bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Spanish in contact with indigenous tongues
Authors: Flores Farfán José Antonio
Published: March 2014

In this chapter effects of indigenous languages on Spanish and vice versa are discussed, raising a number of issues. These include a reflection on the variable nature of languages against an ethnocentric idea of a single abstract entity called (e.g. the Spanish, Nahuatl or Maya) “language”, which stems from monolingual approaches to linguistic phenomena. Such diverse configurations of Spanish and indigenous languages allows a characterization of different contact varieties in their social, ideological and political realms. Therefore contact effects will be treated holistically, closing the gap between different realms of the sociolinguistic analysis, including a critique of previous reductionist approaches and its implications from an actors’ perspective and their educational possibilities for (e.g. Mexican) society as a whole.
A documentary ethnography of a Blackfoot language course
Authors: Chatsis Annabelle , Miyashita Mizuki , Cole Deborah
Published: March 2014

This chapter documents the development of a university-level Blackfoot language course in which many of the students are linguistic inheritors (Rampton 1990) of Blackfoot. In attempting to integrate “the study of the culture of language into documentary linguistics” (Hill 2006: 113), we observe how varied language ideological patterns among speakers and learners of different linguistic repertoires came to be organized for the purposes of formal language instruction. Analysis of classroom discourse reveals conflicting language ideologies between variationism (Kroskrity 2009b) and standard (Hill 2008). We propose a model of “Language Ideological Variation and Emergence” (LIVE) to clarify how participant affiliations to competing language ideologies can emerge and shift as different language ideologies come into contact during discourse.
Introduction
Authors: Aroui Jean-Louis
Published: March 2014

The introduction explains how and why the book is based on a fourfold distinction between isochronous metrics, prosodic metrics, parametrical phenomena, and macrostructural metrics. It surveys some recent problems of metrical theory, such as the nature of isochronous meters, musical textsetting, the typology of prosodic meters, the properties of caesura and line-endings, and the para-metrical phenomena. It also investigates the phonological nature of metrical rhyme and the hierarchical structure of stanzas. Finally, each article in the book is presented in terms of the above classification.
Minimal chronometric forms
Authors: de Cornulier Benoît
Published: March 2014

Whereas three beats are normally enough to determine two measures of equal duration, the minimal metrical formula seems generally to be composed of 2-2 beats, the pairing of two couples of beats, from which can be derived periodical series of 2-2 beats (repeated slogans) or elaborations by metrical unbalancing (3-4 and 4-3 beats notably). Several aspects of these minimal combinations are studied here.
Symmetry and children’s poetry in sign languages
Authors: Blondel Marion , Miller Christopher
Published: March 2014

Within the overall framework of research into properties common to poetic forms around the world, we concentrate here on the properties of symmetry and binarity. These two aspects of structure are general enough in nature to allow us to extend poetic analysis to Sign Languages (SLs), which are distinguished by their use of the visual-gestural modality. We show, via an analysis of children’s poetry in five SLs (Blondel, 2000) and a fable in Quebec Sign Language (LSQ) (Blondel, Miller & Parisot, 2006) that the structure of poetic signed discourse is based on principles of binary rhythm and spatial symmetry. Studying these structures demonstrates the utility of the syllabic-moraic model of movement in LSQ proposed in Miller (1997) and allows us to compare the relation between the poetic text and rhythm in oral nursery rhymes on one hand and, on the other, the relation between spatial and rhythmic properties in signed performances of children’s literature.
Pairs and triplets
Authors: Fabb Nigel , Halle Morris
Published: March 2014

All metrical verse involves the measurement of the line; in this paper we show that the line is measured by grouping syllables into pairs or triplets (feet), which are further grouped into pairs or triplets. The grouping is accomplished by iterative rules which build a metrical grid from the line. English accentual-syllabic and French syllabic meters are scanned by similar rules; we show that all French meters are in fact organized into iambic feet. The organization into feet and higher-level metrical units (metra and cola) is evidenced in English by the regular rhythms of the metrical line, and in French by the rules of caesura placement.
Rephrasing line-end restrictions
Authors: Piera Carlos
Published: March 2014

Standard approaches to Romance metrics implicitly accept that there is a split between syllable-counting metrical systems, as exemplified by French, and systems crucially dependent on stress properties, as in Italian, Spanish and elsewhere. In the latter systems, however, simple meters are not subject to any line-internal stress restrictions, and all meters tolerate line-final unstressed words. Neither fact seems compatible with the simpler versions of the bipartition above. On the basis of Spanish materials, this paper argues that an intonation-based account of at least some aspects of Romance metrics can eliminate this inconsistency. …Each humble line prolongs A tone that might have passed away Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Last Reader
Pif paf poof
Authors: Arleo Andy
Published: March 2014

