bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Change in hydraulic properties and leaf traits in a tall rainforest tree species subjected to long-term throughfall exclusion in the perhumid tropics
Authors: Schuldt B. , Leuschner C. , Horna V. , Moser G. , Köhler M. , van Straaten O. , Barus H.
Published: August 2011

Abstract. A large-scale replicated throughfall exclusion experiment was conducted in a pre-montane perhumid rainforest in Sulawesi (Indonesia) exposing the trees for two years to pronounced soil desiccation. The lack of regularly occurring dry periods and shallow rooting patterns distinguish this experiment from similar experiments conducted in the Amazonian rainforest. We tested the hypotheses that a tree's sun canopy is more affected by soil drought than its shade crown, making tall trees particularly vulnerable even under a perhumid climate, and that extended drought periods stimulate an acclimation in the hydraulic system of the sun canopy. In the abundant and tall tree species Castanopsis acuminatissima (Fagaceae), we compared 31 morphological, anatomical, hydraulic and chemical variables of leaves, branches and the stem together with stem diameter growth between drought and control plots. There was no evidence of canopy dieback. However, the drought treatment led to a 30 % reduction in sapwood-specific hydraulic conductivity of sun canopy branches, possibly caused by the formation of smaller vessels and/or vessel filling by tyloses. Drought caused an increase in leaf size, but a decrease in leaf number, and a reduction in foliar calcium content. The δ13C and δ18O signatures of sun canopy leaves gave no indication of a permanent down-regulation of stomatal conductance during the drought, indicating that pre-senescent leaf shedding may have improved the water status of the remaining leaves. Annual stem diameter growth decreased during the drought, while the density of wood in the recently produced xylem increased in both the stem and sun canopy branches (marginally significant). The sun canopy showed a more pronounced drought response than the shade crown indicating that tall trees with a large sun canopy are more vulnerable to drought stress. We conclude that the extended drought prompted a number of medium- to long-term responses in the leaves, branches and the trunk, which may have reduced drought susceptibility. However, unlike a natural drought, our drought simulation experiment was carried out under conditions of high humidity, which may have dampened drought induced damages.
Detection of wetland dynamics with ENVISAT ASAR in support of methane modelling at high latitudes
Authors: Bartsch A. , Trofaier A. M. , Hayman G. , Sabel D. , Schlaffer S. , Clark D. , Blyth E.
Published: August 2011

Abstract. Spatial information on inundation dynamics is expected to improve greenhouse gas estimates in climate models. Satellite data can provide land cover information from local to global scale. The detection capability for dynamics is however limited. Cloud cover and daylight independent methods are required for frequent updates. Suitable are therefore sensors which make use of microwaves. The purpose of the present study is to assess such data for determination of wetland dynamics from the viewpoint of use in climate models of the boreal and tundra environments. The focus is on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) operating in C-band due to, among microwave systems, comparably good spatial resolution and data availability. Continuity is also expected for such systems. Simple classification algorithms can be applied to detect open water in an automatised way allowing the processing of time series. Such approaches are robust when the water surface is smooth. C-band data from ENVISAT ASAR (Advanced SAR) operating in wide swath mode (150 m resolution) have been investigated for implementation of an automated detection procedure of open water fraction. More than 4000 samples (single acquisitions tiled into 0.5 degree grid cells) have been analysed for July/August 2007 and 2008. Modification of input parameters results in differences below 1 % open water fraction. The actual challenge is the frequent occurrence of waves due to wind and precipitation. This reduces the separability of the water class from other land cover. The possible update intervals for surface water extent are therefore decreased considerably. Statistical measures of the backscatter distribution can be applied in order to retrieve the for classification suitable data. The Pearson correlation between each sample dataset and a location specific representation of the bimodal distribution has been used for assessment. On average only 40 % of acquisitions allow a separation of the open water class. Satellite data are available every 2–3 days over the Western Siberian study region. With respect to the irregular acquisition intervals and varying length of unsuitable weather periods a minimum update interval of 10 days is suggested for the Northern Eurasian test case. Although SAR data availability is currently constraint future satellite missions which aim for operational services such as Sentinel-1 with its C-band SAR instrument may provide the basis for inundation monitoring in support of climate modelling.
Antarctic ice sheet and oceanographic response to eccentricity forcing during the early Miocene
Authors: Liebrand D. , Lourens L. J. , Hodell D. A. , de Boer B. , van de Wal R. S. W. , Pälike H.
Published: August 2011

