bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Remote sensing based drought monitoring in Zimbabwe
Authors: Mutowo Godfrey , Chikodzi David 
Published: April 2015

Purpose
– Drought monitoring is an important process for national agricultural and environmental planning. Droughts are normal recurring climatic phenomena that affect people and landscapes. They occur at different scales (locally, regionally, and nationally), and for periods of time ranging from weeks to decades. In Zimbabwe drought is increasingly becoming an annual phenomenon, with varying parts of the country being affected. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the spatial variations in the seasonal occurrences of drought in Zimbabwe over a period of five years.

Design/methodology/approach
– The Vegetation Condition Index (VCI), which shows how close the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index of the current time is to the minimum Normalized Difference Vegetation Index calculated from the long-term record for that given time, was used to monitor drought occurrence in Zimbabwe. A time series of dekadal Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, calculated from SPOT images, was used to compute seasonal VCI maps from 2005 to 2010. The VCI maps were then classified into three drought severity classes (severe, moderate, and mild) based on the relative changes in the vegetation condition from extremely bad to optimal.

Findings
– The results showed that droughts occur annually in Zimbabwe though, on average, the droughts are mostly mild. The occurrence and the spatial distribution of drought in Zimbabwe was also found to be random affecting different places from season to season thus the authors conclude that most parts of the country are drought prone.

Originality/value
– Remote sensing technologies utilising such indices as the VCI can be used for drought monitoring in Zimbabwe.
A model for destination strategy assessment: an analysis of Italian urban destinations
Authors: De Carlo Manuela 
Published: April 2015

Purpose
– This study aims to develop and validate a scale for the assessment of the quality of the meta-management process that helps urban destinations to identify potential improvement in their strategy and possible paths to enhance destination competitiveness.

Design/methodology/approach
– In particular, through an empirical analysis of all the Italian cities with tourism certification (138 urban destinations), a model is proposed, linking specific portal functions to the achievement of six meta-management processes (product development, segment selection, customer relation management, promotion, destination image and brand management and management of distribution channels). Through a comparison with a competitive set of excellent international destinations, the study identifies priorities for competitiveness enhancement.

Findings
– The results of the study contribute to the ongoing debate on destination competitiveness and destination web site evaluation.

Originality/value
– From the managerial point of view, the model helps destination managers to control destination strategy and create consensus among all the stakeholders on the actions to achieve them.
An attempt of a crystal ball for hotels in a gaming destination, Macao
Authors: Lam Cindia Ching-Chi , Lei Clara Weng-Si 
Published: April 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to consider the issue of forecasting hotel room rate with data from 2004 onwards and the forecast horizons of 91 observations.Design/methodology/approach– This study employs a set of time series data (91 observations) on average monthly hotel room rates to generate an Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average Models (ARIMA) forecasting model.Findings– Through the employment of 74 percent observations, with 26 percent withhold for evaluation checking, six best models are identified from 50 models under study. The final model reports a high level of predictive accuracy and provides useful insights for hoteliers to form business strategies.Originality/value– This research provides a well-defined model to forecast the room rate of three-star hotels in the city. The research findings provide good ground for strategic management of the industry, in which there is an imbalance between demand and supply of hotel accommodations. In addition, being the first of its kind in one of the largest gaming revenue generation city in the world, this research provides valuable information for further research of its kind in the future.
Secondary analysis in the social sciences and its relation to futures studies
Authors: Vezzoni Cristiano 
Published: April 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to show the importance of secondary analysis to social sciences and to futures studies, both for research and teaching purposes.Design/methodology/approach– An illustration of the main characteristics of secondary analysis, presenting it as a theory-driven activity where the definition of the research design plays a fundamental role.Findings– This paper extends the secondary analysis approach to the study of the future. The utility of secondary analysis for futures studies is illustrated by means of the presentation of two examples developed in the field of the sociology of religion.Originality/value– The results are useful for those who want to develop sound and robust approaches to the study of social change, taking into consideration the simulation of possible future scenarios.
Complexity and social sciences
Authors: Birner Jack 
Published: April 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to give an outline of the main topics of an introductory course in complexity and social sciences.Design/methodology/approach– This paper consists of a survey of the main issues and some of the classical literature for an audience with no background in philosophy of science, social philosophy, the literature on complex systems and social choice.Findings– In the didactical framework of the article, it would be more accurate to speak of learning objectives rather than findings. The learning objectives are the acquisition of the basic knowledge for understanding the features, the possibilities and the limitations of scientific explanations and predictions and their applications in the long-term perspective of complex social systems.Research limitations/implications– Again, the implications are didactic. The basic knowledge that constitutes the learning objective of the course serves to give students the instruments for recognizing the main opportunities and obstacles in social forecasting.Practical implications– The practical implications of this paper include making students aware of complexity-related problems in their working environment and of the opportunities and constraints involved in solving them.Social implications– Operators who are aware of the main issues involved can contribute to a more balanced approach to social forecasting: avoiding to raise unrealistic expectations and making more efficient use of the available instruments.Originality/value– This paper summarizes an original combination of elements from the philosophy of science, epistemology, social philosophy and social choice.
Teaching statistics in the context of social foresight. An applied approach based on the use of an open-source software
Authors: Giuliani Diego , Dickson Maria Michela , Espa Giuseppe 
Published: April 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to present the contents and the didactic approach that characterize, respectively, the “Introductory Statistics with R” and “Statistics and Foresight” courses of the Master in Social Foresight.