Known as ablaut reduplication, apophony, consonance, consonantal rhyme or vowel gradation, sound sequences such as Pif paf poof appear to be widespread in children’s rhymes around the world. As part of an ongoing investigation of universals in children’s folklore, this paper analyzes ablaut reduplicatives (AR) extracted from a corpus of 1884 counting-out rhymes in 51 languages (38 IE, 13 non-IE). After defining and justifying the choice of counting-out rhymes for this study (§2), I address methodological issues in Section 3. Section 4 presents the findings concerning the frequency of AR sequences in 30 languages and analyzes vowel contrasts within these sequences. The dominant pattern displays strong or maximal contrast between a high front vowel 1 and a front low, back low or back mid vowel 2, thus confirming previous research on lexical AR, notably in English. However, non-canonical contrasts, such as puh pah (Finnish) or puff paff (German) are also found in the data. Furthermore, it is noted that French often exploits oppositions between nasal vowels (e.g., pin pan). Following this analysis of the data, Section 4.3 offers possible explanations for the dominant tendency. Section 5 briefly examines the interplay between various forms of reduplication (AR, copy, rhyme) and the rhythm of counting-out rhymes, focusing on examples from the corpus with four-beat lines. Such self-generating beat-synchronized reduplicative patterns are characterized as core structures readily found in isochronic oral poetry from which more elaborate poetic forms may spring. The conclusion points to further avenues of investigation and suggests analogies between AR as a verbal art product and similar patterns in other expressive semiotic systems, in particular music and the visual arts.
Convention and parody in the rhyming of Tristan Corbière
Authors: Billy Dominique
Published: March 2014

In classical verse, the constraint on number in the rhyme is a sub-case of the general constraint against floating consonants. We point out the specific nature of this constraint by reviewing the hierarchy of rules that affect these consonants (§ 1.1, 1.2.1). This presentation is the core of the article, whose goal is to illustrate the application of this constraint by one 19th century French poet whose work constitutes one of the final stages in the evolution of traditional usage, before the constraint was dismantled by Jules Laforgue. By its nature, this application of the constraint falls outside the normal typology by reason of the stylistic consequences involved. Corbière draws on every possible resource available, both in poetic language and in various kinds of grammatical licence, to preserve a rule that he turns into a parody of itself.
The metrics of Sephardic song
Authors: Caparrós José Domínguez
Published: March 2014

After briefly presenting the literary genre of Sephardic song (18th–20th centuries), we comment on its principal metrical characteristics, which concern syllabism, the stanza, and rhyme. The song is the purest, most characteristic and authentic production of Sephardic poetry. It generally takes the form of a poem of between 10 and 20 stanzas, though it may contain fewer, or over a hundred. The subject matter of a song reproduces the religious underpinnings of Jewish culture, as well as the historic and everyday experiences of the Jewish people. Some striking features of the meter of Sephardic songs are: the important presence of heterometry, the vitality of the dodecasyllable (a reinterpretation of the accentual verse of Juan de Mena, which in the 15th century fulfilled the functions later taken over by the Spanish hendecasyllable) and the vigour of the octosílabo (the French heptasyllable). With respect to the forms taken by stanzas, monorhymed schemes, the vitality of forms based on the profane zéjel and the creation of a scheme as characteristic as that of the Purim stanza are features that attract our attention. A final point of metrical form that merits commentary is rhyme. A remarkable number of rhymes follow neither rhyming nor assonance rules; on the other hand, they are comprehensible in terms of other laws. The aim of the presentation and of the accompanying examples is to situate these metrical forms in the history of Spanish verse: these are survivals of medieval forms. The explanations proposed, in the context of the history of Spanish metrics, lead us to conclude that this history is richer than previously thought and to critique the complete dependence on literary history and its aesthetic canons that has heretofore been the basis for constructing histories of metrics.
Some issues in the theory of resumption:
Authors: Rouveret Alain
Published: March 2014

This article broaches the issues raised by resumptive pronouns and resumptive dependencies across typologically unrelated languages and discusses some of the analytic proposals that have been advanced in a period going from Ross’s (1967) dissertation to the present. Up to the early 1990’s, research on resumption has endeavored to discover the principles responsible for the divide between gap constructions and resumptive constructions, confronting the latter with the standard diagnostic properties of movement. It soon appeared however that the syntactic behavior and interpretive characteristics of resumptives pronouns considerably differ from one language to the other and that only in a restricted subset can the syntactic relation between a resumptive pronoun and its peripheral binder be said to be substantially analogous to the relation between a trace and its wh-antecedent. On the other hand, the pronominal character of resumptive pronouns clearly manifests itself in some languages (see the Highest Subject Restriction). The advent of the Minimalist Program marks a radical change of perspective. With the incorporation of the Agree operation and the notion of phase into the theory, it becomes possible to look at the connection between the resumptive and the periphery from a new perspective and to define chains whose links are connected by Agree, rather than by Move. But the Agree-based accounts of resumption meet with serious difficulties. New movement analyses of resumption have also been proposed. Whichever choice is correct, additional assumptions are required to account for the reconstruction properties and interpretive characteristics of resumptive constructions. The claim that resumptive pronouns have the semantic properties expected from pronouns rather than gaps cannot be maintained in its strong form. First, different classes of pronouns show different reconstruction behaviors and react differently to quantifier binding. A promising approach consists in assigning to weak and strong pronouns different statuses and in assigning to weak pronouns the internal structure of definite descriptions. Second, the semantic properties of resumptive pronouns in the contexts where they are optional show that their interpretation also depends on whether they are in competition with a gap or with another pronominal form for the realization of a variable in a given position.
Towards a unified theory of resumption
Authors: Asudeh Ash
Published: March 2014

