bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Management Skills Transferability and the Public and Private Sector Manager
Authors: Silfvast Roger O. , Quaglieri Philip L.
Published: July 2015

This study contrasts the skills that managers use in the public and private sectors. Subjects were 131 mid to upper level managers who participated in the President's Commission on Executive Exchange. Although results indicate significant differences in skill use and importance between sectors, they appear to be a function of a public/private sector bias.
Confronting Adverse Impact in Cognitive Examinations
Authors: Wollack Stephen
Published: July 2015

This paper is addressed to the issue of adverse impact in written cognitive employment examinations. Some myths about adverse impact are confronted and examined. Minority performance upon such employment tests is evaluated in relation to well documented problems in educational achievement, particularly among blacks and Hispanics. Quick fix solutions to the adverse impact problem are reviewed and their implications scrutinized. Constructive approaches to adverse impact reduction are proposed.
Selection Methods: Comparison of Assessment Centers with Personnel Records Evaluations
Authors: Lowry Phillip E.
Published: July 2015

Personnel records evaluations were compared with results from seven assessment centers to determine if these evaluations improved the predictive power of the assessment center. Fifty-five candidates for promotion were evaluated in the assessment centers. During each assessment center an average of four assessors observed and evaluated behaviors. Three different judges outside the assessment centers evaluated the management potential of the candidates by reviewing their personnel records. Supervisor's evaluations of the management potential of the candidates were collected for comparative purposes. The assessment center and the records evaluations were found to be valid predictors of management potential. A combination of the assessment center and records evaluations was found to be feasible and a better predictor than the assessment center alone. Suggested procedures for the records evaluation are included.
Training Priorities for a Diverse Work Force
Authors: Hopkins Willie E. , Sterkel-Powell Karen , Hopkins Shirley A.
Published: July 2015

Individuals from diverse cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds are entering the work force at a rapid pace and in record numbers. These individuals will bring different values, languages, skills, attitudes, communication styles, and a host of other job-relevant factors to the workplace. Subsequently, organizations will be afforded the opportunity to implement training programs designed to extract productivity-enhancing synergies from these differences. In addition to assessing the preparedness of organizations to effectively manage a work force that is rapidly becoming more diverse, this article identifies some training programs that are perceived by personnel directors to be priorities for a diverse work force.
The Relationship between Organizational Climate and Employee Perceptions of Personnel Management Practices
Authors: Toulson Paul , Smith Mike
Published: July 2015

Industrial/organizational psychology is concerned with empirically testing relationships between concepts that are purported to reflect behaviour in the workplace. This study tested the relationship between measures on three personnel management practices (as independent variables) and a measure of organizational climate (as the dependent variable). The Litwin and Stringer Organizational Climate Questionnaire was administered to 2,111 subjects employed in a sample of 40 organizations. Structured interviews with senior personnel executives were conducted in these organizations to establish measures of participation, proaction, and management style. Factor analysis was used to derive a general measure of climate. The results of this measure were analyzed at the organizational level. The results of this study raise two important implications for industrial/organizational psychology. The first is that much of the theory associated with personnel management practice is not reflected in the workplace. The second is that current conceptualizations from which such measures are derived, are ambiguous and lack clarity. It is suggested that industrial/organizational psychology needs to reduce the semantic ambiguity of its concepts, and consequently improve the construct validity of measures of these constructs.
Pay Compression at Public Universities: The Business School Experience
Authors: Bereman Nancy A. , Lengnick-Hall Mark L.
Published: July 2015

The problem of pay compression between academic ranks at public universities is investigated using salary information from a national faculty salary survey conducted by the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. A pay compression measurement methodology is presented. Special attention is given to compression in “high-demand” disciplines, including those found in business schools. Over the decade 1979/80 to 1989/90, pay compression has worsened in certain disciplines and has been relieved in others. Implications and consequences are discussed.
A Comparison of District School Superintendents' and School Board Chair's Attitudes toward Merit Pay Programs
Authors: Seay Tish Hennly , Smith Craig , Crews W. Bee
Published: July 2015

This study investigated the opinions of superintendents and school board chairs related to the management of incentive programs in a small southern state. Ninety one geographic school districts were surveyed. The first problem examined whether demographic data—years in education, years of experience with merit pay, and race— had an effect on superintendents' and school board chairs' favor or disfavor of merit pay programs. Also studied was whether there were significant differences between the groups in their opinions of the management of the local incentive programs. The functions of management described by Scanlon & Keys1 that were considered were planning, organizing, directing and controlling. The last task was to ask superintendents and school board chairs to rank criteria to award merit pay. Superintendents and school board chairs did not differ significantly in their opinions of the management of local incentive programs. The t test was used to examine the hypothesis at the .05 level of probability. Chi square, x2, was used to examine the hypotheses for the demographic data. At the .05 probability level, there were no significant differences between the groups related to the selected demographics. Both groups agreed merit pay should be a part of the local system, but neither group thought it was an enhancement for the provision of quality education. In ranking criteria to award merit pay, superintendents were more student centered in their responses and school board chairs ranked administrative items higher. Further research was recommended to study superintendents' and school board chairs' opinions related to the role merit pay has in the public education system.
Complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act: Assessing the Costs of Reasonable Accommodation
Authors: Hollwitz John , Goodman Deborah F. , Bolte Dean
Published: July 2015

