bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sustaining Community-University Partnerships: Lessons learned from a participatory research project with elderly Chinese
Authors: Dong XinQi , Chang E-Shien , Simon Melissa , Wong Esther
Published: February 2015

The strength of community-engaged research has been well documented in public health literature. It is recognised as a useful approach for eliminating health disparities by linking research and practice. While the framework of community-engaged research encompasses a broad range of research collaborations, community-based participatory research (CBPR) places most emphasis on involving the community as a full, equitable partner throughout the collaboration. Despite growing interest in and demand for community-university partnerships, less attention is given to the issue of partnership sustainability. The purpose of this article is to present the challenges faced in sustaining a community-university partnership when conducting a CBPR project with an elderly Chinese population in Chicago’s Chinatown. Lessons and strategies learned from the cultural and linguistic complexities of the Chinese community are also detailed. In addition, based on a well-accepted sustainability conceptual framework, we reflect on the initial stage, mid-term actions and long-term goals of developing partnership sustainability. Working with the Chinese community required trust and respect for its unique cultural values and diversity. The cultural, social and environmental contexts within which the partnership operated served as critical forces for long-term sustainability: a culturally sensitive approach is instrumental in sustaining community-university partnership. Also discussed are the significant implications for evidence-based, impact-driven partnerships to develop culturally appropriate strategies to meet the needs of diverse populations.

Keywords

Community-based participatory research, community health partnerships, health promotion, Chinese Americans, ageing
Innovation in Collaboration: The Summer Institute on Youth Mentoring as a university-community partnership
Authors: Jones Kevin R. , Keller Thomas E. , Wheeler Marc
Published: February 2015

The Summer Institute on Youth Mentoring (SIYM) at Portland State University is an intensive week-long seminar designed to offer a highly interactive educational opportunity for experienced professionals and leading researchers in the field of youth mentoring. The current study explores the extent to which SIYM represents an example of a successful university-community partnership and identifies ways in which SIYM innovates on established partnership models. Using grounded theory methods and typological analysis, the researchers analysed questionnaire responses from SIYM participants and research fellows to compare key characteristics of SIYM with the elements of effective partnerships described in the literature. Findings suggest that SIYM reflects many essential partnership qualities, including the presence of a shared vision; strong, mutually beneficial relationships; and a partnering process that includes communication and work for positive change. SIYM also introduces several innovations in format and structure that could inform the improvement or development of effective partnership efforts across disciplines. Implications for service providers, researchers and other stakeholders are discussed.

Keywords

communication, collaboration, mutually beneficial relationships, innovation
Who has a stake? How stakeholder processes influence partnership sustainability
Authors: Boyle Mary-Ellen , Ross Laurie , Stephens Jennie C.
Published: February 2015

As universities attempt to expand their relevance by engaging with local and regional societal challenges, various kinds of partnerships are emerging. A broad range of stakeholders, from both the university and the community, are typically engaged in and influence the development, implementation and perpetuation of these partnerships. This paper juxtaposes analysis of three community-university partnerships in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, paying particular attention to the partnerships’ stakeholders, and to their relative importance. This research builds upon current understandings of critical factors in partnership sustainability, as these three partnerships have different goals, involve different university and community stakeholders, and are at different points in their organisational history. The fact that they share the same context – the same city – offers a unique opportunity for comparative case study analysis. The theory of stakeholder salience is used to explain findings about partnership sustainability and to make suggestions for strengthening existing partnerships. Specifically, we argue that stakeholder power and legitimacy, along with stakeholder urgency, are key factors in sustaining community-university partnerships.

Keywords

Community-university partnerships; economic development; community development; stakeholder salience
A Mutually Beneficial Relationship: University of the Third Age and a regional university campus
Authors: Ellis Bronwyn , Leahy Michael
Published: February 2015

A mutually beneficial relationship has developed over the past 15 years between a regional South Australian branch of the University of the Third Age (U3A) and the local university campus. Arising from the initiative of a community member, the group sought assistance from the university, and has now become integrated into campus life. The university has provided a venue for meetings and access to other facilities, and university staff have contributed to the program of classes. The U3A has undoubtedly benefited from these inputs. However, the university has also benefited from these opportunities to engage with the wider community, the presence of willing volunteers to contribute in various ways to university classes and other activities, and favourable word-of-mouth marketing.

Beginning with background information on U3A, the local branch and its setting, we reflect on the sustainability of this relationship with the university and the factors that have contributed to this. We draw on our U3A experience and on two qualitative research projects in which U3A members have taken part: projects which have investigated their motivation for participation in U3A classes and activities, and the contributions of U3A to the university and vice versa. Not only has the relationship itself been sustained thus far, it has also contributed to sustaining U3A members in their active involvement in learning and community activities, and has been a significant part of community engagement activities of the campus.

