bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Concepts of Academic Humility and Seniority in Scholarship
Authors: Endong Floribert Patrick C.
Published: February 2018

The concept of academic humility has often been ill-defined or ill-conceived by members of the Nigerian academia. It argues that this concept has objectionably been associated – nay confused – with “academic subservience”, “academic hypocrisy”, “false modesty” and “yesmanism”. Such misconception could partially be attributed to the prevalence of the “seniority syndrome”. In effect, the seniority syndrome has often wanted that pertinence be ascribed unto a research idea or thesis not necessarily on account of the robustness of the methodology that led to its enunciation, but principally on account of the “seniority” (credentials) of the researcher who authors the thesis or idea in question. This tendency has generally stemmed from the faulty assumption that a senior researcher is theoretically more knowledgeable than his or her junior counterparts; and that the “junior researcher” must manifest unconditional reverence for his or her senior colleagues. This scenario is most often observed during Ph.D. these defenses and similar forums aimed at evaluating research in Nigerian universities.
Integrating Environment, Food Systems, and Sustainability in Feeding the Growing Population in Developing Countries
Authors: Obayelu Abiodun Elijah
Published: February 2018

Food is indispensable to life. It plays an important role in the economy but what is not well known is the impact of production and consumption that food has on the environment. The nexus of food systems and the environment are complex and driven by many economic, socio-cultural, and environmental factors considered to be important in the contemporary global arena. As the world population grows, there is an increased demand on the already stretched food system and fragile environment. Processes along the food chain from agricultural production to food consumption produce outputs other than consumable food that are returned to the natural environment such as pollution or waste. This chapter sheds light on the links in food systems and environment in developing countries. A major finding is that the existing food systems that were supposed to produce adequate food for all are placing major stress on environmental assets including soil, water, fisheries, and biodiversity. For food systems to be sustainable, all hands must be on deck.
Rice Production and Processing in Ogun State, Nigeria
Authors: Osabuohien Evans S. C. , Okorie Uchechukwu E. , Osabohien Romanus A.
Published: February 2018

This chapter examines the importance of indigenous institutional arrangements in rice production and processing activities in Ogun State, Nigeria through the use of key informant interviews (KIIs). Analyses from the study show that agricultural financing constitutes the greatest challenge that affects rice production and processing. Other findings from the discourse reveal that in some rice producing areas where there is the existence of rice farmers' clusters, there is access to modern rice processing machines such as winnowers, threshers, and destoners. The operations of Rice Growers Association of Nigeria (RGAN) in Ogun State are coordinated by the executive committee, which constitute the indigenous institutional arrangement. This chapter recommends that sincere and concerted efforts on the part of the government in implementing the goals of agricultural transformation agenda be made to engender the welfare of rice farmers through the development of the rice value chain. The need for actively involving the rice farmers through the RGAN is also germane. The opportunities identified in the study include: having “pool of land” RGAN that enables the rice farmers to form clusters and increase production, creating platform through which the rice growers could leverage to facilitate access to inputs and technical support, and gaining of visibility and market access to enhance returns on their farming endeavours.
Iterative MapReduce
Authors: Srivastava Utkarsh , Ramanathan L.
Published: February 2018

Diabetes Mellitus has turned into a noteworthy general wellbeing issue in India. Most recent measurements on diabetes uncover that 63 million individuals in India are experiencing diabetes, and this figure is probably going to go up to 80 million by 2025. Given the rise of big data as a socio-technical phenomenon, there are various complications in analyzing big data and its related data handling issues. This chapter examines Hadoop, an open source structure that permits the disseminated handling for huge datasets on group of PCs and thus finally produces better results with the deployment of Iterative MapReduce. The goal of this chapter is to dissect and extricate the enhanced performance of data analysis in distributed environment. Iterative MapReduce (i-MapReduce) plays a major role in optimizing the analytics performance. Implementation is done on Cloudera Hadoop introduced on top of Hortonworks Data Platform (HDP) Sandbox.
Two Approaches on Local Governments' Financial Sustainability
Authors: Karatzimas Sotirios , Miquela Carles Griful
Published: February 2018

The scope of this chapter is to examine the concept of financial sustainability in Catalan municipalities through two different perspectives: The first refers to the perspective of law as it is recorded in the relevant legislation. The second refers to the point of view of mayors and municipality executives who were called to implement the legislation in practice. For the purposes of the study, the relevant Spanish legal documents are analyzed. The reality in practice is captured through the analysis of official documents and semi-structured interviews and informal discussions with mayors and executives of Catalan municipalities. A gap appears to exist between existing legislation and the actual needs of municipalities, which ask for more flexibility and independence to act since the targets set by law are successfully met.
Fiscal Autonomy of Sub-Central Governments in Turkey
Authors: Eroğlu Erdal , Serbes Halil
Published: February 2018

Local authorities that are the closest to citizens need to be financially strong to be able to present efficient and high-quality services. Also called fiscal autonomy, this financial strength helps municipalities to have own-revenues enough to meet their expenditures. When municipalities have sufficient own-revenues and have autonomy in planning and budgeting processes, the qualities of their services increase, and they can manage their resources more effectively and efficiently. Enhancing fiscal autonomy is a requirement of citizen-based management approach with high performance. Focusing on the importance of decentralization, this chapter presents the discussions on various definitions and measurements of fiscal autonomy, followed by a section on the state of fiscal autonomy in Turkey by analyzing the indicators of SCG tax revenue/total revenues, SCG own-revenues/total revenues, and transfers from the general budget tax revenues/total revenues. It finally offers some suggestions to enhance fiscal autonomy.
The Potential Correlation Between Organizational Structure and Financial Sustainability in Turkish Local Government
Authors: Aldemir Ceray , Uysal Tuğba Uçma
Published: February 2018

Throughout the membership process of the EU, Turkey has undergone various transformations in public administration structure. For this reason, the financial and public transformation experienced by Turkey in the Europeanization process must be evaluated. Financial localization and financial sustainability (FS) in local governments are one of the reflections of this transformation. Despite being a non-profit structure, financial sustainability seems to be extremely important in terms of local government units. Financial and economic crises, especially those at global level, have highlighted the need to address FS in non-profit bodies. In the light of the above-mentioned explanations, this chapter analyses the potential correlation between organizational structure and FS in Turkish Local Government—focusing on 14 municipalities in Muğla City—by conducting in-debt interviews. Therefore, the main aim of this chapter is to show the interest of local governments to use voluntary reporting, in terms of ethical-social-environmental, as a tool for financial sustainability.
An Econophysics Approach to Introduction Uncertainty in Dynamics of Complex Market Structural Models
Authors: Donmez Cem Cagri
Published: February 2018

Econophysicists have begun to make progress in answering significant questions. In particular, these collaborations have the potential to change the paradigm for understanding fluctuations. New theoretical approaches to predict complex markets may be proposed, by the captivating formulation of the stock market concerning statistical correlation to be given, where some simple (non-differential, non-fractal) expressions are also suggested as general stock price formulae in a closed form that can generate a variety of possible price movements in time. A given attribute of mechanics may be submitted as a likely option to cover the price movements regarding traditional concepts where utilising stock mechanics to grow the portfolios in real markets may be realised. The ideas prove useful in risk evaluation, extreme value statistics, critical limit theorems for sums of independent variables with power law distribution, random walks, fractals, and multfractal formalisms, etc.
The Effects of Behavioral Factors on the Creditworthiness of Small-Scale Enterprises
Authors: Shevchenko Dmitry , Godwin Ellah Igoche
Published: February 2018

This chapter uses the relationship between behavioral factors and the creditworthiness of small-scale enterprises to increase access of SMEs to credit facilities. The inability of several small businesses to secure loans cannot be overemphasized. Heuristics affecting entrepreneurs are explained in this chapter, and a regression model showing the dependence of creditworthiness on behavioral factors is proposed. If banks consider using psychometric tools in testing for creditworthiness of small-scale entrepreneurs, access to credit facilities will be significantly increased and businesses will flourish. Regressesion models such as the one explained in this chapter may be imbedded in psychometric tools to enhance creditworthiness testing and improve the quality of loans that banks give.
The Use of Fractal Analysis in Assessing the Reliability of Taxpayers Information
Authors: Artemenko Galina , Artemenko Dmitry
Published: February 2018

Tax authorities often have to make decisions under conditions of incomplete information about the actual situation. The incompleteness and uncertainty of information may arise from the actions of the two sides with distinct interests. One side is the tax authority (local, regional, or national level), and the other is the taxpayers (organizations or individuals). This largely explains the interest of tax authorities in the creation of software capable of providing quantitative and qualitative analysis of the declarations submitted by taxpayers to identify suspicious declarations for their additional inspection. The purpose of this chapter is to carry out a comparative pre-forecast analysis of the time series enterprise performance indicators and time series of its tax payments.
Riesz Potential in Generalized Hölder Spaces
Authors: Vakulov Boris Grigorievich , Kostetskaya Galina Sergeevna , Drobotov Yuri Evgenievich
Published: February 2018

The chapter provides an overview of the advanced researches on the multidimensional Riesz potential operator in the generalized Hölder spaces. While being of interest within mathematical modeling in economics, theoretical physics, and other areas of knowledge, the Riesz potential plays a significant role for analysis on fractal sets, and this aspect is briefly outlined. The generalized Hölder spaces provide convenient terminology for formalizing the smoothness concept, which is described here. There are constant and variable order potential type operators considered, including a two-pole spherical one. As a sphere is, in some sense, a convenient set for analysis, there are two results, proved in detail: the conditions for the spherical fractional integral of variable order to be bounded in the generalized Hölder spaces, whose local continuity modulus has a dominant, which may vary from point to point, and the ones for the constant-order two-pole spherical potential type operator.
Monetization of Personal Digital Identity Information
Authors: Adjei Joseph Kwame
Published: February 2018

