bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Modeling and Evaluating the Effects of Big Data Storage Resource Allocation in Global Scale Cloud Architectures
Authors: Barbierato Enrico , Gribaudo Marco , Iacono Mauro
Published: February 2016

The availability of powerful, worldwide span computing facilities offering application scalability by means of cloud infrastructures perfectly matches the needs for resources that characterize Big Data applications. Elasticity of resources in the cloud enables application providers to achieve results in terms of complexity, performance and availability that were considered beyond affordability, by means of proper resource management techniques and a savvy design of the underlying architecture and of communication facilities. This paper presents an evaluation technique for the combined effects of cloud elasticity and Big Data oriented data management layer on global scale cloud applications, by modeling the behavior of both typical in memory and in storage data management.
Gasoline and Synthetic Fuel from Plastic Waste
Authors: Amrullah Apip
Published: February 2016

Currently the use of motor gasoline from year to year increase. In 2010 the number of vehicles in Indonesia about 26,706,705 vehicles, in 2011 amounted to 30,769,093 vehicles and 2012 amounted to 38,156,278 vehicles. This resulted in the consumption of petroleum fuels and exhaust emissions in motor vehicles is increasing. To overcome these problems, conducted research on synthetic fuel which is one of the alternative fuel sources. This research was conducted at gasoline engine. Variations in fuel mixture gasoline and synthetic fuel. This research will be able to generate and determine the effect of fuel mixture gasoline-synthetic fuel on levels of exhaust emissions, to determine the effect of fuel mixture gasoline-synthetic fuel for engine performance. Based on the analysis of performance and exhaust emissions test on a gasoline engine, for most engine performance is good and efficient set at first to mix synthetic fuel.
Feature Selection and Recognition of Face by using Hybrid Chaotic PSO-BFO and Appearance-Based Recognition Algorithms
Authors: Kumar Santosh , Singh Sanjay Kumar
Published: February 2016

Swarm intelligence based approaches are a recent optimization algorithm that simulates the groups (collective) behavior of decentralized and self-organized systems and have gained more proliferation due to a variety of applications and uses in the feature selection to solve the complex problems and classify the objects based on chosen optimal set of features. Feature selection is a process that selects a subset from the extracted features sets according to some criterions for optimization. In computer vision based face recognition systems, feature selection, and representation algorithms play an important role for the selection of optimal, and discriminatory sets of facial feature vectors from the face database. This paper presents a novel approach for facial feature selection by using Hybrid Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), and Bacterial Foraging Optimization (BFO) optimization algorithms. The hybrid approach consists of two parts: (1) two types of chaotic mappings are introduced in different phase of proposed hybrid algorithms which preserve the huge diversity of population and improve the global searching and exploration capability; (2) In proposed hybrid approach, appearance based (holistic) face representation and recognition approaches such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Local Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Independent Component Analysis (ICA) and Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) extract feature vectors from the Yale face database. Then features are selected by applying hybrid Chaotic PSO and BFO algorithms for the selection of optimal set of features; it quickly searches the feature subspace of facial features that is the most beneficial for classification and recognition of individuals. From the experimental results, the authors have compared the performance of proposed hybrid approach with existing approaches and conclude that hybrid approach can be efficiently used for feature selection for classification and recognition of face of individuals.
Application of SARIMAX Model to Forecast Daily Sales in Food Retail Industry
Authors: Arunraj Nari Sivanandam , Ahrens Diane , Fernandes Michael
Published: February 2016

During retail stage of food supply chain (FSC), food waste and stock-outs occur mainly due to inaccurate sales forecasting which leads to inappropriate ordering of products. The daily demand for a fresh food product is affected by external factors, such as seasonality, price reductions and holidays. In order to overcome this complexity and inaccuracy, the sales forecasting should try to consider all the possible demand influencing factors. The objective of this study is to develop a Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average with external variables (SARIMAX) model which tries to account all the effects due to the demand influencing factors, to forecast the daily sales of perishable foods in a retail store. With respect to performance measures, it is found that the proposed SARIMAX model improves the traditional Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model.
A Simple Method for Solving Fully Intuitionistic Fuzzy Real Life Assignment Problem
Authors: Kumar P. Senthil , Hussain R. Jahir
Published: February 2016

In solving real life assignment problem we often face the state of uncertainty as well as hesitation due to various uncontrollable factors. To deal with uncertainty and hesitation many authors have suggested the intuitionistic fuzzy representations for the data. So, in this paper, the authors consider the assignment problem having uncertainty and hesitation in cost/time/profit. They formulate the problem and utilize triangular intuitionistic fuzzy numbers (TIFNs) to deal with uncertainty and hesitation. The authors propose a new method called PSK (P.Senthil Kumar) method for finding the intuitionistic fuzzy optimal cost/time/profit for fully intuitionistic fuzzy assignment problem (FIFAP). The proposed method gives the optimal object value in terms of TIFN. The main advantage of this method is computationally very simple, easy to understand. Finally the effectiveness of the proposed method is illustrated by means of a numerical example which is followed by graphical representation of the finding.
Supply Chain Coordination Under Service Level Constraint and Controllable Lead Time
Authors: Jindal Prashant , Solanki Anjana
Published: February 2016

