The Earning Gap of Criminality: Effects of Stigma, Length and Form of Incarceration

This paper shows that criminality causes a significant decrease in the earning potential of individuals. In addition, there is evidence to support that criminality has the same negative effect on earnings regardless of type of sentencing, whether probation or incarceration. Previous studies indicate that ex-convicts do not benefit from in-prison based programs. The purpose of this paper is to identify the short-term earning differentials between offenders and their law-abiding counter parts and offer insight as to how this can affect recidivism. Research shows that recidivists suffer the largest wage differentials, which significantly lowers their employment utility. This reduction of labor market outcomes may conversely promote the utility an individual receives from a life of crime

Governing radical change through the emergence of a governance arrangement

International audienceThis chapter investigates the process through which radical change is governed. While previous work has mostly focused on emergence, we focus on initial diffusion and the conditions under which potential breakthrough innovations can get out of the ‘protected spaces in which they have been tested. We are thus interested in the collective efforts that are developed to ‘shape markets’ and to create, following Fligstein, relevant ‘market infrastructures’, that is the set of rules (what actors are allowed to do), of norms (what they ought to do) and of values (what they want to do). We follow analysts on the central role of arenas as the settings in which “individual and collective actors interact to define the cognitive and normative dimensions of a problem”. But we show, through the example of nanotechnology, that any new breakthrough technology drives to the emergence of multiple arenas proposing each their approaches and tools for governing the new technology. Studying for nanotechnology their internal dynamics, the articulations and alignments between arenas that have taken place, we analyse the conditions of ‘success’ of arenas. Successful arenas as those than manage to enrol new actors, enlarge their initial remit while seeing their ‘outputs’ taken over by other arenas. Four aspects matter for the effective success of an arena - all linked to legitimacy: the degree of specificity, the degree of openness, the level of transparency and the degree of structuration. This drives us to propose the notion of governance arrangement to characterise the specific alignment between arenas and the robust compromise that enables the stabilisation of market infrastructures. Until the governance arrangement is set, existing uncertainties (technical or social) do not allow actors to move forward in the development of innovations and markets are not structured because the market infrastructures have not been agreed upon

How does Internationalisation affect the productivity of R&D activities in large innovative firms? A conditional nonparametric investigation

This work explores the relationship between multinational R&D and innovation productivity among top corporate knowledge and R&D producers by adopting a twofold concept of internationalisation: (1) the firm’s degree of R&D internationalisation, and (2) the firm’s geographic diversification. We model the patent production process with an appropriate and robust conditional Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) estimator, using a unique database of firms that matches financial indicators and patent information. Our results reinforce the fundamental role of internationalisation in the knowledge production process when the internationalisation process is properly and strategically managed. We interpret our empirical evidence through the theoretical lens of the learning theory of internationalisation, and we postulate that a high R&D intensity is a key driver to overcoming the challenges of internationalisation

A network approach to studying research programmes : mobilizing and coordinating public responses to HIV/AIDS

Based on the analysis of the Medical and Public Health Research programme (Commission of the European Communities), the paper shows how new scientific communities are created in response to the HIV/AIDS problem. We analyze how actors are mobilized (three mobilization modes : public impetus, scientists'initiative, scientists' initiative with public networking) and how their work is coordinated. We defend the hypothesis that these new scientific communities are flexible cooperation networks. In the case of AIDS research, there are only a limited number of network types (the data collection structure, the forum, the thematic partition with harmonization of research practices, the starred around a central facility). The coordination of these scientific cooperative networks passes through fixed and circulating intermediaries. The management of these intermediaries is a major activity for involved actors. thus, our aim is not to study the wider social context, but to analyze networking in response to policy initiatives. (Résumé d'auteur

Using ontologies to map between research data and policymakers’ presumptions: the experience of the KNOWMAK project

Understanding knowledge co-creation in key emerging areas of European research is critical for policy makers wishing to analyze impact and make strategic decisions. However, purely data-driven methods for characterising policy topics have limitations relating to the broad nature of such topics and the differences in language and topic structure between the political language and scientific and technological outputs. In this paper, we discuss the use of ontologies and semantic technologies as a means to bridge the linguistic and conceptual gap between policy questions and data sources for characterising European knowledge production. Our experience suggests that the integration between advanced techniques for language processing and expert assessment at critical junctures in the process is key for the success of this endeavour

Ground state representations of loop algebras

Let g be a simple Lie algebra, Lg be the loop algebra of g. Fixing a point in S^1 and identifying the real line with the punctured circle, we consider the subalgebra Sg of Lg of rapidly decreasing elements on R. We classify the translation-invariant 2-cocycles on Sg. We show that the ground state representation of Sg is unique for each cocycle. These ground states correspond precisely to the vacuum representations of Lg.Comment: 22 pages, no figur

Silyl-heparin bonding improves the patency and in vivo thromboresistance of carbon-coated polytetrafluoroethylene vascular grafts

AbstractObjectivesOur purpose was to improve the performance of carbon-coated expanded polytetrafluoroethylene vascular grafts by bonding the grafts with silyl-heparin, a biologically active heparin analog, using polyethylene glycol as a cross-linking agent.Material and methodSilyl-heparin–bonded carbon-coated expanded polytetrafluoroethylene vascular grafts (Bard Peripheral Vascular, Tempe, Ariz), were evaluated for patency and platelet deposition 2 hours, 7 days, and 30 days after graft implantation in a canine bilateral aortoiliac artery model. Platelet deposition was determined by injection of autologous, 111Indium-radiolabeled platelets, followed by a 2-hour circulation period prior to graft explantation. Histologic studies were performed on a 2-mm longitudinal strip of each graft (7-day and 30-day groups). Heparin activity of the explanted silyl-heparin grafts was determined by using an antithrombin-III based thrombin binding assay.ResultsOverall chronic graft patency (7-day and 30-day groups) was 100% for the silyl-heparin bonded (16/16) grafts versus 68.75% for control (11/16) grafts (P = .043). Acute 2-hour graft patency was 100% for the silyl-heparin bonded (6/6) grafts versus 83.3% for control (5/6) grafts. Radiolabeled platelet deposition studies revealed a significantly lower amount of platelets deposited on the silyl-heparin grafts as compared with control grafts in the 30-day group (13.8 ± 7.18 vs 28.4 ± 9.73, CPM per cm2 per million platelets, mean ± SD, P = .0451, Wilcoxon rank sum test). In the 2-hour group of dogs, a trend towards a lower deposition of platelets on the silyl-heparin grafts was observed. There was no significant difference in platelet deposition between the two grafts in the 7-day group. Histologic studies revealed a significant reduction in intraluminal graft thrombus present on the silyl-heparin grafts as compared with control grafts in the 30-day group of animals. In contrast, there was no difference in amount of graft thrombus present on both graft types in the 7-day group of dogs. Pre-implant heparin activity on the silyl-heparin bonded grafts was 2.0 IU/cm2 (international units[IU]/cm2). Heparin activity remained present on the silyl-heparin grafts after explantation at all 3 time points (2 hours: above upper limit of assay, upper limit = 0.57, n = 6; 7 days: 0.106 ± 0.015, n = 5; 30 days: 0.007 ± 0.001, n = 5; mean ± SD, IU/cm2).ConclusionSilyl-heparin bonding onto carbon-coated expanded polytetrafluoroethylene vascular grafts resulted in (1) improved graft patency, (2) increased in vivo graft thromboresistance, and (3) a significant reduction in intraluminal graft thrombus. This graft may prove to be useful in the clinical setting.AbstractClinical relevanceExpanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) remains the most commonly used prosthetic graft material in infrainguinal arterial reconstructions. Reported long-term patency rates of ePTFE bypass grafts are inferior to those observed with autogenous vein. Modification of the luminal surface of ePTFE bypass grafts may prevent early graft failure and ultimately improve long-term graft performance. Silyl-heparin is a biologically active heparin analog that is readily adsorbed onto hydrophobic surfaces while retaining its anticoagulant properties. Silyl-heparin bonding onto carbon-coated ePTFE grafts improves the patency and in vivo thromboresistance and results in a decrease in intraluminal graft thrombus. This graft may be useful in the clinical setting