This paper presents a unified theory of resumptive pronouns, based on the Resource Management Theory of Resumption. It identifies a common basis for puzzlingly different resumptive pronouns in languages such as Irish, in which resumptive pronouns do not behave syntactically like gaps (syntactically active resumptives), versus languages such as Vata, in which resumptive pronouns do behave syntactically like gaps (syntactically inactive resumptives). The Resource Management Theory of Resumption is based on the Resource Sensitivity Hypothesis, which holds that natural language is resource-sensitive – as captured through the use of a resource logic for semantic composition – and the empirical observation that resumptive pronouns are morpho-lexically ordinary pronouns – languages do not employ special paradigms or special items in resumptive-only uses. The unification of the two kinds of resumption is captured in semantic composition, but Vata-type resumptives also involve an additional syntactic mechanism, which is captured through an operation on feature-value pairs in a constraint-based, non-transformational theory of syntax.
On the syntax and semantics of resumptive pronouns
Authors: Doron Edit
Published: March 2014

The paper presents an analysis of the contribution of resumptive pronouns to the structure and interpretation of relative clauses in Hebrew. Traditionally, resumptive pronouns have been treated as overt phonological realizations of gaps, since it was believed that the interpretation of relative clauses with optional resumptive pronouns is unaffected by whether or not they include the pronoun. Yet the paper shows that the presence of a resumptive pronoun modifies the interpretation of a relative clause. The antecedent of the resumptive pronoun must be interpreted as having wider scope than any other noun phrase within the relative clause. Thus a resumptive pronoun, but not a gap, blocks the raising of quantifiers from within the relative clause, and the de-re interpretation of noun phrases in the clause. This is accounted for by treating resumptive pronouns as pronouns, and interpreting them as resumptive only in clauses which do not contain gaps.
Resumptives, movement and interpretation
Authors: Demirdache Hamida , Percus Orin
Published: March 2014

It is a minority position that resumptive structures are always created by movement. This is the null hypothesis, though, on the assumption that binders always arise via movement. We show that this position accounts naturally for a variety of data from Jordanian Arabic involving resumptive pronouns and epithets. On our specific proposal, the resumptive pronoun itself moves at LF, and then goes uninterpreted – resumptive structures in Jordanian constitute one of a number of contexts where pronouns have this happen to them. The standard arguments against movement in resumptive structures do not apply to our proposal. We suggest that our analysis extends to “intrusive” resumptive pronouns in languages like English.
Sound systems are shaped by their users
Authors: Lindblom Björn , Diehl Randy , Park Sang-Hoon , Salvi Giampiero
Published: March 2014

Computational experiments were run using an optimization criterion based on independently motivated definitions of perceptual contrast, articulatory cost and learning cost. The question: If stop+vowel inventories are seen as adaptations to perceptual, articulatory and developmental constraints what would they be like? Simulations successfully predicted typologically widely observed place preferences and the re-use of place features (‘phonemic coding’) in voiced stop inventories. These results demonstrate the feasibility of user-based accounts of phonological facts and indicate the nature of the constraints that over time might shape the formation of both the formal structure and the intrinsic content of sound patterns. While phonetic factors are commonly invoked to account for substantive aspects of phonology, their explanatory scope is here also extended to a fundamental attribute of its formal organization: the combinatorial re-use of phonetic content. Keywords: phonological universals; phonetic systems; formal structure; intrinsic content; behavioral origins; substance-based explanation
Features as an emergent product of computing perceptual cues relative to expectations
Authors: McMurray Bob , Cole Jennifer , Munson Cheyenne
Published: March 2014

Speech perception must ultimately contrast between discrete units of meaning, words, which are minimally distinguished by phonological features. While traditional approaches argued that discreteness is imposed by mechanisms like categorical perception that discard within-category detail, recent research suggests that fine-grained detail is preserved throughout processing. We develop an alternative that argues that discreteness emerges from processes that parse overlapping sources of variance from the signal. These need not discard acoustic detail and may make it more useful to listeners. We develop a computational implementation (Computing Cues Relative to Expectations, C-CuRE) and test it on a corpus of vowel productions. It shows how C-CuRE reveals underlying vowel features despite contextual variance, and simultaneously uses the variance to better predict upcoming vowels.
Chapter 1. Structure at the bottom
Authors: Lasnik Howard , Uriagereka Juan
Published: March 2014

Generative Semantics set out to unearth the intricacies of paradigms by applying the same computational devices that helped generative grammar account for syntagmatic dependencies. The proposal failed on empirical grounds, as paradigmatic relations lack the productivity, transparency and systematicity of syntagmatic ones, which the computational approach is ideal at capturing. That said, Ray Jackendoff observed in the late eighties how one significant fact that the demised paradigm was designed to capture continued to be puzzling: logically possible though syntactically impossible gaps in lexical paradigms. The classic instance, due to Paul Postal, emphasizes the absence of verbs in any language whose meaning is, say, “meet x and relatives”, a construction whose description in Generative Semantics terms would violate the Coordinate Structure Constraint (other such impossible verbs can be constructed on the basis of any other syntactic principle). This note discusses how Jackendoff’s puzzle has not been resolved, and speculates that an Evo-Devo treatment of the puzzle might be possible if we think of the problem in two stages: at a language acquisition phase that lasts up to roughly puberty and at a consolidation phase that ensues thereafter.
Chapter 2. The absent, the silent, and the audible
Authors: van Riemsdijk Henk
Published: March 2014

This chapter pursues the issue of phonetically silent lexical items (cf. Van Riemsdijk 2002). Two more empirical domains are examined, and in both cases I tentatively conclude that a silent verb is involved. The first of these concerns the copula/auxiliary be when combined with a directional PP in Dutch and Swiss German. The second has to do with what I call silent particle verbs in Dutch. In a last section I discuss the more general issue of how widespread the phenomenon of silent lexical verbs is? And if the impression that this is a relatively rare phenomenon is correct, why do languages make such a limited use of what looks like a very economical device?
Chapter 6. Linearization preferences given “Free Word Order”; subject preferences given ergativity
Authors: Laka Itziar , Erdozia Kepa
Published: March 2014

In this chapter, we discuss some recent results from studies of word order processing in Basque that show that despite the apparently unconstrained freedom the language displays in linearizing major phrasal constituents in the sentence, native speakers’ processing strategies reveal a clear advantage favoring the linearization that corresponds to minimal syntactic computation. This is reflected in the time speakers employ to read sentences, and also in the electrophysiological signals of neural processing measured by means of event related potentials (ERPs). Moreover, when confronted with chains that are syntactically ambiguous, speakers process them as if they were unambiguous, choosing the minimal syntactic computation (SOV) given their head final grammar. We also suggest that the claim that processing preferences universally favour subjects might need to be revisited under the light of ergativity. We suggest that accounts of processing mechanisms and strategies based on notions like “subject of” or “object of” as explanatory primitives are likely to fall short, and we argue that accounts that take into consideration the impact of morphological variability in processing yield a more accurate view of the interplay of variant and invariant processing mechanisms of language.
Chapter 10. On certain distributional gaps of Spanish possessives
Authors: Sáez Luis
Published: March 2014

In this paper I focus on the odd distribution of Spanish prepositional possessives inside nominals, and offer an explanation of those facts on the basis of a “Phrasal Spell-Out” approach to lexical insertion (cf. Caha 2009; Fábregas 2007a, 2007b, 2010). The core of the proposal is that certain contrasts much emphasized in previous accounts, like the one between weak and strong pronouns, are irrelevant for the problem at issue. Instead, I derive the distributional pattern of Spanish possessives by relying on feature contrasts like Oblique/Genitive, [±participant] and [±number], which provide the right natural classes for those elements.
Chapter 11. Variability in the case patterns of causative formation in Romance and its implications
Authors: Torrego Esther
Published: March 2014

Taking Folli and Harley’s (2007) analysis of Italian fare-causatives as a starting point, and focusing on Spanish, I examine variation in the distribution of the subject of the embedded infinitive in so-called faire-causatives, and I suggest that there is a robust correlation between the size of the embedded complement and the licensing of particular arguments. I reach this conclusion by investigating syntactic complexity in the domain of hacer-causatives, showing that richer structures obtain when Case factors associated with dative-case-marked arguments are considered. I further show that the specific conditions imposed by these arguments are language particular and arise in the language independently of analytical causatives.
Dynamin photoinactivation blocks Clathrin and α-adaptin recruitment and induces bulk membrane retrieval
Authors: Kasprowicz Jaroslaw , Kuenen Sabine , Swerts Jef , Miskiewicz Katarzyna , Verstreken Patrik
Published: March 2014

