bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Editorial: Autoritärer Populismus
Authors: Redaktion PROKLA
Published: August 2018

Das vorliegende Heft verfolgt die Fragestellung von Heft 185 zum Thema „Ausnahmezustand“ weiter. In den vergangenen Jahren gab es eine Vielzahl von beschleunigten Entwicklungen und politischen Krisen, die zu autoritären Regierungspraktiken geführt und zu einer Veränderung der politischen Kräfte beigetragen haben. Es spricht vieles dafür, dass in diesem Kontext die Erfolge von als rechtspopulistisch bezeichneten Parteien mehr ist, als nur eine Erweiterung des Parteienspektrums und des parlamentarischen Raums, sondern ein neues politisches Regime bedeutet.

Der Aufstieg von Parteien und Politikern, die im herrschenden Diskurs als „rechtspopulistisch“ charakterisiert werden, ist ein bestimmendes Thema der letzten Jahre gewesen. Dabei verweist der Begriff des Rechtspopulismus auf den des Linkspopulismus. Beide Begriffe werden im herrschenden Diskurs pejorativ gebraucht. Rechts- und Linkspopulismus gelten als zwei Varianten derselben Sache. Dem liegt ein Schema zugrunde, das den politischen Raum in eine positiv konnotierte Mitte und zwei negativ konnotierte Extreme einteilt: Rechts- und Linkspopulismus gelten gewissermaßen als abgemilderte Formen von Rechts- und Linksextremismus. Anders gesagt: Rechts- und Linkspopulismus bewegen sich nach dem herrschenden Verständnis genau an der Grenze zwischen der Mitte (dem, was als normal gilt) und den Extremen. Sie werden nach dem Muster der Totalitarismustheorie behandelt. Dabei steht das Urteil über den Populismus schon fest, bevor seine Funktionsweise überhaupt analysiert wurde (vgl. D’Eramo 2013; Link 2017). Aus kritischer, emanzipatorischer Sicht ist die Gleichsetzung von rechten und linken Kräften zurückzuweisen. Darüber hinaus stellt sich die Frage, ob Parteien, in denen rassistische, sexistische oder faschistische Positionen vertreten werden, nicht verharmlost werden, indem sie als rechtspopulistisch gekennzeichnet werden. Es wird auch davon abgelenkt, dass z.B. in der CDU oder in der BILD-Zeitung ebenfalls auf ideologische Elemente zurückgegriffen wurde und wird, die heute dem Rechtspopulismus zugeordnet werden; das „bürgerliche Lager“ bzw. die „Mitte“ werden dadurch exkulpiert. Allerdings sollte der Begriff des Populismus auch nicht vorschnell aufgegeben werden
Ein Hut, zu viele Köpfe
Authors: Boos Tobias
Published: August 2018

In recent times, populism not only is on everyone’s lips, but it has also been contested as scientific term. While some consider recent political developments as a repolitization and response to postdemocracy, others interpret populism as authoritarian and antipluralistic form of politics. However, a closer look reveals that the common term is very often rather obscuring. Scrutinizing the three mayor historic references of the debates on Populism – the Russian Narodniki, the US People´s Party, and the national-popular governments in the 1930-50s in Latin America –, the article reveals that quite contrasting movements have been labeled as populists. Furthermore, different theoretical strands, which described them as such discerned very different aspects as their populist core. After laying out these differences, the articles asks for the explanatory potential of these approaches and discusses the question if there is an intrinsic authoritarianism to populism.
Die AfD, die ArbeiterInnenklasse und die Linke – kein Problem?.
Authors: Sablowski Thomas , Thien Günther
Published: August 2018

The AfD, the working class and the left – no problem? The question of how to explain the success of the AfD in Germany and which counter-strategies are appropriate is controversially discussed within the social left. In Germany, two camps have emerged which seem to be irreconcilably opposed. Either the rise of the AfD is explained by the social left’s neglect of social issues and the working class, or it is understood as an expression of racism and prosperity chauvinism in the middle of society or in the entire population. Thomas Sablowski and Günter Thien criticize this viewpoint.
Polens illiberale Revolution
Authors: Müller Klaus
Published: August 2018

The recent populist wave that swept Eastern Europe put an end to the illusionary victory of liberal democracy across the region. This applies especially to Poland, the country with the most impressive civil society movement, Solidarnosz, and the frontrunner of radical market reforms. Despite the best economic performance of all post-communist countries, the populist party Law and Justice (PiS) came to power for a second time in 2015, only to impose its reactionary national-catholic model on the media, the law system, and the public sector. The success of PiS cannot be explained by the immanent strength of its populist rhetoric but points to the wilful neglect of its liberal predecessors of regional heterogeneity, precarious working conditions, and sharpened inequalities. While the electorate supports the valid points of PiS’s socio-economic programme, it is not inclined to follow its internally divisive and externally confrontational anti-EU ideology.
Editorial: Zur (neuen) Wohnungsfrage
Authors: Redaktion PROKLA
Published: August 2018

