Endogenous transportation technology in a cournot differential game with intraindustry trade

We investigate a dynamic Cournot duopoly with intraindustry trade, where firms invest in R&D to reduce the level of iceberg transportation costs. We adopt both open-loop and closed-loop equilibrium concepts, showing that a unique (saddle point) steady state exists in both cases. In the open-loop model, optimal investments and the resulting efficiency of transportation technology are independent of the relative size of the two countries. On the contrary, in the closed-loop case firms’ R&D incentives are driven by the relative size of the two countries. Policy implications are also evaluated.

Flipper strokes can predict energy expenditure and locomotion costs in free-ranging northern and Antarctic fur seals

Flipper strokes have been proposed as proxies to estimate the energy expended by marine vertebrates while foraging at sea, but this has never been validated on free-ranging otariids (fur seals and sea lions). Our goal was to investigate how well flipper strokes correlate with energy expenditure in 33 foraging northern and Antarctic fur seals equipped with accelerometers, GPS, and time-depth recorders. We concomitantly measured field metabolic rates with the doubly-labelled water method and derived activity-specific energy expenditures using fine-scale time-activity budgets for each seal. Flipper strokes were detected while diving or surface transiting using dynamic acceleration. Despite some inter-species differences in flipper stroke dynamics or frequencies, both species of fur seals spent 3.79 ± 0.39 J/kg per stroke and had a cost of transport of ~1.6-1.9 J/kg/m while diving. Also, flipper stroke counts were good predictors of energy spent while diving (R(2) = 0.76) and to a lesser extent while transiting (R(2) = 0.63). However, flipper stroke count was a poor predictor overall of total energy spent during a full foraging trip (R(2) = 0.50). Amplitude of flipper strokes (i.e., acceleration amplitude × number of strokes) predicted total energy expenditure (R(2) = 0.63) better than flipper stroke counts, but was not as accurate as other acceleration-based proxies, i.e. Overall Dynamic Body Acceleration.

Fasting activates the gene expression of UCP3 independent of genes necessary for lipid transport and oxidation in skeletal muscle

Fasting triggers a complex array of adaptive metabolic and hormonal responses including an augmentation in the capacity for mitochondrial fatty acid (FA) oxidation in skeletal muscle. This study hypothesized that this adaptive response is mediated by increased mRNA of key genes central to the regulation of fat oxidation in human skeletal muscle. Fasting dramatically increased UCP3 gene expression, by 5-fold at 15 h and 10-fold at 40 h. However the expression of key genes responsible for the uptake, transport, oxidation, and re-esterification of FA remained unchanged following 15 and 40 h of fasting. Likewise there was no change in the mRNA abundance of transcription factors. This suggests a unique role for UCP3 in the regulation of FA homeostasis during fasting as adaptation to 40 h of fasting does not require alterations in the expression of other genes necessary for lipid metabolism.

Pain and communication

It is frequently said that pain is incommunicable and even that it destroys language. This paper offers a phenomenological account of pain and then explores and critiques this view. It suggests not only that pain is communicable to an adequate degree for clinical purposes, but also that it is itself a form of communication through which the person in pain appeals to the empathy and ethical goodness of the clinician. To explain this latter idea and its ethical implications, reference is made to the writings of Emmanuel Levinas.

The role of information and communication technology in the urgent decision making process : a work in progress report

This paper reports part of a study that examines how members of a senior management team in a public sector organisation make decisions under urgency. Four regional managers, who are geographically dispersed around New Zealand were interviewed, either face-to-face or via telephone, regarding their experiences of decision making under urgency.

Preliminary results indicate that only three out of a possible seven steps of a conventional decision making process are used during the urgent decision making process. The study also shows that participants do not fully utilise the information and communication technology available during the decision making process. The implications the findings have for practice and research are discussed.

Beyond pretence: new sensibilities for computing and communication technologies in teacher education

Making particular reference to schools’ traditional relationships with CCTS (and the kinds of ‘pretend’ and ‘artificial’ learning/assessment tasks that this relationship has historically produced), this paper details a research and teaching agenda focused on exploring the potential of having students work on tasks with value to local and/or school communities. The paper maps the informing theories and current practices of schools
participating in the ‘knowledge producing schools’ (KPS) agenda. Particular attention is given to the ways in which KPS schools are better positioned to respond to the needs of diverse student/community populations, particularly those students traditionally perceived as ‘at risk’.

Public transport and pedestrian access, the impact of suburban planning on adolescence

The following paper discusses the impact of suburban life for adolescents in relation to public transport and pedestrian access. The research compares the morphology and level of connectivity of two planning models, cul-de-sac and regular grid, with respect to two suburbs which share a similar socio-economic profile, Rowville and Caulfield. These are subsequently evaluated in terms of ABS statistics, in particular year 12 or equivalent levels of education, and transport statistics. The results of the investigation are discussed in reference to the four key tasks of adolescence (Carr-Greg & Shale 2002)', in order to establish the degree to which morphology and access levels of suburbs impact on adolescent development.

Substitution and complementarity in the creation and communication of Australian university research

The generation of research is one of the major functions of the university sector. In most disciplines, journal articles continue to be the main outlet for the communication of research findings. However, in Australia, government induced distortions have rewarded refereed conference papers an equal status to refereed journal papers. The aim of this paper is to explore the association between research published in journals and research published in conference proceedings. We use a panel dataset of the research output of 36 Australian universities, for the period 1995–2004. Cobb-Douglas research production functions are estimated, as well as a system of research production functions that allows for simultaneity. The results indicate that journals and conferences are contemporaneous substitutes – an expansion in conference publications displaces journal publications. There is also a 'DEST effect'. On average, conference papers are not converted into subsequent journal papers. The DEST effect is found also through analysis of the publication histories of 152 business and law academics. Postgraduate enrolments are shown to contribute only to conferences and have no effect on journal publications. Research income has a positive effect on both conferences and journal publications.