Bundling, Product Choice, and Efficiency: Should Cable Television Networks be Offered A La Carte?

We conduct a numerical analysis of bundling's impact on a monopolist's pricing and product choices and assess the implications for consumer welfare in cable television markets. Existing theory is ambiguous: for a given set of products, bundling likely transfers surplus from consumers to firms but also encourages products to be offered that might not be under a la carte pricing. Simulation of "Full A La Carte" for an economic environment calibrated to an average cable television system suggests that consumers would likely benefit from a la carte sales. If all networks continued to be offered, the average household's surplus is predicted to increase by $6.80 (65.6%) under a la carte sales (despite a total bundle price that almost doubles) and reduced network profits would have to be such that 41 of 50 offered cable networks have to exit the market to make her indifferent. Simulation of a "Theme Tier" scenario provides intermediate benefits. The incremental marginal costs to cable systems of a la carte sales and its impact in the advertising market and on competition are important factors in determining consumer benefits. (JEL L12, L82, L50).

Fair Evaluation of Global Network Aligners

Biological network alignment identifies topologically and functionally conserved regions between networks of different species. It encompasses two algorithmic steps: node cost function (NCF), which measures similarities between nodes in different networks, and alignment strategy (AS), which uses these similarities to rapidly identify high-scoring alignments. Different methods use both different NCFs and different ASs. Thus, it is unclear whether the superiority of a method comes from its NCF, its AS, or both. We already showed on MI-GRAAL and IsoRankN that combining NCF of one method and AS of another method can lead to a new superior method. Here, we evaluate MI-GRAAL against newer GHOST to potentially further improve alignment quality. Also, we approach several important questions that have not been asked systematically thus far. First, we ask how much of the node similarity information in NCF should come from sequence data compared to topology data. Existing methods determine this more-less arbitrarily, which could affect the resulting alignment(s). Second, when topology is used in NCF, we ask how large the size of the neighborhoods of the compared nodes should be. Existing methods assume that larger neighborhood sizes are better. We find that MI-GRAAL's NCF is superior to GHOST's NCF, while the performance of the methods' ASs is data-dependent. Thus, the combination of MI-GRAAL's NCF and GHOST's AS could be a new superior method for certain data. Also, which amount of sequence information is used within NCF does not affect alignment quality, while the inclusion of topological information is crucial. Finally, larger neighborhood sizes are preferred, but often, it is the second largest size that is superior, and using this size would decrease computational complexity. Together, our results give several general recommendations for a fair evaluation of network alignment methods.Comment: 19 pages. 10 figures. Presented at the 2014 ISMB Conference, July 13-15, Boston, M

“The (unintended) consequences of governance?” : Examining the role of “frames” in creating imaginary housing systems and their importance for understanding the practices of senior housing professionals

This paper examines data from interviews with senior housing professionals working in both the statutory and voluntary homelessness sectors in Scotland. The first section presents findings from both groups highlighting the contradictions and tensions which exist between the two sectors. The second section applies Boltanski and Thevenot’s theoretical framework to explore the ways in which housing professionals make sense of and justify their role in the provision of housing services to homeless applicants and those threatened with homelessness. The analysis of the data will be used to expand Carlen’s concept of the “imaginary” in order to develop a more nuanced understanding of how the objective structures of governance shape and reshape the subjectivities of those working in the field of housing management. The important and often overlooked concept of “misrecognition” will be used to explain why the tensions exist, as well as shedding light on why the apparent power imbalance between statutory and voluntary sectors goes mostly unnoticed.PostprintPeer reviewe

On editor decisions: A framework of best practice

This Editorial calls for change in the practices of editing in response to a culture of mental ill health in higher education publishing. Through extended review of current practices, this Editorial offers practical opportunities to improve the quality of editors\u27 decision-making processes. This includes a focus on publishing clear and formative editorial positions, a broader acceptance of university style guides and referencing, desk rejection that is timely and supportive, peer review with improved integrity, a more genuine revise and resubmit process, and fostering quality post-acceptance engagement. The significance of this Editorial is in the potential to lead reform in the journal publishing industry to be more supportive and kind while maintaining quality and rigorous production of knowledge

