Hasil untuk "Competition"

Shangpeng Wang, Chenyuan Zhang, Yuchen Wu et al.

Network flow task management involves the efficient allocation and scheduling of data flow tasks within dynamic satellite networks, aiming to effectively address frequent changes in network topology and dynamic traffic fluctuations. Existing research primarily emphasizes traffic prediction and scheduling using spatiotemporal models and machine learning. However, these approaches often depend on extensive historical data for training, making real-time adaptation to rapidly changing network topologies and traffic patterns challenging in dynamic satellite environments. Additionally, their high computational complexity and slow convergence rates hinder their efficiency in large-scale networks. To address these issues, this paper proposes a collaborative optimization framework based on Coding Multi-Path Theory (CMPT). The framework utilizes a Nash bargaining game model to simulate resource competition among the different participants, ensuring fair resource distribution and load balancing. It also integrates real-time network state monitoring with optimization algorithms, within a multi-path scheduling strategy, enabling the dynamic selection of optimal transmission paths to accommodate frequent network topology changes and traffic variations. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method reduced resource allocation task execution time by at least 18.03% compared to traditional methods and enhanced task scheduling efficiency by at least 14.01%. Although CMPT exhibited a slightly higher task latency on certain small-scale datasets compared to some baseline algorithms, its performance remains exceptional in large-scale and high-dimensional scenarios.

Peter D. Dijkstra, Peter D. Dijkstra, Peter D. Dijkstra et al.

Male-male competition and female-female competition can play important roles in the origin and maintenance of phenotypic polymorphism and speciation. If territory owners bias aggression towards others of their own phenotype, rare male phenotypes will be involved in fewer costly fights, facilitating the evolution of diversity, and stabilizing the coexistence of distinct phenotypes or species. However, the mechanisms that regulate aggression biases have received little attention. We discuss how learning and plasticity in behavioral biases may dramatically influence how aggression biases evolve, which in turn may have important consequences for clarifying the role of intrasexual competition in the process of speciation. We then present data from a field study of two cichlid species in Lake Victoria and illustrate how the social environment could modulate aggression biases of territorial males towards specific intruder phenotypes. Specifically, in Pundamilia nyererei (males are red) and P. ‘pink anal’ (males are blue), blue territory holders showed a tendency to shift their aggression bias more towards red intruder (stimulus) males relative to blue intruder males when these territory holders had more red territorial neighbors. By contrast, red territory holders tended to reduce aggression towards red intruder males relative to blue intruder males when they were surrounded by more red territorial neighbors. Although sample sizes are small, our data suggest that social context may shape aggression biases in the Pundamilia species complex and that these effects may vary between species. We conclude that considering the social environment and experience in shaping aggression biases may advance our understanding of how mate competition shapes evolutionary patterns of phenotypic diversification.

Ming Yuan, Xinmin Zhao, Jun Guo et al.

ABSTRACT The growth of hybrid nanostructures composed of inorganic materials and biomolecules has garnered significant attention due to their potential applications across diverse fields. However, the mutual competition mechanisms at the bio‐nano interface, particularly from the perspective of dimensional evolution, have been seldom explored. Herein, we ascertain a distinct dimensional evolution by establishing a synergistic growth model system that hybridizes protein fibrils and gold nanostructures. Specifically, ionic gold precursors increase in dimension from zero to three dimensions, while amyloid proteins conversely decrease from three to one dimension. This dimensional evolution has important implications for reducing the bio‐nano interface and potentially limiting harmful coupling between biomolecules and inorganic nanomaterials, despite the fact that they can act as templates or scaffolds for each other to promote dimensional evolution. The findings highlight the potential of these hybrid systems in biomedical applications, such as targeted drug delivery and bioimaging, by leveraging the unique dimensional coupling between proteins and gold nanostructures. This work provides insights into the complex bio‐nano interactions between organisms and inorganic materials, emphasizing the need for precise and rational design of bio‐nano systems suitable for clinical applications.

Tiziana Coppola, Hannah Hughes, Paul T. Finch et al.

