California Dreaming? Cross-Cluster Embeddedness and the Systematic Non-Emergence of the 'Next Silicon Valley'

The importance of social embeddedness in economic activity is now widely accepted. Embeddedness has been shown to be particularly significant in explaining the trajectory of regional development. Nonetheless, most studies of embeddeddness and its impacts have treated each locale as an independent unit. Following recent calls for the study of cross-cluster social interactions, we look at the consistent failure of numerous localities in the United States with high potential to emulate Silicon Valley and achieve sustained success in the ICT industry. The paper contends that the answer lies in high-technology clusters being part of a larger system. Therefore, we must include in our analysis of their social structure the influence of cross-cluster embeddedness of firms and entrepreneurs. These cross-clusters dynamics lead to self-reinforcing social fragmentation in the aspiring clusters and, in time, to the creation of an industrial system in the United States based on stable dominant and subordinate (feeder) clusters. The paper expands theories of industrial clusters, focusing on social capital, networks, and embeddedness arguments, to explain a world with one predominant cluster region. It utilizes a multimethod analysis of the ICT industry centered in Atlanta, Georgia, as an empirical example to elaborate and hone these theoretical arguments.

Integrating Interprofessional Education and Simulation in Community Health: Evaluation of a Practice-based Student Clinic

There is an increasing need to deliver high quality integrated health services which address expanding numbers and increasing complexity of clients attending for health and social care. Despite demands to educate a future health care workforce with the capacity to deliver integrated team based services to meet these needs there is little in the literature about interprofessional education (IPE) in community health. We developed and evaluated a unique pilot simulated interprofessional student supervised clinic, integrated into the practice in a rural community health service. Pairs of students from two different disciplines interviewed a volunteer simulated client (SC) representing a real client case, and prepared a health care plan for the SC. Thematic analysis revealed overlap between the two groups. Both groups saw it as a positive experience. Students’ responses to a questionnaire revealed they increased their client focus, interacted more with the other disciplines and found it highly realistic and authentic. Analysis of phone interviews with SCs confirmed the realism. SCs also saw it as supporting students’ learning for the real world, and acknowledged the importance of support for themselves. This project confirms the perceived value of practice-based IPE with SCs from the perspectives of students and SCs in social care

Science in the Time of COVID-19: The Feasibility of Online Data Collection in Developmental Populations

COVID-19 restrictions resulted in many scientists pausing data collection (Maga et al., 2020). Virtual data collection may be an option and has been used for over a decade for experiments with adult participants (Buhrmester et al., 2016). Using virtual or remote data collection has not been well studied in developmental science given the nature of the populations that are studied (infants and toddlers). We evaluated the feasibility of virtual data collection, using a website called Lookit, for examining word learning in toddlers. Participants (N=49), ages 18-36 months, were presented with novel spoken word-shape pairs as their eye movements were recorded. All data were collected on Lookit. Parents were given explicit directions on experimental set up and study procedures. Toddlers then completed the experiment using their home computer and webcam. Video recordings of each experimental session were analyzed for parent adherence to study procedures and overall video quality. Results suggested that most parents followed the study directions. Video quality was generally good and appeared adequate for coding eye movements. In conclusion, virtual data collection appears to be a promising resource for developmental scientists

Population genetics of seaside Sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus) subspecies along the gulf of Mexico.

Seaside Sparrows (Ammodramus maritimus) along the Gulf of Mexico are currently recognized as four subspecies, including taxa in Florida (A. m. juncicola and A. m. peninsulae) and southern Texas (Ammodramus m. sennetti), plus a widespread taxon between them (A. m. fisheri). We examined population genetic structure of this Gulf Coast clade using microsatellite and mtDNA data. Results of Bayesian analyses (Structure, GeneLand) of microsatellite data from nine locations do not entirely align with current subspecific taxonomy. Ammodramus m. sennetti from southern Texas is significantly differentiated from all other populations, but we found evidence of an admixture zone with A. m. fisheri near Corpus Christi. The two subspecies along the northern Gulf Coast of Florida are significantly differentiated from both A. m. sennetti and A. m. fisheri, but are not distinct from each other. We found a weak signal of isolation by distance within A. m. fisheri, indicating this population is not entirely panmictic throughout its range. Although continued conservation concern is warranted for all populations along the Gulf Coast, A. m. fisheri appears to be more secure than the far smaller populations in south Texas and the northern Florida Gulf Coast. In particular, the most genetically distinct populations, those in Texas south of Corpus Christi, occupy unique habitats within a very small geographic range

In vivo modeling of patient genetic heterogeneity identifies new ways to target cholangiocarcinoma.

