Uneven Diffusion Research Articles

Uneven and Combined Development: Understanding India’s Software Exports

The evolution of the Indian software sector is explained by the larger context of uneven and combined development. The imperatives of a market-driven global order suggest an open-ended process of development, making some economic and technological convergence realizable but also generating contradictions at various levels. This paper focuses on differential innovative capability, the uneven diffusion of technical education in India, and the increasing economic integration of the software industry as sources of uneven development. The combined nature of the development process is reflected in the coexistence of the successful software sector with several lagging sectors with all of them being functionally integrated as part of Indian social formation. To cope with the contradictions of such change a balanced development will be critical. To make development more inclusive deep structural problems that plague those outside the orbit of the successful software industry must be resolved.

The influence of stirring rate on biopharmaceutical properties of Eudragit RS microspheres

Eudragit RS microspheres containing pipemidic acid, as a model drug, were prepared by the solvent evaporation method using an acetone/liquid paraffin solvent system. The aim of the work was to evaluate the influence of stirring rate on the average particle size, particle morphology, drug content and release kinetics, as well as the influence of particle size on microsphere morphology, drug content and release kinetics. Stirring rate has been found to significantly influence the average diameter of microspheres. The average diameter decreases as the stirring rate increases. This can be explained by production of a finer dispersion of droplets when higher stirring rates are applied and, consequently, by the formation of smaller microspheres. With increasing stirring rate and increasing fraction particle size the drug content also increases. It is assumed that this dependence is a consequence of an uneven diffusion of the drug from the inner to the outer emulsion phase, and an uneven encapsulation of drug particles during the preparation. Drug release follows the Higuchi model. As seen from SEM photographs, larger microspheres are more porous and the microspheres produced at higher stirring rates are more porous than those produced at lower stirring rates. This explains the unexpected finding that the release rate increases as the fraction particle size and the stirring rate increase.

Do Implementation Processes and Rationales Matter? The Case of Workplace Reforms

This paper draws on a 1995 survey of 141 Canadian firms to address the extent to which the rationales and processes associated with workplace reform programmes matter to their success. Specifically, I explore the extent to which implementation rationales predict implementation processes, whether and how both appear to be associated with managerial evaluations of the effectiveness of workplace reforms, whether these associations are contingent on the intensity with which these reforms are adopted or on establishment size, and whether results are sensitive to the measure of effectiveness employed. Overall, I find that, although implementation rationales and processes may ‘matter’, the extent to which this is the case is limited and varies depending on intensity of adoption, on establishment size, and on the definition of effectiveness employed. I also find that, while adherence to a ‘processually rational’ model bears some association with effectiveness, this association tends to be uneven. I conclude that, although implementation rationales and processes may help to account for the uneven diffusion and success of reforms, much may also depend on the context and the actors involved

The uneven diffusion of telemedicine services in Australia.

The diffusion of telemedicine services in Australia over the last four years has been uneven. Some of the major barriers to the adoption of telemedicine relate to the nature of the industry, including its immaturity, the limited telecommunications infrastructure, the lack of appropriate dialogue between vendors and buyers about solutions required, and the lack of partnerships in the industry. Remuneration is only one barrier. There are, of course, other substantial organizational, financial and attitudinal barriers to the adoption of telemedicine. Further development of telemedicine in Australia will require detailed assessment of these matters.

Alveolar-capillary CO2 and O2 gradients due to uneven hematocrits

The effect of uneven hematocrit of the blood perfusing the different pulmonary capillaries on gas exchange in the lung was studied in vitro. Venous blood was separated anaerobically into plasma and red cell fractions, arterialized in separate tonometers, and finally reconstituted anaerobically. This simulated the effect of complete separation of plasma and red cells on pulmonary gas exchange. The reconstituted blood had a significantly higher carbon dioxide tension and a lower oxygen tension compared with whole blood similarly arterialized. Experiments in which plasma and red cells were incompletely separated yielded qualitatively similar results; the changes in gas tensions were smaller but still significant. While the degree and extent of separation of plasma and red cells in the pulmonary capillary in vivo is uncertain, direct observation and hemodynamic consideration suggest it must occur to some extent. Thus unevenness in the hematocrit of the perfusing pulmonary capillary blood is a mechanism in the genesis of the alevolar-arterial gradients which should be considered in addition to the known mechanisms of uneven ventilation-perfusion ratios and diffusion defects.