Keywords

University of the Third Age; university-community engagement; mutual benefit; lifelong learning; retirement; productive ageing
Sustaining community-university partnerships
Authors: Northmore Simon , Hart Angie
Published: February 2015

In recent years there has been a huge growth in the academic literature on community-university partnership working. However, much of this is practice based and the issue of how such partnerships can be sustained over time is not adequately reflected in the literature. This introductory chapter lays the foundations for the subsequent thirteen articles by first discussing notions of sustainability, in part by providing a brief overview of the Community University Partnership Programme (Cupp) at the University of Brighton, UK. After a period of rapid growth, we are increasingly concerned with how to sustain the reciprocal relationships that underpin long-term engagement, a situation exacerbated by potential looming funding cuts. Paradoxically, however, this article suggests that while funding is an important element of sustainability, the current economic challenges may help to generate sustainability as community-university partnerships are forced to examine what other factors contribute to lasting relationships. It is these ‘other factors’ that the articles in this collection fruitfully explore. Coming from the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, they examine the core research question that concerns us: how do we address the challenges of building sustainable community-university partnerships, especially with disadvantaged and excluded communities, at a time of diminishing resources? Despite the wide range of community needs and methodological diversity involved, the articles suggest that some common characteristics underpin sustainability. These include: genuine reciprocity; mutual learning; and a creative approach to partnership building that recognises the diverse purposes of partners. This introductory chapter concludes that there is a need to further refine our understanding of community-university partnerships through the development of more theoretical models of sustainability.

Keywords: sustainability, partnerships, reciprocal relationships, mutual learning
Changing tune in Woodstock: Creative industries and local urban development in Cape Town, South Africa
Authors: Wenz Laura
Published: February 2015

Since the beginning of the new millennium, a plethora of works has been published on the making of the ‘creative city’ and the urban impact of the creative economy. So far, however, limited recognition has been given to how the development of cultural industries and the creative economy as a whole influences urban transformation in the rapidly urbanising Global South, especially in Africa. In Cape Town, a steadily growing number of creative industries and ‘culturepreneurs’ (Lange 2005) are carving out new spaces from the city’s highly contested urban setting. Over the past five years, the mixed-use, inner-city fringe area of Woodstock has seen the incessant arrival of creatives from various sectors. Travelling alongside is a property sector geared towards catering specifically for the creative industries’ spatial demands by turning old industrial structures – the remains of Woodstock’s former capacity as national hub for clothing, food processing and other light manufacturing – into creative centres hosting international film studios, leading galleries and designer ‘theatre retail spaces’. After setting the stage through a comprehensive introduction to the rise of the creative economy in South Africa and Cape Town, this article tunes into the current local development of Woodstock, based on extensive field research in the area. It traces ways and forms of conflict but also new social interfaces between the new creative tenants and the old established community, on the one hand pointing to problematic issues like lingering gentrification, sociospatial polarisation and lopsided cultural representation while also trying to flesh out some of the opportunities for finding the right frequency of engagement between creative industries and spaces of vernacular creativity within Cape Town’s post-apartheid urban realm.

Keywords: Creative economy, creative city, Global South, urban regeneration, gentrification, vernacular creativity
Reflexivity in performative science shop projects
Authors: Beunen Raoul , Duineveld Martijn , During Roel , Straver Gerard , Aalvanger Albert
Published: February 2015

Science shop research projects offer possibilities for universities to engage with communities. Many science shop projects directly or indirectly intend to empower certain marginalised groups or interests within a decision-making process. In this article we argue that it is important to reflect on the role and position the researchers have in these projects. We present three science shop projects to illustrate some of the dilemmas that may arise in relation to citizen empowerment, democracy, and ethics in the field of action research and community engagement. We present reflexivity as a strategy for creating greater awareness of the power−knowledge relationship, the nature of the democratic process and the consequences of empowerment for other vulnerable groups.

Keywords: Action research, community engagement, reflexivity, science shop
Academics in the aisles: Establishing a university-supermarket partnership
Authors: Milliron Brandy-Joe , Woolf Kathleen , Ruhs Barbara , Appelhans Bradley M.
Published: February 2015

The prevalence of overweight and obesity in the US is a serious public health problem. Supermarkets in the US are responding to the obesity epidemic by providing the unique asset of food, pharmacy and registered dietitians in one location to help grocery shoppers manage diseases and improve nutrition. Recent studies report that supermarket point-of-purchase interventions focusing on improving healthy food purchasing behaviours are feasible and potentially efficacious. We describe our experiences and lessons learned while developing a university-supermarket partnership and pilot testing a supermarket POP intervention (Healthstyles-Eat Smart©) prior to its dissemination throughout the region. Barriers to and facilitators of developing university-supermarket partnerships and strategies to increase the feasibility of supermarket POP research are discussed. We conclude that strong university-supermarket partnerships are essential to conducting supermarket intervention research and are worth the time and effort it takes to build them.

Keywords: Fruit and vegetable purchases, point-of-purchase intervention, supermarket partnership, shopping behaviour
Recalling community: Using material culture and digital archives in Salford
Authors: Cassidy Lawrence
Published: February 2015

This article explores strategies for engaging geographically fragmented urban communities as active participants in conceptually re-mapping their former localities. It looks in detail at the ongoing Retracing Salford project in Salford, UK, which employs the use of everyday objects and oral histories to engage and enable former residents to reconnect with their recently demolished neighbourhoods and each other. The project also seeks to document an urban working class history largely overlooked by the large-scale institutions.

The project is based on a PhD study undertaken by the author at The District Six Museum in Cape Town, South Africa, which examined the use of material artefacts in exhibitions and memory workshops at that museum (Cassidy 2009). Like District Six, Salford has undergone wide-scale demolition and population dispersal over the past 40 years.

What began as relatively simple installations in museums, libraries and the like, has now grown to include digitised versions of the family snaps, street signs and oral histories, as a developing online Streets Museum archive (www.streetsmuseum.co.uk). This article reflects on how the methodology employed in the Retracing Salford project has helped rejuvenate and reconnect these dispersed communities. The article argues that the approach used is succeeding in widening the circle of participation and debate in relation to heritage issues, in particular the absence of commemoration of working-class community culture in the city. It has also increased awareness of urban land clearance issues. Its continued success depends on numerous factors, such as developing new strategies of engagement with the community, regularly gaining publicity and organising new exhibitions and workshops.

Keywords: Material culture, community participation, urban working class history
Levels and networks in community partnerships: A framework informed by our overseas partners
Authors: Klak Thomas , Gaalaas Mullaney Emma
Published: February 2015

The literature defines successful university-community partnerships as those that are long-term, deep, and multi-dimensional. Our findings, on the contrary, suggest that partnership success can occur at all levels of intensity. Lower-intensity partnerships often contribute crucially to the overall success of the community engagement project, and function as necessary support scaffolding for higher-level partnerships. Relatively few studies have sought to understand university-community partnerships from the perspectives of community partners, so we draw evidence from interviews with our partners in the Eastern Caribbean country of Dominica. We believe instructors can increase the success of their off-campus teaching by deploying our conceptualization of partnership levels and scaffolding.
Needs and readiness assessments: Tools for promoting community-university engagement with Aboriginal communities
Authors: Fletcher Fay , Hibbert Alicia , Robertson Fiona , Asselin Jodie
Published: February 2015

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is an important means of connecting the perspectives of community members with critical social issues, such as health and wellness. As beneficial as CBPR can be, effective engagement with community members remains a difficult goal to achieve. In this article, we draw on the international literature around needs and readiness assessments to explore their potential for establishing solid foundations for engaged research. We examine the stages and dimensions identified in the literature, and use these as a framework for a needs and readiness assessment project undertaken with a Métis Settlement community in Alberta, Canada. We share how the needs and readiness assessments helped to foster the emergence of community priorities, informing the next steps in research design, program content and evaluation methods, and heightening community-university engagement. It is our hope that our example of engagement, which focuses on the role of needs and readiness assessments in strengthening community-university partnerships, will better inform engagement approaches so that they become relevant, culturally appropriate and community specific.

Keywords: Métis, Aboriginal, community-based participatory research, needs assessment, readiness assessment, community-university partnership
The Article Idea Chart: A participatory action research tool to aid involvement in dissemination
Authors: Forchuk Cheryl , Meier Amanda
Published: February 2015

Participatory-action research encourages the involvement of all key stakeholders in the research process and is especially well suited to mental health research. Previous literature outlines the importance of engaging stakeholders in the development of research questions and methodologies, but little has been written about ensuring the involvement of all stakeholders (especially non-academic members) in dissemination opportunities such as publication development. The Article Idea Chart was developed as a specific methodology for engaging all stakeholders in data analysis and publication development. It has been successfully utilised in a number of studies and is an effective tool for ensuring the dissemination process of participatory-action research results is both inclusive and transparent to all team members, regardless of stakeholder group.Keywords: participatory-action research, mental health, dissemination, community capacity building, publications, authorship
Engaging Canadian youth in conversations: Using knowledge exchange in school-based health promotion
Authors: Murnaghan Donna , Laurence Courtney , Bell Brandi , Munro-Bernard Melissa
Published: February 2015

