bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Biodiversity Portal of the Northern Part of West Siberia, Russia
Authors: Filippova Nina , Filippov Ilya , Ivanova Natalya
Published: July 2019

Biodiversity-related studies in the northern part of West Siberia are relatively recent in line with intensive industrial development of the region in recent decades. The region posesses few biological collections within the universities and nature reserves. Still, the Department of Natural Resources pays considerable attention to the sustainable use of natural resources. On the global scale, the success of biodiversity informatics goals largely depends on the local initiatives and progress in data mobilization and sharing. Therefore, organization of regional biodiversity portals is important to promote data mobilization, education and citizen science on local scale.

Previous experience of biodiversity information systems in the region was low. The program on digitization of observations of Red Listed species was launched in 2010 under the support of the Department of Natural Resources of Yugra. The information system for Red Listed species registrations was developed through this project and currently includes about three thousand observations. Another example of digitization in Western Siberia was developed by the biological collection of Yugra State University. Its database is based on the database management system Specify and available online through its web portal (http://bioportal.ugrasu.ru). Some collections of nature reserves have their catalogues in digital form. The need of biodiversity data mobilization is well understood and is discussed at regular workshops on biological collections management held in Khanty-Mansiysk.

Recently, the biologists curating several biological collections in the region started a project on a regional biodiversity portal development (https://nwsbios.org). The portal has three major components:

the database of collections based on Specify software (http://bioportal.ugrasu.ru),

the metadata of different sources of biodiversity information in the region,

an educational platform for learning biodiversity informatics, using data published via GBIF and DwC standards.

the database of collections based on Specify software (http://bioportal.ugrasu.ru),

the metadata of different sources of biodiversity information in the region,

an educational platform for learning biodiversity informatics, using data published via GBIF and DwC standards.

This initiative of biodiversity data mobilization in the region includes the organization of workshops, discussions and newsletters helping to reach potential data holders and coordinate work. Through this work four different organizations from Khanty-Mansi region have registered accounts in GBIF since 2019 and started uploading data to the GBIF portal. At present there are about 25,000 observations mobilized in GBIF from the Khanty-Mansi and Yamalo-Nenets regions.

The integrated massive publishing of data in the portal will provide new opportunities for biodiversity research and sustainable management of nature resources in the northern part of West Siberia.
The Microbial Antarctic Resource System: Integrating discoverability and preservation of environmentally-annotated microbial 'omics data
Authors: Sweetlove Maxime , Gan Yi Ming , Murray Alison , Van de Putte Anton
Published: July 2019

Microbial organisms - including Archaea, Bacteria and unicellular Eukaryota - collectively dominate the Earth in terms of bio- and functional diversity. Their study, often constrained by technology, has strongly benefited from the recent advancements in high-throughput DNA sequencing techniques. The vast amounts of microbial data generated in the wake of these developments, however, remains severely underrepresented on open access biodiversity data repositories (e.g. the Global Biodiversity Information Facility; GBIF). Moreover, when sequencing data has been made publicly available, is often poorly annotated with metadata and environmental variables, making it difficult to find or query. Therefore, the microbial Antarctic Resource System (mARS) aims to fill this lacuna by documenting and geo-referencing microbial datasets and linking the sequence data in the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration (INSDC) repositories with the associated environmental measurements on mARS, which is aimed to be interoperable with both INSDC and GBIF. This way, mARS helps to preserve environmental data and the metadata that is crucial for the correct processing and interpretation of sequence data, while it also connects researchers via its webportal to the existing wealth of molecular information, and allows these datasets to be more effectively accessed. Given the general complexity of microbial ecological datasets, mARS needs to operate between different data archiving standards, such as MIxS (see https://press3.mcs.anl.gov/gensc/mixs/), which is oriented towards DNA sequence data, and the biodiversity-based DarwinCore standard.

Currently, mARS tries to address the challenges of integrating microbial data with these existing systems as well as connecting with the communities behind them, by documenting the datasets on GBIF's extensions or investigate the feasibility of routinely processing raw sequence data into occurrence datasets using the open computing facilities offered by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory's (EMBL) MGnify resource.
Interprofessionnalité : de qui parlons-nous ?
Authors: Tahou Anna
Published: July 2019

L’interprofessionnalité est un des piliers qui contribuent à l’aide et l’amélioration des soins donc particulièrement à l’accompagnement des personnes âgées en situation palliative. L’investissement de chacun et l’association des diverses compétences, fait en sorte que les résidents ne sont pas seuls dans cette ultime étape de leur vie et les collaborateurs participent activement à leur accompagnement. Grâce aux échanges, aux réflexions entre collaborateurs les compétences différents sont en fait complémentaires et enrichi chacun dans son parcours professionnel : « cela fait de nous ce que nous sommes aujourd’hui » selon Anna rédactrice de cet article.
Des technologies au service de l’homme : un défi mutualiste ?
Authors: Femery Virginie
Published: July 2019

