bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Innovation et territoire ou l’histoire d’une relation particulière
Authors: Courlet Claude
Published: September 2015

Pour la technologie, comme pour la recherche fondamentale, l’apprentissage est un produit de l’activité. Il y a donc du savoir tacite dans l’activité même de recherche. Tout cela confirme l’importance de la proximité géographique entre acteurs économiques et incite à tenir compte du poids des réseaux spatialisés de connaissances. On trouve cette idée dans très nombreux travaux qui s’appuient sur l’observation des regroupements dits « high tech » dans les villes (Sillicon Valley, Route 128, Grenoble, Toulouse etc.), et qui se résument autour de la notion de milieux innovateurs.Plus récemment, cette idée est considérablement enrichie par l’économie du savoir et de la connaissance pour transformer radicalement les approches traditionnelles du développement. Les tenants des théories du savoir et de la connaissance considèrent que le « savoir » a remplacé les ressources naturelles et le travail physique comme outil du développement économique. Dans ce nouveau contexte, les villes et le territoire sont les bases pour attirer les talents nécessaires à la création et à l’innovation. La théorie des milieux innovateurs et les investigations récentes de l’économie de la connaissance fournissent une grille de lecture intéressante pour aborder l’analyse de cas concrets sur longue période : c’est ce que présente ce chapitre en prenant l’exemple de Grenoble en France. Le chapitre montre tout d’abord en quoi Grenoble est un territoire innovant, pour aborder ensuite l’analyse de sa trajectoire scandée par de fréquentes bifurcations.Placée en effet dans le cadre de cette problématique, l’agglomération de Grenoble est un « village » dans le réseau mondial des sciences et des technologies. Elle est le produit d’une histoire exemplaire et présente toutes les caractéristiques d’un milieu innovateur. Sa dynamique de longue période est liée à la mise en place d’effets relationnels qui se construisent et doivent se renouveler dans le temps avec des processus de rupture/bifurcaction liées aux enjeux de l’économie de la connaissance.Tout au long de l’histoire, on constate le rôle des réseaux entre acteurs ; on parle d’effets relationnels. Mais cela n’est pas automatique et l’histoire de Grenoble est marquée par des phases de stabilité et des phases d’instabilité. On constate des systèmes d’alliances entre des catégories d’acteurs, qui certes, peuvent avoir des conflits entre eux, mais qui parviennent cependant à adopter un point de vue commun et à le défendre à l’extérieur du territoire grenoblois.
Peut-on parler d’une expérience marshallienne en matière de politique d’appui à l’innovation en France ?
Authors: Courlet Claude , Pecqueur Bernard
Published: September 2015

Après avoir rappelé rapidement que la territorialisation du processus d’innovation renvoie à la conception marshallienne d’un monde économique constamment en mouvement dont la caractéristique principale est la continuité ce chapitre est consacré à l’analyse de la politique des pôles de compétitivité en France et en effectue une première évaluation.Le chapitre décrit la mise en place de la politique des pôles de compétitivité : du rapport de C. Blanc à la labellisation de 71 pôles. Le texte suggère que le territoire devient peu à peu la base d’une réorientation de la politique d’innovation en France avec la réforme de l’enseignement supérieur et le grand emprunt : on évolue vers des grands pôles territoriaux d’innovation.Il décrit ensuite les caractéristiques de cette politique. Il s’agit d’un effort conséquent, ciblé et concentré. Les pôles de compétitivité ont été mis en œuvre avec l’ambition de mobiliser l’ensemble des politiques d’intervention de l’État et des acteurs publics territoriaux en concentrant, dans l’espace et la durée, l’affectation de moyens publics, humains et matériels, en vue de dessiner une nouvelle carte attractive des activités à fort contenu technologique. L’État n’intervient pas dans la gouvernance des pôles et les appels à projets laissent l’essentiel de l’initiative aux acteurs de l’innovation. Comme dans la plupart des autres pays industrialisés, l’État se réserve une capacité d’intervention stratégique qui s’exprime en liaison avec les autres partenaires.Pour illustrer cette politique, le texte décrit deux exemples significatifs de celle-ci : Minalogic à Grenoble et de la micro-mécanique de la Vallée de l’Arve. Le chapitre aborde ensuite l’analyse de l’impact de cette politique. L’analyse se situe successivement à deux niveaux : - au niveau global, macro-économique lié à la dimension politique industrielle et technologique des pôles de compétitivité ;- au niveau de la performance et du comportement des pôles de compétitivité en tant qu’organisation.Le chapitre termine sur une série de considérations liant pôle de compétitivité, territoire et politique publique. La notion de pôle de compétitivité fait du territoire le cadre organisationnel d’une meilleure articulation entre territoire et innovation dans la mesure où le territoire est présenté comme la base d’une coopération entre entreprises, laboratoires, universités (production, R/D, Transfert de technologie et formation.
La promotion des systèmes productifs locaux, parcs technologiques et incubateurs d’entreprises : élaboration d’une nouvelle génération de politique publique au Brésil
Authors: Lahorgue Maria Alice , Guimarães Sônia Maria Karam
Published: September 2015

