bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Boycott and Buycott as Emerging Modes of Civic Engagement
Authors: Adugu Emmanuel
Published: January 2015

Citizens in post-industrialized societies such as the United States are becoming dissatisfied with some public policy decisions on the provisioning of food, prompting engagement in buycotts and boycotts as means to influence policy change. Such politically motivated consumptive behavior with social change motives is referred as political consumption. Using data from Ohio 2007 Survey of Food, Farming and the Environment, this research examines the attitudinal and demographic correlates of engagement in buycott and boycott. Findings reveal that engagement in boycott and buycott are shaped by food safety concern and knowledge of food production respectively. Both boycott and buycott behaviors are positively associated with conventional political action and organic labels. Those with greater political efficacy and high incomes are more likely to engage in buycott. These emerging forms of consumer-oriented political engagement may constitute an important force in setting the agenda for social change with respect to the issues targeted.
Performing Arts for Effective Civic Engagement
Authors: Chitiga Miriam
Published: January 2015

There is a dearth of civic knowledge, skills, dispositions, and interest among pre-and post-secondary students and the general public. Many people are not equipped with the necessary knowledge of American political history, democratic institutions, processes, and civic life needed to allow them to become active, effective, responsible, and empowered citizens and leaders of the future. The traditional mode of incorporating civics in the lecture format in social studies and political science curricula is ineffective. The Performing Arts for Effective Civic Engagement (PAECE) program is a cross-disciplinary, multi-institutional effort that was created to address this problem through creative, entertaining performance-based content delivery that is designed by students. This paper describes the details on the program implementation, evalution, as well as its outcomes, in an effort to disseminate pertinent information for possible replication or adaptation of the model by other institutions. The paper concludes with some implications for higher education institutions.
Benchmarking Municipal E-Government Services
Authors: Batlle-Montserrat Joan , Blat Josep , Abadal Ernest
Published: January 2015

Local governments play an important role as the main contact point for citizens and deliver many more and varied services than any other public administration. Nevertheless, the field of local e-government services (or local e-administration) lacks benchmarking methodologies and rigorous surveys. Existing e-government benchmarks mostly address the national level and do not cater for this wealth of locally provided e-services. Cities are also very diverse, but research shows that European cities share an important number of common services, making benchmarking look feasible. The paper proposes a benchmarking methodology to fill this gap, facing the complexity of this multiplicity and variety. It starts by a bottom-up hierarchical catalogue of services created through participation of the cities. The benchmarking goes beyond service provision, so far measured through maturity, and analyses acceptance by users. The paper discusses the parameters introduced and how to measure them. The paper addresses the issue of the presentation of the results, which is important to help city managers to improve the service provision, its quality and acceptance. The methodology was applied in a pilot study of 15 quite diverse medium and large European cities, and its results are presented within the context of validating the methodology introduced.
Sociopolitical Digital Interactions' Maturity
Authors: Santos Herman Resende , Tonelli Dany Flávio , Bermejo Paulo Henrique de Souza
Published: January 2015

In the context of the “network society” structured on “digital communication” processes, new values and technologies induce changes in government-society relations. The aim of this study was to propose a conceptual framework of understanding the levels of sociopolitical digital interactions' maturity (SDIM) in response to the following question: how can the sociopolitical digital interactions' maturity levels be classified? To conduct this study, a qualitative methodological approach was adopted. The content analysis of the 27 Brazilian state government websites was structured on a conceptual scheme (SDIM), which allowed the verification and classification of digital interactive tools used in e-government portals. It was concluded that the levels of electronic interactivity do not represent institutional democratic development and that co-creation may generate continuous processes of public sector innovation.
Electronic Records Management - An Old Solution to a New Problem
Authors: Nguyen Chinh , Stockdale Rosemary , Scheepers Helana , Sargent Jason
Published: January 2015

The rapid development of technology and interactive nature of Government 2.0 (Gov 2.0) is generating large data sets for Government, resulting in a struggle to control, manage, and extract the right information. Therefore, research into these large data sets (termed Big Data) has become necessary. Governments are now spending significant finances on storing and processing vast amounts of information because of the huge proliferation and complexity of Big Data and a lack of effective records management. On the other hand, there is a method called Electronic Records Management (ERM), for controlling and governing the important data of an organisation. This paper investigates the challenges identified from reviewing the literature for Gov 2.0, Big Data, and ERM in order to develop a better understanding of the application of ERM to Big Data to extract useable information in the context of Gov 2.0. The paper suggests that a key building block in providing useable information to stakeholders could potentially be ERM with its well established governance policies. A framework is constructed to illustrate how ERM can play a role in the context of Gov 2.0. Future research is necessary to address the specific constraints and expectations placed on governments in terms of data retention and use.
Building Sound Foundations for Smart City Government
Authors: Scholl Hans Jochen , Jurisch Marlen , Krcmar Helmut , Scholl Margit C.
Published: January 2015

