scholarly journals Liberation Technology: Mobile Phones and Political Mobilization in Africa

Econometrica ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 533-567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Manacorda ◽  
Andrea Tesei

Can digital information and communication technology foster mass political mobilization? We use a novel georeferenced data set for the entire African continent between 1998 and 2012 on the coverage of mobile phone signal together with georeferenced data from multiple sources on the occurrence of protests and on individual participation in protests to bring this argument to empirical scrutiny. We find that while mobile phones are instrumental to mass mobilization, this only happens during economic downturns, when reasons for grievance emerge and the cost of participation falls. The results are in line with insights from a network model with imperfect information and strategic complementarities in protest occurrence. Mobile phones make individuals more responsive to both changes in economic conditions—a mechanism that we ascribe to enhanced information—and to their neighbors' participation—a mechanism that we ascribe to enhanced coordination.

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3(72)) ◽  
pp. 138-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.V. TRUSHKINA ◽  
N.S. RYNKEVICH

Topicality. One of the dynamic and rapid lines of development of modern regional ecosystems is transport logistics as an effective source of competitive advantages. This requires the use of new tools to improve the competitive ability of regions, including the cluster approach, the essence of which is the formation and development of logistic clusters by consolidating the efforts of the state, business, science, education in priority fields of economic activity. As international practice shows, the implementation of the cluster model of logistic activities will contribute to the reduction of total logistic costs by 12-35% as a result of reducing transport costs by 7-20% and the cost of handling operations by 20-30%, as well as accelerating the speed of circulation of material resources by 20-40%. Therefore, the creation of logistic clusters will create favorable conditions for the growth of the volume and quality of transport and logistics services and create a qualitatively new model of the regional economy.Aim and tasks. The aim of the article is to analyze the current state and problems of the formation of the institutional environment of functioning of logistic clusters in the economic regions of Ukraine, as well as to develop proposals for the creation of the appropriate institutional conditions for the development of logistic clusters as illustrated by the Prydniprovsky and Sloboda economic regions.Research results. It was found that the formation and effective functioning of logistic clusters in the regions of Ukraine is hampered by many key barriers that can be conditionally classified into the following groups, such as political, foreign economic, institutional, investment and financial, infrastructure, logistics. It was proved that for the effective development of logistic clusters in the economic regions of Ukraine it is reasonable to develop proposals for the creation of appropriate institutional conditions, which are to finalize the Strategies of the regional development in terms of institutional, investmen and financial, organizational and economic and information support of the functioning of logistic clusters using the cluster approach, as well as the Concepts of creating logistic clusters and Strategies for the integrated development of logistic clusters as a component of the regional transport and logistic system; implementation of the financial support mechanism, which includes exogenous and endogenous factors affecting the development of the regional transport and logistic system; the principles on which the formation of logistic clusters should be based; management functions (forecasting, planning, organization, accounting, control, analysis, regulation); a set of tools governing the organization and implementation of logistic activities, as well as the provision of transport services; financial instruments (venture investment, crowdinvesting, factoring, public-private partnership on the basis of attracting private investments, funds of credit institutions, foreign investment resources, grants of international financial organizations); means (digital, information and communication technologies, software, regulatory documents).Combination of modern cluster policy, mechanism of institutional support for the development of an integrated transport and logistic system and strategies of smart industry specializations in the context of decentralization will create the appropriate conditions for the formation of a logistic cluster as an effective form of partnership, strengthen the competitive advantages of the Prydniprovsky and Sloboda economic regions and increase the economic capacity of territorial communities.Conclusion. It was substantiated that the introduction of proposals for the creation of the appropriate institutional conditions for the formation and development of logistic clusters will contribute to a synergetic effect, the components of which are to increase the level of investment attractiveness of economic regions; increase revenues due to economic growth of territories; creation of new jobs and growth of employment; increase in the volume of cargo transportation and turnover; optimization of movement of logistic flows; cost reduction for the organization of logistic activities for the reduction of transport component in the cost of services, reduction in time to complete customs procedures for clearance of goods; provision of favourable conditions for the functioning of logistic market; creating objects of the appropriate logistic infrastructure (transport, trade, service, etc); improvement of the technology of transportation with the use of modern digital information and communication technologies.


2020 ◽  
pp. 004912412091492
Author(s):  
Assaf Rotman ◽  
Michael Shalev

Automatically collected behavioral data on the location of users of mobile phones offer an unprecedented opportunity to measure mobilization in mass protests, while simultaneously expanding the range of researchable questions. Location data not only improve estimation of the number and composition of participants in large demonstrations. Thanks to high spatial and temporal resolution they also reveal when, where, and with whom different sociopolitical sectors join a protest campaign. This article compares the features and advantages of this type of data with other methods of measuring who participates in street protests. The steps in preparing a usable data set are explained with reference to a six-week campaign of mass mobilization in Israel in 2011. Findings based on the Israeli data set illustrate a wide range of potential applications, pertaining to both the determinants and consequences of protest participation. Limitations of mobile location data and the privacy issues it raises are also discussed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Pedro Vitor de Sousa Guimarães ◽  
Sandro César Silveira Jucá ◽  
Renata Imaculada Soares Pereira ◽  
Ayrton Alexsander Monteiro Monteiro

This paper describes the use of a Linux embedded system for use in digital information and communication technology in order to generate image warnings using Internet of Things (IoT) prin- ciples. The proposed project generated a product, developed using concepts of project-based learning (ABP), called SECI (electronic internal communication system) that is accessed by students to view online warnings by distributed monitors and also by mobile devices connected to the Internet.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 5899
Author(s):  
Ewa Wrona ◽  
Maciej Borowiec ◽  
Piotr Potemski

CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor T) cells have emerged as a milestone in the treatment of patients with refractory B-cell neoplasms. However, despite having unprecedented efficacy against hematological malignancies, the treatment is far from flawless. Its greatest drawbacks arise from a challenging and expensive production process, strict patient eligibility criteria and serious toxicity profile. One possible solution, supported by robust research, is the replacement of T lymphocytes with NK cells for CAR expression. NK cells seem to be an attractive vehicle for CAR expression as they can be derived from multiple sources and safely infused regardless of donor–patient matching, which greatly reduces the cost of the treatment. CAR-NK cells are known to be effective against hematological malignancies, and a growing number of preclinical findings indicate that they have activity against non-hematological neoplasms. Here, we present a thorough overview of the current state of knowledge regarding the use of CAR-NK cells in treating various solid tumors.


Entropy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 675
Author(s):  
Xuze Zhang ◽  
Saumyadipta Pyne ◽  
Benjamin Kedem

In disease modeling, a key statistical problem is the estimation of lower and upper tail probabilities of health events from given data sets of small size and limited range. Assuming such constraints, we describe a computational framework for the systematic fusion of observations from multiple sources to compute tail probabilities that could not be obtained otherwise due to a lack of lower or upper tail data. The estimation of multivariate lower and upper tail probabilities from a given small reference data set that lacks complete information about such tail data is addressed in terms of pertussis case count data. Fusion of data from multiple sources in conjunction with the density ratio model is used to give probability estimates that are non-obtainable from the empirical distribution. Based on a density ratio model with variable tilts, we first present a univariate fit and, subsequently, improve it with a multivariate extension. In the multivariate analysis, we selected the best model in terms of the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). Regional prediction, in Washington state, of the number of pertussis cases is approached by providing joint probabilities using fused data from several relatively small samples following the selected density ratio model. The model is validated by a graphical goodness-of-fit plot comparing the estimated reference distribution obtained from the fused data with that of the empirical distribution obtained from the reference sample only.


2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delfi Sanuy ◽  
Christoph Leskovar ◽  
Neus Oromi ◽  
Ulrich Sinsch

AbstractDemographic life history traits were investigated in three Bufo calamita populations in Germany (Rhineland-Palatinate: Urmitz, 50°N; 1998-2000) and Spain (Catalonia: Balaguer, Mas de Melons, 41°N; 2004). We used skeletochronology to estimate the age as number of lines of arrested growth in breeding adults collected during the spring breeding period (all localities) and during the summer breeding period (only Urmitz). A data set including the variables sex, age and size of 185 males and of 87 females was analyzed with respect to seven life history traits (age and size at maturity of the youngest first breeders, age variation in first breeders, longevity, potential reproductive lifespan, median lifespan, age-size relationship). Spring and summer cohorts at the German locality differed with respect to longevity and potential reproductive lifespan by one year in favour of the early breeders. The potential consequences on fitness and stability of cohorts are discussed. Latitudinal variation of life history traits was mainly limited to female natterjacks in which along a south-north gradient longevity and potential reproductive lifespan increased while size decreased. These results and a review of published information on natterjack demography suggest that lifetime number of offspring seem to be optimized by locally different trade-offs: large female size at the cost of longevity in southern populations and increased longevity at the cost of size in northern ones.


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-71
Author(s):  
Henry O’Lawrence ◽  
Rohan Chowlkar

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the cost effectiveness of palliative care on patients in a home health and hospice setting. Secondary data set was utilized to test the hypotheses of this study. Home health care and hospice care services have the potential to avert hospital admissions in patients requiring palliative care, which significantly affects medicare spending. With the aging population, it has become evident that demand of palliative care will increase four-fold. It was determined that current spending on end-of-life care is radically emptying medicare funds and fiscally weakening numerous families who have patients under palliative care during life-threatening illnesses. The study found that a majority of people registering for palliative and hospice care settings are above the age group of 55 years old. Design/methodology/approach Different variables like length of stay, mode of payment and disease diagnosis were used to filter the available data set. Secondary data were utilized to test the hypothesis of this study. There are very few studies on hospice and palliative care services and no study focuses on the cost associated with this care. Since a very large number of the USA, population is turning 65 and over, it is very important to analyze the cost of care for palliative and hospice care. For the purpose of this analysis, data were utilized from the National Home and Hospice Care Survey (NHHCS), which has been conducted periodically by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. Descriptive statistics, χ2 tests and t-tests were used to test for statistical significance at the p<0.05 level. Findings The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was utilized for this result. H1 predicted that patients in the age group of 65 years and up have the highest utilization of home and hospice care. This study examined various demographic variables in hospice and home health care which may help to evaluate the cost of care and the modes of payments. This section of the result presents the descriptive analysis of dependent, independent and covariate variables that provide the overall national estimates on differences in use of home and hospice care in various age groups and sex. Research limitations/implications The data set used was from the 2007 NHHCS survey, no data have been collected thereafter, and therefore, gap in data analysis may give inaccurate findings. To compensate for this gap in the data set, recent studies were reviewed which analyzed cost in palliative care in the USA. There has been a lack of evidence to prove the cost savings and improved quality of life in palliative/hospice care. There is a need for new research on the various cost factors affecting palliative care services as well as considering the quality of life. Although, it is evident that palliative care treatment is less expensive as compared to the regular care, since it eliminates the direct hospitalization cost, but there is inadequate research to prove that it improves the quality of life. A detailed research is required considering the additional cost incurred in palliative/hospice care services and a cost-benefit analysis of the same. Practical implications While various studies reporting information applicable to the expenses and effect of family caregiving toward the end-of-life were distinguished, none of the previous research discussed this issue as their central focus. Most studies addressed more extensive financial effect of palliative and end-of-life care, including expenses borne by the patients themselves, the medicinal services framework and safety net providers or beneficent/willful suppliers. This shows a significant hole in the current writing. Social implications With the aging population, it has become evident that demand of palliative/hospice care will increase four-fold. The NHHCS have stopped keeping track of the palliative care requirements after 2007, which has a negative impact on the growing needs. Cost analysis can only be performed by analyzing existing data. This review has recognized a huge niche in the evidence base with respect to the cost cares of giving care and supporting a relative inside a palliative/hospice care setting. Originality/value The study exhibited that cost diminishments in aggressive medications can take care of the expenses of palliative/hospice care services. The issue of evaluating result in such a physically measurable way is complicated by the impalpable nature of large portions of the individual components of outcome. Although physical and mental well-being can be evaluated to a certain degree, it is significantly more difficult to gauge in a quantifiable way, the social and profound measurements of care that help fundamentally to general quality of care.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 66-74
Author(s):  
Yufeng Ma ◽  
Long Xia ◽  
Wenqi Shen ◽  
Mi Zhou ◽  
Weiguo Fan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is automatic classification of TV series reviews based on generic categories. Design/methodology/approach What the authors mainly applied is using surrogate instead of specific roles or actors’ name in reviews to make reviews more generic. Besides, feature selection techniques and different kinds of classifiers are incorporated. Findings With roles’ and actors’ names replaced by generic tags, the experimental result showed that it can generalize well to agnostic TV series as compared with reviews keeping the original names. Research limitations/implications The model presented in this paper must be built on top of an already existed knowledge base like Baidu Encyclopedia. Such database takes lots of work. Practical implications Like in digital information supply chain, if reviews are part of the information to be transported or exchanged, then the model presented in this paper can help automatically identify individual review according to different requirements and help the information sharing. Originality/value One originality is that the authors proposed the surrogate-based approach to make reviews more generic. Besides, they also built a review data set of hot Chinese TV series, which includes eight generic category labels for each review.


Author(s):  
Agustina Malvido Perez Carletti ◽  
Markus Hanisch ◽  
Jens Rommel ◽  
Murray Fulton

AbstractIn this paper, we use a unique data set of the prices paid to farmers in Argentina for grapes to examine the prices paid by non-varietal wine processing cooperatives and investor-oriented firms (IOFs). Motivated by contrasting theoretical predictions of cooperative price effects generated by the yardstick of competition and property rights theories, we apply a multilevel regression model to identify price differences at the transaction level and the departmental level. On average, farmers selling to cooperatives receive a 3.4 % lower price than farmers selling to IOFs. However, we find cooperatives pay approximately 2.4 % more in departments where cooperatives have larger market shares. We suggest that the inability of cooperatives to pay a price equal to or greater than the one paid by IOFs can be explained by the market structure for non-varietal wine in Argentina. Specifically, there is evidence that cooperative members differ from other farmers in terms of size, assets and the cost of accessing the market. We conclude that the analysis of cooperative pricing cannot solely focus on the price differential between cooperatives and IOFs, but instead must consider other factors that are important to the members.


2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jarosław Brodny ◽  
Sara Alszer ◽  
Jolanta Krystek ◽  
Magdalena Tutak

Abstract Underground extraction of coal is characterized by high variability of mining and geological conditions in which it is conducted. Despite ever more effective methods and tools, used to identify the factors influencing this process, mining machinery, used in mining underground, work in difficult and not always foreseeable conditions, which means that these machines should be very universal and reliable. Additionally, a big competition, occurring on the coal market, causes that it is necessary to take action in order to reduce the cost of its production, e.g. by increasing the efficiency of utilization machines. To meet this objective it should be pro-ceed with analysis presented in this paper. The analysis concerns to availability of utilization selected mining machinery, conducted using the model of OEE, which is a tool for quantitative estimate strategy TPM. In this article we considered the machines being part of the mechanized longwall complex and the basis of analysis was the data recording by the industrial automation system. Using this data set we evaluated the availability of studied machines and the structure of registered breaks in their work. The results should be an important source of information for maintenance staff and management of mining plants, needed to improve the economic efficiency of underground mining.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document