This paper investigates the coordination issue in a decentralized supply chain having a vendor and a buyer for a defective product. The authors develop two inventory models with controllable lead time under service level constraint. The first one is propose under decentralized mode based on the Stackelberg model, the other one is propose under centralized mode of the integrated supply chain. Ordering cost reduction is also including as a decision variable along with shipping quantity, lead time and number of shipments. Computational findings using the software Matlab 7.0 are provided to find the optimal solution. The results of numerical examples show that centralized mode is better than that of decentralized mode, and to induce both vendor and buyer for coordination, proposed cost allocation model is effective. The authors also numerically investigate the effects of backorder parameter on the optimal solutions. Benefit of ordering cost reduction in both models is also provided.
The Importance of Authoritative URI Design Schemes for Open Government Data
Authors: Bulazel Alexei , DiFranzo Dominic , Erickson John S. , Hendler James A.
Published: February 2016

A major challenge when working with open government data is managing, connecting, and understanding the links between references to entities found across multiple datasets when these datasets use different vocabularies to refer to identical entities (i.e.: one dataset may refer to Microsoft as “Microsoft”, another may refer to the company by its SEC filing number as “0000789019”, and a third may use its stock ticker “MSFT”.) In this paper the authors propose a naming scheme based on Web URLs that enables unambiguous naming and linking of datasets and, more importantly, data elements, across the Web. They further describe their ongoing work to demonstrate the implementation and authoritative management of such schemes through a class of web service they refer to as the “instance hub”. When working with linked government data, provided either directly from governments via open government programs or through other sources, the issue of resolving inconsistencies in naming schemes is particularly important, as various agencies have disparate conventions for referring to the same concepts and entities. Using linked data technologies the authors have created instance hubs to assist in the management and linking of entity references for collections of categorically and hierarchically related entities. Instance hubs are of particular interest to governments engaged in the publication of linked open government data, as they can help data consumers make better sense of published data and can provide a starting point for development of linked data applications. In this paper the authors present their findings from the ongoing development of a prototype instance hub at the Tetherless World Constellation at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (TWC RPI). The TWC RPI Instance Hub enables experimentation and verification of proposed URI design schemes for open government data, especially those developed at TWC in collaboration with the United States Data.gov program. They discuss core principles of the TWC RPI Instance Hub design and implementation, and summarize how they have used their instance hub to demonstrate the possibilities for authoritative entity references across a number of heterogeneous categories commonly found in open government data, including countries, federal agencies, states, counties, crops, and toxic chemicals.
Ontological Modeling of Certification and Inspection Process to Support Smart Disclosure of Product Information
Authors: Sayogo Djoko S. , Ran Weijia , Tayi Giri Kumar , Luciano Joanne S. , Luna-Reyes Luis F. , Depaula Nicolau , Jarman Holly , Zhang Jing , Hrdinova Jana , Andersen Deborah Lines , Andersen David F. , Pardo Theresa A.
Published: February 2016

The increasing number of certification schemes diminishes the utility of certifications as private regulation and creates several policy challenges. The undergoing efforts to help consumers verify the accuracy of information created by private regulation mechanisms such as certification are currently confronted with the complexities of certification and labeling systems and the difficulties in linking data points across various certification schemes. This paper presents the development of certification and inspection ontology to support smart disclosure of product information. This study proposes that the resulting ontology enables information integration and standardization thus supporting knowledge discovery and sharing by synthesizing information across disparate data sources that is valuable for informing data-driven policy formulation. The ontology also supports standardization of an agreed set of terms and semantics for currently fragmented certification and inspection schemes to support comparability across different certification schemes. The accuracy and consistency of the proposed ontology are verified by using current reasoning tools to run queries based on a set of predefined competency questions.
Evaluation of Technetium-99m glucoheptonate single photon emission computed tomography for brain tumor grading
Authors: Alam Syed , Junaid Syed , Ahmed Syed
Published: February 2016

Background: This study is designed to appraise the diagnostic value of technetium-99m glucoheptonate (Tc-99m GHA) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in brain tumor grading. Subjects and Methods: The study was performed on 30 patients referred from the Department of Neurosurgery, who were from both urban and rural areas. Data were collected through interview, history taking, and clinical examination followed by recording the desired parameters and finally imaging. The study subjects were divided into five groups: Controls (n = 4), low-grade tumors (n = 8), high-grade tumors (n = 8), metastases (n = 5), and nonneoplastic lesions (n = 5). This division was based on the World Health Organization (WHO) classification postclinico-histological diagnosis. Each of the subjects underwent contrast-enhanced computed tomography/contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance and Tc-99m GHA SPECT preoperatively. All were followed up postoperatively, and histopathological reports were regarded as the gold standard for tumor grading wherever available. Results: It was found that high-grade tumors (Grades III/IV and IV/IV according to the WHO classification) showed significantly higher tumor to normal (T/N) ratios as well as Tmax/N ratios when compared with low-grade tumors (Grades I/IV and II/IV), metastases or nonneoplastic lesions. Conclusions: In summary, the results of this study suggest that in situations where a preoperative grading of tumor is required Tc-99m GHA can be used in tumor grading and its use should be encouraged. Semi-quantitative analysis using both T/N as well as Tmax/N can be used in differentiating high-grade tumors from low-grade ones.
Supra-sellar tubercular abscess
Authors: Joshi Vijay , Agrawal Amit , Mudkanna Anand , Rudrakshi S , Kelkar G
Published: February 2016

Intracranial tuberculomas are less common lesions; sellar, suprasellar, or parasellar involvement is further rarer with only few case reports in the literature. We describe a case of 44-year-old female, discussing the imaging findings that were managed successfully for tubercular hypothalamic-pituitary abscesses.
Dorsal spine osteoblastoma
Authors: Bhargava Pranshu , Singh Rahul , Garg Bharat
Published: February 2016

Benign osteoblastoma is a rare primary neoplasm comprising less than 1% of primary bone tumors.[1] We report a case of a 20-year-old female patient presenting with progressive paraparesis over one year and back pain over the dorsal spine gradually increasing in severity over a year. Computerised tomomography (CT) of the spine revealed a well-defined 3.5 × 3.0 cm mass heterodense expansile bony lesion arising from the lamina of the D12 vertebra, having lytic and sclerotic component and causing compromise of the bony spinal canal. D12 laminectomy and total excision of the tumor was done.
Posterior dynamic stabilization: The interspinous spacer from treatment to prevention
Authors: Nachanakian Antoine , El Helou Antonios , Alaywan Moussa
Published: February 2016

Introduction: Managements of lumbar stenosis evoluted over the time from decompression to dynamic stabilization preserving the motion segment passing by the rigid fixation. After long years of rigid fusion, adjacent segment disease became more and more frequent and the concept of dynamic stabilization emerged. Materials and Methods: We report our experience with posterior dynamic stabilization using an interspinous distracter (ISD). One hundred and eight patients were operated between September 2008 and January 2012 with different lumbar spine pathologies. The ages of our patients were between 45 years and 70 years, with a mean age of 55 years. With our growing experience, indication of ISD became narrowed and the interspinous spacer became an absolute tool for adjacent segment disease as a treatment as well as prophylactic with rigid stabilization.
Results and Discussion: Overall clinical improvement was noted in ISD-treated patients, with considerable satisfaction in 77% of patients on average. The patient at first reported an improvement of their radicular pain with a mean reduction of 3.6/10 on visual analog scale. Post-operative walking distance progressively increased during the next 3 months. Whereas, a radiological evaluation at 3 months showed a mean of 42% improvement of the disc height. On the other hand, all patients operated with posterior dynamic stabilization (PDS) at the time of rigid stabilization showed no adjacent segment disease compared to those operated with posterior arthrodesis (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Interspinous spacer after surgical decompression for spinal stenosis by excision of Ligamentum flavum demonstrates excellent short-term and long-term results for improvement in back pain, neurogenic claudication, and patient satisfaction. It provides restoration of disc height, reduction of vertebral slip and it's a necessary tool in the management and the prevention of adjacent segment disease.
The VA Point-of-Care Precision Oncology Program: Balancing Access with Rapid Learning in Molecular Cancer Medicine
Authors: Fiore Louis D. , Brophy Mary T. , Turek Sara , Kudesia Valmeek , Ramnath Nithya , Shannon Colleen , Ferguson Ryan , Pyarajan Saiju , Fiore Melissa A. , Hornberger John , Lavori Philip
Published: February 2016

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recognized the need to balance patient-centered care with responsible creation of generalizable knowledge on the effectiveness of molecular medicine tools. Embracing the principles of the rapid learning healthcare system, a new clinical program called the Precision Oncology Program (POP) was created in New England. The POP integrates generalized knowledge about molecular medicine in cancer with a database of observations from previously treated veterans. The program assures access to modern genomic oncology practice in the veterans affairs (VA), removes disparities of access across the VA network of clinical centers, disseminates the products of learning that are generalizable to non-VA settings, and systematically presents opportunities for patients to participate in clinical trials of targeted therapeutics.
Residual periodicity on the Markoff Surface
Authors: Vishkautsan Solomon
Published: February 2016

A case study of arithmetic dynamics over the rationals on the Markoff surface is presented, in particular the local-global dynamical property of strong residual periodicity. The dynamical system induced by the composition of any two of the reflections from the three special points at infinity on the Markoff surface is shown to be strongly residually periodic. This residual periodicity is explained by the existence of periodic conic sections of the Marko¤ surface with no rational points. It is also proven that cutting these conic sections from the surface eliminates strong residual periodicity.
Local and global minimality issues for a nonlocal isoperimetric problem on $\mathbb R^N$
Authors: Bonacini Marco , Cristoferi Riccardo
Published: February 2016

We consider a nonlocal isoperimetric problem defined in the whole space

\mathbb R^N

, whose nonlocal part is given by a Riesz potential with exponent

\alpha \in (0, N –1)

. We show that critical configurations with positive second variation are local minimizers and satisfy a quantitative inequality with respect to the

