Essays on Occupational Choice and Entrepreneurial Ventures

This dissertation consists of three independent articles on the subjects of entrepreneurial ventures and occupational choice. The first article examines the flow of information between entrepreneurs and investors in a theoretical venture capital market, analyzing how informational asymmetries and evaluative bias affect equilibrium fundraising, investment, and implementation strategies. The second article investigates the gender income differential using a model of occupational choice, maternity choice, and the ability to stochastically wage climb. The third article theoretically examines the location choice and endogenous growth dynamics of television productions facing labor supplies that are heterogeneous in skill level. Location choice is influenced by tax considerations, as well as the regional accessibility of talent; the model is used to explain why studios and producers have begun shifting television production outside of Hollywood despite the high concentration of production talent in Los Angeles

Bridging the ICT Gap: A Study of UK Online Centres

An initiative to create about 6,000 UK online centres aims to bridge the gap between those in society who have access to and are able to use information and communication technologies competently, and those who do not. UK online centres can be seen as networked community learning entities, playing an expanding role in formal and informal community-based learning. The study described below provides a detailed snapshot of what was happening in UK online centres in the first nine months of 2002. The goal was to gain an improved understanding of the social context of the centres, and issues around the creation and exchange of knowledge within and between online community centres. The longer term goal is that if models of successful practice can be built, and cascaded by the community to new start- ups and more established centres, we will have the building blocks for sustainable capacity for bridging the digital divide

Using Margin Elevation with Bonded Ceramics: A Case Report.

PosterThirty years ago, glass ionomer was first used as a means of bonding resin matrix composite to dentin. Today this method is used to elevate the margin of a preparation to a level which gives the clinician more access to the operating field. This technique has been described in the dental literature with resin composites bonded with resin adhesives. There are still inherent problems with this approach, however, since resin adhesives are subject to hydrolysis, marginal leakage, and recurrent caries. Studies have demonstrated the ability of glass ionomer to chemically bond to dentin; glass ionomer can also be dissolved/etched by phosphoric acid and predictably bonded to resin composites, eliminating the problem of hybrid layer hydrolysis which occurs with resin bonding agents. Margin elevation takes advantage of the favorable properties of glass ionomer cements (adhesion through chemical bond to dentin, fluoride release, biocompatibility, coefficient of thermal expansion similar to tooth structure, and decreased interfacial bacteria penetration/caries activity) while allowing overlaying of a suitable direct or indirect restorative material. This technique should be utilized when a preparation stands an increased risk of contamination or has a gingival margin on dentin/cementum. This case describes restoration of a tooth with a deep subgingival margin located on cervical dentin. The tooth was prepared for a ceramic onlay. Resin-modified glass ionomer was then inserted into the mesial proximal box and re-prepared with the occlusal wall of the glass ionomer becoming the new gingival margin, allowing significantly increased access and isolation. The tooth was then restored with an e.max onlay and cemented with RelyX Unicem. The restoration has been examined at a 6-month recall. With proper case selection and attention to detail, glass ionomer margin elevation is an excellent technique for bonding ceramics to teeth which cannot be isolated adequately for impression and/or resin bonding

Learning Through Dialogue (LTD) - a Toolkit to Support the Process of Planning for Effective Use of Dialogue in Learning

This paper presents an implementation of a decision support system to help tutors think about ways of using dialogue to support learning. The approach adopted has been to develop a software toolkit around a knowledgebase of dialogue methods, to assist tutors in the reflection required during the planning and design of dialogue to support learning

'Archives of Feeling': the AIDS Crisis in Britain 1987

This piece is an extended version of my inaugural lecture of same title delivered on world AIDS day 2016 at Birkbeck College, University of London. It traces the emotional landscape of Britain at a key turning point in the history of AIDS. Drawing on a range of testimonial and other archives it explores the feelings at stake in the epidemic, how they related to press and politics, how they shaped everyday lives, and how they played out for those dealing most directly with the escalating crisis. I argue that such ‘archives of feeling’ are fundamental to our understanding of intersecting social and intimate lives – past and present

Local matters: queer scenes in 1960s Manchester, Plymouth and Brighton

This article compares queer social scenes in the 1960s in three English towns and cities: Brighton and Plymouth on the south coast and Manchester in the northwest. It considers how queer experience in these places was affected by local identities, demographics, geographies, and socio-economic circumstances, and so demonstrates how and why the local matters to queer scenes and lives, even in the midst of wider burgeoning mass and connective cultures. London has dominated analysis of both the “Swinging Sixties” and queer lives, yet this article shows how different queer experience outside that city could be. Despite multiple resonances and connections, London’s queer story cannot stand in for that of other places in England

Human Trafficking by the Numbers: The Initial Benchmark of Prevalence and Economic Impact for Texas

Prevalence HighlightsCurrently, there are approximately 79,000 minor and youth victims of sex trafficking in Texas.Currently, there are approximately 234,000 workers who are victims of labor trafficking in Texas.Currently, there arean estimated 313,000 victims of human trafficking in Texas.Cost HighlightsMinor and youth sex trafficking costs the state of Texas approximately $6.6 billion. Traffickers exploit approximately$600 million from victims of labor trafficking in Texas.BackgroundThough human trafficking is widespread in geographically large states with large urban centers like Texas, the true scope of this hidden crime is largely unconfirmed as data on human trafficking are difficult to ascertain. Existing data gathered in anti-trafficking efforts focus almost exclusively on identified victims, shedding light on only a fraction of the problem. The first phase of the Statewide Human Trafficking Mapping Project of Texas focused on providing empiricallygrounded data as a benchmark about the extent of human trafficking across the state. The following three primary research questions guided our data collection efforts, which included queries of existing databases, interviews, focus groups, and web-based surveys.1.What is the prevalence of human trafficking in Texas?2.What is the economic impact of human trafficking in Texas?3.What is our understanding of human trafficking in Texas?MethodsThe findings in this report were derived using a multi-methods approach to quantify the prevalence and economic impact of human trafficking in Texas. Higher-than-average risk industry and community segments were chosen for sex and labor markets. We defined community segments asgroups of people considered to be at higher-than-average risk of trafficking because of risk indicators found in trafficking cases (e.g. homelessness). More specifically, rather than attempting to establish prevalence of trafficking among the 27.4 million people living in Texas, for the purposes of demonstrating our methodology, establishing some benchmarks on human trafficking prevalence and economic impact estimates, and providing a concrete example of our planned activities moving forward, victimization rates were applied to a select few community segments that are at higher-than-average risk of trafficking.The methodology has addressed the critical industry and community segments to accurately estimate prevalencewhile reducing overlap between the chosen segments