La notion d’agglomération ou de proximité spatiale d’entreprises comme base des synergies liées au territoire, au développement local et aux avantages économiques, n’est pas neuve. Au début du xxe siècle, Alfred Marshall a mis en évidence les bénéfices résultant de la concentration des sociétés spécialisées dans un lieu déterminé. C’est ainsi qu’est apparu le concept de « district industriel » qui permet d’expliquer le succès de l’entreprise individuelle par la présence d’externalités – de facteurs externes enracinés dans la communauté. Selon Marshall, après une période plus ou moins longue, on assiste à l’émergence de capacités qui ne dépendent plus de la localisation géographique. Le lieu s’imprègne ainsi d’une « atmosphère spéciale » rendue possible par un environnement stimulant de compétition et de coopération entre les entreprises installées, cet environnement favorisant l’innovation et le développement local. Dans un contexte nouveau marqué par les changements technologiques et la mondialisation de l’économie, la dimension géographique et la proximité locale revêtent une importance particulière, étant donné que les éléments essentiels du processus innovant (connaissance, personnel qualifié, qualité des institutions) ne sont pas aisément transférables du point de vue géographique, contrairement au capital, car ce sont des actifs localisés spatialement. D’où l’importance d’espaces comme les arranjos productivos locais (APL). Les APL peuvent être constitués soit par un réseau de grandes et petites entreprises fournisseuses, soit par des petites entreprises qui interagissent entre elles. L’insertion des incubateurs et des parcs technologiques au sein de projets locaux et régionaux de développement comme les systèmes productifs constitue une stratégie industrielle d’application récente au Brésil. Ce chapitre analyse le rôle des parcs et des incubateurs dans le développement des APL au Brésil. En d’autres termes, nous examinerons l’évolution des dispositifs publics d’aide au développement local et régional, leurs limites et leurs réalisations, en nous demandant en quoi ils ont favorisé ces dernières années l’activité des APL dans les parcs et incubateurs à base technologique. Les parcs et les incubateurs sont des structures hybrides de transfert de technologie, car elles sont en même temps liées à la production de connaissances et au marché. Reconnaître l’importance des systèmes productifs locaux implique nécessairement une décentralisation et par conséquent une révision des politiques publiques et des dispositifs unifiés de Science, Technologie et Innovation (STI), qui ont tendance à ignorer les particularités des SPL.
Pode-se falar de uma experiência marshalliana a respeito da política de apoio à inovação na França?
Authors: Courlet Claude , Pecqueur Bernard
Published: September 2015

Depois de termos relembrado rapidamente que a territorialização do processo de inovação refere-se à concepção marshalliana de um mundo econômico constantemente em movimento cuja característica principal é a continuidade, este capítulo é dedicado à análise da política de polos de competitividade na França, realizando uma primeira avaliação desse tipo de iniciativa. O capítulo descreve a implementação de uma política de polos de competitividade: desde o relatório de C. Blanc até a certificação de 71 polos. O texto sugere que o território tornou-se gradualmente a base para uma mudança da política de inovação na França, com a reforma do ensino superior e o grande empréstimo: crescemos em direção aos grandes polos territoriais de inovação. Em seguida, descreve as características desta política. Este é um esforço significativo, focado e concentrado. Os polos de competitividade foram implementados com o objetivo de mobilizar todas as políticas de intervenção do Estado e dos agentes públicos territoriais concentrando, no espaço e no tempo, a alocação de recursos públicos, humanos e materiais, com vistas a delinear um novo mapa de atividades atraentes com alto conteúdo tecnológico. O Estado não intervém na governança de polos e os editais para projetos deixam o essencial da iniciativa aos agentes de inovação. Como na maioria dos outros países industrializados, o Estado detém a capacidade de intervenção estratégica, a qual se expressa em conjunto com outros parceiros. De modo a ilustrar esta política, o texto descreve dois exemplos significativos: a Minalogic em Grenoble e a micromecânica do Vale do Arve. O capítulo aborda ainda a análise do impacto desta política. A análise se apresenta sucessivamente em dois níveis: - o nível global, macroeconômico, ligado à dimensão política industrial e tecnológica dos polos de competitividade; - o nível de desenvolvimento e do comportamento dos polos de competitividade como organização. O capítulo termina com uma série de considerações ligando polo de competitividade, território e política pública. A noção de polo de competitividade faz do território um quadro organizacional para uma articulação melhor entre território e inovação na medida em que o território é apresentado como a base de uma cooperação entre empresas, laboratórios, universidades (produção, P&D, transferência de tecnologia e formação).
Active and Passive Resistance to Organizational Change
Authors: Eryılmaz Mehmet Eymen , Eryılmaz Filiz
Published: September 2015

Today, almost all organizations (private or public, small, medium or large in size etc.) need to change. However, organizational change efforts are not always successful for various reasons. Active and passive resistance to organizational change is one of these. In this chapter, efforts to form an entrepreneurship minor program in a public university and some reasons for active and passive resistance to it are examined. For this examination, data was mainly collected from one-to-one and semi-structured interviews which were mostly conducted with the vice deans of various faculties and from the participative observation of one of the researchers. In addition, some documents about the program were examined.
The Commercialisation of University Engineering Projects
Authors: De Coster Rebecca , Taib Syakirah Mohamad
Published: September 2015

The wider context in which technology innovation takes place includes innovation that occurs at various levels within a national innovation network. The national innovation network recognises the role of Universities and other public sector organisations in developing more basic research. However, universities and government agencies may also contribute to more practical technological developments by better utilising students' projects. The focus of this chapter is the commercialisation of university student engineering or design projects including examples of developmental processes and practices in the UK and Malaysia. These highlight the role of universities (staff and resources) in supporting and facilitating entrepreneurship which often necessitates external networking with industry contacts.
A Study of Two Microfinance Models and Their Suitability for Egypt
Authors: Youssry Ahmed , Winklehake Brett , Lobera Jaime A.
Published: September 2015

Developing countries around the world strive to implement one of the several current models of microfinance. This study focuses on two models: Grameen Bank, which is considered the change factor for the microfinance field, and Kiva.org, an organization that understood the importance of the Internet and crowdfunding to create a different model of microfinance. The purpose of the study is to analyze these two models and determine which would be more suitable for application in Egypt. This study provides a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis), a financial analysis, and a structural analysis, as well as historical background for both organizations along with a scan for the political, economic, social, and technological infrastructure in Egypt to determine the most suitable microfinance model.
Business and Social Media
Authors: Andrews Kate , Mickahail Bethany
Published: September 2015

During the 21st century, businesses benefit from two key components of effective innovation: social media and collaboration. This chapter provides an in-depth analysis to study the interrelatedness of these components. Featured in this chapter are classroom exercises to deepen the learning of students. By providing multiple recent social media examples, the reality of the integral ways in which social media permeates our lives is delivered. Introduced in the chapter is a sixth discipline, an extension of Senge's five disciplines of collaboration. Through the presentation of a new leadership model based upon the six disciplines, the impact of social media is examined. The conclusion of the chapter contains definitions of the concepts introduced. The use of social media has been and still remains a strategically keen tool in business effectiveness.*
Augmenting User Interaction Experience through Embedded Multimodal Media Agents in Social Networks
Authors: Matsiola Maria , Dimoulas Charalampos , Kalliris George , Veglis Andreas A.
Published: September 2015

The current chapter proposes media agent and multi-agent models aiming at improving mediated communication and information exchange in social networking. Great progress has been conducted during the last decades in Information and Communication Technologies, which is also reflected in social media. The proposed models exploit the latest media technologies for the augmentation of user-interaction and contribution experience in multiple levels. Features of the suggested agent and multi-agent approaches are discussed and elaborated through the prism of social computing, social media analytics and intelligence, resulting to a sophisticated communication mediator between users and social groups. In addition, enhanced user engagement and collaboration are considered in terms of rich media experience and augmented reality, semantic interaction services, intelligent content processing and management automation over interoperable multiplatform environments. Social media cooperation and integration is envisioned towards the realization of Web 3.0 and beyond, as the main chapter contribution.
Living inside the NET
Authors: Passarelli Brasilina , Paletta Francisco Carlos
Published: September 2015

Internet is one of the biggest revolutions throughout the history of mankind. It has been opening minds, flourishing new abilities and creating social inclusion chances, helping to lead people to economical growth and a feel of purpose. Internet and its branches also bring issues, inherent to the ways of production, share ability and copyright, empowerment and other new challenges. This paper aims to highlight some examples of researchers regarding their studies on literacy (and illiteracy) in the WEB, inviting readers to think about the creative usage of Internet, facing it as much more than a mere tool: as a rich and challenging part of our lives, questioning the thoughts that usually leads us to “on” and “offline” categories. This classification seems to do not answer today's problems any longer, specially with the Internet of Things and Big Data reaching critical mass. Experiences with the School of the Future Research Laboratory – USP and more episodes are expounded, composing a peculiar landscape of the Internet as part of development of new skills and ways of thinking the world and mankind.
“Stop Phubbing Me!”
Authors: Angeluci Alan César Belo
Published: September 2015

In studies on mobile communication, a topic that has been of particular interest is the impact of increased adoption and use of mobile devices in everyday activities and in the context of interpersonal relationships. However, the ease of accessing digital content and connecting to people physically distant through the recent mobile communication technologies has shown barriers and opportunities in human interaction. Based on the theoretical approaches on identity and relational artifacts grounded in mobility and absent presence concepts, this paper describes some aspects among young people in Brazil in relation to the “phubbing” phenomenon. The term was coined to describe the act of ignoring someone due to the use of a smartphone. The results indicated effects on the level of attention and interaction, regarding not only the content of smartphone, but also the social protocol and the face-to-face communication.
Digital Literacies in Teaching and Learning of Teachers
Authors: Junqueira Antonio Hélio
Published: September 2015