L^1

-norm. This criterion provides the existence of a (explicitly determined) critical threshold determining the interval of volumes for which the ball is a local minimizer. Finally we deduce that for small masses the ball is also the unique global minimizer, and that for small exponents a in the nonlocal term the ball is the unique minimizer as long as the problem has a solution.
Lipschitz continuity for energy integrals with variable exponents
Authors: Eleuteri Michela , Marcellini Paolo , Mascolo Elvira
Published: February 2016

A regularity result for integrals of the Calculus of Variations with variable exponents is presented. Precisely, we prove that any vector-valued minimizer of an energy integral over an open set

\Omega \subset \mathbb R^n

, with variable exponent

p(x)

in the Sobolev class

W^{1,r}_\mathrm {loc} (\Omega)

for some

r > n

, is locally Lipschitz continuous in

\Omega

and an a priori estimate holds.
A two weight theorem for $\alpha$-fractional singular integrals with an energy side condition
Authors: Sawyer Eric T. , Shen Chun-Yen , Uriarte-Tuero Ignacio
Published: February 2016

Let

\sigma

and

\omega

be locally finite positive Borel measures on

\mathbb{R}^{n}

with no common point masses, and let

T^{\alpha}

be a standard

\alpha

-fractional Calderón–Zygmund operator on

\mathbb{R}^{n}

with

0 \leq \alpha < n

. Furthermore, assume as side conditions the

\mathcal{A}_{2}^{\alpha}

conditions and certain

\alpha

-energy conditions
. Then we show that

T^{\alpha}

is bounded from

L^{2}(\sigma )

to

L^{2}( \omega )

if the cube testing conditions hold for

T^{\alpha}

and its dual, and if the weak boundedness property holds for

T^{\alpha}

.

Conversely, if

T^{\alpha}

is bounded from

L^{2}( \sigma )

to

L^{2}( \omega )

, then the testing conditions hold, and the weak boundedness condition holds. If the vector of

\alpha

-fractional Riesz transforms

\mathbf{R}_{\sigma }^{\alpha}

(or more generally a strongly elliptic vector of transforms) is bounded from

L^{2}( \sigma)

to

L^{2}( \omega )

, then the

\mathcal{A}_{2}^{\alpha}

conditions hold. We do not know if our energy conditions are necessary when

n \geq 2

.

The innovations in this higher dimensional setting are the control of functional energy by energy modulo

\mathcal{A}_{2}^{\alpha}

, the necessity of the

\mathcal{A}_{2}^{\alpha}

conditions for elliptic vectors, the extension of certain one-dimensional arguments to higher dimensions in light of the differing Poisson integrals used in

\mathcal A_2

and energy conditions, and the treatment of certain complications arising from the Lacey–Wick monotonicity lemma. The main obstacle in higher dimensions is thus identified as the pair of energy conditions.
A note on repelling periodic points for meromorphic functions with a bounded set of singular values
Authors: Benini Anna Miriam
Published: February 2016

Let

f

be a meromorphic function with a bounded set of singular values and for which infinity is a logarithmic singularity. Then we show that f has infinitely many repelling periodic points for any minimal period

n ≥ 1

, using a much simpler argument than the corresponding results for arbitrary entire transcendental functions.
О $C^*$-алгебре интегральных операторов с однородными ядрами и осциллирующими коэффициентами
Authors: Avsyankin Oleg Gennadievich
Published: February 2016

Рассматривается $C^*$-алгебра, порожденная многомерными
интегральными операторами с однородными степени $(-n)$
ядрами и операторами умножения на осциллирующие
коэффициенты вида $|x|^{i\alpha}$. Для этой алгебры
построено операторное символическое исчисление,
в терминах которого получены необходимые и достаточные
условия нетеровости операторов.
Библиография: 9 названий.
Классификация дзета-функций биэллиптических поверхностей над конечными полями
Authors: Rybakov Sergey Yur'evich
Published: February 2016

Пусть $S$ - биэллиптическая поверхность над конечным полем,
а эллиптическая кривая $B$ - ее многообразие Альбанезе;
тогда дзета-функция поверхности $S$ равна дзета-функции прямого
произведения $\mathbb P^1\times B$. Поэтому вопрос о классификации
дзета-функций биэллиптических поверхностей сводится к вопросу
существования поверхности данного типа с данной кривой Альбанезе.
В этой статье мы завершаем эту классификацию, начатую
в работе [1].
Библиография: 14 названий.
Многомерная лемма Ватсона и ее применение
Authors: Rytova Anastasiia Igorevna , Yarovaya Elena Borisovna
Published: February 2016

Доказывается многомерный аналог известной леммы
Ватсона, который затем применяется для доказательства
локальной предельной теоремы для переходных вероятностей
симметричного случайного блуждания по многомерным решеткам
с бесконечной дисперсией скачков.
Библиография: 14 названий.
Обращение неравенства Коши-Буняковского-Шварца
Authors: Kan Igor' Davidovich
Published: February 2016

В настоящей работе доказывается неравенство,
обратное к неравенству Коши-Буняковского-Шварца
и обобщающее другие известные обращения этого
неравенства.
Библиография: 5 названий.
Справедливые раскраски неоднородных гиперграфов
Authors: Shirgazina Irina Rafaelevna
Published: February 2016