Monetization of personal identity information has become a major component of modern business models, contributing to dramatic innovations in the collection, aggregation, and use of personal information. This phenomenon is commonplace given that parties to business transactions and social interactions usually rely on the issue of claims and disclosure of unique attributes and credentials for proof and verification of identity. However, the heightened societal information privacy concerns and the diminishing level of trust between transacting parties make such attempts to monetize personal information a very risky endeavor. This chapter examines the major technological and regulatory imperatives in the monetization of personal identity information. The resulting monetization model provides an important source of reference for effective monetization of personal information.
Online Management of the Goods and Services Tax
Authors: Gupta Manish , Gupta Tara Chand
Published: February 2018

This chapter is about goods and services tax (GST), the tax reform by the Government of India. GST seeks to bridge the gaps between different types of taxes and provide a common platform under the “one India one tax” initiative of the Indian government. The objective of this chapter is not only to understand it but also to comprehend the challenges the various stakeholders of GST would face. Moreover, this chapter discusses the key benefits to its stakeholders. The online system of GST has also been covered in detail.
Digital India
Authors: Sinha Amit Kumar
Published: February 2018

E-commerce and internet businesses are driving the rapid growth of the domestic IT-ITeS industry, attracting unprecedented global interest and funding. Indian e-commerce and internet companies are growing rapidly with about 460 million internet users and a tele-density of around 85.2%. Increasing penetration of the internet, adoption of smartphones and minimal effort low-cost mobile devices, changing demographics, mobile-empowered youth, and the emergence of tier 2 and tier 3 cities as major shopping hubs have been driving the growth of the industry, with new retail forces shifting its dynamics. Furthermore, the continued growth of large pure-play organisations that are powerhouses has moved retailers' focus to the web channel. These companies are not only becoming gateways to product research, but have also introduced consumers to new ways of viewing the retail process.
How Does Empowering Leadership Contribute to Organizational Commitment of Millennials?
Authors: Naim Mohammad Faraz
Published: February 2018

This chapter explores the influence of empowering leadership on organizational commitment of Indian millennials. Also, the mediating effect of trust in the leader is examined. Primary data were collected from the sample of 440 IT employees working in Delhi/NCR. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the proposed relationships based on model fit and standard path coefficients. Findings indicate that empowering leadership has a significant positive effect on organizational commitment and trust in the leader, which also has a significant positive effect on organizational commitment, and trust in the leader has shown to have a partial mediating effect on the relationship between empowering leadership and organizational commitment of millennials. The chapter contributes to the limited empirical literature on the linkage between empowering leadership and organizational commitment in a generational context, specifically millennials in Indian context. The chapter provides a leadership-based approach to bolster organizational commitment of millennials.
Training for Ecommerce Adoption
Authors: Yadav Rohit , Mahara Tripti
Published: February 2018

This chapter empirically investigates the decision of small and medium‐sized enterprises of wooden handicraft located in Saharanpur, India to adopt ecommerce. The study is motivated by the fact that even though the handicraft sector plays a vital role in the Indian economy in terms of exports and employment, it has not adopted ecommerce as one of the prominent sales channels for their products. Most of the studies in the literature focus on consumers, but here the focus is on the executives and the managers of SMEs. The study was done by surveying 163 sampled SMEs and the findings reveal that initial e-commerce adoption is mainly determined by organizational awareness and technological readiness. This chapter suggests training providers should focus on recipient and situation specific training to SMEs while designing programmes. Philosophy of one-size-fits-all is not suitable for handicraft training. Post-understanding determinants of initial and institutionalized ecommerce adoption require customized context-specific programmes with special focus are needed to be implemented.
Service-Learning With Students With Exceptionalities
Authors: Smith Heather Haynes
Published: February 2018

Aspiring educators require more than a basic understanding of inclusion. They need to know how to support students with exceptionalities and inclusion. The purpose of this chapter is to describe how general education pre-service teachers' participation in authentic service-learning experiences during teacher preparation can support deeper understanding of the theories and practices to support inclusion. This chapter begins with a brief history of inclusion and research on the efficacy of service-learning in teacher preparation. The chapter continues by focusing on the intersection of inclusion and service-learning, describing the advantages integrating an inclusion-focused service-learning opportunity in a required course on students with exceptionalities. This chapter provides an example of one university's experience and concludes with practical recommendations and discussion of planning, implementing, and assessing course-embedded service-learning and directions for future research.
Multicultural Education in the Context of Community
Authors: Ndemanu Michael T. , Roof David J.
Published: February 2018