This study was developed from the Programa Rede São Paulo de Formação Docente – Redefor, regarding the specific section of execution and management under the responsibility of the University of São Paulo (Redefor - USP). From the netnography approach, it seeks to understand how the self-perceptions of the enrolled participants are developed and established in the virtual educational context and its consequences in personal, family and school everyday environments. The aim is to observe their digital literacies, understood as components of an integrated, cohesive and holistic set of skills and expertise - in continuous process of acquisition and development - that allow the individual not only navigate and communicate in the Internet, but it also obtain, produce and distribute information, knowledge, meanings, narratives and representations of themselves and the world they live.
Trends in Information Literacy Programmes to Empower People and Communities
Authors: Gómez-Hernández José-Antonio , Saorín Tomás
Published: September 2015

It is explained how an understanding of information literacy programs should evolve to empower people and communities. These programmes, it is suggested, would serve as training in those types of social technologies that enhance the capability of self-organization, social and democratic influence, alternative systems of consumption and services, and so on. Keeping in mind the social and technological attempts to face situations of scarcity caused by the present European economic crisis, the framework of this approach is in the main documents of the European Union concerning citizenship skills, as well as in social demands on open government (transparency, participation and collaboration). Based on the absence or inadequacy of the issues in the syllabi of most information literacy programmes, guidelines are suggested in order that they may be promoted by library systems and other public networks of socio-educational action, emphasizing learning for social innovation.
A Review on Various Load Control Strategies for Battery Energy Storage System in Energy Applications
Authors: Ananda-Rao Kumuthawathe , Ali Rosnazri , Taniselass S. , Malek F.
Published: September 2015

Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) is one of the most popular and established options used to decouple the timing of generation and consumption of electric energy. In spite of variety types of energy storage exists, BESS has proven to be widely used in these three main energy applications, which are Renewable Energy (RE) integration, load leveling and peak shaving. Concurrently, managing stored energy and generated power is a real challenge where the load control system plays the decisive role to ensure better energy management efficiency with stabilized and guaranteed energy supply. This paper presents an analysis of various load control algorithms and methods used, integrated with BESS to achieve the required output. Besides that, recent research works are also summarized in this paper. Based on the study, battery State of Charge (SOC) is widely and mainly used in the load control algorithm and proven as effective and reliable load control strategy.
Comparative Study of Worldwide Standards for Interpreting Frequency Response Analysis (FRA) Results of Distribution Transformers
Authors: Ab Ghani Sharin , Md Thayoob Yasmin Hanum , Yang Ghazali Young Zaidey , Ahmad Khiar Mohd Shahril , Sutan Chairul Imran , Mohamad Mohd Safwan
Published: September 2015

Distribution transformer in Malaysian electricity network is categorized as major element on delivering electricity throughout the nation. Advanced diagnostic tools are used to monitor any technical problem of transformer to sustain its capability in the long run. One type of it which is currently being used in worldwide is Frequency Response Analysis (FRA). The reliability from this method is proven worldwide in diagnosing transformer condition especially a mechanical movement. FRA technique is done by comparing the response result in transformer initial condition to its current condition. The interpretation of transformer condition from the response is based on frequency sub-bands. Each frequency sub-bands are indicating any movement parts of transformer and electrical faults. Currently, there are three worldwide standards established for interpreting the FRA results but both of them are different in frequency sub-bands range. Up to now, there are no research papers comparing the fault detection capabilities from frequency sub-bands range for both standards. In this paper, comparative study is done to visualize and interpret the capabilities from three standards (IEEE Std C57.149 2012, DL/T911-2004 and Cigre WG A2/26); by focus on the frequency sub-bands range.
Design Validation of a Moving-Magnet Tubular Linear Permanent Magnet Motor with a Trapezoidal Permanent Magnet Shape
Authors: Idris Abdalla Izzeldin , Ibrahim Taib , bin Mohd Nor Nursyarizal
Published: September 2015

This paper presents the design validation and optimization of a moving-magnet tubular linear permanent magnet motor (TLPMM) with a trapezoidal permanent magnets shape. The design optimization was implemented by two-dimensional Finite-Element Analysis (2-D FEA) and the validation has been established by using Matlab M-file. The proposed motor has been designed to produce 85 W output power which is enough to operate the linear reciprocating compressor of a household refrigerator system. The purpose of optimization is to achieve maximum efficiency and minimum losses, where the angle of PMs (β) and split-ratio (Rm/Re) after optimization the motor produce the highest efficiency of 93.8 %.
Study of TiO2 Energy Gap Based Temperature Annealing for High Performance Solar Cells
Authors: T. Hussain Abadal Salam , Malek F. , Jawad M.S. , Ahmed S. Faiz , Abdullah Ahmad Zaidi , Irwanto Misrun Muhammad , Shasidharan Gomesh Nair , Yusoff Mohd Irwan , Ahmed Shouket A. , Taha Taha A. , Al-Douri Y.
Published: September 2015

This paper describes the TiO2 performance based energy gap related to its annealing process. TiO2 is one of the comprehensive band gap semiconductor materials which has been under extensive investigation in recently. This is due to its application in various fields such as photo electrolysis, photo catalysis, dye sensitized solar cells, gas sensor, optical fibers etc. Furthermore, advent of nanotechnology increases its applications many fold and different types of TiO2 have been used for different types of sensing applications. The TiO2 exists in different crystalline forms such as anatase, rutile and brookite. Solar cells consists of mono-crystalline, thin films, dye sensitized solar cells and multi-junction. TiO2 can be produced by using techniques like sputtering, vacuum evaporation, pulse laser deposition, molecular beam epitaxial, sol-gel and chemical bath deposition. Successful annealing process leads to a high performance solar cells. To fabricate the solar cells, there are four types of ways which are doctor blading, spin coat, sol-gel and screen printing. A comparison of annealing process, nanoscale structure and performance output powers been done successfully. The produced TiO2 also been tested with a high power performance.
Efficient Power Generation for Smart Homes Based Titanium Dioxide (TiO2)
Authors: Hussain Abadal Salam T. , Malek F. , Azhar Nur Amira , Jawad M.S. , Ahmed Syed F. , Jusoh Mohd Asri , Yusoff Mohd Irwan , Misrun Muhammad Irwanto , Shasidharan Gomesh Nair , Ahmed Shouket A. , Taha Taha A.
Published: September 2015

Smart home uses a combination of the renewable energy power resources, the use of power generation from solar cells based on titanium dioxide (TiO2) which acts as the only type which produces an efficient solar cell power to obtain the electricity to recharge the standby storage device from the sunlight. The thin film of Titanium dioxide is synthesized by the sol-gel spin coating techniques at 2000 rpm on the glass. The films have a constant thickness of ~240nm. The annealing process consists of 150°C, 250°C and 350°C. The study of the absorbance and the wavelength values are important. At this condition, for the solar cell, the wavelength is around ~280nm to ~330nm. As the temperature of annealing increases the higher absorbance would be produced. The refractive index of TiO2 film is estimated at different annealing temperatures and it increases with the increasing of the annealing temperature. The application is suitable to smart home design. The dynamic output voltage obtained from the solar cells is interfaced with other circuitry such as inverters and interface charging circuit in order to inject the generated power into the standby storage device. The calculated result of this application is efficient to reduce the electrical bill by almost 30% of its original value.
Effect of Sintering Atmosphere on the Electrical and Thermal Properties of Al-Doped ZnO Thin Films Prepared Using Inkjet Printing Method
Authors: Lim Joon Hoong , Yeoh Cheow Keat , Abdullah Chik , Teh Pei Leng
Published: September 2015

Al-doped ZnO thin films were prepared by ink-jet printing and their electrical and thermal properties with different amounts of Al doping and sintering atmosphere were investigated. The XRD traces of films show the doped materials did not form additional crystalline phases with increasing amounts of Al doping. Electrical conductivity of film increased from 4.86 S/cm to 120.94 S/cm as the amounts of Al doping increased from 0 wt% to 4 wt%. However, the thermal conductivity decreased from 24 W/mK to 13 W/mK with increasing the Al doping from 0 wt% to 4 wt%. The electrical conductivity of film shows higher values sintered in vacuum (120.94 S/cm) compared to film sintered in air (114.1 S/cm).
Increasing the Capacity of SAC-OCDMA by Using OFDM Modulation
Authors: Aldhaibani A.O. , Aljunid S.A. , Anuar M.S. , Arief A.R.
Published: September 2015

Optical CDMA (OCDMA) systems have received more attention because CDMA allows many users share the same transmission medium asynchronously and simultaneously with a high level of transmission security. In this paper, we describe the improved performance of the spectrum amplitude coding (SAC) OCDMA system using OFDM technique compare to SCM/SAC-OCDMA system. The theoretical results of proposed system shows that, the new SAC/OCDMA system with OFDM technique provides better performance compare to SCM/OCDMA system based on Random Diagonal Code (RD), the results evaluated based on BER, number of users and weight of code. Thus this system could be one promising solution to the symmetric high capacity access network with high spectral efficiency, reducing the required power and cost effective of broadband access network
Power Plant Station Protection System against Voltage Fluctuation
Authors: Hussain Abadal Salam T. , Oraibi Waleed A. , Jumaa Fadhel A. , Malek F. , Ahmed Syed F. , Taha Taha A. , Mahmoud Jailani O. , Mohamed Yusof Nur Fairuz , Yusoff Mohd Irwan , Irwanto Misrun Muhammad , Shasidharan Gomesh Nair
Published: September 2015

Electrical Power System protection is required to protectboth the user and the system equipment itself fromany fault, hence electrical power system is not allowed to operate without any protection devices installed. Power System fault is defined as the undesirable condition that occurs in the power system. Some of these undesirable conditions are short circuit, current leakage, ground faultand over-under voltage. With the increasing loads, voltages and short-circuit duty in power plant, over voltage protection has become more important today. Here, the component that had been used is PIC 16F877a microcontroller to control the whole system and especially on the circuit breakers as well as the LCT display unit is used to display the voltage level and type of generator that used to serve the load. Sensors are used to measure both thevoltage and the load. The controlled digital signal from PIC microcontroller is converted by using the digital analog converter to control the whole circuit. Thus a device called protective relay is created to meet this requirement. The protective relay is mostlyoften coupled with circuit breaker in a way that it can isolate the abnormal condition in the system.
Effect of soil acidification on nitrification in soil
Authors: Zebarth Bernie J. , Forge Thomas A. , Goyer Claudia , Brin Lindsay D.
Published: September 2015

