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Modularity, life cycle and new entry without fundamental patents: lessons from the American household refrigerator industry before and after the great crash of 1929
Get PDFDespite the absence of live fundamental patents, early movers in a new industry can face a daunting task to
create a mass market. Using historical methods and rich archival materials we explore the role of modularity
in shaping an industry’s market structure. We show how shifting dynamics undermined established industry
“kingpins,” who invested heavily in product design, giant factories, and considerable marketing expenditures.
However, those investments paved the way for new entrants, using lower-cost strategies. Falling costs
associated with standardization, modularity, and third-party component manufacturers enabled late entrants
to undercut the prices of the successful early movers, leading to a substantial “shake-in” of small firms and
the dethroning of industry kingpins. The case of the household refrigerator shows the implications of a low
intellectual property regime that captured value before the rise of a dominant design, but increasingly lost
value capture on maturity
Affirming animal rights, anthropocentrically
Get PDFCalls to recognise animal rights and to abandon anthropocentrism are now virtually ubiquitous in pro-animal literature. However, these calls are plagued by conceptual confusion and theoretical misapprehensions. I recommend distinguishing between two meanings of anthropocentrism: epistemic anthropocentrism (the truism that we can only know the world as humans) and normative anthropocentrism (the idea that humans hold a special place in ethics). Anthropocentrism, in both these senses, is unavoidable. But this conclusion is without prejudice to the question of whether animals have (moral) rights. Animals have such rights because their well-being matters independently of our own; and yet we can only affirm animal rights anthropocentrically. The fact that animals have moral rights, however, does not entail that making animals holders of fundamental legal rights is the unmitigated good it has been recently assumed to be. Not only would introducing legally protected fundamental animal rights risk compromising human rights practice and prove divisive; there is also little reason to think it would constitute the solution it is touted to be for the shortcomings of underinclusive and underenforced animal welfare laws
A forensic facial examiner and professional team advantage for masked face identification
Get PDFFace masks and coverings are often encountered by facial examiners (‘examiners’) in forensic case work. Examiners are skilled at unconcealed face identifications, but their accuracy for masked face identifications is unknown, yet can be used as evidence in court. Here we test performance of an international sample of 61 examiners, 39 professional teams,
and 6 face identification algorithms for 20 image pairs. Pairs consisted of one unconcealed face image and one mask wearing face image. Examiners and professional teams
outperformed controls, but professional teams made the least errors of all groups. The algorithms achieved high accuracy on the task. The findings back the notion that examiners
use feature-based comparison strategies, and these are successful for matching images where one face wears a mask. Our results support the use of examiners for the identification of masked faces and suggest a role for teams and human-machine working in applied practice
Setting the sustainability agenda: the impact of luxury brands' SDG‐related tweets on consumer engagement
Get PDFThis study examines luxury market brands' communications related to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) on the social media platform “X,” and their impact on online consumer engagement. Our longitudinal study analyses 57,000 social media posts by 19 luxury brands (7-year period), revealing that social and environmental sustainability communications are the most popular to elicit consumer engagement, while economic sustainability messaging lacks a similar effect. The personal luxury industry (which includes apparel, footwear, watches, jewelry, and accessories) was chosen for this study as this industry faces unique challenges and more scrutiny over its practices. The study highlights the importance of sustainability communication in branded owned media, while emphasizing the role of the brand in shaping the public agenda through the content consumers like and share. Conceptually, agenda-setting theory is extended in this paper to cover luxury brand communications on social media. In this context, the theory is proven for some of the 17 SDGs; however, for economic agendas, extra strategic marketing practices beyond online social media communications may be required. Recommendations include prioritizing the reframing of economic sustainability communications and the continuation of the social and environmental sustainability messaging for consumer resonance
Natural Flood management (NFM) strategy using tillage preferences for agricultural production: a meta-modelling (Bayesian) approach
No full textClimate change triggers frequent adverse weather, increasing flood
risks and impacting crop production amid growing food demands. My
project aims to develop a method for integrating such complex systems
to aid decision-making and demonstrate it, for example, focusing on
the impact of tillage on flooding and farm production. This includes
exploring the influence of tillage on surface runoff and crop yield by
integrating evidence using diverse data types. By comparing tillage
preference methods, my research aims to identify approaches that
reduce flooding, maintain soil structure, support sustainable crop
production and promote climate action measures. The findings have
implications for promoting responsible agricultural practices.
I chose the Bayesian modelling approach for its versatility in
representing complex systems and flexibility in handling diverse data
types. This research utilised Bayesian modelling, preferred over other
techniques (Frequentist, Deterministic, Dynamic models etc.) because
it reflects interrelated predictability and allows conditional
dependencies between probabilities. On the one hand, the Bayesian
belief network (BBN) model can function as a meta-model for
integrating and analysing outputs from multiple levels within a
modelling framework. And on the other hand, BBN can serve as a
decision support tool for enabling decision makers to make informed
and valid decisions. By employing the BBN model, my research aimed
to capture uncertainties among key variables across multiple domains,
enhance the adaptability of Bayesian modelling to various data types
and its ability to quantify variable responses quantitatively and
qualitatively. My research introduces a unique way of reviewing the
literature to construct a BBN model which can be used by researchers
and scientists from academia and R&D departments in the industry.