Editorial: Zur (neuen) Wohnungsfrage
Vom Gelde und darüber hinaus
Authors: Redaktion PROKLA
Published: August 2018

Vom Gelde und darüber hinaus. Ein Nachruf auf Heiner Ganßmann (1944–2018)
Wenn Geldkapital eine sichere Bank sucht
Authors: Belina Bernd
Published: August 2018

The housing question is back on the agenda in Germany. House rents in urban areas in particular, where the vast majority of habitants are renters, are on the rise since the outbreak of the global financial and economic crisis in 2007/08. The first part of the article articles discusses David Harvey’s notion of the secondary circuit of capital in order to provide a politico-economic theory for a better understanding of the economic base of these processes. Harvey’s central argument is that the flow of money capital in search of investment opportunities is “switched” into the sphere of real estate in times of overaccumulation. The second part of the article provides empirical data on construction activities, buying and selling of built environment and the development of land prices, including speculation, in Germany that all point in the same direction: the secondary circuit is gaining in importance in the past ten years. Further, the data shows the geographical unevenness of these processes, as most activities are located in major cities.
Stadtbürgerschaft „Light“: Migration und Vielfalt in der neoliberalen Stadt
Authors: Lebuhn Henrik
Published: August 2018

In recent years, the concept of ‘urban citizenship’ has become an important reference for cities and municipalities positioning themselves in the context of the European border and migration regime. However, the reference often falls short. Especially in the case of urban policies focusing on ‘diversity’, the affinity to neoliberal ideas of citizenship is noticeable. The article analyses the European ‘Intercultural Cities Programme’ (ICC), in which more than 100 cities participate, as an example for this trend. Here, the meaning of citizenship is being shifted
Improving Quantitative Rainfall Prediction Using Ensemble Analogues in the Tropics: Case Study of Uganda
Authors: Mugume Isaac , Mesquita Michel , Bamutaze Yazidhi , Ntwali Didier , Basalirwa Charles , Waiswa Daniel , Reuder Joachim , Twinomuhangi Revocatus , Tumwine Fredrick , Jakob Ngailo Triphonia , Ogwang Bob
Published: August 2018

Accurate and timely rainfall prediction enhances productivity and can aid proper planning in sectors such as agriculture, health, transport and water resources. However quantitative rainfall prediction is normally a challenge and for this reason, this study was conducted with an aim of improving rainfall prediction using ensemble methods. It first assessed the performance of six convective schemes (Kain–Fritsch (KF); Betts–Miller–Janjić (BMJ); Grell–Fretas (GF); Grell 3D ensemble (G3); New–Tiedke (NT) and Grell–Devenyi (GD)) using the root mean square error (RMSE) and mean error (ME) focusing on the March–May 2013 rainfall period over Uganda. 18 ensemble members were then generated from the three best performing convective schemes (i.e., KF, GF and G3). The daily rainfall predicted by the three ensemble methods (i.e., ensemble mean (ENS); ensemble mean analogue (EMA) and multi–member analogue ensemble (MAEM)) was then compared with the observed daily rainfall and the RMSE and ME computed. The results shows that the ENS presented a smaller RMSE compared to individual schemes (ENS: 10.02; KF: 23.96; BMJ: 26.04; GF: 25.85; G3: 24.07; NT: 29.13 and GD: 26.27) and a better bias (ENS: −1.28; KF: −1.62; BMJ: −4.04; GF: −3.90; G3: −3.62; NT: −5.41 and GD: −4.07). The EMA and MAEM presented 13 out of 21 stations and 17 out of 21 stations respectively with smaller RMSE compared to ENS thus demonstrating additional improvement in predictive performance. This study proposed and described MAEM and found it producing comparatively better quantitative rainfall prediction performance compared to the other ensemble methods used. The MAEM method should be valid regardless the nature of the rainfall season.
Nanochannelar Topography Positively Modulates Osteoblast Differentiation and Inhibits Osteoclastogenesis
Authors: Ion Raluca , Mazare Anca , Dumitriu Cristina , Pirvu Cristian , Schmuki Patrick , Cimpean Anisoara
Published: August 2018

Based on previously reported findings showing reduced foreign body reactions on nanochannelar topography formed on TiZr alloy, this study explores the in vitro effects of such a nanostructured surface on cells relevant for implant osseointegration, namely osteoblasts and osteoclasts. We show that such nanochannelar surfaces sustain adhesion and proliferation of mouse pre-osteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells and enhance their osteogenic differentiation. Moreover, this specific nanotopography inhibits nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL)-mediated osteoclastogenesis. The nanochannels’ dual mode of action on the bone-derived cells could contribute to an enhanced bone formation around the bone implants. Therefore, these results warrant further investigation for nanochannels’ use as surface coatings of medical implant materials.
Susceptibility to Translational Slide-Type Landslides: Applicability of the Main Scarp Upper Edge as a Dependent Variable Representation by Reduced Chi-Square Analysis
Authors: Capitani Marco , Ribolini Adriano , Bini Monica
Published: August 2018

