bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Changes in Individual Community-Related Empowerment in Community Health Promotion Interventions in Estonia
Authors: Kasmel Anu , Tanggaard Pernille
Published: May 2011

This study assessed changes in community members’ ratings of the dimensions of individual community related empowerment (ICRE) before and two years after the implementation of an empowerment expansion framework in three community health promotion initiatives within the Estonian context. We employed a self-administered questionnaire, the adapted mobilisation scale–individual. As the first step, we investigated the multidimensional nature of the ICRE construct and explored the validity and reliability (internal consistency) of the ICRE scale. Two datasets were used. The first dataset comprised a cross-sectional random sample of 1,000 inhabitants of Rapla County selected in 2003 from the National Population Register, which was used to confirm the composition of the dimensions of the scale and to examine the reliability of the dimensions. The second dataset comprised two waves of data: 120 participants from three health promotion programs in 2003 (pre-test) and 115 participants in 2005 (post-test), and the dataset was used to compare participants’ pre-test and post-test ratings of their levels of empowerment. The content validity ratio, determined using Lawshe’s formula, was high (0.98). Five dimensions of ICRE, self-efficacy, intention, participation, motivation and critical awareness, emerged from the factor analysis. The internal consistency (α) of the total empowerment scale was 0.86 (subscales self-efficacy α = 0.88, intention α = 0.83, participation α = 0.81 and motivation α = 0.69; critical awareness comprised only one item). The levels of ICRE dimensions measured after the application of the empowerment expansion framework were significantly more favourable for the dimensions self-efficacy, participation, intention and motivation to participate. We conclude that for Rapla community workgroups and networks, their ICRE was rendered more favourable after the implementation of the empowerment expansion framework.
Spatial Variations of Heavy Metals in the Soils of Vegetable-Growing Land along Urban-Rural Gradient of Nanjing, China
Authors: Fang Shi-Bo , Hu Hao , Sun Wan-Chun , Pan Jian-Jun
Published: May 2011

China has experienced rapid urbanization in recent years. The acceleration of urbanization has created wealth and opportunity as well as intensified ecological and environmental problems, especially soil pollution. Our study concentrated on the variation of heavy metal content due to urbanization in the vegetable-growing soil. Laws and other causes of the spatial-temporal variation in heavy metal content of vegetable-growing soils were analyzed for the period of urbanization in Nanjing (the capital of Jiangsu province in China). The levels of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd and Hg in samples of vegetable-growing soil were detected. The transverse, vertical spatio-temporal variation of heavy metals in soil was analyzed on the base of field investigations and laboratory analysis. The results show that: (1) in soil used for vegetable production, the levels of heavy metals decreased gradually from urban to rural areas; the levels of the main heavy metals in urban areas are significantly higher than suburban and rural areas; (2) the means of the levels of heavy metals, calculated by subtracting the sublayer (15–30 cm) from the toplayer (0–15 cm), are all above zero and large in absolute value in urban areas, but in suburban and rural areas, the means are all above or below zero and small in absolute value. The causes of spatial and temporal variation were analyzed as follows: one cause was associated with mellowness of the soil and the length of time the soil had been used for vegetable production; the other cause was associated with population density and industrial intensity decreasing along the urban to rural gradient (i.e., urbanization levels can explain the distribution of heavy metals in soil to some extent). Land uses should be planned on the basis of heavy metal pollution in soil, especially in urban and suburban regions. Heavily polluted soils have to be expected from food production. Further investigation should be done to determine whether and what kind of agricultural production could be established near urban centers.
Antiprotozoal Activities of Organic Extracts from French Marine Seaweeds
Authors: Vonthron-Sénécheau Catherine , Kaiser Marcel , Devambez Isabelle , Vastel Antoine , Mussio Isabelle , Rusig Anne-Marie
Published: May 2011

Marine macrophytes contain a variety of biologically active compounds, some reported to have antiprotozoal activity in vitro. As a part of a screening program to search for new natural antiprotozoals, we screened hydroalcoholic and ethyl acetate extracts of 20 species of seaweeds from three phyla (Rhodophyta, Heterokontophyta and Chlorophyta), sampled along the Normandy (France) coast. We tested them in vitro against the protozoa responsible for three major endemic parasitic diseases: Plasmodium falciparum, Leishmania donovani and Trypanosoma cruzi. The selectivity of the extracts was also evaluated by testing on a mammalian cell line (L6 cells). Ethyl acetate extracts were more active than hydroalcoholic ones. Activity against T. cruzi and L. donovani was non-existent to average, but almost half the extracts showed good activity against P. falciparum. The ethyl acetate extract of Mastocarpus stellatus showed the best antiplasmodial activity as well as the best selectivity index (IC50 = 2.8 µg/mL; SI > 30). Interestingly, a red algae species, which shares phylogenetic origins with P. falciparum, showed the best antiplasmodial activity. This study is the first to report comparative antiprotozoal activity of French marine algae. Some of the species studied here have not previously been biologically evaluated.
Microvalves and Micropumps for BioMEMS
Authors: Au Anthony K. , Lai Hoyin , Utela Ben R. , Folch Albert
Published: May 2011

