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Negative political identities and costly political action
No full textElite and mass level politics in many Western democracies is increasingly characterised by the expression of negative feelings towards political out-groups. While the
existence of these feelings is well-documented, there is little evidence on the consequences of activating political identities during election campaigns. We test whether
fundraising emails containing negative or positive political identity cues lead party supporters to donate money via a large pre-registered digital field experiment conducted
in collaboration with a British political party. We find that emails containing negative as opposed to positive identity cues lead to a higher number and frequency of donations. We also find that negative identity cues were only effective when paired with an issue identity rather than a traditional party identity cue, resulting in a 15% increase in the probability of donating over the untreated control. Our results provide novel experimental evidence on the behavioural effects of activating identities in real-world political campaigns
Sparse linear least squares problems
Get PDFLeast squares problems are a cornerstone of computational
science and engineering. Over the years, the size of the problems that researchers and practitioners face has constantly increased, making it essential that sparsity is exploited in the solution process. The goal of this article is to present a broad review of key algorithms for solving large-scale linear least squares problems. This includes sparse direct methods and algebraic preconditioners thatare used in combination with iterative solvers. Where software is available, this is highlighted
Exploring student consensus about module-level ethnicity awarding gaps: a Delphi approach
Get PDFAttention to awarding gaps in higher education linked to ethnicity tend to focus on outcomes at final award. Our project sought to scrutinise awarding gaps at module level where these gaps may emerge. Our aim is twofold: (1) to identify the most important barriers to student success and determine strategies to reduce awarding gaps at module level, as perceived by students from various ethnic backgrounds; and (2) to investigate to what extent there is consensus amongst students of various ethnic backgrounds regarding these barriers and strategies. We employed a two-phase Delphi approach. The first phase involved data analytics to identify modules with awarding gaps in Health and Life Sciences Undergraduate degree programmes. The second phase employed a Delphi approach to collect student feedback on barriers to success and strategies to overcome these barriers, focusing on culture, curriculum, and assessment. The study engaged 36 students in the first round and 53 in the second round. Our research confirmed the existence of awarding gaps at the module level. Students reached consensus on 55 out of 79 factors affecting their academic performance, with notable differences between White and racially minoritised student groups. This study suggests that to close awarding gaps, both a module-level approach and a deep commitment to listen to our students will be needed. Our findings offer actionable recommendations for embedding this understanding into existing university procedures, thereby fostering more equitable educational outcomes
Finding George Freeman: a ‘Liberated African’ in Berkshire in the age of abolition
Get PDFThis article comprises a biography of George Freeman, an African boy ‘liberated’ from
enslavement in West Africa and relocated to the countryside of Berkshire, UK. The
article contributes to scholarship on the long-term presence and lived experiences of
Black people in Britain, using digital humanities techniques and parochial records from
the county of Berkshire to map the presence of Black people (and other minority
ethnicities) in rural English counties. It also uses Freeman’s biography to engage in
wider discussions concerning the precarious experiences of ‘Liberated Africans’. These
two research areas are combined to construct Freeman’s biography as a global
microhistory, adding to the growing scholarship that aims to overcome these areas of
archival silence within histories of slavery and abolition
Threat reduction must be coupled with targeted recovery programmes to conserve global bird diversity
Get PDFAmbitious international commitments have been made to preserve biodiversity, with the goal of preventing extinctions and maintaining ecosystem resilience, yet the efficacy of large-scale protection for preventing near-term extinctions remains unclear. Here, we used a trait-based approach to show that global actions—such as the immediate abatement of all threats across at least half of species ranges for ~10,000 bird species—will only prevent half of the projected species extinctions and functional diversity loss attributable to current and future threats in the next 100 years. Nonetheless, targeted recovery programmes prioritizing the protection of the 100 most functionally unique threatened birds could avoid 68% of projected functional diversity loss. Actions targeting ‘habitat loss and degradation’ will prevent the greatest number of species extinctions and proportion of functional diversity loss relative to other drivers of extinction, whereas control of ‘hunting and collection’ and ‘disturbance and accidental mortality’ would save fewer species but disproportionately boost functional richness. These findings show that conservation of avian diversity requires action partitioned across all drivers of decline and highlight the importance of understanding and mitigating the ecological impacts of species extinctions that are predicted to occur even under optimistic levels of conservation action
Analysis of pesticides by using GC-EI-MS and GC-DBDI-MS
Get PDFOrganic pesticides are chemical compounds used to control pests and diseases that affect
plants. Pesticides are hydrocarbon based and usually contain complex combinations of
functional groups, heteroatoms and structural types. The organochlorine pesticides
feature at least one, but normally many more C-Cl bonds. These pesticides are known to
be stable, many incorporating multiple rings some of which are substituted benzene rings;
one notorious example is DDT.Organochlorine pesticides have a significant half-life in
the environment, which leads to accumulation in agricultural crops. The organophosphate
pesticide class contains the phosphate functional group normally as a phosphate ester.
This functional group makes them effective inhibitors of the acetylcholine esterase
(AChE) enzyme class found in insects. As this enzyme class is critical to human health,
organophosphates are known to have toxic effects in humans and animals. The presence
of nitrogen in the composition of pesticides gives rise to the organonitrogen pesticide
class usually typified by the presence of a carbamate functional group., This class is
known to target and disrupt the nerve system of insects and other pests. The Pyrethroids
are synthetic insecticides that are of a more traditional hydrocarbon formula, they are a
class adapted from natural pyrethroids that cause hyperexcitability in the nerve cells of
insects through binding to sodium channels. In the end, as with most ‘treatments’
combination therapy achieved through the use of multiple pesticides with different
biological and physical properties leads to effective control but also serious questions
around residual contamination of products entering the human food chain.
Concerns around toxic compounds entering the food chain brings regulation and chemical
analysis to the fore. Thus, gas chromatography (GC) with Mass spectrometry (MS) has
been found to be particularly suitable for pesticide analysis, especially with modern high-precision instruments. In addition, the flexibility shown by Massspectrometry (MS) when
using different ionisation methods allows for better coverage of a class of molecules that
have distinctly different properties., Furthermore, the mass spectrometer can be coupled
with gas chromatography allowing the sample components to be separated prior to MS
analysis. In light of this, the development of mass spectrometry techniques for analysing
a wide range of pesticides is important and will provide a more selective and more
accurate methods of detection.
In this work, the effectiveness of the mass spectrometry methodology in pesticide analysis
using different devices such as GC-FID, GC-EI-ITQMS, GC-SICRIT-LTQMS, and GC-EI-MSD was evaluated. The emphasis of the study is on the effectiveness of a soft
ionization source, recently commercialized (SICRIT) when compared to established
electron ionization (EI) methods. The study compares and contrasts the use of SICRIT vs
EI across a number of GC-MS setups for the detection and analysis of the organochlorine,
organonitrogen, organophosphate and pyrethroid classes
Corporate governance in hybrid state-owned enterprises: from the theoretical to the practical
No full textThis thesis offers two substantial contributions to the field of corporate governance. First, it
provides a comprehensive critical analysis of the existing governance models for partially state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Second, it proposes an innovative new framework for the governance
of such companies, in the form of a sliding scale model. Partial SOEs, which involve a mixture of
government and private ownership, are identified in this thesis as “hybrid SOEs”.
The opening sections present a significant new exploration of current governance models –
what this thesis terms the “state model” – for hybrid SOEs. This includes both a full-scale
theoretical analysis and case studies of some major companies from around the world. The
discussion highlights the diversity of control and ownership structures in hybrid SOEs, the
different forms that government influence in these companies can take, and the specific risks and
challenges these pose. It demonstrates that there is currently no single state model for hybrid SOEs,
and argues the need for a new forward-looking governance model that can cope with the complex
nature of these companies, and balance shareholder rights with government authority.
The proposed new governance model, the pioneering contribution of this thesis, is then
presented. This takes the form of a sliding scale that offers a range of different regulatory
approaches. At its core is a set of self-enforcing rights designed to empower shareholders and serve
as a check on government power. The proposed model provides a practical approach (a toolkit)
that reflects the unique risks and challenges faced by hybrid SOEs. The flexibility of this model is
crucial, as this is what ensures its relevance across different settings.
With its thorough examination of the current situation and proposed new governance model,
this thesis presents an important contribution to governance knowledge. It also provides a valuable
foundation for future research or initiatives exploring the potential practical implementation of the
sliding scale model
Attention and learning in L2 multimodality: a webcam-based eye-tracking study
Get PDFMultimodal input can significantly support second language (L2) vocabulary learning and comprehension. However, very little research has examined how L2 learners, especially young learners, allocate attention when exposed to such input and whether learning from multimodal input can be explained by attention allocation. This study therefore investigated individual differences in attention allocation during L2 vocabulary learning with multimodal input and how vocabulary learning and comprehension were influenced by these differences. Forty young learners of French watched two types of multimodal input (Written+Audio+Picture vs. Written+Speaker+Video) and had their eye-movements recorded through online webcam-based eye-tracking technology. They also completed tests of comprehension, vocabulary, and phonological short-term memory (PSTM). We show that greater attention was allocated to the non-verbal input in video than in picture format, and such attention allocation differences were further negatively predicted by learners’ PSTM capacity. Additionally, increased attention to the non-verbal element, whether video or picture, resulted in better overall comprehension and larger vocabulary gains in meaning recognition and recall. Our findings give new insights into the role of attention and how it can be maximized, with both theoretical and pedagogical implications for multimodal L2 learning