bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Strangers in Digiland
Authors: Bakó Rozália Klára , Tőkés Gyöngyvér Erika 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
With the growing importance of digital practices in young children’s everyday routines, parents and educators often face frustration and confusion. They find it difficult to guide children when it comes to playing and learning online. This research note proposes an insight into parents’ and educators’ concerns related to children’s and their own digital literacy, based on two exploratory qualitative inquiries carried out from March 2015 to August 2017 among 30 children aged 4 to 8 from Romania, their parents and educators. The research project Digital and Multimodal Practices of Young Children from Romania (2015–2016) and its continuation The Role of Digital Competence in the Everyday Lives of Children Aged 4–8 (2017–2018, ongoing) are part of a broader effort within the Europe-wide COST network IS1410 – The Digital and Multimodal Practices of Young Children (2014–2018). Parents and educators are disconnected from young children’s universe, our research has found. The factors enabling adults’ access to “Digiland” and ways of coping with the steep learning curve of digital literacy are explored through parents’ and teachers’ narratives, guided observation of children’s digital practices, and expert testimonies.
Investigation of Mechanical and Utility Properties of Two-Layer Cotton Woven Fabrics
Authors: Matusiak Małgorzata , Wilk Edward 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThe aim of presented work was to design the cotton woven fabrics which ensure thermal resistance higher than standard cotton fabrics of basic weaves. It was done in order to combine the excellent hygienic properties of cotton fibers with thermal insulation. Three variants of two-face cotton woven fabrics of different structure were designed and manufactured. Next, they were measured in the range of their basic structural, mechanical, and comfort-related properties. The results obtained were analyzed in the aspect of properties influencing the utility comfort of user wearing clothing made of the investigated fabrics.
Use a Modified Ring Method to Predict Drape Properties in Drapery Fabrics
Authors: Carrera-Gallissà Enric , Capdevila Xavier , Valldeperas Josep 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
Seven drape indicators and four of the parameters assessed in the UPC ring test were determined by using canonical correlations in 15 commercial drapery fabrics of variable composition, aerial weight and weave type. A regression equation relating drape ratio (%DR) and parameter h in the ring test was thus established. Based on the results, the ring test provides a useful tool for the routine industrial assessment of drape in finished drapery fabrics without the need for additional equipment to determine the drape.
Expanding the Applicability of Four Iterative Methods for Solving Least Squares Problems
Authors: Argyros Ioannis K. , Sharma Janak Raj , Kumar Deepak 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
The aim of this paper is to expand the applicability of four iterative methods for solving nonlinear least squares problems. The advantages obtained under the same computational cost as in earlier studies, include: larger radius of convergence, tighter error bounds on the distances involved and a better information on the location of the solution.
Hyper Relative Order (p, q) of Entire Functions
Authors: Banerjee Dibyendu , Batabyal Saikat 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
After the works of Lahiri and Banerjee [6] on the idea of relative order (p, q) of entire functions, we introduce in this paper hyper relative order (p, q) of entire functions where p, q are positive integers with p>q and prove sum theorem, product theorem and theorem on derivative.
Local Convergence and Radius of Convergence for Modified Newton Method
Authors: Măruşter Ştefan 
Published: January 2018

AbstractWe investigate the local convergence of modified Newton method, i.e., the classical Newton method in which the derivative is periodically re-evaluated. Based on the convergence properties of Picard iteration for demicontractive mappings, we give an algorithm to estimate the local radius of convergence for considered method. Numerical experiments show that the proposed algorithm gives estimated radii which are very close to or even equal with the best ones.
Causes and distribution of soil pollution in China
Authors: Delang Claudio O. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractChina is the most populated country in the world, but has relatively little fertile land, and even less water. Maintaining the quality of its agricultural land is of paramount importance if China wants to feed its very large and growing population. Yet, China is one of the countries with the largest amount of polluted soil. This paper looks at the causes and distribution of soil pollution in China. It first looks at the amount of organic and inorganic soil pollutants and their geographic distribution. It then looks at the causes of soil pollution, making the distinction between agricultural activities, industrial activities, and urbanization. Pollution from agricultural activities stems primarily from the excessive amounts of pesticides and fertilizers used on farmland, and is mainly located in the south, where most of the food is produced. Pollution from industrial activities is due to airborne industrial pollutants that fall on to the land, and is mainly located in the west of the country, where most manufacturing activities take place. Pollution from urbanization is mainly due to the very large amount of solid, liquid and gaseous waste generated in a small area with insufficient treatment facilities, and exhaust fumes from vehicles, and is located around the largest cities, or roads. The result is that one fifth of China’s farmland is polluted, and an area the size of Taiwan is so polluted that farming should not be allowed there at all.