Design/methodology/approach
– The two courses “Introductory Statistics with R” and “Statistics and Foresight” are designed to provide an introduction to quantitative methods in the social sciences with specific applications to social foresight. In particular, the first course introduces students to data analysis providing the necessary tools to study and represent socio-economic phenomena through graphical summaries and numerical measures. During the course, example applications based on the use of the open-source software R are shown. At the end, the students should be able to perform data management, conduct descriptive analysis of categorical and quantitative variables and analyze bivariate distributions. The subsequent course “Statistics and Foresight” presents the most efficient methods to make decisions in a context of uncertainty while visualizing the potential errors of wrong decisions and computing the probability of their occurrence.

Findings
– This paper is a description of an interesting and promising way of teaching applied statistics in social sciences.

Practical implications
– With the main aim of learning the correct use of statistics, specific attention is devoted to the use and interpretation of the aforementioned methods rather than to their theoretical aspects. Even in the second course, an important role is played by the treatment of real data by the use of the R software.

Originality/value
– This paper attempts to systematize a method of teaching statistics based on the practical use of open-source software.
Development of bio-active pigment printed fabric loaded with nano-sized silver/zinc particles
Authors: Tutak Mustafa , Bilget Özlem 
Published: April 2015

Purpose
– This paper aims to evaluate the antibacterial properties of pigment printed fabric loaded with nano-sized silver and zinc.

Design/methodology/approach
– The pigment printing paste was mixed with nano-sized silver/zinc particles and applied to the cotton fabrics by the hand screen-printing technique. The nano-sized particles, distribution on the fabric surface, were analysed by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The ASTM E2149-01 test method was used to determine the bacteriodynamic activity of the treated fabrics. The wash and light fastness properties of the treated fabrics were investigated.

Findings
– The experimental results of the study showed that antibacterial properties could be obtained by loading with nano-size silver/zinc particles on pigment printed cotton fabrics. There is no negative or positive effect of the addition of nano silver/zinc particles to the printing paste on fastness properties.

Research limitations/implications
– The nano-sized metal particles and pigment printing paste should be well mixed to achieve uniform distribution on the printed surface.

Practical implications
– The described process marks the introduction of a nano-technological aspect to pigment printing by its application to cotton fabrics.

