UK export performance research - review and implications

Previous research on export performance has been criticized for being a mosaic of autonomous endeavours and for a lack of theoretical development. Building upon extant models of export performance, and a review and analysis of research on export performance in the UK for the period 1990-2005, an integrated model of export performance is developed and theoretical explanations of export performance are put forward. It is suggested that a multi-theory approach to explaining export performance is viable. Management and policy implications for the UK emerging from the review and synthesis of the literature and the integrated model are discussed

Children’s friendships in middle childhood: how number of friends, reciprocity and friendship quality relate to peer and school identification, and general self-worth

Children’s friendships are important for well-being and school adjustment, but few studies have examined multiple indices of friendships together in middle childhood. The current study surveyed 7 to 11-year olds (n = 314) about their friendships, best friendships, friendship quality and indices of self-worth, identification with peers and identification with school. Peer relationships were positively related to self-worth, but not identification with peers or school. Best friendship quality moderated the relationship between number of reciprocated friendship nominations and self-worth. Children with a reciprocated best friend had higher friendship quality and peer identification than others. Where best friendship was reciprocated, the relationship with identification with peers was mediated via positive friendship quality. The results suggest that friendship reciprocity is particularly relevant for children’s self-worth and identification with peers. The findings are discussed in relation to the importance of fostering the development of reciprocated friendships

Rheology of Active-Particle Suspensions

We study the interplay of activity, order and flow through a set of coarse-grained equations governing the hydrodynamic velocity, concentration and stress fields in a suspension of active, energy-dissipating particles. We make several predictions for the rheology of such systems, which can be tested on bacterial suspensions, cell extracts with motors and filaments, or artificial machines in a fluid. The phenomena of cytoplasmic streaming, elastotaxis and active mechanosensing find natural explanations within our model.Comment: 3 eps figures, submitted to Phys Rev Let

Electronic and phononic properties of cinnabar: ab initio calculations and some experimental results

We report ab initio calculations of the electronic band structure, the corresponding optical spectra, and the phonon dispersion relations of trigonal alpha-HgS (cinnabar). The calculated dielectric functions are compared with unpublished optical measurements by Zallen and coworkers. The phonon dispersion relations are used to calculate the temperature and isotopic mass dependence of the specific heat which has been compared with experimental data obtained on samples with the natural isotope abundances of the elements Hg and S (natural minerals and vapor phase grown samples) and on samples prepared from isotope enriched elements by vapor phase transport. Comparison of the calculated vibrational frequencies with Raman and ir data is also presented. Contrary to the case of cubic beta-HgS (metacinnabar), the spin-orbit splitting of the top valence bands at the Gamma-point of the Brillouin zone (Delta_0) is positive, because of a smaller admixture of 5d core electrons of Hg. Calculations of the lattice parameters, and the pressure dependence of Delta_0 and the corresponding direct gap E_0~2eV are also presented. The lowest absorption edge is confirmed to be indirect.Comment: 13 pages, 15 figure

Developmental trajectories of externalizing behaviors in childhood and adolescence [IF: 3.3]

This article describes the average and group-based developmental trajectories of aggression, opposition, property violations, and status violations using parent reports of externalizing behaviors on a longitudinal multiple birth cohort study of 2,076 children aged 4 to 18 years. Trajectories were estimated from multilevel growth curve analyses and semiparametric mixture models. Overall, males showed higher levels of externalizing behavior than did females. Aggression, opposition, and property violations decreased on average, whereas status violations increased over time. Group-based trajectories followed the shape of the average curves at different levels and were similar for males and females. The trajectories found in this study provide a basis against which deviations from the expected developmental course can be identified and classified as deviant or nondeviant