The applicability of main scarp upper edge (MSUE) as dependent variable representation was performed in a translational slide susceptibility zonation of the Milia and Roglio basins, Italy. Two landslide inventories were built thanks to detailed geomorphological mapping and aerial photograph analysis. The landslides were used to create the models before 1975, while those after 1975 were employed to validate the predictive power of the model. Possible landslide-related factors were chosen from a geomorphological survey. The inventory landslide maps and the landslide-related factor maps were processed by conditional analysis, producing landslide susceptibility maps with five susceptibility classes. A comparison between the distribution of landslides after 1975 and those derived from models provided the predictive power of each model, which in turn was used to define the best predictive model. Reduced chi-square analysis allowed to define the efficiency of MSUE as dependent variable representation. MSUE can be applied as dependent variable representation to landslide susceptibility zonation with appreciable results. In the Roglio basin, slope angle, distance from streams, and from tectonic lineaments proved to be the main controlling factors of translational slides, whereas in the Milia basin, lithology and slope angle gave more satisfactory results as landslide-predisposing factors.
Effects of Deep Cryogenic Treatment on the Microstructures and Tribological Properties of Iron Matrix Self-Lubricating Composites
Authors: Peng Weixiang , Sun Kun , Zhang Meng , Chen Juan , Shi Junqin
Published: August 2018

The effects of deep cryogenic treatment on the microstructures and tribological properties of the self-lubricating iron matrix composites are investigated. The self-lubricating composites are deeply cryogenically treated at about −196 °C. The results show that with deep cryogenic treatment, the martensite phase transformation occurred from phase γ to α′, and the fine particle carbides precipitated between martensites with the extension of cryogenic treatment time, measured by X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Compared with the as-sintered specimen, the maximum hardness of the specimens processed by cryogenic treatment increases by 172.8% from 253.2 HV to 690.7 HV. The materials with deep cryogenic treatment for 8 h show the best tribological properties, i.e., the average friction coefficient decreases by 75% from 0.36 to 0.09, and the wear coefficient decreases by 63% from 341 to 126 × 10−6 mm3/Nm at 150 N and 8 mm/s. The improvement of the tribological property can be primarily attributed to the martensite phase transformation from γ to α′ and the precipitation of fine particles carbides between the martensites, which increase the hardness and the wear resistance after the cryogenic treatment.
Butylbenzene and tert-Butylbenzene—Sorption on Sand Particles and Biodegradation in the Presence of Plant Natural Surfactants
Authors: Zdarta Agata , Pacholak Amanda , Galikowska Marta , Smułek Wojciech , Kaczorek Ewa
Published: August 2018

The effects of hydrocarbons sorption on sand and saponins presence in the system on butylbenzene and tert-butylbenzene biological degradation was investigated. Additionally, the impact of saponins-containing plant extracts on environmental microorganisms was studied. Results of cell surface property measurements in samples with saponins only revealed changes in cell surface hydrophobicity, electrokinetic potential and membrane permeability when compared to corresponding values for glucose-grown microbes. Subsequently, in sorption experiments, the hydrocarbon adsorption kinetics in bacteria-free samples were better explained with the pseudo-second order kinetic model as compared to the pseudo-first order and intraparticular diffusion models. Moreover, the equilibrium data fitted better to the Freundlich isotherm for both benzene derivatives. In the samples combining hydrocarbons sorption and biological degradation in the presence of saponins, alkane-substituted hydrocarbons removal was accelerated from 40% to 90% after 14 days and the best surfactant in this aspect was S. officinalis extract.
Food and Nutrition Security as a Measure of Resilience in the Barents Region
Authors: Raheem Dele
Published: August 2018

Food and nutrition security builds resilience in a society when people have access to safe and nutritious foods. The Barents region, covering the Northern parts of Finland, Norway, and Sweden, and the North-western part of Russia, seeks common goals that include the well-being of the region’s inhabitants by ensuring preservation of local culture and social and environmental sustainability. This paper reviews existing literature on food and nutrition security in relation to building resilience and promoting well-being in the region. Amongst the local communities, traditional foods have served as a major source of healthy diet that ensures food security. Access to secure, nutritious, and healthy food is one of the aspects offering greater human security and societal stability. Traditional food has served as a major source of healthy diet, in particular, in the remote sparsely populated Barents region and amongst the local communities of the region. However, there is concern about global climate change and its effect on the region and pollution from human activities, such as the extractive industrial activities, that are detrimental to safe and secure food supply chain. In this paper, I highlight the contribution of traditional foods to food security in the Barents region. In addition, the paper emphasized that value addition to these traditional foods will help to stimulate the economy by creating new jobs. Ultimately, ensuring food and nutrition security in a sustainable way within the region will help to build resilience and promote culture and ecology with a view to offering greater human and societal security.
A Modern Search for Wolf-Rayet Stars in the Magellanic Clouds. IV. A Final Census*
Authors: Neugent Kathryn F. , Massey Philip , Morrell Nidia
Published: August 2018

