Factors of Activism; Identification and Promotion to Increase Global Equity

The purpose of this paper is to use a critical consciousness framework to analyze two possible factors that may contribute to individual levels of civic engagement, how these factors can operate within a global framework, and how these factors may be promoted through educational institutions to increase equity in societies around the globe. The data analyzed for this study comes from data collected as part of a study of beliefs and actions regarding social justice issues on the University of Washington Tacoma campus. For this paper, the two factors being studied as mediators in the relationship between awareness of social inequity (critical reflection) and the actions taken to address those inequalities (critical action) are empathy and social justice identity. Empathy is an innate human trait that can be enhanced through purposeful instruction and may be responsible for motivating individuals to engage in causes that do not directly impact them. By contrast, social justice identity is conceptualized as a stable construct, similar to a worldview belief or personality factor, and therefore is less likely to be influenced by an education-based intervention but may still be important to the promotion of activism behaviors. The results of statistical mediation analyses indicate that empathy and social justice identity both are partial mediators in the relationship between critical reflection and critical action. However, social justice identity demonstrated a larger mediating effect. Lastly, implications of findings and potential intervention programs aimed at promoting civically engaged citizens in societies worldwide using educational institutions are discussed

The Stereochemistry of 5-chloromethyl-5-methyl-2-oxo-2-phenoxy-1,3,2- dioxaphosphorinan and the Reaction of Phenoxide Ion with 2-chloro-5-chloromethly-5-methyl-2-oxo-1,3,2-dioxaphosphorinan

The primary objective of the research outlined in Part One is to assign the stereochemistry of some phosphorus containing heterocycles. In order to avoid confusion over nomenclature, most of the compounds described in this thesis will be named as derivatives of the 1,3,2-dioxaphosphorinan ring. For compounds described in the Experimental section, the designation of cis and trans will be assigned according to the arrangement of the phosphoryl oxygen at position 2 in relation to the chloromethyl group at C-5. Axial (ax) and equatorial (eq) designations will also refer to the chloromethyl group at 5, unless otherwise stated. Thus, the axial chair conformer of trans-5-chloromethyl-5-methyl-2-oxo-2-(R4)-l,3,2-dioxaphosphorinan refers to (1). Most of the compounds described in the Experimental section will be referred to by Roman numerals as outlined in Table (1). The stereochemistry has been established for compounds (III), (IV), (VI), and (VII). However, the stereochemistry of compounds (VIII)-(XVII) and (V) is not known and therefore, the relationship of substituents at C-5 to P-2 as outlined in Table 1 is arbitrary. The reaction of (IV) with sodium phenoxide yielded a mixture of compounds which were found to be isomers of 5-chloromethyl-5-methyl-2-oxo-2phenoxy-1,3,2-dioxaphosphorinan. NMR signals at 0.96 δ and 1.28 δ were assigned to methyl groups. Chloromethyl groups were assigned to signals at 3.34 δ and 3.77 δ. It is assumed that the product is a mixture of two isomers. When this material was subjected to chromatographic analysis (see Experimental) two compounds were isolated; isomer A (mp 105) and isomer B (mp 136). The nmr spectrum of A included signals at 0.96 δ and 3.77 δ. Likewise, the spectrum of B indicated signals at 1.28 δ and 3.34 δ. Recombination of A and B gave a spectrum similar to the one obtained from the original mixture. The purpose of Part One is to define the stereochemistry of isomer A and isomer B. It should be noted, A is synonymous with (VIII) and B is synonymous with (IX)