City governments around the world have increasingly engaged in “smart city” initiatives. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are at the core of these initiatives. City governments appear to play important roles in making the urban spaces, in which they are embedded, more attractive, more competitive, more livable, and smarter. The authors interviewed City officials in Munich, Germany, and asked for the definitions of “smart city,” which they then compared to Munich's smart city-related program. While the practitioners' definitions differed in part from those in the academic literature, the smart city overhaul program at Munich city government had a direct relationship to the practitioners' understanding of smartness. The authors portray and discuss the City of Munich institutional architecture overhaul and its expected and realized benefits, and compare the results to those of an earlier study on the City of Seattle. Both city governments evidently pursue different approaches, the effectiveness of which can more readily be assessed only at a future point of the smart city evolution.
Design Review Process
Authors: Vishkaie Rojin S. , Levy Richard M.
Published: January 2015

Urban planners play an important role, communicate plans with developers on behalf of the city and its inhabitants. They also function as shepherds for a developer's development application, communicating with civic technicians, who ensure adherence to bylaws, civic committees, and the public. As a communication proxy between all these different stakeholders, urban planners often find themselves at the center of miscommunications, often due to assumptions and discussions made over paper-based sketches. This study employs interviews and observations with twelve urban planners from a major Canadian city to investigate the communication challenges around technical activities of the design review process, also to explore tools and technologies that are used within the design review process. Thus, the goal of this study is to arrive at a set of design recommendations to create a mobile, interactive communication medium that can potentially support the participatory communication and technical activities of the design review process.
Municipal Websites
Authors: Bennett Lamar Vernon , Manoharan Aroon
Published: January 2015

In this paper the authors draw on Scott's (2006) work on e-government and democratic theories to examine how governments engage their citizens online. The three theories they focus – representative, pluralist, and direct – are the most prominent in the democratic theory literature. Using data from the 200 American local governments, they examine two research questions: What factors drive governments to employ each theory? Which theory predominates in the implementation of e-government? Our assumption is that providing answers to these two questions will help set the stage for future research linking e-government and democratic theory.
Ethical E-Participation
Authors: Picone Marco , Lo Piccolo Francesco
Published: January 2015

The most recent forms of e-participation seem to provide new issues that need to be discussed. One such discussion involves the role of GIS. Can an ethically aware GIS be conceived? What does it mean for a GIS to be ethical at all? Throughout this paper, first the authors create a theoretical framework to encompass four key elements that lead us to the definition of ethical digital mapping: GIS ethics, social justice, power, and participation. Then they introduce the concept of PPGIS (Public Participation GIS), and argue that only a ‘qualitative turn' can enhance their importance in decision-making processes. Finally, the authors discuss an experiment that is currently taking place in Palermo, Italy, to debate the opportunities qualitative PPGIS may grant.
Can e-Planning Make for Better Communities?
Authors: Levine Michael P. , Taylor William M.
Published: January 2015

Social Engineering (the “possibility of making society”) and physical determinism (influencing or determining human behaviour through space) are two ideas that have been deeply imbedded in modern urban planning from the start. More recently these issues re-appear in the debate on ‘New Urbanism' as well as in questions concerning contemporary architecture and planning. New Urbanism's self-conscious concern is to bring urban planning into line with the ethical (including social and political) standards and values that its charter delineates as consonant with what urbanism, democratic values, social justice, and more generally human flourishing require in a contemporary urban environment. It sees the architect's task as one of interpreting and helping to build, in Giedion's terms, “a way of life valid for our time.”More pointedly, New Urbanism illustrates Lagueux's (2004) contention that architecture and ethics are joined indissolubly at the hip. It assumes that, like it or not, and no doubt many architects relish the role, not only is architectural practice inextricably bound to ethical decision making, but design practitioners generally are arbiters and promulgators of value and taste. This article examines problematic aspects of New Urbanism's assumptions about the relation between architecture, planning and social justice. As a subsidiary or parallel case, the article considers e-planning's position in these relations. As regular readers of this journal will most likely recognize, e-planning encompasses a range of services including the online lodgment of planning documents, processing of development applications and distribution of information (maps, policies and regulations). The movement promises planners, developers and additional stakeholders in the built environment greater freedoms and efficiencies as they pursue their interests. However, in the realm of values, ‘efficiency' is not necessarily an obvious or desirable outcome of deliberations over the proper form that communities should take. Rather, the goal of ‘efficiency' in planning and design through electronic, digital or web-based practices may serve to obfuscate important ethical concerns from the start.
Performance Measurement System in Banking Services in India
Authors: Yadav Vinod Kumar
Published: January 2015

