bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Characteristics and Economic Consequences of Jump Bids in Combinatorial Auctions
Authors: Sanyal Pallab
Published: May 2016

Jump bidding, which refers to bidding above the minimum necessary, is a robust behavior that has been observed in a variety of ascending auctions in the field as well as the laboratory. However, the phenomenon has yet to be studied in combinatorial auctions, which are a type of multiobject auction that allows bidders to bid on a set of objects. Such auctions have been found to be beneficial when objects exhibit synergy, e.g., are complementary. In this paper, we explore jump bidding behavior in combinatorial auctions as a function of design choices of the mechanism. In particular, we examine the effects of price revelation schemes on the nature and extent of jump bidding. Furthermore, we study the effects of jump bidding on the economic performance of the auctions. To conduct our study, first, we develop hypotheses using auction theories and behavioral theories of how people use reference prices as anchors, and second, we conduct a laboratory experiment to test our hypotheses and examine bidder behavior. We find that the nature of the prices that the auctioneer chooses to offer as feedback to the bidders can considerably influence their jump bidding behavior, leading to significant differences in auction outcomes. We demonstrate that in combinatorial auctions, in addition to the theories of jump bidding proposed in the literature, bounded rationality of the bidders plays a part in the nature and extent of jump bidding. Our study reveals that in the cognitively challenging package-bidding environment, bidders often pursue computationally frugal but suboptimal heuristics. Our results have important policy implications for mechanism designers.
Open to suggestion: Locating new understandings through performance in decolonizing research
Authors: Wilkinson Linden
Published: May 2016

This article interrogates the contributions made to cross-cultural verbatim theatre play by performers, as the text progressed towards publication. The play’s content concerns an Aboriginal massacre and the building of a memorial to commemorate that atrocity. The article begins with a discussion on the evolution of the play, Today We’re Alive, from a focal point in a doctoral thesis to its second-draft development as a touring show for schools located in the region from which the play’s content emerged. The success of this version suggested that the inclusion of more divisive material might not compromise the play’s reconciliatory intent. Particular choices made by the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal actors during the different performances demonstrate the potential for verbatim theatre in the decolonizing space to illuminate emotional and relational undertones that may be too inchoate or too suppressed to articulate.
Reviews
Authors: Cohen-Cruz Jan , Wood Craig
Published: May 2016

Applied Theatre Research: Radical Departures by Peter O’Connor and Michael Anderson (2015) Bloomsbury, London ISBN 9 7814 7251 3854 (ebook), US$24.99.

Critical Plays: Embodied Research for Social Change, by Anne Harris and Christine Sinclair (2014) Sense, Rotterdam ISBN 9 7894 6209 7537 (pb), 9789462097544 (hb), 9789462097551 (ebook), $36.00 (pb).
Scottish Community Councils online: a survey
Authors: Ryan Bruce , Cruickshank Peter
Published: May 2016

Ryan, B., Cruickshank, P.
To What Extent Do Academic Staff See An E-learning Framework As Being Effective In Supporting Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Discussions And Activities?
Authors: Thomson Simon
Published: May 2016

This study examines the effectiveness of e-learning frameworks in engaging academic staff in the discussions and activities associated with technology enhanced learning (TEL) development. In particular, the paper explores the effectiveness of a framework in use at Leeds Beckett University as part of the development of digital literacy as a graduate attribute. The research investigates the extent to which staff identify with the framework and the associated activities. They are required to undertake mapping exercises in order to use the framework in their own practice to support digital literacy development. A phenomenographic approach was taken in order to identify the variation in experiences staff had with regards to the e-learning framework activities. Using semi-structured interviews, evidence was gathered from which categories of variation were identified. Although participant numbers were limited this was overcome by the use of purposeful sampling. Analysis revealed that staff experienced the use of the e-learning framework in three ways: as a tool for communicating their use of technology for teaching with their learners, as a mechanism for mapping and sharing best practice with peers, as a tool for measuring e-learning activity and reporting on it. The final outcome space identified the potential for the current framework to be expanded beyond its intended audience to other prospective stakeholders. This study also spotlights opportunities to extend this research to provide a richer evidence base and identify potential practical applications.
Student Engagement: Body, Mind and Heart – A Proposal for an Embedded Multi-Dimensional Student Engagement Framework
Authors: Pickford Ruth
Published: May 2016

This paper considers student engagement in the context of a diverse higher education population and explores what institutions can do to impact positively on student engagement. The paper takes as its starting point the goals of higher education and the purposes of student engagement and reflects on the politicisation of student engagement, and the relative positioning of the student and the higher education institution in relation to student engagement. The paper suggests conditions for and dimensions of student engagement, and identifies how opportunities for student engagement may be embedded through the curriculum and through learning and teaching. An innovative and original pragmatic framework exploring academic, emotional and transactional dimensions of student engagement that can be used by higher education institutions to implement holistic, targeted engagement strategies is presented.
Embedding Evidence-based Course Design Principles in Curriculum Design in a UK and Egyptian University
Authors: Green Angela , Smith Susan , Richards Ian , Hussein Ibrahim
Published: May 2016