Работа посвящена исследованию известной экстремальной задачи
о раскрасках гиперграфов. Исследуется возможность
справедливой раскраски гиперграфа в фиксированное число цветов,
т.е. такой раскраски, в которой, с одной стороны,
нет одноцветных ребер, а с другой стороны, мощности цветовых классов
почти одинаковые. Доказано, что если $H=(V,E)$ - простой гиперграф
с минимальной мощностью ребра $k$, $|V|=n$, $r|n$ и
$$
\sum_{e \in E}r^{1-|e|}\leqslant c \sqrt{k} ,
$$
где $c>0$ - некоторая абсолютная константа, то для $H$ существует
справедливая раскраска в $r$ цветов.
Библиография: 13 названий.
О свойстве первичности центральных полиномов первичных многообразий ассоциативных алгебр
Authors: Samoilov Leonid Mikhailovich
Published: February 2016

В работе доказывается,
что если $f(x_1,…,x_n)g(y_1,…,y_m)$ -
полилинейный центральный полином
для вербально первичного $T$-идела $\Gamma$ над полем
произвольной характеристики, то оба полинома $f(x_1,…,x_n)$
и $g(y_1,…,y_m)$ будут центральными для $\Gamma$.
Библиография: 8 названий.
Acercamiento al espacio público. Lecturas de una nueva generación de arquitectos españoles
Authors: Serrano Amatriain David , Vélez Olabarria Maier
Published: February 2016

El contexto de crisis en el que hoy se desarrolla la arquitectura española condiciona la respuesta de los arquitectos en el ejercicio disciplinar. El espacio público como marco de trabajo, experimentación y compromiso ha venido a sustituir al de la vivienda colectiva y la vivienda social donde hoy, por razones obvias, no hay oportunidades de desarrollo. Desde el reconocimiento de la tradición y las singularidades de la arquitectura moderna en España, y a través del ejemplo de seis estudios emergentes, se vislumbran estrategias e inquietudes que pueden dibujar el panorama de la arquitectura contemporánea en nuestro país.
Enduring or Crossing Distance for Love? Negotiating Love and Distance in the Lives of Mixed Transnational Couples
Authors: King-O'Riain Rebecca Chiyoko
Published: February 2016

Within the field of transnationalism and globalization, studies have tended to focus on the flow of people, ideas and goods ( Giddens 2003 , Beck 2011 , Fitzgerald 2008 ). Within the field of migration this has meant importantly an increasing focus on studies of gender, migration and emotion ( Brooks and Simpson 2013 ; Svasek and Skrbis 2007 , Baldassar 2008 ). However, these studies tend to focus on the context of migration and how that shapes decisions around migration and belonging without focusing on the effect of migration on emotions themselves. Through ethnographic narrative interviews with 36 mixed transnational couples, this article analyses how the emotion of love is understood and practiced within some ‘global families’ ( Beck and Beck-Gernsheim 2014 ). The article finds that for the mixed intercultural couples interviewed here, distance played a role in defining and confirming love (love at a distance) and was often seen as a reason to migrate or move (crossing distance for love) as a test or proof that love was real. These different cultural meanings of love show how distance could increasingly play a role in how we define and practice love today.
Children's Engagements with Visual Methods through Qualitative Research in the Primary School as ‘Art that Didn't Work’
Authors: Scherer Lexie
Published: February 2016

This article considers the implications of using visual methods in research with primary school aged children. The research explored the meanings children made of reading at school. Visual methods, through drawing, were part of the research design. The children resisted drawing in a range of ways, including ripping pages out of books and leaving pages blank, or they used drawing to make meaning of their lives outside the context of the research topic, in particular indicating an adherence to normative gender identities. Through initial analysis these methods were framed as ‘art that didn't work’. It was only through treating everything as data- thinking about silences and absences, as well as what the children did draw, that it was possible to reposition the data as useful for understanding the impact of drawing as a method. The article argues that whilst in previous research, visual methods have often been hailed as straightforwardly positive for working with children: they increase participation, access to research, and promote pupil voice; in this research a far more complex set of power relations emerged around drawing. Findings indicate drawing does not work as a method to enhance children's participation in the research process. While the paper is methodological in nature, it also contributes to our knowledge of children's agency, and agency as resistance. The article disrupts assumptions that such methods are ‘good’ at providing a mouthpiece for vulnerable groups such as children, to explore their identities.
Beyond ‘Token’ Firefighters: Exploring Women's Experiences of Gender and Identity at Work
Authors: Perrott Tamika
Published: February 2016

