bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Politiques de l’éducation et développement du capital humain : le cas de la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC)
Authors: Kiambu Di Tuema Jacques
Published: June 2018

Cet article se propose d’analyser les politiques éducatives appliquées en République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) pour constituer un stock du capital humain en phase avec son développement économique. Nous montrons que les politiques éducatives volontaristes appliquées en RDC, à l’époque coloniale et post-coloniale avaient permis la constitution d’un capital humain en phase avec les besoins économiques, sociaux, politiques et culturels du pays. Cependant, les politiques libérales, qui prônent la marchéisation de l’éducation en RDC dès les années 1987, sont contre-productives, elles ne favorisent pas la constitution d’un stock du capital humain dans un souci de développement, elles renforcent au contraire des inégalités existantes entre les enfants issus des classes moyennes et supérieures et les enfants de familles prolétaires. Classification JEL  : A2, H, H52, I28
Le système national d’innovation et les systèmes éducatifs en Afrique subsaharienne : de la légitimité conceptuelle aux nouveaux challenges actuels
Authors: Casadella Vanessa
Published: June 2018

La recherche sur les systèmes d’innovation s’est élargie dans les pays en développement et notamment en Afrique Sub-Saharienne (Muchie et al., 2016). Si les travaux abordent souvent l’axe des performances technologiques et des innovations stricto sensu , peu de travaux abordent le lien entre l’innovation systémique et les systèmes éducatifs. Nous avons donc voulu reconstituer ce lien, par le thème de l’Université, en mettant en exergue les politiques d’innovation, d’apprentissage et scientifique en Afrique Sub-Saharienne. Nous en concluons l’importance des Universités en Développement et ce, afin que les systèmes d’innovation deviennent un réel outil de croissance mais également de développement économique dans les pays pauvres. Classification JEL  : I 21, I 28
Politiques éducatives et développement en Afrique
Authors: Hugon Philippe
Published: June 2018

Il existe un consensus de la communauté internationale à propos du rôle déterminant de la formation et de l’éducation dans le processus de développement. Il y a, en réalité, peu de domaines où les enjeux ne soient aussi conflictuels, que ce soit en termes de valeurs et de connaissances transmises, de tensions entre l’universalisme et le particularisme, d’accès différenciés à l’école selon les catégories sociales ou de divergences entre les États et les territoires. On observe de fortes asymétries internationales, une polarisation des savoirs et une fracture scientifique entre les pays développés ou émergents et les pays pauvres pris dans les trappes à pauvreté. L’article présente (I) les dynamiques éducatives en Afrique, (II) les effets de l’enseignement sur la croissance puis (III) le rôle des politiques éducatives vis-à-vis du développement. Classification JEL  : I25, I28
Hong Kong and Global Finance
Authors: Schenk Catherine R.
Published: June 2018

Hong Kong a occupé une position unique entre l’Empire britannique et la Chine qui l’ont dotée d’une dimension globale bien avant la fondation de la République populaire de Chine en 1949. L’héritage des institutions coloniales britanniques, notamment les conseils monétaires, les banques, la langue, le cadre juridique et une protection aboutie des droits de propriété, ont tous contribué à étendre le rôle traditionnel de Hong Kong à celui d’un entrepôt impérial à l’ère post-coloniale. Mais le succès de Hong Kong n’a pas été construit sur le libre marché à outrance. L’article montre que le rôle de l’État est beaucoup plus complexe que ce qui est habituellement admis de nos jours, ou à l’époque.
Henri VIII, Luther et les prémices de la réforme anglaise
Authors: Giry-Deloison Charles
Published: June 2018

La question de l’influence de Luther et du luthéranisme sur l’Angleterre des années 1520-1540 est centrale dans les études sur la Reformation et sur la religion d’Henri VIII. Ce qui tout au long de cette période singularisa le royaume tudor des autres nations européennes fut l’implication personnelle du roi dans la campagne contre Luther et ses adhérents. Si les deux hommes s’invectivèrent par lettres et par livres, en deux occasions toutefois un rapprochement parut possible : en 1525 à l’initiative de Luther, en 1531 à celle d’Henri. Mais l’animosité et l’incompréhension entre les deux hommes étaient telles que toutes deux échouèrent, contribuant à ce que l’Angleterre ne devînt jamais un royaume luthérien. Pour autant, Henri tira bénéficie de son conflit avec Luther : il obtint le titre papal de Defensor Fidei en reconnaissance de sa défense de l’orthodoxie chrétienne dans les années 1520.
Acquérir un diplôme professionnel en cours de vie active : modèle social dépassé ou nouvel outil de gestion de la mobilité sur la marché du travail
Authors: Berton Fabienne
Published: June 2018

De nombreuses personnes cherchent à obtenir un diplôme en cours de vie active. Peut-on inférer de leur situation sur le marché du travail et de leur trajectoire professionnelle, les raisons pour lesquelles elles souhaitent obtenir un diplôme et le rôle qu'elles entendent lui faire jouer ? Dans une telle perspective, une première partie s'interroge sur l'évolution du rôle du diplôme sur le marché du travail tel qu'il ressort de différents travaux empiriques ou théoriques, d'inspiration économique ou socio-économique. Une deuxième partie cherche à préciser à partir de données originales cette évolution du rôle du diplôme. Il s'agit d'une population d'un millier de diplômés en 1995 du Conservatoire national des Arts et Métiers, catégorisée selon quatre grands types de trajectoire professionnelle. Un même diplôme (en termes de niveau et de spécialité) réunit des profils de trajectoire professionnelle très différents. À la fois signal de l'employabilité de son détenteur et norme de hiérarchisation des emplois, il joue un rôle différencié selon les types de marché du travail : facteur de confirmation d'une position acquise sur les marchés internes, élément d'entrée et de progression dans les professions sur les marchés professionnels, espoir d'une position plus compétitive et d'une stabilisation sur le marché externe.
Alien tort statute : nouveau tour de vis sur la compétence des juridictions civiles américaines en matière de violations du droit international
Authors: Morri Johann
Published: June 2018

L’affaire Jesner v. Arab Bank de la Cour Suprême des États-Unis marque une nouvelle étape dans le reflux de l’Alien Tort Statute, disposition permettant aux juridictions fédérales américaines de connaître de toute action en responsabilité civile engagée par un étranger, sur le seul fondement quasi délictuel, à raison d’une violation du droit des gens ou d’un traité conclu par les États-Unis. S’inscrivant dans une lignée restrictive qui a débuté en 2004 avec l’arrêt Sosa, l’arrêt Jesner exclut désormais les personnes morales étrangères du champ d’application de l’ATS. Pour prévisible qu’elle soit, la solution repose sur une distinction qui paraît artificielle.
Investigating Heat Sink Properties for an Efficient Construction of Energy Generating Cook Stove for Rural Settlers
Authors: Emetere M.E. , Okonkwo O.D. , Jack-Quincy S.
Published: June 2018

This article describes how the actualization of clean-burning, efficient cook stoves had been achieved. However, the research on energy generating cook-stoves is far from resolved. The construction of the energy generating cook-stove depends mainly on the heat sink and thermoelectric converter. In this article, the material properties of the heat sink were advanced. Due to the drive for waste-to-wealth initiative, the authors chose four samples of heat sinks from an electronic waste dumpsite. An energy generating cook-stove was constructed and further experimentation was carried out to determine the slew rate, heat flow rate, power, voltage and temperature of each heat sink. Beyond the accomplishment of the experimentation, it was observed that the collapse or growth of the limiting boundaries formed by the constituents of steel determines the microstructural tendencies, mechanical properties, and alloy chemistry of the heat sink. Based on the objective of turning waste-to-wealth, only one sample was recommended for future research.
Medicaid Expansion
Authors: Schmeida Mary , McNeal Ramona
Published: June 2018

U.S. longevity is placing a demand on long-term care services for the impaired and elderly. Medicaid is the primary insurance program in funding costly long-term care for the aged poor. As a major health reform law, the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Public Law 111-148, gives financial incentive for states to expand Medicaid, transitioning long-term care services from costly facilities toward home and community-based care. Not all states choose to expand their Medicaid long-term care program despite the financial incentive, but instead they continue spending on nursing facility care despite the less costly option of community care. This article explores why some states have been reluctant to expand long-term care into the community. Regression analysis and 50 state-level data is used.
Empirical Analysis of Factors Influencing Consumers' Satisfaction in Online Shopping Agricultural Products in China
Authors: Yanyan Wu
Published: June 2018

With the development of e-commerce, online shopping for agricultural products has been more popular. And how to improve consumer's satisfaction has become more important. Literature review shows that few researches on online purchasing agricultural food focus on the consumers' satisfaction. This article designs a questionnaire, including 20 factors based on agricultural product characteristics, website quality and service quality to evaluate consumers' satisfaction. The evaluation shows that service quality, agricultural products' safety, brand and website quality significantly impact consumer satisfaction. Moreover, service quality is the most important factor. Finally, some recommendations are made in this article to develop cold chain logistics system, strictly control the agricultural products quality, build an agricultural products brand, improve the quality of agricultural product websites and strengthen policy control and guidance.
PAYLAŞIM EKONOMİSİ: AIRBNB ÖRNEĞİ
Authors: ÖZDEMİR Gökçe , ÇELEBİ Duygu
Published: June 2018

Günümüzde paylaşım kültürü internetin sağladığı imkânlar ile hızlı bir değişim geçirmiş ve geçmişte yakın çevre ile sınırlanan paylaşım anlayışı, çevrimiçi platformlar ve mobil uygulamaların gelişmesi ile yerini yabancılarla paylaşıma bırakmıştır. Paylaşım ekonomisi; atıl duran mal veya hizmetlerin paylaşım yoluyla ekonomik olarak değerlendirilmesi anlamına gelmektedir. Değişen  tüketici davranışları ile birlikte, tüketicilerin sahiplikten çok tecrübe odaklı tüketime yönelmesi hizmet sektörünü paylaşım ekonomisi paydaşlarından biri konumuna getirmiştir. Geniş hacimli paylaşım ekonomisinin etkileri tartışılırken; birçok alana hızla yayılmakta ve özellikle turizm alanının farklı kollarında ön plana çıkmaktadır. Paylaşım ekonomisi ve turizmi ortak paydada buluşturan Airbnb platformu; arz ve talebi oluşturan tarafların konum, zaman, ücret ve turist ile ev sahibinin itibarının uygun şekilde eşleşmesini sağlayan bir aracı rolündedir. Bu çalışma, keşfedici araştırma türlerinde sıklıkla kullanılan bir araştırma tekniği olan nitel araştırma yöntemi uygulanarak Airbnb resmi web sitesinden (www.airbnb.com.tr) veri toplanmış ve toplanan bu veriler içerik analizine tabi tutulmuştur. Bu çalışma, Airbnb Türkiye kapasitesini iller bazında ortaya çıkarmak ve çıkan sonucu paylaşım ekonomisi yaklaşımı ile açıklayarak Türkiye nezdinde değerlendirmelerde bulunmaktadır.
OKULÖNCESİ VE SINIF ÖĞRETMENİ ADAYLARININ İŞSİZLİK KAYGILARINA İLİŞKİN BİR ÖLÇEK GELİŞTİRME ÇALIŞMASI
Authors: ÖZDER Hasan , BİRİNCİ Melis , ZAİFOĞLU Peyman , IŞIKTAŞ Serdal
Published: June 2018

Bu çalışmada, okulöncesi ve sınıf öğretmeni adaylarına yönelik bir işsizlik kaygısı ölçeğinin geliştirilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda, 14 maddeden ve 4 boyuttan oluşan Öğretmen Adaylarının İşsizlik Kaygısı Ölçeği (ÖAYİKÖ) geliştirilmiştir. Ölçek maddelerinin yazımından önce 10 öğretmen adayına açık uçlu sorular sorulmuştur.Yapılan içerik analizinden ve ilgili literatür tarandıktan sonra 16 maddeden oluşan bir ölçek oluşturulmuştur. Ölçek 174 öğretmen adayına uygulandıktan sonra yapı geçerliği ve güvenliği çalışması yapılmıştır. Varimax Temel Bileşenler analizine göre, ölçeğin dört boyuttan oluştuğu anlaşılmaktadır. Bu boyutlar, 1. İşgücü 2. Sürekli Kaygı 3. Çevre 4. Eğitim olarak sıralanmıştır. Boyutlar arasında yapılan korelasyon analizinde boyutların bir birleri ile anlamlı düzeyde yüksek korelasyon gösterdikleri bulunmuştur. Bu dört boyut ölçeğin toplam varyansının % 57,021’ini açıklamaktadır. Doğrulayıcı Faktör Analizinde ise uyum indeksleri (χ 2 /sd= 1.447, RMSEA= 0.051, AGFI=0.876, GFI=0.916, NFI=0.852, ve CFI=0.947) değerlendirilerek modelin uyumlu olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Ölçeğin güvenirliği .84 olarak hesaplanmıştır. Bu sonuçlar doğrultusunda, bu araştırmada geliştirilen ÖAYİKÖ’nün öğretmen adaylarının işsizlik kaygılarını geçerli ve güvenilir bir biçimde ölçtüğü söylenebilir.
Public pastoral care as nexus and opportunity for a transformed practical theology within decolonisation discourse in South African higher education
Authors: Magezi Vhumani
Published: June 2018

The discussion on decolonisation of universities that started in 2015 has been raging in different spaces within South Africa and other parts of the world. The question of the relevance of the curriculum in universities, which is a curriculum that is responsive to South African and African issues, has come to the forefront. The discipline of Theology has also been challenged to reflect on its curriculum. Given these developments, this article considers practical theology within the on-going discussion of decolonisation in South African universities. In doing so, it attempts to address the question: What are some of the issues to consider in decolonisation of practical theology in South Africa universities? Firstly, the article sketches the background to the context of the discussion. Secondly, it provides a synopsis of the discussion of decolonisation in universities. Thirdly, it highlights some colonial entanglements of practical theology evident from the current situation. Fourthly, it proposes pointers for basic steps towards decolonisation of practical theology. Fifthly, it concludes by highlighting the threats to the proposed decolonisation attempts. The article assumes a coloniality and decoloniality framework even though it is not explicitly stated.
Modulation of ex-vivo uterine contraction by the methanol leaf extract of Alchornea laxiflora Benth. (Euphorbiaceae) and preliminary spectrometric identification of associated secondary metabolites
Authors: Bafor Enitome E. , Nwogu Juliet K. , Elvis-Offiah Uloma B. , Amaechina Fabian , Ofeimun Josephine , Ayinde Buniyamin , Omoruyi Osemelomen , Viegelmann Christina , Edrada-Ebel RuAngelie
Published: June 2018

Background: The leaves of Alchornea laxiflora are traditionally used in the south of Nigeria to prevent preterm births. Aim: This study was designed to investigate the activity of A. laxiflora on uterine contractility. Setting: The leaves of the plant were collected from forests in Egor, Benin City, Nigeria. Methods: The leaves were cleaned and extracted in methanol. The extract (0.005 mg/mL–3.5 mg/mL) was tested on spontaneous uterine contraction and on oxytocin-induced contraction in normal and Ca2+-free media. The plant extract (0.0035 mg/mL, 0.035 mg/mL, 0.35 mg/mL and 3.5 mg/mL) was tested on high KCl-induced uterine contractions (80 mM). The plant extract (3.5 mg/mL) was also studied in the presence of amiodarone and glibenclamide in separate experiments. Mass spectrometric analysis was additionally performed on the plant extract in order to identify significant secondary metabolites that may have contributed to the activity of the plant. Results: The plant extract inhibited spontaneous, oxytocin and high KCl-induced uterine contractions and also significantly inhibited (p < 0.01) oxytocin-induced uterine contraction in Ca2+-free medium. The plant extract significantly inhibited (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05) oxytocin’s amplitude in the presence of amiodarone and glibenclamide, respectively. Secondary metabolites belonging to classes of fatty acids, glycols, terpenes, flavonoid glycosides and porphyrins were identified. Conclusion: Alchornea laxiflora inhibited mouse uterine contractility possibly through interaction with potassium and calcium channels. Of the known metabolites identified, 3-deoxy-arabino-hept-2-ulosonic acid, 17-hydroxyingenol and phaeophorbide-a methyl inhibit uterine contractility and may contribute to the activity of A. laxiflora in utero.
Frequency-dependent time decay of Schrödinger flows
Authors: Fanelli Luca , Felli Veronica , Fontelos Marco Antonio , Primo Ana
Published: June 2018

We show that the presence of negative eigenvalues in the spectrum of the angular component of an electromagnetic Schrödinger Hamiltonian

H

generically produces a lack of the classical time-decay for the associated Schrödinger flow

e^{-itH}

. This is in contrast with the fact that dispersive estimates (Strichartz) still hold, in general, also in this case. We also observe an improvement of the decay for higher positive modes, showing that the time decay of the solution is due to the first nonzero term in the expansion of the initial datum as a series of eigenfunctions of a quantum harmonic oscillator with a singular potential.\linebreak A completely analogous phenomenon is shown for the heat semigroup, as expected.
Quantum ergodicity of Wigner induced random spherical harmonics
Authors: Chang Robert
Published: June 2018

We introduce a new notion of a ‘random orthonormal basis of spherical harmonics’ of

L^(S^2)

using generalized Wigner ensembles and show that such a random basis is almost surely quantum ergodic. On one hand, because of how our random basis is constructed, this generalizes previous results for random eigenfunctions that are defined using Haar measures on unitary groups. On the other hand, this provides a semi-classical realization of the probabilistic ‘local quantum unique ergodicity’ of Wigner eigenvectors.
The gDMP inverse of Hilbert space operators
Authors: Mosić Dijana , Djordjević Dragan S.
Published: June 2018

We define a new generalized inverse (named the gDMP inverse) for a Hilbert space operator using its generalized Drazin inverse and its Moore–Penrose inverse. Thus, we extend the DMP inverse for a square matrix to more general case. Also, we introduce two new classes of operators,

g

-EP and

g

-normal operators which include, respectively, EP operators and normal operators. A new binary relation is associated with the gDMP inverse is presented and studied. The notion of core-EP inverse for matrices is extended to generalized Drazin invertible operators on Hilbert space.
Spectral stability of Schrödinger operators with subordinated complex potentials
Authors: Fanelli Luca , Krejčiřík David , Vega Luis
Published: June 2018

We prove that the spectrum of Schrödinger operators in three dimensions is purely continuous and coincides with the non-negative semiaxis for all potentials satisfying a form-subordinate smallness condition. By developing the method of multipliers, we also establish the absence of point spectrum for Schrödinger operators in all dimensions under various alternative hypotheses, still allowing complex-valued potentials with critical singularities.
Spectral estimates, contractions and hypercontractivity
Authors: Milman Emanuel
Published: June 2018

Sharp comparison theorems are derived for all eigenvalues of the weighted Laplacian, for various classes of weighted-manifolds (i.e. Riemannian manifolds endowed with a smooth positive density). Examples include Euclidean space endowed with strongly log-concave and log-convex densities, extensions to

p

-exponential measures, unit-balls of

\ell_p^n

, one-dimensional spaces and Riemannian submersions. Our main tool is a general Contraction Principle for „eigenvalues" on arbitrary metric-measure spaces. Motivated by Caffarelli's Contraction Theorem, we put forth several conjectures pertaining to the existence of contractions from the canonical sphere (and Gaussian space) to weighted-manifolds of appropriate topological type having (generalized) Ricci curvature positively bounded below; these conjectures are consistent with all known isoperimetric, heat-kernel and Sobolev-type properties of such spaces, and would imply sharp conjectural spectral estimates. While we do not resolve these conjectures for the individual eigenvalues, we verify their Weyl asymptotic distribution in the compact and non-compact settings, obtain non-asymptotic estimates using the Cwikel–Lieb–Rozenblum inequality, and estimate the trace of the associated heat-kernel assuming that the associated heat semi-group is hypercontractive. As a side note, an interesting trichotomy for the heat-kernel is obtained.
Parallel Decline of Malaria and Rickettsia felis Infections in Senegal
Authors: Mediannikov Oleg , Abat Cédric , Sokhna Cheikh , Raoult Didier
Published: June 2018

Rickettsia felis is a common emerging pathogen in sub-Saharan Africa. Comparing dynamics of morbidities due to malaria and R. felis infections in two Senegalese villages, we found a strong and significant correlation between them. Malaria morbidity is strongly decreasing because of the implementation of long-lasting insecticidal nets, so we hypothesize that the same measure may decrease the R. felis infections.
Dracunculiasis Eradication: Are We There Yet?
Authors: Hopkins Donald R. , Ruiz-Tiben Ernesto , Eberhard Mark L. , Weiss Adam , Withers P. Craig , Roy Sharon L. , Sienko Dean G.
Published: June 2018

This report summarizes the status of the global Dracunculiasis Eradication Program as of the end of 2017. Dracunculiasis (guinea worm disease) has been eliminated from 19 of 21 countries where it was endemic in 1986, when an estimated 3.5 million cases occurred worldwide. Only Chad and Ethiopia reported cases in humans, 15 each, in 2017. Infections of animals, mostly domestic dogs, with Dracunculus medinensis were reported in those two countries and also in Mali. Insecurity and infections in animals are the two main obstacles remaining to interrupting dracunculiasis transmission completely.
Fluxes and sources of nutrients and trace metals
atmospheric deposition in the northwestern Mediterranean
Authors: Desboeufs Karine , Bon Nguyen Elisabeth , Chevaillier Servanne , Triquet Sylvain , Dulac François
Published: June 2018

Abstract. Total atmospheric deposition was collected on a weekly basis over 3.5-yr (March 2008–October 2011) at a remote coastal site on the west coast of Corsica Island. Deposition time series of macro and micro-nutrient (N, P, Si, Fe), and trace metals (As, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, V, Zn) are investigated in terms of variability and source apportionment (from fluxes of proxies for aerosol sources (Al, Ti, Ca, Na, Mg, S, Sr, K, Pb)). The highest fluxes are recorded for Si, P, then Fe for nutrients, and for Zn and Mn for trace metals. For the majority of elements, data show some weeks with high episodic fluxes, except for N, Cr and V which present the lowest variability. Twelve intense mineral dust deposition events are identified during the sampling period. The contribution of these events to the fluxes of Fe and Si represents 52 % and 57 % of their total fluxes, respectively, confirming the important role of these sporadic dust events on the inputs of these elements. For N and P, the contribution of these intense dust deposition events is lower and reaches 10 and 15 %, respectively. Out of these most intense events, positive matrix factorization (PMF) was applied to our total deposition database in order to identify the main sources of nutrients and trace metals deposited. Results show that P deposition is mainly associated to anthropogenic biomass burning inputs. For N deposition, inputs associated to marine sources (maybe associated to the reaction of anthropogenic N on NaCl particles) and anthropogenic sources are quasi-similar. A good correlation is obtained between N and S fluxes, supporting a common origin associated to the inorganic secondary aerosol, i.e. ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate. For trace metals, their origin is very variable: with a large contribution of natural dust sources for Ni or Mn and on the contrary of anthropogenic sources for V and Zn.
The socio-economics dynamics of Dam on Rural Communities: A case study of Oyan Dam, Nigeria
Authors: Ayeni Amidu , Ojifo Lawrence
Published: June 2018

Abstract. Dams construction and operations have many benefits, nevertheless, they have also led to lots of negative social, health and human impacts. It is based on this that this study assesses the potential and socio-economics dynamics of Oyan dam between 1980 and 2016. The data used for this study include water level and discharge records of the dam between 2007 and 2016, Landsat imageries of 1984 and 2016 and socio-economic datasets for the period. Analysis of the dam potentials (water supply, agriculture and hydropower) and socio-economic impacts of the dam were carried out using basic statistical tools, land use change anaysis and field survey using questionnaire, structured interview with major stakeholders and personal observation. The results revealed that the water level and storage of the Oyan dam had a relative reduction of about 2 % as well as non-stationarity pattern of water abstraction and production for the period. The landuse classes show all classes decreased in extent except the cultivated landuse that acrued an increased of 19.9 % between 1984 and 2016. Furthermore, commercial water supply varied significantly between 2010 and 2016 while irrigation scheme is grossly under-utilized from the inception in 1983 to 2016. Finally, the result of socio-economic impacts revealed that majority of the selected communities' members are actually not benefiting from the dam and their livelihoods are not from the dam.
Estimating parameter values of a socio-hydrological flood model
Authors: Barendrecht Marlies Holkje , Viglione Alberto , Kreibich Heidi , Vorogushyn Sergiy , Merz Bruno , Blöschl Günter
Published: June 2018

Abstract. Socio-hydrological modelling studies that have been published so far show that dynamic coupled human-flood models are a promising tool to represent the phenomena and the feedbacks in human-flood systems. So far these models are mostly generic and have not been developed and calibrated to represent specific case studies. We believe that applying and calibrating these type of models to real world case studies can help us to further develop our understanding about the phenomena that occur in these systems. In this paper we propose a method to estimate the parameter values of a socio-hydrological model and we test it by applying it to an artificial case study. We postulate a model that describes the feedbacks between floods, awareness and preparedness. After simulating hypothetical time series with a given combination of parameters, we sample few data points for our variables and try to estimate the parameters given these data points using Bayesian Inference. The results show that, if we are able to collect data for our case study, we would, in theory, be able to estimate the parameter values for our socio-hydrological flood model.
Long-term changes in river system hydrology in Texas
Authors: Zhang Yiwen , Wurbs Ralph
Published: June 2018

Abstract. Climate change and human actives are recognized as a topical issue
that change long-term water budget, flow-frequency, and storage-frequency
characteristics of different river systems. Texas is characterized by
extreme hydrologic variability both spatially and temporally. Meanwhile,
population and economic growth and accompanying water resources development
projects have greatly impacted river flows throughout Texas. The relative
effects of climate change, water resources development, water use, and other
factors on long-term changes in river flow, reservoir storage, evaporation,
water use, and other components of the water budgets of different river
basins of Texas have been simulated in this research using the monthly
version of the Water Rights Analysis Package (WRAP) modelling system with
input databases sets from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
(TCEQ) and Texas Water Development Board (TWDB). The results show that
long-term changes are minimal from analysis monthly precipitation depths.
Evaporation rates vary greatly seasonally and for much of the state appear
to have a gradually upward trend. River/reservoir system water budgets and
river flow characteristics have changed significantly during the past 75 years
in response to water resources development and use.
The impacts of climate change on irrigation and crop production in Northeast China and implications for energy use and GHG Emission
Authors: Yan Tingting , Wang Jinxia , Huang Jikun , Xie Wei , Zhu Tingju
Published: June 2018

Abstract. The water-food-energy-GHG nexus under climate change has been gaining increasing attention from both the research and policy communities, especially over the past several years. However, most existing nexus studies are qualitative and explorative in nature. So far, very few studies provide integrated analysis of this nexus across all the four sectors. The purpose of this paper is to examine this nexus by assessing the effects of climate change on agricultural production through the change in water availability, evaluating the adjustment responses and resulting energy consumption and GHG emission, with the Northeast China as a case study. Based on our simulation results, by 2030, climate change is projected to increase water supply and demand gap for irrigation in Northeast China. Due to the increase in water scarcity, irrigated areas will decrease, and the cropping pattern will be adjusted by increasing maize sown areas and decreasing rice sown areas. As a result, the total output of crops and profits will clearly be reduced. Finally, energy consumption and GHG emission from irrigation will be reduced. This study suggests that climate change impact assessment fully consider the nexus among water, food, energy and GHG; however, more studies need to be conducted in the future.
Study on the water resources optimal operation based on riverbed wind erosion control in West Liaohe River plain
Authors: Wanguang Sun , Chengzhen Li , Baoshan Fan
Published: June 2018

Abstract. Rivers are drying up most frequently in West Liaohe River plain and the bare
river beds present fine sand belts on land. These sand belts, which yield a
dust heavily in windy days, stress the local environment deeply as the
riverbeds are eroded by wind. The optimal operation of water resources, thus,
is one of the most important methods for preventing the wind erosion of
riverbeds. In this paper, optimal operation model for water resources based
on riverbed wind erosion control has been established, which contains
objective function, constraints, and solution method. The objective function
considers factors which include water volume diverted into reservoirs, river
length and lower threshold of flow rate, etc. On the basis of ensuring the
water requirement of each reservoir, the destruction of the vegetation in the
riverbed by the frequent river flow is avoided. The multi core parallel
solving method for optimal water resources operation in the West Liaohe River
Plain is proposed, which the optimal solution is found by DPSA method under
the POA framework and the parallel computing program is designed in Fork/Join
mode. Based on the optimal operation results, the basic rules of water
resources operation in the West Liaohe River Plain are summarized.
Calculation results show that, on the basis of meeting the requirement of
water volume of every reservoir, the frequency of reach river flow which from
Taihekou to Talagan Water Diversion Project in the Xinkai River is reduced
effectively. The speedup and parallel efficiency of parallel algorithm are
1.51 and 0.76 respectively, and the computing time is significantly
decreased. The research results show in this paper can provide technical
support for the prevention and control of riverbed wind erosion in the West
Liaohe River plain.
Assessment of freshwater ecosystem services in the Beas River Basin, Himalayas region, India
Authors: Ncube Sikhululekile , Beevers Lindsay , Adeloye Adebayo J. , Visser Annie
Published: June 2018

Abstract. River systems provide a diverse range of ecosystem
services, examples include: flood regulation (regulating), fish
(provisioning), nutrient cycling (supporting) and recreation (cultural).
Developing water resources through the construction of dams (hydropower or
irrigation) can enhance the delivery of provisioning ecosystem services.
However, these hydrologic alterations result in reductions in less tangible
regulating, cultural and supporting ecosystem services. This study seeks to
understand how multiple impoundments, abstractions and transfers within the
upper Beas River Basin, Western Himalayas, India, are affecting the delivery
of supporting ecosystem services. Whilst approaches for assessing supporting
ecosystem services are under development, the immediate aim of this paper is
to set out a framework for their quantification, using the macroinvertebrate
index Lotic-Invertebrate Index for Flow Evaluation (LIFE). LIFE is a
weighted measure of the flow velocity preferences of the macroinvertebrate
community. Flow records from multiple gauging stations within the basin were
used to investigate flow variability at seasonal, inter-annual and decadal
time scales. The findings show that both mean monthly and seasonal
cumulative flows have decreased over time in the Beas River Basin. A
positive hydroecological relationship between LIFE and flow was also
identified, indicative of macroinvertebrate response to seasonal changes in
the flow regime. For example, high LIFE scores (7.7–9.3) in the winter and
summer seasons indicate an abundance of macroinvertebrates with a preference
for high flows; this represents a high potential for instream supporting
ecosystem services delivery. However, further analysis is required to
understand these hydroecological interactions in the study basin and the
impact on instream supporting ecosystem services delivery.
Mapping homogeneous spectral response zones in a soil profile
Authors: Jones Edward J. , McBratney Alex B.
Published: June 2018

Abstract. Homogeneous spectral response zones represent relatively uniform regions of soil that may be useful for identifying soil horizons or delineating soil units spatially. External parameter orthogonalisation (EPO) and direct standardisation (DS) were assessed for their ability to conserve intrinsic soil information of spectra under variable moisture conditions, as experienced when taking measurements in situ. A 1 m × 1 m section of a soil profile was intensively sampled using visible near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy at 2.5 cm vertical intervals and 10 cm horizontal intervals. Further samples were taken on a 10 cm grid and scanned in a laboratory under field moist and air-dry conditions. A principal component space was constructed based on the in situ scans following either EPO transformation, DS transformation or following pre-processing only (PP). Scores from the first four principal components – which accounted for more than 0.97 of the total variance in each case – were subject to k-means clustering to identify homogeneous spectral response zones. Laboratory-based scans were then projected onto the same principal component space and fitted to the pre-existing cluster centroids. Both EPO and DS were found to have potential in reconciling differences observed between in situ and laboratory-based measurements compared to pre-processing only (PP). EPO outperformed DS in terms of conserving the relationship between PC scores (LCCC: EPO = 0.84, DS = 0.58, PPO = 0.44; RMSE: EPO = 11.8, DS = 15.4, PPO = 38.5) and also in identifying homogeneous spectral response zones that corresponded to field observed horizons.
Castles Made of Sand: The Disappearing Fourth Amendment Rights of Probationers and Parolees
Authors: Dawson Sean P.
Published: June 2018

CASTLES MADE OF SAND: The Disappearing Fourth Amendment Rights of Probationers and Parolees
The Utilization of Digital Platforms for Marketing in the Nigerian Entertainment and Media (E&M) Industry: Prospects and Challenges
Authors: Omenugha Nelson Obinna
Published: June 2018

The National Bureau of Statistics recently announced that the entertainment and media (E&M) industry in Nigeria recorded growth of 1.86% to 12.81%; contributing N54bn to the country’s GDP. The industry’s revenue is projected to reach an estimated $8.5bn in 2018, from $4bn in 2013, with internet as one of the key drivers (PwC report, 2016, p.14). This comes at a time when Nigeria’s economy has shrunk by 2.24% since 2015 and receded by 0.18% from the previous quarter. Therefore, this study unpacks the possibilities and challenges of the impact of e-marketing tools on the growth of the Nigerian E&M industry. E-marketing tools provide “a unique combination of powerful capabilities for marketers” (Parsons et al., 2015). E-marketing suitability for the E&M industry lies in its lower capital demand, and a convenient and online means of disseminating marketing messages across a heterogeneous population at an unlimited geographical space. E-marketing is a reality in Nigeria as a study by Mathew, Ogedebe & Ogedebe (2013, p. 549) shows that “Many Nigerians who used (sic) the internet as one form of communication or another are bombarded daily with advertisements of products and services from industries in the country.” This reality has brought a shift from mechanical to electronic and from analogue to digital; ultimately impacting the marketing realms. The internet enables these electronic/digital platforms; which marketers (E&M industry) and customers (content consumers) rely on to effectively reach and receive communication content and feedback respectively.  However, this study examined the challenges that have possibly hindered the full realization of the e-marketing tools of the Nigerian E&M industry and noted among others; poor power supply and unreliable network infrastructure in the country. There is also an increased customer expectation, security, content copyright and privacy issues as well as the challenge of compliance demand in the industry as influenced by ever dynamic digital boundaries. There is a huge economic need for the Nigerian government to live up to its obligation and enhance power supply and boost network infrastructure. The Nigerian E&M industry needs to continually integrate different digital platforms to reach targets and attract more content consumers. Both the government and industry should increasingly learn and bring a global perspective that can help the nation adapt to the constantly changing digital environment.
Principals Profiles about Distributed Leadership: A Descriptive Study through Analysis of Multiple Correspondences of the Elementary Schools from Madrid, Spain
Authors: García Carreño Ingrid Del Valle , Amador Rodriguez Luis Vicente , Ibañez Macarena Esteban
Published: June 2018

Within the emerging leaderships there is no doubt that distributed leadership (DL) is a relevant concept for culture of the educational sector. DL is understood as a form of shared leadership that is based on a more collective and inclusive philosophy of traditional leadership theory that focuses on the skills, traits and behaviours of the leading individuals. The objective of this communication is to determine the DL profiles of the directors of some primary schools in Madrid. Method. Descriptive study through analysis of multiple correspondences and SPAD, with the questionnaire validated ad hoc practices of distributed leadership. The exhibition comprises a total of 23 schools (16 Public schools and 7 colleges) and 13 principals and 10 directors. In the community of Madrid Capital, Spain. Results. The profiles of the leaders found are eight, product of factors 1 and 2 (formal leader, innovator, Bureaucrat, organizational poietic) and factors 2 and 3 (instructional, training, empowerment, collaborative). Discussion. The profiles in this case can generate the self-knowledge of directives strengths and weaknesses, which arise as key conditions to initiate the practice of DL. It goes towards the assertive distribution of power, from the organization of the centre, from the traditional to the bureaucratic.
Eportfolio, Alternative Assessment and Student Self-Assessment: Exploration of the Correlation in Primary Education
Authors: Haralabous Angelos Konstantinou , Darra Maria
Published: June 2018

The main purpose of this study is to explore and register the trends and perceptions of primary school teachers about the implementation of the eportfolio as an alternative form of student assessment and as a tool for self-assessment by students. The survey was carried out during the second semester of the school year 2016-2017 using the anonymous written questionnaire method, which was answered by 215 primary school teachers of all subjects from the first educational area of Athens, the capital of Greece. The results of the survey show that most respondents believe that it is necessary to completely change the existing student assessment system, to apply alternative forms of assessment and to abolish the quantitative assessment. Regarding the exploration of the eportfolio for students’ evaluation and self-evaluation, the respondents in their overwhelming majority state that they have little or no knowledge of the subject. Also, they state that they do not apply at all or make little use of the eportfolio, although two thirds of the teachers consider that eportfolio’s practical application quite important as an alternative form of assessment and self-assessment of the student.
Predictors of Ghanaian Language Students Choice of Programme: The Case of University of Education, Winneba
Authors: Dodoo Jonathan Kweku , Mensah Dominic Kwaku Danso , Dampson Dandy George
Published: June 2018

