bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An annotated checklist of the coastal forests of Kenya, East Africa
Authors: Ngumbau Veronicah Mutele , Luke Quentin , Nyange Mwadime , Wanga Vincent Okelo , Watuma Benjamin Muema , Mbuni Yuvenalis Morara , Munyao Jacinta Ndunge , Oulo Millicent Akinyi , Mkala Elijah Mbandi , Kipkoech Solomon , Itambo Malombe , Hu Guang-Wan , Wang Qing-Feng
Published: May 2020

The inadequacy of information impedes society’s competence to find out the cause or degree of a problem or even to avoid further losses in an ecosystem. It becomes even harder to identify all the biological resources at risk because there is no exhaustive inventory of either fauna or flora of a particular region. Coastal forests of Kenya are located in the southeast part of Kenya and are distributed mainly in four counties: Kwale, Kilifi, Lamu, and Tana River County. They are a stretch of fragmented forests ca. 30−120 km away from the Indian Ocean, and they have existed for millions of years. Diversity of both fauna and flora is very high in these relicts and the coastal forests of Eastern Africa, extending along the coast from Somalia through Kenya and Tanzania to Mozambique, are ranked among the priority biodiversity hotspot in the world. In spite of the high plant species richness and their importance towards supporting the livelihoods of the communities that live around them, floristic studies in these forests have remained poorly investigated. Hence, based on numerous field investigations, plant lists from published monograph/literature, and data from BRAHMS (Botanical Records and Herbarium Management System) database at East African herbarium (EA), we present a detailed checklist of vascular plants recorded in this region. Our results show that Kenyan coastal forests play an essential role in the flora of Kenya and the plant diversity of the coastal forests of East Africa. The checklist represents 176 families, 981 genera, 2489 species, 100 infraspecific taxa, 90 endemic plants species, 72 exotic species, and 120 species that are included in the current IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as species of major concern. We also discovered three new species to the world from these relicts. Thus, Kenyan coastal forests present a remarkable and significant center of plant diversity.
Rediscovery and phylogenetic relationships of the scolopendromorph centipede Mimops orientalis Kraepelin, 1903 (Chilopoda): a monotypic species of Mimopidae endemic to China, for more than one century
Authors: Jiang Chao , Bai Yunjun , Shi Mengxuan , Liu Juan
Published: May 2020

Mimops orientalis Kraepelin, 1903 is a monotypic species of Mimopidae endemic to China. The species is known only from a single specimen, the holotype. Little is known about its biology, habitat associations, or phylogenetic relationships. It was rediscovered on Qinling Mountain in Shaanxi and Henan provinces, China, 117 years after its last record. Detailed descriptions and colour photographs of living specimens are provided along with its ecology, updated conservation notes, and data on sexual dimorphism. A genetic analysis (COI, 16S rRNA, and 28S rRNA) was conducted to assess the phylogenetic relationships among Mimopidae, Cryptopidae, Scolopendridae, Scolopocryptopidae, and Plutoniumidae. The results support classifying Mimopidae as a valid family.
Les réformes et l’État et la transformation des services publics : des tendances internationales au local, quels effets pour les territoires ?
Authors: Chouraqui Julie
Published: May 2020

L’article propose une synthèse des travaux existants sur les réformes de l’État et leurs effets territoriaux, en se concentrant sur la question des services publics. Dans un premier temps, les tendances internationales en matière de réformes de l’État en Europe, en Amérique du Nord et en Australasie sont présentées. Développées dans un contexte de crise économique où le poids et les dépenses des États étaient considérés comme surdimensionnés, les réformes adoptées dans ces différentes régions présentent des points communs. L’influence forte du New Public Management est un élément clé, qui a mis au cœur des programmes de réformes de nouveaux objectifs comme l’optimisation des dépenses ou l’augmentation de la performance dans le secteur public. La seconde partie de l’article est consacrée à l’analyse des effets territoriaux associés à ces réformes, en mettant la France en regard avec d’autres États ayant adopté des réformes similaires. Une évolution dans la répartition des services publics, marquée par un renforcement de leur concentration spatiale, est observée dans plusieurs études. Ce phénomène pénalise particulièrement les espaces ruraux et les petites villes et semble créer ou renforcer des inégalités territoriales. À l’échelle locale, plusieurs études suggèrent que les fermetures de services publics peuvent avoir des conséquences néfastes.
La valeur d’existence du monde vivant selon les Inuits du Nunavik et les Occidentaux aux Kerguelen
Authors: Joliet Fabienne , Van Tilbeurgh Véronique , Atlan Anne
Published: May 2020

Dans le contexte actuel de transition socio-écologique internationale, l’objectif de cet article est d’interroger la relation entre les humains et les autres vivants et choses naturelles dans les derniers espaces de vaste naturalité aux pôles. C’est à travers la notion de valeur d’existence que cette relation sera analysée dans ses retranchements chez les Inuits qui habitent le Nunavik en subarctique et les Occidentaux qui veillent sur les Kerguelen en subantarctique. Plus particulièrement, c’est la nature du lien qu’ils entretiennent avec les vivants non-humains et autres choses naturelles, et ses registres de valeurs qui sont étudiées. Ces enquêtes boréales et australes en zone protégée ou bien à ses abords montrent ainsi que ce qui prédomine, c’est le fait qu’il est attribué aux éléments naturels une valeur d’existence en fonction d’un esprit commun spirituel ou bien d’une enveloppe commune charnelle d’« être vivant ». Selon ces principes, les modalités prises par l’attribution de la valeur d’existence changent : les humains se concevant soit, comme une partie d’un ensemble au même titre que les autres vivants et choses naturelles ayant un esprit ou conscience, soit comme maîtres et protecteurs des autres vivants et choses naturelles, en tant qu’ayant une fonction dominante au sein d’« êtres vivants ». Dans cette perspective, le territoire joue un rôle spécifique favorisant l’existence même de cette valeur au-delà de ses fonctions de régulation couramment retenues.
Du « coup de foudre » à l’investissement : les propriétaires français d’établissements touristiques dans la médina de Fès (Maroc)
Authors: Joly Merryl
Published: May 2020

Depuis le début des années 2000, la médina de Fès au Maroc s’inscrit dans les dynamiques urbaines, sociales et économiques des centres historiques marocains sous l’impulsion d’entrepreneurs occidentaux. Séduits par le cadre de vie et la possibilité de vivre « l’ambiance riad  », les anciennes demeures des médinas marocaines sont devenues des biens immobiliers prisés. La plupart de ces entrepreneurs ont choisi de les réhabiliter et de les transformer à des fins touristiques ce qui implique la construction d’un ensemble de liens économiques et sociaux plus ou moins formels avec leur nouvel environnement. À partir du cas des propriétaires français d’établissements touristiques dans la médina de Fès, cet article cherche à comprendre comment leur activité économique conduit à créer de nouveaux rapports avec la société locale en jouant sur différents registres (implication, différenciation, distanciation). Il s’agira d’analyser ces rapports au regard des stratégies d’implantation de ces propriétaires et des stratégies de développement touristique qu’ils mettent en place pour pérenniser leur activité économique.
Genre et succession dans les PME familiales marocaines
Authors: Zerbet Rachida , Ouahi Lhoucine
Published: May 2020

Au Maroc comme ailleurs, la contribution économique des PME familiales est importante, mais la pérennité de ces entreprises dépend du choix du successeur. Les femmes successeurs sont encore peu nombreuses par rapport aux hommes et les attentes normatives restent liées aux caractéristiques de la masculinité plutôt qu’à celles de la féminité. Au Maroc, les politiques de l’État en faveur de l’autonomisation des femmes dans les sphères économique et sociale, ont contribué positivement à l’amélioration des conditions des femmes, mais dans le domaine des affaires, les femmes ne représentent que 10 % du total des entrepreneurs et des obstacles socioculturels limitent leur accès à des postes de direction au sein des PME familiales. Actuellement, l’évolution des relations sociales au sein des familles et de la structure des carrières façonne la manière de ‘faire le genre’ (doing gender) dans les affaires et contribue à rendre les femmes davantage légitimes pour prendre la relève de l’entreprise familiale 1 . Mais nous savons encore très peu de choses sur la manière dont les féminités sont mises en œuvre par les femmes dans le contexte très particulier de la succession des PME familiales marocaines. Cette thématique essentielle fait l’objet de notre étude qualitative, qui analyse les récits de quatre cas de PME familiales marocaines dans la région du Souss. Son objectif principal est d’explorer l’effet du genre, en tant que construction sociale, sur les femmes successeurs des PME familiales marocaines.
Croissance, transmission… une équipe pluridisciplinaire pour répondre aux problématiques des entreprises familiales
Authors: Bordas Ameline , Gaulin Johan , Van Hassel Franck
Published: May 2020

Johan Gaulin (Associé EY – Responsable du marché des entreprises familiales en France) et Franck Van Hassel (Associé EY – Responsable de la Direction de la fiscalité privée et des entreprises familiales – Paris) partagent leurs regards d’experts en tant qu’interlocuteurs privilégiés auprès des entreprises familiales françaises. Pour passer l’épreuve du temps, ces sociétés font face à des enjeux de développement, d’innovation, de croissance… À cela s’ajoutent les enjeux de gouvernance, de succession, de gestion d’entrées et de sorties des membres de la famille, de transmission de la culture entrepreneuriale. Ces sujets sont souvent tabous au sein de la famille et débouchent régulièrement sur une incapacité à anticiper les enjeux de transmission. C’est pourquoi l’accompagnement proposé par EY permet de proposer des solutions adaptées aux enjeux de l’entreprise et à chaque contexte familial.
Le virus dans la cité
Authors: Dujin Anne
Published: May 2020

Il faut se laisser ébranler par l’événement inédit de l’épidémie. Catastrophe naturelle, elle n’en a pas moins une dimension politique : elle polarise et ouvre des possibles de refondation comme de destruction.
Réapprendre la maladie
Authors: Marin Claire
Published: May 2020

Le confinement nous fait vivre, dans la prudence et l’inquiétude, comme les malades mais nous prive aussi des relations qui nous soutiennent. Il pourrait être l’occasion d’écouter les malades et de considérer la santé comme un bien public.
Le lieu du soin
Authors: Brugère Fabienne , Le Blanc Guillaume
Published: May 2020

Si l’épidémie révèle des vulnérabilités, sa gestion actuelle efface la démocratie sanitaire et le prendre-soin social au profit d’un renforcement de la souveraineté nationale. Pourtant, le care n’est pas patriote.
L’année du Rat de métal
Authors: Bozarslan Hamit
Published: May 2020

La Chine a imposé sa pratique de régime d’exception comme la normalité des temps de crise à la quasi-totalité du monde. Faute de ressources démocratiques, ce moment hobbesien pourrait compromettre l’avenir de la cité.
L’ordre civique contre le désordre commerçant
Authors: Orain Arnaud
Published: May 2020

L’épidémie actuelle de coronavirus partage avec la peste de Marseille de 1720 un même imaginaire expiatoire qui conduit à opposer l’ordre civique au désordre commerçant. Il représente un danger pour les libertés démocratiques.
À l’école : que faire après le virus ?
Authors: Dubet François
Published: May 2020

Le confinement a confirmé l’inventivité des enseignants, et invite à s’interroger sur l’organisation du temps, les inégalités et le rôle du numérique.
C’était au temps du grand confinement
Authors: Boucheron Patrick
Published: May 2020

Le sombre temps du confinement convoque le souvenir des solitudes craintives au frontispice du Léviathan de Hobbes, ainsi qu’une ancienne légende japonaise de catastrophe.
Le corps des femmes dans la Tunisie postrévolutionnaire
Authors: Kréfa Abir , Majdoub Rania
Published: May 2020

Pendant la révolution tunisienne, les usages du corps ont été divers : instrument de politisation et de publicisation à travers les immolations, les nombreuses grèves de la faim et autres souffrances, il a aussi fait l’objet de mobilisations propres. Des femmes, se revendiquant ou non féministes, ont ainsi réclamé la liberté de disposer de leur corps. Dans ce cadre se situent tout aussi bien les mobilisations contre les violences, en particulier sexuelles, que les revendications de se vêtir et/ou se dénuder comme elles l’entendent. L’article analyse, à partir d’entretiens et d’archives, les modalités et les enjeux d’une mobilisation contre le viol en Tunisie entre 2012 et 2014, au sein de laquelle les autrices ont été engagées. D’une part, il relativise la spontanéité de la mobilisation, tout en montrant les effets de l’événement révolutionnaire, qui a notamment permis la formation d’une nouvelle génération de féministes. D’autre part, il montre que les stratégies discursives des militantes, surtout des aînées, n’échappent pas à certaines ambivalences, si bien que le corps des femmes demeure aussi l’objet d’une bataille partisane.
Donner du corps aux martyrs
Authors: Chaib Kinda
Published: May 2020

Cet article analyse l’enterrement d’un combattant du Hezbollah au Liban Sud en 2014 pour interroger la manière dont les funérailles donnent à voir le parti tel qu’il veut se représenter. Ce dispositif de communication multiforme pose aussi la question de l’intimité du deuil et des pratiques à la marge des normes partisanes. En centrant l’analyse sur la partie féminine du cortège, l’article questionne la place des femmes et ce que disent leurs corps du parti dont elles se réclament.
Althusser, Poulantzas et le problème de l’autonomie de la politique
Authors: Douet Yohann
Published: May 2020

Dans cet article, j’étudie le rapport entre les travaux de Nicos Poulantzas et la pensée de Louis Althusser. Je montre comment ce rapport s’est noué autour du problème de l’autonomie de la politique. Pour élaborer une théorie marxiste de l’État, Poulantzas s’est efforcé d’éviter le réductionnisme économique sans retomber dans une conception subjectiviste de la politique, qui la verrait comme une sphère de liberté et empêcherait donc de l’appréhender scientifiquement. C’est dans le cadre théorique ouvert par Althusser qu’il a pu développer ce projet, avant tout dans Pouvoir politique et classes sociales (1968). Poulantzas a cependant été amené à s’éloigner progressivement de la problématique structuraliste, pour rechercher une perspective plus stratégique, ce dont témoigne son dernier grand ouvrage, l’État, le pouvoir et le socialisme (1978).
Le travail, voie royale vers la santé mentale ?
Authors: Widart Frédéric
Published: May 2020

À partir de ma pratique dans un centre de réadaptation fonctionnelle pour adultes souffrant de psychopathologies, j’interroge le décalage entre les observations cliniques et la littérature scientifique, entre le taux d’échec et les exigences de réinsertion professionnelle. La présente réflexion analyse la définition de la santé mentale prônée par l’OMS, conçue dans ses rétroactions avec les facteurs socio-économiques, son articulation aux politiques d’activation ainsi que leurs effets sur le travail psychique de réélaboration identificatoire imposé aux patients.
Défenses dans la prise en charge de la souffrance au travail en Suède et en France
Authors: Benelbaz Jonathan , Padurariu Andreea
Published: May 2020

À la lumière des deux dispositifs de prise en charge de la souffrance au travail basés en France et en Suède, l’article cherche dans un premier temps à explorer le positionnement des praticiens des deux dispositifs face à la question de la réinsertion professionnelle. Dans un second temps, l’article cherche à explorer les défenses des praticiens de ces deux dispositifs face aux questionnements portant soit sur le niveau d’indépendance face à une politique néolibérale, soit sur le positionnement face aux critiques portant sur la légitimité institutionnelle.
Une patiente schizophrène au sein d’un groupe à médiation par l’économique
Authors: Castanho Pablo , Pinel Jean-Pierre
Published: May 2020

Cet article vise à contribuer à une théorisation de l’interprétation dans le travail de groupe lorsque sont réunis des patients névrosés et psychotiques. En appui sur une expérience clinique conduite dans un groupe hétérogène à médiation par l’économique, cet article explore les fonctions psychiques exercées par une participante schizophrène. Il montre que ses productions délirantes participent à la mise en figurabilité des processus groupaux inconscients. Il développe trois voies d’analyse de ces processus. L’une est centrée sur l’activité de représentation engagée par les protagonistes de la séquence clinique à savoir, la participante, les coordinateurs et le groupe. L’autre voie d’analyse explore les nouages et les articulations qui se déploient entre le sujet et le groupe en singularisant les fonctions phoriques exercées par la production délirante de la participante schizophrène pour l’ensemble constitué de sujets organisés sur un mode sans doute plus névrotique. La dernière se propose de penser les achoppements du circuit de la Dette attestés par les participants de ce groupe. Cette analyse ouvre sur la question de l’interprétation dans le travail analytique de groupe.
Iontophoresis Corneal Cross-linking With Enhanced Fluence and Pulsed UV-A Light: 3-Year Clinical Results
Authors: Mazzotta Cosimo , Bagaglia Simone Alex , Sgheri Arianna , Di Maggio Alessandro , Fruschelli Mario , Romani Andrea , Vinciguerra Riccardo , Vinciguerra Paolo , Tosi Gian Marco
Published: May 2020

PURPOSE:

To assess 3-year safety and efficacy of enhanced-fluence pulsed-light iontophoresis cross-linking (EF I-CXL) in patients with progressive keratoconus.

METHODS:

This prospective interventional pilot study included 24 eyes of 20 patients, with a mean age of 23.9 years (range: 15 to 36 years). Iontophoresis with riboflavin solution was used for stromal imbibition. The treatment energy was optimized at 30% (7 J/cm
2
) and ultraviolet-A power set at 18 mW/cm
2
× 6.28 minutes of pulsed-light on-off exposure, with a total irradiation time of 12.56 minutes. Uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), corneal tomography, and corneal optical coherence tomography (OCT) at baseline and 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, and 3 years postoperatively were evaluated.

RESULTS:

At 3 years, average UDVA decreased from 0.50 ± 0.10 to 0.36 ± 0.08 logMAR (
P
< .05), average maximum keratometry decreased from 52.94 ± 1.34 to 51.4 ± 1.49 diopters (D) (Delta: −1.40 ± 0.80 D;
P
< .05), average coma improved from 0.24 ± 0.05 to 0.12 ± 0.02 µm (
P
= .001), and symmetry index decreased from 4.22 ± 1.01 to 3.53 ± 0.90 D. Corneal OCT showed demarcation line detection at 285.8 ± 20.2 µm average depth in more than 80% at 1 month postoperatively.

CONCLUSIONS:

The 3-year results of EF I-CXL showed satisfactory I-CXL functional outcomes, increasing the visibility and the depth of demarcation line closer to epithelium-off standard CXL.

[
J Refract Surg
. 2020;36(5):286–292.]
Fast and effective biomedical named entity recognition using temporal convolutional network with conditional random field
Authors: Che Chao ,   Key Laboratory of Advanced Design and Intelligent Computing, Ministry of Education, Dalian University, Dalian 116622, China, Zhou Chengjie , Zhao Hanyu , Jin Bo , Gao Zhan ,   School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China,   Beijing Haoyisheng Cloud Hospital Management Technology Ltd. Beijing 100120, China
Published: May 2020

Biomedical named entity recognition (Bio-NER) is the prerequisite for mining knowledge from biomedical texts. The state-of-the-art models for Bio-NER are mostly based on bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) and bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT) models. However, both BiLSTM and BERT models are extremely computationally intensive. To this end, this paper proposes a temporal convolutional network (TCN) with a conditional random field (TCN-CRF) layer for Bio-NER. The model uses TCN to extract features, which are then decoded by the CRF to obtain the final result. We improve the original TCN model by fusing the features extracted by convolution kernel with different sizes to enhance the performance of Bio-NER. We compared our model with five deep learning models on the GENIA and CoNLL-2003 datasets. The experimental results show that our model can achieve comparative performance with much less training time. The implemented code has been made available to the research community.
Estimation of unconfined compressive strength of cement-stabilized jabre as material upgrade on highway construction
Authors: Teijón-López-Zuazo E. , Vega-Zamanillo Á. , Calzada-Pérez M. Á. , Juli-Gándara L.
Published: May 2020