Learning Journeys and Infrastructure Services: a game changer for effectiveness

Organisations need to be able to learn and thus benefit from their experience. They need the capability to respond profitably to information about processes, people and the environment in order to improve performance in the digital world: in other words to develop their corporate learning power. Infrastructure services businesses have a great deal to gain from such learning because they work in partnership with many other organisations but in highly competitive industries. They design for end use but are often detached from their users. Unlocking the learning power of individuals, teams and leaders to adapt and change will increase the pace of business transformation and generate greater value for all stakeholders. It will transform tacit knowledge that is locked within individuals into corporate intelligence. The cost of not doing this is quantifiable through sub-optimal performance and business failure or conversely through the benefits of success. Knowledge is increasingly about ‘flows’ and ‘networks’ rather than ‘stocks’ so how individuals and teams use their learning power ‘on the job’ to generate actionable insights from data that inform decision-making is a crucial new capability for the future. Data is increasingly complex, rapidly available and ubiquitous and requires continuous and collaborative interpretation and response aligned to business purpose. The premium is on the ability to interpret and use it rather than to simply collect it. This represents a significant mind-set shift from seeing knowledge as static to understanding data as the ‘raw material’ through which knowledge is generated and re-generated in the service of business strategy. The learning journey is a metaphor which incorporates four measurable processes: forming identity and purpose (ii) generating learning power (iii) knowledge structuring and (iv) producing value. Learning power is the way in which we regulate the flow of information and energy over time and this can be developed at any age. Each of these forward looking processes has implications for operational practices as well as for the ways in which digital resources are designed and deployed. Learning infrastructures can be co-designed and integrated with business strategy to (i) increase corporate agility, responsiveness and innovation, (ii) to model and explore customer and stakeholder behaviour and thus improve service and (iii) to develop digital platforms which support self-directed learning and behaviour change at scale

Promoting Resilience Among African American Girls: Racial Identity as a Protective Factor

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146551/1/cdev12995.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146551/2/cdev12995_am.pd

Conformations of Linear DNA

We examine the conformations of a model for under- and overwound DNA. The molecule is represented as a cylindrically symmetric elastic string subjected to a stretching force and to constraints corresponding to a specification of the link number. We derive a fundamental relation between the Euler angles that describe the curve and the topological linking number. Analytical expressions for the spatial configurations of the molecule in the infinite- length limit were obtained. A unique configuraion minimizes the energy for a given set of physical conditions. An elastic model incorporating thermal fluctuations provides excellent agreement with experimental results on the plectonemic transition.Comment: 5 pages, RevTeX; 6 postscript figure

Beyond Hebb: Exclusive-OR and Biological Learning

A learning algorithm for multilayer neural networks based on biologically plausible mechanisms is studied. Motivated by findings in experimental neurobiology, we consider synaptic averaging in the induction of plasticity changes, which happen on a slower time scale than firing dynamics. This mechanism is shown to enable learning of the exclusive-OR (XOR) problem without the aid of error back-propagation, as well as to increase robustness of learning in the presence of noise.Comment: 4 pages RevTeX, 2 figures PostScript, revised versio

Socioeconomic predictors and consequences of depression among primary care attenders with non-communicable diseases in the Western Cape, South Africa:Cohort study within a randomised trial

Background: Socioeconomic predictors and consequences of depression and its treatment were investigated in 4393 adults with specified non-communicable diseases attending 38 public sector primary care clinics in the Eden and Overberg districts of the Western Cape, South Africa.   Methods: Participants were interviewed at baseline in 2011 and 14 months later, as part of a randomised controlled trial of a guideline-based intervention to improve diagnosis and management of chronic diseases. The 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10) was used to assess depression symptoms, with higher scores representing more depressed mood. Results: Higher CESD-10 scores at baseline were independently associated with being less educated (p=0.004) and having lower income (p=0.003). CESD-10 scores at follow-up were higher in participants with less education (p=0.010) or receiving welfare grants (p=0.007) independent of their baseline scores. Participants with CESD-10 scores of 10 or more at baseline (56% of all participants) had 25% higher odds of being unemployed at follow-up (p=0.016), independently of baseline CESD-10 score and treatment status. Among participants with baseline CESD-10 scores of 10 or more, antidepressant medication at baseline was independently more likely in participants who had more education (p=0.002), higher income (p<0.001), or were unemployed (p=0.001). Antidepressant medication at follow up was independently more likely in participants with higher income (p=0.023), and in clinics with better access to pharmacists (p=0.053) and off-site drug delivery (p=0.013).  Conclusions: Socioeconomic disadvantage appears to be both a cause and consequence of depression, and may also be a barrier to treatment. There are opportunities for improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of depression in primary care in inequitable middle income countries like South Africa.  Trial registration: The trial is registered with Current Controlled Trials (ISRCTN20283604) and the Office for Human Research Protections Database (IRB00001938, FWA00001637)