The voice of youth is crucial to advancing solutions that contribute to effective strategies to improve youth health outcomes. The problem, however, is that youth/student voices are often overlooked, and stakeholders typically engage in decision-making without involving youth. The burden of chronic disease is increasing worldwide, and in Canada chronic disease accounts for 89 per cent of deaths. However, currently, youth spend less time being physically active while engaging in more unhealthy eating behaviours than ever before. High rates of unhealthy behaviours such as physical inactivity, unhealthy eating and tobacco use are putting Canadian youth at risk of health problems such as increased levels of overweight and obesity, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Focus group methodology was utilised to conduct 7 focus groups with 50 students in grades 7–12 from schools in Prince Edward Island, Canada. The key themes that emerged included: (1) youth health issues such as lack of opportunities to be physically active, cost and quality of healthy food options, and bullying; (2) facilitators and barriers to health promotion, including positive peer and adult role models, positive relationships with adults and competitiveness of school sports; and (3) lack of student voice. Our findings suggest that actively engaging youth provides opportunities to understand youth perspectives on how to encourage them to make healthy choices and engage in healthy behaviours. Attention needs to be paid to inclusive knowledge exchange practices that value and integrate youth perspectives and ideas as a basis for building health promotion actions and interventions.Keywords: knowledge exchange, youth health, youth engagement
Impacts of atmospheric circulations on aerosol distributions in autumn over eastern China: observational evidences
Authors: Zheng X.-Y. , Fu Y.-F. , Yang Y.-J. , Liu G.-S.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. Regional heavy pollution events in East China (110–122° E, 28–40° N) are the main environmental problems recently because of the high urbanization and rapid economic development connected with too much emissions of pollutants. However, appropriate weather condition is another factor which cannot be ignored for these events. In this study, the relationship between regional pollution status and larger scale atmospheric circulations over East China in October is investigated using ten-year (2001–2010) MODIS/Terra aerosol optical depth (AOD) product and the NCEP reanalysis data together with case analysis and composite analysis. Generally, statistics in East China show values of mean AOD vary from 0.3 to 0.9 in October over the region, and larger AOD variances are accompanied with the distribution of higher average AOD. Eighteen pollution episodes (regional mean AOD > 0.6) and ten clean episodes (regional mean AOD < 0.4) are selected and then categorized into six polluted types and three clean types, respectively. Each type represents different weather pattern associated with the combination of lower and upper atmospheric circulation. Generally, the uniform surface pressure field in East China or steady straight westerly in middle troposphere, particularly the rear of anticyclone at 850 hPa, are typical weather patterns responsible for heavy pollution events, while clean episodes occur when strong southeastward cold air advection prevails below the middle troposphere or air masses are transported from sea to the mainland. The above studies are especially useful to the government decision make on balance of economic activities and pollution mitigations.
Low hygroscopic scattering enhancement of boreal aerosol and the implications for a columnar optical closure study
Authors: Zieger P. , Aalto P. P. , Aaltonen V. , Äijälä M. , Backman J. , Hong J. , Komppula M. , Krejci R. , Laborde M. , Lampilahti J. , de Leeuw G. , Pfüller A. , Rosati B. , Tesche M. , Tunved P. , Väänänen R. , Petäjä T.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. Ambient aerosol particles can take up water and thus change their optical properties depending on the hygroscopicity and the relative humidity (RH) of the surrounding air. Knowledge of the hygroscopicity effect is of crucial importance for radiative forcing calculations and is also needed for the comparison or validation of remote sensing or model results with in-situ measurements. Specifically, particle light scattering depends on RH and can be described by the scattering enhancement factor f(RH), which is defined as the particle light scattering coefficient at defined RH divided by its dry value (RH <30–40%). Here, we present results of an intensive field campaign carried out in summer 2013 at the SMEAR II station at Hyytiälä, Finland. Ground-based and airborne measurements of aerosol optical, chemical and microphysical properties were conducted. The f(RH) measured at ground by a humidified nephelometer is found to be significantly lower (1.53±0.24 at RH = 85% and λ=450 nm) than observed at other European sites. One reason is the high organic mass fraction of the aerosol encountered at Hyytiälä to which f(RH) is clearly anti-correlated (R2≈0.8). A trajectory analysis revealed that elevated values of f(RH) and the corresponding elevated inorganic mass fraction are partially caused by transported hygroscopic sea spray particles. An optical closure study shows the consistency of the ground based in-situ measurements. Our measurements allow to determine the ambient particle light extinction coefficient using the measured f(RH). By combining the ground-based measurements with intensive aircraft measurements of the particle number size distribution and ambient RH, columnar values of the particle extinction coefficient are determined and compared to direct measurements of a co-located AERONET Sun photometer. The water uptake is found to be of minor importance for the column averaged properties due to the low particle hygroscopicity and the low RH during the daytime of the summer months. The in-situ derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) clearly correlates with directly measured values (R2≈0.9 for λ = 400 nm to R2≈0.6 for λ,=1000 nm), but is significantly lower compared to the Sun photometer AOD (slope ≈ 0.5). The comparison degrades for longer wavelengths. The disagreement between in-situ derived and directly measured AOD is hypothesized to originate from losses of coarse and fine mode particles through dry deposition within the canopy and losses in the in-situ sampling lines. In addition, elevated aerosol layers (above 3 km) from long-range transport were observed using an aerosol lidar at Kuopio, Finland, about 200 km east-northeast of Hyytiälä. These elevated layers further explain parts of the disagreement.
Next-generation angular distribution models for top-of-atmosphere radiative flux calculation from CERES instruments: methodology
