bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Establishing Theoretical Perspectives: The Significant Influence of Downsizing as an Implemented Strategy on Survivors’ Motivation
Authors: Al-Hammali Mansour Alshrif , Habtoor Nasser Ahmed Nasser , Muthaliff Mohamed Mihlar Abdul
Published: February 2017

Downsizing is a business strategyimplementedto improve an organizations’ financial position by a reduction and reorganization of the workforce. Often survivors after downsizing are not given much attention, yet the achievement of new strategic goals depends on the survivors having positive attitudes, relentless commitment and high motivation. The purpose of this paper was to describe how downsizing influences the motivation of the remaining employees from theoretical perspectives. Research indicates that employees who are motivated and committed contribute vastly to the financial-bottom-line of the organization. Therefore, downsizing organizations should continuously search for ways to increase such qualities among their survivors.
A Qualitative Investigation of Workplace Bullying Construction: A Case Study on Hikma Pharmaceutical Company in Jordan
Authors: Khdour Naser Jamal
Published: February 2017

This research explores the ways in which Human Resource Practitioners construct their notions of bullying in workplace, as a consequence fills a gap in the literature on bullying in the workplace. Human Resource Practitioners (HRPs) were interviewed with using semi-structured interview questions and the data from the interviews were analysed with the NVIVO package. The results indicate that bullying in the workplace is rather a complex problem for the HRPs as a result of three factors, management orientated policies on the occurrence of bullying, pressure within organisations that have been designed to protect managers, and the general lack of power of both HRPs and Human Resource Management, in organisations. The participants used several interpretive mechanisms with bullying in the workplace, and these tended to place blame on the recipient of the bullying and give legitimacy to the behaviour of the manager, despite the characteristics of the bullying behavior conforming to the definitions of bullying reported in academic research. The nature of the way in which claims of bullying was constructed by HRPs was dependent upon who the bully was, for example, if he was the victim’s colleague or manager. A consistent finding was that HRPs constructed claims of bullying between work colleagues as an interpersonal relationship with a level of conflict and claims between employee and manager as the victim’s response to management and performance work practices. Such results have substantial implications for practice and research in the future. Since, the constructions found in this research tends suggests that the behavior of management in employee and manager claims of bullying would probably not be constructed by HRPs as bullying in the workplace.
Internal Audit in the Statutory Bodies and Government-linked Companies of Malaysia: The Never Ending Saga!
Authors: Md. Ali Azham , Juliana Suleman, Ahmad Zamil Abd Khalid Ram Al Jaffri Saad, Aryati , Gloeck Juergen Dieter
Published: February 2017

This paper is part of the third and final study conducted on the state of internal audit in the public sector of Malaysia. The first study was concerned with the internal audit operations in the state and local governments found in  Peninsular Malaysia (Azham et al 2007a), while the second study was concerned with internal audit in the nation’s federal government ministries, departments and agencies (Azham et al 2007b). This third study covers 47 organizations at the federal government level, comprising 27 statutory bodies and 20 government-linked companies. From the face-to-face interviews conducted with internal auditors over the three year period 2005 to 2007, several notable audit features emerged as common to all 47 organizations. Some are depressing, while a few others are encouraging. All in all, however, the internal audit function in a majority of the organizations still leaves much to be desired. Also, it is notable that these findings are very much like those of the previous two internal audit studies (Azham et al 2007a; 2007b), and to make sense of the dismal state of the internal audit function in the public organizations, there is perhaps a need to look at the bigger context within which the internal audit function is found.
Complaining Behavior: The effect of different factors on Consumer Complaining Behavior
Authors: Manzoor Anam , Rizwan Muhammad , Nazir Mehak , Perveen Nadia
Published: February 2017

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to comprehensively understand the determinants who affect the customer intention to complain to firm through an integrated model and also the effect of those determinants on the complaint intention and the relationship of those intentions with the complaining behavior.Design/Approach/Methodology: A quantitative research method was used based on self administered questionnaire with a sample size of 171 participants collected by using convenience sample and the results were tested through regression analysis.Findings/Results: The results shows that the complaining intention and attitude towards complaint have a significant relationship with complaining behavior while prior experience and controllability to complain have an insignificant relationship with complaining behavior. Attitude towards complaint and perceived possibility of success have a significant relationship with intention to complain. The antecedent prior experience has a significant relationship with perceived possibility of success and an insignificant relationship with attitude towards complaint. The variable controllability to complaint has a significant relationship with both perceived possibility of success and attitude towards complaint while Perceived alienation has a significant relationship with perceived possibility of success but insignificant relationship with attitude towards complaint.Limitations and recommendations: This study is conducted on a small level with small sample size. Due to which there are some insignificant relationships which can be prove as significant relationship if the sample size is large. A limited number of variables are discussed in this article. Other researchers can elaborate other variables affecting complaining behavior e.g. word of mouth, level of dissatisfaction etc.
Examining the Antecedents of Job Satisfaction and further its impact on Organizational Commitment
Authors: Javeria Aisha , Rizwan Muhammad , Khan Ali Junaid , Hameed Amjad , Naeem Qazi , Subctageen Muhammad
Published: February 2017

The Human capital plays a vital role in success of any organization. The contended and committed employee is a key to achieve organizational objective. There are several researches conducted to understand the function of worker’s satisfaction and commitment towards job but this area of study is remain unexposed. The purpose of this study is to discuss and examine the forces which lead to private and govt sector workers Job satisfaction and organizational commitment. A theoretical model was anticipated and tested and findings indicates various challenges for HRM  that the factors which contributes to job satisfaction does not necessarily makes the employee committed. This research is a cross sectional study. A sample of 170 respondents was taken from the Public and Private sector Professional around Pakistan. The data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire, using the earlier conventional scales and the results demonstrated that Relationship with coworkers, workplace environment, empowerment, pay and promotion have a significant positive relationship with job satisfaction while in turn only the job satisfaction and empowerment leads to organizational commitment. Relationship with coworkers, pay and promotion and workplace environment have insignificant relation with organizational commitment.
An Examination of the Switching Behavior of the Customers in Cellular Industry of Pakistan
Authors: Rizwan Muhammad , Sadaf Farzana , Hafeez Sabiha , Naz Hira
Published: February 2017

There is strong competition and rapid change in technology cell phone industry. Cellular industry has to build up customer-oriented strategies in order to compete effectively in the competitive environment. The longer a brand can retain a customer, the greater revenue and cost savings from that customer. Pakistani customer have greater choices between multiple cell phone brands. This study aims to identify and analyses the factors that influence cell phone users and adoption of high technology cell phone brands.Facts and figures for this research were collected by using a convenience Sample of 160 cell phone users in Bahawalpur City, Punjab Province, Pakistan. The decision to switch the cell phone brand or to be loyal with current cellular brand is hypothesized to be a function of customer satisfaction that is ultimately has strong relation with, service quality and brand commitment, switching cost also has great impact on the both dimension of customer either to be loyal with brand or to switch. Here switching cost also play very important role to keep customer loyal with brand.The research ﬁndings reveal that service quality brand commitment impact on customer’s satisfaction level. As this level increase, it makes a customer loyal and in decrease in satisfaction level leads to switching behavior of customer. Switching cost also play a key role to keep loyal a customer even if he/she want to change the cell phone brand. The ﬁndings also reveal that the young and high-income groups are more likely to switch towards high technology cell phone brand.
Antecedents of Customer Switching Intentions: A case study of Nokia Mobile Phones’ users
Authors: Rizwan Muhammad , Hayat Rashid , Ali Mohsin
Published: February 2017

The current study moves beyond satisfaction and proposes that switching variables are important factors impacting a customer’s decision to switch from a service provider. The purpose of the study analyzes customer switching intention about Nokia mobile. In this sample only one company’s customers include, so the findings may not be generalized to other companies. There are many variables which impact on customer decision and enable to customer choose the better services which available in market.  These variables impact on customer decision in many ways like, perceived switching cost, the attractiveness of alternatives and service quality. We propose this study to find and support those variables model which influence between core-service satisfaction and customer switching intention. The results indicates that the influence of core-service quality satisfaction on repurchase intentions and decreases switching intention and make customer loyal with that product for a long period. Although switching variables had no influence on repurchase intentions when satisfaction was high, switching variables positively influenced on repurchase intentions when satisfaction was low. Future research in other service industries is called for.
Understanding the effect of Job stress and Internal LOC with mediating role of Employee Commitment, Organizational Commitment and Job Satisfaction
Authors: Khan Saadia , Rizwan Muhammad , Nayab Huma , Abbasi Sidra , Khakwani Sidra-tu-Shifa , Nasir Aemin
Published: February 2017

Purpose – The challenge of attracting and retaining high performing employees is significant. Research in general has shown a link between Job stress, Job Satisfaction, Employee Commitment, Organizational commitment and personality factors (Internal LOC). This study aims to focus on examining the relationship between these variable with turnover intention.Design/methodology/approach – The sample comprised 180 professional staff across different organizations (Education sectors, Banking sector and Health sectors) of Punjab province of Pakistan. Following data collection, self-administered Questionnaire, using previous scale, is applied to conduct data analysis for Turnover Intention of employees.Findings – Results using regression analysis showed that, there is inverse relationship between job stress and turnover intention through mediating variables that are, job satisfaction, employee commitment, organization commitment. However, contrary to our predictions, test results indicated positive relation between Locus of control and Turnover Intention.
Protection of women rights through legal reforms in Pakistan
Authors: Noreen Naveeda , Razia Musarrat Prof. Dr.
Published: February 2017

This paper presents the status of women rights in Pakistan and protection of these rights under the umbrella of legal reforms. After independence the women of Pakistan played an active role in nation building activities as well for their own social uplift. International organizations played special attention towards the issue of women empowerment During Ayub Era Muslim Family Law Ordinance 1961 was promulgated which is regarded as a first step forward for the protection of women rights. During Zia regime discriminatory laws were introduced which disturbed the equilibrium between male and female in the society. These laws put a negative impact on the status of women. Women organizations protested against Hudood Laws and demanded to repeal it. During the period of Musharruf new laws were introduced for the protection of women rights(women Protection Act 2006),it is regarded as golden era in context of legislation made for women empowerment .The process of legal reforms is in progression .The women are still subjugated to many criminal acts like harassment at work place ,attempted rape and acid throwing. There is a need of devising effective implementation mechanism in true letter and spirit for the safeguard of women rights.
Effectiveness of Performance Appraisal as a Tool to Measure Employee Productivity in Organisations
Authors: Babatunde Joseph Osabiya
Published: February 2017

The study is an evaluation of effectiveness of performance appraisal as a tool to measure employee productivity in organizations. The study revealed that employees are usually appraised by their immediate supervisors. As regards the frequency promotion in the organization, both the managers and officers asserted that there was a valid, laid down pattern for promotion and that this was at the management discretion. Often, managers allow biasing factors like rate, sex, tribe appearance and personal likeness or hatred to influence their rating. Unless the ratings are based on actual job performances, the evaluation will continue to be devoid of the objective that is often required in a fair performance appraisal system.
In Search of a Link between Planning and Service Delivery: How can we Explicate Service Delivery Gap Using Primary Education and Agricultural Extension Services in Tanzania?
Authors: Lameck Wilfred U. , Kamugisha Denis J.
Published: February 2017

Planning is a life blood of development. It creates a path through which initiatives can be translated into practice. This is possible if planning is made to be as integrative as possible to guarantee systematic coverage of all crucial aspects for attainment of articulated goals. It delineates key issues over which the tenets of different courses of action should be anchored. All the way through, Tanzania has been striving to adopt and execute an integrative planning process to attain its desired development. From 1960s through 1970s to early 1980s, Tanzania was found to be busy experimenting conventional planning process in all development circles. Nevertheless, conventional planning has been accused of being supply driven rather than demand driven. In reaction to this, from the early 21st century, Tanzania, like other developing countries, officially adopted a bottom up planning approach. Despite that deliberate intervention, the current practice still embraces top down model. This is so because the center still retains decision making powers and its priorities prevail over grassroots priorities. The objective of this article is to explain this failure of planning process which results to service delivery gap. In doing this, we compared the delivery of primary education in Moshi Municipal Council and that of agricultural extension services in Hai District Council.
1MDB: The Audit Firms’ Questions
Authors: Ali Azham Md.
Published: February 2017

The 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) has had three auditors since it started its operation several years ago. The issues of interest are related to the subject matter of auditor switching and the audit failure allegations made against its two latter auditors: KPMG and Deloitte. When it concerns Deloitte, it was accused of hiding 1MDB’s insolvency. As for the KPMG, it was accused of failing to expose the allegedly suspicious transactions between 1MDB and its joint venture partner Petrosaudi International Limited (PSI) to the relevant authorities. As for the auditor switching from KPMG to Deloitte, questions arose on the reasons for and its timing.
Maiden Partisan Rural Local Government Elections: Bangladesh Experience
Authors: Rahman Md. Mashiur , Nasrin Salma
Published: February 2017

A paradigm shift in the political system has been taken in Bangladesh on 12 October, 2015 with the final approval by the Cabinet to hold local polls on partisan basis. The long historical practice of non-partisan local polls has been shifted to first ever partisan poll that brought major challenges for the existing confrontational political parties of Bangladesh. Ruling Bangladesh Awami League considered demonstrating its popularity at grass-root level and controlled all political institution through this election while Bangladesh Nationalist Party had opposed these partisan local government elections as a political trick with an ill motive by the government. For the first time in Independent Bangladesh, 9th Union Parishad[1](UP) election hold on partisan basis at six phases across the country from March to June 2016. The articles tried to explore the experiences of this maiden partisan UP polls and what are the immediate consequences on the local governance as well as electoral system through reviewing seceondary materials specially the Daily Newspapers. Unfortunately massive violence, record deaths and uncontested elected Chairman, election fraughts & irregularities, reluctant role of Election Commission, strong dominant of ruling party over electoral system were common phenomenon in this maiden partisan election.[1] Lowest tier of rural local government in Bangladesh.
Primary Student Teachers’ Understanding of Basic Ideas of Nature of Science: Laws, Theories and Models
Authors: Stefanidou Constantina , Skordoulis Constantine
Published: February 2017

Nature of Science is an integral part of scientific literacy which researchers and international policy-making institutions highlight as the purpose of science education. The notions of scientific law, theories and models are crucial for understanding the Nature of Science. These notions are better grasped in the historical context of Nature of Science.  For this purpose, appropriate instructional sequences, based on semi-structured interviews, were designed and implemented to investigate whether and how the student teachers of Primary Education can perceive these concepts. The study revealed that after particular difficulties were confronted, student teachers were able to grasp firmly the notions of scientific law, theories, models and the relationships among them.
From Mentoring to Career Satisfaction: The Roles of Distributive Justice and Organizational Commitment
Authors: Gozukara Izlem
Published: February 2017

A mentor-mentee relationship is a productive partnership on both sides. Mentoring has been repeatedly shown to positively influence several work-related outcomes in an organization. Therefore, the present study explored how mentoring, distributive justice, organizational commitment and career satisfaction are related to each other in order to reveal the mentoring effects both at individual and organizational levels. The study included a sample of 280 participants. SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 22.00 software programs were used to perform the statistical analyses of the study data. The results revealed that mentor role and distributional justice have positive effects on organizational commitment, while organizational commitment positively affects career satisfaction. There was also a positive covariance between mentor role and distributive justice. The findings are discussed from the perspective of both management literature and organizational implications.
Developing Business Writing Skills and Reducing Writing Anxiety of EFL Learners through Wikis
Authors: Kassem Mohamed Ali Mohamed
Published: February 2017

The present study aimed at investigating the effect of using wikis on developing business writing skills and reducing writing anxiety of Business Administration students at Prince Sattam bin Abdul Aziz University, KSA. Sixty students, who were randomly chosen and divided into two equivalent groups: control and experimental, participated in the study. Two main tools were devised to collect data: Test of Business Writing Skills (TBWS) and Writing Anxiety Inventory (WAI). The experiment was conducted during the second semester of the academic year 2015-2016. A t-test was utilized to calculate the differences between the mean scores of the two groups in pre- and post-intervention. The findings of the study showed statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group and the control group on the post-TBWS in favor of the experimental group. In addition, the writing anxiety level of the experimental group, after the intervention, was significantly less than the control group. These findings revealed the positive effects of wikis on developing business writing skills and reducing writing anxiety of EFL learners. It is recommended that sufficient training should be provided to instructors on how to integrate wikis in business writing instruction. Pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research are presented.
Reviewer Acknowledgements for International Journal of Psychological Studies, Vol. 9, No. 1
Authors: Sun Barbara
Published: February 2017

Reviewer Acknowledgements for International Journal of Psychological Studies, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2017
Educa Direito: Um Jogo Sério para o Ensino de Direito do Trabalho
Authors: Freitas Vania Cristina Bordin , Adamatti Diana
Published: February 2017

The teaching-learning process makes possible the students to develop knowledge, abilities, attitudes, that are built and stored with itself along the life. In that sense, the objective of this work is to develop a game serious web for the teaching of the discipline of labor law and social security of the Technical course in Administration, with the intention of aiding in the students' learning. The development of the study takes place in step, in which the first stage is defined the problem and addressed goals, in the second step of the tools used for the development of the game, in the third step were prepared and inserted the issues related to room in contents worked class during the semester, in the fourth step the development of the game and the fifth step the questionnaires were applied with the students. The results obtained with the applications of the questionnaires were satisfactory, because we could verified the interest and knowledge of the students in electronic games and with the Educa Direito game, proving that serious games can contribute with the teaching-learning process.
Metodologia de Desenvolvimento de Jogos Sérios: especificação de ferramentas de apoio open source
Authors: Rocha Rafaela Vilela da , Zem-Lopes Aparecida Maria , Pedro Laís Zagatti , Bittencourt Ig Ibert , Isotani Seiji
Published: February 2017

Serious games are being used ever more for purposes of learning, training and human performance evaluation. However, to be successful as a final product, its development has to be systematic and multi-disciplinary. Thus, the choice of support tools impact beyond the financial cost. This paper describes an overview of the iterative and integrative methodology for developing serious games, expanding the specification with open source tools. Appropriate tools are reviewed and selected in order to provide a set of applications that could be used according to serious games design needs.They are grouped into support tools to general use, database management systems, game engines, design and implementation. In addition, the uses of this methodology and these tools are exemplified with two different scenarios.
Descrevendo o uso dos computadores nas escolas públicas da Paraíba
Authors: Damasceno Adriana Carla , Lopes Mayrlla , Andrade Rafael , Nóbrega Silvana , Almeida Israel
Published: February 2017

The usage of computers in public schools helps the students learning. Computers provide ways to illustrate concepts and access to a wide range of information. However, the computers are not used in most public schools. This work intends to identify how computers are used in public schools from the Paraíba countryside. For this, we applied 735 forms for students and 134 forms for teachers. We summarized data and applied statistical tests to identify correlations among the statistical variables Knowledge in computer technology, Informatics infrastructure, and Computer usage. We found that informatics laboratories have daily usage, the majority of teachers has Internet access and computer at home, the majority of students has smartphones and they use Internet. Besides that, teachers and students that use computers have access to high informatics infrastructure and high knowledge in computers, but more than a half of the students do not have classes in the informatics laboratory. In the statistical analysis, there is no relation among variables when we analyze data from students and teachers, with exception of informatics knowledge and computer usage for students.
Determinação de um Tamanho Ótimo Amostral para a Análise do Desempenho de Estudantes em Ambientes Educacionais Ubíquos
Authors: Brant-Ribeiro Taffarel , Cattelan Renan Gonçalves
Published: February 2017

Computational devices have become ubiquitous elements in everyday human life. This current paradigm of interactivity is called Ubiquitous Computing and its usage in academic scope allows the automation of educational activities through the creation and implementation of Ubiquitous Educational Environments. In the literature, several studies analyze these technologies, however they are focused solely on conducting researches to conclude if the usage of new tools leads to improvements in observed variables, not focusing also on initially analyzing if the sample size is sufficient to ensure reliable results. These analyzes may result in inaccurate information, due to the lack of experimental accuracy of the methods used in the studies. Several factors influence experimental precision and reliability, such as heterogeneity of the experimental material under analysis. In order to reduce experimental error, it is essential to use samples with adequate dimensions and that are able to comprehend the observed populations’ characteristics. In this context, this research determined an optimal sample size of 25 students to analyze the performance of students which do not use educational technologies and of 20 students for classes that are in touch with educational systems during academic terms. These results are relevant to researches that make use of human factors, since we demonstrate that samples with reduced amounts of observations are able to comprise most part of the behavior of variables under analysis.
Das rezeptionsgrammatische Modell am Beispiel der erweiterten Substantivphrase in ausgewählten deutschen Wirtschaftstexten
Authors: Ditlevsen Marianne
Published: February 2017

It is a well-known fact that many students of German have difficulties reading and thereby understanding LSP texts written in German. Why? This is the kind of question that is normally answered within a cognitive framework. In this article, however, the point of departure will be syntactic. The perspective will be receptive (and not productive or neutral as is the case with traditional German grammar and generative grammar, respectively). The signals on the text surface will be given high priority due to the receptive perspective. The main purpose of the article will be to present and discuss a syntactic model for analysing German NPs in economic texts from a receptive perspective. The model is based on four description principles: the “Phrase”, the “Rahmen”, the ”Feld” and finally the “Ketten” principles. The “Ketten” principle is the most characteristic for the NP model presented here as it offers an alternative way of looking at post-modifiers. In the article it will then be argued that the model is useful for description and that the results allow us to make hypotheses as to answering the question above.
Variability in the perception of fidelity in simultaneous interpretation
Authors: Gile Daniel
Published: February 2017

In a series of distinct operations, an English speech made at a conference and its inter-pretation into French were presented auditorily and visually to professional interpreters, students and other assessors to study what they considered errors and omissions, as well as their assessment of the overall fidelity of the target speech. Results include high intra-group variability in all categories of assessors, marked differences between the number of errors and omissions reported after auditory vs. visual presentation, a generally more lenient assessment by interpreters than by other assessors, and a lack of clear correlation between the number of errors and omissions reported and the general fidelity rating given by assessors. These results suggest that fidelity assessment per-formed by single assessors and by very small groups of assessors may be very un-reliable, and that variability in fidelity norms may be an important factor in fidelity assessment.
Le présent historique et ses fonctions textuelles
Authors: Jørgensen Kathrine Sørensen Ravn
Published: February 2017

According to some grammarians the use of the historical present tense is a technique for enhancing the dramatic effect of a story by making addressees feel as if they were present at the time of the experience, witnessing events as they occurred. Others have suggested that the historical present represents events as if they were occurring before the speaker’s eyes. My own position on the matter, though, is that the necessity to postulate a “metaphorical shift”, an “as if”, is due to the interpretation of the basic meaning of the present as being contemporality with the speaker’s present and the identification of a speaker (narrator) with an “intradiegetic” participant in the story (character). In support of this position the paper argues that the temporal referential of the present tense is the speech referential, organised by and around the speaker/character. The speech process is an incomplete process with a validation interval closed to the left and open to the right. This property motivates use of the present as a gram-matical vehicle for re-presentation.
Legal Terminology. Some Aspects for a New Methodology
Authors: Sandrini Peter
Published: February 2017

No abstract.
Diverse reviews
Authors: Diverse reviews -
Published: February 2017

g
Morphometric and Physiological Characteristics of Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) from the Ponor River
Authors: Dekić Radoslav , Manojlović Maja , Friščić Jasna , Lolić Svjetlana , Golub Dragojla
Published: February 2017

This paper presents the data related to morphometric and physiological (hematological) characteristics of brown trout (Salmo trutta) from the Ponor River. This river rises near the village Podrašnica (municipality of Mrkonjić Grad), sinks above the ground and after a while, near the settlement of Krupa na Vrbasu, appears as a source of the Krupa River (tributary of the Vrbas River). Fish sampling was performed during the summer of 2015 and during this period 22 Salmo trutta units were caught (11 females and 11 males). On that occasion, several morphometric (total and standard body length) and hematological traits (Hct-hematocrit, Hb-hemoglobin and MCHC - mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration), body mass and Fulton’s condition factor were analyzed. The average value for total body length was 18.85 cm and for standard body length it was 16.85 cm; the mean value for body mass was 80.38 g, and for Fulton’s condition factor 1.41. In case of hematological parameters, the average value for Hct was 0.39 l/l, Hb 70.62 g/l and MCHC 180.64 g/l erythrocytes. The estimated parameters can serve as indicators for the condition of these aquatic organisms, and indirectly, the state of their environment.
Pre and Post Test Evaluations of Students in the Needs-Analysis Based EAP Course at Undergraduate Level
Authors: Nafissi Zohreh , Rezaeipanah Fariba , Monsefi Roya
Published: February 2017

Iran’s education system is exam-based and to gain admission to universities at undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels, candidates have to sit a competitive examination. For this reason, developing an EAP course which prepares the candidates for these examinations is of crucial importance. The present study attempted to develop an EAP course for the selected number of undergraduate students of Statistics at Alzahra University and Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran. The aim was to prepare these students for the English language section of the entrance examination for MS degree in Statistics and then to determine if there was any significant difference between students’ performance in their pre and post tests. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were applied in this study and different instruments such as a questionnaire, semi-structured and structured interviews, and analysis of texts, were used to gather needs analysis data. The results indicated that the majority of participants preferred the presence of more ESP courses at universities. There was also a significant difference between pretest and posttest scores of the participants who took part in the EAP course.
Investigating Responses to Compliments by Brazilian Portuguese Speaking EFL Learners: A Contrastive Analysis
Authors: De Lima Zanella Marisa
Published: February 2017

This paper reports a study on politeness strategies of Brazilian Portuguese speakers and American English speakers regarding their responses to compliments. The aim of this research is to gain an insight into the politeness characteristics of Brazilian Portuguese speakers by analyzing how Brazilian students react when receiving compliments. It also aims to investigate how politeness from Brazilian Portuguese speakers differs from politeness of American English speakers when receiving compliments. The population for this research consists of 12 students with intermediate and upper-intermediate levels of EFL from the Cooperative de Trabalho Magna, a private school in Brazil. The study followed a descriptive and interpretive qualitative research method, where 133 answers were analyzed and then contrasted with Chen’s (1993) study of politeness strategies between American English and Chinese speakers. This study shows that, unlike American English speakers, Brazilian Portuguese speakers need to justify and give reasons for the compliment received.
Spatiotemporal dynamics of global drought
Authors: Herrera‐Estrada Julio E. , Satoh Yusuke , Sheffield Justin
Published: February 2017

Understanding the evolution and physical drivers of drought is critical to informing forecasting efforts. One aspect that has seldom been explored is the joint evolution of droughts in space and time. Most studies fix the reference area and focus on their temporal variability or study their spatial heterogeneity over fixed durations. This work implements a Lagrangian approach by aggregating contiguous areas under drought into clusters. These clusters become the frame of reference and are tracked as they evolve through space and time. Clusters were identified from soil moisture data from the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (1979–2009). Evapotranspiration, moisture fluxes, and precipitation were used to explore the relevance of possible mechanisms of drought propagation. While most droughts remain near their origin, the centroid of 10% of clusters traveled at least 1400–3100 km, depending on the continent. This approach also revealed that large‐scale droughts often lock into further growth and intensification.
Fracture capture of organic pores in shales
Authors: Daigle Hugh , Hayman Nicholas W. , Kelly Eric D. , Milliken Kitty L. , Jiang Han
Published: February 2017

Shales are heterogeneous media with porosity at many scales and in many microtextural positions, including within organic matter and clay aggregates. Because these materials have contrasting mechanical properties, it remains unclear how induced fractures manage to connect with this porosity whether during hydrocarbon production, wastewater injection, or carbon‐capture‐and‐storage efforts. To explore porosity changes related to fracturing, we experimentally failed shale samples in a triaxial load apparatus and observed changes in microstructure through scanning electron microscopy, low‐pressure nitrogen sorption, and nuclear magnetic resonance. We observed a system of microcracks, many of which were likely experimentally induced and localized on grain boundaries. In some cases these fractures propagated into regions of natural porosity in organic matter. In the subsurface this “fracture capture” likely enhances pore connectivity, but only selectively depending upon mechanical conditions. Fracture capture is one possible mechanism by which multiscale compositional heterogeneity in shales may affect rheological heterogeneity.
Time‐varying extreme rainfall intensity‐duration‐frequency curves in a changing climate
Authors: Sarhadi Ali , Soulis Eric D.
Published: February 2017

Anthropogenic climate change influences the nature and probabilistic behavior of extreme climate phenomena over time. Current infrastructure design of water systems, however, is based on intensity‐duration‐frequency (IDF) curves that assume extreme precipitation will not significantly change. To sustain the reliability of infrastructure designs in a changing environment, time‐varying nonstationary‐based IDF curves must replace the static stationary‐based IDF curves. This study outlines a fully time varying risk framework using Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques to incorporate the impact of different complex nonstationary conditions on the occurrence of extreme precipitation in the Great Lakes area. The results demonstrate the underestimation of the extreme precipitation using stationary assumptions and the importance of updating infrastructure design strategies in a changing climate.
Particulate phases are key in controlling dissolved iron concentrations in the (sub)tropical North Atlantic
Authors: Milne Angela , Schlosser Christian , Wake Bronwyn D. , Achterberg Eric P. , Chance Rosie , Baker Alex R. , Forryan Alex , Lohan Maeve C.
Published: February 2017

The supply and bioavailability of iron (Fe) controls primary productivity and N2 fixation in large parts of the global ocean. An important, yet poorly quantified, source to the ocean is particulate Fe (pFe). Here we present the first combined dataset of particulate, labile‐particulate (L‐pFe), and dissolved Fe (dFe) from the (sub)tropical North Atlantic. We show a strong relationship between L‐pFe and dFe, indicating a dynamic equilibrium between these two phases whereby particles “buffer” dFe and maintain the elevated concentrations observed. Moreover, L‐pFe can increase the overall “available” (L‐pFe + dFe) Fe pool by up to 55%. The lateral shelf flux of this available Fe was similar in magnitude to observed soluble aerosol‐Fe deposition, a comparison that has not been previously considered. These findings demonstrate that L‐pFe is integral to Fe cycling and hence plays a role in regulating carbon cycling, warranting its inclusion in Fe budgets and biogeochemical models.
Energetic electron precipitation in weak to moderate corotating interaction region‐driven storms
Authors: Ødegaard Linn‐Kristine Glesnes , Tyssøy Hilde Nesse , Søraas Finn , Stadsnes Johan , Sandanger Marit Irene
Published: February 2017

High‐energy electron precipitation from the radiation belts can penetrate deep into the mesosphere and increase the production rate of NOx and HOx, which in turn will reduce ozone in catalytic processes. The mechanisms for acceleration and loss of electrons in the radiation belts are not fully understood, and most of the measurements of the precipitating flux into the atmosphere have been insufficient for estimating the loss cone flux. In the present study the electron flux measured by the NOAA POES Medium Energy Proton and Electron Detectors 0° and 90° detectors is combined together with theory of pitch angle diffusion by wave‐particle interaction to quantify the electron flux lost below 120 km altitude. Using this method, 41 weak and moderate geomagnetic storms caused by corotating interaction regions during 2006–2010 are studied. The dependence of the energetic electron precipitation fluxes upon solar wind parameters and geomagnetic indices is investigated. Nine storms give increased precipitation of >∼750 keV electrons. Nineteen storms increase the precipitation of >∼300 keV electrons, but not the >∼750 keV population. Thirteen storms either do not change or deplete the fluxes at those energies. Storms that have an increase in the flux of electrons with energy >∼300 keV are characterized by an elevated solar wind velocity for a longer period compared to the storms that do not. Storms with increased precipitation of >∼750 keV flux are distinguished by higher‐energy input from the solar wind quantified by the ϵ parameter and corresponding higher geomagnetic activity.
Systematic investigation of power line harmonic radiation in near‐Earth space above China based on observed satellite data
Authors: Wu Jing , Zhang Chong , Zeng Ling , Ma Qishuang
Published: February 2017

The environmental impact of power line emission and power line harmonic radiation (PLHR) in near‐Earth space has become an increasing concern. In the years 2004–2010, based on the data of microsatellite DEMETER, 133 PLHR events are detected in near‐Earth space above China. PLHR has a close correlation with the development of China's electric power network. Its central frequency appears to depend on the latitude. The geographic distribution of the events occurs in clusters. Several events take place continuously above specific regions. PLHR shows no significant dependence on geomagnetic activity. There are more events in daytime than in nighttime and more in winter than in summer. The differences of naturally generated whistlers and power consumption between day and night and the strong thunderstorms in local summer may lead to such diurnal and seasonal differences of PLHR.
An analysis of magnetic reconnection events and their associated auroral enhancements
Authors: Case N. A. , Grocott A. , Milan S. E. , Nagai T. , Reistad J. P.
Published: February 2017

An analysis of simultaneous reconnection events in the near‐Earth magnetotail and enhancements in the aurora is undertaken. Exploiting magnetospheric data from the Geotail, Cluster, and Double Star missions, along with auroral images from the IMAGE and Polar missions, the relationship between a reconnection signature and its auroral counterpart is explored. In this study of 59 suitable reconnection events, we find that 43 demonstrate a clear coincidence of reconnection and auroral enhancement. The magnetic local time (MLT) locations of these 43 reconnection events are generally located within ±1 h MLT of the associated auroral enhancement. A positive correlation coefficient of 0.8 between the two MLT locations is found. The enhancements are localized and short‐lived (τ≤10 min) and are as likely to occur during the substorm process as in isolation of a substorm. No significant dependence of the reconnection or auroral enhancement location on the dusk‐dawn components of the solar wind velocity (Vy), IMF (By) or local By or Vy, as measured by the reconnection‐detecting spacecraft, is found.
Simulated ocean response to tropical cyclones: The effect of a novel parameterization of mixing from unbroken surface waves
Authors: Stoney Lachlan , Walsh Kevin , Babanin Alexander V. , Ghantous Malek , Govekar Pallavi , Young Ian
Published: February 2017

Tropical cyclones dissipate large amounts of energy into the upper ocean, locally enhancing vertical mixing and cooling the sea surface. In this study, we investigate how the response of the ocean to tropical cyclones is affected by additional mixing from unbroken surface waves. This “Surface Wave Mixing” (SWM) is represented by a novel parameterization, in which the wave orbital motion contributes directly to the production of turbulent kinetic energy. The parameterization is implemented here as a modification to the k‐ε turbulence scheme, used within an ocean model with 1/4° horizontal resolution (MOM5). This model is forced with idealized tropical cyclone wind fields based on observed case studies. Relative to simulations without SMW, the inclusion of SWM leads to surface temperature differences of around 0.5°C near the storm track, typically with warm anomalies on the side with the strongest winds and cool anomalies in other regions. This pattern is explained by an initial wave‐induced deepening of the mixed layer, which can modify the subsequent shear‐induced entrainment and upwelling. The temperature anomalies from SWM could potentially influence tropical cyclone intensity and structure.
Hydrological mediated denitrification in groundwater below a seasonal flooded restored riparian zone
Authors: Kolbjørn Jensen Jannick , Engesgaard Peter , Johnsen Anders R. , Marti Vicens , Nilsson Bertel
Published: February 2017

A restored riparian zone was characterized to understand the effects of flooding on subsurface hydrological flow paths and nitrate removal in groundwater. Field and laboratory investigations were combined with numerical modeling of dynamic flow and reactive nitrate transport. Flooding enhances nitrate removal in groundwater primarily by two mechanisms. First, by creating a stagnant flow zone beneath the flooded area thereby increasing the residence time and leaving more time for nitrate removal. Secondly, nitrate removal is increased by enhancing upward flow into the highly reactive organic‐rich top layers. Flooding therefore contributes to nitrate removal in “hot spots”, where nitrate is transported to the peat and during “hot moments”, when flow is stagnant. The permeability of the capping peat layer relative to the aquifer is important as it controls both mechanisms. The model shows that the deep‐seated nitrate removal is greater than projected from the laboratory nitrate reduction experiments.