Revisiting Textbook Adoption Decisions: Are Students Finally Ready for E-Books?

This study re-examines students’ attitudes and preferences to the four primary textbook types (hardback, paperback, loose leaf, and E-book). One hundred eighty-three students currently taking Principles of Marketing from a large public university in the southeastern United States completed the survey. Unlike the 2014 study, where students overwhelming preferred paperback textbooks, even when this textbook is at a higher price than other alternatives, the 2018 study found that the textbook choice depended on if an access code to publisher’s online course materials was required. When access codes were required, students preferred paperback textbooks, followed closely by E-books. When no access code was required, rental options were preferred. When students were asked their opinions on the various textbook options, it was clear that price and ease of use were the primary deciding factors as to why they liked and/or disliked the various textbook options

Distributional Impact of U.S. Farm Commodity Programs: Accounting for Alternative Farm Household Typologies

Agricultural households adjust to policy changes through market mechanisms by altering: their production mix, labor input, and on- and off-farm investments. Because of the significant heterogeneity among farms in the US agricultural sector, various types of farm households respond to the same policy change in significantly different ways. The parameters used to classify farm households into different typologies may also play a significant role in the interpretation of observed effects of policy changes. This paper, using a highly disaggregated U.S. Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model, analyzes the distributional impacts of policy changes involving price-contingent government payments on alternative U.S. farm household typologies. We find that farm households do vary their responses to an elimination of price-contingent support based on location, production specialty, and farm categorization.Agricultural and Food Policy,

The human ovarian surface epithelium is an androgen responsive tissue

The pathogenesis of epithelial ovarian cancer remains unclear. From epidemiological studies raised levels of androgens have been implicated to increase the risk of developing the disease. The purpose of this study was to determine the responses of normal human ovarian surface epithelium to androgens. We have established primary cultures of human ovarian surface epithelium from patients undergoing oophorectomy for benign disease. Total RNA was isolated from these cultures and expression of mRNA encoding for the androgen receptor was demonstrated using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. The presence of androgen receptor in sections of normal ovary was also investigated using an antibody against androgen receptor. The effects of androgens on DNA synthesis and cell death were determined. Eight out of eight (100%) cultures expressed mRNA encoding the androgen receptor. The presence of androgen receptor in ovarian surface epithelium of sections of normal ovaries was demonstrated in all sections. Mibolerone, a synthetic androgen, caused a significant stimulation of DNA synthesis in 5 out of 9 (55%) cultures when used at a concentration of 1 nM. Mibolerone also caused a significant decrease in cell death in 2 out of 5 (40%) cultures tested. We have demonstrated that the ovarian surface epithelium is an androgen responsive tissue and that androgens can cause an increase in proliferation and a decrease in cell death. These findings have important implications for the pathophysiology of ovarian carcinogenesis

Stakeholder influence on teaming and absorptive capacity in innovation networks

Through technological developments, innovation increasingly occurs within a network of organizations such as Industry 4.0 fieldlabs. As a result, collaboration between different companies and institutions with different interests needs to take place. Three Dutch smart industry fieldlabs were analysed to study how these collaborative relationships are being established and what their impact is on the absorptive capacity of the network in question. Contrary to what was expected, we found that stakeholders hardly exercised power. Also, a high level of psychological safety was found in the network, which positively affects collaboration. Furthermore, collaborative elements—such as open conversation, collaborating, experimenting and reflecting—are important factors affecting the absorptive capacity in the fieldlabs examined. The article concludes with several practical implications on how to stimulate innovation capability

Fingerprints of biocomplexity: Taxon‐specific growth of phytoplankton in relation to environmental factors

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110012/1/lno2004494part21446.pd

A Neural Circuit Arbitrates between Persistence and Withdrawal in Hungry Drosophila

In pursuit of food, hungry animals mobilize significant energy resources and overcome exhaustion and fear. How need and motivation control the decision to continue or change behavior is not understood. Using a single fly treadmill, we show that hungry flies persistently track a food odor and increase their effort over repeated trials in the absence of reward suggesting that need dominates negative experience. We further show that odor tracking is regulated by two mushroom body output neurons (MBONs) connecting the MB to the lateral horn. These MBONs, together with dopaminergic neurons and Dop1R2 signaling, control behavioral persistence. Conversely, an octopaminergic neuron, VPM4, which directly innervates one of the MBONs, acts as a brake on odor tracking by connecting feeding and olfaction. Together, our data suggest a function for the MB in internal state-dependent expression of behavior that can be suppressed by external inputs conveying a competing behavioral drive