Dynamin is a well-known regulator of synaptic endocytosis. Temperature-sensitive dynamin (shits1) mutations in Drosophila melanogaster or deletion of some of the mammalian Dynamins causes the accumulation of invaginated endocytic pits at synapses, sometimes also on bulk endosomes, indicating impaired membrane scission. However, complete loss of dynamin function has not been studied in neurons in vivo, and whether Dynamin acts in different aspects of synaptic vesicle formation remains enigmatic. We used acute photoinactivation and found that loss of Dynamin function blocked membrane recycling and caused the buildup of huge membrane-connected cisternae, in contrast to the invaginated pits that accumulate in shits1 mutants. Moreover, photoinactivation of Dynamin in shits1 animals converted these pits into bulk cisternae. Bulk membrane retrieval has also been seen upon Clathrin photoinactivation, and superresolution imaging indicated that acute Dynamin photoinactivation blocked Clathrin and α-adaptin relocalization to synaptic membranes upon nerve stimulation. Hence, our data indicate that Dynamin is critically involved in the stabilization of Clathrin- and AP2-dependent endocytic pits.
ADF/cofilin promotes invadopodial membrane recycling during cell invasion in vivo
Authors: Hagedorn Elliott J. , Kelley Laura C. , Naegeli Kaleb M. , Wang Zheng , Chi Qiuyi , Sherwood David R.
Published: March 2014

Invadopodia are protrusive, F-actin–driven membrane structures that are thought to mediate basement membrane transmigration during development and tumor dissemination. An understanding of the mechanisms regulating invadopodia has been hindered by the difficulty of examining these dynamic structures in native environments. Using an RNAi screen and live-cell imaging of anchor cell (AC) invasion in Caenorhabditis elegans, we have identified UNC-60A (ADF/cofilin) as an essential regulator of invadopodia. UNC-60A localizes to AC invadopodia, and its loss resulted in a dramatic slowing of F-actin dynamics and an inability to breach basement membrane. Optical highlighting indicated that UNC-60A disassembles actin filaments at invadopodia. Surprisingly, loss of unc-60a led to the accumulation of invadopodial membrane and associated components within the endolysosomal compartment. Photobleaching experiments revealed that during normal invasion the invadopodial membrane undergoes rapid recycling through the endolysosome. Together, these results identify the invadopodial membrane as a specialized compartment whose recycling to form dynamic, functional invadopodia is dependent on localized F-actin disassembly by ADF/cofilin.
Coarse-graining schemes for stochastic lattice systems with short and long-range interactions
Authors: Katsoulakis Markos , Plecháč Petr , Rey-Bellet Luc , Tsagkarogiannis Dimitrios
Published: March 2014

We develop coarse-graining schemes for stochastic many-particle microscopic models with competing short- and long-range interactions on a

d
d

-dimensional lattice. We focus on the coarse-graining of equilibrium Gibbs states, and by using cluster expansions we analyze the corresponding renormalization group map. We quantify the approximation properties of the coarse-grained terms arising from different types of interactions and present a hierarchy of correction terms. We derive semi-analytical numerical coarse-graining schemes that are accompanied by a posteriori error estimates for lattice systems with short- and long-range interactions.
Does fisheries management incentivize non-compliance? Estimated misreporting in the Swedish Baltic Sea pelagic fishery based on commercial fishing effort
Authors: Hentati-Sundberg J. , Hjelm J. , Österblom H.
Published: March 2014

Fisheries management agencies and fishing industry representatives depend on reliable estimates of fish biomass and mortality for the determination of sustainable catch levels. Lack of data or misreporting may be reasons for unreliable stock assessment, which, in turn, may result in advice that does not reflect the availability of fisheries resources. It has been suggested that the mixed pelagic trawl fisheries in the Baltic represent a case of biased estimates of fish biomass and mortality resulting from misreporting. Here, we estimate the degree of misreporting in the Swedish pelagic fishery (1996–2009) and propose an approach for reconstructing historical catches based on commercial effort data. The analysis suggests that total catches have been underestimated during part of our study period and that systematic misreporting of species composition has taken place over the whole study period. The analysis also suggests that there is overcapacity in the fishery and that such economic incentive could explain the general patterns of misreporting. Applying our method for fisheries with suspected misreporting could significantly improve assessment accuracy, reduce uncertainty and thereby allow for a better link between catches and resource levels.
High-dispersion spectroscopy of extrasolar planets: from CO in hot Jupiters to O
2
in exo-Earths
Authors: Snellen Ignas
Published: March 2014

Ground-based high-dispersion spectroscopy could reveal molecular oxygen as a biomarker gas in the atmospheres of twin-Earths transiting red dwarf stars within the next 25 years. The required contrasts are only a factor of 3 lower than that already achieved for carbon monoxide in hot Jupiter atmospheres today but will need much larger telescopes because the target stars will be orders of magnitude fainter. If extraterrestrial life is very common and can therefore be found on planets around the most nearby red dwarf stars, it may be detectable via transmission spectroscopy with the next-generation extremely large telescopes. However, it is likely that significantly more collecting area is required for this. This can be achieved through the development of low-cost flux collector technology, which combines a large collecting area with a low but sufficient image quality for high-dispersion spectroscopy of bright stars.
Infrared spectroscopy of exoplanets: observational constraints
Authors: Encrenaz Thérèse
Published: March 2014

