Excess or wasteful commuting assessed by sex and socio-economic group: London, Birmingham and Manchester, England

This research considers the application of an urban zonal travel optimisation model to the actual commuting patterns between residences and workplaces in the three largest English cities in 1981 and 1991. The model produces an estimate of the average commuting distance required if individuals could exchange residences and workplaces to minimise distance travelled. In contrast to previous work published by these authors (Transportation Research) individuals in this paper are classified separately by socio-economic group and by sex. Residences and workplaces can be matched only by persons of the same socio-economic group or sex. The proportion of the actual commuting distance above the optimum is defined as excess or wasteful commuting. The existing literature using this methodology can be criticised on the grounds that individuals of different socio-economic groups (essentially based on employment type) have had their residences and workplaces coupled prior to the excess commuting calculations. This is certainly not how urban labour markets work. This paper is the first example to undertake the matching by separate segments of the labour force and as a consequence achieve a better approximation of reality. The results are surprising and counterintuitive - there appears to greater wasteful commuting (according to this methodology) for individuals travelling shorter distances - most often equated with women and lower socio-economic groups.

Duality theory and cost function analysis in a regional context: the impact of public infrastructure capital in the Greek Regions

There has been a significant resurgence of interest in the effects of public capital on the economic fortunes of the private sector of late. This renewed concern was sparked by the research of Aschauer on US infrastructure and the ensuing debate between himself, Munnell and Holtz-Eakin. This debate and much of the subsequent work in the US and elsewhere has been conducted utilising production functions. There is, however, another potentially more rewarding strand in the infrastructure literature that is based on duality theory and cost function analysis. This approach has been thought of as overcoming some of the methodological problems inherent in the use of production functions in this research context. This paper, using cost functions, attempts to estimate the impact of the productive categories of the Public Investment Programme of Greece on regional development, and especially on large scale manufacturing activities. The results demonstrate that public capital has a significant positive impact on the performance of the private sector, and reduces private costs of production. Also considered here are the links between infrastructure provision and private sector input factors of production.

Capital and labour productivity convergence of manufacturing industry in the regions of Greece

Given that spatially uneven industrial growth is a prime topic in economic geography, it is surprising that changing regional productivity is a relatively understudied area. However, there are clear signs that this situation has started to change lately. Recent findings in the field of international economics regarding productivity convergence have led to a proliferation of studies focused on the sources of this phenomenon at the regional scale, with structural change and technological diffusion prominent. This paper explores the process of manufacturing productivity convergence in the regions of Greece. The first issue to be addressed is methodological and concerns the evolution of current thinking about productivity in regional analysis. Why is it the case that more attention seems to have been paid to the input factors of production, especially labour, rather than their productive use? Definitional issues in the measurement of productivity follow next. The main aim of the research is to estimate and understand the evolution of regional manufacturing productivity in Greece during the period 1984-1993. Detailed econometric analysis in this case is precluded by inadequate data, but rather more straightforward comparative analysis of labour and capital productivity clearly points to a significant convergence. A variety of approaches are then employed in an attempt to isolate and account for the forces behind regional productivity dynamics in Greece. Key words: capital productivity, convergence, labour productivity, regional disparities, uneven growth, Greek regions.

The Influence of International Organisations on Child Protection Policy in Vietnam