Zebarth, B. J., Forge, T. A., Goyer, C. and Brin, L. D. 2015. Effect of soil acidification on nitrification in soil. Can. J. Soil Sci. 95: 359–363. This laboratory experiment examined the effect of elemental S-induced variation in soil pH (3.97–5.29) on nitrification enzyme activity and conversion of [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text]. Nitrification rate generally decreased with decreasing soil pH, but still proceeded rapidly within the pH range (4.5 to 5.2) recommended for blueberry production, contrary to what is generally assumed.
Effects of Smoking Cessation Media and Community Campaigns in Taiwan
Authors: Chang Fong-Ching , Sung Hai-Yen , Zhu Shu-Hong , Feng Tzung-Yee , Chiou Shu-Ti
Published: September 2015

Purpose.

To examine the effects of a smoking cessation campaign.

Design.

Data from the 2010–2011 Taiwan Adult Tobacco Surveys were analyzed.

Setting.

The study was set among a nationally representative sample of adults in Taiwan.

Subjects.

The surveys included 16,282 and 16,886 adults in 2010 and 2011, respectively, while our analyses focused on current smokers, 2518 and 2507 adults in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

Intervention.

In 2010 the Taiwanese government launched a national smoking cessation campaign through mass media in conjunction with community-based smoking cessation programs throughout the nation.

Measures.

Outcome variables include awareness of cessation services, quit attempts, intention to quit, and use of quitting method.

Analysis.

Multivariate logistic regressions were used to analyze data.

Results.

The implementation of the national smoking cessation campaign was associated with an increase in awareness of cessation services (odds ratio [OR] = 1.36; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.20–1.53), in quit attempts (OR = 1.12; 95% CI = 1.01–1.25), in use of unassisted quitting methods (OR = 1.39; 95% CI = 1.13–1.72), and in intention to quit smoking (OR = 1.15; 95% CI = 1.02–1.30).

Conclusion.

The implementation of the national smoking cessation campaign through media and community programs was effective in increasing smokers’ awareness of cessation services, quit attempts, and intention to quit.
Compliance With Point-of-Sale Tobacco Control Policies in School-Adjacent Neighborhoods in Mumbai, India
Authors: Mistry Ritesh , Pimple Sharmila , Mishra Gauravi , Gupta Prakash C. , Pednekar Mangesh , Ranz-Schleifer Naomi , Shastri Surendra
Published: September 2015

Purpose:

We assessed factors associated with tobacco vendor compliance with India’s Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) provisions regulating tobacco sales and point-of-sale (POS) environments.

Design:

Study design was a cross-sectional random sample of tobacco vendors in Mumbai, India (2010).

Setting:

School-adjacent neighborhoods were the study setting.

Subjects:

Study subjects were tobacco vendors (n = 436).

Measures:

Face-to-face interviews, and audits of POS environments were used to assess compliance.

Analysis:

Factors associated with compliance were identified using logistic regression.

Results:

About 4% of vendors were fully compliant. Although 80% reported compliance with the ban on tobacco sales to minors, only 10% displayed signage about the ban. About 84% were compliant with the two–tobacco advertisement limit; of those displaying advertisements, 67% were compliant with size limits, 68% with content restrictions, and 8% with health warning requirements. Knowledge about fines for noncompliance was associated with compliance with the ban on sales to minors (odds ratio [OR], 2.12; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.26, 3.56) and signage requirement (OR, 4.42; 95% CI, 1.76, 11.13). Greater compliance with the two-advertisement limit was associated with higher store income from tobacco (OR, .26; 95% CI, .09, .73) and lower neighborhood socioeconomic status ( p < .01); the latter was associated with advertisement size limits compliance ( p < .05).

Conclusions:

Compliance with COTPA provisions was low. Interventions modifying vendor knowledge about provisions and fines may increase compliance, and they should target stores that are reliant on tobacco sales.
Property and power: lessons from Piketty and new insights from the HFCS
Authors: Rehm Miriam , Schnetzer Matthias
Published: September 2015

This paper argues that the cumulative causation processes between wealth and power risk leading to an escalation of wealth inequality. Piketty's historical description of this development from administrative data for individual countries is corroborated with new survey data for the eurozone, the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS). Wealth is extremely unequally distributed in the eurozone – much more so than income. Furthermore, we provide a multi-faceted picture of wealth distribution in Europe using the socio-economic characteristics available in the HFCS, and we show that inheritances are the single most important factor for wealth inequality. The structural power to shape economic and political institutions is thus ever more concentrated. Finally, we discuss three channels through which the unequal distribution of private assets may affect power relations and economic activity.
Urban House Prices: A Tale of 48 Cities
Authors: Kholodilin Konstantin A. , Ulbricht Dirk
Published: September 2015