Authors: Su W. , Corbett J. , Eitzen Z. , Liang L.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. The top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiative fluxes are critical components to advancing our understanding of the Earth's radiative energy balance, radiative effects of clouds and aerosols, and climate feedback. The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments provide broadband shortwave and longwave radiance measurements. These radiances are converted to fluxes by using scene-type-dependent angular distribution models (ADMs). This paper describes the next-generation ADMs that are developed for Terra and Aqua using all available CERES rotating azimuth plane radiance measurements. Coincident cloud and aerosol retrievals, and radiance measurements from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and meteorological parameters from Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) data assimilation version 5.4.1 are used to define scene type. CERES radiance measurements are stratified by scene type and by other parameters that are important for determining the anisotropy of the given scene type. Anisotropic factors are then defined either for discrete intervals of relevant parameters or as a continuous functions of combined parameters, depending on the scene type. Significant differences between the ADMs described in this paper and the existing ADMs are over clear-sky scene types and polar scene types. Over clear ocean, we developed a set of shortwave (SW) ADMs that explicitly account for aerosols. Over clear land, the SW ADMs are developed for every 1° latitude × 1° longitude region for every calendar month using a kernel-based bidirectional reflectance model. Over clear Antarctic scenes, SW ADMs are developed by accounting the effects of sastrugi on anisotropy. Over sea ice, a sea-ice brightness index is used to classify the scene type. Under cloudy conditions over all surface types, the longwave (LW) and window (WN) ADMs are developed by combining surface and cloud-top temperature, surface and cloud emissivity, cloud fraction, and precipitable water. Compared to the existing ADMs, the new ADMs change the monthly mean instantaneous fluxes by up to 5 W m−2 on a regional scale of 1° latitude × 1° longitude, but the flux changes are less than 0.5 W m−2 on a global scale.
PTRwid: a new widget-tool for processing PTR-TOF-MS data
Authors: Holzinger R.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. PTRwid is a fast and user friendly tool that has been developed to process data from proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass-spectrometers (PTR-TOF-MS) that use HTOF time-of-flight mass-spectrometers from Tofwerk AG (Switzerland). PTRwid is designed for a comprehensive evaluation of whole laboratory or field based studies. All processing runs autonomously and whole laboratory or field campaigns can, in principle, be processed with a few mouse clicks. Unique features of PTRwid include (i) an autonomous and accurate mass scale calibration, (ii) the computation of an "Unified Mass list" that – in addition to an uniform data structure – provides a robust method to determine the precision of attributed peak masses, and (iii) fast data analysis due to well considered choices in data processing.
Technical Note: Maximising accuracy and minimising cost of a potentiometrically regulated ocean acidification simulation system
Authors: MacLeod C. D. , Doyle H. L. , Currie K. I.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. This article describes a potentiometric ocean acidification simulation system which automatically regulates pH through the injection of 100% CO2 gas into temperature-controlled seawater. The system is ideally suited to long-term experimental studies of the effect of acidification on biological processes involving small-bodied (10–20 mm) calcifying or non-calcifying organisms. Using hobbyist-grade equipment, the system was constructed for approximately USD 1200 per treatment unit (tank, pH regulation apparatus, chiller, pump/filter unit). An overall tolerance of ±0.05 pHT units (SD) was achieved over 90 days in two acidified treatments (7.60 and 7.40) at 12 °C using glass electrodes calibrated with synthetic seawater buffers, thereby preventing liquid junction error. The performance of the system was validated through the independent calculation of pHT (12 °C) using dissolved inorganic carbon and total alkalinity data taken from discrete acidified seawater samples. The system was used to compare the shell growth of the marine gastropod Zeacumantus subcarinatus infected with the trematode parasite Maritrema novaezealandensis with that of uninfected snails at pH levels of 7.4, 7.6, and 8.1.
Implementation and comparison of a suite of heat stress metrics within the Community Land Model version 4.5
Authors: Buzan J. R. , Oleson K. , Huber M.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. We implement and analyze 13 different metrics (4 moist thermodynamic quantities and 9 heat stress metrics) in the Community Land Model (CLM4.5), the land surface component of the Community Earth System Model (CESM). We call these routines the HumanIndexMod. We limit the algorithms of the HumanIndexMod to meteorological inputs of temperature, moisture, and pressure for their calculation. All metrics assume no direct sunlight exposure. The goal of this project is to implement a common framework for calculating operationally used heat stress metrics, in climate models, offline output, and locally sourced weather data sets, with the intent that the HumanIndexMod may be used with the broadest of applications. The thermodynamic quantities use the latest, most accurate and efficient algorithms available, which in turn are used as inputs to the heat stress metrics. There are three advantages of adding these metrics to CLM4.5: (1) improved moist thermodynamic quantities; (2) quantifying heat stress in every available environment within CLM4.5; and (3) these metrics may be used with human, animal, and industrial applications. We demonstrate the capabilities of the HumanIndexMod in a default configuration simulation using CLM4.5. We output 4× daily temporal resolution globally. We show that the advantage of implementing these routines into CLM4.5 is capturing the nonlinearity of the covariation of temperature and moisture conditions. For example, we show that there are systematic biases of up to 1.5 °C between monthly and ±0.5 °C between 4× daily offline calculations and the online instantaneous calculation, respectively. Additionally, we show that the differences between an inaccurate wet bulb calculation and the improved wet bulb calculation are ±1.5 °C. These differences are important due to human responses to heat stress being nonlinear. Furthermore, we show heat stress has unique regional characteristics. Some metrics have a strong dependency on regionally extreme moisture, while others have a strong dependency on regionally extreme temperature.
Validation of reactive gases and aerosols in the MACC global analysis and forecast system