This thesis investigates the role and influence of child-focused international organisations (IOs) on child protection policy in Vietnam in the years between 1990, when Vietnam ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and passage of the national Law on Children in 2016. The investigation encompasses the ways in which international and domestic actors have interacted in child protection policy-making, the strategies used by IOs, the global child protection norms promoted by IOs, processes of norm diffusion and the extent to which global norms have been accepted, rejected or modified in Vietnam’s child protection system. The thesis draws on literature about the development of Vietnam’s child protection system, international organisations, norm diffusion and child protection policy, and applies a qualitative research methodology involving an organisational document review and 27 interviews with senior representatives from Vietnamese government departments, international organisations and local civil society organisations. The findings are that child-focused IOs, notably UNICEF and the large international non-governmental organisations, were highly influential in the development of Vietnam’s child protection policy and service system between 1990 and 2016. During this time, phases of legislative reform, policy development and service planning were undertaken to develop the first nationwide, state-administered child protection system. A conducive political environment fostered cooperation between IOs and the government of Vietnam, and receptivity to foreign ideas, that contributed strongly to child protection system development. IOs used their authoritative position as norm creators and technical experts to introduce global norms, standards and model programs. IOs used a range of strategies to advance their ideas including agenda setting, policy transfer and insider advocacy. Government officials maintained firm control over policy decisions and regulated the activities of IOs while being largely receptive to IOs’ ideas. Local, independent civil society actors were excluded from policy-making processes. The thesis also finds that IOs contributed to, and perpetuated, a dominant globalised ideal childhood that has been highly influential in policy-making for children. Many global norms regarding children’s rights and child protection have been uncritically adopted in Vietnam while others have been mediated and localised by local beliefs and structures. Indigenisation of global norms is found to have been inhibited by a failure to involve local civil society and limitations on public discourse

Evidence for the intense exchange of MazG in marine cyanophages by horizontal gene transfer

Background: S-PM2 is a phage capable of infecting strains of unicellular cyanobacteria belonging to the genus Synechococcus. S-PM2, like other myoviruses infecting marine cyanobacteria, encodes a number of bacterial-like genes. Amongst these genes is one encoding a MazG homologue that is hypothesized to be involved in the adaption of the infected host for production of progeny phage. Methodology/Principal Findings: This study focuses on establishing the occurrence of mazG homologues in other cyanophages isolated from different oceanic locations. Degenerate PCR primers were designed using the mazG gene of S-PM2. The mazG gene was found to be widely distributed and highly conserved among Synechococcus myoviruses and podoviruses from diverse oceanic provinces. Conclusions/Significance: This study provides evidence of a globally connected cyanophage gene pool, the cyanophage mazG gene having a small effective population size indicative of rapid lateral gene transfer despite being present in a substantial fraction of cyanophage. The Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus phage mazG genes do not cluster with the host mazG gene, suggesting that their primary hosts are not the source of the mazG gene

The 60's Man: Hierarchical structures and the Articulation of Male Experience in Selected Novels of Norman Mailer, Ken Kesey and Philip Roth

This thesis examines the masculine character in American literature. It focuses on representations of ideal masculinity and male character, power, hierarchical social ordering systems, and prestige. The subject matter is a selection of American literary texts depicting men during the 1960s. In the novels studied men are found to pursue power and prestige through hierarchical systems and institutions which work to naturalise the notion that men should conform to a particular archetype of "ideal" masculinity, and that even in texts which present male experience in other terms, male experience is seen to be conditioned by the pursuit of power and prestige through hierarchical structures. ... The novels on which the study focuses are Norman Mailer's 'An American Dream' (1965) and 'Why Are We in Vietnam' (1967); Ken Kesey's 'Sometimes a Great Notion' (1964); and Philip Roth's 'Portnoy's Complaint' (1969); 'The Ghost Writer' (1980); 'Zuckerman Unbound' (1981); and 'The Anatomy Lesson' (1983)

The IDEA Model as a Conceptual Framework for Designing Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) Messages Distributed via Mobile Phone Apps

Short response time available in the event of a major earthquake poses unique challenges for earthquake early warning (EEW). Mobile phone apps may be one way to deliver such messages effectively. In this two-phase study, several hundred participants were first randomly assigned to one of eight experimental conditions. Results of phase one afforded researchers the ability to reduce the number of conditions to four. Phase two consisted of five experimental conditions. In each condition, a 10 second EEW was delivered via a phone app. The four treatment conditions were designed according to elements of the IDEA model. The control condition was based on the actual ShakeAlert EEW computer program message being used by emergency managers across the US west coast at the time. Results of this experiment revealed that EEW messages designed according to the IDEA model were more effective in producing desired learning outcomes than the ShakeAlert control message. Thus, the IDEA model may provide an effective content framework for those choosing to develop such apps for EEW