Originality/value
– The novelty/originality of the study lies in the new application process of nano-size silver/zinc particles to the textile pigment printing for antibacterial properties.
Enterprise systems: are we ready for future sustainable cities
Authors: Ahmad Naim , Mehmood Rashid 
Published: April 2015

Purpose
– This paper aims to revisit the adoption reasons of enterprise systems (ES) and supply chain management systems (SCMS) and to explore the new dimensions of sustainability required to be added in the whole process of adoption of these systems. Moreover, it aims to explore the benefits of ES to organizations and to relate these benefits to the ES adoption in future sustainable city settings. Future cities will have micro-industries requiring dynamic interactions and will be dependent on efficient supply chains. The recent developments in information and communications technology (ICT) such as cloud computing through its dynamic, on-demand and service-based delivery are making it possible to achieve those goals for supply chains. The ES in general and more specifically SCMS have integrated organizations into one seamless mesh.

Design/methodology/approach
– This paper presents a framework for adoption of sustainable ES in a smart city setting. The framework, firstly, is presented at a macro-level, particularly incorporating the relative significance of motivational factors for sustainable ES adoption. Subsequently, The authors study the benefits of ES as perceived by large and small and medium enterprise (SME) organizations using 100 case studies and discuss how these benefits can be realized for smart cities by projecting the ES benefits onto the proposed framework. The benefits are estimated with the Shang and Seddon’s (2002) framework.

Findings
– The adoption of ES initiated with environmental factors and mediated with business and technical factors will bring benefits in all the dimensions of triple bottom line in addition to the firm’s performance. ES will have pivotal role in future smart city settings and will be able to offer social, environmental and economic sustainability in addition to traditional organizational performance indicators.

Originality/value
– The proposed framework for ES adoption will bring ES packages (particularly, the required relative significance of adoption reasons) into the perspective of sustainable development. Moreover, the study of its benefits in relation to the proposed sustainable ES adoption framework presented in this paper will help in motivating organizations to incorporate social, economic and environmental sustainability into their core business objectives.
Contraindications to Anticoagulation Therapy and Eligibility for Novel Anticoagulants in Older Patients with Atrial Fibrillation
Authors: Steinberg Benjamin A. , Greiner Melissa A. , Hammill Bradley G. , Curtis Lesley H. , Benjamin Emelia J. , Heckbert Susan R. , Piccini Jonathan P. 
Published: April 2015

SummaryAimsOral anticoagulation therapy prevents stroke and improves survival in patients with atrial fibrillation, but the therapy is underutilized. We sought to identify the prevalence of contraindications for oral anticoagulation and the proportion of patients potentially eligible for different agents.MethodsWe identified patients with nonacute atrial fibrillation in a nationally representative 5% sample of 2009 Medicare data. We divided the population into patients ineligible for any oral anticoagulant, patients eligible for warfarin only, and patients eligible for any anticoagulant. We compared patient characteristics and the use of anticoagulation among the subgroups.ResultsAmong 86,671 patients with atrial fibrillation, 1872 (2.2%) were ineligible for anticoagulation because of an absolute contraindication, most frequently a history of intracranial hemorrhage (60%). Patients ineligible for any anticoagulant were the same age as the overall group (mean age, 80.5 vs. 80.4 years). However, they had higher rates of dementia (19% vs. 8.6%) and heart failure (59% vs. 43%) and higher mean CHADS2 scores (3.8 vs. 2.8). Of the remaining 84,799 patients eligible for anticoagulation, 7146 (8.4%) were eligible for warfarin only (most commonly because of mechanical heart valves [66%] and end‐stage renal disease [12%]). Sixty‐five percent of patients eligible for anticoagulation received warfarin, and the proportion was similar for patients with a relatively high risk of bleeding.ConclusionsOlder adults with atrial fibrillation rarely have absolute contraindications to oral anticoagulation therapy. Among patients without contraindications, most appeared to be eligible for any anticoagulant, and relatively high‐risk features appeared not to influence warfarin use.
Expanding the Wilson Cycle Based on Worldwide Comparison of Continental Structures Revealed by Lithospheric Geophysical Investigations
Authors: Wencai YANG 
Published: April 2015

