Environmental Resource Management in Borderlands: Evolution from Competing Interests to Common Aversions

Great enthusiasm is attached to the emergence of cross-border regions (CBRs) as a new institutional arrangement for dealing with local cross-border environmental resource management and other issues that remain too distant from national capitals and/or too expensive to be addressed in the traditional topocraticmanner requiring instead local adhocratic methods. This study briefly discusses the perceived value of CBRs and necessary and sufficient conditions for the successful and sustainable development of such places. Then, assuming that necessary conditions can be met, the study investigates an intriguing hypothesis concerning the catalyzing of sustainable consensus for cross-border resource management based on a game theoretical approach that employs the use of dilemma of common aversion rather than the more traditional dilemma of competing common interests. Using this lens to investigate a series of events on the Pacific northwestern Canadian-American border in a part of the Fraser Lowland, we look for evidence of the emergence of an active and sustainable CBR to address local trans-border resource management issues. Although our micro-level scale fails to conclusively demonstrate such evidence, it does demonstrate the value of using this approach and suggests a number of avenues for further research

Towards an Evaluation Framework for Modelling Languages in Healthcare Contexts

This research-in-progress paper describes a research agenda that aims to help IS practitioners andother stakeholders in Healthcare systems to determine which modelling languages are best suited fortheir problem. Overall the objective is a develop a research informed decisions support system thatwill recommend specific modelling language based on contextual requirements The paper describes aresearch agenda designed to guide the development of this system using a mixture of empirical workand best practice from the extant literature

An Empirical Inventory of Gamification Components

Gamification is relatively novel concept which is attracting increasing interest from academics and practitioners as a method of mediating behaviour in a wide range of social and business contexts. In this paper, we catalogue the atomic components used to implement gamification. Using a standardised rubric, we study a sample of gamified activities in order to measure the prevalence of the various components used to implement gamification. This research provides an empirically derived and validates catalogue of specific components used to implement gamification, which can serve to guide the work of academics and practitioners. It demonstrates variance in the use of the different types of component, indicating that the utility of gamification components may differ. Finally by contrasting the utilization of components in the individual and group contexts, this research identifies the contextual sensitivity of gamification and highlights the need for more sensitive research agendas in advancing our understanding of gamification

Blockchain Based Prediction Markets

Prediction markets are a form of collective intelligence that leverage market mechanisms to incentivise large numbers of individuals to make forecasts about future uncertain events. Since their origin in the 1980’s, they have been the subject of a small but steady stream of academic research. Proponents suggest that they have several advantages over comparable information aggregation mechanisms such as polls or expert groups. More recently the rise of blockchain, cryptocurrencies and decentralised finance (DeFi) has excited new interest in prediction markets. The characteristics of this triad of technologies has particular resonances with prediction markets. This research identifies the potential impact of blockchain technology on prediction market design and performance with a view to informing a research agenda to investigate those potential impacts

Stemming the Global Trade in Falsified and Substandard Medicines

Drug safety and quality is an essential assumption of clinical medicine, but there is growing concern that this assumption is not always correct. Poor manufacturing and deliberate fraud occasionally compromises the drug supply in the United States, and the problem is far more common and serious in low- and middle-income countries with weak drug regulatory systems. An Institute of Medicine consensus committee report identified the causes and possible solutions to the problem of falsified and substandard drugs around the world. The vocabulary people use to discuss the problem is itself a concern. The word counterfeit is often used innocuously to describe any drug that is not what it seems, but some NGOs and emerging manufacturing nations object to this term. These groups see hostility to generic pharmaceuticals in a discussion of counterfeit medicines. These groups see hostility to generic pharmaceuticals in a discussion of counterfeit medicines. Precisely speaking, a counterfeit drug infringes on a registered trademark, and trademark infringement in not necessarily a problem of public health consequence. Instead of talking broadly about counterfeit drugs, the WHO and other stakeholders should consider two main categories of drug quality problems. Falsified medicines misrepresent the product’s identity or source or both. Substandard drugs fail to meet the national specifications given in an accepted pharmacopeia or the manufacturer’s dossier. In practice, there is often considerable overlap between categories. There is considerable uncertainty about the size of the falsified and substandard drug market. Improved pharmacovigilance, especially in developing countries, give a better picture of the scope of the problem. In the United States, tighter regulatory controls on the wholesale market and a mandatory drug tracking system would improve drug safety. In developing countries, development finance organizations should invest in small- and medium-sized pharmaceutical manufacturers, and governments should use tools such as franchising, accreditation, low-interest loans, and task shifting to encourage private sector investment in drug retail. Finally, the WHO should work with stakeholders such as the UNODC and the WCO to develop an international code of practice on falsified and substandard drugs

Phenotypic Subpopulations of Macrophages and Dendritic Cells in Human Spleen

Using immunohistochemical techniques and a large number of monoclonal antibodies, the presence and distribution of phenotypic subpopulations of macrophages (Mθs) and dendritic cells in human spleen were assessed. The results of this study show that different subsets of Mθs and dendritic cells are present in the spleen and that some of these occupy discrete microanatomic locations . In the red pulp (RP) certain antigens are expressed by different proportions of uniformly distributed Mθs in the cords . On the other hand, some antigens are present on Mθs that form clusters of variable size within the red pulp . These include CD11c, CD 15 and a-1-anti-chymotrypsin. Another type of cell in the RP that is phagocytic under certain conditions is the splenic sinusoidal lining cell (SLC) . These cells exhibit a phenotype that is unique: nonspecific esterase (NSE)+ , lysozyme+ , and HLΑDR+, CD36+ , factor VIII-related antigen+, CD8+ and CD71 + . Mθs in the splenic marginal zone (MZ) share some antigens with red pulp Mθs, but in addition express CD11b, CD14 (Mo2;63D3) and 61D3 . These antigens are found on only a few RP M0s. MZ cells ex1Jressing one antigen shared with RP Mθs (CD4) and one present largely on the MZ cells (CD14 ;63D3) form clusters around small vessels ; these structures resemble the so-called splenic ellipsoids that may play a role in the trapping of circulating antigens. Phagocytic Mθs (tingible body Mθs) of the white pulp follicular germinal centers were also shown to differ from RP and MZ cells with respect to the expression of the antigens CD11b, CD14 (Leu M3;Mo2), CD16 and the antigen detected by antibody 25F9. The unique topographical and surface antigenic features of dendritic cells were confirmed by this study. Furthermore, these cells were found to share a number of antigens with RP, MZ, and white pulp Mθs, which suggests that they may be derived from a common progenitor. The presence of phenotypic subpopulations and variation in distribution among human splenic phagocytic cells and dendritic cells may be indicative of functional specialization