bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The History of Career and Technical Education
Authors: Brewer Ernest W.
Published: July 2010

This chapter examines the history of career and technical education in the United States beginning with its earliest forms in the 16th and 17th centuries and continuing on through present-day society. Chronologically formatted, the primary focus is on how the nation’s domestic and international issues during each time period affected the development of vocational education, leading to major federal government legislation. Following a brief introduction of the subject, the background section will provide the reader with basic definitions of career and technical education as discussed by various authors, noting the changes of such definitions over the years. The main body of the chapter is divided into several sections based upon time periods. Each section will discuss national issues and major legislation reflecting changes in vocational education. Finally, the future of career and technical education will be examined, followed by a brief conclusion.
Principles of Scientific Management and Occupational Analysis
Authors: Wang Victor X.
Published: July 2010

As work has become more technical and analytical due to the increased availability of digital information technology, more team-based due to organizational restructuring, increasingly more customer oriented, has made the workforce more diverse, it is necessary and important to show our readers that both principles of scientific management and occupational analysis are driven by the predominant philosophy, behaviorism. Observed behaviors on the part of employees/or trainees in occupational analysis come from searching for the one best method of doing one’s job (occupation). Once this one best way is identified, instructors or employers are responsible for training the employees by using the carefully selected science. Although other philosophies do affect occupational analysis, behaviorism coupled with principles of scientific management does remain the predominant guiding principle for occupational analysis.
Certification and Licensure Requirements for Career and Technical Educators
Authors: Zirkle Chris , Fletcher Edward C. , Sander Kristina L. , Briggs Jane
Published: July 2010

Teacher certification/licensure requirements are in a constant state of change. This is true of both the traditional academic disciplines and vocational/career and technical education. The goal of this chapter is to provide the reader with a historical and current overview of vocational/career-technical teacher certification/licensure through both the traditional and alternative routes. Discussion of expectations of post-secondary institutions and variances in those expectations are shared. A detailed explanation of requirements for alternative certification is provided, specifically with reference to educator preparation requirements, including customized coursework, work experience, entrance requirements and induction programs. Testing for licensure is discussed, as well as details regarding licensure renewal. Issues facing career and technical education referenced in this chapter focus on the highly qualified teacher designation, the need for modifications of testing requirements, employment opportunities, teacher attrition, standards in teacher preparation programs, reform in career and technical teacher preparation, and the need to focus on preparing future CTE teacher educators.
Challenges and Opportunities in Career and Technical Education
Authors: Skinner Leane B. , Witte Maria Martinez , Witte James E.
Published: July 2010

Career and Technical Education (CTE) is no longer just a training program for workers. CTE today prepares students for employment, industry credentialing, postsecondary education, and lifelong learning. This change, stimulated by demand and federal legislation, has brought many new challenges and opportunities for CTE. Federal legislation, CTE image, and decrease in secondary enrollment and in teacher education programs have created challenges and opportunities for all CTE stakeholders. In 2008, a National Career and Technical Education Research Agenda were approved by the Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE). This agenda will be the framework for future research relating to the critical issues and concerns in CTE. This chapter addresses the challenges and opportunities for CTE as well as future trends.
Introduction
Authors: Wright Dawn J. , Cummins Valerie , Dwyer Edward
Published: July 2010

Coastal web atlas (CWA) development is introduced in this chapter as a relatively new field of technology, driven by a wide range of coastal policy issues such as population pressure and climate change. International interest in CWAs is demonstrated by the large number of CWA initiatives worldwide. However, there is a need to take stock of technological developments as well as other lessons learned. This chapter sets the scene in relation to these issues which in turn provides the context for describing the aims of the book. The aims of the book are articulated as presenting the latest developments in CWAs and helping readers to determine future needs in mapping and informatics for coastal management.
Coastal Atlas Interoperability
Authors: Lassoued Yassine , Pham Trung T. , Bermudez Luis , Stocks Karen , O’Grady Eoin , Isenor Anthony , Alexander Paul
Published: July 2010

This chapter defines the coastal web atlases interoperability problem, introduces interoperability standards, and describes the development of a semantic mediator prototype to provide a common access point to coastal data, maps and information from distributed coastal web atlases. The prototype showcases how ontologies and ontology mappings can be used to integrate different heterogeneous and autonomous atlases (or information systems), using international standards such as ISO-19139 for metadata encoding and the Open Geospatial Consortium’s Catalogue Service for the Web specification. Lessons learned from this prototype will help build regional atlases and improve decision support systems as part of a new International Coastal Atlas Network (ICAN).
Ireland
Authors: Dwyer Edward , Kopke Kathrin , Cummins Valerie , O’Dea Elizabeth , Dunne Declan
Published: July 2010

The Marine Irish Digital Atlas (MIDA) is an Internet resource built in a web GIS environment, where people interested in coastal and marine information for Ireland can visualize and identify pertinent geospatial datasets and determine where to acquire them. The atlas, which is being constantly maintained, currently displays more than 140 data layers from over 35 coastal and marine organizations both within Ireland and abroad. It also features an “InfoPort” which is a repository of text, imagery, links to spatial data sources and additional reference material for a wide range of coastal and marine topics. The MIDA team has been active in the creation of the International Coastal Atlas Network and the Atlas was chosen as one of the nodes for the Semantic Interoperability Demonstrator.
Africa
Authors: Scott Lucy E.P. , Reed Greg
Published: July 2010

The African Marine Atlas, launched in 2007, is an online resource that provides maps, images, data and information that can be used by scientists, students, coastal resource managers, planners and decision makers from institutions and specialized agencies across Africa. The ODINAFRICA Project, funded by the Flanders Government and the IOC/UNESCO, initiated and supported the African Marine Atlas Project from the IOC Project Office for IODE in Oostende, Belgium. Regional partners were the African Coelacanth Ecosystem Program (ACEP) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). A team of 16 marine scientists and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) specialists from National Oceanographic Data Centers (NODCs) in Benin, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, and Tanzania participated in the design and development of the atlas. The African Marine Atlas, which is now a member of the International Coastal Atlas Network (ICAN), may be found online at http://www.africanmarineatlas.net.
Caribbean
Authors: Padmanabhan Sean
Published: July 2010

The marine environment of the Caribbean Region currently faces several threats to its stability and sustainability. Mitigation of these threats requires an integrated management approach at a regional level using the best available data and information. Unfortunately, there are several shortcomings in the collection and management of marine data throughout the region. One solution is in the use and application of web atlases. In this light, the online Caribbean Marine Atlas (CMA) allows users to identify, locate, create and disseminate necessary marine and coastal information. As part of the International Coastal Atlas Network (ICAN), the CMA also promotes interoperability among atlases through practice and adherence to standards in web mapping, data and metadata generation and maintenance. This chapter deals with several of the steps in developing the CMA, as well as the challenges met and overcome throughout its growth and evolution.
United Kingdom
Authors: Green David R.
Published: July 2010

This chapter briefly examines the origins and evolution of electronic coastal and marine atlases, and online mapping and GIS in the United Kingdom (UK). Beginning with some early examples, such as the UK Digital Marine Atlas (UKDMAP), initially distributed on floppy disk (MS-DOS) and later CD (MS-Windows), consideration is then given to some of the first online Internet-based information systems e.g., The UK Coastal Map Creator, some of the current systems now available e.g., MAGIC, MESH, and UKSeaMap, and finally the potential of Google Earth (GE) and Google Ocean (GO) to provide a framework for the development of simple local scale coastal and marine atlases. In each case, attention is paid to the origins of the atlas, its development, the user-interface, functionality, data and information content, and the target audience. Some of the advantages and disadvantages of electronic atlases are also discussed, together with some of the problems, and possible solutions.
The International Coastal Atlas Network
Authors: Wright Dawn J. , Cummins Valerie , Dwyer Edward
Published: July 2010

This chapter introduces coastal web atlas (CWA) management and governance issues by way of a summary of the International Coastal Atlas Network (ICAN). ICAN is a newly-founded, informal group of over 30 organizations from over a dozen nations who have been meeting over the past two years to scope and implement data interoperability approaches to CWAs. The strategic aim (or mission) of ICAN is to leverage the expertise of its members to find common solutions to CWA design and implementation (e.g., user and developer guides, handbooks and articles on best practices, information on standards and web services, expertise and technical support directories, education, outreach, and funding opportunities, etc.). It also seeks to encourage and facilitate global operational interoperability between CWAs in order to enhance data and information sharing among users, and assist in the translation of coastal science to coastal decision-making.
Coastal Atlases in the Context of Spatial Data Infrastructures
Authors: LaVoi Tony , Murphy Joshua , Sataloff Gabe , Longhorn Roger , Meiner Andrus , Uhel Ronan J. , Wright Dawn , Dwyer Edward
Published: July 2010

This chapter summarizes key projects and initiatives that are being implemented on very large scales (national/international) by national governments and commissions to build coastal spatial data infrastructures (SDIs). These include SDI efforts in the US and Europe that are closely related to ICAN, and as such are of great value to its mission of developing interoperable atlases, providing along the way solutions for the integration of not only technologies, but people, institutions, and institutional objectives.
Creating a Usable Atlas
Authors: Nyerges Timothy , Belpaeme Kathy , Haddad Tanya , Hart David
Published: July 2010

Knowing user audiences for coastal web atlases is important for designing atlas capabilities that address different user skill levels. This chapter presents guidelines about how to better understand coastal web atlas users, how to undertake user-centered design and development, and how to avoid major pitfalls with web interfaces. User groups are formed based upon understanding user characteristics. User-centered design for different user groups can take advantage of a logic model; that is, a series of steps for scoping, designing, implementing and testing the capabilities. The end result of design and implementation should be a usable system, thus software usability is an important goal. Regardless of how well designers know users, web interface pitfalls inevitably arise during the development process, some of which are discussed based on personal experience of the chapter authors.
Improving a Growing Atlas
Authors: Haddad Tanya C. , Dunne Declan
Published: July 2010

As coastal web atlas (CWA) projects grow over time, designers will have to track and adapt to changes in site activity, user capabilities, and progress in available data and technology. The web server may log all user activity on a CWA and these logs may be analyzed and interpreted by the CWA designers to better understand how users are encountering the materials and data provided by the CWA. In addition, CWA users may be surveyed on their use of the web site either by direct observation studies or written surveys. Both the surveying of users and the analysis of server logs may expose trends or confirm patterns of use for a CWA, and these patterns may be valuable feedback for designers, and provide important reporting metrics for funding bodies and institutional sponsors.
Query Performance Optimization in XML Data Warehouses
Authors: Mahboubi Hadj , Darmont Jérôme
Published: July 2010

XML data warehouses form an interesting basis for decision-support applications that exploit complex data. However, native-XML database management systems (DBMSs) currently bear limited performances and it is necessary to research for ways to optimize them. In this chapter, the authors present two such techniques. First, they propose an XML join index that is specifically adapted to the multidimensional architecture of XML warehouses. It eliminates join operations while preserving the information contained in the original warehouse. Second, the authors present a strategy for selecting XML materialized views by clustering the query workload. To validate these proposals, the authors measure the response time of a set of decision-support XQueries over an XML data warehouse, with and without using their optimization techniques. The authors’ experimental results demonstrate their efficiency, even when queries are complex and data are voluminous.
COTS Software Procurement Methodology
Authors: Al-Mahmood Seema , A’ali Mansoor Al
Published: July 2010

Two of the most important COTS software acquisition processes are the COTS software solution evaluation and selection process and the COTS software solution contract management process. This chapter presents a new methodology to deal with these two phases in detail. The evaluation and selection part consists of 12 steps divided over four phases. The contract management part consists of nine steps divided over four phases. The authors explain each of the two parts of the methodology by describing each of the 21 steps. This research presents a solution to the difficult problems facing the vendors, users, and experts involved in COTS software evaluation, selection, and acquisition and guides them systematically to make the best educated decision. To the authors’ knowledge, this work presents the first integrated solution to the software evaluation, selection, and acquisition processes of COTS software. The research is based on real experience obtained from the analysis of three case studies of major COTS software acquisition projects in Bahrain. This chapter is a step forward in the continuous research of COTS software acquisition and procurement processes.
Ontology Construction
Authors: Páscoa Carlos , Sousa Pedro , Tribolet José
Published: July 2010

Capturing knowledge has always been an objective although known to be costly and time consuming. ontologies, being “an explicit specification of a conceptualization,” have tried to capture knowledge within the aspects of concepts (used to represent a domain entity), relations (representing a interaction between the domain concepts), functions (a special case of relations), axioms (which represent true statements) and instances (used to represent domain elements). The Enterprise Ontology, which represents the work on ontologies applied to the enterprise, as proposed initially by Gruber, can be seen as a collection of terms and definitions relevant to business enterprises that can be used as a basis for decision making. A new concept of Enterprise Ontology proposed by Dietz is defined as the realization and implementation essence of an enterprise proposing a distinction world ontology and system ontology. The sequence of actions, according to Dietz can be classified as “datalogical”, “infological” and “ontological” and all become under a Transaction Pattern which consists of four basic states: “request”, “promise”, “state” and “accept”. Further more the author defines four models that can be used to verify the consistency of the actions: “Process”, “Action”, “State” and “Construction” models. The traditional way to model processes, like the BPMN, draw events, activities and data in a sequence of symbols that may not represent completely all the actions in presence and, above all, does not detect and identify consistency between actors and actions. However, BPMN diagrams can also be used to represent various actions and models proposed by Dietz as the transaction, “Process” and “State” diagrams. Both ways of representing have advantages and disadvantages and can be used, either isolated or together to give a deep representation of reality.
Security Management Services Based on Authentication Roaming between Different Certificate Authorities
Authors: Ohashi Masakazu , Hori Mayumi
Published: July 2010

The purpose of this study is to incorporate the authentication roaming technology with existing social infrastructures from the perspective of users instead of that of service providers. By conducting experiments in the Business to Consumer (B to C) environment, the authors’ research demonstrated and confirmed the effectiveness of the authentication roaming technology to realize a safe and convenient network society. This technology contributes to the construction of a citizen-centric, reassuring system especially for mobile and transportation by proposing a cooperation system for the mobile information services based on the XML Web Services technology. The authors’ aim to enable mobile users to access a variety of essential information for maintaining safety and comfortable management of networks and enable them to make an educated decision regarding the treatment they may receive in case of trouble.
Race-Specific Advertising on Commercial Websites
Authors: Appiah Osei , Elias Troy
Published: July 2010

Avatars and anthropomorphic characters by marketers are becoming more commonplace on commercial web sites. Moreover, a trend among marketers is to use ethnically ambiguous models in advertising to appeal to specific consumer segments. This study helps our understanding of not only how best to segment and appeal to racially diverse consumers but how people interact with virtual human agents in relationship to the literature on audience response to real humans. It was predicted that Blacks would respond more positively to a Black agent, than they would to either a White agent or an ethnically ambiguous agent. It was also expected that Whites would show no difference in their response based on the race of the computer agent. The findings demonstrate that Blacks had more positive attitudes toward a computer agent, had more positive attitudes toward a web site and recalled more product information from a site when the site featured a Black agent vis-à-vis a White agent. Whites showed no significant response difference concerning the agent, the brand or the site based on the racial composition of the computer agents. Interestingly, the ethnically ambiguous character was overall just as effective in persuading both White and Black browsers as were the same-race agents.
Conversation-Oriented Decision Support Systems for Organizations
Authors: Garrido Paulo
Published: July 2010

This chapter proposes concepts for designing and developing decision support systems that acknowledge, explore and exploit the fact that conversations among people are the top-level “supporting device” for decision-making. The goal is to design systems that support, configure and induce increasingly effective and efficient decision-making conversations. This includes allowing and motivating participation in decision-making conversations of any people who may contribute positively to decision-making and to the quality of its outcomes. The proposal sees the sum total of decisions being taken in an organization as the global decision process of the organization. The global decision process of the organization is structured in decision processes corresponding to organizational domains. Each organizational domain has associated a unit decision process. If the organizational domain contains organizational sub-domains, then its compound decision process is the union and composition of its unit decision process and the unit decision processes of its sub-domains. The proposal can be seen as extending, enlarging and integrating group decision support systems into an organization-wide system. The resulting organizational decision support system, by its conversational nature, may become the kernel decision support system of an organization or enterprise. In this way, the global decision process of the organization may be made explicit and monitored. It is believed that this proposal is original.
BI-FIT
Authors: Tijsen Rick , Spruit Marco , van de Ridder Martijn , van Raaij Bas
Published: July 2010

Over the years many organizations have invested in Business Intelligence (BI) systems. While BI-software enables organization-wide decision support, problems are encountered in the “fit” between systems’ provision and changing requirements of a growing amount of BI (end-) users. This chapter aims at investigating the factors that influence the “fit” between Business Intelligence (BI) end-users, tasks and technologies (BI-FIT). Based on an extensive literature study on the elements of BI-FIT, in this research the BI-FIT Framework is developed that shows the most relevant factors and the interrelationships between BI end-users, tasks and technologies. The framework can be used to help organizations to identify and fulfill the needs of BI end-users, thereby improving adoption and increasing satisfaction of the BI end-user base.
Information Management Process in Continuous Improvement Area at Worldwide Steel Company
Authors: Alves Gabriela , Neves Jorge
Published: July 2010

This chapter aims to present specific features concerning information management in the Continuous Improvement area of the Americas Long Carbon sector in ArcelorMittal. The aim is also to learn what the informational resources related to continuous improvement area are and describe how the process of managing information actually happens. The study was based on theoretical models of Davenport (1998) and Choo (2006) and tried to understand how the efficient management of information can aid in decision making at organizations. The result of the documentary research revealed the existence of initiatives throughout the different units in the Americas and also revealed corporate tools for information management. The field research results indicate the need for a structured and formalized model of information management that responds to users in adequate time, while alert to the need for policies that encourage the sharing of information related to the improvement of processes, products and services.
Beyond ERP Implementation
Authors: Kouki Rafa , Pellerin Robert , Poulin Diane
Published: July 2010

Research about ERP post-implementation and ERP assimilation is very limited. Similarly, scant research investigated ERP experiences in developing countries. Based on a qualitative research methodology grounded in the diffusion of innovations theory, the present study aims at investigating the determining contextual factors for ERP assimilation. A cross-case study analysis of four firms in a developed and a developing country suggests that in both contexts, the primary factor for encouraging a successful ERP assimilation is top management support. Other factors such as post-implementation training and education, IT support, organizational culture, managers and users involvement, strategic alignment, external pressures and consultant effectiveness are also identified as factors that influence ERP assimilation. Several assimilation impediments that should be watched are also specified.
Crucial Consequences of Un-Holistic Business Information
Authors: Potocan Vojko , Mulej Matjaž
Published: July 2010

Modern business environments require innovated business concepts. Meeting them in enterprises’ functioning depends also on creation and implementation of appropriate information support. In terms of contents, information support and information must be reliable to not be misinformation; information and communication technology is not enough for it because information means impact. Potential errors on the long path from data to information must hence be prevented. A one-sided approach, which belongs to the practices of professionals as narrow specialists, can prevent errors and misinformation rarely – when rather one-sided information is enough. More complex situation and processes require a more holistic approach that, in its turn, requires interdisciplinary creative co-operation of specialists of various interdependent professions. The authors try to contribute to discussion about reliability of information by thinking how can one tackle the data-to-information-to-decision process in order to diminish dangers of poor reliability of information/decision.
Information Systems Projects In Contact Centers
Authors: Rijo Rui , Varajão João , Gonçalves Ramiro
Published: July 2010

Over the past decade, Contact Centers have experienced exceptional growth. In UK and USA Contact Centers employ about three percent of the working population. Contact Center’s projects are complex because occur in a multidisciplinary area with multiple actors and constraints. Information systems play a decisive role in these projects. However, several studies indicate a low success level of information and communications technology projects leading to research opportunities for their improvement. In their previous research the authors have identified a framework with the key factors to be considered in these projects. Due to the highly dynamic reality of the Contact Centers, the framework must evolve in order to maintain its usefulness for project managers and other center professionals. Focus groups are interactive discussion groups used for generating knowledge and hypotheses, exploring opinions, attitudes and attributes. In this way, the study presented in this chapter aims to verify, expand and actualize the existent framework, using a focus group with professionals in the area.
A Process for Estimating the Value of ITIL Implementations
Authors: Oliveira Pedro , da Silva Nuno Furtado , da Silva Miguel Mira
Published: July 2010

As World economy lingers it is increasingly more important to justify any investment so that available corporate funds are spent wisely. However, estimating the value of ITIL investments is not an easy task, which means that most CIOs do not invest in large-scale ITIL projects as much as it would be desirable. Instead, CIOs prefer to embark on quick win implementations (e.g. solely implement the incident management process). In this chapter t propose an ITIL Value Estimator. This estimator is based on an estimation process that quantifies the project’s total cost, along with each process’ benefits. The outcome of the ITIL Value Estimator is a Monte Carlo simulation whose result provides CIOs with a justification of the value of large-scale ITIL implementations, which can be used to gain the upper hand during the decision-making process.
Information Systems Outsourcing
Authors: André Ana , Sampaio Fernanda
Published: July 2010

Information Systems (IS) Outsourcing has emerged as a strategic option to be considered and has been increasingly adopted by managers. However, many contracts still fail during their initial years, meaning that Outsourcing has also been subject to strong criticism. There are advantages to Outsourcing but also significant risks associated to it, and the assessment of both is therefore of great relevance for informed decision-making. The objective of this chapter is to determine to what extent a common view about risks and benefits associated to IS Outsourcing is shared by the Portuguese market players: Service Providers, Clients and Opinion Makers. In order to accomplish this, an on-line Delphi study was conducted, combined with the Q-sort technique, which allowed to obtain the perspective of each player on the risks and benefits IS Outsourcing. Comparing these perspectives it was possible to understand that the market players don’t share the same point of view.
Multisite PLM Platform
Authors: Draghici George , Draghici Anca
Published: July 2010