We summarize the results of our 4 yr survey searching for Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Small Magellanic Cloud. Over the course of this survey we have discovered 15 new WR stars and 12 Of-type stars. In this last year we discovered two rare Of-type stars: an O6.5f?p and an O6nfp, in addition to the two new Of?p stars discovered in our first year and the three Onfp stars discovered in our second and third years. However, even more exciting was our discovery of a new type of WR star, ones we are calling WN3/O3s owing to their spectroscopic signatures. We describe the completeness limits of our survey and demonstrate that we are sensitive to weak-lined WRs several magnitudes fainter than any we have discovered, arguing that there is not a population of fainter WRs waiting to be discovered. We discuss the nature of the WN3/O3s, summarizing the results of our extensive spectroscopy and modeling. We also examine the important claim made by others that the WN3/O3s are isolated compared to other massive stars. We find that if we use a more complete sample of reference massive stars, the WN3/O3s show the same spatial distribution as other early WNs, consistent with a common origin. Finally, we use this opportunity to present the “Fifth Catalog of LMC Wolf-Rayet Stars,” which includes revised coordinates and updated spectral types for all 154 known LMC WRs.
Baryonic Effects in Cosmic Shear Tomography: PCA Parameterization and the Importance of Extreme Baryonic Models
Authors: Mohammed Irshad , Gnedin Nickolay Y.
Published: August 2018

Baryonic effects are among the most severe systematics to the tomographic analysis of weak lensing data, which is the principal probe in many future generations of cosmological surveys like LSST, Euclid, etc. Modeling or parameterizing these effects is essential in order to extract valuable constraints on cosmological parameters. In a recent paper, Eifler et al. suggested a reduction technique for baryonic effects by conducting a principal component analysis and removing the largest baryonic eigenmodes from the data. In this paper, we conducted the investigation further and addressed two critical aspects. First, we performed the analysis by separating the simulations into training and test sets, computing a minimal set of principle components from the training set and examining the fits on the test set. We found that using only four parameters, corresponding to the four largest eigenmodes of the training set, the test sets can be fitted thoroughly with an rms ∼0.0011. Second, we explored the significance of outliers, the most exotic/extreme baryonic scenarios, in this method. We found that excluding the outliers from the training set results in a relatively bad fit and degraded the rms by nearly a factor of 3. Therefore, for a direct employment of this method to the tomographic analysis of the weak lensing data, the principle components should be derived from a training set that comprises adequately exotic but reasonable models such that the reality is included inside the parameter domain sampled by the training set. The baryonic effects can be parameterized as the coefficients of these principle components and should be marginalized over the cosmological parameter space.
Spectral Properties of Cool Stars: Extended Abundance Analysis of Kepler Objects of Interest
Authors: Brewer John M. , Fischer Debra A.
Published: August 2018

Accurate stellar parameters and precise elemental abundances are vital pieces to correctly characterize discovered planetary systems, better understand planet formation, and trace galactic chemical evolution. We have performed a uniform spectroscopic analysis for 1127 stars, yielding accurate gravity, temperature, and projected rotational velocity in addition to precise abundances for 15 elements (C, N, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, and Y). Most of the stars in this sample are Kepler Objects of Interest, observed by the California-Kepler Survey, and include 1003 stars hosting 1562 confirmed planets. This catalog extends the uniform analysis of our previous catalog, bringing the total number of homogeneously analyzed stars to almost 2,700 F, G, and K dwarfs. To ensure consistency between the catalogs, we performed an analysis of our ability to recover parameters as a function of signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) and present individual uncertainties as well as functions to calculate uncertainties for parameters derived from lower S/N spectra. With the updated parameters, we used isochrone fitting to derive new radii, masses, and ages for the stars. We use our abundance analysis to support the finding that the radius gap is likely a result of evolution rather than the result of primordial compositional differences between the two populations.
Revision of the enigmatic genus Gastralysia Fischer (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Alysiinae)
Authors: van Achterberg Cornelis , Tan Jiang-Li
Published: August 2018

The enigmatic genus Gastralysia Fischer, 1967 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Alysiinae) and its type species, G.garambana Fischer, 1967, are redescribed and illustrated. The female is described for the first time. The position of the genus is discussed and the genus is placed in a new subtribus, Gastralysiinasubtrib. n. The genus is reported new for Ivory Coast and Tanzania.
A DNA metabarcoding protocol for hyporheic freshwater meiofauna: Evaluating highly degenerate COI primers and replication strategy
Authors: Weigand Alexander M. , Macher Jan-Niklas
Published: August 2018

