Disaggregating the dependent variable in policy feedback research: An analysis of the EU Emissions Trading System

The literature on policy dynamics has long argued for a better conceptualization and measurement of the dependent variable (“policy”), but this fundamental point has often been neglected in the policy feedback literature. In this paper we explore how far disaggregating policy into different elements (policy instruments, objectives, and settings) addresses this gap. We do so by examining the world’s largest market-based climate policy instrument – emissions trading in the European Union – and reveal a number of valuable new insights. First, even if positive policy feedback locks in a policy instrument, actor contestation does not disappear, but narrows down to the more detailed level of policy settings. Second, feedback may operate differently at each policy level: the policy instrument and its settings may strengthen at the same time as support for broader objectives weakens. Finally, positive feedback may simultaneously strengthen opposing actors’ support for multiple policy elements, leading to a form of “policy stability by stalemate”. These findings highlight the need for a new, interdisciplinary phase of policy feedback research that more fully disaggregates the dependent variable across a wider range of policy areas and policy instrument types. Policy scientists are well equipped to contribute to and benefit from such a debate

Composition of a Suite for Contemporary Jazz Ensemble

Blue Shifts is the second of a three movement piece written for performance by a nine piece ensemble comprising the following instruments: Trumpet, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Trombone, Guitar, Piano, Bass, Drums, Percussio

The Benefits and Implementation of Open Science Practices in Exercise Science Research

This article has the purpose of addressing the need for open science practices in the field of exercise science research. Open science is best defined as the call for greater accessibility and transparency in research (Chakravorty et al., 2022). With more accessible and transparent research, research can be conducted more thoroughly and efficiently. Additionally, the implementation of these practices would discourage many shady and unethical practices. The idea of open science is not without debate however. There are many concerns over the theft of scientific data and ideas, as well as the increased time and monetary costs associated with many of these practices. This narrative review addresses many of these issues, as well as provides potential solutions to issues currently facing exercise science research. The field of exercise science was chosen due to the lack of literature available on this topic within the field

Learning Geometry-free Face Re-lighting

The accurate modeling of the variability of illumination in a class of images is a fundamental problem that occurs in many areas of computer vision and graphics. For instance, in computer vision there is the problem of facial recognition. Simply, one would hope to be able to identify a known face under any illumination. On the other hand, in graphics one could imagine a system that, given an image, the illumination model could be identified and then used to create new images. In this thesis we describe a method for learning the illumination model for a class of images. Once the model is learnt it is then used to render new images of the same class under the new illumination. Results are shown for both synthetic and real images. The key contribution of this work is that images of known objects can be re-illuminated using small patches of image data and relatively simple kernel regression models. Additionally, our approach does not require any knowledge of the geometry of the class of objects under consideration making it relatively straightforward to implement. As part of this work we will examine existing geometric and image-based re-lighting techniques; give a detailed description of our geometry-free face re-lighting process; present non-linear regression and basis selection with respect to image synthesis; discuss system limitations; and look at possible extensions and future work

Brexit and the EU in Global Climate Governance

Climate change governance is one of the EU’s priorities. The EU has developed a central (and arguably, a leading) role in global climate governance. The UK has been an important supporter of strong climate action both within the EU and in international climate negotiations. We investigate how/whether the EU’s role in global climate governance will be affected by Brexit by focusing on potential changes in three conditions for EU leadership: (1) credible and ambitious internal climate policy; (2) constant and effective international engagement through climate diplomacy; and (3) the ability to attract followers. We find that the UK has sometimes played the role of a pivotal outlier, either pushing for more internal policy ambition or blocking certain policy options. Brexit is likely to have cumulative effects on the EU’s role in global climate governance over the long term, through a series of changes in internal EU policymaking and climate diplomacy. The speed and scope of these changes depend on the nature of the future UK–EU relationship. We argue that the broader international context and strains on EU unity represent more urgent challenges to the EU’s role in global climate governance than those posed by Brexit

The political effects of climate policy: Policy feedback from the European Union Emissions Trading System

Greenhouse gas emissions trading has been widely promoted as a policy instrument that overcomes well-known political barriers to climate change mitigation. But others contend its political consequences make climate mitigation more difficult. However, few in-depth, theoretically-informed studies directly assess these claims. This thesis addresses these gaps by exploring the circumstances in which emissions trading generates policy feedback influencing subsequent political processes by reinforcing or undermining political support for the original policy. The study focuses on the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), the world’s largest and longest-operating trading system, combining the existing policy feedback literature with related literatures on emissions trading and EU policy making. Through document analysis and elite interviews, it examines the evolution of the ETS from 1998 to 2018, tracing its effects on actors, resources, and policy preferences over time. This analysis reveals that while EU policy makers anticipated political obstacles to adopting the ETS, they gave less consideration to post-adoption policy feedback. Indeed, the unintended feedback effects of the ETS were significant. One such selfreinforcing effect was the growth of a network of actors – such as industry associations and environmental NGOs – that became involved in subsequent policymaking processes and largely supported emissions trading. However, self-reinforcing feedback also stymied attempts to recalibrate the ETS to fit changing conditions. Other, self-undermining feedback reduced support for the status quo policy but facilitated political opportunities for policy centralization and steeper emission reductions. Self-reinforcing and self-undermining policy feedback therefore coexisted and interacted in subtle ways not fully explained in the existing literature. These findings are useful to those studying the long-term political viability of climate mitigation policy. They also contribute to the existing literature on policy feedback by analyzing a regulatory policy area in which feedback has been less explored. Finally, for EU scholars, they bring into sharper focus the endogenous influence of existing EU public policies on subsequent politics

INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY OF ALANINE AND ITS WATER CLUSTER ISOLATED IN SOLID PARAHYDROGEN

High-resolution infrared spectra of $\beta$-alanine and its water clusters have been studied using solid \textit{para}-$H_2$ FT-IR matrix-isolation spectroscopy. It is known that zwitterion forms of amino acids are more stable than neutral forms in water solutions and biological environments, but it is still under debate whether zwitterions are stable in small alanine-water clusters. We have investigated the stabilization effect of water molecules on the zwitterion form of $\beta$-alanine by codepositing $H_2$O and $\beta$-alanine in solid \textit{para}-$H_2$. Through a comparison with theoretical calculations, as well as with crystalline $\beta$-alanine FT-IR spectra, the characteristic NH$_3$ N-H bending vibrational frequency for the zwitterionic form was identified. Analysis of the spectral peak temporal behavior shows that other proposed zwitterion peaks behave similarly to the characteristic NH$_3$ spectral peak. It has been shown that water can stabilize the zwitterionic form of gas phase amino acids, causing the zwitterion to form preferentially over the neutral form under certain conditions. The $\beta$-alanine zwitterion formation rate may be attributed to aggregation of small water clusters in the solid \textit{para}-$H_2$ matrix. These findings provide insight into the behavior of amino acid zwitterion formation

Optimal local shape description for rotationally non-symmetric optical surface design and analysis

A local optical surface representation as a sum of basis functions is proposed and implemented. Specifically, we investigate the use of linear combination of Gaussians. The proposed approach is a local descriptor of shape and we show how such surfaces are optimized to represent rotationally non-symmetric surfaces as well as rotationally symmetric surfaces. As an optical design example, a single surface off-axis mirror with multiple fields is optimized, analyzed, and compared to existing shape descriptors. For the specific case of the single surface off-axis magnifier with a 3 mm pupil, \u3e 15mm eye relief, 24 degree diagonal full field of view, we found the linear combination of Gaussians surface to yield an 18.5% gain in the average MTF across 17 field points compared to a Zernike polynomial up to and including 10th order. The sum of local basis representation is not limited to circular apertures

The durability–flexibility dialectic: the evolution of decarbonisation policies in the European Union

Policy makers are under political pressure to adopt policies that achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Reaching net zero is a demanding challenge requiring durable policies that last; that is, withstand short-term turbulence. However, there is a lack of clarity in the existing literature on both the conceptual meaning of policy durability and its empirical manifestations. This paper distinguishes between three central dimensions of policy durability and uses them to shed new light on the long-term evolution of EU climate policy. It reveals that the EU has addressed the relationship between policy durability and policy flexibility by working iteratively across and between different policy elements (instruments, programmes, goals, etc.). In revealing these patterns, it addresses a greatly neglected feature of policy design processes: the dialectical relationship between durability and flexibility

Assessing awareness and attitudes of healthcare professionals on the use of biosimilar medicines: A survey of physicians and pharmacists in Ireland

Increasing numbers of biosimilar medicines are becoming available. The objective of this survey was to assess awareness of and attitudes to biosimilars amongst physicians (medical specialists and General Practitioners (GPs)) and community pharmacists in Ireland. Physicians were invited to complete an online questionnaire during April and May 2016. Community pharmacists received a postal questionnaire in August 2015. Responses from 102 medical specialists, 253 GPs and 125 community pharmacists were analysed. The majority of medical specialists (85%) and pharmacists (77%) claimed to be either very familiar or familiar with the term biosimilar, whereas many GPs (60%) were unable to define or had never heard of the term. One in five (21%) healthcare professionals responded that biosimilars were the same as generic medicines. The majority of medical specialists opposed pharmacist-led substitution of biological medicines but some thought it could be appropriate if agreed with the clinician in advance. Medical specialists who prescribe biosimilars (n = 43) were more likely to do so on treatment initiation (67%), than switch a patient from an originator medicine to a biosimilar (28%). The findings will aid the design of educational initiatives for healthcare professionals and highlight attitudes of healthcare professionals to biosimilars, so informing regulators, policy makers and industry