bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mass Digitization at the Complutense University Library: Access to and Preservation of its Cultural Heritage
Authors: Magán José A. , Palafox Manuela , Tardón Eugenio , Sanz Amelia
Published: December 2015

In the mid-1990s, the Library of the Complutense of Madrid (UCM) applied the growing body of new technologies to a pioneering project: the digitization of a valuable collection of biomedical books. The result of the project was the Dioscorides Digital Library. Up to 2006, however, the pace of digitization was very slow, resulting in only 3,000 books and 50,000 digitized engravings. In September 2006, the Complutense University and Google signed a partnership agreement for the purpose of carrying out large-scale digitization of our public domain collections. The Complutense University Library is participating in this mass-digitization project with the following goals: To improve the discovery of the cultural heritage of Complutense and increase the number of potential readers; To fulfil its public service mission; To preserve and protect the original books; To enhance students’ and faculty research. By early 2011, the Complutense Library had digitized roughly 120,000 out-of- copyright books from the 16th to the 19th centuries. All these materials are easily accessible via the Complutense Library Catalogue, Google Books and HathiTrust Digital Library. The Complutense University of Madrid joined the HathiTrust Digital Library in November 2010, which allowed books digitized by Google to be stored on HathiTrust servers. The HathiTrust Digital Library is both a digital preservation repository and a platform for access. It provides long-term preservation and access services for public domain and in-copyright content from a variety of sources, including Google, the Internet Archive, Microsoft, and in-house partner institution initiatives. In early 2011, the number of HathiTrust public domain volumes reached the two million mark and the collection exceeded eight million volumes. In addition, and complementing the above, the digital content of the Complutense University Library will be aggregated to Europeana during 2011 and 2012.
Heading for the Open Road: Costs and Benefits of Transitions in Scholarly Communications
Authors: Jubb Michael
Published: December 2015

This paper reports on a study — overseen by representatives of the publishing, library and research funder communities in the UK — investigating the drivers, costs and benefits of potential ways to increase access to scholarly journals. It identifies five different but realistic scenarios for moving towards that end over the next five years, including gold and green open access, moves towards national licensing, publisher-led delayed open access, and transactional models. It then compares and evaluates the benefits as well as the costs and risks for the UK. The scenarios, the comparisons between them, and the modelling on which they are based, amount to a benefit-cost analysis to help in appraising policy options over the next five years. Our conclusion is that policymakers who are seeking to promote increases in access should encourage the use of existing subject and institutional repositories, but avoid pushing for reductions in embargo periods, which might put at risk the sustainability of the underlying scholarly publishing system. They should also promote and facilitate a transition to gold open access, while seeking to ensure that the average level of charges for publication does not exceed circa £2,000; that the rate in the UK of open access publication is broadly in step with the rate in the rest of the world; and that total payments to journal publishers from UK universities and their funders do not rise as a consequence.
The OCLC Research Survey of Special Collections and Archives
Authors: Dooley Jackie M.
Published: December 2015

This paper summarizes the outcomes of the 2009 OCLC Research survey of 275 research libraries in the United States and Canada regarding the current status of their special collections and archives. The resulting report, Taking Our Pulse: The OCLC Research Survey of Special Collections and Archives, includes detailed analysis of the data and thirteen recommendations for community action. The three most common challenges named by respondents were space, digitization, and born-digital materials. Collections are growing dramatically, use of all types of material has increased, substantial backlogs remain, and 75% of library budgets have been reduced in recent years.
Conference report: OAI7 — Raising the Bar for Current Developments in Scholarly Communication, A Personal View
Authors: Ayris Paul
Published: December 2015

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the presentations and sessions at the OAI7 Workshop in the University of Geneva, 22–24 June 2011. The theme of the Workshop was, as always, Innovations in Scholarly Communication. The Workshop was attended by a record number of 267 delegates. Thirty-four posters were submitted for the Poster session. There were 6 tutorials, 6 plenary sessions and 6 technical sessions. The paper identifies some of the highlights of the Workshop and updates two previous review articles by Professor Raf Dekeyser and the author on the history of the OAI meetings.
A Partnership Approach to Promoting Information Literacy for Higher Education Researchers
Authors: Goldstein Stéphane
Published: December 2015

The promotion of information literacy in the UK higher education research sector has traditionally been the preserve of academic libraries. However, other professional groups have obvious interests in this area, and there is a strong case for providing a framework which enables different parties with a stake in information literacy to work together in order to reach practical objectives. In the UK, a coalition of partners has been set up to provide this collective framework and to provide synergy. This paper sets out the rationale for this approach, sets out the sort of activities that the coalition has fostered since its inception in late 2009 and reflects on whether it might serve as an example for other parts of Europe or for transnational collaborations.
Usage and Impact of Controlled Vocabularies in a Subject Repository for Indexing and Retrieval
Authors: Borst Timo
Published: December 2015