The exploration of transiting extrasolar planets is an exploding research area in astronomy. With more than 400 transiting exoplanets identified so far, these discoveries have made possible the development of a new research field, the spectroscopic characterization of exoplanets' atmospheres, using both primary and secondary transits. However, these observations have been so far limited to a small number of targets. In this paper, we first review the advantages and limitations of both primary and secondary transit methods. Then, we analyse what kind of infrared spectra can be expected for different types of planets and discuss how to optimize the spectral range and the resolving power of the observations. Finally, we propose a list of favourable targets for present and future ground-based observations.
Functional diversity of five homologous Cu+-ATPases present in Sinorhizobium meliloti
Authors: Patel Sarju J. , Padilla-Benavides Teresita , Collins Jessica M. , Argüello José M.
Published: March 2014

Copper is an important element in host–microbe interactions, acting both as a catalyst in enzymes and as a potential toxin. Cu+-ATPases drive cytoplasmic Cu+ efflux and protect bacteria against metal overload. Many pathogenic and symbiotic bacteria contain multiple Cu+-ATPase genes within particular genetic environments, suggesting alternative roles for each resulting protein. This hypothesis was tested by characterizing five homologous Cu+-ATPases present in the symbiotic organism Sinorhizobium meliloti. Mutation of each gene led to different phenotypes and abnormal nodule development in the alfalfa host. Distinct responses were detected in free-living S. meliloti mutant strains exposed to metal and redox stresses. Differential gene expression was detected under Cu+, oxygen or nitrosative stress. These observations suggest that CopA1a maintains the cytoplasmic Cu+ quota and its expression is controlled by Cu+ levels. CopA1b is also regulated by Cu+ concentrations and is required during symbiosis for bacteroid maturation. CopA2-like proteins, FixI1 and FixI2, are necessary for the assembly of two different cytochrome c oxidases at different stages of bacterial life. CopA3 is a phylogenetically distinct Cu+-ATPase that does not contribute to Cu+ tolerance. It is regulated by redox stress and required during symbiosis. We postulated a model where non-redundant homologous Cu+-ATPases, operating under distinct regulation, transport Cu+ to different target proteins.
N′-[(E)-(3-Fluoropyridin-2-yl)methylidene]pyridine-3-carbohydrazide dihydrate
Authors: Nair Yamuna , Sithambaresan M. , Nair S. Muraleedharan , Kurup M. R. Prathapachandra
Published: March 2014

The organic molecule in the title dihydrate, C12H9FN4O·2H2O, exists in theEconformation with respect to the azomethane C=N double bond. The molecule is approximately planar, with a maximum deviation of 0.117 (1) Å for the carbonyl O atom from the mean plane of the molecule. Both pyridine rings are essentially coplanar with the central C(=O)N2C unit [dihedral angles = 1.99 (7) and 5.71 (8)°], exhibiting a significant difference in dihedral angles from its benzohydrazide analogue. The crystal packing features N—H...O, O—H...N and O—H...O hydrogen-bond interactions, which lead to the formation of a chain along thec-axis direction through one of the water molecules present, and these chains are stacked one over the other by means of π–π interactions [with centroid–centroid distances of 3.7099 (10) and 3.6322 (10) Å] between the aromatic rings in neighbouring antiparallel molecules, building a three-dimensional supramolecular network.
Bis(2-methoxybenzylammonium) diaquabis(dihydrogen diphosphato-κ2O,O′)cobaltate(II) dihydrate
Authors: Elboulali Adel , Selmi Ahmed , Ratel-Ramond Nicolas , Rzaigui Mohamed , Akriche Samah Toumi
Published: March 2014

The title compound, (C8H12NO)2[Co(H2P2O7)2(H2O)2]·2H2O, crystallizes isotypically with its MnIIanalogue. It consists of alternating layers of organic cations and inorganic complex anions, extending parallel to (100). The complex cobaltate(II) anion exhibits -1 symmetry. Its Co2+atom has an octahedral coordination sphere, defined by two water molecules in apical positions and two H2P2O72−ligands in equatorial positions. The cohesion between inorganic and organic layers is accomplished by a set of O—H...O and N—H...O hydrogen bonds involving the organic cation, the inorganic anion and the remaining lattice water molecules.
4-Bromo-2-(5-bromothiophen-2-yl)-1-[(5-bromothiophen-2-yl)methyl]-5,6-dimethyl-1H-benzimidazole
Authors: Geiger H. Cristina , Donohoe James S. , Geiger David K.
Published: March 2014

The title compound, C18H13Br3N2S2, was obtainedviathe reaction ofN-bromosuccinamide with 5,6-dimethyl-2-(thiophen-2-yl)-1-[(thiophen-2-yl)methyl]-1H-benzimidazole. The compound exhibits rotational disorder of the 5-bromothiophen-2-yl substituent with a refined major:minor occupancy ratio of 0.876 (7):0.124 (7). The 5-bromothiophen-2-yl mean plane is canted to the benzimidazole plane by 20.0 (4) and 21 (4)° in the major and minor components, respectively. In the crystal, weak C—H...N interactions link the molecules into infiniteC(7) chains along the 21axes.
Foresight evaluation: lessons from project management
Authors: A. Makarova Ekaterina , Sokolova Anna
Published: March 2014

Purpose

–The aim of this paper is to identify ways for improvement of the foresight evaluation framework on the basis of analysis and systematisation of accumulated experience in the field of project management.

