Book review: Sexuality and social justice in Africa: rethinking homophobia and forging resistance

"Sexuality and Social Justice in Africa: Rethinking Homophobia and Forging Resistance." Marc Epprecht. Zed Books. July 2013. --- The persecution of people in Africa on the basis of their homosexual orientation has recently received considerable coverage in the media. However, much of the analysis thus far has been highly critical of African leadership and culture without considering local nuances, historical factors and external influences that are contributing to the problem. In this book, based on pioneering research on the history of homosexualities and engagement with current LGBTI activism, Marc Epprecht aims to provide a sympathetic overview of the issues at play. Clearly written and richly annotated, the book will prove to be a useful guide for academics, social workers, and activists, writes Jia Hui Lee

User behaviors toward mobile video adoption in Taiwan: A qualitative study

This study was designed to examine users' usage behaviors toward mobile video adoption in Taiwan. A modified UTAUT (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology) model was designed to be the theory basis to develop questionnaires and open-ended questions. Data were gathered from six participants from iOS and Android users, two experts, and one focus group with five members. The study was conducted from February to April, 2011. The findings in this study supported those in the literature review: Effort Expectancy and Perceived Playfulness factors had positive influence to users' usage behaviors. Facilitating Conditions and Performance expectancy also had positive effect to users' usage behaviors toward mobile video app adoption. Network quality issue was the concern and should be added in the model. Moreover, several implications and suggestions for mobile video app adoption were discussed in the study. --mobile video,Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model (UTAUT),mobile video adoption,Taiwan

Expected Return of Housing and Mortgage Termination

The prepayment risk of adjustable rate mortgages, unlike that of fixed rate mortgages, greatly depends on the decision of mortgagors to move. Given that housing also serves as an investment asset for the owner, it is hypothesised that the expected capital returns of housing are likely to affect his decision to move and hence, prepay. This paper aims to test the capital gains hypothesis using Singapore’s housing market as a case study. In addition, this paper also explores how the expected returns from alternative types of housing affect the decision of households to move/prepay. The expected returns of housing are computed in accordance with the definitions of the Rational Expectation Hypothesis, Adaptive Expectation Hypothesis, and Exogenous Expectation Hypothesis, which are well established in macroeconomic literature and the explanation of cycles. The results showed that the expected returns of public housing formed under the assumptions of rational and adaptive expectation hypothesis are significant. The rational expected return for private housing, however, does not have a significant relationship with the decision of mortgagors to move/prepay, although the adapted expected return for private housing is not significantly related to the households’ length of stay.Expected Returns, Prepayment

Optimal Estimation of a Classical Force with a Damped Oscillator in the non-Markovian Bath

We solve the optimal quantum limit of probing a classical force exactly by a damped oscillator initially prepared in the factorized squeezed state. The memory effects of the thermal bath on the oscillator evolution are investigated. We show that the optimal force sensitivity obtained by the quantum estimation theory approaches to zero for the non-Markovian bath, whereas approaches to a finite non-zero value for the Markovian bath as the energy of the damped oscillator goes to infinity.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure