bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of Renewable Energy Policies on Wind Industry Development in the US
Authors: Adelaja Adesoji , Hailu Yohannes G. , McKeown Charles H. , Tekle Ahadu T.
Published: July 2010

To spur on renewable energy development, some US states have adopted Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) and related policies. Previous studies have examined the factors that lead to such policy adoption, but offer limited empirical evidence on the effects on renewable energy development. We intend to close this gap through empirical analysis. Results suggest that RPS adoption and the stringency of its inherent characteristics were dominant in spurring wind energy development, and that state wind energy potential, economic and market characteristics, energy portfolio, and political structure had significant impacts. Thus, policy and politics matter more than nature in driving wind energy deployment.
Social Movements' Pressure Strategies during Forest Disputes in Finland
Authors: Sarkki Simo , Heikkinen Hannu I.
Published: July 2010

Environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) and rural social movements have become influential actors in natural resource governance. This article analyzes forestry dispute strategies in three cases from northern Finland, applying Actor-Network Theory (ANT), with special attention to its concept of translation, to analyze emerging multilevel stakeholder networks that include both human actors and non-human interests. Our particular focus is on the race for spokesman status on behalf of such ‘third parties’. We find that the more heterogeneous actor-networks the stakeholders build, the better opportunities they have to reach their goals. Successful strategies build environmental policy actor-networks in particular by combining different levels of human interests with different ecological arguments.
Ambiguity in argument
Authors: van Laar Jan Albert
Published: July 2010

The use of ambiguous expressions in argumentative dialogues can lead to misunderstanding and equivocation. Such ambiguities are here called active ambiguities. However, even a normative model of persuasion dialogue ought not to ban active ambiguities altogether, one reason being that it is not always possible to determine beforehand which expressions will prove to be actively ambiguous. Thus, it is proposed that argumentative norms should enable each participant to put forward ambiguity criticisms as well as self-critical ambiguity corrections, inducing them to improve their language if necessary. In order to discourage them from nitpicking and from arriving at excessively high levels of precision, the parties are also provided with devices with which to examine whether the ambiguity corrections or ambiguity criticisms have been appropriate. A formal dialectical system is proposed, in the Hamblin style, that satisfies these and some other philosophical desiderata.
Viscoelastic creep of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes
Authors: Zhang Q , Lu Y C , Du F , Dai L , Baur J , Foster D C
Published: July 2010

The paper reports the viscous creep occurring in vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VA-CNTs). Nanoindentation experiments are conducted to characterize the creep behaviour of the nanotube materials. By recording the instantaneous control stress and strain rate, the creep strain rate sensitivity of the VA-CNT array is calculated. The creep property is found to depend upon the density of nanotube arrays.
Thermal conductivity and viscosity of Al2O3 nanofluid based on car engine coolant
Authors: Kole Madhusree , Dey T K
Published: July 2010

Various suspensions containing Al2O3 nanoparticles (<50 nm) in a car engine coolant have been prepared using oleic acid as the surfactant and are tested to be stable for more than 80 days. Thermal conductivity and viscosity of the nanofluids have been investigated both as a function of concentration of Al2O3 nanoparticles as well as temperature between 10 and 80 °C. The prepared nanofluid, containing only 0.035 volume fraction of Al2O3 nanoparticles, displays a fairly higher thermal conductivity than the base fluid and a maximum enhancement (k
nf/k
bf) of ∼10.41% is observed at room temperature. The thermal conductivity enhancement of the Al2O3 nanofluid based on engine coolant is proportional to the volume fraction of Al2O3. The volume fraction and temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity of the studied nanofluids present excellent correspondence with the model proposed by Prasher et al (2005 Phys. Rev. Lett.
94 025901), which takes into account the role of translational Brownian motion, interparticle potential and convection in fluid arising from Brownian movement of nanoparticles for thermal energy transfer in nanofluids. Viscosity data demonstrate transition from Newtonian characteristics for the base fluid to non-Newtonian behaviour with increasing content of Al2O3 in the base fluid (coolant). The data also show that the viscosity increases with an increase in concentration and decreases with an increase in temperature. An empirical correlation of the type log(μnf) = A exp(−BT) explains the observed temperature dependence of the measured viscosity of Al2O3 nanofluid based on car engine coolant. We further confirm that Al2O3 nanoparticle concentration dependence of the viscosity of nanofluids is very well predicted on the basis of a recently reported theoretical model (Masoumi et al
2009 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.
42 055501), which considers Brownian motion of nanoparticles in the nanofluid.
Electrical Characterization of Deep Trap Properties in High-k Thin-Film HfO2 Dielectric
Authors: Yang Lu
Published: July 2010

Deep-trap properties of high-dielectric-constant (k) HfO2 thin films are investigated by deep-level transient spectroscopy and capacitance-voltage methods. The hole traps of the HfO2 dielectric deposited on a p-type Si substrate by sputtering are investigated in a metal-oxide-semiconductor structure over a temperature range of 300–500 K. The potential depth, cross section and concentration of hole traps are estimated to be about 2.5 eV, 1.8 × 10−16 cm2 and 1.0 × 1016 cm−3, respectively.
On reverse engineering of gene interaction networks using time course data with repeated measurements
Authors: Morrissey E. R. , Juárez M. A. , Denby K. J. , Burroughs N. J.
Published: July 2010

Motivation: Gene expression measurements are the most common data source for reverse engineering gene interaction networks. When dealing with destructive sampling in time course experiments, it is common to average any available measurements for each time point and to treat this as the actual time series data for fitting the network, neglecting the variability contained in the repeated measurements. Proceeding in such a way can affect the retrieved network topology.

Results: We propose a fully Bayesian method for reverse engineering a gene interaction network, based on time course data with repeated measurements. The observations are treated as surrogate measurements of the underlying gene expression. As these measurements often contain outliers, we use a non-Gaussian specification for dealing with measurement error. The network interactions are assumed linear and an autoregressive model is specified, augmented with indicator variables that allow inference on the topology of the network. We analyse two in silico and one in vivo experiments, the latter dealing with the circadian clock in Arabidopsis thaliana. A systematic attenuation of the estimated regulation strengths and a concomitant overestimation of their precision is demonstrated when measurement error is disregarded. Thus, a clear improvement in the inferred topology for the synthetic datasets is demonstrated when this is included. Also, the influence of outliers in the retrieved network is demonstrated when using the in vivo data.

Availability: Matlab code and data used in the article are available from http://go.warwick.ac.uk/majuarez/home/materials.

Contact:  m.a.juarez@warwick.ac.uk

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Multiple gene expression profile alignment for microarray time-series data clustering
Authors: Subhani Numanul , Rueda Luis , Ngom Alioune , Burden Conrad J.
Published: July 2010

Motivation: Clustering gene expression data given in terms of time-series is a challenging problem that imposes its own particular constraints. Traditional clustering methods based on conventional similarity measures are not always suitable for clustering time-series data. A few methods have been proposed recently for clustering microarray time-series, which take the temporal dimension of the data into account. The inherent principle behind these methods is to either define a similarity measure appropriate for temporal expression data, or pre-process the data in such a way that the temporal relationships between and within the time-series are considered during the subsequent clustering phase.

Results: We introduce pairwise gene expression profile alignment, which vertically shifts two profiles in such a way that the area between their corresponding curves is minimal. Based on the pairwise alignment operation, we define a new distance function that is appropriate for time-series profiles. We also introduce a new clustering method that involves multiple expression profile alignment, which generalizes pairwise alignment to a set of profiles. Extensive experiments on well-known datasets yield encouraging results of at least 80% classification accuracy.

Contact:  lrueda@uwindsor.ca

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Agromyces soli sp. nov., isolated from farm soil
Authors: Lee Myungjin , Ten Leonid N. , Woo Sung-Geun , Park Joonhong
Published: July 2010

A Gram-positive, aerobic to microaerophilic, non-motile bacterial strain, designated MJ21T, was isolated from farm soil and was characterized to determine its taxonomic position by using a polyphasic approach. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain MJ21T was placed within the genus Agromyces, and exhibited relatively high levels of similarity to Agromyces ulmi XIL01T (97.8 %), Agromyces aurantiacus YIM 21741T (97.1 %), Agromyces mediolanus JCM 3346T (96.7 %), A. mediolanus JCM 1376 (99.1 %), A. mediolanus JCM 9632 (99.1 %), A. mediolanus JCM 9633 (98.9 %) and A. mediolanus JCM 9631 (96.5 %). Chemotaxonomic data also supported the classification of strain MJ21T within the genus Agromyces. The new isolate contained MK-12 as the predominant menaquinone and rhamnose, galactose and xylose as cell-wall sugars. The major cellular fatty acids (>10 % of the total) were anteiso-C15 : 0, anteiso-C17 : 0 and iso-C16 : 0. Cell-wall amino acids were 2,4-diaminobutyric acid, glutamic acid, glycine and alanine. Diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, two unknown glycolipids and one unidentified phospholipid were detected as polar lipids. The DNA G+C content of strain MJ21T was 73.4 mol%. However, levels of DNA–DNA relatedness between strain MJ21T and the seven phylogenetically closest Agromyces strains ranged from 14 to 56 %, showing clearly that the new isolate represents a novel genomic species. Strain MJ21T could be differentiated clearly from its phylogenetic neighbours on the basis of phenotypic, genotypic and chemotaxonomic features. Therefore, strain MJ21T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Agromyces, for which the name Agromyces soli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MJ21T ( = KCTC 19549T  = JCM 16247T).
Aciditerrimonas ferrireducens gen. nov., sp. nov., an iron-reducing thermoacidophilic actinobacterium isolated from a solfataric field
Authors: Itoh Takashi , Yamanoi Kaoru , Kudo Takuji , Ohkuma Moriya , Takashina Tomonori
Published: July 2010

An iron-reducing, moderately thermophilic, acidophilic actinobacterium, strain IC-180T, isolated from a solfataric field in Hakone, Japan, was subjected to polyphasic taxonomic analysis. Strain IC-180T was a motile, short rod-shaped, Gram-positive bacterium that was able to grow at temperatures of 35–58 °C (optimally at 50 °C) and at pH 2.0–4.5 (optimally at pH 3.0). The strain grew aerobically and heterotrophically. It also grew anaerobically or autotrophically by dissimilatory reduction of ferric iron. No oxidation of ferrous iron was observed. Major cellular fatty acids detected were iso-C16 : 0, anteiso-C17 : 0 and iso-C18 : 0; the major menaquinone was MK-9(H8). Phosphatidyl-N-methylethanolamine and an unknown ninhydrin-positive phosphoglycolipid were detected. The total DNA G+C content was 74.1 mol%. 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons revealed that strain IC-180T was a member of the order Acidimicrobiales and clustered coherently with uncultured actinobacteria from a geothermal site and a bioreactor operated under moderately thermophilic conditions. This cluster could be distinguished from the two other clusters comprising the families of this order, Acidimicrobiaceae and Iamiaceae, respectively. Based on the properties of strain IC-180T determined in this polyphasic taxonomic study, this strain represents a novel species in a new genus in the order Acidimicrobiales, for which the name Aciditerrimonas ferrireducens gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain is IC-180T ( = JCM 15389T  = DSM 45281T).
Mycobacterium sherrisii sp. nov., a slow-growing non-chromogenic species
Authors: van Ingen Jakko , Tortoli Enrico , Selvarangan Rangaraj , Coyle Marie B. , Crump John A. , Morrissey Anne B. , Dekhuijzen P. N. Richard , Boeree Martin J. , van Soolingen Dick
Published: July 2010

‘Mycobacterium sherrisii’ is an undescribed species that appears to be emerging, in particular, among HIV-positive patients originating from Africa. To describe ‘M. sherrisii’, to ensure that the species name is validly published and to define its phylogenetic position, we collected 11 of these strains reported in five previous studies, and subjected them to biochemical identification, cell-wall mycolic acid analysis and sequencing of multiple housekeeping genes. The bacteria formed smooth and generally non-chromogenic colonies after 2–3 weeks of subculture at 24–37 °C; photochromogenic and scotochromogenic pigmentation were exhibited by three and two strains, respectively. The strains were positive for the heat-stable catalase test, but negative in tests for hydrolysis of Tween 80, nitrate reduction, β-glucosidase and 3-day arylsulfatase. Mycolic acid patterns, obtained by HPLC, resembled a trimodal profile similar to those of type strains of Mycobacterium simiae, Mycobacterium lentiflavum, Mycobacterium triplex and Mycobacterium genavense. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of the 11 strains differed by 4 bp (99.7 % similarity) from that of the type strain of the closest related species, M. simiae ATCC 25275T. Levels of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and partial hsp65 and rpoB gene sequence similarity between the two taxa were 95.8 % (271/283 bp), 97.5 % (391/401 bp) and 95.2 % (700/735 bp), respectively. On the basis of these results, we propose the formal recognition of Mycobacterium sherrisii sp. nov. The type strain is 4773T ( = ATCC BAA-832T = DSM 45441T).
Penicillium araracuarense sp. nov., Penicillium elleniae sp. nov., Penicillium penarojense sp. nov., Penicillium vanderhammenii sp. nov. and Penicillium wotroi sp. nov., isolated from leaf litter
Authors: Houbraken Jos , López-Quintero Carlos A. , Frisvad Jens C. , Boekhout Teun , Theelen Bart , Franco-Molano Ana Esperanza , Samson Robert A.
Published: July 2010

Several species of the genusPenicilliumwere isolated during a survey of the mycobiota of leaf litter and soil in Colombian Amazon forest. Five species,Penicillium penarojensesp. nov. (type strain CBS 113178T = IBT 23262T),Penicillium wotroisp. nov. (type strain CBS 118171T = IBT 23253T),Penicillium araracuarensesp. nov. (type strain CBS 113149T = IBT 23247T),Penicillium elleniaesp. nov. (type strain CBS 118135T = IBT 23229T) andPenicillium vanderhammeniisp. nov. (type strain CBS 126216T = IBT 23203T) are described here as novel species. Their taxonomic novelty was determined using a polyphasic approach, combining phenotypic, molecular (ITS and partial β-tubulin sequences) and extrolite data. Phylogenetic analyses showed that each novel species formed a unique clade for both loci analysed and that they were most closely related toPenicillium simplicissimum,Penicillium janthinellum,Penicillium daleaeandPenicillium brasilianum. An overview of the phylogeny of this taxonomically difficult group is presented, and 33 species are accepted. Each of the five novel species had a unique extrolite profile of known and uncharacterized metabolites and various compounds, such as penicillic acid, andrastin A, pulvilloric acid, paxillin, paspaline and janthitrem, were commonly produced by these phylogenetically related species. The novel species had a high growth rate on agar media, but could be distinguished from each other by several macro- and microscopical characteristics.
Nonomuraea wenchangensis sp. nov., isolated from mangrove rhizosphere soil
Authors: Wang Fan , Xu Xiao-Xiong , Qu Zhi , Wang Cheng , Lin Hai-Peng , Xie Qing-Yi , Ruan Ji-Sheng , Sun Ming , Hong Kui
Published: July 2010

Strain 210417T, which forms highly branched substrate and aerial mycelia, is a Gram-positive, aerobic and non-motile actinomycete isolated from mangrove rhizosphere soil. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that the strain should be classified in the genus Nonomuraea, being most closely related to the type strains of Nonomuraea coxensis (99.6 %) and Nonomuraea bangladeshensis (99.3 %). Chemotaxonomic properties [madurose as the major sugar in the cell wall; meso-diaminopimelic acid and N-acetylmuramic acid in the peptidoglycan; MK-9(H4) as the major menaquinone; iso-C16 : 0 (24.1 %) as major fatty acid; and phospholipid pattern type IV] are consistent with the assignment of strain 210417T to the genus Nonomuraea. Strain 210417T could be differentiated from the closely related species N. coxensis and N. bangladeshensis by morphological, physiological, biochemical and chemotaxonomic properties, 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and DNA–DNA hybridization results. It is therefore proposed that strain 210417T represents a novel species of the genus Nonomuraea, for which the name Nonomuraea wenchangensis sp. nov. is given; the type strain is 210417T ( = CGMCC 4.5598T  = DSM 45477T).
Methanobacterium kanagiense sp. nov., a hydrogenotrophic methanogen, isolated from rice-field soil
Authors: Kitamura Koji , Fujita Takashi , Akada Shinji , Tonouchi Akio
Published: July 2010

A pure culture of an obligately anaerobic, hydrogenotrophic, methanogenic archaeon, designated strain 169T, which grows with hydrogen and carbon dioxide as the sole energy and carbon sources, was isolated from an anaerobic propionate-oxidizing enrichment culture originally obtained as an inoculant from rice-field soil in Japan. Cells of strain 169T were non-motile, Gram-reaction-variable and rod-shaped or slightly curved rods with rounded ends (1.6–5.0×0.35–0.5 µm). Strain 169T had fimbriae at both ends of the cell (up to ~10 per cell) but did not possess flagella. Ultrathin sections showed a single-layered, electron-dense cell wall about 6 nm thick, which is typical of Gram-positive bacteria. Growth was observed at 15 °C–45 °C (optimum 40 °C), at pH  6.5–9.6 (optimum pH 7.5–8.5) and in 0–70 g NaCl l−1 (0–1.2 M) (optimum 5 g NaCl l−1; 0.086 M). Strain 169T utilized only hydrogen and carbon dioxide as energy and carbon sources. The DNA G+C content was 39.3 mol%. The results of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that strain 169T was most closely related to Methanobacterium subterraneum DSM 11074T (96.8 % sequence similarity) and Methanobacterium formicicum DSM 1535T (96.4 %). On the basis of its morphological, physiological and phylogenetic characteristics, strain 169T ( = DSM 22026T = JCM 15797T) represents a novel species of the genus Methanobacterium, for which the name Methanobacterium kanagiense sp. nov. is proposed.
Evidence for Light Wavelength-Specific Photoelectrophysiological Signaling and Memory of Excess Light Episodes in Arabidopsis
Authors: Szechyńska-Hebda Magdalena , Kruk Jerzy , Górecka Magdalena , Karpińska Barbara , Karpiński Stanisław
Published: July 2010

Although light is essential for photosynthesis, excess light can damage the photosynthetic apparatus and deregulate other cellular processes. Thus, protective integrated regulatory responses that can dissipate excess of absorbed light energy and simultaneously optimize photosynthesis and other cellular processes under variable light conditions can prove highly adaptive. Here, we show that the local and systemic responses to an excess light episode are associated with photoelectrophysiological signaling (PEPS) as well as with changes in nonphotochemical quenching and reactive oxygen species levels. During an excess light incident, PEPS is induced by quantum redox changes in photosystem II and in its proximity and/or by changes in glutathione metabolism in chloroplasts. PEPS is transduced, at least in part, by bundle sheath cells and is light wavelength specific. PEPS systemic propagation speed and action potential are dependent on ASCORBATE PEROXIDASE2 function. Excess light episodes are physiologically memorized in leaves, and the cellular light memory effect is specific for an excess of blue (450 nm) and red (650 nm) light of similar energy. It is concluded that plants possess a complex and dynamic light training and memory system that involves quantum redox, reactive oxygen species, hormonal, and PEPS signaling and is used to optimize light acclimation and immune defenses.
Fast Diploidization in Close Mesopolyploid Relatives ofArabidopsis
Authors: Mandáková Terezie , Joly Simon , Krzywinski Martin , Mummenhoff Klaus , Lysak Martin A.
Published: July 2010

Mesopolyploid whole-genome duplication (WGD) was revealed in the ancestry of Australian Brassicaceae species with diploid-like chromosome numbers (n = 4 to 6). Multicolor comparative chromosome painting was used to reconstruct complete cytogenetic maps of the cryptic ancient polyploids. Cytogenetic analysis showed that the karyotype of the Australian Camelineae species descended from the eight ancestral chromosomes (n = 8) through allopolyploid WGD followed by the extensive reduction of chromosome number. Nuclear and maternal gene phylogenies corroborated the hybrid origin of the mesotetraploid ancestor and suggest that the hybridization event occurred ~6 to 9 million years ago. The four, five, and six fusion chromosome pairs of the analyzed close relatives of Arabidopsis thaliana represent complex mosaics of duplicated ancestral genomic blocks reshuffled by numerous chromosome rearrangements. Unequal reciprocal translocations with or without preceeding pericentric inversions and purported end-to-end chromosome fusions accompanied by inactivation and/or loss of centromeres are hypothesized to be the main pathways for the observed chromosome number reduction. Our results underline the significance of multiple rounds of WGD in the angiosperm genome evolution and demonstrate that chromosome number per se is not a reliable indicator of ploidy level.
Towards a cross‐cultural typology of trust in B2B food trade
Authors: Jan Hofstede Gert , Fritz Melanie , Canavari Maurizio , Oosterkamp Elsje , van Sprundel Gert‐jan
Published: July 2010

Purpose

This paper aims to develop a hierarchical typology of trust elements for business‐to‐business trade among European companies in the food sector.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper integrates desk research literature study and a qualitative survey of food industry companies. An extensive literature review about inter‐organizational trust lays a foundation for designing a draft typology based on previous studies, with special attention paid to the influence of culture. Fine‐tuning and validation of the typology is achieved through an exploratory field study based on 18 qualitative in‐depth interviews with key informants in five EU countries, involving practitioners from the fresh fruit and vegetable, grain, meat and olive supply chains.

Findings

A detailed typology of trust is developed. Although it is highly specific to the food industry, it is designed to be neutral to culture and sector, thus allowing the identification of differences in culture when dealing with trust building elements in different sectors in the food supply chain.

Research limitations/implications

Since the buyer's perspective is adopted in this paper, further research is needed to validate the typology on the seller side. The typology developed here must also be tested in practice, for instance within a descriptive research quantitative study, aimed at quantifying the relative importance of the different trust elements.

Practical implications

The typology stimulates the consideration of cross‐cultural or cross‐sector differences in the salience of trust attributes and its construction process confirms that reputation management is an extremely important determinant of success or failure. It can serve as a checklist for any company that is interested in improving its relationships with suppliers or buyers.

Originality/value

The paper adds to the body of knowledge about inter‐organizational trust, providing researchers with a useful tool for conducting experimental research on trust creation mechanisms.
Consumption of graham snacks in after‐school snack programs based on whole grain flour content
Authors: Sadeghi Leila , Marquart Len F.
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The 2005Dietary Guidelines for Americansrecommend that children consume at least three daily servings of whole grains. Data from a pilot after‐school program indicated that graham snacks, containing 5 g whole wheat per serving, were consumed in the range of 73‐88 percent, similar to the refined grain counterpart. This paper aims to examine whether a full serving (16 g) of whole grain delivered in a graham snack is acceptable as tested among children participating in an after‐school snack program.

Design/methodology/approach

Subjects included ∼100 children (grades K‐6) participating in after‐school snack programs. Over eight weeks, children were offered graham snacks containing 5, 8, 12, and 16 g whole wheat flour per 30 g serving. Plate waste was used to measure graham snack consumption, as children placed their unfinished snacks in a receptacle and waste was measured after each session. At week nine, a subgroup of children participated in taste tests and rated each snack for liking on a nine‐point hedonic scale. Another subgroup was enrolled in group interviews to provide input about their perceptions of the products' quality and suggestions for improvement.

Findings

Consumption for the 5, 8, 12, and 16 g graham snacks was 80, 76, 79, and 80 percent, respectively. The taste tests results showed no significant difference in rating of the four‐graham snacks. The focus groups indicated that overall, the products are well‐liked, particularly for texture.

Originality/value

This paper suggests that graham snacks can contribute a significant dietary source, nearly one full serving of whole grain when offered in children's natural environment through an after‐school snack program.
The influence of test situation and satisfaction with preparation on evaluation and intention to consume a new seafood product
Authors: Heide Morten , Ottar Olsen Svein , Calvo Dopico Domingo
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The general purpose of this paper is to investigate how a newly developed burger made of seafood is perceived in different test situations. In addition, the influence of satisfaction with preparation on the evaluative outcome is explored.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from two different test situations; a home use test, and a canteen test among young Spanish consumers. Multiple measures of the constructs were used to test for construct reliability, validity and measurement invariance in two different consumption situations. The data were analysed by LISREL and ANOVA.

Findings

No differences in attitudes and intention to consume the fish burger are found for the different test situations. However, satisfaction with preparation did have a significant impact on evaluation and intention in the home situation, even though perceived preparation skill is the same.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the existing literature on how different test locations influence product evaluation. First, methodologically, it uses multiple measures of the key dependent variables, attitude and intention, and tests for validity, reliability, and measurement invariance to approach survey context effects in different test situations. Second, theoretically, the paper also shows how the impact of satisfaction with the preparation can influence evaluation and intention to consume a new product in a home test situation.
Consumer preferences for safety characteristics in pork
Authors: Raun Mørkbak Morten , Christensen Tove , Gyrd‐Hansen Dorte
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The objective of this paper is to provide information that can guide governmental intervention strategies to increase demand‐driven supply of food safety. The secondary aim is to rank safety attributes relative to other quality characteristics that consumers associate with pork.

Design/methodology/approach

Consumers' preferences for safety as a quality characteristic in pork are investigated using choice experiments. An internet‐based survey was carried out with 1,322 Danish consumers.

Findings

There is a clear ranking of characteristics: domestic produce and low fat are valued as the most important attributes associated with minced pork, followed by reduced Salmonella risks, reduced use of antimicrobial agents, and increased animal welfare. In addition, it is found that consumers stated a clear willingness‐to‐pay for all the assessed product attributes – including the safety attributes.

Practical implications

The positive price premiums for safer food suggest that demand‐driven market‐based solutions might indeed be used to increase the supply of safer food – provided that adequate labelling allows consumers to distinguish between products that differ from each other only with respect to non‐visible safety characteristics. However, it is not suggested that food safety can be left entirely to be determined by market forces due to market failures, consumer preferences and large uncertainties.

Originality/value

Earlier studies have not identified a unique ranking of the importance of safety relative to other quality characteristics in meat products. The main concern is that the value of food safety may be overestimated when it is not valued relative to a full set or as close to a full set as possible of other quality characteristics, which has been attempted in the present survey.
Perspectives of studies on document abstracting
Authors: Izquierdo Alonso Mónica , Miguel Moreno Fernández Luis
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to systemize and improve the scientific status of studies on document abstracting. This is a diachronic, systematic study of document abstracting studies carried out from different perspectives and models (textual, psycholinguistic, social and communicative).

Design/methodology/approach

A review of the perspectives and analysis proposals which are of interest to the various theoreticians of abstracting is carried out using a variety of techniques and approaches (cognitive, linguistic, communicative‐social, didactic, etc.), each with different levels of theoretical and methodological abstraction and degrees of application. The most significant contributions of each are reviewed and highlighted, along with their limitations.

Findings

It is found that the great challenge in abstracting is the systemization of models and conceptual apparatus, which open up this type of research to semiotic and socio‐interactional perspectives. It is necessary to carry out suitable empirical research with operative designs and ad hoc measuring instruments which can measure the efficiency of the abstracting and the efficiency of a good abstract, while at the same time feeding back into the theoretical baggage of this type of study. Such research will have to explain and provide answers to all the elements and variables, which affect the realization and the reception of a quality abstract.

Originality/value

The paper provides a small map of the studies on document abstracting. This shows how the conceptual and methodological framework has extended at the same time as the Science of Documentation has been evolving. All the models analysed – the communicative and interactional approach – are integrated in a new systematic framework.
Promoting your e‐books: lessons from the UK JISC National e‐Book Observatory
Authors: Lonsdale Ray , Armstrong Chris
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the findings from the qualitative strand of the National e‐Book Observatory (2007‐2009) project, relating to the promotion of e‐textbooks in UK universities by the library, academics and publishers. A complementary paper on the ways in which students and academics locate e‐books provided by their library will appear in a future issue.

Design/methodology/approach

Following the provision by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) in the UK of collections of e‐textbooks, the project used deep log analysis, benchmark surveys and focus groups to develop a rich picture of library e‐collection management and use by students and academics. Focus groups were undertaken with library staff, academics and students; the dialogues were transcribed and analysed using NVivo7 software.

Findings

The qualitative studies found that libraries were using a range of promotional tools, although these were not always finding their targets. Often libraries had no formal promotion strategy for e‐resources. Although little in evidence, the value of academic commitment and promotion was emphasised. Promotion by publishers and aggregators is both to libraries and directly to academic staff. Students felt that they were largely unaware of promotion beyond the presence of e‐books in the catalogue, and in some cases stated explicitly that they thought more should be done to promote library e‐resources to them.

Practical implications

The paper offers pragmatic guidance on promotional methodologies.

Originality/value

The project describes the first major, national usage study of e‐books in higher education. The paper contributes significantly to the literature in discussing the importance of promoting e‐books to students and staff.
The state of development of digital libraries in Poland
Authors: Górny Mirosław , Catlow John , Lewandowski Rafał
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the state of development of Polish digital libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper describes the establishment of the first digital library in Poland, the creation of the Wielkopolska Digital Library and other regional digital libraries. The organisational and technological solutions used by these libraries are described.

Findings

The concept of a single central library and several dozen regional libraries has made possible the creation of more than 40 digital libraries and the establishment of wide co‐operation among digital librarians. However, the passage to mass digitisation is still proving impossible at present.

Originality/value

The situation in Poland indicates a clear necessity for the introduction of appropriate legal regulations to place digitisation among the charter objectives of large libraries. The awarding of small grants does not change the situation, and sometimes even makes it worse. Digital libraries have come into being in large numbers over the last few years; because some of them have been functioning for a number of years, much experience has been acquired. Now it is necessary to move on to the next stage – mass digitisation. Polish libraries are quite unprepared for this. Digitisation continues to be treated by libraries as an experimental rather than a fundamental activity.
Korean books and FRBR: an investigation
Authors: Kim Jeong‐Hyen , Moon Ji‐Hyun
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristics of Korean books by analysing their “work types” based on the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) model.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 1,000 Korean books were randomly chosen from the Korean National Bibliography (KNB) 2008 at the National Library of Korea, and the frequency of each work type was investigated.

Findings

Of the Korean books that were studied, 16.9 per cent (single works, 2.7 per cent and multiple works, 14.2 per cent) were found to be multiple manifestations, and the rates of literature and social science works were relatively high.

Research limitations/implications

The FRBR model was applied to a sample of 1,000 Korean books and was not representative of all Korean books.

Practical implications

The usefulness of the FRBR model was found to be limited to some complex works and can be improved by applying its work types in an extended way.

Originality/value

In the study, the work types of Korean books were analysed based on the FRBR model for the first time using this model.
Design and development of a chemistry subject portal at Panjab University Library, India
Authors: Singh Neeraj Kumar , Mahajan Preeti
Published: July 2010

Purpose

This paper aims to give a brief description of some chemistry portals available worldwide, folowed by a description of the chemistry portal developed for Panjab University Library, Chandigarh (India).

Design/methodology/approach

A well‐structured chemistry portal was designed for chemistry and its allied departments at Panjab University based on studies of other chemistry portals worldwide.

Findings

All the students, research scholars and faculty members of chemistry and allied subjects are deriving benefit from the use of this portal.

Research limitations/implications

The paper provides information about chemistry portals available worldwide. However, only selected portals are presented. Moreover, the information sources included in the chemistry portal may also not be exhaustive.

Practical implications

The paper would be of help to librarians who plan to develop such portals for other subjects.

Originality/value

The success of the portal has led to a demand from other departments in the university for developing subject portals in their subject areas.
Affective and continuance commitment in public private partnership
Authors: Wang Catherine L. , Indridason Thor , Saunders Mark N.K.
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of the “transfer” process on relationships between employees' perceived organisational support and affective and continuance commitment within the context of the move to a new employment relationship as part of a public private partnership.

Design/methodology/approach

Eight semi‐structured interviews informed the design of a questionnaire, which was distributed to facilities management employees of a UK NHS hospital who had been seconded to a private‐sector management company. This resulted in 101 effective responses (33 per cent).

Findings

In new forms of employment relationship, employees' perceptions of the “transfer” process influence significantly their perceptions of the management company and their commitment to it. Positively perceived organisational support from the management company significantly increases affective and continuance commitment to the management company, particularly amongst those who feel positive about the transfer process.

Research limitations/implications

This research focuses upon employee commitment to the management company. Further research is proposed to investigate different foci of commitment as well as the influence of the psychological contract.

Practical implications

The effect of fairness in the “transfer” process is far reaching, lasting beyond the initial transfer. Both parties should work together to enable a smooth employee “transfer” process, supervisors particularly having a strong influence on employees' attitudes and behaviour.

Originality/value

There is a lack of research regarding the antecedents and consequences of commitment of employees, who are managed by one but employed by a different organisation. This study begins to address this gap.
Direct participation quality and organisational commitment: the role of leader‐member exchange
Authors: Torka Nicole , Schyns Birgit , Kees Looise Jan
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The relationship between participation quality and commitment has received relatively limited attention in the industrial relations (IR) and human resource management (HRM) literature. This paper seeks to fill some of the gaps in prior research. It aims to answer three questions: How do participation justice and satisfaction influence affective and normative organisational commitment? Does leader‐member exchange (LMX) influence satisfaction and perceived justice with participation? Do the three assumed indicators of participation quality mediate the relationship between LMX and affective and normative organisational commitment?

Design/methodology/approach

The research was conducted at three faculties of a Dutch university, and involved faculty staff. E‐mails and online questionnaires were distributed in Dutch. Hypotheses were tested. Three indicators of direct participation quality: satisfaction with participation, perceived distributive justice concerning participation, and procedural justice were included.

Findings

It was found that two indicators of participation quality mediate the LMX and affective organisational commitment relationship: satisfaction with direct participation and perceived distributive justice concerning direct participation. As a consequence, it can be concluded that supervisors' skills in fostering direct participation quality contribute to employees' positive attitudes towards the overall employment relationship and thereby perhaps also to organisational performance.

Originality/value

The paper explores the relationships between LMX, direct participation quality, and affective and normative organisational commitment.
Qatar's Education City's university libraries: patrons, collections, and services
Authors: Gyeszly Suzanne D.
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe Qatar's Education City's six university libraries, their international patrons, collections, and services.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides analysis of the data provided by various parties related to patrons, collections and services of the six university libraries in Qatar's Education during the calendar year of 2009.

Findings

Education City's six branch libraries successfully support the needs of their patrons' curriculum and research needs especially in the e‐resources.

Originality/value

This research provides in‐depth information for the Qatar Foundation, university and library administrators of main and branch campuses related to future e‐licensing, collections acquisitions, and staffing.
New local gazetteers from China
Authors: Xue Susan
Published: July 2010

Purpose

New (post‐1949) Chinese local gazetteers are one of the major primary resources for contemporary China Studies in the field of history, social sciences, humanities and sciences. Major research libraries in North America have collected them; however, the research value of this series of publications has not yet fully explored. This paper aims at examining how new local gazetteers have been compiled, the scope of their content and research value, and how scholars have used them.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper explores the scope and importance of the new Chinese local gazetteers collection through reviewing relevant regulations, policies and guidelines regarding compilation of the new local gazetteers, and randomly examining over 30 provincial, city and county gazetteers.

Findings

The paper provides a detailed account of publishing history of this collection; rich and unique research information available; and approaches to collection development, including utilizing digitized gazetteers by Chinese governments.

Originality/value

The paper explores the development of new Chinese local gazetteers in a more systematic way and adds to the current literature on the unique research value this collection has to offer.
Is inclusive government more humane? Perspective on food availability in Pakistan
Authors: Azeem Qureshi Muhammad , Muhammad Ayaz
Published: July 2010

Purpose

In view of the paradox of soaring malnutrition prevalence in an agrarian economy like Pakistan, political and economic pundits are of the opinion that Pakistan may face acute shortage of food in future if its political managers do not take holistic approach to address the issue. The form of government system is one such dimension of this approach. Pakistan has witnessed different forms of government system. The purpose of this paper is to assess the food availability situation under different regimes in Pakistan since 1972.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses log‐lin growth model to make out if form of the government may affect the level of food availability in Pakistan.

Findings

The data indicate lot of variations between different regimes. Over the years consistent and positive public policies for demographic management brought down the population growth rate. It was expected that positive demographic development coupled with supplementary policies will provide space to ensure sufficient food and standard nutrition to the people but this variable also could not contribute according to expectations. Prevailing inequity in society along with inconsistent policies and mismanagement of resources are generally quoted as the main reasons for this misfortune. However, the paper demonstrates that vertical power structure and absence of inclusive political system is an additional reason of continuing food deprivation in Pakistan.

Research limitations/implications

For the purpose of this analysis the authors use the food balance sheet data of Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations, and hence assume all limitations of this database.

Practical implications

This paper points out another reason to have inclusive form of the government in Pakistan: to reduce food deprivation.

Originality/value

This paper is the first of its kind to assess the availability of food to the citizens of Pakistan under different regimes.