Submergence analysis of the proposed Ken Betwa Dam (Madhya Pradesh) India, using geospatial technology in Environmental Impact Assessments
Authors: Goparaju Laxmi , Ahmad Firoz , Thakkar Himanshu 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
This study has analysed the Landsat 8 OLI data (December 2016) to delineate the various land use/land cover classes of the area which will be submerged by the proposed Daudhan/Greater Gangau Dam, which is part of the proposed Ken Betwa River Link Project (in the Madhya Pradesh state of India) and also the area likely to be submerged in the Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR). The proposed area of submergence was computed at various full reservoir lengths (FRL), 278 m, 283 m, 288 m, 289 m and 293 m. Similarly the area of submergence for the Panna Tiger Reserve was computed at the mentioned FRLs. It was concluded that a large part of the Panna Tiger Reserve would be submerged and habitat of various animals and plants would be under threat. In comparison with the figures given in the Environmental Impact Assessment certain serious discrepancies and weaknesses were detected and it was felt that they should have been addressed. The results were compared with the EIA – EMP report of the Ken-Betwa link project, Phase 1, prepared by Agricultural Finance Corporation Limited for the National Water Development Agency (Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India). A proper evaluation of the negative impacts would help when making relevant decisions and appropriate steps to ensure that the loss is kept to a minimum. Safeguarding the biodiversity of forests and wildlife habitats should be the priority as their loss is irreplaceable. Geospatial technology helps in studying the overall spatial view of the proposed submergence area and the visualization gives a clear picture of the likely scenario in the future. It would assist in decision making and mitigation measures.
Atmospheric fronts over Poland (2006-2015)
Authors: Sykulski Patryk , Bielec-Bąkowska Zuzanna 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThe paper presents the spatial and temporal variations in the occurrence of fronts and days with no fronts over Poland in 2006-2015. The research was based on a database of the atmospheric fronts that moved over five selected stations located in the outermost regions of Poland and in the centre of the country. The database was created as a result of an analysis of synoptic charts from the website of the German weather service (Deutscher Wetterdienst; DWD). As is shown by the results, atmospheric fronts moved over Poland on approximately 65% of days of the year. However, their frequency in the individual regions was almost half of this, ranging from 33-39%. The annual variations in the number of fronts depended largely on the location of a given area and the atmospheric circulation prevailing there. In most years the maximum frequency of occurrence of atmospheric fronts was observed in November-January, and the lowest frequency was seen in February and September. The research confirms that there is a clear predominance of cold fronts, with warm and occluded fronts forming at around half the frequency of cold fronts. One characteristic feature is a decrease in the number of occluded fronts and days with different types of fronts moving from the north of Poland southwards. In the period under study, more than 80% of the sequences of days with atmospheric fronts included up to 6 days, even though there were also cases when fronts passed over Poland on 20 consecutive days.
Perceived synergy between deforestation and/or forest degradation and climate variability and change in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality, Ghana
Authors: Abalo Emmanuel Mawuli , Peprah Prince , Appiah Divine Odame , Sarpong Belinda Serkyiwah Asante , Amankwaa Godfred , Nakoja Yagah 
Published: January 2018

AbstractPerceptual studies on the environment and natural resources are important, if unsustainable use of these resources is to be abated. This paper unravels the hitherto unknown drivers of deforestation and/or forest degradation, and the causes of climate variability and change (CVC), by assessing their synergy based on participants self-reported cases in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality, Ashanti Region, Ghana. Drawing on the criterion and simple random sampling techniques to sample 360 respondents from 4 different communities and adopting the empiricist paradigm to derive trends and patterns in responses, this study demonstrated the bi-directional association between forest degradation and climate change. Results suggested that participants across the various socio-economic status fields were adequately informed, and knowledgeable about changes in climatic variables. Participants’ perceived the loss of forest, extinction of tree species and changing forest to savanna lands as indications of deforestation. Respondents with basic education and/or high school education adequately predicted that CVC factors influence decisions regarding forest removal compared with the uneducated. Removing one hectare of vegetation cover change per year (being it an increase or decrease in the area) (1 ha/year+/-/) or about three hectares (3 ha/year+/-), at a rate of 60%, and forest cover at rates of 57% were perceived as significant drivers of CVC. In recommendation, policies targeted at reducing forest degradation and deforestation and contributing to the fight against CVC in the Municipality should henceforth take into consideration the opinions of the indigenes in addition to scientific evidence in order to ensure the effectiveness of such policies.
