Competition or collaboration: policies and practices in international higher education

Universities in the twenty-first century experience numerous competing drivers that shape their sense of purpose and role in society, their perspectives of knowledge and its production and their overall sense of being in the world. One major force is marketplace discourse, in particular neo-liberalism and competition, which is discordant with the discourse of academic collaboration and collegial sharing. This review essay examines what it means to ‘be’ a university in light of these overarching discourses and what is envisioned for universities of the future.

Therapeutic equivalence and the generic competition paradox

Following the passage of the Waxman-Hatch Act (1984), FDA approval for a generic drug requires the establishment of bio-equivalence between the generic drug and an FDA approved branded drug. However, a large body of evidence in the medical community suggests that bio-equivalence does not guarantee therapeutic equivalence; in some instances the lack of therapeutic equivalence can lead to fatal consequences for patients switching to generic products. In this paper, we construct a simple model to analyze the implications of therapeutic non-equivalence between branded and generic drugs. We show, theoretically and empirically, that this distinction can provide a plausible explanation of the generic competition paradox.

Coloration of cotton fibers with anisotropic silver nanoparticles

Anisotropic silver nanoparticles were assembled on cotton fibers to realize the coloration of cotton. The assembly of silver nanoparticles on fibers was achieved by linking of poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) at room temperature. The silver nanoparticle treated cotton showed different colors because of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) property of silver nanoparticles. The coloration was completed through electrostatic interaction between the PDDA treated cotton surface and the anisotropic silver nanoparticles in the reaction system. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) characterization demonstrated that the morphologies of silver nanoparticles remained unchanged during the coloration process, so the treated cotton inherited the LSPR optical features of silver nanoparticles. Moreover, the cotton colorated with silver nanoparticles showed reasonably good color fastness to washing, which will facilitate the practical application of this coloration process.

A resonance tunable and durable LSPR nano-particle sensor : AL2O3 capped silver nano-disks

Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) biosensors are employed to detect target biomolecules which have particular resonance wavelengths. Accordingly, tunability of the LSPR wavelength is essential in designing LSPR devices. LSPR devices employing silver nano-particles present better efficiencies than those using other noble metals such as gold; however, silver nano-particles are easily oxidized when they come in contact with liquids, which is inevitable in biosensing applications. To attain both durability and tunabilty in a LSPR biosensor, this paper proposes alumina (AL₂O₃) capped silver nano-disks. It is shown that through controlling the thickness of the cap, the LSPR resonance frequency can be finely tuned over a wide range; and moreover, the cap protects silver nano-particles from oxidation and high temperature.

The rise of the 'silver surfer' : online social networking and social inclusion for older adults

As the proportion of older adults continues to grow in many Western countries, there are increasing concerns about how to meet their needs. Ensuring social connectedness and inclusion is one way to support older adults’ wellbeing. Online social networking has become common place amongst younger age groups, suggesting its possible usefulness for older adults, in order to combat isolation and loneliness. Some quantitative studies have already explored the amount and degree of online social networking amongst older adults. To add further understanding of how older adults experience social inclusion via the internet, the current qualitative study aimed to explore older adults’ subjective experience of online social networking. Findings demonstrated a number of supports and barriers to social inclusion which reflect barriers to social inclusion of older adults in the non-virtual world. Recommendations to support social inclusion of isolated older adults via online social networking are suggested.

Competition and television news in India : a content analysis

In India, not unlike some other developing countries, ruling parties have used public service broadcasters to propagate their virtues, adversely affecting the broadcasters' image as a credible news media. The Indian public service broadcaster. Doordarshan,
which has been besieged by increased competition and government-imposed demandfor selfsufficiency in recent years, continues to struggle to shed its image as a government mouthpiece despite being run by an independent corporation. This article
presents a content analysis of news programs broadcast by Doordarshan and a foreign television network. Star News. The study examines the differences and similarities between Doordarshan and Star TV's prime time news programs broadcast at the turn ofthe century, almost a decade after the advent ofcommercial television in India broke the public service broadcaster's monopoly in the country.