Using surveys and follow-up interview data, in this chapter, the authors evaluate the influence of an immersive service learning experience from a multicultural education course for aspiring teachers. The chapter examines how required 20-hour field experience is utilized by different professors as part of a professional disposition assessment to pre-screen students for admission into the teaching program, as well as how the field experience impacts teacher candidates' belief system and cultural competency. This research examines and seeks to provide points of discussion regarding the challenges of the service-learning component and recommendations for improving the course. To improve the course delivery and the unique partnership, the multicultural education course has with a variety of community organizations received surveys from hundreds of former students. This project builds on these initial surveys with interviews.
Using Service-Learning Field Placements to Radically Transform Teacher Education From the Inside Out
Authors: Carlson Jennifer , Strait Jean
Published: February 2018

The current educational landscape is more complex and demanding than ever. The integration of service-learning into teacher education programs increase opportunities for intersectionality of curriculum, the development of cultural humility, use of contact theory, and hands-on learning. The partnership between an urban liberal arts university and suburban school district resulted in the College Pals model. The College Pals model acknowledges that pre-service teachers need to learn how to navigate systems that are familiar to their students in order to positively impact student learning and educational experiences. Service-learning as a pedagogical approach enhances instructional readiness through earlier opportunities to work in and connect to classrooms prior to their matriculated field experiences and provide an effective integration of community-oriented approaches to teacher education.
Preparing Globally Competent Educators Through Critically Engaging in Service-Learning
Authors: Huber Tonya , Sanmiguel Elizabeth R. , Cestou Lorena P. , Hernandez Mayra L.
Published: February 2018

As teacher-preparation programs educate and evaluate candidates to become globally competent instructional leaders, special attention should be given to international service-learning. Immersing teacher candidates in real-world experiences beyond their comfort zone is a cornerstone of this theoretical inquiry, including self-reflection strategies grounded on Paulo Freire's liberatory pedagogy for social justice. The research team reviews self- and cultural-awareness experiences, dispositions, and profiles of university teacher candidates, during a semester of curriculum studies affording opportunities to engage in local, local to global, and/or global/international service-learning. The discoveries will inform teacher educators as they develop and strengthen critical inquiry and service-learning components of their own courses.
Human Factors Leading to Online Fraud Victimisation
Authors: Borwell Jildau , Jansen Jurjen , Stol Wouter
Published: February 2018

With the advent of the internet, criminals gained new tools to commit crimes. Crimes in which the use of connected information technologies is essential for the realisation of the offence are defined as cybercrimes. The human factor is often identified as the weakest link in the information security chain, and it is often the behaviour of humans that leads to the success of cybercrimes. In this chapter, end-user characteristics are studied that may predict cybercrime victimisation. This is done by means of a review of the literature and by a study on personality traits. More specifically, personality traits from the big five are tested on victims of three different types of online fraud, phishing, Microsoft fraud, and purchasing fraud, and are compared with norm groups of the Dutch population. This chapter ends with implications for online fraud prevention and possibilities to advance the study of cyber victimisation.
Cyber + Culture
Authors: Sample Char , Cowley Jennifer , Bakdash Jonathan Z.
Published: February 2018

Technical advances in cyber-attack attribution continues to show incremental improvement. A growing interest in the role of the human in perception management, and decision-making suggest that other aspects of human cognition may be able to help inform attribution, and other aspects of cyber security such as defending and training. Values shape behaviors and cultural values set norms for groups of people. Therefore, they should be considered when modeling behaviors. The lack of studies in this area requires exploration and foundational work to learn the limits of this area of research. This chapter highlights some of the findings of some of the recent studies.
The Role of Psychology in Understanding Online Trust
Authors: Jones Helen S. , Moncur Wendy
Published: February 2018

Across many online contexts, internet users are required to make judgments of trustworthiness in the systems or other users that they are connecting with. But how can a user know that the interactions they engage in are legitimate? In cases where trust is manipulated, there can be severe consequences for the user both economically and psychologically. In this chapter, the authors outline key psychological literature to date that has addressed the question of how trust develops in online environments. Specifically, three use cases in which trust relationships emerge are discussed: crowdfunding, online health forums, and online dating. By including examples of different types of online interaction, the authors aim to demonstrate the need for advanced security measures that ensure valid trust judgments and minimise the risk of fraud victimisation.
The Role of Religiosity in Technology Acceptance
Authors: Baazeem Rami Mohammed
Published: February 2018

Religion plays a major role in shaping individual behaviour, especially in the religious countries. This chapter sheds light on the effect of religiosity on the intention to use technology and privacy and will use Saudi Arabia as an example. Using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) will help explain the intention to use technology. Thus, it clarifies that the intention to use technology is affected by the user behaviour. The user's behaviour is shaped by their religious beliefs which also affect their privacy views. A systematic review of the privacy literature shows that there is a lack of study on the effect of the religious beliefs on privacy. After reading this chapter, policy makers and managers will understand that religious belief should be considered when making new laws and regulations.
An Integrated Approach to Narrative Generation
Authors: Ogata Takashi
Published: February 2018

