1,455 research outputs found

    How Do Firms Set Prices? Survey Evidence from Ireland

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    Despite the importance of understanding and estimating the “stickiness” of prices of goods and services, empirical assessment of price setting behaviour by firms has remained relatively limited. This is the first paper to provide detailed information on the pressures, manner and frequency with which Irish firms adjust their output prices. Using survey information from almost a thousand Irish firms, we present a number of stylised facts on price setting behaviour. One of the first of these relates to the level of control firms have over their pricing strategy – the most common approach for firms is to set a price based on costs and a self-determined profit margin. However, one-third of firms said that their price was set primarily by following that of their closest competitors. The perceived intensity of competition was found to be one of the most significant factors in determining the price-setting approach and is also a central factor in determining price changes

    SESSION 3 [Panel]: The Anthony Martin BC Penitentiary Collection at TRU: Disseminating the Archive

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    Panel Proposal for BC Studies Conference 2019 (May 2-4) Thompson Rivers University “Intersections: Peoples and Places in British Columbia” Title: “The Anthony Martin BC Penitentiary Collection at TRU: Disseminating the Archive” Panelists: Jennifer Murphy, TRU, SSWHS; Mary Hemmings, TRU Law Librarian; P. J. Murphy, Dept. of English, TRU. This panel is a sequel to “Relocating the Martin BC Penitentiary Archive at the Old Courthouse in Kamloops”, BC Studies Conference, May 3, 2013, Douglas College, New Westminster, “Transforming British Columbia”. This session was well attended and generated a lot of interest among archivists, curators, and local historians. If, as Michel Foucault argued, our institutional structures form a “carceral net”, then prison as a key intersectional point in that network can tell us a great deal about ourselves, our convictions, and our attitudes towards marginalized peoples. This panel will focus on major developments in networking the Archive since the earlier presentation in 2013. Foremost among these is the establishment of a designated Archival Room in the TRU law library. Our panel could, indeed, be held there; in addition to archival holdings, a number of curated exhibitions and various art works are on display. Jennifer Murphy will discuss the Catalogue for the Collection that she compiled with curator, Kristina Bradshaw. Mary Hemmings will discuss how the website for the Collection has been made available to TRUSpace thousands of vintage photographic images et al. P. J. Murphy will raise a number of possibilities for scholarly research on this Archive of provincial and national importance

    Cuing Disparities: The Consequences of Race-Based Social Stressors for Academic Achievement

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    Underrepresented racially and ethnically minoritized (URM) students contend with individual-level race-based stressors in college, like racialized discrimination and microaggressions. In this study, we consider whether URM students\u27 perceptions of racial inequity on campus—a context-level race-based stressor—trigger adverse psychological and physical stress responses that, in turn, undermine academic achievement. Using a sample of 781 science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) students, we found in a longitudinal study that URM students report perceiving more inequality on campus compared with White and Asian students. Greater perceived inequality was, in turn, associated with increased psychological and physical stress responses, which, in some cases, predicted lower grades. Promoting more equitable college environments, therefore, may help attenuate inequalities in stress responses, ultimately, enhancing academic achievement. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article\u27s Community and Social Impact Statement