Increased competition and technological breakthroughs in banking services has sidelined the customer focus and opened new vistas of managing figures of success not only to show past performance rather as a strategy to sustain in business. This has led to many practices in banking as non standardized services. The non- core businesses subsidizing the core businesses on failure fronts also cause this deviation. Performance of any organization is one of the mechanisms to gain people's commitment towards achieving the stated objectives of the organization. This study is an attempt to address the questions, which includes: (a) the different performance measurement systems adopted by Indian companies in banking services; (b) the approaches used to measure the performance of the organization in banking services in India; (c) the different factors distorting the PMS of the organization and (d) the effectiveness of PMS and need for the change in the existing PMS. This study also aims to establish an equation between performance measurement practices and environmental variables in Indian banking services. The primary data as well as secondary data has been used to decipher the trends in performance measurement practices in banking services in India. The empirical study deciphers the trend used to identify the potential of banking services in context of economic and social changes underway in India. Although, banking industry is lagging behind in the level of understanding of performance measurement system, but the sector realizes the importance of effective PMS for the organization. The different banking companies are found to use different approaches to measure the performance. The performance measurement systems adopted by Indian companies are also found to be different than that followed by multinational banks. The role of social, economic and cultural factors is being realized by most of the service providers in India. Therefore, the development of performance measurement practices in this dynamic world is need of banking service business.
Utility-Based Knowledge Work Productivity Assessment
Authors: Xiao M. , Nembhard D.A.
Published: January 2015

This paper presents a utility-based productivity assessment model for evaluating knowledge worker productivity, with the goal of examining the assessment process for knowledge workers with varying levels of knowledge intensity. The authors conduct an experiment to discover effects from knowledge intensity on managerial assessments of knowledge worker performance. The model presented allows for the quantification of evaluator's risk attitudes and preference, as well as relative weights for three chosen productivity metrics. The results indicate that managers' risk attitudes vary with respect to both different metrics, and to different levels of knowledge intensity.
Sources of Agricultural Productivity Differences between Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria using DEA
Authors: Salame Emile J.
Published: January 2015

In the present chapter agricultural productivity in four countries Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria is examined. A thorough look at previous studies that considered those countries is provided. The data used is drawn from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and adjusted, covering the period of 1972 through 2006. The study utilizes Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to calculate Malmquist productivity indices. The study looks at the tendencies in agricultural productivity for the four countries throughout the 35 years, in which wars and conflicts took place. The estimates of efficiency change, technical change, and total factor productivity change obtained for the four countries are calculated. Moreover, a model for technical inefficiency effects in a stochastic frontier production function is suggested to provide a possible explanation of the sources of inefficiencies and the effect of each inefficiency variable.
Romania's Foreign Trade and of Other Former Communist Countries in 2003-2012
Authors: Zaharia Marian , Balacescu Aniela , Zaharia Radu Serban
Published: January 2015

During 2003-2012, economies of most EU countries, have gone through periods of growth and decline, the most significant decline being recorded in 2009, due to strong economic crisis which has affect the EU and not only. The main purpose of this article is to assess the impact that the economic crisis has had on each of the five former communist countries analyzed, namely Romania, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria. This study is a comparative statistical analysis of evolutions of the volumes of exports and imports both within EU and outside. It also, are analyzed their trade balances evolutions, and were identified, for three of them, among which Romania, valid models of evolution for the period under review.
Sugar Production, Consumption, and Consumer Expenditure Analysis
Authors: Stancu Adrian
Published: January 2015

The paper examines, firstly, the connection among sugar production, sugar consumption and population number. Secondly, it highlights the relationship between sugar consumption and the weight of sugar and confectionery consumer expenditure in the food and non-alcoholic beverages consumer expenditure category as well as in disposable income. Two matrices of countries were proposed based on the sugar consumption and the weight of sugar and confectionery consumer expenditure in the food and non-alcoholic beverages consumer expenditure category and in disposable income levels. Thirdly, an analysis of sugar production, sugar consumption and population number dynamics of four most relevant countries was made, along with testing the correlation among sugar production, sugar consumption, and population number growth/decrease rates
Design of Optimal CMOS Inverter for Symmetric Switching Characteristics Using Firefly Algorithm with Wavelet Mutation
Authors: De Bishnu Prasad , Kar Rajib , Mandal Durbadal , Ghoshal Sakti Prasad
Published: January 2015

In this article, a population based meta-heuristic search method called Firefly Algorithm with Wavelet Mutation (FAWM) is applied for the optimal switching characterization of CMOS inverter. In Firefly Algorithm (FA), behaviour of flashing firefly towards its competent mate is structured. In this algorithm attractiveness depends on brightness of light and brighter fireflies are considered as more attractive among the population. For the present minimization based optimization problem, brightness varies inversely proportional to the error fitness value, so the position of the brightest firefly gives the optimum result corresponding to the least error fitness in multidimensional search space. FAWM incorporates a new definition of swarm updating with the help of wavelet mutation based on wavelet theory. Wavelet mutation enhances the FA to explore the solution space more effectively compared with the other optimization methods. The performance of FAWM is compared with real coded genetic algorithm (RGA), and conventional PSO reported in the literature. FAWM based design results are also compared with the PSPICE results. The comparative simulation results establish the FAWM as a more competent optimization algorithm to other aforementioned evolutionary algorithms for the examples considered and can be efficiently used for CMOS inverter design.
Management of Loose, Frequent Stools and Fecal Incontinence in a Chronic Mesenteric Ischemia Patient with Oral Serum-derived Bovine Immunoglobulin
Authors: Good Larry , Burnett Bruce P.
Published: January 2015

Aim

Chronic diarrhea with fecal incontinence (FI) is a severe, underreported, and intractable problem in many patients for which limited pharmaceutical options exist.