The hyporheic zone, i.e. the ecotone between surface water and the groundwater, is a rarely studied freshwater ecosystem. Hyporheic taxa are often meiofaunal (<1 mm) in size and difficult to identify based on morphology. Metabarcoding approaches are promising for the study of these environments and taxa, but it is yet unclear if commonly applied metabarcoding primers and replication strategies can be used. In this study, we took sediment cores from two near natural upstream (NNU) and two ecologically improved downstream (EID) sites in the Boye catchment (Emscher River, Germany), metabarcoding their meiofaunal communities. We evaluated the usability of a commonly used, highly degenerate COI primer pair (BF2/BR2) and tested how sequencing three PCR replicates per sample and removing MOTUs present in only one out of three replicates impacts the inferred community composition. A total of 22,514 MOTUs were detected, of which only 263 were identified as Metazoa. Our results highlight the gaps in reference databases for meiofaunal taxa and the potential problems of using highly degenerate primers for studying samples containing a high number of non-metazoan taxa. Alpha diversity was higher in EID sites and showed higher community similarity when compared to NNU sites. Beta diversity analyses showed that removing MOTUs detected in only one out of three replicates per site greatly increased community similarity in samples. Sequencing three sample replicates and removing rare MOTUs is seen as a good compromise between retaining too many false-positives and introducing too many false-negatives. We conclude that metabarcoding hyporheic communities using highly degenerate COI primers can provide valuable first insights into the diversity of these ecosystems and highlight some potential application scenarios.
Solving the Wicked Problems of the Anthropocene
Authors: McQueen Kelvin
Published: August 2018

As a research paradigm, Marx's insights can be used to grapple with the ‘wicked problem' of the Anthropocene: to explain the current crisis; judge the various scholarly representations of it; and point towards a transcendence of the ‘problem'. In the same vein, this chapter seeks to provide a Marxist paradigm for educational research in the era of the Anthropocene. The chapter thus identifies two ‘wicked problems' and suggests solutions: firstly, the urgent need for a robust and plausible paradigm for programs of educational research seeking to discover, analyse and understand the dynamics of the Anthropocene from the micro-political to the macro-political, which Marx's paradigm provides; secondly, a guide to the type of action needed to make educational institutions democratic and sustainable and part of the solution to the ‘wicked problem' of the Anthropocene, rather than sites that reproduce a workforce ready to be exploited and oppressed, which Marx's paradigm also provides.
Investigating Human Consciousness Through Florian Znaniecki's Humanistic Sociology and Memoir Method
Authors: Maniam Vegneskumar
Published: August 2018

In the search for social approaches that could contribute to deepening our understanding of issues related to what has been called the Age of the Anthropocene, the conceptual framework and memoir method of humanistic sociology are well worth considering. According to Znaniecki, memoirs (including letters, autobiographies and diaries), as well as personal statements on specific topics, were very valuable sources of data for humanistic sociological analysis. The humanistic conceptual framework and methods have proved to be well suited to investigating how individuals of different cultural communities, as well as those of the Anglo-Celtic majority, viewed the reality of cultural and linguistic diversity in Australia and how this affected their sense of identity. Examples from Australian research on the issue of individuals' sense of cultural identity are presented and analysed to show how the approach can provide insights into the consciousness of participants.
Countering Epistemological Exclusion Through Critical-Ethical Research to Support Social Justice
Authors: Stuart Kaz , Shay Marnee
Published: August 2018

The dominance of neoliberalism in the west such as Australia and the UK and its insistence on impact measurement can lead researchers into an unquestioning adoption of scientific methods of measurement and data collection. We argue that if methods are not appropriate for the participants or context they are likely to reproduce existing societal inequities and positions of marginalisation and powerlessness. The theoretical position for fit-for-purpose research and evaluation tools, and specifically for social science methods is put forward theoretically and substantiated with cases drawn from diverse communities in Australia and the UK. Further, we will use autoethnography to share our experiences to argue that any research or evaluation endeavour should have as many benefits for the participants as for the researchers and wider stakeholders, a measure we argue should be the acid test for research ethics. The implications of these findings for researchers, evaluators, practitioners and policy makers are drawn out.
A Theoretical Insight Into the Multi-Level Governance
Authors: Dede Dilek
Published: August 2018

Multi-level governance has been described as an updated form of governance that began in the early 1990s. The traditional distinction between domestic and foreign politics was eliminated in the same period. This study aims at clarifying the concept of multi-level governance in both the Europeanization literature and the European Union studies. The research question is, What are the definitions, dynamics, characteristics of multi-level governance in both the Europeanization literature and the European Union studies? In methodology, it is a theoretical study that remains on literature review.
Multiculturalism and Multi-Level Governance in Turkish Local Governments
Authors: Öztürk Namık Kemal , Hames Ozge
Published: August 2018