We present a rare case of erythrocytosis due to a homozygous SLC30A10 mutation, causative of Hypermanganesemia with Dystonia, Polycythemia, and Cirrhosis (HMDPC). The patient presented at 7 years of age with the incidental finding of hemoglobin up to 22.3 g/dL. Despite extensive phenotypic evaluation and genetic testing for common causes of erythrocytosis, etiology remained unknown for 1.5 years until whole exome sequencing revealed the genetic diagnosis. Upon neurological evaluation, the patient was found to have very mild dystonia due to manganese deposition in the basal ganglia, midbrain, and cerebellum, as seen in brain MRI. Chelation with trientine orally was initiated, which led to resolution of his erythrocytosis along with decrease of Mn deposition in brain tissues. Recurrence of erythrocytosis occurred after 4 years due to inappropriately stored trientine and iron deficiency. This required the temporary addition of intravenous calcium disodium edetate to his treatment regimen. This case illustrates the development of secondary erythrocytosis due to hypermanganesemia leading to manganese deposition in the hepatocytes, causing a sense of tissue hypoxia and stimulating erythropoietin production. It also shows the competition between manganese and iron for absorption in the body. Moreover, it demonstrates the importance of broad genetic evaluation for the diagnosis of ultra-rare diseases. In this case, timely diagnosis and initiation of appropriate treatment prevented irreversible damage to the brain and liver with a profound improvement on his prognosis.

Donglei Yang, Nitul Kakati, Mrittunjoy Sarker et al.

Understanding the relationship between the formation, structure, and functionality of catalyst layers is crucial for designing catalyst layers with specific high-current-density operations. In this study, we investigated the impact of the ionomer-to-carbon (I/C) ratio and solid content on transport properties. We conducted fuel cell performance and diagnostic measurements to demonstrate the combined effects of the I/C ratio and solid content on the mass transport, particularly oxygen transport. To elucidate the roles of the I/C ratio and solid content in catalyst layer formation, we utilized dynamic light scattering and rheological measurements. By analyzing the local and global structure of ionomer-Pt/C assemblages in the catalyst inks, we observed that the I/C ratio and solid content influence the competition between homo-aggregation and hetero-aggregation, the strengths of inter- and intra-cluster bonds, and the rigidity and connectivity of the particulate structure. Additionally, high-shear-application simulations tend to reduce the connectivity of the particulate network and induce cluster densification, unless the global structure is mechanically stable and resilient. Based on this understanding, we established the formation–structure–functionality relationship for catalyst layers, thereby providing fundamental insights for designing catalyst layers tailored to specific functionalities.

Bence Krusóczki

"This entry will deal with the history of competition law, including the first substantive competition law of Hungary, i.e Article V of 1923, which contained provisions regarding unfair competition. Currently, unfair competition is the subject of competition law, one of the branches of economic law, which contains regulations regarding the protection of economic competition and the prevention of consumer detriment. The purpose of Article V of 1923 was to offer general protection against any form of unfair competition. However, the description of each provision of the Article and the detailed demonstration and investigation of their practical implementation is not the topic of this entry. The present paper will specifically focus on the arbitral tribunals of the Chamber and the practice of the jury since the fact that the duty and practice of these two bodies were highly significant for the application of the law in that era can be clearly concluded from the summary of research results."

Hidetomo Nakamoto, Ryutaro Aoyagi, Takeru Kusano et al.

Abstract In 2022, the government approved the telemedicine system for peritoneal dialysis (PD) in Japan in the form of medical fees. In 2000, we completed a telemedicine system for PD using an automatic peritoneal dialysis (APD) machine. We have published several papers and obtained international patents, but it was impossible to spread them. In recent years, the use of the internet and the spread of COVID-19 have led to the recognition of the importance of telemedicine, leading to the approval of medical fees for telemedicine in PD treatment in Japan. This change is believed to indicate the future direction of PD medicine. However, the current systems are still inadequate. They are difficult to use, and it is difficult for older patients to master their use. Therefore, we hope to develop a system that is easy to use, even for older patients. The new system is a wristwatch or mobile phone monitoring system for blood pressure, heart rate, partial pressure of oxygen, and electrocardiogram. However, development competition for such a mechanism occurs worldwide. Soon, the use of telemedicine in home medical care is expected to become a common practice. It is expected that the telemedicine system, which has been approved for patients using APD in Japan, will also be available for patients undergoing PD other than APD and patients undergoing home hemodialysis in the future. One important feature would be cooperation among doctors, nurses, clinical engineers, medical care teams, and primary care physicians. Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and information technology (IT) are expected to significantly expand PD medical care in the future. This review is focused on the use of AI and IT for PD medical care in Japan and expectations for the future.

