NP would like to meet GF: A Welsh Adjectival Construction

In this article we examine a Welsh adjectival construction which superficially looks simple but on closer examination proves to be somewhat challenging. The construction contains an NP constituent whose GF status is far from clear. We consider various analyses of this NP, as SUBJ, OBJ, and ADJ, and suggest that on balance the evidence favours the OBJ analysis. Beyond the purely parochial Welsh or Celtic interest, it may provide a useful case study of how difficult it is to determine the correct identification of grammatical functions beyond core cases

Societal Transformation through the Sharing Economy: An example of Trust and Risk on Couchsurfing (pretest)

Societal transformation through contemporary online platforms fosters the change of consumption habits. In this regard, sharing economy platforms are changing the hospitality industry by attracting predominately the millennials generation through modern technologies and innovative business models. The given study examines the non-monetary hospitality platform Couchsurfing. In this regard, the authors investigate the influence of trust and perceived risk on the consumers’ intention to engage in a particular sharing activity. The authors further separate intermediary and users from each other to investigate the distinct influence of the two-sided market mechanisms on the consumers’ intention. This study follows a quantitative approach and employs survey data of over 200 consumers. In view of that, the authors conduct an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis in order prepare structural equation modeling for an extended study

What Trust means in the Sharing Economy: A provider perspective on Airbnb.com

Information and communication technology has fostered the rise of the sharing economy, enabling individuals to share excess capacity. In this paper, we focus on Airbnb.com, which is among the most prominent examples of the sharing economy. We take the perspective of an accommodation provider and investigate the concept of trust, which facilitates complete strangers to form temporal C2C relationships on Airbnb.com. In fact, the implications of trust in the sharing economy fundamentally differ to related online industries. In our research model, we investigate the formation of trust by incorporating two antecedents – ‘Disposition to trust’ and ‘Familiarity with Airbnb.com’. Furthermore, we differentiate between ‘Trust in Airbnb.com’ and ‘Trust in renters’ and examine their implications on two provider intentions. To seek support for our research model, we conducted a survey with 189 participants. The results show that both trust constructs are decisive to successfully initiate a sharing deal between two parties

The Non-Monetary Sharing Economy: An Example of Trust and Risk on Couchsurfing

Sharing economy platforms drive new consumption habits in the hospitality industry by attracting individuals through modern technologies and innovative business models. In this study, we examine the relationship between trust, perceived risk, and the consumers’ intention to request an accommodation on the non-monetary hospitality platform Couchsurfing. We further separate intermediary and corresponding users from each other to investigate the influence of the two-sided market mechanisms on the consumers’ intention. Based on a survey of 248 consumers, we propose a research model and perform structural equation modeling. Our results indicate that the influence of trust on the consumers’ intention is fully mediated by perceived risk. Further, our results show that perceived risk of the intermediary and the corresponding users influences the consumers’ intentions, despite the sharing service being free-of-charge. This study contributes to the sharing economy literature by demonstrating the important role of perceived risk on non-monetary sharing economy platforms

Peircean Epistemic Democracy: Truth, Pluralism, and Religion

In this dissertation, I argue for a pluralist Peircean epistemic approach to democratic justification to address the challenge of reasonable pluralism. Whereas public reason approaches to democratic justification require citizens privatize their worldviews, an epistemic approach to democracy allows citizens the freedom to express their personal reasons while harnessing the epistemic power of democracy to identify and solve social problems. I find that of the various epistemic approaches available, Cheryl Misak and Robert Talisse’s Peircean Epistemic Defense of Democracy (PED) is the most promising because it is widely inclusive of personal reasons, uses pluralism to further the epistemic goals of democracy, and offers a robust defense of democratic procedures, norms, and institutions. The PED argues that beliefs aim at truth, and in holding a belief properly, one must engage in a process of reason exchange to support the truth of that belief. Moreover, only in a democracy can one properly engage in this process of reason exchange due to the epistemic requirements of an open society. The Peircean requirements for proper believing have been criticized for allegedly being oppressive and exclusive in a similar manner to public reason. What I call the ‘faith objection’ claims that the epistemic norms of religious belief and faith are different and even contradictory to the epistemic norms imposed by the PED. I disagree with this objection and argue that the PED is inclusive of religious reasons because religious belief and faith are sufficiently responsive to reasons and evidence. Though this raises a new challenge: if the PED is radically inclusive, to what extent will reasons that are inaccessible, incommensurable, weak, or false corrupt the epistemic environment of democracy? For the PED to avoid the faith objection, it will need to include reasons that are out of the ordinary, for example, conspiracy theories. But if conspiracy theories or other non-traditional modes of reasoning are rampant in democratic deliberation, then there may be a decline in the epistemic functioning of democracy, thus endangering the epistemic justification the PED is built upon. I argue that while the challenge of including non-traditional reasoning is difficult, it also offers the opportunity for new paths towards truth. These non-traditional forms of reasoning may be novel approaches to truth that only some democratic citizens have access. By including conspiracy theories, religion, or other inaccessible and incommensurable reasoning in public deliberation, the PED can be inclusive of all democratic citizens, while offering a robust justification of democracy