The term multiculturalism is a new term that was introduced to the social sciences literature, describing the fact that people living within the same society may differ from one another in terms of such notions as ethnical origin, color, language, religion, culture, and denomination. Multiculturalism policies have probably had more of an opportunity for application in the local governments compared to the central executive units. The local governments, whose powers and responsibilities have increased in the ever-changing and ever-growing public government manners, have transformed into base platforms where these policies are easily applied. In this trend of progress, with the proliferation of participatory democracy and good governance principles, the concept of multi-level governance has become an issue, entirely matching up with the services and functions of the local governments. As part of the legislative regulations in parallel with the EU harmonization process, Turkey has attempted to put into practice the multi-level governance principle on the local governments.
Corporate Governance and Accountability in the Age of Multilevel Governance in Turkey
Authors: Atağan Gülşah
Published: August 2018

Corporate governance and accountability are getting more and more important both for world and Turkish economies thanks to increasing competitiveness conditions among companies. Applications of corporate governance principles can show differences from country to country. In Turkey, The Capital Markets Board issued corporate governance principles in 2003 to improve the corporate governance environment and integrate the Turkish capital market with global financial markets. The board has also adopted these principles in 2005 and made them final. The new Turkish Commercial Code is based on corporate governance principles. The new Turkish Commercial Code constitutes the legal infrastructure for corporate governance practices.
The Future of LIS and Media Training in the Global Era
Authors: Musimbi Walter Luvungu , Mutuku Purity Kavuri
Published: August 2018

There is growing concern among information science practitioners and librarians on their relevance in the constantly changing world of technology where their work is seemingly under threat. This has been caused by increase in technological advancement and processes that are automating the processes which basically entailed their work. This chapter thus seeks to provide these practitioners, particularly their trainers, with some insight into the future prospects and the place of LIS and media in the coming years by attempting to define roles and processes that they may play for them to remain as relevant as they have always been.
Multivariable Compensation for Wireless Power Transfer Systems in Dynamic Environments
Authors: Porto Rodrigo Wolff , Murliky Lucas , Brusamarello Valner João , Rangel de Sousa Fernando
Published: August 2018

The growing number of publications concerning the dynamic compensation of inductive links has demonstrated the importance of the issue upon the WPT system design. There is not still a final and consolidated solution for the case when the coils are in relative movement with each other or misaligned. In this context, this chapter intends to give some contributions to that area, starting with the modeling of the inductive link in Section 2, where the authors show how the magnetic coupling coefficient and the load influence on the PDL. In addition, Section 2 also presents how the excitation frequency and the matching capacitances can improve the PDL. In Section 3, the variable excitation frequency method is explained as well as the hardware needed for the implementation. The voltage-controlled capacitance as a variable element in the matching network is shown in Section 4. Finally, in Section 5, optimization techniques are presented by using both frequency and capacitance to maximize the PDL.
An Inductive Power Transfer System for the Wireless Charging of Electric Vehicles
Authors: Vázquez Javier , Roncero-Sánchez Pedro , Torres Alfonso Parreño
Published: August 2018

This chapter describes two methods whose purpose is to estimate the coupling factor k for the inductive coupling of an experimental prototype designed for the contactless battery charging of electric vehicles. The air gap that separates the two square-shaped coils of the inductive coupling is 150 mm. The first method is analytical and provides an expression with which to calculate the mutual inductance between both coils by solving Neumann's formula, from which k readily follows. The second approach is empirical and combines data from waveforms of currents that were obtained both experimentally and from PSpice simulations, where k is a model parameter, under different loading conditions. The agreement between the analytical and the empirical method is good, as they both yield coupling factor figures that are equal to 0.197 and 0.200, respectively. Both techniques could, therefore, be applied in order to determine the coupling factor of the constructed inductive coupling for other air gaps near to 150 mm, which are also of practical interest in electric vehicle charging.
Focus on OLEV
Authors: Longo Michela , Brenna Morris , Foiadelli Federica
Published: August 2018

Many studies on EVs have been performed in recent years, and various EVs have been developed, like pure battery EVs, hybrid EVs, battery replace EVs, or plug-in hybrid EVs, that use lithium (or polymeric) batteries that can be recharged at home or at a charging station. The biggest challenge to the commercialization of the EV is the battery. The battery problems on electric vehicles can be solved by using roadway-powered electric vehicles (RPEVs). RPEVs do not require heavy and large batteries because they directly get power while moving on a road. These vehicles can take power either in a wired or wireless way. Thus, various wireless power transfer systems (WPTSs) have been developed for RPEVs, and as consequence, new types of RPEV have been developed. WPTS for RPEVs should be able to deliver high power efficiently through a small air gap for avoiding collision between the road and the vehicle.
Evaluation of Electrical Discharge Machining Performance on Al (6351)–SiC–B4C Composite
Authors: M. Uthayakumar , S. Suresh Kumar , S. Thirumalai Kumaran , P. Parameswaran
Published: August 2018

Electrical discharge machining (EDM) process is a non-conventional machining process used for the material which are difficult to machine. In this research work, an attempt has been made to determine the influence of Boron Carbide (B4C) particles on the machinablity of the Al (6351) alloy reinforced with 5 wt. % Silicon Carbide (SiC) Metal Matrix Composite (MMC) through EDM. Influence of machining parameters such as pulse current (I), pulse on time (Ton), duty factor (τ), and gap voltage (V) on affecting the output performance characteristics namely Electrode Wear Ratio (EWR), Surface Roughness (SR) and Power Consumption (PC) which are studied. The result shows that the addition of B4C particles significantly affects the machinablity of the composite, with a contribution of 1.6% on EWR, 3.5% on SR and 19.8% on PC. The crater, recast layer formation, and Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) in the machined surface of the composite are also reported in detail.
Recent Developments in Wire Electrical Discharge Machining
Authors: Faisal Nadeem , Bhowmik Sumit , Kumar Kaushik
Published: August 2018

The tremendous growth of manufacturing industries and desired need of accuracy and precision has put a great importance on non-traditional machining processes. Metal and non-metals having properties like high strength, toughness, and hardness is generally machined by non-conventional machining methods. One of earliest non-traditional machining that is still in use and being effectively utilized in industries is wire electrical discharge machine. This machining technique gives a tough line of competition to conventional machining process like milling, grinding, broaching, etc. Cutting intricate and delicate shapes with accuracy and precision gives this machining technique an edge over other conventional machining and non-conventional machining processes. This chapter provides an insight to various research and prominent work done in field of WEDM by various scientists, researchers, and academicians. The chapter also emphasizes various advantages and disadvantages of different modelling and optimization methods used. The chapter concludes with some recommendations about trends for future WEDM researchers.
Microscopic Image Processing for the Analysis of Nosema Disease
Authors: Dghim Soumaya , Travieso-Gonzalez Carlos M. , Gouider Mohamed Salah , Bogantes Melvin Ramírez , Calderon Rafael A. , Prendas-Rojas Juan Pablo , Figueroa-Mata Geovanni
Published: August 2018

In this chapter, the authors tried to develop a tool to automatize and facilitate the detection of Nosema disease. This work develops new technologies in order to solve one of the bottlenecks found on the analysis bee population. The images contain various objects; moreover, this work will be structured on three main steps. The first step is focused on the detection and study of the objects of interest, which are Nosema cells. The second step is to study others' objects in the images: extract characteristics. The last step is to compare the other objects with Nosema. The authors can recognize their object of interest, determining where the edges of an object are, counting similar objects. Finally, the authors have images that contain only their objects of interest. The selection of an appropriate set of features is a fundamental challenge in pattern recognition problems, so the method makes use of segmentation techniques and computer vision. The authors believe that the attainment of this work will facilitate the diary work in many laboratories and provide measures that are more precise for biologists.
A Hybrid Multimodal Medical Image Fusion Technique for CT and MRI Brain Images
Authors: Chandrashekar Leena , Sreedevi A.
Published: August 2018

Estimating the type, size, location and spread of a brain tumor is vital in the diagnosis and treatment of brain cancer. Fused CT and MRI brain images assist in faster detection and diagnosis of brain tumors. They provide superior results in comparison to individual CT or MRI images. Multiscale transforms (MSTs) are widely used in fusing multimodal images like CT and MRI. However, they have a few drawbacks like reduced contrast, poor edge detection, redundancy and high computation time. This article describes how MSTs coupled with sparse representation (SR) aims to overcome the drawbacks. Non-Subsampled Contourlet Transform (NSCT) is widely used on MSTs for fusing multifocal images. Therefore, a novel technique using NSCT and SR is proposed for better quality fused CT and MRI images. The experimental results show superior performance.
Digital and Spatial Education Intertwining in The Evolution of Technology Resources for Educational Curriculum Reshaping and Skills Enhancement
Authors: Santoianni Flavia , Ciasullo Alessandro
Published: August 2018

