Tax Havens and Multinational Corporate Income Tax Avoidance

Honorable mention for 2019. Project completed for course ECON 350. Supporting faculty: Akila Weerapan

Colonial and Post-colonial History: enhancing knowledge, capacity and networks in the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia

Unequal global structures profoundly influence inequalities in academic knowledge production. This is manifested in the under-representation of Majority World (Global South) publication in international peer-reviewed journals based in the Minority World (Global North). Whilst graduate education is available in the Majority World, the terms of appointment and promotion within institutions may depend upon networks that mirror wider social inequalities. This is partly because in some countries (e.g., India) candidates are required to publish an article before they can submit their PhD, and this can lead to significant confusion about the difference between journals published by university and other academic presses, and by private companies. Early career scholars are especially vulnerable to predatory (pay-to-publish) publishing (Collyer 2018, Raju et al. 2018). There are, of course, distinguished journals based in the Majority World, and a wealth of experience in publishing among mid-career and senior academics. Nonetheless, early career scholars who wish to publish in international journals may have English as an additional language and are far less likely to have access to informal networks of support. There are also significant knowledge gaps that constitute barriers to access (Collyer 2018).The authors of this paper attempted to address this issue by securing funding from the British Academy Writing Workshops 2021 programme to work with 30 Early Career Researchers (ECRs), researching colonial and post-colonial history and associated disciplines, from the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Anderson is editor of the Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History, Battell Lowman (now, former) co-editor of Settler Colonial Studies, Doyle editor of the Journal of African History, and Sutton of South Asian Studies. Anderson, Doyle, and Sutton acted as expert editor contributors and mentors, Battell Lowman served as Project Manager including designing and facilitating the workshop sessions. The programme was supported by three senior academics connected to the regions of interest - Mellissa Ifill (University of Guyana), Ali Usman Qasmi (LUMS, Pakistan), and Godfrey B. Asiimwe (Makerere University, Uganda) – and incorporated scholars from Jamaica (Sonjah N. Stanley Niaah), Mauritius (Satyendra Peerthun), Botswana (John Makgala), South Africa (Rebecca Swartz), Kenya (Peter Wafula Wekesa), India (Aparna Balachandran) and Bangladesh (Momin Chowdhury). Together, the group undertook a year-long virtual workshop programme that aimed to build new transnational collaborative networks to create a new skills and knowledge base

Lights, Camera, Action: Using Wearable Camera and Interactive Video Technologies for the Teaching & Assessment of Lab Experiments

Laboratory-based practicals are an essential component of many science courses. However, the traditional face-to-face approach often presents visibility-related issues, especially with large class groups. Lecturers may also find that some aspects of equipment handling require frequent repetition and it is difficult to identify if students understand the relationship between theoretical concepts and their practical execution. Furthermore, for exclusively online courses, students’ physical presence in the laboratory is not possible so appropriate teaching and assessment alternatives need to be employed. While the medium of video offers potential for addressing these issues, creating video can require specific production expertise and equipment that is not always available. This study explores how relatively inexpensive wearable camera technology may provide an alternative approach for the rapid production of lab-based videos. It describes how this technology was used by an academic to video laboratory experiments for an online MSc in Biomedical Diagnostics. It also explains how an interactive question was embedded within the video to assess students’ understanding of the concepts demonstrated. Data was drawn from student & lab demonstrator feedback surveys, and the reflections of the lecturer and learning technologists involved in this project. A number of distinct benefits to this approach were identified, including its preparatory/‘flipped’ classroom potential, its rapid production time, the non-intrusive nature of the recording, the advantages over text descriptions, and the relative low cost. The advantages and limitations of the embedded question format are also discussed. The study includes practical recommendations for other academics considering this technology and suggests further applications for potential use in laboratory learning

Immunohistochemical evidence for an endocrine/paracrine role for ghrelin in the reproductive tissues of sheep

BACKGROUND: The gut hormone, ghrelin, is involved in the neuroendocrine and metabolic responses to hunger. In monogastric species, circulating ghrelin levels show clear meal-related and body weight-related changes. The pattern of secretion and its role in ruminant species is less clear. Ghrelin acts via growth hormone secretagogue receptors (GHSR-1a) to alter food intake, fat utilization, and cellular proliferation. There is also evidence that ghrelin is involved in reproductive function. In the present study we used immunohistochemistry to investigate the presence of ghrelin and GHSR-1a in sheep reproductive tissues. In addition, we examined whether ghrelin and GHSR-1a protein expression is developmentally regulated in the adult and fetal ovine testis, and whether there is an association with markers of cellular proliferation, i.e. stem cell factor (SCF) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). METHODS: Antibodies raised against ghrelin and its functional receptor, GHSR-type 1a, were used in standard immunohistochemical protocols on various reproductive tissues collected from adult and fetal sheep. GHSR-1a mRNA presence was also confirmed by in situ hybridisation. SCF and PCNA immunoexpression was investigated in fetal testicular samples. Adult and fetal testicular immunostaining for ghrelin, GHSR-1a, SCF and PCNA was analysed using computer-aided image analysis. Image analysis data were subjected to one-way ANOVA, with differences in immunostaining between time-points determined by Fisher's least significant difference. RESULTS: In adult sheep tissue, ghrelin and GHSR-1a immunostaining was detected in the stomach (abomasum), anterior pituitary gland, testis, ovary, and hypothalamic and hindbrain regions of the brain. In the adult testis, there was a significant effect of season (photoperiod) on the level of immunostaining for ghrelin (p < 0.01) and GHSR-1a (p < 0.05). In the fetal sheep testis, there was a significant effect of gestational age on the level of immunostaining for ghrelin (p < 0.001), GHSR-1a (p < 0.05), SCF (p < 0.05) and PCNA (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Evidence is presented for the presence of ghrelin and its receptor in various reproductive tissues of the adult and fetal sheep. In addition, the data indicate that testicular expression of ghrelin and its receptor is physiologically regulated in the adult and developmentally regulated in the fetus. Therefore, the ghrelin ligand/receptor system may have a role (endocrine and/or paracrine) in the development (cellular proliferation) and function of the reproductive axis of the sheep

