Consumer Learning, Connectionism and Hayek's Theoretical Legacy

This paper considers using Hayek's theory of knowledge as a theoretical framework for interpreting consumer learning processes. The paper begins with an analysis of Hayek's theory of knowledge, related to his criticism of the general economic equilibrium theory, then illustrates how Hayek's approach is profoundly connectionist and is not at odds with the methods of the neural nets. Moreover, the link detectable between Hayek's approach to learning and Simon's approach to bounded rationality is illustrated. Finally, it is demonstrated that Hayek's approach is suitable for representing the procedures used by enterprises in strategies for convincing customers.Information; Knowledge; Learning; Friedrich Hayek

Cognitive Constraints and Reversibility of International Economic Institutions. The Case of the European Monetary System

This paper builds on the case study of the birth and death of the fixed exchange rate system in Western Europe, prior to the launch of the Euro. The analysis of this case aims to highlight how "new" international economic institutions may suffer the processes of "preference reversals" and thereby implode. De facto, the paper focuses on the cognitive factors that are deemed to have played an important role in determining the originating decision-making processes in favour of a system of fixed exchange rates and, then, in determining the abandonment of that system. After briefly explaining events such as the "currency snake" and the "European Monetary System" (EMS), the paper highlights how processes of this nature are conditional on the extent of the limits of rationality of the decision-making agents, with the consequence of producing cognitive imbalances. These imbalances are determined by the "fuzziness" with which agents evaluate not only opposing objectives, in particular those of employment and the balance of payments, but especially objectives achievable in an intertemporal dimension (Walliser, 2008: ch. 4). In fact, we illustrate how the actual inflationary differentials between the countries concerned determine the imbalances in the balances of payments. We also highlight how the policies to bring inflation under control can determine changes in the electorate in the preferences defined in the area of economic policies. The collapse of the monetary snake and the European Monetary System is representative of such a change in preferences. The conceptual framework of analysis used is that of temporary equilibria.

Twin Pregnancy in a Woman with Uterus Didelphys

Uterus didelphys is one of the congenital uterine anomalies due to defective medial fusion of mullerian ducts. This anomaly is known to have poor reproductive outcome and women with this condition often have to be treated for infertility. Multiple gestation is rare with this condition. An 18 years old primigravida presenting with threatened abortion at eight weeks, was found to have uterus didelphys. She was managed conservatively, aborted one of the fetuses at 16weeks of gestation, and went till term to deliver a healthy baby by cesarean section

MENINGKATKAN PENGENALAN KONSEP SAINS SEDERHANA MELALUI MEDIA MAGNET DI KELOMPOK BERMAIN PERMATA BUNDA DESA KALEN KECAMATAN DLANGGU KABUPATEN MOJOKERTO

Pembelajaran sains anak dalam upaya menumbuhkan kemampuan berpikir sangat memerlukan peran serta dari para pendidik baik orang tua maupun guru. Namun pada kenyataannya, untuk mengembangkan kemampuan anak tentang menyebutkan benda-benda yang ditarik dan tidak ditarik magnet masih mengalami kesulitan, metode yang digunakan untuk menarik perhatian anak untuk pembelajaran sains adalah melalui media magnet. Guru harus punya strategi yang menarik bagi anak, yaitu dengan melibatkan langsung mencari benda-benda yang dapat ditarik dan tidak dapat ditarik oleh magnet pada kegiatan pembelajaran sains. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk meningkatkan kemampuan sains dengan menggunakan media magnet.  Penelitian ini menggunakan penelitian tindakan kelas yang dirancang dalam siklus berulang. Disetiap siklus terdiri atas empat tahap, yaitu perencanaan, pelaksanaan tindakan, observasi dan refleksi. Subjek pada penelitian ini adalah anak kelompok bermain Permata Bunda Kalen, Dlanggu, Mojokerto yang terdiri dari 8 anak laki-laki dan 12 anak perempuan. Tehnik pengumpulan data menggunakan observasi dan dokumentasi, sedangkan analisis datanya menggunakan statistik deskriptif. Berdasarkan hasil analisis data peningkatan kemampuan sains pada siklus I diperoleh hasil 60%,karena kriteria pencapaian tingkat perkembangan anak belum tercapai, maka penelitian berlanjut pada siklus II. Pada siklus II diperoleh hasil peningkatan kemampuan pengenalan sains mencapai 85%. Berdasarkan hasil analisis data pada siklus II maka dapat disimpulkan bahwa media magnet dapat meningkatkan pengenalan konsep sains pada kelompok bermain Permata Bunda Kalen, Mojokerto.Kata Kunci : Sains, Media Magnet ABSTRACTScience learning for children in an effort to cultivate the ability to think really requires the participation of educators both parents and teachers. The fact, to develop the ability of the child mentioned objects drawn and not drawn magnets having difficully. This is a problem that must be solved by the teacher, so that at the time of their science lessons, children are interested, focused, serious and concentrate fully, the teacher must have a strategy that appeals to children, is to involve a direct search for objects that can be drawn and can not be withdrawn by the magnets on science learning activities. The purpose research is to improve the science capability by using magnetic media. In this study using action research designed to cycle repeated. In each cycle consists of four stages, namely planning, action, observation and reflection. Subjects in this study were children playing Permata Bunda group Kalen, Dlanggu, Mojokerto which consisted of 8 boys and 12 girls. Data collection techniques, consis of observation and documentation, while data analysis using descriptive statistics. Base on the analysis of data science capacity building in the first cycle of data obtained 60%, This suggests the study of this class action have not been successful, so the research continues on the second cycle. In the second cycle the data obtained about upgrading the introduction of science, reaching 85%. Base on the data analysis of the second cycle of the target is reached and the study declared successful. Moreover, it can be concluded that the magnetic media can enhance the introduction of scientific concepts in group play Permata Bunda Kalen, Mojokerto.Keywords : Science , Magnet Medium   Meningkatkan Pengenalan Konsep Sains sederhana Melal

Safe abortion – Still a neglected scenario: A study of septic abortions in a tertiary hospital of Rural India

Background and Aims: In spite abortion has been legalized in India over three decades, unsafe abortion continues to be a significant contributor of maternal mortality and morbidity. The aim of the present study is to assess the magnitude of septic abortion in a tertiary care hospital over a period of three years with a special emphasis on maternal mortality and morbidity and various surgical complications. Settings and Design: Retrospective study of patients who were admitted with unsafe abortions over a three year period from 2005 to 2008 in a tertiary teaching Hospital of Rural India. Materials and Methods: Hospital records of the patients who were admitted with unsafe abortion in three years (2005-2008) were reviewed to evaluate the demographic and clinical profile in relation to age, parity, marital status, indication of abortion , the methods of abortion ,qualification of abortion provider complications and maternal mortality. Results: Unsafe abortion constitutes 11.6% ( n=132) of total abortion cases admitted over 3 years. Majority of women (70.45%) were in their thirties, married (89%).Sixty percent wanted abortion for birth spacing. Abortion methods included various primitive methods (30%) but majority by dilatation and evacuation. About 60% of abortionists were unqualified. Majority of women admitted with serious complications like peritonitis (70%), visceral injuries (60%), hemorrhagic and septic shock, renal failure (17.4%), and life threatening conditions like DIC, hepatic failure and encephalopathy. A total of 231 women died of unsafe abortion making it 12.55% of total maternal mortality in our institution. Out of 73 women requiring laparotomy, 22% were done within 24 hours of admission and majority (49%) were performed beyond 24-48 hours. Interestingly no women died when early aggressive surgery was done. Conclusion: The present study confirms that unsafe abortion is a great neglected health care problem leading to a considerable loss of maternal lives. Education and accessibility of contra caption, readily available, quality abortion services by trained abortion providers remain the key to limit mortality and morbidity arising from unsafe abortion

Column-to-Beam Moment Capacity Ratio of Framed Building

Capacity design philosophy is the basis of behind the strong column weak beam concept for the improvement of earthquake resistant design.Damages at some in some pre-determined structural members may allowed in the earthquake-resistant design philosophy in order to have a good global behaviour of the building.In order to ensure a favorable failure mode,design codes recommend minimum value ofMoment Capacity Ratio(MCR)which is defined as the ratio of summation of column moment capacity to summation of beam moment capacity at a particular beam-column joint.During cyclic earthquake loading column experience a range of axial force due to various combinations of load,and unlike beam, column does not have a unique moment capacity.That makes the calculation of MCR cumbersome.There are discrepancies among the major international codes with regard to MCR.Indian standard codes for design of RC framed buildings are silent on this aspect.Draft 13920(2014)code suggests a value of MCR similar to other international codes without proper theoretical basis.Hence a rational study is required on the values of MCR.A computationally attractive procedure for calculating flexural capacity of column developed for determining MCR at a beam-column joint.To reach at an appropriate and acceptable MCR for capacity design of RC framed building reliability based approach is done.This research deals with the fragility and reliability analysis of four storey RC frames designed using various values of MCR ranging from 1.0 to 3.2. The RC frames are designed as per IS 1893(2002)for all seismic zones.Hazard curves required of various seismic location in India(like zone II, III, IV and V)has been selected from National Disaster Management Authority,Government of India. Seismic risk assessment of all the designed buildings is conducted and based on the achieved Reliability Index and the Target Reliability Index minimum value of MCR is suggested

A social realist analysis of participation in academic professional development for the integration of digital technologies in higher education

The introduction of digital technologies at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), in keeping with higher education institutions globally, has had a significant impact on the learning environment at the institution. Despite this the anticipated demand for academic professional development (APD) did not materialise at DUT. Using Margaret Archer’s Realist Social Theory (1995) this single-institution case study offers a critical examination of cultural, structural and agential conditions that enable and constrain academic professional development (APD) for the integration of digital technologies in teaching–learning interactions at a higher education institution in South Africa. Archer’s (1995) morphogenetic approach enabled an investigation of the interface between the conditions encountered by the academics (at macro, meso and micro levels), in order to theorise about the material, ideational and agential conditions that obtained and which in turn influenced the decision to participate or not participate in the APD programmes. This longitudinal study from 2012 until 2016 traced the APD related changes following the decision to promote the implementation of digital technologies in teaching–learning interactions as an institutional imperative. The theoretical framework allowed for an examination of the interpretation of the conditions experienced by academics, either as compatible or contradictory to their individual or collective concerns. It further provided an insight into their evaluation of the legitimacy and value of the APD programmes. The study examined the impact of the provision of resources for APD on the nature of the use of digital technologies in teaching–learning interactions at the site of the case study, the Durban University of Technology in South Africa. The analysis of academic reactions to the changes instituted at both the meso (institutional) and micro (academic professional development) levels revealed that the changes produced conditions that resulted in limited morphogenesis. In particular, it seems that the disruption brought about by the introduction of the technology imperative was accompanied by conditions resulting in further diversification of academic capacities at the institution. This study advances concrete propositions about the conditions that influenced the APD related responses of the academics to the institutionalisation of e-Learning. The research adds to knowledge through insights into the process theory approach to causation, which recognises that structures, mechanisms and events produce unique effects and that the same mechanisms at times produce different events. This study argues that understanding what underlies a certain course of events may enable informed interventions to create better correspondences between APD and the introduction of digital technologies in higher education. Further, this study has generated insights into the importance of taking into consideration the discipline-related knowledge structures in the design and provision of academic development programmes. It is proposed that the incorporation of organising principles of knowledge practices within the academic professional development programme design would earn value and legitimacy for the programme, and promote participation by academics in digital technology-related academic professional development. In summary, the research contributes to an understanding of why it has been that, even with many first order barriers – such as digital access and infrastructural limitations – reduced, the uptake of digital technologies and participation in related academic professional development programmes by academics in higher education has yet to initiate a move beyond doing what is familiar in a digitally-mediated learning environment

Obstacles in the Utilisation of Maternal Health Care Services in Murarai-II C.D. Block, Birbhum District, West Bengal, India

Improving maternal health was one of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and now it is one of the targets of 17 point Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The utilisation of Maternal Health Care Services (MHCSs) is a complex phenomenon and it is influenced by several factors, like-health care seeking behaviour of the cohorts belonging to different socio-economic and cultural background, distance of the facility centres, type and conditions of the roads including undulating surface, transportation cost, type and availability of transportation mode along with the factors related to the accountability and surveillances of the health care services. Therefore, clear understanding and discussion is needed to draw an association between MHCSs and its influential factors. The objectives of the study are to estimate the impact of accessibility on the underserved status of MHCSs and on the utilisation of MHCSs through paucity index. In addition, the study aims to evaluate the causal relationships between underserved situation and obstacle score with the paucity index of MHCS utilisation.The empirical observation unfolds that the provision and utilisation of MHCSs are strongly dependent on accessibility and distance. The situation is aggravating for proper delivery of services, which is responsible for the increasing obstacle score and paucity index, especially in remote sub- centres of Murarai-II C.D. Block of Birbhum District.Â

Impact of Distance in the Provision of Maternal Health Care Services and Its Accountability in Murarai-II Block, Birbhum District

The maternal health issue was a part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, Target-5). Now it has been incorporated into Target-3 of 17 points Sustainable Development Goal-2030, declared by the United Nations, 2015. In India, about 50% of newborn deaths can be reduced by taking good care of the mother during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum period. This requires timely, well-equipped healthcare by trained providers, along with emergency transportation for referral obstetric emergency. Governments need to ensure physicians in the rural underserved areas. The utilisation of maternal healthcare services (MHCSs) depends on both the availability and accessibility of services along with accountability.This study is based on an empirical retrospective survey, also called a historic study, to evaluate the influences of distance on the provision of maternal health services and on its accountability in Murarai-II block, Birbhum District. The major objective of the study is to identify the influence of distance on the provision and accountability of the overall MHCSs. The investigation has found that there is a strong inverse relationship (-0.75) between accessibility index and accountability score with p-value = <0.05, where the direct connectivity index seem to have no direct influence on the accountability score (as the ‘r’ is 0.56 and p-value= >0.05). Tracking of pregnant women, identification of high risk pregnancy and timely Postnatal Care (PNC) have become the dominant factors of the maternal healthcare services in the first Principal Component Analysis (PCA), explaining 49.67% of the accountability system. Overall, institutional barriers to accessibility are identified as important constraints behind lesser accountability of the services, preventing the anticipated benefit. This study highlights the critical areas where maternal healthcare services are lacking. The analysis has highlighted the importance of physical access to health services in shaping the provision of maternal healthcare services.Drawing on empirical observations of operation of public distribution system in different states of India, the paper constructs a preliminary game theoretic model. It argues that an effective public distribution must be as universal as possible, delivery mechanism of fair price shops should be reformed, they should be make them commercially viable and that special attention should be paid to PDS at times of high food inflation