Role of small and intermediate towns in regional development: A case study of Raebareli, Sultanpur and Pratapgarh Districts of Uttar Pradesh, India
Authors: Misra Harikesh N. , Mishra Ashutosh 
Published: January 2018

AbstractIt is said that small and intermediate size towns play a significant role in the socio-economic transformation of regional spaces through diffusion of innovations. It, however, has been hypothesized here that in this diffusion process the villages having better infrastructural facilities and services, play central role. For its analysis, the study takes the case of a region consisting of three administrative districts - Raebareli, Sultanpur and Pratapgarh, of the Uttar Pradesh state of India. These districts have remained in political focus since India’s independence and have elected two prime-ministers and some most influential politicians of their times in quest of development. However, the condition of development here is still deplorable. These districts have 22 statutory towns, and are least urbanized in the state. The towns are mainly administrative or market centres in nature serving surrounding villages by their backward and forward linkages. The study analyses ‘Z scores’ of select services to measure the level of development at block and village level, and portrays the spatial arrangement of towns in development setting of the region. The study observes that while towns are instrumental in promoting regional development, the role of ‘rurban’ centres (high service villages) in the process of diffusion of development is pivotal.
The ice phenomena dynamics of small anthropogenic water bodies in the Silesian Upland, Poland
Authors: Solarski Maksymilian 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the dynamics of the process of a course of ice creation phenomena in two small water bodies located in the Silesian Upland. The studies and observations of ice formation on the water bodies were conducted during the period 10th November 2011 to 23rd March 2012. The following parameters were determined each day: degree of ice coverage on each water body, thickness and ice structure and thickness of snow cover on each water body. From the studies it results that a course of the ice formation of both water bodies was almost identical. The same maximum ice thickness was recorded in both cases. It was 36 cm in that season, with slight differences in average thickness. The course of particular phases of ice formation in different water regions was also very similar. The number of days with the ice phenomena and the number of days from the beginning to the end of the ice phenomena were identical in both cases, being 96 and 131 days, respectively. The slight differences over several days were recorded in the case of: number of days with shore ice (lb), number of days with partial ice cover (lcz), number of days with an incomplete ice cover (lnp), number of breaks in the ice cover (B). Additionally, with daily measurements of ice cover thickness the relationships between the course of the average daily air temperature from the meteorological station of Faculty of Earth Sciences of University of Silesia and the daily changes in the ice thickness in the water regions in question were determined by using Spearman’s correlation coefficient. In both cases the relationships were strong and they were r= −0,84(p<0,001) for the Amendy water body and r= −0,87 (p<0,001) for the Żabie Doły S water body. The maximum and average ice thickness, duration of the ice phenomena and ice cover and the obtained correlation coefficients between the air temperature and the changes in the ice thickness show that the water bodies in question are characterized by a quasi-natural ice regime.
Potential conflicts connected with the recovery of secondary materials from post mining waste dump
Authors: Gawor Łukasz 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
Coal mine spoil dumping grounds are present in the landscape of every mining region. Although the composition of waste material is in general safe for the environment (sedimentary rocks – sandstones, mudstones and siltstones), there may be up to 10% of coal particles in disposed wastes. The presence of organic material causes self-ignition processes and fire hazards. There is a need and the possibility of the recovery of coal, and which should be conducted according to legal regulations and environmental protection rules. The recovery should also be preceded by a feasibility study, a drilling campaign, laboratory tests and requires different environmental permissions. Recovery processes are connected with the work of a preparation plant, which is usually linked with protests from the local community and potential conflicts. This article presents the most significant hazards to the environment, health and human life connected with the functions associated with the installation of the recovery processes of coal from waste material deposited on the dumps. The methods of reducing these threats are described with regards to legal regulations, particularly law deeds concerning the safe recovery processes and further reclamation and restoration of degraded post-mining dumping grounds. The role and participation of interested community members at the preparation for investment stage as well as the period of realization of the preparation processes is described. The question of re-using and managing the post-mining dumping grounds after completion of the recovery processes is discussed.