Methods

A retrospective case history was collected after the administration of a prescription medical food composed of serum-derived bovine immunoglobulin/protein isolate (SBI) at 5 g once daily in a patient with chronic mesenteric ischemia (CMI) for chronic loose, frequent, and urgent stools. The patient was an 84-year-old white male with a 20-year history of progressively worsening chronic diarrhea with six to eight watery stools per day (Bristol Stool Form Scale, Type 7), urgency, nocturnal diarrhea, FI, and postprandial abdominal discomfort before administration of SBI.

Results

After four weeks of SBI administration, the patient had two to three soft, semi-formed stools (Bristol Stool Form Scale, Types 4 and 5) per day with no nocturnal diarrhea, urgency, or FI, as well as full resolution of abdominal discomfort. In addition, the patient expressed an enhanced quality of life (QoL): able to travel, attend social events, and perform tasks not possible before therapy.

Conclusion

This case underscores how a safe, nutritional therapy may offer a new modality for physicians to address chronic loose, frequent stools with FI in patients with CMI in this difficult to manage gastrointestinal population.
Aging of secondary organic aerosol generated from the ozonolysis of α-pinene: effects of ozone, light and temperature
Authors: Denjean C. , Formenti P. , Picquet-Varrault B. , Camredon M. , Pangui E. , Zapf P. , Katrib Y. , Giorio C. , Tapparo A. , Temime-Roussel B. , Monod A. , Aumont B. , Doussin J. F.
Published: January 2015

Abstract. A series of experiments was conducted in the CESAM (French acronym for Experimental Multiphasic Atmospheric Simulation Chamber) simulation chamber to investigate the evolution of the physical and chemical properties of secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) during different forcings. The present experiments represent a first attempt to comprehensively investigate the influence of oxidative processing, photochemistry, and diurnal temperature cycling upon SOA properties. SOAs generated from the ozonolysis of α-pinene were exposed under dry conditions (< 1% relative humidity) to (1) elevated ozone concentrations, (2) light (under controlled temperature conditions) or (3) light and heat (6 °C light-induced temperature increase), and the resultant changes in SOA optical properties (i.e. absorption and scattering), hygroscopicity and chemical composition were measured using a suite of instrumentation interfaced to the CESAM chamber. The complex refractive index (CRI) was derived from integrated nephelometer measurements of 525 nm wavelength, using Mie scattering calculations and measured number size distributions. The particle size growth factor (GF) was measured with a hygroscopic tandem differential mobility analyzer (H-TDMA). An aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) was used for the determination of the f44 / f43 and O : C ratio of the particles bulk. No change in SOA size or chemical composition was observed during O3 and light exposure at constant temperature; in addition, GF and CRI of the SOA remained constant with forcing. On the contrary, illumination of SOAs in the absence of temperature control led to an increase in the real part of the CRI from 1.35 (±0.03) to 1.49 (±0.03), an increase of the GF from 1.04 (±0.02) to 1.14 (±0.02) and an increase of the f44 / f43 ratio from 1.73 (±0.03) to 2.23 (±0.03). The simulation of the experiments using the master chemical mechanism (MCM) and the Generator for Explicit Chemistry and Kinetics of Organics in the Atmosphere (GECKO-A) shows that these changes resulted from the evaporation of semi-volatile and less oxidized SOA species induced by the relatively minor increases in temperature (~ 6 °C). These surprising results suggest that α-pinene–O3 SOA properties may be governed more by local temperature fluctuations than by oxidative processing and photochemistry.
Experimentelle Erkundung von Wildbächen, Murgängen, Hangrutschungen und Steinschlag: Aktuelle Beispiele der WSL
Authors: Stähli M. , Graf C. , Scheidl C. , Wyss C. R. , Volkwein A.
Published: January 2015

Abstract. Experimente werden oft als selbstverständlicher Bestandteil der Erforschung von Massenbewegungen betrachtet. Häufig sind wir uns jedoch nicht bewusst, was genau die Rolle der Experimente in der ganzen Wissensbildung und der Anwendung für die Praxis ist. Der vorliegende Artikel soll dies anhand von aktuellen Beispielen der Eidg. Forschungsanstalt WSL aufzeigen. Ein Laborexperiment zur Frage der Kurvenüberhöhung von Murgängen erlaubt einen detaillierten Einblick in einen Vorgang, den man natürlicherweise im Feld nie gewinnen könnte. Ein Laborrinnenexperiment ermöglicht die Generalisierung von Methoden und Beobachtungen zum Sedimenttransport in Fliessgewässern. Ein Steinschlag-Experiment stellt eine essentielle Test-Grundlage für einen neu-entwickelten Messsensor dar, und ein Hangrutschexperiment liefert in mehrfacher Hinsicht grundlegende Informationen zur Entwicklung numerischer Modelle. Die gemeinsame Erkenntnis aller vorgestellten WSL-Forschungsarbeiten ist, dass Experimente eine unabdingbare Brückenfunktion zwischen der reinen Beobachtung (Monitoring), der Verbesserung des Prozessverständnisses und schlussendlich der numerischen Modellierung ausüben.
Reaching the lower stratosphere: validating an extended vertical grid for COSMO
Authors: Eckstein J. , Schmitz S. , Ruhnke R.
Published: January 2015

