The field of inter-organizational relations : a jungle or an Italian garden?

Each chapter in this Handbook contains an explicit assessment of priorities for future research that would extend and deepen an understanding of IOR. Given the diversity of contributions to this volume, it is perhaps not surprising that recommendations for future research are varied. And because the three sets of contributions start from different points-empirical manifestations, theoretical and disciplinary perspectives, and thematic interests-so the recommendations, too, might be expected to lead along different paths, 'cutting' and framing future research topics in different ways. Nevertheless, as others have suggested (Brass et al. 2005) it is possible to see some points of convergence across all three parts of the Handbook. We begin our discussion of the contributions and suggestions for the future by focusing on these points of convergence. We then look in turn at the specific ideas that emerge from, and relate to, the specific framings of each of the parts. Finally, we draw together insights about methodological issues

Evaluating digital policy interventions: studies in violence prevention, deradicalization, and investor protection

Social media platforms allow individuals without great technical knowledge or financial capital to spread violent content and radical messages among a large audience, bypassing traditional media. As violence and radical actions cause significant economic damage and undermine democratic institutions, security agencies have responded by using the same platforms to target at-risk individuals with their prevention programs. The literature has shown that such online programs can be effective in reducing victimization and perpetration rates. However, despite the large number of programs implemented, there is a significant lack of rigorous impact evaluations. This thesis contributes to the literature by developing a conceptual framework for evaluating the impact and economic efficiency of online programs for crime prevention in general. Furthermore, it contributes by evaluating the impact of two online programs in the areas of violence prevention and deradicalization. To reassess the impact of such online programs in a different prevention context, the thesis also evaluates a measure for investor protection in the context of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency

The Effects of Testosterone on Leydig Cell Development in Male YHR+ Mice

Leydig cells (LC) are specialized cells in the testis that develop during puberty and are responsible for producing testosterone. Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and testosterone are important for LC development. Binding of LH to its receptor (LHR) initiates the production of testosterone. Constitutively active mutations in LHR have been identified in humans resulting in puberty in males as young as 3 or 4 years of age. A transgenic mouse (YHR+), was generated which mimics the constitutively active LHR by fusing the hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin, to LHR to continually activate the receptor. Testosterone levels in YHR+ mice are high at neonatal ages. Previous studies in the lab have shown that YHR+ mice have decreased LC numbers compared to wild type (WT) mice. It was hypothesized that high levels of testosterone at neonatal ages was responsible for the decrease in LC numbers and was causing a decrease in the proliferation of LCs. To test this hypothesis, the action of testosterone was blocked with the androgen antagonist, flutamide, and the total number of LCs as well as the number of proliferating LCs were determined. There was no significant increase in LC number or in proliferation of flutamide treated YHR+ mice suggesting that other factors may be involved in the decrease in LC number. Together, these results suggest that high neonatal testosterone is not sufficient to inhibit LC development

Multiple sclerosis, the measurement of disability and access to clinical trial data

Background: Inferences about long-term effects of therapies in multiple sclerosis (MS) have been based on surrogate markers studied in short-term trials. Nevertheless, MS trials have been getting steadily shorter despite the lack of a consensus definition for the most important clinical outcome - unremitting progression of disability. Methods: We have examined widely used surrogate markers of disability progression in MS within a unique database of individual patient data from the placebo arms of 31 randomised clinical trials. Findings: Definitions of treatment failure used in secondary progressive MS trials include much change unrelated to the target of unremitting disability. In relapsing-remitting MS, disability progression by treatment failure definitions was no more likely than similarly defined improvement for these disability surrogates. Existing definitions of disease progression in relapsing-remitting trials encompass random variation, measurement error and remitting relapses and appear not to measure unremitting disability. Interpretation: Clinical surrogates of unremitting disability used in relapsing -remitting trials cannot be validated. Trials have been too short and/or degrees of disability change too small to evaluate unremitting disability outcomes. Important implications for trial design and reinterpretation of existing trial results have emerged long after regulatory approval and widespread use of therapies in MS, highlighting the necessity of having primary trial data in the public domain

The Epidemiology of Multiple Sclerosis in Scotland: Inferences from Hospital Admissions

PMCID: PMC3029296This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited