Manager Perceptions of the Impact of Consolidation on the U.K. Independent Television Production Industry

This paper explores the impact that consolidation has had on the UK’s Independent Television Production Industry over the past decade and how this process had affected the running of different sized production companies. In-depth interviews with a number of influential professionals revealed five themes: the management of small companies, post acquisition, had not changed; economies of scale can be attributed to an increase in scale; medium sized companies would find it increasingly difficult to compete; the emergence of the Super Indie had not stifled creativity in the industry; a key driver in the consolidation process is that of individual gain. Key words: Independent Television Production, Industry Consolidation, Key Drivers, Super Indies, United Kingdom

Limited access orders in the developing world :a new approach to the problems of development

The upper-income, advanced industrial countries of the world today all have market economies with open competition, competitive multi-party democratic political systems, and a secure government monopoly over violence. Such open access orders, however, are not the only norm and equilibrium type of society. The middle and low-income developing countries today, like all countries before about 1800, can be understood as limited access orders that maintain their equilibrium in a fundamentally different way. In limited access orders, the state does not have a secure monopoly on violence, and society organizes itself to control violence among the elite factions. A common feature of limited access orders is that political elites divide up control of the economy, each getting some share of the rents. Since outbreaks of violence reduce the rents, the elite factions have incentives to be peaceable most of the time. Adequate stability of the rents and thus of the social order requires limiting access and competition-hence a social order with a fundamentally different logic than the open access order. This paper lays out such a framework and explores some of its implications for the problems of development today.Corporate Law,Labor Policies,Public Sector Corruption&Anticorruption Measures,E-Business,Disability

A Bayesian model for classifying all differentially expressed proteins simultaneously in 2D PAGE gels

Background: Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D PAGE) is commonly used to identify differentially expressed proteins under two or more experimental or observational conditions. Wu et al (2009) developed a univariate probabilistic model which was used to identify differential expression between Case and Control groups, by applying a Likelihood Ratio Test (LRT) to each protein on a 2D PAGE. In contrast to commonly used statistical approaches, this model takes into account the two possible causes of missing values in 2D PAGE: either (1) the non-expression of a protein; or (2) a level of expression that falls below the limit of detection.Results: We develop a global Bayesian model which extends the previously described model. Unlike the univariate approach, the model reported here is able treat all differentially expressed proteins simultaneously. Whereas each protein is modelled by the univariate likelihood function previously described, several global distributions are used to model the underlying relationship between the parameters associated with individual proteins. These global distributions are able to combine information from each protein to give more accurate estimates of the true parameters. In our implementation of the procedure, all parameters are recovered by Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) integration. The 95% highest posterior density (HPD) intervals for the marginal posterior distributions are used to determine whether differences in protein expression are due to differences in mean expression intensities, and/or differences in the probabilities of expression.Conclusions: Simulation analyses showed that the global model is able to accurately recover the underlying global distributions, and identify more differentially expressed proteins than the simple application of a LRT. Additionally, simulations also indicate that the probability of incorrectly identifying a protein as differentially expressed (i.e., the False Discovery Rate) is very low. The source code is available at https://github.com/stevenhwu/BIDE-2D

Evaluating diverse electronic consultation programs with a common framework.

BackgroundElectronic consultation is an emerging mode of specialty care delivery that allows primary care providers and their patients to obtain specialist expertise without an in-person visit. While studies of individual programs have demonstrated benefits related to timely access to specialty care, electronic consultation programs have not achieved widespread use in the United States. The lack of common evaluation metrics across health systems and concerns related to the generalizability of existing evaluation efforts may be hampering further growth. We sought to identify gaps in knowledge related to the implementation of electronic consultation programs and develop a set of shared evaluation measures to promote further diffusion.MethodsUsing a case study approach, we apply the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) and the Quadruple Aim frameworks of evaluation to examine electronic consultation implementation across diverse delivery systems. Data are from 4 early adopter healthcare delivery systems (San Francisco Health Network, Mayo Clinic, Veterans Administration, Champlain Local Health Integration Network) that represent varied organizational structures, care for different patient populations, and have well-established multi-specialty electronic consultation programs. Data sources include published and unpublished quantitative data from each electronic consultation database and qualitative data from systems' end-users.ResultsOrganizational drivers of electronic consultation implementation were similar across the systems (challenges with timely and/or efficient access to specialty care), though unique system-level facilitators and barriers influenced reach, adoption and design. Effectiveness of implementation was consistent, with improved patient access to timely, perceived high-quality specialty expertise with few negative consequences, garnering high satisfaction among end-users. Data about patient-specific clinical outcomes are lacking, as are policies that provide guidance on the legal implications of electronic consultation and ideal remuneration strategies.ConclusionA core set of effectiveness and implementation metrics rooted in the Quadruple Aim may promote data-driven improvements and further diffusion of successful electronic consultation programs

Cytotoxicity of engineered nanoparticles used in industrial processing

Engineered nanoparticles (NPs) are now heavily used in industrial processing where they are eliminated as waste after use. This waste is a mix of used nanoparticles and process byproducts. While research continues to be done on the toxicity of NPs due to size and composition of pristine material, waste NPs from industrial processes are likely to have modified properties that impact their level of toxicity. These studies investigate this transformation in physicochemical properties that has not been adequately explored by examining waste from relevant high-volume chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) processes used by the semiconductor industry. New (pristine) polish slurries and generated waste samples from various key CMP processes are fully characterized for relevant physicochemical properties to determine any transformation of NPs due to processing. Additionally, high throughput in vitro microplate-based assays assess the toxicity, oxidative stress, and mode of cell death for nanoparticles in both pristine and waste slurries to highlight any differences in biological effects. A combination of darkfield microscopy and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) indicate cellular uptake of slurry nanoparticles. The results of this study explore the type, magnitude, and biological effect of transformed nanoparticles in CMP waste. The results presented support nanoparticle transformation as an important facet to consider in the risk assessment for new materials

Morphology, structure, and tectonic evolution of the Mona Canyon, Puerto Rico

The Mona Canyon is a z-shaped, 20-30 km-wide, 140 km-long, and 2-3.5 km-deep atypical submarine canyon that incises the Greater Antilles island arc off the northwest coast of Puerto Rico. This is the first study to systematically integrate multiple sets of marine geophysical data, including multibeam bathymetry, sidescan sonar imagery, single- and multi-channel seismic reflection profiles, and earthquakes to evaluate the morphology, structure, and the tectonic evolution of the Mona Canyon. The data suggest that the Mona Canyon is a half-graben structure that is controlled by the listric Mona Canyon master fault on the east side of the canyon, and antithetic faults on the west side of the canyon. The interpreted marine geophysical data leads to a proposed extensional model for the formation of the Mona Canyon. A structural restoration of the central Mona Canyon performed in this study indicates that extension in the Mona Canyon appears to have initiated in the Middle Oligocene, approximately 30 Ma. This is in contrast to the previous estimate of 1.2 Ma that was predicted using differential GPS vectors between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. The extension is proposed to have occurred over two phases. Phase I occurred from the Middle Oligocene to Late Miocene, and was a slow, initial stage of at least 1.66 km. Phase II occurred from the Late Miocene to the Recent, and was a more rapid, late stage extension of at least 4.39 km, for a total minimum extension through the Recent of 6.05 km. On October 11, 1918, a M7.2 earthquake near the southern end of the Mona Canyon generated a 4-6 m-high tsunami that inundated the northwest coast of Puerto Rico, and claimed over 100 lives. This study presents evidence for a 7 km-wide, 200 m-high amphitheater-shaped headscarp in the southern Mona Canyon that is located in the same region as two submarine cable breaks that occurred after the 1918 tsunami. Numerical modeling performed using the southern Mona Canyon mass wasting feature as a source mechanism for the deadly 1918 tsunami generates a wave that matches well with the observed 4-6 m-high run-up, phase, and timing

Increase in penguin populations during the Little Ice Age in the Ross Sea, Antarctica

Penguins are an important seabird species in Antarctica and are sensitive to climate and environmental changes. Previous studies indicated that penguin populations increased when the climate became warmer and decreased when it became colder in the maritime Antarctic. Here we determined organic markers in a sediment profile collected at Cape Bird, Ross Island, high Antarctic, and reconstructed the history of Adélie penguin colonies at this location over the past 700 years. The region transformed from a seal to a penguin habitat when the Little Ice Age (LIA; 1500–1800 AD) began. Penguins then became the dominant species. Penguin populations were the highest during ca. 1490 to 1670 AD, a cold period, which is contrary to previous results in other regions much farther north. Different responses to climate change may occur at low latitudes and high latitudes in the Antarctic, even if for same species

Urologist burnout: Frequency, causes, and potential solutions to an unspoken entity

Physician burnout has been linked to decreased job performance, increased medical errors, interpersonal conflicts, and depression. Recent multispecialty studies suggest that urologists have higher rates (up to 63.6%) of burnout compared to physicians in other specialties; however, these reports were limited by low sample sizes.1 We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of urologist burnout, verify risk factors, and recommend preventative measures and solutions for colleagues at risk or suffering from burnout. Urologist burnout is a true entity that transcends level of training and nationality. Its roots appear to be deep-seated in our tireless efforts to strive for excellence in care for our patients, our growing academic and research pursuits, and surmounting administrative responsibilities; these virtues, which are regarded as the foundations of our career successes, are often obtained at the expense of personal health and wellbeing, as well as family sacrifice. Various other medical societies have become increasingly vocal about the issue of physician burnout and have actively initiated successful strategies to minimize its impact on their members. As an organization with a strong national presence, the Canadian Urological Association (CUA) should promote tools to prevent and interventions to assist those at risk for and suffering from burnout. Increased awareness in the general medical community has led to strategies and tools that can help prevent, identify, or assist physicians in their recovery from burnout. The CUA should develop and facilitate access to information and offer comprehensive support for urologists struggling with burnout

Organizational culture and international education : case studies at selected institutions

The purpose of this study was to examine, describe, and explain the relationship between a school's organizational culture and the development of international education programs on that campus. In addition, the study compared the development of these programs at two different institutions and determined possible reasons for why these programs developed on one campus and not on the other. A comparative, historical case study was constructed using data from a people trail and a paper trail. The people trail consisted of a series of interviews with involved administrators, faculty, and students at each institution. A paper trail was summarized by examining college catalogs, mission statements, campus newspapers, and other pertinent written documents that chronicled the development of international education programs on each campus

A study of the ideal teacher : heroic metaphors of teacher in popular literature

One of the important problems teachers face today is an alienation that has developed from a loss of mythic grounding of the ideal. The dissertation focuses on the question of what is meant by the ideal teacher. The paper delineates three realms of the ideal teacher, a spiritual realm, a cultural realm, and a professional realm. These powerful images are examined against a backdrop of an ever expanding fourth realm, the bureaucratic or technocratic ideal which the author states can never be heroic. Archetypes are examined for each realm and a category system is developed that envisions the three realms as linked by heroic purpose or activity. The effect of bureaucracy on those realms is then assessed. The author posits the belief that the bureaucratic mode and behaviorist evaluations of teachers have denied the possibility of teachers engaging in heroic action. Images of heroic teacher are expressed in popular culture which also reflect Images of the ideal. This Idea is examined in three recent reflections of the teacher as hero. They are Pat Conroy's autobiography The Water is Wide: the film Stand and Deliver, Which centers on Jaime Escalante; and John Updike's The Centaur, the story of George Caldwell, a teacher whose persona is mythologically represented by Chiron, the wisest of the Centaurs