Raising Milton's Ghost

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. Why was Milton so important to the Romantics? How did 'Milton the Regicide', a man often regarded in his lifetime as a dangerous traitor and heretic, become 'the Sublime Milton'? The late eighteenth century saw a sudden and to date almost undocumented craze for all things Miltonic, the symptoms of which included the violation of his grave and the sale of his hair and bones as relics, the republication of all his works including his political tracts in unprecedented numbers, the appearance of the poet in the works, letters, dreams and visions of all the major British Romantic poets and even frequent reports of hauntings by his ghost. Drawing on the traditions of cultural, intellectual and bibliographic history as well as recent trends in literary scholarship on the romantic period, Joseph Crawford explores the dramatic shift in Milton's cultural status after 1790. He builds on a now significant literature on Milton's legacy to the Romantic poets, uncovering the cultural historical background against which the Romantics and their contemporaries encountered and interacted with Milton's reputation and works

COVID-19 and higher education: A pandemic response model from rapid adaption to consolidation and restoration.

COVID-19 has severely impacted the higher education sector. Early institutional responses have been diverse, ranging from minimal changes to full digitalization of curriculum. This paper develops a preliminary pandemic response model based on responses to the current coronavirus pandemic and those that came before: The Black Plague, Spanish Flu, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV), Influenza A, and Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Some of these have well-documented cases, and others are lacking. This manuscript adopts a critical perspective drawing on an extensive reading of current and forthcoming literature and institutional responses. A four stages of pandemic response model is proposed, based on a critical review of published knowledge: rapid adaption, improvement, consolidation, and restoration. The time it takes institutions to navigate through each stage will vary, and some more advanced universities and colleges will progress through multiple stages in parallel. This paper provides a first glance at where higher education may be heading, and early evidence-based propositions to begin empirical testing

Effects of Inorganic Nutrients and Dissolved Organic Carbon on Oxygen Demand in Select Rivers in Northern Utah

Sewage, agricultural runoff, and atmospheric deposition have greatly increased the amount of nutrients (largely nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P)) in surface water nationwide. Excess nutrients are associated with algal blooms and dissolved oxygen depletion in many water bodies, but linkages between nutrients and dissolved oxygen have been largely correlative. Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is a regulated water quality parameter that is aimed at describing the amount of oxygen consumed during the decomposition of organic matter. Despite the awareness that excess nutrients are linked to dissolved oxygen in rivers, few studies in the nutrient criteria literature discuss BOD measurements or how nutrients may impact BOD. Accordingly, I used factorial experiments to test the effect of inorganic nutrients (as N, P and N+P) and dissolved organic carbon on BOD measurements in Utah streams. The study was carried out from January through summer baseflow in 2011, allowing me to evaluate the effects of spatial and temporal variation of ambient nutrient concentration on oxygen demand. The study design included measurements in streams above and below nutrient point-sources (publicly owned treatment works) and several reference sites. I used classification and regression trees to identify thresholds of TN and TP that separate BOD response to nutrients into statistically distinct groups. My results show that seasonal variation affected BOD levels. As temperatures rose and water levels increased during peak runoff, I observed the highest BOD response to nutrient additions. I also found a significant correlation between BOD and ambient nutrient concentrations during that time period. I identified potential nutrient-related thresholds that could be used to assign numeric criteria that would protect designated uses. The threshold values I found for TN and TP were 0.56 mg/L and 0.09 mg/L, respectively. My results suggest that BOD may be sensitive to nutrient inputs and my experimental approach could be used as one line of evidence to support nutrient criteria related to aquatic life uses

The 1966 Republican Campaign in North Dakota

The 1966 Republican Campaign in North Dakota discusses the efforts of the Party from May, 1965 through November, 1966. The pre-convention period illustrates the effort of the North Dakota Republicans to rebuild their organization after the 1964 defeat. Analysis of this effort is made with regard to finances, organization, and research. The study then discusses the 1966 state convention, the rise of youth in the Party organization, background and insight into all the races, and a complete tabulation of all ballots. Special emphasis is placed on the problem of the John Birch Society and on how that problem was resolved by the Party. The chapter on the primary campaign analyzes the Party\u27s management of the races for Labor Commissioner and Public Service Commissioner. The races of Tom Kleppe against conservative Martin Vaaler in the west and Richard Larsen in Grand Forks are especially noted. The difficulty of organizational adjustment to reapportionment is also discussed here. A complete breakdown of all winners is listed--including all precinct committeemen. The final chapter gives a first hand description of the November campaign. Results of all campaigns for all offices are given. The study is comprised almost entirely of original research obtained from first hand interviews through involvement in and cooperation with the North Dakota Republican Party