This review presents an extensive overview of a large number of microvalve and micropump designs with great variability in performance and operation. The performance of a given design varies greatly depending on the particular assembly procedure and there is no standardized performance test against which all microvalves and micropumps can be compared. We present the designs with a historical perspective and provide insight into their advantages and limitations for biomedical uses.
Chemical Composition, and Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Essential Oil of Phyllostachys heterocycla cv. Pubescens Varieties from China
Authors: Jin Yong-Chun , Yuan Ke , Zhang Jing
Published: May 2011

The essential oils of Phyllostachys heterocycla cv. Pubescens, Phyllostachys heterocycla cv. Gracilis, Phyllostachys heterocycla cv. Heterocycla and Phyllostachys kwangsiensis leaves were obtained by steam distillation. Their chemical components were separated and identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Meanwhile, the effect of scavenging free radicals of essential oil was assayed by using the DPPH·method with Trolox® as control to evaluate their antioxidant capacities. Gram-positive (Staphyloccocus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) were selected as the indicator microorganisms to evaluate the antimicrobial activity. Antimicrobial properties were estimated by the agar diffusion method. The results show that 63 components were separated and identified by GC/MS from these varieties of bamboo leaves. cis-3-Hexenol, whose content in cv. Pubescens, Gracilis, Heterocycla and Ph. kwangsiensis was 27.11%, 24.62%, 30.51% and 34.65%, respectively, was the main constituent. The relative content of alcohol compounds in these varieties of essential oils ranged from 39.8% to 46.64%. All of the bamboo leaf essential oils possessed certain antioxidant capacity; the corresponding IC50 values were 3.1622, 4.9353, 4.2473, and 5.4746 μL/mL, respectively. Essential oils of all tested bamboo spp. were active against Staphylococcus epidermidis and E. coli, showing a positive correlation with the essential oil concentration of 50.42-300 μL/mL. The results indicated there were no significant differences among three varieties and the related species with respect to their antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. This paper provides evidence for studying the essential composition from different varieties of bamboo leaves.
Biomolecule Profiles in Inedible Wild Mushrooms with Antioxidant Value
Authors: Reis Filipa S. , Pereira Eliana , Barros Lillian , Sousa Maria João , Martins Anabela , Ferreira Isabel C.F.R.
Published: May 2011

The use of natural products isolated from mushrooms, included inedible species, against infection, cancer diseases and other oxidative-stress related diseases is one of the cornerstones of modern medicine. In the present work, the antioxidant molecule profiles of inedible mushroom species were evaluated and compared with those of edible species. The order of antioxidant abundance found in inedible wild mushrooms was: phenolics > flavonoids > ascorbic acid > tocopherols > carotenoids, similar to that of edible species. Furthermore the same energetic biomolecules were found including the disaccharide trehalose, the monosaccharide alcohol derivative mannitol and the fatty acids palmitic, oleic and linoleic acids. Fomitopsis pinicola revealed a very high phenolics concentration (388 mg GAE/g extract) and powerful antioxidant properties, mainly reducing power (EC50 value 60 μg/mL similar to the standard Trolox®). It could find applications in the prevention of free radical-related diseases as a source of bioactive compounds.
Roads as Drivers of Change: Trajectories across the Tri‑National Frontier in MAP, the Southwestern Amazon
Authors: Southworth Jane , Marsik Matt , Qiu Youliang , Perz Stephen , Cumming Graeme , Stevens Forrest , Rocha Karla , Duchelle Amy , Barnes Grenville
Published: May 2011

Regional studies of land cover change are often limited by available data and in terms of comparability across regions, by the transferability of methods. This research addresses the role of roads and infrastructure improvements across a tri-national frontier region with similar climatic and biophysical conditions but very different trajectories of forest clearing. The standardization of methodologies and the extensive spatial and temporal framework of the analysis are exciting as they allow us to monitor a dynamic region with global significance as it enters an era of increased road connectivity and massive potential forest loss. Our study region is the “MAP” frontier, which covers Madre de Dios in Peru, Acre in Brazil, and Pando in Bolivia. This tri-national frontier is being integrated into the global economy via the paving of the Inter-Oceanic Highway which links the region to ports in the Atlantic and Pacific, constituting a major infrastructure change within just the last decade. Notably, there are differences in the extent of road paving among the three sides of the tri-national frontier, with paving complete in Acre, underway in Madre de Dios, and incipient in Pando. Through a multi-temporal analysis of land cover in the MAP region from 1986 to 2005, we found that rates of deforestation differ across the MAP frontier, with higher rates in Acre, followed by Madre de Dios and the lowest rates in Pando, although the dominant land cover across the region is still stable forest cover (89% overall). For all dates in the study period, deforestation rates drop with distance from major roads although the distance before this drop off appears to relate to development, with Acre influencing forests up to around 45 km out, Madre de Dios to about 18 km out and less of a discernable effect or distance value in Pando. As development occurs, the converted forest areas saturate close to roads, resulting in increasing rates of deforestation at further distances and patch consolidation of clearings over time. We can use this trend as a basis for future change predictions, with Acre providing a guide to likely future development for Madre de Dios, and in time potentially for Pando. Given the correspondence of road paving to deforestation, our findings imply that as road paving increases connectivity, flows of people and goods will accelerate across this landscape, increasing the likelihood of dramatic future changes on all sides of the tri‑national frontier.
Shifts in the flowering phenology of the northern Great Plains: Patterns over 100 years
Authors: Dunnell Kelsey L. , Travers Steven E.
Published: May 2011

• Premise of the study: Climate change is associated with phenological shifts in an increasing number of organisms worldwide. However, accurate estimates of these shifts are dependent on long‐term data sets that include phenological observations from before annual average temperatures began to rise.

• Methods: We compared the first flowering times of native prairie plants between 2007 and 2010 with historical data recorded by O. A. Stevens from 1910 to 1961. By merging climate variable data from the same time period, it also was possible to correlate first flowering dates with associated climate variables.

• Key results: Over the past 100 years, spring temperatures in the Red River Valley near Fargo, North Dakota, USA, have increased, and growing seasons have lengthened significantly. Seventy‐five percent of the 178 species observed by Stevens had flowering times that were sensitive to at least one variable related to temperature or precipitation. Over the past 4 yr, 5% to 17% of the species observed have significantly shifted their first flowering time either earlier or later relative to the previous century.

• Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that as spring temperatures in the northern Great Plains have increased and the growing season has lengthened, some spring flowering species have advanced their first flowering time, some fall species have delayed their first flowering, and some species have not changed. Given the importance of flowering timing for reproductive success, the changing climate in the Great Plains is expected to have long‐term ecological and evolutionary consequences for native plant species.
Site effect is stronger than species identity in driving demographic responses ofHelianthemum(Cistaceae) shrubs in gypsum environments
Authors: Olano José M. , Eugenio Màrcia , Escudero Adrián
Published: May 2011

•Premise of the study:Regional climatic patterns result in the synchrony of biological processes along large spatial areas. These patterns may be critical for effective plant recruitment in (semi)arid environments. Nevertheless, recruitment patterns of plant species within their range of distribution are still poorly known. Moreover, this response may be species‐dependent, particularly between coexisting congenerics, which are thought to vary in demographic responses to climatic conditions as a coexistence‐promoting mechanism. In this context, we investigated whether two congeneric plant species show synchronic age structures at varying spatial scales and whether they display demographic differences.

•Methods:We sampled 600Helianthemum squamatumandH. syriacumindividuals at six localities in Spain. We used dendrochronological techniques to estimate age and radial growth. We compared the age structure among populations and between species and assessed the effect of site and species on different demographic parameters. Correlations between age structure and climatic factors were also determined.

•Key results:We detected a very low intraspecific synchrony across sites but a high interspecific coupling in age structure within localities. Secondary growth, mean age, and flowering showed large intersite differences and small interspecific differences. Summer rainfall was a good predictor of age structure.

•Conclusions:Fine‐scale climatic variability plays a major role in determining age structure of the studied species. Climatic variability is more relevant than interspecific differences. Our results illustrate the relevance of including spatial variation in summer rainfall patterns when modeling the impact of climate change on Mediterranean plant demography.
B‐ and C‐class gene expression during corona development of the blue passionflower (Passiflora caerulea, Passifloraceae)
Authors: Hemingway Claire A. , Christensen Ashley R. , Malcomber Simon T.
Published: May 2011

•Premise of study: The origin of the passionflower corona, a complex series of structures between the petals and stamens, has intrigued botanists for centuries, but has proven intractable using traditional approaches. Supplementing developmental data with expression analyses of three floral identity genes, we test whether the corona in Passiflora caerulea (blue passionflower) is homologous to petals or stamens or whether an alternative hypothesis of the corona as a novel structure is supported.

•Methods: Corona development was investigated using scanning electron microscopy. Expression of the P. caerulea B‐class genes PISTILLATA (PcPI) and TOMATO MADS6 (PcTM6), and C‐class gene AGAMOUS (PcAG) was investigated using a combination of RT‐PCR and mRNA in situ hybridization analyses.

•Key results: Corona development starts as a ring of tissue at the base of petals. The outer radii and operculum initiate first at the periphery, followed by the inner radii and pali toward the center, and finally an annulus beneath the operculum. Late in development, a limen, the innermost component of the corona, develops from the side of the androgynophore. RT‐PCR analyses indicate that the B‐class genes PcPI and PcTM6 and C‐class gene PcAG were all expressed in mature coronas. However, mRNA in situ hybridization analyses revealed complex temporal patterns of gene expression in the different corona elements.

•Conclusions: Our data support the hypothesis that the corona is a composite structure, with the radii, pali, and operculum homologous to stamens, and the limen, which only expresses PcTM6, considered to be a novel structure distinct from the androgynophore.
Recrystallization of tubules from natural lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) wax on a Au(111) surface
Authors: Dora Sujit Kumar , Wandelt Klaus
Published: May 2011

We present here the first results on the self-assembly of tubules of natural wax from lotus leaves on a single crystal Au(111) surface. A comparison of the tubule growth on Au(111) to that on HOPG is discussed. Although the tubule formation on both Au(111) and HOPG takes place on an intermediate wax film which should mask the substrate properties, the tubule orientations differ. In contrast to a vertical tubule orientation on HOPG, the tubules lie flat on Au(111). Taking into account the physical properties of HOPG and Au(111), we put forward a hypothesis which can explain the different tubule orientations on both substrates.
Advances in synthetic approach to and antifungal activity of triazoles
Authors: Shalini Kumari , Kumar Nitin , Drabu Sushma , Sharma Pramod Kumar
Published: May 2011

Several five membered ring systems, e.g., triazole, oxadiazole dithiazole and thiadiazole with three heteroatoms at symmetrical or asymmetrical positions have been studied because of their interesting pharmacological properties. In this article our emphasis is on synthetic development and pharmacological activity of the triazole moiety which exhibit a broad spectrum of pharmacological activity such as antifungal, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anticancer etc. Triazoles have increased our ability to treat many fungal infections, for example, candidiasis, cryptococcal meningitis, aspergillosis etc. However, mortality due to these infections even with antifungal therapy is still unacceptably high. Therefore, the development of new antifungal agents targeting specific fungal structures or functions is being actively pursued. Rapid developments in molecular mycology have led to a concentrated search for more target antifungals. Although we are entering a new era of antifungal therapy in which we will continue to be challenged by systemic fungal diseases, the options for treatment will have greatly expanded.
La crise financière et les politiques macroprudentielles
Authors: Cartapanis André
Published: May 2011

Résumé Depuis la crise financière, les États et les banques centrales ont engagé un processus de consolidation des systèmes financiers qui s’appuie notamment sur la mise en place d’une réglementation macroprudentielle. Dans la section 1, on définit le contenu des politiques macroprudentielles ainsi que les principes qui en sous-tendent l’adoption. Dans la section 2, on étudie les fondements théoriques qui justifient le recours à ce type de politique. Dans la section 3, les conséquences du paradigme macroprudentiel sur la politique monétaire et le rôle des banques centrales sont examinés. Enfin, la section 4 met en avant le caractère inachevé et encore hypothétique du paradigme macroprudentiel, compte tenu des résistances qu’il suscite.
Défaillances de coordination et volatilité des marchés
Authors: Guesnerie Roger
Published: May 2011

Résumé Ce texte est celui venant en support de la conférence Jean-Jacques Laffont prononcée en clôture du Congrès 2010 de l’Association Française de Science Économique. La première partie revient sur la vision économique standard de la coordination des anticipations, vision que les événements récents conduisent à remettre en cause. La seconde partie passe en revue les directions existantes de réflexion critique sur l’hypothèse d’anticipations rationnelles. La troisième partie montre comment l’évaluation critique de l’hypothèse, dans une logique parfois qualifiée de « divinatoire », change radicalement notre regard sur trois problèmes : le rôle économique de la spéculation, l’efficacité informationnelle des marchés, et last but not least, la capacité des agents à horizon long à anticiper l’avenir.
Modélisation dynamique de la fécondité et de la participation au marché du travail des femmes en couple
Authors: Edon Cyriaque , Kamionka Thierry
Published: May 2011

Résumé Nous modélisons de façon jointe la fécondité et la décision de participation des femmes qui vivent en couple. Nous considérons la France, l’Espagne, l’Allemagne, le Royaume-Uni et le Danemark. Nous estimons, pour la période allant de 1994 à 2001, un modèle Probit dynamique avec effets aléatoires à l’aide du panel européen echp et en utilisant le maximum de vraisemblance simulé. Les décisions de participation et de fécondité des femmes en couple dépendent des caractéristiques individuelles – observables et inobservables – et sont caractérisées par une dépendance de l’état importante. Nos résultats attestent que ces deux décisions ne peuvent pas être modélisées séparément. Les différences dans les taux de fécondité observés dans ces pays peuvent être expliquées par les variations dans les politiques fiscales et sociales.
L'impact des crises financières globales sur les marchés des changes des pays émergents
Authors: Coudert Virginie , Couharde Cécile , Mignon Valérie
Published: May 2011

Résumé L’objet de cet article est d’étudier si les régimes de change des pays émergents ont tendance à être infléchis dans le sens d’une plus grande flexibilité lors des crises financières globales. Afin de tester cette hypothèse, nous évaluons le degré de flexibilité des taux de change par leur volatilité. Nous en étudions ensuite le lien avec divers indicateurs de tension sur les marchés financiers mondiaux. Nous testons en particulier l’existence de non-linéarités en estimant des modèles à changement de régime sur un échantillon de vingt et un pays émergents sur la période allant de janvier 1994 à septembre 2009. Les résultats montrent que la flexibilité des taux de change augmente plus que proportionnellement avec le degré de tension sur les marchés financiers pour la plupart des pays de l’échantillon. Nous mettons également en évidence des effets non linéaires de contagion régionale entre les marchés des changes des pays appartenant à une même zone géographique.
Taxe environnementale, morbidité et profil de productivité
Authors: Mathieu-Bolh Nathalie , Pautrel Xavier
Published: May 2011

Résumé Nous ré-examinons l’influence de la politique environnementale sur l’activité économique en prenant en compte l’impact de la pollution sur la morbidité et ses effets sur le profil par âge de la productivité des travailleurs. Nous démontrons que l’impact négatif de la taxe environnementale sur le niveau de vie est modifié par deux effets santé opposés. Le premier effet santé accroît l’offre de travail efficace par tête, ce qui atténue l’impact négatif de la taxe environnementale. Le second effet santé réduit l’épargne, ce qui accroît l’effet négatif de la taxe. Ce second effet santé est lié à la prise en compte de l’impact de la pollution sur la santé spécifique à l’âge.
Une remise en cause de la méthode des prix hédoniques en présence d'une segmentation de marché
Authors: Baudry Marc , Maslianskaïa-Pautrel Masha
Published: May 2011

Résumé Cet article s’intéresse à l’incidence de l’hétérogénéité des consommateurs dans le processus de formation des prix hédoniques, en particulier l’émergence d’une segmentation du marché. L’article met en évidence deux points importants : (i) dans le cas d’une hétérogénéité de groupe des acheteurs, ceux-ci se répartissent de manière endogène sur des segments différents du niveau de service de logement dont dépend le prix hédonique ; (ii) cette segmentation remet en cause la procédure d’estimation en deux étapes utilisée, en particulier, pour l’évaluation des biens environnementaux locaux.
Diffusion de la connaissance
Authors: Gray Elie , Grimaud André
Published: May 2011

Résumé Cet article présente un modèle de croissance schumpetérien, qui généralise la théorie existante : nous utilisons la différenciation circulaire du modèle de Salop [1979] pour prendre en compte le fait que la connaissance se diffuse, avec plus ou moins d’ampleur, entre les secteurs de recherche. Nous expliquons comment se constituent les viviers dans lesquels chaque secteur puise la connaissance pour produire des innovations. La prise en compte explicite de la diffusion de la connaissance nous permet de donner un nouvel éclairage à plusieurs questions : comment expliquer la sur ou sous-optimalité de la croissance ? Brevet ou secret : comment protéger les monopoles ? Quelle est la nature des effets d’échelle ?
Quality Testing and Incentives in Organizations
Authors: Li Sanxi , Ye Bing , Yu Jianyu
Published: May 2011

Test de qualité et incitation de structure de production : Cooperative contre entreprise privée Nous étudions les incitations à fournir un bien de qualité dans le cas d’une coopérative agricole ou d’une entreprise privée détenue par des investisseurs. La qualité du bien final dépend de la qualité des produits primaires des agriculteurs. Les efforts fournis par les agriculteurs et la qualité des biens primaires ne sont pas observés. Par contre, l’organisation a la possibilité de procéder à des tests afin de vérifier la qualité des biens primaires. Nous montrons que les incitations de la coopérative à effectuer les tests sont plus grandes dans le cas d’une organisation de grande taille. De plus, les incitations des agriculteurs à fournir un bien de qualité dans le cas d’une entreprise privée sont plus fortes quand les coûts des tests et la taille de l’organisation sont à des niveaux intermédiaires. JEL Code: Q12, Q13, L1, L2
Pouvoir de négociation et procédure d'engagements en droit de la concurrence
Authors: Souam Saïd , Vialfont Arnold
Published: May 2011

Résumé Nous étudions l’impact de l’introduction de la procédure d’engagements en termes d’efficacité et de dissuasion. Cette procédure offre une immunité d’amende à une entreprise en échange d’engagements qui répondent aux préoccupations soulevées par l’autorité de la concurrence. Nous montrons que cette procédure réduit la capacité de dissuasion de l’autorité. Toutefois, un effet d’assurance contre les erreurs de type II peut globalement améliorer le surplus des consommateurs. De plus, nous montrons que le pouvoir de négociation est décisif, car l’entreprise peut récupérer tout le gain procédural. Nous concluons par une discussion sur l’impact généralement négatif qu’induit sur les consommateurs une incohérence temporelle de l’autorité.
Regard rétrospectif sur l'histoire romaine et perspective d'avenir
Authors: Millar Fergus
Published: May 2011

Résumé L’objectif de cet article est de passer en revue quelques aspects de l’étude de l’histoire romaine depuis les premières œuvres de Rostovtzeff, et d’esquisser quelques thèmes prometteurs pour la recherche dans l’avenir, principalement en ce qui concerne l’histoire provinciale et régionale de l’Empire, la question du multilinguisme, et au-delà les institutions de la cité de Rome et l’évolution de la législation impériale.
Learning Styles in Foreign Language Teaching/Learning
Authors: Simonova Ivana
Published: May 2011

The paper deals with the teaching and learning process based on the detected student´s learning style. The teaching process is built on the needs analysis questionnaire which defines students´ individual learning styles and summarizes their experience in previous foreign language learning. These results are consequently reflected in the teaching methods and approaches to each student. The paper presents results of students´ opinions reflected in proposals of methods and activities which support the efficiency of the teaching process and students´ motivation towards learning.
Using VISIR in a Large Undergraduate Course: Preliminary Assessment Results
Authors: Alves Gustavo R. , Marques Maria A. , Viegas Maria C. , Costa-Lobo Maria C. , Barral Rui G. , Couto Ruben J. , Jacob Frederico L. , Ramos Carlos A. , Vilão Gina M. , Covita Daniel S. , Alves Joaquim A. , Guimaraes Pedro S. , Gustavsson Ingvar
Published: May 2011

The use of remote labs in undergraduate courses has been reported in literature several times since the mid 90’s. Nevertheless, very few articles present results about the learning gains obtained by students using them, especially with a large number of students, thus suggesting a lack of data concerning their pedagogical effectiveness. This paper addresses such a gap by presenting some preliminary results concerning the use of a remote laboratory, known as VISIR, in a large undergraduate course on Applied Physics, with over 500 students enrolled.
Research Skills Enhancement in Future Mechanical Engineers
Authors: Alves Jorge Lino , Duarte Teresa P.
Published: May 2011

Nowadays, the Web is a common tool for students searching information about the subjects taught in the different university courses. Although this is a good tool for the first rapid knowledge, a deeper study is usually demanded.

After many years of teaching a course about ceramic and composite materials in the Integrated Master in Mechanical Engineering of Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto, Portugal, the authors used the Bologna reformulation of the mechanical engineering course to introduce new teaching methodologies based on a project based learning methodology.

One of the main innovations is a practical work that comprises the study of a recent ceramic scientific paper, using all the actual available tools, elaboration of a scientific report, work presentation and participation in a debate.

With this innovative teaching method the enrolment of the students was enhanced with a better knowledge about the ceramics subject and the skills related with the CDIO competences.

This paper presents the reasons for this implementation and explains the teaching methodology adopted as well as the changes obtained in the students’ final results.
Maxima – An Open Alternative for Engineering Education
Authors: Zakova Katarina
Published: May 2011

The aim of the article is to present a new possible way of an interactive teaching. The effort is to substitute proprietary software that is commonly used in educational process by open technologies. Since the subject of this article is oriented to the engineering area we devoted our attention to open software and we chose Maxima. Moreover, this tool can be available not only locally on the desktop computer or the notebook but also online via Internet. In the paper we also introduce examples of the implementation.
An Early Start in Robotics - K-12 Case-Study
Authors: Leão Celina Pinto , Santos S. , Ribeiro F. , Lopes G.
Published: May 2011

This paper describes a study carried out with K-12 students. This study is focused on understanding the motivation of these students on the use of robots in the Project Area curricular unit and to understand whether they want to continue their studies in technology areas. K-12 students participated in the RoboParty® event, where the main task is to assemble and program a robot. In other words, the students, in a simple and entertaining way and guided by qualified tutors, learned how to build a robot. At the end of the academic year, a questionnaire was applied to identify and evaluate the K-12 students' opinions regarding the experience. The students’ reaction to this experience as well to the direct contact with the university environment was quite positive.
Business Intelligence
Authors: Su Sueh Ing , Chiong Raymond
Published: May 2011

With the rapid advancement of both business techniques and technologies in recent years, knowledge has become an important and strategic asset that determines the success or failure of an organisation. Analyses showed that a competitive advantage in the business environment depends on the accessibility to adequate and reliable information in shortest time possible and the high selectivity in the creation and utilisation of information. An effective instrument to create, aggregate and share knowledge in an organisation has therefore become a key target of management. As organisations today can no longer spend money on excessive infrastructure and technology that does not provide a quick impact on the business’ bottom-line, Business Intelligence (BI) is becoming indispensable to an organisation’s success in the emerging global economy. BI is the process of using advanced applications and technologies to gather, store, analyse and transform overloaded business information into knowledge that provides significant business value. The concept of BI has been introduced into the marketplace in order to enhance an organisation’s response in making better and more efficient business decisions.
Capability Maturity
Authors: Berztiss Alfs T.
Published: May 2011

The dependence of any organization on knowledge management is clearly understood. Actually, we should distinguish between knowledge management (KM) and knowledge engineering (KE): KM is to define and support organizational structure, allocate personnel to tasks, and monitor knowledge engineering activities; KE is concerned with technical matters, such as tools for knowledge acquisition, knowledge representation, and data mining. We shall use the designation KMKE for knowledge management and knowledge engineering collectively. KM is a very young area—the three articles termed “classic works” in Morey, Maybury, and Thuraisingham (2000) date from 1990, 1995, and 1996, respectively. We could regard 1991 as the start of institutionalized KM. This is when the Skandia AFS insurance company appointed a director of intellectual capital. KE has a longer history—expert systems have been in place for many years. Because of its recent origin, KMKE is characterized by rapid change. To deal with the change, we need to come to a good understanding of the nature of KMKE.
Conceptual Model for Corporate Universities
Authors: Farias da Costa Viviane Cunha , Oliveira Jonice , Moreira de Souza Jano
Published: May 2011

In today’s corporate surroundings, business organizations are facing increasingly complex and volatile circumstances, characterized by rapid change. More and more, knowledge is critical for individual success in our information society. Consequently, processes related to its acquisition and management tend to have great value to specialists in the field of learning and training. Learning from knowledge and experience accumulated in the past contributes to improvements in performing business practices and processes and to the creation of knowledge assets implicitly stored in its results. As ongoing learning and sharing of knowledge lead to innovation (Law & Ngai, 2008), organizational members should have a shared vision to guide them in a common direction, generating tension that leads to learning (Kulkarni & Freeze, 2006). Thus, corporate university (CU) plays an important role as a source for business (Crocetti, 2002). It is a centralized learning utility that manages resources to support a strategic approach to organizational education (Gregg, 2005). This educational model provides a management structure to develop and implement employee learning opportunities aligned with the organization’s future learning vision (Gould, 2005).
Corporate Semantic Webs
Authors: Dieng-Kuntz Rose
Published: May 2011

An organization is made up of people interacting for common objectives, in a given structure (may be rather formal in the case of a company, an administration, or an institution, or rather informal in the case of an interest community or a practice community), in an internal environment, and with an external environment.
Document Search Practices
Authors: Corral Karen L. , LaBrie Ryan C. , St. Louis Robert D.
Published: May 2011

A large portion of the knowledge of most organizations is contained in electronic documents. For users to get pertinent information from the accumulation of stored documents, they need effective document retrieval systems. Unfortunately, electronic document management has fallen into the same trap that electronic data processing fell into: simply automating what previously was done manually. Paper documents were stored in folders in drawers in file cabinets. Electronic documents are stored in folders in directories on disk drives.
Inquiring Organizations
Authors: Hall Dianne , Croasdell David
Published: May 2011

In order to manage knowledge and operate successfully in today’s information-intensive business environments, various organizational forms have emerged (e.g., Mintzberg, 1979; Nonaka, 1994; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). The form that an organization takes has consequences for communication and dissemination of information, and thereby the ability to engage in organizational learning. Some of these forms compress knowledge at the root level of the organization, while others facilitate the search for useful knowledge within the organization. Other forms are capable of supporting organizational members who must synthesize knowledge from diverse sources. If a firm begins to reconfirm that knowledge management and core competencies are at the heart of organizational performance, the demand on organizations to develop core competencies and to create and manage knowledge intensifies. Even after realizing the critical role of knowledge in the present competitive environments, firms are struggling with managing and creating knowledge.
Knowledge Codification and ICT Use in Business Networks
Authors: Bolisani Ettore , Scarso Enrico
Published: May 2011

The notion of networks in business, i.e. structures of heterogeneous relationships between firms interacting for business purposes (Todeva, 2006), is not new in the economic literature. Today, however, this concept is becoming popular again since the diffusion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the globalization of competition have led to the emergence of new inter-organizational forms that the literature denotes with various terms (e.g. extended/virtual enterprises, global networks, knowledge networks, extended supply chains, etc.), and are characterized as follows: 1. companies interact with other companies, often on a regular base, because they are not able to manage all the knowledge needed to pursue their strategies in a global and turbulent environment; 2. there is a subdivision of tasks and activities among business partners, but also shared goals whose achievement affects the success of the individual company; 3. companies are scattered globally, and make intense use of ICT applications to communicate.
Knowledge Management and Risk Management
Authors: Rodriguez Eduardo , Edwards John S.
Published: May 2011

This article takes the perspective that risk knowledge and the activities related to RM practice can benefit from the implementation of KM processes and systems, to produce a better enterprise wide implementation of risk management. Both in the information systems discipline and elsewhere, there has been a trend towards greater integration and consolidation in the management of organizations. Some examples of this are: Enterprise Resource Planning (Stevens, 2003), Enterprise Architecture (Zachmann, 1996) and Enterprise Content Management (Smith & McKeen, 2003). Similarly, risk management is evolving into Enterprise Risk Management. KM’s importance in breaking down silos within an organization can help it to do so.
Knowledge Management Practices in Temporal Knowledge-Intensive Organizations
Authors: Abril Raul M.
Published: May 2011

