Regulation, institutions, and commitment : privatization and regulation in the Argentine telecommunications sector

In 1990, Argentina privatized its state-owned telephone company, ENTel. Shifting telecommunications to the private sector was one of the first actions taken under the reform program of the new president, Carlos Saul Menem. In privatizing ENTel, the government focused on privatization as a way of establishing its reform credentials. Establishing a post-privatization regulatory regime was given lower priority. A well-defined regulatory regime was not in place before the sale, but privatization took place nonetheless. The authors find that despite the delay in implementing a regulatory regime, ENTel's privatization appears to have had a net positive impact, both on Argentina's reputation and on welfare. The reform program had its own virtuous cycle, creating and reinforcing credibility in the short run. But the neglect of the regulatory regime appears to have been costly in terms of the sale price that the government received and the tariff levels that investors demanded. In the long run, this neglect, if it persists, may have a negative impact on the telecommunications sector's performance. Regulation plays an important role in the private provision of telecommunications. Many argue that competition should be limited to allow economies of scale. But limited competition can lead to abuses of monopoly power and to demands from customers and suppliers for a regulatory regime to protect them from such abuses. In addition, the sector requires high sunk costs and asset specificity and the assets'owners are particularly exposed to the risks of expropriation - either outright (through nationalization) or gradual (through service requirements or low tariffs). A stable, credible regulatory environment reduces the risk of investment in this sector and reduces the expected rate of return that private investors would require to participate. Establishing a stable, credible regulatory regime before privatization increases the value of a privatized telecommunications firm to potential purchasers by reducing the risk associated with the purchase. This in turn affects the price generated by the selling government. By failing to establish such a regime in advance, the Argentine government received a lower sale price and increased the probability that buyers would capture windfall profits.ICT Policy and Strategies,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Parliamentary Government,National Governance

A phenomenological study of the experience of the spouse of a heart transplant recipient

Heart transplantation is an increasingly common treatment for end-stage heart disease and often involves extended periods of waiting for the transplant, recovering from the surgery, and life changes related to compliance with subsequent perennial medical follow-up and treatment. Current research readily documents increasing success in cardiac transplantation and in the long-term quality of life of recipients.Relatively few studies, however, have explored the impact of this critical life event on the spouse and/or children of the transplant recipient.The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experience of spouses of heart transplant recipients. The study used a phenomenological design to describe the structure of the experience as related by seven female participants. Data was collected through phenomenological interviews with audio-recording and verbatim transcription of the audiotapes. Analysis of the transcripts was done both individually by the researcher and within a phenomenology research group.The thematic structure derived from data analysis describes the spouse\u27s experience in the contexts of time and other people. Four major, interrelated themes emerged within this context: Death/Life, Vigilance, Change, and Gift. Findings are discussed in relation to nursing practice, education, and research

Alien Registration- Hill, Alice M. (Presque Isle, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/33531/thumbnail.jp

Alien Registration- Hill, Alice V. (Portland, Cumberland County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/23936/thumbnail.jp

Community College Students\u27 Perceptions of Effective Communication in Online Learning

This quantitative research project analyzed the application of instructional communication tools and techniques used by community college students to determine how they perceive communication in their online classes. Online students from a community college participated in this study by completing an electronic survey. Data analysis revealed that these participating students communicated primarily through written online communication tools such as posting of class notes, email, and discussions. Students lack exposure to more innovative communication tools such as teacher-made audio and video presentations or live conversations and demonstrations through the use of Wimba or other tools, which are readily available in the robust course management systems today. To produce more engaged and active learning experiences, online instructors need to employ a variety of communication tools to accommodate all learning styles. Participants of this study do not perceive the effectiveness of their online communication to be as effective as communication in their traditional classes. Instructors cannot decrease transactional distance if they do not effectively utilize online communication tools to create meaningful interactions. Results also showed a strong correlation between communication and satisfaction levels of students regarding online classes. Students in this study indicated more satisfaction toward online classes when effective communication maintained a strong presence. The study results also indicated that students identified effective communication as a major factor of motivation in completing an online class. Students reported communication-related barriers such as lack of community interaction, delayed responses from instructors, and an inhuman feel to the online experience. Recommendations for practice included the following: (1) provide additional training for instructors on the effective uses of communication tools in online classes; (2) implement a mentoring program that pairs beginning or struggling online instructors with exemplary online instructors; and (3) develop a policy on virtual office hours that allows online instructors to schedule office hours for their online students outside of their traditional working hours. Virtual office hours allow students and instructors more opportunities for communication

Nutrient and Food Group Intakes of Low-Income Pregnant Women by Race/Ethnicity

In an exploratory study, a convenience sample of 148 pregnant women was recruited from a WIC clinic in the southeast region of the U.S. to: 1) Examine and compare daily nutrient and food group intakes of WIC pregnant women to national guidelines, and; 2) Determine racial/ethnic differences in nutrient and food group intakes among WIC pregnant women. Women were selected for the study if they were: ≥ 18 y, in 2nd trimester of pregnancy, and if they spoke English or Spanish as a first language. Upon recruitment, participants were interviewed to collect information on their socio-demographics, including race/ethnicity. Additionally, 24-h diet recalls were conducted to collect information on average nutrient and food groups intakes of participants during pregnancy. Of the total participants, more than half self-identified as African American (59%), while the remaining reported being Hispanic (20%) and non-Hispanic White (22%). For nutrient intakes, women consumed folate, iron, and potassium below recommended amounts. In contrast, sodium was consumed above the recommendations for pregnancy. For food groups, intake of fruits and whole grains was limited. In comparison by race/ethnicity, specifically it was found that African American women were consuming higher amounts of carbohydrates, but lower amounts of potassium, vitamin A, and fiber in reference to non-minority group of non-Hispanic Whites. While, Hispanic women were consuming lower amounts of added sugar and animal protein than non-Hispanic Whites. Findings highlight the importance of prenatal nutrition education programs and interventions to improve dietary habits of low-income, racial/ethnic minority women. Inter-racial and ethnic differences exist in dietary intake patterns among low-income pregnant women, with African American women being at an increased risk for poor dietary habits and inability to meet nutrient requirements for pregnancy

Intravital Imaging of Neocortical Heterotopia Reveals Aberrant Axonal Pathfinding and Myelination around Ectopic Neurons

Neocortical heterotopia consist of ectopic neuronal clusters that are frequently found in individuals with cognitive disability and epilepsy. However, their pathogenesis remains poorly understood due in part to a lack of tractable animal models. We have developed an inducible model of focal cortical heterotopia that enables their precise spatiotemporal control and high-resolution optical imaging in live mice. Here, we report that heterotopia are associated with striking patterns of circumferentially projecting axons and increased myelination around neuronal clusters. Despite their aberrant axonal patterns, in vivo calcium imaging revealed that heterotopic neurons remain functionally connected to other brain regions, highlighting their potential to influence global neural networks. These aberrant patterns only form when heterotopia are induced during a critical embryonic temporal window, but not in early postnatal development. Our model provides a new way to investigate heterotopia formation in vivo and reveals features suggesting the existence of developmentally modulated, neuron-derived axon guidance and myelination factors

Rapid Assessment of Hydrologic Controls on Mountain Water Resources

The water stored in mountain snowpacks and glaciers provides an important water resource, seeding river systems that serve major populations centers and globally important ecosystems downstream. Mountain river systems are facing potential hydrologic changes imposed from a warming climate and hundreds of recent hydropower development proposals. The melt-dominated hydrologic regimes of mountain river systems are prone to a gradual shift due to change imposed by increasing temperatures as glacier masses decline and snowpack accumulation is altered, whereas dam development in remote mountain basins would impose a more abrupt transformation. Since these river systems play an important role in water supply and provide key ecosystem services, it is important to clarify their governing hydrologic processes. Despite their high societal value, we know little about many remote mountain rivers and they are notoriously data scarce. To advance our understanding of remote mountain hydrologic processes over regional scales, this research develops a hybrid field-satellite methodology called Rapid Hydro Assessment (RHA) for data scarce mountain regions facing imminent change. This method 1) clarifies the role of climate-sensitive snow and ice source waters to river flow and 2) characterizes regional hydrologic controls within a study timescale of months-to-years, not decades. RHA uses targeted water chemistry and isotope data to elicit hydrologic insights not available from, but complemented by, remote sensing imagery. RHA methodology is initially informed by headwater scale streamflow separation work at the Niwot Ridge Long Term Ecological Research site in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, and is further developed via two case studies in Kyrgyzstan&rsquo;s Tien Shan mountains and in the Peruvian Andes. Results of the case studies demonstrate the complex and varied role of meltwater across scales and sites. Meltwater plays a critical role in surface flow and groundwater recharge in arid mountain areas like Colorado and Central Asia where snow makes up the vast majority of inputs. In contrast, in the more hydro-climatically variable Andes and Amazon, melt&rsquo;s role is less directly important to river flow. High storage capacity in alpine wetlands provides a reservoir for wet season rain that appears to source baseflow through the dry season, and Amazon moisture systems deliver lower lying tributaries with major rain inputs. The importance of melt in the Andes is instead indirectly connected to river flow, with the diminishing extent (size) of alpine wetland reservoirs connected to declining melt inputs as tropical glaciers melt out. The case studies demonstrate the ability for the overarching RHA framework to be applied across diverse sites with varying levels of data availability, field access, sampling configurations and mixing model techniques. This work serves as an example of the creative approaches needed to address mountain hydrologic knowledge gaps that will allow us to better anticipate future water vulnerabilities, and to inform holistic, basin-wide development strategies.</p

Annual Report of Alice S. Hill, Home Demonstration Agent, Pinal County, Arizona, September 23, 1949 to November 30, 1949

Bound typescripts of agents reports, including photographs, charts, clippings, and examples of publications, 1948 to 1949. Also includes statistical summaries for 1948-49.This material from the University of Arizona Agricultural Extension Service is made available by University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections. Contact us at [email protected], or (520) 621-6423