Design/methodology/approach

–The paper is based on a detailed literature review devoted to an evaluation of foresight and traditional projects. The approaches to project evaluation in the field of project management were investigated, and the main steps of traditional project evaluation process were determined. The most commonly applied steps of foresight evaluation were identified by the analysis of recent foresight evaluation projects. The comparison of evaluation frameworks for foresight projects and traditional projects allows to provide recommendations for foresight evaluation framework improvement.

Findings

–The paper identifies several lessons for foresight evaluation from project management. The elements which can enrich foresight evaluation framework are the following: the development of an evaluation model; the extensive use of quantitative methods; the elaboration of evaluation scales; the inclusion of economic indicators into evaluation; and the provision of more openness and transparency for evaluation results.

Originality/value

–Given the importance of foresight evaluation procedures and the lack of a commonly applied methodological approach, the value of this paper consists in identifying a foresight evaluation framework and enriching it with elements of project management.
Concepts and effects: ordering and practice in foresight
Authors: Bussey Marcus
Published: March 2014

Purpose

–This article seeks to reflect on the role of key concepts in foresight and futures work. The goal is to explore a set of concepts and link them to the effects they have in the world of foresight practice. It is argued that concepts order foresight practice and that though each foresight context and practitioner is unique, concepts bring a sense of order and coherence to foresight work and futures thinking. This reflection is placed in the context of a set of first principles the author acknowledges as his starting place for futures thinking and foresight practice.

Design/methodology/approach

–The paper takes the form of conceptual analysis.

Findings

–Concepts have effects and these can be assessed based on their ability to increase social and personal resilience in contexts characterised by change, complexity and uncertainty.

Research limitations/implications

–Foresight practitioners clarify their own values and ethics through reflection on the concepts they use and the processes they deploy when working with clients.

Practical implications

–More reflective foresight practice; greater conceptual clarity when reflecting on and communicating/teaching foresight and futures thinking.

Originality/value

–This paper offers a basis for orienting foresight work towards the broader social goal of resilience through a deepened appreciation of how concepts inform process and structure meaning.
Performance assessment of textile composite using NDE and mechanical testing techniques
Authors: Saboktakin A. , Vu-Khanh T.
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– Quality assessment of textile composites needs to have sufficient knowledge about the various types of non-destructive testing techniques to detect defects as well as the effect of these defects on mechanical performance. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The major approach of this paper was to evaluate the potential of two inspection techniques named ultrasounds, vibrations for detecting textile reinforcement defects in composites and evaluate the composite performance in the presence of a damage.

Findings

– Potential solutions have been identified to solve the issue of signal attenuation observed during C-scan ultrasonic testing, and the criticality of initial defects on static test was determined.

Originality/value

– The research work presented here has been a first attempt to apply the combination of different techniques in particular polar scan for the textile composite inspection. This will become more crucial as requirements for high performance and complex shape textile composite parts.
A community considers a Family Justice Center: perspectives of stakeholders during the early phases of development
Authors: E. Murray Christine , White Jacquelyn , Nemati Hamid , Chow Anthony , Marsh Allison , Edwards Samantha
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– Family Justice Centers, or “one-stop shops” that enable domestic violence victims to access a range of services at one location, are becoming increasingly common. However, there is a limited body of research examining the outcomes and planning processes of these Centers. The early phases of planning Centers are critical to their initial and ongoing success. The purpose of this paper is to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– In total, 15 stakeholders in a community in the early phases of planning a Center were interviewed.

Findings

– Content analysis procedures were used to identify themes related to participants’ ideas about what the Family Justice Center should look like (e.g. services to include and perceived benefits and challenges for the Center), the steps required for planning it (e.g. identifying the purpose of the Center, getting key people involved, and building collaborations), and desired technologies.

Originality/value

– This paper is the first known research effort to examine the early phases of development in constructing a Family Justice Center.
The role of coordinated marketing-operations strategy in services
Authors: Dixon Michael , V. Karniouchina Ekaterina , van der Rhee Bo , Verma Rohit , Victorino Liana
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to discuss the importance of a coordinated marketing and operations strategy in goods and service producing business organizations. Customer engagement and co-production are imperative service delivery considerations, and therefore an aligned marketing and operations strategy is essential for the formulation, development, and effectiveness of managerial decisions especially for service sector firms.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors present arguments in support of this paper's primary objectives by reviewing past research that have introduced theoretical frameworks, empirical support and applications in support of the close coordination between marketing and operations strategy. The paper then describes how the inter-relationship between marketing and operations strategy impacts several managerial decisions.