    In the Shadow of the Tower: The View of the Undergraduate Experience

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    This paper reports the initial findings of a survey (N=388) conducted in Winter 1991 focusing on the quality of the academic experience for Arts and Science students at a medium size post-secondary institution in eastern Canada. Our purposes are: 1) to set out the context in which undergraduates conduct their academic work, 2) to document what their experience entails, and 3) to present some of their perceptions of the higher education process. While most students have vocational goals in mind, they are also keenly interested in acquiring a solid general education. Undergraduates attend most of their classes, are heavily committed to completing their programs, and work quite diligently in pursuit of their goals in the face of what many of them consider to be heavy workloads. They are not, however, completely satisfied with the services that they receive in return for their tuition fees and for Canadians' tax dollars. While satisfaction levels vary with the type of services provided, it is clear that there does exist substantial room in which institutions can make improvements. Specifically, our data suggest that the primary goals of universities seeking to better the undergraduate experience should be to encourage more effective teaching and its evaluation, to reduce class sizes, to increase formal and informal interaction among faculty members and students, to improve the quality of academic advising, and to support the creation of more equitable financial assistance programs for students.Cet article prĂ©sente les premiers rĂ©sultats d'une enquĂȘte (N=388) menĂ©e durant l'hiver 1991 portant sur la qualitĂ© de l'expĂ©rience universitaire d'Ă©tudiants en arts et en sciences inscrits Ă  une institution de moyenne importance dans l'est du Canada. Nos intentions sont: 1) d'Ă©tablir le contexte dans lequel les Ă©tudiants accomplissent leur travail scolaire, 2) de documenter en quoi consiste cette expĂ©rience et 3) de dĂ©crire quelques-unes de leurs impressions sur le systĂšme d'Ă©ducation supĂ©rieure. Bien que la plupart des Ă©tudiants poursuivent des buts professionnels, ils s'intĂ©ressent aussi vivement Ă  acquĂ©rir une Ă©ducation gĂ©nĂ©rale Ă  bases solides. Les Ă©tudiants de premier cycle assistent Ă  la plupart de leurs cours, se sont vouĂ©s Ă  complĂ©ter leurs Ă©tudes, et travaillent diligemment afin de rĂ©aliser leurs buts malgrĂ© ce que beaucoup d'entre eux estiment ĂȘtre des programmes exigeants. Toutefois, ils ne sont pas entiĂšrement satisfaits des services qu'ils reçoivent en Ă©change de leurs frais de scolaritĂ© et des impĂŽts prĂ©levĂ©s aux Canadiens. Alors que le degrĂ© de satisfaction varie selon les services offerts, il est clair que des amĂ©liorations s'imposent dans plusieurs domaines. Plus prĂ©cisĂ©ment, nos donnĂ©s suggĂšrent que les universitĂ©s cherchant Ă  amĂ©liorer l'expĂ©rience des Ă©tudiants au niveau du premier cycle devraient se proposer comme buts prioritaires d'encourager un enseignement plus efficace et de mieux l'Ă©valuer, de rĂ©duire la taille des classes, de favoriser l'interaction formelle et informelle entre les professeurs et les Ă©tudiants, d'amĂ©liorer la qualitĂ© des services d'orientation scolaire, et de promouvoir la crĂ©ation de programmes d'aide financiĂšre plus Ă©quitable pour les Ă©tudiants

    Longitudinal Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence, Risk, Well-Being, and Employment: Preliminary Findings

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    Over 7 months (June 1999 to January 2000), researchers recruited 406 women from 1 of 3 sites in a northeastern city at the point they were seeking help for violence against them by a current or former male partner. Intimate partner violence was measured with a modified version of the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale. Some form of serious violence during the previous year was reported by 88 percent of the participants. By the first 3-month follow-up period, nearly one-third of the participants reported the recurrence of some form of physical violence; 20.4 percent reported an injury; and 18.1 percent reported sexual abuse. Stalking between time 1 and time 2 was reported by 46.9 percent of participants. By the 1-year follow-up, 38.8 percent of participants reported at least some recurrence of physical violence within the past year. At time 1, a significant number of participants indicated their level of risk for future violence as high. Overall, results suggest different trajectories for violence and abuse following participants\u27 involvement with community and legal system interventions. Mean scores on each of the measures of well-being showed an overall improvement in reported quality of life at time 2 compared to time 1. An overall mean decrease in reported depressive symptoms was observed; however, this progress was not uniform. There was a slight increase in employment among the women over the 1-year period. In showing different patterns of revictimization across different types of intimate partner violence acts (physical violence, sexual abuse, and stalking), this suggests to researchers the importance of including all these categories of intimate partner violence in their protocols. Implications of the findings are also drawn for practitioners. 2 exhibits and 15 references

