An investigation into the notion of "parental responsibility" as it features in the home-based regulation of children's video viewing habits

This thesis focuses on the notion of "parental responsibility" which characterises contemporary concerns over the regulation of children's video viewing in the UK. Previous studies of horne-based regulation have tended to concentrate on television at the expense of video viewing, and most studies employ quantitative methods. This thesis expands the research agenda, challenging the findings of previous research, through the employment of qualitative methods to examine family relationships at the heart of the horne-based regulation of video viewing. The work is based upon interviews with ten families from North London. This analysis is accompanied by an examination of the demands made of parents by agencies outside of the family home who are concerned with video regulation (Parliament, the print news media, the British Board of Film Classification and the video software industry). These expectations have remained unexplored by previous authors. This inquiry is located within an account of teenagers' video viewing habits, derived from a questionnaire survey of approximately five hundred year nine pupils. Central to the theoretical project of the thesis is a distinction between the concept and conceptions of "parental responsibility". It is argued that there is a broad consensus around the concept of "parental responsibility" (the notion that parents ought to have ultimate authority over their children's video viewing habits in the home). However, there is much less agreement about what constitutes responsible action in this regard. There are a variety of conceptions of parental responsibility across the accounts examined. Thus, it is impossible to draw clear distinctions between "responsible" and "irresponsible" parents, although participants in public debates frequently make such judgements. In an attempt to move beyond this impasse, the thesis provides a reconceptualisation of the "problem" of "under-age" video viewing, one which takes into account the ways in which parents currently approach the regulation of their children's video viewing habits in the home

Data and Predictive Analytics Use for Logistics and Supply Chain Management

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the social process of Big Data and predictive analytics (BDPA) use for logistics and supply chain management (LSCM), focusing on interactions among technology, human behavior and organizational context that occur at the technology’s post-adoption phases in retail supply chain (RSC) organizations. Design/methodology/approach The authors follow a grounded theory approach for theory building based on interviews with senior managers of 15 organizations positioned across multiple echelons in the RSC. Findings Findings reveal how user involvement shapes BDPA to fit organizational structures and how changes made to the technology retroactively affect its design and institutional properties. Findings also reveal previously unreported aspects of BDPA use for LSCM. These include the presence of temporal and spatial discontinuities in the technology use across RSC organizations. Practical implications This study unveils that it is impossible to design a BDPA technology ready for immediate use. The emergent process framework shows that institutional and social factors require BDPA use specific to the organization, as the technology comes to reflect the properties of the organization and the wider social environment for which its designers originally intended. BDPA is, thus, not easily transferrable among collaborating RSC organizations and requires managerial attention to the institutional context within which its usage takes place. Originality/value The literature describes why organizations will use BDPA but fails to provide adequate insight into how BDPA use occurs. The authors address the “how” and bring a social perspective into a technology-centric area

The curious absence of human rights: Can the WIPO Development Agenda transform intellectual property negotiation?

This article examines international negotiation of global intellectual property protection standards. Developing countries favour more flexible international rules, while developed countries push for higher mandatory protection levels. Developing countries base their positions on primary principles of intellectual property law: its public purpose and its commitment to balancing costs and benefits. This negotiating stance has not been effective; developed states counter-argue that stronger protection achieves the same ends. The article examines the resulting circular discussions at the 2001-2003 WTO Doha negotiations on TRIPS and Public Health, and the WIPO Development Agenda talks since 2004. The contention is that the negotiation impasse stems from an inability to move beyond the cost-benefit tension inherent in the patent system. Intellectual property theory cannot provide a bottom line at which short-term costs of patent monopolies must be deemed unacceptable, regardless of anticipated longer-term benefits. Recently, developing countries have celebrated the WIPO Development Agenda as a “paradigm shift” in the approach to international IP protection. The author argues that the Development Agenda will not necessarily change anything, and that developing countries should introduce human rights standards into discussions if they want to move the debate forward. Human rights standards can be used as benchmarks to assess whether IP rules promote public benefit and achieve an acceptable balance between rights of patent-holders and the broader public interest. The article shows how the ICESCR can be used to support a human rights-based argument

Lessons from Bayh-Dole: Reflections on the Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act

The Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act 51 of 2008 promotes patenting and commercialisation of state-funded science. The Act is similar in scope and objective to the American Bayh-Dole Act. This article explores some of the problems created or exacerbated by the Bayh-Dole Act. Traditionally, American innovation was based on a philosophy of open science. Universities conducted basic foundational research which was freely available to others who wanted to commercialise and build on it, or use it for further scientific research. The Bayh-Dole Act changed the model of science to a proprietary model. One of the problems this created was increased patenting of foundational research tools such as genes and cell-lines, which follow-on researchers require for their own research. Sometimes, research has been blocked or impeded by an inability to obtain research licences to patented research on reasonable terms. The Act has also had a negative effect on scientific collaboration and publishing. The article examines whether South Africa’s Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act has been able to avoid the most serious of the Bayh-Dole pitfalls

Resistivity network and structural model of the oxide cathode for CRT application

In this paper, the electrical properties of oxide cathode and oxide cathode plus, supplied by LG Philips Displays, have been investigated in relation to different cathode activation regimes and methods. Oxide cathode activation treatment for different durations has been investigated. The formations of the compounds associated to the diffusion of reducing elements (Mg, Al, and W) to the Ni cap surface of oxide cathode were studied by a new suggestion method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) was used as analytical techniques. Al, W, and Mg doping elements take place during heating to 1080 K (Ni-Brightness) under a rich controlled Ba–SrO atmosphere through an acceleration life test. The chemical transport of these elements was occurred mainly by the Ni cap grain boundary mechanism with significant pile-up of Mg compounds. Al and W show a superficial concentrations and distribution. A new structural and resistivity network model of oxide cathode plus are suggested. The new structural model shows a number of metallic and metallic oxide pathways are exist at the interface or extended through the oxide coating. The effective values of the resistances and the type of the equivalent circuit in the resistivity network model are temperature and activation time dependent.</p

Exploring Relationships and Information Exchange in Grocery Supply Chains: a Case Study of the Enablers and Inhibitors.

The last decade has seen a growing interest from academics and practitioners in the development of collaborative supply chain relationships based on information exchange. Most of the evidence gathered within this management research area has been biased towards the role of the buyer/supplier dyadic exchange in the integration of the supply chain. The role of the other parties and the systemic nature of supply chain management have been relatively ignored. Previous research in this area has also been biased due to the narrow focus of investigation, with one problem being obtaining access to all parties involved in the supply chain. The purpose of this study was to overcome the aforementioned research biases and therefore, contribute to the understanding of the collaborative relationship development process from a broader supply chain perspective. Open access was gained to six organisations across three tiers of a coffee supply chain in the UK grocery sector. Within this context, a theory building approach was applied to the data collected in the case study. Through constant comparison and coding of data from multiple strategic, tactical, operational, inter- and intra-organisational exchanges within the same context, several findings were made. An interesting finding from the research is the evolving role of the supply chain integrator, whereby the manufacturer seeks to balance the needs of its retail customers with the sourcing and procurement of raw and packaging materials from its suppliers. In terms of the concepts of supply chain relationships and information exchange, there are a number of common enablers and inhibitors. The inter-relationship between the two concepts is however complex and requires further study. The other findings of the research are expressed as a tentative theoretical framework and a series of new emerging enablers and inhibitors to collaborative relationships and information exchange in the supply chain. Finally the enablers and inhibitors grounded from the case study provide a guide to the relational and often context specific factors that can influence the development of collaborative supply chain relationships based on information exchange

Observation of b2_2 symmetry vibrational levels of the SO2_2 \tilde{\mbox{C}} 1^1B2_2 state: Vibrational level staggering, Coriolis interactions, and rotation-vibration constants

The $\mathrm{\tilde{C}}$ $^1$B$_2$ state of SO$_2$ has a double-minimum potential in the antisymmetric stretch coordinate, such that the minimum energy geometry has nonequivalent SO bond lengths. However, low-lying levels with odd quanta of antisymmetric stretch (b$_2$ vibrational symmetry) have not previously been observed because transitions into these levels from the zero-point level of the $\mathrm{\tilde{X}}$ state are vibronically forbidden. We use IR-UV double resonance to observe the b$_2$ vibrational levels of the $\mathrm{\tilde{C}}$ state below 1600 cm$^{-1}$ of vibrational excitation. This enables a direct characterization of the vibrational level staggering that results from the double-minimum potential. In addition, it allows us to deperturb the strong $c$-axis Coriolis interactions between levels of a$_1$ and b$_2$ vibrational symmetry, and to determine accurately the vibrational dependence of the rotational constants in the distorted $\mathrm{\tilde{C}}$ electronic state