Curriculum design has received considerable critical attention in the Global North and much research has been published around the key principles of good curriculum design (Meyer & Land, 2003; Gibbs, 2010; Baume, 2009). However, much of the research has focused on the application of those principles to British higher education. To date, there has been little discussion around the appropriateness and relevance of applying the principles to countries in the Middle East and North Africa and in particular, the Egyptian higher education system. This paper reviews research about curriculum design and how this informed the development of the course design principles at Leeds Beckett University (LBU). It explores, as a case study, how these principles have been embedded within the Sport Marketing undergraduate (UG) degree course at LBU and then specifically focuses on the challenges of using five principles as a framework for curricular change at Assiut University in Egypt to enhance their specialist provision. LBU was invited to assist the Faculty of Physical Education at Assiut University to develop the first Sport Marketing degree programme as part of the International Inspirations sport legacy programme from London 2012, delivered by the British Council (British Council, 2014). The case study of this project reflects on the challenges of developing a curriculum within the confines of existing institutional regulations and national frameworks as well as the challenges of a cross-cultural shared understanding and cooperation. It will be of relevance to academics who are designing new programmes or who are considering how existing programmes can be adapted to meet the needs of other international institutions.
Editorial
Authors: Smith Susan
Published: May 2016

Editorial: Curricular Development and Change at Leeds Beckett UniversityJPAAP Special Issue – Vol 4, Issue 2 (2016)
What if the Environment is a Person? Lineages of Epigenetic Science in a Toxic China
Authors: Lamoreaux Janelle
Published: May 2016

Through an ethnographic portrayal of the research on and treatment of congenital disorders in China, in this article I suggest that epigenetic research has the potential not only to exaggerate maternal blame but also to deindividualize ideas of maternal and parental responsibility. When a pregnant woman and the generations that produced her are understood through epigenetic studies as the environmental contexts of another person, responsibility has the potential to be reimagined as existing in relations and configurations that move beyond individualized understandings of personhood. Moreover, I argue that epigenetic models of development and inheritance at work in toxicological studies in China, and in the postgenomic embrace of complexity more generally, strongly resonate with existing social scientific models of Chinese life. Toxicologists conducting epigenetic research in China today reconfigure preexisting models of transgenerational, biosocial relationality to reassert a sense of social, environmental, and intergenerational connectivity in a moment of increasing individualization and chemical toxicity.
Taking Love Seriously in Human-Plant Relations in Mozambique: Toward an Anthropology of Affective Encounters
Authors: Archambault Julie Soleil
Published: May 2016

Behind some of the tall fences that compartmentalize domestic space in Inhambane hide luxurious gardens that are usually under the care of an individual who answers requests for cuttings and who seeks out, in everyday meanderings, new species to add to his or her collection. In this Mozambican city, gardeners articulate their engagement with plants as guided by an overriding principle: the love of plants. One gardener even described his plants as his lovers. What makes human-plant relations in Inhambane even more ethnographically intriguing is that the most romantic gardeners tend to be either young men or older women. In this essay, I engage with the growing posthumanist literature on multispecies ethnography and explore what it would entail to take the love of plants seriously. I ask whether the statement “my plants are my lovers” should be taken metaphorically or literally. I situate human-plant relations in Inhambane against the backdrop of the region’s particular social and historical geographies—from a Portuguese settlement to a postsocialist, postwar society wrestling with growing inequality and the commodification of intimacy—and show how human-plant relations deserve to be understood both as ontological relations in their own right and as a response to the commodification of intimacy. I do not argue that the commodification of intimacy has led young men, in their search for new forms of affection, to fall in love with plants; falling in love with plants is contingent, not reactive. Rather, I suggest that human-plant relations are not only experienced and constructed in contrast to commodified forms of intimacies, but also offer a template for new interpersonal intimacies. My analysis of human-plant relations is informed by my wider interest in affective encounters, in the transformative potential of everyday engagement with the material world. I explore the transformative potential of affective encounters between plants and gardeners to start thinking about how new intimacies, new ways of being and relating, emerge and take shape.
Shining Light on Atmospherics: How Ambient Light Influences Food Choices
Authors: Biswas Dipayan , Szocs Courtney , Chacko Roger , Wansink Brian
Published: May 2016

Retail atmospherics is emerging as a major competitive tool, and it is especially notable in the restaurant industry, where lighting is used to create the overall ambience and influence consumer experience. In addition to influencing overall experience, can ambient light luminance have unintended consequences in terms of influencing what diners order? The results of a field study at multiple locations of a major restaurant chain and a series of lab studies robustly show that consumers tend to choose less healthy food options when ambient lighting is dim (vs. bright). Process evidence suggests that this phenomenon occurs because ambient light luminance influences mental alertness, which in turn influences food choices. While restaurant and grocery store managers can use these insights and their ambient light switches to nudge consumers toward targeted food choices, such as healthy or high-margin signature items, health-conscious consumers can opt for dining environments with bright ambient lighting.
Characterisation of Postia placenta colonisation during 36 weeks in acetylated southern yellow pine sapwood at three acetylation levels including genomic DNA and gene expression quantification of the fungus
Authors: Alfredsen Gry , Pilgård Annica , Fossdal Carl Gunnar
Published: May 2016

One way to protect timber in service against basidiomycete deterioration is by means of acetylation via reaction with acetic anhydride. The reason why acetylated wood (WAc) is resistant against decay fungi is still not exactly understood. The aim of this study was to contribute to this field of science, and Postia placenta colonisation after 4, 12, 20, 28 and 36 weeks was observed at three acetylation levels of Pinus spp. sapwood. Mass loss (ML) and wood moisture content (MC) data reflected the acetylation levels. The initial equilibrium MC (EMC) proved to be a good indicator of subsequent ML. Genomic DNA quantification showed P. placenta colonisation in all samples, also in samples where no ML were detectable. The number of expressed gene transcripts was limited, but the findings supported the results of previous studies: WAc seems to have some resistance against oxidative mechanisms, which are part of the metabolism of P. placenta. This leads to a delay in decay initiation, a delay in expression of genes involved in enzymatic depolymerisation, and a slower decay rate. The magnitudes of these effects are presented for each acetylation level. The data also imply that there is no absolute decay threshold at high acetylation levels, but instead a significant delay of decay initiation and a slower decay rate.
Implication of caffeine consumption and recovery on the reproductive functions of adult male Wistar rats
Authors: Oluwole Omobola F. , Salami Shakiru A. , Ogunwole Eunice , Raji Yinusa
Published: May 2016

Background:

This study assessed the impact of caffeine consumption and recovery on reproductive functions and fertility of Wistar rats.

Methods:

Thirty-five adult male Wistar rats were divided into seven groups of five rats each. Group A (control) received distilled water (vehicle), while groups B, C, and D were treated orally with 10 mg/kg body weight (BW), 20 mg/kg BW, and 40 mg/kg BW caffeine, respectively, for 30 days. Groups E, F, and G were treated orally with 10 mg/kg BW, 20 mg/kg BW, and 40 mg/kg BW caffeine, respectively, for 30 days and then allowed to recover for another 30 days.

Results:

Caffeine caused a decrease in body weight, while recovery groups showed appreciable increase in body weight during recovery. Relative weight of seminal vesicle, prostate, and epididymis decreased dose dependently during treatment but increased during recovery. The liver and kidney weight increased during treatment but reduced during recovery. Sperm count was significantly decreased in both treated and recovery groups. Initial decrease in sperm viability and volume was appreciably reversed during recovery period. Serum level of testosterone increased at high doses, while serum luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) showed significant decrease. Histological sections of testis in treated groups showed mild congestion of the interstitial blood vessel and subcapsular congestion. However, there was no subcapsular congestion in the recovery groups. All rats in both treated and recovery groups had 100% fertilization success from fertility study.

Conclusions:

Suggestively, caffeine treatment for 4 weeks could impair body, reproductive organs weight, sperm characteristics, LH/FSH level, and also testicular cyto-architecture. Effects appeared, however, reversible after caffeine withdrawal.
ASSESSING FOR TIME VARIATION IN OIL RISK PREMIA: AN ADCC-GARCH-CAPM INVESTIGATION
Authors: BEN AMEUR HACHMI , HDIA MOUNA , CHEFFOU ABDOUL KARIM IDI , JAWADI FREDJ , LOUHICHI WAEL
Published: May 2016

This paper focuses on oil market dynamics through the investigation of oil systematic risk and oil risk premium dynamics over the period 1997-2012, which includes several different economic episodes, enabling us to capture a considerable number of statistical properties for oil prices. Interestingly, unlike previous studies, the authors retained data for several developed and emerging oil markets and used different oil prices in order to provide a comprehensive and wide-ranging vision of oil price dynamics. To this end and in order to take eventual time variation and asymmetry in oil price dynamics into account, the authors applied recent econometrics tests associated with the ADCC-GARCH class of model. This modelling enabled us to appropriately specify the dynamics of oil conditional variance and time-varying oil risk premium. Accordingly, this study offers three interesting findings. First, the hypotheses of asymmetry and time variation in oil risk premia are not rejected. Second, the recent global financial crisis has increased systematic oil risk and oil risk premia in different regions. Finally, oil risk premia in emerging countries are significantly higher than those in developed countries, suggesting the inclusion of additional premium induced by political instability and geopolitical changes in emerging economies.
Visualizing communication patterns among expert and novice counselors
Authors: D'Andrea Livia M. , Hodgen Colin M. , Heaton Margaret
Published: May 2016

This study presents a method for visually studying professional communication patterns. Thirty verbatim transcripts of conversations between professional counselors and their clients were coded using Qualitative Data Analysis software. The visualization tools within the program were then used to create a coloured text portrait of each conversation. Text portraits were compared across counselors based on experience level. This method of studying communication patterns during in-situation conversations appears to be both powerful and effective in revealing patterns and relationships within communication events. Advantages of graphic display over traditional statistical methods are considered.©Journal of Professional Communication, all rights reserved.
Is corporate communications kidnapping public relations?
Authors: García César
Published: May 2016

While a number of public relations scholars and professionals view their field as synonymous with corporate communications, practitioners and theorists of the latter usually claim public relations as alma mater of their discipline yet still see corporate communications overcoming public relations. An analysis of modern literature in corporate communications unveils a battle for power in the field of relationship cultivation between scholars of corporate communications and those of public relations. This article argues that the field of public relations should have an identity based on functional, societal, and organizational goals that goes beyond the link between communication and business outcomes, such as revenues, earnings, and market share, claimed by the field of corporate communications.©Journal of Professional Communication, all rights reserved.
Personality and positive psychology in social media and post-secondary education
Authors: Manley Dustin
Published: May 2016

This study explores the relationship between personality type, academic background, and social media content. Ten participants from each of McMaster University’s seven undergraduate faculties completed a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment to determine their personality type. They submitted 10 personally-written status updates or comments from the social media platforms of Twitter or Facebook. The Content Analysis of Verbatim Explanation (CAVE) method was used to analyze 630 social media content to determine overall positive or negative explanatory style. Of the 630 submitted pieces social media content, 68.4% of them were found to describe positive events. 92.1% of the social media content contained an optimistic explanatory style. These findings suggest that social media is a largely positive medium for university students.©Journal of Professional Communication, all rights reserved.
Journalism students’ profile and their perceptions of journalism education in Brazil: A comparative analysis of local and national scenarios
Authors: Pereira Fabio , Moura Dione , Pires Karoline , Lima Ana
Published: May 2016

This paper discusses the profile of journalism students in Brazil: what they think of the education they receive and the activities undertaken by the university. It also discusses the modalities for constructing and incorporating journalistic culture within Brazilian academic institutions. It is based on a questionnaire administered to 611 students in six higher education institutions.©Journal of Professional Communication, all rights reserved.
Public relations or public relationships?
Authors: Sévigny Alex
Published: May 2016

This editorial for issue 2, volume 4 of the Journal of Professional Communication discusses the importance of the concept of relationships in the practice of public relations and communications management. The rise of the internet and social media has launched a new era of publishing by individuals who share information and messages amongst their social networks. In this new world, publication has become a relational act instead of a broadcasting act. It is argued that an organizaton and its publics share a state of being together instead of experiencing one another in a strictly transactional relationship. The articles in the current issue of the Journal of Professional Communication are also discussed and presented.©Journal of Professional Communication, all rights reserved.
The buzz about strategy
Authors: Stewart Mark
Published: May 2016

This commentary discusses the evolution of the concept of strategy and how certain key, core principles are often overlooked. Also discussed are the strategic importance of professional communicators to organizations. The author discusses the many challenges holding back consistently strategic management. Thinking strategically is hard. It inherently implies considering a multitude of diverse and dynamic factors when making decisions. Often, multiple stakeholders with different perspectives and motivations are involved. The author concludes with a discussion of how business professionals can apply strategic principles immediately, citing the adage, “Measure twice and cut once.”©Journal of Professional Communication, all rights reserved.
An interview with Stephen Waddington, Partner and Chief Engagement Officer at Ketchum and Visiting Professor in Practice, Newcastle University, Past President of the Chartered Institute for Public Relations (UK)
Authors: Flynn Terence (Terry)
Published: May 2016

In May 2015, the Journal of Professional Communication’s senior associate editor, Dr. Terry Flynn, sat down with Stephen Waddington, Partner and Chief Engagement Officer with Ketchum and past-president of the Chartered Institute for Public Relations in the United Kingdom (UK) to discuss and reflect upon his perspectives on the future of the profession and the challenges that are on the horizon for practitioners and current students of the profession. Waddington discussed how his formative training as an engineer in the UK has helped him to create new systems and processes to better understand and manage the multifaceted challenges that organizations now face within the public arena. Together with a number of UK and European professionals, Waddington has lead a number of crowd-sourced publications and learning tools designed to future-proof the practice of public relations.©Journal of Professional Communication, all rights reserved.
Communications, career, and industry: The journey and the lessons
Authors: Chaltas Tonie
Published: May 2016

Remarks by Tonie Chaltas, COO, Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada, delivered on Saturday, June 13, 2015 at the Summer Gala Dinner of the Master of Communications Management program, which is offered in partnership between McMaster and Syracuse Universities.©Journal of Professional Communication, all rights reserved.
Editorial Advisory Board JPC 4(2)
Authors: Sévigny Alex
Published: May 2016

The Editorial Advisory Board for issue 2 of volume 4 of the Journal of Professional Communication.
Investigating Veterans’ Pre-, Peri-, and Post-Deployment Experiences as Potential Risk Factors for Problem Gambling
Authors: Whiting Seth W. , Potenza Marc N. , Park Crystal L. , McKee Sherry A. , Mazure Carolyn M. , Hoff Rani A.
Published: May 2016

Background and aims

Gambling disorder and its comorbid diagnoses are observed at higher rates in military veterans than in the general population. A significant research gap exists regarding the relationships of veterans’ life and service experiences to problematic gambling. The present study explored pre-, peri-, and post-deployment factors associated with problem gambling in veterans.

Methods

Veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation New Dawn (n = 738; 463 males, and 275 females) completed questionnaires via structured telephone interview. We conducted bivariate and multinomial logistic regression analyses exploring associations among problem-gambling severity and socio-demographic variables, psychiatric comorbidities, and 10 scales of the Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory measuring experiences pre-, peri-, and post-deployment.

Results

Approximately 4.2% of veterans indicated at-risk or probable pathological gambling (ARPG) post-deployment (two or more DSM-IV criteria for pathological gambling). Bivariate analyses found more severe gambling in males, higher frequencies of post-traumatic stress disorder, substance dependence, traumatic brain injury, panic disorder, and depression in veterans with ARPG, and higher general harassment during deployment, and lower social support and more stressful life events post-deployment in those with ARPG. In multivariable models, both post-deployment factors remained significantly associated with ARPG.

Discussion

The study suggests that problem gambling among veterans is related to service experiences, and particularly to life experiences post-deployment.

Conclusions

Adverse service and life experiences and lack of social support may contribute to the risk of problem gambling in military veterans. Investigation of how Veterans Affairs clinical settings may serve veterans following deployment to prevent behavioral addictions is warranted.
Impulsivity in Multiplayer Online Battle Arena Gamers: Preliminary Results on Experimental and Self-Report Measures
Authors: Nuyens Filip , Deleuze Jory , Maurage Pierre , Griffiths Mark D. , Kuss Daria J. , Billieux Joël
Published: May 2016

Background and aims

Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games have become the most popular type of video games played worldwide, superseding the playing of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games and First-Person Shooter games. However, empirical studies focusing on the use and abuse of MOBA games are still very limited, particularly regarding impulsivity, which is an indicator of addictive states but has not yet been explored in MOBA games. In this context, the objective of the present study is to explore the associations between impulsivity and symptoms of addictive use of MOBA games in a sample of highly involved League of Legends (LoL, currently the most popular MOBA game) gamers.

Methods

Thirty-six LoL gamers were recruited and completed both experimental (Single Key Impulsivity Paradigm) and self-reported impulsivity assessments (s-UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale), in addition to an assessment of problematic video game use (Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire).

Results

Results showed links between impulsivity-related constructs and signs of excessive MOBA game involvement. Findings indicated that impaired ability to postpone rewards in an experimental laboratory task was strongly related to problematic patterns of MOBA game involvement. Although less consistent, several associations were also found between self-reported impulsivity traits and signs of excessive MOBA game involvement.

Conclusions

Despite these results are preliminary and based upon a small (self-selected) sample, the present study highlights potential psychological factors related to the addictive use of MOBA games.
Quality of life as a predictor of work ability of employees of Sarajevo Tobacco Factory
Authors: Sljivo Enisa , Rudic Aida , Jusupovic Fatima
Published: May 2016

Introduction: Our aim was to evaluate quality of life (QOL) as a predictor of work abilities of employees in a tobacco factory.Methods: The study was performed in the period between 2011 and 2012. The sample comprised of 270 workers, males and females, aged from 20-65, with different educational backgrounds. The study was performed as cross-sectional research, on a voluntary basis, using two standardized and anonymous questionnaires: The World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief Version questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) and the Work Ability Index questionnaire (WAI).Results: The participants subjectively perceived high values of QOL in general, with the highest values in the area of living environment. The lowest value was in the area of social interactions. Statistically significant differences were observed in the subjective assessments of QOL, especially in three defined areas (physical health, mental health, and social interactions).  Workers age 50-65 years and workers with basic (primary) level of education exhibited a suboptimal (<70%) values in total value and the values of individually defined areas of QOL.Conclusions: Strong predictors of exemplary work ability of employees are good physical and mental health, younger age, and higher level of education. A link was observed between suboptimal work ability and dissatisfaction with profession and working environment, frequent illness, absenteeism, and exposure to health risks at the workplace.
DIVERSE MINORITIES WITH ONE LANGUAGE: THE CASE OF SOUTH ESTONIAN
Authors: Iva Sulev
Published: May 2016

The paper focuses on comparision of the minorities which speak South Estonian – a Balto-Finnic regional language (language/dialect group) with long tradition of literature and public use in southern Estonia.
NEW INSTRUMENTS OF LITERARY RESEARCH: INTERDISCIPLINARY CHALLENGES
Authors: Žakevičienė Indrė
Published: May 2016

The aim of the article is to reveal the new possibilities of interdisciplinary studies and to ponder upon possible contribution of the researchers of the humanities into the work of environmentalists and ecologists while seeking effective solutions, concerning the whole biosphere and ecosystem, to discuss the possibilities of cooperation of the researchers of different fi elds of interest (linguists, psychologists, philosophers) while analysing literary texts, to emphasise the role of literature trying to revive the so- called ecological sub-consciousness of an individual, and changing one’s attitude towards the environment, to introduce the Reception Theory and the Cognitive Poetics as specifi c literary tools, basic to modern literary analysis because of their emphasis on readers’ reactions and their particular cognitive processes, experiencing literary texts.
COLLECTION OF LATGALIAN CERAMICS IN A VIRTUAL MUSEUM
Authors: Atpile-Jugane Ineta
Published: May 2016

This article is result of project “The Virtual Past is a Keystone for the Future of Museums”(LLB-2-269). Latgale Culture and History Museum (LCHM) plays an important role in preservation and promotion of ceramics of Latgale (LCHM has had one of the largest and most purposefully developed collections of ceramics of Latgale in the museums of Latvia since 1960) and in the development of the collection of Latgale ceramics by researching and exhibiting collections of ceramic items, recording potters’ biographies, documenting pottery inheritance and processes of creating ceramics in many Latgalian ceramic masters’ workshops. A part of Latgalian ceramic collection items are exhibited in the regular exhibition of Latgalian ceramics “The wonder created by clay and fire transformations”, but the other part is available in a virtual museum (www.futureofmuseums.eu), where the gallery is represented by 500 objects of LCHM collection of Latgalian ceramics. It includes a relatively wide range of works and types of dishes, created by ceramic masters of Latgale (vases, jugs, whistles, plates, money-boxes etc.). Alongside the works, created by Latgale ceramic classics, there can be viewed experiments developed by contemporary ceramists of Latgale, which reveal the search for a new path that allows people to discern the development of ceramics of Latgale. To increase the interest in ceramics of Latgale and to get acquainted with the traditions, the virtual museum visitors are offered to participate in a creative educational game “Clay transformations”, during which anyone can be a virtual potter – a clay master, by experiencing clay transformation path from its preparation till the burned piece of art. Everyone may optionally either only create pottery, or parallel to the creation of the dish can learn many interesting facts about the potter’s work and its specifics. Virtual museum is still one of the options to ensure availability of collections to society and tell a wider audience (especially to young people) about the museum, its work, Latgale ceramics and traditions in a modern and interactive way.
In silico clinical trials: how computer simulation will transform the biomedical industry
Authors: Viceconti Marco , Henney Adriano , Morley-Fletcher Edwin
Published: May 2016

The term ‘in silico clinical trials indicates the use of individualised computer simulation in the development or regulatory evaluation of a medicinal product, medical device, or medical intervention. This review article summarises the research and technological roadmap developed by the Avicenna Support Action during an 18 month consensus process that involved 577 international experts from academia, the biomedical industry, the simulation industry, the regulatory world, etc. The roadmap documents early examples of in silico clinical trials, identifies relevant use cases for in silico clinical trial technologies over the entire development and assessment cycle for both pharmaceuticals and medical devices, identifies open challenges and barriers to a wider adoption and puts forward 36 recommendations for all relevant stakeholders to consider.
Perspectives in pediatric clinical trials: a review
Authors: Chawan Vihang S. , Badwane Sagar V. , Gawand Kalpesh V. , Phatak Abhishek M. , Chaubey Sandeep S.
Published: May 2016

Children are different from adults in many aspects of pharmacotherapy, including capacity to absorb, distribute, metabolize and excrete drugs and have their own taste preferences. International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines classify pediatric age groups into five groups namely preterm, term new born infants, infants and toddlers, children and adolescents. United States conducts maximum number of pediatric drug trials as compared to developing countries. Most of the prescribed drugs are either unlicensed or have an off label use. That is these have not been evaluated for their safety and efficacy in children. As children are separate population entity and not mini-adults, these clinical trials with adults cannot be simply generalized or extrapolated to pediatric population. Thus it is mandatory to conduct clinical trials involving pediatric population in order to get full benefits to the children. To study this gap between adults and children for their wellbeing, disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment, high quality clinical trials are required.
Analysis of randomized clinical trials leading to new drug approvals in India and USA
Authors: Chawan Vihang S. , Badwane Sagar V. , Gawand Kalpesh V. , Phatak Abhishek M. , Naik Madhura S.
Published: May 2016

Background:To analyse the number of randomized clinical trials and subsequent new drug approvals in India and USA.

Methods: Data was collected for completed randomized clinical trials done by multinational in India and USA from www.clinicaltrials.gov during the period from 1/1/2009 to 31/08/2014 and the subsequent new drug approvals from 1/1/2010 to 31/10/2015 for India obtained from Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) (www.cdsco.nic.in.) website and for USA obtained from United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) (www.fda.gov) website. Results were measured in terms of percentage of completed randomized clinical trials for investigational medicinal products (IMP) leading to new drugs approvals in India and USA.

Results: A total of 163 randomized clinical trials fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Regrouping them for the same sponsor and IMP resulted in a total of 93 randomized clinical trials. In India, 13 drugs (13.93%) were approved by CDSCO, whereas in USA, 35 drugs (37.62%) were approved by USFDA out of a total of 93 randomized clinical trials. High number of randomized clinical trials were conducted for cancer (17.20%) while less number of randomized clinical trials were conducted for gastrointestinal conditions (3.22%).

Conclusions: This study revealed that, there exists a wide gap between the new drug approvals permitted by USFDA and CDSCO. Thus there is disparity in the number of clinical trials conducted and market availability of new drugs in India showing that India is lagging behind the USA in approval of new drugs. The regulatory authorities, investigators and institutional review boards should ensure the availability of new drugs in India after they have been researched in the population.
How does habitat filtering affect the detection of conspecific and phylogenetic density dependence?
Authors: Wu Junjie , Swenson Nathan G. , Brown Calum , Zhang Caicai , Yang Jie , Ci Xiuqin , Li Jie , Sha Liqing , Cao Min , Lin Luxiang
Published: May 2016

Conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD) has been recognized as a key mechanism underlying species coexistence, especially in tropical forests. Recently, some studies have reported that seedling survival is also negatively correlated with the phylogenetic relatedness between neighbors and focal individuals, termed phylogenetic negative density dependence (PNDD). In contrast to CNDD or PNDD, shared habitat requirements between closely related individuals are thought to be a cause of observed positive effects of closely related neighbors, which may affect the strength and detectability of CNDD or PNDD. In order to investigate the relative importance of these mechanisms for tropical tree seedling survival, we used generalized linear mixed models to analyze how the survival of more than 10 000 seedlings of woody plant species related to neighborhood and habitat variables in a tropical rainforest in southwest China. By comparing models with and without habitat variables, we tested how habitat filtering affected the detection of CNDD and PNDD. The best‐fitting model suggested that CNDD and habitat filtering played key roles in seedling survival, but that, contrary to our expectations, phylogenetic positive density dependence (PPDD) had a distinct and important effect. While habitat filtering affected the detection of CNDD by decreasing its apparent strength, it did not explain the positive effects of closely related neighbors. Our results demonstrate that a failure to control for habitat variables and phylogenetic relationships may obscure the importance of conspecific and heterospecific neighbor densities for seedling survival.
Resource waves: phenological diversity enhances foraging opportunities for mobile consumers
Authors: Armstrong Jonathan B. , Takimoto Gaku , Schindler Daniel E. , Hayes Matthew M. , Kauffman Matthew J.
Published: May 2016

Time can be a limiting constraint for consumers, particularly when resource phenology mediates foraging opportunity. Though a large body of research has explored how resource phenology influences trophic interactions, this work has focused on the topics of trophic mismatch or predator swamping, which typically occur over short periods, at small spatial extents or coarse resolutions. In contrast many consumers integrate across landscape heterogeneity in resource phenology, moving to track ephemeral food sources that propagate across space as resource waves. Here we provide a conceptual framework to advance the study of phenological diversity and resource waves. We define resource waves, review evidence of their importance in recent case studies, and demonstrate their broader ecological significance with a simulation model. We found that consumers ranging from fig wasps (Chalcidoidea)to grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) exploit resource waves, integrating across phenological diversity to make resource aggregates available for much longer than their component parts. In model simulations, phenological diversity was often more important to consumer energy gain than resource abundance per se. Current ecosystem‐based management assumes that species abundance mediates the strength of trophic interactions. Our results challenge this assumption and highlight new opportunities for conservation and management. Resource waves are an emergent property of consumer–resource interactions and are broadly significant in ecology and conservation.
Climate and edaphic controllers influence rhizosphere community assembly for a wild annual grass
Authors: Nuccio Erin E. , Anderson‐Furgeson James , Estera Katerina Y. , Pett‐Ridge Jennifer , de Valpine Perry , Brodie Eoin L. , Firestone Mary K.
Published: May 2016

The interface between roots and soil, known as the rhizosphere, is a dynamic habitat in the soil ecosystem. Unraveling the factors that control rhizosphere community assembly is a key starting point for understanding the diversity of plant‐microbial interactions that occur in soil. The goals of this study were to determine how environmental factors shape rhizosphere microbial communities, such as local soil characteristics and the regional climate, and to determine the relative influence of the rhizosphere on microbial community assembly compared to the pressures imposed by the local and regional environment. We identified the bacteria present in the soil immediately adjacent to the roots of wild oat (Avena spp.) in three California grasslands using deep Illumina 16S sequencing. Rhizosphere communities were more similar to each other than to the surrounding soil communities from which they were derived, despite the fact that the grasslands studied were separated by hundreds of kilometers. The rhizosphere was the dominant factor structuring bacterial community composition (38% variance explained), and was comparable in magnitude to the combined local and regional effects (22% and 21%, respectively). Rhizosphere communities were most influenced by factors related to the regional climate (soil moisture and temperature), while background soil communities were more influenced by soil characteristics (pH, CEC, exchangeable cations, clay content). The Avena core microbiome was strongly phylogenetically clustered according to the metrics NRI and NTI, which indicates that selective processes likely shaped these communities. Furthermore, 17% of these taxa were not detectable in the background soil, even with a robust sequencing depth of approximately 70,000 sequences per sample. These results support the hypothesis that roots select less abundant or possibly rare populations in the soil microbial community, which appear to be lineages of bacteria that have made a physiological tradeoff for rhizosphere competence at the expense of their competitiveness in non‐rhizosphere soil.
Ecological and evolutionary variation in community nitrogen use traits during tropical dry forest secondary succession
Authors: Bhaskar Radika , Porder Stephen , Balvanera Patricia , Edwards Erika J.
Published: May 2016

We assessed the role of ecological and evolutionary processes in driving variation in leaf and litter traits related to nitrogen (N) use among tropical dry forest trees in old‐growth and secondary stands in western Mexico. Our expectation was that legumes (Fabaceae), a dominant component of the regional flora, would have consistently high leaf N and therefore structure phylogenetic variation in N‐related traits. We also expected ecological selection during succession for differences in nitrogen use strategies, and corresponding shifts in legume abundance. We used phylogenetic analyses to test for trait conservatism in foliar and litter N, C:N, and N resorption. We also evaluated differences in N‐related traits between old‐growth and secondary forests. We found a weak phylogenetic signal for all traits, partly explained by wide variation within legumes. Across taxa we observed a positive relationship between leaf and litter N, but no shift in resorption strategies along the successional gradient. Despite species turnover, N‐resorption, and N‐related traits showed little change across succession, suggesting that, at least for these traits, secondary forests rapidly recover ecosystem function. Collectively, our results also suggest that legumes should not be considered a single functional group from a biogeochemical perspective.
Reorganization of taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic ant biodiversity after conversion to rubber plantation
Authors: Liu Cong , Guénard Benoit , Blanchard Benjamin , Peng Yan‐Qiong , Economo Evan P.
Published: May 2016

Agricultural activity associated with habitat conversion is a major driver of biodiversity loss across the tropics. The decline of species richness is a common outcome of conversion to agricultural land use, but the associated changes in functional and phylogenetic diversities, and spatial patterns of beta diversity, are not well understood. These patterns may shed light on underlying ecological processes that are of both basic and applied interest; for example the relative roles of stochastic assembly, ecological filtering, and competition in structuring ecological communities as well as broader consequences for ecological functioning in agroecosystems. Here we investigate the effects of conversion to rubber plantation (Hevea brasiliensis), a rapidly spreading agroecosystem in Southeast Asia, on leaf‐litter ant taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversities at local and among‐sites scales in Xishuangbanna, Southeast China. We found a sharp decline of ant species richness in rubber plantations compared with nearby forest habitat, with low beta diversity indicating spatial homogeneity of communities in rubber plantations. In addition, patterns of both functional alpha and beta diversities suggested the emergence of a functionally distinct ant community in the agroecosystem compared to the forest habitats. These results support a role of ecological filtering in structuring the taxonomic and functional composition of both rubber and forest habitats. In contrast, changes in phylogenetic diversity were modest and not significantly different from random expectations despite strong phylogenetic signal of functional traits. This study highlights the need for a pluralistic approach to characterizing the loss of biodiversity in agroecosystems, as well as understanding the underlying mechanisms of community assembly driving this biodiversity loss.