    Longitudinal Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence, Risk, Well-Being, and Employment: Preliminary Findings

    Get PDF
    Over 7 months (June 1999 to January 2000), researchers recruited 406 women from 1 of 3 sites in a northeastern city at the point they were seeking help for violence against them by a current or former male partner. Intimate partner violence was measured with a modified version of the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale. Some form of serious violence during the previous year was reported by 88 percent of the participants. By the first 3-month follow-up period, nearly one-third of the participants reported the recurrence of some form of physical violence; 20.4 percent reported an injury; and 18.1 percent reported sexual abuse. Stalking between time 1 and time 2 was reported by 46.9 percent of participants. By the 1-year follow-up, 38.8 percent of participants reported at least some recurrence of physical violence within the past year. At time 1, a significant number of participants indicated their level of risk for future violence as high. Overall, results suggest different trajectories for violence and abuse following participants\u27 involvement with community and legal system interventions. Mean scores on each of the measures of well-being showed an overall improvement in reported quality of life at time 2 compared to time 1. An overall mean decrease in reported depressive symptoms was observed; however, this progress was not uniform. There was a slight increase in employment among the women over the 1-year period. In showing different patterns of revictimization across different types of intimate partner violence acts (physical violence, sexual abuse, and stalking), this suggests to researchers the importance of including all these categories of intimate partner violence in their protocols. Implications of the findings are also drawn for practitioners. 2 exhibits and 15 references

    Mesenchymal chondroprogenitor cell origin and therapeutic potential

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    Mesenchymal progenitor cells, a multipotent adult stem cell population, have the ability to differentiate into cells of connective tissue lineages, including fat, cartilage, bone and muscle, and therefore generate a great deal of interest for their potential use in regenerative medicine. During development, endochondral bone is formed from a template of cartilage that transforms into bone; however, mature articular cartilage remains in the articulating joints, where its principal role is reducing friction and dispersing mechanical load. Articular cartilage is prone to damage from sports injuries or ageing, which regularly progresses to more serious joint disorders, such as osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease characterized by the thinning and eventual wearing of articular cartilage, and affects millions of people worldwide. Due to low chondrocyte motility and proliferative rates, and complicated by the absence of blood vessels, cartilage has a limited ability to self-repair. Current pharmaceutical and surgical interventions fail to generate repair tissue with the mechanical and cellular properties of native host cartilage. The long-term success of cartilage repair will therefore depend on regenerative methodologies resulting in the restoration of articular cartilage that closely duplicates the native tissue. For cell-based therapies, the optimal cell source must be readily accessible with easily isolated, abundant cells capable of collagen type II and sulfated proteoglycan production in appropriate proportions. Although a cell source with these therapeutic properties remains elusive, mesenchymal chondroprogenitors retain their expansion capacity with the promise of reproducing the structural or biomechanical properties of healthy articular cartilage. As current knowledge regarding chondroprogenitors is relatively limited, this review will focus on their origin and therapeutic application

    Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Osteoarthritis: The Critical Role of the Cell Secretome

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    Osteoarthritis (OA) is an inflammatory condition still lacking effective treatments. Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) have been successfully employed in pre-clinical models aiming to resurface the degenerated cartilage. In early-phase clinical trials, intra-articular (IA) administration of MSCs leads to pain reduction and cartilage protection or healing. However, the consistent lack of engraftment indicates that the observed effect is delivered through a “hit-and-run” mechanism, by a temporal release of paracrine molecules. MSCs express a variety of chemokines and cytokines that aid in repair of degraded tissue, restoration of normal tissue metabolism and, most importantly, counteracting inflammation. Secretion of therapeutic factors is increased upon licensing by inflammatory signals or apoptosis, induced by the host immune system. Trophic effectors are released as soluble molecules or carried by extracellular vesicles (ECVs). This review provides an overview of the functions and mechanisms of MSC-secreted molecules found to be upregulated in models of OA, whether using in vitro or in vivo models
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