Authors: Eskes H. , Huijnen V. , Arola A. , Benedictow A. , Blechschmidt A.-M. , Botek E. , Boucher O. , Bouarar I. , Chabrillat S. , Cuevas E. , Engelen R. , Flentje H. , Gaudel A. , Griesfeller J. , Jones L. , Kapsomenakis J. , Katragkou E. , Kinne S. , Langerock B. , Razinger M. , Richter A. , Schultz M. , Schulz M. , Sudarchikova N. , Thouret V. , Vrekoussis M. , Wagner A. , Zerefos C.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. The European MACC (Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate) project is preparing the operational Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), one of the services of the European Copernicus Programme on Earth observation and environmental services. MACC uses data assimilation to combine in-situ and remote sensing observations with global and regional models of atmospheric reactive gases, aerosols and greenhouse gases, and is based on the Integrated Forecast System of the ECMWF. The global component of the MACC service has a dedicated validation activity to document the quality of the atmospheric composition products. In this paper we discuss the approach to validation that has been developed over the past three years. Topics discussed are the validation requirements, the operational aspects, the measurement data sets used, the structure of the validation reports, the models and assimilation systems validated, the procedure to introduce new upgrades, and the scoring methods. One specific target of the MACC system concerns forecasting special events with high pollution concentrations. Such events receive extra attention in the validation process. Finally, a summary is provided of the results from the validation of the latest set of daily global analysis and forecast products from the MACC system reported in November 2014.
Reimagining the past – use of counterfactual trajectories in socio-hydrological modelling: the case of Chennai, India
Authors: Srinivasan V.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. The developing world is rapidly urbanizing. One of the challenges associated with this growth will be to supply water to growing cities of the developing world. Traditional planning tools fare poorly over 30–50 year time horizons because these systems are changing so rapidly. Models that hold land use, economic patterns, governance systems or technology static over a long planning horizon could result in inaccurate predictions leading to sub-optimal or paradoxical outcomes. Most models fail to account for adaptive responses by humans that in turn influence water resource availability, resulting in coevolution of the human–water system. Is a particular trajectory inevitable given a city's natural resource endowment, is the trajectory purely driven by policy or are there tipping points in the evolution of a city's growth that shift it from one trajectory onto another? Socio-hydrology has been defined as a new science of water and people that will explicitly account for such bi-directional feedbacks. However, a particular challenge in incorporating such feedbacks is imagining technological, social and political futures that could fundamentally alter future water demand, allocation and use. This paper offers an alternative approach – the use of counterfactual trajectories – that allows policy insights to be gleaned without having to predict social futures. The approach allows us to "reimagine the past"; to observe how outcomes would differ if different decisions had been made. The paper presents a "socio-hydrological" model that simulates the feedbacks between the human, engineered and hydrological systems in Chennai, India over a 40-year period. The model offers several interesting insights. First, the study demonstrates that urban household water security goes beyond piped water supply. When piped supply fails, users turn to their own wells. If the wells dry up, consumers purchase expensive tanker water or curtail water use and thus become water insecure. Second, unsurprisingly, different initial conditions result in different trajectories. But initial advantages in piped infrastructure are eroded if the utility is unable to expand the piped system to keep up with growth. Both infrastructure and sound management decisions are necessary to ensure household water security although the impacts of mismanagement may not manifest until much later when the population has grown and a multi-year drought strikes. Third, natural resource endowments can limit the benefits of good policy and infrastructure. Cities can boost recharge through artificial recharge schemes. However, cities underlain by productive aquifers can better rely on groundwater as a buffer against drought, compared to cities with unproductive aquifers.
On the occurrence of rainstorm damage based on home insurance and weather data
Authors: Spekkers M. H. , Clemens F. H. L. R. , ten Veldhuis J. A. E.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. Rainstorm damage caused by the malfunction of urban drainage systems and water intrusion due to defects in the building envelope can be considerable. Little research on this topic focused on the collection of damage data, the understanding of damage mechanisms and the deepening of data analysis methods. In this paper, the relative contribution of different failure mechanisms to the occurrence of rainstorm damage is investigated, as well as the extent to which these mechanisms relate to weather variables. For a case study in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, a property level home insurance database of around 3100 water-related damage claims was analysed. The records include comprehensive transcripts of communication between insurer, insured and damage assessment experts, which allowed claims to be classified according to their actual damage cause. The results show that roof and wall leakage is the most frequent failure mechanism causing precipitation-related claims, followed by blocked roof gutters, melting snow and sewer flooding. Claims related to sewer flooding were less present in the data, but are associated with significantly larger claim sizes than claims in the majority class, i.e. roof and wall leakages. Rare events logistic regression analysis revealed that maximum rainfall intensity and rainfall volume are significant predictors for the occurrence probability of precipitation-related claims. Moreover, it was found that claims associated with rainfall intensities smaller than 7–8 mm in a 60-min window are mainly related to failure processes in the private domain, such as roof and wall leakages. For rainfall events that exceed the 7–8 mm h−1 threshold, the failure of systems in the public domain, such as sewer systems, start to contribute considerably to the overall occurrence probability of claims. The communication transcripts, however, lacked information to be conclusive about to which extent sewer-related claims were caused by overloading of sewer systems or failure of system components.
Meeting youth in movement and on neutral ground
Authors: Nissen Morten
Published: February 2015