Abstract. This study presents an extended vertical grid for the regional atmospheric model COSMO, used for numerical weather prediction, reaching up to 33 km. The extended setup has been used to stably simulate eleven months in a domain covering central and northern Europe. Temperature and relative humidity have been validated using radio sonde data in polar and temperate latitudes, focussing on the stratosphere. Temperature values are reproduced very well by the model. Relative humidity could only be met in the mean over the whole time period after excluding data from Russian stations, which showed significantly higher values. A study of orographically induced lee waves over Iceland, well visible in the model but not in the regridded boundary data (ERA-Interim and NCEP reanalysis), showcases the advantage and applicability of the model in the extended vertical grid.
Effects of Salt Concentration on Osmotic Dehydration of Green Bean
Authors: Da Silva Wilton Pereira , Da Silva Júnior Aluízio Freire , Aires Juarez Everton de Farias , Farias Aires Kalina Lígia C.A. , Da Silva e Siilva Cleide Maria Diniz Pereira , Farias Vera Solange O.
Published: January 2015

In this study, mass transfer simulations were performed during the process of osmotic dehydration of green beans in NaCl solutions of 20 and 26.5% at 50 °C. Additionally, the effect of solute concentration on boundary conditions was investigated. For such, a diffusion model – assuming constant diffusivity – and the geometry of an infinite cylinder was considered. A numerical solution was also developed and coupled with an optimizer in order to obtain the process parameters using experimental data. The results were consistent with those mentioned in the literature, for which analytical tools were utilized to describe the process.
Clinical learning environment in government and private hospitals in relation to gender in Karachi, Pakistan - a comparative study
Authors: Amin Sharmeen , Yazdani Zafeer Ahmed , Usman Ghazala
Published: January 2015

Introduction: Background: The Medical Education has two most essential basis, sound theoretical knowledge and proficient clinical skills. Both of these factors depend on an efficient method of teaching in a proper clinical set-up. So that the medical students get most of the benefit out of it by learning and developing their clinical skills. Objective: The main objectives of this study are to determine the presence of difference in the learning environment in government and private hospitals of Karachi and to determine whether there is any biasness present in these systems on the basis of gender of students.Methods: Four renowned university hospitals were selected: two private and two government-based. 150 samples were collected from each university by a self-administered questionnaire. The analysis has been performed using SPSS 20 and the results are presented using chi square.Results: The study established that there is a striking difference between the learning environment in these clinical set-ups based on the theoretical knowledge of the students, the proper schedule of classes, hands on experience gained in the ward, new knowledge gained at the end of a wards rotation, doctors’ interaction with the students and the students’ motivation. This was represented by the 2 = 10.173 and p .00001. MG = 5.73 with a SD = 1.815 while MP = 6.76 with a SD = 1.883 (M = mean, G = Government hospital environment, P = Private hospital environment). According to the study there is no difference in treatment of the students on the basis of gender represented by the 2= 3.168 and a p is between .05 and .1.Conclusions: The private hospitals provide a sound theoretical knowledge to the students they lack the provision of optimum opportunities for the students to develop their clinical skills in comparison with government hospitals. It is however recommendable that both the systems lack any biasedness among the students on the basis of gender.
Effects of Traditional Smoking Methods on the Concentrations of Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Some Species of Smoked Fish Traded in Benue State, Nigeria
Authors: Ubwa S. T. , Abah J. , Tarzaa L. , Tyohemba R. L. , Ahile U. J.
Published: January 2015

The effects of three traditional smoking methods on the concentrations of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in smoked fishes were studied. Samples of five different species of fish highly traded for immediate consumption were purchased from fishermen and processed using saw dust smoke, firewood smoke and charcoal smoke respectively. Some of the fresh fishes were also sun-dried and analyzed as control. The PAHs content were extracted with standard dichloromethane using solid-liquid extraction, and analyzed using Gas chromatography – Mass spectrophotometer (GC-MS) method. The results showed that fish samples processed with saw dust smoke recorded the highest concentrations of total PAHs, ranging from 815.75 µg/kg to 1550.28 µg/kg, followed by firewood smoked samples with total PAHs content varying between 738.14 µg/kg to 994.09 µg/kg while charcoal smoked samples recorded the least total PAHs levels of 135.02 µg/kg to 614.42 µg/kg. Benzo(a)pyrene concentrations of 5.68 µg/kg and 5.44 µg/kg respectively were detected in the samples of Arius heude loti and Mud minnow processed using saw dust smoke. The Benzo(a)pyrene levels exceeded the EC regulatory limit of 5 µg/kg. Because benzo(a)pyrene has been associated with intense carcinogenicity in humans, its levels recorded in the smoked Arius heude loti and Mud minnow may have implication for the quality and safety of these fish products. Therefore, it is imperative that regulatory bodies conduct awareness campaigns to educate both the smoked fish processors, traders and consumers on the need to discourage the use of saw dust in smoking fish and adopt safer and improved methods of smoking fishes.
The Lanternfly genus Polydictya (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Fulgoridae) from Sulawesi and neighbouring islands, with the description of three new species
Authors: Constant Jérôme
Published: January 2015