Despite the increasing percentage of women entering masculinized workplaces, certain organizations consistently see little change in the gender makeup of their staff. Contemporary scholarship suggests that women in rigidly gendered organizations are often assigned a token status and are victimized due to their gender. This study relocates the conversations of women as tokens towards a fresh conversation of women's agency in masculinized workplaces. This paper uses ten qualitative interviews and ethnographic fieldwork to discuss how female firefighters navigate their gender at work. This article draws on reflexive accounts of everyday gendered negotiations to look at how the female firefighters ‘do gender’ within a specific fire service in Australia. I argue that emergency services, such as firefighting, create a contradictory field where women are located in (1) a paradoxical environment where the ‘female body’ is problematized (2) a work environment where they have to repeatedly prove their cultural competence in order to confirm their professional identity. The findings suggest that while female firefighters do have agency, tokenism locates many of them in a ‘never quite there’ bind that challenges their ability to progress into leadership roles within the service. This article concludes that the nuanced difference between, and at times, within the women's narratives problematizes the bounds of personal agency and cultural change. This consequently results in resistance to policies by some women that may benefit like-situated women, such as affirmative action.
Belonging to a Different Landscape: Repurposing Nationalist Affects
Authors: Pitcher Ben
Published: February 2016

This is an article about the embodied, sensual experience of rural landscape as a site where racialized feelings of national belonging get produced. Largely impervious to criticism and reformation by ‘thin’ legal-political versions of multicultural or cosmopolitan citizenship, it is my suggestion that this racialized belonging is best confronted through the recognition and appreciation of precisely what makes it so compelling. Through an engagement with the theorization of affect in the work of Divya Praful Tolia-Kelly, I consider the resources immanent to the perception of landscapes of national belonging that might be repurposed to unravel that belonging from within. I suggest that forms of environmental consciousness can unpick the mutually reinforcing relationships between nature and nation, opening up opportunities for thinking identity and belonging in different ways, and allowing rural landscapes to become more hospitable places.
Housework Division and Perceived Fairness: The Importance of Comparison Referents
Authors: Carriero Renzo , Todesco Lorenzo
Published: February 2016

A long-standing theoretical tradition underlines the importance of comparison referents for fairness evaluation, i.e., people, experiences and expectations that individuals choose to compare with their own situation. However, few studies on perceived fairness of housework division have measured and tested comparison referents, partly because of the lack of suitable data. Moreover, findings were sometimes mixed because small convenience samples were used. Previous literature also neglected the distortive effects of self-serving bias in the choice of referents. This study, conducted in an Italian context, seeks to overcome these limitations by using a probabilistic sample and two different designs: a survey data analysis and an experimental-vignette technique which avoids the distortions of self-serving bias. The survey's findings reveal that the effects of comparison referents are strong and in line with expectations, though limited to the domestic behavior of male referents. Moreover, unfavorable comparisons have a stronger effect on perceived fairness than favorable ones. The vignette analysis indicates that comparison referents affect perceived housework fairness even if the effect of self-serving bias is controlled for.
Evaluation of the ACCESS – chemistry–climate model for the Southern Hemisphere
Authors: Stone Kane A. , Morgenstern Olaf , Karoly David J. , Klekociuk Andrew R. , French W. John , Abraham N. Luke , Schofield Robyn
Published: February 2016

Abstract. Chemistry–climate models are important tools for addressing interactions of composition and climate in the Earth system. In particular, they are used to assess the combined roles of greenhouse gases and ozone in Southern Hemisphere climate and weather. Here we present an evaluation of the Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator – chemistry–climate model (ACCESS-CCM), focusing on the Southern Hemisphere and the Australian region. This model is used for the Australian contribution to the international Chemistry–Climate Model Initiative, which is soliciting hindcast, future projection and sensitivity simulations. The model simulates global total column ozone (TCO) distributions accurately, with a slight delay in the onset and recovery of springtime Antarctic ozone depletion, and consistently higher ozone values. However, October-averaged Antarctic TCO from 1960 to 2010 shows a similar amount of depletion compared to observations. Comparison with model precursors shows large improvements in the representation of the Southern Hemisphere stratosphere, especially in TCO concentrations. A significant innovation is seen in the evaluation of simulated vertical profiles of ozone and temperature with ozonesonde data from Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica from 38 to 90° S. Excess ozone concentrations (greater than 26 % at Davis and the South Pole during winter) and stratospheric cold biases (up to 10 K at the South Pole during summer and autumn) outside the period of perturbed springtime ozone depletion are seen during all seasons compared to ozonesondes. A disparity in the vertical location of ozone depletion is seen: centred around 100 hPa in ozonesonde data compared to above 50 hPa in the model. Analysis of vertical chlorine monoxide profiles indicates that colder Antarctic stratospheric temperatures (possibly due to reduced mid-latitude heat flux) are artificially enhancing polar stratospheric cloud formation at high altitudes. The model's inability to explicitly simulate a supercooled ternary solution may also explain the lack of depletion at lower altitudes. Analysis of the simulated Southern Annular Mode (SAM) index compares well with ERA-Interim data, an important metric for correct representation of Australian climate. Accompanying these modulations of the SAM, 50 hPa zonal wind differences between 2001–2010 and 1979–1998 show increasing zonal wind strength southward of 60° S during December for both the model simulations and ERA-Interim data. These model diagnostics show that the model reasonably captures the stratospheric ozone-driven chemistry–climate interactions important for Australian climate and weather while highlighting areas for future model development.
Coral-rubble ridges as dynamic coastal features – short-term reworking and weathering processes
Authors: Spiske Michaela
Published: February 2016