This chapter seeks to undertake a comprehensive structure of the author's narrative generation research. In particular, the chapter compactly shows the whole of the narrative generation studies as an indirect purpose by taking several concrete examples and aims to consider and discuss the respective components as the direct purpose. Through this chapter, the author presents an entire framework of narrative analyses in relation to the integrated narrative generation system and Geinō information system, and conducts the analyses of a novel by Yukio Mishima and several aspects of kabuki. The final part provides directions for partially incorporating the results of the narrative analyses of Mishima and kabuki into the above narrative generation systems. In relation to this book's title, Content Generation Through Narrative Communication and Simulation, this chapter selects “narrative content” as “content” to be generated, conducts the analyses of narrative “communication,” structure, and techniques, and attempts narrative “simulation” using the author's narrative generation systems.
Narrative Simulation for Film Rhetoric Composition With or Without Story and Nostalgia Effects
Authors: Kanai Akihito
Published: February 2018

In addition to the determinacy created by the stories' or characters' goal-directed actions, the indeterminacy created by the non-story and nostalgia aspects of rhetoric is an essential issue of narrative simulation for non-story film rhetoric composition. The narrative simulation can test cognitive effects created through the interaction between the cognitive process, story, discourse, and the rhetoric of a film. Non-story film editing can be classified according to the categories of rhythm and nostalgia, and can be used for narrative film rhetoric simulation. Nostalgia may emerge with the determinacy of the place and time and the indeterminacy of non-story aspects of rhetoric. Non-nostalgia narrative may emerge with the indeterminacy of the place and time and can be simulated by the use of the non-story editing regarding the rhythm categories.
Multicomponent Solid Forms
Authors: Chavan Rahul B. , Yadav Balvant , Lodagekar Anurag , Shastri Nalini R.
Published: February 2018

Multicomponent systems provide the option of combining drugs at the supramolecular level. Among these, co-crystals have gained a widespread interest in pharmaceutical industry as US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently introduced new regulatory guidelines regarding this solid form that is anticipated to expand patent portfolios. Apart from co-crystals, other multi-component adducts such as co-amorphous system and eutectics are also a topic of interest for pharmaceutical researchers as they provide therapeutic advantages along with improved the aqueous solubility, dissolution, and bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs. This chapter provides a brief overview of multicomponent solid forms, their preparation methodologies, characterization, evaluation, biopharmaceutical aspects, scale up issues, and regulatory perspectives related to these solid forms. In addition, a section on future perspectives that sheds light on new therapeutic hybrids deploying drug-drug and drug-neutraceuticals combinations with improved pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical attributes is also included.
Nanocarriers for Vaccine and Gene Delivery Application
Authors: Şenel Behiye , Büyükköroğlu Gülay
Published: February 2018

Nanocarriers with various compositions and biological properties are frequently used systems for in-vitro/in-vivo vaccination and gene transfer. In recent years, developments in nanotechnology have focused on the design and synthesis of nanocarriers that have new properties and can be modified for gene and vaccine delivery. In the favorable results obtained from in-vivo studies performed, they increase interest in these developments and pave the way for their therapeutic use. Nanocarriers have become increasingly important because they can stabilize vaccine antigens and serve as adjuvants, with the advantage of easily transporting genetic material to the target site. In nanocarriers, the molecules involved are adsorbed to the surface or encapsulated in particulates. At the same time, surface modification of nanoparticles allows these systems to carry cargo molecules easily to target site. Among the most studied nanocarriers, lipidic and polymeric systems dendrimers, inorganic nanoparticles, cyclodextrins, cell penetration peptides, and ISCOMs are attracting attention.
Smart Mesoporous Nanomaterials With Improved Therapeutic Applications
Authors: Sanand Sandhya , Tyagi Anshika , Kumar Sandeep , Kaul Gautam
Published: February 2018

Nanomaterials have revolutionized the drug delivery and therapeutic industry due to their unique physical characteristics, which render them extremely manipulative at nano-scale. One such category of nanomaterials is mesoporous silica nanoparticles. Due to their small size and rigid honeycomb-like structure, they are highly conducive for packaging of drugs, dyes, antibodies, etc. In addition, they show excellent biocompatibility. These new generation nanomaterials can be further functionalized by incorporating surface modifications, thus increasing their acceptability as carriers for drugs and molecules. In this chapter, a brief and comprehensive review covering various aspects of the recent advancements in synthesis of mesoporous nanomaterials and post-synthesis strategies for functionalization has been presented. Further, it also sheds light on how efficiently these smart nano-carriers are involved in transport and site-specific delivery of highly toxic drugs, like chemotherapeutic agents for cancer treatment, and their biocompatibility evaluation from a biosafety point of view.
Qualitative and Quantitative Formalisms for Knowledge Representation in the Theory of Multitudes
Authors: Pshenichny Cyril
Published: February 2018