L. Boulter was funded by The Wellcome Trust (207793/Z/17/Z), AMMF (2016/108, 2017/115), and Cancer Research UK (C52499/A27948). L. Boulter is also supported by an MRC university grant to the MRC Human Genetics Unit

Ten lessons on the resilience of the EU common fisheries policy towards climate change and fuel efficiency - A call for adaptive, flexible and well-informed fisheries management

To effectively future-proof the management of the European Union fishing fleets we have explored a suite of case studies encompassing the northeast and tropical Atlantic, the Mediterranean, Baltic and Black Seas. This study shows that European Union (EU) fisheries are likely resilient to climate-driven short-term stresses, but may be negatively impacted by long-term trends in climate change. However, fisheries' long-term stock resilience can be improved (and therefore be more resilient to increasing changes in climate) by adopting robust and adaptive fisheries management, provided such measures are based on sound scientific advice which includes uncertainty. Such management requires regular updates of biological reference points. Such updates will delineate safe biological limits for exploitation, providing both high long-term yields with reduced risk of stock collapse when affected by short-term stresses, and enhanced compliance with advice to avoid higher than intended fishing mortality. However, high resilience of the exploited ecosystem does not necessarily lead to the resilience of the economy of EU fisheries from suffering shocks associated with reduced yields, neither to a reduced carbon footprint if fuel use increases from lower stock abundances. Fuel consumption is impacted by stock development, but also by changes in vessel and gear technologies, as well as fishing techniques. In this respect, energy-efficient fishing technologies already exist within the EU, though implementing them would require improving the uptake of innovations and demonstrating to stakeholders the potential for both reduced fuel costs and increased catch rates. A transition towards reducing fuel consumption and costs would need to be supported by the setup of EU regulatory instruments. Overall, to effectively manage EU fisheries within a changing climate, flexible, adaptive, well-informed and well-enforced management is needed, with incentives provided for innovations and ocean literacy to cope with the changing conditions, while also reducing the dependency of the capture fishing industry on fossil fuels. To support such management, we provide 10 lessons to characterize 'win-win' fishing strategies for the European Union, which develop leverages in which fishing effort deployed corresponds to Maximum Sustainable Yield targets and Common Fisheries Policy minimal effects objectives. In these strategies, higher catch is obtained in the long run, less fuel is spent to attain the catch, and the fisheries have a higher resistance and resilience to shock and long-term factors to face climate-induced stresses

WORKSHOP ON GUIDELINES FOR MANAGEMENT STRATEGY EVALUATIONS (WKGMSE2)

The purpose of the meeting was to bring up to date the methodologies and technical specifications that should be incorporated in Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) work in ICES. The workshop was tasked with reviewing recent methodological and practical MSE work conducted in ICES and around the world, as well as the guidelines provided by the 2013 ICES Workshop on Guidelines for Management Strategy Evaluations (WKGMSE). The Terms of Reference indicated that the revision should include all aspects involved in MSE, while paying specific attention to several issues that had been identified through ICES practice. The Terms of Reference also requested WKGMSE 2 to consider how best to disseminate the guidelines to experts within the ICES community and the need for training courses. The workshop addressed all its Terms of Reference. The main results of the workshop are the revised MSE guidelines, as well as recommendations in relation to the ICES criterion for defining a management strategy as precautionary and in relation to the evaluation and advice on rebuilding strategies.publishedVersio

Reconceptualizing CSR in the media industry as relational accountability

In this paper, we reconceptualize CSR in the media industries by combining empirical data with theoretical perspectives emerging from the communication studies and business ethics literature. We develop a new conception of what corporate responsibility in media organizations may mean in real terms by bringing Bardoel and d’Haenens’ (European Journal of Communication 19 165–194 2004) discussion of the different dimensions of media accountability into conversation with the empirical results from three international focus group studies, conducted in France, the USA and South Africa. To enable a critical perspective on our findings, we perform a philosophical analysis of its implications for professional, public, market, and political accountability in the media, drawing on the insights of Paul Virilio. We come to the conclusion that though some serious challenges to media accountability exist, the battle for responsible media industries is not lost. In fact, the speed characterizing the contemporary media environment may hold some promise for fostering the kind of relational accountability that could underpin a new understanding of CSR in the media