Abstract. A coral-rubble ridge built by storm waves at Anegada (British Virgin Islands) underwent remarkable changes in shape and weathering in a 23-month period. The ridge is located along the island's north shore, in the lee of a fringing reef and a reef flat. This coarse-clast ridge showed two major changes between March 2013, when first examined, and February 2015, when revisited. First, a trench dug in 2013, and intentionally left open for further examination, was found almost completely infilled in 2015, and the ridge morphology was modified by slumping of clasts down the slope and by reworking attributable to minor storm waves. In size, composition and overall condition, most of the clasts that filled the trench resemble reworked clasts from the ridge itself; only a small portion had been newly brought ashore. Second, a dark gray patina formed on the whitish exteriors of the carbonate clasts that had been excavated in 2013. These biologically weathered, darkened clasts had become indistinguishable from clasts that had been at the ridge surface for a much longer time. The findings have two broader implications. First, coastal coarse-clast ridges respond not solely to major storms, but also to tropical storms or minor hurricanes. The modification and reworking of the ridge on Anegada most probably resulted from hurricane Gonzalo which was at category 1–2 as it passed about 60 km north of the island in October 2014. Second, staining of calcareous clasts by cyanobacteria in the supralittoral zone occurs within a few months. In this setting, the degree of darkening quickly saturates as a measure of exposure age.
Evaluation of cloud base height measurements from Ceilometer CL31 and MODIS satellite over Ahmedabad, India
Authors: Sharma Som , Vaishnav Rajesh , Shukla Munn V. , Kumar Prashant , Kumar Prateek , Thapliyal Pradeep K. , Lal Shyam , Acharya Yashwant B.
Published: February 2016

Abstract. Clouds play a tangible role in the Earth's atmosphere and in particular, the cloud base height (CBH), which is linked to cloud type, is one of the most important characteristics to describe the influence of clouds on the environment. In the present study, CBH observations from Ceilometer CL31 were extensively studied during May 2013 to January 2015 over Ahmedabad (23.03° N, 72.54° E), India. A detailed comparison has been performed with the use of ground-based CBH measurements from Ceilometer CL31 and CBH retrieved from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) onboard Aqua and Terra satellite. CBH retrieved from MODIS is  ∼  1.955 and  ∼  1.093 km on 25 July 2014 and 1 January 2015 respectively, which matches well with ceilometer-measured CBH ( ∼  1.92 and  ∼  1.097 km). Some interesting features of cloud dynamics viz. strong downdraft and updraft have been observed over Ahmedabad which revealed different cloud characteristics during monsoon and post-monsoon periods. CBH shows seasonal variation during the Indian summer monsoon and post-monsoon period. Results indicate that the ceilometer is an excellent instrument to precisely detect low- and mid-level clouds, and the MODIS satellite provides accurate retrieval of high-level clouds over this region. The CBH algorithm used for the MODIS satellite is also able to capture the low-level clouds.
A Bayesian hierarchical model for reconstructing relative sea level: from raw data to rates of change
Authors: Cahill Niamh , Kemp Andrew C. , Horton Benjamin P. , Parnell Andrew C.
Published: February 2016

Abstract. We present a Bayesian hierarchical model for reconstructing the continuous and dynamic evolution of relative sea-level (RSL) change with quantified uncertainty. The reconstruction is produced from biological (foraminifera) and geochemical (δ13C) sea-level indicators preserved in dated cores of salt-marsh sediment. Our model is comprised of three modules: (1) a new Bayesian transfer (B-TF) function for the calibration of biological indicators into tidal elevation, which is flexible enough to formally accommodate additional proxies; (2) an existing chronology developed using the Bchron age–depth model, and (3) an existing Errors-In-Variables integrated Gaussian process (EIV-IGP) model for estimating rates of sea-level change. Our approach is illustrated using a case study of Common Era sea-level variability from New Jersey, USA We develop a new B-TF using foraminifera, with and without the additional (δ13C) proxy and compare our results to those from a widely used weighted-averaging transfer function (WA-TF). The formal incorporation of a second proxy into the B-TF model results in smaller vertical uncertainties and improved accuracy for reconstructed RSL. The vertical uncertainty from the multi-proxy B-TF is  ∼  28 % smaller on average compared to the WA-TF. When evaluated against historic tide-gauge measurements, the multi-proxy B-TF most accurately reconstructs the RSL changes observed in the instrumental record (mean square error  =  0.003 m2). The Bayesian hierarchical model provides a single, unifying framework for reconstructing and analyzing sea-level change through time. This approach is suitable for reconstructing other paleoenvironmental variables (e.g., temperature) using biological proxies.
Large-eddy simulation and stochastic modelling of Lagrangian particles for footprint determination in stable boundary layer
Authors: Glazunov Andrey , Rannik Üllar , Stepanenko Victor , Lykosov Vasily , Mammarella Ivan , Auvinen Mikko , Vesala Timo
Published: February 2016

