bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Biodegradability and methane production potential of glycerol generated by biodiesel industry
Authors: Viana M. B. , Freitas A. V. , Leitão R. C. , Santaella S. T.
Published: September 2012

Crude glycerol, the main by-product of the biodiesel industry, is a material containing compounds considered recalcitrant to microorganisms. The aims of this study were to determine the anaerobic biodegradability and the methane production potential (MPP) of different crude glycerols generated from the transesterification of oils from several kinds of seeds and/or beans, and the anaerobic toxicity of crude glycerol obtained from a mixture of soybean and cottonseed oils. All tests were based on specific methanogenic activity assays (SMA). The biodegradability tests and the MPP assays lasted 30 days. Toxicity was evaluated through the statistical technique of factorial design and a response surface was generated in which the concentrations of crude glycerol and glucose were the independent variables and SMA was the dependent variable. The results showed that the type of seed or bean, as well as the transesterification process, affected the anaerobic biodegradability. Biodegradability ranged between 65.9 and 85.6% and MPP, between 0.220 and 0.322 m3 CH4/kg crude glycerol. The toxicity test showed that crude glycerol was not toxic to anaerobic sludge.
The role of the headspace in hydrogen sulfide removal during microaerobic digestion of sludge
Authors: Ramos I. , Díaz I. , Fdz-Polanco M.
Published: September 2012

The role of the headspace (HS) in the microaerobic removal of hydrogen sulfide from biogas produced during sludge digestion was studied. Research was carried out in a pilot reactor with a total volume of 265 L, under mesophilic conditions. Biogas was successfully desulfurized (99%) by introducing pure oxygen (0.46 NL/Lfed) into the recirculation stream when the HS volume was both 50.0 and 9.5 L. The removal efficacy dropped sharply to ≈15% when the HS was reduced to 1.5 L. The system responded quickly to the operational changes imposed: micro-oxygenation stops and variations in supply, as well as HS volume reductions and increases. As the final result, the microaerobic process required a minimum surface into the gas space to occur, which along with the elemental sulfur deposition in this area indicated that the oxidation took place there. Additionally, the pattern of sulfur accumulation suggested that the removal occurred preferentially on certain materials, and pointed to a significant biological contribution.
Coping with stress and adaptation in mothers of children with cerebral palsy
Authors: Krstic Tatjana , Oros Marina
Published: September 2012

Introduction. Raising a child with cerebral palsy is stressful for the parent
because it requires an intensive physical engagement as well as coping with
emotional reactions to the child?s condition. Parents have different modes of
adapting to stress and demands caused by the disorder. The Resiliency Model
of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation postulates that the use of
certain coping strategies facilitates successful family adaptation to the
child?s condition. Material and Methods. Our study included 60 mothers of
two- to seven- year-old children with diagnosed cerebral palsy. The modified
Family Crisis-oriented Personal Evaluation Scales, with its five sub-scales,
was applied to assess the strategies used by families to cope with stress.
Results. The most frequently used strategy is reframing, whereas other
strategies were used less frequently. The study has revealed some differences
in adoption of certain strategies by mothers from urban and rural areas as
well as of those strategies which depend on the severity of the child?s
condition. Discussion. The fact that reframing is the most frequently used
strategy is encouraging because it helps parents to make their grave
situation more acceptable. Institutional support is also often used by
mothers of children with severe form of disease because of their need for
medical care. Conclusion. Recognition of coping strategies of the parents is
important and useful for the development of therapeutic interventions aimed
at facilitating family adaptation in families with a child with developmental
disabilities.
A case of severe ADAMTS 13 deficiency presenting as thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura in pregnancy
Authors: Nikolaou Marinos , Karakantza Marina , Adonakis George , Theodorou George , Zoumbos Nikolaos , Decavalas George
Published: September 2012

Introduction. Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura is a rare lifethreatening
disorder characterized by thrombocytopenia and microangiopathic hemolytic
anemia. It is caused by the absent or severe deficiency of the von Willebrand
Factor-cleaving protease named ADAMTS13. Pregnancy is a well recognized
factor precipitating the appearance of the disease both in women that had
reduced levels of ADAMTS13 activity prior to gestation and in those with
other inherited or acquired thrombophilic syndromes. Case Report. We report a
25-year old woman with severe ADAMTS13 deficiency presented early in her 1st
pregnancy and relapsed in two subsequent gestations. This presentation is
uncommon for thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura is associated with pregnancy
(ADAMTS13 deficiency <5%, without an inhibitor). In the first pregnancy she
started with daily plasma exchange 1.5xvolume, corticosteroids and IV
immunoglobulin and finally entered remission after 23 sessions and
termination of pregnancy. In the second pregnancy she did not receive
prophylactic treatment and relapsed in the 3rd trimester. Prophylactic
treatment during the third pregnancy with plasma infusions proved also
ineffective to prevent relapse. Discussion. Many issues regarding treatment
and prevention of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura relapses in subsequent
pregnancies are unclear. Proposed guidelines recommend that the same
treatment should be performed on pregnant and non pregnant patients without
modification of plasma replacement dose according to ADAMTS13 levels. In
addition, many authors suggest that pregnant patients with history of
thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and severe deficiency of ADAMTS13 levels
should received prophylactic treatment for prevention of relapses in the
subsequent pregnancies. Conclusion. Severe ADAMTS 13 deficiency may present
as thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura of pregnancy. Pregnant women with
thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and especially with severe deficiency of
ADAMTS13 levels require specific consideration regarding treatment and
prophylaxis in subsequent pregnancies.
Evaluation of colostrum protection of calves
Authors: Jonic Branko , Dimitrijevic Blagoje , Mirilovic Milorad , Obrenovic Sonja , Bacic Dragan
Published: September 2012

The aim of these investigations was to examine the concentration of total
proteins and total immunoglobulins in blood serum of calves and on the bases
of the obtained results to evaluate the risk of their contracting a disease
in the first month of life. Examinations were carried out on 23 calves
maintained in farm conditions, whose medical condition was monitored in the
first month of life. Blood samples were taken by puncture from the v.
jugularis immediately at birth, and at 24 and 48 hours after that, and blood
serum was obtained by spontaneous coaggulation. The concentration of total
proteins in blood serum was determined using biuretic probe, and the
immunoglobulin level using the refractometric method with the zinc-sulphate
test (ZST). The average value of total proteins in calves immediately at
birth was low and stood at 42?0.3 g/l. The increased concentration of total
proteins in calves after the intake of colostrum is a result of the
absorption of colostrum immunoglobulins. A high positive correlation was
established between the concentration of total proteins and total
immunoglobulins at 24 and 48 hours after birth (rxy = 0.92 and rxy = 0.75).
Based on the results of monitoring the health condition and the values for
total protein concentrations during the examined period (24 and 48 hours
after birth) it is possible to make the following risk evaluation regarding
diseases in newborn calves: 1) proteinaemia lower than 50 g/l presents a high
risk; 2) proteinaemia between 50-54 g/l presents a medium risk: and, 3)
proteinaemia between 55-69 g/l presents a low risk for diseases occurring in
newborn calves.
Investigations of protective effects of bivalent inactivated vaccine prepared from serotypes 1/2a and 4b Listeria monocytogenes on mice
Authors: Bacic Dragan , Obrenovic Sonja , Kirovski Marko , Dimitrijevic Blagoje , Radojicic Sonja , Valcic Miroslav , Mirilovic Milorad
Published: September 2012

The objective of these investigations was to check on laboratory white mice
the protective effect of an inactivated bivalent vaccine prepared from
serotypes 1/2a and 4b L. monocytogenes. Following verification of the
sterility and toxicity of the prepared vaccine, the mice were divided into 6
groups with 10 animals in each group. The first and second group of mice were
administered the vaccine without saponin (vaccine A) and the third and fourth
group the vaccine with saponin (vaccine B). Mice of the fifth and the sixth
group were not vaccinated and served as a negative control. Two weeks
following vaccination, the experimental groups were revaccinated, with the
exception of the two control groups. Two weeks following revaccination, all
groups were artificially infected with serotypes 1/2a and 4b L.
monocytogenes. During the course of the investigations (60 days) a total of 4
mice died in the vaccinated groups. Mice of the control groups started dying
after day 7, and the last mouse in these groups died 14 days after the
infection. Examinations of preparations of parenchymatous organs of the dead
mice stained according to Gram proved the presence of L. monocytogenes.
Homogenates of parenchymatous organs were sown on tryptose agar for
reisolation and a pure culture of L. monocytogenes was obtained. Through the
use of specific antiserums, serotypes 1/2a and 4b were confirmed. Considering
the total number of vaccinated mice in the experiment and the percent deaths
(10%), it can be said that the investigated vaccine with saponin had a
satisfactory protective effect.
Zlatar cheese: Characteristics of traditional production and overview of some quality parameters
Authors: Veskovic-Moracanin Slavica , Raseta Mladen , Karan Dragica , Trbovic Dejana , Turubatovic Lazar , Saponjic Milinko , Skrinjar Marija
Published: September 2012

In parallel with the industrialization and standardization of contemporary
production, cheese production based on traditional principles represents an
important attribute of a nation, state or region. Awareness of the
specificities of these production characteristics is supported by the growing
demand for organic and high quality food with geographic labels of origin,
whose competitiveness and price daily increase in comparison with
conventional products. In the mountainous territory of the Republic of
Serbia, in the region of Nova Varos, on the foothills and slopes of Mount
Zlatar, rural households produce cheeses in brine in keeping with
autochthonous traditional technology. These cheeses are recognized for their
constant quality, remarkable flavour, and unique manner of production. This
paper introduces a part of the planned research within Project III 46 009
(subproject 7), which aim to provide answers about the biodiversity of
indigenous microflora originating from Zlatar cheese, to determine their most
important technological and protective properties, and to provide answers
about the possibilities of implementing some of the isolated Lstrains in a
new production cycle. Most of the above research is ongoing. This paper
summarizes the traditional production of Zlatar cheese based on the
monitoring of the production process and interviewes with individual
producers in the area around Nova Varos, in the villages Akmacici, Bozetici,
Jasenovo, Bukovik, Komarani. Also, there is a review of the most important
chemical parameters of quality.
Effects of hygiene-sanitary measures on microbiological safety of finished product in butter production plant
Authors: Memisi Nurgin , Skrinjar Marija , Veskovic-Moracanin Slavica
Published: September 2012

This work presents the results of investigations of the effects of
hygienesanitary measures at critical points in the technological process of
butter production on its quality and microbiological safety. With this object
in mind, hygiene safety was checked using the swab method at the machine for
churning and packing butter (125 g packages and bulk butter), the equipment,
hands and clothing (work aprons) of employees directly engaged on the
machines. The evaluation of the safety parameters, as well as of the hygiene
of the production process itself, was carried out in keeping with the
Regulations on general and special conditions of food hygiene at any stage of
production, processing and trade (RS Official Gazette, No.72/2010). The
results of the hygiene safety of swabs taken from the 125g-butter packing
machine, after sanitation, showed an increased number of mesophilic bacteria
(up to 90 cfu/cm2), as well as the presence of bacteria from the Family
Enterobacteriaceae (4 cfu/cm2). The results of swabs taken from the hands of
workers engaged on the line for wrapping the butter following the churning
process and on the packing line reveal the presence of aerobic mesophilic
sporogenic bacteria (20 cfu/cm2), while the presence of pathogenic
microorganisms was not established. Butter samples packed into 125g portions
present more risky forms of commercial packaging than bulk butter, which is a
consequence of various handling activities and additional outside
contamination that takes place during the production process if continuous
production in the plant has not been ensured. Moreover, the established
presence of certain microorganisms (aerobic mesophilic microorganisms,
lipolytic bacteria, as well as fungi) in packed butter during its shelf life,
is largely a result of outside contamination and the hygienic condition of
the equipment. The obatined results of the investigations indicate the need
for special attention to be paid during the butter production process on
meeting the hygiene-sanitary conditions during the production process tself,
which primarily implies adequate washing and disinfecting of the equipment,
the required temperature regimen for the pasteurization of the cream and
similar activities, as well as the immaculate hygiene of the workers engaged
in the production process.
Teachers’ assessment of the possibilities for demonstrating personal initiative
Authors: Polovina Nada , Komlenovic Djurdjica
Published: September 2012

This paper deals with the phenomenon of teachers? personal initiative in
school everyday life as the significant factor of the quality of teaching and
learning. Our goal is to explore how teachers assess their initiative - to
what extent and in which way they show initiative, and what are the factors
that encourage and hinder its demonstration. The first part of the paper
analyses the very construct of ?initiative? - its determinants and the
relation with similar constructs. The second part of the paper presents
results of the research that included 182 teachers from urban primary schools
from the entire territory of Serbia. Teachers gave their opinion about the
presence and demonstration of personal initiative by replying to items in the
questionnaire constructed for the purposes of this research. Obtained data
were processed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The results
indicate that the majority of teachers consider themselves as persons of
initiative. They believe that there is plenty of space to show initiative in
creating atmosphere in the class, lecturing and in cooperation with parents
and colleagues, while the least space for that is in organizational
functioning of school and professional development. Teachers do not think
that there are bigger obstacles to demonstrating their initiative; however,
they are of the opinion that there is a lack of developed support to such
demonstration when it comes to school environment factors.
Veterinary Students' Attitudes on One Health: Implications for Curriculum Development at Veterinary Colleges
Authors: Wong David , Kogan Lori R.
Published: September 2012

One Health knowledge has been identified by the North American Veterinary Medical Education Consortium (NAVMEC) as a core competency for all graduating veterinarians. Many veterinary colleges, however, are still in the preliminary stages of exploring how best to incorporate One Health principles into their existing curricula. In February 2012, we conducted a survey among second to fourth-year Professional Veterinary Medicine (PVM) students at the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences to assess One Health needs and attitudes. Out of 407 students, 93 (22.9%) completed the survey. Although 74.2% of respondents were very or somewhat familiar with the One Health Initiative, only 34.4% reported some level of involvement with One Health-related activities. Over 80% of respondents rated the One Health Initiative as very important for public health, wildlife health, and food-animal medicine or surgery; less than 30% rated the One Health Initiative as very important for equine medicine or surgery and small-animal medicine or surgery. The majority of respondents were very interested in educational activities involving inter-disciplinary interactions with both human and ecosystem health professionals. Our findings can help guide the development and implementation of One Health-focused curricula at veterinary colleges.
Perspectivas comparativas del liderazgo
Authors: Querejazu Amaya
Published: September 2012

Maganda, C. & Koff , H. (Eds.). (2009). Perspectivas comparativas del liderazgo. RISC 2008
A DFT Study of Pyrrole-Isoxazole Derivatives as Chemosensors for Fluoride Anion
Authors: Jin Ruifa , Sun Weidong , Tang Shanshan
Published: September 2012

The interactions between chemosensors, 3-amino-5-(4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-indol-2-yl)isoxazole-4-carboxamide (AIC) derivatives, and different anions (F− Cl−, Br−, AcO−, and H2PO4−) have been theoretically investigated using DFT approaches. It turned out that the unique selectivity of AIC derivatives for F− is ascribed to their ability of deprotonating the host sensors. Frontier molecular orbital (FMO) analyses have shown that the vertical electronic transitions of absorption and emission for the sensing signals are characterized as intramolecular charge transfer (ICT). The study of substituent effects suggests that all the substituted derivatives are expected to be promising candidates for fluoride chemosensors both in UV-vis and fluorescence spectra except for derivative with benzo[d]thieno[3,2-b]thiophene fragment that can serve as ratiometric fluorescent fluoride chemosensor only.
Development of an Interaction Assay between Single-Stranded Nucleic Acids Trapped with Silica Particles and Fluorescent Compounds
Authors: Isoda T. , Maeda R.
Published: September 2012

Biopolymers are easily denatured by heating, a change in pH or chemical substances when they are immobilized on a substrate. To prevent denaturation of biopolymers, we developed a method to trap a polynucleotide on a substrate by hydrogen bonding using silica particles with surfaces modified by aminoalkyl chains ([A-AM silane]/SiO2). [A-AM silane]/SiO2 was synthesized by silane coupling reaction of N-2-(aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (A-AM silane) with SiO2 particles with a diameter of 5 μm at 100 °C for 20 min. The surface chemical structure of [A-AM silane]/SiO2 was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and molecular orbital calculations. The surface of the silica particles was modified with A-AM silane and primary amine groups were formed. [A-AM silane]/SiO2 was trapped with single-stranded nucleic acids [(Poly-X; X = A (adenine), G (guanine) and C (cytosine)] in PBS solution at 37 °C for 1 h. The single-stranded nucleic acids were trapped on the surface of the [A-AM silane]/SiO2 by hydrogen bonding to form conjugated materials. The resulting complexes were further conjugated by derivatives of acridine orange (AO) as fluorescent labels under the same conditions to form [AO:Poly-X:A-AM silane]/SiO2 complexes. Changes in the fluorescence intensity of these complexes originating from interactions between the single-stranded nucleic acid and aromatic compounds were also evaluated. The change in intensity displayed the order [AO: Poly-G: A-AM silane]/SiO2 > [AO:Poly-A:A-AM silane]/SiO2 >> [AO:Poly-C:A-AM silane]/SiO2. This suggests that the single-stranded nucleic acids conjugated with aminoalkyl chains on the surfaces of SiO2 particles and the change in fluorescence intensity reflected the molecular interaction between AO and the nucleic-acid base in a polynucleotide.
Deposition of Metal-Organic Frameworks by Liquid-Phase Epitaxy: The Influence of Substrate Functional Group Density on Film Orientation
Authors: Liu Jinxuan , Shekhah Osama , Stammer Xia , Arslan Hasan K. , Liu Bo , Schüpbach Björn , Terfort Andreas , Wöll Christof
Published: September 2012

The liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) of the metal-organic framework (MOF) HKUST-1 has been studied for three different COOH-terminated templating organic surfaces prepared by the adsorption of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold substrates. Three different SAMs were used, mercaptohexadecanoic acid (MHDA), 4’-carboxyterphenyl-4-methanethiol (TPMTA) and 9-carboxy-10-(mercaptomethyl)triptycene (CMMT). The XRD data demonstrate that highly oriented HKUST-1 SURMOFs with an orientation along the (100) direction was obtained on MHDA-SAMs. In the case of the TPMTA-SAM, the quality of the deposited SURMOF films was found to be substantially inferior. Surprisingly, for the CMMT-SAMs, a different growth direction was obtained; XRD data reveal the deposition of highly oriented HKUST-1 SURMOFs grown along the (111) direction.
Specific Binding of Anionic Porphyrin and Phthalocyanine to the G-Quadruplex with a Variety of in Vitro and in Vivo Applications
Authors: Yaku Hidenobu , Murashima Takashi , Miyoshi Daisuke , Sugimoto Naoki
Published: September 2012

The G-quadruplex, a four-stranded DNA structure with stacked guanine tetrads (G-quartets), has recently been attracting attention because of its critical roles in vitro and in vivo. In particular, the G-quadruplex functions as ligands for metal ions and aptamers for various molecules. Interestingly, the G-quadruplex can show peroxidase-like activity with an anionic porphyrin, iron (III) protoporphyrin IX (hemin). Importantly, hemin binds to G-quadruplexes with high selectivity over single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), which is attributable to an electrostatic repulsion of phosphate groups in ssDNA and dsDNA. The G-quadruplex and hemin-G-quadruplex complex allow development of sensing techniques to detect DNA, metal ions and proteins. In addition to hemin, anionic phthalocyanines also bind to the G-quadruplex formed by human telomere DNA, specifically over ssDNA and dsDNA. Since the binding of anionic phthalocyanines to the G-quadruplex causes an inhibition of telomerase activity, which plays a role in the immortal growth of cancer cells, anionic phthalocyanines are promising as novel anticancer drug candidates. This review focuses on the specific binding of hemin and anionic phthalocyanines to G-quadruplexes and the applications in vitro and in vivo of this binding property.
Optical Sensors Based on Plastic Fibers
Authors: Bilro Lúcia , Alberto Nélia , Pinto João L. , Nogueira Rogério
Published: September 2012

The recent advances of polymer technology allowed the introduction of plastic optical fiber in sensor design. The advantages of optical metrology with plastic optical fiber have attracted the attention of the scientific community, as they allow the development of low-cost or cost competitive systems compared with conventional technologies. In this paper, the current state of the art of plastic optical fiber technology will be reviewed, namely its main characteristics and sensing advantages. Several measurement techniques will be described, with a strong focus on interrogation approaches based on intensity variation in transmission and reflection. The potential applications involving structural health monitoring, medicine, environment and the biological and chemical area are also presented.
A Psycho-Pedagogical Framework for Multi-Adaptive Educational Games
Authors: Kickmeier-Rust Michael D. , Mattheiss Elke , Steiner Christina , Albert Dietrich
Published: September 2012

One of the trump cards of digital educational games is their enormous intrinsic motivational potential. Although learning game design is often understood on a one-fits-all level, the actual motivational strength of an educational game strongly depends on the individual learners, their very specific goals, preferences, abilities, strength and weakness, personality, and experiences with gaming. Considering motivation being a fragile and constantly changing state, it is important to continuously assess learning and gaming processes and the oscillations of motivation and immersion within a game. With this premise in mind, the authors developed a psycho-pedagogical approach to a non-invasive embedded assessment of motivational states and learning progress, feeding into a dynamic, ontology-driven learner (and gamer) model. To evaluate the approach, the demonstrator games were subject to intensive quantitative and qualitative experimental research. Results show that a meaningful personalization and an individual support are key factors of the success of learning games.
Honing Emotional Intelligence with Game-Based Crucible Experiences
Authors: Raybourn Elaine M.
Published: September 2012

The focus of the present paper is the design of multi-player role-playing game instances as crucible experiences for the exploration of one’s emotional intelligence. Subsequent sections describe the design of game-based, intercultural crucible experiences and how this design was employed for training with members of the United States Marine Corps (USMC). This work with the USMC is presented as a case study and example of the use of crucible experiences in game-based learning. Crucible experiences are learning opportunities relevant across a number of different domains and disciplines such as education, healthcare, corporate training, diplomacy, crisis management, international business, and intercultural communication. The present paper demonstrates that crucible experiences are catalysts for personal growth and can be incorporated into game-based learning design whose intent is to create defining moments in which learners can explore emotional intelligence and examine who they are under challenging conditions.
Forming The Guild
Authors: Ellcessor Elizabeth , Duncan Sean C.
Published: September 2012

This paper expands on Gee’s (2004) notion of “affinity spaces” by placing them in the context of games, media stars, and their fans and combining cultural studies and new literacies approaches. The Guild, a web series about the misadventures of MMO-players, written by and starring actor, writer, producer, and gamer Felicia Day, is examined. On WatchTheGuild.com, fans of The Guild enact literacy practices, particularly those that align with Day’s activities and star persona, such as media production and critique. These literacy practices are constrained by the limitations of projective identity in the context of star-based affinity spaces. Taking on projective identities within The Guild’s affinity space, individuals are faced with the impossibility of fully achieving the star’s – Day’s – successful identity as simultaneously gamer and media producer. The imbalance in cultural power allows the professionally manufactured star image to remain forever unattainable. This paper proposes reconsidering projective identity to move beyond the affinity space to develop one’s own sense of mastery outside the context of star-based fandom.
Fear of (Serious) Digital Games and Game-Based Learning?
Authors: Bösche Wolfgang , Kattner Florian
Published: September 2012

Digital games and their power as a tool for acquiring knowledge, training skills and changing behavior are – for some laymen – associated with rather negative concepts, and are thought to pose a general health risk. This paper shortly reviews and evaluates the scientific evidence for both positive and negative outcomes. It describes how particularly the negative effects are portrayed by the mass media and perceived by the general public and educators (especially in Germany). The conclusion is that negative effects such as addiction or personality changes towards aggression have been exaggerated in size, and that the positive effects and outcomes like their use as educational tools are at risk of being widely ignored. Additionally, the paper reports upon observations in a university lecture on the effects of violent digital games in which students could engage in a positive, healthy and enjoyable experience of learning with digital games.
Design of Robust Supply Chains
Authors: Aghezzaf El-Houssaine , Sitompul Carles
Published: September 2012

In a supply chain operating under uncertainty, a possible approach to reduce the complexity and scope of the planning process is to organize all involved critical planning decisions in a hierarchical structure. This chapter attempts to explore new ways of integrating production and scheduling plans in a complex supply chain taking into account effects of some specific uncertainty types. In particular, uncertainty types inherent to the demand and to the process or equipment are considered. To deal with demand uncertainty at the strategic level, the safety stock placement problem in supply chains with limited production capacities is investigated. Results of this analysis and its consequences at the design level are reported and discussed. At the tactical level, each stage in the supply chain generates its own aggregate plans in order to balance supply and demand. To deal with uncertainty at this level, some robust deterministic planning models are discussed. These models make use only of the readily available data, such as averages and standard deviations, related to the uncertain planning parameters. At the operational level, the issue of disaggregating the generated robust tactical plans into detailed plans is investigated. A model taking into account the progressive deterioration of the production equipment is discussed. The results of some simulations are also reported and discussed.
Three Misuse Patterns for Cloud Computing
Authors: Hashizume Keiko , Yoshioka Nobukazu , Fernandez Eduardo B.
Published: September 2012

Cloud computing is a new computing model that allows providers to deliver services on demand by means of virtualization. One of the main concerns in cloud computing is security. In particular, the authors describe some attacks in the form of misuse patterns, where a misuse pattern describes how an attack is performed from the point of view of the attacker. Specially, they describe three misuse patterns: Resource Usage Monitoring Inference, Malicious Virtual Machine Creation, and Malicious Virtual Machine Migration Process.
Advanced Question-Answering and Discourse Semantics
Authors: Saint-Dizier Patrick
Published: September 2012

In this chapter, the authors develop the paradigm of advanced question-answering that includes how-to, why, evaluative, comparative, and opinion questions. They show the different parameters at stake in answer production, involving several aspects of cooperativity. These types of questions require quite a lot of discourse semantics analysis and domain knowledge. The second part of this chapter is devoted to a short presentation of those text semantics aspects relevant to answering questions. The last part of this chapter introduces , a platform the authors have developed for discourse semantics analysis that they use for answering complex questions, in particular how-to and opinion questions.
NLP and Digital Library Management
Authors: Da Sylva Lyne
Published: September 2012

The field of study of Natural Language Processing (NLP) has developed over the past 50 years or so, producing an array of now mature technology, such as automatic morphological analysis, word sense disambiguation, parsing, anaphora resolution, natural language generation, named entity recognition, etc. The proliferation of large digital collections (evolving into Digital Libraries) and the emerging economic value of information demand efficient solutions for managing the information which is available, but which is not always easy to find. This chapter presents the requirements for handling documents in digital libraries and explains how existing NLP technology can be used to facilitate the task of document management.
The Use of E-Questionnaires in Organizational Surveys
Authors: Brender-Ilan Yael , Vinitzky Gideon
Published: September 2012

In recent years, there has been an increase in academic studies that examine the advantages and disadvantages of using e-questionnaires in organizations, but these studies have tended to ignore the potential differences between human resource (HR) managers and HR consultants with regards to using this tool. This chapter examines the use of e-questionnaires from the point of view of both types of practitioners. The study includes a qualitative exploratory survey, as well as a quantitative survey. T-tests, cluster analysis, and principal component analysis are performed and results support the three propositions that are presented. Specifically, it was found that (a) HR consultants and HR managers differ in the ranking of factors they think are important when deciding whether to use e-questionnaires; (b) preference differences exist between HR managers and HR consultants - managers are more directed by organizational constraints than consultants; and (c) the groupings for e-questionnaire preferences, compared to paper-and-pencil questionnaires, are consistent with Caldwell’s (2003) four roles of HR managers. The chapter concludes with implications and suggestions for future research.
Analysis and Use of the Life Styles Inventory 1 and 2 by Human Synergistics International
Authors: Lawson Dan
Published: September 2012

The Life Styles Inventory, developed by J. Clayton Lafferty, uses a combination of respected psychological and managerial theories to help individuals identify their beliefs, values, behaviors, and assumptions. This instrument presents twenty statements for each of the twelve life styles believed to influence the way we think and behave. The LSI 1 instrument is a self-assessment whereas the LSI 2 uses the same format and life styles to assess an individual through input from five or more other people. When used in combination, the two instruments use consensual validity to identify strengths and weaknesses for the development of a self-improvement plan. This chapter discussed the theoretical background of the Life Styles Inventory, as well as instrument validity and reliability. A description of the results upon taking the instrument is included, along with commentary on the instrument’s utility. Web address, cost, terms, and definitions appear at the end of the chapter.
Self-Monitoring Scale
Authors: Norris Sharon E. , Porter Tracy H.
Published: September 2012

Self-monitoring represents a social psychological construct of expressive behavior and self-presentation. The original 25-item Self-Monitoring Scale was developed by Snyder (1974) to measure the extent to which individuals differ in their use of social cues to guide behavior. High self-monitors tailor their behavior to fit the social context and make a good impression (Snyder, 1979). Low self-monitors are less responsive to situational and interpersonal cues (Snyder & Cantor, 1980). Social psychologists were the earliest users of the Self-Monitoring Scale, but its use has expanded to include researchers studying organizational behavior, group and organizational management, consumer marketing, and human relations. Researchers report a relationship between self-monitoring and impression management, leader emergence, career success, and citizenship behaviors.
Development of the Leader Integrity Assessment
Authors: Marshall J. Alan
Published: September 2012

The purpose of this research is to develop a direct and concise perceived leader integrity instrument that is posed from a positive perspective. The integrity construct in this study is developed from the tradition of moral philosophy and virtue ethics. The integrity construct in this study incorporates two aspects of integrity found in the literature, namely value-behavior congruence and a requirement that this congruence be grounded in morality. The moral philosophy used in this study to ground the integrity construct is virtue ethics as proposed by ancient philosophy and later maintained by Christian virtue ethics in the middle ages. An expert panel was used to establish content validity and construct validity/reliability was established via analysis of three samples of Air Force personnel associated with the U-2 pilot community. Nomological validity is established by leveraging the resultant Leader Integrity Assessment 15 to investigate the hypothesized moderating effects on the relationship between leader prototypicality and follower trust in the leader as proposed in the Kalshoven and Den Hartog (2009) Ethical Leadership Model. Overall, the Leader Integrity Assessment 15 was found valid and reliable and the integrity construct was found unidimensional as hypothesized.
The Inventory of Learner Persistence
Authors: Derrick M. Gail
Published: September 2012

The Inventory of Learner Persistence (ILP) was designed to assess persistence in learning and specifically within the context of autonomous learning. Autonomous learning is defined as the manifestation of persistence along with desire, resourcefulness, and initiative in learning; learner autonomy is defined as the characteristic or personal attribute of the individual to exhibit agency or intentional behavior. Thus, persistence in learning is the exhibition of volition, goal directedness and self-regulation. The development of items for the ILP provides a theoretical framework for defining persistence from a cognitive and psychological perspective and provides a mechanism for understanding persistence from other than a post hoc behavioral standpoint. The implications of such assessments can provide an analysis of where a learner may be in terms of their development and readiness for learning that will require persistent skills for success.
The Mutual Influence of Technology and Leadership Behaviors
Authors: Heilmann Tobias , Reips Ulf-Dietrich
Published: September 2012

The present book chapter focuses on e-leadership, reviewing and discussing the latest developments in new (e-)leadership conceptions, such as transformational leadership and others. The authors propose alternative, albeit well-proven measures (e.g., MLQ 5X Short, Bass & Avolio, 1990) and an e-leadership tool called Virtual Team Trainer (VTT; Reips & Ito, 2007). The VTT uses the Online Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (OLBDQ; Reips & Heilmann, 2009), assessing the Ohio State Leadership styles consideration and initiating structure. Alongside personality tests and group process development units that were built from the Existential Mapping Process (EMP; Horowitz, 1985), the tool contains modules that help leaders and team members to identify their Ohio State leadership styles. The VTT relates the results of the self- and other-questionnaires regarding team structure, development, and modifications and improvement of leadership skills. The VTT is available free for use via the iScience Server portal at http://iscience.eu.
Preferred Features of Course Management Systems in Post Secondary and Corporate Online Learning
Authors: Calderon Orly
Published: September 2012

The instrument described in this chapter is designed for instructors of e-learning, for the purpose of giving faculty an opportunity to identify, express, and suggest features in a Course Management System (CMS) that they feel are pedagogically important. Appropriate for use in universities or corporations, this survey can provide instructors with a greater voice in the CMS decision making process, thereby giving pedagogy a greater influence on the practice of technology implementation in the learning environment. This chapter describes the construction of the survey, its psychometric properties, and preliminary data gathered at a private university in New York State. The findings differentiate among CMS’ features that faculty consider important, not important, or feel neutral about. Further, the results underscore the differences between previous users and non-users of CMSs in assigning importance to types of features. The author discusses the implications of using the survey in both educational and corporate settings with the purpose of helping institutions that utilize e-learning to meet the educational standard set by current best practices.
Online Survey Software
Authors: Baker Jason D.
Published: September 2012

The commonality among online instruments – regardless of discipline – is the use of online tools to administer the electronic measurements, collect participant responses, and aggregate the results for data analysis. Under the heading of software as a service (SaaS) or cloud computing, online survey software makes it possible for individuals and organizations to easily develop and administer online instruments. This chapter provides a background into SaaS and cloud computing, profiles three leading online survey software tools – SurveyMonkey, Qualtrics, and LimeSurvey – along with the PollEverywhere online and mobile polling tool. The chapter concludes with the corresponding cost and links to these online survey tools along with relevant terms and resources.
Holistic Investment Framework for Cloud Computing
Authors: Rabaey Marc
Published: September 2012

Cloud computing is a new technology which puts whole or partial parts of the Information Technology (IT) infrastructure and services in a virtualized environment inside and/or outside the traditional IT center perimeter. It touches every level of the IT architecture and thus has a big influence on the way the internal and external users via their business processes are interacting with this architecture. Security is a big issue in this context and a lot of business and IT people are reluctant to move to the Cloud. Besides the security, business and architectural issues may increase the risks and create more uncertainties for these kinds of projects. For this reason, the chapter presents an investment framework, which takes into account the global, the business, the IT and the operational strategies, so that cloud computing projects have more chance to succeed. The need for flexibility in the investments is addressed by the real option valuation, which is placed in the context of the chapter’s holistic investment framework for cloud computing.
Cloud Computing Security and Risk Management
Authors: Kanamori Yoshito , Yen Minnie Yi-Miin
Published: September 2012

Cloud computing is changing the way corporate computing operates and forcing the rapid evolution of computing service delivery. It is being facilitated by numerous technological approaches and a variety of business models. Although utilizing the infrastructure of existing computing and networking technologies, different cloud service providers (CSPs) are able to unite their efforts and address a much broader business space. As a result, confusion has emerged and questions have risen from both Information Technology (IT) and business communities. How cloud environments differ from traditional models, and how these differences affect their adoption are of major importance. In this chapter, the authors first clarify misperceptions by introducing the new threats and challenges involved in cloud environments. Specifically, security issues and concerns will be depicted in three practical scenarios designed to illuminate the different security problems in each cloud deployment model. The chapter also further discusses how to assess and control the concerns and issues pertaining to the security and risk management implementations.
Key Legal Issues with Cloud Computing
Authors: De Silva Sam
Published: September 2012

The chapter considers the key legal issues with cloud computing, including: (1) liability for service failure; (2) service levels and service credits; (3) intellectual property issues; and (4) jurisdiction and governing law.
An Economic Analysis of Cloud
Authors: Lee Wei Nein “William”
Published: September 2012

Cloud based “Software as a Service (SaaS)” computing and “Virtual Desktop Infrastructures” (VDI) are game changing technologies. Both enable convenient, on-demand access through shared computing resources as opposed to the more rigid and fragmented infrastructures of tethering on specific hardware components for computational processing. The architecture and delivery models of SaaS and VDI offer both superior flexibility and scalability in response to constant changes in organizational business requirements. This chapter provides specific return on investment analysis and business case studies leveraging the application and value proposition of these solutions. In summary, the analysis presented suggests an inevitable shift from legacy network architectures to SaaS and VDI computing is the path forward.
Open Source Approach to Contemporary Research
Authors: Kavroudakis Dimitris
Published: September 2012

As the open source paradigm is influencing the modern economic world, an increasing number of scientific disciplines use the open working model in knowledge production process. The contemporary research field requires a new shift towards the constantly evolving digital age where collaboration and exchange of information is growing. The shift from traditional research models to open science may be the starting point for scientific innovation. This work presents the case of open scientific research as an analogy to the open source software movement and uses a case study from the Geo-Information technology sector.
Analyzing the Competitive Dynamics in Open-Source Publishing Using Game Theory
Authors: Hai-Jew Shalin
Published: September 2012

Using a game theory model to analyze whether a content developer should pursue publishing with an open-source or proprietary publisher, this work describes a strategy for those content developers working in higher education in terms of an articulated strategy for publishing. This research also suggests the high costs of publishing for content developers and proposes ways for open-source publishers to attract and maintain talent for open-source publishing in socio-technical spaces. This chapter offers fresh insights on the uses of game theory to model stakeholder motivations and payoffs, and from there articulate basic strategies; in line with game theory, this model also suggests directions and hypotheses for future research in open-source academic publishing.
Building Open-Source Resources for Online Learning in a Higher Education Environment
Authors: Hai-Jew Shalin
Published: September 2012

Faculty, administrators, and staff at institutions of higher education are singularly well poised to create open-source digital learning contents. Creating open-source digital learning contents seems to fit with a university’s mission and the education paradigm of sharing knowledge and training up others to move a domain field forward. Indeed, they have contributed to many open-source endeavors. While individual open-source development endeavors may require a relatively light investment by colleges and universities, the work of building open-source resources involves significant planning in order to support the endeavor in an organized way on a campus. This chapter introduces some of the known challenges and methods to building open-source resources for online learning in the higher education environment in the US.