Since 2009, the German National Library for Economics (ZBW) supports both indexing and retrieval of Open Access scientific publications like working papers, postprint articles and conference papers by means of a terminology web service. This web service is based on concepts organized as a ‘Standard Thesaurus for Economics’ (STW), which is modelled and regularly published as Linked Open Data. Moreover, it is integrated into the institution’s subject repository for automatically suggesting appropriate key words while indexing and retrieving documents, and for automatically expanding search queries on demand to gain better search results. While this approach looks promising to augment ‘off the shelf’ repository software systems in a lightweight manner with a disciplinary profile, there is still significant uncertainty about the effective usage and impact of controlled terms in the realm of these systems. To cope with this, we analyze the repository’s logfiles to get evidence of search behaviour which is potentially influenced by auto suggestion and expansion of scientific terms derived from a discipline’s literature.
Twenty Years After: Armenian Research Libraries Today
Authors: Aram Donabedian D. , Carey John , Balayan Arshak
Published: December 2015

Since achieving statehood in 1991, Armenia has faced major economic and political obstacles which have significantly affected the nation’s research libraries. This research paper will quantitatively and qualitatively examine the challenges facing Armenian research libraries just over twenty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Specifically, the authors analyze their interviews with five library administrators at five major institutions, respectively. These include Yerevan State University Library, the National Library of Armenia, the Fundamental Scientific Library of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, the Republican Scientific-Medical Library of Armenia, and the Papazian Library of the American University of Armenia. The instrument for the interviews consists of 73 questions based on the 2004 Association of College and Research Libraries Standards for Libraries in Higher Education and evaluates the following factors:

• The library’s mission, goals and objectives

• Public or user services

• Instruction activities at the library

• Resources (print, media, or electronic) and collection development

• Access to the library’s resources

• Outcome assessment, or evaluation of the library

• Staffing issues

• Facility maintenance and plans for library development

• Communication and cooperation both within the library and with the user community

• Administration

• Budget

In addition, we will focus on the strengths and weaknesses of these libraries and investigate the growing open access movement in Armenia. Based on our findings, the authors wish to facilitate dialogue and consider possible approaches to help these libraries meet Armenia’s pressing information needs.
OpenAIRE - Building a collaborative Open Access infrastructure for European researchers
Authors: Rettberg Najla , Schmidt Birgit
Published: December 2015

This paper outlines the efforts of the OpenAIRE networking team to establish a Europe-wide open access initiative. OpenAIRE is an effort to realize the open access policies of the European Commission, and has built an infrastructure to support the widest possible dissemination of project results within a certain funding area, FP7. The purpose of the paper is to highlight how such a service can be established through the work of a successful network of European open access contacts and by effective communication with a range of stakeholders. The paper also outlines the flexible technical infrastructure and research activities within the project. Not without its challenges, the approach to tackling existing barriers, such as building repository interoperability, are explored. The paper also introduces the aims and initial activities of the continuation project, OpenAIREplus.
Just in case, just in time, or just don't bother? Assessment of one-shot library instruction with follow-up workshops
Authors: Daland Hilde Terese
Published: December 2015

This article examines if the timing of library instruction courses is an important part of how students experience library instruction as a means of developing information literacy skills.  Two student groups, belonging to different academic subjects, have received the same training and the same assessment questionnaire afterwards. One of the groups was in the middle of writing their student thesis as a part of their final year of their bachelor degree work, the other group consisted of different subjects within the humanities and they were not working specifically with an assignment. Research shows that student’s information seeking skills have not significantly changed over the last some 25 years. One may argue that information literacy skills are so practical that they cannot be taught in a classroom with a theoretical approach. One may also wonder how timing of library instruction affects the learning outcome for students.
Developing data literacy competencies to enhance faculty collaborations
Authors: MacMillan Don
Published: December 2015

In order to align information literacy instruction with changing faculty and student needs, librarians must expand their skills and competencies beyond traditional information sources. In the sciences, this increasingly means integrating the data resources used by researchers into instruction for undergraduate students.  Open access data repositories allow students to work with more primary data than ever before, but only if they know how and where to look. This paper will describe the development of two information literacy workshops designed to scaffold student learning in the biological sciences across two second-year courses, detailing the long-term collaboration between a librarian and an instructor that now serves over 500 students per semester. In each workshop, students are guided through the discovery and analysis of life sciences data from multiple sites, encouraged to integrate text and data sources, and supported in completing research assignments.
Quality Open Access market and other initiatives: a comparative analysis
Authors: Van Gerestein Danielle
Published: December 2015

Recently academic publishing has entered in a new era, namely that of open access publishing. This has resulted in the appearance of numerous new open access journals. Scholars who want to publish their work today have endless publishing possibilities to choose from, but who is able to tell them which journal is reliable? This used to be the job of librarians, but with approximately 17000 journals they are no longer able to keep up. For this reason several websites and services have started to gather information about open access journals in order to make an overview of reliable and unreliable journals. One of these services is called Quality Open Access Market (QOAM). In this article six other services (Directory of Open Access Journals, JournalReviewer, SciRev, Journalysis, Journalguide, PRE-val and Eigenfactor) will be compared to QOAM in order to find out which service offers the best results. QOAM is taken as a starting point here because the research presented in this article was commissioned by them (namely: Saskia de Vries and Leo Waaijers) in order to find out what value they can actually add.
How to Use Crowdsourcing Effectively
Authors: Simperl Elena
Published: December 2015

Crowdsourcing has become the mot du jour when it comes to resolving any types of problems, online or offline, that require sustained human involvement. We see it applied in order to motivate employees to engage with less rewarding daily routines, to attract the best possible ideas and approaches to boost innovation, or to complete data processing tasks that computing technology has yet to master quickly and accurately.In this paper we look at its various forms and flavors, from gamification to human computation and grand challenges, and discuss how it could be used to turn conventional content management applications into social machines in which tasks are performed as optimal combinations of human and computational intelligence. We introduce a framework for the analysis of the most important building blocks of such systems, as well as design and participation best practices that should guide their development.
Paradigmas administrativos, ética e intervenção do Estado na economia: o caso de Portugal
Authors: Bilhim João , Ramos Ricardo , Pereira Luís Miguel
Published: December 2015

Muita atenção tem sido dada na literatura administrativa e organizacional aos valores que guiam o comportamento organizacional e de gestão pública e privada. Todavia, o separador de águas entre a gestão pública e a privada manteve-se ao longo do tempo, com altos e baixos, como ponto controverso na literatura específica da administração e políticas públicas e do direito administrativo. A influência da Nova Gestão Pública (NGP) na reforma administrativa em Portugal é amplamente reconhecida em Portugal. Foram muitos os governos que, nos países da oecd, tomaram iniciativas idênticas. Há porém uma diferença acentuada entre a reforma administrativa dos países anglófonos e a dos países da Europa continental. Ora, tal diferença parece radicar no papel que o direito administrativo tem nestes países europeus e que não tem nos sistemas de Common Law. Este artigo quer contribuir para o debate da existência de dois paradigmas administrativos onde a separação entre gestão privada e pública parece colocar-se de forma diferenciada e a ética assume distinta ponderação.
Relationship between leaf physiologic traits and canopy color indices during the leaf expansion period in an oak forest
Authors: Liu Zhunqiao , Hu Haibo , Yu Hua , Yang Xi , Yang Hualei , Ruan Cunxin , Wang Yan , Tang Jianwu
Published: December 2015

Plant phenology has a significant impact on the forest ecosystem carbon balance. Detecting plant phenology by capturing the time‐series canopy images through digital camera has become popular in recent years. However, the relationship between color indices derived from camera images and plant physiological characters are elusive during the growing season in temperate ecosystems. We collected continuous images of forest canopy, leaf size, leaf area index (LAI) and leaf chlorophyll measured by a soil plant analysis development (SPAD) analyzer in a northern subtropical oak forest in China. Our results show that (1) the spring peak of color indices, Gcc (Green Chromatic Coordinates) and ExG (Excess Green), was 18 days earlier than the 90% maximum SPAD value; (2) the 90% maximum SPAD value coincided with the change point of Gcc and ExG immediately after their spring peak; and (3) the spring curves of Gcc and ExG before their peaks were highly synchronous with the expansion of leaf size and the development of LAI value. We suggest it needs to be adjusted if camera‐derived Gcc or ExG is used as a proxy of chlorophyll or gross primary productivity, and images observation should be complemented with field phenological and physiological information to interpret the physiological meaning of leaf seasonality.
Seasonality of habitat selection shown to buffer alpine reindeer pastoralism against climate variability
Authors: Pape R. , Löffler J.
Published: December 2015

Climate‐driven variability of habitat selection of large herbivores has not yet been explicitly analyzed. To this end, we aimed to better understand the climate‐ecological mechanisms behind geographic patterns of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) habitat utilization. Our study area comprised of the ranges of Filefjell Reinlag, southern Norway (60°20′–61°20′ N; 8°20′–9°50′ E). We analyzed habitat selection of 20 (± 2) GPS‐collared female reindeer over a period of five years. We examined the mechanistic forces of habitat selection variability by applying a novel stepwise factor analysis approach based on the niche concept. We characterized the governing conditions for inductively delineated seasons and extracted in a first step for each year the seasonal scores of the individual animals on the environmental variables to explain their habitat use. For each season, we then conducted principal component analyses (PCA) to analyze the inter‐annual variability in habitat preferences using the individual scores for the environmental variables per year. In a third step, we fit our potential drivers as vectors onto each seasonal PCA and retained solely significant drivers. Our results reveal complex spatiotemporal patterns of habitat selection that are driven by seasonality, year‐to‐year climate variability, and the choice of individual animals. In contrast to expected similarities between conspecifics, our analyses revealed varying degrees of intra‐species variability and therefore suggest that responses of individual reindeer to climate variability are inconsistent. Moreover, we found annually reoccurring patterns of habitat selection strength during different seasons that help explain coping capacities of reindeer against climate variability. In contrast with our expectations, we detected a very high inter‐annual variability in habitat preferences to be related to governing climatic conditions. Here, we present new evidence for the variability of response mechanisms of reindeer's habitat selection shown throughout different seasons and years that buffer alpine pastoralism against climate variability. Our work contributes to a better understanding of alpine ecological response mechanisms as a key for projections of future responses to climate change.
Evaluation of dryland riparian restoration with cottonwood and willow using deep‐planting and herbivore protection
Authors: Hall Jason E. , Pollock Michael M. , Hoh Shirley , Volk Carol , Goldsmith Josh , Jordan Chris E.
Published: December 2015

Degradation of dryland riparian ecosystems has been linked to the lowering of alluvial groundwater tables and reduced floodplain connectivity. Establishing riparian plants in dryland ecosystems with high water‐stress and herbivore pressure presents major challenges for restoration practitioners. By planting at sufficient depths to reach lowered water tables, deep‐planting provides direct access to water and encourages root development within hydrated soils. While deep‐planting is a promising alternative to traditional supplemental irrigation in dryland areas affected by lowered water tables, few studies have evaluated deep‐planting where planting depths must exceed one‐meter to reach water tables and where herbivore protection is required. To evaluate deep‐planting as an irrigation alternative where lowered water tables present a challenge to riparian restoration, we conducted experimental plantings along an incised stream within a semiarid watershed using deep‐planting without supplemental irrigation in combination with several tree shelter designs. Our results indicate deep‐planting cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) and willow (Salixspp.) pole cuttings in augered holes that penetrated water tables up to 1.9 m below the surface significantly increased the probability of survival, with water table penetration significantly increasing the odds of survival by a factor of 7. Deep‐planting with access to lowered water tables in combination with 0.9‐m vented plastic tree shelters significantly increased the probability of survival, with over 50% higher survival after three years compared to unprotected and 1.‐m circular fence caged plants that were also deep‐planted with access to water. However, taller fence cages significantly reduced the probability of terminal bud loss from browsers with over 25% lower browse rates after three years. Therefore, we conducted additional experimental plantings to evaluate two taller plastic tree shelter designs to maximize survival while minimizing browsing. The results of our study indicate that deep‐planting pole cuttings of cottonwood and willow with access to lowered water tables in combination with taller 1.8‐m vented plastic tree shelters provided statistically similar survival as compared to the shorter 0.9‐m vented plastic tree shelters after two years while significantly reducing browsing by approximately 75% two years after planting.
On J M Keynes’s Rejection of the Moscow School of Probability’s Limiting Frequency Approach to Probability and Kolmogorov’s Axiom of Additivity (Countable Additivity ): Non –Additivity was the fundamental, basic axiom upon which all of the Economics of Ke
Authors: Brady Michael Emmett
Published: December 2015

J M Keynes was an acknowledged, world renown, and internationally recognized expert in probability and statistics in the 1930’s based on his A Treatise on Probability (1921). . Keynes had been selected by statistics journals to serve as a referee during the 1930’s. It is, therefore, no surprise that he was selected as the referee by the League of Nations to review Jan Tinbergen’s work on business cycles that used an econometrics approach based on The Law of Large Numbers, the Central Limit Theorem, and the Gaussian (Normal) Distribution .The fundamental axiom used by Tinbergen was additivity . Kolmogorov and the Moscow School of Probability’s main innovation was to go from the axiom of additivity to the axiom of countable additivity. However, Keynes rejected additivity except in the special case that the weight of the evidence, w, which measured the relative completeness of the evidence ,defined on the closed unit interval [0,1],equaled 1 , approached 1,or approximated 1. Keynes also accepted goodness of fit tests, such as the Lexis –Q test, and exploratory data analysis as evidence that could be used to support using a particular probability distribution.
The Debate on Globalization and International Revitalization of Labor. A Critical Review
Authors: Fleming Daniel , Søborg Henrik
Published: December 2015

This article discusses some alternative or critical theoretical contributions regarding globalization and labor. The main question in this discussion is if there are changes in direction of a possible revitalization of labor movements and if international solidarity can increase due to globalization. This question also relates to discussions of changes in division of work, the concept of work, working class, commodification, decommodification, and new centers of global production—all related to different paradigms or new concepts. The reason or need for reconceptualizing comes from the great transformation of capitalism in forms of neoliberal globalization, in a different direction than predicted by Polanyi. That is, instead of increased public sector decommodification (not profit- or market-oriented production) and national regulation, embedding capitalist markets, as seen after 1945, the last three decades have witnessed a countertransformation and large-scale recommodification by privatizing, disembedding, and deregulating global markets. As a consequence, inequality in income and working life conditions has increased in most countries and been used to press trade unions. Western industrial unions have been declining as many industries and labor-intensive, low-paid jobs moved to developing countries. Most blue-collar jobs are now in Asia, especially China, with about one-third of its employment blue collars. Is the center of global capital-labor contradictions and dynamics moving to the South, with a possibility of a new revitalization of labor and international solidarity? We discuss different optimistic and pessimistic views on a possible international revitalization of labor.
What do Social Processes mean for Quality of Human Resource Practice?
Authors: Nielsen Kjeld , Pedersen Louise Møller
Published: December 2015

Well implemented human resource practice (HRP) is linked to increased performance, innovation, and the well-being of both managers and employees. In the literature, a distinction between the hard and the soft HRM-models is drawn: the hard model focuses on employees as a cost, whereas the soft HRM-model treats them as a potential Nielsen (2008a). However, little is known about the informal aspects of HRP and which social processes actually lead to implementation success or failure. The purpose of this paper is to develop a concept of social processes between managers and employees that can increase the implementation and quality of HR-performance Two studies of HRP within two manufacturing companies are used to illustrate the pros and cons of this new theoretical concept from a performance perspective. Involvement, commitment, and competence development are identified as key aspects of the quality of HRP. Moreover, a good psychological working environment and systematic priority of HRP are essential contextual factors that can enable or hinder social processes. Otherwise, production pressure and power relations between managers and employees can hinder the implementation of the new concept. The concept of social processes can help HRP to contribute on social processes between managers and employees as important aspects of quality in work with human resources. However, the influence of team organization and the social processes between employees needs to be explored further.
Active Aging Policies between Individual Needs and Collective Goods. A Study of Active Aging Policies and Practices in Norway
Authors: Midtsundstad Tove , Bogen Hanne
Published: December 2015

A main objective of European governments is to reduce the number of early retirees, either by reforming pension systems or promoting active aging in working life. The importance of formulating a coherent personnel policy for all age groups is increasingly recognized by employers. However, there is still a lack of knowledge as how to strategically cope with an aging labor force. The aim of this article is to define and discuss a number of challenges arising from workplace-related active aging policies. We in particular discuss how an emphasis on economic incentives and gains (“senior goods”) may give rise to unanticipated side effects for the employers as well as the employees. The article is based on results from two recent studies: one study examining six Norwegian municipalities with seemingly good practices in work-related old age policies, and another examining such policies in eight establishments in four different industries.
Employee-driven Innovation in Welfare Services
Authors: Wihlman Thomas , Hoppe Magnus , Wihlman Ulla , Sandmark Hélène
Published: December 2015

There is a growing interest in both employee-driven innovation (EDI) and innovation in welfare services, but a lack of empirical studies addressing innovation from the employee perspective. Accordingly, this study was designed to contribute with well-grounded empirical knowledge, aiming to explore the barriers to and opportunities for participation in innovation experienced by employees of the Swedish welfare services. In order to reach the aim, a qualitative thematic analysis of 27 semi-structured interviews with employees in four municipalities was performed. The study identified three main themes, with a great impact on the innovative performance of the studied organizations: support, including leadership and innovation processes; development, including creativity and learning; and organizational culture, which includes attitudes and communication, all essential ingredients in EDI. Experienced barriers for innovation were unclear or non-existing innovation processes with ambiguous goals, insufficient learning, and deficient organizational slack, thus creating a tension between day-to-day work and innovation and hindering reflection and exploration. Attitudes of colleagues and lack of communication were also barriers to implementing innovation, suggesting the need for better management support for a communicative and open culture. Opportunities were found, including commitment to innovation and willingness to try new ideas, but the employees must be given the mandate and sufficient time to develop the potential that emerges from continuous learning, time for reflection, and user dialogue. The conclusion was that incremental innovations existed, but the full potential of these did not benefit the entire organization due to inadequate communication and lack of innovation processes. The study improves our understanding of how employees regard their involvement in innovation. It also discusses how to make better use of employees’ resources in innovation processes and contributes to important knowledge about EDI in the public sector. On the basis of our results, we suggest a model of EDI for use in practice.
Challenges and Needs for Support in Managing Occupational Health and Safety from Managers’ Viewpoints
Authors: Tappura Sari , Syvänen Sirpa , Saarela Kaija Leena
Published: December 2015

Proper working conditions and successful occupational health and safety (OHS) management help organizations achieve their targets and support the quality of working life and performance. Work-related stress, conflicts, work ability issues, ill health, and other challenging OHS situations in the workplace may impede the well-being and productivity of employees. According to OHS legislation, employers are responsible for managing risks and solving problems in the work community. Challenging situations can be viewed from the perspective of efficiency, since their economic effects may be remarkable. The objective of this study is to describe the challenging OHS situations managers encounter and the support they require in these situations. The results are based on thematic interviews and inquiries with top, middle, and front-line managers in three Finnish public sector service organizations. The most challenging OHS management situations are related to the administration of work under high economic pressure and constant changes in the work community, managing employee workload and time pressures, providing feedback, facilitating collaboration, and managing conflict. The managers’ own understandings, competences, and resources, as well as organizational supports, have an effect on successful resolutions of challenging OHS management situations.
Can High-involvement Innovation Practices improve Productivity and the Quality of Working-life simultaneously? Management and Employee Views on Comparison
Authors: Ramstad Elise
Published: December 2015

This paper examines the association of high-involvement innovation practices (HIIPs) and simultaneous improvement of productivity and the quality of working life (QWL). HIIPs refer to work, managerial, and organizational practices that are intended for supporting continuous improvement and broad participation. The data are based on the evaluation surveys carried out by the Finnish Workplace Development Programme TYKES (2004–2010). TYKES was a governmental programme for promoting simultaneous improvements in productivity and the QWL in workplaces through changes in work, managerial, and organizational practices. Information obtained via two different surveys has been combined for the purposes of this article: a survey on HIIPs within a work organization (HIIP) and a self-assessment survey of project outcomes (SA). The survey material comprises altogether 253 responses from 163 different workplaces. The analysis provides evidence in favor of a view that publicly funded workplace development projects constitute appropriate means to support productivity and the QWL simultaneously. The results provide evidence that HIIPs, including decentralized decision making, competence development, internal cooperation, and external cooperation, are of importance when trying to gain better results in both productivity and the QWL from both management and employees’ point of view. In addition, the development process itself, that is, how the practices are implemented and good skills in project management, is highlighted. Concerning the supervisor’s supportive role in employees’ innovation activities, the picture is more mixed and surprising.
Gender and the modern organization, ten years after
Authors: Abrahamsson Lena
Published: December 2015

This empirical article presents a gender analysis of long-term impacts of some of the many organizational change projects in Swedish industrial work organizations during the 1990s. Based on the results of return visits to three industrial companies and their change projects (implementation of Lean Production or other modern organizational models) that I studied more than a decade earlier, I discuss how the work organizations eventually had changed and specifically how and whether organizational internal gender patterns had changed. The initial study showed genderbased restoring responses to strategic organizational changes, especially in the gender-segregated and gender-homogeneous work organizations. These responses conserved gender patterns as well as the organizations’ culture in general, resulting in less productive work as well as a problematic work environment. The follow-up study showed that the organizations slowly changed according to the modern organizational models (e.g., Lean Production), but at the same time, in some cases, keeping the same gender segregation and stereotypical gender markings of skills and work tasks or with new variants of unequal gender order. In addition, the follow-up study showed other and more positive results with emerging pattern of gender equality, at least in the form of reduced gender segregation and less stereotypical ideas concerning gender. The material indicates that the studied companies, in some aspects, developed into less gendered production organizations while taking some steps toward a modern organization and this was done without gender equality interventions. Therefore, the material indicated that, at least in part, gender equality could be seen as a prerequisite or perhaps even a side effect of modern organizational concepts. This article contributes to the emerging literature on an organizational theory of undoing gender as well as to the research of conditions and consequences of the modern organizational models.
Do Naturally Variegated Leaves have a High Photosynthetic Cost? The Case of Actinidia kolomikta (Rupr. & Maxim.) Maxim
Authors: Wang Zhen X. , Yang Yi M. , Xu Pei L. , Yu Yun F. , Chen Li , Liu Ying X. , Li Xiao Y. , Zhao Ying , Qin Hong Y. , Ai Jun , Wang Chun W. , Sun Dan
Published: December 2015

The photosynthetic performance of variegated leaves can be very important in the cultivation and management of variegated plants. Actinidia kolomikta (Rupr. & Maxim.) Maxim. leaves have striking color variation. To clarify the variegated leaf type and photosynthetic cost, we measured leaf structure and ultrastructure, spectral properties, chlorophyll fluorescence and net photosynthetic rate (Pn). The study was conducted in Jilin during spring, summer, and fall in 2013. Leaf anatomy and ultrastructure were observed with light and electron microscopy. Leaf reflectance and pigment content were measured with a Unispec spectrometer and high performance liquid chromatography. Photosynthetic characterization was performed with a photosynthesis system and plant efficiency analyzer. In the palisade tissue of variegated areas, intercellular spaces were found, and cells contained fewer and abnormally developed chloroplasts. Normal chloroplasts were distributed mostly in spongy tissue. The reflectance of the adaxial surface was higher in variegated leaves than in green leaves. The Pn of variegated leaves was 80 to 94% of green leaves, the maximum photosystem II efficiency of the adaxial and abaxial surfaces in variegated leaves was similar to green leaves, and the quantum use efficiency of the abaxial surface was higher than the adaxial surface in variegated leaves. These results show that the photosynthetic performance of variegated leaves was retained well. Thus, variegated leaves are not a limiting factor for cultivation and application in A. kolomikta, and do not need to be removed as parasitic leaves during cultivation and management.
Tillage and Fertilizer Effects on Crop Yield and Soil Properties over 45 Years in Southern Illinois
Authors: Cook Rachel L. , Trlica Andrew
Published: December 2015

Reducing soil disturbance may limit erosion, but many still consider tillage essential for seedbed preparation, particularly on poorly drained soils. Our objective was to quantify tillage and fertilizer management effects after 45 yr {21 in continuous corn [Zea mays L.] [CC] and 24 in corn–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] [CS] rotation} on a somewhat poorly drained silt loam near Belleville, IL. Four tillage (moldboard plow [MP], chisel tillage [ChT], alternate tillage [AT], and no‐till [NT]) and five fertilizer (no fertilization, N‐only, N+NPK starter, NPK+NPK starter, and NPK broadcast) treatments were evaluated. With N, P, and K fertilizer, yields were similar for tilled and NT treatments, averaging 8.73 Mg ha−1 for CC and 11.93 Mg ha−1 and 3.70 Mg ha−1 for rotated corn and soybean. Below recommended soil‐test values resulted in NT yielding less than tilled treatments even though soil test P, K, and pH were similar. No‐till with N, P, and K increased soil organic matter (OM) to 27.6 g kg−1 (20.5 g kg−1 in all other treatments), with the greatest increase from 0‐ to 5‐cm. No‐till treatments showed stratification of P and K, but it had no effect on yield. No excessive pH stratification was observed. Overall, fertilizer management predominantly influenced crop yield and with complete NPK management non‐tilled yields were similar to tilled, even on flat, somewhat‐poorly drained soils. No‐till with NPK management therefore may allow farmers to maintain high yields while reducing soil and nutrient losses.
Kernel Development in Wheat
Authors: Oakes Joseph C. , Heiniger Ronnie W. , Murphy Joseph P. , Crozier Carl R. , Wilkerson Gail W.
Published: December 2015

Kernel weight and test weight are two important components of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield and quality. However, little research has been done in North Carolina to quantify kernel development in response to environmental and management conditions. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine how factors such as plant density, light interception, fungicide, and nitrogen influence kernel development during the grain filling period and its impact on grain yield. Field research was conducted at seven site‐years in North Carolina from 2011 to 2014 to investigate these factors. Six treatments were imposed to examine their influence on kernel development: an untreated control, a fungicide treatment, a nitrogen treatment, a shaded treatment, a low seeding rate, and a high seeding rate. The shaded treatment had the lowest rate of grain fill at each location (2.13 × 10−6 oz growing degree day [GDD]−1); however, there was no consistent difference among the remaining treatments. The shade treatment caused a low rate of grain fill, which resulted in the shade treatment having the lowest yield across all locations (78 bu acre−1). The impact of the shade indicates the importance of proper light interception during the grain filling period. When light interception or green leaf area is reduced, both the rate of grain fill and the yield are severely reduced. While a fungicide application at Growth Stage 70 did not show a significant increase in the rate of grain fill or yield, it may be beneficial when there is intense disease pressure that will inhibit light interception during the grain filling period.
Detecting leaks through AMR data analysis
Authors: Claudio K. , Couallier V. , Leclerc C. , Le Gat Y. , Litrico X. , Saracco J.
Published: December 2015

Automatic meter reading (AMR) provides real-time consumption data, enabling to collect a huge amount of information about daily, even hourly, consumptions. It is then easy to assess lost volumes on the network, using supplied volumes information. However, because of the multiple components of water losses, the metering and calculation inaccuracies, the occurrence of new (detectable) leaks is hard to detect. Therefore this paper aims at proposing a user-friendly statistical tool that helps to quickly and reliably detect new leakage occurrence. The use of process control chart (like exponential weighted moving average) enables us to detect changes in the water loss time series, in particular, a new leak occurrence.
Managed aquifer recharge: the widening gap between law and policy in India
Authors: Sakthivel P. , Elango L. , Amirthalingam S. , Pratap C. E. , Brunner N. , Starkl M. , Thirunavukkarasu M.
Published: December 2015

The past decade has witnessed discussions on various options to overcome groundwater depletion, such as rainwater harvesting (RWH) and ‘artificial recharge’ methods. This paper addresses law and policy issues relating to managed aquifer recharge (MAR). Based on an analysis of the National Water Policy of India and water polices and laws of the Indian states, a concrete case study, namely Chennai metropolitan area, has been studied in detail. The city of Chennai and the State of Tamil Nadu provide a favorable atmosphere for groundwater recharge, making, e.g. RWH mandatory. However, the legal framework does not support more systematic approaches towards MAR and the administrative praxis does not ensure that groundwater recharge is offset by an increase of illegal groundwater extraction.
Electrolytic denitrification with an ion-exchange membrane in groundwater
Authors: Kim Yoo Jin , Lee Kwanyong , Cha Ho Young , Yoo Kyung Min , Jeon Chil Sung , Kim Hee Jun , Kim Daegi , Park Ki Young
Published: December 2015

Nitrate contamination of groundwater is an important issue in rural areas. In this study, an electrolytic method for the denitrification of groundwater was investigated in a laboratory reactor. We used an ion-exchange membrane, employing a titanium oxide anode and five kinds of cathode for the investigation. The nitrate removal efficiencies with Cu, Pb, Ti/Ir/Ru, Ti/Ir/Ta, and Zn cathodes were 30.0%, 59.9%, 73.8%, 23.3%, and 80.6%, respectively. A cation-selective membrane was employed to separate the electrode compartments, and only the proton produced in the anode side was permitted to the cathode side in order to avoid reversible reactions. In terms of the nitrate removal, good experimental results were obtained by using the membrane reactor equipped with the Zn cathode. The nitrate concentration level dropped from 30 to 6 mg/L, which is below the limit for drinking water. The pH was not affected significantly by the current density and it increased up to 9.0 at 100 mA/cm2. The nitrate removal efficiency showed the highest value with 1 mM of NaCl as an electrolyte. The impression was that membrane electrolysis made it possible to avoid the re-oxidation problem. It appears clear that electrolytic denitrification with an ion-exchange membrane is a very effective process with a mean energy consumption of only between 26.9 and 112.9 kWh/kg-NO3.
The effect of length of free-surface gated circular conduit on air-demand ratio and aeration efficiency
Authors: Ozkan Fahri , Demirel Ibrahim Halil , Tuna Muhammed Cihat , Baylar Ahmet
Published: December 2015

Aeration is the process of bringing water and air into close contact in order to increase dissolved oxygen concentration. The concentration of dissolved oxygen is an important indicator of water quality because aquatic life lives on the dissolved oxygen in the water. The hydraulic structures can be accepted as the key components in increasing dissolved oxygen concentration because of the strong turbulent mixing associated with substantial air bubble entrainment at these structures. Closed conduit is a classic example of a hydraulic structure where aeration occurs. This work focused on determining the effect of conduit length on air-demand ratio and aeration efficiency in free-surface gated circular conduits. Experimental results showed that the Froude number had an important effect on the air-demand ratio and the aeration efficiency. The effect of the conduit length on the air-demand ratio and the aeration efficiency changed depending on the Froude number. It was demonstrated from the results that a free-surface gated circular conduit flow system had high efficiency in transferring oxygen from air bubbles to water. Moreover, a formula for the aeration efficiency was presented relating the aeration efficiency to the conduit length and the Froude number.
Classification of water supply systems based on energy efficiency
Authors: Lima Gustavo Meirelles , Viana Augusto Nelson Carvalho , Dias Junior Renato Swerts Carneiro , Luvizotto Junior Edevar
Published: December 2015

The Brazilian Labeling Program is a forceful instrument for the conservation of energy. In addition to allowing consumers to evaluate the best products from an energy point of view, it sets targets to make the products increasingly more efficient. In this context, buildings that can currently obtain the energy efficiency label are also included, demonstrating to customers the concern for sustainability. However, there are still many products and systems that can be labeled but for which legislation has not yet been enacted, including water supply systems. Owing to the different characteristics of the systems and the different possibilities for efficiency improvement, it is necessary to develop indicators that actually represent the reality of each system and make it possible to compare them. Thus, this study proposes the use of certain indicators for classification of the systems. A classification by sector benchmarking is also proposed in Brazil, and an example is presented for the classification of Brazilian systems based on four indicators obtained by the National Sanitation Information System.