1,721,031 research outputs found
The effect of lifelong learning on intra-generational social mobility: evidence from longitudinal data in the United Kingdom
No full textThis research was commissioned to examine the potential non-pecuniary benefits of lifelong learning and to identify whether such benefits are evident and consider their implications for policy development. Specifically, the research aims to answer the following questions: To what extent is gaining qualifications in adulthood related to subsequent intra-generational social class mobility? Does the effect of obtaining qualifications on intra-generational social class trajectories vary by observable characteristics such as age, gender, initial qualifications and type of qualification obtained? In particular, are they larger for those with lower qualifications, those thought of as the hard to reach? Do skills improvements gained through training influence occupational status, as well as, or in addition to the achievement of formal qualifications
Measuring the returns to networking and the accumulation of social capital: any evidence of bonding, bridging or linking?
No full textThis article presents analyses of individual investment in social capital using both the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) and the UK Time Use Survey (2000) (UKTUS). We suggest a general theoretical framework that could possibly explain individual investment in various forms of social networking. Measures of social capital are then constructed in an attempt to capture the extent of individual investment in bonding, bridging, and linking networks. These measures, together with other socioeconomic indicators, are used as explanatory factors in wage equations, estimated using ordered probit, OLS, and instrumental variable approaches. We are unable to identify any consistent returns from investment in bonding and bridging networks. In contrast, the evidence suggests that any returns to investment in the development of linking social capital simply derive from the positive signals that group membership may transmit to potential employers. Our results underline the contrast between studies that consider social capital as an attribute of communities, as opposed to individuals, in that we find a negative return to social activity at the level of the individual
Characterising nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the plant parasitic nematode Globodera pallida
No full textG. pallida is a cyst nematode; infective juvenile worms locate and invade host potato roots within a short time period while the environmental conditions are optimal. Therefore, locomotion is an essential component of its invasion strategy. It belongs to the phylum Nematoda, which also includes the free-living model genetic nematode C. elegans. We explored the idea that the neurobiological basis of C. elegans locomotion is likely to be conserved between nematodes and provide a route to new molecular targets for pest control
StyletChip: a microfluidic device for recording host invasion behaviour and feeding of plant parasitic nematodes
No full textPlant parasitic nematodes (PPNs) infest the roots of crops and cause global losses with a severe economic impact on food production. Current chemical control agents are being removed from use due to environmental and toxicity concerns and there is a need for new approaches to crop protection. A key feature of parasitic behaviour for the majority of PPNs is a hollow stomastyle or odontostyle required for interaction with the host plant and feeding. This lance-like microscopic structure, often called a stylet, protrudes from the mouth of the worm and thrusts in a rhythmic manner to stab the host root. Studying stylet activity presents technical challenges and as a consequence the underlying biology is poorly understood. We have addressed this by designing a microfluidic chip which traps the PPN Globodera pallida and permits the recording of an electrophysiological signal concomitant with stylet thrusting. The PDMS chip incorporates a precisely designed aperture to trap the nematode securely around a mid-point of its body. It is fabricated using a novel combination of conventional photolithography and two photon polymerization. The chip incorporates valves for rapid application of test compounds and integral electrodes to facilitate acquisition of electrical signals. We show that stylet thrusting can be induced by controlled application of 5-HT (serotonin) to the worm. Each thrust and retraction produces an electrical waveform that characterises the physiological activity associated with the worm's behaviour. The ability to reproducibly record the stylet activity of PPNs provides a new platform for nematicide screening that specifically focuses on a behaviour that is integral to the parasite host interaction. This is the first report of a microfluidic chip capable of electrophysiological recording from nematodes other than Caenorhabditis elegans. The unique approach is optimised for trapping and recording from smaller worms or worms with distinct anterior body shapes and may be applied to other species of economic or medical importance
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Measuring the earnings returns to accredited adult learning in the UK
Full text linkThis paper examines the earnings returns to learning that takes place following the conventional 'school-to-work' stage of the life-course. We operationalise such 'lifelong learning' as the attainment of certified qualifications in adulthood, following the completion of the first period of continuous full-time education. Using data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) for the period 1991-2006, our approach and findings represent an important addition to the existing evidence base. By using annual data, we are able to employ the fixed effects estimator, which eliminates the problem of time-invariant unobserved heterogeneity. Our dynamic specification uses a lag structure to consider how earnings returns evolve in the medium and longer run, while also controlling for wage trends which were evident prior to qualification attainment. Our results show a medium-run return for women of 10% on hourly wages. For men, initial suggestions of a similar positive return are eliminated once pre-qualification trends are taken into account. This suggests that adult learning has a causal effect on women's subsequent earnings but, for men, any apparent gain is due to selection
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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