Export dynamics in Small Open Economies: Indigenous Irish Manufacturing Exports, 1985-2003

The aim of this paper is to explore how a recent methodology developed to look at export dynamics in a region in a large economy can be extended to look at export dynamics in a small open economy, where local market size means that enterprises tend to engage in exporting at an early stage in their development. Building on work by Wagner (2004) and in the context of the recent trade modelling of export heterogeneity (e.g., Melitz (2003)), this paper explores export dynamics in the Irish indigenous manufacturing sector using Davis, Haltiwanger and Schuh (1996) type decomposition techniques from the labour turnover literature. Overall export growth rates in the manufacturing sector vary widely, and we focus particularly on two years when exceptional rates of growth and decline were experienced. We conduct our analysis using a plant level panel data set constructed from the annual Irish Census of Industrial Production for the period 1985 to 2003. We find that there is considerable entry/re-entry and exit/re-exit in the export market but most of the export dynamics are dominated by the activities of continuing exporters.Exports; decomposition, manufacturing, plant-level panel data

Detection of small molecules with a flow immunosensor

We describe the development of an easy-to-use sensor with widespread applications for detecting small molecules. The flow immunosensor can analyze discrete samples in under one minute or continuously monitor a flowing stream for the presence of specific analytes. This detection system is extremely specific, and achieves a level of sensitivity which meets or exceeds the detection limits reported for rival assays. Because the system is also compact, transportable, and automated, it has the potential to impact diverse areas. For example, the flow immunosensor has successfully detected drugs of abuse and explosives, and may well address many of the needs of the environmental community with respect to continuous monitoring for pollutants. Efforts are underway to engineer a portable device in the field

Promoting Industrial Clusters: Evidence from Ireland

This paper analyses the spatial concentration and sectoral specialisation of local enterprises (LEs) and multinational enterprises (MNEs) in Ireland. Entropy indices are used as indicators of spatial and sectoral clustering in Irish manufacturing. Correlation coefficients are calculated to estimate the co-location patterns of LEs and MNEs, allowing an investigation of the overall impact of stated industrial and regional policy goals on the Irish manufacturing sector. The pattern of spatial changes found suggests that market forces were already driving enterprises out of more concentrated locations prior to the introduction of policies to promote greater spatial dispersion in the late 1990s. MNEs have become more sectorally specialised over the period, which is not surprising as policy is deliberately selective in attracting MNEs to key high tech manufacturing sectors. The less concentrated sectoral pattern amongst LEs enterprises is consistent with general restructuring in Irish manufacturing from lower- to higher-tech sectors, and the high sectoral correlation for high-tech MNEs and LEs suggests that LEs are following MNEs into the same sectors.geographic concentration, sectoral specialisation, entropy indices, MNEs, LEs, public policy

Aggregation of silica nanoparticles in concentrated suspensions under turbulent, shear and extensional flows.

The production of nanoparticles in concentrated suspensions requires strict control of the stability of the systems which are strongly influenced by the physico-chemical properties and the hydrodynamic conditions they are placed in. This study deals with the analysis of the aggregation processes of a colloidal silica suspension destabilized by addition of salt under different flows: a turbulent flow performed in a stirred tank, a pure shear flow created thanks to a Couette geometry and an extensional flow obtained in a four-roll mill (Taylor cell). During the aggregation process, the silica suspensions behave as shear-thinning fluids and the variation of their apparent viscosity can be related to the evolution of the size distribution of the aggregates in the suspension. Pure shear and turbulent flows at an equivalent strain rate exhibit almost the same behaviour. The viscosity and the aggregate size decrease with the shear rate. On the contrary, the apparent viscosity and the aggregate size distributions were not very sensitive to a change of an extensional constraint within the considered range. Indeed, although aggregates obtained in the Taylor cell were bigger than in the Couette cell, the apparent viscosity was higher in the latter case. Different aggregate structures, characterized by their fractal dimension, were finally predicted depending on the hydrodynamic nature of the main flow under which they were produced

The Perfect Balance: Combining Global and Local Strategies for Effective International Public Relations

This paper discusses the benefits of using a combination of global and local public relations tactics to optimize global marketing activities and reach target publics. It also compares various cultures and public relations practices around the world, and offers examples of international public relations campaigns that have successfully reached their target markets by incorporating global strategies with cultural twists that are specifically tailored to local communities. In today’s progressively more globalized world, where people are connecting more quickly than ever before, it is vital that organizations know how to communicate correctly. While many theorists prefer either global strategies or local strategies, this paper argues that organizations should be combining global and local public relations strategies to communicate with their worldwide publics. My methodology for obtaining this information consisted of interviews and extensive research of books, articles, blogs, interviews and case studies. I conducted over 40 literature reviews, comparing and contrasting various public relations theories. I also spoke with public relations professionals around the world to gain insight into their day-to-day experiences with global campaigns. My Capstone findings demonstrate that global campaigns with localized tactics that cater to specific target groups are the most effective way to reach a broad market and attract a loyal base of consumers. Public relations practitioners must understand the markets in which their clients want to do business as well as how their target audiences receive information. Effective public relations can boost sales and build trust among an organization’s stakeholders

Multiple morbidity and moral identity in mid-life: accounts of chronic illness and the place of the GP consultation in overall management strategies

This study was conceived against the backdrop of academic and medically based discussions about inappropriate use of General Practice, in the context of an overburdened and under resourced National Health Service. Both frequent and less frequent consulters prioritised dilemmas around functional ability, reporting attempts to control illness, and resist loss of normal life and familiar selves. Despite our attempts to sample frequent and less frequent users with similar levels of morbidity in the more detailed qualitative interviews the frequent consulters conveyed more severe illness, which limited their lives and challenged their coherent and moral identities. Cultural, structural and social factors combined to influence health actions; personal troubles were linked to public matters. The accounts revealed how the severity of condition combined with social position influenced the place of the GP consultation in overall management strategies. Women and men communicated common problems, but also discussed experiences which were related to their traditional family roles. Housing status was not revealed as significant, in the context of a complex combination of micro and macro influences on experience. In the frequent consulters’ accounts the role of the GP was magnified in lives diminished and disrupted by chronic illness, whereas the less frequent consulters’ accounts presented a more peripheral role for their GP. Using Bourdieu’s central concepts, the GP was conceptualised as a ‘dispenser of capital’. Throughout, all of the participants described the hard work of illness management, and they used the accounts to display their moral competence. The medical encounter was conveyed against a moral backdrop, and this may have had implications for frequency of consulting. Overall, the symbolic and physical burden of chronic illness was highlighted

A Meta-Analysis of Self-Regulated Learning Interventions and Learning Outcomes in Higher Education E-Learning Environments

Through a systematic review of the literature, 36 empirical studies regarding self-regulated learning (SRL) interventions and learning outcomes in higher education e-learning environments were identified and meta-analyzed using15 years of data. Frequently studied interventions included providing SRL scaffolding, SRL training, or SRL training and scaffolding either as a precursor or as part of the learning environment or both. Scaffolding interventions were embedded as part of the learning environment and designed to guide learners to perform cognitive and metacognitive strategies such as task analysis, goal setting, and reflection during a learning activity. Training interventions, by contrast, involved instruction in the use of SRL strategies prior to beginning a learning activity, course or program. In some studies, both training and scaffolding SRL interventions were implemented. Information about the types of SRLinterventions including the means of measuring learning outcomes (more or less complex), instructional design characteristics and learning outcomes data for calculating effect sizes were extracted for the purposes of conducting this meta-analysis

(VIDEO) Latino Immigration and Chronic Disease: A Critical Analysis of Socioeconomic and Psychological Mediators

A critical analysis of chronic disease among Latino immigrants demonstrates the interplay between the individual, socioeconomic, and pathophysiological mediators of disease. To identify the major factors involved, a conceptual framework was developed to explain the relationship between Latino immigration to the US and the manifestation of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Mediating factors include: self-efficacy, stress, social support, access to healthcare, pathophysiological risk factors and the familial and cultural environment. As the Latino population is the fastest growing and largest minority group in America, increased support among the identified factors will target interventions with broad health and economic implications for the entire nation. Objective: Latinos are the largest minority group in the United States and are anticipated to represent 25% of the population by 2050. Latinos as a whole collectively experience a disproportionate burden of poverty and poor health outcomes, when compared to the rest of the national population. A heavy burden of disease among the largest minority group in America creates a compelling argument for resource application and investment to reduce the overall impending strain on an already strained healthcare system. The specific aim of the critical analysis was to development a conceptual framework clarifying the root causes and associated factors that contribute to Latino immigrant health. Creating a robust conceptual framework contributes to future academia and builds a base and springboard for future research. Doing so ultimately facilitates the development of program plans and grant proposals for future interested researchers and community clinics, as they develop calls for action and plan interventions and programs. By creating a comprehensive and thorough conceptual framework via critical analysis, the research contributes to the larger discussion of immigrant health. It strengthens and validates the argument that a further investment of resources, time and passion among researchers is needed to improve immigrant health outcomes. The overarching goal is for the critical analysis to be fundamentally useful for community clinics to develop public health programs, provide concrete evidence, and direct their efforts to improve Latino immigrant health. Methods: The main procedure for reviewing literature and conducting the critical analysis involves searching online journals. The primary research journals and search platforms used include: Google Scholar, PubMed, Medline, JSTOR, Scientific American, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, SAGE Journals, Springer, NCBI and the Lancet. The literature review was conducted with strict research criteria. Criteria include publication data range, study design type, search terms, and inclusion and exclusion criteria. The inclusion and exclusion criteria comprise the most critical component of critical analysis. Having strict definitions of what articles can be included will facilitate data collection, analysis, and the final write up. Specific research criteria will guide the literature review and analysis. Research criteria concerns specifications for data range, study design, search terms, inclusion/exclusion criteria and databases used. Data Range Limitations: The data range was limited to publications from 1990-present, emphasizing publications from 2008 to the present. Older articles, prior to 2008, may be used to develop baseline data. Study Design Limitations: The study designs of analyzed research papers include: longitudinal case-control or cohort studies. The longitudinal observational studies can be used for socioeconomic, psychological, behavioral, biological and environmental factors. Participant samples must be: of Latino or Hispanic backgrounds, immigrants or first-generation families, and have chronic health conditions, such as Type II diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease. Search terms: diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, chronic disease, immigrant, Latino, hormonal imbalance, insulin, glucagon, inflammation, diabetic nephropathy/retinopathy, socioeconomic status, poverty, broken window syndrome, environment, stress, chronic stress, depression Studies eligible for inclusion had to meet the following selection criteria: - Exposure variable: social, economic, or behavioral experiences of Latino or Hispanic patients - Outcome variable: chronic disease - Designed as a longitudinal case-control or cohort study - Community or population based Selection of Literature The primary literature collection and review yielded 112 articles pertaining to the specific search criteria. After title and abstract review, 63 were selected for relevancy. Full text evaluation and data collection yielded 46 articles. 40 papers were finally selected, after excluding 6 for insufficient sample size, data, or being incomplete longitudinal studies. Results: Critical analysis of the selected literature gave evidence of an interconnected relationship among individual and socioeconomic factors and the pathophysiology of diabetes and CVD. INDIVIDUAL FACTORS - Race and Ethnicity: Race and ethnicity classification is a primary measure influencing a person’s world-view and interaction with society or health problems. Identifying as Latino affects the lived experience of disease and how Latinos in the US navigate chronic disease control, maintenance, and prevention. Understanding chronic disease among Latinos in the US poses significant challenges. - Acculturation and Self-Efficacy: Acculturation, or the process of social and psychological change from blending native and host cultures, has been used as a measurement of immigrant adaptation status Indicative of language and culture adoption, acculturation level is associated with depression, socioeconomic standing, education, social isolation and health care navigation. Less fluent linguistic capabilities may prevent opportunities for financial or socioeconomic advancement, by inhibiting successful negotiation of educational or job opportunities. Language barriers particularly impair immigrant advancement, promoting social isolation and preventing integration into the dominant host culture. Less acculturated immigrants face more barriers to health care, are less likely to have health insurance, and may not be educated about chronic disease risk factors compared to their more acculturated counterparts. - Personal Stressors: Immigrants experience a myriad of personal stressors from both the immigration process and cultural assimilation. The analysis of personal stress among US Latinos indicated a consistent association with increased chronic stress, CVD and major CVD risk factors, such as diabetes and smoking. Conclusion: The conceptual framework explains the relationship between Latino immigration to the US and the manifestation of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. By identifying the unique components that contribute to the lived disease experience of Latinos, public health interventions and community programs may target potential areas of the acculturation experience to improve immigrant health. If acculturation can be reframed as a more positive experience, with adoption of healthier activities, then minority and national health overall may improve

The alphorn in western art music : a cultural and historical study

To the modern audience, the visual and aural qualities of the alphorn are quintessentially evocative of the Swiss Alps. While the alphorn has been used both literally and metaphorically by many Western art composers in works written for the concert hall, the theatre, the church and the salon to evoke this quality, this phenomenon has been neither investigated in critical musicology nor subjected to historical scrutiny. In this thesis, I seek to identify those appearances, discuss their significance and site them in their historical and cultural background.There will be an introductory examination of the use of the alphorn in both mountainous and non-mountainous landscapes in order to assess to what a composer might refer. This will then inform an exploration of how a composer may have become aware of the acoustic characteristics of the alphorn, why a composer might have chosen to incorporate an alphorn or alphorn-suggestive material in a composition and upon what grounds he may have believed that his audience should understand such a reference.Many examples of citations will then be discussed and their historical and cultural contexts examined in order to determine the relevance of this material to the anticipated audience. The music examined will span from the eighteenth century to the present day. It is primarily music written in central Europe; in addition there is discussion of the use of the alphorn in the UK and there will be references to alphorn-inspired material across the globe.The influence of modern experimental music, rock music and brass techniques on both formal composed repertoire for the alphorn and on alphorn playing in Switzerland will be investigated in brief. Finally some assessment is given as to the overall significance of the alphorn in composed repertoire and the cross-fertilisation of influences that have blurred the boundaries between art music and the traditional music of the instrument as it is found in Switzerland today