A Study of the Relationship Between Internet Diffusion and Culture

The unevenness in the diffusion rates of the Internet across nations is commonly referred to as the digital divide. Technological, economic and political factors are often mentioned as the primary contributing factors to this digital gap. However, there is sufficient evidence in support of the proposition that a nation\u27s culture also plays a role in how citizens adopt and use technology innovations. This paper examines the relationship between the cultural dimensions proposed by Hofstede and the Internet adoption rate of nations. Data from sixty-two countries are used to establish a regression model and the empirical results show that cultural traits such as uncertainty avoidance and masculinity index of a nation are significantly related to the nation\u27s Internet dijfusion rate. These findings suggest that policy makers must also consider these national culture traits along with technological, economical, and political factors in setting national policies to promote Internet-related innovations

An examination of the relationship between digital divide and economic freedom: An international perspective

Due to various economic, political and social reasons, the Internet usage remains relatively Iom\u3e in many countries around the world. The difference in access to new information technologies and the Internet among countries, is known as the digital divide. This is a significant economic phenomenon that warrants the attention of analysts and policy makers. Furthermore, since information technologies and the Internet have proven to be key drivers for economic growth and global trade, many nations are in danger of being marginalized. This paper examines the relationship between economic freedom as indicated by the Economic Freedom Index (EFI), proposed by Beach and O\u27Driscoll (2003) and the digital divide. By analyzing data from sixty-two countries that include variables such as the cost of Internet access, number of personal computers and phones, personal income level, and innovation capability, it is shown that EFI is significantly related to the diffusion rate of the Internet. Therefore, countries need to examine and implement economic policies that are conducive to narrowing the digital gap

Technology-enabled Active Learning (TEAL) – A Study of its Influence on Student Learning

Using an active learning framework proposed by Shroff et al (2019), our study evaluates the impact of technology-enabled active learning (TEAL) on student learning in an Australian business school, using the individual reflections of accounting students as data collection strategy. We found positive influence of the three constructs of the framework - interactive engagement, problem solving and feedback on learning. Our study found interactive engagement, development of problem-solving skills and individualized learning context enabled by accounting technology have positively contributed to the learning effectiveness. Technology-enhanced scaffolds designed in the learning process have contributed to the consolidation of learning and to learning effectiveness. Our study observed that though students’ interest and curiosity enabled by technology is expected to have positive influence on learning, lack of student effort, poor timing of feedback, and absence of a sense of challenge, have limited their learning

Indirect Estimation of Selected Measures of Fertility and Marital Fertility from Information on CWR (0-9): An Application to India /States /Districts

Fertility is one of the important components of population change, the other two being mortality and migration. When vital statistical data on number of births is readily available it is estimated directly using various direct measures of fertility such as the crude birth rate (CBR). When the information on number of births is not directly available, fertility is measured using the census information on child woman ratios (CWR) of various types. CWR has several limitations, but gained importance with the attempts made by Rele in 1963, and followed by several other researchers such as Hauer and his co-authors in 2013 deriving TFR from it. In the present study yet another attempt is made to use CWRs to derive not only TFR but also other summary indicators such as the TMFR. A set of simple mathematical formula have been used to estimate the fertility and marital fertility using the CWR of the ages 0-9. The 2011 census age-sex data of districts in India was used to derive a set of fertility estimates for total, rural and urban areas of all districts. Further, these estimates of 2011 have been compared with the estimates of 2011 earlier made by Guilmoto and Rajan to analyse the robustness of the estimates.Keywords: Fertility, Child Women Ratio, Indirect Estimation, Age-sex data, TFR, TMFR, India

Sec6 mutations and the Drosophila exocyst complex

To allow a detailed analysis of exocyst function in multicellular organisms, we have generated sec6 mutants in Drosophila. We have used these mutations to compare the phenotypes of sec6 and sec5 in the ovary and nervous system, and we find them to be similar. We also find that Sec5 is mislocalized in sec6 mutants. Additionally, we have generated an epitope-tagged Sec8 that localized with Sec5 on oocyte membranes and was mislocalized in sec5 and sec6 germ-line clones. This construct further revealed a genetic interaction of sec8 and sec5. These data, taken together, provide new information about the organization of the exocyst complex and suggest that Sec5, Sec6 and Sec8 act as a complex, each member dependent on the others for proper localization and function

Long Term Factors of Internet Diffusion in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Panel Co- Integration Analysis

Identifying factors that influence the diffusion of the Internet is paramount for researchers as well as policy makers in articulating strategies to improve the availability and subsequent use of the Internet. Most existing empirical studies have focused on this problem by analyzing diffusion data for countries for one fixed year and identified variables affecting the Internet diffusion. These variables, generally, come from the economic, technological, policy, culture, and human capital realms. These results have provided a good “snapshot” of what factors are important towards the diffusion of the Internet and the results tend to vary for studies conducted in different time frames. This paper also addresses, the phenomenon of cross-country dependence – the economic, political, and technological environment of one country affecting other countries- into account in their analyses. This paper, for the first time in the literature, empirically identifies long-term determinants of the Internet diffusion in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries by considering data for the period 1997-2013. It employs a recently-developed technique named “panel co-integration analysis” to model the diffusion of the internet among the SSA countries. The analysis reveals that in SSA countries, the number of telephones, the level of per capita real gross product and the extent of ruralization (conversely, the degree of urbanization) are the key long-term drivers of the diffusion of the Internet. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of policy implications

Simple, Rapid and Validated LC Determination of Lopinavir in Rat Plasma and its Application in Pharmacokinetic Studies

Lopinavir is a new specific and potent HIV-1 protease inhibitor. A simple and rapid Reverse Phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatographic method using UV detection was developed and validated for the analysis of lopinavir in rat plasma under isocratic conditions. The method involves a single step protein precipitation technique. The detector response was linear over the concentration range of 250 to 4000 ng mL −1. High recovery ranging from 97.5 to 101.2 percent was obtained which precludes the use of internal standard. The developed method was validated as per standard guidelines. Validation of the developed method demonstrated accuracy, precision and selectivity of the proposed method. The drug was found to be stable under various processing and storage conditions. This rapid and cost-effective method was successfully applied in the estimation of lopinavir and determination of various pharmacokinetic parameters during post intravenous bolus administration of the drug in rats. The developed method can be suitably employed in preclinical pharmacokinetic evaluation of new formulations designed to improve the bioavailability of lopinavir