Five minutes with Jeffrey C. Alexander: “Southern European countries are not just experiencing an economic crisis, but also an identity crisis”

Is there a ‘dark side’ to European modernity? As part of our ‘Thinkers on Europe’ series, EUROPP’s editors Stuart A Brown and Chris Gilson spoke to Jeffrey C. Alexander about his views on modernity, the European integration process, and the importance of cultural and political symbols to European democracy

Creditor Control in Financially Distressed Firms: Empirical Evidence

In this Article we present the results of empirical research that examines how creditor control is manifested in financially troubled firms that have to renegotiate their debt contracts

A demonstration of 'broken' visual space

It has long been assumed that there is a distorted mapping between real and ‘perceived’ space, based on demonstrations of systematic errors in judgements of slant, curvature, direction and separation. Here, we have applied a direct test to the notion of a coherent visual space. In an immersive virtual environment, participants judged the relative distance of two squares displayed in separate intervals. On some trials, the virtual scene expanded by a factor of four between intervals although, in line with recent results, participants did not report any noticeable change in the scene. We found that there was no consistent depth ordering of objects that can explain the distance matches participants made in this environment (e.g. A > B > D yet also A < C < D) and hence no single one-to-one mapping between participants’ perceived space and any real 3D environment. Instead, factors that affect pairwise comparisons of distances dictate participants’ performance. These data contradict, more directly than previous experiments, the idea that the visual system builds and uses a coherent 3D internal representation of a scene

Does physical activity counselling enhance the effects of a pedometer-based intervention over the long-term : 12-month findings from the Walking for Wellbeing in the West study

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Do Analysts Add Value When They Most Can? Evidence From Corporate Spin-Offs

This article investigates how securities analysts help investors understand the value of diversification. By studying the research that analysts produce about companies that have announced corporate spin-offs, we gain unique insights into how analysts portray diversified firms to the investment community. We find that while analysts\u27 research about these companies is associated with improved forecast accuracy, the value of their research about the spun-off subsidiaries is more limited. For both diversified firms and their spun-off subsidiaries, analysts\u27 research is more valuable when information asymmetry between the management of these entities and investors is higher. These findings contribute to the corporate strategy literature by shedding light on the roots of the diversification discount and by showing how analysts\u27 research enables investors to overcome asymmetric information

The need for cycloplegic refraction in adolescents and young adults

Cycloplegic refraction is considered the gold standard method when examining children and for ensuring accurate refractive error assessment within epidemiological studies. Recent reports underline that cycloplegia is equally important for ensuring accurate refractive error assessment in Chinese adolescents and young adults (Sun et al., 2018). The aim of this study was to assess whether cycloplegia is of equal importance for refractive error assessment in Norwegian adolescents and young adults. Non-cycloplegic and cycloplegic autorefraction (Huvitz HRK-8000A), and cycloplegic ocular biometry (IOLMaster 700), were undertaken in 215 Norwegian adolescents (101 males) aged 16–17 years. Topical cyclopentolate hydrochloride 1% was used for cycloplegia. Two years later, autorefraction and ocular biometry were repeated in 93 of the participants (34 males), both non-cycloplegic and cycloplegic. Non-cycloplegic spherical equivalent refractive errors (SER = sphere + ½ cylinder) were more myopic (less hyperopic) than cycloplegic SER in 93.6% of the participants (overall mean ± SD difference in SER: -0.59 ±0.50 D, 95% limit of agreement: -1.58–0.39 D). Refractive error classification by non-cycloplegic SER underestimated the hyperopia frequency (10.4% vs. 41.4%; SER ≥ +0.75 D) and overestimated the myopia frequency (12.1% vs.10.7%; SER ≤ -0.75 D), as compared with refractive error classification by cycloplegic SER. Mean crystalline lens thickness decreased and mean anterior chamber depth increased with cycloplegia, with the largest changes in the hyperopes compared with the emmetropes and myopes (p ≤ 0.04). The individual differences between non-cycloplegic and cycloplegic SER varied by more than ±0.25 D between first and second visit for 31% of the participants. Accurate baseline measurements — as well as follow-up measurements — are imperative for deciding when and what to prescribe for myopic and hyperopic children, adolescents, and young adults. The results here confirm that cycloplegia is necessary to ensure accurate measurement of refractive errors in Norwegian adolescents and young adults.publishedVersio

