WorldWideScience

Sample records for rapidly changing knowledge

  1. Rapid ecosystem change challenges the adaptive capacity of Local Environmental Knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández-Llamazares, Álvaro; Díaz-Reviriego, Isabel; Luz, Ana C; Cabeza, Mar; Pyhälä, Aili; Reyes-García, Victoria

    2015-03-01

    The use of Local Environmental Knowledge has been considered as an important strategy for adaptive management in the face of Global Environmental Change. However, the unprecedented rates at which global change occurs may pose a challenge to the adaptive capacity of local knowledge systems. In this paper, we use the concept of the shifting baseline syndrome to examine the limits in the adaptive capacity of the local knowledge of an indigenous society facing rapid ecosystem change. We conducted semi-structured interviews regarding perceptions of change in wildlife populations and in intergenerational transmission of knowledge amongst the Tsimane', a group of hunter-gatherers of Bolivian Amazonia ( n = 300 adults in 13 villages). We found that the natural baseline against which the Tsimane' measure ecosystem changes might be shifting with every generation as a result of (a) age-related differences in the perception of change and (b) a decrease in the intergenerational sharing of environmental knowledge. Such findings suggest that local knowledge systems might not change at a rate quick enough to adapt to conditions of rapid ecosystem change, hence potentially compromising the adaptive success of the entire social-ecological system. With the current pace of Global Environmental Change, widening the gap between the temporal rates of on-going ecosystem change and the timescale needed for local knowledge systems to adjust to change, efforts to tackle the shifting baseline syndrome are urgent and critical for those who aim to use Local Environmental Knowledge as a tool for adaptive management.

  2. Indigenous people's detection of rapid ecological change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aswani, Shankar; Lauer, Matthew

    2014-06-01

    When sudden catastrophic events occur, it becomes critical for coastal communities to detect and respond to environmental transformations because failure to do so may undermine overall ecosystem resilience and threaten people's livelihoods. We therefore asked how capable of detecting rapid ecological change following massive environmental disruptions local, indigenous people are. We assessed the direction and periodicity of experimental learning of people in the Western Solomon Islands after a tsunami in 2007. We compared the results of marine science surveys with local ecological knowledge of the benthos across 3 affected villages and 3 periods before and after the tsunami. We sought to determine how people recognize biophysical changes in the environment before and after catastrophic events such as earthquakes and tsunamis and whether people have the ability to detect ecological changes over short time scales or need longer time scales to recognize changes. Indigenous people were able to detect changes in the benthos over time. Detection levels differed between marine science surveys and local ecological knowledge sources over time, but overall patterns of statistically significant detection of change were evident for various habitats. Our findings have implications for marine conservation, coastal management policies, and disaster-relief efforts because when people are able to detect ecological changes, this, in turn, affects how they exploit and manage their marine resources. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

  3. Environmental impacts of rapid water level changes; Miljoekonsekvenser av raske vannstandsendringer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arnekleiv, Jo Vegar; Bakken, Tor Haakon; Bogen, Jim; Boensnes, Truls Erik; Elster, Margrethe; Harby, Atle; Kutznetsova, Yulia; Saltveit, Svein Jakob; Sauterleute, Julian; Stickler, Morten; Sundt, Haakon; Tjomsland, Torulv; Ugedal, Ola

    2012-07-01

    This report summarizes the state of knowledge of the environmental impacts of power driving and rapid water level changes and describes possible mitigation measures. The report assesses the environmental effects of possible increased power installation in Mauranger and Tonstad power plants, based on existing data and knowledge. At Straumsmo plants in Barduelva there are collected some physical data and the environmental impact of existing power driving is considered. (eb)

  4. On being a scientist in a rapidly changing world.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandel, I D

    1996-02-01

    The practice of biological science has changed dramatically since mid-century, reshaped not only by a rapid series of landmark discoveries, but also by governmental directives, institutional policies, and public attitudes. Until 1964, the major influences were the mentor, who provided direction and indoctrination into the culture of science, and in dentistry, the newly established NIDR, which fueled the research engine with an expanding research and training program. The 1965-74 period witnessed the advent of the Institutional Review Board, an increased social involvement of biological scientists, and a recognition of the need for biological and physical safeguards in the conduct of research. The most turbulent years were 1975-89, when there was a confluence of animal rights activism and regulation, growing concerns with scientific fraud and publication malpractice, and the stresses and strains (and opportunities) resulting from the rapid expansion of the academic-industrial complex. The current period is characterized by rapid pace, high volume, and an increased depth and breadth of knowledge-a major change in scale in the conduct of science. It is an exciting time but one in which ethical issues are multiplying. Attention must be paid.

  5. Rapid knowledge assessment (RKA): Assessing students content knowledge through rapid, in class assessment of expertise

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connell, Erin

    Understanding how students go about problem solving in chemistry lends many possible advantages for interventions in teaching strategies for the college classroom. The work presented here is the development of an in-classroom, real-time, formative instrument to assess student expertise in chemistry with the purpose of developing classroom interventions. The development of appropriate interventions requires the understanding of how students go about starting to solve tasks presented to them, what their mental effort (load on working memory) is, and whether or not their performance was accurate. To measure this, the Rapid Knowledge Assessment (RKA) instrument uses clickers (handheld electronic instruments for submitting answers) as a means of data collection. The classroom data was used to develop an algorithm to deliver student assessment scores, which when correlated to external measure of standardized American Chemical Society (ACS) examinations and class score show a significant relationship between the accuracy of knowledge assessment (p=0.000). Use of eye-tracking technology and student interviews supports the measurements found in the classroom.

  6. Eurogin Roadmap 2015: How has HPV knowledge changed our practice: Vaccines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brotherton, Julia M L; Jit, Mark; Gravitt, Patti E; Brisson, Marc; Kreimer, Aimée R; Pai, Sara I; Fakhry, Carole; Monsonego, Joseph; Franceschi, Silvia

    2016-08-01

    This review is one of two complementary reviews that have been prepared in the framework of the Eurogin Roadmap 2015 to evaluate how knowledge about HPV is changing practices in HPV infection and disease control through vaccination and screening. In this review of HPV vaccine knowledge, we present the most significant findings of the past year which have contributed to our knowledge of the two HPV prophylactic vaccines currently in widespread use and about the recently licensed nonavalent HPV vaccine. Whereas anal cancer is dealt with in the companion mini-review on screening, we also review here the rapidly evolving evidence regarding HPV-associated head and neck cancer and priority research areas. © 2016 UICC.

  7. Knowledge acquisition and rapid protyping of an expert system: Dealing with real world problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bailey, Patrick A.; Doehr, Brett B.

    1988-01-01

    The knowledge engineering and rapid prototyping phases of an expert system that does fault handling for a Solid Amine, Water Desorbed CO2 removal assembly for the Environmental Control and Life Support System for space based platforms are addressed. The knowledge acquisition phase for this project was interesting because it could not follow the textbook examples. As a result of this, a variety of methods were used during the knowledge acquisition task. The use of rapid prototyping and the need for a flexible prototype suggested certain types of knowledge representation. By combining various techniques, a representative subset of faults and a method for handling those faults was achieved. The experiences should prove useful for developing future fault handling expert systems under similar constraints.

  8. Knowledge bases, clinical decision support systems, and rapid learning in oncology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Peter Paul

    2015-03-01

    One of the most important benefits of health information technology is to assist the cognitive process of the human mind in the face of vast amounts of health data, limited time for decision making, and the complexity of the patient with cancer. Clinical decision support tools are frequently cited as a technologic solution to this problem, but to date useful clinical decision support systems (CDSS) have been limited in utility and implementation. This article describes three unique sources of health data that underlie fundamentally different types of knowledge bases which feed into CDSS. CDSS themselves comprise a variety of models which are discussed. The relationship of knowledge bases and CDSS to rapid learning health systems design is critical as CDSS are essential drivers of rapid learning in clinical care. Copyright © 2015 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.

  9. Our knowledge on climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Turkenburg, W.C.; Van Wijk, A.J.M.

    1991-01-01

    A workshop was organised to evaluate and discuss the report 'Scientific Assessment of Climate Change (1990)' of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Thirty prominent Dutch experts in the field attended the workshop. The introductions and discussions held on our knowledge of climatic change as a result of the growth of the greenhouse effect caused by the emission of greenhouse gases from human actions are presented. It is concluded that the IPCC-report shows in a clear and balanced way the certainties and uncertainties in our knowledge of climate change. There is a large chance that the earth's climate will change considerably, if the policy remains unamended. 15 figs., 2 apps

  10. Wiki management a revolutionary new model for a rapidly changing and collaborative world

    CERN Document Server

    Collins, Rod

    2013-01-01

    We now live in a "wiki" world where mass collaboration is not only possible-it's often the best solution. Conventional management thought assumes that command-and-control is the most effective way to organize the efforts of large numbers of people, but rapid change and increasing complexity have rendered that model obsolete. As a result, most managers today lack the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in an age when networks are proving smarter and faster than hierarchies. Designing organizations for mass collaboration demands a new and very different model-wiki management.

  11. Tropical vegetation evidence for rapid sea level changes associated with Heinrich Events

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gonzalez, Catalina; Dupont, Lydie M, E-mail: catalina@uni-bremen.d, E-mail: dupont@uni-bremen.d [MARUM - Centre for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Strasse, D-28359 Germany (Germany)

    2010-03-15

    A Cariaco Basin pollen record shows the development of tropical salt marshes during marine isotope stage 3. Rapid and abrupt expansions of salt marsh vegetation in tropical South America are associated with north Atlantic Heinrich Events stadials (HE-stadials). Intervals of salt marsh expansion have an internal structure, which consists of a recurrent alternation of species that starts with pollen increments of Chenopodiaceae, that are followed by increments of grasses, and subsequently by increments of Cyperaceae. This pattern suggests a successional process that is determined by the close relationship between sea-level and plant community dynamics. The salt tolerant Chenopodiaceae, indicate hypersaline intertidal environments, which were most likely promoted by extremely dry atmospheric conditions. Rapid sea-level rise characterizes the onset of HE-stadials, causing the continued recruitment of pioneer species, which are the only ones tolerating rapid rates of disturbance. Once sea-level rise decelerates, marsh plants are able to trap and stabilize sediments, favouring the establishment of more competitive species. These results add to the scarce knowledge on the dynamics of tropical salt marsh ecosystems, and provide independent paleoclimatic evidence on sea-level changes following Antarctic climate variability.

  12. Evaluating the Effects of Climate Change on Indigenous Marine Mammal Hunting in Northern and Western Alaska Using Traditional Knowledge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Henry P. Huntington

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Iñupiaq, Yup'ik, and Cup'ik hunters in 14 Alaska Native communities described a rapidly changing marine environment in qualitative traditional knowledge interviews conducted over the course of a decade with 110 individuals. Based on their observations, sea ice conditions are the most notable change, with later freeze-up, thinner and less reliable ice, and earlier and more rapid break-up. Marine mammal populations in northern and western Alaska have been affected by changes in the physical environment, with alterations to migratory timing and routes, distribution, abundance, health, and behavior. Despite these changes, marine mammal populations in the region remain generally healthy and abundant. For hunters, access is the biggest challenge posed by changing conditions. Sea ice is less safe for travel, particularly for more southerly communities, making hunting more dangerous or impossible. Rapid break-up has reduced the time available for hunting amid broken ice in spring, formerly a dependable and preferred season. Social change also affects the ways in which hunting patterns change. Increased industrial development, for example, can also alter marine mammal distribution and reduce hunting opportunity. Reduced use of animal skins for clothing and other purposes has reduced demand. More powerful and reliable engines make day trips easier, reducing the time spent camping. An essential component of adjustment and adaptation to changing conditions is the retention of traditional values and the acquisition of new information to supplement traditional knowledge. Our findings are consistent with, and add detail to, what is known from previous traditional knowledge and scientific studies. The ways in which hunters gather new information and incorporate it into their existing understanding of the marine environment deserves further attention, both as a means of monitoring change and as a key aspect of adaptation. While the changes to date have been

  13. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment: MA Rapid Land Cover Change

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment: MA Rapid Land Cover Change provides data and information on global and regional land cover change in raster format for...

  14. Tracking and unpacking rapid Arctic change: Indicators of community health and sustainability in northern Alaska and links to cryospheric change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eicken, H.; Sam, J. M.; Mueller-stoffels, M.; Lovecraft, A. L.; Fresco, N. L.

    2017-12-01

    health and sustainability. The study provides guidance on Arctic observing system design, highlighting the importance of knowledge co-production to capture those aspects of climate, cryospheric and environmental change that are relevant in the context of broader responses to rapid Arctic change.

  15. Evolution of knowledge management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mašić Branislav

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The theory of business and management is changing rapidly, and changes are expected to continue. Emerging concepts and paradigms are being introduced and applied to organizational life. Knowledge management (KM is not new but rather newly structured concept. Although the concept was not popularized until the last two decades of the 20th century, transmitting and managing knowledge stretch back into distant history. The aim of this paper is to analyse knowledge management evolutionary history and to investigate the use of knowledge management as management tool in organizations. This paper is focused on systematic review of literature on knowledge management. Emphasis is placed on correlation between knowledge management and information and communication technology and advent and use of new tools and techniques; change in the way knowledge has been conceptualized; social context of KM, big data and analytics, artificial intelligence. The importance of knowledge itself was not questioned, as it is recognized as highly valuable resource.

  16. Changing Knowledge, Changing Technology: Implications for Teacher Education Futures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burden, Kevin; Aubusson, Peter; Brindley, Sue; Schuck, Sandy

    2016-01-01

    Recent research in teacher education futures has identified two themes that require further study: the changing nature of knowledge and the changing capabilities of technologies. This article examines the intersection of these two themes and their implications for teacher education. The research employed futures methodologies based on scenario…

  17. Method for producing rapid pH changes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, J.H.; Campillo, A.J.; Shapiro, S.L.; Winn, K.R.

    A method of initiating a rapid pH change in a solution comprises irradiating the solution with an intense flux of electromagnetic radiation of a frequency which produces a substantial pK change to a compound in solution. To optimize the resulting pH change, the compound being irradiated in solution should have an excited state lifetime substantially longer than the time required to establish an excited state acid-base equilibrium in the solution. Desired pH changes can be accomplished in nanoseconds or less by means of picosecond pulses of laser radiation.

  18. Long-term culture change related to rapid response system implementation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevens, Jennifer; Johansson, Anna; Lennes, Inga; Hsu, Douglas; Tess, Anjala; Howell, Michael

    2014-12-01

    Increasing attention to patient safety in training hospitals may come at the expense of trainee autonomy and professional growth. This study sought to examine changes in medical trainees' self-reported behaviour after the institution-wide implementation of a rapid response system. We conducted a two-point cross-sectional survey of medical trainees in 2006, during the implementation of a rapid response system, and in 2010, in a single academic medical centre. A novel instrument was used to measure trainee likelihood of calling for supervisory assistance, perception of autonomy, and comfort in managing decompensating patients. Non-parametric tests to assess for change were used and year of training was evaluated as an effect modifier. Response rates were 38% in 2006 and 70% in 2010. After 5 years of the full implementation of the rapid response system, residents were significantly more likely to report calling their attending physicians for assistance (rising from 40% to 65% of relevant situations; p autonomy at 5 years after the implementation of the rapid response system. These changes were mirrored in the actual use of the rapid response system, which increased by 41% during the 5-year period after adjustment for patient volume (p < 0.0001). A primary team-focused implementation of a rapid response system was associated with durable changes in resident physicians' reported behaviour, including increased comfort with involving more experienced physicians and managing unstable patients. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Climate change: linking traditional and scientific knowledge

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Riewe, R. R. (Roderick R.); Oakes, Jill E. (Jill Elizabeth)

    2006-01-01

    This book includes papers written by over 50 community experts and scientists addressing theoretical concerns, knowledge transfer, adapting to climate change, implications of changing weather, water...

  20. Public Perception of Climate Change: The Importance of Knowledge and Cultural Worldviews.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Jing; Visschers, Vivianne H M; Siegrist, Michael

    2015-12-01

    The importance of knowledge for lay people's climate change concerns has been questioned in recent years, as it had been suggested that cultural values are stronger predictors of concern about climate change than knowledge. Studies that simultaneously measured knowledge related to climate change and cultural values have, however, been missing. We conducted a mail survey in the German-speaking part of Switzerland (N = 1,065). Results suggested that cultural worldviews and climate-related knowledge were significantly related with people's concern about climate change. Also, cultural worldviews and climate-relevant knowledge appeared important for people's willingness to change behaviors and to accept climate change policies. In addition, different types of knowledge were found to have different impacts on people's concern about climate change, their willingness to change behaviors, and their acceptance of policies about climate change. Specifically, causal knowledge significantly increased concern about climate change and willingness to support climate-friendly policies. We therefore concluded that risk communication should focus on causal knowledge, provided this knowledge does not threaten cultural values. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

  1. Readiness for changes: New competences for knowledge society

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Đurišić-Bojanović Mirosava

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available In the conditions of high instability, uncertainty and changing of environment of contemporary organizations, management of changes and knowledge become priority social strategies, and readiness for changes, flexible usage of knowledge and creativity become the most important competences of people in contemporary organizations. Knowledge, creativity, taking initiative and readiness for changes are the condition of development, survival and success of organizations, but of individuals as well. Our basic question is aimed at the possibilities of the contribution of basic education to the preparation of the young for working in turbulent environment, where work and professional competences involve readiness for changes and innovativeness. In terms of educational policy it implies the need for the creation of upbringing- educational model which will be capable of providing optimal answers to the changes in environment. The key notion of pluralist educational concept, based on democratic values, is the acceptance of the plurality of ideas. Our researches suggest a significant positive correlation between the variables tolerance of independence and the acceptance of the plurality of ideas. Based on that fact, using the theoretical analytical method, this paper argues the compatibility of pluralist concept in education with the demands of contemporary organizations from the perspective of preparing the young for the inclusion in work in the uncertain, changeable organizational environment of knowledge society.

  2. Opinions and Knowledge About Climate Change Science in High School Students

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Harker-Schuch, Inez; Henriksen, Christian Bugge

    2013-01-01

    in national and international schools before and after a lecture in climate change science. The results show that knowledge about climate change science significantly affects opinions about climate change. Students with a higher number of correct answers are more likely to have the opinion that humans......This study investigates the influence of knowledge on opinions about climate change in the emerging adults' age group (16-17 years). Furthermore, the effects of a lecture in climate change science on knowledge and opinions were assessed. A survey was conducted in Austria and Denmark on 188 students...... are causing climate change and that both individuals and governments are responsible for addressing climate change. The lecture in climate change science significantly improved knowledge development but did not affect opinions. Knowledge was improved by 11 % after the lecture. However, the percentage...

  3. Co-production of knowledge: recipe for success in land-based climate change adaptation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coninx, Ingrid; Swart, Rob

    2015-04-01

    After multiple failures of scientists to trigger policymakers and other relevant actors to take action when communicating research findings, the request for co-production (or co-creation) of knowledge and stakeholder involvement in climate change adaptation efforts has rapidly increased over the past few years. In particular for land-based adaptation, on-the-ground action is often met by societal resistance towards solutions proposed by scientists, by a misfit of potential solutions with the local context, leading to misunderstanding and even rejection of scientific recommendations. A fully integrative co-creation process in which both scientists and practitioners discuss climate vulnerability and possible responses, exploring perspectives and designing adaptation measures based on their own knowledge, is expected to prevent the adaptation deadlock. The apparent conviction that co-creation processes result in successful adaptation, has not yet been unambiguously empirically demonstrated, but has resulted in co-creation being one of basic principles in many new research and policy programmes. But is co-creation that brings knowledge of scientists and practitioners together always the best recipe for success in climate change adaptation? Assessing a number of actual cases, the authors have serious doubts. The paper proposes additional considerations for adaptively managing the environment that should be taken into account in the design of participatory knowledge development in which climate scientists play a role. These include the nature of the problem at stake; the values, interests and perceptions of the actors involved; the methods used to build trust, strengthen alignment and develop reciprocal relationships among scientists and practitioners; and the concreteness of the co-creation output.

  4. Rapid Communication: seniority changing transitions in yrast states ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Bhoomika Maheshwari

    2017-10-26

    Oct 26, 2017 ... Rapid Communication: v = 2 seniority changing ... has been extensively used to understand various system- .... states. This understanding supports the previous inter- ..... Financial support from the Ministry of Human Resource.

  5. Opinions and knowledge about climate change science in high school students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harker-Schuch, Inez; Bugge-Henriksen, Christian

    2013-10-01

    This study investigates the influence of knowledge on opinions about climate change in the emerging adults' age group (16-17 years). Furthermore, the effects of a lecture in climate change science on knowledge and opinions were assessed. A survey was conducted in Austria and Denmark on 188 students in national and international schools before and after a lecture in climate change science. The results show that knowledge about climate change science significantly affects opinions about climate change. Students with a higher number of correct answers are more likely to have the opinion that humans are causing climate change and that both individuals and governments are responsible for addressing climate change. The lecture in climate change science significantly improved knowledge development but did not affect opinions. Knowledge was improved by 11 % after the lecture. However, the percentage of correct answers was still below 60 % indicating an urgent need for improving climate change science education.

  6. Major rapid weight loss induces changes in cardiac repolarization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vedel-Larsen, Esben; Iepsen, Eva Winning; Lundgren, Julie

    2016-01-01

    INTRODUCTION: Obesity is associated with increased all-cause mortality, but weight loss may not decrease cardiovascular events. In fact, very low calorie diets have been linked to arrhythmias and sudden death. The QT interval is the standard marker for cardiac repolarization, but T-wave morphology...... analysis has been suggested as a more sensitive method to identify changes in cardiac repolarization. We examined the effect of a major and rapid weight loss on T-wave morphology. METHODS AND RESULTS: Twenty-six individuals had electrocardiograms (ECG) taken before and after eight weeks of weight loss......A1c (pweight loss induces changes in cardiac repolarization. Monitoring of MCS during calorie restriction makes it possible to detect repolarization changes with higher discriminative power than the QT-interval during major rapid weight...

  7. The Rapid Ice Sheet Change Observatory (RISCO)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morin, P.; Howat, I. M.; Ahn, Y.; Porter, C.; McFadden, E. M.

    2010-12-01

    The recent expansion of observational capacity from space has revealed dramatic, rapid changes in the Earth’s ice cover. These discoveries have fundamentally altered how scientists view ice-sheet change. Instead of just slow changes in snow accumulation and melting over centuries or millennia, important changes can occur in sudden events lasting only months, weeks, or even a single day. Our understanding of these short time- and space-scale processes, which hold important implications for future global sea level rise, has been impeded by the low temporal and spatial resolution, delayed sensor tasking, incomplete coverage, inaccessibility and/or high cost of data available to investigators. New cross-agency partnerships and data access policies provide the opportunity to dramatically improve the resolution of ice sheet observations by an order of magnitude, from timescales of months and distances of 10’s of meters, to days and meters or less. Advances in image processing technology also enable application of currently under-utilized datasets. The infrastructure for systematically gathering, processing, analyzing and distributing these data does not currently exist. Here we present the development of a multi-institutional, multi-platform observatory for rapid ice change with the ultimate objective of helping to elucidate the relevant timescales and processes of ice sheet dynamics and response to climate change. The Rapid Ice Sheet Observatory (RISCO) gathers observations of short time- and space-scale Cryosphere events and makes them easily accessible to investigators, media and general public. As opposed to existing data centers, which are structured to archive and distribute diverse types of raw data to end users with the specialized software and skills to analyze them, RISCO focuses on three types of geo-referenced raster (image) data products in a format immediately viewable with commonly available software. These three products are (1) sequences of images

  8. Closing global knowledge gaps : Producing generalized knowledge from case studies of social-ecological systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Magliocca, Nicholas R.; Ellis, Erle C.; Allington, Ginger R.H.; de Bremond, Ariane; Dell'Angelo, Jampel; Mertz, Ole; Messerli, Peter; Meyfroidt, Patrick; Seppelt, Ralf; Verburg, Peter H.

    2018-01-01

    Concerns over rapid widespread changes in social-ecological systems and their consequences for biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, food security, and human livelihoods are driving demands for globally comprehensive knowledge to support decision-making and policy development. Claims of regional or

  9. Ecosystem stewardship: sustainability strategies for a rapidly changing planet

    Science.gov (United States)

    F. Stuart Chapin; Stephen R. Carpenter; Gary P. Kofinas; Carl Folke; Nick Abel; William C. Clark; Per Olsson; D. Mark Stafford Smith; Brian Walker; Oran R. Young; Fikret Berkes; Reinette Biggs; J. Morgan Grove; Rosamond L. Naylor; Evelyn Pinkerton; Will Steffen; Frederick J. Swanson

    2010-01-01

    Ecosystem stewardship is an action-oriented framework intended to foster the social-ecological sustainability of a rapidly changing planet. Recent developments identify three strategies that make optimal use of current understanding in an environment of inevitable uncertainty and abrupt change: reducing the magnitude of, and exposure and sensitivity to, known stresses...

  10. Library service delivery, information literacy knowledge: a modelling ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Knowledge preservation, access to information and dissemination has rapidly changed the way people seek and use information. The study concluded that the application of IT will encourage self sufficiency in food production, good health and rapid development among the citizenry. Keywords: Library service delivery, ...

  11. Disciplinary Representation on Institutional Websites: Changing Knowledge, Changing Power?

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connor, Kate; Yates, Lyn

    2014-01-01

    This paper analyses shifts in the representation of history and physics as named organisational units on Australian university websites over the last 15 years in the context of broader questions about the production of knowledge in contemporary times. It derives from a broader project concerned with disciplinarity, changing university contexts and…

  12. Changes in farmers' knowledge of maize diversity in highland Guatemala

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Etten, van J.

    2006-01-01

    Small-scale studies on long-term change in agricultural knowledge might uncover insights with broader, regional implications. This article evaluates change in farmer knowledge about crop genetic resources in highland Guatemala between 1927/37 and 2004. It concentrates on maize (Zea mays ssp. mays

  13. Environmental impacts of rapid changes in water level; Milj#Latin Small Letter O With Stroke#konsekvenser av raske vannstandsendringer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harby, Atle [Sintef Energy, Trondheim (Norway); Arnekleiv, Jo [NTNU, Trondheim (Norway); Bogen, Jim [NVE, Oslo (Norway)

    2012-07-01

    Flexible operation and peak regulation of hydropower plants (hydropeaking) leads to rapid changes in water levels and water discharge. Due to an increasing share of intermittent energy sources as wind and solar energy in Norway and Europe, we expect to see more flexible operation and increased use of hydropeaking in Norwegian hydropower plants. Environmental impacts will vary depending on local conditions and hydro operations. Some of the environmental impacts of hydropeaking and rapid changes in water level and discharge are well known, where stranding of fish has been most studied, both nationally and internationally. However, there are large knowledge gaps, and there are very few studies of rivers, lakes, reservoirs and fjords downstream of peaking hydropower plants. This report summarizes the knowledge status and presents results from three Norwegian studies with different physical conditions and hydro operations. Not all previous studies have given clear and unambiguous results, but generally we can summarize as follows: Peaking hydropower plants discharging into rivers have considerable higher potential to cause negative effects on physical and biological conditions compared to hydropower plants discharging into reservoirs, lakes and fjords. If it is technically possible to implement slow changes in hydropower production, it will reduce the negative effects on the entire ecosystem. Reducing the rate of change in water level to less than 13 cm per hour gives a significantly reduced risk for stranding of salmonid fish. As far as we know there are not similarly definite guidelines for increasing water level, or for other fish species than salmonids. Fish are more vulnerable to rapid changes in water level during winter than other seasons in Norway due to the fact that low water temperatures directly and indirectly lead to lower mobility in fish. Hydropeaking and flexible operation not leading to significant changes in wetted area will generally not have greater

  14. Revisiting Knowledge Sharing from the Organizational Change Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Sunyoung; Kim, Eun-Jee

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify how knowledge sharing literature has discussed task, structure, technology and people as elements of organizational change and to examine the interactions between the four elements of knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach: The research questions guiding the study are: How do organizational…

  15. Knowledge Sharing and Organizational Change in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dee, Jay; Leisyte, Liudvika

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: Organizational learning in higher education institutions depends upon the ability of managers and academics to maintain a flow of knowledge across the structural boundaries of the university. This paper aims to understand the boundary conditions that foster or impede the flow of knowledge during organizational change at a large public…

  16. Can Knowledge Deficit Explain Societal Perception of Climate Change Risk?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitra, R.; McNeal, K.; Bondell, H.

    2014-12-01

    Climate change literacy efforts have had a rough journey in the past decade. Although scientists have become increasingly convinced about anthropological climate change, change in public opinion has been underwhelming. The unexplained gap between scientific consensus and public opinion has made this topic an important research area in the realm of public understanding of science. Recent research on climate change risk perception (CCRP) has advanced an intriguing hypothesis, namely, cultural cognition thesis (CCT), which posits that the public has adequate knowledge to understand climate change science but people tend to use this knowledge solely to promote their culturally motivated view-point of climate change. This talk provides evidence to demonstrate that despite culture playing a significant role in influencing CCRP, knowledge deficiency remains a persistent problem in our society and contributes to the aforementioned gap. However, such deficits can remain undiagnosed due to limitations of survey design.

  17. Traditional forest-related knowledge and climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    John A. Parrotta; Mauro Agnoletti

    2012-01-01

    The holders and users of traditional forest-related knowledge are on the front lines of global efforts to deal with climate change and its impacts. Because of their close connection with, and high dependence on, forest ecosystems and landscapes, indigenous and local communities are among the fi rst to witness, understand, and experience the impacts of climate change on...

  18. Reducing mental health stigma: the relationship between knowledge and attitude change

    OpenAIRE

    Simmons, Laura; Jones, Tim; Bradley, Eleanor

    2017-01-01

    The impact of how knowledge can effect attitude change is important in order to understand the consequences for stigma. The relationship between increasing subject knowledge of mental health and attitude change was explored. The sample comprised 39 students (18 male and 21 female) from a university in the West Midlands. Participants’ level of knowledge and stigma were recorded through pre- and post-tests using the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS), Community Attitudes toward the Mentall...

  19. Perceptual classification in a rapidly-changing environment

    OpenAIRE

    Summerfield, Christopher; Behrens, Timothy E.; Koechlin, Etienne

    2011-01-01

    Humans and monkeys can learn to classify perceptual information in a statistically optimal fashion if the functional groupings remain stable over many hundreds of trials, but little is known about categorisation when the environment changes rapidly. Here, we used a combination of computational modelling and functional neuroimaging to understand how humans classify visual stimuli drawn from categories whose mean and variance jumped unpredictably. Models based on optimal learning (Bayesian mode...

  20. Rethinking species’ ability to cope with rapid climate change

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hof, Christian; Levinsky, Irina; Bastos Araujo, Miguel

    2011-01-01

    Ongoing climate change is assumed to be exceptional because of its unprecedented velocity. However, new geophysical research suggests that dramatic climatic changes during the Late Pleistocene occurred extremely rapid, over just a few years. These abrupt climatic changes may have been even faster...... than contemporary ones, but relatively few continent-wide extinctions of species have been documented for these periods. This raises questions about the ability of extant species to adapt to ongoing climate change. We propose that the advances in geophysical research challenge current views about...... species' ability to cope with climate change, and that lessons must be learned for modelling future impacts of climate change on species....

  1. Profiles of inconsistent knowledge in children's pathways of conceptual change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Michael; Hardy, Ilonca

    2013-09-01

    Conceptual change requires learners to restructure parts of their conceptual knowledge base. Prior research has identified the fragmentation and the integration of knowledge as 2 important component processes of knowledge restructuring but remains unclear as to their relative importance and the time of their occurrence during development. Previous studies mostly were based on the categorization of answers in interview studies and led to mixed empirical results, suggesting that methodological improvements might be helpful. We assessed 161 third-graders' knowledge about floating and sinking of objects in liquids at 3 measurement points by means of multiple-choice tests. The tests assessed how strongly the children agreed with commonly found but mutually incompatible statements about floating and sinking. A latent profile transition analysis of the test scores revealed 5 profiles, some of which indicated the coexistence of inconsistent pieces of knowledge in learners. The majority of students (63%) were on 1 of 7 developmental pathways between these profiles. Thus, a child's knowledge profile at a point in time can be used to predict further development. The degree of knowledge integration decreased on some individual developmental paths, increased on others, and remained stable on still others. The study demonstrates the usefulness of explicit quantitative models of conceptual change. The results support a constructivist perspective on conceptual development, in which developmental changes of a learner's knowledge base result from idiosyncratic, yet systematic knowledge-construction processes. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  2. Measuring building change : a method to capture building knowledge

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Choukry, M.

    1993-01-01

    Buildings are subject to change of requirements during their periods of use. In the last decades it has been mostly assumed that the rate of change is increasing. Exact description of the type of change or the amount of change is not always investigated. Requirements change knowledge in currently

  3. Building Adaptive Capacity in Changing Social-Ecological Systems: Integrating Knowledge in Communal Land-Use Planning in the Peruvian Amazon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lily O. Rodríguez

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Building resilient sustainable social-ecological systems (SES requires communities to enhance their adaptive capacities. Communal participative land-use planning (Zonificación Participativa Comunal—ZPC is a tool designed for communities to integrating local and scientific knowledge to sustainably organize and manage their SES. Between 2006 and 2011, a ZPC was developed with communities in the buffer zone of Cordillera Azul National Park (Peru, where rapid demographic changes are converting pre-montane seasonally dry forest into agricultural land. Herein, we analyse how the ZPC enhanced adaptive capacity, enabling the SES to cope with environmental, political and economic changes. Based on qualitative, semi-structured interviews, communities are analysed along their capacities in the dimensions social capital, learning, adaptive management and governance. An analysis of yearly high-resolution forest cover data supports our findings. Deforestation activities in biologically sensitive zones decreased rapidly during the time of the ZPC implementation. We find that particularly the long-term presence of the bridging institution and the continuous testing and reflection of the integrated “hybrid knowledge” enabled communities to develop adaptive capacities. The analysis of ZPC our results reveals the enabling conditions for promoting the learning process to develop a sustainable land-use management in the context of migration and rapid changes.

  4. Changing the Focus of Knowledge Management for Nuclear Decommissioning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Radford, R.

    2016-01-01

    Full text: Knowledge Management (KM) has long been a recognized tool for improving the safety, efficiency and effectiveness of nuclear facilities. However, the objectives, tools and mechanisms utilized are often focused on steady-state maintenance of established knowledge and on incremental improvements to current practice. When nuclear facilities transition from routine operations to project-based decommissioning activities there is a need to reconsider the knowledge objectives, methodologies and tools to ensure that KM practices are relevant to the new activities being carried out and provide solutions to the new challenges posed in decommissioning. It is important that the changes required in preparation for and during the decommissioning phase are factored in to knowledge planning to ensure that KM activities are efficient and effective. This transition requires a change in the KM mind-set and a different way of setting new KM objectives. (author

  5. Rapid assessment of insect fauna based on local knowledge: comparing ecological and ethnobiological methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lima, Daniele Cristina de Oliveira; Ramos, Marcelo Alves; da Silva, Henrique Costa Hermenegildo; Alves, Angelo Giuseppe Chaves

    2016-03-01

    The rapid assessment of biodiversity making use of surveys of local knowledge has been successful for different biological taxa. However, there are no reports on the testing of such tools for sampling insect fauna. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of different ethnobiological techniques for rapid sampling of insect fauna. Field research for the conventional survey of insect fauna was conducted on a private farm (9 ° 43'38.95 "S, 37 ° 45'11.97" W) , where there was intensive cultivation of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. (Moench)). The survey of local entomological knowledge was conducted among all the producers of okra living in the rural villages Pereira, Santa Luzia, and Nassau de Souza, within the Jacaré Curituba irrigated settlement scheme. The combined use of the techniques "free list" and projective interviews was analyzed, using two types of visual stimuli: stock photos and an entomological box. During the conventional survey of insect fauna, the species Bemisia tabaci biotype B, Aphis gossypii, Phenacoccus sp., Icerya purchasi and Lagria villosa were the primary pests found in the okra crop. Regarding the survey of insect pests, the results were convergent  in both techniques (conventional sampling and free list). Comparing the interview with visual stimuli (pictures) and specimen witnesses (entomological box) revealed that the latter was more effective. Techniques based on the recording and analysis of local knowledge about insects are effective for quick sampling of pest insects, but ineffective in sampling predator insects. The utilization of collected insects, infested branches, or photos of the symptoms of damage caused by pests in projective interviews is recommended.

  6. The interplay between knowledge, perceived efficacy, and concern about global warming and climate change: a one-year longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milfont, Taciano L

    2012-06-01

    If the long-term goal of limiting warming to less than 2°C is to be achieved, rapid and sustained reductions of greenhouse gas emissions are required. These reductions will demand political leadership and widespread public support for action on global warming and climate change. Public knowledge, level of concern, and perceived personal efficacy, in positively affecting these issues are key variables in understanding public support for mitigation action. Previous research has documented some contradictory associations between knowledge, personal efficacy, and concern about global warming and climate change, but these cross-sectional findings limit inferences about temporal stability and direction of influence. This study examines the relationships between these three variables over a one-year period and three waves with national data from New Zealand. Results showed a positive association between the variables, and the pattern of findings was stable and consistent across the three data points. More importantly, results indicate that concern mediates the influence of knowledge on personal efficacy. Knowing more about global warming and climate change increases overall concern about the risks of these issues, and this increased concern leads to greater perceived efficacy and responsibility to help solving them. Implications for risk communication are discussed. © 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.

  7. Rapid changes in the range limits of Scots pine 4000 years ago

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gear, A.J.; Huntley, B.

    1991-01-01

    Paleoecological data provide estimates of response rates to past climate changes. Fossil Pinus sylvestris stumps in far northern Scotland demonstrate former presence of pine trees where conventional pollen evidence of pine forests is lacking. Radiocarbon, dendrochronological, and fine temporal-resolution palynological data show that pine forest were present for about four centuries some 4,000 years ago; the forests expanded and then retreated rapidly some 70 to 80 kilometers. Despite the rapidity of this response to climate change, it occurred at rates slower by an order of magnitude than those necessary to maintain equilibrium with forecast climate changes attributed to the greenhouse effect

  8. Greening flood protection through knowledge processes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Janssen, Stephanie; Tatenhove, van J.P.M.; Mol, A.P.J.; Otter, H.S.

    2017-01-01

    Greening flood protection (GFP) is increasingly recognized as an adaptive and flexible approach to water management that is well suited to addressing uncertain futures associated with climate change. In the last decade, GFP knowledge and policies have developed rapidly, but implementation has been

  9. Rapid Change Detection Algorithm for Disaster Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michel, U.; Thunig, H.; Ehlers, M.; Reinartz, P.

    2012-07-01

    This paper focuses on change detection applications in areas where catastrophic events took place which resulted in rapid destruction especially of manmade objects. Standard methods for automated change detection prove not to be sufficient; therefore a new method was developed and tested. The presented method allows a fast detection and visualization of change in areas of crisis or catastrophes. While often new methods of remote sensing are developed without user oriented aspects, organizations and authorities are not able to use these methods because of absence of remote sensing know how. Therefore a semi-automated procedure was developed. Within a transferable framework, the developed algorithm can be implemented for a set of remote sensing data among different investigation areas. Several case studies are the base for the retrieved results. Within a coarse dividing into statistical parts and the segmentation in meaningful objects, the framework is able to deal with different types of change. By means of an elaborated Temporal Change Index (TCI) only panchromatic datasets are used to extract areas which are destroyed, areas which were not affected and in addition areas where rebuilding has already started.

  10. NASA/DoD aerospace knowledge diffusion research project. VIII - The role of the information intermediary in the diffusion of aerospace knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinelli, Thomas E.; Kennedy, John M.; Barclay, Rebecca O.

    1990-01-01

    The U.S. aerospace industry is experiencing profound changes created by a combination of domestic actions and circumstances such as airline deregulation. Other changes result from external trends such as emerging foreign competition. These circumstances intensify the need to understand the production, transfer, and utilization of knowledge as a precursor to the rapid diffusion of technology. This article presents a conceptual framework for understanding the diffusion of aerospace knowledge. The framework focuses on the information channels and members of the social system associated with the aerospace knowledge diffusion process, placing particular emphasis on aerospace librarians as information intermediaries.

  11. Effects of Knowledge on Attitude Formation and Change Toward Genetically Modified Foods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Xiaoqin; Xie, Xiaofei

    2015-05-01

    In three waves, this study investigates the impact of risk and benefit knowledge on attitude formation toward genetically modified (GM) foods as well as the moderating effect of knowledge level on attitude change caused by receiving information. The data in Wave 1 (N = 561) demonstrate that both benefit and risk knowledge either directly contribute to attitude formation or indirectly affect attitudes through the mediating roles of benefit and risk perceptions. Overall, benefit and risk knowledge affect consumer attitudes positively and negatively, respectively. In Wave 2, 486 participants from Wave 1 were provided with information about GM foods, and their attitudes were assessed. Three weeks later, 433 of these participants again reported their attitudes. The results indicate that compared with the benefit and mixed information, risk information has a greater and longer lasting impact on attitude change, which results in lower acceptance of GM foods. Furthermore, risk information more strongly influences participants with a higher knowledge level. The moderating effect of knowledge on attitude change may result from these participants' better understanding of and greater trust in the information. These findings highlight the important role of knowledge in attitude formation and attitude change toward GM foods as well as the necessity of considering the determinants of attitude formation in attitude change studies. © 2014 Society for Risk Analysis.

  12. Rapid change of field line connectivity and reconnection in stochastic magnetic fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Yi-Min; Bhattacharjee, A.; Boozer, Allen H.

    2014-01-01

    Magnetic fields without a direction of continuous symmetry have the generic feature that neighboring field lines exponentiate away from each other and become stochastic, and hence the ideal constraint of preserving magnetic field line connectivity becomes exponentially sensitive to small deviations from ideal Ohm's law. The idea of breaking field line connectivity by stochasticity as a mechanism for fast reconnection is tested with numerical simulations based on reduced magnetohydrodynamics equations with a strong guide field line-tied to two perfectly conducting end plates. Starting from an ideally stable force-free equilibrium, the system is allowed to undergo resistive relaxation. Two distinct phases are found in the process of resistive relaxation. During the quasi-static phase, rapid change of field line connectivity and strong induced flow are found in regions of high field line exponentiation. However, although the field line connectivity of individual field lines can change rapidly, the overall pattern of field line mapping appears to deform gradually. From this perspective, field line exponentiation appears to cause enhanced diffusion rather than reconnection. In some cases, resistive quasi-static evolution can cause the ideally stable initial equilibrium to cross a stability threshold, leading to formation of intense current filaments and rapid change of field line mapping into a qualitatively different pattern. It is in this onset phase that the change of field line connectivity is more appropriately designated as magnetic reconnection. Our results show that rapid change of field line connectivity appears to be a necessary, but not a sufficient condition for fast reconnection.

  13. Local knowledge, science, and institutional change: the case of desertification control in Northern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Lihua

    2015-03-01

    This article studies the influence of local knowledge on the impact of science on institutional change in ecological and environmental management. Based on an empirical study on desertification control in 12 counties in north China, the study found the following major results: (1) although there was a cubic relationship between the extent and effect of local knowledge, local knowledge significantly influenced the impact of science on institutional change; (2) local knowledge took effect mainly through affecting formal laws and regulations, major actors, and methods of desertification control in institutional change but had no significant impact on the types of property rights; and (3) local knowledge enhanced the impact of science on the results of desertification control through affecting the impact of science on institutional change. These findings provide a reference for researchers, policy makers, and practitioners, both in China and in other regions of the world, to further explore the influence of local knowledge on the impact of science on institutional change and the roles of local knowledge or knowledge in institutional change and governance.

  14. Knowledge gain and behavioral change in citizen-science programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, Rebecca C; Gray, Steven A; Howe, David V; Brooks, Wesley R; Ehrenfeld, Joan G

    2011-12-01

    Citizen-science programs are often touted as useful for advancing conservation literacy, scientific knowledge, and increasing scientific-reasoning skills among the public. Guidelines for collaboration among scientists and the public are lacking and the extent to which these citizen-science initiatives change behavior is relatively unstudied. Over two years, we studied 82 participants in a three-day program that included education about non-native invasive plants and collection of data on the occurrence of those plants. Volunteers were given background knowledge about invasive plant ecology and trained on a specific protocol for collecting invasive plant data. They then collected data and later gathered as a group to analyze data and discuss responsible environmental behavior with respect to invasive plants. We tested whether participants without experience in plant identification and with little knowledge of invasive plants increased their knowledge of invasive species ecology, participation increased knowledge of scientific methods, and participation affected behavior. Knowledge of invasive plants increased on average 24%, but participation was insufficient to increase understanding of how scientific research is conducted. Participants reported increased ability to recognize invasive plants and increased awareness of effects of invasive plants on the environment, but this translated into little change in behavior regarding invasive plants. Potential conflicts between scientific goals, educational goals, and the motivation of participants must be considered during program design. ©2011 Society for Conservation Biology.

  15. Middle Holocene rapid environmental changes and human adaptation in Greece

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lespez, Laurent; Glais, Arthur; Lopez-Saez, José-Antonio; Le Drezen, Yann; Tsirtsoni, Zoï; Davidson, Robert; Biree, Laetitia; Malamidou, Dimitra

    2016-03-01

    Numerous researchers discuss of the collapse of civilizations in response to abrupt climate change in the Mediterranean region. The period between 6500 and 5000 cal yr BP is one of the least studied episodes of rapid climate change at the end of the Late Neolithic. This period is characterized by a dramatic decline in settlement and a cultural break in the Balkans. High-resolution paleoenvironmental proxy data obtained in the Lower Angitis Valley enables an examination of the societal responses to rapid climatic change in Greece. Development of a lasting fluvio-lacustrine environment followed by enhanced fluvial activity is evident from 6000 cal yr BP. Paleoecological data show a succession of dry events at 5800-5700, 5450 and 5000-4900 cal yr BP. These events correspond to incursion of cold air masses to the eastern Mediterranean, confirming the climatic instability of the middle Holocene climate transition. Two periods with farming and pastural activities (6300-5600 and 5100-4700 cal BP) are evident. The intervening period is marked by environmental changes, but the continuous occurrence of anthropogenic taxa suggests the persistence of human activities despite the absence of archaeological evidence. The environmental factors alone were not sufficient to trigger the observed societal changes.

  16. Climate change: the knowledge and the possible

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le Treut, H.; Huet, S.; Chappellaz, J.; Godard, O.

    2010-01-01

    Ultimatum, justice, crisis, green development, skepticism, controversy.. climate change is making noise in the beginning of this- 21 century and is going to make much more. In order to act with full knowledge of the facts, it is recommended to get the information from the right source and to make a precise status of the available knowledge. Then, this knowledge must be analyzed to understand how it has been obtained, discussed, validated, spread and sometimes distorted. This is what the authors of this book are applying themselves to do: two climatologists, one economist and one journalist are joining their skills and give us the keys that allow us to decode the paradoxes and challenges of the climate question. They provide us with intellectual arms to fight against the insincere skepticism and to discuss about the rational skepticism. (J.S.)

  17. Impacts of a Changing Climate and Land Use on Reindeer Pastoralism: Indigenous Knowledge and Remote Sensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maynard, N. G.; Oskal, A.; Turi, A.; Mathiesen, J. M.; Eira, S. D.; Yurchak, I. M. G.; Etylin, B.; Gebelein, J.

    2009-01-01

    The Arctic is home to many indigenous peoples, including those who depend on reindeer herding for their livelihood, in one of the harshest environments in the world. For the largely nomadic peoples, reindeer not only form a substantial part of the Arctic food base and economy, but they are also culturally important, shaping their way of life, mythologies, festivals and ceremonies. Reindeer pastoralism or husbandry has been practiced by numerous peoples all across Eurasia for thousands of years and involves moving herds of reindeer, which are very docile animals, from pasture to pasture depending on the season. Thus, herders must adapt on a daily basis to find optimal conditions for their herds according to the constantly changing conditions. Climate change and variability plus rapid development are increasingly creating major changes in the physical environment, ecology, and cultures of these indigenous reindeer herder communities in the North, and climate changes are occurring significantly faster in the Arctic than the rest of the globe, with correspondingly dramatic impacts (Oskal, 2008). In response to these changes, Eurasian reindeer herders have created the EALAT project, a comprehensive new initiative to study these impacts and to develop local adaptation strategies based upon their traditional knowledge of the land and its uses - in targeted partnership with the science and remote sensing community - involving extensive collaborations and coproduction of knowledge to minimize the impacts of the various changes. This chapter provides background on climate and development challenges to reindeer husbandry across the Arctic and an overview of the EALAT initiative, with an emphasis on indigenous knowledge, remote sensing, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and other scientific data to 'co-produce' datasets for use by herders for improved decision-making and herd management. It also provides a description of the EALAT monitoring data integration and sharing

  18. The Chinese experience of rapid modernization: sociocultural changes, psychological consequences?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiahong eSun

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Mainland China has undergone profound changes dating back to the nineteenth century, including a contemporary period of rapid modernization that began in the 1980s. The result has been dramatic social, cultural, and economic shifts impacting the daily lives of Chinese people. In this paper, we explore the psychological implications of sociocultural transformation in China, emphasizing two central themes. First, rising individualism: findings from social and developmental psychology suggest that China’s rapid development has been accompanied by ever-increasing adherence to individualistic values. Second, rising rates of depression: findings from psychiatric epidemiology point to increasing prevalence of depression over this same time period, particularly in rural settings. We argue that links between sociocultural and psychological shifts in China can be usefully studied through a cultural psychology lens, emphasizing the mutual constitution of culture, mind, and brain. In particular, we note that the link between social change, individualism, and rising mental illness deserves careful attention. Our review suggests that shifting values and socialization practices shape emotion norms of concealment and display, with implications for depressive symptom presentation. The challenge comes with interpretation. Increasing prevalence rates of depression may indeed be a general response to the rapidity of sociocultural change, or a specific consequence of rising individualism—but may also result from increasingly ‘Western’ patterns of symptom presentation, or improvements in diagnostic practice. We conclude by considering the challenges posed to standard universal models of psychological phenomena.

  19. The Chinese Experience of Rapid Modernization: Sociocultural Changes, Psychological Consequences?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Jiahong; Ryder, Andrew G.

    2016-01-01

    Mainland China has undergone profound changes dating back to the nineteenth century, including a contemporary period of rapid modernization that began in the 1980s. The result has been dramatic social, cultural, and economic shifts impacting the daily lives of Chinese people. In this paper, we explore the psychological implications of sociocultural transformation in China, emphasizing two central themes. First, rising individualism: findings from social and developmental psychology suggest that China’s rapid development has been accompanied by ever-increasing adherence to individualistic values. Second, rising rates of depression: findings from psychiatric epidemiology point to increasing prevalence of depression over this same time period, particularly in rural settings. We argue that links between sociocultural and psychological shifts in China can be usefully studied through a cultural psychology lens, emphasizing the mutual constitution of culture, mind, and brain. In particular, we note that the link between social change, individualism, and rising mental illness deserves careful attention. Our review suggests that shifting values and socialization practices shape emotion norms of concealment and display, with implications for depressive symptom presentation. The challenge comes with interpretation. Increasing prevalence rates of depression may indeed be a general response to the rapidity of sociocultural change, or a specific consequence of rising individualism—but may also result from increasingly ‘Western’ patterns of symptom presentation, or improvements in diagnostic practice. We conclude by considering the challenges posed to standard universal models of psychological phenomena. PMID:27092093

  20. Value Creation in the Knowledge-Based Economy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Fang-Chun

    2013-01-01

    Effective investment strategies help companies form dynamic core organizational capabilities allowing them to adapt and survive in today's rapidly changing knowledge-based economy. This dissertation investigates three valuation issues that challenge managers with respect to developing business-critical investment strategies that can have…

  1. Integration, Provenance, and Temporal Queries for Large-Scale Knowledge Bases

    OpenAIRE

    Gao, Shi

    2016-01-01

    Knowledge bases that summarize web information in RDF triples deliver many benefits, including support for natural language question answering and powerful structured queries that extract encyclopedic knowledge via SPARQL. Large scale knowledge bases grow rapidly in terms of scale and significance, and undergo frequent changes in both schema and content. Two critical problems have thus emerged: (i) how to support temporal queries that explore the history of knowledge bases or flash-back to th...

  2. NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 8: The role of the information intermediary in the diffusion of aerospace knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinelli, Thomas E.; Kennedy, John M.; Barclay, Rebecca O.

    1990-01-01

    The United States aerospace industry is experiencing profound changes created by a combination of domestic actions and circumstances such as airline deregulation. Other changes result from external trends such as emerging foreign competition. These circumstances intensify the need to understand the production, transfer, and utilization of knowledge as a precursor to the rapid diffusion of technology. Presented here is a conceptual framework for understanding the diffusion of technology. A conceptual framework is given for understanding the diffusion of aerospace knowledge. The framework focuses on the information channels and members of the social system associated with the aerospace knowledge diffusion process, placing particular emphasis on aerospace librarians as information intermediaries.

  3. An IoT Knowledge Reengineering Framework for Semantic Knowledge Analytics for BI-Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nilamadhab Mishra

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In a progressive business intelligence (BI environment, IoT knowledge analytics are becoming an increasingly challenging problem because of rapid changes of knowledge context scenarios along with increasing data production scales with business requirements that ultimately transform a working knowledge base into a superseded state. Such a superseded knowledge base lacks adequate knowledge context scenarios, and the semantics, rules, frames, and ontology contents may not meet the latest requirements of contemporary BI-services. Thus, reengineering a superseded knowledge base into a renovated knowledge base system can yield greater business value and is more cost effective and feasible than standardising a new system for the same purpose. Thus, in this work, we propose an IoT knowledge reengineering framework (IKR framework for implementation in a neurofuzzy system to build, organise, and reuse knowledge to provide BI-services to the things (man, machines, places, and processes involved in business through the network of IoT objects. The analysis and discussion show that the IKR framework can be well suited to creating improved anticipation in IoT-driven BI-applications.

  4. Knowledge Lability: Within-Person Changes in Parental Knowledge and Their Associations with Adolescent Problem Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lippold, Melissa A; Fosco, Gregory M; Ram, Nilam; Feinberg, Mark E

    2016-02-01

    Higher levels of parental knowledge about youth activities have been associated with lower levels of youth risky behavior. Yet little is known about how parental knowledge fluctuates during early adolescence and how those fluctuations are associated with the development of problem behavior. We use the term lability to describe within-person fluctuations in knowledge over time with higher lability indicating greater fluctuations in knowledge from year-to-year. This longitudinal study of rural adolescents (N = 840) investigated if change in parental knowledge across four waves of data from grades 6 to 8 is characterized by lability, and if greater lability is associated with higher youth substance use, delinquency, and internalizing problems in grade 9. Our models indicated that only some of the variance in parental knowledge was accounted for by developmental trends. The remaining residual variance reflects within-person fluctuations around these trends, lability, and measurement and occasion-specific error. Even controlling for level and developmental trends in knowledge, higher knowledge lability (i.e., more fluctuation) was associated with increased risk for later alcohol and tobacco use, and for girls, higher delinquency and internalizing problems. Our findings suggest that lability in parental knowledge has unique implications for adolescent outcomes. The discussion focuses on mechanisms that may link knowledge lability to substance use. Interventions may be most effective if they teach parents to consistently and predictably decrease knowledge across early adolescence.

  5. Factors for improving the level of knowledge generation in new product development

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Song, X.M.; Bij, van der J.D.; Weggeman, M.C.D.P.

    2006-01-01

    Globalization and other rapid changes in markets and technologies increasingly require companies to generate new knowledge in order to remain competitive. In order to innovate successfully, firms must generate knowledge faster than their rivals. This study develops and tests a conceptual model that

  6. Conceptual Change in Elementary School Teacher Candidate Knowledge of Rock-Cycle Processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stofflett, Rene Therese

    1994-01-01

    Investigates the knowledge of elementary school teacher candidates on rock-cycle processes. Three different instructional interventions were used to improve their knowledge: (1) conceptual-change teaching; (2) traditional didactic teaching; and (3) microteaching. The conceptual-change group showed the most growth in understanding, supporting…

  7. Relationship among knowledge acquisition, motivation to change, and self-efficacy in CME participants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Betsy W; Kessler, Harold A; Williams, Michael V

    2015-01-01

    The relationship among an individual's sense of self-efficacy, motivation to change, barriers to change, and the implementation of improvement programs has been reported. This research reports the relationship among self-efficacy, motivation to change, and the acquisition of knowledge in a continuing medical education (CME) activity. The measure of individual sense of self-efficacy was a 4-item scale. The measure of motivation was a 6-item scale following on the work of Prochaska and colleagues. The knowledge acquisition was measured in a simple post measure. The participants were enrolled in a CME activity focused on HIV.  The CME activities had a significant effect on knowledge. Preliminary analysis demonstrates a relationship among the self-efficacy measure, the motivation to change measure, and global intent to change. Specifically, as reported earlier, the sense of efficacy in effecting change in the practice environment is predictive of a high level of motivation to change that, in turn, is predictive of formation of intent to change practice patterns. Interestingly, there were also relationships among the self-efficacy measure, the motivation to change measure, and knowledge acquisition. Finally, as expected, there was a significant relationship between knowledge and intent to change practice.  Further inspection of the motivation to change construct suggests that it mediates the self-efficacy constructs' effect on intent as well as its effect on knowledge acquisition. This new finding suggests that the proximal construct motivation completely masks an important underlying causal relationship that appears to contribute to practice change as well as learning following CME-self-efficacy. © 2015 The Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on Continuing Medical Education, Association for Hospital Medical Education.

  8. What Remains on Your Mind After You Are Done?: Flexible Regulation of Knowledge Accessibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hedberg, Per H.; Higgins, E. Tory

    2011-01-01

    The accessibility of stored knowledge has been found to decline over time after activation without further stimulation. A special case is goal pursuit; goal-related knowledge remains accessible until goal completion, and then its accessibility declines rapidly. We hypothesized that after goal completion the decline in accessibility of goal-related knowledge would be especially rapid for strong promotion-focused individuals because their motivation to eagerly advance beyond the status quo would make accessibility of this knowledge an irrelevant detriment. We hypothesized an opposite effect for strongly prevention-predominant individuals because their motivation to vigilantly maintain a satisfactory state would make accessibility of this knowledge continually relevant. The results of two studies supported both these predicted moderators of accessibility change. Indeed, we found that for strongly prevention-predominant participants, knowledge accessibility actually increased over time after goal completion. We discuss how even basic cognitive mechanisms, like changes in accessibility, can be affected by general motivational concerns. PMID:21765541

  9. Change in patient nutritional knowledge following coronary artery ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    L. van Rooy

    knowledge have positive effects on eating habits and food selection (Nti, Pecku ... and fast food and take-away outlets (Ma et al., 2003; Shisana et al., 2013). ... healthy and harmful foods and realistic ways to change bad eating habits.

  10. Permanent Temporariness? Changes in Social Contracts in Knowledge Work

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bente Rasmussen

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Many sociologists have argued that work no longer plays the central role in contemporary life experience because we have entered an age of insecurity in relation to employment, and knowledge workers are often pictured as egoistical portfolio workers who are only interested in their careers and no longer loyal to their employers. Cappelli (1999 on the other hand argues that more insecure employment relations is a result of employers’ strategy to buy workers rather than offering them long-term relations. Using case studies from seven different knowledge work contexts in Norway, this article argues that more temporary employment relations is not the result of career-seeking portfolio workers, but of changes in employment practices of their employers. These are not primarily changes in the formal employment contracts from permanent to temporary employment, but in the social contracts as they are practiced by the employers and experienced by the knowledge workers in the different contexts of knowledge work. The reason for more temporary relations was not because work does not matter for knowledge workers. On the contrary, we found that they accepted insecure conditions because work mattered and because they were eager to take on new tasks, learn the trade in new fields, and show that they were able to do the job. When they left their employer, it was because they were not able to do a good job in their positions or because they were increasingly directly exposed to an insecure market that signaled that they were not profitable (enough for their employer. Although changes in employment practices by the employers toward more short-term relations are not caused by disloyal portfolio workers, these practices may produce the problem of disloyal workers who have to secure their employment in the labor market.

  11. Cultural change and loss of ethnoecological knowledge among the Isthmus Zapotecs of Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saynes-Vásquez, Alfredo; Caballero, Javier; Meave, Jorge A; Chiang, Fernando

    2013-06-11

    Global changes that affect local societies may cause the loss of ecological knowledge. The process of cultural change in Zapotec communities of the Oaxacan Isthmus intensified during the first years of the 20th century due to industrial and agro-industrial modernization projects and an increase in the level of formal schooling. Based on the case of the Oaxacan Isthmus, this study assesses the relationship between cultural change and the loss of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). Three hundred male heads of family were interviewed from three municipalities in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico selected to span a wide range of cultural change. Each participant was shown herbarium specimens and photographs of a sample of 30 species drawn from a pool of 94 representing local plant diversity. Visual recognition of each species, knowledge of plant form, generic name, specific name, and local uses were scored. The sum of the five scores provided an index of global knowledge which we used as a proxy for TEK. Analysis of variance revealed differences between groups of economic activities. We collected socio-demographic data from the interviewees such as age, level of schooling, and competency in the local language. With these data we ran a principal component analysis and took the first axis as an index of cultural change, and correlated it with the scores obtained each respondent. We found statistically significant differences between groups of people with different economic activities, as well as a highly significant negative relationship between the Index of cultural change and ecological knowledge at all levels, with regression coefficients between 81.2% and 88.3%, indicating that cultural change is affecting traditional botanical knowledge. Our results shown that cultural change, as indicated by occupational activity, level of formal schooling, and competence in the indigenous language, is negatively associated with the loss of Zapotec ethnobotanical

  12. Understanding rapid theoretical change in particle physics: a month-by-month co-citation analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sullivan, D.; Koester, D.; White, D.H.; Kern, R.

    1979-01-01

    While co-citation analysis has proved a powerful tool in the study of changes in intellectual foci in science, no one has ever used the technique to study very rapid changes in the theoretical structure of a scientific field. This paper presents month-by-month co-citation analyses of key phases in the weak-electromagnetic unification research program within particle physics, and shows that these analyses capture and illuminate very rapid intellectual changes. These data provide yet another illustration of the utility of co-citation analysis for understanding the history of science. 8 figures

  13. Rapid area change in pitch-up manoeuvres of small perching birds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polet, D T; Rival, D E

    2015-10-26

    Rapid pitch-up has been highlighted as a mechanism to generate large lift and drag during landing manoeuvres. However, pitching rates had not been measured previously in perching birds, and so the direct applicability of computations and experiments to observed behaviour was not known. We measure pitch rates in a small, wild bird (the black-capped chickadee; Poecile atricapillus), and show that these rates are within the parameter range used in experiments. Pitching rates were characterized by the shape change number, a metric comparing the rate of frontal area increase to acceleration. Black-capped chickadees increase the shape change number during perching in direct proportion to their total kinetic and potential energy at the start of the manoeuvre. The linear relationship between dissipated energy and shape change number is in accordance with a simple analytical model developed for two-dimensional pitching and decelerating airfoils. Black-capped chickadees use a wing pitch-up manoeuvre during perching to dissipate energy quickly while maintaining lift and drag through rapid area change. It is suggested that similar pitch-and-decelerate manoeuvres could be used to aid in the controlled, precise landings of small manoeuvrable air vehicles.

  14. Rapid Communication: v= 2 seniority changing transitions in yrast 3 ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Pramana – Journal of Physics; Volume 89; Issue 5. Rapid Communication: Δ υ = 2 seniority changing transitions in yrast 3 − states and B ( E 3 ) systematics of Sn isotopes. BHOOMIKA MAHESHWARI SWATI GARG ASHOK KUMAR JAIN. Research Article Volume 89 Issue 5 November 2017 Article ID 75 ...

  15. Generation and utilization of knowledge concerning state change propagation using plant design information

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishizawa, Yasuo; Nagaoka, Yukio; Sato, Takao; Matsuki, Tsutomu.

    1992-01-01

    A method of knowledge generation and utilization using design information is described. This method is used to generate rules concerned with propagation of state change in a plant due to equipment manipulation or anomaly. The rules describe macroscopic behavior of plant subsystems consisting of many devices, and are used for high speed information processing in expert systems for plant diagnosis, maintenance, etc. Knowledge generation is comprised of two steps. In the first step, the changes of state values are propagated according to connectivity between devices and the input-output relationships of the devices. In the second step, the input change, output change of plant subsystems, and other information are edited according to the results of state change propagation, and rules for state change propagation are generated. By using these rules, the simulation of state change propagation can be accelerated about 10 times compared with the case of device level propagation. The method of knowledge generation has been applied to the inference system in a maintenance work scheduling system and a new-type expert system was realized. It grows by generating rules for problem solving and by expanding its knowledge base by itself. (author)

  16. Enhancing Canadian Civil Society Research and Knowledge-Based ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Enhancing Canadian Civil Society Research and Knowledge-Based Practice in a Rapidly Changing Landscape for International Development ... Women in the developing world continue to face obstacles that limit their ability to establish careers and become leaders in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and ...

  17. Incremental Knowledge Discovery in Social Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Xuning

    2013-01-01

    In light of the prosperity of online social media, Web users are shifting from data consumers to data producers. To catch the pulse of this rapidly changing world, it is critical to transform online social media data to information and to knowledge. This dissertation centers on the issue of modeling the dynamics of user communities, trending…

  18. Knowledge management (KM) processes in organizations theoretical foundations and practice

    CERN Document Server

    McInerney, Claire R

    2011-01-01

    Knowledge Management (KM) is an effort to increase useful knowledge in the organization. It is a natural outgrowth of late twentieth century movements to make organizational management and operations more effective, of higher quality, and more responsive to constituents in a rapidly changing global environment. This document traces the evolution of KM in organizations, summarizing the most influential research and literature in the field. It also presents an overview of selected common and current practices in knowledge management, including the relationship between knowledge management and de

  19. San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) climate change adaptation assessment pilot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-01

    The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the impacts of climate change on the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District : (BART) infrastructure and to develop and implement adaptation strategies against those impacts. Climate change haza...

  20. Knowledge Management Society to Optimize Teaching Academic Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Mercedes Carrillo

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Society is undergoing rapid changes as a result of the waves of change with the passing of the years. Each day brings new challenges to managers of organizations. Hence, this paper aims to "identify the importance of Management and Knowledge Society to Optimize Teaching Academic Performance". Methodologically article is based on an investigation of documentary-descriptive, based on recognized authors reading; bibliographic texts to support the theoretical literature review. In conclusion, there are: The new management faces a change of learning; It reflects information society, knowledge; We are facing a landscape of challenges, such as the creation of knowledge; Education is a crucial factor in this social transformation. Finally, analyzing the results was evident in the treated subject that the texts consulted and contributions of investigated theoretical gave support and scientific relevance article presented.

  1. Neurogenomics and the role of a large mutational target on rapid behavioral change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanley, Craig E; Kulathinal, Rob J

    2016-11-08

    Behavior, while complex and dynamic, is among the most diverse, derived, and rapidly evolving traits in animals. The highly labile nature of heritable behavioral change is observed in such evolutionary phenomena as the emergence of converged behaviors in domesticated animals, the rapid evolution of preferences, and the routine development of ethological isolation between diverging populations and species. In fact, it is believed that nervous system development and its potential to evolve a seemingly infinite array of behavioral innovations played a major role in the successful diversification of metazoans, including our own human lineage. However, unlike other rapidly evolving functional systems such as sperm-egg interactions and immune defense, the genetic basis of rapid behavioral change remains elusive. Here we propose that the rapid divergence and widespread novelty of innate and adaptive behavior is primarily a function of its genomic architecture. Specifically, we hypothesize that the broad diversity of behavioral phenotypes present at micro- and macroevolutionary scales is promoted by a disproportionately large mutational target of neurogenic genes. We present evidence that these large neuro-behavioral targets are significant and ubiquitous in animal genomes and suggest that behavior's novelty and rapid emergence are driven by a number of factors including more selection on a larger pool of variants, a greater role of phenotypic plasticity, and/or unique molecular features present in large genes. We briefly discuss the origins of these large neurogenic genes, as they relate to the remarkable diversity of metazoan behaviors, and highlight key consequences on both behavioral traits and neurogenic disease across, respectively, evolutionary and ontogenetic time scales. Current approaches to studying the genetic mechanisms underlying rapid phenotypic change primarily focus on identifying signatures of Darwinian selection in protein-coding regions. In contrast

  2. Rapid changes in gene expression direct rapid shifts in intestinal form and function in the Burmese python after feeding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrew, Audra L; Card, Daren C; Ruggiero, Robert P; Schield, Drew R; Adams, Richard H; Pollock, David D; Secor, Stephen M; Castoe, Todd A

    2015-05-01

    Snakes provide a unique and valuable model system for studying the extremes of physiological remodeling because of the ability of some species to rapidly upregulate organ form and function upon feeding. The predominant model species used to study such extreme responses has been the Burmese python because of the extreme nature of postfeeding response in this species. We analyzed the Burmese python intestine across a time series, before, during, and after feeding to understand the patterns and timing of changes in gene expression and their relationship to changes in intestinal form and function upon feeding. Our results indicate that >2,000 genes show significant changes in expression in the small intestine following feeding, including genes involved in intestinal morphology and function (e.g., hydrolases, microvillus proteins, trafficking and transport proteins), as well as genes involved in cell division and apoptosis. Extensive changes in gene expression occur surprisingly rapidly, within the first 6 h of feeding, coincide with changes in intestinal morphology, and effectively return to prefeeding levels within 10 days. Collectively, our results provide an unprecedented portrait of parallel changes in gene expression and intestinal morphology and physiology on a scale that is extreme both in the magnitude of changes, as well as in the incredibly short time frame of these changes, with up- and downregulation of expression and function occurring in the span of 10 days. Our results also identify conserved vertebrate signaling pathways that modulate these responses, which may suggest pathways for therapeutic modulation of intestinal function in humans. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

  3. Incorporating rapid neocortical learning of new schema-consistent information into complementary learning systems theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McClelland, James L

    2013-11-01

    The complementary learning systems theory of the roles of hippocampus and neocortex (McClelland, McNaughton, & O'Reilly, 1995) holds that the rapid integration of arbitrary new information into neocortical structures is avoided to prevent catastrophic interference with structured knowledge representations stored in synaptic connections among neocortical neurons. Recent studies (Tse et al., 2007, 2011) showed that neocortical circuits can rapidly acquire new associations that are consistent with prior knowledge. The findings challenge the complementary learning systems theory as previously presented. However, new simulations extending those reported in McClelland et al. (1995) show that new information that is consistent with knowledge previously acquired by a putatively cortexlike artificial neural network can be learned rapidly and without interfering with existing knowledge; it is when inconsistent new knowledge is acquired quickly that catastrophic interference ensues. Several important features of the findings of Tse et al. (2007, 2011) are captured in these simulations, indicating that the neural network model used in McClelland et al. has characteristics in common with neocortical learning mechanisms. An additional simulation generalizes beyond the network model previously used, showing how the rate of change of cortical connections can depend on prior knowledge in an arguably more biologically plausible network architecture. In sum, the findings of Tse et al. are fully consistent with the idea that hippocampus and neocortex are complementary learning systems. Taken together, these findings and the simulations reported here advance our knowledge by bringing out the role of consistency of new experience with existing knowledge and demonstrating that the rate of change of connections in real and artificial neural networks can be strongly prior-knowledge dependent. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  4. The Misfits in Knowledge Work

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fischer, Louise Harder; Pries-Heje, Lene

    2015-01-01

    The workplace is changing rapidly and knowledge work is conducted increasingly in settings that are global, digital, flat and networked. The epicenter of value-creation are the individuals and their interactions. Unified Communication and Collaboration Technology (UC&C) supports individual...... interactions, collaboration and knowledge creation. The use of this technology is growing globally. In a previous study, we found that UC&C in collocated and distributed settings, produced misfits and fits between situated enacted practice-use of UC&C and the experienced productivity. We respond to the KITA...... of the lens in this specific setting. To further improve and enrich, we pose questions, aiming at contributing to the communication of valuable insights informing the design and use of future ITKAs in knowledge work....

  5. Geographical imbalances and divides in the scientific production of climate change knowledge

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pasgaard, Maya; Dalsgaard, Bo; Maruyama, Pietro K.

    2015-01-01

    Studies on scientific production of climate change knowledge show a geographical bias against the developing and more vulnerable regions of the world. If there is limited knowledge exchange between regions, this may deepen global knowledge divides and, thus, potentially hamper adaptive capacities....... Consequently, there is a need to further understand this bias, and, particularly, link it with the exchange of knowledge across borders. We use a world-wide geographical distribution of author affiliations in > 15,000 scientific climate change publications to show that (1) research production mainly takes...... are determined mainly by geographical proximity, common climates, and similar political and economic characteristics. This indicates that political-economic, social and educational-scientific initiatives targeted to enhance local research production and collaborations across geographical-climate module borders...

  6. Knowledge production and transmission in a changing society ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Knowledge production and transmission in a changing society: challenges facing law lecturers in a distance education environment in South Africa. S Scott. Abstract. In this article I highlight the challenges facing a law lecturer in a multicultural society in transformation where the student is being prepared to serve society in ...

  7. New type of Piezoresistive Pressure Sensors for Environments with Rapidly Changing Temperature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tykhan Myroslav

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The theoretical aspects of a new type of piezo-resistive pressure sensors for environments with rapidly changing temperatures are presented. The idea is that the sensor has two identical diaphragms which have different coefficients of linear thermal expansion. Therefore, when measuring pressure in environments with variable temperature, the diaphragms will have different deflection. This difference can be used to make appropriate correction of the sensor output signal and, thus, to increase accuracy of measurement. Since physical principles of sensors operation enable fast correction of the output signal, the sensor can be used in environments with rapidly changing temperature, which is its essential advantage. The paper presents practical implementation of the proposed theoretical aspects and the results of testing the developed sensor.

  8. Knowledge-based network ties in early rapidly internationalising small firms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Masango, Shingairai Grace; Marinova, Svetla Trifonova

    2014-01-01

    strong knowledge-based contacts. The ERISF acts as the source that provides the technical information and knowledge, which is then adopted by their network partners. This means that the ERISF’s product and technological capabilities drive the international knowledge creation process. The findings provide...... a holistic characterisation of the concept of knowledge in ERISF internationalisation. Within their interorganisational relationships, ERISFs are involved in knowledge creation, knowledge transfer and knowledge adoption activities. Network ties developed in existing knowledge pools are extended to new...

  9. Curioser and Curioser: New Concepts in the Rapidly Changing Landscape of Educational Administration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fowler, Frances C.

    1999-01-01

    The new "Handbook" assumes that society is changing rapidly and educational administration must change with it. This article critiques chapters on four concepts: ideology, the new consumerism, social capital, and the new institutionalism. Consumerism is pure 19th-century liberalism/individualism; social capital theory and…

  10. Does disaster education of teenagers translate into better survival knowledge, knowledge of skills, and adaptive behavioral change? A systematic literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Codeanu, Tudor A; Celenza, Antonio; Jacobs, Ian

    2014-12-01

    An increasing number of people are affected worldwide by the effects of disasters, and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) has recognized the need for a radical paradigm shift in the preparedness and combat of the effects of disasters through the implementation of specific actions. At the governmental level, these actions translate into disaster and risk reduction education and activities at school. Fifteen years after the UNISDR declaration, there is a need to know if the current methods of disaster education of the teenage population enhance their knowledge, knowledge of skills in disasters, and whether there is a behavioral change which would improve their chances for survival post disaster. This multidisciplinary systematic literature review showed that the published evidence regarding enhancing the disaster-related knowledge of teenagers and the related problem solving skills and behavior is piecemeal in design, approach, and execution in spite of consensus on the detrimental effects on injury rates and survival. There is some evidence that isolated school-based intervention enhances the theoretical disaster knowledge which may also extend to practical skills; however, disaster behavioral change is not forthcoming. It seems that the best results are obtained by combining theoretical and practical activities in school, family, community, and self-education programs. There is a still a pressing need for a concerted educational drive to achieve disaster preparedness behavioral change. School leavers' lack of knowledge, knowledge of skills, and adaptive behavioral change are detrimental to their chances of survival.

  11. Rapid stress-induced transcriptomic changes in the brain depend on beta-adrenergic signaling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roszkowski, Martin; Manuella, Francesca; von Ziegler, Lukas; Durán-Pacheco, Gonzalo; Moreau, Jean-Luc; Mansuy, Isabelle M; Bohacek, Johannes

    2016-08-01

    Acute exposure to stressful experiences can rapidly increase anxiety and cause neuropsychiatric disorders. The effects of stress result in part from the release of neurotransmitters and hormones, which regulate gene expression in different brain regions. The fast neuroendocrine response to stress is largely mediated by norepinephrine (NE) and corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH), followed by a slower and more sustained release of corticosterone. While corticosterone is an important regulator of gene expression, it is not clear which stress-signals contribute to the rapid regulation of gene expression observed immediately after stress exposure. Here, we demonstrate in mice that 45 min after an acute swim stress challenge, large changes in gene expression occur across the transcriptome in the hippocampus, a region sensitive to the effects of stress. We identify multiple candidate genes that are rapidly and transiently altered in both males and females. Using a pharmacological approach, we show that most of these rapidly induced genes are regulated by NE through β-adrenergic receptor signaling. We find that CRH and corticosterone can also contribute to rapid changes in gene expression, although these effects appear to be restricted to fewer genes. These results newly reveal a widespread impact of NE on the transcriptome and identify novel genes associated with stress and adrenergic signaling. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Rapid changes in genetic architecture of behavioural syndromes following colonization of a novel environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karlsson Green, K; Eroukhmanoff, F; Harris, S; Pettersson, L B; Svensson, E I

    2016-01-01

    Behavioural syndromes, that is correlated behaviours, may be a result from adaptive correlational selection, but in a new environmental setting, the trait correlation might act as an evolutionary constraint. However, knowledge about the quantitative genetic basis of behavioural syndromes, and the stability and evolvability of genetic correlations under different ecological conditions, is limited. We investigated the quantitative genetic basis of correlated behaviours in the freshwater isopod Asellus aquaticus. In some Swedish lakes, A. aquaticus has recently colonized a novel habitat and diverged into two ecotypes, presumably due to habitat-specific selection from predation. Using a common garden approach and animal model analyses, we estimated quantitative genetic parameters for behavioural traits and compared the genetic architecture between the ecotypes. We report that the genetic covariance structure of the behavioural traits has been altered in the novel ecotype, demonstrating divergence in behavioural correlations. Thus, our study confirms that genetic correlations behind behaviours can change rapidly in response to novel selective environments. © 2015 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2015 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

  13. Practice cannot be reduced to theory: Knowledge, representations, and change in the workplace.

    OpenAIRE

    Clancey, William J.

    1995-01-01

    Changing views of the nature of human knowledge change how we design organizations, facilities, and technology to promote learning: Learning is not transfer; using a plan is not executing a program; explanation is not reciting rules from memory. Such rationalist views of knowledge inhibit change and stifle innovate uses of technology. Representations of work (plans, policies, procedures) and their meaning develop in work itself. Representations guide, but do not strictly control human behavio...

  14. Rapid Structural Design Change Evaluation with AN Experiment Based FEM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chu, C.-H.; Trethewey, M. W.

    1998-04-01

    The work in this paper proposes a dynamic structural design model that can be developed in a rapid fashion. The approach endeavours to produce a simplified FEM developed in conjunction with an experimental modal database. The FEM is formulated directly from the geometry and connectivity used in an experimental modal test using beam/frame elements. The model sacrifices fine detail for a rapid development time. The FEM is updated at the element level so the dynamic response replicates the experimental results closely. The physical attributes of the model are retained, making it well suited to evaluate the effect of potential design changes. The capabilities are evaluated in a series of computational and laboratory tests. First, a study is performed with a simulated cantilever beam with a variable mass and stiffness distribution. The modal characteristics serve as the updating target with random noise added to simulate experimental uncertainty. A uniformly distributed FEM is developed and updated. The results show excellent results, all natural frequencies are within 0·001% with MAC values above 0·99. Next, the method is applied to predict the dynamic changes of a hardware portal frame structure for a radical design change. Natural frequency predictions from the original FEM differ by as much as almost 18% with reasonable MAC values. The results predicted from the updated model produce excellent results when compared to the actual hardware changes, the first five modal natural frequency difference is around 5% and the corresponding mode shapes producing MAC values above 0·98.

  15. Climate change impacts in Northern Canada: Assessing our current knowledge

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gill, M.J.; Eamer, J. [Environment Canada, Environmental Conservation Branch, Whitehorse, YT (Canada); Munier, A.; Ogden, A. [Yukon College, Northern Climate ExChange, Whitehorse, YT (Canada); Duerden, F. [Ryerson University, School of Applied Geography, Toronto, ON (Canada); Hik, D. [Alberta Univ., Dept. of Biological Sciences, Edmonton, AB (Canada); Fox, S.; Riedlinger, D.; Thorpe, N. [GeoNorth Limited, Whitehorse, YT (Canada); Johnson, I.; Jensen, M. [Legend Seekers Anthropological Research, Whitehorse, YT (Canada)

    2001-07-01

    A research project by the Northern Climate ExChange at Yukon College, undertaken to bring together into one document all relevant information that will help facilitate the identification of priorities for climate change research, monitoring, technological development and policy development in Canada's North, is described. In addition to the report, project deliverables also include a database of climate change information sources and a database of northern climate change contacts. The review includes scientific, local and Traditional Knowledge sources relating to climate change about each of seventeen natural and human systems (e.g. boreal forests, community health, mining, etc.), synthesized into a table for each system, with projected environmental changes crossed in matrix format with system components. Each cross-relationship was given a ranking; supporting information was included, based on the current state of knowledge of that relationship. In general, current information concerning northern systems, predicted climate changes and the impacts of those changes on northern systems is poor. However, much information does exist and the gap analysis revealed a number of general patterns relating to this information. Clearly, more research is required throughout northern Canada, but in particular, in the eastern Arctic, to provide a greater understanding of the implications of climate changes across the North, and to aid in the development of finer-scale, regional circulation models resulting in better predictive capacity of climate change and its impacts on northern areas.

  16. Knowledge jobs--how to manage without burnout?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalimo, R

    1999-12-01

    The working world is progressing from the industrial era to the era of knowledge. The critical factor of success in work is shifting from machines to the human mind. All work that essentially uses and produces knowledge during and as a result of the work process can be defined as knowledge work. Knowledge jobs involve many health-promoting features, but stress and burnout may be caused by the rapid increase in the knowledge-intensity of work, new job demands, and emerging new professional subcultures emphasizing excessive commitment to work. Very little empirical evidence is available on these developments. Much more research is needed to understand the essential features of knowledge work, the change in organizational cultures, and the values guiding this process from the point of view of human resources. Research is also needed to develop organizational strategies for the prevention of stress and burnout in knowledge jobs.

  17. Managing health care organizations in an age of rapid change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benjamin, S; al-Alaiwat, S

    1998-03-01

    Health care managers find their work increasingly difficult, due in part to rapid environmental change that plagues organizational life. Management practices and attitudes that may have been appropriate in previous eras are ineffective today. A study was conducted among managers in the Ministry of Health, State of Bahrain, seeking information about current trends in the macro or external environment that affect the Ministry of Health, as well as internal environmental pressures that may be similar or different. This article provides a clear picture of the context in which managers perform their work and offers recommendations for coping with change in dynamic, complex organizations.

  18. Knowledge and social engagement change in intention to be screened for colorectal cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molina, Yamile; Briant, Katherine J; Sanchez, Janeth I; O'Connell, Mary A; Thompson, Beti

    2018-07-01

    Innovative technologies have been used to promote colorectal cancer (CRC) screening among the underserved. However, the impact of these innovative technologies on knowledge and social engagement likelihood as they relate to subsequent intention to be screened across different populations has not been fully explored. Using a pre-post-test design with an inflatable walk-through colon, we assessed changes in knowledge and social engagement likelihood across populations and their associations with intention to be screened in two community settings. One was a community setting in Washington State (WA); the other, a college campus in New Mexico (NM). Differential effects on knowledge and social engagement likelihood were examined across demographic groups (race/ethnicity, gender, age, education, insurance status, and geographic region). Finally, we assessed if changes in knowledge and social engagement likelihood were associated with CRC screening intention. NM males had greater gains in CRC knowledge than NM females; in WA, Hispanics, younger, less educated, and uninsured participants had greater gains in knowledge. NM females and younger WA participants were more likely to discuss CRC with their social networks than NM males and older WA participants. In WA, Hispanics and older adults reported greater intention to be screened for CRC. Change in social engagement likelihood, but not knowledge, was associated with intention to be screened. The effectiveness of health promotion technologies on knowledge and social engagement may vary across different demographic characteristics. Further, the importance of social engagement likelihood in interacting with intention to be screened was substantiated.

  19. Expert and Generalist Local Knowledge about Land-cover Change on South Africa's Wild Coast: Can Local Ecological Knowledge Add Value to Science?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nigel Chalmers

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available Local ecological knowledge (LEK can shed light on ecosystem change, especially in under-researched areas such as South Africa's Wild Coast. However, for ecosystem planning purposes, it is necessary to assess the accuracy and validity of LEK, and determine where such knowledge is situated in a community, and how evenly it is spread. Furthermore, it is relevant to ask: does LEK add value to science, and how do science and local knowledge complement one another? We assessed change in woodland and forest cover in the Nqabara Administrative Area on South Africa's Wild Coast between 1974 and 2001. The inhabitants of Nqabara are "traditional" Xhosa-speaking people who are highly dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods. More recently, however, infrastructural development has influenced traditional lifestyles at Nqabara, although poverty remains high and formal education levels low. We assessed LEK about changes in woodland and forest cover over the past 30 years by interviewing 11 local "experts," who were recognized as such by the Nqabara community, and 40 senior members of randomly selected households in each village. We also analyzed land-cover change, using orthorectified aerial photos taken in 1974 and 2001. Forest and woodland cover had increased by 49% between 1974 and 2001. The 11 "experts" had a nuanced understanding of these changes and their causes. Their understanding was not only remarkably consistent with that of scientists, but it added considerable value to scientific understanding of the ultimate causes of land-cover change in the area. The experts listed combinations of several causal factors, operating at different spatial and temporal scales. The 40 randomly selected respondents also knew that forest and woodland cover had increased, but their understanding of the causes, and the role of fire in particular, was somewhat simplistic. They could identify only three causal factors and generally listed single factors rather

  20. Effects of high latitude protected areas on bird communities under rapid climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santangeli, Andrea; Rajasärkkä, Ari; Lehikoinen, Aleksi

    2017-06-01

    Anthropogenic climate change is rapidly becoming one of the main threats to biodiversity, along with other threats triggered by human-driven land-use change. Species are already responding to climate change by shifting their distributions polewards. This shift may create a spatial mismatch between dynamic species distributions and static protected areas (PAs). As protected areas represent one of the main pillars for preserving biodiversity today and in the future, it is important to assess their contribution in sheltering the biodiversity communities, they were designated to protect. A recent development to investigate climate-driven impacts on biological communities is represented by the community temperature index (CTI). CTI provides a measure of the relative temperature average of a community in a specific assemblage. CTI value will be higher for assemblages dominated by warm species compared with those dominated by cold-dwelling species. We here model changes in the CTI of Finnish bird assemblages, as well as changes in species densities, within and outside of PAs during the past four decades in a large boreal landscape under rapid change. We show that CTI has markedly increased over time across Finland, with this change being similar within and outside PAs and five to seven times slower than the temperature increase. Moreover, CTI has been constantly lower within than outside of PAs, and PAs still support communities, which show colder thermal index than those outside of PAs in the 1970s and 1980s. This result can be explained by the higher relative density of northern species within PAs than outside. Overall, our results provide some, albeit inconclusive, evidence that PAs may play a role in supporting the community of northern species. Results also suggest that communities are, however, shifting rapidly, both inside and outside of PAs, highlighting the need for adjusting conservation measures before it is too late. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Changing knowledge perspective in a changing world: The Adriatic multidisciplinary TDS approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergamasco, Andrea; Carniel, Sandro; Nativi, Stefano; Signell, Richard P.; Benetazzo, Alvise; Falcieri, Francesco M.; Bonaldo, Davide; Minuzzo, Tiziano; Sclavo, Mauro

    2013-04-01

    The use and exploitation of the marine environment in recent years has been increasingly high, therefore calling for the need of a better description, monitoring and understanding of its behavior. However, marine scientists and managers often spend too much time in accessing and reformatting data instead of focusing on discovering new knowledge from the processes observed and data acquired. There is therefore the need to make more efficient our approach to data mining, especially in a world where rapid climate change imposes rapid and quick choices. In this context, it is mandatory to explore ways and possibilities to make large amounts of distributed data usable in an efficient and easy way, an effort that requires standardized data protocols, web services and standards-based tools. Following the US-IOOS approach, which has been adopted in many oceanographic and meteorological sectors, we present a CNR experience in the direction of setting up a national Italian IOOS framework (at the moment confined at the Adriatic Sea environment), using the THREDDS (THematic Real-time Environmental Distributed Data Services) Data Server (TDS). A TDS is a middleware designed to fill the gap between data providers and data users, and provides services allowing data users to find the data sets pertaining to their scientific needs, to access, visualize and use them in an easy way, without the need of downloading files to the local workspace. In order to achieve this results, it is necessary that the data providers make their data available in a standard form that the TDS understands, and with sufficient metadata so that the data can be read and searched for in a standard way. The TDS core is a NetCDF- Java Library implementing a Common Data Model (CDM), as developed by Unidata (http://www.unidata.ucar.edu), allowing the access to "array-based" scientific data. Climate and Forecast (CF) compliant NetCDF files can be read directly with no modification, while non-compliant files can

  2. Beyond Knowledge: Service Learning and Local Climate Change Research Engagement Activities that Foster Action and Behavior Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Low, R.; Mandryk, C.; Gosselin, D. C.; Haney, C.

    2013-12-01

    Climate change engagement requires individuals to understand an abstract and complex topic and realize the profound implications of climate change for their families and local community. In recent years federal agencies have spent millions of dollars on climate change education to prepare a nation for a warming future. The majority of these education efforts are based on a knowledge deficit model. In this view 'educate' means 'provide information'. However cognitive and behavioral research and current action demonstrate that information alone is not enough; knowledge does not necessarily lead to action. Educators are speaking to deaf ears if we rely on passive and abstract information transfer and neglect more persuasive and affective approaches to communication. When climate change is presented abstractly as something that happens in the future to people, environments, animals somewhere else it is easy to discount. People employ two separate systems for information processing: analytical-rational and intuitive-experiential Authentic local research experiences that engage both analytical and experiential information processing systems not only help individuals understand the abstraction of climate change in a concrete and personally experienced manner, but are more likely to influence behavior. Two on-line, graduate-level courses offered within University of Nebraska's Masters of Applied Science program provide opportunities for participants to engage in authentic inquiry based studies climate change's local impacts, and work with K-12 learners in promoting the scientific awareness and behavioral changes that mitigate against the negative impacts of a changing climate. The courses are specifically designed to improve middle and high school (grades 6-12) teachers' content knowledge of climate processes and climate change science in the context of their own community. Both courses provide data-rich, investigative science experiences in a distributed digital

  3. Rapid climate change did not cause population collapse at the end of the European Bronze Age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armit, Ian; Swindles, Graeme T; Becker, Katharina; Plunkett, Gill; Blaauw, Maarten

    2014-12-02

    The impact of rapid climate change on contemporary human populations is of global concern. To contextualize our understanding of human responses to rapid climate change it is necessary to examine the archeological record during past climate transitions. One episode of abrupt climate change has been correlated with societal collapse at the end of the northwestern European Bronze Age. We apply new methods to interrogate archeological and paleoclimate data for this transition in Ireland at a higher level of precision than has previously been possible. We analyze archeological (14)C dates to demonstrate dramatic population collapse and present high-precision proxy climate data, analyzed through Bayesian methods, to provide evidence for a rapid climatic transition at ca. 750 calibrated years B.C. Our results demonstrate that this climatic downturn did not initiate population collapse and highlight the nondeterministic nature of human responses to past climate change.

  4. Contributing Knowledge and Knowledge Workers: The Role of Chinese Universities in the Knowledge Economy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Shuang-Ye

    2012-01-01

    As China has appeared only recently as an important knowledge producer with growing global economic significance, little is known internationally about how these processes develop and are managed within China. The rapidly expanding Chinese higher education system is playing an increasingly important role in China's knowledge economy and therefore…

  5. Climate engineering and the risk of rapid climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ross, Andrew; Damon Matthews, H

    2009-01-01

    Recent research has highlighted risks associated with the use of climate engineering as a method of stabilizing global temperatures, including the possibility of rapid climate warming in the case of abrupt removal of engineered radiative forcing. In this study, we have used a simple climate model to estimate the likely range of temperature changes associated with implementation and removal of climate engineering. In the absence of climate engineering, maximum annual rates of warming ranged from 0.015 to 0.07 deg. C/year, depending on the model's climate sensitivity. Climate engineering resulted in much higher rates of warming, with the temperature change in the year following the removal of climate engineering ranging from 0.13 to 0.76 deg. C. High rates of temperature change were sustained for two decades following the removal of climate engineering; rates of change of 0.5 (0.3,0.1) deg. C/decade were exceeded over a 20 year period with 15% (75%, 100%) likelihood. Many ecosystems could be negatively affected by these rates of temperature change; our results suggest that climate engineering in the absence of deep emissions cuts could arguably constitute increased risk of dangerous anthropogenic interference in the climate system under the criteria laid out in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

  6. Europe's Southeastern Gateway: Responding to Rapidly Changing Patterns of World Shipping. The University's Role

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roger E. HAMLIN

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available World trade and transportation are changing dramatically. Energy prices and transport sustainability concerns are reinvigorating ocean freighter shipping. An ever-increasing portion of trade is in containers, and container ships are getting larger quickly. Many ports, nations and continents are not keeping up with ship size increases putting them at a trade disadvantage. Major canals and seaways must also upgrade or be rendered obsolete, causing a change in the pattern of world trade. Ports have to do more than expand vessel size limits. Port regions must also invest in infrastructure that improves multi-modal access to the port and augments hand-off of containers to smaller seaway ships, trains and trucks. With heightened security and evolving emphasis on flexible and efficient logistics, ports must become high-tech logistics hubs with improved real-time data about port throughput. Constanţa, Romania provides an example of an attempt to respond to this rapid change. Near the Danube Delta, on the Black Sea, Constanţa offers a potential southeastern gateway to Europe for the Black Sea, the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond. Ships from Asia, entering via the Suez Canal can easily access Constanţa, and thus save more than ten days of shipping time for destinations in southeastern Europe compared to shipping through Rotterdam or Hamburg. But Constanţa needs to make all the improvements mentioned above. Universities have several roles in this endeavor, including identifying and forecasting trends, providing the technical knowledge to develop high-tech logistics hubs, pursing publicprivate partnerships for infrastructure development and offering training.

  7. Differences in Knowledge of Climate Change between Male and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study identified gender differences in knowledge of climate change among livestock farmers in Nsukka agricultural zone, Enugu State. Data were collected using a multistage sampling technique to select 80 livestock farmers. Percentage, mean statistics and standard deviation were used in the presentation of the ...

  8. The influence of causal knowledge on the willingness to change attitude towards climate change: results from an empirical study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tasquier, Giulia; Pongiglione, Francesca

    2017-09-01

    Climate change is one of the significant global challenges currently facing humanity. Even though its seriousness seems to be common knowledge among the public, the reaction of individuals to it has been slow and uncertain. Many studies assert that simply knowing about climate change is not enough to generate people's behavioural response. They claim, indeed, that in some cases scientific literacy can even obstruct behavioural response instead. However, recent surveys show a rather poor understanding of climate dynamics and argue that lack of knowledge about causal relationships within climate dynamics can hinder behavioural response, since the individual is not able to understand his/her role as causal agent and therefore doesn't know how to take proper action. This study starts from the hypothesis that scientific knowledge focused on clarifying climate dynamics can make people understand not only dynamics themselves, but also their interactive relationship with the environment. Teaching materials on climate change based on such considerations were designed and implemented in a course for secondary-school students with the aim of investigating whether this kind of knowledge had an influence on students' willingness to adopt pro-environmental behaviours. Questionnaires were delivered for testing the effect of the teaching experience on knowledge and behaviour.

  9. A bioinspired color-changing polystyrene microarray as a rapid qualitative sensor for methanol and ethanol

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuo, Wen-Kai; Weng, Hsueh-Ping; Hsu, Jyun-Jheng; Yu, Hsin Her

    2016-01-01

    Polystyrene (PS) microspheres were synthesized by emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization and arranged in an array of closely packed, opal-like photonic crystals by slow self-assembly through dip-coating. This periodic array of PS microspheres was then employed as a rapid qualitative sensor for methanol and ethanol. Both solvents could be detected rapidly based on the routes of their reflection coordinates in the chromaticity diagram or directly by the naked eye on the basis of the change in color within 1 min once a solvent sample had been placed on the PS photochromic sensor. This opal-like PS sensor can thus not only be employed as a rapid sensor for methanol and ethanol but can also be used as a powerful tool for the fast screening of illicit drugs and toxic chemicals during forensic investigations. - Highlights: • Opal-like array of polystyrene (PS) microspheres is synthesized by self-assembly. • This periodic PS array is used as a rapid sensor for methanol and ethanol. • Solvents are detected by routes of reflection coordinates in chromaticity diagram. • They are also detected directly by naked eye based on change in color of sensor. • The color change is irreversible for methanol but reversible for ethanol.

  10. A bioinspired color-changing polystyrene microarray as a rapid qualitative sensor for methanol and ethanol

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuo, Wen-Kai, E-mail: wkkuo@nfu.edu.tw [Graduate Institute of Electro-Optical and Materials Science, National Formosa University, 64 Wenhua Road, Huwei, Yunlin 63208, Taiwan (China); Weng, Hsueh-Ping, E-mail: sherry.weng7949@gmail.com [Graduate Institute of Electro-Optical and Materials Science, National Formosa University, 64 Wenhua Road, Huwei, Yunlin 63208, Taiwan (China); Hsu, Jyun-Jheng, E-mail: k88520x@gmail.com [Graduate Institute of Electro-Optical and Materials Science, National Formosa University, 64 Wenhua Road, Huwei, Yunlin 63208, Taiwan (China); Yu, Hsin Her, E-mail: hhyu@nfu.edu.tw [Department of Biotechnology, National Formosa University, 64 Wenhua Road, Huwei, Yunlin 63208, Taiwan (China)

    2016-04-15

    Polystyrene (PS) microspheres were synthesized by emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization and arranged in an array of closely packed, opal-like photonic crystals by slow self-assembly through dip-coating. This periodic array of PS microspheres was then employed as a rapid qualitative sensor for methanol and ethanol. Both solvents could be detected rapidly based on the routes of their reflection coordinates in the chromaticity diagram or directly by the naked eye on the basis of the change in color within 1 min once a solvent sample had been placed on the PS photochromic sensor. This opal-like PS sensor can thus not only be employed as a rapid sensor for methanol and ethanol but can also be used as a powerful tool for the fast screening of illicit drugs and toxic chemicals during forensic investigations. - Highlights: • Opal-like array of polystyrene (PS) microspheres is synthesized by self-assembly. • This periodic PS array is used as a rapid sensor for methanol and ethanol. • Solvents are detected by routes of reflection coordinates in chromaticity diagram. • They are also detected directly by naked eye based on change in color of sensor. • The color change is irreversible for methanol but reversible for ethanol.

  11. Exploring the role of traditional ecological knowledge in climate change initiatives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirsten Vinyeta; Kathy. Lynn

    2013-01-01

    Indigenous populations are projected to face disproportionate impacts as a result of climate change in comparison to nonindigenous populations. For this reason, many American Indian and Alaska Native tribes are identifying and implementing culturally appropriate strategies to assess climate impacts and adapt to projected changes. Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK...

  12. How do we Remain Us in a Time of Change: Culture and Knowledge Management at NASA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linde, Charlotte

    2003-01-01

    This viewgraph representation presents an overview of findings of a NASA agency-wide Knowledge Management Team considering culture and knowledge management issues at the agency. Specific issues identified by the team include: (1) NASA must move from being a knowledge hoarding culture to a knowledge sharing culture; (2) NASA must move from being center focused to being Agency focused; (3) NASA must capture the knowledge of a departing workforce. Topics considered include: what must NASA know to remain NASA, what were previous forms of knowledge reproduction and how has technological innovations changed these systems, and what changes in funding and relationships between contractors and NASA affected knowledge reproduction.

  13. Rapid treatment-induced brain changes in pediatric CRPS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erpelding, Nathalie; Simons, Laura; Lebel, Alyssa; Serrano, Paul; Pielech, Melissa; Prabhu, Sanjay; Becerra, Lino; Borsook, David

    2016-03-01

    To date, brain structure and function changes in children with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) as a result of disease and treatment remain unknown. Here, we investigated (a) gray matter (GM) differences between patients with CRPS and healthy controls and (b) GM and functional connectivity (FC) changes in patients following intensive interdisciplinary psychophysical pain treatment. Twenty-three patients (13 females, 9 males; average age ± SD = 13.3 ± 2.5 years) and 21 healthy sex- and age-matched controls underwent magnetic resonance imaging. Compared to controls, patients had reduced GM in the primary motor cortex, premotor cortex, supplementary motor area, midcingulate cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, basal ganglia, thalamus, and hippocampus. Following treatment, patients had increased GM in the dlPFC, thalamus, basal ganglia, amygdala, and hippocampus, and enhanced FC between the dlPFC and the periaqueductal gray, two regions involved in descending pain modulation. Accordingly, our results provide novel evidence for GM abnormalities in sensory, motor, emotional, cognitive, and pain modulatory regions in children with CRPS. Furthermore, this is the first study to demonstrate rapid treatment-induced GM and FC changes in areas implicated in sensation, emotion, cognition, and pain modulation.

  14. Emergent Innovation—a Socio-Epistemological Innovation Technology. Creating Profound Change and Radically New Knowledge as Core Challenges in Knowledge Management

    OpenAIRE

    Peschl, Markus F.; Fundneider, Thomas

    2008-01-01

    This paper introduces an alternative approach to innovation: Emergent Innovation. As opposed to radical innovation Emergent Innovation finds a balance and integrates the demand both for radically new knowledge and at the same time for an organic development from within the organization. From a knowledge management perspective one can boil down this problem to the question of how to cope with the new and with profound change in knowledge. This question will be dealt with in the first part of t...

  15. Design Knowledge and Design Change Management in the Operation of Nuclear Fleets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pelin, H.

    2016-01-01

    Full text: The operating lifetime of a nuclear plant spans several decades. During this time, the plant may undergo design changes resulting from experience feedback, new knowledge or requirements, and safety reviews. To ensure that safety remains optimized, these changes must be carried out with a full understanding of and without compromising the design intent. The licensee holds prime responsibility for the safety of the plant, and fully responsible for design change management. It fulfils this responsibility by establishing a formal system for ensuring the safety of the plant design throughout its lifetime, which includes establishing a formally designated entity within its management system, referred to as the Design Authority. The establishment of a Design Authority may be challenging for many operators. Therefore the licensee may allocate tasks to external organizations—the original designers—that have a specialized knowledge of specific parts of the plant, including vendors and equipment suppliers. Utilities operating plants of similar design should take advantage of this similarity to manage their knowledge through an international fleet-wide approach, facilitating sharing of experience and enabling similar solutions to be adopted for design changes. Opportunities for exchanges brought by owners’ groups, and other operators’ groups should be fully developed. (author

  16. How Rapid Change Affects Deltas in the Arctic Region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Overeem, I.; Bendixen, M.

    2017-12-01

    Deltas form where the river drains into the ocean. Consequently, delta depositional processes are impacted by either changes in the respective river drainage basin or by changes in the regional marine environment. In a warming Arctic region rapid change has occurred over the last few decades in both the terrestrial domain as well as in the marine domain. Important terrestrial controls include 1) change in permafrost possibly destabilizing river banks, 2) strong seasonality of river discharge due to a short melting season, 3) high sediment supply if basins are extensively glaciated, 4) lake outbursts and ice jams favoring river flooding. Whereas in the Arctic marine domain sea ice loss promotes wave and storm surge impact, and increased longshore transport. We here ask which of these factors dominate any morphological change in Arctic deltas. First, we analyze hydrological data to assess change in Arctic-wide river discharge characteristics and timing, and sea ice concentration data to map changes in sea ice regime. Based on this observational analysis we set up a number of scenarios of change. We then model hypothetical small-scale delta formation considering change in these primary controls by setting up a numerical delta model, and combining it dynamically with a permafrost model. We find that for typical Greenlandic deltas changes in river forcing due to ice sheet melt dominate the morphological change, which is corroborated by mapping of delta progradation from aerial photos and satellite imagery. Whereas in other areas, along the North Slope and the Canadian Arctic small deltas are more stable or experienced retreat. Our preliminary coupled model allows us to further disentangle the impact of major forcing factors on delta evolution in high-latitude systems.

  17. Knowing climate change, embodying climate praxis: experiential knowledge in southern Appalachia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jennifer L. Rice; Brian J. Burke; Nik Heynen

    2015-01-01

    Whether used to support or impede action, scientific knowledge is now, more than ever, the primary framework for political discourse on climate change. As a consequence, science has become a hegemonic way of knowing climate change by mainstream climate politics, which not only limits the actors and actions deemed legitimate in climate politics but also silences...

  18. Changing Minds about the Changing Climate: a Longitudinal Study of the Impacts of a Climate Change Curriculum on Undergraduate Student Knowledge and Attitudes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burkholder, K. C.; Mooney, S.

    2016-12-01

    In the fall of 2013, 24 sophomore students enrolled in a three-course Learning Community entitled "The Ethics and Science of Climate Change." This learning community was comprised of two disciplinary courses in environmental ethics and environmental science as well as a seminar course in which the students designed and delivered climate change education events in the community beyond campus. Students were surveyed prior to and upon completion of the semester using a variant of the Yale Climate Literacy Survey in order to assess their knowledge of and attitudes towards climate change. An analysis of those survey results demonstrated that the non-traditional curriculum resulted in significant improvements that extended beyond disciplinary knowledge of climate change: the student attitudes about climate change and our cultural response to the issues associated with climate change shifted as well. Finally, a third administration of the survey (n=17) plus follow up interviews with 10 of those original students conducted during the students' senior year in 2016 suggest that the changes that the students underwent as sophomores were largely retained.

  19. Virtual Knowledge Brokering: Describing the Roles and Strategies Used by Knowledge Brokers in a Pediatric Physiotherapy Virtual Community of Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hurtubise, Karen; Rivard, Lisa; Héguy, Léa; Berbari, Jade; Camden, Chantal

    2016-01-01

    Knowledge transfer in pediatric rehabilitation is challenging and requires active, multifaceted strategies. The use of knowledge brokers (KBs) is one such strategy noted to promote clinician behavior change. The success of using KBs to transfer knowledge relies on their ability to adapt to ever-changing clinical contexts. In addition, with the rapid growth of online platforms as knowledge transfer forums, KBs must become effective in virtual environments. Although the role of KBs has been studied in various clinical contexts, their emerging role in specific online environments designed to support evidence-based behavior change has not yet been described. Our objective is to describe the roles of, and strategies used by, four KBs involved in a virtual community of practice to guide and inform future online KB interventions. A descriptive design guided this study and a thematic content analysis process was used to analyze online KB postings. The Promoting Action on Research in Health Sciences knowledge transfer framework and online andragogical learning theories assisted in the coding. A thematic map was created illustrating the links between KBs' strategies and emerging roles in the virtual environment. We analyzed 95 posts and identified three roles: 1) context architect: promoting a respectful learning environment, 2) knowledge sharing promoter: building capacity, and 3) linkage creator: connecting research-to-practice. Strategies used by KBs reflected invitational, constructivism, and connectivism approaches, with roles and strategies changing over time. This study increases our understanding of the actions of KBs in virtual contexts to foster uptake of research evidence in pediatric physiotherapy. Our results provide valuable information about the knowledge and skills required by individuals to fulfill this role in virtual environments.

  20. Cosmic rays linked to rapid mid-latitude cloud changes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. A. Laken

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available The effect of the Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR flux on Earth's climate is highly uncertain. Using a novel sampling approach based around observing periods of significant cloud changes, a statistically robust relationship is identified between short-term GCR flux changes and the most rapid mid-latitude (60°–30° N/S cloud decreases operating over daily timescales; this signal is verified in surface level air temperature (SLAT reanalysis data. A General Circulation Model (GCM experiment is used to test the causal relationship of the observed cloud changes to the detected SLAT anomalies. Results indicate that the anomalous cloud changes were responsible for producing the observed SLAT changes, implying that if there is a causal relationship between significant decreases in the rate of GCR flux (~0.79 GU, where GU denotes a change of 1% of the 11-year solar cycle amplitude in four days and decreases in cloud cover (~1.9 CU, where CU denotes a change of 1% cloud cover in four days, an increase in SLAT (~0.05 KU, where KU denotes a temperature change of 1 K in four days can be expected. The influence of GCRs is clearly distinguishable from changes in solar irradiance and the interplanetary magnetic field. However, the results of the GCM experiment are found to be somewhat limited by the ability of the model to successfully reproduce observed cloud cover. These results provide perhaps the most compelling evidence presented thus far of a GCR-climate relationship. From this analysis we conclude that a GCR-climate relationship is governed by both short-term GCR changes and internal atmospheric precursor conditions.

  1. Engaging Chicago residents in climate change action: Results from Rapid Ethnographic Inquiry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lynne M. Westphal; Jennifer. Hirsch

    2010-01-01

    Addressing climate change requires action at all levels of society, from neighborhood to international levels. Using Rapid Ethnography rooted in Asset Based Community Development theory, we investigated climate-friendly attitudes and behaviors in two Chicago neighborhoods in order to assist the City with implementation of its Climate Action Plan. Our research suggests...

  2. Knowledge-driven institutional change: an empirical study on combating desertification in northern China from 1949 to 2004.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Lihua; Wu, Jianguo

    2012-11-15

    Understanding institutional changes is crucial for environmental management. Here we investigated how institutional changes influenced the process and result of desertification control in northern China between 1949 and 2004. Our analysis was based on a case study of 21 field sites and a meta-analysis of additional 29 sites reported in the literature. Our results show that imposed knowledge-driven institutional change was often perceived as a more progressive, scientific, and rational type of institutional change by entrepreneurs, scholars, experts, and technicians, while voluntary, knowledge-driven institutional change based on indigenous knowledge and experiences of local populations was discouraged. Our findings also demonstrate that eight working rules of imposed knowledge-driven institutional change can be applied to control desertification effectively. These rules address the issues of perception of potential gains, entrepreneurs' appeals and support, coordination of multiple goals, collaboration among multiple organizations, interest distribution and conflict resolution, incremental institutional change, external intervention, and coordination among the myriad institutions involved. Imposed knowledge-driven institutional change tended to be more successful when these rules were thoroughly implemented. These findings provide an outline for implementing future institutional changes and policy making to combat desertification and other types of ecological and environmental management. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Politics of change: the discourses that inform organizational change and their capacity to silence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMillan, Kim

    2016-09-01

    Changes in healthcare organizations are inevitable and occurring at unprecedented rates. Such changes greatly impact nurses and their work, yet these experiences are rarely explored. Organizational change discourses remain grounded in perspectives that explore and explain systems, often not the people within them. Change processes in healthcare organizations informed by such organizational discourses validate only certain perspectives and forms of knowledge. This fosters exclusionary practices, limiting the capacity of certain individuals or groups of individuals to effectively contribute to change discourses and processes. The reliance on mainstream organizational discourses in healthcare organizations has left little room for the exploration of diverse perspectives on the subject of organizational change, particularly those of nurses. Michel Foucault's work challenges dominant discourse and suggest that strong reliance's on specific discourses effectively disqualify certain forms of knowledge. Foucault's writings on disqualified knowledge and parrhesia (truth telling and frank speech) facilitate the critical exploration of discourses that inform change in healthcare organizations and nurses capacities to contribute to organizational discourses. This paper explores the capacity of nurses to speak their truths within rapidly and continuously changing healthcare organizations when such changes are often driven by discourses not derived from nursing knowledge or experience. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. The Difference Engine: Computing, Knowledge, and the Transformation of Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Provenzo, Eugene F.

    2011-01-01

    Since the 1960s, the rapid evolution of technology has created a new cultural geography--a virtual geography. "The Difference Engine: Computing, Knowledge and the Transformation of Learning" offers a conscious critique of this change and its effects on contemporary culture and education. This engaging text assumes that we are at a critical…

  5. Developing a Climate Change Boundary Organization: the Montana Adaptation Knowledge Exchange

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitlock, C. L.; Brooks, S.; Armstrong, T.; Bryan, B.

    2017-12-01

    States, like Montana, with small populations and large areas, are challenged by a need to offer timely and relevant climate-science information that addresses diverse and widely dispersed stakeholder groups. In Montana, filling the gap between science and practice has motivated the first Montana Climate Assessment (MCA), released September 2017 with a focus on climate impacts on the agriculture, water and forestry sectors. The MCA is an outcome of a science-stakeholder partnership that has identified critical climate-change information and knowledge gaps for the state through listening sessions and questionnaires. From the initial feedback, it became clear that stakeholder groups were deeply concerned about the challenges posed by rising temperatures and wanted to know how recent and projected warming will affect Montana's natural and managed resources. As part of the next phase of the MCA project, we are now creating the Montana Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (MAKE), a "boundary organization" as described by the National Academy of Sciences. MAKE moves beyond information sharing by bringing scientists and practitioners together to seek solutions related to climate-change adaptation and other pressing environmental and socio-economic concerns. Through a collaborative partnership that involves Montana universities, state and federal agencies, businesses and non-governmental organizations, MAKE is designed to communicate current research findings and support revision and expansion of state-of-the-knowledge assessments like the MCA. Stakeholder partners will provide guidance to the science community to help prioritize research directions and activities of high importance. Significant, but often technical, scientific results will be translated and delivered to stakeholder groups through a variety of print, web, and mobile products. MAKE will support an extensive online database, host an online portal, gather a network of experts in respective fields, and maintain a

  6. Reprint 1987: Research Administration in a Time of Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandt, Edward N.

    2017-01-01

    The field of biomedical research has undergone several changes in recent years. These include increased funding, the rapid development in scientific knowledge which speeds up the obsolescence of equipment, facilities and knowledge and the growing complexity of scientific problems. Research administrators can take steps to address these changes…

  7. Climate change impacts in Iran: assessing our current knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahimi, Jaber; Malekian, Arash; Khalili, Ali

    2018-02-01

    During recent years, various studies have focused on investigating the direct and indirect impacts of climate changes in Iran while the noteworthy fact is the achievement gained by these researches. Furthermore, what should be taken into consideration is whether these studies have been able to provide appropriate opportunities for improving further studies in this particular field or not. To address these questions, this study systematically reviewed and summarized the current available literature (n = 150) regarding the impacts of climate change on temperature and precipitation in Iran to assess our current state of knowledge. The results revealed that while all studies discuss the probable changes in temperature and precipitation over the next decades, serious contradictions could be seen in their results; also, the general pattern of changes was different in most of the cases. This matter may have a significant effect on public beliefs in climate change, which can be a serious warning for the activists in this realm.

  8. Rapid consolidation of new knowledge in adulthood via fast mapping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coutanche, Marc N; Thompson-Schill, Sharon L

    2015-09-01

    Rapid word learning, where words are 'fast mapped' onto new concepts, may help build vocabulary during childhood. Recent evidence has suggested that fast mapping might help to rapidly integrate information into memory networks of the adult neocortex. The neural basis for this learning by fast mapping determines key properties of the learned information. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Mobile work: Ergonomics in a rapidly changing work environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honan, Meg

    2015-01-01

    Places of work have been completely transformed by innovations in mobile work tools and ever-present access to internet data. This article characterizes use patterns and provides preliminary considerations for productive and comfortable use of common mobile devices. Two surveys described trends in mobile work. In the first, ergonomics professionals who oversee programs reported common mobile devices, their users and what data is accessed. The second, an end user survey, explored common activities performed on mobile devices, duration of use and locations where mobile work is common. The survey results provide a baseline data point for the status of mobile work in early 2014. Research indicates that additional risks have been introduced to the neck, thumbs and hands when using mobile devices. Possible trends regarding device use and work locations emerge. Intervention studies provide some direction for the practitioner. Practical strategies are outlined to reduce exposure intensity and duration. Contemporary mobile work presents tremendous change and opportunity for ergonomists and researchers to keep pace with fitting the changing models of work to the person. Continued research is needed on current mobile device use patterns to better understand ergonomic risk exposure in this rapidly changing realm.

  10. Rapid changes in protein phosphorylation associated with gravity perception in corn roots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McFadden, J.J.; Poovaiah, B.W.

    1987-01-01

    A previous paper from this laboratory showed calcium- and calmodulin-dependent in vivo protein phosphorylation in corn root tips. The authors show that rapid changes in calcium-dependent protein phosphorylation are involved in light-dependent graviperception in corn root tips. Corn seedlings (Zea mays L, cv Merit) were grown in the dark for 3 d, then apical root segments were harvested in dim green light to measure in vivo protein phosphorylation. Segments were incubated with 0.5 mCi 32 P for 1 h, then immediately frozen in liquid N 2 or first treated with either 7 min light, or 7 min light plus 1 mM EGTA and 10 μM A23187. Labeled proteins were separated by 2D gel electrophoresis and detected by autoradiography. Light caused rapid and specific promotion of phosphorylation of 5 polypeptides. The increases in protein phosphorylation were reversed by treating with EGTA and A23187. The authors postulate that these changes in protein phosphorylation are an essential part of the light-dependent gravity response in Merit roots

  11. Knowledge acquisition and interface design for learning on demand systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Wayne A.

    1993-01-01

    The rapid changes in our world precipitated by technology have created new problems and new challenges for education and training. A knowledge 'explosion' is occurring as our society moves toward a service oriented economy that relies on information as the major resource. Complex computer systems are beginning to dominate the workplace, causing alarming growth and change in many fields. The rapidly changing nature of the workplace, especially in fields related to information technology, requires that our knowledge be updated constantly. This characteristic of modern society poses seemingly unsolvable instructional problems involving coverage and obsolescence. The sheer amount of information to be learned is rapidly increasing, while at the same time some information becomes obsolete in light of new information. Education, therefore, must become a lifelong process that features learning of new material and skills as needed in relation to the job to be done. Because of the problems cited above, the current model of learning in advance may no longer be feasible in our high-technology world. In many cases, learning in advance is impossible because there are simply too many things to learn. In addition, learning in advance can be time consuming, and often results in decontextualized knowledge that does not readily transfer to the work environment. The large and growing discrepancy between the amount of potentially relevant knowledge available and the amount a person can know and remember makes learning on demand an important alternative to current instructional practices. Learning on demand takes place whenever an individual must learn something new in order to perform a task or make a decision. Learning on demand is a promising approach for addressing the problems of coverage and obsolescence because learning is contextualized and integrated into the task environment rather than being relegated to a separate phase that precedes work. Learning on demand allows learners

  12. Computed tomographic demonstration of rapid changes in fatty infiltration of the liver

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bashist, B.; Hecht, H.L.; Harely, W.D.

    1982-01-01

    Two alcoholic patients in whom computed tomography (CT) demonstrated reversal of fatty infiltration of the liver are described. The rapid reversibility of fatty infiltration can be useful in monitoring alcoholics with fatty livers. Focal fatty infiltration can mimic focal hepatic lesions and repeat scans can be utilized to assess changes in CT attenuation values when this condition is suspected

  13. Conceptualising joint knowledge production in regional climate change adaptation projects: success conditions and levers for action

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hegger, D.L.T.; Lamers, M; Zeijl-Rozema, A. van; Dieperink, C.

    2012-01-01

    Matching supply and demand for knowledge in the fields of global change and sustainability is a daunting task. Science and public policy differ in their timeframes, epistemologies, objectives, process-cycles and criteria for judging the quality of knowledge, while global change and sustainability

  14. Monitoring changes in seismic velocity related to an ongoing rapid inflation event at Okmok volcano, Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennington, Ninfa; Haney, Matt; De Angelis, Silvio; Thurber, Clifford; Freymueller, Jeff

    2015-01-01

    Okmok is one of the most active volcanoes in the Aleutian Arc. In an effort to improve our ability to detect precursory activity leading to eruption at Okmok, we monitor a recent, and possibly ongoing, GPS-inferred rapid inflation event at the volcano using ambient noise interferometry (ANI). Applying this method, we identify changes in seismic velocity outside of Okmok’s caldera, which are related to the hydrologic cycle. Within the caldera, we observe decreases in seismic velocity that are associated with the GPS-inferred rapid inflation event. We also determine temporal changes in waveform decorrelation and show a continual increase in decorrelation rate over the time associated with the rapid inflation event. Themagnitude of relative velocity decreases and decorrelation rate increases are comparable to previous studies at Piton de la Fournaise that associate such changes with increased production of volatiles and/ormagmatic intrusion within the magma reservoir and associated opening of fractures and/or fissures. Notably, the largest decrease in relative velocity occurs along the intrastation path passing nearest to the center of the caldera. This observation, along with equal amplitude relative velocity decreases revealed via analysis of intracaldera autocorrelations, suggests that the inflation sourcemay be located approximately within the center of the caldera and represent recharge of shallow magma storage in this location. Importantly, there is a relative absence of seismicity associated with this and previous rapid inflation events at Okmok. Thus, these ANI results are the first seismic evidence of such rapid inflation at the volcano.

  15. MedRapid--medical community & business intelligence system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finkeissen, E; Fuchs, H; Jakob, T; Wetter, T

    2002-01-01

    currently, it takes at least 6 months for researchers to communicate their results. This delay is caused (a) by partial lacks of machine support for both representation as well as communication and (b) by media breaks during the communication process. To make an integrated communication between researchers and practitioners possible, a general structure for medical content representation has been set up. The procedure for data entry and quality management has been generalized and implemented in a web-based authoring system. The MedRapid-system supports the medical experts in entering their knowledge into a database. Here, the level of detail is still below that of current medical guidelines representation. However, the symmetric structure for an area-wide medical knowledge representation is highly retrievable and thus can quickly be communicated into daily routine for the improvement of the treatment quality. In addition, other sources like journal articles and medical guidelines can be references within the MedRapid-system and thus be communicated into daily routine. The fundamental system for the representation of medical reference knowledge (from reference works/books) itself is not sufficient for the friction-less communication amongst medical staff. Rather, the process of (a) representing medical knowledge, (b) refereeing the represented knowledge, (c) communicating the represented knowledge, and (d) retrieving the represented knowledge has to be unified. MedRapid will soon support the whole process on one server system.

  16. Digital Tools to Support Knowledge Sharing and Cooperation in High-Investment Product-Services

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aromaa, S.; Leino, S.P.; Reyes-Lecuona, A.; Frangakis, N.; Berglund, J.; Bosch, T.; Rhijn, G. van; Granholm, G.

    2018-01-01

    The manufacturing industry needs to adapt their product-services to meet customer requirements in today’s rapidly changing markets. This paper presents how technologies can support knowledge sharing and collaboration during product-service processes. This work was part of the European Union

  17. Wildlife health in a rapidly changing North: focus on avian disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Hemert, Caroline R.; Pearce, John M.; Handel, Colleen M.

    2014-01-01

    Climate-related environmental changes have increasingly been linked to emerging infectious diseases in wildlife. The Arctic is facing a major ecological transition that is expected to substantially affect animal and human health. Changes in phenology or environmental conditions that result from climate warming may promote novel species assemblages as host and pathogen ranges expand to previously unoccupied areas. Recent evidence from the Arctic and subarctic suggests an increase in the spread and prevalence of some wildlife diseases, but baseline data necessary to detect and verify such changes are still lacking. Wild birds are undergoing rapid shifts in distribution and have been implicated in the spread of wildlife and zoonotic diseases. Here, we review evidence of current and projected changes in the abundance and distribution of avian diseases and outline strategies for future research. We discuss relevant climatic and environmental factors, emerging host–pathogen contact zones, the relationship between host condition and immune function, and potential wildlife and human health outcomes in northern regions.

  18. Learning Might Not Equal Liking: Research Methods Course Changes Knowledge But Not Attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sizemore, O. J.; Lewandowski, Gary W., Jr.

    2009-01-01

    Students completed surveys at the beginning and end of a sophomore-level course on research and statistics. We hypothesized that the course would produce advances in knowledge of research and statistics and that those changes would be accompanied by more favorable attitudes toward the subject matter. Results showed that knowledge did increase…

  19. Knowledge systems of societies for adaptation and mitigation of impacts of climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nautiyal, Sunil; Raju, K.V.; Rao, K.S.; Kaechele, Harald; Schaldach, Ruediger

    2013-01-01

    Climate change is broadly recognized as a key environmental issue affecting social and ecological systems worldwide. At the Cancun summit of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's 16th Conference, the parties jointly agreed that the vulnerable groups particularly in developing countries and whose livelihood is based on land use practices are the most common victims as in most cases their activities are shaped by the climate. Therefore, solving the climate dilemma through mitigation processes and scientific research is an ethical concern. Thus combining the knowledge systems of the societies and scientific evidences can greatly assist in the creation of coping mechanisms for sustainable development in a situation of changing climate. International Humboldt Kolleg focusing on ''knowledge systems of societies and Climate Change'' was organized at ISEC. This event was of unique importance, as the year 2011-12 was celebrated as the 60th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between India and Germany with the motto ''Germany and India - Infinite Opportunities.'' This volume is the outcome of the papers presented during the IHK 2011 at ISEC, India. It reports on the present knowledge systems in a third world country which has always practiced a live and let live philosophy. Furthermore it provides valuable information for understanding the complexity of socio-ecological systems in relation to the projected impacts of climate change.

  20. Creating knowledge structures in the pharmaceutical industry: the increasing significance of virtual organisation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salazar, A; Howells, J

    2000-01-01

    This paper explores the specific trend and challenges facing the pharmaceutical industry regarding the exploitation of Internet e-commerce technology and virtual organisation to develop and maintain competitive advantage. There are two important facets of the current trend. One is the rapid development of a complex network of alliances between the established pharmaceutical companies and the specialised biotechnology company start-ups. The other is the rapid growth of internet e-commerce companies dedicated to developing specialised technological platforms for acquiring and selling genetic and biochemical knowledge. The underlying challenge is how big pharmaceutical companies can emulate some of the innovation processes of smaller biotechnology company start-ups, and how they can appropriate and applied new technological knowledge on the development of new drugs. Pharmaceutical companies in order to retain competitive advantage need to continuously monitor all aspects of knowledge management with regard to the R&D and manufacturing process (as well as customer management and marketing). Technological change and organisational restructuring should be aimed at boosting the capacity of large firms to innovate rapidly.

  1. Knowledgeable Learning and Conceptual Change: Value Adding to Teacher Training

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeigh, Tony

    2013-01-01

    This report concerns the use of pre and post responses to an online questionnaire as evidence of knowledgeable learning by education students at a regional Australian university. Factor analysis was used to reveal conceptual changes in the students' thinking about classroom management across a unit of learning they had undertaken. These changes…

  2. Rapid Prototyping in Instructional Design: Creating Competencies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fulton, Carolyn D.

    2010-01-01

    Instructional designers working in rapid prototyping environments currently do not have a list of competencies that help to identify the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) required in these workplaces. This qualitative case study used multiple cases in an attempt to identify rapid prototyping competencies required in a rapid prototyping…

  3. Target Inquiry: Changing Chemistry High School Teachers' Classroom Practices and Knowledge and Beliefs about Inquiry Instruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrington, Deborah G.; Yezierski, Ellen J.; Luxford, Karen M.; Luxford, Cynthia J.

    2011-01-01

    Inquiry-based instruction requires a deep, conceptual understanding of the process of science combined with a sophisticated knowledge of teaching and learning. This study examines the changes in classroom instructional practices and corresponding changes to knowledge and beliefs about inquiry instruction for eight high school chemistry teachers.…

  4. Consultant-Client Relationship and Knowledge Transfer in Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises Change Processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinez, Luis F; Ferreira, Aristides I; Can, Amina B

    2016-04-01

    Based on Szulanski's knowledge transfer model, this study examined how the communicational, motivational, and sharing of understanding variables influenced knowledge transfer and change processes in small- and medium-sized enterprises, particularly under projects developed by funded programs. The sample comprised 144 entrepreneurs, mostly male (65.3%) and mostly ages 35 to 45 years (40.3%), who filled an online questionnaire measuring the variables of "sharing of understanding," "motivation," "communication encoding competencies," "source credibility," "knowledge transfer," and "organizational change." Data were collected between 2011 and 2012 and measured the relationship between clients and consultants working in a Portuguese small- and medium-sized enterprise-oriented action learning program. To test the hypotheses, structural equation modeling was conducted to identify the antecedents of sharing of understanding, motivational, and communicational variables, which were positively correlated with the knowledge transfer between consultants and clients. This transfer was also positively correlated with organizational change. Overall, the study provides important considerations for practitioners and academicians and establishes new avenues for future studies concerning the issues of consultant-client relationship and the efficacy of Government-funded programs designed to improve performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises. © The Author(s) 2016.

  5. Better knowledge improves adherence to lifestyle changes and medication in patients with coronary heart disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alm-Roijer, Carin; Stagmo, Martin; Udén, Giggi; Erhardt, Leif

    2004-12-01

    Many patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) are not managed adequately, and we often fail to reach treatment targets. To investigate if knowledge of risk factors for CHD, measured by a questionnaire, would show any relation to advice to compliance to lifestyle changes to attain treatment goals and adherence to drug therapy. Men and women event were screened consecutively (509) from the medical records. Responders (392) were interviewed, examined and received a questionnaire. Three hundred and forty-seven patients answered the questionnaire regarding their general knowledge of risk factors for CHD, compliance to lifestyle changes to attain treatment goals and adherence to drug therapy. There were statistically significant correlations between general knowledge about risk factors for CHD and compliance to certain lifestyle changes: weight, physical activity, stress management, diet, attainment of lipid level goals and the likelihood of taking prescribed blood pressure-lowering drugs. General knowledge of risk factors had no correlation to blood glucose or blood pressure levels nor on smoking habits or treatment patterns for prescribed lipid- and blood glucose-lowering drugs. Knowledge correlates to patient behaviour with respect to some risk factors, which should be recognised in preventive programs.

  6. Rapid internationalization and long-term performance: The knowledge link

    OpenAIRE

    García-García, Raquel; García-Canal, Esteban; Guillén, Mauro F.

    2017-01-01

    Drawing on the knowledge-based view and organizational learning theory, we develop and test a set of hypotheses to provide a first attempt at analyzing the effect of speed of internationalization on long-term performance. Using a panel-data sample of Spanish listed firms (1986-2010), we find that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between speed of internationalization and long-term performance. We also find that whereas technological knowledge steepens this relationship, the diversity...

  7. Rapid improvement teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alemi, F; Moore, S; Headrick, L; Neuhauser, D; Hekelman, F; Kizys, N

    1998-03-01

    Suggestions, most of which are supported by empirical studies, are provided on how total quality management (TQM) teams can be used to bring about faster organizationwide improvements. Ideas are offered on how to identify the right problem, have rapid meetings, plan rapidly, collect data rapidly, and make rapid whole-system changes. Suggestions for identifying the right problem include (1) postpone benchmarking when problems are obvious, (2) define the problem in terms of customer experience so as not to blame employees nor embed a solution in the problem statement, (3) communicate with the rest of the organization from the start, (4) state the problem from different perspectives, and (5) break large problems into smaller units. Suggestions for having rapid meetings include (1) choose a nonparticipating facilitator to expedite meetings, (2) meet with each team member before the team meeting, (3) postpone evaluation of ideas, and (4) rethink conclusions of a meeting before acting on them. Suggestions for rapid planning include reducing time spent on flowcharting by focusing on the future, not the present. Suggestions for rapid data collection include (1) sample patients for surveys, (2) rely on numerical estimates by process owners, and (3) plan for rapid data collection. Suggestions for rapid organizationwide implementation include (1) change membership on cross-functional teams, (2) get outside perspectives, (3) use unfolding storyboards, and (4) go beyond self-interest to motivate lasting change in the organization. Additional empirical investigations of time saved as a consequence of the strategies provided are needed. If organizations solve their problems rapidly, fewer unresolved problems may remain.

  8. The knowledge reengineering bottleneck

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoekstra, R.

    2010-01-01

    Knowledge engineering upholds a longstanding tradition that emphasises methodological issues associated with the acquisition and representation of knowledge in some (formal) language. This focus on methodology implies an ex ante approach: "think before you act". The rapid increase of linked data

  9. Evolution from Collaborative Learning to Symbiotic E-Learning: Creation of New E-Learning Environment for Knowledge Society

    Science.gov (United States)

    Songhao, He; Saito, Kenji; Maeda, Takashi; Kubo, Takara

    2011-01-01

    For people who live in the knowledge society which has rapidly been changing, learning in the widest sense becomes indispensable in all phases of working, living and playing. The construction of an environment, to meet the demands of people who need to acquire new knowledge and skills as the need arises, and enlighten each other regularly, is…

  10. Knowledge systems of societies for adaptation and mitigation of impacts of climate change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nautiyal, Sunil; Raju, K.V. [Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore (India). Centre for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources; Rao, K.S. [Delhi Univ. (India). Dept. of Botany; Kaechele, Harald [Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, Muencheberg (Germany). Inst. of Socioeconomics; Schaldach, Ruediger (ed.) [Kassel Univ. (Germany). Centre for Environmental System Research

    2013-07-01

    Climate change is broadly recognized as a key environmental issue affecting social and ecological systems worldwide. At the Cancun summit of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's 16th Conference, the parties jointly agreed that the vulnerable groups particularly in developing countries and whose livelihood is based on land use practices are the most common victims as in most cases their activities are shaped by the climate. Therefore, solving the climate dilemma through mitigation processes and scientific research is an ethical concern. Thus combining the knowledge systems of the societies and scientific evidences can greatly assist in the creation of coping mechanisms for sustainable development in a situation of changing climate. International Humboldt Kolleg focusing on ''knowledge systems of societies and Climate Change'' was organized at ISEC. This event was of unique importance, as the year 2011-12 was celebrated as the 60th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between India and Germany with the motto ''Germany and India - Infinite Opportunities.'' This volume is the outcome of the papers presented during the IHK 2011 at ISEC, India. It reports on the present knowledge systems in a third world country which has always practiced a live and let live philosophy. Furthermore it provides valuable information for understanding the complexity of socio-ecological systems in relation to the projected impacts of climate change.

  11. RAPID SPECTRAL CHANGES OF CYGNUS X-1 IN THE LOW/HARD STATE WITH SUZAKU

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamada, S.; Makishima, K. [Cosmic Radiation Laboratory, Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), Wako, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan); Negoro, H. [Department of Physics, College of Science and Technology, Nihon University, 1-8 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8308 (Japan); Torii, S.; Noda, H. [Department of Physics, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Mineshige, S. [Department of Astronomy, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan)

    2013-04-20

    Rapid spectral changes in the hard X-ray on a timescale down to {approx}0.1 s are studied by applying a ''shot analysis'' technique to the Suzaku observations of the black hole binary Cygnus X-1, performed on 2008 April 18 during the low/hard state. We successfully obtained the shot profiles, covering 10-200 keV with the Suzaku HXD-PIN and HXD-GSO detector. It is notable that the 100-200 keV shot profile is acquired for the first time owing to the HXD-GSO detector. The intensity changes in a time-symmetric way, though the hardness changes in a time-asymmetric way. When the shot-phase-resolved spectra are quantified with the Compton model, the Compton y-parameter and the electron temperature are found to decrease gradually through the rising phase of the shot, while the optical depth appears to increase. All the parameters return to their time-averaged values immediately within 0.1 s past the shot peak. We have not only confirmed this feature previously found in energies below {approx}60 keV, but also found that the spectral change is more prominent in energies above {approx}100 keV, implying the existence of some instant mechanism for direct entropy production. We discuss possible interpretations of the rapid spectral changes in the hard X-ray band.

  12. The pedagogical content knowledge of Danish geography teachers in a changing schooling context

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clausen, Søren Witzel

    2016-01-01

    the TSPK of geography teachers in ways that potentially have an impact on their classroom practice. Teachers´ responses to specific questions relating to their choice of learning goals and the content and organisation of their lessons show that geography teachers take into account not only the knowledge......This study examines the self-reported, topic-specific professional knowledge (TSPK) of Danish geography teachers seen as an aspect of their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) when teaching weather formation and climate change. This topic is considered representative of geography teaching...

  13. Changes in HPV Knowledge Among College Women from 2008 to 2015.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Erika L; Vamos, Cheryl A; Griner, Stacey B; Daley, Ellen M

    2018-04-01

    The human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause anogenital cancers and genital warts; however, it can be prevented through the HPV vaccine, which has been available since 2006. While this vaccine is targeted toward 11-to-12-year-olds, 18-to-26-year-old young adult women are eligible for "catch-up" vaccination. Knowledge of HPV may impact HPV vaccine uptake among this population. The purpose of this study was to assess changes in HPV knowledge and HPV vaccine information sources among young adult college women over a 7-year period. Two independent samples (N = 223 for 2008; N = 323 for 2015) completed a 23-item knowledge scale and survey regarding HPV. Adjusted logistic regression models compared the odds of correctly answering each knowledge item between each time period. The study found that HPV knowledge increased significantly over time (p HPV transmission; there is a vaccine for women that prevents certain types of HPV; HPV can cause genital warts; HPV can be passed to a newborn at birth; and even if you do not see a wart, you can transmit HPV. Recent participants were also more likely to correctly report only women can get HPV as false. While improvements in HPV knowledge were found over time, misperceptions regarding outcomes associated with HPV persist. In order to promote HPV vaccination among this population, health literacy skills, in addition to knowledge, should be improved.

  14. Climate knowledge cultures: Stakeholder perspectives on change and adaptation in Nusa Tenggara Barat, Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E.L. Bohensky

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Effective climate adaptation requires engagement (awareness, motivation, and capacity to act at relevant scales, from individuals to global institutions. In many parts of the world, research attention has focused on the engagement of the general public. We suggest that studies also need to focus on key stakeholders in the government and non-governmental sectors who participate in adaptation planning processes, so that a better understanding may be achieved of the distinct knowledge cultures that influence their engagement with climate change. Indonesia is a key actor in climate adaptation because of the potentially dire consequences for its population’s livelihoods and well-being. In this paper we consider whether ‘climate knowledge cultures’ exist amongst stakeholders at multiple organisational levels in Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB Province, Eastern Indonesia. Surveys were conducted with 124 stakeholders from differing levels at the beginning of four multi-stakeholder climate adaptation workshops. Questions elicited perceptions of their region’s challenges, observation and awareness of climate change, feelings they associated with climate change, beliefs regarding causes, risks and preparedness for climate change, and timeframes they associated with the future. Across all levels, climate change ranked highest as the first challenge participants identified, followed by food security, but well-being ranked highest when the top three challenges were combined. Most participants believed climate change was happening, but those working at higher organisational levels were more likely to attribute climate change to human factors whereas those at lower levels were more likely to think it was a natural phenomenon. Women were in greater agreement and more optimistic than men about current government policies to cope with climate change. Perceptions differed between sub-districts, reflecting NTB’s climatic diversity. We note that although climate

  15. Knowledge Management as Indispensable Factor in the Organizational Changes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oliver Momcilovic

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available In the history of the modern world, there were three great waves of changes: agricultural, industrial and technological revolution. In the agricultural era, the acquisition of land was the key to success. In the industrial era, it was a capital and investment in capital goods. In the current technological era or the era of "knowledge", it has become a most valuable resource that one organization may have. To be creative and innovative, to think more further than others, have become critical characteristics for success. Technology has facilitated access to information, contributing to the further globalization of markets, automate industry and exponential growth of the amount of information. Knowledge has become the currency of our time, the key to survival and success. Transition from the culture-based industry represents a challenge for the way that people and companies think, work and function.

  16. Employee participation in knowledge sharing and change solutions through enterprise social media

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Mona Agerholm; Agerdal-Hjermind, Annette; Valentini, Chiara

    Purpose - This paper explores the relationship between the participative style of the immediate manager and employees’ motivation to participate on enterprise social media both in daily knowledge sharing activities and in relation to organizational change solutions. Methodology - This project.......046). Findings - The data shows a positive relationship between the participative style of the immediate manager and the employees’ motivation to participate on enterprise social media both in daily knowledge sharing activities and in creating and discussing change solutions. Key words: Internal social media...... is based on a quantitative study in a global Danish company with approximately 18,000 employees worldwide. The company has a strategic focus on implementing social collaboration platforms to create a global working culture. An online survey was conducted globally and a total of 1.046 employees replied (n=1...

  17. Ethics, Collaboration, and Presentation Methods for Local and Traditional Knowledge for Understanding Arctic Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parsons, M. A.; Gearheard, S.; McNeave, C.

    2009-12-01

    Local and traditional knowledge (LTK) provides rich information about the Arctic environment at spatial and temporal scales that scientific knowledge often does not have access to (e.g. localized observations of fine-scale ecological change potentially from many different communities, or local sea ice and conditions prior to 1950s ice charts and 1970s satellite records). Community-based observations and monitoring are an opportunity for Arctic residents to provide ‘frontline’ observations and measurements that are an early warning system for Arctic change. The Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic (ELOKA) was established in response to the growing number of community-based and community-oriented research and observation projects in the Arctic. ELOKA provides data management and user support to facilitate the collection, preservation, exchange, and use of local observations and knowledge. Managing these data presents unique ethical challenges in terms of appropriate use of rare human knowledge and ensuring that knowledge is not lost from the local communities and not exploited in ways antithetical to community culture and desires. Local Arctic residents must be engaged as true collaborative partners while respecting their perspectives, which may vary substantially from a western science perspective. At the same time, we seek to derive scientific meaning from the local knowledge that can be used in conjunction with quantitative science data. This creates new challenges in terms of data presentation, knowledge representations, and basic issues of metadata. This presentation reviews these challenges, some initial approaches to addressing them, and overall lessons learned and future directions.

  18. Apiculture knowledge transmission in a changing world: Can family-owned knowledge be opened?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuta Uchiyama

    2017-12-01

    Conclusion: The results implied a challenge to open the knowledge transmission channels beyond families, potentially transforming the knowledge from tacit knowledge among limited members to an explicit manualized knowledge in an aging society.

  19. Integrated ocean management as a strategy to meet rapid climate change: the Norwegian case.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoel, Alf Håkon; Olsen, Erik

    2012-02-01

    The prospects of rapid climate change and the potential existence of tipping points in marine ecosystems where nonlinear change may result from them being overstepped, raises the question of strategies for coping with ecosystem change. There is broad agreement that the combined forces of climate change, pollution and increasing economic activities necessitates more comprehensive approaches to oceans management, centering on the concept of ecosystem-based oceans management. This article addresses the Norwegian experience in introducing integrated, ecosystem-based oceans management, emphasizing how climate change, seen as a major long-term driver of change in ecosystems, is addressed in management plans. Understanding the direct effects of climate variability and change on ecosystems and indirect effects on human activities is essential for adaptive planning to be useful in the long-term management of the marine environment.

  20. Learners' strategies for reconstructing cognitive frameworks and navigating conceptual change from prior conception to consensual genetics knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parrott, Annette M.

    Problem. Science teachers are charged with preparing students to become scientifically literate individuals. Teachers are given curriculum that specifies the knowledge that students should come away with; however, they are not necessarily aware of the knowledge with which the student arrives or how best to help them navigate between the two knowledge states. Educators must be aware, not only of where their students are conceptually, but how their students move from their prior knowledge and naive theories, to scientifically acceptable theories. The understanding of how students navigate this course has the potential to revolutionize educational practices. Methods. This study explored how five 9th grade biology students reconstructed their cognitive frameworks and navigated conceptual change from prior conception to consensual genetics knowledge. The research questions investigated were: (1) how do students in the process of changing their naive science theories to accepted science theories describe their journey from prior knowledge to current conception, and (2) what are the methods that students utilize to bridge the gap between alternate and consensual science conceptions to effect conceptual change. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed to gather and analyze the data. In depth, semi-structured interviews formed the primary data for probing the context and details of students' conceptual change experience. Primary interview data was coded by thematic analysis. Results and discussion. This study revealed information about students' perceived roles in learning, the role of articulation in the conceptual change process, and ways in which a community of learners aids conceptual change. It was ascertained that students see their role in learning primarily as repeating information until they could add that information to their knowledge. Students are more likely to consider challenges to their conceptual frameworks and be more motivated to become active

  1. Precarity of Megapolis and Professional Identity in the Context of Tacit Knowledge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oxana Yu. Posukhova

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Rapid urbanization and globalization change the old forms of social life. A modern city is presented as a space defined by routine behavioral rules. Institutional and technological changes cause increased instability and uncertainty for the megalopolis inhabitant, this is accompanied by changes in usual forms of employment in the direction of "flexibility" and therefore precarization. Precarity has become a significant feature of our society. This paper focuses on the problem of precariatization from an erosion of professional identity in conditions of frequent job changes and internalization of tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge serves as a transmission mechanism between professional identity and position of precarity on the labor market. On the one hand, the lack of professional identity is a barrier for tacit knowledge and incorporation into a professional network. In turn, a precarit has not tacit and specialized knowledge to become an unsuccessful position. Every time he must start all over again, becoming a novice. Continuous career change does not allow to use a explicit skills and become a professional in a certain field, and as a result create a professional identity. Person flashed as a tile set in a kaleidoscope of situational techniques. And he is deprived of personal integrity in the case of non-permanent employment.

  2. Local knowledge production, transmission, and the importance of village leaders in a network of Tibetan pastoralists coping with environmental change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kelly A. Hopping

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Changing climate, social institutions, and natural resource management policies are reshaping the dynamics of social-ecological systems globally, with subsistence-based communities likely to be among the most vulnerable to the impacts of global change. These communities' local ecological knowledge is increasingly recognized as a source of adaptive capacity for them as well as a crucial source of information to be incorporated into scientific understanding and policy making. We interviewed Tibetan pastoralists about their observations of environmental changes, their interpretations of the causes of these changes, and the ways in which they acquire and transmit this knowledge. We found that community members tended to agree that changing climate is driving undesirable trends in grassland and livestock health, and some also viewed changing management practices as compounding the impacts of climate change. However, those nominated by their peers as experts on traditional, pastoral knowledge observed fewer changes than did a more heterogeneous group of people who reported more ways in which the environment is changing. Herders mostly discussed these changes among themselves and particularly with village leaders, yet people who discussed environmental changes together did not necessarily hold the same knowledge of them. These results indicate that members of the community are transferring knowledge of environmental change primarily as a means for seeking adaptive solutions to it, rather than for learning from others, and that local leaders can serve as critical brokers of knowledge transfer within and beyond their communities. This highlights not only the interconnectedness of knowledge, practice, and power, but also points toward the important role that local governance can have in helping communities cope with the impacts of global change.

  3. [Developmental changes of rapid automatized naming and Hiragana reading of Japanese in elementary-school children].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Tomoka; Inagaki, Masumi; Gunji, Atsuko; Yatabe, Kiyomi; Kita, Yosuke; Kaga, Makiko; Gotoh, Takaaki; Koike, Toshihide

    2011-11-01

    Two hundred and seven Japanese elementary school children aged from 6 (Grade 1) to 12 (Grade 6) years old were tested for their abilities to name numbers and pictured objects along with reading Hiragana characters and words. These children all showed typical development and their classroom teachers judged that they were not having any problems with reading or writing. The children were randomly divided into two groups, the first group was assigned to two naming tasks;the rapid automatized naming (RAN) of "numbers" and "pictured objects," the second group was assigned to two rapid alternative stimulus (RAS) naming tasks using numbers and pictured objects. All children were asked to perform two reading tasks that were written in Hiragana script: single mora reading task and four syllable word reading task. The total articulation time for naming and reading and performance in terms of accuracy were measured for each task. Developmental changes in these variables were evaluated. The articulation time was significantly longer for the first graders, and it gradually shortened as they moved through to the upper grades in all tasks. The articulation time reached a plateau in the 5th grade for the number naming, while gradual change continued after drastic change in the lower grades for the pictured object naming. The articulation times for the single mora reading and RAN of numbers correlated strongly. The articulation time for the RAS naming was significantly longer compared to that for the RAN, though there were very few errors. The RAS naming showed the highest correlation with the four syllable word reading. This study demonstrated that the performance in rapid automatized naming of numbers and pictures were closely related with performance on reading tasks. Thus Japanese children with reading disorders such as developmental dyslexia should also be evaluated for rapid automatized naming.

  4. Knowledge Management - Identification of Domain Specific Knowledge Processes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Michael Holm

    1999-01-01

    Implementation of Information Technology infer substantial changes to an organisation, e.g. changes in jobs, roles of the company's employees, and the knowledge content of these jobs.This paper point out some of the knowledge management issues and challenges in the case of an implementation of an...... performed by humans. Their decisions are based on the integration of three different kinds of knowledge, i.e. uncodifiable or tacit knowledge, codifiable data from acquisition systems, and codifiable best practice from knowledge repositories....

  5. Public health in a rapidly changing world

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana I. Andreeva

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Several months in 2013 and 2014 have been a hardly predictable time in Ukraine, and the situation is still far from being stable. This made the editorial team of TCPHEE based in Ukraine postpone publishing consecutive issues. However, while the situation still requires practical steps, many aspects including those related to public health require analysis and debate. Thus we invite opinion pieces and studies addressing all different spheres of how public health should function under changing social circumstances. There might be a wide range of such related topics. The most obvious ones are those linked to changing living conditions. Many studies have been undertaken and published with regard to health threats to refugees, people involved in natural or technical disasters (Noji, 2005. Along with environmental health threats, there might be mental health disturbances (World Health Organization, 1992 resulting from long-term strain, losses et cetera. Another important focus is related to changes in health services provision. Crimea, which is a former Ukrainian territory now occupied by the Russian Federation, was among those in Ukraine highly affected with HIV (Dehne, Khodakevich, Hamers, & Schwartlander, 1999. This was responded by several NGOs actively providing harm reduction services to high-risk groups along with methadone substitution therapy to opiate users and antiretroviral medicines to those HIV-infected (Curtis, 2010. However, there are news reports that Russia is going to stop provision of methadone (kommersant.ru, 2014. As opiate substitution programs have been shown an effective approach towards preventing HIV transmission among people who inject drugs (MacArthur et al., 2012, such change in public health policies might affect not only most at risk populations but their partners and population as a whole as well resulting in a rapid spread of HIV. Yet another related topic is that of how health services can be organized at times of

  6. Parents’ Monitoring-Relevant Knowledge and Adolescents’ Delinquent Behavior: Evidence of Correlated Developmental Changes and Reciprocal Influences

    OpenAIRE

    Laird, Robert D.; Pettit, Gregory S.; Bates, John E.; Dodge, Kenneth A.

    2003-01-01

    Links between parental knowledge and adolescent delinquent behavior were tested for correlated rates of developmental change and reciprocal associations. For 4 years beginning at age 14, adolescents (N = 396) reported on their delinquent behavior and on their parents’ knowledge of their whereabouts and activities. Parents completed measures of their adolescents’ delinquent behavior. Knowledge was negatively correlated with delinquent behaviors at baseline, and increases over time in knowledge...

  7. Linking hunter knowledge with forest change to understand changing deer harvest opportunities in intensively logged landscapes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tidd J. Brinkman; Terry Chapin; Gary Kofinas; David K. Person

    2009-01-01

    The effects of landscape changes caused by intensive logging on the availability of wild game are important when the harvest of wild game is a critical cultural practice, food source, and recreational activity. We assessed the influence of extensive industrial logging on the availability of wild game by drawing on local knowledge and ecological science to evaluate the...

  8. A study on relationship between knowledge management and organizational change in learning organizations: A case study of cable industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Emami

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an empirical investigation to study the relationship between knowledge management and organizational change in one of Iranian producers of wire and cable. The proposed study of this paper designs a questionnaire consists of 23 questions in Likert scale and distributes it among 76 randomly people who work for this organization. The results of Spearman correlation coefficients show that harvest index, refining, organizing, disseminating and applying knowledge have positive and meaningful relationship with organizational change. Managers need to develop organizational change to integrate the wealth of knowledge in various sectors and having knowledge of internal and external forces.

  9. Adapting a Markov Monte Carlo simulation model for forecasting the number of Coronary Artery Revascularisation Procedures in an era of rapidly changing technology and policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Knuiman Matthew

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Treatments for coronary heart disease (CHD have evolved rapidly over the last 15 years with considerable change in the number and effectiveness of both medical and surgical treatments. This period has seen the rapid development and uptake of statin drugs and coronary artery revascularization procedures (CARPs that include Coronary Artery Bypass Graft procedures (CABGs and Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (PCIs. It is difficult in an era of such rapid change to accurately forecast requirements for treatment services such as CARPs. In a previous paper we have described and outlined the use of a Markov Monte Carlo simulation model for analyzing and predicting the requirements for CARPs for the population of Western Australia (Mannan et al, 2007. In this paper, we expand on the use of this model for forecasting CARPs in Western Australia with a focus on the lack of adequate performance of the (standard model for forecasting CARPs in a period during the mid 1990s when there were considerable changes to CARP technology and implementation policy and an exploration and demonstration of how the standard model may be adapted to achieve better performance. Methods Selected key CARP event model probabilities are modified based on information relating to changes in the effectiveness of CARPs from clinical trial evidence and an awareness of trends in policy and practice of CARPs. These modified model probabilities and the ones obtained by standard methods are used as inputs in our Markov simulation model. Results The projected numbers of CARPs in the population of Western Australia over 1995–99 only improve marginally when modifications to model probabilities are made to incorporate an increase in effectiveness of PCI procedures. However, the projected numbers improve substantially when, in addition, further modifications are incorporated that relate to the increased probability of a PCI procedure and the reduced probability of a CABG

  10. Adapting a Markov Monte Carlo simulation model for forecasting the number of coronary artery revascularisation procedures in an era of rapidly changing technology and policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mannan, Haider R; Knuiman, Matthew; Hobbs, Michael

    2008-06-25

    Treatments for coronary heart disease (CHD) have evolved rapidly over the last 15 years with considerable change in the number and effectiveness of both medical and surgical treatments. This period has seen the rapid development and uptake of statin drugs and coronary artery revascularization procedures (CARPs) that include Coronary Artery Bypass Graft procedures (CABGs) and Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (PCIs). It is difficult in an era of such rapid change to accurately forecast requirements for treatment services such as CARPs. In a previous paper we have described and outlined the use of a Markov Monte Carlo simulation model for analyzing and predicting the requirements for CARPs for the population of Western Australia (Mannan et al, 2007). In this paper, we expand on the use of this model for forecasting CARPs in Western Australia with a focus on the lack of adequate performance of the (standard) model for forecasting CARPs in a period during the mid 1990s when there were considerable changes to CARP technology and implementation policy and an exploration and demonstration of how the standard model may be adapted to achieve better performance. Selected key CARP event model probabilities are modified based on information relating to changes in the effectiveness of CARPs from clinical trial evidence and an awareness of trends in policy and practice of CARPs. These modified model probabilities and the ones obtained by standard methods are used as inputs in our Markov simulation model. The projected numbers of CARPs in the population of Western Australia over 1995-99 only improve marginally when modifications to model probabilities are made to incorporate an increase in effectiveness of PCI procedures. However, the projected numbers improve substantially when, in addition, further modifications are incorporated that relate to the increased probability of a PCI procedure and the reduced probability of a CABG procedure stemming from changed CARP preference

  11. The role of innovative global institutions in linking knowledge and action.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Kerkhoff, Lorrae; Szlezák, Nicole A

    2016-04-26

    It is becoming increasingly recognized that our collective ability to tackle complex problems will require the development of new, adaptive, and innovative institutional arrangements that can deal with rapidly changing knowledge and have effective learning capabilities. In this paper, we applied a knowledge-systems perspective to examine how institutional innovations can affect the generation, sharing, and application of scientific and technical knowledge. We report on a case study that examined the effects that one large innovative organization, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, is having on the knowledge dimensions of decision-making in global health. The case study shows that the organization created demand for new knowledge from a range of actors, but it did not incorporate strategies for meeting this demand into their own rules, incentives, or procedures. This made it difficult for some applicants to meet the organization's dual aims of scientific soundness and national ownership of projects. It also highlighted that scientific knowledge needed to be integrated with managerial and situational knowledge for success. More generally, the study illustrates that institutional change targeting implementation can also significantly affect the dynamics of knowledge creation (learning), access, distribution, and use. Recognizing how action-oriented institutions can affect these dynamics across their knowledge system can help institutional designers build more efficient and effective institutions for sustainable development.

  12. Rapid Authoring of Task Knowledge for Training and Performance Support

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Mohammed, John L; Sorensen, Barbara; Ong, James C; Li, Jian

    2005-01-01

    .... These systems use hierarchical, object-oriented task representations that enable rapid authoring by non-programmers while supporting sophisticated job aiding and student performance evaluation...

  13. Digital Accessible Knowledge and well-inventoried sites for birds in Mexico: baseline sites for measuring faunistic change

    OpenAIRE

    Peterson, A. Townsend; Navarro-Sig?enza, Adolfo G.; Mart?nez-Meyer, Enrique

    2016-01-01

    Background Faunal change is a basic and fundamental element in ecology, biogeography, and conservation biology, yet vanishingly few detailed studies have documented such changes rigorously over decadal time scales. This study responds to that gap in knowledge, providing a detailed analysis of Digital Accessible Knowledge of the birds of Mexico, designed to marshal DAK to identify sites that were sampled and inventoried rigorously prior to the beginning of major global climate change (1980). M...

  14. From University to Regionality? Knowledge Economy and Regional Development--The Case of Sweden

    Science.gov (United States)

    From, Jörgen; Olofsson, Anders

    2016-01-01

    New public management and knowledge economy have become watchwords in the governance of higher education. The university's role has rapidly changed toward regional development. The aim of this article is critically to highlight the basic rationale of this reorganization and to examine what this can mean in a Swedish context. This rationale is…

  15. Rapid Hip Osteoarthritis Development in a Patient with Anterior Acetabular Cyst with Sagittal Alignment Change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yasuhiro Homma

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Rapidly destructive coxarthrosis (RDC is rare and develops unusual clinical course. Recent studies suggest multiple possible mechanisms of the development of RDC. However the exact mechanism of RDC is still not clear. The difficulty of the study on RDC is attributed to its rareness and the fact that the data before the onset of RDC is normally unavailable. In this report, we presented the patient having the radiographic data before the onset who had rapid osteoarthritis (OA development after contralateral THA, which meets the current criteria of RDC. We thought that the increased posterior tilt of the pelvis after THA reinforced the stress concentration at pre-existed anterior acetabular cyst, thereby the destruction of the cyst was occurred. As a result the rapid OA was developed. We think that there is the case of rapid osteoarthritis developing due to alternating load concentration by posterior pelvic tilt on preexisting anterior acetabular cyst such as our patient among the cases diagnosed as RDC without any identifiable etiology. The recognition of sagittal alignment changes and anterior acetabular cyst may play important role in prediction and prevention of the rapid hip osteoarthritis development similar to RDC.

  16. The Science of Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oppenheimer, Michael; Anttila-Hughes, Jesse K.

    2016-01-01

    Michael Oppenheimer and Jesse Anttila-Hughes begin with a primer on how the greenhouse effect works, how we know that Earth is rapidly getting warmer, and how we know that the recent warming is caused by human activity. They explain the sources of scientific knowledge about climate change as well as the basis for the models scientists use to…

  17. The Role of the Internet in Changing Knowledge Ecologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kalantzis, Mary

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available To a greater extent than is often acknowledged, the modern scientific and university-based knowledge system is a creature of the society of the printing press. Until the turn of the twentyfirst century, print was the medium of scholarly communication. Then, quite suddenly at the turn of the twenty-first century, digital text begins to displace print as the primary means of access to the knowledge of academicians. This article explores some of the consequences of this change. To what extent do digital technologies of representation and communication reproduce the knowledge systems of the half-millennium long history of the modern university or do they disrupt and transform them? To answer this question, this article will explore key aspects of contemporary transformations, not just in the textual forms of digital representation, but the emerging social forms that digitisation reflects, affords and supports. This we call the “social web”, a term we use to describe the kinds of relationships to knowledge and culture that are emerging in the era of pervasively interconnected computing. What, then, are the impacts and potentials of these changes on the processes of formation of new knowledge?Más allá de lo que suele admitirse, el moderno sistema de conocimiento científico y universitario es una creación de la sociedad de la imprenta. Antes de llegar el siglo XXI, la imprenta era el canal de comunicación académica. Entonces, de manera bastante repentina con el cambio de siglo, los textos digitales empezaron a sustituir a la imprenta como el medio principal por el que los académicos acceden al conocimiento. Este artículo analiza algunas de las consecuencias de este cambio. ¿Hasta qué punto las tecnologías digitales de representación y comunicación reproducen los sistemas de conocimiento utilizados en el último medio milenio de historia de la moderna universidad? ¿O quizás la interrumpen y la transforman? Para responder a esta

  18. Rethinking knowledge provision for the marginalized

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schad, Iven; Thai Thi, Minh; Hoffmann, Volker

    2013-01-01

    The Agricultural Knowledge and Information System (AKIS) in Vietnam has undergone massive changes over the last decades. Initially triggered by an economic reform process (Doi Moi) initiated in 1986, the system was formalized by the first decree on agricultural extension in 1993 (GSRV (Government...... of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam) (1993) Nghị Định 13/CP Về Công Tác Khuyến Nông (Decree 13/CP (2 March 1993) on the establishment and function the national agricultural extension system). Hanoi) and gradually liberalized over the following years. Along with this liberalization, new spaces opened that allowed...... a growing plurification of knowledge system actors. However, the traditional orientation towards technology transfer was maintained. In the era of rapid growth since that time, an unprecedented experimentation with different approaches to extension has been set-up, with the government’s willingness to allow...

  19. The Influence of Instruction, Prior Knowledge, and Values on Climate Change Risk Perception among Undergraduates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aksit, Osman; McNeal, Karen S.; Gold, Anne U.; Libarkin, Julie C.; Harris, Sara

    2018-01-01

    We evaluated influences on the climate change risk perceptions of undergraduate students in an introductory Earth Science course. For this sample, domain-specific content knowledge about climate change was a significant predictor of students' risk perception of climate change while cultural worldviews (individualism, hierarchy) and political…

  20. Assessing safety awareness and knowledge and behavioral change among West Virginia loggers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helmkamp, J; Bell, J; Lundstrom, W; Ramprasad, J; Haque, A

    2004-01-01

    Objective: To determine if a video used during logger training influences safety attitude, knowledge, and workplace habits. Method: From April 2002 to October 2003, loggers receiving training through the West Virginia Division of Forestry were given a new safety module. This consisted of a pre-training survey, viewing video, brief introduction to field safety guide, and an immediate post-training survey. Six months after training, loggers were contacted by telephone to assess workplace behavioral changes. Results: 1197 loggers attended 80 training sessions and completed surveys; 21% were contacted at follow up. Pre-training surveys indicated that half said "accidents" were part of the job and had experienced a "close call" in their work. An overwhelming majority felt that safety management and periodic meetings were important. Over 75% indicated they would not take risks in order to make a profit. Several statistically significant improvements were noted in safety knowledge after viewing the video: logger's location in relation to the tree stump during fatal incidents and the pictorial identification of an overloaded truck and the safest cutting notch. At follow up, many of the loggers said they related to the real life victim stories portrayed in the video. Further, the field guide served as a quick and easy reference and taught them valuable tips on safe cutting and felling. Conclusions: Significant changes in safety knowledge and attitude among certified loggers resulted from viewing the video during training. Subsequent use of the video and field guide at the worksite encouraged positive change in self reported work habits and practices. PMID:15314051

  1. SUCCESSION PROCESS IN A FAMILY BUSINESS: KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT OVERCOMING RESISTANCE TO ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia de Sá Freire

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available This study examined the perception of a family business’ employees over changes brought about by the company’s succession procsess through the identification of existing problems and the probabilities of overcoming them. The company was classified as a family business organization as per Bernhoeft´s (1991 definition, and the perspectives proposed by Motta (2001 were used as a basis for change analysis. The succession challenges were studied through the knowledge management viewpoint. The methodological approach is characterized as a qualitative descriptive study done through interviews and document analysis. Quantitative data was used, with the application of questionnaires in order to obtain primary data. Data analysis is mainly characterized by its qualitative and descriptive content. After data analysis, the following issues were detected: (1 lack of or inneficient internal communication, (2 the decision making process was either slow or not committed to the desired results and (3 there was either dual leadership or no leadership. It was concluded that in order to achieve the objectives of the changes, it would require a new look into the intraorganizational integration to eliminate features of the family business such as lack of dialogue and unilateral decisions. It is finally suggested the use of strategies for sharing information and knowledge that will pave the way for understanding the entire succession process, overcoming uncertainties and individual resistance. Thus, the inclusion of Knowledge Management in the family business succession process will result in more aware leaders, managers and employees in terms of change of power during the mentioned process.

  2. Evolution under changing climates: climatic niche stasis despite rapid evolution in a non-native plant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, Jake M

    2013-09-22

    A topic of great current interest is the capacity of populations to adapt genetically to rapidly changing climates, for example by evolving the timing of life-history events, but this is challenging to address experimentally. I use a plant invasion as a model system to tackle this question by combining molecular markers, a common garden experiment and climatic niche modelling. This approach reveals that non-native Lactuca serriola originates primarily from Europe, a climatic subset of its native range, with low rates of admixture from Asia. It has rapidly refilled its climatic niche in the new range, associated with the evolution of flowering phenology to produce clines along climate gradients that mirror those across the native range. Consequently, some non-native plants have evolved development times and grow under climates more extreme than those found in Europe, but not among populations from the native range as a whole. This suggests that many plant populations can adapt rapidly to changed climatic conditions that are already within the climatic niche space occupied by the species elsewhere in its range, but that evolution to conditions outside of this range is more difficult. These findings can also help to explain the prevalence of niche conservatism among non-native species.

  3. Towards transdisciplinarity in Arctic sustainability knowledge co-production: Socially-Oriented Observations as a participatory integrated activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vlasova, Tatiana; Volkov, Sergey

    2016-09-01

    The paper is an attempt to tie together main biogeophysical and social science projects under the auspice of interdisciplinary sustainability science development. Special attention is put to the necessity of the transdisciplinary knowledge co-production based on activities and problem-solutions approaches. It puts attention to the role of monitoring activities in sustainability interdisciplinary science and transdisciplinary knowledge evolution in the Arctic. Socially focused monitoring named Socially-Oriented Observations creating a transdisciplinary space is viewed as one of sources of learning and transformations towards sustainability making possible to shape rapid changes happening in the Arctic based on sustainability knowledge co-production. Continuous Socially-Oriented Observations integrating scientific, education and monitoring methods enables to define adaptation and transformation pathways in the Arctic - the most rapidly changing region of our planet. Socially-Oriented Observations are based on the existing and developing interdisciplinary scientific approaches emerged within natural science and social science projects, sustainable development and resilience concepts putting principle attention to building sustainable and resilient socio-ecological systems. It is argued that the Arctic sustainability science is a valuable component of the whole and broader system of the Arctic Sustainability knowledge co-produced with the help of transdisciplinary approaches integrating science, local/traditional knowledge, entrepreneurship, education, decision-making. Socially-Oriented Observations are designed to be a transdisciplinary interactive continuous participatory process empowering deliberate choices of people that can shape the changes and enable transformation towards sustainability. Approaches of Socially-Oriented Observations and methods of implementation that have been developed since the IPY 2007/2008 and being practiced in different regions of the

  4. Ward nurses' knowledge of computed tomography scanning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majeed, M A; Nayeemuddin, M; Christie, M

    Patients benefit from and are reassured by advance information on procedures that they are to undergo. Ward nurses should have adequate knowledge of radiological investigations to ensure proper patient preparation and good interdepartmental communication to avoid delays and cancellations. This study was conducted to assess the ward nurses' knowledge of the process of computed tomography (CT) scanning. One hundred and twenty qualified nurses were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding CT scanning. The findings revealed a suboptimal level of awareness about the process. This is probably due to lack of formal teaching for nurses on the wards in regards the different radiological procedures and patient preparation. There is a strong case for better educational talks on rapidly changing radiological techniques for ward staff to ensure high-quality patient care.

  5. Partnership in Knowledge Creation: Lessons Learned from a Researcher-Policy Actor Partnership to Co-Produce a Rapid Appraisal Case Study of South Australia's Social Inclusion Initiative

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, Lareen; Biedrzycki, Kate; Patterson, Jan; Baum, Fran

    2011-01-01

    This paper describes a partnership between researchers and policy actors that was developed within a short timeframe to produce a rapid appraisal case study of a government policy initiative--South Australia's "Social Inclusion Initiative"--for the Social Exclusion Knowledge Network of the international Commission on Social Determinants…

  6. Specific changes in rapidly transported proteins during regeneration of the goldfish optic nerve

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benowitz, L.I.; Shashoua, V.E.; Yoon, M.G.

    1981-01-01

    Double labeling methods were used to identify changes in the complement of proteins synthesized in the retinal ganglion cells and transported down the optic nerve during the process of axonal regeneration. Eight to 62 days after goldfish underwent a unilateral optic nerve crush, one eye was labeled with [3H]-, the other with [14C]proline. Control and regenerating optic nerves were dissected out and homogenized together after 5 hr, a time which allowed us to examine selectively membrane-bound components which migrate in the rapid phase of axoplasmic transport. Proteins from the two sides were so-purified and separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Analysis of the 3H and 14C incorporation patterns along the gels revealed a radical shift away from the normal labeling spectrum during regeneration, with selective changes in labeling at particular molecular weights varying over a 3-fold range. Eight days after crushing the optic nerve, the greatest increases in labeling were seen for material with apparent molecular weights of 24,000 to 27,000, 44,000, and 210,000 daltons. These peaks declined thereafter, and on days 29 to 39, the most prominent increases were at 110,000 to 140,000 daltons. These studies indicate a continuously changing pattern in the synthesis and/or degradation of proteins that are rapidly transported down the optic nerve during regeneration and point to molecular species potential significance in the establishment of the visual map upon the brain

  7. Indigenous Knowledge - A Holistic View Through a Food Security Lens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angnaboogok, V.; Behe, C.; Daniel, R. G.

    2017-12-01

    Rapid changes occurring within the Arctic heighten the need to understand the multiple drivers pushing change and their cumulative impacts. Most importantly to better understand Arctic change a holistic view is needed that can only be achieved through bringing together multiple knowledge systems and scientific disciplines. Inuit have called the Arctic home from time immemorial acquiring a knowledge system. The Inuit knowledge system continues to grow, and holds methodologies and assessment processes that provide a pathway for holistically understanding the Arctic. This holistic view is largely attributed to a focus on relationships between system components, close attention to food webs, and a unique understanding of interconnecting systems. The Alaskan Inuit understanding of food security represents an Indigenous way of viewing the world - where food security encompasses complex and interlinked cultural and environmental systems. These systems are comprised of connections among the health of people, animals, and plants; the different states of land, sea, and air; and the cultural fabric held together by language, cultural expression, and social integrity. Within the Inuit knowledge system, it is impossible to disentangle some of these relationships; when we discuss an Inuit food security perspective, it is this interconnectivity and these relationships that we refer to. This presentation will offer an introduction to what it means to adopt a food security lens approach - a view needed to build our knowledge of the changes that are occurring and further our understanding of cumulative impacts while illuminating the nexus between all pieces that make up Arctic ecosystems.

  8. Rapidly Assessing Changes in Bone Mineral Balance Using Natural Stable Calcium Isotopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgan, J. L. L.; Gordon, G. W.; Romaniello, S. J.; Skulan, J. L.; Smith, S. M.; Anbar, A. D.

    2011-01-01

    We demonstrate that variations in the Ca isotope ratios in urine rapidly and quantitatively reflect changes in bone mineral balance. This variation occurs because bone formation depletes soft tissue of light Ca isotopes, while bone resorption releases that isotopically light Ca back into soft tissue. In a study of 12 individuals confined to bed rest, a condition known to induce bone resorption, we show that Ca isotope ratios shift in a direction consistent with net bone loss after just 7 days, long before detectible changes in bone density occur. Consistent with this interpretation, the Ca isotope variations track changes observed in N-teleopeptide, a bone resorption biomarker, while bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, a bone formation biomarker, is unchanged. Ca isotopes can in principle be used to quantify net changes in bone mass. Ca isotopes indicate an average loss of 0.62 +/- 0.16 % in bone mass over the course of this 30-day study. The Ca isotope technique should accelerate the pace of discovery of new treatments for bone disease and provide novel insights into the dynamics of bone metabolism.

  9. More rapid climate change promotes evolutionary rescue through selection for increased dispersal distance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boeye, Jeroen; Travis, Justin M J; Stoks, Robby; Bonte, Dries

    2013-02-01

    Species can either adapt to new conditions induced by climate change or shift their range in an attempt to track optimal environmental conditions. During current range shifts, species are simultaneously confronted with a second major anthropogenic disturbance, landscape fragmentation. Using individual-based models with a shifting climate window, we examine the effect of different rates of climate change on the evolution of dispersal distances through changes in the genetically determined dispersal kernel. Our results demonstrate that the rate of climate change is positively correlated to the evolved dispersal distances although too fast climate change causes the population to crash. When faced with realistic rates of climate change, greater dispersal distances evolve than those required for the population to keep track of the climate, thereby maximizing population size. Importantly, the greater dispersal distances that evolve when climate change is more rapid, induce evolutionary rescue by facilitating the population in crossing large gaps in the landscape. This could ensure population persistence in case of range shifting in fragmented landscapes. Furthermore, we highlight problems in using invasion speed as a proxy for potential range shifting abilities under climate change.

  10. Rapid change of ion energy distribution and floating potential at L/H transition in the JFT-2M tokamak

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miura, Y.; Nagashima, K.; Okano, F.

    1994-01-01

    Rapid changes of the main ion energy distribution at transitions from L-to-H, H-to-L and during ELMs are studied with the time of flight neutral measurement in the JFT-2M tokamak. The change of the main ion energy distribution after sawtooth crash during an L-mode phase is also studied. The change of the ion energy distribution just after sawtooth crash is the same as that at L/H-transition. The floating potential measured in the SOL also shows the rapid jump to more positive just after the sawtooth crash (at the same time of the change of an ion energy distribution). This shows the increase of ion outflux in the SOL and might correspond to the change of the ion energy distribution. This may be the reason why most of H-modes are triggered by a sawtooth. (author)

  11. Pre-service teacher professional development on climate change: Assessment of workshop success and influence of prior knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veron, D. E.; Ad-Marbach, G.; Fox-Lykens, R.; Ozbay, G.; Sezen-Barrie, A.; Wolfson, J.

    2017-12-01

    As states move to adopt the next generation science standards, in-service teachers are being provided with professional development that introduces climate change content and best practices for teaching climate change in the classroom. However, research has shown that it is challenging to bring this information into the higher education curriculum in education courses for pre-service teachers due to curricular and programming constraints. Over two years, the Maryland and Delaware Climate Change Assessment and Research (MADE-CLEAR) project explored a professional development approach for pre-service teachers which employed paired workshops that resulted in participant-developed lesson plans based on climate change content. The workshops were designed to provide pre-service teachers with climate change content related to the carbon cycle and to model a variety of techniques and activities for presenting this information in the classroom. Lesson plans were developed between the first and second workshop, presented at the second workshop and discussed with peers and in-service teachers, and then revised in response to feedback from the second workshop. Participant climate change content knowledge was assessed before the first workshop, and after the final revision of the lesson plan was submitted to the MADE-CLEAR team. Climate content knowledge was also assessed using the same survey for additional pre-service teacher groups who did not participate in the professional development. Results show that while the paired workshop approach increased climate content knowledge, the amount of improvement varied depending on the participants' prior knowledge in climate change content. In addition, some alternate conceptions of climate change were not altered by participant involvement in the professional development approach. Revised lesson plans showed understanding of underlying climate change impacts and demonstrated awareness of appropriate techniques for introducing this

  12. Perception and Interpretation of Climate Change among Quechua Farmers of Bolivia: Indigenous Knowledge as a Resource for Adaptive Capacity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sébastien Boillat

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available We aim to explore how indigenous peoples observe and ascribe meaning to change. The case study involves two Quechua-speaking farmer communities from mountainous areas near Cochabamba, Bolivia. Taking climate change as a starting point, we found that, first, farmers often associate their observations of climate change with other social and environmental changes, such as value change in the community, population growth, out-migration, urbanization, and land degradation. Second, some of the people interpret change as part of a cycle, which includes a belief in the return of some characteristics of ancient or mythological times. Third, environmental change is also perceived as the expression of "extra-human intentionalities," a reaction of natural or spiritual entities that people consider living beings. On the basis of these interpretations of change and their adaptive strategies, we discuss the importance of indigenous knowledge as a component of adaptive capacity. Even in the context of living with modern science and mass media, indigenous patterns of interpreting phenomena tend to be persistent. Our results support the view that indigenous knowledge must be acknowledged as process, emphasizing ways of observing, discussing, and interpreting new information. In this case, indigenous knowledge can help address complex relationships between phenomena, and help design adaptation strategies based on experimentation and knowledge coproduction.

  13. The Future of Coral Reefs Subject to Rapid Climate Change: Lessons from Natural Extreme Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emma F. Camp

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Global climate change and localized anthropogenic stressors are driving rapid declines in coral reef health. In vitro experiments have been fundamental in providing insight into how reef organisms will potentially respond to future climates. However, such experiments are inevitably limited in their ability to reproduce the complex interactions that govern reef systems. Studies examining coral communities that already persist under naturally-occurring extreme and marginal physicochemical conditions have therefore become increasingly popular to advance ecosystem scale predictions of future reef form and function, although no single site provides a perfect analog to future reefs. Here we review the current state of knowledge that exists on the distribution of corals in marginal and extreme environments, and geographic sites at the latitudinal extremes of reef growth, as well as a variety of shallow reef systems and reef-neighboring environments (including upwelling and CO2 vent sites. We also conduct a synthesis of the abiotic data that have been collected at these systems, to provide the first collective assessment on the range of extreme conditions under which corals currently persist. We use the review and data synthesis to increase our understanding of the biological and ecological mechanisms that facilitate survival and success under sub-optimal physicochemical conditions. This comprehensive assessment can begin to: (i highlight the extent of extreme abiotic scenarios under which corals can persist, (ii explore whether there are commonalities in coral taxa able to persist in such extremes, (iii provide evidence for key mechanisms required to support survival and/or persistence under sub-optimal environmental conditions, and (iv evaluate the potential of current sub-optimal coral environments to act as potential refugia under changing environmental conditions. Such a collective approach is critical to better understand the future survival of

  14. Challenges of work organization development in the knowledge-based economy : with a special reference to e-commerce

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Alasoini, T.; Dhondt, S.; Oehlke, P.; Roma, G.; Rua, A.; Sa, A. de

    2001-01-01

    In recent years there has been discussion about whether the technologically most advanced industrial nations are changing to a new type op economic growth. Knowledge has become an increasingly important source of competitive strength for companies. The ability to learn rapidly and develop constantly

  15. Managing knowledge management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lystbæk, Christian Tang

    2016-01-01

    today is that knowledge about health and health care is generated from a multitude of sources and circulated rapidly across professional and Karin Knorr Cetina (2006, 2007) stresses that to understand knowledge management practices we need to magnify the space of knowledge in action and consider......This work-in-progress focuses on the management of knowledge management and its socio-material implications. More specifically, it focuses on the management of epistemic objects and objectives in professional health care organisations. One of the main characteristics of professional health care...... the presentation and circulation of epistemic objects in extended contexts. In other words, we need to consider that the routes from research to practice – and the relation between knowledge and management – is not straightforward. First epistemic objects and objectives may lead to contrasting results...

  16. The Changing Health Care Landscape and Implications of Organizational Ethics on Modern Medical Practice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Castlen, Joseph P; Cote, David J; Moojen, Wouter A.; Robe, Pierre A.; Balak, Naci; Brennum, Jannick; Ammirati, Mario; Mathiesen, Tiit; Broekman, Marike L.D.

    2017-01-01

    Introduction Medicine is rapidly changing, both in the level of collective medical knowledge and in how it is being delivered. The increased presence of administrators in hospitals helps to facilitate these changes and ease administrative workloads on physicians; however, tensions sometimes form

  17. KNOWLEDGE AND EXPECTATIONS OF THE COMMUNITIES ON CHANGE IN FOREST AREA DESIGNATION IN INDRAGIRI HILIR REGENCY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuncoro Ariawan

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Changes in forest area may include changes in forest designation through exchange process and release of forest areas such as for plantation and industry. The changes will have direct impact on the community, especially those adjacent to the changed forest areas. The study was conducted to find out knowledge and expectations of forest communities as a result of changing in forest areas in Indragiri Hilir Regency, Riau Province.The data were collected by using community interview method. Respondents were selected by purposive random sampling. The results showed that community's knowledge to the forest, benefits and consequences of forest destruction is negative, while community's knowledge to the existence oil palm companies is positive. This is because community awareness on the forest is still low. The community generally agree if forest area that become oil palm plantations be released from forest area designation, and they expect increase in their income. This is motivated by the fact that the land that had been cultivated for coconut plantations is no longer productive, due to frequent sea water intrusion. Cooperation with company is expected to help the communities build embankments on lands affected by seawater intrusion so that the land can be reused

  18. Evaluating a European knowledge hub on climate change in agriculture: Are we building a better connected community?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saetnan, Eli Rudinow; Kipling, Richard Philip

    In order to maintain food security and sustainability of production under climate change, interdisciplinary and international collaboration in research is essential. In the EU, knowledge hubs are important funding instruments for the development of an interconnected European Research Area. Here, network analysis was used to assess whether the pilot knowledge hub MACSUR has affected interdisciplinary collaboration, using co-authorship of peer reviewed articles as a measure of collaboration. The broad community of all authors identified as active in the field of agriculture and climate change was increasingly well connected over the period studied. Between knowledge hub members, changes in network parameters suggest an increase in collaborative interaction beyond that expected due to network growth, and greater than that found in the broader community. Given that interdisciplinary networks often take several years to have an impact on research outputs, these changes within the relatively new MACSUR community provide evidence that the knowledge hub structure has been effective in stimulating collaboration. However, analysis showed that knowledge hub partners were initially well-connected, suggesting that the initiative may have gathered together researchers with particular resources or inclinations towards collaborative working. Long term, consistent funding and ongoing reflection to improve networking structures may be necessary to sustain the early positive signs from MACSUR, to extend its success to a wider community of researchers, or to repeat it in less connected fields of science. Tackling complex challenges such as climate change will require research structures that can effectively support and utilise the diversity of talents beyond the already well-connected core of scientists at major research institutes. But network research shows that this core, well-connected group are vital brokers in achieving wider integration.

  19. Exploring Changes to a Teacher's Teaching Practices and Student Learning through a Volleyball Content Knowledge Workshop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Insook

    2016-01-01

    This paper describes how improving a teacher's content knowledge changes his teaching practices and its subsequent effects on student learning during a middle school volleyball instructional unit. The study was designed to challenge teacher educators' thinking about the importance of in-depth content knowledge for effective teaching by…

  20. Rapid spread of complex change: a case study in inpatient palliative care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Filipski Marta I

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Based on positive findings from a randomized controlled trial, Kaiser Permanente's national executive leadership group set an expectation that all Kaiser Permanente and partner hospitals would implement a consultative model of interdisciplinary, inpatient-based palliative care (IPC. Within one year, the number of IPC consultations program-wide increased almost tenfold from baseline, and the number of teams nearly doubled. We report here results from a qualitative evaluation of the IPC initiative after a year of implementation; our purpose was to understand factors supporting or impeding the rapid and consistent spread of a complex program. Methods Quality improvement study using a case study design and qualitative analysis of in-depth semi-structured interviews with 36 national, regional, and local leaders. Results Compelling evidence of impacts on patient satisfaction and quality of care generated 'pull' among adopters, expressed as a remarkably high degree of conviction about the value of the model. Broad leadership agreement gave rise to sponsorship and support that permeated the organization. A robust social network promoted knowledge exchange and built on an existing network with a strong interest in palliative care. Resource constraints, pre-existing programs of a different model, and ambiguous accountability for implementation impeded spread. Conclusions A complex, hospital-based, interdisciplinary intervention in a large health care organization spread rapidly due to a synergy between organizational 'push' strategies and grassroots-level pull. The combination of push and pull may be especially important when the organizational context or the practice to be spread is complex.

  1. Meeting students halfway: Increasing self-efficacy and promoting knowledge change in astronomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bailey, Janelle M.; Lombardi, Doug; Cordova, Jacqueline R.; Sinatra, Gale M.

    2017-12-01

    Two motivational factors—self-efficacy and interest—may be especially relevant to deepening students' understanding of astronomy. We examined the relationship between students' self-efficacy for, interest in learning about, and changes in their knowledge of stars, as measured by the Star Properties Concept Inventory (SPCI). Approximately 700 undergraduate students taking introductory astronomy responded to surveys at the start and end of their semester-long course. A sequential multiple regression analysis showed that self-efficacy post explains an appreciable percentage of variance in SPCI posttest scores, more than twice the percentage explained by all the pretest variables (SPCI, self-efficacy, and interest) combined. Knowledge and self-efficacy improved significantly over instruction; interest did not. Follow-up analyses revealed that instructors whose classes increased in self-efficacy also had the greatest increases in knowledge scores. Interviews with these instructors suggest they provide their students with more opportunities for mastery experiences with elaborated, performance-related feedback, as well as strong positive verbal persuasion and vicarious experiences through peer instruction. Through increased understanding of the relationship between motivational constructs (e.g., self-efficacy, interest) and knowledge, we can both improve our models and better inform instruction.

  2. Meeting students halfway: Increasing self-efficacy and promoting knowledge change in astronomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janelle M. Bailey

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Two motivational factors—self-efficacy and interest—may be especially relevant to deepening students’ understanding of astronomy. We examined the relationship between students’ self-efficacy for, interest in learning about, and changes in their knowledge of stars, as measured by the Star Properties Concept Inventory (SPCI. Approximately 700 undergraduate students taking introductory astronomy responded to surveys at the start and end of their semester-long course. A sequential multiple regression analysis showed that self-efficacy post explains an appreciable percentage of variance in SPCI posttest scores, more than twice the percentage explained by all the pretest variables (SPCI, self-efficacy, and interest combined. Knowledge and self-efficacy improved significantly over instruction; interest did not. Follow-up analyses revealed that instructors whose classes increased in self-efficacy also had the greatest increases in knowledge scores. Interviews with these instructors suggest they provide their students with more opportunities for mastery experiences with elaborated, performance-related feedback, as well as strong positive verbal persuasion and vicarious experiences through peer instruction. Through increased understanding of the relationship between motivational constructs (e.g., self-efficacy, interest and knowledge, we can both improve our models and better inform instruction.

  3. A multiple-proxy approach to understanding rapid Holocene climate change in Southeast Greenland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davin, S. H.; Bradley, R. S.; Balascio, N. L.; de Wet, G.

    2012-12-01

    The susceptibility of the Arctic to climate change has made it an excellent workshop for paleoclimatological research. Although there have been previous studies concerning climate variability carried out in the Arctic, there remains a critical dearth of knowledge due the limited number of high-resolution Holocene climate-proxy records available from this region. This gap skews our understanding of observed and predicted climate change, and fuels uncertainty both in the realms of science and policy. This study takes a comprehensive approach to tracking Holocene climate variability in the vicinity of Tasiilaq, Southeast Greenland using a ~5.6 m sediment core from Lower Sermilik Lake. An age-depth model for the core has been established using 8 radiocarbon dates, the oldest of which was taken at 4 m down core and has been been dated to approximately 6.2 kyr BP. The bottom meter of the core below the final radiocarbon date contains a transition from cobbles and coarse sand to organic-rich laminations, indicating the termination of direct glacial influence and therefore likely marking the end of the last glacial period in this region. The remainder of the core is similarly organic-rich, with light-to-dark brown laminations ranging from 0.5 -1 cm in thickness and riddled with turbidites. Using this core in tandem with findings from an on-site assessment of the geomorphic history of the locale we attempt to assess and infer the rapid climatic shifts associated with the Holocene on a sub-centennial scale. Such changes include the termination of the last glacial period, the Mid-Holocene Climatic Optimum, the Neoglacial Period, the Medieval Climatic Optimum, and the Little Ice Age. A multiple proxy approach including magnetic susceptibility, bulk organic geochemistry, elemental profiles acquired by XRF scanning, grain-size, and spectral data will be used to characterize the sediment and infer paleoclimate conditions. Additionally, percent biogenic silica by weight has been

  4. The Water-Energy-Food Nexus in a Rapidly Developing Resource Sector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, D. M.; Kirste, D. M.

    2014-12-01

    Technological advances and access to global markets have changed the rate at which resource exploitation takes place. The environmental impact of the rapid development and distribution of resources such as minerals and hydrocarbons has led to a greater potential for significant stress on water resources both in terms of quality and quantity. How and where those impacts manifest is crucial to determining appropriate risk management strategies. North East British Columbia has an abundance of shale gas reserves that are anticipated to be exploited at a large scale in coming years, primarily for export as liquefied natural gas (LNG). However, there is growing concern that fracking and other activities related to shale gas development pose risks to water quality and quantity in the region. Water lies at the center of the water-energy-food nexus, with an accelerating water demand for fracking and industrial operations as well as for domestic, environmental and agricultural uses. Climate change is also anticipated to alter the hydrologic regime, posing added stress to the water resource. This case study examines the water-energy-food nexus in the context of a region that is impacted by a rapidly developing resource sector, encompassing water demand/supply, climate change, interaction between deep aquifers and shallow aquifers/surface waters, water quality concerns related to fracking, land use disturbance, and community impacts. Due to the rapid rate of development, there are significant knowledge gaps in our understanding of the water resource. Currently agencies are undertaking water resource assessments and establishing monitoring sites. This research aims to assess water security in North East British Columbia in a coordinated fashion through various partnerships. In addition to collecting baseline knowledge and data, the study will evaluate risk and resilience indicators in relation to water security. A risk assessment framework specific to the shale gas development

  5. a Conceptual Framework for Virtual Geographic Environments Knowledge Engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    You, Lan; Lin, Hui

    2016-06-01

    VGE geographic knowledge refers to the abstract and repeatable geo-information which is related to the geo-science problem, geographical phenomena and geographical laws supported by VGE. That includes expert experiences, evolution rule, simulation processes and prediction results in VGE. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for VGE knowledge engineering in order to effectively manage and use geographic knowledge in VGE. Our approach relies on previous well established theories on knowledge engineering and VGE. The main contribution of this report is following: (1) The concepts of VGE knowledge and VGE knowledge engineering which are defined clearly; (2) features about VGE knowledge different with common knowledge; (3) geographic knowledge evolution process that help users rapidly acquire knowledge in VGE; and (4) a conceptual framework for VGE knowledge engineering providing the supporting methodologies system for building an intelligent VGE. This conceptual framework systematically describes the related VGE knowledge theories and key technologies. That will promote the rapid transformation from geodata to geographic knowledge, and furtherly reduce the gap between the data explosion and knowledge absence.

  6. Modulators of mercury risk to wildlife and humans in the context of rapid global change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eagles-Smith, Collin A.; Silbergeld, Ellen K.; Basu, Niladri; Bustamante, Paco; Diaz-Barriga, Fernando; Hopkins, William A.; Kidd, Karen A.; Nyland, Jennifer F.

    2018-01-01

    Environmental mercury (Hg) contamination is an urgent global health threat. The complexity of Hg in the environment can hinder accurate determination of ecological and human health risks, particularly within the context of the rapid global changes that are altering many ecological processes, socioeconomic patterns, and other factors like infectious disease incidence, which can affect Hg exposures and health outcomes. However, the success of global Hg-reduction efforts depends on accurate assessments of their effectiveness in reducing health risks. In this paper, we examine the role that key extrinsic and intrinsic drivers play on several aspects of Hg risk to humans and organisms in the environment. We do so within three key domains of ecological and human health risk. First, we examine how extrinsic global change drivers influence pathways of Hg bioaccumulation and biomagnification through food webs. Next, we describe how extrinsic socioeconomic drivers at a global scale, and intrinsic individual-level drivers, influence human Hg exposure. Finally, we address how the adverse health effects of Hg in humans and wildlife are modulated by a range of extrinsic and intrinsic drivers within the context of rapid global change. Incorporating components of these three domains into research and monitoring will facilitate a more holistic understanding of how ecological and societal drivers interact to influence Hg health risks.

  7. Rapid evolution of phenology during range expansion with recent climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lustenhouwer, Nicky; Wilschut, Rutger A; Williams, Jennifer L; van der Putten, Wim H; Levine, Jonathan M

    2018-02-01

    Although climate warming is expected to make habitat beyond species' current cold range edge suitable for future colonization, this new habitat may present an array of biotic or abiotic conditions not experienced within the current range. Species' ability to shift their range with climate change may therefore depend on how populations evolve in response to such novel environmental conditions. However, due to the recent nature of thus far observed range expansions, the role of rapid adaptation during climate change migration is only beginning to be understood. Here, we evaluated evolution during the recent native range expansion of the annual plant Dittrichia graveolens, which is spreading northward in Europe from the Mediterranean region. We examined genetically based differentiation between core and edge populations in their phenology, a trait that is likely under selection with shorter growing seasons and greater seasonality at northern latitudes. In parallel common garden experiments at range edges in Switzerland and the Netherlands, we grew plants from Dutch, Swiss, and central and southern French populations. Population genetic analysis following RAD-sequencing of these populations supported the hypothesized central France origins of the Swiss and Dutch range edge populations. We found that in both common gardens, northern plants flowered up to 4 weeks earlier than southern plants. This differentiation in phenology extended from the core of the range to the Netherlands, a region only reached from central France over approximately the last 50 years. Fitness decreased as plants flowered later, supporting the hypothesized benefits of earlier flowering at the range edge. Our results suggest that native range expanding populations can rapidly adapt to novel environmental conditions in the expanded range, potentially promoting their ability to spread. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Contested knowledge in Dutch climate change policy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    V.J.J.M. Bekkers (Victor); M.W. van Buuren (Arwin); A.R. Edwards (Arthur); H.J.M. Fenger (Menno)

    2017-01-01

    textabstractIn dealing with wicked problems, policymakers increasingly are confronted with three competing ‘knowledge claims’: the notion of evidence-based policy, alternative ‘commons knowledge’ created by citizens, and ‘fact-free’ politics. Consequently, the knowledge base for

  9. Managing knowledge management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lystbæk, Christian Tang

    ) and colleagues, who stresses that to understand knowledge management practices we need to magnify the space of knowledge in action and consider the presentation and circulation of epistemic objects in extended contexts. In other words, we need to consider that the routes from research to practice......The work-in-progress that I would like to present and discuss in the workshop focuses on the management of knowledge management and its socio-material implications. More specifically, my work focuses on how epistemic objects and objectives are managed in professional health care organisations. One...... of the characteristics of professional health care today is that knowledge is generated from a multitude of sources and circulated rapidly across organizational boundaries. This derives not only from a growth in knowledge production within many organizations, but also from the emergence of agencies that specialize...

  10. Knowledge acquisition for temporal abstraction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stein, A; Musen, M A; Shahar, Y

    1996-01-01

    Temporal abstraction is the task of detecting relevant patterns in data over time. The knowledge-based temporal-abstraction method uses knowledge about a clinical domain's contexts, external events, and parameters to create meaningful interval-based abstractions from raw time-stamped clinical data. In this paper, we describe the acquisition and maintenance of domain-specific temporal-abstraction knowledge. Using the PROTEGE-II framework, we have designed a graphical tool for acquiring temporal knowledge directly from expert physicians, maintaining the knowledge in a sharable form, and converting the knowledge into a suitable format for use by an appropriate problem-solving method. In initial tests, the tool offered significant gains in our ability to rapidly acquire temporal knowledge and to use that knowledge to perform automated temporal reasoning.

  11. Higher Order Thinking in an Online World: Toward a Theory of Web-Mediated Knowledge Synthesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeSchryver, Michael

    2014-01-01

    Background/Context: The rapid pace of technological change, undergirded by near ubiquitous access to the web, is producing a new learning ecology--a new ecology of information, of knowledge, of reading, of teaching, and of thinking. This instant availability of digital resources frees both time and cognitive energy that may be used to facilitate…

  12. Utilizing Information Technology to Facilitate Rapid Acquisition

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-06-01

    PAGES 109 14. SUBJECT TERMS Rapid Acquisition, eCommerce , eProcurement, Information Technology, Contracting, Global Information Network...Agency. 5 eCommerce and eProcurement, and possess an adequate knowledge of information technology. D. RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1. Primary Research... eCommerce , Information Technology, and eProcurement knowledge, and government and private industry reports utilizing numerous library and Internet

  13. Combining rules, background knowledge and change patterns to maintain semantic annotations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cardoso, Silvio Domingos; Chantal, Reynaud-Delaître; Da Silveira, Marcos; Pruski, Cédric

    2017-01-01

    Knowledge Organization Systems (KOS) play a key role in enriching biomedical information in order to make it machine-understandable and shareable. This is done by annotating medical documents, or more specifically, associating concept labels from KOS with pieces of digital information, e.g., images or texts. However, the dynamic nature of KOS may impact the annotations, thus creating a mismatch between the evolved concept and the associated information. To solve this problem, methods to maintain the quality of the annotations are required. In this paper, we define a framework based on rules, background knowledge and change patterns to drive the annotation adaption process. We evaluate experimentally the proposed approach in realistic cases-studies and demonstrate the overall performance of our approach in different KOS considering the precision, recall, F1-score and AUC value of the system.

  14. Rapid assessment of knowledge, attitudes, practices, and risk perception related to the prevention and control of Ebola virus disease in three communities of Sierra Leone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Hai; Shi, Guo-Qing; Tu, Wen-Xiao; Zheng, Can-Jun; Lai, Xue-Hui; Li, Xin-Xu; Wei, Qiang; Li, Mei; Deng, Li-Quan; Huo, Xiang; Chen, Ming-Quan; Xu, Feng; Ye, Long-Jie; Bai, Xi-Chen; Chen, Tong-Nian; Yin, Shao-Hua; Samba, Thomas T; Liang, Xiao-Feng

    2016-06-06

    The recent outbreak of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Sierra Leone has been characterized by the World Health Organization as one of the most challenging EVD outbreaks to date. The first confirmed case in Sierra Leone was a young woman who was admitted to a government hospital in Kenema following a miscarriage on 24 May 2014. On 5 January 2015, intensified training for an EVD response project was initiated at the medical university of Sierra Leone in Jui. To understand the knowledge, attitudes, practices, and perceived risk of EVD among the public, especially after this training, a rapid assessment was conducted from 10 to 16 March 2015. Interviews were conducted with 466 participants based on questionnaires that were distributed from 10 to 16 March 2015 by cluster sampling in three adjacent communities, namely Jui, Grafton, and Kossoh Town, in the Western Area Rural District of Sierra Leone. It was found that knowledge about EVD was comprehensive and high. Positive attitude towards prevention was found to be satisfactory. Nearly all participants knew the reporting phone number 117 and had reported some change in behavior since learning about Ebola. More than half (62 %) of the participants had a history of travelling to urban areas, which increases the risk of infection. The multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that community and occupation were variables associated with perceived risk of EVD. Our study showed that community level social mobilization and community engagement were an effective strategy in the special context.

  15. Changing Workplaces in the Knowledge-Based Economy -- Evidence from Micro Data

    OpenAIRE

    Spitz-Oener, Alexandra

    2004-01-01

    This thesis includes four essays on various aspects of how workplaces have been changing in recent decades, all being characterized by the shift towards knowledge-based activities in production and the extensive spread of information and communication technologies at the workplace. The content of Chapter 1 is twofold. It includes a descriptive analysis that establishes the stylized facts about trends in occupational skill requirements in West Germany since 1979. It then provides evidence on t...

  16. Crowdsourced Translation for Rapid Internationalization in Cyberspace

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tran, Yen; Yonatany, Moshe; Mahnke, Volker

    2016-01-01

    This paper explores how Facebook effectively used crowdsourced translation to accelerate its rapid internationalization. We apply the learning perspective of internationalization theory to unpack what the firm learned in order to mobilize crowd-based knowledge to facilitate internationalization...... and codified knowledge, rather than the experiential knowledge traditionally suggested in the literature on the process of internationalization, and (2) the firm's success rested on its ability to use virtual learning tools and incentive systems to acquire, articulate and integrate knowledge from communities...... of internationally dispersed users – the “crowd” – to accelerate its internationalization in cyberspace. This empirical study extends internationalization theory regarding knowledge and organizational learning....

  17. Changes in personnel policies of enterprises conditioned by the identification of knowledge workers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igielski Michał

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The twenty-first century requires enterprises to change in their functioning, since management has been faced with an unprecedented challenge so far – it is the result of a turbulent external environment. Due to transformations the companies cannot continue to build their competitive advantages based on investments in tangible resources and cheap labour. They have to turn into organizations based on knowledge, skills and competencies, which involves the use of new management methods. Therefore, the most desirable employees are those who through education, skills and experience are able to help businesses operate on the market. Companies in their strategies appreciate knowledge workers, who in the world today, in the era of endless crisis, can decide and determine gaining a competitive position in the market. We must also remember that the policy of qualification and skills of knowledge workers must arise from the strategy of personnel of the company. Therefore, the author of this article believes that it is necessary to customize personnel strategies in enterprises to the needs of knowledge employees working in them.

  18. Impact of Knowledge Management on Employee Work Performance: Evidence from Saudi Arabia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bader Alyoubi

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Knowledge Management (KM has become critical in todayrs highly competitive, uncertain, and rapidly changing business environment. The objective of this study is to measure the effects of knowledge management processes (knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing, knowledge creation and knowledge retention and knowledge management approaches (social networks, codification and personalization on job satisfaction and examines how they increase employeesr work performance. A theoretical model based on KM processes and approaches is proposed. It is empirically tested with structural equation modeling (SEM and partial least squares (PLS of survey data collected from employees of the King Fahd National Library in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The analysis showed that there is a significant and positive impact of KM processes and approaches on job satisfaction and work performance. Knowledge sharing, knowledge retention, codification and personalization approaches have significant impacts on job satisfaction, and knowledge acquisition, knowledge creation and a social network approach have no significant impacts on job satisfaction. Managers are advised to implement KM activities in their organizations to improve knowledge worker performance and the welfare of employees at work. This is the first study that theoretically examines the effect of knowledge management processes and knowledge management approaches on lsoftr human issues such as the job satisfaction and work performance of individual employees in an academic library.

  19. Rapid changes in the gut microbiome during human evolution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moeller, Andrew H; Li, Yingying; Mpoudi Ngole, Eitel; Ahuka-Mundeke, Steve; Lonsdorf, Elizabeth V; Pusey, Anne E; Peeters, Martine; Hahn, Beatrice H; Ochman, Howard

    2014-11-18

    Humans are ecosystems containing trillions of microorganisms, but the evolutionary history of this microbiome is obscured by a lack of knowledge about microbiomes of African apes. We sequenced the gut communities of hundreds of chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas and developed a phylogenetic approach to reconstruct how present-day human microbiomes have diverged from those of ancestral populations. Compositional change in the microbiome was slow and clock-like during African ape diversification, but human microbiomes have deviated from the ancestral state at an accelerated rate. Relative to the microbiomes of wild apes, human microbiomes have lost ancestral microbial diversity while becoming specialized for animal-based diets. Individual wild apes cultivate more phyla, classes, orders, families, genera, and species of bacteria than do individual humans across a range of societies. These results indicate that humanity has experienced a depletion of the gut flora since diverging from Pan.

  20. Change in Parents’ Monitoring Knowledge: Links with Parenting, Relationship Quality, Adolescent Beliefs, and Antisocial Behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Laird, Robert D.; Pettit, Gregory S.; Dodge, Kenneth A.; Bates, John E.

    2003-01-01

    A longitudinal prospective design was used to examine antisocial behavior, two aspects of the parent–child relationship, inept parenting, and adolescents’ beliefs in the appropriateness of monitoring as predictors of parents’ monitoring and change in monitoring during the high school years. 426 adolescents provided reports of their parents’ monitoring knowledge during four yearly assessments beginning the summer before entering grade 9. Greater concurrent levels of monitoring knowledge were a...

  1. Evaluation of the Knowledge and Attitude Changes of Mothers in Neonatal Care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Şahin Hamilçıkan

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Aim: The aim was to determine the initial knowledge of mothers about neonatal care and evaluate their knowledge, care and attitude changes following individual education. Materials and Methods: Questionnaire forms designed on the subject of infant care and nutrition were given to mothers right after delivery. Before being discharged they were informed by the doctor and breastfeeding nurse about nutrition, infant care, and the most common mistakes. These forms were reapplied on the 15th and 30th days in neonatal polyclinic controls and the changes were evaluated. The correct information was repeated to the mothers who were detected to have misinformation and wrong attitudes in the evaluations in each form application period. Results: A total of 100 mothers and their infants were included in the study. No difference was determined in the nutrition rates of infants with food other than breast milk on the first day, 15th and 30th days. However, the breastfeeding rates obtained were higher on the 30th day than on the 15th, with an interval of two hours, and in general breastfeeding rates were low on the 15th and 30th days. The rates of bathing the infants with and without a bathtub net were determined to be high on the 15th and 30th days. The change in the infants’ sleeping positions, the place of sleep, and the presence of rails/guards around the crib on the 15th and 30th days were not found to be significant compared to the 1st day. There was a significant increase in the umbilical care rates on the 15th and 30th days. The increase in washing the clothes of the infants with soap powder, and the decrease in swaddling after the education were found to be significant. Furthermore, it was determined that the mothers received infant care information more frequently from the healthcare organisation on the 15th and 30th days compared to the 1st day. The highest correlation between the maternal education level and the post-education knowledge and

  2. Development of an interactive exploratory web-based modelling platform for informed decision-making and knowledgeable responses to global change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holman, I.; Harrison, P.; Cojocaru, G.

    2013-12-01

    Informed decision-making and knowledgeable responses to global climate change impacts on natural resources and ecosystem services requires access to information resources that are credible, accurate, easy to understand, and appropriate. Too often stakeholders are limited to restricted scientific outputs produced by inaccessible models, generated from a limited number of scenario simulations chosen arbitrarily by researchers. This paper describes the outcomes of the CLIMSAVE project (www.climsave.eu), which has attempted to democratise climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability modelling, through developing the public domain interactive exploratory web-based CLIMSAVE Integrated Assessment (IA) Platform. The CLIMSAVE Integrated Assessment (IA) Platform aims to enable a wide range of stakeholders to improve their understanding surrounding impacts, adaptation responses and vulnerability of natural resources and ecosystem services under uncertain futures across Europe. The CLIMSAVE IA Platform contain linked simulation models (of the urban, water, agriculture, forestry, biodiversity and other sectors), IPCC AR4 climate scenarios and CLIMSAVE socio-economic scenarios, enabling users to select their inputs (climate and socioeconomic), rapidly run the models across Europe using their input settings and view their selected Impact (before, or after, adaptation) and Vulnerability (Figure 1) indicators. The CLIMSAVE IA Platform has been designed to promote both cognitive accessibility - the ease of understanding - and practical accessibility - the ease of application. Based upon partner and CLIMSAVE international experts' experience, examination of other participatory model interfaces and potential user requirements, we describe the design concepts and functionality that were identified, incorporated into the prototype CLIMSAVE IA Platform and further refined based on stakeholder feedback. The CLIMSAVE IA Platform is designed to facilitate a two-way iterative process

  3. Knowledge management a competitive edge for law firms in Botswana in the changing business environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madeleine Fombad

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: Law firms in Botswana offer a particularly interesting context to explore the effects of transition in the knowledge economy. Acquiring and leveraging knowledge effectively in law firms through knowledge management can result in competitive advantage; yet the adoption of this approach remains in its infancy. Objectives: This article investigates the factors that will motivate the adoption of knowledge management in law firms in Botswana, and creates an awareness of the potential benefits of knowledge management in these firms. Method: The article uses both quantitative and qualitative research methods and the survey research design. A survey was performed on all 115 registered law firms and 217 lawyers in Botswana. Interviews were conducted with selected lawyers for more insight. Results: Several changes in the legal environment have motivated law firms to adopt knowledge management. Furthermore, lawyers appreciate the potential benefits of knowledge management. Conclusion: With the rise of the knowledge-based economy, coupled with the pressures faced by the legal industry in recent years, law firms in Botswana can no longer afford to rely on the traditional methods of managing knowledge. Knowledge management will, therefore, enhance the cost effectiveness of these firms. Strategic knowledge management certainly helps to prepare law firms in Botswana to be alive to the fact that the systematic harnessing of legal knowledge is no longer a luxury, but an absolute necessity in the knowledge economy. It will also provide an enabling business environment for private sector development and growth and, therefore, facilitate Botswana’s drive towards the knowledge-based economy.

  4. Changing Major Acquisition Organizations to Adopt the Best Loci of Knowledge, Responsibilities and Decision Rights

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Nissen, Mark; Barrett, Frank

    2006-01-01

    .... Building upon prior, multidisciplinary research, the authors draw upon the best knowledge and practice in change management and analyze transformation from the classic Hierarchy to the Edge-like...

  5. The role of employee assistance programs in the era of rapid change in the health care delivery system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumerall, S W; Israel, A R; Brewer, R; Prew, R E

    1999-01-01

    With the rapid changes occurring in the American healthcare system, questions regarding various aspects of care have arisen. These changes have led to the need for individuals working within an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to respond quickly and effectively to crisis situations. This article summarizes the different roles and responsibilities of EAP workers in the healthcare marketplace.

  6. Rapid landscape change in 6th century northern Jordan: interdisciplinary geoarchaeological perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucke, Bernhard

    2016-04-01

    Landscapes of the ancient fertile crescent are considered affected by soil degradation as result of long-term farming since the Neolithic, and impressive ruins of antiquity led to assumptions that their abandonment must have been conntected with reduced agricultural productivity. In this context, a valley fill near the site of Abila of the Decapolis in northern Jordan was apparently deposited largely during the 6th century AD, and provides evidence for a rapid and intense landscape change during the Late Byzantine period. However, an interdisciplinary case study of land use, soil development, and sediments found that the valley fill cannot be connected with large-scale soil erosion in the vicinity of the site. On the one hand, this is indicated by the distribution of soil development and archaeological material as marker of past land use activity in the past, which suggests that the best soils were and still are used intensively. On the other hand, the sediments seem to point to the occurrence of climatic extremes such as heavy floods, the occurrence of soil creep after water saturation, but also a significant shift to aridity which may have triggered socio-economic changes of subsistence strategies from agriculture to pastoralism. The dates of sediments which are available so far indicate that the climatic change seemingly occurred rapidly within approximately 100 years during the late 6th and early 7th century AD, possibly connected with the "year without sun" or 'Mystery Veil' which the Byzantine historian Procopius described in the year 536 AD. Modern analogies of the Pinatubo eruption in 1991 let it seem possible that a volcanic event, perhaps the outbreak of the Ilopango volcano, was connected with these environmental turbulences. Such events cannot be understood by isolated studies: without a broad interdisciplinary framework, single archives are prone to misinterpretation, and our understanding of the environmental history of Abila is still very limited.

  7. The speed of metacognition: taking time to get to know one's structural knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mealor, Andy D; Dienes, Zoltan

    2013-03-01

    The time course of different metacognitive experiences of knowledge was investigated using artificial grammar learning. Experiment 1 revealed that when participants are aware of the basis of their judgments (conscious structural knowledge) decisions are made most rapidly, followed by decisions made with conscious judgment but without conscious knowledge of underlying structure (unconscious structural knowledge), and guess responses (unconscious judgment knowledge) were made most slowly, even when controlling for differences in confidence and accuracy. In experiment 2, short response deadlines decreased the accuracy of unconscious but not conscious structural knowledge. Conversely, the deadline decreased the proportion of conscious structural knowledge in favour of guessing. Unconscious structural knowledge can be applied rapidly but becomes more reliable with additional metacognitive processing time whereas conscious structural knowledge is an all-or-nothing response that cannot always be applied rapidly. These dissociations corroborate quite separate theories of recognition (dual-process) and metacognition (higher order thought and cross-order integration). Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Crucial knowledge gaps in current understanding of climate change impacts on coral reef fishes

    KAUST Repository

    Wilson, S. K.; Adjeroud, M.; Bellwood, D. R.; Berumen, Michael L.; Booth, D.; Bozec, Y.-M.; Chabanet, P.; Cheal, A.; Cinner, J.; Depczynski, M.; Feary, D. A.; Gagliano, M.; Graham, N. A. J.; Halford, A. R.; Halpern, B. S.; Harborne, A. R.; Hoey, A. S.; Holbrook, S. J.; Jones, G. P.; Kulbiki, M.; Letourneur, Y.; De Loma, T. L.; McClanahan, T.; McCormick, M. I.; Meekan, M. G.; Mumby, P. J.; Munday, P. L.; Ohman, M. C.; Pratchett, M. S.; Riegl, B.; Sano, M.; Schmitt, R. J.; Syms, C.

    2010-01-01

    Expert opinion was canvassed to identify crucial knowledge gaps in current understanding of climate change impacts on coral reef fishes. Scientists that had published three or more papers on the effects of climate and environmental factors on reef

  9. How copying affects the amount, evenness and persistence of cultural knowledge: insights from the social learning strategies tournament.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rendell, L; Boyd, R; Enquist, M; Feldman, M W; Fogarty, L; Laland, K N

    2011-04-12

    Darwinian processes should favour those individuals that deploy the most effective strategies for acquiring information about their environment. We organized a computer-based tournament to investigate which learning strategies would perform well in a changing environment. The most successful strategies relied almost exclusively on social learning (here, learning a behaviour performed by another individual) rather than asocial learning, even when environments were changing rapidly; moreover, successful strategies focused learning effort on periods of environmental change. Here, we use data from tournament simulations to examine how these strategies might affect cultural evolution, as reflected in the amount of culture (i.e. number of cultural traits) in the population, the distribution of cultural traits across individuals, and their persistence through time. We found that high levels of social learning are associated with a larger amount of more persistent knowledge, but a smaller amount of less persistent expressed behaviour, as well as more uneven distributions of behaviour, as individuals concentrated on exploiting a smaller subset of behaviour patterns. Increased rates of environmental change generated increases in the amount and evenness of behaviour. These observations suggest that copying confers on cultural populations an adaptive plasticity, allowing them to respond to changing environments rapidly by drawing on a wider knowledge base.

  10. How copying affects the amount, evenness and persistence of cultural knowledge: insights from the social learning strategies tournament

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rendell, L.; Boyd, R.; Enquist, M.; Feldman, M. W.; Fogarty, L.; Laland, K. N.

    2011-01-01

    Darwinian processes should favour those individuals that deploy the most effective strategies for acquiring information about their environment. We organized a computer-based tournament to investigate which learning strategies would perform well in a changing environment. The most successful strategies relied almost exclusively on social learning (here, learning a behaviour performed by another individual) rather than asocial learning, even when environments were changing rapidly; moreover, successful strategies focused learning effort on periods of environmental change. Here, we use data from tournament simulations to examine how these strategies might affect cultural evolution, as reflected in the amount of culture (i.e. number of cultural traits) in the population, the distribution of cultural traits across individuals, and their persistence through time. We found that high levels of social learning are associated with a larger amount of more persistent knowledge, but a smaller amount of less persistent expressed behaviour, as well as more uneven distributions of behaviour, as individuals concentrated on exploiting a smaller subset of behaviour patterns. Increased rates of environmental change generated increases in the amount and evenness of behaviour. These observations suggest that copying confers on cultural populations an adaptive plasticity, allowing them to respond to changing environments rapidly by drawing on a wider knowledge base. PMID:21357234

  11. Data warehousing: toward knowledge management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shams, K; Farishta, M

    2001-02-01

    With rapid changes taking place in the practice and delivery of health care, decision support systems have assumed an increasingly important role. More and more health care institutions are deploying data warehouse applications as decision support tools for strategic decision making. By making the right information available at the right time to the right decision makers in the right manner, data warehouses empower employees to become knowledge workers with the ability to make the right decisions and solve problems, creating strategic leverage for the organization. Health care management must plan and implement data warehousing strategy using a best practice approach. Through the power of data warehousing, health care management can negotiate bettermanaged care contracts based on the ability to provide accurate data on case mix and resource utilization. Management can also save millions of dollars through the implementation of clinical pathways in better resource utilization and changing physician behavior to best practices based on evidence-based medicine.

  12. Integration of World Knowledge and Temporary Information about Changes in an Object's Environmental Location during Different Stages of Sentence Comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xuqian; Yang, Wei; Ma, Lijun; Li, Jiaxin

    2018-01-01

    Recent findings have shown that information about changes in an object's environmental location in the context of discourse is stored in working memory during sentence comprehension. However, in these studies, changes in the object's location were always consistent with world knowledge (e.g., in "The writer picked up the pen from the floor and moved it to the desk," the floor and the desk are both common locations for a pen). How do people accomplish comprehension when the object-location information in working memory is inconsistent with world knowledge (e.g., a pen being moved from the floor to the bathtub)? In two visual world experiments, with a "look-and-listen" task, we used eye-tracking data to investigate comprehension of sentences that described location changes under different conditions of appropriateness (i.e., the object and its location were typically vs. unusually coexistent, based on world knowledge) and antecedent context (i.e., contextual information that did vs. did not temporarily normalize unusual coexistence between object and location). Results showed that listeners' retrieval of the critical location was affected by both world knowledge and working memory, and the effect of world knowledge was reduced when the antecedent context normalized unusual coexistence of object and location. More importantly, activation of world knowledge and working memory seemed to change during the comprehension process. These results are important because they demonstrate that interference between world knowledge and information in working memory, appears to be activated dynamically during sentence comprehension.

  13. Dementia knowledge transfer project in a rural area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stark, C; Innes, A; Szymczynska, P; Forrest, L; Proctor, K

    2013-01-01

    Rural Scotland has an ageing population. There has been an increase in the number of people with dementia and as the proportion of people aged over 75 years continues to rise, this will increase still further. The Scottish Government has produced a dementia strategy and implementing this will be a challenge for rural Scotland. Transferring academic knowledge into practice is challenging. A Knowledge Transfer Partnership was formed between NHS Highland and the University of Stirling. A literature review was undertaken of the rural dementia literature; local services were surveyed and described; and interviews were undertaken with people with dementia and carers. Work was conducted on training, diagnostic service provision and local policy. Throughout the project, a collaborative approach was used, which aimed at the joint production of knowledge. Involving University staff in local service development had a substantial impact. Reviewing existing research knowledge and setting it in the context of local services, and of experience of service use, allowed the relevant priorities to be identified. As well as identifying training needs and providing training, the work influenced local decisions on diagnostic service design and standards, and on policy. This embedded engagement model appeared to produce more rapid change than traditional models of use of academic knowledge.

  14. Rapid gene expression changes in peripheral blood lymphocytes upon practice of a comprehensive yoga program.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Su Qu

    Full Text Available One of the most common integrative medicine (IM modalities is yoga and related practices. Previous work has shown that yoga may improve wellness in healthy people and have benefits for patients. However, the mechanisms of how yoga may positively affect the mind-body system are largely unknown. Here we have assessed possible rapid changes in global gene expression profiles in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs in healthy people that practiced either a comprehensive yoga program or a control regimen. The experimental sessions included gentle yoga postures, breathing exercises, and meditation (Sudarshan Kriya and Related Practices--SK&P compared with a control regimen of a nature walk and listening to relaxing music. We show that the SK&P program has a rapid and significantly greater effect on gene expression in PBMCs compared with the control regimen. These data suggest that yoga and related practices result in rapid gene expression alterations which may be the basis for their longer term cell biological and higher level health effects.

  15. The search for knowledge and the avoidance of knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waska, Robert

    2007-01-01

    In the psychoanalytic setting, patients can develop a strong reaction to the therapeutic opportunity to gain new knowledge about themselves. This reaction to knowledge is manifested in the patient by walling it off, splitting it off, or attacking it and erasing it from one's internal experience. The avoidance of knowledge can be the result of various phantasy states that bring on defensive postures. Knowledge can be experienced as a persecutory threat to be avoided and defended against. Knowledge can also elicit depressive concerns of loss and separation. Issues of dependence and autonomy can be equated with knowledge and therefore learning must be warded off. As a result of any or all of these internal threats, the ego can instigate a moratorium on thinking and creativity, a shutdown on feeling, thinking, and learning. As will be shown in the case material, wanting to know can be offset by a greater defensive need to not know. Through projective identification cycles, knowledge is placed into the analyst and experienced as dangerous, unobtainable, or a gift one deserves to be given rather than earned. The patient in the case example demonstrates a more paranoid experience of knowledge and a more paranoid avoidance of learning and change. When paranoid phantasies drive the patient to destroy object-relational links between self and analyst, the transference becomes colored with the phantasy of knowledge being equal to dangerous dependence that leads to destruction of either self or object. Therefore, curiosity and learning are to be avoided. Change is no longer a safe option. Psychic change can only occur when past and current knowledge are allowed to be part of the ego's selfobject world. In other words, Psychic change is possible when the ego is less restrictive and open to new selfobject experience. Therefore, the ego must tolerate conflicted feelings and thoughts about the self and others for knowledge to be allowable and accessible. This is the core struggle

  16. Knowledge Management Impacts on Organizational Proficiency in a Changing Demographic Nuclear Industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heler, D.; Marco, J. A.

    2016-01-01

    Full text: The US nuclear energy industry has focused on workforce development and planning efforts over the past decade in anticipation of a large number of retirements taking place. Efforts by the US nuclear industry to replace retiring workers with younger staff to close the knowledge gap and improve organizational proficiency have started. This is resulting in a bimodal workforce distribution, which means that the industry has two workforce peaks. The 2015 Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) Workforce Pipeline Survey results illustrate a significant number of experienced and young professionals, with fewer employees in the mid-career age group. This workforce distribution can pose a challenge for US nuclear industry to ensure it has effectively implemented knowledge management elements (People, Process, and Technology) to improve organizational proficiency and maintain critical skill sets. This technical brief will examine how one US nuclear plant performance dropped, which in part was a result of a significant demographic shift in their organizations. In addition, the paper will explore the challenge organizations may have as they undergo demographic changes without proper knowledge management programmes in place. (author

  17. Ecosystem-Based Adaptation to Climate Change in Caribbean Small Island Developing States: Integrating Local and External Knowledge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiina Kurvits

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS are vulnerable to climate change impacts including sea level rise, invasive species, ocean acidification, changes in rainfall patterns, increased temperatures, and changing hazard regimes including hurricanes, floods and drought. Given high dependencies in Caribbean SIDS on natural resources for livelihoods, a focus on ecosystems and their interaction with people is essential for climate change adaptation. Increasingly, ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA approaches are being highlighted as an approach to address climate change impacts. Specifically, EbA encourages the use of local and external knowledge about ecosystems to identify climate change adaptation approaches. This paper critically reviews EbA in Caribbean SIDS, focusing on the need to integrate local and external knowledge. An analysis of current EbA in the Caribbean is undertaken alongside a review of methodologies used to integrate local and external expertise for EbA. Finally key gaps, lessons learnt and suggested ways forward for EbA in Caribbean SIDS and potentially further afield are identified.

  18. Perception, experience, and indigenous knowledge of climate change and variability: the case of Accra, a sub-Saharan African city

    Science.gov (United States)

    Codjoe, Samuel N.A.; Owusu, George; Burkett, Virginia

    2014-01-01

    Several recent international assessments have concluded that climate change has the potential to reverse the modest economic gains achieved in many developing countries over the past decade. The phenomenon of climate change threatens to worsen poverty or burden populations with additional hardships, especially in poor societies with weak infrastructure and economic well-being. The importance of the perceptions, experiences, and knowledge of indigenous peoples has gained prominence in discussions of climate change and adaptation in developing countries and among international development organizations. Efforts to evaluate the role of indigenous knowledge in adaptation planning, however, have largely focused on rural people and their agricultural livelihoods. This paper presents the results of a study that examines perceptions, experiences, and indigenous knowledge relating to climate change and variability in three communities of metropolitan Accra, which is the capital of Ghana. The study design is based on a three-part conceptual framework and interview process involving risk mapping, mental models, and individual stressor cognition. Most of the residents interviewed in the three communities of urban Accra attributed climate change to the combination of deforestation and the burning of firewood and rubbish. None of the residents associated climate change with fossil fuel emissions from developed countries. Numerous potential adaptation strategies were suggested by the residents, many of which have been used effectively during past drought and flood events. Results suggest that ethnic residential clustering as well as strong community bonds in metropolitan Accra have allowed various groups and long-settled communities to engage in the sharing and transmission of knowledge of weather patterns and trends. Understanding and building upon indigenous knowledge may enhance the design, acceptance, and implementation of climate change adaptation strategies in Accra and

  19. Does knowledge of coronary artery calcium affect cardiovascular risk perception, likelihood of taking action, and health-promoting behavior change?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Jennie E; Gulanick, Meg; Penckofer, Sue; Kouba, Joanne

    2015-01-01

    Evidence indicates that a healthy lifestyle can reduce cardiovascular disease risk, yet many people engage in unhealthy behaviors. New technologies such as coronary artery calcium (CAC) screening detect atherosclerosis before clinical disease is manifested. Knowledge of an abnormal finding could provide the "teachable moment" to enhance motivation for change. The aim of this study was to examine how knowledge of CAC score affects risk perception, likelihood of taking action, and health-promoting behavior change in persons at high risk for cardiovascular disease. This study used a descriptive prospective design with 174 high-risk adults (≥3 major risk factors) recruited at a radiology center offering CAC scans. Baseline self-report surveys using the Perception of Risk of Heart Disease Scale, the Benefits and Barriers Scale, the Quality of Life Index, and the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II were completed immediately after a screening CAC scan but before results were known. Follow-up occurred 3 months later using mailed packets. Participants' mean age was 58 years; 62% were men, 89% were white, and most were well educated. There was no significant change in risk perception scores over time or between groups, except for a positive interaction in the moderate-risk group (CAC scores of 101-400) (P = .004). Quality of life remained unchanged. Health-promoting behavior changes increased in all groups over time (P behavior change were perceived barriers (β = -.41; P Knowledge of CAC score does impact risk perception for some at-risk groups. This knowledge does enhance motivation for behavior change. Knowledge of CAC score does not impact quality of life. It is hoped that through improved understanding of the effect of CAC scoring on behavior change, nurses can better assist patients to modify behaviors during teachable moments.

  20. Changes in oral health related knowledge, attitudes and behaviours following school based oral health education and atraumatic restorative treatment in rural Tanzania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne Nordrehaug Åstrøm

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: The following questions were addressed; to what extent is sugar consumption, tooth brushing, and oral health related attitudes and knowledge subject to change following a combined atraumatic restorative treatment (ART /oral health education (OHE program? Are changes in intended sugar avoidance associated with changes in cognitions as specified by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB? Are changes in oral health related knowledge associated with changes in attitudes and oral health behaviour?Method: A total of 1306 (follow-up prevalence 73.8% primary school students in Kilwa, Tanzania completed interviews before and after a combined ART/OHE program. Post intervention at 6 months follow-up assessed changes in oral health related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours. Complete baseline and follow-up interviews were obtained from 221 and 1085 students who received ART/OHE and OHE only at schools, respectively.Results: Improvement was obtained with attitudes towards sugar avoidance, knowledge, and tooth brushing (effect sizes in the range 0.1-0.3. Within individual changes did not differ significantly between students receiving ART/ OHE and OHE only. Change scores of intended sugar avoidance associated in the expected direction with changes in sugar consumption. Attitudes and norms with respect to sugar avoidance deteriorated and improved among subjects who respectively decreased and increased intended sugar avoidance. Tooth brushing increased in students who improved oral knowledge.Conclusion: School based ART/OHE improved pupils’ tooth brushing, knowledge, and attitudes, but had no effect on sugar consumption. This study provided support for the validity of the TPB in predicting changes in intended sugar avoidance and reported sugar intake.

  1. Art and artistic processes bridge knowledge systems about social-ecological change: An empirical examination with Inuit artists from Nunavut, Canada

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaitlyn J. Rathwell

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The role of art and artistic processes is one fruitful yet underexplored area of social-ecological resilience. Art and art making can nurture Indigenous knowledge and at the same time bridge knowledge across generations and cultures (e.g., Inuit and scientific. Experiences in two Inuit communities in northern Canada (Cape Dorset and Pangnirtung, Nunavut provide the context in which we empirically examine the mechanisms through which art and art making may bridge knowledge systems about social-ecological change. Art making and artworks create continuity between generations via symbols and skill development (e.g., seal skin stretching for a modern artistic mural and by creating mobile and adaptive boundary objects that function as a shared reference point to connect different social worlds. Our results indicate how art and artistic processes may bridge knowledge systems through six mechanisms, and in so doing contribute to social-ecological resilience during change and uncertainty. These mechanisms are (1 embedding knowledge, practice and belief into art objects; (2 sharing knowledge using the language of art; (3 sharing of art making skills; (4 art as a contributor to monitoring social-ecological change; (5 the role of art in fostering continuity through time; and (6 art as a site of knowledge coproduction.

  2. Knowledge-based Economy, an Appropriate Response to Organizational Change Pressures, with a View to Sustainable Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina Mihaela Lazar

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The sustainable development of organizations within knowledge-based economy, in which knowledge represents the main priority, should focus on finding solutions for the intelligent management of the limited resources, especially through organizational change and its constant assessment as a long-term impact solution. The transition of organizations to the principles of knowledge-based economy involves a major change in organizational culture. The dynamism and complexity of the new type of society, which implies a higher and more diverse level of training, together with a continuous superior training of the workforce, increasing investment in research and development and, not least, a growing volume and a diversification of information, all these represent, chained together, an element of well-being for the future generations. The introductory section summarizes the concept of sustainability and places the development of companies and economies they aggregate, in a contemporary context of organizational change pressures, on the principles of the knowledge-based economy as the only resource, virtually inexhaustible in the long-term, and which leads to a sustainable development. There follows a methodological section, consisting in the instrumental description of the method of work and in reference to the database, thus providing the theoretical and practical foundation for the confrontation between the sustainable development index (SDI in Romania and in the European Union (EU. The results and discussion section of the paper includes a confrontation between the sustainable development of Romania and that of the European Union, drawing on the SDI for each case. This statistical tool was calculated starting from the values of several statistical indicators (available in EUROSTAT statistics, issued from four information subsystems (an economic one, a social one and an environment one as major subsystems of sustainable development, to which was added

  3. Observation of reversible, rapid changes in drug susceptibility of hypoxic tumor cells in a microfluidic device

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Germain, Todd; Ansari, Megan; Pappas, Dimitri, E-mail: d.pappas@ttu.edu

    2016-09-14

    Hypoxia is a major stimulus for increased drug resistance and for survival of tumor cells. Work from our group and others has shown that hypoxia increases resistance to anti-cancer compounds, radiation, and other damage-pathway cytotoxic agents. In this work we utilize a microfluidic culture system capable of rapid switching of local oxygen concentrations to determine changes in drug resistance in prostate cancer cells. We observed rapid adaptation to hypoxia, with drug resistance to 2 μM staurosporine established within 30 min of hypoxia. Annexin-V/Sytox Green apoptosis assays over 9 h showed 78.0% viability, compared to 84.5% viability in control cells (normoxic cells with no staurosporine). Normoxic cells exposed to the same staurosporine concentration had a viability of 48.6% after 9 h. Hypoxia adaptation was rapid and reversible, with Hypoxic cells treated with 20% oxygen for 30 min responding to staurosporine with 51.6% viability after drug treatment for 9 h. Induction of apoptosis through the receptor-mediated pathway, which bypasses anti-apoptosis mechanisms induced by hypoxia, resulted in 39.4 ± 7% cell viability. The rapid reversibility indicates co-treatment of oxygen with anti-cancer compounds may be a potential therapeutic target. - Highlights: • Microfluidic system switches rapidly between normoxia and hypoxia (5 min). • Observation of rapid adaptation of PC3 cells to hypoxia and normoxia (30 min). • Drug susceptibility in tumor cells restored after chip switched to normoxia for 30 min.

  4. Changes in farmers' knowledge of maize diversity in highland Guatemala, 1927/37-2004

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    van Etten Jacob

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Small-scale studies on long-term change in agricultural knowledge might uncover insights with broader, regional implications. This article evaluates change in farmer knowledge about crop genetic resources in highland Guatemala between 1927/37 and 2004. It concentrates on maize (Zea mays ssp. mays L. in one Guatemalan township, Jacaltenango, an area with much ecological and maize diversity. It relies on a particular type of baseline information: lists of farmer-defined cultivars drawn up by ethnographers in the first half of the twentieth century. A questionnaire format based on two independent lists of local farmer cultivars dating from 1927 and 1937 was used to assess changes in maize diversity. Comparisons between attributes given to each cultivar in the past and in 2004 were used as a partial test of the stability of cultivar identity. In farmers' perceptions, cultivar loss was low and limited to certain cultivars adapted to the warmer environments. Crop production problems were mentioned as the main motives for change. No evidence for a loss of cultivars due to the political violence of the 1980s was found. In the lower areas many newly introduced cultivars were found, which reportedly provide solutions for the production problems the older cultivars have. The article contrasts these findings with those of an earlier study which suggested much cultivar loss due to political violence, and draws conclusions about the methodological implications.

  5. Collaborative Projects Weaving Indigenous and Western Science, Knowledge and Perspectives in Climate Change Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sparrow, E. B.; Chase, M.; Brunacini, J.; Spellman, K.

    2017-12-01

    The "Reaching Arctic Communities Facing Climate Change" and "Feedbacks and Impacts of A Warming Arctic: Engaging Learners in STEM Using GLOBE and NASA Assets" projects are examples of Indigenous and western science communities' collaborative efforts in braiding multiple perspectives and methods in climate change education. Lessons being learned and applied in these projects include the need to invite and engage members of the indigenous and scientific communities in the beginning as a project is being proposed or formulated; the need for negotiated space in the project and activities where opportunity to present and access both knowledge systems is equitable, recognizes and validates each knowledge and method, and considers the use of pedagogical practices including pace/rhythm and instructional approach most suitable to the target audience. For example with Indigenous audiences/participants, it is important to follow local Indigenous protocol to start an event and/or use a resource that highlights the current experience or voices of Indigenous people with climate change. For mixed audience groups, it is critical to have personal introductions at the beginning of an event so that each participant is given an opportunity and encouraged to voice their ideas and opinions starting with how they want to introduce themselves and thus begin to establish a welcoming and collegial atmosphere for dialog. It is also important to communicate climate science in humanistic terms, that people and communities are affected not just the environment or economies. These collaborative partnerships produce mutual benefits including increased awareness and understanding of personal connections to climate change impacts; opportunities for cultural enrichment; opportunities for accessing elder knowledge which is highly valued as well as science, education and communication tools that are needed in working together in addressing issues and making communities resilient and adaptive.

  6. Perceptions of Climate Change, Sea Level Rise, and Possible Consequences Relate Mainly to Self-Valuation of Science Knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burger, Joanna; Gochfeld, Michael; Pittfield, Taryn; Jeitner, Christian

    2016-05-01

    This study examines perceptions of climate change and sea level rise in New Jersey residents in 2012 and 2014. Different surveys have shown declines in interest and concern about climate change and sea level rise. Climate change and increasing temperatures have an anthropogenic cause, which relates to energy use, making it important to examine whether people believe that it is occurring. In late 2012 New Jersey experienced Super storm Sandy, one of the worst hurricanes in its history, followed by public discussion and media coverage of stronger more frequent storms due to climate change. Using structured interviews, we tested the null hypotheses that there were no differences in perceptions of 1260 interviewees as a function of year of the survey, age, gender, years of education, and self-evaluation of science knowledge (on a scale of 1 to 5). In 2012 460 of 639 (72%) rated "global warming occurring" as "certain" (#4) or "very certain" (#5) compared with 453 of 621 (73%) in 2014. For "due to human activities" the numbers of "certain" or "very certain" were 71% in 2012, and 67% in 2014 and for sea level rise the numbers were 64% and 70%. There were some inconsistent between-year differences with higher ratings in 2012 for 3 outcomes and higher ratings in 2014 for 5 outcomes. However, for 25 questions relative to climate change, sea level rise, and the personal and ecological effects of sea level rise, self-evaluation of science knowledge, independent of years of education, was the factor that entered 23 of the models, accounting for the most variability in ratings. People who believed they had a "high knowledge" (#4) or "very high knowledge" (#5) of science rated all issues as more important than did those people who rated their own scientific knowledge as average or below average.

  7. Influences of sex and activity level on physiological changes in individual adult sockeye salmon during rapid senescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hruska, Kimberly A; Hinch, Scott G; Healey, Michael C; Patterson, David A; Larsson, Stefan; Farrell, Anthony P

    2010-01-01

    A noninvasive biopsy protocol was used to sample plasma and gill tissue in individual sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) during the critical life stage associated with spawning-arrival at a spawning channel through senescence to death several days later. Our main objective was to characterize the physiological changes associated with rapid senescence in terms of the physiological stress/cortisol hypersecretion model and the energy exhaustion model. Salmon lived an average of 5 d in the spawning channel, during which time there were three major physiological trends that were independent of sexual status: a large increase in plasma indicators of stress and exercise (i.e., lactate and cortisol), a decrease in the major plasma ions (i.e., Cl(-) and Na(+)) and osmolality, and a decrease in gross somatic energy reserves. Contrary to a generalized stress response, plasma glucose decreased in approximately 2/3 of the fish after arrival, as opposed to increasing. Furthermore, plasma cortisol levels at spawning-ground arrival were not correlated with the degree of ionoregulatory changes during rapid senescence. One mechanism of mortality in some fish may involve the exhaustion of energy reserves, resulting in the inability to mobilize plasma glucose. Sex had a significant modulating effect on the degree of physiological change. Females exhibited a greater magnitude of change for gross somatic energy, osmolality, and plasma concentrations of Cl(-), Na(+), cortisol, testosterone, 11-ketotestosterone, 17,20beta-progesterone, and estradiol. The activity level of an individual on the spawning grounds appeared to influence the degree of some physiological changes during senescence. For example, males that received a greater frequency of attacks exhibited larger net decreases in plasma 11-ketotestosterone while on the spawning grounds. These results suggest that rapid senescence on spawning grounds is influenced by multiple physiological processes and perhaps behavior. This study

  8. Integration of World Knowledge and Temporary Information about Changes in an Object's Environmental Location during Different Stages of Sentence Comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xuqian Chen

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Recent findings have shown that information about changes in an object's environmental location in the context of discourse is stored in working memory during sentence comprehension. However, in these studies, changes in the object's location were always consistent with world knowledge (e.g., in “The writer picked up the pen from the floor and moved it to the desk,” the floor and the desk are both common locations for a pen. How do people accomplish comprehension when the object-location information in working memory is inconsistent with world knowledge (e.g., a pen being moved from the floor to the bathtub? In two visual world experiments, with a “look-and-listen” task, we used eye-tracking data to investigate comprehension of sentences that described location changes under different conditions of appropriateness (i.e., the object and its location were typically vs. unusually coexistent, based on world knowledge and antecedent context (i.e., contextual information that did vs. did not temporarily normalize unusual coexistence between object and location. Results showed that listeners' retrieval of the critical location was affected by both world knowledge and working memory, and the effect of world knowledge was reduced when the antecedent context normalized unusual coexistence of object and location. More importantly, activation of world knowledge and working memory seemed to change during the comprehension process. These results are important because they demonstrate that interference between world knowledge and information in working memory, appears to be activated dynamically during sentence comprehension.

  9. Anticipating climate change: knowledge use in participatory flood management in the river Meuse.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wesselink, A.; Reuber, J.; Krol, Martinus S.

    2005-01-01

    Given the latest knowledge on climate change, the Dutch government wants to anticipate the increased risk of flooding. For the river Meuse in The Netherlands, the design discharge is estimated to increase from 3800m3/s to 4600m3/s. With the existing policy of “Room for the River”, this increase is

  10. Impacts of the Climate Change on Agricultural Food Security, Traditional Knowledge and Agroecology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Murat Türkeş

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses mainly on both impacts of the climate change on agriculture and food security, and multidisciplinary scientific assessment and recommendations for sustainable agro ecological solutions including traditional knowledge responding to these impacts. The climate change will very likely affect four key dimensions of the food security including availability, accessibility, utilization and sustainability of the food, due to close linkage between food and water security and climate change. In one of the most comprehensive model studies simulating impacts of global climate change on agriculture to date, it was estimated that by 2080, in a business-as-usual scenario, climate change will reduce the potential output of global agriculture by more than 3.2 per cent. Furthermore, developing countries will suffer the most with a potential 9.1 per cent decline in agricultural output, for example with a considerable decrease of 16.6 per cent in Africa. Some comprehensive studies pointed out also that all regions may experience significant decreases in crop yields as well as significant increases, depending on emission scenarios and the assumptions on effectiveness of carbon dioxide (CO2 fertilization. One of the tools that would ensure the food security by making use of local sources and traditional knowledge is agroecology. Agroecology would contribute to mitigation of the anthropogenic climate change and cooling down the Earth’s increasing surface and lower atmospheric air temperatures, because it is mainly labour-intensive and requires little uses of fossil fuels, energy and artificial fertilisers. It is also necessary to understand the ecological mechanisms underlying sustainability of traditional farming systems, and to translate them into ecological principles that make locally available and appropriate approaches and techniques applicable to a large number of farmers.

  11. Tuberculosis awareness program and associated changes in knowledge levels of school students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jayashree S Gothankar

    2013-01-01

    Conclusions: Health education program by medical students helped significantly to improve the knowledge of school students regarding tuberculosis. Thus, medical college students can be involved to some extent for conducting health-related behavioral change communication (BCC activities in schools during their Community Medicine morning posting. Collaboration of private medical colleges, schools, and district tuberculosis units (DTUs can be ideally achieved under public private partnership (PPP for health awareness programs.

  12. Disturbance and climate change in United States/Mexico borderland plant communities: a state-of-the-knowledge review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guy R. McPherson; Jake F. Weltzin

    2000-01-01

    This review evaluates the effects and importance of disturbance and climate change on plant community dynamics in the United States/Mexico borderlands region. Our primary focus is on knowledge of physiognomic-level change in grasslands and woodlands of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. Changes in vegetation physiognomy have broad implications for...

  13. Knowledge Mapping for Climate Change and Food- and Waterborne Diseases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Semenza, Jan C.; Höuser, Christoph; Herbst, Susanne; Rechenburg, Andrea; Suk, Jonathan E.; Frechen, Tobias; Kistemann, Thomas

    2011-01-01

    The authors extracted from the PubMed and ScienceDirect bibliographic databases all articles published between 1998 and 2009 that were relevant to climate change and food- and waterborne diseases. Any material within each article that provided information about a relevant pathogen and its relationship with climate and climate change was summarized as a key fact, entered into a relational knowledge base, and tagged with the terminology (predefined terms) used in the field. These terms were organized, quantified, and mapped according to predefined hierarchical categories. For noncholera Vibrio sp. and Cryptosporidium sp., data on climatic and environmental influences (52% and 49% of the total number of key facts, respectively) pertained to specific weather phenomena (as opposed to climate change phenomena) and environmental determinants, whereas information on the potential effects of food-related determinants that might be related to climate or climate change were virtually absent. This proportion was lower for the other pathogens studied (Campylobacter sp. 40%, Salmonella sp. 27%, Norovirus 25%, Listeria sp. 8%), but they all displayed a distinct concentration of information on general food-and water-related determinants or effects, albeit with little detail. Almost no information was available concerning the potential effects of changes in climatic variables on the pathogens evaluated, such as changes in air or water temperature, precipitation, humidity, UV radiation, wind, cloud coverage, sunshine hours, or seasonality. Frequency profiles revealed an abundance of data on weather and food-specific determinants, but also exposed extensive data deficiencies, particularly with regard to the potential effects of climate change on the pathogens evaluated. A reprioritization of public health research is warranted to ensure that funding is dedicated to explicitly studying the effects of changes in climate variables on food- and waterborne diseases. PMID:24771989

  14. Sharing knowledge

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2009-07-01

    The workshop on Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Strategies for Arctic Indigenous Communities is one stage in developing positions and providing input from the perspectives of Arctic Peoples in preparation for the Indigenous Peoples' Global Summit on Climate Change that will take place in April, 2009, in Anchorage, Alaska. The Summit, organized by the Inuit Circumpolar Council with oversight of an International Steering Committee, will bring together hundreds of indigenous Peoples around the world. This Workshop intended to bring together Arctic Indigenous Peoples to deliver and to share information, academic research, case studies based on traditional knowledge and researchers knowledgeable in traditional knowledge and/or policy issues drawn from traditional knowledge. The following themes were discussed: 1) Traditional knowledge research and education; 2) Laws and lawmaking; 3) Food and health; 4) Organisation; 5) Communications and advocacy. (ln)

  15. Effectiveness of a behavior change communication intervention to improve knowledge and perceptions about abortion in Bihar and Jharkhand, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banerjee, Sushanta K; Andersen, Kathryn L; Warvadekar, Janardan; Pearson, Erin

    2013-09-01

    Although abortion became legal in India in 1971, many women are unaware of the law. Behavior change communication interventions may be an effective way to promote awareness of the law and change knowledge of and perceptions about abortion, particularly in settings in which abortion is stigmatized. To evaluate the effectiveness of a behavior change communication intervention to improve women's knowledge about India's abortion law and their perceptions about abortion, a quasi-experimental study was conducted in intervention and comparison districts in Bihar and Jharkhand. Household surveys were administered at baseline in 2008 and at follow-up in 2010 to independent, randomly selected cross-sectional samples of rural married women aged 15-49. Logistic regression difference-in-differences models were used to assess program effectiveness. Analysis demonstrated program effectiveness in improving awareness and perceptions about abortion. The changes in the odds of knowing that abortion is legal and where to obtain safe abortion services were larger between baseline and follow-up in the intervention districts than the changes in odds observed in the comparison districts (odds ratios, 16.1 and 1.9, respectively). Similarly, the increase in women's perception of greater social support for abortion within their families and the increase in perceived self-efficacy with respect to family planning and abortion between baseline and follow-up was greater in the intervention districts than in the comparison districts (coefficients, 0.17 and 0.18, respectively). Behavior change communication interventions can be effective in improving knowledge of and perceptions about abortion in settings in which lack of accurate knowledge hinders women's access to safe abortion services. Multiple approaches should be used when attempting to improve knowledge and perceptions about stigmatized health issues such as abortion.

  16. Accounting for change in declarative memory: A cognitive neuroscience perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Richmond, Jenny; Nelson, Charles A.

    2007-01-01

    The medial temporal lobe memory system matures relatively early and supports rudimentary declarative memory in young infants. There is considerable development, however, in the memory processes that underlie declarative memory performance during infancy. Here we consider age-related changes in encoding, retention, and retrieval in the context of current knowledge about the brain systems that may underlie these memory processes. While changes in infants’ encoding may be attributed to rapid mye...

  17. Altering plasma sodium concentration rapidly changes blood pressure during haemodialysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suckling, Rebecca J; Swift, Pauline A; He, Feng J; Markandu, Nirmala D; MacGregor, Graham A

    2013-08-01

    Plasma sodium is increased following each meal containing salt. There is an increasing interest in the effects of plasma sodium concentration, and it has been suggested that it may have direct effects on blood pressure (BP) and possibly influences endothelial function. Experimental increases of plasma sodium concentration rapidly raise BP even when extracellular volume falls. Ten patients with end-stage renal failure established on haemodialysis were studied during the first 2 h of dialysis without fluid removal during this period. They were randomized to receive haemodialysis with (i) dialysate sodium concentration prescribed to 135 mmol/L and (ii) 145 mmol/L in random order in a prospective, single-blinded crossover study. BP measurements and blood samples were taken every 30 min. Pre-dialysis sitting BP was 137/76 ± 7/3 mmHg. Lower dialysate sodium concentration (135 mmol/L) reduced plasma sodium concentration [139.49 ± 0.67 to 135.94 ± 0.52 mmol/L (P area under the curve (AUC) 15823.50 ± 777.15 (mmHg)min] compared with 145 mmol/L [AUC 17018.20 ± 1102.17 (mmHg)min], mean difference 1194.70 ± 488.41 (mmHg)min, P < 0.05. There was a significant positive relationship between change in plasma sodium concentration and change in systolic BP. This direct relationship suggests that a fall of 1 mmol/L in plasma sodium concentration would be associated with a 1.7 mmHg reduction in systolic BP (P < 0.05). The potential mechanism for the increase in BP seen with salt intake may be through small but significant changes in plasma sodium concentration.

  18. Rapid socio-cultural change and health in the Arctic

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjerregaard, P

    2001-01-01

    The colonization of the circumpolar peoples has had a profound influence on their health. History tells about devastating epidemics and the introduction of alcohol. The last 50 years have witnessed an unprecedented societal development in Greenland and a rapid epidemiological transition. Physical...... health and survival have improved but at the expense of mental health. The incidence of tuberculosis and the infant mortality rate have decreased because of improved socioeconomic conditions and health care. Mental health has deteriorated parallel to the rapid modernization of Greenlandic society...

  19. Rapid response to intensive treatment for bulimia nervosa and purging disorder: A randomized controlled trial of a CBT intervention to facilitate early behavior change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacDonald, Danielle E; McFarlane, Traci L; Dionne, Michelle M; David, Lauren; Olmsted, Marion P

    2017-09-01

    Rapid response to cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for eating disorders (i.e., rapid and substantial change to key eating disorder behaviors in the initial weeks of treatment) robustly predicts good outcome at end-of-treatment and in follow up. The objective of this study was to determine whether rapid response to day hospital (DH) eating disorder treatment could be facilitated using a brief adjunctive CBT intervention focused on early change. 44 women (average age 27.3 [8.4]; 75% White, 6.3% Black, 6.9% Asian) were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 4-session adjunctive interventions: CBT focused on early change, or motivational interviewing (MI). DH was administered as usual. Outcomes included binge/purge frequency, Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. Intent-to-treat analyses were used. The CBT group had a higher rate of rapid response (95.7%) compared to MI (71.4%; p = .04, V = .33). Those who received CBT also had fewer binge/purge episodes (p = .02) in the first 4 weeks of DH. By end-of-DH, CBT participants made greater improvements on overvaluation of weight and shape (p = .008), and emotion regulation (ps .05). The results of this study demonstrate that rapid response can be clinically facilitated using a CBT intervention that explicitly encourages early change. This provides the foundation for future research investigating whether enhancing rates of rapid response using such an intervention results in improved longer term outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. Climate change: the knowledge and the possible; Changement climatique: les savoirs et les possibles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Le Treut, H. [Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, Lab. de Meteorologie Dynamique, 94 - Ivry sur Seine (France); Huet, S. [Journaliste a Liberation, Domaine de l' Information Scientifique, 75 - Paris (France); Chappellaz, J. [Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Lab. de Glaciologie et Geophysique de l' Environnement de Grenoble, 38 - Grenoble (France); Godard, O. [Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Dept. Humanites et Sciences Sociales, Ecole Polytechnique, 75 - Paris (France)

    2010-07-01

    Ultimatum, justice, crisis, green development, skepticism, controversy.. climate change is making noise in the beginning of this- 21 century and is going to make much more. In order to act with full knowledge of the facts, it is recommended to get the information from the right source and to make a precise status of the available knowledge. Then, this knowledge must be analyzed to understand how it has been obtained, discussed, validated, spread and sometimes distorted. This is what the authors of this book are applying themselves to do: two climatologists, one economist and one journalist are joining their skills and give us the keys that allow us to decode the paradoxes and challenges of the climate question. They provide us with intellectual arms to fight against the insincere skepticism and to discuss about the rational skepticism. (J.S.)

  1. Monitoring Forest Change in Landscapes Under-Going Rapid Energy Development: Challenges and New Perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul D. Pickell

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The accelerated development of energy resources around the world has substantially increased forest change related to oil and gas activities. In some cases, oil and gas activities are the primary catalyst of land-use change in forested landscapes. We discuss the challenges associated with characterizing ecological change related to energy resource development using North America as an exemplar. We synthesize the major impacts of energy development to forested ecosystems and offer new perspectives on how to detect and monitor anthropogenic disturbance during the Anthropocene. The disturbance of North American forests for energy development has resulted in persistent linear corridors, suppression of historical disturbance regimes, novel ecosystems, and the eradication of ecological memory. Characterizing anthropogenic disturbances using conventional patch-based disturbance measures will tend to underestimate the ecological impacts of energy development. Suitable indicators of anthropogenic impacts in forests should be derived from the integration of multi-scalar Earth observations. Relating these indicators to ecosystem condition will be a capstone in the progress toward monitoring forest change in landscapes undergoing rapid energy development.

  2. Interprofessional education increases knowledge, promotes team building, and changes practice in the care of Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Elaine V; Hagestuen, Ruth; González-Ramos, Gladys; Cohen, Hillel W; Bassich, Celia; Book, Elaine; Bradley, Kathy P; Carter, Julie H; Di Minno, Mariann; Gardner, Joan; Giroux, Monique; González, Manny J; Holten, Sandra; Joseph, Ricky; Kornegay, Denise D; Simpson, Patricia A; Tomaino, Concetta M; Vandendolder, Richard P; Walde-Douglas, Maria; Wichmann, Rosemary; Morgan, John C

    2016-01-01

    Examine outcomes for the National Parkinson Foundation (NPF) Allied Team Training for Parkinson (ATTP), an interprofessional education (IPE) program in Parkinson's disease (PD) and team-based care for medicine, nursing, occupational, physical and music therapies, physician assistant, social work and speech-language pathology disciplines. Healthcare professionals need education in evidence-based PD practices and working effectively in teams. Few evidence-based models of IPE in PD exist. Knowledge about PD, team-based care, the role of other disciplines and attitudes towards healthcare teams were measured before and after a protocol-driven training program. Knowledge, attitudes and practice changes were again measured at 6-month post-training. Trainee results were compared to results of controls. Twenty-six NPF-ATTP trainings were held across the U.S. (2003-2013). Compared to control participants (n = 100), trainees (n = 1468) showed statistically significant posttest improvement in all major outcomes, including self-perceived (p < 0.001) and objective knowledge (p < 0.001), Understanding Role of Other Disciplines (p < 0.001), Attitudes Toward Health Care Teams Scale (p < 0.001), and the Attitudes Toward Value of Teams (p < 0.001) subscale. Despite some decline, significant improvements were largely sustained at six-month post-training. Qualitative analyses confirmed post-training practice changes. The NPF-ATTP model IPE program showed sustained positive gains in knowledge of PD, team strategies and role of other disciplines, team attitudes, and important practice improvements. Further research should examine longer-term outcomes, objectively measure practice changes and mediators, and determine impact on patient outcomes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Climate change and forest diseases: using todays knowledge to address future challenges

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sturrock, R. N.

    2012-11-01

    The health of the earths forests and urban green spaces is increasingly challenged by the outcomes of human activities, including global climate change. As climate changes, the role and impact of diseases on trees in both forest ecosystems and in urban settings will also change. Knowledge of relationships between climate variables and diseases affecting forest and urban trees is reviewed, with specific emphasis on those affecting foliage, shoots, and stems. Evidence that forest diseases are already responding to the earths changing climate is examined (e.g., Dothistroma needle blight in northern British Columbia) as are predicted scenarios for future changes in impact on forests by other tree diseases. Outbreaks of tree diseases caused by native and alien pathogens are predicted to become more frequent and intense this and other general predictions about the effects of climate change on forest and tree diseases are discussed. Despite the uncertainty that accompanies such predictions it is imperative that researchers, forest and urban tree managers, and policy makers work together to develop and implement management strategies that enhance the resilience of the worlds forests and urbanized trees. Strategies discussed include monitoring, forecasting, planning, and mitigation. (Author) 60 refs.

  4. Crucial knowledge gaps in current understanding of climate change impacts on coral reef fishes

    KAUST Repository

    Wilson, S. K.

    2010-02-26

    Expert opinion was canvassed to identify crucial knowledge gaps in current understanding of climate change impacts on coral reef fishes. Scientists that had published three or more papers on the effects of climate and environmental factors on reef fishes were invited to submit five questions that, if addressed, would improve our understanding of climate change effects on coral reef fishes. Thirty-three scientists provided 155 questions, and 32 scientists scored these questions in terms of: (i) identifying a knowledge gap, (ii) achievability, (iii) applicability to a broad spectrum of species and reef habitats, and (iv) priority. Forty-two per cent of the questions related to habitat associations and community dynamics of fish, reflecting the established effects and immediate concern relating to climate-induced coral loss and habitat degradation. However, there were also questions on fish demographics, physiology, behaviour and management, all of which could be potentially affected by climate change. Irrespective of their individual expertise and background, scientists scored questions from different topics similarly, suggesting limited bias and recognition of a need for greater interdisciplinary and collaborative research. Presented here are the 53 highest-scoring unique questions. These questions should act as a guide for future research, providing a basis for better assessment and management of climate change impacts on coral reefs and associated fish communities.

  5. Modeling and evaluation of characteristics for on-street Rapid Transit systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Jonas Lohmann Elkjær; Landex, Alex

    2012-01-01

    to obtain the main objective of introducing a Rapid Transit System. to increase the number of passengers. Variations in the system characteristics have a direct impact on ridership. However, it is difficult to predict the impact of implementing or altering the characteristics. A Rapid Transit system should...... display sufficient service already in the planning phase. That is why pre-acquired knowledge of the impact of the characteristics on the system performance is valuable. Such knowledge could provide a firm basis for planning the service and operation of a Rapid Transit system. This article focuses....... It focuses on the following characteristics for Rapid Transit systems: rail factor, travel time, headway and capacity. It evaluates how the implementation and variation of these characteristics affected the ridership of a case project. It evaluates the magnitude of the impacts for the various characteristics...

  6. Phase field modeling of rapid crystallization in the phase-change material AIST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabatabaei, Fatemeh; Boussinot, Guillaume; Spatschek, Robert; Brener, Efim A.; Apel, Markus

    2017-07-01

    We carry out phase field modeling as a continuum simulation technique in order to study rapid crystallization processes in the phase-change material AIST (Ag4In3Sb67Te26). In particular, we simulate the spatio-temporal evolution of the crystallization of a molten area of the phase-change material embedded in a layer stack. The simulation model is adapted to the experimental conditions used for recent measurements of crystallization rates by a laser pulse technique. Simulations are performed for substrate temperatures close to the melting temperature of AIST down to low temperatures when an amorphous state is involved. The design of the phase field model using the thin interface limit allows us to retrieve the two limiting regimes of interface controlled (low temperatures) and thermal transport controlled (high temperatures) dynamics. Our simulations show that, generically, the crystallization velocity presents a maximum in the intermediate regime where both the interface mobility and the thermal transport, through the molten area as well as through the layer stack, are important. Simulations reveal the complex interplay of all different contributions. This suggests that the maximum switching velocity depends not only on material properties but also on the precise design of the thin film structure into which the phase-change material is embedded.

  7. Measuring Land Change in Coastal Zone around a Rapidly Urbanized Bay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Faming Huang

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Urban development is a major cause for eco-degradation in many coastal regions. Understanding urbanization dynamics and underlying driving factors is crucial for urban planning and management. Land-use dynamic degree indices and intensity analysis were used to measure land changes occurred in 1990, 2002, 2009, and 2017 in the coastal zone around Quanzhou bay, which is a rapidly urbanized bay in Southeast China. The comprehensive land-use dynamic degree and interval level intensity analysis both revealed that land change was accelerating across the three time intervals in a three-kilometer-wide zone along the coastal line (zone A, while land change was fastest during the second time interval 2002–2009 in a separate terrestrial area within coastal zone (zone B. Driven by urbanization, built-up gains and cropland losses were active for all time intervals in both zones. Mudflat losses were active except in the first time interval in zone A due to the intensive sea reclamation. The gain of mangrove was active while the loss of mangrove is dormant for all three intervals in zone A. Transition level analysis further revealed the similarities and differences in processes within patterns of land changes for both zones. The transition from cropland to built-up was systematically targeted and stationary while the transition from woodland to built-up was systematically avoiding transition in both zones. Built-up tended to target aquaculture for the second and third time intervals in zone A but avoid Aquaculture for all intervals in zone B. Land change in zone A was more significant than that in zone B during the second and third time intervals at three-level intensity. The application of intensity analysis can enhance our understanding of the patterns and processes in land changes and suitable land development plans in the Quanzhou bay area. This type of investigation is useful to provide information for developing sound land use policy to achieve urban

  8. Measuring Land Change in Coastal Zone around a Rapidly Urbanized Bay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Faming; Huang, Boqiang; Huang, Jinliang; Li, Shenghui

    2018-05-23

    Urban development is a major cause for eco-degradation in many coastal regions. Understanding urbanization dynamics and underlying driving factors is crucial for urban planning and management. Land-use dynamic degree indices and intensity analysis were used to measure land changes occurred in 1990, 2002, 2009, and 2017 in the coastal zone around Quanzhou bay, which is a rapidly urbanized bay in Southeast China. The comprehensive land-use dynamic degree and interval level intensity analysis both revealed that land change was accelerating across the three time intervals in a three-kilometer-wide zone along the coastal line (zone A), while land change was fastest during the second time interval 2002⁻2009 in a separate terrestrial area within coastal zone (zone B). Driven by urbanization, built-up gains and cropland losses were active for all time intervals in both zones. Mudflat losses were active except in the first time interval in zone A due to the intensive sea reclamation. The gain of mangrove was active while the loss of mangrove is dormant for all three intervals in zone A. Transition level analysis further revealed the similarities and differences in processes within patterns of land changes for both zones. The transition from cropland to built-up was systematically targeted and stationary while the transition from woodland to built-up was systematically avoiding transition in both zones. Built-up tended to target aquaculture for the second and third time intervals in zone A but avoid Aquaculture for all intervals in zone B. Land change in zone A was more significant than that in zone B during the second and third time intervals at three-level intensity. The application of intensity analysis can enhance our understanding of the patterns and processes in land changes and suitable land development plans in the Quanzhou bay area. This type of investigation is useful to provide information for developing sound land use policy to achieve urban sustainability in

  9. Study Links Learning Design to Changes in Knowledge, Beliefs, and Behaviors. Lessons from Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Killion, Joellen

    2015-01-01

    In this study of 16 teachers in two primary schools in the Netherlands, researchers built on findings from previous studies to demonstrate that a thoughtfully designed professional development program can be "effective and sustainable, if certain conditions are met" (p. 772) in changing teachers' knowledge, beliefs, perceived problems,…

  10. Can a theory-based educational intervention change nurses' knowledge and attitudes concerning cancer pain management? A quasi-experimental design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gustafsson, Markus; Borglin, Gunilla

    2013-08-19

    Registered Nurses (RNs) play an important role in caring for patients suffering from cancer pain. A lack of knowledge regarding pain management and the RNs' own perception of cancer pain could act as barriers to effective pain management. Educational interventions that target RNs' knowledge and attitudes have proved promising. However, an intervention consisting of evidence-based practice is a multifaceted process and demands behavioural and cognitive changes to sustain the effects of the intervention. Therefore, our study aimed to investigate if a theory-based educational intervention could change RNs' knowledge and attitudes to cancer pain and pain management, both four and 12 weeks after the start of the intervention. A quasi-experimental design with non-equivalent control groups was used. The primary outcome was measured using a modified version of the instrument Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (NKAS) at baseline, four weeks and 12 weeks after the start of the intervention to evaluate its persistence. The intervention's educational curriculum was based on the principles of Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behaviour and consisted of interactive learning activities conducted in workshops founded on evidence-based knowledge. The RN's own experiences from cancer pain management were used in the learning process. The theory-based educational intervention aimed at changing RNs knowledge and attitudes regarding cancer pain management measured by primary outcome NKAS resulted in a statistical significant (presearched and needs to be evaluated further in larger projects. Clinical Trials. Gov: NCT01313234.

  11. Making the Invisible Visible: modelling social learning in a knowledge management context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Henry Linger

    2001-11-01

    Full Text Available The articulation of Knowledge Management as an organisational strategy has occurred in the context of a radical shift towards an information based economy. The most significant aspect for organisations operating in the information economy is their ability to utilise the volumes of information that are now readily available without the constraint of media, geography or time. A critical factor for organisations is the speed at which they are able to productively process such information to enable the organisation to react rapidly to changes in their operating environments. In this context organisation needs to produce and re-produce knowledge. The shift from information to knowledge is an acknowledgment of the significant role of the human actor in the process of transforming information into effective organisational outcomes. Social learning represents important processes that contribute to actors’ ability to understand information, create knowledge from that information and share what they know. Social learning is therefore intrinsic to knowledge management. In this paper we present a knowledge management architecture that supports a learning organisation. This architecture accommodates social learning and processes by which knowledge is internalised and externalised by individuals, work groups and the organisation as a whole. The architecture incorporates a model social learning based on the results of ethnographic studies and a model of learning derived from knowledge management case studies. The architecture is not domain specific but can be applied to activity that can be characterised as knowledge work in an organisational context. As such the architecture can play a variety of roles; as a conceptual framework, as a diagnostic tool to identify breakdown and as a design tool for organisational change.

  12. Re-making the global economy of knowledge: do new fields of research change the structure of North-South relations?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Connell, Raewyn; Pearse, Rebecca; Collyer, Fran; Maia, João; Morrell, Robert

    2017-08-17

    How is global-North predominance in the making of organized knowledge affected by the rise of new domains of research? This question is examined empirically in three interdisciplinary areas - climate change, HIV-AIDS, and gender studies - through interviews with 70 researchers in Southern-tier countries Brazil, South Africa and Australia. The study found that the centrality of the North was reinstituted as these domains came into existence, through resource inequalities, workforce mechanisms, and intellectual framing. Yet there are tensions in the global economy of knowledge, around workforce formation, hierarchies of disciplines, neoliberal management strategies, and mismatches with social need. Intellectual workers in the Southern tier have built significant research centres, workforces and some distinctive knowledge projects. These create wider possibilities of change in the global structure of organized knowledge production. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.

  13. Fishers’ local knowledge on impact of climate change and anthropogenic interferences on Hilsa fishery in South Asia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jahan, Israt; Ahsan, Dewan; Farque, Md Hasan

    2017-01-01

    fishers’ perceptions on effect of climate change and anthropogenic impact on Hilsa fishery at lower Meghna. Fishers’ ecological knowledge indicates that the stock of Hilsa is declining due to several adverse climatic conditions such as increased water temperature, salinity intrusion and low freshwater....... The study also indicates that the major constraints to adopt with the change situation are low level of human capital and restricted access to the formal credit system. Therefore, incorporation of local knowledge in governmental policy formulation and public support to improve human skill are essential...

  14. Risk perception: The social construction of spatial knowledge around climate change-related scenarios in Lima

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Miranda Sara, L.; Jameson, S.; Pfeffer, K.; Baud, I.

    2016-01-01

    Lima's environmental sustainability is threatened by increasing water scarcity, heavy rain events and limited attention for water vulnerability and climate change scenarios. In this paper we examine how knowledge construction and risk perception on water-related disaster risks and vulnerabilities

  15. Identifying Persuasive Public Health Messages to Change Community Knowledge and Attitudes About Bulimia Nervosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLean, Siân A; Paxton, Susan J; Massey, Robin; Hay, Phillipa J; Mond, Jonathan M; Rodgers, Bryan

    2016-01-01

    Addressing stigma through social marketing campaigns has the potential to enhance currently low rates of treatment seeking and improve the well-being of individuals with the eating disorder bulimia nervosa. This study aimed to evaluate the persuasiveness of health messages designed to reduce stigma and improve mental health literacy about this disorder. A community sample of 1,936 adults (48.2% male, 51.8% female) from Victoria, Australia, provided (a) self-report information on knowledge and stigma about bulimia nervosa and (b) ratings of the persuasiveness of 9 brief health messages on dimensions of convincingness and likelihood of changing attitudes. Messages were rated moderately to very convincing and a little to moderately likely to change attitudes toward bulimia nervosa. The most persuasive messages were those that emphasized that bulimia nervosa is a serious mental illness and is not attributable to personal failings. Higher ratings of convincingness were associated with being female, with having more knowledge about bulimia nervosa, and with lower levels of stigma about bulimia nervosa. Higher ratings for likelihood of changing attitudes were associated with being female and with ratings of the convincingness of the corresponding message. This study provides direction for persuasive content to be included in social marketing campaigns to reduce stigma toward bulimia nervosa.

  16. Causal knowledge promotes behavioral self-regulation: An example using climate change dynamics.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David K Sewell

    Full Text Available Adopting successful climate change mitigation policies requires the public to choose how to balance the sometimes competing goals of managing CO2 emissions and achieving economic growth. It follows that collective action on climate change depends on members of the public to be knowledgeable of the causes and economic ramifications of climate change. The existing literature, however, shows that people often struggle to correctly reason about the fundamental accumulation dynamics that drive climate change. Previous research has focused on using analogy to improve people's reasoning about accumulation, which has been met with some success. However, these existing studies have neglected the role economic factors might play in shaping people's decisions in relation to climate change. Here, we introduce a novel iterated decision task in which people attempt to achieve a specific economic goal by interacting with a causal dynamic system in which human economic activities, CO2 emissions, and warming are all causally interrelated. We show that when the causal links between these factors are highlighted, people's ability to achieve the economic goal of the task is enhanced in a way that approaches optimal responding, and avoids dangerous levels of warming.

  17. Development and validation of the ACSI : measuring students' science attitudes, pro-environmental behaviour, climate change attitudes and knowledge

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijkstra, E. M.; Goedhart, M. J.

    2012-01-01

    This article describes the development and validation of the Attitudes towards Climate Change and Science Instrument. This 63-item questionnaire measures students' pro-environmental behaviour, their climate change knowledge and their attitudes towards school science, societal implications of

  18. Knowledge and luck.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turri, John; Buckwalter, Wesley; Blouw, Peter

    2015-04-01

    Nearly all success is due to some mix of ability and luck. But some successes we attribute to the agent's ability, whereas others we attribute to luck. To better understand the criteria distinguishing credit from luck, we conducted a series of four studies on knowledge attributions. Knowledge is an achievement that involves reaching the truth. But many factors affecting the truth are beyond our control, and reaching the truth is often partly due to luck. Which sorts of luck are compatible with knowledge? We found that knowledge attributions are highly sensitive to lucky events that change the explanation for why a belief is true. By contrast, knowledge attributions are surprisingly insensitive to lucky events that threaten, but ultimately fail to change the explanation for why a belief is true. These results shed light on our concept of knowledge, help explain apparent inconsistencies in prior work on knowledge attributions, and constitute progress toward a general understanding of the relation between success and luck.

  19. Observation of reversible, rapid changes in drug susceptibility of hypoxic tumor cells in a microfluidic device.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Germain, Todd; Ansari, Megan; Pappas, Dimitri

    2016-09-14

    Hypoxia is a major stimulus for increased drug resistance and for survival of tumor cells. Work from our group and others has shown that hypoxia increases resistance to anti-cancer compounds, radiation, and other damage-pathway cytotoxic agents. In this work we utilize a microfluidic culture system capable of rapid switching of local oxygen concentrations to determine changes in drug resistance in prostate cancer cells. We observed rapid adaptation to hypoxia, with drug resistance to 2 μM staurosporine established within 30 min of hypoxia. Annexin-V/Sytox Green apoptosis assays over 9 h showed 78.0% viability, compared to 84.5% viability in control cells (normoxic cells with no staurosporine). Normoxic cells exposed to the same staurosporine concentration had a viability of 48.6% after 9 h. Hypoxia adaptation was rapid and reversible, with Hypoxic cells treated with 20% oxygen for 30 min responding to staurosporine with 51.6% viability after drug treatment for 9 h. Induction of apoptosis through the receptor-mediated pathway, which bypasses anti-apoptosis mechanisms induced by hypoxia, resulted in 39.4 ± 7% cell viability. The rapid reversibility indicates co-treatment of oxygen with anti-cancer compounds may be a potential therapeutic target. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Experiences of Families Transmitting Values in a Rapidly Changing Society: Implications for Family Therapists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akyil, Yudum; Prouty, Anne; Blanchard, Amy; Lyness, Kevin

    2016-06-01

    Intergenerational value transmission affects parent-child relationships and necessitates constant negotiation in families. Families with adolescents from rapidly changing societies face unique challenges in balancing the traditional collectivistic family values that promote harmony with emerging values that promote autonomy. Using modern Turkey as an example of such a culture, the authors examine the transmission process in families that hold more traditional and collectivistic values than their adolescent children. Special consideration is given to generational and cultural differences in the autonomy and relatedness dimensions. © 2015 Family Process Institute.

  1. Dissemination of Knowledge about NPP Instrumentation and Control Systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yastrebenetsky, M.

    2016-01-01

    Full text: Instrumentation and control (I&C) systems are the most variable part in the nuclear power plants (NPP) comparatively with any other NPP systems. This statement is connected with the wide use of computers, rapid changes in information technologies, with the appearance of new computer complex electronic components, e.g., field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) and with appropriate point of their insertion into NPP I&C life cycle. The changes in NPP I&C systems require the dissemination of the knowledge about these systems. Lessons after Fukushima accident increase necessity of these actions. The elaboration and following dissemination of this knowledge took place in different directions: • Writing and issue of three new books about NPP I&C systems for specialists and for students which were issued in Ukrainian and USA public houses (the last book was issued in 2014); • Organization of five international scientific technical conferences, devoted to NPP I&C safety problems; • Elaboration of national (Ukrainian) standards and regulations pertaining to safety important NPP I&C systems (the last standard was issued in 2015) and participation in elaboration of international standards; • Lecturing for university students, NPP specialists and I&C designers. These actions in all directions are added to IAEA activity in the area NPP I&C systems (e.g., IAEA NP-T-3.12 “Core Knowledge on I&C systems in NPP”). (author

  2. Change Processes and Future Perspectives in the Knowledge Society. The Example of Clothing and Textile Industry

    OpenAIRE

    Tobias Woll

    2006-01-01

    The paper examines change processes und future perspectives in the knowledge society. It presents the clothing and textile industry as an example for a transforming industry in a global economy. The paper reviews existing future studies, which have surveyed change processes and future developments in the clothing and textile industry. Main goals of the review are the identification of changes in work and the description of the restructuring of global value chains within the clothing and texti...

  3. Fertility awareness online: the efficacy of a fertility education website in increasing knowledge and changing fertility beliefs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daniluk, J C; Koert, E

    2015-02-01

    How effective is online education in increasing knowledge of fertility and assisted reproductive technologies (ART), and changing beliefs about the timing of parenthood? Exposure to an online educational intervention resulted in immediate changes in participants' beliefs about the ideal timing of parenthood, and a significant increase in their knowledge of fertility and ART treatments and options; most of these changes were not sustained over time, particularly for men. Research has identified significant gaps in men's and women's knowledge of fertility and ART, contributing to the trend to delay childbearing. Effective educational programs need to be developed, to support informed fertility and child-timing decisions. Pre-post intervention study of 199 currently childless men and women, and a 6-month follow-up of 110 of these participants. One hundred and ninety-nine childless participants between the ages of 18 and 35 were asked to complete 4 beliefs and 22 knowledge questions prior to, and immediately after, reading 10 online posts related to: fertility testing and preservation, fertility history and lifespan, the effects of health and fitness on fertility, and assisted reproduction. Six months later, 110 of the original sample repeated the 26-item survey. Participants' fertility and ART knowledge scores increased significantly immediately after the intervention, as did their confidence in their fertility and ART knowledge. Participants' beliefs about the ideal and latest age a woman or man should consider producing a child decreased. However, 6 months later, participants' beliefs and knowledge levels largely returned to their pre-intervention levels, particularly for the men in the study. The sample size and the recruitment methods may limit the generalizability of these findings. Previous studies have demonstrated the short-term efficacy of online educational approaches to increase fertility knowledge and support informed family planning decisions. Web

  4. Television, disordered eating, and young women in Fiji: negotiating body image and identity during rapid social change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becker, Anne E

    2004-12-01

    Although the relationship between media exposure and risk behavior among youth is established at a population level, the specific psychological and social mechanisms mediating the adverse effects of media on youth remain poorly understood. This study reports on an investigation of the impact of the introduction of television to a rural community in Western Fiji on adolescent ethnic Fijian girls in a setting of rapid social and economic change. Narrative data were collected from 30 purposively selected ethnic Fijian secondary school girls via semi-structured, open-ended interviews. Interviews were conducted in 1998, 3 years after television was first broadcast to this region of Fiji. Narrative data were analyzed for content relating to response to television and mechanisms that mediate self and body image in Fijian adolescents. Data in this sample suggest that media imagery is used in both creative and destructive ways by adolescent Fijian girls to navigate opportunities and conflicts posed by the rapidly changing social environment. Study respondents indicated their explicit modeling of the perceived positive attributes of characters presented in television dramas, but also the beginnings of weight and body shape preoccupation, purging behavior to control weight, and body disparagement. Response to television appeared to be shaped by a desire for competitive social positioning during a period of rapid social transition. Understanding vulnerability to images and values imported with media will be critical to preventing disordered eating and, potentially, other youth risk behaviors in this population, as well as other populations at risk.

  5. Children's daily activities and knowledge acquisition: A case study among the Baka from southeastern Cameroon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallois, Sandrine; Duda, Romain; Hewlett, Barry; Reyes-García, Victoria

    2015-12-24

    The acquisition of local knowledge occurs through complex interactions between individual and contextual characteristics: as context changes, so it changes the acquisition of knowledge. Contemporary small-scale societies facing rapid social-ecological change provide a unique opportunity to study the relation between social-ecological changes and the process of acquisition of local knowledge. In this work, we study children's involvement in subsistence related activities (i.e., hunting and gathering) in a context of social-ecological change and discuss how such involvement might condition the acquisition of local knowledge during childhood. We interviewed 98 children from a hunter-gatherer society, the Baka, living in two different villages in southeastern Cameroon and assessed their involvement in daily activities. Using interviews, we collected self-reported data on the main activities performed during the previous 24 h. We describe the frequency of occurrence of daily activities during middle childhood and adolescence and explore the variation in occurrence according to the sex, the age group, and the village of residency of the child. We also explore variation according to the season in which the activity is conducted and to the predicted potential of the activity for the acquisition of local knowledge. Baka children and adolescents engage in subsistence-related activities (i.e., hunting and gathering) and playing more frequently than in other activities (i.e., traditional tales or schooling). Gender differences in children's subsistence activities emerge at an early age. Engagement in activities also varies with age, with adolescents spending more time in agricultural activities, modern leisure (i.e., going to bars), and socializing than younger children. When conducting similar activities, adolescents use more complex techniques than younger children. Subsistence activities, which present a high potential for transmission of local knowledge, continue to be

  6. Advancing Climate Change Education and Youth Empowerment: Preparing Our Communities with the Skills, Knowledge, and Passion to Push for and Develop Innovative Solutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niepold, F., III; Johnston, E.; Rooney-varga, J. N.; Qusba, L.; Staveloz, W.; Poppleton, K.; Cloyd, E. T.; Kretser, J.; Bozuwa, J.; Edkins, M. T.

    2016-12-01

    Today's youth are the first generation to come of age amid rapid climate change, and they have the most at stake in how society responds to it. Climate change will bring economic and environmental challenges as well as opportunities, and citizens who understand the issues at stake will be better prepared to respond. Climate education is a necessary foundation for them to understand and help tackle the complex issue of climate change. Many will become leaders with the skills, knowledge, and passion to push for and develop innovative solutions. As such, this topic requires interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches from a professionally diverse group of experts to effectively build the solid foundation for a low carbon and sustainable economy. Educators from all disciplines need to be enlisted to contribute their talents in building students knowledge and skills to limit human-induced climate change while being prepared for the projected impacts that will continue, and it will accelerate significantly if global emissions of heat-trapping gases continue to increase. This presentation will discuss the new youth and educator engagement partnerships that developed to achieve ways of addressing the problems and opportunities resulting from climate change. We will describe how the partnerships are helping lift up and raise the profile of effective programs that enable transdisciplinary solutions to societal issues. The #Youth4Climate and #Teach4Climate social media campaigns were organized by a flotilla of federal and non-federal partners to inspire young people around the world to take actions on climate change and inspire teachers to prepare students to be part of the solutions to climate change. The largest one, the #Youth4Climate campaign for COP21 youth engagement had over 33 million impressions and opened a discussion for all to join with youth for climate actions at COP21. Each of these three social media campaigns had a simple ask, give young people a voice

  7. Noticing numeracy now! Examining changes in preservice teachers' noticing, knowledge, and attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Molly H.; Thomas, Jonathan; Schack, Edna O.; Jong, Cindy; Tassell, Janet

    2017-11-01

    This study examined the impact of an intervention, focused on professional noticing of children's conceptual development in whole number and arithmetic reasoning, on preservice elementary teachers' (PSETs') professional noticing skills, attitudes toward mathematics, and mathematical knowledge for teaching mathematics. A video-based professional noticing module, situated in the pedagogies of practice framework, was used with 224 PSETs from five universities. Comparison data was also collected with similar groups not participating in the instructional module. Through pre- and post-assessments, findings indicated that PSETs can develop sound professional noticing skills as a result of participation in a video-based module. The impact on attitudes toward mathematics was less convincing as significant changes were revealed in intervention as well as comparison groups. We hypothesized the potential for professional noticing of children's mathematical thinking to serve as a mechanism for increasing the capabilities of PSETs to negotiate the complexities of mathematics teaching and learning; however, mathematics knowledge for teaching showed no significant increase for either group.

  8. Noticing numeracy now! Examining changes in preservice teachers' noticing, knowledge, and attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Molly H.; Thomas, Jonathan; Schack, Edna O.; Jong, Cindy; Tassell, Janet

    2018-06-01

    This study examined the impact of an intervention, focused on professional noticing of children's conceptual development in whole number and arithmetic reasoning, on preservice elementary teachers' (PSETs') professional noticing skills, attitudes toward mathematics, and mathematical knowledge for teaching mathematics. A video-based professional noticing module, situated in the pedagogies of practice framework, was used with 224 PSETs from five universities. Comparison data was also collected with similar groups not participating in the instructional module. Through pre- and post-assessments, findings indicated that PSETs can develop sound professional noticing skills as a result of participation in a video-based module. The impact on attitudes toward mathematics was less convincing as significant changes were revealed in intervention as well as comparison groups. We hypothesized the potential for professional noticing of children's mathematical thinking to serve as a mechanism for increasing the capabilities of PSETs to negotiate the complexities of mathematics teaching and learning; however, mathematics knowledge for teaching showed no significant increase for either group.

  9. Why We Don't Collaborate in Response to Climate Change: The Knowledge Deficit, Co-Production, and the Future of the IPCC.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, B. R.; Overpeck, J. T.

    2014-12-01

    Scientific knowledge production is based on recognizing and filling knowledge deficits or 'gaps' in understanding, but for climate adaptation and mitigation, the applicability of this approach is questionable. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) mandate is an example of this type of 'gap filling,' in which the elimination of uncertainties is presumed to enable rational decision making for individuals and rational governance for societies. Presumed knowledge deficits, though, are unsuited to controversial problems with social, cultural, and economic dimensions; likewise, communication to educate is an ineffective means of inciting behavioural change. An alternative is needed, particularly given the economic, social, and political scale that action on climate change requires. We review the 'deficit-education framing' and show how it maintains a wedge between those affected and those whose knowledge is required. We then review co-production to show how natural and social scientists, as well as the IPCC, might more effectively proceed.

  10. How does epistemological knowledge on modelling influence students' engagement in the issue of climate change?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tasquier, Giulia

    2016-05-01

    Involvement in climate change has been proven to be hindered by emotional and social barriers, as well as by conceptual difficulties that students may encounter in dealing with scientific content related to particular issues such as the greenhouse effect. In this study, we start from the conjecture that behind many conceptual difficulties and emotional barriers lie particular epistemological obstacles related to a naive and stereotypical view of science. These include, in particular, the belief that science still has the role and power to provide a unique, unquestionable, and certain explanation of events and processes. Such a naive idea clashes strongly with the intrinsic complexity of climate science. This paper sets out to investigate if and how the improvement of epistemological knowledge can influence behavioural habits and foster students' engagement in climate change. In order to explore such an issue, we focus on five interviews collected at the end of a teaching experience on climate change, carried out with secondary school students (grade 11; 16-year olds). This study is a follow-up of other two analytical studies aimed at investigating, respectively, the impact of the experience on students' epistemological knowledge and on their behavioural habits.

  11. Knowledge and perception about climate change and human health: findings from a baseline survey among vulnerable communities in Bangladesh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kabir, Md Iqbal; Rahman, Md Bayzidur; Smith, Wayne; Lusha, Mirza Afreen Fatima; Azim, Syed; Milton, Abul Hasnat

    2016-03-15

    Bangladesh is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change (CC). A basic understanding of public perception on vulnerability, attitude and the risk in relation to CC and health will provide strategic directions for government policy, adaptation strategies and development of community-based guidelines. The objective of this study was to collect community-based data on peoples' knowledge and perception about CC and its impact on health. In 2012, a cross-sectional survey was undertaken among 6720 households of 224 enumeration areas of rural villages geographically distributed in seven vulnerable districts of Bangladesh, with total population of 19,228,598. Thirty households were selected randomly from each enumeration area using the household listing provided by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). Information was collected from all the 6720 research participants using a structured questionnaire. An observation checklist was used by the interviewers to collect household- and community-related information. In addition, we selected the head of each household as the eligible participant for an interview. Evidence of association between sociodemographic variables and knowledge of CC was explored by cross-tabulation and measured using chi-square tests. Logistic regression models were used to further explore the predictors of knowledge. The study revealed that the residents of the rural communities selected for this study largely come from a low socioeconomic background: only 9.6% had postsecondary education or higher, the majority worked as day labourer or farmer (60%), and only 10% earned a monthly income above BDT 12000 (equivalent to US $150 approx.). The majority of the participants (54.2%) had some knowledge about CC but 45.8% did not (p change of climate (83.2%). Among all the respondents (n = 6720), 94.5% perceived change in climate and extreme weather events. Most of them (91.9%) observed change in rainfall patterns in the last 10 years, and 97

  12. Knowledge and perception about climate change and human health: findings from a baseline survey among vulnerable communities in Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Md Iqbal Kabir

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Bangladesh is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change (CC. A basic understanding of public perception on vulnerability, attitude and the risk in relation to CC and health will provide strategic directions for government policy, adaptation strategies and development of community-based guidelines. The objective of this study was to collect community-based data on peoples’ knowledge and perception about CC and its impact on health. Methods In 2012, a cross-sectional survey was undertaken among 6720 households of 224 enumeration areas of rural villages geographically distributed in seven vulnerable districts of Bangladesh, with total population of 19,228,598. Thirty households were selected randomly from each enumeration area using the household listing provided by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS. Information was collected from all the 6720 research participants using a structured questionnaire. An observation checklist was used by the interviewers to collect household- and community-related information. In addition, we selected the head of each household as the eligible participant for an interview. Evidence of association between sociodemographic variables and knowledge of CC was explored by cross-tabulation and measured using chi-square tests. Logistic regression models were used to further explore the predictors of knowledge. Results The study revealed that the residents of the rural communities selected for this study largely come from a low socioeconomic background: only 9.6 % had postsecondary education or higher, the majority worked as day labourer or farmer (60 %, and only 10 % earned a monthly income above BDT 12000 (equivalent to US $150 approx.. The majority of the participants (54.2 % had some knowledge about CC but 45.8 % did not (p < 0.001. The majority of knowledgeable participants (n = 3645 felt excessive temperature as the change of climate (83.2 %. Among all the

  13. The Northern Climate Exchange Gap Analysis Project : an assessment of the current state of knowledge about the impacts of climate change in northern Canada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    The Northern Climate ExChange (NCE) Gap Analysis Project was launched in 1999 with an objective to assess the state of knowledge on climate change in northern Canada. Resulting products of the project have included the Infosource Database, an on-line database of published climate change research related to the Canadian North, the Directory of Contacts, another on-line database of interested parties to climate change issues, and a set of tables that rate the level of available information on climate change as it relates to natural, economic and community systems. Other products include a report of a workshop on climate change research, 2 reports assessing the level of traditional northern knowledge about climate change, 2 reports assessing the completeness and value of the Infosource Database, a web site for NCE, and this report. All products are available to the public on the Internet or on a CD-ROM. The NCE Gap Analysis Project has shown there are inequalities in the amount of information across different systems, and that there is more knowledge on predicted temperature changes than for other climate components. The study notes that there are strong regional trends for compiled knowledge, with some regions having been better studied than others. The project revealed that traditional knowledge of climate change has not been well documented, and that more information exists about climate change impacts on biological systems with an economic component than those without economic significance. refs., tabs., figs

  14. Knowledge Economy

    OpenAIRE

    Kerr, Aphra; O Riain, Sean

    2009-01-01

    We examine a number of key questions regarding this knowledge economy. First, we look at the origin of the concept as well as early attempts to define and map the knowledge economy empirically. Second, we examine a variety of perspectives on the socio-spatial organisation of the knowledge economy and approaches which link techno-economic change and social-spatial organisation. Building on a critique of these perspectives, we then go on to develop a view of a knowledge economy that is conteste...

  15. Automatic Knowledge Base Evolution by Learning Instances

    OpenAIRE

    Kim, Sundong

    2016-01-01

    Knowledge base is the way to store structured and unstructured data throughout the web. Since the size of the web is increasing rapidly, there are huge needs to structure the knowledge in a fully automated way. However fully-automated knowledge-base evolution on the Semantic Web is a major challenges, although there are many ontology evolution techniques available. Therefore learning ontology automatically can contribute to the semantic web society significantly. In this paper, we propose ful...

  16. An Assessment of the Knowledge and Demand of Young Residents regarding the Ecological Services of Urban Green Spaces in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

    OpenAIRE

    Yat Yen; Zhanqi Wang; Yumin Shi; Bunly Soeung

    2016-01-01

    The fast and steady economic growth and social changes in recent years in Cambodia have brought rapid expansion and restructuring to its cities. These phenomena have brought numerous challenges including threats to urban green spaces (UGS’s). This study addresses problems of UGS’s by investigating the knowledge and perceptions of young residents of Phnom Penh (YRPPs) toward UGS’s in relation to the following: (1) basic knowledge of YRPPs on ecological services (KES) of UGS’s; (2) perceptions ...

  17. Secular trends on traditional ecological knowledge: An analysis of different domains of knowledge among Tsimane' men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reyes-García, Victoria; Luz, Ana C; Gueze, Maximilien; Paneque-Gálvez, Jaime; Macía, Manuel J; Orta-Martínez, Martí; Pino, Joan

    2013-10-01

    Empirical research provides contradictory evidence of the loss of traditional ecological knowledge across societies. Researchers have argued that culture, methodological differences, and site-specific conditions are responsible for such contradictory evidences. We advance and test a third explanation: the adaptive nature of traditional ecological knowledge systems. Specifically, we test whether different domains of traditional ecological knowledge experience different secular changes and analyze trends in the context of other changes in livelihoods. We use data collected among 651 Tsimane' men (Bolivian Amazon). Our findings indicate that different domains of knowledge follow different secular trends. Among the domains of knowledge analyzed, medicinal and wild edible knowledge appear as the most vulnerable; canoe building and firewood knowledge seem to remain constant across generations; whereas house building knowledge seems to experience a slight secular increase. Our analysis reflects on the adaptive nature of traditional ecological knowledge, highlighting how changes in this knowledge system respond to the particular needs of a society in a given point of time.

  18. Behavioral flexibility as a mechanism for coping with climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beever, Erik; Hall, L. Embere; Varner, Johanna; Loosen, Anne E.; Dunham, Jason B.; Gahl, Megan K.; Smith, Felisa A.; Lawler, Joshua J.

    2017-01-01

    Of the primary responses to contemporary climate change – “move, adapt, acclimate, or die” – that are available to organisms, “acclimate” may be effectively achieved through behavioral modification. Behavioral flexibility allows animals to rapidly cope with changing environmental conditions, and behavior represents an important component of a species’ adaptive capacity in the face of climate change. However, there is currently a lack of knowledge about the limits or constraints on behavioral responses to changing conditions. Here, we characterize the contexts in which organisms respond to climate variability through behavior. First, we quantify patterns in behavioral responses across taxa with respect to timescales, climatic stimuli, life-history traits, and ecology. Next, we identify existing knowledge gaps, research biases, and other challenges. Finally, we discuss how conservation practitioners and resource managers can incorporate an improved understanding of behavioral flexibility into natural resource management and policy decisions.

  19. Monitoring of changes in areas of conflicts: the example of Darfur

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thunig, H.; Michel, U.

    2012-10-01

    Rapid change detection is used in cases of natural hazards and disasters. This analysis leads to rapid information on areas of damage. In certain cases the lack of information after catastrophe events is obstructing supporting measures within disaster management. Earthquakes, tsunamis, civil war, volcanic eruption, droughts and floods have much in common: people are directly affected, landscapes and buildings are destroyed. In every case geospatial data is necessary to gain knowledge as basement for decision support. Where to go first? Which infrastructure is usable? How much area is affected? These are essential question which need to be answered before appropriate, eligible help can be established. This paper focuses on change detection applications in areas where catastrophic events took place which resulted in rapid destruction especially of manmade objects. Standard methods for automated change detection prove not to be sufficient; therefore a new method was developed and tested. The presented method allows a fast detection and visualization of change in areas of crisis or catastrophes. While often new methods of remote sensing are developed without user oriented aspects, organizations and authorities are not able to use these methods because of lack of remote sensing knowledge. Therefore a semi-automated procedure was developed. Within a transferable framework, the developed algorithm can be implemented for a set of remote sensing data among different investigation areas. Several case studies are the base for the retrieved results. Within a coarse dividing into statistical parts and the segmentation in meaningful objects, the framework is able to deal with different types of change. By means of an elaborated Temporal Change Index (TCI) only panchromatic datasets are used to extract areas which are destroyed, areas which were not affected and in addition areas where rebuilding has already started.

  20. Rapidly reversible redox transformation in nanophase manganese oxides at room temperature triggered by changes in hydration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Birkner, Nancy; Navrotsky, Alexandra

    2014-04-29

    Chemisorption of water onto anhydrous nanophase manganese oxide surfaces promotes rapidly reversible redox phase changes as confirmed by calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, and titration for manganese average oxidation state. Surface reduction of bixbyite (Mn2O3) to hausmannite (Mn3O4) occurs in nanoparticles under conditions where no such reactions are seen or expected on grounds of bulk thermodynamics in coarse-grained materials. Additionally, transformation does not occur on nanosurfaces passivated by at least 2% coverage of what is likely an amorphous manganese oxide layer. The transformation is due to thermodynamic control arising from differences in surface energies of the two phases (Mn2O3 and Mn3O4) under wet and dry conditions. Such reversible and rapid transformation near room temperature may affect the behavior of manganese oxides in technological applications and in geologic and environmental settings.

  1. Planetary Habitability and Rapid Environmental Change: The Biological Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schulze-Makuch, D.; Fairen, A.; Irwin, L.

    2012-12-01

    Environmental conditions can change drastically and rapidly during the natural history of a planetary body. We have detailed evidence of these dramatic events from Venus, Earth, Mars, and Titan. Most of these occurrences seem to be triggered by astronomical events such as asteroid impacts or supernova explosions; others are triggered by the planet or moon itself (e.g., supervolcano eruptions). The associated question is always how these events affect the habitability of a planet, particularly the origin and presence of life. Under what conditions would such a drastic event be so catastrophic that it would prohibit the origin of life or be so devastating to existing organisms, that life would not be able to recover and be all but extinguished from a planet? Under what conditions would such an event be positive for the evolution of life, for example spurring life via mass extinctions and associated vacant habitats to the invention of new body plans and higher complexity? Here, we provide insights of what we can learn from the natural history of our own planet, which experienced many environmental disasters and abrupt climate changes, from the impact event that created the Moon to the extinction of the dinosaurs. We apply these insights to other planetary bodies and the question about the presence of life. One example is Mars, which underwent drastic environmental changes at the end of the Noachian period. Assuming that microbial life became established on Mars, could it have survived, perhaps by retreating to environmental niches? Life just starting out would have certainly been more vulnerable to extinction. But how far would it have to have evolved to be more resistant to potential extinction events? Would it have to be global in distribution to survive? Another example is Venus. Should Venus be seen as an example where life, which possibly arose in the first few hundred million years when the planet was still in the habitable zone, would have had no chance to

  2. Eurogin 2016 Roadmap: how HPV knowledge is changing screening practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wentzensen, Nicolas; Arbyn, Marc; Berkhof, Johannes; Bower, Mark; Canfell, Karen; Einstein, Mark; Farley, Christopher; Monsonego, Joseph; Franceschi, Silvia

    2017-05-15

    Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are the necessary cause of most cervical cancers, a large proportion of other anogenital cancers, and a subset of oropharyngeal cancers. The knowledge about HPV has led to development of novel HPV-based prevention strategies with important impact on clinical and public health practice. Two complementary reviews have been prepared following the 2015 Eurogin Conference to evaluate how knowledge about HPV is changing practice in HPV infection and disease control through vaccination and screening. This review focuses on screening for cervical and anal cancers in increasingly vaccinated populations. The introduction of HPV vaccines a decade ago has led to reductions in HPV infections and early cancer precursors in countries with wide vaccination coverage. Despite the high efficacy of HPV vaccines, cervical cancer screening will remain important for many decades. Many healthcare systems are considering switching to primary HPV screening, which has higher sensitivity for cervical precancers and allows extending screening intervals. We describe different approaches to implementing HPV-based screening efforts in different healthcare systems with a focus in high-income countries. While the population prevalence for other anogenital cancers is too low for population-based screening, anal cancer incidence is very high in HIV-infected men who have sex with men, warranting consideration of early detection approaches. We summarize the current evidence on HPV-based prevention of anal cancers and highlight important evidence gaps. © 2016 UICC.

  3. Development and Validation of the ACSI: Measuring Students' Science Attitudes, Pro-Environmental Behaviour, Climate Change Attitudes and Knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dijkstra, E. M.; Goedhart, M. J.

    2012-01-01

    This article describes the development and validation of the Attitudes towards Climate Change and Science Instrument. This 63-item questionnaire measures students' pro-environmental behaviour, their climate change knowledge and their attitudes towards school science, societal implications of science, scientists, a career in science and the urgency…

  4. The Changing Roles of Vocational and Academic Education in Future High Schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pucel, David J.

    Both the rapid movement to the knowledge/imagination age and a more thorough understanding of how problem-solving skills are developed challenge traditional education to change and adopt a new set of goals. Academic and vocational education are modifying their goals and instructional procedures, and they are blending together. As technology has…

  5. Can role-play with interactive simulations enhance climate change knowledge, affect and intent to act?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rooney-varga, J. N.; Sterman, J.; Fracassi, E. P.; Franck, T.; Kapmeier, F.; Kurker, V.; Jones, A.; Rath, K.

    2017-12-01

    The strong scientific consensus about the reality and risks of anthropogenic climate change stands in stark contrast to widespread confusion and complacency among the public. Many efforts to close that gap, grounded in the information deficit model of risk communication, provide scientific information on climate change through reports and presentations. However, research shows that showing people research does not work: the gap between scientific and public understanding of climate change remains wide. Tools that are rigorously grounded in the science and motivate action on climate change are urgently needed. Here we assess the impact of one such tool, an interactive, role-play simulation, World Climate. Participants take the roles of delegates to the UN climate negotiations and are challenged to create an agreement limiting warming to no more than 2°C. The C-ROADS climate simulation model then provides participants with immediate feedback about the expected impacts of their decisions. Participants use C-ROADS to explore the climate system and use the results to refine their negotiating positions, learning about climate change while experiencing the social dynamics of negotiations and decision-making. Pre- and post-survey results from 21 sessions in eight nations showed significant gains in participants' climate change knowledge, affective engagement, intent to take action, and desire to learn. Contrary to the deficit model, gains in participants' desire to learn more and intention to act were associated with gains in affective engagement, particularly feelings of urgency and hope, but not climate knowledge. Gains were just as strong among participants who oppose government regulation, suggesting the simulation's potential to reach across political divides. Results indicate that simulations like World Climate offer a climate change communication tool that enables people to learn and feel for themselves, which together have the potential to motivate action informed

  6. The response of southern California ecosystems to Younger Dryas-like rapid climate change: Comparison of glacial terminations 1 and 5.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heusser, L. E.; Hendy, I. L.

    2015-12-01

    The Younger Dryas is a well-known rapid climatic cooling that interrupted the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 1-2 deglacial warming of Termination 1. This cool event has been associated with ice sheet readvance, meridional overturning, circulation changes, and southward movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. In Southern California, the Younger Dryas has been associated with cooler SST, low marine productivity, a well-ventilated oxygen minimum zone, and a wetter climate. Similar rapid cooling events have been found at other terminations including Termination 5 at the MIS 11-12 deglaciation (~425 Ka) identified by ice rafting events in the North Atlantic. Here we present new pollen census data from a unique suite of cores taken from the sub-oxic sediments of Santa Barbara Basin (MV0508-15JC, MV0805-20JC, MV0508-33JC, 29JC and 21JC). These short cores, collected on a truncated anticline within SBB, provide the opportunity to examine the response of southern California terrestrial and marine ecosystems to rapid climate change during the MIS 11-12 deglaciation (Termination 5), which is identified by a bioturbated interval within a sequence of laminated sediments. During Termination 1, changes in Southern California precipitation are reflected in pollen- based reconstructions Southern California vegetation. The high precipitation of glacial montane-coniferous assemblages of pine (Pinus) and Juniper (Juniperus/Calocedrus) transitions into interglacial drought, as expresssed by arid oak (Quercus)/chaparral vegetation. The Younger Dryas interrupts the transition as a high-amplitude pulse in pine associated with increased Gramineae (grass). Termination 5 differs, as the high precipitation of glacial montane-coniferous assemblages do not transition into arid oak/chaparral vegetation. However, a Younger Dryas-like rapid climate event was associated with increased pine and grass.

  7. Seeking a potential system in managing organizational knowledge flow towards enhancing individual learning and intellectual capital

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Intan Soraya Rosdi

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The knowledge-based economy of today heralds an era where the business environment is characterized by complex and ever-changing conditions, driven by rapid technological advancements. With knowledge regarded as the main competitive resource, continuous learning becomes critical to firms as they try to keep up with the latest technology and business practices. Moreover, knowledge resides within individual employees, and the challenge is to ensure that knowledge is acquired, applied, and shared to benefit the firm. The situation becomes more complex when it is established that there exists different human capital in firms at any one time, differentiated based on the types of knowledge they contribute to the firm. Further, scant literature exists on the relationship dynamics between the different human capital groups and their influences on individual learning. This paper aims to propose a potential system to manage interaction between the different human capital groups within firms, and its link to enhancing different types of individual learning and intellectual capital.

  8. Feminist Approaches to Triangulation: Uncovering Subjugated Knowledge and Fostering Social Change in Mixed Methods Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hesse-Biber, Sharlene

    2012-01-01

    This article explores the deployment of triangulation in the service of uncovering subjugated knowledge and promoting social change for women and other oppressed groups. Feminist approaches to mixed methods praxis create a tight link between the research problem and the research design. An analysis of selected case studies of feminist praxis…

  9. Knowledge of HIV and willingness to conduct oral rapid HIV testing among dentists in Xi'an China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lirong Wang

    Full Text Available China is considered a country of low HIV prevalence (780,000 people living with HIV, however, HIV infections among high-risk populations continue to grow at alarming rates. Voluntary Counseling and Testing services were first implemented in 2003, and oral rapid HIV testing (ORHT began in 2012. Dentists, as oral health experts, would be well placed to conduct ORHT. We assessed willingness of dentists to undertake ORHT in their clinical practice.A cross-sectional, paper-based survey of dentists from the Xi'an region of China was conducted from April to June 2013. Dentists were recruited from Shaanxi Stomatological Association using a stratified sampling methodology. A 40-item survey was used to measure knowledge of HIV, attitudes toward people living with HIV and willingness to conduct ORHT.477 dentists completed the survey with a mean HIV knowledge test score of 13.2/18 (SD 1.9. If made available in the dental setting, 276 (57.9% preferred to use blood to diagnose HIV, only 190 (39.8% preferred saliva or both. Four hundred and thirty-five (91.2% thought that ORHT was needed in dental clinics. Female dentists felt more accepting of ORHT than males (93.8% vs. 87.8%; χ2=5.145; p<0.05. 42.6% of the participants who responded thought that lack of education on ORHT for dentists was the most urgent problem to solve for ORHT, 144 (31.3% thought that lack of support for ORHT from patients was the most urgent problem. There was statistically significant difference among dental hospital, dentistry and department of dentistry (χ2=24.176; p<0.05.The majority of Chinese dentists thought that ORHT was needed in the dental setting. Providing opportunities for dentists and dental students to learn about HIV testing guidelines and practices is needed as well as feasibility and implementation science research.

  10. Health Systems Research in a Complex and Rapidly Changing Context: Ethical Implications of Major Health Systems Change at Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacGregor, Hayley; Bloom, Gerald

    2016-12-01

    This paper discusses health policy and systems research in complex and rapidly changing contexts. It focuses on ethical issues at stake for researchers working with government policy makers to provide evidence to inform major health systems change at scale, particularly when the dynamic nature of the context and ongoing challenges to the health system can result in unpredictable outcomes. We focus on situations where 'country ownership' of HSR is relatively well established and where there is significant involvement of local researchers and close ties and relationships with policy makers are often present. We frame our discussion around two country case studies with which we are familiar, namely China and South Africa and discuss the implications for conducting 'embedded' research. We suggest that reflexivity is an important concept for health system researchers who need to think carefully about positionality and their normative stance and to use such reflection to ensure that they can negotiate to retain autonomy, whilst also contributing evidence for health system change. A research process informed by the notion of reflexive practice and iterative learning will require a longitudinal review at key points in the research timeline. Such review should include the convening of a deliberative process and should involve a range of stakeholders, including those most likely to be affected by the intended and unintended consequences of change. © 2016 The Authors Developing World Bioethics Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. THE RESPONSE OF THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP TO THE CHANGING BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT: STRATEGIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP

    OpenAIRE

    GENÇ, Kurtuluş Yılmaz

    2015-01-01

    The basic aim of this study is to present relatively a new approach in management literature: strategic entrepreneurship (SE). In the study, the basic principles or knowledge of strategic entrepreneurship from the literature are presented and discussed. This study will create an opportunity to benefit from strategic entrepreneurship as a new perspective. Today, there is a rapid change in business life: this change re-quires new approaches to business. Strategic entrepreneurship is the respons...

  12. Evolution of Student Knowledge in a Traditional Introductory Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sayre, Eleanor C.; Heckler, Andrew F.

    2008-10-01

    In the physics education research community, a common format for evaluation is pre- and post-tests. In this study, we collect student test data many times throughout a course, allowing for the measurement of the changes of student knowledge with a time resolution on the order of a few days. The data cover the first two quarters (mechanics, E&M) of a calculus-based introductory sequence populated primarily by first- and second-year engineering majors. To avoid the possibility of test-retest effects, separate and quasi-random subpopulations of students are evaluated every week of the quarter on a variety of tasks. Unsurprisingly for a traditional introductory course, there is little change on many conceptual questions. However, the data suggest that some student ideas peak and decay rapidly during a quarter, a pattern consistent with memory research yet unmeasurable by pre-/post-testing.