Emerging Graduate Student Leaders at Buffalo State College

Student organizations have been a part of the college experience for many years. The same is true for graduate students. Currently, Buffalo State College does not offer any graduate student organizations, therefore I have researched and developed a proposal for an Emerging Graduate Student Leadership Organization (EGSL) at Buffalo State College. This project is broken into two sections. Part 1 is The Emerging Graduate Student Leaders proposal and it will identify five main components: (1) Why form EGSL? (2) What will EGSL do? (3) Who will be involved in EGSL? (4) How will EGSL work and (5) How much will EGSL cost? (see Appendix B). Part 2 is the submission of a proposal for a mini-grant of $2,000.00. Part 2 includes eight components (1) Abstract (2) Fit with College Mission (3) Project description (4) Expected outcomes (5) Products/Deliverables (6) Project Timeline (7) Future partnership plans and (8) budget (see Appendix D)

Private vs. Business Customers in the Sharing Economy – The implications of Trust, Perceived Risk, and Social Motives on Airbnb

The sharing economy is continuously changing the hospitality industry while competing with incumbent businesses over the available market share. This study examines the peer-to-peer renting service Airbnb. In particular, we investigate how social motives, trust, and perceived risk of private and business customers, alter the accommodation provider’s intention to accept a booking request. Understanding the implications of private and business customers is key – not only for platform providers, but also for researchers investigating the sharing economy. In this article, we develop a questionnaire for assessing the influence of the respective customer type on trust, perceived risk, and the provider’s intention. Our pretest employs survey data (n = 53) and principal component analysis (PCA) to prepare a clean structural equation modeling

Considerations about the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of therapies in the treatment of hyperphosphataemia

Because of an elevated serum phosphate level, patients who suffer from chronic kidney failure frequently tend to have cardiovascular calcification and are therefore exposed to a higher probability of a fatal event. Phosphate binders are able to reduce these negative effects. Currently, there are primarily two groups of phosphate binders (calcium-containing and calcium-free phosphate binders) which are considered to be almost equally effective in terms of binding of free phosphate. There are, however, a few disadvantages of the two groups. While the calcium-containing binders are associated with an increased risk of hypercalcaemia, which is dose dependent, calcium-free binders have been criticized as being too expensive. As the expenditure for patients suffering from chronic kidney failure increases from year to year, as a result of increasing prevalence, there is a growing need for an alternative to existing phosphate binders. The study presented here therefore summarizes available information for the novel combination preparation OsvaRen® (calcium acetate/magnesium carbonate) as an alternative therapy to the calcium-free phosphate binder Renagel® (sevelamer-hydrochloride) and to calcium-containing preparations. The results of this systematic review showed that OsvaRen® is at least equally effective in the regulation of serum phosphate level as Renagel®. In particular, OsvaRen® shows no clinically relevant difference in terms of the control of the serum calcium levels compared to Renagel® and thereby does not increase the risk of a hypercalcaemia, in contrast to pure calcium-based phosphate binders. On the other hand, Renagel® therapy is much more frequently associated with gastrointestinal side-effects, a tendency to result in higher tablet burden for patients and high medication costs. The CALMAG study showed that OsvaRen® was at least as effective and safe in terms of controlling serum phosphate and serum calcium levels as Renagel® while, at the same time, resulting in about 80% lower costs. In addition, OsvaRen® offers a lower risk of hypercalcaemia and associated subsequent costs and is thereby also superior to pure calcium-containing phosphate binders. Because of the effectiveness and tolerability of calcium acetate/magnesium carbonate, OsvaRen® offers a clinically suitable and, at the same time, cost-effective therapeutic option in the therapy of hyperphosphataemia.Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland Gmb

Materials technology for Stirling space power converters

This program was conducted in support of the NASA LeRC development of the Stirling power converter (SPC) for space power applications. The objectives of this contract were: (1) to perform a technology review and analyses to support the evaluation of materials issues for the SPC; (2) to evaluate liquid metal compatibility issues of the SPC; (3) to evaluate and define a transient liquid phase diffusion bonding (TLPDB) process for the SPC joints to the Udimet 720 heater head; and (4) to evaluate alternative (to the TLPDB) joining techniques. In the technology review, several aspects of the current Stirling design were examined including the power converter assembly process, materials joining, gas bearings, and heat exchangers. The supporting analyses included GLIMPS power converter simulation in support of the materials studies, and system level analysis in support of the technology review. The liquid metal compatibility study evaluated process parameters for use in the Stirling power converter. The alternative joining techniques study looked at the applicability of various joining techniques to the Stirling power converter requirements