The article articulates an educational motto – expressed in the title – found in a ‘prototypical narrative’ of social youth work carried out by activists in Copenhagen in the 1990s. This way of modeling pedagogical practice is first outlined as different from the standardizing approach dominant in science. As a prototypical narrative, the story alternates between descriptions and contextualizations of events, theoretical debate, and analytical suggestions. The key idea that is unfolded is the ‘critical trans-pedagogy’ of a creation and tinkering of collectives and their participants in struggles for recognition, and for the democratic social engineering of a responsive welfare state. It is suggested that a singular historical situation spurred this development, both in the practical youth work, and in the theoretical traditions with which I could articulate it. This included the post-industrial crisis of labor, the post-cold-war shaking of state forms, New Public Management, and the simultaneous expansion and attack on the welfare state. It also included how the Foucauldian rethinking of power and the performative turn in the social sciences informed the broadly Vygotskian traditions. On these backgrounds, the youth work practices could be approached as generalizing, performative reenactments of social problems. The approach is finally spelled out in and around the story of one participant, before the concluding remarks return to the issue of how a prototypical narrative deals with theory.
Transportation's Role in Economic Development and Regional Supply Chain Hubs
Authors: Closs David J. , Bolumole Yemisi A.
Published: February 2015

This article (re)introduces the supply chain management academic audience to the critical relationship between transportation infrastructure, freight traffic, economic market drivers, and regional economic development. With the growing importance of transportation, logistics, and supply chain economics to support industrial activities, specific supply chain asset investments can significantly impact national, local, and regional economies. At the same time, the relative availability, quality, and cost of a range of transportation services, particularly those relevant to essential intermodal activities and infrastructure influence firms' location decisions. By introducing an economic-geography perspective to a thus-far transportation-centric conversation, this article explores how states and their regions compete based on economic value propositions adopted on a much broader scale.
The North American Third-party Logistics Industry in 2013:
Authors: Lieb Robert C. , Lieb Kristin J.
Published: February 2015