Validation of a smartphone app to map social networks of proximity

Social network analysis is a prominent approach to investigate interpersonal relationships. Most studies use self-report data to quantify the connections between participants and construct social networks. In recent years smartphones have been used as an alternative to map networks by assessing the proximity between participants based on Bluetooth and GPS data. While most studies have handed out specially programmed smartphones to study participants, we developed an application for iOS and Android to collect Bluetooth data from participants own smartphones. In this study, we compared the networks estimated with the smartphone app to those obtained from sociometric badges and self-report data. Participants (n=21) installed the app on their phone and wore a sociometric badge during office hours. Proximity data was collected for 4 weeks. A contingency table revealed a significant association between proximity data (rho = 0.17, p<0.0001), but the marginal odds were higher for the app (8.6%) than for the badges (1.3%), indicating that dyads were more often detected by the app. We then compared the networks that were estimated using the proximity and self-report data. All three networks were significantly correlated, although the correlation with self-reported data was lower for the app (rho = 0.25) than for badges (rho = 0.67). The scanning rates of the app varied considerably between devices and was lower on iOS than on Android. The association between the app and the badges increased when the network was estimated between participants whose app recorded more regularly. These findings suggest that the accuracy of proximity networks can be further improved by reducing missing data and restricting the interpersonal distance at which interactions are detected.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

Using Bluetooth Low Energy in smartphones to map social networks

Social networks have an important role in an individual's health, with the propagation of health-related features through a network, and correlations between network structures and symptomatology. Using Bluetooth-enabled smartphones to measure social connectivity is an alternative to traditional paper-based data collection; however studies employing this technology have been restricted to limited sets of homogenous handsets. We investigated the feasibility of using the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol, present on users' own smartphones, to measure social connectivity. A custom application was designed for Android and iOS handsets. The app was configured to simultaneously broadcast via BLE and perform periodic discovery scans for other nearby devices. The app was installed on two Android handsets and two iOS handsets, and each combination of devices was tested in the foreground, background and locked states. Connectivity was successfully measured in all test cases, except between two iOS devices when both were in a locked state with their screens off. As smartphones are in a locked state for the majority of a day, this severely limits the ability to measure social connectivity on users' own smartphones. It is not currently feasible to use Bluetooth Low Energy to map social networks, due to the inability of iOS devices to detect another iOS device when both are in a locked state. While the technology was successfully implemented on Android devices, this represents a smaller market share of partially or fully compatible devices.Comment: 6 pages, 1 tabl

Revenue in reverse? An examination of reverse supply chain enabled revenue streams

Purpose When original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) examine whether to implement a reverse supply chain (RSC) for their products, oftentimes the motive is cost savings or regulatory compliance. However, a frequently overlooked but equally important benefit is the possibility for creating new revenue. The purpose of this paper is to examine which revenue streams the RSC enables for OEMs to utilize and how these streams are utilized in industrial practice. Design/methodology/approach First, the paper identifies the RSC-enabled revenue streams that are available to OEMs using a literature-based conceptual modeling approach. Second, using a set of eight cases the paper explores these streams’ utilization pattern and develops a set of propositions that explain the pattern. Findings Results show a set of 12 distinct RSC-enabled revenue streams within three categories: new revenue through sales of used items, new revenue through sales of recovered items, and new revenue through added sales of virgin products. Six of these 12 streams are utilized in industrial practice. Among the propositions that explain the utilization pattern are the degree of component customization, product life-cycle longevity, and the value gap between used and recovered products. Originality/value While extant literature concerning the relation between the RSC and the firm’s revenue is scarce, this paper contributes to the understanding of RSCs’ revenue generation potential and thus to the stream of literature that views the RSC as a value creator rather than a costly nuisance. Furthermore, the paper provides managers with a broad view of how their firm’s RSC can increase revenue from existing markets as well as create revenue from new markets. </jats:sec

Accelerating delayed-acceptance Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms

Delayed-acceptance Markov chain Monte Carlo (DA-MCMC) samples from a probability distribution via a two-stages version of the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm, by combining the target distribution with a "surrogate" (i.e. an approximate and computationally cheaper version) of said distribution. DA-MCMC accelerates MCMC sampling in complex applications, while still targeting the exact distribution. We design a computationally faster, albeit approximate, DA-MCMC algorithm. We consider parameter inference in a Bayesian setting where a surrogate likelihood function is introduced in the delayed-acceptance scheme. When the evaluation of the likelihood function is computationally intensive, our scheme produces a 2-4 times speed-up, compared to standard DA-MCMC. However, the acceleration is highly problem dependent. Inference results for the standard delayed-acceptance algorithm and our approximated version are similar, indicating that our algorithm can return reliable Bayesian inference. As a computationally intensive case study, we introduce a novel stochastic differential equation model for protein folding data.Comment: 40 pages, 21 figures, 10 table