Indra Susanto, Markoni Markoni

This study examines the legal standing of the Indonesian Tyre Business Association (APBI) in light of the KPPU Decision Number 08/Pdt.G/KPPU-I-2014 concerning tire cartel violations in the Indonesian automotive industry. Utilizing normative legal research methods focusing on positive legal norms, the study identifies and systematizes violations of business competition rules by six major APBI member companies between 2008 and 2012, and critically analyzes and interprets the evidentiary basis of these findings. The companies allegedly colluded on tire pricing, manipulating the market for Passenger Car Radial (PCR) tires and inducing unfair business competition. The study asserts that, while the APBI's role in facilitating this collusion was apparent, its legal liability remains unclear due to the association's ability to influence member practices without a binding enforcement mechanism. These findings raise critical implications for market competition and cartel law enforcement, necessitating a re-evaluation of the legal provisions surrounding business associations, especially in the context of Indonesia's anti-monopoly and unfair competition laws. Highlights: • APBI's facilitation of cartel behavior among its members. • Unclear legal liability of business associations in anti-competitive practices. • Need for re-evaluation of legal provisions surrounding business associations. Keywords: Cartel, Indonesian Tyre Business Association (APBI), Unfair Business Competition, Competition Law, Indonesian Tyre Industry

Sergio Estrada-Villegas, Sergio Estrada-Villegas, Sergio Estrada-Villegas et al.

Lianas are a quintessential tropical plant growth-form; they are speciose and abundant in tropical forests worldwide. Lianas compete intensely with trees, reducing nearly all aspects of tree performance. However, the negative effects of lianas on trees have never been combined and quantified for multiple tropical forests. Here, we present the first comprehensive standardized quantification of the effect of lianas on trees across tropical forests worldwide. We used data from 50 liana removal experiments and quantified the effect size of lianas on tree growth, biomass accretion, reproduction, mortality, leaf water potential, sap flow velocity, and leaf area index (LAI) across different forest types. Using a three-level mixed-effect meta-analysis, we found unequivocal evidence that lianas significantly reduce tree growth and biomass accretion in ecological, logging, and silvicultural studies. Lianas also significantly reduce tree reproduction, recruitment, and physiological performance. The relative detrimental effect of lianas on trees does not increase in drier forests, where lianas tend to be more abundant. Our results highlight the substantial liana-induced reduction in tree performance and biomass accumulation, and they provide quantitative data on the effects of lianas on trees that are essential for large-scale plant demographic and ecosystem models that predict forest change and carbon dynamics.

Tomislav Krljan, Ana Grbčić, Svjetlana Hess et al.

Nowadays, container terminals are subject to extensive technological changes and specific transformations. Changes applied to terminals tend to increase their ability to offer high- end personalized services to the customers and finally affect the competitiveness. The estimation of efficiency corresponds to terminals’ ability to increase the production with a specific level of inputs and has been the topic of many studies, especially those conducted on a wider regional or global level. The main objectives of our research are to evaluate the model, conduct sensitivity analysis, and estimate technical efficiencies on a sample of North Adriatic Ports Association (NAPA) interconnected medium-sized terminals, located in the narrow geographic area, on the same transport corridor thus representing each other’s competition. For that purpose, we have implemented a stochastic frontier approach on a balanced panel dataset of first-order and additionally introduced control input variables with Cobb-Douglas and trans-logarithmic functional forms. The stochastic production frontier estimation shows the range of NAPA terminals’ technical efficiencies from 65.24% to 93.92%, with a global average of 78.49% and a positive trend of 1.28% over the observed period of time. Our findings also indicate that NAPA terminals with the highest estimated technical efficiencies do not necessarily need to be the most productive ones, and vice versa.

Song Kai, Chen Wenwu

Protein is a kind of basic substance that constitutes a life body. The determination of protein is very important for the research of biology, medicine, and other fields. Lysozyme is relatively small and simple in structure among all kinds of proteins, so it is often used as a standard target detector in the study of aptamer sensor for protein detection. In this paper, a lysozyme electrochemical sensor based on aptamer competition mechanism is proposed. We have successfully prepared a signal weakening electrochemical sensor based on the lysozyme aptamer competition mechanism. The carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were modified on the glassy carbon electrode, and the complementary aptamer DNA with amino group was connected to MWCNTs. Because of the complementary DNA of daunomycin into the electrode, the electrochemical signal is generated. When there is a target, the aptamer binds to lysozyme with higher binding power, and the original complementary chain breaks down, resulting in the loss of daunomycin inserted into the double chain and the weakening of electrochemical signal. Differential pulse voltammetry was used to determine lysozyme, the response range was 1–500 nM, the correlation coefficient was 0.9995, and the detection limit was 0.5 nM. In addition, the proposed sensor has good selectivity and anti-interference.