Are all economic facts greatly exaggerated? Theory competition and selectivity

There is growing concern and mounting evidence of selectivity in empirical economics. Most empirical economic literatures have a truncated distribution of results. The aim of this paper is to explore the link between publication selectivity and theory contests. This link is confirmed through the analysis of 87 distinct empirical economics literatures, involving more than three and a half thousand separate empirical studies, using objective measures of both selectivity and contests. Our meta–meta-analysis shows that publication selection is widespread, but not universal. It distorts scientific inference with potentially adverse effects on policy making, but competition and debate between rival theories reduces this selectivity and thereby improves economic inference.

Activity profiles of the Australian female netball team players during international competition: implications for training practice

In elite sport, to remain competitive at the international level, it is critical to understand the game demands on players to ensure sport specific training programmes are designed for optimal athlete preparation and conditioning. In netball, recent research examining the activity patterns of players at the elite level is lacking, with only one study undertaken on this level of competition in the past 30 years. Therefore, the aim of this study was to provide coaches with up to date knowledge of player activity patterns as a basis for the design of optimal sport specific training programmes. The Australian female netball team were analysed using video footage of three international test matches. Player activity was categorised into five movement and eight game-based activities; and further classified as work or rest. Results suggest that differences in the current game exist when compared to the previous analysis. Positional differences were also found with regard to player activity confirming the need for an individualised component of training based on player position.

The effect of financial constraints, investment policy, product market competition and corporate governance on the value of cash holdings

This study empirically investigates the value shareholders place on excess cash holdings and how shareholders’ valuation of cash holdings is associated with financial constraints, firm growth, cash-flow uncertainty and product market competition for Australian firms from 1990 to 2007. Our results indicate that the marginal value of cash holdings to shareholders declines with larger cash holdings and higher leverage. However, firms that are more financially constrained, that have higher growth rates and that face greater uncertainty exhibit a higher marginal value of cash holdings. These findings are consistent with the explanation that excess cash holdings are not necessarily detrimental to firm value. Firms with costly external financing and that also save more cash for current operating and future investing needs find that the market values these cash hoarding policies favourably. Finally, there is limited evidence of an association between various corporate governance measures and the value of cash holdings for a shorter sample period.

Perceptions of wellness to monitor adaptive responses to training and competition in elite Australian football

Perceptions of wellness are often used by athletes and coaches to assess adaptive responses to training. The purpose of this research was to describe how players were coping with the demands of elite level Australian football over a competitive season using subjective ratings of physical and psychological wellness and to assess the ecological validity of such a monitoring approach. Twenty-seven players completed ratings for 9 items (fatigue, general muscle, hamstring, quadriceps, pain/stiffness, power, sleep quality, stress, well-being). Players subjectively rated each item as they arrived at the training or competition venue on a 1–5 visual analog scale, with 1 representing the positive end of the continuum. A total of 2,583 questionnaires were analyzed from completions on 183 days throughout the season (92 ± 24 per player, 103 ± 20 per week; mean ± SD). Descriptive statistics and multilevel modelling were used to understand how player ratings of wellness varied over the season and during the week leading into game day and whether selected player characteristics moderated these relationships. Results indicated that subjective ratings of physical and psychological wellness were sensitive to weekly training manipulations (i.e., improve steadily throughout the week to a game day low, p < 0.001), to periods of unloading during the season (i.e., a week of no competition, p < 0.05) and to individual player characteristics (e.g., muscle strain after a game was poorer in players with high maximum speed, p < 0.01). It is concluded that self-reported player ratings of wellness provide a useful tool for coaches and practitioners to monitor player responses to the rigorous demands of training, competition, and life as a professional athlete.

Acceleration effect of reduced graphene oxide on photoinduced synthesis of silver nanoparticles

The photoinduced growth reaction of silver nanoparticles was accelerated by reduced graphene oxide (RGO) produced from graphene oxide (GO) during the light irradiation process in aqueous solution. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy demonstrated that RGO was generated in the photoinduced process. The acceleration effect of RGO was investigated through monitoring the extinction spectra of silver nanoparticles during the synthesis process. Moreover, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was employed to characterize the evolution of morphologies of silver nanoparticles at different irradiation times to demonstrate the effect of RGO. The results indicate that RGO accelerates the photoinduced synthesis of silver nanoparticles. It is proposed that the acceleration effect of RGO on the photoinduced reaction is attributed to the particular property of high electronic conductivity