The theory of multitudes pretends to be an alternative to virtually all existing versions of the set theory and claims to better handle the knowledge about changing and evolving world. Then, by analogy, one may expect an original logical system based on the theory of multitudes, and within this logic, an authentic calculus. This chapter presents such calculus. Moreover, a new mathematical methodology can be developed on top of it, which together with the underlying logic, should clearly separate qualitative and quantitative, static and dynamic concerns and offer a formal method to proceed from representation of expert knowledge to modeling the world this knowledge is about.
Scenarios in Event Bushes
Authors: Wolter Uwe
Published: February 2018

This chapter presents a further step of the formalization of the event bush method by means of graphs and graph homomorphisms. First, the authors revise an analysis of the structure of event bushes by means of bipartite structure graphs that are equipped with a multi-flow structure. They consider event bushes as a compact description of a set of alternative scenarios of directed changes of environments. They give a first formalization of the concept of scenario. A snapshot describes the state of an environment, which evolves in accordance with a given scenario at a certain moment in time. A sequence of snapshots describes how an environment may evolve over time. Cartoons are maximal sequences of snapshots. The authors discuss, define, and exemplify the concepts scenario, snapshot, and cartoon.
Qualitative Modeling of Ice Sheet Accumulation for Identification of Mass Balance Variation
Authors: Khvorostovsky Kirill , Lunev Pavel , Shterkhun Victoria
Published: February 2018

Formation and evolution of ice sheets is one of the “hot” problems of modern geosciences, as it has direct implication on the issues of climate change and sea level rise. Different methods of measurement or computing the mass balance of modern ice sheets based on various physical models sometimes give conflicting results. To understand them, one should first reconcile the models they are based on. This, in turn, requires one to decipher the vision different researchers have on the generation and evolution of ice sheets. This vision is initially qualitative. Hence, a qualitative model is desired that would reconcile various, and sometimes conflicting, physical models. This chapter proposes this model.
An Approach to Improve Bayesian Inference in Assessment of Coast Evolution
Authors: Shterkhun Victoria , Le Cozannet Gonéri , Garcin Manuel
Published: February 2018

The chapter reports the state of the art in the modeling of coastal environments by the method of event bush. This method appears to be an efficient alternative to highly subjective conceptualizations used in the databases that provide data for probabilistic assessment of evolution of the coast. The event bushes themselves may be used for Bayesian computation, but there emerge complications that pose intriguing theoretical tasks. Still, their application requires deep conceptual rethinking of the field of knowledge including both the terminology and concepts traditionally accepted in it.
Modeling of Geological Evolution of the Gulf of Mannar Area, South India, by the Event Bush Method
Authors: Longhinos Biju , Pshenichny Cyril , Anokhin Vladimir , Joseph Jijoy , Koneva Sophie , Chauhan Teena
Published: February 2018

The geological record is never completely available for observation. However, we have to query it – first to suggest or select and then to verify our hypotheses of the geological history, present day, and future of the region in question. So far, this job has been done either intuitively, or on the contrary, by quantitative modeling. Still, the former looks insufficient, especially if the case is contemporary tectonics or other potentially hazardous processes, and the latter gives reliable result only if involves abundant data – and still gives no warranty that is adequate enough to the modeled issue. Therefore, an intermediate solution is desired for regional geology, able to give a reliable result based on available data. The information modeling by means of the event bush method looks promising. In this chapter, the method of event bush is applied to verify the wrench tectonics hypothesis for the neo- and contemporary tectonic regime of the Gulf of Mannar region in the southernmost part of the Hindustan peninsula.
Fortschritt und Verdrängung – Ökologischer Fehlschluss und quantitative Revolution in der Geographie
Authors: Kemper Jan
Published: February 2018

Abstract. The quantitative revolution in the field of geography is commonly recalled as a story of scientific success, overcoming parochial, regionalist and ideographic modes of geography. This paper, however, suggests a different, yet parallel narrative. It reveals that the methodological reorientation towards statistical geography was a coping strategy, adopted by researchers from within and outside the discipline of geography in order to defend the analysis of ecological (i. e., spatially aggregated) data against the powerful critique of producing “ecological fallacies”. Through emphasizing how the quantitative revolution was an expression of both modernizing and protective tendencies within the field of geography, the paper contributes to a more concrete understanding of what motivates methodological change in geography.
Acumulación de capital, insuficiencia dinámica y crecimiento económico en América Latina
Authors: Avendaño Vargas Blanca Lilia , Perrotini Hernández Ignacio
Published: February 2018