The main purpose of the study was to investigate the factors that are most influential in students’ enrolment in Ghanaian languages programme in the University of Education, Winneba. The study employed the mixed sequential explanatory design. A total of 200 first year Ghanaian Language students of 2016/2017 Academic Year and staff members of the University of Education, Winneba-Ajumako Campus students were chosen through stratified proportional sampling technique to obtain the quantitative results. The Dean and admission officer of the Faculty of Ghanaian Languages and 12 students were purposely sampled and interviewed for the qualitative data. Frequencies, percentages and Independent sample t-test were used to analyze the quantitative data whilst the qualitative data was analysed thematically. The findings of the study revealed that institutional reputation, course entry requirement, fee affordability and subject enhancing employability were considered very important factors in choosing Ghanaian language programme in UEW. The study found significant difference between the direct and mature students on course entry requirement, affordable fees and teachers as factors that affect their enrolment. It was recommended university authorities, faculty and administrative staff should ensure the reputation of the university as an institution for excellence is maintained by offering all stakeholders timely information on programme benefits, course entry requirement and fees schedules, financial aids and fee-payment policies.
Another look at the interpretation of overt and null pronominal subjects in bilingual language acquisition: Heritage Portuguese in contact with German and Spanish
Authors: Rinke Esther , Flores Cristina
Published: June 2018

This paper investigates the interpretation of overt and null subject pronouns in the heritage language (European Portuguese, EP) of Portuguese heritage bilinguals (children and teenagers) in Germany and Andorra with German (Ger) and Spanish/Catalan (Span/Cat) as environmental languages and compares it to the outcomes of age-matched monolingual Portuguese children and monolingual adults. The results of an offline sentence interpretation task show that all groups of speakers differentiate between overt and null subjects. They are also sensitive to the syntactic context (intrasentential vs. intersentential) and the directionality of the anaphoric relation (anaphoric vs. cataphoric), although to different degrees. We argue that the interpretation of differences between monolingual and bilingual speakers needs to take into account these different syntactic contexts of pronominal resolution in order to gain a better understanding of the role of language-internal factors and cross-linguistic influence (CLI). With respect to the latter, the comparison between the Ger-EP and the Span/Cat-EP groups reveals no differences between these populations and shows that for the speakers’ knowledge of anaphora resolution in EP it is not decisive whether the contact language is a null subject language or not (confirming thus the results in Sorace et al. 2009).
n.9 - A VIVÊNCIA EM UMA PRÉ-ESCOLA E AS EXPECTATIVAS QUANTO AO ENSINO FUNDAMENTAL SOB A ÓTICA DAS CRIANÇAS
Authors: Correa Bianca , Bucci Lorenzza , Bucci Lorenzza
Published: June 2018

O trabalho é fruto de pesquisa qualitativa desenvolvida com o objetivo de analisar o impacto da implantação do ensino fundamental de nove anos sobre a organização do trabalho pedagógico tanto nesta etapa quanto na pré-escola. Os resultados ora apresentados se referem à visão de crianças de cinco anos de idade de uma pré-escola pública sobre sua vivência nesta instituição e sobre suas expectativas em relação ao ensino fundamental. Para a construção dos dados foram utilizados os métodos de “História a completar” e “Desenho com histórias”. A análise evidencia semelhanças entre o que as crianças vivenciam na pré-escola e o que, conforme estudos da área, é experimentado na etapa subsequente: rotinas rígidas, castigos, ausência da brincadeira, tarefas de escrita voltadas ao treino viso-motor. As crianças identificam a professora da pré-escola como alguém que dá ordens, “passa lição para copiar” e é pouco afetiva. Apesar disso, ao falarem de suas expectativas com relação ao ensino fundamental as crianças evidenciam o desejo por um espaço bonito e alegre, onde embora tenha “lição mais difícil”, também seja possível brincar. O estudo reitera a relevância de que as crianças sejam ouvidas.
Business Environment in South Asia: Foreign-Owned Firms’ Perspectives
Authors: Quazi Rahim , Tandon Sudhir
Published: June 2018

This paper studies the foreign-owned firms’ (hereinafter, FOFs) perspectives about selected indicators of business environment in four South Asian countries - Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. For the last few decades, these countries have eagerly sought to increase the inflow of foreign capital. Using the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey 2017 data, this study identifies political instability, poor infrastructure, and pervasive corruption as the three biggest obstacles that FOFs face in their business operations in these countries. The other obstacles include inadequately educated workforce, customs and trade regulations, crime, theft and disorder, tax administration, business licensing and permits, and access to finance. This study also finds that since 2007 the business environment for FOFs has improved remarkably in Bangladesh, improved slightly in India, improved modestly in Sri Lanka, but worsened noticeably in Pakistan. This study adds to our knowledge of factors that affect the dynamics of foreign capital inflow, which should be helpful in devising strategies to attract more foreign capital to developing countries.