In this paper, the authors construct a unique data set of Internet offer prices for flats in 48 large European cities across 24 countries. The data collected between January and May 2012 from 33 websites, are drawn from Internet advertisements of dwellings. Using the resulting sample of more than 1,000,000 announcements, the authors compute the quality-adjusted city-specific house prices. Based on this information, they investigate the determinants of the apartment prices. Four factors are found to be relevant for the dwelling price level using Bayesian Model Averaging: Population density, mortgage per capita, income inequality, and unemployment rate. The results are robust to applying two alternative estimation techniques: OLS and quantile regression. Based on the auhors´ estimation results they are able to identify cities where the prices are overvalued. This is a useful indication of a build-up of house price bubbles.
Atmospheric circulation patterns associated to the variability of River Ammer floods: evidence from observed and proxy data
Authors: Rimbu N. , Czymzik M. , Ionita M. , Lohmann G. , Brauer A.
Published: September 2015

Abstract. The relationship between the frequency of River Ammer floods (southern Germany) and atmospheric circulation variability is investigated based on observational Ammer discharge data back to 1926 and a flood layer time series from varved sediments of the downstream Lake Ammersee for the pre-instrumental period back to 1766. A composite analysis reveals that, at synoptic time scales, observed River Ammer floods are associated with enhanced moisture transport from the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean towards the Ammer region, a pronounced trough over Western Europe as well as enhanced potential vorticity at upper levels. We argue that this synoptic scale configuration can trigger heavy precipitation and floods in the Ammer region. Interannual to multidecadal increases in flood frequency as recorded in the instrumental discharge record are associated to a wave-train pattern extending from the North Atlantic to western Asia with a prominent negative center over western Europe. A similar atmospheric circulation pattern is associated to increases in flood layer frequency in the Lake Ammersee sediment record during the pre-instrumental period. We argue that the complete flood layer time-series from Lake Ammersee sediments covering the last 5500 years, contains information about atmospheric circulation variability on inter-annual to millennial time-scales.
The impact of oceanic heat transport on the atmospheric circulation
Authors: Knietzsch M.-A. , Schröder A. , Lucarini V. , Lunkeit F.
Published: September 2015

Abstract. A general circulation model of intermediate complexity with an idealized Earth-like aquaplanet setup is used to study the impact of changes in the oceanic heat transport on the global atmospheric circulation. Focus is on the atmospheric mean meridional circulation and global thermodynamic properties. The atmosphere counterbalances to a large extent the imposed changes in the oceanic heat transport, but, nonetheless, significant modifications to the atmospheric general circulation are found. Increasing the strength of the oceanic heat transport up to 2.5 PW leads to an increase in the global mean near-surface temperature and to a decrease in its equator-to-pole gradient. For stronger transports, the gradient is reduced further, but the global mean remains approximately constant. This is linked to a cooling and a reversal of the temperature gradient in the tropics. Additionally, a stronger oceanic heat transport leads to a decline in the intensity and a poleward shift of the maxima of both the Hadley and Ferrel cells. Changes in zonal mean diabatic heating and friction impact the properties of the Hadley cell, while the behavior of the Ferrel cell is mostly controlled by friction. The efficiency of the climate machine, the intensity of the Lorenz energy cycle and the material entropy production of the system decline with increased oceanic heat transport. This suggests that the climate system becomes less efficient and turns into a state of reduced entropy production as the enhanced oceanic transport performs a stronger large-scale mixing between geophysical fluids with different temperatures, thus reducing the available energy in the climate system and bringing it closer to a state of thermal equilibrium.
Soil–aquifer phenomena affecting groundwater under vertisols: a review
Authors: Kurtzman D. , Baram S. , Dahan O.
Published: September 2015

Abstract. Vertisols are cracking clayey soils that: (i) usually form in alluvial lowlands where normally, groundwater pools into aquifers, (ii) have different types of voids (due to cracking) which make flow and transport of water, solutes and gas complex, and (iii) are regarded as fertile soils in many areas. The combination of these characteristics results in the unique soil–aquifer phenomena that are highlighted and summarized in this review. The review is divided into the following four sections: (1) soil cracks as preferential pathways for water and contaminants; in this section lysimeter- to basin-scale observations that show the significance of cracks as preferential flow paths in vertisols which bypass matrix blocks in the unsaturated zone are summarized. Relatively fresh-water recharge and groundwater contamination from these fluxes and their modeling are reviewed, (2) soil cracks as deep evaporators and unsaturated-zone salinity; deep sediment samples under uncultivated vertisols in semiarid regions reveal a dry (immobile), saline matrix, partly due to enhanced evaporation through soil cracks. Observations of this phenomenon are compiled in this section and the mechanism of evapoconcentration due to air flow in the cracks is discussed, (3) impact of cultivation on flushing of the unsaturated zone and aquifer salinization; the third section examines studies reporting that land-use change of vertisols from native land to cropland promotes greater fluxes through the saline unsaturated-zone matrix, eventually flushing salts to the aquifer. Different degrees of salt flushing are assessed as well as aquifer salinization on different scales, and a comparison is made with aquifers under other soils, (4) relatively little nitrate contamination in aquifers under vertisols; In this section we turn the light on observations showing that aquifers under cultivated vertisols are somewhat resistant to groundwater contamination by nitrate (the major agriculturally related groundwater problem). Denitrification is probably the main mechanism supporting this resistance, whereas a certain degree of anion-exchange capacity may have a retarding effect as well.
Non-stationarity of electrical resistivity and soil moisture relationship in heterogeneous soil system: a case study
Authors: Michot D. , Thomas Z. , Adam I.
Published: September 2015