Improving Project Logistics by using IoT

This Bachelor´s thesis is made on behalf of Wärtsilä Energy Solutions, Project Logistics & Transport Management department whose main task is to coordinate and ensure that materials and products are transported to the right place and on time in Project Logistics. This thesis examines how you could improve Wärtsilä´s Project Logistics by using Internet of Things. By developing IoT, there has been an increased chance to get more information about transports than before and Wärtsilä is currently looking for new solutions to use that could improve their current logistics system. The purpose of this thesis is to review new, and used, solutions on the market, and then see what could work in practice at Wärtsilä. Material to this thesis are gathered from books, web pages and articles that reviewed interesting IoT solutions and which also gave examples on different solutions that are used by other companies in the same business. The Result is two different methods that could improve Wärtsilä´s Project Logistics in different occasions. These results are intended to give tips on how IoT could improve the department´s ways of coordinating and check transports and logistics within a project.Detta examensarbete är gjort i uppdrag av Wärtsilä Energy Solutions, Project logistics & Transport Management avdelningen vars huvuduppgift är att koordinera och se till att material och produkter transporteras till rätt plats i rätt tid inom projekt logistiken. Examensarbetet behandlar hur man kunde förbättra Wärtsiläs projekt logistik genom att använda Internet of Things. Genom att IoT har utvecklats har det uppstått möjligheter att få fram mer information om transporter än tidigare och Wärtsilä söker för tillfället nya lösningar som kunde användas för att förbättra deras nuvarande logistiksystem. Syftet med arbetet är att gå igenom nya, men även redan befintliga, lösningar som används på dagens marknad - för att sedan se vad som kunde fungera i praktiken hos Wärtsilä. Material till arbetet är samlat från böcker, webbsidor och artiklar som gick igenom intressanta IoT lösningar och som också gav exempel på hur olika system fungerar och används av andra företag inom samma bransch. Slutresultatet blev två olika metoder som kunde förbättra Wärtsiläs projekt logistik vid olika tillfällen. Dessa resultat är tänkta för att ge tips på hur IoT kunde förbättra avdelningens sätt hur man koordinerar och granskar transporter och logistiken inom ett projekt

Distinct ECM mechanosensing pathways regulate microtubule dynamics to control endothelial cell branching morphogenesis

The compliance and dimensionality of the ECM regulate distinct changes in microtubule growth speed and growth persistence

Application of the Enfer chemiluminescent multiplex ELISA system for the detection of Mycobacterium bovis infection in goats

A study was conducted to optimise a multiplex serological immunoassay for use in identification of goats infected with Mycobacterium bovis. The results show that inclusion of an antibody based assay can improve the ability to identify M. bovis and M. caprae infected goats. With further development and validation the multiplex assay may prove to be a useful tool for control of M. bovis and M. caprae infection in goats

Acceptability of bisphosphonates among patients, clinicians and managers: a systematic review and framework synthesis.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the acceptability of different bisphosphonate regimens for the treatment of osteoporosis among patients, clinicians and managers, payers and academics.DESIGN: A systematic review of primary qualitative studies. Seven databases were searched from inception to July 2019. Screening, data extraction and quality assessment of full-articles selected for inclusion were performed independently by two authors. A framework synthesis was applied to extracted data based on the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability (TFA). The TFA includes seven domains relating to sense-making, emotions, opportunity costs, burden, perceived effectiveness, ethicality and self-efficacy. Confidence in synthesis findings was assessed.SETTING: Any developed country healthcare settingPARTICIPANTS: Patients, healthcare professionals, managers, payers and academics.INTERVENTION: Experiences and views of oral and intravenous bisphosphonates.RESULTS: Twenty-five studies were included, mostly describing perceptions of oral bisphosphonates. We identified, with high confidence, how patients and HCPs make sense (coherence) of bisphosphonates by balancing perceptions of need against concerns, how uncertainty prevails about bisphosphonate perceived effectiveness and a number of individual and service factors that have potential to increase self-efficacy in recommending and adhering to bisphosphonates. We identified, with moderate confidence, that bisphosphonate taking induces concern, but has the potential to engender reassurance, and that both side effects and special instructions for taking oral bisphosphonates can result in treatment burden. Finally, we identified with low confidence that multi-morbidity plays a role in people’s perception of bisphosphonate acceptability.CONCLUSION: By using the lens of acceptability, our findings demonstrate with high confidence that a theoretically informed, whole-system approach is necessary to both understand and improve adherence. Clinicians and patients need supporting to understand the need for bisphosphonates, and clinicians need to clarify to patients what constitutes bisphosphonate treatment success. Further research is needed to explore perspectives of male patients and those with multi-morbidity receiving bisphosphonates, and patients receiving intravenous treatment

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy