bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Industry-Led Standardization as Private Governance?
Authors: Meyer Niclas
Published: May 2015

Industry-led technical standardization is often cited as an example for private governance. And the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) Project is often presented as a particularly successful case of such governance without government. The successes of the industry-led DVB Project have often been cited as evidence for the superior governance capacity of private industry. While the commercial and engineering success of the DVB Project is unequivocal, this chapter raises the question whether it has been equally successful in governing a complex sector that is confronted by a range of market failures, with direct implications for important public policy objectives such as media pluralism and diversity.
Towards Healthy Public Policy
Authors: Yang Julie
Published: May 2015

As an issue that affects a significant portion of the Canadian population, food security must be addressed in public health policy and research. Decision-making for food security is a complex task that needs to take into account a diverse range of issues including production, processing, distribution, access, consumption, and waste management. This approach to policymaking for food security, known as food systems analysis, makes use of a large amount of geospatial data. Public health informatics can offer some potential answers to handling and using this large amount of information. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a brief introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and how they are used in public health, particularly for food systems analysis. A hypothetical scenario that envisions using a type of spatial analytic tool, called Spatial On-Line Analytic Processing (Spatial OLAP or SOLAP), for public health decision-making is also introduced. In describing both GIS and spatial OLAP, a case for incorporating food systems analysis into public health practices is made.
E-Government Adoption and Implementation in Oman
Authors: Al-Mamari Qasim , Corbitt Brian , Gekara Victor
Published: May 2015

This chapter reports a description and analysis of the factors that influenced the process of adoption and implementation of the e-Government initiative in Oman over the period 2000 – 2013. This research provides an explanation of why government organisations in Oman developed and then adopted e-Government projects, and how that affected their success as an example of what might also be the case in many developing countries. Using the concept of institutional decoupling, this research presents a framework that offers a new understanding of the observed high failure rate of e-Government implementation in many developing countries. In terms of practical contributions, this research concludes important lessons with regard to synchronising motivating factors with institutional, technological and organisational prerequisites, and expected outcomes.
Comparing E-Government Research in Developed vs. Emerging Economies
Authors: Muñoz Laura Alcaide , Bolívar Manuel Pedro Rodríguez
Published: May 2015

Many countries have implemented changes in public sector management models based on the strategic and intensive use of new information and communication technologies. However, most research has focused on developed countries, with the area of emerging economies being neglected. This chapter offers a framework to help public administrators and researchers evaluate the field of e-Government research in emerging economies, identifying research gaps and possibilities for improvement in the context of e-government research in developing countries. The findings reveal the existence of various research gaps and highlight areas that should be addressed in future research, especially in developing countries. Indeed, the research approach to e-government remains immature, focusing on particular cases or dimensions, while little has been done to produce theories or models to clarify and explain the political processes of e-government.
The Case of the Mexican Mobile Government: Measurement and Examples
Authors: Sandoval-Almazan Rodrigo , Romero Yaneileth Rojas
Published: May 2015

The mobile government has become a reality in a large majority of countries around the world. However, the use of mobile apps (small software programs for use on mobile devices) to link government Websites and information is a recent trend that is becoming of interest to citizens and public officials. The uses, advantages, and disadvantages have recently become a study field for several scholars around the globe. The mobile government is not new for e-government scholars; however, the explosion of apps and the increase of smart phones have created a new trend in the mobile government field. In order to understand these phenomena in the Mexican society, the authors have gathered data from different sources: government departments, business enterprises, and citizen organizations. Based on this information, they analyze the impact of apps across the country and suggest a classification method that can be used for a better understanding of this new field. In this chapter, the authors discuss five small case studies, which they consider good examples to follow by different government organizations. To accomplish this objective, they divide this chapter into seven main sections. After the introduction, the authors provide a literature review, describe the method of study and classify the apps, discuss the findings with the model application, present the case studies for government apps, discuss ideas for future research on government apps, and then in the final section, they present final remarks and conclusions of the investigation.
E-Government Diffusion
Authors: Ngafeeson Madison N. , Merhi Mohammad I.
Published: May 2015

The use of technology to offer goods and services by governments to citizens has been a growing phenomenon in the last decade. Many projects have been recorded across nations in an effort to encourage the adoption and diffusion of e-government. However, these studies have been rather isolated project reports than a comprehensive global picture. This study examines the e-government diffusion across 192 countries in the last decade. The panel data obtained is analyzed to evaluate the current state of e-government diffusion. Evidence in the last decade suggests that the difference in e-government diffusion is wider from country to country, than from year to year, within the same country and that country-specific effects account for these differences. The authors discuss the implications of these findings.
Evolving In Step or Poles Apart?
Authors: Koc-Michalska Karolina , Lilleker Darren G.
Published: May 2015