The species of the genus Polydictya Guérin-Méneville, 1844 from Sulawesi and adjacent islands are reviewed and three new species are described: P. bantimurung sp. nov. (Sulawesi), P. basirubra sp. nov. (Sulawesi, Wowoni and Buton) and P. pelengana sp. nov. (Peleng). An identification key for the 6 species recorded in the area is given. Habitus, detailed illustrations and a distribution map are provided for all species. The male genitalia of the three new species are illustrated and described, and the male genitalia of P. thanatos Chew Kea Foo, Porion & Audibert, 2010 are figured and described for the first time. The genus Polydictya now contains 24 species.
Use Knowledge Management to Sustain Workforce Expertise
Authors: O'Berry Denise
Published: January 2015

Facing the mass retirement of key managers, North American water utilities need to develop the next generation of key employees. Establishing and using a knowledge management program can help utility leaders best manage staff transitions.
Determination of Weibull Parameter by Four Numerical Methods and Prediction of Wind Speed in Jiwani (Balochistan)
Authors: Junaid K. Khan  , Feroz Ahmed  , Zaheer Uddin  , S. Tanweer Iqbal  , Saif Uddin Jilani  , Afaq Ahmed Siddiqui  , Asim Aijaz
Published: January 2015

In this paper we determine the Weibull parameters (k and c) using four methods. Method of Moments, Empirical Method, Energy Pattern Method and Maximum likelihood Method have been employed to determine and compare the values of k and c. The daily wind speed data (obtained from Karachi Meteorological office) of Jiwani (Balochistan, Pakistan) town over a period of 10 years (1998-2007) is used to estimate the Weibull parameters. The mean wind speed was predicted using k and c by four methods. A significant agreement is found in measured and predicted mean wind speed.
La gouvernance territoriale contemporaine du Nitaskinan
Authors: Houde Nicolas
Published: January 2015

La Nation atikamekw (Québec, Canada) est présentement engagée dans des négociations avec les gouvernements fédéral et provincial dans le but à la fois d’accroître son accès aux ressources naturelles et de transformer le système de gouvernance territoriale sur le Nitaskinan, le territoire ancestral nehirowisiw. Un enjeu central de cette redéfinition de la gouvernance est la revalorisation du rôle traditionnel et central du chef de territoire (ka nikaniwitc) dans ses décisions. Cet article montre que les Atikamekw Nehirowisiwok mettent présentement sur pied un système de gouvernance auquel ils s’identifient, ancré dans leurs traditions, centré sur leka nikaniwitcet la famille, mais en même temps tourné vers l’avenir, évolutif et différent de sa forme originale. Dans ce système, leka nikaniwitcse positionne comme un catalyseur par lequel passe et s’organise l’information concernant le territoire, afin de produire des décisions compatibles avec les valeurs nehirowisiwok et ayant des effets tant localement que régionalement. À la lumière des résultats présentés dans l’article, il est possible d’affirmer que, pour que la transformation de la gouvernance territoriale sur le Nitaskinan soit un succès du point de vue nehirowisiw, il est nécessaire d’en arriver à une entente de cogestion qui soit assez flexible pour inclure la vision évolutive des traditions et des institutions qu’épousent les Nehirowisiwok. Ce qui ne peut être réalisé que si la gestion partagée du territoire est vue comme un exercice flexible de construction et de révision, en continu, des institutions et des savoirs environnementaux, au rythme des transformations sociales autochtones.
Cooptation et résistance dans la planification forestière concertée au Québec
Authors: Fortier Jean-François , Wyatt Stephen
Published: January 2015

Définies comme des processus de concertation où les utilisateurs du territoire sont invités à élaborer une vision commune de la gestion des territoires forestiers, les tables de gestion intégrée des ressources et du territoire (« tables GIRT ») sont apparues au Québec en 2010. Cet article explore la participation des Atikamekw Nehirowisiwok à ces tables, et contrairement à d’autres études qui tendent à interpréter les processus collaboratifs comme un modèle idéal « gagnant-gagnant » ou comme une stratégie de cooptation de la participation autochtone, les auteurs proposent ici d’examiner les processus de concertation comme un lieu où se manifestent à la fois des formes de résistance et de cooptation. De plus, les résultats démontrent que la participation autochtone aux tables GIRT gagne à être comprise en tenant compte des autres processus dans lesquels les Premières Nations sont également engagées.
Les symptômes de la faillite : le cas de la Belgique
Authors: Brédart Xavier
Published: January 2015