AbstractWorldwide comparison of lithospheric investigation results achieved from projects of COCORP, BIRPS, DEKORP, LITHOPROBE, ICDP, ECORS and SINOPROBE enables us to expand the classical Wilson cycle, which mainly describes evolution of ocean plates, into a complete and detailed cycle that describes generation, development and evolution of both ocean and continent plates. The expanded Wilson cycle presented in this paper introduces the evolution sequences of continental lithospheric processes by adding into the classical Wilson cycle with ocean‐continent transition, continental collision and accretion, as well as continental rifting and splitting in details. These mentioned continental lithospheric processes have been presented by the author in a series of recent review papers in detail, and their summary and further deduction is presented in this paper.
Zircon U‐Pb Geochronology and Hf Isotopic Constraints on Petrogenesis of Plagiogranite from the Cuomuqu Ophiolite, Bangong Lake Area, North Tibet
Authors: Zhengxin YIN , Yajuan YUAN , Baofeng LÜ , Zhourong CAI , Hao ZHENG , Qiangtai HUANG , Bin XIA , Yun ZHONG , Zhongyu XIA , Xiaolong SHI , Yao GUAN 
Published: April 2015

AbstractField observation, geochemical signatures and zircon Hf isotope data indicate that Cuomuqu ophiolite in the Bangonghu area was formed in a back‐arc basin (BAB) above a supra‐subduction zone (SSZ). Zircon U‐Pb dating of the diabase from the Cuomuqu massif yielded an age of 164.3±1.9 Ma, thus indicating that the ophiolite complex was formed in the Middle Jurassic during back‐arc extension of the mature Bangonghu‐Nujiang Ocean. The zircon εHf(t) and TDMC values of the plagiogranite are similar to the εHf(t) and TDM of the diabase, respectively. The mode of occurrence of plagiogranites and their bulk‐rock and Hf isotope characteristics indicate that they were derived from the mantle, associated with the surrounding gabbro and diabase, and were formed by partial melting of altered and hydrated mafic rocks under shear conditions during lateral drifting of the oceanic crust. The zircon U‐Pb age of the plagiogranite is 156.4±1.4 Ma, and it is 7.9 Ma younger than the hosting diabase. In this study, zircon chronological and Hf isotopic data were tentatively analyzed to determine the genesis of plagiogranites in the Cuomuqu ophiolite complex.
Paleostress Reconstruction of Micangshan Anticlinorium on the Southern Margin of the Qinling Orogenic Belts, China
Authors: Jinxi LI , Zhiwu LI , Shugen LIU , Dong SUN , Bin DENG 
Published: April 2015

AbstractBrittle structures in rock of different ages can be used to establish the tectonic evolution of an orogenic belt through paleostress calculations. Micangshan is located at the southern margin of the Qinling orogenic belt, between the SE‐trending Longmenshan fold‐and‐thrust belt and the arcuate Dabashan thrust‐and‐fold belt. Structural observations revealed that the dominant structures are reverse and strike‐slip faults and folds with E–W and NE–SE trends. To increase knowledge of the tectonic evolution of the Micangshan anticlinorium, faults, joints, veins, and folds were measured at more than eighty sites. On the basis of structural analysis, it emerged that the multiphase paleostress fields became established after the oblique collision between the North and South China plates. The earliest stress field with N–S compression was established during the Micangshan uplift associated with the E–W trending faults and folds. Subsequently, a N–S extension occurred when the Qinling orogenic belt collapsed. Then NW–SE compression developed, with NE trending faults and folds forming in relation to Longmenshan thrusting toward southwest on the eastern margin of the Tibetan plateau. With the development of the arcuate Dabashan orogenic belt, the compression stress orientation of the Micangshan anticlinorium altered from NE–SW to E–W.
CCA Inferred Environmental Implications of Common Ostracods on the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Gao SONG , Hailei WANG , Mianping ZHENG 
Published: April 2015