Harold Weiss, Jacob Dougherty, Charles DiMaggio

Abstract Background Pickleball is growing rapidly with a passionate senior following. Understanding and comparing players’ injury experience through analysis of a nationally representative hospital emergency department sample helps inform senior injury prevention and fitness goals. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed using 2010 to 2019 data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). Tennis was selected for comparison purposes because of the similarity of play, occasional competition for the same court space, and because many seniors play both sports. Non-fatal pickleball and tennis-related cases were identified, examined, recoded, and separated by injury versus non-injury conditions. Since over 85% of the pickleball injury-related cases were to players ≥60 years of age, we mostly focused on this older age group. Analyses consisted of descriptive statistics, injury frequency, type and trends over time, and comparative measures of risk. Results Among players ≥60 years of age, non-injuries (i.e., cardiovascular events) accounted for 11.1 and 21.5% of the pickleball and tennis-related cases, respectively. With non-injuries removed for seniors (≥60 years), the NEISS contained a weighted total of 28,984 pickleball injuries (95% confidence interval [CI] = 19,463–43,163) and 58,836 tennis injuries (95% CI = 44,861-77,164). Pickleball-related injuries grew rapidly over the study period, and by 2018 the annual number of senior pickleball injuries reached parity with senior tennis-related injuries. Pickleball-related Slip/Trip/Fall/Dive injury mechanisms predominated (63.3, 95% CI = 57.7–69.5%). The leading pickleball-related diagnoses were strains/sprains (33.2, 95% CI = 27.8–39.5%), fractures (28.1, 95% CI = 24.3–32.4%) and contusions (10.6, 95% CI = 8.0–14.1%). Senior males were three-and-a-half times more likely than females to suffer a pickleball-related strain or sprain (Odds Ratio [OR] 3.5, 95% CI = 2.2–5.6) whereas women were over three-and-a-half times more likely to suffer a fracture (OR 3.7, 95% CI = 2.3–5.7) compared to men and nine times more likely to suffer a wrist fracture (OR 9.3 95% CI = 3.6–23.9). Patterns of senior tennis and pickleball injuries were mostly similar. Conclusions NEISS is a valuable data source for describing the epidemiology of recreational injuries. However, careful case definitions are necessary when examining records involving older populations as non-injury conditions related to the activity/product codes of interest are frequent. As pickleball gains in popularity among active seniors, it is becoming an increasingly important cause of injury. Identifying and describing the most common types of injuries may can help inform prevention and safety measures.

Beier, Michael, Früh, Sebastian

BackgroundSocial media platforms are important tools for hospitals. These platforms offer many potential benefits in various areas of application for hospitals to connect and interact with their stakeholders. However, hospitals differ immensely in their social media adoption. There are studies that provide initial findings on individual factors influencing social media adoption by hospitals, but there is no comprehensive and integrated model. ObjectiveThis study aimed to develop a comprehensive model of social media adoption by hospitals in the context of the Swiss health care system and to test the model with empirical data from Switzerland. MethodsTo develop our model, we applied the general technology-organization-environment framework of organizational technology adoption and adapted it to the specific context of social media adoption by hospitals in Switzerland. To test our model, we collected empirical data on all 283 hospitals in Switzerland and identified the accounts they operate on 7 different social media platforms (Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, XING, and YouTube). We tested the hypotheses of our model by means of binary logistic regression (dependent variable: platform adoption) and negative binomial regression (dependent variable: number of different platforms adopted). ResultsOur general model on social media adoption received broad support. Overall, hospitals in Switzerland are more likely to adopt social media if they have a higher share of patients with voluntary health insurance or have a higher patient volume. In contrast, they are less likely to operate their own social media accounts if they are associated with a hospital network. However, some hypotheses of our model received only partial support for specific social media platforms; for instance, hospitals in Switzerland are more likely to adopt XING if they provide an educational program and are more likely to adopt LinkedIn if they are located in regions with higher competition intensity. ConclusionsOur study provides a comprehensive model of social media adoption by hospitals in Switzerland. This model shows, in detail, the factors that influence hospitals in Switzerland in their social media adoption. In addition, it provides a basic framework that might be helpful in systematically developing and testing comprehensive models of social media adoption by hospitals in other countries.

Eric Staples, Esther Sangster-Gormley

Objectives: Clinical experience is an essential component of nurse practitioner (NP) education that relies heavily on preceptors. Recruitment and retention of preceptors is challenging due to many variables that can affect NP education and practice. We surveyed Canadian NP programs to understand their preceptorship structures, how they support preceptorship, and to identify gaps and challenges to recruitment and retention of preceptors. Methods: An 18-item survey, developed by the NP Education Interest Group, was distributed to 24 universities across 10 Canadian provinces. Construct validity and reliability was assessed by experienced NPs and NP faculty. Data were analyzed using relative frequency statistics and thematic analysis. Participants consisted of administrative staff and/or faculty designated as responsible for recruitment and retention of NP preceptors. Results: Seventeen returned surveys were analyzed and demonstrated more similarities than differences across Canada's NP programs, particularly related to barriers affecting recruitment and retention of preceptors. The findings identified NP programs have too many students for the number of available clinical sites/preceptors, resulting in overutilization, burnout, or refusal to take students. Competition with other health disciplines for clinical placements was identified as a challenge to placements. Respondents commented they lack time to recruit, provide follow-up, offer support, or seek preceptors' feedback due to competing work demands. They identified the need for standardized funding for preceptor remuneration and recognition across the country. Conclusion: The findings suggest the need for exploring a wider intraprofessional collaboration among graduate NP programs/faculty, clinical placement sites, and NPs to facilitate the recruitment and retention of preceptors.

Pavel Aleksandrovich Minakir

A probability of the harmonization of the Chinese sub-global strategy ‘One Belt, One Road’, proposed in 2013, and Russian integration project for the Eurasia economic cooperation are reviewed as well as the influence of this potential synchronized project on the Far Eastern segment of the Russian spatial strategy. It is noted that the problems of spatial heterogeneity gave push to the ‘One Belt, One Road’ project when China approached the point in economic development where different regional economic zones demand new infrastructural solutions for maintaining economic dynamics. The article shows that the declared co-development of countries involved is based on the rigid pragmatic financial-credit and infrastructural expansion of Central Asian model: mandatory provision of significant share in property (controlling stake, if possible), mandatory financing with construction contract and guaranteed future export of services for operating the facilities, ensuring the rights on full (or no less than 50%) export of raw materials for further processing to China, employing Chinese labor in Russian-Chinese enterprises, and using Chinese machinery and equipment

Tri Mulyaningsih, Anne Daly, Riyana Miranti

This paper analyzes the relationship between banking competition and banking stability in Indonesia, where the bank lending is the major source of funding on this country with a series of structural changes including deregulation, economic crisis, and consolidation. We apply generalized method of moment approach on individual bank data, and the result shows that competitive banking will increase the economic stability. Under a competitive industry, banks must improve their efficiency, increase their loans disbursement, diversify their business, boost their assets and enhance their capitalization. This paper emphasize that the efficiency is a critical to reduce risk, both for large and small banks. Furthermore, regardless their size, an adequate capital is an important factor for the bank to cope with shocks in the market