Le programme Vivoptim entend révolutionner la prévention en santé par la technologie digitale, en proposant un accompagnement efficace et personnalisé. La prévention a également des effets sur la maîtrise des dépenses de santé et bénéficie à l’ensemble de la société...
Chapitre 1. La justice climatique : faire face à la responsabilité du changement climatique ?
Authors: Michelot Agnès
Published: July 2019

Aux fondements de la justice climatique se trouve la recherche et la compréhension des inégalités liées au réchauffement planétaire. En cherchant à appréhender toutes les dimensions de la vulnérabilité aux changements climatiques en particulier la vulnérabilité sociale, le concept de la justice climatique contribue à développer notre responsabilité pour faire face à l’urgence climatique. Cependant, dans une démarche opérationnelle la justice climatique connait plusieurs approches en fonction de ceux qui s’y intéressent et la revendiquent. De la justice climatique revendiquée pour réparer une dette écologique, à la justice climatique comme principe d’action reconnu et mis en œuvre dans les politiques publiques, de nombreuses perspectives apparaissent pour penser un modèle de développement plus solidaire et respectueux des droits de chacun y compris des plus vulnérables et des plus démunis.
Chapter 3. The UNESCO Declaration on Ethical Principles in Relation to Climate Change: The Rehabilitation of Values in the Service of the Efficiency of Law
Authors: Tribolo Julie
Published: July 2019

La déclaration adoptée le 13 Novembre 2017 par l’UNESCO établit une liste restreinte de principes éthiques qui ont vocation à guider la prise de décision et l’élaboration des politiques de lutte contre le changement climatique à tous les niveaux, aussi bien local, que national, régional et international. Elle s’adresse dans cette perspective aussi bien aux décideurs politiques et institutionnels qu’aux entreprises, aux associations et aux individus, afin de mobiliser l’ensemble de la société pour faire face au changement climatique. Si les buts que se sont donnés les rédacteurs de la déclaration paraissent sans nul doute encourageants et pleinement justifiés au regard de la nécessité d’une action globale en la matière, l’on ne peut en revanche manquer de s’interroger sur l’instrument choisi pour les mettre en œuvre, l’éthique. Ce choix suggère en effet un texte affecté de deux limites évidentes, à défaut d’être rédhibitoires : un caractère non contraignant d’une part et une crédibilité limitée résultant de l’utilisation des valeurs d’autre part. Dans ces conditions, une question s’impose inévitablement : pourquoi l’éthique ?
Chapitre 5. La responsabilité de l’État en droit international public, stratégies d’évitement et pistes prospectives
Authors: Maljean-Dubois Sandrine
Published: July 2019

Le régime international du climat n’a pu prévenir une augmentation des températures qui se fait déjà sentir et risque de s’amplifier dans le futur. Dès lors, les impacts croissants des changements climatiques conduisent à s’interroger sur leur réparation. Bien que les États aient développé des stratégies d’évitement, les questions de responsabilité se posent et se poseront avec une acuité accrue, y compris à l’échelle interétatique. Dans ce contexte, la clarification de la responsabilité internationale de l’État en la matière et, par-là, des risques qu’il encourt, est importante.
L’effet émergence sur la gouvernance économique mondiale au prisme des Relations internationales, de l’Économie politique internationale et de l’Économie internationale
Authors: Berthaud Pierre
Published: July 2019

Ce texte passe en revue une vaste littérature consacrée à l’analyse de « l’effet émergence » sur la gouvernance économique mondiale. Il distingue trois types de contributions associées à trois champs disciplinaires. Les Relations internationales mettent l’accent sur la question de l’ordre et de l’hégémonie . L’Économie politique internationale fournit un outillage pour appréhender la question du leadership . Enfin, l’Économie internationale éclaire les enjeux de répartition et d’endogénéité dans le contexte de l’hyperglobalisation. Classification JEL : A12, F02, F5, F6, F15, P16
Le travail à temps partiel dans un pays en développement : l’exemple du Cameroun
Authors: Bakehe Novice Patrick
Published: July 2019

Dans cette étude, nous analysons le travail à temps partiel des actifs camerounais en distinguant temps partiel choisi et temps partiel subi. Au moyen des données de la deuxième enquête sur l’emploi et le secteur informel au Cameroun, réalisée en 2010, nous montrons que les individus à temps partiel subi sont généralement plus jeunes, de sexe féminin travaillant dans les domaines de l’éducation, de la santé et de l’action sociale. Leur position sur le marché du travail est, en moyenne, moins favorable : salaire mensuel plus faible, moindre ancienneté dans l’établissement. Les mesures telles qu’un horaire minimum garanti pourraient procurer à la fois des revenus plus élevés et des chances plus grandes d’accéder à l’emploi à temps plein. Classification JEL : C13, J01, J22
Infraction raciste (non) confirmée
Authors: Hajjat Abdellali , Keyhani Narguesse , Rodrigues Cécile
Published: July 2019

Résumé Cet article analyse le traitement judiciaire des infractions racistes et le phénomène de l’attrition, à partir d’une enquête sur 500 dossiers d’affaires racistes traitées entre 2006 et 2015 dans trois tribunaux correctionnels en France. Il montre qu’une combinaison de facteurs contribue à produire un taux élevé de classements sans suite pour infraction raciste non confirmée, fondé sur une hiérarchie des infractions et des types de racisme, une différence de traitement des victimes et des suspects (en fonction de l’âge, du sexe, de la classe sociale, de l’ethnicité, etc.), et une paradoxale surreprésentation des minoritaires parmi les suspects. Malgré les différences juridiques et institutionnelles entre la France et les États-Unis, les deux pays ont des catégories d’entendement administratives et sociales relativement similaires.
Bayesian Networks and Evolutionary Algorithms as a Tool for Portfolio Simulation and Optimization
Authors: Klepac Goran , Mrsic Leo
Published: July 2019

This chapter will propose solution how to recognise important factors within portfolio, how to derive new information from existing data and evaluate its importance factor. The chapter will also propose methodology for sensitivity evaluation between factors recognised as important. This information has valuable factors for Bayesian network construction. Such created Bayesian network can be used as simulation tool, as well as tool for portfolio optimization. As a simulation tool, such Bayesian network can be for output analysis regarding potential decisions via decision graphs. Also, as an optimization tool, Bayesian network can be used in way of finding optimal value of decision factors upon expected outputs from portfolio. For achieving this aim, evolutionary algorithms will be used as optimization tool.
Metaheuristic-Based Feature Optimization for Portfolio Management
Authors: Bhattacharjee Arup Kumar , Mukherjee Soumen , Mondal Arindam , Majumdar Dipankar
Published: July 2019

In the last two to three decades, use of credit cards is increasing rapidly due to fast economic growth in developing countries and worldwide globalization issues. Financial institutions like banks are facing a very tough time due to fast-rising cases of credit card loan payment defaulters. The banking institution is constantly searching for the perfect mechanisms or methods to identify possible defaulters among the whole set of credit card users. In this chapter, the most important features of a credit card holder are identified from a considerably large set of features using metaheuristic algorithms. In this work, a standard data set archived in UCI repository of credit card payments of Taiwan is used. Metaheuristic algorithms like particle swarm optimization, ant colony optimization, and simulated annealing are used to identify the significant sets of features from the given data set. Support vector machine classifier is used to identify the class in this two-class (loan defaulter or not) problem.
What Does It Mean to Be a “Woman Leader” in Academia?
Authors: Yanıkkaya Berrin
Published: July 2019

This chapter seeks to determine how patriarchy and capitalism together work to oppress women in academic leadership positions. In today's globalized world, higher education institutions, both state and private, either have strong ties with the corporate world or are run as if they are corporations themselves. Women who work their way up to management positions in academia are forced to accommodate patriarchal and capitalist ways of leading, which undervalue democratic processes such as getting legitimacy from people and deliberation, as well as other ways of “doing things” or “leading” differently. This study aims to discuss the multi-layered forms of gender-based discrimination in regard to civil status, age, ethnicity, class, and pay differences in academic leadership positions.
Diagnostic Analytics on Agriculture with Fuzzy Classification
Authors: Umarani R. , Suguna R.
Published: July 2019

Agriculture is the main domain and need of India. The country is second place in the world in agriculture. Cropping is the main part of agriculture. Various crops like millets, fruits, vegetables, oil seeds are produced and exported to other countries every year. So, various innovative technologies are used to improve the productivity of crops in agriculture. Rainfall is most important for growing crops. The water level for the crops based on rainfall has some uncertainty. Fuzzy regression analysis is one of the methods based on regression analysis that is used to handle fuzzy parameters and crisp data and vice versa. Linear fuzzy regression is one of the methods of fuzzy regression analysis to handle fuzzy parameters. This chapter explores fuzzy classification, which is based on fuzzy regression analysis, and it is compared with other classification algorithms on the agriculture data.
A Fuzzy-Based Sustainable Solution for Smart Farming
Authors: Pandey Kavita , Jain Shikha
Published: July 2019

Agriculture is an important sector in many developing countries, but the traditional methods are not sufficient to produce a good amount of crop. Moreover, the natural calamities are also destroying a large portion of the crop. Hence, this chapter proposes a prototype model, AgriHelp, to address an agricultural issue using fuzzy logic. The model takes two parameters as input: when and where the farmer wants to sow the crop. Using this information along with available dataset, AgriHelp extracts the expected min-max temperature, rainfall and soil type in the region in the specified season and suggests the best-suited crop to the farmer. The model can further be extended by incorporating more features.
Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System in Agriculture
Authors: Shastry K. Aditya , Sanjay H. A.
Published: July 2019

This chapter emphasizes the use of adaptive fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) in agriculture. An overview of the basic concepts of ANFIS is provided at the beginning, where the underlying architecture of ANFIS is also discussed. The introduction is followed by the second section which highlights the diverse applications of ANFIS in agriculture during recent times. The third section describes how Matlab software can be utilized to build the ANFIS model. The fourth section describes the case study of the application of ANFIS for crop yield prediction. The conclusion follows this case study.
The Promise for African American Male Students in Graduate Studies and Professional Development at Marygrove College
Authors: Okezie Chukwunyere E. , Alhamisi Judy , Glimps Blanche J.
Published: July 2019

The recruitment of African American males into chosen professions in the United States of America is an increasing challenge at national, state, and local levels. Gender and racial disparities between teachers in this country and the students they teach are present in classrooms. This chapter examines the Marygrove College's Griot program as an initiative established to address the underrepresentation of African American males in additional designated occupations. The philosophy and heritage from which the Griot Program was developed, along with key events and decisions throughout its life span are discussed. Model African American initiatives that can help shape Griot's future as it tries to increase the recruitment, retention, and success of African American men in graduate school to assume leadership roles in human resource management, in social justice, as well as in education are also presented.
Queering the Marianist Charism
Authors: Bradshaw R. Darden
Published: July 2019

Experiencing disparities between the philosophical stance of the Marianist charism and its practical implications as they inform equity, inclusion, and diversity on the University of Dayton campus, the researcher engaged in a qualitative study gathering information to foster changes that benefit the greater University of Dayton community. By using the mixed methods, participant narratives contextualize diverse personal and professional experiences on campus. Results indicate that the Marianist charism, while complex in its interpretations, simultaneously draws people to the university and becomes a barrier to full equity; it further marginalizes women, persons of color, and LGBTQ+ identified people. This chapter concludes with a call to queer the Marianist charism and include the unheard voices of those marginalized to further these efforts.
The Sexual Abuse of African Nuns
Authors: Ford Theron N. , Glimps Blanche J.
Published: July 2019

Special circumstances seem to engender the practice of sexual abuse of African nuns by African priests. The priesthood is grounded in male dominance, as is the Catholic Church. Followers of the Catholic faith are trained from an early age to be obedient and unquestioning of the priest. That stance is compatible with many sub-Saharan cultures that position males at the society's apex. The role of females in such cultures is to be obedient to males. For African females, daring to become nuns is still a relatively novel decision in some communities. The decision is fraught with incentives and consequences. Among those incentives is gaining access to education. For sub-Saharan African women access to education maybe a steppingstone to becoming a nun. There is an examination of the impact of education gained through the embrace of Catholicism, joining the sisterhood of nuns, juxtaposed to the silent epidemic of sexual violence perpetrated by priests and bishops and the realization that for many African nuns the sisterhood does not provide sanctuary from priest sexual abuse.
A Conceptual Framework for the Design and Development of Automated Online Condition Monitoring System for Elevators (AOCMSE) Using IoT
Authors: Starvin M. S. , Alphonse A. Sherly
Published: July 2019

The reliability of an elevator system in a smart city is of great importance. This chapter develops a conceptual framework for the design and development of an automated online condition monitoring system for elevators (AOCMSE) using IoT techniques to avoid failures. The elevators are powered by the traction motors. Therefore, by placing vibration sensors at various locations within the traction motor, the vibration data can be acquired and converted to 2D grayscale images. Then, maximum response-based directional texture pattern (MRDTP) can be applied to those images which are an advanced method of feature extraction. The feature vectors can also be reduced in dimension using principal component analysis (PCA) and then given to extreme learning machine (ELM) for the classification of the faults to five categories. Thus, the failure of elevators and the consequences can be prevented by sending this detected fault information to the maintenance team.
From Teacher Talk to Student Talk
Authors: Jules Janice E.
Published: July 2019

Informal observation in the Caribbean seems to indicate persistent application of traditional teacher-dominated strategies. For this chapter, data were collected from fifty-one Grade K to 3 teachers from six Caribbean countries, including three twin islands, to investigate the application of student-talk as an instructional strategy in repositioning learners for success with oral language skills. The data included an online survey and non-participant classroom observation using a mixed-methods research design drawing on qualitative and quantitative indicators. The study revealed that along with some evidence of student to teacher interaction, talk in the classrooms was primarily teacher-directed and students were usually expected to be silent except when responding to questions posed by the teacher. In addition, it was found that student to student talk was not encouraged generally, and the representation of a classroom environment favorable for the development of oral language skills was limited.
Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games as English as a Foreign Language Learning Environments
Authors: Martins Hélder Fanha
Published: July 2019

The objective of this chapter is to gain a better understanding of the usefulness of massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) for promoting English as a foreign language (EFL) acquisition. To accomplish this goal, the author analyzed specific categories of interaction occurring between English language learners while playing an online game entitled Eve Online. Previous research has proved that there are positive outcomes on EFL acquisition from the interaction that takes place while playing video games known as MMORPGs. These games immerse players in virtual worlds that are inhabited by hundreds and even thousands of other players, and all are partaking in the game in real time. Learners who choose to play the game in a foreign language are exposed to target language input in a context-rich environment where they can interact with native-speakers and other language learners.
Developing Self-Directed Learning to Cope With Open and Distributed E-Learning
Authors: Geduld Bernadette Winefrede
Published: July 2019

Self-directed learning is a significant requirement for the development of lifelong learning and has globally developed into a vital role in academic learning. In this chapter, the author will firstly reflect on the social, cultural, educational, and economic characteristics of ODeL students studying through an open and distributed e-learning model. The purpose of this chapter is to reflect on various skills such as cognitive, organizational, emotional, and information communication technology skills that studying through an open and distributed e-learning model (ODeL) demands. A few situational challenges stemming from students' social, cultural, and previous educational contexts are discussed. Thereafter, the concept, self-directed learning, as a requirement for successful academic achievement in ODeL is presented. Lastly, instructional strategies are recommended to support and enhance students' self-directed learning to empower them to overcome the academic challenges in open and distributed e-learning.
The Use of Pedagogical Support Strategies in an Online Teacher Education Course
Authors: van Wyk Micheal M. , Mudau Patience Kelebogile
Published: July 2019

This chapter reported student teachers' experiences of using pedagogical support strategies in the Teaching Methodology of Economics course at an open distance learning university. An exploratory mixed methods design and purposive sampling of Bachelor of Education and Postgraduate Certificate in Education students were selected. An online survey and e-digital support tools were used. Results showed that students viewed academic student support as an important part for their success ranging from availability, promptness, approachability, sympathy, clear instructions for the module, and constructive feedback in the course. Several challenges ranging from lacking necessary digital literacy skills to frequent interruption of connectivity of e-digital support tools emerged. Only a small sample was selected for this study, but further research might compare other modules within the postgraduate and undergraduate qualifications respectively, which may yield different results.
My Becoming in a World of Virtual Learning Communities
Authors: Koopman Karen Joy
Published: July 2019

The aim of this chapter is to chronicle the author's becoming in a world of virtual learning communities (VLCs) and spaces. She considers her narrative of becoming in a world of VLCs and spaces important as it might resonate with many experienced lecturers and teachers who grew up in an era with no internet and no (or very little) technological tools, and who now suddenly find themselves thrust into an age where smartphones and various other mobile devices are inescapable. These smart devices such as iPhones, Macbooks, online programs, and so forth make university life frenetic not only for the author but for her students as well. This means we are all busy beyond belief with a seemingly relentless push to make everything we do and experience faster and faster. In this chapter, the author wants to share how the needs of her students, who are referred to as “digital natives” motivated her in her becoming in a world of VLCs.
Environmental Phthalate Exposure in Relation to Reproduction Outcomes and Health Endpoints
Authors: Afshan Anjum , Ali Md Niamat , Bhat Farooz Ahmed
Published: July 2019

Environmental pollutants, like xenobiotic substances released as byproducts of anthropogenic actions, naturally lead to pollution of the environment. They negatively affect the environment through unfavorable impacts on growth, development, and reproduction of organisms including humans. One of the outstanding examples of xenobiotics is endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) such as phthalate esters (PEs), which have the efficacy to disturb numerous biological systems including the invertebrate, reptilian, avian, aquatic, and also the mammalian systems. Phthalates are family of xenobiotic hazardous compounds amalgamating in plastics to intensify their plasticity, flexibility, longevity, versatility, and durability. Ignoring the rising issue on the hazardous nature of various phthalates and their metabolites, ruthless usage of phthalates as plasticizer in plastics and as additives in innumerable consumer products continues due to their low eminent properties, their cost-effectiveness, and lack of suitable alternatives. Globally epidemiological human studies showed various phthalates and their metabolites ingested passively by man from the general environment, foods, drinks, breathing air, and routine household products cause various dysfunctions. This comprehensive chapter on the hazards of phthalates would benefit the general population, academia, scientists, clinicians, environmentalists, and law or policymakers to decide upon whether usage of phthalates to be continued swiftly without sufficient deceleration or regulated by law or to be phased out from earth forever.
Polyhydroxyalkanoates
Authors: Malik Javid A. , Bhadauria Monika
Published: July 2019

