292 research outputs found
Benthoctopus rigbyae Vecchione, Allcock, Piatkowski, Strugnell 2009
No full textBenthoctopus rigbyae Vecchione, Allcock, Piatkowski, Strugnell, 2009 Type material examined: Benthoctopus rigbyae Vecchione, Allcock, Piatkowski, Strugnell, 2009: 18 holotype USNM 1117765, RV Polarstern, 61° 14'S 56° 25.8' W (Antarctic Peninsula), Stn 42/022, 21 November 1996, 394- 412 m, male. Octopus levis Hoyle, 1885: 220 holotype BMNH 1889.4.24.43, RV Challenger, 52°59'S 73°33'E (Heard Island), Stn 151, 7 February 1874, 75 fathoms, male. Additional material examined: Benthoctopus rigbyae: * NMSZ 2002037.032, RV Polarstern, 61°10'S 54°34'W (Antarctic Peninsula), Stn 61/048-1, 16 March 2002, 343 m, male, leg. & det. AL Allcock. 10 additional specimens from the Antarctic Peninsula detailed in Vecchione et al. (2009) preserved under catalogue numbers NMSZ 2002037.030 - 031 and NMSZ 2002037.033 - 034. Diagnosis. Arms approximately 3–4 times ML. Arm formula variable. Funnel organ W-shaped. Gills with 5–8 lamellae per inner demibranch and 6–8 lamellae per outer demibranch. LLI 6–16 (mean 10). Maximum spermatophore length 102, maximum SpLI 110, maximum number of spermatophores 28. Mature males without enlarged suckers. Integument smooth. Remarks. This species differs from Benthoctopus levis by the funnel organ (VV in B. levis) and arm length (shorter in B. levis).Published as part of Strugnell, Jan, Voight, Janet R., Collins, Patrick C. & Allcock, A. Louise, 2009, Molecular phylogenetic analysis of a known and a new hydrothermal vent octopod: their relationships with the genus Benthoctopus (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae), pp. 442-459 in Zootaxa 2096 (1) on page 449, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2096.1.27, http://zenodo.org/record/532199
ICT and Productivity Growth in Transition Economies: Two-Phase Convergence and Structural Reforms
No full textThis paper investigates the role of information and communication technology (ICT) as a driver of improved productivity performance of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and Russia (CEER) relative to the EU-15 and the U.S. during the 1990s. The paper investigates how, and to what extent, ICT contributed to a narrowing in the productivity gap. Although investment in ICT capital has strongly increased, total factor productivity (TFP) growth has made the largest contribution to convergence during the 1990s. In a few CEER countries, notably the Czech Republic and Hungary, ICT production contributed more to productivity growth than the EU-15 average. Spillovers from a productive use of ICT in both CEER countries and the EU-15 are still considerably lower than in the U.S.. The paper argues that the convergence process between CEER countries and the EU-15 is characterized by two phases. In the first “restructuring” phase, convergence has been driven by enterprise restructuring in manufacturing, which was facilitated by rapid ICT investment in new plants, and by growth in ICT production in particular through FDI. In the second “expansionary” phase the sustained convergence has to rely more on productivity growth in sectors that make intensive use of ICT, in particular the service sector. While the first phase is dependent largely on openness and basic fundamental reforms, the second phase requires deeper structural reforms focused on product and labor market flexibility, business re-organization and investment in human capital and ICT skills.productivity, economic growth, convergence, ICT, Eastern Europe
The Impact of ICT on Growth in Transition Economies
No full textThe paper analyzes the multi-channel contribution of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to output and labour productivity growth in eight transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), i.e. Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Slovenia between 1995-2001. The impact of ICT on growth in the new five EU member countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) was higher than the average for the former EU-15. Hence, ICT - through both the capital deepening and TFP growth in ICT-producing sector - contributed to convergence of the level of income between those countries and the EU-15. This was however not the case for Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia, where ICT contribution to growth was lower than in the EU- 15. ICT thus led to income deconvergence. Future growth prospects of the CEE countries, including Russia, will largely depend on further ICT investments and an ability to ensure their productive use on a macro, industry and micro level. The paper speculates that ICT capital will have a significant contribution to long-term growth in Poland, taken as a proxy for other CEE countries, on the level of 15% of the projected average annual GDP growth of 4% until 2025. This projection does not however take into account the potential for emergence of new applications of ICT, which could stimulate further increases in aggregate productivity. Neither does it measure the possible contribution from TFP growth in ICT sector and from the spillover effects of ICT production and use. The paper argues that the potential of ICT will not however be realized without changes in business models and an increase in the quality of human capital and ICT skills. On the macrolevel, as indicated by the New Economy Indicator, ICT will not benefit CEE countries without them making consistent progress in economic, institutional and regulatory environment.productivity, ICT, Eastern Europe
The Potential of ICT for the Development and Economic Restructuring of the New EU Member States and Candidate Countries
No full textICT could help the New Member States catch up with EU-15 in economic terms. The report documents the potential of ICT for improved productivity performance in the Central and Eastern Europe countries (CEE) at the macro and industry level, in relation to the EU-15 and the US.productivity, information and communication technologies, convergence, Eastern Europe
Supplemental Material - Exploring Experiences of Drink and Needle Spiking Incidents Among Global Drug Survey Respondents from 22 Countries
No full textSupplemental Material for Exploring Experiences of Drink and Needle Spiking Incidents Among Global Drug Survey Respondents from 22 Countries by Emma L. Davies, Timothy Piatkowski, Alex Frankovitch, Cheneal Puljević, Monica J. Barratt, Jason A. Ferris, and Adam R. Winstock in Journal of Drug Issues</p
Online_Appendix_A1;_Participating_European_countries. – Supplemental material for European Survey Study Among Plastic/Breast Surgeons on the Use of and Opinion Toward Autologous Fat Transfer: With Emphasis on Breast Surgery
No full textSupplemental material, Online_Appendix_A1;_Participating_European_countries. for European Survey Study Among Plastic/Breast Surgeons on the Use of and Opinion Toward Autologous Fat Transfer: With Emphasis on Breast Surgery by Jan-Willem Groen, Andrzej A. Piatkowski, John H. Sawor, Janneke A. Wilschut, Marco J. P. F. Ritt and Rene R. J. W. van der Hulst in Surgical Innovation</p
Does ICT Investment Matter for Growth and Labor Productivity in Transition Economies?
No full textFollowing up on a previous paper by the same author on the contribution of ICT capital to growth and labor productivity in Poland 1995-2000, this paper extends the study to eight transition economies: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Slovakia and Slovenia. The paper shows that the contribution of investment in IT hardware, software and telecommunication equipment to output growth and labor productivity between 1995 and 2000 in most countries featured in the study was much higher than what might be expected on the basis of the level of their GDP per capita. This may suggest that the transition economies – through the use of ICT - are benefiting from the technological leapfrogging to increase the growth rates in output and labor productivity and hence accelerate the process of catching-up. The relatively large contribution of ICT capital to output growth and labor productivity is due to an extraordinary acceleration in real ICT investments, which were growing between 1995 and 2000 at an average rate of more than 20% a year for almost all countries in the study. Large investments in ICT seem to have been induced by (i) falling prices of ICT products and services, which encouraged companies to substitute ICT for non-ICT capital and (ii) an opportunity for higher-than-normal returns on ICT investments due to a large pent-up demand for ICT infrastructure, a legacy of decapitalization and technological gap existing before 1989.economic growth, post-communist countries, information technology, growth accounting
The ethics of enhancement among image and performance enhancing drug coaches
No full textThis research examines image and performance-enhancing drug (IPED) use, specifically focusing on the emerging role of IPED coaches. Situating drug use within broader assemblage theory, we investigated how these coaches, often operating in an online context, function as enabling environments, influencing practices, and contributing to harm reduction in a broader social context within and for IPED communities. Ten IPED coaches were interviewed, with this work focusing on their legal, ethical, and moral considerations, risk assessment, and harm reduction strategies of their practices. We employed a critical realist approach, following flexible coding to identify and develop themes which were further framed an enabling environments framework. Coaches operated along an ethical tightrope, emphasising the conscious regulation of conduct within established norms and the nuanced assessment of risks aligned with individual goals and motivations. Power dynamics and responsibility concerns unfolded through the lens of collaborative decision-making, where trust emerged as an essential element of these relations within contextual risk assessments. IPED coaches play a role in harm reduction by fostering trust and informed decision-making, balancing clients’ goals with health considerations. These findings emphasise the potential for collaboration between IPED coaches and the health workforce to enhance health promotion and support within IPED communities.No Full Tex
Verification of the friction coefficients determining method for Froude pendulum self-excited vibrations
No full textAnalysis of corrugated cardboard influence on the protective properties of complex packaging system
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