Changing values of lake ecosystem services as a result of bacteriological contamination on Lake Trzesiecko and Lake Wielimie, Poland
Authors: Cichoń Małgorzata 
Published: January 2018

AbstractLake ecosystems, on the one hand, are affected by tourism, and on the other by development for tourism. Lake ecosystem services include: water with its self-cleaning processes, air with climate control processes, as well as flora and fauna. Utilisation of services leads to interventions in the structure of ecosystems and their processes. Only to a certain extent, this is specific to each type of environmental interference, remains within the limits of ecosystem resilience and does not lead to its degradation. One of the threats is bacteriological contamination, for which the most reliable sanitation indicator isEscherichia coli. In lake water quality studies it is assumed that the lakeshore cannot be a source of bacteria. It has been hypothesised that the problem of bacterial contamination can be serious for the places that do not have any infrastructure, especially sanitation. Consequently, the purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which lakeshore sanitation, in particular the level of bacteriological contamination, has an impact on the value of services provided by the selected lake ecosystems (Lake Trzesiecko and Lake Wielimie – Szczecinek Lake District). Five selected services related to lake ecosystems are: water, control over the spread of contagious diseases, aesthetic values, tourism and recreation, as well as the hydrological cycle with its self-cleaning function. Services, as well as the criteria adopted for evaluation, allow us to conclude that the services provided by the lake ecosystems are suitable to fulfill a recreation function. However, the inclusion of quality criteria for sanitary status has shown that the value of system services has dropped by as much as 50%. Value changes are visible primarily for water and aesthetic qualities. Such a significant decrease in the value of services clearly indicates the importance of the sanitary conditions of lakes and their appropriate infrastructure. In view of the valuation proposals, there is a problem of uncertainty of valuation of ecosystem services.
Managerial decision-making on the location of banking headquarters in the Czech Republic
Authors: Sucháček Jan , Skaličková Jolana , Široký Jan 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
Location decision-making constitutes one of pivotal tasks for banking managements, which applies to both banking headquarters and affiliates. The main objective of this article consists in analysis and interpretation of location factors that stay behind location-decision making of banking managements and subsequent collocation of banking head offices in the Czech Republic. In doing so, cluster analysis was utilised appropriately and it turned out, initial 18 location factors can be decreased to final three mutually similar groups, which satisfactorily embody location criteria banking managements take into account. As it has been proven banking landscape in the Czech Republic is still influenced by traditional hard factors of location, nonetheless their soft counterparts should be increasingly considered.
Decomposition of changes in structure and trends in employment in Czechia at NUTS 2 level
Authors: Markowska Małgorzata 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
Observing the structure of employment and its trends constitute the fundamental baseline to assess the successes and failures of both national and EU social and economic policies in terms of evaluating effectiveness of support to regions framed by both competitiveness and cohesion issues. The study presents the assessment of structural changes of employment in the system of traditional three economic sectors using the measure of structures dissimilarity along with its decomposition and trends. The Czech NUTS 2 level regions were used for the study and the analysed period covered the years 2008−2014. The U measure of changes in structure of components was applied on data on employment (NACE classification). The results confirmed the current trends of (i) tertiarization in old industrial regions; (ii) the increasing share of employment in the industrial sector shown by some rural regions, and (iii) the growing fragmentation of the spatial pattern of socio-economic development.
Desiccation of Lake Chad as a cause of security instability in the Sahel region
Authors: Rudincová Kateřina 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
The Lake Chad basin is one of the most unstable regions in Africa. The lake itself has shrunk and nowadays it covers less than 10 % of its area in 1960. These environmental changes have wider geopolitical consequences in the whole region, which encompasses countries such as Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon. Therefore, it seems that environmental threats may act as the detonators for larger political conflict as well as for a struggle for land and may cause growing instability in affected countries. The region is fragile, owing to the fact that several terrorist and Islamist groups are operating there. The most serious threat in the Lake Chad basin is militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which is based in north eastern Nigeria, but it is also active in neighbouring countries. As a result of both ecological changes and security threats, people are losing their traditional sources of income from herding and it is likely that there will be large waves of migration from the area. The paper focuses on the environmental challenges in the Lake Chad basin and their effect on the security in the region. The main attention will be paid to the strategies and actions of militant terrorist groups such as Boko Haram that will be analysed in the wider regional geopolitical context.
3-Carboxy-1-sulfopyridin-1-ium chloride ([CPySO3H]+Cl−): an efficient catalyst for one-pot synthesis of hexahydroquinoline-3-carboxamides
Authors: Ehsanifar Sepideh , Mokhtary Masoud 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
3-Carboxy-1-sulfopyridin-1-ium chloride ([CPySO3H]+Cl−) was synthesized and evaluated as a recoverable catalyst for one-pot synthesis of hexahydroquinoline-3-carboxamide derivatives by a four-component reaction of an arylaldehyde, dimedone, acetoacetanilide and ammonium acetate. The [CPySO3H]+Cl− catalyst was characterized by infrared (IR), 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), 13C NMR, elemental analysis and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA).