Can subsidizing alternative energy technology development lead to faster global warming?

Modelling global climate changes without taking account of the changes in resource markets can produce climate policy with perverse consequences. In even the simplest economic model of emissions of greenhouse gases, naïve policies that ignore markets can lead to perverse outcomes- the opposite of that intended by the policymakers-such as accelerating global warming. Yet the global climate models that are commonly used to develop climate policy do not adequately model resource markets. As a consequence, we need to develop better models of resource markets within our global climate models.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Price or politics? An investigation of the causes of expropriation

Expropriations of foreign direct investment in developing countries are typically blamed on political and economic crises in those countries. Developing a new database of expropriations in the minerals sectors of developing country exporters, I show that expropriations were correlated with mineral price booms and that democratic governments were more likely to expropriate. No link is found between expropriations and political or economic crises, except at independence. A better explanation of expropriation would be opportunistic behaviour by host governments when profits of investments are high. In two developed countries, Australia and Canada, expropriations are also found to occur during price booms.expropriation, foreign direct investment, natural resources, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Solomon Islands and Vanuatu: an economic survey

Governance strengthening programs such as the RAMSI in Solomon Islands and CRP in Vanuatu have achieved major overhauls of public service institutions, but the responses in terms of economic growth and human welfare indicators have been poor. Growth prospects post-RAMSI in Solomon Islands and post-CRP in Vanuatu are hindered because they are still high-cost economic environments for foreign investors

Strengthening political parties in the Pacific

The instability of Pacific politics is often traced to the weakness of its political organisations. In Papua New Guinea, the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates was put in place to stabilise politics by enhancing the role of parties in parliament, but its impact has been debatable. We look at the causes of weak parties in Papua New Guinea and compare the political system in Papua New Guinea with that of industrialised democracies where political parties are stronger. This comparison suggests ways that political parties in Papua New Guinea might be strengthened, in particular, through a reformed 'slush fund' for parties

Berserkir: a re-examination of the phenomenon in literature and life

This thesis discusses whether berserkir really went berserk. It proposes revised paradigms for berserkir as they existed in the Viking Age and as depicted in Old Norse literature. It clarifies the Viking Age berserkr as an elite warrior whose practices have a function in warfare and ritual life rather than as an example of aberrant behaviour, and considers how usage of PDE ‘berserk’ may affect the framing of research questions about berserkir through analysis of depictions in modern popular culture. The analysis shows how berserksgangr has received greater attention than it warrants with the emphasis being on how berserkir went berserk. A critical review of Old Norse literature shows that berserkir do not go berserk, and suggests that berserksgangr was a calculated form of posturing and a ritual activity designed to bolster the courage of the berserkr. It shows how the medieval concept of berserkir was more nuanced and less negative than is usually believed, as demonstrated by the contemporaneous existence in narratives of berserkir as king’s men, hall challengers, hólmg†ngumenn, Viking raiders and Christian champions, and by the presence of men with the byname berserkr in fourteenth-century documents. Old Norse literature is related to pre-Viking Age evidence to show that warriors wearing wolfskins existed and can be related to berserkir, thus making it possible to produce models for Viking Age and medieval concepts of berserkir. The modern view of berserkir is analysed and shows that frenzy is the dominant attribute, despite going berserk not being a useful attribute in Viking Age warfare which relied upon men holding a line steady rather than charging individually. The thesis concludes that ON berserkr may be best translated as PDE ‘champion’, while PDE ‘berserker’ describes the type of uncontrollable warrior most commonly envisaged when discussing berserkir. Most illustrations have been removed from the digital version of this thesis for copyright reasons. The references in the captions guide the reader to the original source for those illustrations

Regional Cerebral Blood Flow in Focal Epilepsy

The first systematic documentation of dynamic cerebral vascular changes associated with focal seizures was made by Penfield in the thirties. In recent years in vivo imaging techniques, principally single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), have been used to study regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in patients with focal epilepsy. The main finding has been of focal hypoperfusion, the location in the brain differing according to the site of the focus. The incidence and clinical associations of this finding have varied, and few large studies have been carried out. Until the development of the blood flow tracer HMPAO (hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime) there was no practical way to study regional cerebral blood flow during or soon after seizures. When the present work was started no studies existed, although several have appeared during its course. Only complex partial seizures of temporal lobe origin have been systematically studied

Human-Centred Evaluation of Broadband Telehealth for Tertiary Outpatient Consultations: A Case Study Approach

Outpatient consultations form a large part of the healthcare of patients at tertiary hospitals, both as a precursor to in-patient treatment and for the management of on-going health conditions or long-term rehabilitation and monitoring after treatment. These outpatient consultations are generally conducted at the hospitals, most often located in large cities. Patients who live outside these cities face extensive travel to attend these consultations, placing a burden on themselves and on their families or carers. An ability of a tertiary hospital to deliver outpatient consultations in a telehealth mode to regional or remote locations closer to the patients’ homes would potentially relieve much of this burden of travel. ¶ ... ¶ In this thesis I use a case-study-based approach to evaluate the development and pilot trial of a broadband telehealth system in a tertiary paediatric context. I use the data from these case studies to explore the way that a human-centred approach can be used to evaluate outpatient telehealth trials at a tertiary level of healthcare. ..

Resistance to change in concurrent schedules : a function of stimulus presentation and local rates of reinforcement?

Resistance to change was formulated as an alternative to the measurement of response strength in terms of response rate changes in the presence or absence of reinforcement. In order to replace response rate as a measure of response strength resistance to change must meet certain criteria. As a measure of the strength of responding, resistance to change must be shown to fluctuate with the accepted strengthening force of that behaviour - reinforcement. That is, resistance to disruption should be greater in environments providing greater reinforcement. Studies with multiple schedules have reliably produced data that indicate resistance to change is related to the rate of reinforcement in a component. This research has further indicated that resistance to change is a function of stimulus-reinforcer contingencies. However, concurrent schedule performance has thus far not conformed to the expected principles of resistance to change, and has not produced the same results that are shown in multiple schedule experimentation. That is, studies with concurrent VI VI schedules show no between-component resistance differential. This study asks and attempts to answer two questions relating to possible causes of the different resistance to change results between multiple and concurrent schedules. These questions are based on features that 'differentiate the two different schedule types. Is the difference in stimulus presentation between multiple and concurrent schedules important for the development of differential resistance to change? Are local rates of reinforcement and responding important to the development of a between component resistance to change differential? To attempt to answer these questions this study arranged two series of experimentation. In the first a standard VI VI concurrent schedule (with reinforcer ratio of 3:1) was arranged, according to the Findley procedure, and the distinctive colour stimuli were presented one-at-a-time as is the norm in multiple schedules. The results of the resistance to change (response-independent food presented at two rates) tests in Series 1 did not support the conclusion that the successive presentation of stimuli in concurrent schedules resulted in differential resistance to change. Series 2 of this study investigated the importance of local rates of responding and reinforcement in determining resistance to change. To achieve this the Findley concurrent schedule was further modified with a time constraint arranged on the changeover key. This constrained interchange over time (CICT) restricted the time allocating abilities of the pigeon subjects. The CICT was a VI 60s schedule programmed onto the changeover key. This manipulation successfully created unequal local rates of reinforcement, as is enforced in the design of multiple schedules. Subsequent testing for resistance to change was not successful in producing between component differential resistance to change results. These results raise doubts about the applicability of resistance to change as an effective replacement for response rate as a measure of response strength

Berserkir: a re-examination of the phenomenon in literature and life

This thesis discusses whether berserkir really went berserk. It proposes revised paradigms for berserkir as they existed in the Viking Age and as depicted in Old Norse literature. It clarifies the Viking Age berserkr as an elite warrior whose practices have a function in warfare and ritual life rather than as an example of aberrant behaviour, and considers how usage of PDE ‘berserk’ may affect the framing of research questions about berserkir through analysis of depictions in modern popular culture. The analysis shows how berserksgangr has received greater attention than it warrants with the emphasis being on how berserkir went berserk. A critical review of Old Norse literature shows that berserkir do not go berserk, and suggests that berserksgangr was a calculated form of posturing and a ritual activity designed to bolster the courage of the berserkr. It shows how the medieval concept of berserkir was more nuanced and less negative than is usually believed, as demonstrated by the contemporaneous existence in narratives of berserkir as king’s men, hall challengers, hólmg†ngumenn, Viking raiders and Christian champions, and by the presence of men with the byname berserkr in fourteenth-century documents. Old Norse literature is related to pre-Viking Age evidence to show that warriors wearing wolfskins existed and can be related to berserkir, thus making it possible to produce models for Viking Age and medieval concepts of berserkir. The modern view of berserkir is analysed and shows that frenzy is the dominant attribute, despite going berserk not being a useful attribute in Viking Age warfare which relied upon men holding a line steady rather than charging individually. The thesis concludes that ON berserkr may be best translated as PDE ‘champion’, while PDE ‘berserker’ describes the type of uncontrollable warrior most commonly envisaged when discussing berserkir. Most illustrations have been removed from the digital version of this thesis for copyright reasons. The references in the captions guide the reader to the original source for those illustrations

A study comparing the actions of gabapentin and pregabalin on the electrophysiological properties of cultured DRG neurones from neonatal rats

BACKGROUND: Gabapentin and pregabalin have wide-ranging therapeutic actions, and are structurally related to the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. Gabapentin, pregablin and GABA can all modulate voltage-activated Ca(2+ )channels. In this study we have used whole cell patch clamp recording and fura-2 Ca(2+ )imaging to characterise the actions of pregabalin on the electrophysiological properties of cultured dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurones from neonatal rats. The aims of this study were to determine whether pregabalin and gabapentin had additive inhibitory effects on high voltage-activated Ca(2+ )channels, evaluate whether the actions of pregabalin were dependent on GABA receptors and characterise the actions of pregabalin on voltage-activated potassium currents. RESULTS: Pregabalin (25 nM – 2.5 μM) inhibited 20–30% of the high voltage-activated Ca(2+ )current in cultured DRG neurones. The residual Ca(2+ )current recorded in the presence of pregabalin was sensitive to the L-type Ca(2+ )channel modulator, Bay K8644. Saturating concentrations of gabapentin failed to have additive effects when applied with pregabalin, indicating that these two compounds act on the same type(s) of voltage-activated Ca(2+ )channels but the majority of Ca(2+ )current was resistant to both drugs. The continual application of GABA, the GABA(B )receptor antagonist CGP52432, or intracellular photorelease of GTP-γ-S had no effect on pregabalin-induced inhibition of Ca(2+ )currents. Although clear inhibition of Ca(2+ )influx was produced by pregabalin in a population of small neurones, a significant population of larger neurones showed enhanced Ca(2+ )influx in response to pregabalin. The enhanced Ca(2+ )influx evoked by pregabalin was mimicked by partial block of K(+ )conductances with tetraethylammonium. Pregabalin produced biphasic effects on voltage-activated K(+ )currents, the inhibitory effect of pregabalin was prevented with apamin. The delayed enhancement of K(+ )currents was attenuated by pertussis toxin and by intracellular application of a (Rp)-analogue of cAMP. CONCLUSIONS: Pregabalin reduces excitatory properties of cultured DRG neurones by modulating voltage-activated Ca(2+ )and K(+ )channels. The pharmacological activity of pregabalin is similar but not identical to that of gabapentin. The actions of pregabalin may involve both extracellular and intracellular drug target sites and modulation of a variety of neuronal conductances, by direct interactions, and through intracellular signalling involving protein kinase A