Siswanto Siswanto

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk 1) mengindentifikasi, 2) me-ngembangkan model evaluasi, dan 3) mengetahui kelayakan model evaluasi kultur SMA yang dikembangkan. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian dan pengembangan. Langkah-langkah penelitian dan pe-ngembangan menggunakan acuan pokok dari Plomp, sedangkan penentuan jumlah subjek uji coba menggunakan acuan dari Borg & Gall. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa 1) keadaan kultur akademik yang berkembang di SMA saat ini terdiri atas enam aspek budaya, yaitu berprestasi dan berkompetisi, disiplin dan efisien, jujur dan terbuka, gemar membaca, teguran dan penghargaan, serta kerja sama dan kebersamaan; 2) keadaan kultur sosial yang ber-kembang di SMA saat ini terdiri atas sembilan aspek budaya, yaitu jujur dan terbuka, teguran dan penghargaan, kerjasama dan keber-samaan, saling menghormati, bersih, disiplin dan efisien, ber-sahabat/komunikatif, saling percaya, dan semangat kebangsaan; 3) hasil confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) menunjukkan bahwa model evaluasi kultur akademik dengan responden siswa dan guru sesuai dengan data lapangan dan model evaluasi kultur SMA yang di-kembangkan layak digunakan.Kata kunci: pengembangan model, evaluasi, kultur sekolah ______________________________________________________________ DEVELOPING A MODEL OF AN EVALUATION OF THE SCHOOL CULTURE IN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS Abstract This study aims to: 1) identify the condition of the school culture in senior high schools (SHSs) at this moment; 2) develop a model of an evaluation of the school culture in SHSs; and 3) know the feasability of the developed model of the evaluation of the school culture in SHSs. This research was a research and development. This steps of the research and development were those proposed by Plomp, while the number of the try out subjects was established using Borg & Gall. The conclusions of the study are as follows 1) the condition of academic culture which is developing in SHSs consists of six cultural aspects, namely achievement and competition, discipline and efficiency, honesty and openness, reading habit, reward and punishment, and cooperation and togetherness; 2) the condition of social culture which is developing in SHSs consists of nine cultural aspects, namely honesty and openness, reward and punishment, cooperation and togetherness, mutual respect, cleanness, discipline and efficiency, friendliness/communicativeness, mutual trust, and nationalism spirit; 3) the result of the CFA shows that the evaluation model for the academic culture for the students is  relevant to the field. Teacher respondance shows that value of KMO is 0,655; 4) the result  of the social culture for students is relevant to the field. Teacher respondance shows that value of KMO is 0,682; 5) the effectiveness of the model of the evaluation of the school culture is judged as a good evaluation model. Keywords: model development, evaluation, school culture

Roman Szostek

An innovatory system of managing sports competitions has been presented. Its advantages with regard to other currently used systems are discussed. A theorem connected with such a system has been presented in the last section of the paper. Sports competitions aim to establish a ranking of the participating teams. This consists of sorting teams according to a quality which can be thought of as the ability to win matches. Direct measurement of this quality is not possible, since the ability to win matches depends on a great variety of factors being difficult to determine. Nevertheless, it is possible to compare any two teams if they play a match. These matches are played under normal rules. In turn, all the rules valid during sports competitions, outside the matches, make a system of sport competition. Sorting sports teams differs from typical problems of sorting. The result of a comparison of teams is sometimes misleading. It happens that a team with a greater ability to win matches loses a match to a team with a smaller ability to win matches. Thus, the problem of sorting teams is a probabilistic problem. Due to this reason, traditional sorting methods are ineffective in terms of managing sports competitions. (original abstract)

Rances Caicedo-Portilla, Claudia Juliana Dulcey-Cala

The common house gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus, is a native species from Asia and the Indo-Pacific region. It has been found extensively in areas of the tropics both in the Old as well as the New World. Through the revision of museum specimens, we found 32 H. frenatus that have been erroneously identified with another invasive species, H. angulatus. The first record of H. frenatus in Colombia was reported in 2000 from the Magdalena Medio region, since that date to the present, the species has been founded in different localities into the Caribbean, Andean valleys, Pacific coastal and Orinoquia. The species has predilection for urban and suburban environments, but no records exist on its natural environment. According to our observations, this gecko is now more abundant than its conspecific, H. angulatus, and therefore we assume a strong competition between both species as well as other native and exotic geckos, mainly those that inhabit the San Andrés and Providencia islands. We recommend future studies that examine the degree of pressure and competition of H. frenatus on other native and exotic species of lizards.

Louis Chauvel

This article focuses on inter-and intra-cohort inequalities of living standards in a comparative perspective, underlining the diversity of national responses to the challenges of economic slow down, stronger economic competition and globalisation and their implications on different age groups. The aim is to make a connection between national Welfare regimes and the emergence of specific cohort-based economic constraint patterns in different countries, which are about to produce specific social generations2. I highlight the emergence of ‘scarring effects’; that is the irreversible consequences of (short term) social fluctuations in the context of socialisation on the (long term) life chances of different birth cohorts. These scarring effects can affect specific birth cohorts in countries where the welfare regime provides the context for increasing polarisation between middle-aged insiders and young outsiders. This is characterised by a lack of resilience to early career difficulties faced by cohorts of young adults.