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RENA Compass SRD standard operating procedure
Get PDFSOP for RENA Compass Spin Rinse Dryer Stack in QNFhttps://repository.upenn.edu/scn_sop/1026/thumbnail.jp
Influence of Enrichment on the Behavior of New Zealand White Rabbits and Cynomolgus Macaques in a Research Setting During Their Quarantine Period
Get PDFEnrichment is an excellent tool used to refine animal husbandry practices in laboratory animal medicine. When animals first arrive at a facility, the animals are given a quarantine period to ensure they are healthy, and to allow the animals to acclimate to the facility. By offering environmental enrichment and food enrichment at different frequencies, we can observe how different levels of enrichment influences the behavior of the animals. In this experiment, New Zealand white rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) were observed to see how various types of enrichment promote animal welfare and behavior and this is illustrated by the presence of positive behaviors being observed and the absence of negative behaviors. For each species, an ethogram was created to measure the behaviors of the animals, and noninvasive observations were taken daily while the animals were undergoing their quarantine period. We also monitored fecal output to observe the animals’ physiological health. Enrichment was given to the animals in three different treatment groups. Group 1 received the base enrichment, one form of environmental enrichment, changed weekly, and received food enrichment once weekly. Group 2 received two forms of environmental enrichment, the same device as Group 1, in addition to another device. Group 3 received both types as enrichment as Group 2, as well as a daily food enrichment. For each species, we predicted that Group 3 animals, will show more positive, friendly behaviors and less negative, stereotypic behaviors. The data suggests that there was statistical significance between the different variables for the rabbits. The data suggests that there was statistical significance between most of the variables for the macaques, with the exception of fecal output and displaying stereotypic behaviors, which were not significant. We concluded that both environmental and food enrichment had a positive influence on the behavior of the animals during their quarantine period, as seen by the observations of their behavior
The Future of Equity Research: A Strategic Analysis of Investment Firms
Get PDFEquity Research (ER) is a fundamental sector of the financial services industry, responsible for producing and selling informational content for investors to make more profitable investment decisions. In January 2018, a cost unbundling regulation was enacted in Europe, decreasing the industry’s appeal to investors. This paper investigates the effects of MiFID II on the strategic decisions of Equity Research providers in the US. By performing a qualitative analysis through interviewing eight industry insiders, the key variables of analysis were coverage (number of stock recommendations) and analyst count for ER firms. Using a fixed-effects regression over a 48-month period (before and after MiFID II), this study finds a positive association between industry coverage and analyst count on research providers. This result, I argue, could be related to the unintended consequences of the European regulation on the US industry, allowing US firms to gain competitive advantage and thus increase coverage and staffing
Women and Water: Lessons Learned from a Humanitarian Intervention at Igusi Clinic, Matabeleland, Zimbabwe
Get PDFThis article highlights the disproportionate impact of water scarcity on women and girls in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe. We emphasize one Zimbabwean woman\u27s efforts to implement a sustainable water solution for a community of 20,000 citizens. Lumbie Mlambo, Founder and President of the nonprofit JB Dondolo, Inc., took action following reports that people in the community her father was aiding were falling ill, mothers could not carry their pregnancy to full terms, and infant mortality rates were rising. Before Lumbie\u27s intervention, the only water available was contaminated by polluted soil. Moreover, the climate change-induced droughts and floods made the potable water hard to find and collect. As a result, the only source of water infrastructure was at the Igusi birthing clinic and the nearby secondary school sharing the same pipe system. This lack of clean water particularly affected pregnant women who gave birth at the clinic and their newborns and the girls who attended the nearby school. Following her father\u27s death, Lumbie set out to fulfill his dying wish to help the people he was serving. While she faced many obstacles, Lumbie overcame these challenges and removed barriers of access to clean water for the community. Lessons learned from this experience include gender biases in humanitarianism, community participation, and water resource management planning. Key recommendations include early stakeholder engagement in community development, elevation of women\u27s voices, and investment in partnership building
Prison Museums on Trial: The Politics of Remembrance and Reform at Eastern State Penitentiary, Sing Sing Prison Museum, and Angola Museum
Get PDFPrison museums provide a critical bridge between historical penal practice and contemporary criminal legal issues in the United States. Over the past 15 years, challenges to museum neutrality, heightened awareness of mass incarceration and racial and ethnic disparities in the incarcerated population, social justice protests and museums, and Confederate statue controversies have redefined prison museums’ roles and responsibilities. A comparative case study of Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP), Sing Sing Prison Museum, and Angola Museum demonstrates the various ways these factors have spurred change in exhibitions, programming, and public statements. Notably, the composition of leadership and staff is highly predictive of prison museums’ ability to respond to criticism and engage with socio-political events. Centering justice impacted individuals in decision-making—e.g., ESP and Sing Sing—enables prison museums to contribute more effectively to criminal legal debates. By contrast, a greater influence of state corrections departments on museums’ interpretative aims—e.g., Angola—hinders reform efforts. All prison museums, however, must be strategic in their reforms, so they can both foster dialogue across the political spectrum and engage in policy debates without appearing partisan. Importantly, growing awareness of a broader prison museum community has created new possibilities for informal knowledge sharing networks and collaborations
WHEN TO BITE: Why Hasn’t Argentina Terminated Its Bilateral Investment Treaties?
Get PDFBilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) commit governments to behave “politely” towards foreign investors’ property rights and grant the latter the right to sue governments when violations occur. Some studies show that the greater the exposure to investment arbitration, the more likely states are to terminate their BITs. Other studies show that progressive governments are more likely to terminate treaties than economically liberal ones. In this paper, I argue that both ideology and exposure to investment arbitration are necessary but not sufficient conditions for countries when exiting BITs. As the case of Argentina shows, not all progressive governments prefer to exit the investment regime. As Argentina’s Former General Attorney told me in an interview, “Argentina made the decision, in fact I made the decision, to stay within the system. And overall, we did pretty well.” This study aims at providing an explanation to this preference: more concretely, why has Argentina decided to uphold its BITs during 12 years of progressive rulers? I explore three hypotheses, A) time inconsistencies, B) reputational consequences on FDI inflows, and C) sectoral composition of FDI portfolio. I finally show that sectoral composition of FDI can help predict when international treaties may be rescinded. My model proposes that the size of sunk costs can lead governments to shift their preferences regarding treaty adherence. Because of industry-specific characteristics, the sunk costs in Argentina’s foreign investments are difficult to capture. Hence, Argentina has more to gain from future FDI than from treaty termination. The results of this study provide critical information on BITs’ immune system by producing new data and recording key insights by elite policy-makers. This is particularly valuable considering that the secrecy in the process of investment arbitration is often described as “having gone too far.
Munsee Economic and Social Connections, 1712-1732
No full textThis dataset is a cleaned version of the transcribed account book of an anonymous Dutch trader in Ulster, NY, published and edited by Kees-Jan Waterman and J. Michael Smith. This dataset documents the social connections between 156 Munsee people between 1712 and 1732, and has been prepared for network analysis by regularizing the spelling of names and using information from the published version of the account book to match individuals who appear under differently spelled names where possible. Source/Target pairs for network analysis were created for individuals with documented interactions with one another, such as people who bought gifts for another person, people who vouched for the credit of another person, or people who traveled together. The network is assumed to be undirected. Date information for edge creation is not included in the dataset but is available in the published version of the account book
Socioeconomic Status Bias in Higher Education
Get PDFThis study investigated bias towards students with low socioeconomic status (SES) in higher education. Current undergraduate students viewed hypothetical profiles of students with low, high, or no SES mentioned. Participants then rated the intelligence and future likelihood of success of each of the hypothetical students. The study found that students did not rate the low SES student as lower; in fact, ratings of all three groups were statistically indistinguishable. Furthermore, students with more leadership experiences on campus did not differ from those with less leadership experiences in their ratings. Possible explanations for the lack of statistical significance are discussed
Dr. Robot or Dr. Efficiency? The Impact of Robotic Process Automation on Jobs in Healthcare
Get PDFSince the Agricultural Revolution, each time there is a dramatic change in societal progress, jobs are replaced and transformed. This paper explores how Robotic Process Automation (RPA) impacts jobs in healthcare systems. RPA is a type of software robot that automates the actions of humans interacting with digital technology systems, websites, or software applications to conduct a particular process. Specifically, the study will explore how tasks within various types of healthcare workers\u27 jobs change, which specific jobs have the highest likelihood of replacement, and the key considerations healthcare systems take into account when implementing RPA. The study consists of a comparative analysis of five major healthcare systems in the United States that have either implemented RPA or are in the process of implementing the technology and explores operations in healthcare systems before, during, and after digital transformation. Using case studies, the study finds that individual, rule-based tasks are the most likely to be automated and that RPA provides more benefit than harm to the jobs of healthcare workers. This is so because technology reduces burnout and enables healthcare workers to spend more time with patients. The increases in efficiency gained by RPA enable hospitals to provide improved quality and access to care for patients