Safer scoring? Cryptomarkets, social supply and drug market violence

Background: Cryptomarkets are digital platforms that use anonymising software (e.g. Tor) and cryptocurrencies (e.g. Bitcoin) to facilitate trade of goods and services, most notably illicit drugs. Cryptomarkets may reduce systemic violence compared with in-person drug trading because no face-to-face contact is required and disputes can be resolved through a neutral third party. In this paper, we describe the purchasing behaviour of cryptomarket users and then compare the self-reported experiences of threats, violence and other drug-market concerns when obtaining drugs from cryptomarkets with obtaining drugs through friends, known dealers and strangers. Methods: The Global Drug Survey was completed in late 2014 by a self-selected sample who reported accessing drugs through cryptomarkets in the last 12 months (N = 3794). Results: Their median age was 22 years and 82% were male. The drug types most commonly obtained through cryptomarkets were MDMA/Ecstasy (55%), cannabis (43%) and LSD (35%). Cryptomarket users reported using a median of 2 sources in addition to cryptomarkets to access drugs, the most common being in-person friendships (74%), in-person dealers (57%) and open markets/strangers (26%). When asked to nominate the main source they would use if cryptomarkets were unavailable, 49% nominated friends, 34% known dealers and 4% strangers. 'Threats to personal safety' (3%) and 'experiencing physical violence' (1%) were less often reported when using cryptomarkets compared with sourcing through friends (14%; 6%), known dealers (24%; 10%) or strangers (35%; 15%). Concerns about drug impurities and law enforcement were reported more often when using the alternative source, while loss of money, waiting too long and not receiving the product were more often reported when using cryptomarkets. Conclusion: Cryptomarkets are associated with substantially less threats and violence than alternative market types used by cryptomarket customers, even though a large majority of these alternatives were closed networks where violence should be relatively less common

The complete coding region of the maxicircle as a superior phylogenetic marker for exploring evolutionary relationships between members of the Leishmaniinae

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a potentially valuable phylogenetic marker given its presence across all eukaryotic taxa and its relative conservation in structure and sequence. In trypanosomatids, a homologue of the mtDNA referred to as the maxicircle DNA, is located within a specialised structure in the single mitochondrion of the trypanosomatids called the kinetoplast; a high molecular weight network of DNA composed of thousands of catenated minicircles and a smaller number of larger maxicircles. Unique to the kinetoplastid protists, the maxicircle component of this complex network could represent a desirable target for taxonomic inquiry that may also facilitate exploration of the evolutionary history of this important group of parasites. The aim of this study was to investigate the phylogenetic value of the trypanosomatid maxicircle for these applications. Maxicircle sequences were obtained either by assembling raw sequence data publicly accessible in online databases (i.e., NCBI), or by amplification of novel maxicircle sequences from trypanosomatid DNA using long-range (LR) PCR with subsequent Illumina sequencing. This procedure facilitated the generation of nearly complete maxicircle sequences (i.e., excluding the divergent region) for numerous dixenous and monoxenous trypanosomatid species. Annotation of each maxicircle sequence confirmed that their structure was conserved across all taxa examined. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed that Z. australiensis showed a greater genetic relatedness with the dixenous trypanosomatids of the genera Leishmania and Endotrypanum, as opposed to members of the monoxenous genera Crithidia and Leptomonas. Additionally, molecular clock analysis supported that the dixenous Leishmaniinae appeared approximately 75 million years ago during the breakup of Gondwana. In line with previous studies, our results support the Supercontinents hypothesis regarding the origin of dixenous Leishmaniinae. Ultimately, we demonstrate that the maxicircle represents an excellent phylogenetic marker for studying the evolutionary history of trypanosomatids, resulting in trees with very high bootstrap support values

Research and evidence based environmental health

Environmental health (EH) professionals have often spoken of the need to become more research active (Burke et al., 2002; McCarthy, 1996) and make their work more evidence based, but to date little has been written about how to achieve this in practice. This chapter is therefore written as an introductory guide to research for EH professionals, students, and policy makers. By developing your knowledge it is hoped you will feel more confident navigating the world of research; motivated towards making your own work more evidence based; and enthused about contributing to the evidence base from which others can learn. This chapter is not a research methods textbook, a step by step guide to research or evidence based environmental health, nor does it seek to make definitive statements about these complex areas. However it highlights the most important issues regarding research in environmental health, considers the importance of research to the environmental health profession and provides useful signposts towards further resources. The chapter is divided into three sections. The first defines evidence based environmental health and why it remains a priority for EH professionals. The second section explores the key stages of environmental health research and provides guidance on the development of your reading skills. The final section suggests ways to become more research active and evidence based, acknowledging the many challenges EH professionals face and concluding with a vision for evidence based environmental health. The chapter ends with an annex including a glossary of environmental health research terms, a list of references and suggested further reading