Findings

– The paper discusses several different types of managerial decisions within goods and service producing firms that require active interaction between marketing and operations. These decisions include aligning strategic priorities, new product development, service design, and experience design.

Research limitations/implications

– This paper is primarily theoretical and therefore does not include any new empirical data.

Practical implications

– The inter-relationship between the marketing and operations functions is well known to practicing managers. However, they may not have a specific understanding of the academic research described in this paper that shows how firm performance can be further improved by better managing these interactions for specific managerial decisions.

Originality/value

– This paper is theoretical and provides a comprehensive review of literature and a compelling argument for including marketing and operations strategy in the corporate executive suite. Therefore, this paper should be of interest to researchers and practitioners interested in the functional areas of marketing, operations, and strategy for service organizations.
Social responsibility, motivation and satisfaction: small hotels guests' perspective
Authors: Zupan Sasa , Milfelner Borut
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore small hotels guests' perception of social responsibility (SR), to relate their SR perceptions with their motivation for choosing small hotels instead of large ones, and to check whether motivation is further related to guests' satisfaction. System thinking is used for better attainment of SR through linking the environmental and social dimension of hotel guests' SR perceptions.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper starts with a theoretical background for the conceptual model. The empirical quantitative research was conducted in 2013. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire. The hypotheses were analysed with structural equation modelling.

Findings

– The findings show that guests of small hotels perceive SR predominantly through its environmental and socio-local perspective. The guests with stronger perception of SR are more motivated to choose small hotels for their vacations, and at the same time, demonstrate a higher level of satisfaction with their choice.

Research limitations/implications

– The research is limited to guests of small hotels only and to two dimensions of SR: environmental and socio-local.

Originality/value

– Results of the study should encourage the small hotel operators to implement system thinking when reviewing their existing SR actions and adding some new ones. Relevant SR actions in small hotels, based on managers' system thinking, should become an important part of strategic, managerial and operational decisions.
Complex tourism systems: a visibility graph approach
Authors: Baggio Rodolfo
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The social responsibility of a tourism destination results from the combined efforts of the single stakeholders. This needs coordination and harmonization that cannot be achieved without a deep understanding of the structural and dynamic characteristics of the destination. A tourism destination is a complex dynamic system and requires specific methods to be analyzed and understood in order to better tailor governance actions for steering it along an evolutionary growth path, respectful of the social responsibility towards the community. Many methodological recommendations exist that allow to assess these features, and some have been successfully applied to tourism destinations. This paper aims to explore a new proposal: the visibility graph algorithm (VGA), which is able to provide the required level of information in a fast and simple way.

Design/methodology/approach

– VGA is a technique to map a time series into a network. The method and its implementation are relatively simple and straightforward. The mapping allows examining the system's properties by using network analytic methods. An example is worked out using data from two destinations: Italy as a country and the island of Elba, one of its most popular areas.

Findings

– The complexity properties of the two destinations are examined and found in agreement with those obtained by using more complicated approaches, thus strengthening the reliability of the method.

Originality/value

– This paper provides a new method to examine a tourism destination using a readily available set of data and a simple algorithm. The contribution of this work is mainly methodological. The technique provides insights into the complex structure and dynamics of a tourism destination. This has important implications for those interested in enriching the toolsets used to study a destination from a complex system perspective.
Industry-specific effect of CSR initiatives: hotels and airlines
Authors: B. Casado-Díaz Ana , L. Nicolau Juan , Ruiz-Moreno Felipe , Sellers Ricardo
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– This study aims to examine the relationships between a firm's corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and its performance and risk. The authors hypothesize that industry-level effects are highly determinant of the sign and magnitude of these relationships to establish a ranking of industries to identify the position of the most prominent tourism-related industries: hotels and airlines. Based on the cybernetic model of decision making and the heuristics thereof, shareholders base their investment decisions derived from CSR announcements on the idea that the industries behave differently; their fixed costs being a relevant factor.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors estimate the industry-specific effects of CSR initiatives on firms' performance and risk using a sample of 583 announcements from the Spanish Stock Market.

Findings

– The results show that while CSR announcements have a positive effect on performance when the authors do not account for industry-specific factors, once the authors incorporate these factors into the analysis, the authors find that firm performance and risk vary quite substantially as a function of the industry to which the firm belongs. Interestingly, while the hotel industry presents an average behavior (standing at 9th position in returns, 15th in terms of risk, and 8th according to the ratio returns/volatility), the airline industry presents the worst situation of all industries: last in performance and last in risk.

Practical implications

– The results help managers assess their decisions and allocate CSR resources optimally.

Originality/value

– This article is the first attempt to empirically test and comprehensively detect the different relationships between CSR and firm performance across industries.