The aim of this research is to deepen how digital education has been intertwined with spatial education throughout the evolution of technology resources. In the last years, the user experience has been improved by open-source, collaborative user-generated, and immersive content – starting from multimedia/hypermedia architectures to synthetic learning environments. This research analyses which spatial design principles have influenced multimedia/hypermedia, collaborative web 2.0 interfaces, and more recently the synthetic environments of virtual worlds. The evolution of technology resources supports the hypothesis of a continuous intertwining between digital and spatial education since multimedia/hypermedia architectures, in which spatial knowledge may play a significant role in web-based design according to individual differences in hypermedia fruition, prior knowledge in the field, and personal experience in web-based instruction. In collaborative user-generated content technology, visual presentation facilitates learning co-construction and spaces are intended as synchronous and asynchronous virtual knowledge spaces of communication. In 3D virtual learning environments, spatial interaction is really developed and may open full accessibility to further studies on digital and spatial education. In the joined field of learning and ICT, the main scope of digital technology knowledge sharing, and re-shaping, is the enhancement of digital skills based on experiences in educational activities and the re-thinking of the nature and the format of educational curriculum to implement more experiences in the digital – and, possibly, spatial – fields.
An Interdisciplinary Perspective of Incorporating Social Media into Teaching Practice
Authors: Stewart Margaret C. , Lanzillo Julie D.
Published: August 2018

The ability to use social media as a job skill among several industries is growing increasingly prevalent. From social media managers to digital content coordinators to fan engagement specialists, graduating students have tremendous opportunity to thrive professionally due to the popularity and ubiquity of social media. In collegiate and professional settings alike, a clear emphasis on the importance of effective social media management is now critical. As a result, educators are now challenged to find creative and innovative ways to prepare students through theoretical knowledge and practical experience relating to the ever-changing landscape of both the technical and industrial demands. This article presents a critical review of existing information on the use of social technologies in the classroom, a discussion on relevant perceptions, techniques, recommendations for interdisciplinary classroom implementation and student engagement, and considerations for educators incorporating social media practice into their curricula.
The Influence of Proliferation of Technology on Social Interactions Among Undergraduate Students at Selected Universities in Nigeria
Authors: Folami Florence F. , Adeoye Blessing F.
Published: August 2018

The advent of technology has resulted in an information explosion and has affected all aspects of human behaviors. The advent of technology does not only affected communication, but also social conditions, on-going economic change, new political trends, and cultural shifts over time. Academic institutions house an entire generation of young students whom have used technology throughout their lives. The article explores the proliferation of technology on social Interactions and also answered how the proliferation of technology hindered nursing students' interaction. A survey was administered to 101 undergraduate students at selected universities in Nigeria. Students were asked some questions regarding their technology use, habits, and perceptions of face-to-face communication in the presence of technology. Simple random sampling (balloting) method was used to select the undergraduate program that was included in the study. Convenience sampling method was used to select the respondents that participated in the study. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics in form of frequencies counts and percentages. Majority of students felt the quality of their conversations tarnished in the presence of technology. Many of the participants were bothered when friends or family used technology while spending time together. A good percentage of survey respondents communicate more frequently with friends and family via technology than in person, indicating that face-to-face interactions have decreased both in quality and in quantity. This article will help both students and instructors to plan well on how to achieve educational objectives using a mix between traditional pedagogy and technology (in a constructivist approach).
Social Mobility in the UK's Higher Education Sector
Authors: Halsall Jamie P. , Caldwell Elizabeth F.
Published: August 2018

Social mobility is at the forefront of the British Government's plans to improve the lives of the most deprived groups in society. Since the election of the New Labour government in May 1997, consecutive governments have championed the concept of social mobility. The fundamental aim of social mobility is to tackle social barriers for disadvantaged groups in education and employment. However, within the social sciences there has been a lack of critical discussion regarding the theorisation of social mobility within the context of higher education (HE). In recent times higher education research has instead had a greater focus on pedagogy. The aim of this review is to critically explore past and current debates on social mobility, and the importance the concept has in the higher education sector. In this paper special reference will be made to the new UK government higher education policy on the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).
Job Characteristic Model and Relationship with Employee Performance
Authors: Ullah Irfan , Mughal Yasir Hayat , Jehangir Mahad
Published: August 2018

The aim of this article is to find the relationship between job characteristics and performance. From a total of 200 employees of a company, 100 were selected as sample of this study. Bivariate correlation and linear regression was used to test the hypotheses. It was found that all the variables were significantly related with each other, and regression results shows variance upon performance of employees.
A Review on Software Project Management Ontologies
Authors: Iatrellis Omiros , Fitsilis Panos
Published: August 2018

This article aims to provide the reader with a comprehensive background for understanding current knowledge and research works on ontologies for software project management (SPM). It constitutes a systematic literature review behind key objectives of the potential adoption of ontologies in PM. Ontology development and engineering could facilitate substantially the software development process and improve knowledge management, software and artifacts reusability, internal consistency within project management processes of various phases of software life cycle. The authors examined the literature focusing on software project management ontologies and analyzed the findings of these published papers and categorized them accordingly. They used qualitative methods to evaluate and interpret findings of the collected studies. The literature review, among others, has highlighted lack of standardization in terminology and concepts, lack of systematic domain modeling and use of ontologies mainly in prototype ontology systems that address rather limited aspects of software project management processes.