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COVID-19 vaccine refusal as unfair free-riding
Get PDFContributions to COVID-19 vaccination programmes promise valuable collective goods. They can support public and individual health by creating herd immunity and taking the pressure off overwhelmed public health services; support freedom of movement by enabling governments to remove restrictive lockdown policies; and improve economic and social well-being by allowing businesses, schools, and other essential public services to re-open. The vaccinated can contribute to the production of these goods. The unvaccinated, who benefit from, but who do not contribute to these goods can be morally criticised as free-riders. In this paper defends the claim that in the case of COVID-19, the unvaccinated are unfair free-riders. I defend the claim against two objections. First, that they are not unfair free-riders because they lack the subjective attitudes and intentions of free-riders; second, that although the unvaccinated may be free-riders, their free-riding is not unfair. [Abstract copyright: © 2024. The Author(s).
The source of heterogeneous externalities : evidence from foreign multinationals in the UK
No full textThe relationship between inward investments and local firms’ productivity is contingent on several contextual conditions that collectively define the ability of firms and regions to recognise, assimilate and commercially apply external knowledge. Yet the empirical literature has been unable to account efficiently for such multidimensional sources of heterogeneous externalities. We introduce a novel two-stage empirical methodology that allows accounting for a wide range of moderating circumstances. Relying on a sample of 11,000 UK firms over the period 2012–2018, we show that while the nature of places affects the potential externalities from multinational enterprises (MNEs), what matters more are firm-level characteristics. This has important implications for regional policy, particularly in understanding the drivers of inequality, both within and across regions
Design control and management of intelligent and autonomous nanorobots with artificial intelligence for Prevention and monitoring of blood related diseases
No full textThe effective management of human bloodstream remains to be the prime focus for the clinicians over years and it impose greater challenges when it comes to real-time solution. In particular managing hypoxemia and detection of blood clots is most pertinent. One major challenge faced is the existence of limited training data generated from real-world scenarios. On the other hand, creating an efficient model is often time consuming and expensive. This paper focusses on effective convergence of artificial intelligence and nanorobotics technologies to design and implement autonomous intelligent nanorobots to deal with blood related diseases. The major contribution of the research is two-fold, first we define an efficient architecture of the nanorobotics system with appropriate design parameter. Next, we develop a novel semi-supervised learning model using stochastic gradient descent method and kernel space that efficiently control and manage the nanorobots and helps in earlier prognosis and treatment of blood related diseases. The proposed model is novel and efficient as it enables working at nanoscale, providing resourceful understanding on physical and chemical properties associated with human body. The use of artificial intelligence techniques further makes the system to work more intelligently and independently. COSMOL with integrated MATLAB environment is used for experimental setup and simulation. MNIST dataset is compared with online RP tree method and other conventional batch related techniques. The performance analysis is compared based on performance, error rates and risk related factors. The proposed approach provides significant improvement in terms of performance with minimal error rate and improved accuracy measures
Innovation and sales growth intentions among the solopreneurs : the role of experience and entrepreneurial self-efficacy
No full textIt is widely accepted that the self-employed enjoy non-pecuniary benefits from their employment status. They have greater freedom and autonomy in running their businesses and can pursue their intrinsic ambitions relying on their experience and abilities. In this paper we focus on the group of solopreneurs – solo self-employed who have decided to remain as single employee businesses. What determines turnover growth and product/service innovation intentions among these firms? Within this interplay, previous experience from innovation and growth episodes, as well as entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) plays crucial roles. We empirically analyse the relationship between, and the determinants of, innovation and growth intentions using data on a large sample of UK solopreneurs. Empirical results suggest that past innovation performance and growth shape future solopreneurial intentions through an adaptive learning process given the level of perceived ESE for each future objective. Nonetheless, empirical results suggest that for female and young solopreneurs, ESE does not contribute positively to shaping sales growth and innovation intentions
How educational leaders can maximise the social capital benefits of inter-school networks : findings from a systematic review
No full textPurpose
Educators need to engage in continuous learning to ensure that their knowledge and practice responds to the changing needs of society and students. Collaborative approaches, in which social capital resource is exchanged, can serve as an effective way of facilitating such learning. With this systematic review, the authors identify the opportunities and benefits inter-school social capital networks might bring by exploring: (1) what inter-school networks are available internationally for primary and secondary schools, (2) the features and activities present within inter-school networks and (3) evidence of impact of inter-school network activities.
Design/methodology/approach
For this study, the authors employed a systematic review methodology. The review comprised the five stages of the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: PRISMA, 2021) protocol. The study findings derived from 111 research outputs (from a total of 1,221 originally identified).
Findings
The review highlights a number of different inter-school networks and their diverse purposes as well as key network features, such as the actors present in networks and the activities network participants engage with. At the same time, however, the authors only identify limited reliable evidence of the impact of inter-school networks.
Originality/value
The study fills a knowledge gap by exploring, for the first time, the presence, features of inter-school social capital networks available to school leaders as well as investigating the impact of these networks
Respiratory viruses and atypical bacteria
No full textThis chapter considers the main viral and atypical bacterial causes of acute respiratory infectious disease with particular concern for the low- and middle-income settings. The chapter covers endemic and zoonotic pathogens, with an overview of the wide breadth of aetiological agents, the distinctive clinical syndromes, particularly pneumonia and bronchiolitis, co-infections, and the characteristic patterns of distribution in the host population, i.e. temporal spatial and age-related. It also describes methods of diagnosis, what treatments are available, and what measures are for prevention. We hope to convey something of the awesome nature of these respiratory pathogens, the magnitude of the burden on human health, their remarkable diversity in aetiology, origin and transmission, and the potential and challenges for control and prevention
Vegetation growth promotion and overall strength improvement using biopolymers in vegetated soils
Get PDFPlanting vegetation is a sustainable and eco-friendly method for shallow slope stabilization. However, in water-limited regions, this method is facing challenges like retarded vegetation growth, which leads to unprotected soils. Biopolymer, with potentials in both vegetation growth promotion and soil strength enhancement, is therefore tested in this paper with regard to its possibility in assisting soil reinforcement with vegetation through vegetation cultivation and direct shear tests. Both sugar-based and protein-based biopolymers improved water availability to growing plants and nutrient uptake. The most suitable polysaccharide xanthan gum was adopted to further explore the effects of treatment condition (i.e., blending content) and external environment (i.e., precipitation) on the vegetated soil performances. Under a variety of water supply, xanthan gum with a medium blending content of 0.5% (i.e., with respect to dry soil mass) led to the most substantial improvement in the ability to resist shear loading. This indicates that the appropriate dosage of biopolymer used at the initial stage of plant growth, should provide moderate bond strength between soil particles, whilst not impeding root penetration. Supported by the obtained results, biopolymer is suggested to be used in combination with plants for soil reinforcement for the best efficiency
Properties of fibre-reinforced self-compacting concrete subjected to prolonged mixing : an experimental and fuzzy logic investigation
Get PDFThis article investigates the effect of prolonged mixing on the rheological properties and compressive strength of fibre-reinforced self-compacting concretes (FRSCCs). Twenty FRSCC mixes with five cementitious material contents (300, 350, 400, 450 and 500 kg/m3) and three types of fibres and dosages (polypropylene at 0.1%, steel at 1.0%, or synthetic at 1.0%) were first produced. The mixes were then subjected to four mixing intervals of 20 min each (total mixing time = 80 min). The rheological properties of the fresh FRSCC mixes were examined, and the corresponding compressive strength of the hardened FRSCCs was subsequently obtained. Overall, the results from slump flow, T50, V-funnel and L-box tests on fresh mixes, as well as the 28-day compressive strength on the hardened FRSCCs, were in line with previous results reported in the literature. The results show that all mixes lost their self-compacting properties after 80 min of mixing. It was also found that mixes with high cementitious material contents (500 kg/m3) and highest polypropylene fibre dosage were most affected by prolonged mixing, with average losses of 30% and 35% in rheological properties and compressive strength, respectively. Based on the test results, this study proposes a novel fuzzy logic approach to predict the slump loss and at 28-day compressive strength loss of FRSCCs subjected to prolonged mixing. This article contributes towards a better understanding of FRSCCs after prolonged mixing, which can help make informed decisions about their use in new and repaired concrete structures
Deconcentrating regulation in low- and middle-income country health systems : a proposed ambidextrous solution to problems with professional regulation for doctors and nurses in Kenya and Uganda
Get PDFBackground:
Regulation can improve professional practice and patient care, but is often weakly implemented and enforced in health systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Taking a de-centred and frontline perspective, we examine national regulatory actors’ and health professionals’ views and experiences of health professional regulation in Kenya and Uganda and discuss how it might be improved in LMICs more generally.
Methods:
We conducted large-scale research on professional regulation for doctors and nurses (including midwives) in Uganda and Kenya during 2019–2021. We interviewed 29 national regulatory stakeholders and 47 subnational regulatory actors, doctors, and nurses. We then ran a national survey of Kenyan and Ugandan doctors and nurses, which received 3466 responses. We thematically analysed qualitative data, conducted an exploratory factor analysis of survey data, and validated findings in four focus group discussions.
Results:
Kenyan and Ugandan regulators were generally perceived as resource-constrained, remote, and out of touch with health professionals. This resulted in weak regulation that did little to prevent malpractice and inadequate professional education and training. However, interviewees were positive about online licencing and regulation where they had relationships with accessible regulators. Building on these positive findings, we propose an ambidextrous approach to improving regulation in LMIC health systems, which we term deconcentrating regulation. This involves developing online licencing and streamlining regulatory administration to make efficiency savings, freeing regulatory resources. These resources should then be used to develop connected subnational regulatory offices, enhance relations between regulators and health professionals, and address problems at local level.
Conclusion:
Professional regulation for doctors and nurses in Kenya and Uganda is generally perceived as weak. Yet these professionals are more positive about online licencing and regulation where they have relationships with regulators. Building on these positive findings, we propose deconcentrating regulation as a solution to regulatory problems in LMICs. However, we note resource, cultural and political barriers to its effective implementation