À l’instar de nombreux autres pays, la Belgique a fait face à un nombre croissant de faillites d’entreprises depuis la crise des « subprimes ». Ce nombre a, en effet, augmenté d’un peu plus de 43 % entre 2007 et 2012. Sur base d’un échantillon d’entreprises belges couvrant une période allant de 2002 à 2010, cet article a pour but de développer trois modèles économétriques de prévision construits à partir de six ratios financiers, respectivement à un, trois et cinq ans avant la faillite. Outre l’apport académique à la recherche relative à la prévision des faillites en Belgique, les résultats de cette étude empirique peuvent être utiles au sein du monde professionnel, notamment pour les institutions financières intéressées par le risque de faillite de leurs partenaires.
Nouveau cycle économique en périphérie nordique – Une lecture de la première décennie*
Authors: Proulx Marc-Urbain
Published: January 2015

Au sein de la vaste périphérie nordique du Québec, les immobilisations annuelles ont presque doublé au fil de la décennie 2000. Cette impulsion d’un nouveau cycle de croissance s’inscrit en parallèle avec un ralentissement de la création d’emplois. De tels effets contradictoires en matière de développement semblent correspondre à un mouvement transitoire multidimensionnel au sein des périphéries mondiales sollicitées pour alimenter, de leurs matières premières, la forte urbanisation dans les économies émergentes. À cet effet au Québec, les secteurs économiques nordiques de la construction, de l’extraction, de la transformation et des services réagissent différemment au cours de la période observée. Selon notre analyse, quatre causes s’ajoutent aux difficultés de l’industrie forestière pour expliquer les changements structurels en cours, soit l’intensification technologique, l’importation des équipements et de matériaux, la migration alternante des travailleurs (fly in – fly out) et la faible attractivité du secteur manufacturier. Notre lecture nous conduit à proposer deux pistes de réflexion en matière de véritable développement territorial.
El flow se estanca: el contramodelo ‘televisivo’ de Netflix
Authors: Nicolás Jaime Costas
Published: January 2015

El medio digital, concretamente la plataforma Netflix, ofrece un nuevo set de herramientas listo para revolucionar las ficciones seriales. En este nuevo contexto, el espectador adquiere el total control sobre el modo de consumir sus series favoritas, el cuándo, dónde y cuántos. Siete años después de ser cancelada, Arrested Development es resucitada para una cuarta temporada dentro de este ecosistema digital. Consciente de las posibilidades del medio, esta sitcom adopta una estructura serial inédita en la que los espectadores, debem interacinteractuar con las imágenes con el fin de reconstruir el relato: nace el espectador activo dentro de una serialidad que denominase ergódica.
Textos gerados por Software – surge um novo gênero jornalístico?
Authors: Santos Márcio Carneiro de
Published: January 2015

Descreve-se o experimento de construção de um software capaz de gerar leads e títulos jornalísticos de forma automatizada a partir de informações obtidas na Internet. A possibilidade teórica já prevista por Lage no final do século passado baseia-se na estrutu-ra simples e relativamente rígida desse tipo de construção narrativa, o que facilita a repre-sentação ou tradução da sua sintaxe em termos de instruções que os computadores possam executar. Discutem-se também as relações entre sociedade, técnica e tecnologia, fazendo um breve histórico sobre a introdução das soluções digitais nas redações jornalísticas e seus impactos. O desenvolvimento foi feito com a linguagem de programação Python e a biblioteca NLTK - Natural Language Toolkit – e usou os resultados do Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol de 2013 publicados em portal da Internet como fonte de dados.
O controle do que dizemos na rede visto pelas políticas do Google
Authors: Pisa Lícia Frezza
Published: January 2015

O presente trabalho visa a analisar, por meio das noções de discurso e poder estudadas por Foucault, como os mecanismos oriundos da Internet, nesse caso, o buscador Google, não se apresentam como no imaginário popular, ou seja, como democráticos e livres. Ao contrário, é possível perceber como o controle exercido por esse(s) mecanismo(s) é fundamental para a manutenção dos discursos, das tendências, do consumo, etc. contrapondo a ideia de que tudo da rede é permitido e não vigiado e ao usuário seria possível falar tudo o que quiser. O artigo analisa as políticas de privacidade e de termos de serviço por meio da análise do discurso da escola francesa, da qual Foucault faz parte, e constata que o Google passa a ter posse de tudo aquilo que se faz no site e nos outros sites de sua propriedade e o que se compreende é que a sensação de ausência de poder é que alimenta o poder de mão única que o Google exerce sobre todos os discursos.
A Rede de Oposição Radical no Facebook: cartografia e apontamentos sobre os haters políticos
Authors: Santos Júnior Marcelo Alves dos
Published: January 2015

O espaço conversacional e anônimo das mídias sociais ecoa e torna visível os rastros de grupos de debate e de comentários políticos. Este artigo dedica-se ao mapeamento, carto-grafia e análise empírica da Rede de Oposição Radical (ROR) no Facebook. O estudo está centrado na formação de grupos na mídia social que reivindicam o espaço discursivo de antagonismo após 12 anos de virada à esquerda no governo brasileiro e da constituição da blogosfera progressiva. Focou-se nas páginas de conteúdo gerado por usuário, a fim de compreender o comportamento do público online como atividade que se assemelha à cultura fã. A ROR atua como comunidade interpretativa polarizada, aproximando usuários a partir de uma lógica antipetista que resgata a importância do partido como atalho balizador do processamento de informações. Os canais promovem o engajamento afetivo dos segui-dores por meio da retórica da intransigência e da intolerância dirigidas aos agentes petis-tas, como um comportamento hater político.
Descobrindo a surdocegueira: educação e comunicação
Authors: Cader-Nascimento Fatima Ali Abdalah Abdel , Costa Maria da Piedade Resende da
Published: January 2015

Este livro representa uma cuidadosa contribuição de profissionais da área de Educação Especial para a ampliação e o fortalecimento de informações sobre surdocegueira. Sua abordagem, para além da disponibilidade e do envolvimento pessoal e profissional das autoras, sua coerência e seu rigor metodológicos, derivados de diversos estudos e pesquisas, resultam em uma mensagem de esperança e compromisso com a construção de uma nova ordem social que priorize o respeito à diversidade e que a reconheça como enriquecedora para a convivência humana. O eixo principal desta obra remete o leitor - de esferas administrativa e legislativa, profissionais da área de Educação Especial, alunos em formação, pais e educadores - à reflexão sobre os diferentes entendimentos e percepções acerca da temática, de forma que se perceba a grandeza das condições humanas de adaptabilidade e flexibilidade. Além disso, pretende-se despertar interrogações e questionamentos sobre diferentes experiências de pessoas que utilizam trilhas perceptuais desconhecidas, incomuns.
Genes associated with ant social behavior show distinct transcriptional and evolutionary patterns
Authors: Mikheyev Alexander S , Linksvayer Timothy A
Published: January 2015

Studies of the genetic basis and evolution of complex social behavior emphasize either conserved or novel genes. To begin to reconcile these perspectives, we studied how the evolutionary conservation of genes associated with social behavior depends on regulatory context, and whether genes associated with social behavior exist in distinct regulatory and evolutionary contexts. We identified modules of co-expressed genes associated with age-based division of labor between nurses and foragers in the ant Monomorium pharaonis, and we studied the relationship between molecular evolution, connectivity, and expression. Highly connected and expressed genes were more evolutionarily conserved, as expected. However, compared to the rest of the genome, forager-upregulated genes were much more highly connected and conserved, while nurse-upregulated genes were less connected and more evolutionarily labile. Our results indicate that the genetic architecture of social behavior includes both highly connected and conserved components as well as loosely connected and evolutionarily labile components.
Can human populations be stabilized?
Authors: Warren Stephen G.
Published: January 2015

Historical examples of demographic change, in China, Italy, Nigeria, Utah, Easter Island, and elsewhere, together with simple mathematics and biological principles, show that stabilizing world population before it is limited by food supply will be more difficult than is generally appreciated. United Nations population projections are wrong because they assume, in spite of the absence of necessary feedbacks, that all nations will converge rapidly to replacement‐level fertility and thereafter remain at that level. Education of women and provision of contraceptives have caused dramatic reductions in fertility, but many groups, including some that are well‐educated, maintain high fertility. Small groups with persistent high fertility can grow to supplant low‐fertility groups, resulting in continued growth of the total population. The global average fertility rate could rise even if each country's fertility rate is falling. In some low‐fertility European countries where deaths exceed births, the population continues to grow because of immigration. Producing more than two offspring is normal for all animal species with stable populations because their populations are limited by resources or predation rather than birth control. It may therefore be appropriate to view the growth of human population as the result not of excess fertility but rather of excess food.
Earthquake hypocenters and focal mechanisms in central Oklahoma reveal a complex system of reactivated subsurface strike‐slip faulting
Authors: McNamara D. E. , Benz H. M. , Herrmann R. B. , Bergman E. A. , Earle P. , Holland A. , Baldwin R. , Gassner A.
Published: January 2015

The sharp increase in seismicity over a broad region of central Oklahoma has raised concern regarding the source of the activity and its potential hazard to local communities and energy industry infrastructure. Since early 2010, numerous organizations have deployed temporary portable seismic stations in central Oklahoma in order to record the evolving seismicity. In this study, we apply a multiple‐event relocation method to produce a catalog of 3639 central Oklahoma earthquakes from late 2009 through 2014. Regional moment tensor (RMT) source parameters were determined for 195 of the largest and best recorded earthquakes. Combining RMT results with relocated seismicity enabled us to determine the length, depth, and style of faulting occurring on reactivated subsurface fault systems. Results show that the majority of earthquakes occur on near‐vertical, optimally oriented (NE‐SW and NW‐SE), strike‐slip faults in the shallow crystalline basement. These are necessary first‐order observations required to assess the potential hazards of individual faults in Oklahoma.