Human dependence on number of chemicals or chemical derivatives has increased alarmingly. Among the commodity chemicals, plastics are becoming independent for our modern lifestyle, as the usage of plastics is increasing worryingly. However, these synthetic plastics are extremely persistent in nature and accumulate in the environment, thereby leading to serious ecological problems. So, to build our economy sustainably, a need of replacement is necessary. Biomaterials in terms of bioplastics are an anticipated option, being synthesized and catabolized by different organisms with myriad biotechnological applications. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are among such biodegradable bioplastics, which are considered as an effective alternative for conventional plastics due to their similar mechanical properties of plastics. A range of microbes under different nutrient and environmental conditions produce PHAs significantly with the help of enzymes. PHA synthases encoded by phaC genes are the key enzymes that polymerize PHA monomers. Four major classes of PHA synthases can be distinguished based on their primary structures, as well as the number of subunits and substrate specificity. PHAs can also be produced from renewable feedstock under, unlike the petrochemically derived plastics that are produced by fractional distillation of depleting fossil fuels. Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is the simplest yet best known polyester of PHAs, as the PHB derived bioplastics are heat tolerant, thus used to make heat tolerant and clear packaging film. They have several medical applications such as drug delivery, suture, scaffold and heart valves, tissue engineering, targeted drug delivery, and agricultural fields. Genetic modification (GM) may be necessary to achieve adequate yields. The selections of suitable bacterial strains, inexpensive carbon sources, efficient fermentation, and recovery processes are also some aspects important aspects taken into consideration for the commercialization of PHA. PHA producers have been reported to reside at various ecological niches with few among them also produce some byproducts like extracellular polymeric substances, rhamnolipids and biohydrogen gas. So, the metabolic engineering thereafter promises to bring a feasible solution for the production of “green plastic” in order to preserve petroleum reserves and diminish the escalating human and animal health concerns environmental implications.
Consumer Socialization Process for the Highly Connected Customers
Authors: Ho Ree C. , Teo Teck Choon
Published: July 2019

Over the past two decades, social media has developed exponentially and significantly changed the customers' shopping behavior. Social media apps enable customers to interact with retailers and other customers closely, and influences their purchase decision. Hence, it is small wonder that businesses are investing time and resources to promote their products and brand image on social media applications. Instagram is best known for its enriched visual features in both image and footage and suitable for developing strong brand engagement. It is a viable platform for businesses to promote their products to customers. This chapter proposes a framework of product learning process with the use of Instagram. It contributes in effective management of social media marketing and provides marketers with the guidelines in using Instagram creatively to roll out customer engagement strategies.
Consumer Perception of Purchasing Organic Foods
Authors: Lim Ernest K. S.
Published: July 2019

The aim of this study is to identify the consumer perception of buying the organic foods online in Malaysia. Consumer perception is typically affected by the variables such as purchase intention, price, health consciousness, organic certification and labeling, consumer knowledge, availability, and environmental concern. This study attempts to identify the relationship and linearity between the dependent and independent variables. Survey questionnaire was targeted to 200 online consumers aged between 18 to 65 years old who buy organic foods. The results indicate a significant positive relationship between price, health consciousness, organic certification and labeling, consumer knowledge, availability, and environmental concern and the purchase of organic food. It shows that purchase intention is linearly related to price, health consciousness, availability, and environmental concern.
Customer Engagement
Authors: Cheng Robin
Published: July 2019

This chapter focused on exploring the engagement in which consumers interact with each other while conducting online shopping activities, such as discovering products, sharing product information, and/or collaboratively making shopping decisions. At the core of the product/service offering, successful shopping models will be able to meet the needs of highly engaged shoppers. In order to develop sustainable shopping model for this group of shoppers, social support theory could explain the current phenomenon of the use of social media for shopping. The social media technologies facilitated collaborative learning and collaborative improvement on the sale of unconventional and innovative products. The chapter contributes in social commerce innovations and provides managerial implications for understanding the overall interactions of social commerce.
The New Horizon of Public Relations
Authors: Genel Zeynep
Published: July 2019

Consumers pay attention to other consumers' comments, advice, and interactions during the purchase decision process. Besides having a strong impact on consumers' brand decisions, these user-driven contents have an important effect on brand's online reputation, which is very important area for consumers to follow the information about the brand. Therefore, some of the public relations practices will be forced to change by this new communication eco-system. The increasing power of consumer-driven content could lead to the evolution of traditional public relations and marketing communication. Interaction and participation would be the main concepts in the coming future of public relations. Therefore, this chapter aims to explain the effect of consumers' interactions on brand's social media accounts that would lead to their brand selection decisions.
Taxation of Digital Business in Malaysia
Authors: Kuek Tee Say
Published: July 2019

Governments across the world are looking at introducing the “digital tax,” which will be imposed on technology companies and digital business players. Digital giants like Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft are benefiting from the strong growth of digital business. The Malaysian government has announced in the national 2019 budget that a digital tax will be implemented effective January 1, 2020. The rationale of the tax is that both the international and local businesses in the digital sector must pay their fair share of tax. Malaysia has been taxing income from e-commerce, but it has no guidelines on the taxation of income from digital business. Global digital businesses often avoid paying taxes in Malaysia because they have no physical presence in the country. This chapter looks at how Malaysia is reforming its laws and policies to ensure its tax base fully reflects the scale of transactions and profits generated by the digital economy.
Composite Indicators as Decision Support Method for Flood Analysis
Authors: Karmaoui Ahmed , Ben Salem Abdelkrim , Minucci Guido
Published: July 2019

Floods are highly relevant extreme events with increasing frequency at a global scale. They remain among the most dangerous and complex natural disasters in middle and low-income countries. In this context, it is necessary to develop decision-support tools to reduce the flood risk and increase the resilience. The chapter reviews one of the most relevant tools, the flood vulnerability index (FVI) category at a global scale. These tools use hydrological, topographic, socio-economic parameters strongly associated with flood vulnerability. The findings indicate that FVI is a flexible tool for integrated assessment of vulnerability to floods for application in different regions. Social, environmental, and physical components are the main components used in the FVI. Household and neighborhood, basin, urban, sub-catchment, and coastal are the different levels of vulnerability analysis.
A Novel Algorithm for Segmentation of Parasites in Thin Blood Smears From Microscopy Using Type II Fuzzy Sets and Inverse Gaussian Gradient
Authors: Golla Madhu
Published: July 2019

Malaria is the leading health problem globally in the equatorial regions. Even after campaigning and control by the World Health Organization (WHO), malaria is a high mortality-causing infectious disease due to inappropriate and late diagnosis. To prevent getting affected by malaria, the diagnosis should be in the early stage and accurate. This research presents an innovative approach for erythrocyte segmentation and malaria parasite detection from microscopic images. In addition, the author utilizes Einstein t-conorm function to generate new fuzzy membership function which is used to segment the infected regions of the blood cells in microscopic images. Finally, the inverse Gaussian gradient function is used for the final segmentation. This technique is compared with state-of-the-art segmentation techniques such as k-means, fuzzy c-means segmentation, and spatial intuitionistic fuzzy c-means (SIFCM) segmentation approaches. Experimental results are validated qualitatively, and it is deduced that the proposed method is the robust segmentation method for malaria parasite detection.
A Visual Saliency Detection Approach by Fusing Low-Level Priors With High-Level Priors
Authors: Singh Monika , Jalal Anand Singh Singh , Manke Ruchira , Khan Amir
Published: July 2019

Saliency detection has always been a challenging and interesting research area for researchers. The existing methodologies either focus on foreground regions or background regions of an image by computing low-level features. However, considering only low-level features did not produce worthy results. In this paper, low-level features, which are extracted using super pixels, are embodied with high-level priors. The background features are assumed as the low-level prior due to the similarity in the background areas and boundary of an image which are interconnected and have minimum distance in between them. High-level priors such as location, color, and semantic prior are incorporated with low-level prior to spotlight the salient area in the image. The experimental results illustrate that the proposed approach outperform the sate-of-the-art methods.
Word Spotting Based on Bispace Similarity for Visual Information Retrieval in Handwritten Document Images
Authors: Benabdelaziz Ryma , Gaceb Djamel , Haddad Mohammed
Published: July 2019

Retrieving information from a huge collection of ancient handwritten documents is important for indexing, interpreting, browsing, and searching documents in various domains. Word spotting approaches are widely used in this context but have several limitations related to the complex properties of handwriting. These can appear at several steps: interest point detection, description, and matching. This article proposes a new word spotting approach for the word retrieval in handwritten document, which mainly leverages the properties of image gradients for visual features detection and description. The proposed approach is based on the combination of spatial relationships with textural information to design a more accurate matching. The experimental results of the proposed approach demonstrate a higher performance over the Jeremy Bentham dataset, evaluated following the recent benchmarks of ICDAR 2015 Competition on Keyword Spotting for Handwritten Documents.
The Relationship Between Extrovert/Introvert Attributes and Feedback on Students' Achievements
Authors: Zeichner Orit
Published: July 2019

Extroversion and introversion are two of the personality variables mentioned in the context of learning and achievements. The present article examines the performance of students in a distance learning environment, focusing on the issue of the distinct effect of specific personality attributes (in this case, extroversion and introversion). The study included 171 respondents divided into three research groups. Each group received a different form of feedback – content feedback, effort feedback and ability feedback. Significant differences were found between the groups that received ability or effort feedback and the group that received only content feedback. Relationships were found between extroversion-introversion and the changes that occurred in motivation and achievements. It seems that extroverts benefited considerably from ability and effort feedback rather than content feedback.
Software for Feedback System Using Adaptive Categorization and Authenticated Recommendation
Authors: Banerjee Ayan , Kundu Anirban
Published: July 2019

The authors propose a web-based adaptive categorization and authenticated recommendation system, based on teacher performance. Distinct layers of the proposed framework have been operated from many geographically distributed locations. The system contains multiple entry points such as a student attendance module, a teacher categorization module, and a teacher recommendation module, strictly accessed by the administrative authority of an academic organization. The student attendance module is required for achieving better results on the teacher categorization module, and the teacher recommendation module. The reliability factor has been incorporated for realizing the accuracy of the proposed system. The administration authorities communicate with the server to categorize and recommend teachers by using teachers' performance. The replication and re-allocation transparencies have been maintained throughout the servers. Lightweight system performance has been enhanced due to the incorporation of a paperless approach and has provided less data loss. A linear time complexity is achieved due to usage of cellular automata as a tool.
An Optimized Component Selection Algorithm for Self-Adaptive Software Architecture Using the Component Repository
Authors: MohanRoopa Y  , Ramamohan Reddy A
Published: July 2019

Component-based software engineering focuses on the development and reuse of components. The component reuse depends on the storage and retrieval processes. This article presents the component repository model for the developers to achieve good productivity. The component selection from the component repository according to the functionality and requirements is a crucial process. This article proposed an algorithm for optimizing component selection with functionality constraints like customer size, reliability, and performance. The experimental result evaluates the performance of the algorithm.
A Head-Start to Teaching
Authors: Hos Rabia , Cinarbas Halil Ibrahim , Yagci Hatice
Published: July 2019

This study explored the experiences of pre-service English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers, cooperating teachers, and university collaborators in a structured early field experience course. Qualitative methodology including data sources of interviews, observations, focus groups, audio and video recordings were used. The results of the study indicated that the exposure of pre-service teachers into real school contexts provided them with the necessary foundations of becoming reflective practitioners. The benefits of the structured early field experiences outweighed the challenges. Early field experiences are critical in forming the pre-service teacher beliefs and philosophies of pre-service teachers, so they should be designed carefully to meet their needs.
Allogenicity Boosts Extracellular Vesicle–Induced Antigen-Specific Immunity and Mediates Tumor Protection and Long-Term Memory In Vivo
Authors: Larssen Pia , Veerman Rosanne E. , Akpinar Gözde Güçlüler , Hiltbrunner Stefanie , Karlsson Mikael C. I. , Gabrielsson Susanne
Published: July 2019

Extracellular vesicles (EV) are candidates for cancer immunotherapy because of their capacity to stimulate tumor-specific activity in vivo. However, clinical trials using peptide-loaded autologous EVs have so far only showed moderate T cell responses, suggesting a need for optimization of EV-induced immunity in humans. We previously demonstrated that induction of Ag-specific CD8+ T cells and antitumor responses to whole Ag were independent of MHC class I on EVs and hypothesized that multiple injections of allogeneic EVs could potentiate Ag-specific responses. In this study, we show that the allogeneic EV from mouse bone marrow–derived dendritic cells enhances Ag-specific CD8+ T cell, follicular helper T cell, and Ag-specific Ab responses. EV-injected mice demonstrated Ag-specific memory after 4 mo, with the highest Ab avidity in mice receiving double allogeneic EV injections. Reduced B16mOVA melanoma tumor growth was shown in all EV-injected groups. Our findings support the application of allogeneic EVs for therapeutic use in clinical studies in which an adaptive immune response is desired.
Carboxyl-Terminal Src Kinase Binds CD28 upon Activation and Mutes Downstream Signaling
Authors: Skånland Sigrid S. , Taskén Kjetil
Published: July 2019

Full T cell activation depends on stimulation of the TCR in conjunction with a costimulatory receptor. The involvement of costimulatory molecules is potent, and a mechanistic understanding of how downstream signaling is regulated is required to fully understand T cell responsiveness. In this study, a proteomic approach was taken to identify the interactomes of the coreceptors CD2 and CD28. These coreceptors are both positive regulators of T cell activation, but CD28 less potently induces TCR-proximal signaling. C-terminal Src kinase (CSK), a negative regulator of TCR signaling, was identified as a specific and direct interactor only of activated CD28. CSK is recruited to CD28 upon T cell activation, and the in vitro kinase activity of CSK is enhanced in the presence of phosphorylated CD28. Interruption of the CSK/CD28 interaction prior to TCR/CD28 costimulation induces a signaling response which mimics the more potent CD2-induced TCR-proximal pathway activation. Thus, CD28 functions as a novel adaptor protein for CSK, and CSK regulates signaling downstream of CD28.