Today, product development is a result of a collaborative design process in network. Taking into consideration this fact, a National Research Network for Integrated Product and Process Engineering (INPRO) has been created. The present chapter presents the relevant items for building a PLM multisite platform for collaborative integrated product development based on the common researches developed in the INPRO project and network. The authors argue this approach by presenting the collaborative distributed design process, the product model and the PLM multisite platform for collaborative integrated product development. Based on these was built a collaborative multisite platform that join together the methodology, methods and tools for Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Knowledge Management (KM) and Human Resources Management (HRU), examples of good practice. The core of the proposed approach is the product lifecycle model which is the base for the proposed collaborative product development methodology and the multisite PLM platform architecture. The presented research results were gained from our implication in the project “National Research Network for Integrated Product and Process Engineering – INPRO” (contract no. 243 / 08.09.2006). The model of building such collaborative design environment was inspired by the Virtual Research Laboratory for a Knowledge Community in Production (VRL-KCiP) a Network of Excellence project (contract no. FP6-507487). From 2008 the authors extended their research at the European level, in the context of a Lifelong Learning Programme, Leonardo da Vinci - Transfer of Innovation (contract nr. FR/08/LLP-LdV/TOI/117025), “Certified Integrated Design Engineer – iDesigner” in which they used the collaborative platform for the students and researchers professional qualification and certification.
Collaborative Demand and Supply Planning Networks
Authors: Hvolby Hans-Henrik , Steger-Jensen Kenn , Alfnes Erlend , Dreyer Heidi C.
Published: July 2010

The focus of manufacturing planning and control has gradually expanded from (in-house) production activities towards all manufacturing and logistic activities in the supply chain. Planning of in-house operations is still very important, but the trends towards increased use of outsourcing and mass customisation require that customers and suppliers are able to exchange information frequently to cut down costs and lead time while quickly adapting their manufacturing and logistics operations to market/customer requirements. Many vendors offer systems to plan and control in-house operations, whereas only a few large vendors (such as Oracle, SAP and I2) offer supply chain planning systems. This limits the ability for SMEs to exploit the supply chain planning options. This chapter discuss current supply chain planning solutions and presents a more simple and adaptive concept to be used in both SMEs and larger enterprises. The research presented in this chapter is funded by the EU Union via the EmpoSME, ValuePole projects, and by the Research Council of Norway via the SFI Norman project.
Judging the Children Act 1989: courts and the administration of family justice
Authors: Masson Judith
Published: July 2010

Focusing on those aspects of the Children Act 1989 which relate to the family justice system, this article outlines the development over the last 20 years of the family courts and the court welfare system (now CAFCASS ‐ Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service), and the operation of two provisions: section 1(5) the ‘no order’ principle and section1(2) the avoidance of delay. Neither of these provisions have delivered what they promised and further procedural change through the Public Law Outline and the Private Law Programme have been introduced to divert cases from proceedings and reduce delay. The foundations for a family court set down in the Act appear at last to be being developed. However, the recently announced Family Justice Review means that the role and function of family courts is again uncertain.
Seasonality of Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere using the MIPAS-E instrument
Authors: Moore D. P. , Remedios J. J.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. The Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding onboard ENVISAT (MIPAS–E) offers the opportunity to detect and spectrally resolve many atmospheric minor constituents affecting atmospheric chemistry. In this paper, we retrieve global, seasonal PAN volume mixing ratio (vmr) data from MIPAS-E measurements made in January, March, August and October 2003 and present results from this scheme between approximately 300 and 150 hPa. The total error on a single PAN retrieval is better than 20% outside the tropics and better than 50% in the tropics where uncertainties in water vapor dominate the total error budget. We observe clear differences in the seasonal cycle of PAN in our data, linked closely to biomass burning regions and growing seasons. Highest Northern Hemisphere mid-latitude PAN vmrs were observed in August (300–600 pptv on average) compared with the January and October data (less than 250 pptv on average). In the March 2003 data we observe highest PAN vmrs in the tropics with evidence of vmrs between 600 and 1000 pptv over Eastern Asia and over the Central Pacific at 333 hPa. The vertical distribution of PAN as a function of latitude (i.e. the zonal mean) highlights the strong inter-annual variability of PAN in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS), most pronounced poleward of 40° N (up to 400 pptv over the year). The variability of PAN in the tropical UTLS is also significant and we derive a variability of up to 250 pptv in the averages between January and October 2003. These results represent the first seasonal observations of PAN in the UTLS.
Lag time determination in DEC measurements with PTR-MS
Authors: Taipale R. , Ruuskanen T. M. , Rinne J.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. The disjunct eddy covariance (DEC) method has emerged as a popular technique for micrometeorological flux measurements of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It has usually been combined with proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS), an online technique for VOC concentration measurements. However, the determination of the lag time between wind and concentration measurements has remained an important challenge. To address this issue, we studied the effect of different lag time methods on DEC fluxes. The analysis was based on both actual DEC measurements with PTR-MS and simulated DEC data derived from high frequency H2O measurements with an infrared gas analyzer. Conventional eddy covariance fluxes of H2O served as a reference in the DEC simulation. The individual flux measurements with PTR-MS were rather sensitive to the lag time methods, but typically this effect averaged out when the median fluxes were considered. The DEC simulation revealed that the maximum covariance method was prone to overestimation of the absolute values of fluxes. The constant lag time methods, one based on a value calculated from the sampling flow and the sampling line dimensions and the other on a typical daytime value, had a tendency to underestimate. The visual assessment method and our new averaging approach utilizing running averaged covariance functions did not yield statistically significant errors and thus fared better than the habitual choice, the maximum covariance method. Given this feature and the potential for automatic flux calculation, we recommend using the averaging approach in DEC measurements with PTR-MS. It also seems well suited to conventional eddy covariance applications when measuring fluxes near the detection limit.
Variations of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation in control and transient simulations of the last millennium
Authors: Hofer D. , Raible C. C. , Stocker T. F.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. The variability of the Atlantic meridional overturing circulation (AMOC) strength is investigated in control experiments and in transient simulations of up to the last millennium using the low-resolution Community Climate System Model version 3. In the transient simulations the AMOC exhibits enhanced low-frequency variability that is mainly caused by transitions between two semi-stable circulation states which amount to a 10 percent change of the maximum overturning. One transition is also found in a control experiment, but the time-varying external forcing significantly increases the probability of the occurrence of such events though not having a direct, linear impact on the AMOC. The transition from a high to a low AMOC state starts with a reduction of the convection in the Labrador and Irminger Seas and goes along with a changed barotropic circulation of both gyres in the North Atlantic and a gradual strengthening of the convection in the Greenland-Iceland-Norwegian (GIN) Seas. In contrast, the transition from a weak to a strong overturning is induced by decreased mixing in the GIN Seas. As a consequence of the transition, regional sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies are found in the midlatitude North Atlantic and in the convection regions with an amplitude of up to 3 K. The atmospheric response to the SST forcing associated with the transition indicates a significant impact on the Scandinavian surface air temperature (SAT) in the order of 1 K. Thus, the changes of the ocean circulation make a major contribution to the Scandinavian SAT variability in the last millennium.
SMOKE for Europe – adaptation, modification and evaluation of a comprehensive emission model for Europe
Authors: Bieser J. , Aulinger A. , Matthias V. , Quante M. , Builtjes P.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. The US EPA regional emission model SMOKE was adopted and modified to create temporally and spatially distributed emission for Europe and surrounding countries based on official reports and public domain data only. The aim is to develop a flexible model capable of creating consistent high resolution emission data for long-term runs of Chemical Transport Models (CTM). This modified version of SMOKE, called SMOKE for EUROPE (SMOKE-EU) was successfully used to create hourly gridded emissions for the timespan 1970–2010. In this paper the SMOKE-EU model and the underlying European datasets are introduced. Emission data created by SMOKE-EU for the year 2000 are evaluated by comparison to data of three different state of the art emission models. Differences of SMOKE-EU to those models were in the same range as the differences amongst them. Further, concentrations of criteria pollutants calculated by the CTM CMAQ using the four different emission datasets were compared against EMEP measurements with hourly and daily resolution. Using SMOKE-EU emissions O3, NO2 and SO4 could be modelled most reliably. The amount of simulated concentrations within a factor of 2 (F2) of the observations for these species are: O3 (F2=0.79 N=329 197), NO2 (F2=0.55 N=11 465), and SO4 (F2=0.62 N=17 536). The lowest values were found for NH4 (F2=0.34 N=7400) and NO3 (F2=0.25 N=6184). NH4 concentrations were generally overestimated, leading to a fractional bias (FB) averaged over 22 measurement stations of (FB=0.83±0.41) while better agreements with observations were found for SO4 (FB=0.06±0.38, 51 stations) and NO3 (FB=0.13±0.75, 18 stations). CMAQ simulations using the three other emission datasets were similar to those modelled using SMOKE-EU emissions. Highest differences where found for NH4 while O3 concentrations were almost identical. The results of this comparison confirm that it is adequate to use emissions created by SMOKE-EU as input for CTMs.
Hydrochemistry (major and trace elements) of Lake Malawi (Nyasa), Tanzanian Northern Basin: local versus global considerations
Authors: Branchu P. , Bergonzini L. , Ambrosi J.-P. , Cardinal D. , Delalande M. , Pons-Branchu E. , Benedetti M.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. This paper presents the first inventory of dissolved minor and trace element (F, Al, Fe, Mn, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Mo, Bi, Sr, Zn) concentrations in Lake Malawi, the second largest African lake. Sampling was carried out during 1993 dry season in the northern part of the lake. Trace metal concentrations were measured, together with Ca, Mg, Na, K, Cl, SO4, Alkalinity and Si, along three profiles in the lake northern extremity, in five tributaries and two on-land hydrothermal springs. Water profiles show similar elemental distributions and concentrations that are influenced by lake physical-chemical stratification. Stratification, assessed using temperature, conductivity, Si and Mn profiles, is characterised by two boundaries: the thermocline (70–90 m) and the oxicline (150–190 m). Elemental water concentrations are discussed using simple covariance analyse. Epilimnetic concentrations and distribution are also influenced by atmospheric deposition and river diving. Comparison of dissolved concentrations for potentially polluting elements with World Health Organisation Guidelines and those reported for other East African lakes shows that this reservoir is uncontaminated despite an increasing human stress. Major element behaviour is assessed through a 3 boxes model. In this model Cl and K are conservative elements whereas Si is removed from the solution by diatom productivity and sedimentation. Ca, Na, Mg and alkalinity show low reactivity. Evaporation is one of the controlling factors of lake element concentration that superimposes on the watershed control. Hydrothermal activity, not evidenced in the lake, controls the chemistry of one of the main northern tributary. Chemical comparison between Northern rivers and other tributaries characterises the geographical and geological specificity of studied northern watershed. Moreover the lake annual chemical budget shows that northern watershed generates the main elemental input to the lake, illustrating the dual importance of this area in terms of water and ionic recharge to the lake.
Effect of DEM resolution on SWAT outputs of runoff, sediment and nutrients
Authors: Lin S. , Jing C. , Chaplot V. , Yu X. , Zhang Z. , Moore N. , Wu J.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) have been successfully used in a large range of environmental issues. Several methods such as digital contour interpolation and remote sensing have allowed the generation of DEMs, some of which are now freely available for almost the entire globe. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is a widely used semi-distributed model operating at the watershed level and has previously been shown to be very sensitive to the quality of the input topographic information. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of DEMs generated from different data sources, respectively DLG5m (local Digital Line Graph, 5 m interval), ASTER30m (1 arc-s ASTER Global DEM Version 1, approximately 30 m resolution), and SRTM90m (3 arc-s SRTM Version 4, approximately 90 m resolution), on SWAT predictions for runoff, sediment, total phosphor (TP) and total nitrogen (TN). Eleven resolutions, from 5 m to 140 m, were considered in this study. Results indicate that the predictions of TPs and TNs decreased substantially with coarser resampled resolution. Slightly decreased trends could be found in the predicted sediments when DEMs were resampled to coarser resolutions. Predicted runoffs were not sensitive to resampled resolutions. The predicted outputs based on DLG5m were more sensitive to resampled resolutions than those based on ASTER30m and SRTM90m. At original resolutions, the predicted outputs based on ASTER30m and SRTM90m were similar, but the predicted TNs and TPs based on ASTER30m and SRTM90m were much lower than the one based on DLG5m. For the predicted TNs and TPs, which were substantially sensitive to DEM resolutions, the output accuracies of SWAT derived from ASTER30m and SRTM90m could be improved by down-scaled resampling, but they could not improve on finer DEM (DLG5m) at the same resolution. This study helps GIS environmental model users to understand the sensitivities of SWAT to DEM resolution, and choose feasible DEM data for environmental models.
Understanding snow-transport processes shaping the mountain snow-cover
Authors: Mott R. , Schirmer M. , Bavay M. , Grünewald T. , Lehning M.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. Mountain snow-cover is normally heterogeneously distributed due to wind and precipitation interacting with the snow cover on various scales. The aim of this study was to investigate snow deposition and wind-induced snow transport processes on different scales and to analyze some major drift events caused by North-West storms during two consecutive accumulation periods. In particular, we distinguish between the individual processes that cause specific drifts using a physically based model approach. Very high resolution wind fields (5 m) were therefore computed with the atmospheric model Advanced Regional Prediction System (ARPS) and used as input for a model of snow surface processes (Alpine3D) to calculate saltation, suspension and preferential deposition of precipitation. Several flow features during North-West storms were identified with input from a high-density network of permanent and mobile weather stations and indirect estimations of wind directions from snow surface structures, such as snow dunes and sastrugis. We also used Terrestrial and Airborne Laser Scanning measurements to investigate snow deposition patterns and to validate the model. The model results suggest that the in-slope deposition patterns we found, particularly two huge cross-slope cornice-like drifts, developed only when the prevailing wind direction was northwesterly and were formed mainly due to snow redistribution processes (saltation-driven). In contrast, more homogeneous deposition patterns on a ridge scale were formed during the same periods mainly due to preferential deposition of precipitation. The numerical analysis showed that snow-transport processes were sensitive to the changing topography due to the smoothing effect of the snow cover.