Comparative studies are rare in the study of online communication campaigning. The authors chose two cases, Poland and France, to describe the two campaigns for the Parliamentary elections. Content analysis allowed the authors to detect online communication strategies and parties' attempt to reach different audiences. Web-cartography illustrates the parties' network connections. The authors find strong cross-country and resource-based differences for the more interactive and engaging features (Web 2.0), which are not that powerful for explaining audience-targeting strategies. Overall a sales strategy and a focus on marketing dominated over e-representation (exhibiting the parties' political record). In both countries social media platforms are well incorporated into online strategies. Facebook dominates in Poland, Twitter in France. Web cartography gives a counterintuitive picture of the Polish parties' network being much more personalized but also of more ghettoing within the supporting environment.
Relations among Actors in Governmental Projects
Authors: Lanza Beatriz Barreto Brasileiro , Cunha Maria Alexandra
Published: May 2015

This paper aims to study an eleven-year project of Mobile Government (mGov) in the state of Paraná, Brazil. The precocious experience in Brazil in mGov and the number of cell phones used in the country are not arguments for these to be used in providing mass public services. Mason's Historical Method was used to get to know the project, raising available information and retrieving happenings and results. To identify events, relevant actors, their roles, aspects in collaboration, setting and density of the relations among these actors, Social Network Analysis was used. The authors conclude it is important to formalize the project, but that will not guarantee its continuity in the long run. Characterizing phases minimizes the importance given to the change of governors after new elections in large corporative projects. The networks forming favors the dissemination of IT knowledge among actors.
Online Election Campaigning
Authors: Lilleker Darren G. , Koc-Michalska Karolina
Published: May 2015

Studies of online campaigning tend to focus on the supply side: the way political parties communicate and campaign using the Internet. This chapter explores the online presences of the main candidates and their parties who stood in the 2012 French presidential election. The research focuses not only on the supply side but also explores demand, utilising data from the Mediapolis survey to ascertain what citizens search for online and in particular what citizens seeking help with their voter decisions seek online. The data shows that citizens are provided with a rich online experience during election campaigns. Information is presented in engaging ways and candidates attempt to mobilise their supporters and offer various opportunities to interact with the campaign and other Website visitors. Interaction is augmented in particular by the use of social networking sites. Citizens, however, appear to mostly go online to find detailed information on the policies and programmes of the candidates. There appears little call for engaging communication, interactive opportunities, or details on the personal lives or personalities of the candidates. The data may, therefore, suggest that information may need to be packaged for accessibility and presented in a way that allows voters to make up their own minds, rather than following the norms of corporate sales campaign Websites.
One-Stop Government Portals
Authors: Kohlborn Thomas , Fielt Erwin , Boentgen Maximillian
Published: May 2015

E-government is seen as a promising approach for governments to improve their service towards citizens and become more cost-efficient in service delivery. This is often combined with one-stop government, which is a citizen-oriented approach stressing integrated provision of services from multiple departments via a single access point, the one-stop government portal. While the portal concept is gaining prominence in practice, there is little known about its status in academic literature. This hinders academics in building an accumulated body of knowledge around the concept and makes it hard for practitioners to access relevant academic insights on the topic. The objective of this study is to identify and understand the key themes of the one-stop government portal concept in academic, e-government research. A holistic analysis is provided by addressing different viewpoints: social-political, legal, organizational, user, security, service, data and information, and technical. As an overall finding, the authors conclude that there are two different approaches: a more pragmatic approach focuses on quick wins in particular related to usability and navigation and a more ambitious, transformational approach having far reaching social-political, legal, and organizational implications.
Gate-Keeping and News-Seeking in Print and Online Outlets
Authors: Jarvis Sharon E. , Stephens Maegan
Published: May 2015

Traditionally, gatekeeping theory has been used to examine how journalists, editors, and publishers write, edit, and position information to become news. The opportunity for interactivity in online news outlets, however, creates space for audience members to play this role as well. Even though many in the journalism profession are worried about a shift in control from the front page to the home page, researchers have yet to analyze, systematically, the textual characteristics of the stories that online news-seekers select and deem most popular. This chapter compares the tone and scope of the stories appearing on the print front pages and those appearing in the online most read lists in twelve elite and regional news outlets. The findings show that news-seekers prefer serious soft news articles, stories that position readers prominently, and fact-laden updates. The chapter interprets these trends in light of an elitist approach to gatekeeping versus a more egalitarian mindset, and concludes that the articles promoted by news-seekers are far less frivolous than feared.
Empowering Citizens
Authors: Griffiths Mary
Published: May 2015

The federal government of Australia has established an innovative although uneven record in shared governance initiatives in a climate of political stability and broad social inclusion policies. The participatory reform agenda has the potential to increase citizen empowerment, improve government transparency and accountability, and develop the capacities of the administrative arm. Changes to Australian Public Service (APS) practice are now aimed at better support for citizen-centric policy formation and, in some examples, shared governance. Nevertheless, policy consultations remain at the high-risk/high gain end of citizen-government-APS relations. This chapter scopes the concept and contexts of policy co-production both as a technique of engagement and a desirable outcome in shared governance for representative democracies. It assesses policy engagement from the perspective of citizens as agents, not targets. Using a constructivist approach, the chapter assesses the impact of contextual factors, the new participatory reform agenda, and the design features on two consultations conducted in 2011: Clean Energy Legislation, and Digital Culture Public Sphere. Major factors impacting on policy coproduction are found to be context-specific and issue-specific, and outside the direct control of public service agencies. Theoretically, the constructivist approach combines the literature on modes of e-government research, on e-government success factors and participatory media, with evidence of institutional reform agendas and the evidence provided by the case studies. Methodologically, the data is drawn from public domain materials.
Evaluation of Organizational E-Government Readiness in the Public Sector
Authors: Alghamdi Ibrahim A. , Goodwin Robert , Rampersad Giselle
Published: May 2015

The purpose of this paper is to provide an integrated framework to evaluate organizational e-government readiness for government organizations. This framework is necessary as current ones ignore challenges that arise due to organizational transformation issues stemming from diffusion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). This study adopts an e-government framework to highlight the main internal factors involved in the assessment of e-government organizational readiness and to examine how these factors lead to successful, organizational e-government readiness. The proposed framework integrates seven dimensions for evaluating organizational e-government readiness including e-government strategy, user access, e-government programs, portal architecture, business processes, ICT infrastructure, and human resources. This paper offers valuable insights to ICT managers for effectively assessing the e-government readiness of organizations to facilitate the success of e-government programs in the public sector.
Online Health Information
Authors: Schmeida Mary , McNeal Ramona
Published: May 2015

Increasingly, the healthcare burden of an aging population in the United States is being “relieved” through family members caring for aging and ill loved ones at home. Today, families are turning to mobile technology to lessen their burden and to cope with the stress of caring for loved ones through activities ranging from healthcare information searches to social interactions with online health communities. The purpose of this chapter is to analyze factors predicting the characteristics and context of the U.S. home caregiver population. In addition, this chapter explores how mobile technologies are helping to mitigate some of the weight placed on the family caregiver. The authors explore these questions using multivariate regression analysis and individual level data from the Internet and American Life Project. The findings suggest that interaction with others in online support groups may be more important for the e-caregiver than other online activities.
Language Policy Argumentation and Rhetoric, Pre- and Post-9/11
Authors: Rodríguez Janice Snow
Published: May 2015

In the post-9/11 era, the debate on the necessity of an official language has resurfaced. While the historical context for the policy push has changed, have the underlying arguments for official English? To consider this question, the content of legislation, discourse, and media coverage of state-level English language policy debates before and after September 11, 2001 was analyzed. Nearly 2000 texts spanning 1994 through 2008 were examined to return composite scores for 5 overarching semantic features and 35 sub-features. Statistical analyses indicate significant differences between the pre- and post-9/11 legislation in the variable commonality. In the post-9/11 groupings of news stories and opinion pieces, the variable certainty decreased significantly, while realism and the sub-variables denial and blame increased significantly. This study provides an additional perspective on the events of 9/11, examines the role of persuasive argumentation in the policy process, and expands the tools available to the policy analyst.
Building Sound Foundations for Smart City Government
Authors: Scholl Hans J. ("Jochen") , Jurisch Marlen , Krcmar Helmut , Scholl Margit C.
Published: May 2015

City governments around the world have increasingly engaged in “smart city” initiatives. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are at the core of these initiatives. City governments appear to play important roles in making the urban spaces, in which they are embedded, more attractive, more competitive, more livable, and smarter. The authors interviewed City officials in Munich, Germany, and asked for the definitions of “smart city,” which they then compared to Munich's smart city-related program. While the practitioners' definitions differed in part from those in the academic literature, the smart city overhaul program at Munich city government had a direct relationship to the practitioners' understanding of smartness. The authors portray and discuss the City of Munich institutional architecture overhaul and its expected and realized benefits, and compare the results to those of an earlier study on the City of Seattle. Both city governments evidently pursue different approaches, the effectiveness of which can more readily be assessed only at a future point of the smart city evolution.
A Spatial Analysis of Male and Female Unemployment in the USA
Authors: Zolnik Edmund J.
Published: May 2015

An analysis of male and female unemployment in the U.S. explores how gender affects spatial variation in unemployment. The effects of spatially-unlagged and spatially-lagged unemployment rates on the likelihood that individual men and women are unemployed are also explored. Using a recent tabulation of microdata from the American Community Survey, multilevel models of male and female unemployment are fit. Results indicate that age and occupation at the individual-level and a right-to-work dummy at the PUMA-level are the variables that best distinguish unemployed men and women. Results also indicate that unemployment for men is more clustered in space than unemployment for women. Finally, results indicate that the vast majority of the variation in unemployment for individuals in the U.S. is attributable to the personal characteristics of unemployed men and women, not the locational characteristics of high-unemployment places. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of the latter result.
Understanding E-Governance
Authors: Islam Muhammad Muinul , Ehsan Mohammad
Published: May 2015

Another new paradigm shift is in the offing and slowly becoming distinct from the amorphous shape of public administration. It is the ICT-blessed governance, or e-Governance. The adoption of ICTs and the new approach to management in symbiosis are e-Governance. E-governance speaks of a new way and style in every beat and pulse of the system of public administration. It brings about changes in the structure and functions of public services, ushering transformation through effectively engaging the government, businesses, and citizens—all stakeholders. It not only ensures efficiency in public service delivery but also offers unlimited potential to combat corruption and many other bureau-pathologies in the public administration system. Based on secondary sources, this chapter offers brief theoretical discussions of e-governance, including its emergence, types of service delivery, transformation stages, and relevant other issues.
Evolving Local E-Government
Authors: Freeman Julie
Published: May 2015

Effective policy frameworks are essential when developing e-government projects. Participatory e-government practices that facilitate civic engagement depend upon a combination of direct and indirect information and communication technology (ICT) policies. Direct policies focus on infrastructure development and enhancing citizens' ICT adoption and use. Indirectly, ICTs can be used to support policy processes through, for example, information dissemination and the provision of spaces for deliberation. This chapter examines Australian e-government initiatives, suggesting that local governments provide a useful context for online civic participation and engagement. However, local initiatives are often developed on an ad hoc basis and are largely limited to the provision of one-way information and service delivery features. Conversely, federal documentation addresses both direct and indirect ICT policy areas and stresses the value of online civic participation. Yet, there is a significant disconnection between federal ideals of engagement and the actual implementation of two-way participatory practices, with service delivery mechanisms again prioritised. This chapter suggests that greater online civic engagement may be achieved through a policy approach that combines national guidance and resources with local knowledge, while using policies to support ICTs and ICTs to support policy processes.
Influential Greek Political Blogs
Authors: Zafiropoulos Kostas , Vagianos Dimitrios , Vrana Vasiliki
Published: May 2015

Blogs are becoming one of the most popular media of communication and interaction. They increase people's participation and enhance discussion on political matters. The chapter uses quantitative blog features analysis and associates it with content analysis of eParticipation topics to detect influential blogs in the Greek political blogosphere. Through a sampling procedure, 127 Greek political blogs are recorded. Four indexes of influence and one overall influence index are calculated for each one of them to record their influence. Further, content analysis of the blogs results in finding how many of them discuss eParticipation topics. Analysis shows that eParticipation topics discussion is a property of the influential political blogs.
Realizing E-Government
Authors: Roman Alexandru V.
Published: May 2015

There is a growing recognition among scholars, practitioners, and elected officials that e-government success is not a deterministic outcome of entrepreneurial design or exacting implementation. In fact, constructing cost-efficient and policy effective e-government platforms has proved to be much more challenging than originally expected. In many instances, failed e-government experiments have led to significant financial losses and to increased dissatisfaction levels among citizenry. These latter experiences have nuanced the need for a much more thorough understanding and appreciation for the difficulties faced within the conceptualization and application of e-government platforms in successfully achieving the expected administrative and democratic outcomes. This chapter, by tracing the evolution of e-government both as a concept and as an administrative trend within the transformation of governance, delineates the main challenges in achieving the core goals and the democratic scope of e-governance. It is argued that in e-governance, success is a function of three fundamental vectors – security, functionality, and transformation.
Electronic Medical Records and Public Perceptions
Authors: Abdel-Monem Tarik , Herian Mitchel N. , Shank Nancy
Published: May 2015

Public attitudes about electronic medical records (EMRs) have been primarily gauged by one-time opinion polls. The authors investigated the impact of an interactive deliberative polling process on general attitudes towards EMRs and perceptions of governmental roles in the area. An initial online survey was conducted about EMRs among a sample of respondents (n = 138), and then surveyed a sub-sample after they had engaged in a deliberative discussion about EMR issues with peers and policymakers (n = 24). Significant changes in opinions about EMRs and governmental roles were found following the deliberative discussion. Overall support for EMRs increased significantly, although concerns about security and confidentiality remained. This indicates that one way to address concerns about EMRs is to provide opportunities for deliberation with policymakers. The policy and theoretical implications of these findings are briefly discussed within.
The Arts as Public Service
Authors: Etim-Ubah Pauline
Published: May 2015

This paper will argue that the arts can contribute to wellbeing by supporting positive mental wellbeing as demonstrated in the breadth and quality of current arts and mental health practice. This practice challenges existing notions of evidence-based policy used to inform the development of public services. The exploration of relationship between arts and mental health highlights the specific interventions that demonstrate effective engagement with people experiencing mental health issues. The paper outlines the contextual background of arts and mental health and makes reference to the ongoing influence of earlier art movements like Outsider art. Then, the following examples of practice: art therapy, social prescribing, community arts projects and art in public spaces, will be brought together in order to classify arts and mental health as a distinct field which can be compared and contrasted to the wider arts and health movement. Finally this paper will deconstruct and analyze what arts and mental health practice means in terms of understanding mental health; challenging what is accepted as artwork and the role of people with mental health needs as artists. This paper asks for new and appropriate ways to measure the outcomes of the arts as a public service that recognize the expertise of the people and communities creating and experiencing the art.
Identity in a Technological Society
Authors: Saner Marc A. , Geelen Jeremy
Published: May 2015

This chapter provides a framework for the Technoself that distinguishes six different processes by which emerging technologies may affect human identity. From a public policy perspective, one of these processes, the radical physical alteration of human bodies, is of prime interest. The authors discuss various technological approaches – the alterations of genes, brains, and bodies - in relation to human identity and argue for the need for a governance dialogue over their social implications. We situate these developments in the policy context and develop the governance case for communication, adaptive regulation, and societal preparedness as means to regain control of our Technoselves.
The New Interdisciplinary Fields of Public Policy Engineering and Computational Public Policy
Authors: Solo Ashu M. G.
Published: May 2015

This chapter describes two new interdisciplinary fields defined by Ashu M. G. Solo called “public policy engineering” and “computational public policy.” Public policy engineering is the application of engineering, computer science, mathematics, or natural science to solving problems in public policy. Computational public policy is the application of computer science or mathematics to solving problems in public policy. Public policy engineering and computational public policy include, but are not limited to, principles and methods for public policy formulation, decision making, analysis, modeling, optimization, forecasting, and simulation. The definition of these two new fields will greatly increase the pace of research and development in these important fields.
The Rationale behind Implementation of New Electronic Tools for Electronic Public Procurement
Authors: Pomazalová Nataša , Rejman Stanislav
Published: May 2015

This chapter focuses on the effective implementation of new electronic tools for Public e-Procurement in public sector organizations. While an analysis of the characteristics of transformation processes necessary for the development of e-Government and the choice between Public e-Procurement tools is theoretically already well developed, there are still a number of ambiguities in the approaches of rationalization implementation of these. A deeper understanding of the decision-making phenomenon in general is provided. Flexibly adjusting the e-Government strategy on dynamics of the development of Public e-Procurement tool ex ante or leading in an effort to change the organizational structures, information flows, and constraints in which public sector organizations operate in the area of Public e-Procurement. Public e-Procurement tools are selected for the analysis, because interesting progress is expected here. Results from the nature of the dynamic transformation processes and decision-making show the need to support changes in the environment arising from the development of e-Government.
Generations of Technology Intelligence in the SMEs
Authors: Hajari Mahdi , Hamidi Mahdi , Aslani Alireza
Published: May 2015

Technology intelligence is important among the management researchers in order to present best service and product, increase diversity and flexibility, and speed the process of production and innovation. On the other hand, identification of the situation of organizations in technology intelligence is a key subject in the researches. This research is a survey to review and characterize the generations of technology intelligence in the companies located at a science park. The results show most companies are in the third generation of technology intelligence from the two indicators entitled “approach for information evaluation” and “characteristics of technology management”. However, indicators entitled “organization of technology intelligence” and “approach for communication” should be considered more as their positions have less considerations to the third generation. The contributions can help science and technology policymakers and researchers, as well as the SME owners to formulate appropriate development strategies for business environment.
Systematic study of conodonts
Authors: Uyeno T T
Published: May 2015

This work includes the systematic paleontology and illustrations of conodonts of Late Silurian to Early Devonian age from the Allen Bay, Cape Storm, Douro, Barlow Inlet, Sophia Lake, Somerset Island, Peel Sound, Devon Island, and Sutherland River(?) Formations,
sampled over a relatively wide area, including Cornwallis, Devon, Ellesmere, Prince of Wales, and Somerset Islands, and the Boothia Peninsula, of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Newly introduced taxa include Pedavis thorsteinssoni and Pelekysgnathus arcticus. The biostratigraphic significance of
these conodonts and associated megafossils is given in Part I of this bulletin.
Geology of the Rainy Lake - White Eagle Falls area, district of Mackenzie: Early Proterozoic cauldrons, stratovolcanoes and subvolcanic plutons
Authors: Hildebrand R S ,   Geological Survey of Canada
Published: May 2015

The 1.875 Ga LaBine Croup and associated plutons outcrop along the western margin of the Great Bear Magmatic Zone at Great Bear Lake. The oldest rocks are mature crossbedded quartz arenite, deposited on the Hottah Terrane. Later, large volumes of pillow basalt,
associated breccias and aquagene tuff were erupted, possibly during a period of extension. A period of uplift ensued and subaerial ash-flow eruptions of rhyolite led to collapse of Black Bear Cauldron, in which 2 km of tuff ponded. The cauldron then became the site for fluvial and lacustrine
sedimentation followed by augite-plagioclase porphyritic andesitic volcanism. Distinctive quartz monzonite-monzodiorite sheet-like plutons, spatially, temporally, and compositionally related to the andesitic lavas, were emplaced next, and altered their wall rocks to distances >l km as
they cooled by hydrothermal convection. Younger ash-flow eruptions of dacite caused collapse of Clut Cauldron accompanied by landsliding and avalanching of the cauldron walls. Abundant andesitic and intrusive debris is intercalated with the propylitized intracauldron facies tuff adjacent to the
walls, and some blocks are as large as 1 km across. Clut Cauldron became the site for fluviolacustrine sedimentation after collapse and was likely resurgent. Resurgence was probably related to the emplacement of a quartz monzonite pluton which occupies the core of the cauldron. Volcanoes of augite
and pargasite-bearing andesite developed after collapse and were followed by ash-flow eruptions of dacite-rhyolite which filled paleovalleys.
The Tertiary-Pleistocene stratigraphy of the Liard Plain, southeastern Yukon Territory
Authors: Klassen R W
Published: May 2015

he Tertiary-Pleistocene stratigraphic succession seen along Liard River and its tributaries in southeastern Yukon Territory includes mature grave! and sand of Tertiary age with a characteristic light grey that contrasts with the darker colours of the overlying
Pleistocene deposits. Silt and clay along with siltstone, shale, and coal are included in the Tertiary succession. Four tills designated as Till A, Till B, Till C, and a surface Till D are separated by stratified units designated Intertill unit A-B, Intertill unit B-C, and Intertill unit C-D. It is
suggested that these units range in age from Kansan (Till A) to Late Wisconsinan (Till D). This proposal is based mainly on inferred stratigraphie relationships of the Pleistocene deposits to basait flows dated at about 765 ka, 604 ka, 546 ka, and 232 ka. Two radiocarbon dates, one greater than 30
ka and another of 24 ka, were obtained from a fossiliferous bed (Tom Creek silt) within Intertill unit C-D. Pollen spectra obtained from the Tom Creek silt indicate a herbaceous tundra environment prevailed in this region prior to the Late Wisconsinan glaciation.
Mannville gas resources of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin
Authors: Warters W J , Cant D J , Tzeng H P , Lee P J
Published: May 2015

The Mannville Group contains 1 504 655 x 10e6 m3 discovered gas-in-place which represents almost one-quarter of the total discovered gas resources of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. The assessment of the undiscovered, or potential, gas resources in the
Mannville Group involved outlining the principle geological plays in the Mannville Group and statistically evaluating the potential gas resources of each play. Based on this study an additional 957 491 x 10e6 m3 in-place gas exists within the Mannville Group in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin.
Northwest Alberta and northeast British Columbia have the highest potential gas resources (199 634 x 10e6 m3 gas-in-place) and within this area the Cadomin Formation play is estimated to have the highest potential gas resources (100 010 x 10e6 m3 gas-in-place) and the largest undiscovered pool (10
856 x 10e6 m3 gas-in-place).
Ressources en gaz du Groupe de Mannville dans le Bassin sédimentaire de l'Ouest du Canada
Authors: Warters W J , Cant D J , Tzeng H P , Lee P J
Published: May 2015

The Mannville Group contains 1 504 655 x 10e6 m3 discovered gas-in-place which represents almost one-quarter of the total discovered gas resources of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. The assessment of the undiscovered, or potential, gas resources in the
Mannville Group involved outlining the principle geological plays in the Mannville Group and statistically evaluating the potential gas resources of each play. Based on this study an additional 957 491 x 10e6 m3 in-place gas exists within the Mannville Group in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin.
Northwest Alberta and northeast British Columbia have the highest potential gas resources (199 634 x 10e6 m3 gas-in-place) and within this area the Cadomin Formation play is estimated to have the highest potential gas resources (100 010 x 10e6 m3 gas-in-place) and the largest undiscovered pool (10
856 x 10e6 m3 gas-in-place).
Mesozoic-Cenozoic stratigraphy of the northern Interior Plains and Plateaux, Northwest Territories
Authors: Dixon J
Published: May 2015

Large areas of the Northern Interior Plains and plateaux are covered by a thin veneer of Cretaceous and Tertiary rock. The thickest sucessions are present in foredeeps adjacent to the mountain front, under Peel Plateau, Mackenzie Plain and the Liard Plateau. In
these areas strata are between 1500 and 2000 m thick; elsewhere in the plains the succession is generally less than 500 m thick.
Over most of the Interior Plains and plateaux the succession starts with an Upper Aptian to Lower Albian transgressive, generally sandy, unit, followed by a series of alternating shale- and sandstone-dominated formations that extend into the Paleocene. Only in the extreme north, under Horton Plain,
are there older, Jurassic, strata. Unconformities divide the succession into several transgressive-regressive cycles of sedimentation that can be correlated throughout the study area.
In general, the Albian to Paleocene sedimentary history is one of gradual infilling of the foreland and cratonic basins. The infilling was accompanied by the northward and southward regression of the cratonic seaway that once extended throughout western North America during much of the Cretaceous.
Marine sedimentation continued until about the end of Cretaceous time (late Maastrichtian), after which the
stratigraphic record is dominated by nonmarine strata.
Potential hydrocarbon source rocks occur in Albian and Upper Cretaceous strata, especially in Cenomanian-Turonian rocks. Maturity levels are generally low, but where the succession is thick, maturity increases to within the oil window. Several sandstone-rich intervals have good reservoir potential,
especially the transgressive sandstones at the base of the Cretaceous succession. A significant gas recovery was made
in the basal sandstone at the Arrowhead B-41 well, in Great Slave Plain.
Atlas of Sonobuoy velocity analyses in Canada Basin
Authors: Chian D , Lebedeva-Ivanova N
Published: May 2015

Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean is located in one of the most remote, ice-covered regions on Earth. This Atlas presents the data and velocity models for 144 out of 174 sonobuoys launched throughout and north of the Canada Basin between 2007 and 2011. The data,
which are coincident with multichannel seismic reflection profiles, were acquired to map p-wave velocities and thicknesses of the sedimentary column. The refraction and wide-angle reflection data provide the basis for transformation of seismic reflection travel time data to the depth domain. Two
independent approaches were utilized to obtain velocity models from the sonobuoy data: forward modeling (FM) of refracted arrivals and semblance analysis (SA) of wide-angle reflections. Sonobuoys with both FM and SA number 99. Agreement between the data sets is excellent. The maximum difference
between the methods is about 10% and more than half of the measurements agree to within 5%. This atlas is a first release of these data with preliminary analyses and interpretations.
Investigation of the impact using neuroanatomy specimens prepared using new anatomical techniques on students' learning
Authors: Ruiz C. , Lima N. , Cunha R. , Nascimento S.
Published: May 2015

Introduction: Neuroanatomy specimens have greater fragility than other anatomy specimens and their useful life depends on good conditioning and protection. The difficulty in obtaining human specimens has increased the demand for preparations that might make such specimens more durable. Objective: transform the collection of neuroanatomy specimens in the anatomy laboratory into specimens that were more instructive for students, through more refined anatomical techniques, thereby improving the appearance and preservation of these specimens, and also to develop a scientific study on the importance of this type of didactic-pedagogical tool. Material and Methods: After preparing the specimens and using them in the classroom, we applied a questionnaire to evaluate the learning process, with regard to ease of handling the specimens, improvement of instruction and construction of knowledge. We gathered responses from 53 students in their fourth teaching semester of the biomedicine course at the Methodist University of São Paulo. Results: after the treatment to clarify and demarcate anatomical structures in the neuroanatomical specimens that was put forward in this study, an effective improvement in the students' study method was demonstrated (100%). Conclusions: The objectives proposed by the discipline were achieved in terms of yield (92.5%) and understanding of theory during practical classes (98%), thus generating student behavior that was more positive. In relation to handling and discomfort relating to the smell of the old specimens, there was an improvement of 88.7% through using the current specimens. There was also an improvement in learning outside of the classroom hours (86.4%).
Histomorphological effect of ascorbic acid on mercury chloride-induced changes on the cerebellum of adult wistar rats
Authors: Ibegbu A. , Animoku Abdulrazaq A. , Micheal Ayuba , Daniel Brosu , Adamu Sadeeq A. , Peter Akpulu , Hamman W. , Umana U. , Musa S.
Published: May 2015

Introduction. Mercury is one of the most hazardous environmental contaminants to living organisms and the central nervous system has been shown to be the main target. Objective. The present work was aimed at evaluating the effect of ascorbic acid on mercury chloride-induced changes on the cerebellar cortex of adult Wistar rats. Material and method. Thirty Wistar rats of average weight of 200g and were randomly divided into 6 groups of 5 rats each. The animals in Group 1 (control) were administered with distilled water, Groups 2 and 3 were administered with 52mg/kg and 26.25mg/kg body weight of HgCl respectively while Groups 4 and 5 were administered with 52mg/kg of HgCl and 5mg/kg of ascorbic acid and 26.25gm/kg of HgCl and 5mg/kg of ascorbic acid respectively, while Group 6 was administered with 5mg/kg of ascorbic acid. The administration was through oral route, daily for 3 weeks. Results. The result of the biochemical parameters showed a significant increase (P < 0.05) on the mean SOD and LPO values after the administration of mercury chloride and Ascorbic acid. Histological observation of the cerebellar cortex, showed normal histo-morphology in Groups 1 and 6 while, the cerebellum in Groups 2, 3, 4 and 5 showed some degenerative, necrotic and cellular changes. Conclusion. However, ascorbic acid administration has shown to ameliorate the induced degenerative changes in the cerebellum caused by mercury chloride toxicity in Wistar rats.
A generic approach to explicit simulation of uncertainty in the NEMO ocean model
Authors: Brankart J.-M. , Candille G. , Garnier F. , Calone C. , Melet A. , Bouttier P.-A. , Brasseur P. , Verron J.
Published: May 2015

Abstract. In this paper, a generic implementation approach is presented, with the aim of transforming a deterministic ocean model (like NEMO) into a probabilistic model. With this approach, several kinds of stochastic parameterizations are implemented to simulate the non-deterministic effect of unresolved processes, unresolved scales and unresolved diversity. The method is illustrated with three applications, showing that uncertainties can produce a major effect in the circulation model, in the ecosystem model, and in the sea ice model. These examples show that uncertainties can produce an important effect in the simulations, strongly modifying the dynamical behaviour of these three components of ocean systems.
Effects of mountain agriculture on nutrient cycling at upstream watersheds
Authors: Lin T.-C. , Shaner P. L. , Wang L.-J. , Shih Y.-T. , Wang C.-P. , Huang G.-H. , Huang J.-C.
Published: May 2015

Abstract. The expansion of agriculture to rugged mountains can exacerbate negative impacts of agriculture activities on ecosystem function. In this study, we monitored streamwater chemistry of four watersheds with varying proportions of agricultural lands (0.4, 3, 17, 22%) and rainfall chemistry of two of the four watersheds at Feitsui Reservoir Watershed in northern Taiwan to examine the effects of agriculture on watershed nutrient cycling. We found that the greater the proportions of agricultural lands, the higher the ion concentrations, which is evident for fertilizer-associated ions (NO3-, K+) but not for ions that are rich in soils (SO42-, Ca2+, Mg2+), suggesting that agriculture enriched fertilizer-associated nutrients in streamwater. The watershed with the highest proportion of agricultural lands had higher concentrations of ions in rainfall and lower nutrient retention capacity (i.e. higher output–input ratio of ions) compared to the relatively pristine watershed, suggesting that agriculture can influence atmospheric deposition of nutrients and a system's ability to retain nutrients. Furthermore, we found that a forested watershed downstream of agricultural activities can dilute the concentrations of fertilizer-associated ions (NO3−, K+) in streamwater by more than 70%, indicating that specific landscape configurations help mitigate nutrient enrichment to aquatic systems. We estimated that agricultural lands at our study site contributed approximately 400 kg ha−1 yr−1 of NO3-N and 260 kg ha−1 yr−1 of PO4-P output via streamwater, an order of magnitude greater than previously reported around the globe and can only be matched by areas under intense fertilizer use. Furthermore, we re-constructed watershed nutrient fluxes to show that excessive leaching of N and P, and additional loss of N to the atmosphere via volatilization and denitrification, can occur under intense fertilizer use. In summary, this study demonstrated the pervasive impacts of agriculture activities, especially excessive fertilization, on ecosystem nutrient cycling at mountain watersheds.