5,032 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
e-Governance: Supporting pragmatic direct deliberative action through online communities of interest
Authors often report on the limited success of e-Government initiatives in developing nations. Top down, national strategies are developed to target improved government services, but maintain hierarchical, citizen-state conceptions of governance through representative democracy. An alternative conception, direct deliberative democracy, frames the potential role of the internet in governance differently. Web based platforms might support locally animated deliberations, which target pragmatic outcomes, while the resulting social networks afford collective learning through connections across traditional boundaries. This paper presents an investigation of direct deliberative governance as it occurs in online 'communities of interest', and is based on research with such a community in southern Africa. We investigate contributions to the online governance process and develop an action typology distinguishing between degrees of 'agency freedom'. Network analytic techniques are then used to understand how acts of varying degree are expressed in terms of the structure of a social network. The aim, more broadly, is to understand how the environment shapes acts of direct deliberative governance, and, in turn, how the acts shape the evolution and effectiveness of the community. The preliminary results suggest design considerations for online governance communities, and highlight their role to not only provide deliberative space, but to mediate social network connections
Empirical evidence on vertical foreclosure
Recent papers have shown conditions under which vertical, mergers can result in anticompetitive foreclosure of unintegrated rivals. These models imply that a necessary but not sufficient condition for anticompetitive foreclosure is that unintegrated rivals are less profitable after a vertical merger. We test this hypothesis by examining the stock prices of unintegrated rivals at the time of a vertical merger announcement and at the time of a government antitrust complaint. We find no evidence to support the foreclosure hypothesis.Consolidation and merger of corporations
Recommended from our members
Erythroderma with circulating atypical T-cells, likely Sézary syndrome
The erythrodermic patient is often challenging and requires careful evaluation. Work-up should include an extensive and careful medication history, histological and laboratory testing, and if necessary, molecular studies for the evaluation of underlying malignancy. Herein, we present an erythrodermic patient with repeated biopsies demonstrating a spongiotic process who was found to have circulating atypical T-cells concerning for an underlying erythrodermic T-cell leukemia, most closely related to Sézary syndrome
Investigating attributions of academic success and failure in adolescents
Adolescents attribute their school success to ability and effort to varying degrees. This study investigated how attributions vary with school achievement. Achievement was defined by the proxy of English class placement: Fundamental, Intermediate, Accelerated, Honors/AP. One hundred and fourteen 10th grade students from a New England high school responded to a survey instrument that used 5-point Likert scale items. Students rated their agreement with statements attributing success or failure to either the level of their ability or effort. These questions addressed academic success in English class, reading, and writing as well as in more general term. There were no significant differences in how the groups attributed success or failure to level of effort, nor did they differ in attributing success to ability. Significant differences were observed in student attributions of failure to insufficient ability. Students in the two lowest groups attributed failure to insufficient ability more strongly (Fundamental, M=10.73, Intermediate, M=10.22) than those in the highest two groups (Accelerated, M=8.75, Honors/AP, M=8.24). Implications for practice are discussed
Investigation to determine the effects of long-term bed rest on G-tolerance and on psychomotor performance Final report
Prolonged bed rest effects on gravity tolerance and psychomotor performance of human
An interpretative phenomenological analysis of discontinued use of the e-cigarette
Introduction: Many UK smokers use e-cigarettes as a quitting aid; however a substantial number discontinue use of the e-cigarette and revert to smoking. Understanding why this may happen is important both for individuals and for stop smoking services.
Aims: To explore young adult smokers’ experiences of use and discontinued use of the e-cigarette.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six participants who tried e-cigarettes for at least seven days and returned to smoking. Data was transcribed and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.
Results: Findings suggested participants held conflicting attitudes about using e-cigarettes, which undermined attempts to quit smoking, and led to the discontinuation of the e-cigarette. These conflicts centred on participants’ discomfort with the e-cigarette or vaping identity, lack of abstinence self-efficacy and navigation of barriers to e-cigarette use. The complex interplay of these factors may have led to an underestimation of the individual effort required to continue vaping and reinforced participants’ perception of the e-cigarette as an inferior product to the cigarette.
Conclusions: Future research should focus on the role of identity, self-efficacy, control and smokers’ expectations of e-cigarettes on smoking cessation as these may be important factors to consider for a more tailored service for e-cigarette users
Mathematical analysis of a Wolbachia invasive model with imperfect maternal transmission and loss of Wolbachia infection
Arboviral infections, especially dengue, continue to cause significant health
burden in their endemic regions. One of the strategies to tackle these
infections is to replace the main vector agent, Ae. aegypti, with the ones
incapable of transmitting the virus. Wolbachia, an intracellular bacterium, has
shown promise in achieving this goal. However, key factors such as imperfect
maternal transmission, loss of Wolbachia infection, reduced reproductive
capacity and shortened life-span affect the dynamics of Wolbachia in different
forms in the Ae. aegypti population. In this study, we developed a Wolbachia
transmission dynamic model adjusting for imperfect maternal transmission and
loss of Wolbachia infection. The invasive reproductive number that determines
the likelihood of replacement of the Wolbachia-uninfected (WU) population is
derived and with it, we established the local and global stability of the
equilibrium points. This analysis clearly shows that cytoplasmic
incompatibility (CI) does not guarantee establishment of the Wolbachia-infected
(WI) mosquitoes as imperfect maternal transmission and loss of Wolbachia
infection could outweigh the gains from CI. Optimal release programs depending
on the level of imperfect maternal transmission and loss of Wolbachia infection
are shown. Hence, it is left to decision makers to either aim for replacement
or co-existence of both populations
- …