (and why you might want to)

In recent years, a number of realist thinkers have charged much contemporary political theory with being idealistic and moralistic. While the basic features of the realist counter-movement are reasonably well understood, realism is still considered a critical, primarily negative creed which fails to offer a positive, alternative way of thinking normatively about politics. Aiming to counteract this general perception, in this article I draw on Bernard Williams’s claims about how to construct a politically coherent conception of liberty from the non-political value of freedom. I do this because Williams’s argument provides an illuminating example of the distinctive nature of realist political thinking and its attractions. I argue that Williams’s account of realist political thinking challenges the orthodox moralist claim that normative political arguments must be guided by an ideal ethical theory. I then spell out the repercussions Williams’s claims about the significance of political opposition and non-moralised accounts of motivation have for our understanding of the role and purpose of political theory. I conclude by defending the realist claim that action-guiding political theory should accordingly take certain features of our politics as given, most centrally the reality of political opposition and the passions and experiences that motivate them. On this reading political realism offers a viable way of thinking about political values which cannot be understood in terms of the categories of intellectual separation – ideal/nonideal or fact-insensitive/fact-sensitive – that have marked political theory in recent years

Integrity in democratic politics

The complaint that many professional politicians lack integrity is common. However, it is unclear what such a judgement amounts to. Taking various codes of political ethics in the United Kingdom as my starting point, I examine the extent to which we can understand political integrity as a matter of politicians adhering to the obligations that official codes of ethics prescribe and, in a more general sense, the public-service ethos that underpins these codes. I argue that although this way of approaching the issue usefully draws our attention to an important class of positional duties that apply to politicians, commitment to principled political causes plays a further, indispensable role in coherent assessments of political integrity. In consequence, I claim that politicians of integrity succeed in furthering their deepest political commitments while avoiding malfeasance or misconduct. As such, the ascription of political integrity can often only be made when assessing a long train of action