Abstract103 surface sediment samples in 71 water bodies, such as lakes with different salinity, swamps, shallow puddles and rivers on the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau (QTP), were collected to study the ecological distribution of living ostracods and their environmental implications. Total of 12 genus and 45 species living ostracods are identified. According to the frequencies and abundance of ostracods occurrence, Limnocythere dubiosa, Limnocytherellina kunlunensis, Ilyocypris bradyi, Condona candida, Eucypris rischtanica and Leucocythere dilatata are the common species on the QTP, with occurrence frequency of more than 8 and abundance of more than 570 in the 71 water bodies. Among them, L. dubiosa, occurring in 28 water bodies with 2177 shells, is the most widely distributed ostracod in this research. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) indicates high correlation between species and environmental variables, suggesting that the occurrence of species is strongly related to the changes in ecological conditions of habitats. Among eight environmental factors, salinity and pH value are the most affective variables that influence the species occurrence. L. kunlunensis is positively correlated with salinity while E. rischtanica is negatively correlated with salinity. C. candida has a positive correlation with salinity, as does I. bradyi although there is not such a strong correlation. L. dubiosa displays a positive correlation with pH value. Consequently, we discuss the environmental implications of the common living ostracods on the QTP based on the CCA as well as the distribution of ostracod species in different salinity and pH values water. L. dubiosa, L. kunlunensis and E. rischtanica are euryhaline species, among which, L. dubiosa is the most adaptable species on the QTP with large occurrence in sundry salinity water and the most widely adaptive range for pH values. L. kunlunensis prefers to saline water while E. rischtanica prefers to fresh water. Both L. kunlunensis and E. rischtanica can live in water from faintly acid to alkaline, in contrast, L. dubiosa only appears in neutral and alkaline water bodies. I. bradyi only occurs in fresh water and oligohaline water with a large pH tolerance range tolerance range from weakly acidic water to alkaline water weakly acidic water to alkaline water. C. Candida lives in freshwater, with pH value above eight. The six common species reach maximum abundance in alkaline water (pH 8–10) except for Ilyocypris bradyi.
Association of lymphotoxin alpha polymorphism with systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis: a meta‐analysis
Authors: Zhang Chao , Zhao Meng‐Qin , Liu Jie , Huang Qing , Li Peng , Ni Jing , Liang Yan , Pan Hai‐Feng , Ye Dong‐Qing 
Published: April 2015

AbstractAimThe aim of this study was to perform a meta‐analysis of eligible studies to derive precise estimation of the associations of lymphotoxin alpha (LTA) 252 A>G polymorphism (rs909253) with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) risk.MethodData were collected from the following electronic databases, including EMBASE, PubMed and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). A total of 19 studies (13 studies involving 1346 SLE patients and 1951 controls, six studies involving 1079 RA patients and 1057 controls) were included.ResultsThis meta‐analysis showed no evidence of significant association of the A allele with SLE susceptibility (odds ratio [OR] 1.26; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.98–1.62, P = 0.073), but it showed a weaker association under an additive model (OR 1.63, 95%CI 1.01–2.65, P = 0.047). Stratification by ethnicity indicated that the variant A allele carriers increased the risk of SLE in Asians (OR 1.91, 95%CI 1.44–2.53, P < 0.001). However, we failed to reveal any association between LTA gene 252 A>G polymorphism and RA risk under all models (for A vs. G: OR 1.02, 95%CI 0.79–1.33, P = 0.853; for AA + AG vs. GG: OR 0.86, 95%CI 0.52–1.41, P = 0.542; for AA vs. AG + GG: OR 1.19, 95%CI 0.80–1.78, P = 0.394, for AA vs. GG: OR 1.03, 95%CI 0.58–1.84, P = 0.919). Similar results were obtained in the subgroup analysis based on ethnicity.ConclusionThe present study suggests that LTA 252 A>G polymorphism is associated with SLE susceptibility in Asians, and there is no significant association between LTA 252 A>G polymorphism and RA.