This research contributes to developing decision-support tools for
complex interactions such as sustainable farm production and is usable
for the local farmers & growers by providing probabilistic inferences to
guide decision-making in complex environments
Autonomy over authority: the role of autonomous motivation in law compliance
Get PDFFear of punishment and perceived legitimacy of power are often believed to be key drivers of
compliance with the law. Three studies challenged this view through the lens of Self-
Determination Theory (SDT), which posits that motivation can reflect internal values alongside
such external forces, and in doing stretched SDT into an important domain in which societal
principles may inadvertently undermine motivation. Participants evaluated a proposed healthcare
data law, presented in a clinical context, that pitted data privacy against the goal of building
inclusive AI systems. Autonomous motivation to follow the law was consistently associated with
intended law compliance. Conversely, controlled motivation driven by expectations of
consequences showed mixed (positive or absent) effects on intended compliance. These results
emphasize that relying on the threat of punishment may be insufficient for ensuring law
compliance. Laws must be written that resonate with values held by the public
Inhibition of oscillatory motion of a camphor float due to dissolution
Get PDFTo elucidate significance of nonequilibrium at an air/aqueous interface during self-propulsion of a
camphor object, oscillatory motion of a self-propelled object composed of a smaller camphor disk and
larger plastic disk floating on an aqueous Na2SO4 phase was investigated. Both the frequency and
maximum speed of the oscillatory motion decreased with an increase in the concentration of Na2SO4 in
the aqueous phase, Ci
. The decrease in the frequency of the oscillatory motion is attributed to the
dissolution rate of camphor in the aqueous phase as a function of Ci
. The frequency of the oscillatory
motion was numerically calculated as a function of the dissolution rate constant, k, and the saturated
concentration of camphor in the aqueous salt solution, C0. The decrease in the maximum speed of the
oscillatory motion as a function of Ci was reproduced by the difference in the surface tension (Dg) as
the driving force of motion and the friction coefficient of motion (m) which corresponds to the viscosity
of the aqueous phase. This study proposes that the nature of self-propulsion can be controlled by the
dissolution into the bulk water phase as the 3D space and the nonequilibrium adsorption of energy
source molecules on the interface as the 2D space
Water-energy nexus in Algeria: the government water discourse and the role of the hydrocarbon sector
No full textThis thesis examines how Algeria's hydrocarbon sector shapes the country’s water-pollution
policies, focusing on the interplay between water governance and energy priorities. It asks:
How is water framed by the Algerian government, and how does the hydrocarbon sector shape
this framing? In Algeria, despite the government’s proclaimed commitment to clean water
since the 2000s, state’s reliance on hydrocarbons and its recent push for unconventional
resource extraction highlight a paradox: while significant resources are allocated to ensuring
safe water, these efforts are undermined by policies that exacerbate water pollution.
Grounded in the concepts of the politics of scale and framing, this research uses El Harrach—
a highly polluted urban area in Algiers—as a case study to examine the disconnect between
policy intentions and implementation, highlighting how hydrocarbon-driven priorities \ud
influence water governance outcomes.
The first paper critically engages with the politics of scale, highlighting how colonial legacies
have shaped scalar systems and governance structures in Algeria. It demonstrates the
coexistence of formal state-based scales and subaltern scalar systems rooted in ancestral
narratives, emphasizing the need to decolonize scalar epistemologies to account for non-Western experiences.
The second paper applies the water-energy nexus framework to analyse Algeria’s
disconnected governance, where water and energy sectors are managed in isolation. This
disconnection has led to ineffective water management practices, illustrating how sectoral
silos hinder progress toward sustainability and amplify the challenges posed by resource
dependence.
The third paper uses frame analysis to uncover how the Algerian government positions water
issues within its policy discourse. It reveals that while water is officially framed as a national
priority, hydrocarbons dominate the state’s economic strategy. As a result, water policies are
often reactive, driven by social stability concerns rather than long-term ecological goals,
leaving municipal-level governance, such as in El Harrach, poorly equipped to address
pollution challenges.
The fourth paper reflects on the ethics of conducting research in the Global South. Drawing
on personal experiences and decolonial theory, it critiques the bureaucratic constraints of
Western academic ethics protocols and argues for methodologies that are sensitive to local
realities and power dynamics.
By integrating qualitative research methods, including interviews and focus groups, alongside
media monitoring and policy document analysis, this thesis contributes to the political
geography literature by linking framing with the politics of scale to reveal the socio-political
dynamics of resource management in rentier states. These findings underscore the
dominance of hydrocarbon interests over water concerns, highlighting the need for
integrated, equity-focused approaches to governance in fossil-fuel-dependent regions
Identifying fragmented fossils and recent remains belonging to underrepresented taxa using geometric morphometrics
Get PDFFossils and more recent remains of dead organisms serve as natural archives of Earth’s recent and ancient history. It is often the case that small or fragmented specimens, especially microvertebrate bones, go unstudied. Accurate identification of such remains to a specific taxonomic level can help address a wide range of questions spanning paleontology, paleoecology, zooarchaeology, ecology, conservation science, forensics, and biogeography. Geometric morphometrics demonstrates significant potential for identifying fragmented lizard fossils to at least the family level based on shape differentiation. Our proof-of-concept study using lizard maxillae of extant species within the Pacific Northwest, USA, accurately identified fragmented maxillae with as few as six comparative specimens per genus. These findings establish a framework for addressing taxonomic challenges in fragmented bone specimen identification for taxa whose curated comparative specimens are small in number and unequal in representation