The Americans With Disabilities Act poses unique challenges for public and private sector organizations. The Act requires reasonable accommodation for a variety of physical and emotional disabilities, but it does not specify what constitutes “reasonable.” If organizations rely on ad hoc decisions regarding protected individuals, they risk unsystematic decisions and exposure to liability under the law. This paper describes a way to systematize decisions about A.D.A. An accommodation cost assessment system, based on a job analysis, can help guarantee that employment and promotion decisions are fair and defensible under the Act.
Unions in the 21st Century
Authors: Mosca Joseph B. , Pressman Steven
Published: July 2015

There have been no specific causes as to why declines in unionization have occurred over the past 20 or 30 years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Surveys indicate that between 1961 and 1984, a significant number of employees in unions declined to 51 % from 73%. This decline was among production employees within metropolitan areas, and dipped to 12% from 17% for non-supervisory clerical workers. It has been found that declines in union membership can be attributed to employment shifts, and that job change has different affects depending on if the shift entails an employee change. Unions have been fighting to maintain both membership and public approval.

Although union approval declined until 1981, people's attitudes toward organized labor never became negative. This study has found that the percentage of the general public that approves of unions has increased recently in many important areas.

The key to success of unions in the 21st Century seems to lie in the creation of a cooperative atmosphere between organized labor and management. In order to do so, unions must realize and address issues of importance to the changing work force and give voice to the skill demands of workers, more women in the work force, and the current health care crisis.

The 21st Century holds in store for unions an image of reduced health care costs, greater participation by previously unorganized segments of the work force, and better understanding and an adaption to technological changes. All of these things will help corporations keep their costs lower and retain more employees, leading to greater job security, improved relations between labor and management, and more satisfied workers.
Family and Medical Leave Legislation: Organizational Policies & Strategies
Authors: Crampton Suzanne M. , Mishra Jitendra M.
Published: July 2015

Problems have resulted from the novel situation in the U.S. society where more and more parents are working, leaving them with less time and energy during the period surrounding the birth and early growth of a new infant. This issue has received considerable attention from both the private and public sectors. An increasing number of progressive companies have been proactive in offering paid and unpaid family leaves as part of their employees’ benefit package. On February 5, 1993, President Clinton signed a bill into law granting up to a total of 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12 month period to cope with a family sickness, childbirth or adoption. This paper discusses the history of family leaves and the passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) along with its provisions and implications. The FMLA is just a first step for the U.S. as other countries provide paid family leave with varying percentages of pay compared to the U.S. Examples of leave policies around the world are examined.
Firefighting Women and Sexual Harassment
Authors: Rosell Ellen , Miller Kathy , Barber Karen
Published: July 2015

Utilizing the results from a nationwide sample of fire departments and women firefighters, this article analyzes whether there are differences between sexually harassed women firefighters and their non-harassed female co-workers. The findings reflect no differences on demographic and departmental characteristics. Sexually harassed women firefighters, however, report more job stress, sexual stereotyping, and acts of violence. They feared coming to work and used sick leave more often than their non-harassed co-workers. Implications for the fire service and other male-dominated public agencies are discussed and strategies for implementing an aggressive sexual harassment policy are provided.
Staffing for Persons with Disabilities: What is “Fair” and “Job Related”?
Authors: Hayes Theodore L. , Citera Maryalice , Brady Lisa M. , Jenkins Nancy M.
Published: July 2015

This study assessed the differences between perceptions held by disabled and nondisabled individuals toward different selection techniques. We compared the opinions of disabled (Ṉ = 79) and nondisabled (Ṉ = 93) persons about the fairness and job relatedness of seven selection methods: personality inventory, cognitive ability test, leaderless group discussion, work sample, biographical inventory, structured interview, and unstructured interview. The results indicated that disabled respondents viewed the structured interview as significantly less fair than the nondisabled respondents. The organizational implications of these results in terms of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act are discussed.
Testing for Drugs: Bathrooms or Barbershops?
Authors: Stevenson Jerry G. , Williamson Roger
Published: July 2015

In an attempt to establish drug free work environments, an increasing number of public and private organizations are using some form of drug test. The most common method is urinalysis. However, in recent years, the chemical analysis of hair samples has emerged as an alternative. Hair analysis is more effective than urinalysis in identifying long-term drug use, and is less intrusive than the testing of bodily fluids. But there are disadvantages associated with hair testing: it is expensive, and cannot detect immediate impairment from drug use or recent drug use. Nor do researchers know whether environmental exposure to drugs will affect hair analysis tests. Only five percent of Fortune 500 companies and less than one percent of state governments currently allow the use of hair analysis to screen for drugs.
Perceived Training Needs of Volunteers in Government Service
Authors: Hinton Karen L.
Published: July 2015

Community boards, committees and commissions are an essential element in linking citizens to local government. Their input and involvement provide a credible citizen voice to impact decisions. Training is often the first step necessary to help ensure that boards, committees and commissions can serve in a strong and effective manner. The information contained in this article is based upon a survey conducted in Fall 1992 by the Family Community Leadership (FCL) Project to ascertain training needs of individuals serving on municipal boards, committees and commissions in Carson City, Nevada.

Effective leadership has become a more difficult challenge in the context of the ever increasing complexity of our society. Roles have become a complex set of functions rather than simply holding a position. The ability to envision the future, identify and analyze issues and to utilize a wide array of communication skills has been identified by many studies as critical elements for community leaders in the 90s. In the context of local government, Epstein and Cutchin (1990) identify individual development and improved communications as approaches that have been shown successful in achieving organizational excellence. These approaches tend to become more measurable when they are embraced by the total organization and the top of the organizational structure displays involvement with sponsorship and setting of the program's tone.
Improving Race Relations in a Public Service Agency: A Model Workshop Series
Authors: Hudson J. Blaine , Hines-Hudson Bonetta M.
Published: July 2015

This article describes a workshop series designed to identify racial problems and improve race relations in a major public service agency located in a border state metropolitan area. A three hour workshop model was developed to identify the historical/cultural myths underlying racial stereotypes, to facilitate small group interaction designed to address work-related racial problems and to produce specific recommendations for constructive change. Ten workshops were held, over a five month period, with favorable results.
The Influence of a Merit Pay Guide Chart on Employee Attitudes toward Pay at a Transit Authority
Authors: Scott K. Dow , Markham Steven E. , Vest Michael J.
Published: July 2015

The influence of the merit pay guide chart on managerial, professional, technical, and clerical attitudes toward pay is examined in a large transit authority. Although findings indicate that both instrumentality and merit pay satisfaction are influenced by a merit pay guide chart (i.e. position in range and performance ratings) and the size merit increases, the relationship are not necessarily in the predicted direction. Regression analysis indicated that the impact of guide chart ratings on merit pay satisfaction is considerably more than on instrumentality belief. Employees who received merit increases larger than suggested by the guide chart are more satisfied with their merit pay increase than those who receive what is specified or less than what is specified. Implications for future research and compensation practices in the public sector are discussed.
Workforce Reductions and Termination Benefits in Governments: The Case of Advance Notice
Authors: Ting Yuan
Published: July 2015

The prospect of layoffs and ongoing downsizing in governments due to budget cuts has generated growing concern about termination benefits for public employees, such as severance pay, transition assistance, and advance notice. This study analyzes the organizational reasons why governments should provide such benefits. The study also uses advance notice as an example, and the CPS-Displaced Worker Survey to assess whether such a benefit lessens the economic loss of layoffs for affected employees. The findings show that termination benefits are integral parts of organizational commitment to preserve a long-term relationship between the organization and its employees, and serve the purpose of maintaining and reinforcing the organizational commitment and productivity of employees, especially those who survived. The findings from the case study show that advance notice provides terminated employees an early start in their job search and therefore helps lessen their economic loss resulting from layoffs. The study also discusses the implications of mandating governments to provide termination benefits as a strategy for managing workforce reductions.
Job Grade and Labor Market Information Effects on Simulated Compensation Decisions
Authors: Racicot Bernadette M. , Doverspike Dennis , Hornsby Jeffrey S. , Hauenstein Neil M.A.
Published: July 2015

A study was conducted with personnel managers to examine the relative emphasis placed on job evaluation factors (job grade) and labor market factors (supply and demand of qualified applicants) in determining salary allocation for nine hypothetical job classifications. The results indicated that the job evaluation factors were consistently given more weight than the labor market factor in the salary allocation task. Implications of the findings were discussed within the general context of the problem of defining “market factors” in the public sector.
Determinants of Job Satisfaction of Federal Government Employees
Authors: Ting Yuan
Published: July 2015

What determines the job satisfaction of federal government employees? Using data reported in the Survey of Federal Government Employees, I propose and assess the argument that the job satisfaction of federal government employees is determined primarily by three sets of factors: job characteristics, organizational characteristics, and individual characteristics. The empirical findings show that job characteristics such as pay satisfaction, promotional opportunity, task clarity and significance, and skills utilization, as well as organizational characteristics such as organizational commitment and relationship with supervisors and co-workers have consistently significant effects on the job satisfaction of federal government employees. I also discuss the research and organizational implications of my findings.
Measuring and Correcting Inversion in Faculty Salaries at Public Universities
Authors: Jennings Kenneth M. , McLaughlin Frank S.
Published: July 2015

Compression/Inversion is becoming an increasingly important part of some compensation plans for university faculty. This article derives a measure of salary inversion. It uses it to evaluate the effectiveness of several inversion models. Results are presented and policy implications are discussed.
The Meaning of Money among Mental Health Workers: The Endorsement of Money Ethic as Related to Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Job Satisfaction, and Commitment
Authors: Tang Thomas Li-Ping , Kim Jwa K.
Published: July 2015

Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to examine the measurement and dimensions of the 6-item Money Ethic Scale (MES) using a sample of mental health workers. Results showed that the items of the new Money Ethic Scale had very low and negligible cross-loadings and the inter-factor correlations were small. Thus, the three factors (Budget, Evil, and Success) measured fairly independent constructs. Further, the results of a multivariate multiple regression showed that the linear combination of the Factors Budget, Evil, and Success was a significant predictor of the linear combination of organizational citizenship behavior, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment.
The Facilitative State and Human Resources Management
Authors: Newland Chester A.
Published: July 2015

Public sector human resources management (HRM) today functions more-or-less globally in a Facilitative State era in which state regime theories and practices differ significantly from those of the nine decades of the Administrative State during which the field developed. This comparative analysis of contemporary HRM in seven nation states and in the state of California probes one fundamental question: Facilitation of what? In particular, what are the standards of facilitative-state HRM? How do shared and varied regime values impact the field, and vice versa? In answers, politics and its definitions and absent or present qualities of merit, including ethics, are inescapable factors.
Structuration Theory
Authors: Misir Prem
Published: July 2015

The continuing paucity of effective interventions to reduce HIV/AIDS stigma is troubling, given that stigma has long been recognized as a significant barrier to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support. Ineffectual HIV/AIDS stigma-reduction interventions are the product of inadequate conceptual frameworks and methodological tools. And while there is a paucity of effective interventions to reduce stigma, there is no shortage of conceptual frameworks intending to offer a comprehensive understanding of stigma, ranging from sociocognitive models at the individual level to structural models at the macrolevel. Observations highlighting inadequacies in the individualistic and structural models are offered, followed by the theory of structuration as a possible complementary conceptual base for designing HIV/AIDS stigma-reduction interventions.
Exploring the critical factors influencing online lending intentions
Authors: Wang Peng , Zheng Haichao , Chen Dongyu , Ding Liangchao
Published: July 2015

Background

Online lending (P2P lending) is a type of internet finance mainly used to meet the financial needs of small and medium-sized enterprises and groups of individuals. It is a supplement to the traditional financial system.

Method

This paper uses PPDai.com—the most influential online lending platform in China—as a research object to study the leading factors that affect lenders’ loan trust and perception of information asymmetry. It also studies the impacts of these factors on lending intention.

Results

The results of this study show that the lending intention is mainly influenced by trust; perceived information asymmetry will affect trust, but it will not have a direct impact on lending intention. Trust is significantly affected by the borrowers’ reputation and information integrity. Information asymmetry has various causes, including structural assurance and legitimacy. This perception of information asymmetry significantly prevents the further development of online P2P lending.

Conclusion

The findings in this research imply that there are profound differences between online lending and online purchasing, thus the results obtained in the traditional e-commerce market cannot be applied in the field of online lending without verification.
Contradictory Location: Assessing the Position of Palestinian Women Citizens of Israel
Authors: Sa‘ar Amalia
Published: July 2015

This paper takes issue with a certain inconsistency in the collective portrait of Palestinian women citizens of Israel, as it is depicted in the feminist literature which emphasizes, simultaneously, multiple forms of oppression and impressive resisting capacities, but does not give sufficient explanation of how these two seemingly contradictory aspects interrelate. I argue, using ethnographic data, that more attention than that paid so far should be given to structural tensions between the various regimes that compose the Israeli-Palestinian gender order, notably the family, the state, and the national/ethnic communities. While the shared patriarchal nature of these regimes produces powerful experiences of omnipresent and naturalized oppression, competition among them allows women some very important latitude. My emphasis on the contradictory location of Palestinian women in Israel is intended to place their agency in finer perspective, through elaborating the structural setting within which it is made possible.
Writing Disidentification and the Relational Self in Fadwa Tuqan’sMountainous Journey
Authors: Abdelmotagally Noha F.
Published: July 2015

The 1985 autobiography of the Palestinian poet Fadwa Tuqan (1917–2003), Rihla Jabaliyya, Rihla Saʿba: Sira Dhatiyya, translated into English as A Mountainous Journey: A Poet’s Autobiography (1990), has been studied in diverse critical works. Unlike most scholars, I am attentive to interiority and psychology in A Mountainous Journey, which I read to examine the writing of self in relation to intimates in Tuqan’s life. I examine Tuqan’s writing of life-as-journey and the protagonist’s struggle to articulate a self in a traumatic family context the author experienced as committed to disappearing and containing her. I argue that this process works through disidentification, an ambivalent and unstable combination of identification and counteridentification.
ViennaNGS: A toolbox for building efficient next- generation sequencing analysis pipelines
Authors: Wolfinger Michael T. , Fallmann Jörg , Eggenhofer Florian , Amman Fabian
Published: July 2015

Recent achievements in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies lead to a high demand for reuseable software components to easily compile customized analysis workflows for big genomics data. We present ViennaNGS, an integrated collection of Perl modules focused on building efficient pipelines for NGS data processing. It comes with functionality for extracting and converting features from common NGS file formats, computation and evaluation of read mapping statistics, as well as normalization of RNA abundance. Moreover, ViennaNGS provides software components for identification and characterization of splice junctions from RNA-seq data, parsing and condensing sequence motif data, automated construction of Assembly and Track Hubs for the UCSC genome browser, as well as wrapper routines for a set of commonly used NGS command line tools.
Systematic Approach to the Management of Labour Motivation of Personnel Service Organizations
Authors: Иваненко  , Ivanenko Marina
Published: July 2015

The article discusses the components of the system of labour motivation. The author conducted a comparative analysis of the concept of “work motivation”.

Presents the components of work motivation in the context of a systematic approach. The introduction of a systematic approach in the activities of the service

organization will optimize the management of human resources, which in turn, will increase its competitive advantage. The author focuses on trichotomies

the nature of labour motivation, namely the presence of three interdependent subsystems. In connection with this motivation should be considered it must be

based on three components — a set of motives, incentives and employment. The main elements of the system work motivation service organizations include:

the content of the work, wages, social contacts, self-education and support, autonomy, self-realization, organizational culture.
Management of Student Learning
Authors: Белый  , Belyy V.
Published: July 2015

The traditional scheme of education is obsolete and needs to be replaced with new and innovative forms of learning. Also today there are particularly relevant

forms, which are characterized by collaboration with industry in the learning process. There should be new learning theories such as constructivism, learning

without temporal and spatial boundaries. To improve the quality of education a new educational technology and possibilities of industrial enterprises must

be intensive used. This is caused by the need to revise the modern theory and practice of assessing students. After all, the student should come to the production

and begin to fulfill their duties with a minimum period of adaptation. Because assessment of knowledge and skills of the graduate urgent problem of each

university.
Syphilis Experiences and Risk Perceptions Among Repeatedly Infected Men Who Have Sex with Men
Authors: Plant Aaron , Stahlman Shauna , Javanbakht Marjan , Cross Johnny , Montoya Jorge A. , Bolan Robert , Kerndt Peter R.
Published: July 2015

CONTEXT

In urban areas of the United States, syphilis is a major public health issue for men who have sex with men, despite widespread efforts to curtail a growing epidemic; repeated infections are not uncommon in this population. The ways that men who have sex with men experience and conceptualize syphilis, and how their attitudes and beliefs impact their risk for infection, are poorly understood.

METHODS

In‐depth interviews were conducted in 2010–2011 with 19 Los Angeles County men aged 21–54 who reported having male sex partners and had had two or more early syphilis infections within the previous five years. Interview transcripts were analyzed inductively to uncover themes.

RESULTS

Participants had considerable knowledge about syphilis symptoms, transmission and consequences, and most felt that syphilis was a highly stigmatized disease. They had had 2–5 infections in the past five years, and the majority believed they were at risk for another infection because of their sexual risk behaviors. Many had a sense of fatalism about being infected again, and some expressed that this possibility was an acceptable part of being sexually active. Concern about syphilis often decreased as men experienced more infections. Most participants reported short‐term sexual behavior changes after a syphilis diagnosis to prevent transmission; however, few were willing to make long‐term behavior changes.

CONCLUSIONS

Additional qualitative studies of men who have sex with men should be conducted to better understand the continuing syphilis epidemic and to help identify the most promising intervention strategies.
Método de custeio abc na distribuição física de produtos
Authors: Novaes Antonio Galvão
Published: July 2015

O método clássico adotado no Brasil para calcular os custos do transporte rodoviário de cargas, com base no peso e na distância, são satisfatórios para situações convencionais, mas ocasiona distorções sérias quando aplicado a sistemas logísticos, principalmente na distribuição física de produtos. Para essas situações, é mais apropriado utilizar o método ABC (Custeio Baseado em Atividades), que permite uma melhor representação dos custos, evitando distorções.

ABSTRACT

The classical method adopted in Brazil to estimate cargo transportation costs, based on weight and distance, is acceptable for conventional situations, but may introduce serious distortions when applied to Logistics systems, mainly in the physical distribution segment. For these situations the ABC (Activity Based Costing) method is more appropriate, since it yields a better cost representation, avoiding distortions.
First record of Rhipsalis oblonga (Cactaceae), a threatened plant species, in Minas Gerais state, Brazil
Authors: Gonzaga Diego Rafael , Barbosa Daniel Elias Ferreira , Basílio Geicilaine Alves , Da Silva Fernando Rodrigues , Menini Neto Luiz
Published: July 2015

We present the first record of Rhipsalis oblonga in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. This record suggests that this species, having a global rank of Vulnerable, is nevertheless threatened in Minas Gerais with extirpation due to the small area of occupancy that is outside of any conservation unit. We present morphological data for this species and comment on its ecology and distribution.
Análise da adequação de eventos de precipitação extrema na Amazônia Ocidental em modelos estáticos: Rondônia
Authors: Souza Vinicius Alexandre Sikora de , Nunes Marcos Leando Alves , Francener Sandra Ferronatto , Rosa Ana Lúcia Denardin da
Published: July 2015

<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: PT-BR; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Este estudo objetivou estimar a função Intensidade-Duração-Frequência (IDF) de eventos pluviométricos extremos a partir dos dados de precipitação das estações pluviométricas instaladas no estado de Rondônia, de modo que posteriormente tais informações possam ser utilizadas no dimensionamento de obras hidráulicas. Utilizou-se 41 estações pluviométricas com séries históricas acima de 10 anos, disponibilizadas pela Agência Nacional de Águas (ANA). Essas séries passaram inicialmente pelo teste de aderência Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS), a fim de verificar o ajuste das mesmas as distribuições: Normal, Log-Normal, Exponencial, Gama, Gumbel, Weibull e Logística. O trabalho denotou que o teste de aderência <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: PT-BR; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Kolmogorov-Smirnov de forma geral forneceu uma expressiva aceitação na maioria das distribuições estatística testadas.

 

Analysis of fitness for extreme rainfall events in western amazon in static models: state Rondônia

 

ABSTRACT: This study aimed to estimate the Intensity - Duration - Frequency (IDF) function extreme rainfall events from the data of precipitation of rainfall stations located in the State of Rondônia, so that such information can be later used in hydraulic structures. We used 41 rainfall stations with historical series over 10 years, provided by the National Water Agency (ANA). These series originally started by adherence Kolmogorov -Smirnov (KS) in order to check the fit of the same distributions: Normal, Log- Normal, Exponential, Gamma, Gumbel, Weibull and Logistics. Work denoted that the Kolmogorov - Smirnov test of adherence generally provided a significant acceptance in most of the tested statistical distributions.

<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: PT-BR; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">
Características físicas, químicas e físico-químicas dos frutos da murta
Authors: Araujo Dyalla Ribeiro de , Lucena Eliseu Marlônio Pereira de , Gomes Josivanda Palmeira , Figueirêdo Rossana Maria Feitosa de , Silva Érllens Eder
Published: July 2015

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo estudar as características físicas, químicas e físico-químicas dos frutos da murta (Eugenia gracillima Kiaersk.) no estádio de maturação “maduro”. Os frutos de murta foram colhidos em área de vegetação nativa, na propriedade rural da família Lermen, localizada na Serra dos Paus Dóias - Chapada do Araripe, município de Exu, PE. Após a colheita, os frutos foram transportados para o Laboratório de Ecofisiologia Vegetal da Universidade Estadual do Ceará, para a realização das análises físicas, químicas e físico-químicas: coloração da casca; diâmetros longitudinal e transversal; massas fresca, seca e de água e teor de água; sólidos solúveis totais (SST), acidez total titulável (ATT), pH, relação SST/ATT, carboidratos (amido, açúcares solúveis totais, açúcares redutores e açúcares não redutores); vitamina C; pectinas; fenólicos; antocianinas; flavonoides amarelos e carotenoides. Os frutos da murta (Eugenia gracillima Kiaersk.) são relativamente pequenos com formato levemente ovalado e com coloração 100% violeta quando maduros. Apresentaram ótima qualidade para consumo pelo conteúdo dos sólidos solúveis totais (15,08 °Brix), relação SST/ATT (18,37), açúcares solúveis totais (11,61%) e açúcares redutores (7,80%), como também são frutos ricos em vitamina C (160,62 mg/100 g de massa fresca do fruto) e antioxidantes.

Physical and physico-chemical fruits characteristics of myrtle

Abstract: The present work aimed to study the physical, chemical and physico-chemical fruits characteristics of myrtle (Eugenia gracillima Kiaersk.) in maturation stage "mature". The fruits of myrtle were collected in an area of native vegetation in rural Lermen family property, located in the Serra dos Paus Dóias - Araripe, municipality of Exu, PE. After harvest, the fruits were transported to the Laboratory of Plant Ecophysiology, Ceará State University, to the achievement of physical, chemical and physico-chemical analysis: peel color; longitudinal and transverse diameters; fresh, dry mass and water content and water; total soluble solids (TSS), titulable total acidity (TTA), pH, TSS/TTA, carbohydrates (starch, total soluble sugars, reducing sugars and non reducing sugars, vitamin C, pectins, phenolics, anthocyanins, yellow flavonoids and carotenoids. The myrtle fruit (Eugenia gracillima Kiaersk.) are relatively small with slightly oval in shape and staining with 100% purple when ripe. Showed excellent quality for consumption for the content of total soluble solids (15.08°Brix), TSS/TTA (18.37), total soluble sugars (11.61%) and reducing sugar (7.80%), as well fruits are rich in vitamin C (160.62 mg/100 g fresh weight of fruit) and antioxidants.

 
The Interaction of Natural Convection and Gravity Segregation in Oil/Gas Reservoirs
Authors: Jacqmin D.
Published: July 2015

The distribution of chemical components in reservoirs is significantly affected by natural convection and diffusional gravity segregation. Model parallel flow solutions are presented that shed light on the interaction of these two processes. These solutions take into account reservoir tilt and anisotropy. The solutions are compared to and used to explain results of two-dimensional calculations of flow in a model rectangular reservoir. Nonuniqueness and instability phenomena are discussed.
Stochastic Processes and Copula Model Applied in the Economic Evaluation for Brazilian Oil Fields Projects
Authors: Marques J. B. , Trevisan O. V. , Marques L. M. , Ravagnani A. T.
Published: July 2015

Over the last two decades, the stochastic processes and copula theories have been widely used in financial analysis, especially in the conditional variance models. Nevertheless, there are few applications cases addressing to the economic evaluation of E&P projects. In such context, the present paper proposes a comprehensive methodology for integration of these theories to the economic evaluation based on discounted cash flow under uncertainty of E&P projects. A cash flow simulator was specially built for the purpose, enabling the applications these theories on the relevant econometric variables. Some simulations are performed with production curves modeled by a set of analytic functions, including: linear function for the start of production until the plateau, exponential function for production decline curve and sigmoid functions for water curves (injection and production). All models were validated against curves derived from reservoir flow simulators.

Four models are shown in this paper: two models for forecasting oil price based on GARCH(1,1) and EGARCH(1,1), one model for the attractiveness minimum rate based on ARMA(1,1) and the last one refers to a model based on Gumbel copula for the CAPEX and OPEX values. The models are applied to predict NPV by cash flow simulator and were performed using the current fiscal regimes valid in Brazil, considering the tax system and production sharing contracts. In the both cases, this paper including the legal details related to the government take. The aim of these models is to determine the breakeven oil price for projects on the Brazilian pre-salt fields.

The main contribution of the present work is to provide analysts with a tool and a methodology to anticipate risk analysis of Brazilian oil fields projects based on VaR and AVaR measures. The work is divided into five sections: introduction, stochastic processes and copula theories, integration methodology, applications, results and conclusions.
Economics of Shale Gas Monetization Options
Authors: Turaga Uday
Published: July 2015

The discovery and rapid proliferation of shale gas basins has revolutionized the supply of natural gas in North America. Natural gas from shale basins accounted for less than 1% of total natural gas supply in 2005; today shale basins provide approximately one quarter of total natural gas production. Although the supply outlook looks promising, demand for natural gas is growing moderately, if not stagnant. Sustainable growth of the natural gas industry requires that demand keep pace with supply. There are a number of natural gas monetization options including the use of gas to produce electric power; liquefaction to produce LNG for shipping globally; conversion to liquid transportation fuels such as gasoline and diesel as well as chemicals; and use as transport fuel. The relative economics and incremental impact on demand varies for each of these options. ADI Analytics has recently conducted an in-depth assessment of these gas monetization options. Our findings show that cheap North American shale gas will have global industry-wide impacts through development of new LNG supply that can compete with existing supply, moderation of oil demand through substitution and GTL and MTG, a resurgence of the chemical industry driven by new supply of NGLs. Further, there are numerous competitive developments in LNG, GTL, ethylene crackers, NGL pipelines, and cleantech, all of which could alter the industry while providing first movers significant competitive advantage. These and other findings are the subject of this paper.
Analytical capability of the plasma induced by IR TEA CO2 laser pulses on copper based alloys
Authors: Momcilovic Milos , Ciganovic Jovan , Rankovic Dragan , Jovanovic Uros , Stoiljkovic Milovan , Savovic Jelena , Trtica Milan
Published: July 2015

The applicability of nanosecond infrared (IR) transversely excited
atmospheric (TEA) CO2 laser, operating at 10.6 ?m and 100 ns pulse length
(initial spike), induced plasma under reduced air pressure for
spectrochemical analysis of bronze and brass samples was investigated. The
plasma consisted of two clearly distinguished and spatially separated regions
and expanded to a distance of about 10 mm from the surface. Elemental
composition of the samples was determined using a time-integrated
space-resolved laser-induced plasma spectroscopy (TISR-LIPS) technique. Sharp
and well resolved spectral lines mostly atomic, and negligibly low background
emission, were obtained from a plasma region 7 mm from the target surface.
Good signal to background and signal to noise ratios were obtained. Estimated
detection limits for trace elements Mg, Fe, Al and Ca were in the order of 10
ppm in bronze and around 50 ppm in brass. Damage on the investigated samples
induced by TEA CO2 laser radiation was negligible.
Beneficial Effects of Temperate Forage Legumes that Contain Condensed Tannins
Authors: MacAdam Jennifer , Villalba Juan
Published: July 2015

The two temperate forage legumes containing condensed tannins (CT) that promote ruminant production are birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.; BFT) and sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.; SF). Both are well-adapted to the cool-temperate climate and alkaline soils of the Mountain West USA. Condensed tannins comprise a diverse family of bioactive chemicals with multiple beneficial functions for ruminants, including suppression of internal parasites and enteric methane. Birdsfoot trefoil contains 10 to 40 g·CT·kg−1 dry matter (DM), while SF contains 30 to 80 g·CT·kg−1 DM. Our studies have focused on these two plant species and have demonstrated consistently elevated rates of gain for beef calves grazing both BFT and SF. Novel results from our BFT research include carcass dressing percentages and consumer sensory evaluations equivalent to feedlot-finished steers and significantly greater than grass-finished steers, but with omega-3 fatty acid concentrations equal to grass-finished beef. We have further demonstrated that ruminants fed BFT or SF will consume more endophyte-infected tall fescue (Schedonorus arundinaceus (Schreb.) Dumort.) forage or seed than ruminants fed a non-CT forage legume. There is great potential value for sustainable livestock production in the use of highly digestible, nitrogen-fixing legumes containing tannins demonstrated to improve ruminant productivity.
Inflation and Inflation Uncertainty Revisited: Evidence from Egypt
Authors: Sharaf Mesbah
Published: July 2015

The welfare costs of inflation and inflation uncertainty are well documented in the literature and empirical evidence on the link between the two is sparse in the case of Egypt. This paper investigates the causal relationship between inflation and inflation uncertainty in Egypt using monthly time series data during the period January 1974–April 2015. To endogenously control for any potential structural breaks in the inflation time series, Zivot and Andrews (2002) and Clemente–Montanes–Reyes (1998) unit root tests are used. The inflation–inflation uncertainty relation is modeled by the standard two-step approach as well as simultaneously using various versions of the GARCH-M model to control for any potential feedback effects. The analyses explicitly control for the effect of the Economic Reform and Structural Adjustment Program (ERSAP) undertaken by the Egyptian government in the early 1990s, which affected inflation rate and its associated volatility. Results show a high degree of inflation–volatility persistence in the response to inflationary shocks. Granger-causality test along with symmetric and asymmetric GARCH-M models indicate a statistically significant bi-directional positive relationship between inflation and inflation uncertainty, supporting both the Friedman–Ball and the Cukierman–Meltzer hypotheses. The findings are robust to the various estimation methods and model specifications. The findings of this paper support the view of adopting inflation-targeting policy in Egypt, after fulfilling its preconditions, to reduce the welfare cost of inflation and its related uncertainties. Monetary authorities in Egypt should enhance the credibility of monetary policy and attempt to reduce inflation uncertainty, which will help lower inflation rates.
Higher Derivative Gravity and Conformal Gravity from Bimetric and Partially Massless Bimetric Theory
Authors: Hassan Sayed , Schmidt-May Angnis , Von Strauss Mikael
Published: July 2015

In this paper, we establish the correspondence between ghost-free bimetric theory and a class of higher derivative gravity actions, including conformal gravity and new massive gravity. We also characterize the relation between the respective equations of motion and classical solutions. We illustrate that, in this framework, the spin-2 ghost of higher derivative gravity at the linear level is an artifact of the truncation to a four-derivative theory. The analysis also gives a relation between the proposed partially massless (PM) bimetric theory and conformal gravity, showing, in particular, the equivalence of their equations of motion at the four-derivative level. For the PM bimetric theory, this provides further evidence for the existence of an extra gauge symmetry and the associated loss of a propagating mode away from de Sitter backgrounds. The new symmetry is an extension of Weyl invariance, which may suggest the candidate PM bimetric theory as a possible ghost-free completion of conformal gravity.