This research is based upon a 2013 survey of the CEOs of 15 of the largest third-party logistics companies serving the North American marketplace. The survey is the 20th iteration of this annual study, and it addresses such topics as the major dynamics operating in that marketplace and the opportunities and problems facing 3PLs in that region. It also addresses such issues as the movement toward near-shoring, 3PL actions with respect to environmental sustainability issues, 3PL services to the healthcare industry, and the industry's chronic problems related to finding and retaining talented managers. The CEOs also provide one- and three-year forecasts of company and regional 3PL industry revenue growth, while identifying the major changes they believe will occur in the regional 3PL industry during the next year. The implications of the data to 3PLs and their customers are discussed.
How Standardization Will Balance Sustainability Goals in the Transport Component of Energy Supply Chains:
Authors: Bagby John W.
Published: February 2015

Society will likely intensify demands on all supply chain participants to facilitate attainment of two seemingly conflicting sustainability goals: economic and environmental. Critics argue these goals are stubbornly irreconcilable tradeoffs. However, there is significant evidence of their complementarity. This article discusses how many opposing public-policy forces interact to impose the appearance of daunting contradiction. The policy analysis demonstrated here offers a logical path out of the apparent morass. It is argued that the advantages of standardization for key energy supply chain elements can harmonize these existing and other emerging interests, both foreseeable and unforeseeable. The crude-by-rail controversy illustrates how these standardization matters impact national energy policy.
Convivência familiar com a dependência decorrente do acidente vascular encefálico em hipertensos
Authors: Lopes Mislaine Casagrande Lima , Santos Aliny Lima , Marcon Sonia Silva
Published: February 2015

Estudo descritivo de natureza qualitativa, que teve com objetivo compreender a experiência da família na convivência e cuidado ao familiar hipertenso com dependência decorrente do Acidente Vascular Encefálico (AVE). Utilizou-se para tanto, a Teoria Fundamentada nos Dados, junto a sete famílias que convivem com esta dependência, residentes em Maringá-PR. Os dados foram coletados entre março e julho de 2007, por meio de entrevistas abertas e observações não sistematizadas realizadas na residência do familiar. Emergiram as categorias: Convivendo com as sequelas do AVE: “sinto saudade de conversar com ela”; Enfrentando a reabilitação: “Então tem que lutar!” e Mudanças no cuidado à hipertensão após AVE: “Mudou principalmente a comida...”. O estudo desta temática contribui de forma significativa para o entendimento da família que convive com a hipertensão e a dependência em seu familiar, favorecendo a reflexão e a partir daí, possíveis mudanças nas atitudes profissionais relativas à assistência a este agravo.
Processo de envelhecimento sob a ótica de idosos participantes de um centro de convivência
Authors: Teston Elen Ferraz , Marcon Rubia Maiara Silva , Marcon Sonia Silva
Published: February 2015

O processo de envelhecimento requer novos investimentos, tanto políticos quanto sociais, afim de que o idoso vivencie esta fase de forma natural e saudável. Diante disso, o presente estudo tem como objetivo conhecer a percepção de idosos sobre a sua participação nas atividades promovidas por um centro de convivência. Trata-se de um estudo exploratório de abordagem qualitativa, realizado em Maringá-PR, junto a 13 idosas. Os dados foram coletados em outubro de 2011 no próprio centro de convivência, mediante entrevistas semiestruturadas e após, submetidos à análise de conteúdo. Os resultados apontam os fatores valorizados pelas idosas quanto a vivência proporcionada pelas atividades, como por exemplo, o lazer, a ocupação e a melhora do estado de ânimo, o cuidado com a saúde, a busca por hábitos saudáveis de vida e a alfabetização. Além disso, evidenciaram-se indicadores de satisfação relacionados ao centro de convivência, como a assiduidade dos idosos nas atividades e a indicação a outros idosos. Diante disso, reconhece-se a vivência positiva por parte dos idosos, quanto à participação em atividades promovidas pelo centro de convivência e reforça-se a necessidade de os profissionais de saúde indicarem a participação nestas atividades como forma de contribuir com a promoção do envelhecimento saudável.
Optogenetics and Epilepsy: Past, Present and Future
Authors: Paz Jeanne T. , Huguenard John R.
Published: February 2015

The holy grail of epilepsy research is to understand the mechanisms underlying seizures so that patients with epilepsy can receive effective treatment or be cured, ideally with no significant side effects. Recent advances in neuroscience give such hope. Optogenetics is a modern neuroscience research tool that allows precise spatiotemporal control of defined cells and circuits and, thus, dissection of critical players and targeting them for responsive treatments. Here we review the state of the art of these approaches and their applications and implications in epilepsy research.