An automated multiscale ensemble simulation approach for vascular blood flow

Cerebrovascular diseases such as brain aneurysms are a primary cause of adult disability. The flow dynamics in brain arteries, both during periods of rest and increased activity, are known to be a major factor in the risk of aneurysm formation and rupture. The precise relation is however still an open field of investigation. We present an automated ensemble simulation method for modelling cerebrovascular blood flow under a range of flow regimes. By automatically constructing and performing an ensemble of multiscale simulations, where we unidirectionally couple a 1D solver with a 3D lattice-Boltzmann code, we are able to model the blood flow in a patient artery over a range of flow regimes. We apply the method to a model of a middle cerebral artery, and find that this approach helps us to fine-tune our modelling techniques, and opens up new ways to investigate cerebrovascular flow properties.This work has received funding from the CRESTA project within the EC-FP7 (ICT-2011.9.13) under Grant Agreements no. 287703, and from EPSRC Grants EP/I017909/1 (www.2020science.net) and EP/I034602/1

Computerized Classification Testing and Its Relationship to the Testing Goal

Assessment can serve different goals. If the aim of testing is to classify respondents into one of multiple levels instead of obtaining a precise estimate of the respondent’s ability, computerized classification testing can be used. This type of testing requires algorithms for item selection and making the classification decision. The result of the test administration is provided in a report about the decision with sometimes additional feedback. The design of all these components of the test should be in line with the testing goal. Several goals have been defined for assessment which make a judgment about: pupils, the learning process, groups of students and schools, and the quality of education. The possibilities for use of computerized classification testing for different testing goals are investigated in the current pape

Impediments to resolvability. What is the status quo? December 2019

The feasibility and credibility of bank resolutions depends, among others, on whether the impediments to resolvability are addressed or removed. Based on the limited public information available, this paper assesses the current state of the identification and removal of impediments to the resolvability of banks under the remit of the Single Resolution Board (SRB). The main findings suggest that the inclusion of the impediments assessment is taking the SRB more time than originally foreseen, there is a greater dependence on banks to address or remove impediments and that the non-resolvable banks are not notified to the EBA. This document was provided by the Economic Governance Support Unit at the request of the ECON Committee

Building Knowledge Stocks: The Role of State Higher-Education Policies

A variety of studies provide evidence that the stock of college-educated labor has fundamental effects on state and local economies through its association with wages, economic growth, personal incomes, and tax revenues. As a result, policymakers in many states try to increase the percentage of the state’s population (or workforce) that has a college degree through the use of various higher-education policies that have the potential to influence the supply side of the labor market. This paper reviews evidence on the effectiveness of these policies in achieving that goal. I discuss several types of policies related to the finance and production of undergraduate education within a state, including expansions in degree production and scholarships to encourage attendance at in-state colleges. The evidence suggests that these policies can affect the stock of college-educated labor within a state, but that effect is limited by the mobility of college graduates across state boundaries. I also discuss location-contingent financial aid, adjustments to the composition of enrollment by residency or by field of study, and internships with state-based employers. More research is needed to identify the causal effects of these policies on the behavior of students and to sort out the responses by students and institutions to changes in state policies

The Effect of College Location on Migration of College-Educated Labor

This paper investigates the impact of attending college in a state on the probability of working in the state. I use information on the set of colleges students applied to as a way to account for selection in college-attendance patterns. For two samples of U.S. undergraduate students, I find a modest link between attending college in a state and working in the state. The magnitude of the effect raises doubts that location choice considerations alone can justify state merit-scholarship programs, an increasingly popular form of student financial aid

Entrepreneurial decision making in high tech business development : a quasi-experiment

Research has shown that differences in decision making processes may explain differences in entrepreneurial effectiveness. Particularly rational planning based processes have been set off against other processes such as effectuation, abduction, and bricolage. However, there is still little empirical evidence on entrepreneurial decision making in the earliest phases of enterprise development. In a “living lab”, this study attempts to fill this void, by real-time tracing of entrepreneurs who start in the opportunity recognition phase. This paper shows the first results

Appropriation of value in Biomedical research outcome at Public Research Organisations

Transactions on biomedical research outcomes bring into play strategies that are determined by leveraging resources into quasi-markets and on options based on expectations. To govern such transactions, the choice of appropriate governance structures and the governance of interaction are all too often in remittance of risk and uncertainty. Organisation and communities are prompted by issues concerning intellectual property (IP) to underwrite information, which is inherently fraught with difficulties of discerning ownership and quantifying qualitative business variables. Against that backdrop, we enquire on the mechanisms underpinning value dissipation and value appropriation of biomedical research outcomes to make proposition on the organisational antecedence to innovation. It is a preamble study with the view to developing a meso-level framework to describe mechanisms of value appropriation of upstream biomedical (non-invasive) research at Public Research Organisation. Its underpinning is largely based on the availability appropriability regimes and viability of organizational governance decisions and how the choice of organizational governance form affects both the creation and appropriation of economic value

"No longer the sparkling new idea" : anchoring university entrepreneurship programmes in academic, entrepreneurial and regional policy networks

This paper is concerned with what makes a good university entrepreneurship programme (UEP), in particular with which features are necessary to allow UEPs to thrive within university settings. The paper begins from the paradox that UEPs are part of university’s extended development periphery, and always risk being eliminated because they do not deliver core university outputs, teaching and research. The paper seeks to understand under what conditions UEPs can thrive, using a case study of one UEP, the Temporary Entrepreneurs Scheme (the TOP programme) of the University of Twente in the Netherlands, which has recently celebrated its silver jubilee, and offers a good example of a UEP which has evolved to continue to meet stakeholder needs. The paper identifies three main stakeholder groups whose needs UEPs must meet, university management, regional economic policy makes, and enterprising entrepreneurs. The paper identifies how UEPs can respond to those three groups needs, and concludes by setting out the ways in which UEPs can meet those needs, providing the basis for a more nuanced understanding of what constitutes a good UEP

The impact of EU price rules: Interchange fee regulation in retail payments. CEPS-ECRI Working Paper 4 February 2020

Debit and credit cards have gradually increased in importance as instruments for retail payments. This has prompted anti-trust authorities at both national and European levels to investigate and limit the interchange fee-based revenue model of four-party schemes. These moves were followed in 2015 by the introduction of the Interchange Fee Regulation (IFR), which introduced price rules to nurture a competitive, innovative and secure payments environment for all stakeholders. The IFR caps the interchange fees on consumer debit and credit cards and prohibits restrictions on co-badging and certain requirements to honour all cards for merchants. This paper assesses the impact of the IFR. Based on a literature review and data analysis, it concludes that the IFR has led to a drop in interchange fees – in some cases below the maximum defined in the legislation in all EU member states. The decrease in the interchange fee is largely reflected in lower charges for merchants, although the reduction is – at least partially – offset by higher scheme fees charged by international four-party card schemes and by higher fees for cardholders. The policy recommendations aim to increase transparency for a fuller understanding of the functioning of the market and to enhance competitiveness in both the market for card payments and other payment instruments

Cutting edge: Science hackathons for developing interdisciplinary research and collaborations

Science hackathons can help academics, particularly those in the early stage of their careers, to build collaborations and write research proposals.This work was funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council under grant numbers EP/I017909/1 (www.2020science.net), and by the Department of Mathematics at Imperial College London under the EPSRC Mathematics Platform grant EP/I019111/1