Emmetropia Is Maintained Despite Continued Eye Growth From 16 to 18 Years of Age

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.PURPOSE. To examine, in Norwegian adolescents, to what degree emmetropia and low hyperopia were maintained from 16 to 18 years of age, and if this was the case, whether it was associated with continued coordinated ocular growth. METHODS. Cycloplegic autorefraction and ocular biometry, including crystalline lens thickness, were measured in 93 Norwegian adolescents (mean age: 16.7 6 0.3 years; 63.4% females) and repeated after 2 years. Crystalline lens power was determined by ray tracing over a 1-mm pupil, based on the Gullstrand-Emsley model. Serum vitamin D3 concentration was measured at follow-up. RESULTS. Emmetropia and low hyperopia (0.50 diopters [D] < spherical equivalent refractive error [SER] < þ2.00 D) were present in 91.4% at baseline and 89.2% at follow-up. The emmetropes and low hyperopes who maintained their refractive error exhibited continued ocular axial growth (þ0.059 6 0.070 mm) together with a decrease in crystalline lens power (0.064 6 0.291 D) and a deepening of the anterior chamber (þ0.028 6 0.040 mm). Thinning of the crystalline lens was found in 24%. Overall, the negative change in SER was larger in those with the most negative SER at baseline (R2 ¼ 0.178, P < 0.001), and was associated with increases in vitreous chamber depth and in crystalline lens power (R2 ¼ 0.752, P < 0.001), when adjusted for sex. There was no difference in vitamin D3 level between those who exhibited negative versus positive changes in refractive error. CONCLUSIONS. The results show that emmetropic and low hyperopic eyes were still growing in late adolescence, with refractive errors being maintained through a coordinated decrease in crystalline lens power.publishedVersio

Seasonal and Annual Change in Physiological Ocular Growth of 7- to 11-Year-Old Norwegian Children

Purpose: To investigate seasonal and annual change in physiological eye growth in Norwegian school children. Methods: Measurements of ocular biometry, non-cycloplegic spherical equivalent autorefraction (SER), and choroidal thickness (ChT) were obtained for 92 children (44 females) aged 7 to 11 years at four time points over a year (November 2019–November 2020). Seasons (3- and 5-month intervals) were classified as winter (November–January), winter–spring (January–June), and summer–autumn (June–November). Cycloplegic SER was obtained in January and used to group children. The seasonal and annual changes were tested with a linear mixed-effects model (P values were adjusted for multiple comparisons). Results: All the children experienced annual ocular growth, irrespective of SER, but less so during the summer–autumn. The baseline SER was lower (P < 0.001), axial length (AL) was longer (P < 0.038), and choroids were thicker in 10- to 11-year-old than 7- to 8-year-old mild hyperopes (P = 0.002). Assuming mild hyperopes (n = 65) experience only physiological eye growth, modeling revealed seasonal and annual increases in AL across sex and age (P < 0.018), with less change during the summer–autumn than winter–spring. The 7- to 8-year-olds had a larger decrease annually and over winter–spring in SER (P ≤ 0.036) and in ChT over winter–spring than the 10- to 11-year-olds (P = 0.006). Conclusions: There were significant seasonal and annual changes in AL in children who had physiological eye growth irrespective of age within this cohort. Annual changes in SER and seasonal choroidal thinning were only observed in 7- to 8-year-old children. This indicates continued emmetropization in 7- to 8-year-olds and a transition to maintaining emmetropia in 10- to 11-year-olds.publishedVersio

Bringing 'place' back in: regional clusters, project governance, and new product outcomes

We examine new product outcomes in the context of regional clusters. Based on past research on marketing relationships, clusters, and social networks, we propose that the overall configuration of a cluster helps promote particular governance practices among its members. These practices have distinct value-creating properties, and when they are brought to bear on a specific new product development project within a cluster, they promote performance outcomes like product novelty and speed to market. Ultimately, these performance effects are reinforced by the configuration of the cluster itself. In general, we propose that new product outcomes follow from complex interactions between a cluster's macro-level configuration and its micro-level governance processes. More broadly, our framework points to the importance of geographical variables and to the role of “place” in marketing decision-making

Multimodal imaging of small hard retinal drusen in young healthy adults

BackgroundSmall hard macular drusen can be observed in the retina of adults as young as 18 years of age. Here, we seek to describe the in vivo topography and geometry of these drusen.MethodsRetinal images were acquired in young, healthy adults using colour fundus photography, spectral domain optic coherence tomography (SD-OCT), reflectance flood-illuminated adaptive optic ophthalmoscopy (AO flood) and reflectance adaptive optic scanning light ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO) in both confocal and non-confocal split-detection modalities. Small bright yellow hard drusen within a 10 degree radius from the foveal centre were characterised.ResultsSmall hard drusen were seen on colour photographs in 21 out of 97 participants and 26 drusen in 12 eyes in 11 participants were imaged using the full protocol. Drusen were easily identifiable in all modalities, except a few very small ones, which were not visible on SD-OCT. On AOSLO images, these drusen appeared as round, oval or lobular areas (up to three lobules) of diameter 22–61 µm where cone photoreceptor reflectivity and density was decreased (p=0.049). This was usually associated with discrete thickening of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) complex.ConclusionHigh lateral resolution imaging of small lobular hard retinal drusen suggests formation through the confluence of two or more smaller round lesions. The outline and size of these smaller lesions corresponds to 1–4 RPE cells. Prospective longitudinal studies are needed to determine the ultimate fate of small hard drusen and their potential relation to age-related macular degeneration.</jats:sec