Abstract. Root uptake is the most decisive key in water transfer involving soil and vegetation. It depends on water availability which can be evaluated by punctual measurements. Additionally, surface geophysical methods such as Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) provide larger spatial scales. This paper focuses on investigating temporal and spatial soil moisture changes, along a toposequence crossed by a hedgerow, using ERT and punctual measurements. 10 ERT were performed over the studied period for a 28 m long transect and compared to matric potential and groundwater level measurements. Soil Volumetric Water Content (VWC) was predicted using two methods (i) from ER using Waxman and Smits model (ii) and from matric potential using experimental retention curve fitted by Van Genuchten model. Probability Density Functions (Pdfs) of our set of data show that the largest change, in mean values of ER as well as matric potential, was observed in the topsoil layer. We then analyzed the consistency between ER and punctual measurements in this layer by extracting the arrays in the junction between ER grids and punctual measurements. Pdfs of ER maps at each monitoring time (from T01 to T10) were also calculated to select the more contrasted distributions corresponding to the wettest (T06) and driest states (T10). Results of ER were consistent with matric potential measurements with two different behaviors for locations inside and outside the root zone. A strong correlation (r = 0.9) between VWC values from Waxman and Smits model and those obtained from retention curve was observed outside the root zone. The heterogeneous soil system inside the root zone shows a different pattern in this relationship. The shift in the relationship between ER and soil moisture for the locations outside and inside the root zone highlights the non-stationarity in heterogeneous soil system. Such systems were actually related to the high hedgerow root density and also to a particular topographical context (ditch and bank) which is encountered in Brittany and over north-west of Europe.
Comparison of Incentive Policies for Renewable Energy in an Oligopolistic Market with Price-Responsive Demand
Authors: de Arce Miguel Perez , Sauma Enzo
Published: September 2015

This article compares different incentive policies to encourage the development of renewable energy (RE). These incentive policies (carbon tax, feed-in tariff, premium payment and quota system) are modeled in a simplified radial power network, using price-responsive demand. Most results are derived assuming an oligopolistic Cournot competitive framework and that the costs of subsidies are covered by the government (i.e., customers do not directly pay back for the subsidies). We compare the different RE incentive schemes at different congestion levels in terms of energy prices, RE generation, CO2 emissions, and social welfare.

We find that the effectiveness of the different incentive schemes varies significantly depending on the market structure assumed, the costs of renewable energy, and the subsidy recovery method considered. Subsidy policies (FIT and premium payments) are more cost effective in reducing CO2 emissions than those policies that apply penalties or taxes, when assuming oligopoly competition and that customers do not directly pay back for the subsidies. Quota and carbon tax policies are more cost effective when assuming that either a perfectly competitive electricity market takes place or customers directly pay back for the subsidies.

Additionally, we show that, in the feed-in tariff system, there is an interaction among incentive levels for renewable energy technologies. Given a certain feed-in tariff price to be set for a particular renewable technology, this price influences the optimal feed-in tariff price to be set for another technology.
The Causality between Energy Consumption and Economic Growth for China in a Time-varying Framework
Authors: Zhang Jin , Broadstock David C.
Published: September 2015

Extending existing studies based on constant structure, we adopt a time-varying approach to study energy consumption and GDP causality for China in a context of industrialization and urbanization. We find that in light of structural change,

China’s energy consumption is trend-stationary and thus forms no cointegration with GDP. Further, the relationship between energy consumption and GDP is two-way causal and has been decreasing in strength over time. Finally, industrialization and urbanization, especially the former, have limited effects on energy consumption, suggesting the decreasing energy intensities in individual sectors, instead of structure shift between sectors, as the main reason for China’s decreasing energy intensity over the years.
Convergence of Operational Efficiency in China’s Provincial Power Sectors
Authors: Jaunky Vishal Chandr , Zhang Lin
Published: September 2015

To analyze the operational efficiency of Chinese power sector at the provincial level, this paper studies the convergence of technical efficiency and productivity growth of electricity across 29 Chinese provinces during the period 1996-2008 using several convergence models. Depending on the model being employed, we find evidence of convergence of operational efficiency towards either a national steady state or towards their own steady states, with the latter process occurring more rapidly. In essence, our study provides evidence of negative effects of government intervention. Additionally, we use the nonparametric distribution dynamics approach to analyze intra-distributional dynamics of technical efficiency and productivity. We find some support for productivity convergence while technical efficiency does not converge for provinces with relatively low levels. We discuss policy implementations based on our model results and highlight several aspects for policy making in the power sector reforms currently being undertaken.