This chapter is designed to serve as a comprehensive introduction to a few aspects of knowledge management (KM) practices of particular relevance for temporal knowledge-intensive organizations. The aspects considered are the contribution of KM pratices to value creation, the dissemination and adoption of KM practices and the enabling role of KM practices in the interpretation of states of affairs. The value creation aspect focuses on the impact of KM practices in temporal knowledge-intensive organizations creating value for their customers/users. The behavioral nature of KM practices is of critical relevance for temporal knowledge-intensive organizations as there are attitudes that will be very influential in individuals’ intention to adopt such KM practices. Finally, because the individuals in a temporal knowledge-intensive organization should share the same interpretation on a given state of affairs or about the data at hand, the interpretative aspect of KM practices focuses in the enabling role of KM practices in reaching common understanding.
Knowledge Representation
Authors: Zarri Gian Piero
Published: May 2011

In 1982, Allen Newell introduced the “knowledge level” principle (Newell, 1982) and revolutionized the traditional way of conceiving the relationships between knowledge management and computer science. According to this principle, the knowledge level represents the highest level in the description of any structured system: Situated above and independent from the “symbol level,” it describes the observed behaviour of the system as a function of the knowledge employed, and independently of the way this knowledge is eventually represented/implemented at the symbol level. “The knowledge level permits predicting and understanding behaviour without having an operational model of the processing that is actually being done by the agent” (Newell, 1982, p. 108). An arbitrary system is then interpreted as a rational agent that interacts with its environment in order to attain, according to the knowledge it owns, a given goal in the best way; from a strict knowledge level point of view, this system is then considered as a sort of “black box” to be modeled on the basis of its input/output behaviour, without making any hypothesis on its internal structure. To sum up, the knowledge level principle emphasises the why (i.e., the goals), and the what (i.e., the different tasks to be accomplished and the domain knowledge) more than the how (i.e., the way of implementing these tasks and of putting this domain knowledge to use).
Knowledge Reuse
Authors: Oshri Ilan
Published: May 2011

Knowledge reuse is the process through which knowledge is captured, validated, stored, and retrieved. Through the reuse of knowledge, organizations may exploit internal capabilities and improve the effectiveness of their exploration activities (March, 1999). Knowledge reuse processes emphasize the centrality of knowledge within an organization by aligning information systems and communication technologies with human activity and organizational mechanisms, such as learning processes and organizational structures. The process of knowledge reuse can be systematic and planned; however, it can also be carried out in an informal manner through social networks and interpersonal ties (Newell, 2004). While knowledge reuse is explored from an entitative perspective, in which knowledge is generic, accessible, and codifiable, other views, such as social construction (Lave & Wenger, 1991), are also considered in this article. Furthermore, various contexts are considered in this article; however, the emphasis in this article is on knowledge reuse activities in product development and project management contexts.
Knowledge Sharing in Legal Practice
Authors: Saunders Chad
Published: May 2011

Given the reliance on knowledge-based resources over traditional assets, the professional context serves as a heightened environment in which to investigate knowledge sharing. Within legal practice, the success of a law firm is connected to the firm’s ability to leverage knowledge (Sherer, 1995), and this has led to a call for knowledge management to be a business imperative within legal practice (Parsons, 2004; Rusanow, 2003).
Knowledge Transfer
Authors: King William R.
Published: May 2011

The term knowledge transfer (KT) is often used in a generic sense to include any exchange of knowledge between or among individuals, teams, groups, or organizations, whether intended or unintended.
Managing Complex Adaptive Social Systems
Authors: Williams Roy
Published: May 2011

Complex Adaptive Systems, for our purposes, are social systems that that evolve and display new, emergent properties, and self-organizing behavior of their components; they are based on a reasonably stable infrastructure, on the satisfaction of the most basic needs, and flexible, frequent, and open communication and interaction. Complex Adaptive Systems may be based on a few, simple rules, but can yield complex and unpredictable outcomes. The ‘Hole in the Wall’ project is an interesting case in point in the design of spaces for complex adaptive systems, or complex adaptive networks. In this project, touch screen computers were literally put in ‘holes in walls’ in places where unschooled children congregated. The children were given no instructions on how to use the computers, or what to do with them, but with startling results: the children soon taught themselves how to use the computers and the Internet, and much more (Mitra, 2003).
Construction of Collaborative Virtual Environments
Authors: Steed Anthony , Frecon Emmanuel
Published: May 2011

In this chapter, we give an overview of some of the issues that face programmers and designers when building collaborative virtual environments (CVEs). We do this by highlighting three aspects of CVE system software: the environment model (data structures, behaviour description) that the system provides, the data-sharing mechanism (how the environment model is shared), and the implementation framework (the structure of a typical client or platform in terms of the services it provides to the user). When a CVE system is designed, choices have to be made for each of these aspects, and this then constrains how the designers and programmers go about constructing the CVE worlds themselves. We present the main body of the overview by using examples that highlight many of the important differences between CVE systems. We will also relate our discussion to the common topics of network topology and awareness management.