En este artículo analizamos teórica y empíricamente la relación entre la insuficiencia dinámica (ID) (Prebisch, 1970; Avendaño & Perrotini, 2015) y la tasa de crecimiento consistente con el equilibrio de la balanza de pagos (gbp) (Thirlwall, 1979) para un conjunto de economías de América Latina durante el periodo 1977-2011. Nuestra hipótesis consiste en que la ID exacerba la restricción externa al crecimiento debido a la brecha entre la tasa natural de acumulación de capital y la tasa de crecimiento garantizada (kn>gw) ya que existe una relación de causalidad de kn agbp. Esto significa que está determinada por condiciones de demanda y de oferta.
Force-time characteristics during an explosive isometric gripping task: effects of a 10-week introductory judo course
Authors: La Monica Michael B. , Fukuda David H. , Muddle Tyler W.D. , Beyer Kyle S. , Wang Ran , Hoffman Jay R. , Stout Jeffrey R.
Published: February 2018

Introduction. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 10-week introductory Judo class on force-time characteristics during an explosive isometric gripping task.
Material and methods. Twenty-two healthy men and women (age: 21.8±3.2yr; height: 169.6±7.4cm; body mass: 75.4±13.2 kg), 10 in an introductory judo class and 12 age-matched controls, were recruited for this study. All participants performed three five-second maximal voluntary contractions with their right hand on a handgrip dynamometer in a neutral stance before and after the 10-week intervention. The variables measured were: peak force (PF), average force (AVGF), average force to 90%PF (AVG90), rate of force development (PRFD), time to PF (TPF), force at PRFD (F@PRFD), and impulse [area under the curve for the first second (AUC1) and the first two seconds (AUC2)]. Repeated measures analysis of variance (RM ANOVA) was used to determine differences in all variables between groups (judo vs. control) prior to and following the intervention period.
Results. No differences were observed between groups within any variable.
Conclusions. A 10-week introductory judo class did not have an effect on force-time characteristics during an explosive isometric gripping task. Future studies should examine longer/more intense interventions or examine novice versus experienced judoka.
Phortica eparmata species complex (Diptera, Drosophildae) from the Oriental Region, with DNA barcoding information of Chinese species
Authors: Zhu Lin , Cao Huiluo , Chen Hongwei
Published: February 2018

A new species complex, the eparmata complex, is established within the subgenus Phortica s. str., based on eight known and five new species, all of which are endemic to the Oriental Region: P. bipartita (Toda & Peng, 1992), P. eparmata (Okada, 1977), P. lanuginosa Chen & Toda, 2007, P. latipenis Chen & Gao, 2005, P. pangi Chen & Wen, 2005, P. setitabula Chen & Gao, 2005, P. unipetala Chen & Wen, 2005 and P. zeta Chen & Toda, 2007; P. jadete sp. nov., P. kava sp. nov., P. mengda sp. nov., P. wongding sp. nov. and P. yena sp. nov. A key to all species of this complex is provided. Barcoding sequences (mitochondrial COI gene) were obtained for 22 specimens of five known and the five above-mentioned new species. The intra- and inter-specific pairwise K-2P (Kimura’s two-parameter) distances of COI were determined. Phylogenetic analysis was performed using Bayesian inference based on COI sequences, confirming the monophyletic status of the eparmata complex, which is distinct from the species complexes of magna, omega, variegata and another two ungrouped species
An approach to optimize the cycling operation of conventional combined heat and power plants
Authors: Ivanova Polina , Grebesh Ervin , Mutule Anna , Linkevics Olegs
Published: February 2018

The implementation of the market mechanism, which includes electricity price fluctuation, and a wide integration of intermittent generation, namely solar PV and wind energy, in energy production have changed the role and operation manner of conventional generation. It is partly or not at all adapted to new running conditions. Therefore, the efficiency and flexibility of conventional generation has to be improved. The numerical approach is developed in the context of combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) technology to adapt its running conditions to the electricity market mechanism. The developed approach was verified on a case study of the Baltic States (Latvia) examples in a multi-paradigm numerical computing environment MATLab. The obtained results show that the added profit is gained through production of supplementary electricity, and the impact of cycling operation is reduced through the decrease of cycling operation ranges numbers and the substitution of start-up with a less adverse one from a technical and economical point of view. The developed approach can be adapted to various technologies and situations by adding appropriate characteristics and constraints of technology.
Power quality issues in smart grids with photovoltaic power stations
Authors: Shevchenko Serhii Yu. , Volokhin Vitalii V. , Diahovchenko Illia M.
Published: February 2018