Abstract. Stable isotope records of benthic foraminifera from ODP Site 1264 in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean are presented which resolve the latest Oligocene to early Miocene (~24–19 Ma) climate changes at high temporal resolution (<3 kyr). Using an inverse modelling technique, we decomposed the oxygen isotope record into temperature and ice volume and found that the Antarctic ice sheet expanded episodically during the declining phase of the long-term (~400 kyr) eccentricity cycle and subsequent low short-term (~100 kyr) eccentricity cycle. The largest glaciations are separated by multiple long-term eccentricity cycles, indicating the involvement of a non-linear response mechanism. Our modelling results suggest that during the largest (Mi-1) event, Antarctic ice sheet volume expanded up to its present-day configuration. In addition, we found that distinct ~100 kyr variability occurs during the termination phases of the major Antarctic glaciations, suggesting that climate and ice-sheet response was more susceptible to short-term eccentricity forcing at these times. During two of these termination-phases, δ18O bottom water gradients in the Atlantic ceased to exist, indicating a direct link between global climate, enhanced ice-sheet instability and major oceanographic reorganisations.
Holocene vegetation and biomass changes on the Tibetan Plateau – a model-pollen data comparison
Authors: Dallmeyer A. , Claussen M. , Herzschuh U. , Fischer N.
Published: August 2011

Abstract. Results of a transient numerical experiment performed in a coupled atmosphere-ocean-vegetation model with orbital forcing alone are compared to pollen-based vegetation reconstructions covering the last 6000 yr from four representative sites on the Tibetan Plateau. Causes of the vegetation change and consequences of the biomass storage are analysed. In general, simulated and reconstructed vegetation trends at each site are in good agreement. Both methods reveal a general retreat of the biomass-rich vegetation that is particularly manifested in a strong decrease of forests. However, model and reconstructions often differ with regard to the climatic factors causing the vegetation change at each site. The reconstructions primarily identify decreasing summer monsoon precipitation and changes in the temperature of the warm season as the responsible mechanisms for the vegetation shift. In the model, the land cover change mainly originates from differences in warm/cold seasonal temperatures and only to a lesser extent from precipitation changes. According to the model results, the averaged forest fraction on the Plateau shrinks by almost one-third from mid-Holocene (41.4 %) to present-day (28.3 %). Shrubs, whose fraction is quadrupled at present-day (12.3 %), replace most of this forest. Grass fraction increases from 38.1 % during the mid-Holocene to 42.3 % at present-day. This land cover change results in a decrease of living biomass by 0.62 kgC m−2. Total biomass on the Tibetan Plateau decreases by 1.9 kgC m−2, i.e. approx. 6.64 PgC are released due to the natural land cover change.
Fog interception by Ball moss (Tillandsia recurvata)
Authors: Guevara-Escobar A. , Cervantes-Jiménez M. , Suzán-Azpiri H. , González-Sosa E. , Hernández-Sandoval L. , Malda-Barrera G. , Martínez-Díaz M.
Published: August 2011

Abstract. Interception losses are a major influence in the water yield of vegetated areas. For most storms, rain interception results in less water reaching the ground. However, fog interception can increase the overall water storage capacity of the vegetation and once the storage is exceeded, fog drip is a common hydrological input. Fog interception is disregarded in water budgets of semiarid regions, but for some plant communities, it could be a mechanism offsetting evaporation losses. Tillandsia recurvata is a cosmopolitan epiphyte adapted to arid habitats where fog may be an important water source. Therefore, the interception storage capacity by T. recurvata was measured in controlled conditions and applying simulated rain or fog. Juvenile, vegetative specimens were used to determine the potential upperbound storage capacities. The storage capacity was proportional to dry weight mass. Interception storage capacity (Cmin) was 0.19 and 0.56 mm for rainfall and fog respectively. The coefficients obtained in the laboratory were used together with biomass measurements for T. recurvata in a xeric scrub to calculate the depth of water intercepted by rain. T. recurvata contributed 20 % to the rain interception capacity of their shrub hosts: Acacia farnesiana and Prosopis laevigata and; also potentially intercepted 4.8 % of the annual rainfall. Nocturnal stomatic opening in T. recurvata is not only relevant for CO2 but for water vapor, as suggested by the higher weight change of specimens wetted with fog for 1 h at dark in comparison to those wetted during daylight (543 ± 77 vs. 325 ± 56 mg, p = 0.048). The storage capacity of T. recurvata leaf surfaces could increase the amount of water available for evaporation, but as this species colonise montane forests, the effect could be negative on water recharge, because potential storage capacity is very high, in the laboratory experiments it took up to 12 h at a rate of 0.26 l h−1 to reach saturation conditions when fog was applied.
Spatial variation of the longitudinal dispersion coefficient in an estuary
Authors: Shaha D. C. , Cho Y.-K. , Kwak M.-T. , Kundu S. R. , Jung K. T.
Published: August 2011

Abstract. The effective longitudinal dispersion is a primary tool for determining property distributions in estuaries. Most previous studies have examined the longitudinal dispersion coefficient for the average tidal condition. However, information on spatial and temporal variations of this coefficient at low and high tide is scarce. Three years of hydrographic data taken at low and high tide along the main axis of the Sumjin River Estuary (SRE), Korea are used to estimate the spatial and temporal variation of the effective longitudinal dispersion coefficient. The range of the dispersion coefficient is rather broad at high water slack (HWS) and narrower at low water slack (LWS) because of the different tidal amplitudes. The spatially varying dispersion coefficient has maximal values (>300 m2 s−1) near the mouth at high water and decreases gradually upstream, with fluctuations. The temporally varying dispersion coefficient appears to be positively correlated with river discharges at both low and high tide. The dispersion varies with the square root of river discharges at HWS and LWS. The dispersive salt fluxes increases with increasing river discharges and decreases with decreasing river discharges at HWS and LWS. Estimation of the numerical values of the effective longitudinal dispersion coefficient in the SRE can be useful for better understanding of the distributions of other tracers in the SRE as well as for developing and testing hypotheses about various mixing mechanisms.
Brief communication "On the recent reaffirmation of ULF magnetic earthquakes precursors"
Authors: Masci F.
Published: August 2011

Abstract. Hayakawa et al. (2009) and Hayakawa (2011) have recently reviewed some "anomalous" ULF signatures in the geomagnetic field which previous publications have claimed to be earthquake precursors. The motivation of this review is "to offer a further support to the definite presence of those anomalies". Here, these ULF precursors are reviewed once again. This brief communication shows that the reviewed anomalies do not "increase the credibility on the presence of electromagnetic phenomena associated with an earthquake" since these anomalous signals are actually caused by normal geomagnetic activity. Furthermore, some of these ULF precursors have just been rebutted by previous publications.
Trends in Mediterranean gridded temperature extremes and large-scale circulation influences
Authors: Efthymiadis D. , Goodess C. M. , Jones P. D.
Published: August 2011

Abstract. Two recently-available daily gridded datasets are used to investigate trends in Mediterranean temperature extremes since the mid-20th century. The underlying trends are found to be generally consistent with global trends of temperature and their extremes: cold extremes decrease and warm/hot extremes increase. This consistency is better manifested in the western part of the Mediterranean where changes are most pronounced since the mid-1970s. In the eastern part, a cooling is observed, with a near reversal in the last two decades. This inter-basin discrepancy is clearer in winter, while in summer changes are more uniform and the west-east difference is restricted to the rate of increase of warm/hot extremes, which is higher in central and eastern parts of the Mediterranean over recent decades. Linear regression and correlation analysis reveals some influence of major large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns on the occurrence of these extremes – both in terms of trend and interannual variability. These relationships are not, however, able to account for the most striking features of the observations – in particular the intensification of the increasing trend in warm/hot extremes, which is most evident over the last 15–20 yr in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean.
Relationships between precipitation and floods in the fluvial basins of Central Spain based on documentary sources from the end of the 16th century
Authors: Bullón T.
Published: August 2011

Abstract. This study presents the results of a historic reconstruction based upon documentary sources of precipitation and floods during the last fifty years of the 16th century in Central Spain. We used data from primary sources contemporary to the events rather than compilations or secondary references. These documents belong to the institutions that administered the study area during the time period of interest and consist of municipal or monastic minute books and administrative texts from properties belonging to the nobility and royal family. Direct data that explicitly describe meteorological or flood-related events are haphazardly distributed throughout personal correspondence and various reports, and the sizes of floods or precipitation events can also be deduced from indirect data. We analysed the qualitative data by transforming them into numerical indices of intensity/duration for precipitation and intensity/area for floods. We differentiated three sets of years that presented different hydrological patterns. The first period, from 1554 to 1575, exhibited regular precipitation patterns associated with low-intensity floods. The second, from 1576 to 1584, was characterised by low precipitation levels and few floods. The third, from 1585 to 1599, showed intense precipitation with large floods interspersed with long-lasting droughts. We interpret these results in the context of the environmental and land-use patterns of the time period studied, which coincided with a period of low temperatures.
Restorative Justice in Transitional Sierra Leone
Authors: Nkansah Lydia Apori
Published: August 2011

Intense debate surrounds truth commissions as to their mission, perceived roles and outcomes. This paper seeks to contribute to the understanding of truth commissions in post-conflict settings. It examines the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) for Sierra Leone, the first truth commission to be engaged concurrently with a retributive mechanism, the Special Court for Sierra Leone for transitional justice. The study finds that the TRC provided an opening for conversation in Sierra Leonean communities to search for the meanings of truth about the conflict. In this way the communities simultaneously created an understanding of the situation and set reconciliation directions and commitment from the process of creative conversation.  This notwithstanding, the TRC did not have the needed public cooperation because the people were not sure the war was over and feared that their assailants could harm them if they disclosed the truth to the TRC. The presence of the Special Court also created tensions and fears rendering the transitional environment unfriendly to the reconciliation and truth telling endeavors of the TRC. The study has implications for future truth commissions in that the timing for post-conflict reconciliation endeavors should take into consideration the state of the peace equilibrium of the societies involved. It should also be packaged for harmonious existence in a given transitional contexts, particularly where it will coexist with a retributive mechanism.
Factors Responsible for Low Inclination towards Entrepreneurship in the Public Sector Institutions of Pakistan
Authors: Sumra Sana Haider , Safarish Hina , Suhail Sana , Ahmad Syed Tauqeer
Published: August 2011

Entrepreneurship is of great deal of importance and interest all over the world. For developed countries, this new venture formation results in revitalizing the economy, catalyst of technological innovation and change, means of employment and incubator of market and product innovation. For developing countries, it can be taken as means of job creation, engine for economic progress wealth creation and reducing the social differences. Hence, small business enterprises and entrepreneurship is widely encouraged by the governments who make such policies so as to ensure economic growth and entrepreneurship encouragement. This article presents research on factors which influence the inclination of taking entrepreneurship as a career choice among the business graduates in Pakistan. Entrepreneurship can be taken as means to overcome unemployment and improving social status. This study is conducted from business graduates in the three cities of Pakistan; Islamabad, Lahore and Bahawalpur from HEC recognized institutes which were taken as a sample. The information to be collected on  variables ranges from determining simply the presence or absence of a variable to ranking the variables on a given scale depending upon the nature of the variable. Our study is Descriptive and Exploratory nature and Z-test Analysis was carried out in order to unearth the relationship between hypothesized Factors i.e., lack of innovation and creativity, lack of risk tolerance, lack of resources, unsupportive social environment, lack of support from self – employed people, the lack of promotion of self – employment from teachers, lack of entrepreneurship education, low number of self – employed parents, lack of required human skills, long working hours  and will discuss how these variables affect to the low inclination towards entrepreneurship in business students of Pakistan. The present youth of Pakistan is showing a very low inclination towards entrepreneurship and hence, the trend is declining rather than to augment. There is only a small proportion of current business students which are interested in doing their own business. A vast majority is still planning their career to become employees in organizations.
Postmodern Governments and Global Science Education
Authors: Nikkhah Akbar
Published: August 2011

The objective is to describe global governments’ responsibilities in making and supporting educational policies for improvements in the public creation and utilization of science. The necessity of the world human populations to be more similarly educated increases. Such a necessity stems from a global demand for timely expansion and effective utilization of new life technologies. Governments play key roles in maintaining publics adequately cognizant of the demand. In addition, governments are increasingly responsible for making new policies that will allow public education sectors to practice refined education programs. Such a global education, most fundamentally, starts from elementary schools and evolves through guidance and high schools, colleges, universities and industrial centers. Governments can foster new education policies in three distinct groups including governors, educators, and learners. The governors include ministers and all related officials and administrative professionals. The educators include science and technology mentors and trainers in schools, colleges, universities, industries, and private and semi-private institutes. The learners, by definition, are those enrolled in academic and non-academic institutions to obtain expertise and excellence in various fields of science and technology. These categories will have their own specified educators who revisit concepts and update members with most recent concepts and practices while reviewing major earlier principles. In the post-modern time, mentors and trainers themselves require frequent timely education to remain most up-to-date and functional. Constant education of educators faces more practical challenges than education of learners. Special courses and sessions are to be developed for governors, educators, mentors, advisors and teachers. It is only with such an interrelated structure that governors and policy makers will most profoundly realize the importance and necessity of adequate public education considerations. Such policies are to be supervised and supported by global sources to ensure practices in different world regions. The more extensive implementation of the policies will lead to more efficient and earlier accomplishment of preset goals. Effectual education of governments on ‘science education policies’ will be a turning point in enabling continual improvements in global science and life qualities.
An Investigation on the Monetary Policy and Short-term Interest Rates in Japan
Authors: TSUJI Chikashi
Published: August 2011

We explore the intertemporal linkage between call rate changes, consumer price index (CPI) changes, and real gross domestic product (GDP) changes in Japan based on the Taylor rule of monetary policy. In our analysis, we consider two sample periods, namely, the former is before zero-interest rate policy and the latter is after it. According to our empirical results, first, we find that the relations between call rate changes and GDP changes and those between call rate changes and CPI changes are weak before zero-interest rate policy. Second, we also find that after zero-interest rate policy, mutual intertemporal relations between call rate changes and GDP changes are seen as the US Taylor rule suggests, although the linkage between call rate changes and CPI changes is not seen. Hence after zero-interest rate policy, regarding call rates and GDP, the relations suggested by US Taylor rule are found in Japan.
Double Jeopardy: Race/Ethnicity and Sexual Harassment in the U.S. Military
Authors: Hackett Justin David , Harris Richard , Firestone Juanita
Published: August 2011

Our research examines a sample of respondents from a Department of Defense (DoD) survey in an attempt to determine the incidence of sexual harassment in the military by race/ethnic category and to determine whether or not women's experiences differ based on race and ethnic membership.  Logistic regression is used to test whether racial and ethnic minorities face double risks of victimization with respect to sexual Results do not support an adverse interaction of race and gender with respect to sexual harassment in the military for Black women; however, findings varied depending on type of harassment for Hispanic and Other Race women.  The biggest surprise is that the males report a higher incidence of harassment in 2002.  Replicating an earlier finding, when no environmental harassment is reported individual harassment is very rare.  Overall, this finding supports the importance of organizational context in producing different levels of harassment. Keywords: Sexual harassment, Race, Ethnicity, Sex, Military
Municipal Service Quality and Citizen Satisfaction in Southern Thailand
Authors: Mokhlis Safiek , Aleesa Yaleakho , Mamat Ibrahim
Published: August 2011

The objectives of the research are two-folds: (1) to examine the quality of municipal services provided by local government in southern Thailand; and (2) to identify the most important service quality dimensions that determine citizen satisfaction. The questionnaires were distributed to 234 respondents in Tambon Khok Pho, a subdistrict of Khok Pho in Pattani Province of southern Thailand. Descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, Pearson correlation and stepwise multiple regression were conducted to analyze the data. Results indicate that (1) the five dimensions of SERVQUAL represent a valid instrument to measure municipal service quality in Thai setting; and (2) four service quality dimensions, namely tangibility, empathy, assurance and responsiveness significantly predicted citizen satisfaction, with an adjusted R2 of 0.5. The ﬁndings can be used as a guide for municipal officials to improve the crucial quality attributes and enhance citizen satisfaction.
Policy Affairs and Policy Implementation Issues; How Policy Implementation Can Be Effective?
Authors: Noruzi Mohammad Reza , Ali Irani Farhad Nezhad Haj
Published: August 2011

Policy implementation is one of the important factors in organizing the situation, if a company or in general cannot obey from a good policy implementation strategy it can not be succeed.This paper aims to study the importance of the policy, social policy and its related materials.
Impact of HR factors on employee attitudes: an empirical analysis of a sample of ISO14001 EMS companies in Malaysia
Authors: Kaur Harjeet
Published: August 2011

Empirical research addressing employee attitudes as it relates to the implementation of an EMS/ISO14001 is currently lacking. The aim of this paper is to extend previous research by proposing and testing an integrative research model which links several HR factors to employee attitudes’. The HR factors identified include management commitment, empowerment, feedback and review, and rewards. In this study employee attitudes refer to job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Four hundred and seventy two middle and lower level employees in five multiple manufacturing companies currently certified to ISO 14001 were the focus of this exploratory empirical investigation. In addition four of these companies are winners of the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Hibiscus Award (PMHA), Malaysia’s premier private sector environmental award for business and industry. In the final data analysis two hundred and twenty three survey responses were analyzed using SPSS version 16. The research hypotheses were assessed by the multiple linear regression analysis. The results indicate that management commitment and empowerment were positively and significantly linked to employee attitudes. In addition a significant positive relationship was observed between feedback and review, and job satisfaction. Specifically management commitment was the most pivotal HR factor in fostering employee attitudes. From the survey results, some lessons are drawn for managers in effort to maximize employee motivation for successful EMS/ISO14001 implementation. The study contributes to the growing body of literature on environmental management in newly industrialized countries such as Malaysia.
The Role of Government in Economic Development: A Comparative Study between Bangladesh and South Korea
Authors: Parnini Syeda Naushin
Published: August 2011

In East Asia the government of each country has played a decisive role in state development by engineering economic miracle. South Korea has dramatically been transforming its economy and managing development of the most important public and private enterprises since 1960s. South Korean government provided a favourable institutional framework by prioritizing industrial growth, within which the private sector could flourish. All these unique features are obviously the basis of Asian version of capitalism. The unique Asian variety of capitalism is mostly linked with the industrial policy debate where the government plays an active and paternal role in guiding the economy and society. This paper tries to explore the development strategies and economic policies adopted by the government of South Korea to ignite change in favour of radical economic transformation and its efficacious performance to create a sense of urgency to bring about a hospitable environment for growth and competitive advantage. Against this backdrop this paper also figures out the lessons to be learned by Bangladeshi Government from Korean experience to emulate and also to address the country’s economic potentials in order to catch up the economy of the Asian Tigers.
A Preliminary Analysis of CRM Practices among Banks frome the Customers' Perspectives
Authors: Tahir Izah Mohd , Zulkifli Zuliana
Published: August 2011

Firms especially banks have realized the importance of becoming customer oriented and therefore Customer Relationship Management Practices (CRM) is seen to be very important to these firms. This study reports on the preliminary findings of CRM practices among banks from the customers’ perspectives. Five dimensions comprising of 48 statements are proposed for this study: Customer Acquisition (11 items), Customer Response (10 items), Customer Knowledge (10 items), Customer Information System (9 items), and Customer Value Evaluation (8 items). The results of the internal consistency tests are considered good with Cronbach’s alphas ranging from 0.73 to 0.92. Overall, the results suggest that respondents somewhat agreed and strongly agreed on all the items proposed. The results from this preliminary study are important to us to understand the perceptions of the customers so as to adjust and modify items that are important and not.
Volunteering, Governance and Leadership: Reflections on England
Authors: L. Powell Jason
Published: August 2011

One of the key issues in recent times in England is how voluntary organisation sustain themselves. It is very tempting to view voluntary agencies rather like very fragile “black boxes” adrift on a turbulent sea and at the mercy of powerful social, economic and political pressures.  The direction of their journey and their very survival is determined by critical success factors. Although the spate of studies have undoubtedly advanced the state of knowledge about voluntary organisations, we still know very little about the internal composition and operation of the black boxes and even less about the way in which internal factors interact within the external world. The point of this research article is to assess the factors that impinge upon opening and understanding the ‘black box’ such as governance and quality, leadership, workforce, performance, partnerships and finance and funding. These different critical success factors are part of the inter-locking infrastructure tools of voluntary organisations to perpetuate what works; and what the implications are if some do not work. This requires engagement with research literature on these significant tools of thinking and practice. Arguably the voluntary sectors infrastructure has come under unprecedented scrutiny in the last three to five years, following the British coalition government’s express intention of creating a step change in the support provided to the sector. Lots of searching questions are being asked of infrastructure, not least by the sector itself.
The Politics of Reorganizing Connecticut State Government: Altering Administrative Structures in the Land of Steady Habits
Authors: DeNardis Lesley
Published: August 2011

Despite numerous attempts to reorganize state government aimed at streamlining, reducing, and creating greater efficiencies, the size and scope of Connecticut’s administrative apparatus has grown considerably over a fifty year period.  This study will trace the political history of previous reorganization efforts with a particular emphasis on more recent attempts such as the Gengras (1970), Filer (1976), Thomas (1991), and Hull and Harper Commissions (1992).    Observed trends follow national patterns:  1) reorganization commissions are cyclical in nature more likely to be undertaken in the wake of similar efforts at the federal level and 2) they are more likely to be undertaken during periods of state fiscal retrenchment.  A movement away from comprehensive reform efforts to incremental approaches is another cross-national pattern that has been detected in recent reform efforts.  A review of Connecticut’s experience with state reorganization demonstrates that despite the concerted effort by both the executive and legislative branches to alter administrative structures, reorganization recommendations are seldom implemented due to the opposition of the state legislature and interest groups.
Fuzzy Implication in the Area of Policy and Policy Making; a Short Non- Mathematical Introduction for Policy Makers
Authors: Azar Adel , Reza Noruzi Mohammad
Published: August 2011

Between selecting and not selecting policy, there are other selections. The history of Fuzzy logic and fuzzy method do not go very beyond. But the implementation of fuzzy and its logic in different disciplines are getting increased. This paper aims to study the notion of fuzzy and policy and importance of fuzzy in today's chaotic environment for policy makers in national and international era. Also there are a lot of books and papers published on the methods on fuzzy but this paper is somehow different with them because has non-mathematical look on fuzzy and it just makes familiar the policy makers with the notion of non-mathematical fuzzy.
Critical Success and Failure Factors of Entrepreneurial Organizations: Study of SMEs in Bahawalpur
Authors: Hussain Naqvi Syed Wajahat
Published: August 2011

Purpose of this research paper is to highlight those critical failure and success factors in SMEs of Bahawalpur. Models were developed from different studies. Finally results are generalized to SMEs of Bahawalpur. Findings suggest that customer service, know-how of the business and the past experience of the manager are the main key factors of success. Whereas different failure factors are explored out in which most crucial ones considered are lack of access to financial capital, inappropriate government structure and poor infrastructure as well as corruption. This paper has the vast implications for the SMEs in Pakistan and SMEs in Bahawalpur as it give insight into the reasoning factors of failure and success. Thus helps to identify failure and give guidance to success. Research is limited to small scale due to time constraint and resistive behavior of organizations.
Training and Development Strategy and Its Role in Organizational Performance
Authors: Niazi Brig(Retd) Abdus Sattar
Published: August 2011

In the FMCG industry at global level, the business environment has changed with intense pressure on organizations, to become ‘Learning Organizations’  and stay ahead of their competitions by bringing innovation/reinvention in training and development strategy while emphasizing on planning, designing, implementing and evaluating the training programs. Carry out an analysis that the objective of training and development is to create learning organizations which ensure that employees through value addition can effectively perform their jobs, gain competitive advantage and seek self growth: this measurable performance resulting from good training and development, shall enhance organizational performance.
Angiogenesis in cancer
Authors: Poettler M. , Prager G. W.
Published: August 2011

Etiological concepts on cancer development, malignant growth and tumour propagation have undergone a revolutionary development during recent years: Among other aspects, the discovery of angiogenesis – the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing vasculature – as a key element in the pathogenesis of malignancy has opened an abundance of biologic insights and subsequent therapeutic options, which have led to improved prognosis in many cancers including those originating from colon, lung, breast and kidney. Thereby, targeting the major pro-angiogenic stimulus vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) became the focus for therapeutic interventions. However, the use of VEGF-targeting drugs has been shown to be of limited efficacy, which might lie in the fact that tumor angiogenesis is mediated by a variety of different subcellular systems.

This review focuses on the basic mechanisms involved in angiogenesis, which potentially represent novel targets for pharmacological agents in the treatment of malignancies.
Two Distinct Origins of Highly Localized Luminescent Centers within InGaN/GaN Quantum‐Well Light‐Emitting Diodes
Authors: De Suman , Layek Arunasish , Raja Archana , Kadir Abdul , Gokhale Mahesh R. , Bhattacharya Arnab , Dhar Subhabrata , Chowdhury Arindam
Published: August 2011

The high light‐output efficiencies of InxGa1‐xN quantum‐well (QW)‐based light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) even in presence of a large number of nonradiative recombination centers (such as dislocations) has been explained by localization of carriers in radiative potential traps, the origins of which still remain unclear. To provide insights on the highly efficient radiative traps, spectrally resolved photoluminescence (PL) microscopy has been performed on green‐light‐emitting In0.22Ga0.78N QW LEDs, by selectively generating carriers in the alloy layers. PL imaging shows the presence of numerous inhomogeneously distributed low‐band‐gap traps with diverse radiative intensities. PL spectroscopy of a statistically relevant number of individual traps reveals a clear bimodal distribution in terms of both band‐gap energies and radiative recombination efficiencies, indicating the presence of two distinct classes of carrier localization centers within the same QW sample. Disparity in their relative surface coverage and photoemission “blinking” characteristics suggests that the deep traps originate from local compositional fluctuations of indium within the alloy, while the shallow traps arise from nanometer‐scale thickness variations of the active layers. This is further supported by Poisson–Schrödinger self‐consistent calculations and implies that radiative traps formed due to both local indium content and interface‐morphology‐related heterogeneities can coexist within the same QW sample.
A Novel Entry to Spirofurooxindoles Involving Tandem Dearomatization of Furan Ring and Intramolecular Friedel– Crafts Reaction
Authors: Yin Biao‐Lin , Lai Jin‐Qiang , Zhang Ze‐Ren , Jiang Huan‐Feng
Published: August 2011

A copper sulfate pentahydrate‐catalyzed intramolecular Friedel–Crafts reaction using an oxocarbenium species derived from a furan ring as the alkylating agent was developed for the first time. By using this protocol, spirofurooxindoles 9 with multi‐reactive sites were synthesized simply and concisely. In addition, selective hydrogenation of the endo‐cyclic double bond and full hydrogenation of the endo and exo‐cyclic double bonds of spirofurooxindoles 9 provided spirofurooxindoles 11 and 12, respectively.
Characteristics and outcome of immune thrombocytopenia in elderly: Results from a single center case‐controlled study
Authors: Michel Marc , Rauzy Odile Beyne , Thoraval Francoise Roudot , Languille Laetitia , Khellaf Mehdi , Bierling Philippe , Godeau Bertrand
Published: August 2011

The management of ITP in elderly raises several questions that have not been fully addressed in the literature. To assess the impact of ITP in elderly, a case‐control study was performed. The main characteristics at onset and the outcome of ITP in 55 patients aged of 70 years and above (cases) were compared with those of 97 younger adults (controls) seen at the same tertiary referral institution. The mean age at diagnosis was respectively 77.8±6.1 years (cases) and 40.3±14.9 years (controls). While the median platelet count at time of diagnosis was not significantly different in cases and controls (6×109/L, range: 2–26 versus 12×109/L: 5–21.5), bleeding symptoms were more frequent in cases (82%) than in the controls (68%, p=0.07), and the median bleeding score was significantly higher in elderly (p=0.001). The rate of treatment‐related adverse events was more than twofold higher in elderly patients and the mean cumulative duration of hospital stay for ITP during the follow‐up period was much longer when compared to the controls (p<0.0001). Three ITP‐related deaths (5.4%) including 1 from intracranial hemorrhage occurred in the cases but none in the controls. In conclusion, this study confirms that at equivalent platelet count, ITP has a greater impact in elderly. Am. J. Hematol. 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Infant and child diet in Neolithic hunter‐fisher‐gatherers from cis‐baikal, Siberia: Intra‐long bone stable nitrogen and carbon isotope ratios
Authors: Waters‐Rist Andrea L. , Bazaliiskii Vladimir I. , Weber Andrzej W. , Katzenberg M. Anne
Published: August 2011

Analysis of stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes (δ15N and δ13C) from subadults and adults allows for assessment of age‐related dietary changes, including breastfeeding and weaning, and adoption of an adult diet. In one of the first studies of hunter‐fisher‐gatherer subadults from Eurasia, three Neolithic (8,800‐5,200 calBP) mortuary sites from southwestern Siberia are analyzed to evaluate hypothesized differences in weaning age between Early versus Late Neolithic groups. An intra‐individual sampling methodology is used to compare bone formed at different ages. Collagen samples (n = 143) from three different growth areas of long bones—the proximal metaphysis, diaphysis, and distal metaphysis—were obtained from 49 subadults aged birth to 10 years. In infants (birth to 3 years, n = 23) contrasting the δ15N values of the metaphysis, which contains newer bone, to the δ15N values of the diaphysis, which contains older bone, permits a more precise determination of breastfeeding‐weaning status. In Early and Late Neolithic groups breast milk was the major protein source until the age of 2–3 years. However, there are differences in the age of weaning completion and duration: Early Neolithic groups weaned their infants at a later age and over a shorter amount of time. Differences may have affected infant morbidity and mortality, and female fecundity and inter‐birth intervals. Stable isotope values in older subadults (4–10 years, n = 26) do not differ from adults suggesting the absence of age‐based food allocation. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Functionalization of some benzylthioarylboronic acids by benzylic lithiation of their N‐butyldiethanolamine esters or lithium (triisopropoxy)borates
Authors: Durka Krzysztof , Kliś Tomasz , Serwatowski Janusz , Woźniak Krzysztof
Published: August 2011

The reaction of benzylthioarylboronic acids protected as N‐butyldiethanolamine esters or as triisopropoxyborates with organolithium bases or lithium diisopropylamide (LDA) has been investigated. The benzylic lithiation occurs selectively using LDA at − 68 °C. The stability of the resultant borio‐lithio intermediates is strongly influenced by the position of the boron atom in the phenyl ring. The reaction with various electrophiles affords new arylboronic acids substituted in the benzylic position. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Nano‐sized silica supported Me2Si(Ind)2ZrCl2/MAO catalyst for ethylene polymerization
Authors: Li Kuo‐Tseng , Li Cheng‐Yu
Published: August 2011

Nano‐sized and micro‐sized silica particles were used to support a zirconocene catalyst [racemic‐dimethylsilbis(1‐indenyl)zirconium dichloride], with methylaluminoxane as a cocatalyst. The resulting catalyst was used to catalyze the polymerization of ethylene in the temperature range of 40–70°C. Polyethylene samples produced were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Nano‐sized catalyst exhibited better ethylene polymerization activity than micro‐sized catalyst. At the optimum temperature of 60°C, nano‐sized catalyst's activity was two times the micro‐sized catalyst's activity. Polymers obtained with nano‐sized catalyst had higher molecular weight (based on GPC measurements) and higher crystallinity (based on XRD and DSC measurements) than those obtained with micro‐sized catalyst. The better performances of nano‐sized catalyst were attributed to its large external surface area and its absence of internal diffusion resistance. SEM indicated that polymer morphology contained discrete tiny particles with thin long fiberous interlamellar links. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011
Monomer cast polyamide 6 composites and their treatment with high‐energy electrons
Authors: Engelmann G. , Gohs U. , Ganster J.
Published: August 2011

At first, the impact of selected spherically structured nanofillers made of different polar materials (carbon, silicon carbide, surface‐modified silica, 2 wt % each) on mechanical properties of monomer cast polyamide 6 (MCPA6) was examined. Only the low‐polar carbon‐based nanofiller showed an average particle size below 100 nm in the liquid phase before polymerization was initiated. With regard to neat MCPA6, mechanical properties of the composite loaded with the carbon nanoparticles like tensile strength, Young's modulus, and heat distortion temperature could be improved by 6.4%, 13.5%, and 27.5%, respectively. The efficiency of carbon as filler material for MCPA6 was also shown for carbon short‐cut fibers. A fiber content of 15% improved tensile strength from 78 to 93 MPa (19%) and Young's modulus could be doubled from 2660 MPa to nearly 5300 MPa. Regardless of the improved mechanical properties, the composites showed reduced degrees of crystallinity. Therefore, electron beam irradiation was applied to crosslink the polymer chains as an alternative to improve material properties. Crosslinking was supported by the application of a curing agent (CA). Two strategies for crosslinking experiments were tested: (1) Irradiation of CA‐containing neat MCPA6 to find the most effective dose and subsequent treatment of the composites under this special condition; (2) Optimization of the properties by irradiation of the composites itself at graduated dose values. The second way was more convenient and showed, with regard to the composites without CA, improvements of tensile strength and Young's modulus of 6% each. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011