Abstract. Large-eddy simulation (LES) and Lagrangian stochastic modelling of passive particle dispersion were applied to the scalar flux footprint determination in stable atmospheric boundary layer. The sensitivity of the LES results to the spatial resolution and to the parameterizations of small-scale turbulence was investigated. It was shown that the resolved and partially resolved "subfilter-scale" eddies are mainly responsible for particle dispersion in LES, implying that substantial improvement may be achieved by using recovery of small-scale velocity fluctuations. In LES with the explicit filtering this recovering consists of application of the known inverse filter operator. The footprint functions obtained in LES were compared with the functions calculated with the use of first-order single particle Lagrangian stochastic models (LSM), zeroth-order Lagrangian stochastic models – the random displacement models (RDM), and analytical footprint parameterisations. It was observed that the value of the Kolmogorov constant C0 = 6 provided the best agreement of the one-dimensional LSMs results with LES, however, also that different LSMs can produce quite different footprint predictions. According to presented LES the source area and footprints in stable boundary layer can be substantially more extended than those predicted by the modern analytical footprint parameterizations and LSMs.
Tsunami hazard warning and risk prediction based on inaccurate earthquake source parameters
Authors: Goda Katsuichiro , Abilova Kamilla
Published: February 2016

Abstract. This study investigates the issues related to underestimation of the earthquake source parameters in the context of tsunami early warning and tsunami risk assessment. The magnitude of a very large event may be underestimated significantly during the early stage of the disaster, resulting in the issuance of incorrect tsunami warnings. Tsunamigenic events in the Tohoku region of Japan, where the 2011 tsunami occurred, are focused on as a case study to illustrate the significance of the problems. The effects of biases in the estimated earthquake magnitude on tsunami loss are investigated using a rigorous probabilistic tsunami loss calculation tool that can be applied to a range of earthquake magnitudes by accounting for uncertainties of earthquake source parameters (e.g., geometry, mean slip, and spatial slip distribution). The quantitative tsunami loss results provide valuable insights regarding the importance of deriving accurate seismic information as well as the potential biases of the anticipated tsunami consequences. Finally, the usefulness of rigorous tsunami risk assessment is discussed in defining critical hazard scenarios based on the potential consequences due to tsunami disasters.
A sequential Bayesian approach for the estimation of the age–depth relationship of the Dome Fuji ice core
Authors: Nakano Shin'ya , Suzuki Kazue , Kawamura Kenji , Parrenin Frédéric , Higuchi Tomoyuki
Published: February 2016

Abstract. A technique for estimating the age–depth relationship in an ice core and evaluating its uncertainty is presented. The age–depth relationship is determined by the accumulation of snow at the site of the ice core and the thinning process as a result of the deformation of ice layers. However, since neither the accumulation rate nor the thinning process is fully known, it is essential to incorporate observational information into a model that describes the accumulation and thinning processes. In the proposed technique, the age as a function of depth is estimated by making use of age markers and δ18O data. The age markers provide reliable age information at several depths. The data of δ18O are used as a proxy of the temperature for estimating the accumulation rate. The estimation is achieved using the particle Markov chain Monte Carlo (PMCMC) method, which is a combination of the sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) method and the Markov chain Monte Carlo method. In this hybrid method, the posterior distributions for the parameters in the models for the accumulation and thinning process are computed using the Metropolis method, in which the likelihood is obtained with the SMC method, and the posterior distribution for the age as a function of depth is obtained by collecting the samples generated by the SMC method with Metropolis iterations. The use of this PMCMC method enables us to estimate the age–depth relationship without assuming either linearity or Gaussianity. The performance of the proposed technique is demonstrated by applying it to ice core data from Dome Fuji in Antarctica.
World's soils are under threat
Authors: Montanarella Luca , Pennock Daniel Jon , McKenzie Neil , Badraoui Mohamed , Chude Victor , Baptista Isaurinda , Mamo Tekalign , Yemefack Martin , Singh Aulakh Mikha , Yagi Kazuyuki , Young Hong Suk , Vijarnsorn Pisoot , Zhang Gan-Lin , Arrouays Dominique , Black Helaina , Krasilnikov Pavel , Sobocká Jaroslava , Alegre Julio , Henriquez Carlos Roberto , de Lourdes Mendonça-Santos Maria , Taboada Miguel , Espinosa-Victoria David , AlShankiti Abdullah , AlaviPanah Sayed Kazem , Elsheikh Elsiddig Ahmed El Mustafa , Hempel Jon , Camps Arbestain Marta , Nachtergaele Freddy , Vargas Ronald
Published: February 2016

Abstract. The Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils has completed the first State of the World's Soil Resources Report. Globally soil erosion was identified as the gravest threat, leading to deteriorating water quality in developed regions and to lowering of crop yields in many developing regions. We need to increase nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer use in infertile tropical and semi-tropical soils – the regions where the most food insecurity among us are found – while reducing global use of these products overall. Stores of soil organic carbon are critical in the global carbon balance, and national governments must set specific targets to stabilize or ideally increase soil organic carbon stores. Finally the quality of soil information available for policy formulation must be improved – the regional assessments in the State of the World's Soil Resources Report frequently base their evaluations on studies from the 1990s based on observations made in the 1980s or earlier.