Problems of power quality and electric energy accounting often occur in networks with large pervasion of photovoltaic (PV) elements on rooftops of household and office buildings. In smart grids, including PV arrays electricity, which is sold back to the distribution network, requires approval of its parameters and quality control. Distributed power inverters generate higher harmonics which affect relay protection, automation systems, smart meters and power system’s reliability. In this article the influence of photovoltaic elements on the accuracy of electric energy metering and power quality questions are analysed.
Effect of Hip Abduction Maximal Voluntary Isometric Contraction on Lumbar Motion and Power Output During the Back Squat
Authors: F. Kelly Christopher , Gonzalez Adam M. , W. Spitz Robert , M. Sell Katie , Ghigiarelli Jamie J.
Published: February 2018

Background: Post-activation potentiation (PAP) is a neuromuscular phenomenon that has been shown to augment muscular force generating attributes as well as neural and sensory recruitment. While PAP has demonstrated to acutely enhance muscular performance during high-intensity activities, the effect of PAP on lumbopelvic kinematics under load remains unknown. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the potential PAP effect of a hip abduction maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) on lumbar motion and power output during the barbell back squat.  Methods: Nine resistance-trained men (22.9±2.3 y; 85.0±13.8 kg; 174.3±5.1 cm) performed a set of 5 repetitions of the barbell back squat using 80% one-repetition maximum with and without a hip abduction MVIC prior to performance.  Experimental and control trials were randomized and counterbalanced among participants.  MVIC was carried out via manual long-lever hip abduction.  During the back squat exercise, lumbar motion analysis was performed using wireless motion-sensor technology, and power output was assessed via an accelerometer.  Results: No significant differences were observed between trials for lumbar flexion range of motion (ROM) (p=0.32), lumbar flexion maximum deviation (p=0.32), lumbar lateral flexion ROM (p=0.81), lumbar lateral flexion maximum deviation (p=0.98), lumbar rotation maximum deviation (p=0.70), average peak power (p=0.98), or average mean power output (p=0.99) during the squat protocol.  Conclusions: Implementation of a manual long-lever hip abduction MVIC prior to the back squat exercise did not significantly alter lumbar motion or augment power output in resistance trained males.
A Prototype Model Design of Wide Band Standard Reference Rod-Dipole antenna for 3-Axis EMC Measurement with hybrid Balun for 0.9 to 3.2GHz
Authors: Patil S. , Petkov P. , Bonev B.
Published: February 2018

Every electronics equipment must deal with EMC test. The testing laboratory of electronics equipment for radiation emission must have accurate calibrated antennas. The field strength of total radiated radio frequency is average of all incident signals at given point, this incident spinals originates from various directions. In order to measure three components of all electric field vectors, a tripole antenna is most beneficial over conventional antenna because of it responds to signal coming from multi directions. This paper presents novel three axis wide band calculable rod-dipole antenna with hybrid balun for the range of 900MHz to 3.2GHz frequencies, the proposed antenna is small in size and good electrical characteristics, the Important parameters measured and verified with designed values. Return loss S11 more than -10dB within the frequency range 900MHz to 3.2GHz. The result of this articles are evident that, efficient construction of antenna with low cost, light weight module applicable for EMC pre-compliance test at open field site.
Benthic grazing in a eutrophic river: cascading effects of zoobenthivorous fish mask direct effects of herbivorous fish
Authors: Gerke Madlen , Cob Chaves Daniel , Richter Marc , Mewes Daniela , Schneider Jörg , Hübner Dirk , Winkelmann Carola
Published: February 2018

Benthic grazing strongly controls periphyton biomass. The question therefore arises whether benthic grazing could be used as a tool to reduce excessive growth of periphyton in nutrient-enriched rivers. Although benthic invertebrate grazers reduce the growth of periphyton, this is highly context dependent. Here we assessed whether the only obligate herbivorous fish in European rivers, the common nase (Chondrostoma nasusL.), is able to reduce periphyton biomass in a eutrophic river. We conducted three consecutivein situexperiments at low, intermediate and high densities of nase in the river using standard tiles on the river bottom naturally covered with periphyton that were accessible to fish and tiles that excluded fish foraging with electric exclosures. The biomass of benthic invertebrate grazers was very low relative to nase. We hypothesised that nase would reduce periphyton biomass on accessible tiles and therefore expected higher periphyton biomass on the exclosure tiles, at least at intermediate and high densities of nase in the river. Contrary to our expectation, the impact of fish grazing was low even at high fish density, as judged by the significantly lower chlorophyllaconcentration on exclosure tiles even though the ash-free dry mass on accessible and exclosure tiles did not differ. The lower chlorophyllaconcentrations on exclosure tiles might be explained by a higher biomass of invertebrate grazers on the exclosure tiles, which would indicate that the effect of invertebrate grazers was stronger than that of herbivorous fish grazers. The high biomass of invertebrate grazers on exclosure tiles likely arose from the exclusion of zoobenthivorous fish, which occur in the river at high densities. The results of our small-scale experiments suggested that cascading top-down effects of zoobenthivorous fish have a higher impact on periphyton biomass than direct effects of herbivorous nase.