Granite rock has powerful alterations at several meters of depth. The clayed sand resulting is commonly known as jabre. This “in situ” mixture of cement-stabilized soil requires a laboratory formula. Even when the test section is correctly verified, the mechanical properties of the homogeneous mixture of jabre exhibit high degrees of dispersion. The laboratory work undertaken included particle-size analysis and screening, defini­tion of liquid and plastic limits, compressive strength, dry density and moisture content over stabilized samples, modified Proctor, California Bearing Ratio (CBR) and the determination of the workability of the hydrauli­cally bound mixtures. The stress resistance curve was analyzed by means of a multilinear model of unconfined compressive strength (UCS). Since practical engineering only requires UCS for 7 days, in order to gain greater knowledge of the material, other UCS transformations were used at other curing times such as 7, 14 and 28 days.
GDPR in Between Profiles and Decision-Making
Authors: Georgiou Elena
Published: May 2020

The creation and application of profiles may affect individuals and their lives. The lack of transparency and accuracy that may result from these profiles can cause asymmetries of knowledge and unbalanced distribution of powers between business entities and individual subjects. As such, profiling challenges the protection of individuals and generates concerns over the individuals' privacy and data protection. In using profiling practices, every business entity must comply with data protection legislation.The purpose of the chapter is to examine the effectiveness of the GDPR to ensure protection for individuals within the context of profiling. It identifies and analyses, from a profiling point of view, a number of strengths and weaknesses associated with the general data protection principles as adopted under the Article 5 GDPR. The author argues that profiling contradicts the transparent nature of data protection principles, and thus of the GDPR. In practice, the law is ineffective to ensure fair, lawful, and transparent profiling activities to safeguard individuals and their rights.
Smart Borders and Data Protection
Authors: Progin-Theuerkauf Sarah , Zoeteweij Margarite , Turhan Ozan
Published: May 2020

In May 2019, the elections to the European Parliament and the political consequences of the new composition of the Parliament, as well as the never-ending Brexit debate, in which there seems to be a new dramatic turn every week, received a lot of media attention. So, it is perhaps not surprising that two regulations adopted by the Council on 20 May 2019 have so far gone almost unnoticed. However, this is completely unjustified, as they will have far-reaching consequences. Specifically, the chapter concerns regulations 2019/817 and 2019/818, establishing a framework for the interoperability (i.e. linkage) between EU information systems in the field of borders and visa and in the area of freedom, security, and justice. The regulations are part of the EU's idea to create smart borders (i.e., borders that can be better and more easily controlled by using new digital systems). This chapter critically analyses the establishment of the individual databases and their interoperability, with a particular focus on data protection issues that result from them.
Creating Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Classroom Communities in Early Childhood Language Immersion Schools
Authors: Slapac Alina , Kim Sujin
Published: May 2020

This chapter examined the development of a classroom community through a case study of a kindergarten teacher in a Spanish language immersion school. Case study data includes observational field notes, classroom artifacts, informal conversations, and interviews with an immersion kindergarten classroom teacher. Additionally, interviews with the two administrators from the Spanish and French immersion schools (networking schools) were collected and analyzed to learn about their perspectives regarding culturally and linguistically responsive teaching practices and their commitment to encouraging the creation of classroom communities within their schools. The results revealed both the administrators and the case teacher in the kindergarten classroom supported practices of drawing from their own and students' cultural identities and resources to create a culturally responsive learning and social environment, in partnership with students and families. Recommendations for future studies on diverse early childhood settings are discussed in regards to teacher preparation and policy enactment.
Building Academic Foundation Through Investing in Early Childhood Education and Development in South African Informal Settlement
Authors: Tshishonga Ndwakhulu Stephen
Published: May 2020

In the developing world alone, there are over 200 million children who are in need of immediate early childhood development interventions. Most affected by poor or lack of quality ECD are the poor and those children in low income households. Early childhood development interventions protect children against the effects of poverty, poor nutrition, inadequate healthcare, and a lack of education. Globally, various ECD programme interventions in communities clearly indicate that communities and families want quality ECD programmes for their children at a cost that is affordable. In South Africa, quality early childhood development interventions could have a significant effect in reducing poverty and inequality. This chapter interrogates the challenges and benefits of extending quality ECE & D particularly to disadvantaged and materially deprived children in South African informal settlements. The chapter is based empirical research as well as secondary data in the form of books, book chapters, and accredited journals.
Factors Influencing Virtual Learning System Usage in Higher Education
Authors: Padayachee Indira
Published: May 2020

Virtual learning systems (VLSs), commonly referred to as learning or course management systems, have been formally adopted at many higher education institutions. However, knowledge of the actual usage of VLSs is limited in terms of what specific functional and non-functional characteristics are deemed useful and how this influences system usage. Furthermore, little is known about the role of other non-system-related factors related to VLS usage, such as pedagogic, organisational, and individual difference factors. This chapter proposes and describes the virtual learning system usage model (VLSUM), which represents the factors influencing VLS usage in higher education institutions. The VLSUM is based on a conceptual framework integrating multiple dimensions and is confirmed by the results of an empirical study. A mixed-methods research design was adopted in the development of the VSLUM. This model is valuable to educational technologists, instructional designers, and software designers for VLS implementation in higher education.
A Framework for Ameliorating Risk in Australian University Crowdfunding
Authors: O'Donnell Jonathan
Published: May 2020

Crowdfunding is a balance of risk versus reward. Crowdfunders take a public risk that they will fail to raise funds. Donors take the risk that the campaign will not be funded or that they will not see a return for their support. In an ideal world, both sides are rewarded through the development of something new. If the campaign is being run by a staff member at a large organisation, the organisation should consider a number of risks. These include legal risks such as corruption and misrepresentation, as well as reputational risks and risks relating to exploitation of staff. There is also the risk of funding foregone due to excessive caution regarding crowdfunding. This chapter uses universities in Australia as a case study to illustrate some of these risks. It analyses them through a framework for managing risk in business centric crowdfunding platforms. It contributes a new framework for ameliorating risk before, during, and after crowdfunding campaigns.
Reforming Australia's Safe Harbour for Internet Intermediaries
Authors: Alexander Sam
Published: May 2020

The internet safe harbour created by section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has been described as one of the laws that built Silicon Valley. Australia does not have an equivalent law. The closest available is clause 91(1) of schedule 5 of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Cth) (BSA Immunity), a law described by the NSW Department of Justice as of limited ‘utility'. The purpose of this chapter is to conduct a comparative analysis of section 230 and the BSA Immunity. On the one hand, the chapter seeks to outline how section 230 has helped develop some of the world's most successful platforms while, on the other hand, the chapter argues that the BSA Immunity's lack of utility has had a ‘chilling effect' on internet businesses in Australia. Following this comparison, the chapter discusses potential reforms to the BSA Immunity, which could assist in the development of future Australian start-ups.
The Regulation of Blockchain in Africa
Authors: Laubscher Michael Casparus , Khan Muhammed Siraaj
Published: May 2020

Blockchain and blockchain technology have captured the imagination of the world. It is being used increasingly more in business and has found its way into the legal profession as well. Blockchain as such has immense potential and can certainly be extremely beneficial. However, since it is such a dynamic, innovative, and recent development, there is a need for regulation of this phenomenon. Regulation will bring more clarity, protection, and assurance. One of the main objectives of a blockchain, however, is to move away from centralised control, so the issue of regulation is a sensitive and complex one. Regulators and policymakers find it difficult to maintain the balance between effective regulation and allowing blockchain to fulfil its potential.
Student and Faculty Perceptions of Social Media Use and Relationships Inside and Outside the Higher Education Classroom
Authors: Delello Julie A. , Mokhtari Kouider
Published: May 2020

This study examined student and faculty perceptions of social media use inside and outside the classroom. Three hundred and ninety-six students and fifty faculty members at a regional university campus in the south central United States voluntarily completed an online survey soliciting quantitative and qualitative data about their perceptions of social media use. Results revealed important findings highlighting similarities, differences, and insights among student and faculty perceptions of social media use in the classroom, their views about whether social media use constitutes a distraction, and how each group views social media relationships in and out of the classroom. These findings are quite consistent with prior and emerging research about social media use and have implications for how institutions of higher education can explore meaningful ways of incorporating social media in the classroom with the goal of strengthening teaching and learning.
Decision Choice Optimization With Genetic Algorithm in Communication Networks
Authors: Ait Omar Driss , El Amrani Mohamed , Garmani Hamid , Baslam Mohamed , Fakir Mohamed
Published: May 2020

Optimization is an essential tool in the field of decision support. In this chapter, the authors study an inverse problem applied in the telecommunication networks. Indeed, in the telecommunication networks, service providers have subscription offers to customers. Since competition is strong in this sector, most of these advertising offerings, totally or partially ambiguous, are prepared to attract the attention of consumers. For this reason, customers face problems in making decisions about the choice of the operators that gives them a better report price/QoS. Mathematical modeling of this decision support problem led to the resolution of an inverse problem. More precisely, the inverse problem is to find the function of the QoS real knowing the QoS theoretical or advertising. This model will help customers who seek to know the degree of sincerity of their operators, and it is an opportunity for operators who want to maintain their resources so that they gain the trust of customers.
How Can We Become Conscious of Our Martianhood?
Authors: Sevilla Vallejo Santiago
Published: May 2020

Teachers have to be able to show how authors use language to transmit some deep feelings, thoughts, and attitudes. Literature has a symbolic nature that allows us to open discussion among students. Science fiction is especially useful for dealing with existential issues. In this work, the authors analyze the critiques done on The Martian Chronicles about the lack of identity in our society. Bradbury makes us to consider that, in spite of all material progress, the characters portrayed lack knowledge of themselves, and they don't pay attention to Other, and, as a result, they find nonsense and destruction. This chapter proposes to apply this text to foster students' reflections about identity.
Industry 4.0 in Emerging Economies
Authors: Verma Pratima , Kumar Vimal , Bhatt Priyanka C. , Drave Vinayak Arvind kumar , Hsu Sung-Chi , Lai Kuei Kuei , Pal Vijay
Published: May 2020

Industry 4.0 has received a massive amount of attention worldwide in the past few years as a technological infrastructure to provide efficient operations in existing production systems as well as fast-tracking the implementation of internet-connected technologies across various industries. Industry 4.0 technologies have been considered as a strategy and implemented successfully in various developed countries. However, in emerging economies (or developing countries), the implementation of Industry 4.0 is not as successful as developed nations because of various challenges. However, fast-moving economies can take advantage of Industry 4.0 techniques as their requirement to operate at faster rates, capitalizing on new technologies that can drive efficiencies. This chapter examines the sustainability issues of Industry 4.0 in developing or emerging economies countries. These sustainability issues are related to scientific, technological, and societal issues.
Operator 4.0 Within the Framework of Industry 4.0
Authors: Singh Sarbjeet , Tretten Phillip
Published: May 2020

Operator 4.0 is a smart and skilled operator who augments the symbiosis between intelligent machines and operators. Better integration of Operator 4.0 in Industry 4.0 can bring emphasis on human-centric approach, allowing for a paradigm shift towards a human-automation cooperation for inspiring the compulsion of human-in-the-loop. This further enhances the domain knowledge for the improvement of human cyber-physical systems for new generation automated systems. This cooperation of humans and automation makes stability in socio-technical systems with smart automation and human-machine interfacing technologies. This chapter discusses the design principles of Industry 4.0 and Operator 4.0 human-cyber physical systems.
Monetised Risk Values and Cost-Benefit Evaluation of Maintenance Options for Aging Equipment
Authors: Leva Maria Chiara , Demichela Micaela , Baldissone Gabriele
Published: May 2020

In this chapter, the authors present an overview of methods that can be used to evaluate risks and opportunities for deferred maintenance interventions on aging equipment, and underline the importance to include monetised risk considerations and timeline considerations, to evaluate different scenarios connected with the possible options. Asset managers are compelled to continue operating aging assets while deferring maintenance and investment due to the constant pressure to reduce maintenance costs as well as short-term budget constraints in a changing market environment. Monetised risk values offer the opportunity to support risk-based decision-making using the data collected from the field. The chapter presents examples of two different methods and their practical applicability in two case studies in the energy sector for a company managing power stations. The use of the existing and the new proposed solutions are discussed on the basis of their applicability to the concrete examples.
Blockchain Applications and Trends That Promote Information Management
Authors: Makori Elisha Ondieki
Published: May 2020

Blockchain revolutionary paradigm is the new and emerging digital innovation that organizations have no choice but to embrace and implement in order to sustain and manage service delivery to the customers. From disruptive to sustaining perspective, blockchain practices have transformed the information management environment with innovative products and services. Blockchain-based applications and innovations provide information management professionals and practitioners with robust and secure opportunities to transform corporate affairs and social responsibilities of organizations through accountability, integrity, and transparency; information governance; data and information security; as well as digital internet of things.
Processor Scheduling in High-Performance Computing (HPC) Environment
Authors: Priya Annu , Sahana Sudip Kumar
Published: May 2020

Processor scheduling is one of the thrust areas in the field of computer science. The future technologies use a huge amount of processing for execution of their tasks like huge games, programming software, and in the field of quantum computing. In real-time, many complex problems are solved by GPU programming. The primary concern of scheduling is to reduce the time complexity and manpower. Several traditional techniques exit for processor scheduling. The performance of traditional techniques is reduced when it comes to the huge processing of tasks. Most scheduling problems are NP-hard in nature. Many of the complex problems are recently solved by GPU programming. GPU scheduling is another complex issue as it runs thousands of threads in parallel and needs to be scheduled efficiently. For such large-scale scheduling problems, the performance of state-of-the-art algorithms is very poor. It is observed that evolutionary and genetic-based algorithms exhibit better performance for large-scale combinatorial and internet of things (IoT) problems.
Assessing Behavioral Patterns for Online Gaming Addiction
Authors: Misra Richa , Singh Sonali , Singh Nidhi
Published: May 2020

The purpose of the study is to identify the risk factors that predict online gaming addiction based on psychological factors. A sample of 150 respondents, who play online games or played in the past, were the respondents. Structured questionnaire is used to understand gaming behavior and other psychological factors. The following factors were found to be a predictor of online gaming addiction: emotional dependence, social withdrawal, detachment from other activities, and long hours spent playing games. Confirmatory factors analysis was used to identify critical factors and discriminant analysis was used to classify respondents as active and non-active online gamer based on their level of addiction and time spent in playing. The result shows a significant gap in the perception of active and non-active gamers with respect to the above-mentioned factors. The study brings valuable insights to medical practitioners and researchers in the context of defining problematic gaming behaviour.
A Measurement Model of University Staff Perception Towards Sustainable Leadership Practices in the Universities of the Central Region of Uganda
Authors: Farooq Miiro
Published: May 2020

The purpose of this paper is intertwined in two phases. First, it is to examine the four subdimensions of sustainable leadership practices and its meaningful use as professed by staff in six Ugandan universities of the central region. Secondly, it concentrated on testing the appropriateness of the measurement in terms of reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. The method used to arrive at the needed data was quantitative approach. It was deployed to secure data from a randomly chosen sample of volunteers from the six university studies both public and private. Data was collected through the use of a 25-itemized questionnaire to determine the perception of staff towards sustainable leadership practices. The study investigation tool was directly circulated by the researcher himself and researcher assistants to a randomly chosen sample of volunteers from the six universities involved in the study. The study findings showed that there are four subconstructs of sustainable leadership practiced in Ugandan universities: staff capacity building, diversity leadership, strategic distribution, and conservation. However, due to low values in one of the subdimension AVEs, the model was re-examined, and hence, conservation was removed to meet the requirement of divergent construct validity. The study established that staff perceived sustainable leadership practices to be of great value towards their performance in an era of university change. The study findings are of great importance in education. Secondly, it exposes university leadership and staff to the new management styles that are needed to achieve university mission and improvement of quality practices, and this can be attained through training, development, and attraction staff's efforts towards university effective performance. Lastly, the researcher recommends the study as a source of information and knowledge to future research in the same area.
Synthesis of Fe3O4 Magnetic Nanoparticles in a Helical Microreactor
Authors: Wang Dan , Iqbal Mudassir , Zhu Ming Qiao
Published: May 2020

Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) have previously been employed in various fields owing to their unique physical and chemical properties. In this paper, Fe3O4 NPs are prepared by co-precipitation method in a helical microreactor under different reaction conditions which affect the size of Fe3O4 NPs. The product is characterized by FT-IR and XPS. Also, VSM characterization shows that Fe3O4 exhibits typical superparamagnetic behavior and the saturation magnetization of NPs is 53 emu/g.
The Effect of Carbonization Temperature on Carbon Aerogels Structure
Authors: Wang Sha Sha , Xu Yue Long , Zhang Li Hui , Liu Zhen Fa
Published: May 2020

Phloroglucinol–resorcinol–formaldehyde (PRF) carbon aerogels were synthesized by sol–gel reaction. The results of condition of shrinkage showed a degree of crosslinking more obvious with the increasing of the carbonization temperature. CA900 displays the highest adsorption amount and the biggest loops, as well as an increase in pore size and volume in comparison to the others samples. The SEM images of carbon aerogels under different carbonization temperature possess closer network structure and excellent connectivity, the holes between the network are abundant. The XRD patterns show that the high carbonization temperature can enhance the graphitization degree of carbon aerogels.
Study on Debenzylation of Pentabenzylpentaza[3,3,3]Propellane
Authors: Xue Ya Han , Li Jia Rong , Zhang Li Zhu , Zhou Guang Wei , Xu Zhi Bin
Published: May 2020

Azapropellanes have been extensively studied for their special application. Debenzylation of pentabenzylpentaaza[3,3,3]propellane was studied in this paper. The N-benzyl groups were removed by catalytic hydrogen transfer under the mild conditions with simple process. The yield of the debenzylation product was lower. Their structures of all compounds were confirmed by spectra.
Novel Spherical Polymer Sealing Agent for Oil-Based Drilling Fluids to Overcome Borehole Instability Problem in Low Permeability Reservoirs
Authors: Li Long , Cheng Rong Chao , Ma Cha , Zhang Jie
Published: May 2020

Due to borehole instability problem in low permeability formations, a new type of spherical polymer sealing agent (OLBS) for oil-based drilling fluids was prepared via suspension polymerization, and the sealing effect of polymer sealing agent on low permeability cores was evaluated. The results indicated that OLBS had no influence on the rheological properties of oil-based drilling fluids. The core displacement experiments indicated that OLBS could reduce the core permeability by a significant amount, and thus stop fluid invasion into the formations, so OLBS could provide an excellent sealing effect and improve wellbore strength. Using this polymer sealing agent to plug the low permeability formations is a very powerful approach to address borehole instability problem in troublesome low permeability formations. This sealing agent is suitable for the drilling of long sections of horizontal laterals. In the future, the oil-based drilling fluids containing OLBS might hold great promise to resolve borehole instability problem in low permeability formations.
Resistance to Chloride Penetration of Recycled Aggregate Concrete Modified Using Treated Coarse Recycled Concrete Aggregate and Fibres
Authors: Ismail Sallehan , Ramli Mahyuddin
Published: May 2020

This paper presents a study that aimed to assess the chloride penetration depth of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) modified by using treated coarse recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), adding polyolefin (PO) or polypropylene (PP) fibre and comparing with normal concrete. The coupling effects of the treated RCA and fibres on the chloride penetration of RAC were analysed after two different curing regimes (i.e. normal and seawater) and tested at different curing ages (i.e. 90, 180 and 300 days). Results showed that the inclusion of treated coarse RCA can reduce porosity, thereby decreasing the chloride penetration of RAC. However, the coupling effects of treated coarse RCA and fibre, especially on the use of PO fibre, can enhance the results.
CaO/Natural Dolomite as a Heterogeneous Catalyst for Biodiesel Production
Authors: Sutrisno Bachrun , Nafiah Atik Dian , Fauziah Indah Suci , Kurniawan Winarto , Hinode Hirofumi , Hidayat Arif
Published: May 2020

In the present study, the CaO/Natural Dolomite as a heterogeneous catalyst was applied to synthesize biodiesel from coconut oil. The physico-characteristics of CaO/Natural Dolomite catalyst were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Fluorescence, and porosity analysis (specific surface area, average pore size diameter and total pore volume). The performance of CaO/Natural Dolomite catalyst was examined in a batch reactor for transesterification reaction of coconut oil with methanol. From the experiments, the optimum process conditions were achieved at a 60°C of reaction temperature, a 5 wt.% of catalyst amount, and 6 : 1 of methanol to coconut oil mass ratio. The CaO/Natural Dolomite catalyst exhibits high catalytic activity and reliable to be applied in biodiesel synthesis as a heterogeneous base catalyst.