  13. Knowledge creation for practical solutions appropriate to a changing world of work

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wayne F. Cascio

    2001-12-01

    Full Text Available Only one, long-term sustainable source of competitive advantage exist: the intellectual capital that resides in the minds of people. The ongoing development of people as strategic assets is essential because of three defining forces of our time: globalisation, the information revolution, and the speed of change. Each of these forces is examined in the article against the backdrop of some important changes in the psychological contract. The challenge is to create knowledge for practical solutions, appropriate to a changing world of work. Opsomming Slegs een, lang termyn, standhoudende bron van mededingendheid bestaan: die intellektuele kapitaal wat in mense weggelê is. Die deurlopende ontwikkeling van mense as strategiese bate is noodsaaklik as gevolg van drie deurslaggewende, teenswoordige kragte: globalisering, die inligtingsrevolusie, en die spoed van verandering. Elk van hierdie kragte word bespreek in die artikel teen die agtergrond van beduidende verskuiwings in die sielkundige kontrak. Die uitdaging is om kennis vir praktiese oplossings te skep wat op ’n veranderende wêreld van werk van toepassing sal wees.

  14. Social Intelligence and Top Management Team: An Exploratory Study of External Knowledge Acquisition for Strategic Change in Global IT Service Providers in India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Eric; Chadee, Doren; Raman, Revti

    2012-01-01

    This paper focuses on the processes by which firms, particularly knowledge intensive firms, can augment their overall knowledge stock by tapping into external sources of knowledge. It is argued that Top Management Teams' (TMTs') social intelligence is a critical learning capability in acquiring external knowledge that leads to strategic change.…

  15. Cancer-associated lysosomal changes: friends or foes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kallunki, T; Olsen, O D; Jäättelä, M

    2013-04-18

    Rapidly dividing and invasive cancer cells are strongly dependent on effective lysosomal function. Accordingly, transformation and cancer progression are characterized by dramatic changes in lysosomal volume, composition and cellular distribution. Depending on one's point of view, the cancer-associated changes in the lysosomal compartment can be regarded as friends or foes. Most of them are clearly transforming as they promote invasive growth, angiogenesis and drug resistance. The same changes can, however, strongly sensitize cells to lysosomal membrane permeabilization and thereby to lysosome-targeting anti-cancer drugs. In this review we compile our current knowledge on cancer-associated changes in lysosomal composition and discuss the consequences of these alterations to cancer progression and the possibilities they can bring to cancer therapy.

  16. Training Peer Sexual Health Educators: Changes in Knowledge, Counseling Self-Efficacy, and Sexual Risk Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ehrhardt, Britt L.; Krumboltz, John D.; Koopman, Cheryl

    2007-01-01

    Peer sexual health education programs are widespread on college campuses, but little research has assessed the effect of these programs on the peer educators. This study employed a repeated measures design to examine changes over the academic quarter in the knowledge, counseling self-efficacy, and sexual behavior of 70 college students enrolled in…

  17. Dryland responses to global change suggest the potential for rapid non-linear responses to some changes but resilience to others

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed, S.; Ferrenberg, S.; Tucker, C.; Rutherford, W. A.; Wertin, T. M.; McHugh, T. A.; Morrissey, E.; Kuske, C.; Belnap, J.

    2017-12-01

    Drylands represent our planet's largest terrestrial biome, making up over 35% of Earth's land surface. In the context of this vast areal extent, it is no surprise that recent research suggests dryland inter-annual variability and responses to change have the potential to drive biogeochemical cycles and climate at the global-scale. Further, the data we do have suggest drylands can respond rapidly and non-linearly to change. Nevertheless, our understanding of the cross-system consistency of and mechanisms behind dryland responses to a changed environment remains relatively poor. This poor understanding hinders not only our larger understanding of terrestrial ecosystem function, but also our capacity to forecast future global biogeochemical cycles and climate. Here we present data from a series of Colorado Plateau manipulation experiments - including climate, land use, and nitrogen deposition manipulations - to explore how vascular plants, microbial communities, and biological soil crusts (a community of mosses, lichens, and/or cyanobacteria living in the interspace among vascular plants in arid and semiarid ecosystems worldwide) respond to a host of environmental changes. These responses include not only assessments of community composition, but of their function as well. We will explore photosynthesis, net soil CO2 exchange, soil carbon stocks and chemistry, albedo, and nutrient cycling. The experiments were begun with independent questions and cover a range of environmental change drivers and scientific approaches, but together offer a relatively holistic picture of how some drylands can change their structure and function in response to change. In particular, the data show very high ecosystem vulnerability to particular drivers, but surprising resilience to others, suggesting a multi-faceted response of these diverse systems.

  18. Change in Knowledge of Korean Elementary, Middle, and High School Students in the Fundamental Education on the Nuclear Power Generation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Jaerok; Lee, Seungkoo; Choi, Yoonseok; Han, Eunok [Korea Academy of Nuclear Safety, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-05-15

    Nuclear power facilities and policies are based upon their acceptability to local residents and citizens. In Korea, where nuclear power should be consistently used for national energy security and economic growth, it is important to enhance the social acceptability of nuclear power. To do so, it is necessary to relieve the minds of the Korean people and global nuclear power communities regarding safety. However, there is sharp division on the perception of nuclear power safety between the expert group of operators, philosophers, and regulators, and ordinary citizens, local residents, media, and anti-nuclear groups. This study designed an experiment on knowledge change as part of an educational strategy to enhance public understanding and develop extensive bonds of sympathy for nuclear power generation adequate for Korean society. In order to provide fundamental evidence for planning an educational intervention strategy, this study analyzed the knowledge change of elementary, middle, and high school students, who are then expected to impact education of the general population. As a result of conducting a 45 minute-long education on the principles, state of use, advantages, and disadvantages of nuclear power generation for Korean elementary, middle, and high school students, the levels of objective knowledge (p<0.000) was significantly higher. This indicates that if education for enhancing social acceptance in Korea argued nuclear power should be constantly used, an education effect could be anticipated. Although objective knowledge does not have any direct influence on behavior change, it is an important variable for attitude change, and thus information on objective knowledge should be offered as well. Here, the contents preferred by the education subjects should also be considered.

  19. Change in Knowledge of Korean Elementary, Middle, and High School Students in the Fundamental Education on the Nuclear Power Generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jaerok; Lee, Seungkoo; Choi, Yoonseok; Han, Eunok

    2014-01-01

    Nuclear power facilities and policies are based upon their acceptability to local residents and citizens. In Korea, where nuclear power should be consistently used for national energy security and economic growth, it is important to enhance the social acceptability of nuclear power. To do so, it is necessary to relieve the minds of the Korean people and global nuclear power communities regarding safety. However, there is sharp division on the perception of nuclear power safety between the expert group of operators, philosophers, and regulators, and ordinary citizens, local residents, media, and anti-nuclear groups. This study designed an experiment on knowledge change as part of an educational strategy to enhance public understanding and develop extensive bonds of sympathy for nuclear power generation adequate for Korean society. In order to provide fundamental evidence for planning an educational intervention strategy, this study analyzed the knowledge change of elementary, middle, and high school students, who are then expected to impact education of the general population. As a result of conducting a 45 minute-long education on the principles, state of use, advantages, and disadvantages of nuclear power generation for Korean elementary, middle, and high school students, the levels of objective knowledge (p<0.000) was significantly higher. This indicates that if education for enhancing social acceptance in Korea argued nuclear power should be constantly used, an education effect could be anticipated. Although objective knowledge does not have any direct influence on behavior change, it is an important variable for attitude change, and thus information on objective knowledge should be offered as well. Here, the contents preferred by the education subjects should also be considered

  20. Dental arch changes associated with rapid maxillary expansion: A retrospective model analysis study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivor M D′Souza

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Transverse deficiency of the maxilla is a common clinical problem in orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics. Transverse maxillary deficiency, isolated or associated with other dentofacial deformities, results in esthetic and functional impairment giving rise to several clinical manifestations such as asymmetrical facial growth, positional and functional mandibular deviations, altered dentofacial esthetics, adverse periodontal responses, unstable dental tipping, and other functional problems. Orthopedic maxillary expansion is the preferred treatment approach to increase the maxillary transverse dimension in young patients by splitting of the mid palatal suture. This orthopedic procedure has lately been subject of renewed interest in orthodontic treatment mechanics because of its potential for increasing arch perimeter to alleviate crowding in the maxillary arch without adversely affecting facial profile. Hence, the present investigation was conducted to establish a correlation between transverse expansion and changes in the arch perimeter, arch width and arch length. Methods: For this purpose, 10 subjects (five males, five females were selected who had been treated by rapid maxillary expansion (RME using hyrax rapid palatal expander followed by fixed mechanotherapy (PEA. Pretreatment (T1, postexpansion (T2, and posttreatment (T3 dental models were compared for dental changes brought about by RME treatment and its stability at the end of fixed mechanotherapy. After model measurements were made, the changes between T1-T2, T2-T3 and T1-T3 were determined for each patient. The mean difference between T1-T2, T2-T3 and T1-T3 were compared to assess the effects of RME on dental arch measurements. Results are expressed as mean ± standard deviation and are compared by repeated measures analysis of variance followed by a post-hoc test. Arch perimeter changes are correlated with changes in arch widths at the canine, premolar and molar

  1. Rapid shifts in Atta cephalotes fungus-garden enzyme activity after a change in fungal substrate (Attini, Formicidae)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kooij, P W; Schiøtt, M; Boomsma, J J

    2011-01-01

    Fungus gardens of the basidiomycete Leucocoprinus gongylophorus sustain large colonies of leaf-cutting ants by degrading the plant material collected by the ants. Recent studies have shown that enzyme activity in these gardens is primarily targeted toward starch, proteins and the pectin matrix......, we measured the changes in enzyme activity after a controlled shift in fungal substrate offered to six laboratory colonies of Atta cephalotes. An ant diet consisting exclusively of grains of parboiled rice rapidly increased the activity of endo-proteinases and some of the pectinases attacking...... from the rice diet, relative to the leaf diet controls. Enzyme activity in the older, bottom sections of fungus gardens decreased, indicating a faster processing of the rice substrate compared to the leaf diet. These results suggest that leaf-cutting ant fungus gardens can rapidly adjust enzyme...

  2. Rapid characterisation of vegetation structure to predict refugia and climate change impacts across a global biodiversity hotspot.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonius G T Schut

    Full Text Available Identification of refugia is an increasingly important adaptation strategy in conservation planning under rapid anthropogenic climate change. Granite outcrops (GOs provide extraordinary diversity, including a wide range of taxa, vegetation types and habitats in the Southwest Australian Floristic Region (SWAFR. However, poor characterization of GOs limits the capacity of conservation planning for refugia under climate change. A novel means for the rapid identification of potential refugia is presented, based on the assessment of local-scale environment and vegetation structure in a wider region. This approach was tested on GOs across the SWAFR. Airborne discrete return Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR data and Red Green and Blue (RGB imagery were acquired. Vertical vegetation profiles were used to derive 54 structural classes. Structural vegetation types were described in three areas for supervised classification of a further 13 GOs across the region. Habitat descriptions based on 494 vegetation plots on and around these GOs were used to quantify relationships between environmental variables, ground cover and canopy height. The vegetation surrounding GOs is strongly related to structural vegetation types (Kappa = 0.8 and to its spatial context. Water gaining sites around GOs are characterized by taller and denser vegetation in all areas. The strong relationship between rainfall, soil-depth, and vegetation structure (R(2 of 0.8-0.9 allowed comparisons of vegetation structure between current and future climate. Significant shifts in vegetation structural types were predicted and mapped for future climates. Water gaining areas below granite outcrops were identified as important putative refugia. A reduction in rainfall may be offset by the occurrence of deeper soil elsewhere on the outcrop. However, climate change interactions with fire and water table declines may render our conclusions conservative. The LiDAR-based mapping approach presented

  3. Integrated assessment models of global climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parson, E.A.; Fisher-Vanden, K.

    1997-01-01

    The authors review recent work in the integrated assessment modeling of global climate change. This field has grown rapidly since 1990. Integrated assessment models seek to combine knowledge from multiple disciplines in formal integrated representations; inform policy-making, structure knowledge, and prioritize key uncertainties; and advance knowledge of broad system linkages and feedbacks, particularly between socio-economic and bio-physical processes. They may combine simplified representations of the socio-economic determinants of greenhouse gas emissions, the atmosphere and oceans, impacts on human activities and ecosystems, and potential policies and responses. The authors summarize current projects, grouping them according to whether they emphasize the dynamics of emissions control and optimal policy-making, uncertainty, or spatial detail. They review the few significant insights that have been claimed from work to date and identify important challenges for integrated assessment modeling in its relationships to disciplinary knowledge and to broader assessment seeking to inform policy- and decision-making. 192 refs., 2 figs

  4. Digital Accessible Knowledge and well-inventoried sites for birds in Mexico: baseline sites for measuring faunistic change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, A Townsend; Navarro-Sigüenza, Adolfo G; Martínez-Meyer, Enrique

    2016-01-01

    Faunal change is a basic and fundamental element in ecology, biogeography, and conservation biology, yet vanishingly few detailed studies have documented such changes rigorously over decadal time scales. This study responds to that gap in knowledge, providing a detailed analysis of Digital Accessible Knowledge of the birds of Mexico, designed to marshal DAK to identify sites that were sampled and inventoried rigorously prior to the beginning of major global climate change (1980). We accumulated DAK records for Mexican birds from all relevant online biodiversity data portals. After extensive cleaning steps, we calculated completeness indices for each 0.05° pixel across the country; we also detected 'hotspots' of sampling, and calculated completeness indices for these broader areas as well. Sites were designated as well-sampled if they had completeness indices above 80% and >200 associated DAK records. We identified 100 individual pixels and 20 broader 'hotspots' of sampling that were demonstrably well-inventoried prior to 1980. These sites are catalogued and documented to promote and enable resurvey efforts that can document events of avifaunal change (and non-change) across the country on decadal time scales. Development of repeated surveys for many sites across Mexico, and particularly for sites for which historical surveys document their avifaunas prior to major climate change processes, would pay rich rewards in information about distributional dynamics of Mexican birds.

  5. Asymmetries of Knowledge and Epistemic Change in Social Gaming Interaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piirainen-Marsh, Arja; Tainio, Liisa

    2014-01-01

    While a growing number of studies investigate the role of knowledge and interactional management of knowledge asymmetries in conversation analysis, the epistemic organization of multilingual and second language interactions is still largely unexplored. This article addresses this issue by investigating how knowledge asymmetries and changing…

  6. Innovation in regulation of rapidly changing health markets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bloom, Gerald; Henson, Spencer; Peters, David H

    2014-06-24

    The rapid evolution and spread of health markets across low and middle-income countries (LMICs) has contributed to a significant increase in the availability of health-related goods and services around the world. The support institutions needed to regulate these markets have lagged behind, with regulatory systems that are weak and under-resourced. This paper explores the key issues associated with regulation of health markets in LMICs, and the different goals of regulation, namely quality and safety of care, value for money, social agreement over fair access and financing, and accountability. Licensing, price controls, and other traditional approaches to the regulation of markets for health products and services have played an important role, but they have been of questionable effectiveness in ensuring safety and efficacy at the point of the user in LMICs. The paper proposes a health market systems conceptual framework, using the value chain for the production, distribution and retail of health goods and services, to examine regulation of health markets in the LMIC context. We conclude by exploring the changing context going forwards, laying out implications for future heath market regulation. We argue that the case for new approaches to the regulation of markets for health products and services in LMICs is compelling. Although traditional "command and control" approaches will have a place in the toolkit of regulators, a broader bundle of approaches is needed that is adapted to the national and market-level context of particular LMICs. The implication is that it is not possible to apply standard or single interventions across countries, as approaches proven to work well in one context will not necessarily work well elsewhere.

  7. Interdisciplinarity at the journal and specialty level: the changing knowledge bases of the journal Cognitive Science

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Leydesdorff, L.; Goldstone, R.L.

    2014-01-01

    Using the referencing patterns in articles in Cognitive Science over three decades, we analyze the knowledge base of this literature in terms of its changing disciplinary composition. Three periods are distinguished: (A) construction of the interdisciplinary space in the 1980s, (B) development of an

  8. Knowledge management in production enterprises

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agnieszka Bitkowska

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The fact that companies are constantly subjected to changes creates challenges connected with constant learning and acquiring knowledge. Companies are forced to act in accordance with the generative strategy. Besides realizing the traditional tasks of production or service, companies need to acquire and process knowledge and apply it in practice. The consequence of these changes is the transformation of contemporary enterprises into knowledge-based organizations, with managers increasingly recognizing the role and importance of the concept of knowledge management in creating enterprises competitiveness. The main aim of the article is identification of knowledge management in production enterprises.

  9. Cone-beam computed tomography evaluation of dentoskeletal changes after asymmetric rapid maxillary expansion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baka, Zeliha Muge; Akin, Mehmet; Ucar, Faruk Izzet; Ileri, Zehra

    2015-01-01

    The aims of this study were to quantitatively evaluate the changes in arch widths and buccolingual inclinations of the posterior teeth after asymmetric rapid maxillary expansion (ARME) and to compare the measurements between the crossbite and the noncrossbite sides with cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). From our clinic archives, we selected the CBCT records of 30 patients with unilateral skeletal crossbite (13 boys, 14.2 ± 1.3 years old; 17 girls, 13.8 ± 1.3 years old) who underwent ARME treatment. A modified acrylic bonded rapid maxillary expansion appliance including an occlusal locking mechanism was used in all patients. CBCT records had been taken before ARME treatment and after a 3-month retention period. Fourteen angular and 80 linear measurements were taken for the maxilla and the mandible. Frontally clipped CBCT images were used for the evaluation. Paired sample and independent sample t tests were used for statistical comparisons. Comparisons of the before-treatment and after-retention measurements showed that the arch widths and buccolingual inclinations of the posterior teeth increased significantly on the crossbite side of the maxilla and on the noncrossbite side of the mandible (P ARME treatment, the crossbite side of the maxilla and the noncrossbite side of the mandible were more affected than were the opposite sides. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  10. Barriers to knowledge production, knowledge translation, and urban health policy change: ideological, economic, and political considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muntaner, Carles; Chung, Haejoo; Murphy, Kelly; Ng, Edwin

    2012-12-01

    In this paper, we consider social forces that affect the processes of both knowledge production and knowledge translation in relation to urban health research. First, we briefly review our conceptual model, derived from a social-conflict framework, to outline how unequal power relations and health inequalities are causally linked. Second, we critically discuss ideological, political, and economic barriers that exist within academia that affect knowledge production related to urban health and health inequalities. Third, we broaden the scope of our analysis to examine how the ideological, political, and economic environment beyond the academy creates barriers to health equity policy making. We conclude with some key questions about the role that knowledge translation can possibly play in light of these constraints on research and policy for urban health.

  11. How does epistemological knowledge on modelling influence students' engagement in the issue of climate change?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tasquier, Giulia

    2015-01-01

    Involvement in climate change has been proven to be hindered by emotional and social barriers, as well as by conceptual difficulties that students may encounter in dealing with scientific content related to particular issues such as the greenhouse effect. In this study, we start from the conjecture that behind many conceptual difficulties and emotional barriers lie particular epistemological obstacles related to a naive and stereotypical view of science. These include, in particular, the belief that science still has the role and power to provide a unique, unquestionable, and certain explanation of events and processes. Such a naive idea clashes strongly with the intrinsic complexity of climate science. This paper sets out to investigate if and how the improvement of epistemological knowledge can influence behavioural habits and foster students’ engagement in climate change. In order to explore such an issue, we focus on five interviews collected at the end of a teaching experience on climate change, carried out with secondary school students (grade 11; 16-year olds). This study is a follow-up of other two analytical studies aimed at investigating, respectively, the impact of the experience on students’ epistemological knowledge and on their behavioural habits.

  12. Providing education on evidence-based practice improved knowledge but did not change behaviour: a before and after study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lovarini Meryl

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Many health professionals lack the skills to find and appraise published research. This lack of skills and associated knowledge needs to be addressed, and practice habits need to change, for evidence-based practice to occur. The aim of this before and after study was to evaluate the effect of a multifaceted intervention on the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviour of allied health professionals. Methods 114 self-selected occupational therapists were recruited. The intervention included a 2-day workshop combined with outreach support for eight months. Support involved email and telephone contact and a workplace visit. Measures were collected at baseline, post-workshop, and eight months later. The primary outcome was knowledge, measured using the Adapted Fresno Test of Evidence-Based Practice (total score 0 to 156. Secondary outcomes were attitude to evidence-based practice (% reporting improved skills and confidence; % reporting barriers, and behaviour measured using an activity diary (% engaging/not engaging in search and appraisal activities, and assignment completion. Results Post-workshop, there were significant gains in knowledge which were maintained at follow-up. The mean difference in the Adapted Fresno Test total score was 20.6 points (95% CI, 15.6 to 25.5. The change from post-workshop to follow-up was small and non-significant (mean difference 1.2 points, 95% CI, -6.0 to 8.5. Fewer participants reported lack of searching and appraisal skills as barriers to evidence-based practice over time (searching = 61%, 53%, 24%; appraisal 60%, 65%, 41%. These differences were statistically significant (p = 0.0001 and 0.010 respectively. Behaviour changed little. Pre-workshop, 6% engaged in critical appraisal increasing to 18% post-workshop and 18% at follow-up. Nearly two thirds (60% were not reading any research literature at follow-up. Twenty-three participants (20.2% completed their assignment. Conclusion Evidence

  13. Climate change and agriculture. The agricultural industry = offender and victim

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burdick, B.

    1994-01-01

    Recently, attention has been repeatedly drawn to the rapidly increasing effects of human influences and the changing climate. The industrial landscape is seen as an important cause, with industrialisation and increasing energy consumption as well as our consumer society and the volume of traffic. The actual extent and speed of climatic change can only be estimated. The process leading to the current extent of scientific knowledge of climatic change, its possible extent and its effects on the plant and wildlife eco-systems are described in detail. Finally, counter-measures and recommendations for action are discussed. (orig.) [de

  14. A systematic review of patient education in cardiac patients: do they increase knowledge and promote health behavior change?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghisi, Gabriela Lima de Melo; Abdallah, Flavia; Grace, Sherry L; Thomas, Scott; Oh, Paul

    2014-05-01

    (1) To investigate the impact of education on patients' knowledge; (2) to determine if educational interventions are related to health behavior change in cardiac patients; and (3) to describe the nature of educational interventions. A literature search of several electronic databases was conducted for published articles from database inception to August 2012. Eligible articles included cardiac patients, and described delivery of educational interventions by a healthcare provider. Outcomes were knowledge, smoking, physical activity, dietary habits, response to symptoms, medication adherence, and psychosocial well-being. Articles were reviewed by 2 authors independently. Overall, 42 articles were included, of which 23 (55%) were randomized controlled trials, and 16 (38%) were considered "good" quality. Eleven studies (26%) assessed knowledge, and 10 showed a significant increase with education. With regard to outcomes, educational interventions were significantly and positively related to physical activity, dietary habits, and smoking cessation. The nature of interventions was poorly described and most frequently delivered post-discharge, by a nurse, and in groups. Findings support the benefits of educational interventions in CHD, though increase in patients' knowledge and behavior change. Future reporting of education interventions should be more explicitly characterized, in order to be reproducible and assessed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Spectroscopic sensitivity of real-time, rapidly induced phytochemical change in response to damage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Couture, John J; Serbin, Shawn P; Townsend, Philip A

    2013-04-01

    An ecological consequence of plant-herbivore interactions is the phytochemical induction of defenses in response to insect damage. Here, we used reflectance spectroscopy to characterize the foliar induction profile of cardenolides in Asclepias syriaca in response to damage, tracked in vivo changes and examined the influence of multiple plant traits on cardenolide concentrations. Foliar cardenolide concentrations were measured at specific time points following damage to capture their induction profile. Partial least-squares regression (PLSR) modeling was employed to calibrate cardenolide concentrations to reflectance spectroscopy. In addition, subsets of plants were either repeatedly sampled to track in vivo changes or modified to reduce latex flow to damaged areas. Cardenolide concentrations and the induction profile of A. syriaca were well predicted using models derived from reflectance spectroscopy, and this held true for repeatedly sampled plants. Correlations between cardenolides and other foliar-related variables were weak or not significant. Plant modification for latex reduction inhibited an induced cardenolide response. Our findings show that reflectance spectroscopy can characterize rapid phytochemical changes in vivo. We used reflectance spectroscopy to identify the mechanisms behind the production of plant secondary metabolites, simultaneously characterizing multiple foliar constituents. In this case, cardenolide induction appears to be largely driven by enhanced latex delivery to leaves following damage. © 2013 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2013 New Phytologist Trust.

  16. Networking Technologies and the Rate of Technological Change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles Mitchell

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available Network technology is changing rapidly and those adept at ICT analysis need resolve rate of change issues. Developments in networking now are in the direction of heuristic intelligence. Since about 1980, networking techniques have encouraged combining bits of information with imagination cognitively to improve ideas about reality. ICT enterprise projects utilize networking to sustain requisite imagination. Assumptions and misassuptions of project builders are rationally comprehended as networking sustains creative processes. The monopolization of valuable network techniques influences in the direction of esoteric networking. Data presents that substantial knowledge and networking is now occurring globally. As a netaphor, networking

  17. Net Ecosystem Exchange of CO2 with Rapidly Changing High Arctic Landscapes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emmerton, C. A.

    2015-12-01

    High Arctic landscapes are expansive and changing rapidly. However our understanding of their functional responses and potential to mitigate or enhance anthropogenic climate change is limited by few measurements. We collected eddy covariance measurements to quantify the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2 with polar semidesert and meadow wetland landscapes at the highest-latitude location measured to date (82°N). We coupled these rare data with ground and satellite vegetation production measurements (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index; NDVI) to evaluate the effectiveness of upscaling local to regional NEE. During the growing season, the dry polar semidesert landscape was a near zero sink of atmospheric CO2 (NEE: -0.3±13.5 g C m-2). A nearby meadow wetland accumulated over two magnitudes more carbon (NEE: -79.3±20.0 g C m-2) than the polar semidesert landscape, and was similar to meadow wetland NEE at much more southern latitudes. Polar semidesert NEE was most influenced by moisture, with wetter surface soils resulting in greater soil respiration and CO2 emissions. At the meadow wetland, soil heating enhanced plant growth, which in turn increased CO2 uptake. Our upscaling assessment found that polar semidesert NDVI measured on site was low (mean: 0.120-0.157) and similar to satellite measurements (mean: 0.155-0.163). However, weak plant growth resulted in poor satellite NDVI-NEE relationships and created challenges for remotely-detecting changes in the cycling of carbon on the polar semidesert landscape. The meadow wetland appeared more suitable to assess plant production and NEE via remote-sensing, however high Arctic wetland extent is constrained by topography to small areas that may be difficult to resolve with large satellite pixels. We predict that until summer precipitation and humidity increases substantially, climate-related changes of dry high Arctic landscapes may be restricted by poor soil moisture retention, and therefore have some inertia against

  18. Management Of Knowledge And System - Evolution Of Knowledge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Avishek Choudhury

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The study of knowledge is one of the most fundamental and necessary components in todays world. A claim to knowledge should be evaluated to determine whether or not it is knowledge in its real sense. To conduct this sort of evaluation understanding of what knowledge is and how much knowledge is possible is required. This paper provides an overview of the important aspects of knowledge and with the help of epistemology tries to answer the most fundamental questions of what is knowledge Moreover how do we know what we know The paper attempts to show the effect of culture on organizations and how foundational knowledge can help us develop logical decisions in a fluctuating environment. To manage an organization within evolving paradigm knowledge of variation acts as a necessary requirement. As Deming defined management as a prediction a leader must have skills to predict and adapt to its external environment. Most of the time organizations fail to observe the paradigm shift and couldnt adjust to the changing environment. The paper also discusses the effect of diverse culture and their respective interpretation of language. Thus the paper highlights the necessity of understanding human psychology attaining foundational knowledge and ability to validate the knowledge to establish a successful organization.

  19. Cumulative effects of rapid climate and land-use changes on the Yamal Peninsula, Russia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, D. A.; Leibman, M. O.; Forbes, B. C.; Epstein, H. E.

    2008-12-01

    Our principal goal is to develop better, more far-looking tools to predict the cumulative effects of resource development, climate-change, and traditional land use. Here we use remote sensing, climate-change analyses, socio-economic analyses, and vegetation-change models to examine the cumulative effects of climate change, gas development, and reindeer herding on the Yamal Peninsula in northwest Siberia as part of the Northern Eurasia Earth Science Partnership Initiative (NEESPI). We find: 1. Direct (planned) impacts of industrial activities on the Yamal Peninsula are currently local and limited in extent, but this is changing rapidly as extensive gas fields are developed and land and sea transportation corridors are developed to get the gas to market. Indirect impacts of the development at Bovanenkovo, the largest gas field, exceed the direct impacts by a factor of three, and the total area of influence of the development on the reindeer pasturelands (e.g., area where migration routes and access to pasturelands is affected) exceeds the direct impacts by a factor of about 40. 2. The trend in land-surface temperatures has co-varied with the trend in sea-ice. Low sea ice in the preceding December-March period is correlated to warmer land temperature the following summer. The sea- ice trends in the Kara Sea-Yamal region are tied to variation in the North Atlantic Oscillation index. 4. Only a small greening response to warming has been detected on the Yamal in comparison with some other areas in the Arctic (e.g. Northern Alaska). The actual effects of climate-change on vegetation are currently hard to document at the ground level because of lack of baseline and long-term ground observations and difficulty of excluding reindeer in these studies. 5. There is high potential for extensive landscape effects due to unstable sandy soils, and extremely ice-rich permafrost near the surface on slopes. 6. Two different vegetation modeling approaches are being used to predict

  20. Selected physical, biological and biogeochemical implications of a rapidly changing Arctic Marginal Ice Zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barber, David G.; Hop, Haakon; Mundy, Christopher J.; Else, Brent; Dmitrenko, Igor A.; Tremblay, Jean-Eric; Ehn, Jens K.; Assmy, Philipp; Daase, Malin; Candlish, Lauren M.; Rysgaard, Søren

    2015-12-01

    The Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) of the Arctic Ocean is changing rapidly due to a warming Arctic climate with commensurate reductions in sea ice extent and thickness. This Pan-Arctic review summarizes the main changes in the Arctic ocean-sea ice-atmosphere (OSA) interface, with implications for primary- and secondary producers in the ice and the underlying water column. Changes in the Arctic MIZ were interpreted for the period 1979-2010, based on best-fit regressions for each month. Trends of increasingly open water were statistically significant for each month, with quadratic fit for August-November, illustrating particularly strong seasonal feedbacks in sea-ice formation and decay. Geographic interpretations of physical and biological changes were based on comparison of regions with significant changes in sea ice: (1) The Pacific Sector of the Arctic Ocean including the Canada Basin and the Beaufort, Chukchi and East Siberian seas; (2) The Canadian Arctic Archipelago; (3) Baffin Bay and Hudson Bay; and (4) the Barents and Kara seas. Changes in ice conditions in the Barents sea/Kara sea region appear to be primarily forced by ocean heat fluxes during winter, whereas changes in the other sectors appear to be more summer-autumn related and primarily atmospherically forced. Effects of seasonal and regional changes in OSA-system with regard to increased open water were summarized for photosynthetically available radiation, nutrient delivery to the euphotic zone, primary production of ice algae and phytoplankton, ice-associated fauna and zooplankton, and gas exchange of CO2. Changes in the physical factors varied amongst regions, and showed direct effects on organisms linked to sea ice. Zooplankton species appear to be more flexible and likely able to adapt to variability in the onset of primary production. The major changes identified for the ice-associated ecosystem are with regard to production timing and abundance or biomass of ice flora and fauna, which are related to

  1. A decade of rapid change: Biocultural influences on child growth in highland Peru.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oths, Kathryn S; Smith, Hannah N; Stein, Max J; Lazo Landivar, Rodrigo J

    2018-03-01

    In the past decade many areas of Peru have been undergoing extreme environmental, economic, and cultural change. In the highland hamlet of Chugurpampa, La Libertad, climate change has ruined harvests and led to frequent periods of migration to the coast in search of livelihood. This biocultural research examines how the changes could be affecting the growth of children who maintain residence in the highlands. Clinical records from the early 2000s were compared to those from the early 2010s. Charts were randomly selected to record anthropometric data, netting a sample of 75 children ages 0-60 months of age. Analysis of covariance was run to compare mean stature, weight, and BMI between cohorts. Percentage of children who fall below the -2 threshold for z-scores for height and weight were compared by age and cohort. A significant secular trend in growth was found, with children born more recently larger than those born a decade before. The effect is most notable in the first year of life, with the growth advantage attenuated by the age of 3 for height and age 4 for weight. While children were unlikely to be stunted from 0 to 3 years of age, 44% of the later cohort were stunted and 11% were underweight from 4 to 5 years of age. Three possible explanations for the rapid shift are entertained: more time spent on the coast during gestation and early childhood, which may attenuate the effect of hypoxia on child growth; dietary change; and increased use of biomedicine. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Attitude and knowledge changes in collegiate dancers following a short-term, team-centered prevention program on eating disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torres-McGehee, Toni M; Green, James M; Leaver-Dunn, Deidre; Leeper, James D; Bishop, Phillip A; Richardson, Mark T

    2011-06-01

    Eating knowledge, nutritional knowledge, and psychological changes among female collegiate dancers were examined before and after a 4-wk. team-centered program on sport nutrition, exercise, and disordered eating consequences. Collegiate female dancers from two NCAA Division I institutions participated in a control (n = 19; M age = 19.1 yr., SD = 1.0) or intervention (n = 21; M age = 19.2 yr., SD = 1.2) group. Measures were administered to both groups before and after intervention to assess eating disorders, depression, and nutritional and disordered eating knowledge. There was a statistically significant increase in scores on nutritional and overall eating disorder knowledge in the intervention group compared to the control group. Mean scores on depression, drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction, and maturity fears decreased in the intervention group.

  3. Relations among conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and procedural flexibility in two samples differing in prior knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Michael; Rittle-Johnson, Bethany; Star, Jon R

    2011-11-01

    Competence in many domains rests on children developing conceptual and procedural knowledge, as well as procedural flexibility. However, research on the developmental relations between these different types of knowledge has yielded unclear results, in part because little attention has been paid to the validity of the measures or to the effects of prior knowledge on the relations. To overcome these problems, we modeled the three constructs in the domain of equation solving as latent factors and tested (a) whether the predictive relations between conceptual and procedural knowledge were bidirectional, (b) whether these interrelations were moderated by prior knowledge, and (c) how both constructs contributed to procedural flexibility. We analyzed data from 2 measurement points each from two samples (Ns = 228 and 304) of middle school students who differed in prior knowledge. Conceptual and procedural knowledge had stable bidirectional relations that were not moderated by prior knowledge. Both kinds of knowledge contributed independently to procedural flexibility. The results demonstrate how changes in complex knowledge structures contribute to competence development.

  4. JINR rapid communications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-01-01

    The present collection of rapid communications from JINR, Dubna, contains seven separate records on invisible Z-boson width and restrictions on next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model, cosmic test of honeycomb drift chambers, fission of 209 Bi, 232 Th, 235 U, 238 U and 237 Np in a spallation neutron field, rapid screening of spontaneous and radiation-induced structural changes at the vestigial gene of Drosophila melanogaster by polymerase chain reaction, gamma-ray multiplicities in sub-barrier fission of 226 Th and the decay constants of the scalar and pseudoscalar mesons in the quark models with quasilocal interaction

  5. National Knowledge Commission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pitroda, Sam

    2007-04-01

    India's National Knowledge Commission (NKC) established by the prime minister is focused on building institutions and infrastructure in Education, Science and Technology, Innovation etc. to meet the challenges of the knowledge economy in the 21st century and increase India's competitive advantage in the global market. India today stands poised to reap the benefits of a rapidly growing economy and a major demographic advantage, with 550 million young people below the age of 25 years, the largest in the world. The NKC is focused on five critical areas of knowledge related to access, concepts, creation, applications and services. This includes a variety of subject areas such as language, translations, libraries, networks, portals, affirmative action, distance learning, intellectual property, Entrepreneurship, application in Agriculture, health, small and medium scale industries, e-governance etc. One of the keys to this effort is to build a national broadband gigabit of networks of 500 nodes to connect universities, Libraries, Laboratories, Hospitals, Agriculture institutions etc. to share resources and collaborate on multidisciplinary activities. This presentation will introduce the NKC, discuss methodology, subject areas, specific recommendation and outline a plan to build knowledge networks and specifics on network architecture, applications, and utilities.

  6. Toward a mechanistic understanding of human-induced rapid environmental change: A case study linking energy development, avian nest predation, and predators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hethcoat, Matthew G.; Chalfoun, Anna D.

    2015-01-01

    Demographic consequences of human-induced rapid environmental change (HIREC) have been widely documented for many populations. The mechanisms underlying such patterns, however, are rarely investigated and yet are critical to understand for effective conservation and management.

  7. To Internationalize Rapidly from Inception: Crowdsource

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nirosh Kannangara

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Technology entrepreneurs continuously search for tools to accelerate the internationalization of their startups. For the purpose of internationalizing rapidly from inception, we propose that technology startups use crowdsourcing to internalize the tacit knowledge embodied in members of a crowd distributed across various geographies. For example, a technology startup can outsource to a large crowd the definition of a customer problem that occurs across various geographies, the development of the best solution to the problem, and the identification of attractive business expansion opportunities. In this article, we analyze how three small firms use crowdsourcing, discuss the benefits of crowdsourcing, and offer six recommendations to technology entrepreneurs interested in using crowdsourcing to rapidly internationalize their startups from inception.

  8. Digital Accessible Knowledge and well-inventoried sites for birds in Mexico: baseline sites for measuring faunistic change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Townsend Peterson

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Background Faunal change is a basic and fundamental element in ecology, biogeography, and conservation biology, yet vanishingly few detailed studies have documented such changes rigorously over decadal time scales. This study responds to that gap in knowledge, providing a detailed analysis of Digital Accessible Knowledge of the birds of Mexico, designed to marshal DAK to identify sites that were sampled and inventoried rigorously prior to the beginning of major global climate change (1980. Methods We accumulated DAK records for Mexican birds from all relevant online biodiversity data portals. After extensive cleaning steps, we calculated completeness indices for each 0.05° pixel across the country; we also detected ‘hotspots’ of sampling, and calculated completeness indices for these broader areas as well. Sites were designated as well-sampled if they had completeness indices above 80% and >200 associated DAK records. Results We identified 100 individual pixels and 20 broader ‘hotspots’ of sampling that were demonstrably well-inventoried prior to 1980. These sites are catalogued and documented to promote and enable resurvey efforts that can document events of avifaunal change (and non-change across the country on decadal time scales. Conclusions Development of repeated surveys for many sites across Mexico, and particularly for sites for which historical surveys document their avifaunas prior to major climate change processes, would pay rich rewards in information about distributional dynamics of Mexican birds.

  9. Foreword. The Knowledge Economy: The Present Future

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Constantin Bratianu

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available All the statistics and evaluations show that the Knowledge Economy is our future. However, a close look at the developed economies demonstrates that the Knowledge Economy is already here, shaping our present time. Although there are many definitions of this new economic framework, their core content stresses the importance of data, information, and knowledge in the production of goods and delivering services in creating value for society. For instance, Powell and Snellman (2004, p.1999 define the knowledge economy as “production and services based on knowledge-intensive activities that contribute to an accelerated pace of technical and scientific advance, as well as a rapid obsolescence. The key component of the knowledge economy is a greater reliance on intellectual capabilities than on physical inputs or natural resources”. In the knowledge economy, knowledge becomes a strategic resource (Davenport & Prusak, 2000; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995 and knowledge strategies contribute directly to the competitive advantage (Bratianu & Bolisani, 2015. In this new economy, data, information, and knowledge are the driving forces of development and the knowledge economy is the engine of the global economy growth...

  10. Extreme Temperature Exceedances Change more Rapidly Under Future Warming in Regions of non-Gaussian Short Temperature Distribution Tails

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loikith, P. C.; Neelin, J. D.; Meyerson, J.

    2017-12-01

    Regions of shorter-than-Gaussian warm and cold side temperature distribution tails are shown to occur in spatially coherent patterns in the current climate. Under such conditions, warming may be manifested in more complex ways than if the underlying distribution were close to Gaussian. For example, under a uniform warm shift, the simplest prototype for future warming, a location with a short warm side tail would experience a greater increase in extreme warm exceedances compared to if the distribution were Gaussian. Similarly, for a location with a short cold side tail, a uniform warm shift would result in a rapid decrease in extreme cold exceedances. Both scenarios carry major societal and environmental implications including but not limited to negative impacts on human and ecosystem health, agriculture, and the economy. It is therefore important for climate models to be able to realistically reproduce short tails in simulations of historical climate in order to boost confidence in projections of future temperature extremes. Overall, climate models contributing to the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project capture many of the principal observed regions of short tails. This suggests the underlying dynamics and physics occur on scales resolved by the models, and helps build confidence in model projections of extremes. Furthermore, most GCMs show more rapid changes in exceedances of extreme temperature thresholds in regions of short tails. Results therefore suggest that the shape of the tails of the underlying temperature distribution is an indicator of how rapidly a location will experience changes to extreme temperature occurrence under future warming.

  11. Knowledge productivity : designing and testing a method to diagnose knowledge productivity and plan for enhancement

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stam, C.D.

    2007-01-01

    Our economy has changed from an industrial into a knowledge economy in which knowledge productivity has become the main challenge. The lack of appropriate techniques to reveal knowledge productivity hinders organizations to design effective policies aiming at improving knowledge-based performance.

  12. A big data management platform for rapidly changing environments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zahedi, P.

    2014-01-01

    Big data is now a reality. Storing, managing, and analyzing very large amount of data is a common challenge in the world of technology where digital content is rapidly growing. In recent years, FEI advanced electron microscopes, with their unsurpassed magnification and resolving power brought an

  13. The Pluto debate: Influence of emotions on belief, attitude, and knowledge change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broughton, Suzanne H.

    In line with the "warming trend" (Sinatra, 2005), this study examined the influence of emotions during controversial conceptual change. Issues in science may trigger highly emotional responses (e.g., evolutionary theory). However, it is unclear whether these emotions facilitate or inhibit change. I investigated the nature of emotions engendered when learning about a controversial science topic, Pluto's reclassification, including the valence (positive/negative) and activation (activating/deactivating) of emotions (Pekrun et al., 2002). I also investigated whether belief, attitude, and/or conceptual change could be facilitated through rereading a refutation text and/or rereading during small group discussions. Refutation texts directly state a common misconception, refute it, and provide the scientific explanation as a plausible alternative (Hynd, 2001). Participants were randomly assigned to a group (reread text; reread text plus small group discussions). Participants in both groups read the same refutational text regarding the recent change in the definition of planet and Pluto's reclassification. The findings show that students' experienced a range of emotions towards Pluto's reclassification. Students reported experiencing more negative than positive emotions. Both positive and negative emotions were shown to be predictive of student's attitudes and attitude change. Emotions were also predictive of students' knowledge of planets and conceptual change. This suggests that emotions may have promoted deep engagement and critical thinking. Negative emotions may also be linked with resistance to attitude and conceptual change. The refutation text was effective in promoting belief change, attitude change, and conceptual change across both conditions. Students in both conditions reported more constructivist nature of science beliefs after rereading the text. Students also reported a greater level of acceptance about Pluto's reclassification. Conceptual change was

  14. Knowledge Management – the Key Resource in the Knowledge Economy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Domingo NEVADO PEÑA

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The influence of global information and communication technology changes and globalization have transformed our society by favoring the economy and innovation as key driver of global competition. Creation and exploitation of knowledge has become key resource in the new economy. All advanced economies are technologically knowledgebased economy. Many of today's managers and their employees, still guided by the definition given by Francis Bacon (1597 “Knowledge is power” instead of “sharing and managing knowledge is power”. Knowing taken alone may not bring value if not shared before and then managed in an efficient manner. This article seeks to demonstrate what knowledge, what the knowledge management is and what are its main implications in the new economy, a knowledge-based economy.

  15. Intercenter validation of a knowledge based model for automated planning of volumetric modulated arc therapy for prostate cancer. The experience of the German RapidPlan Consortium.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carolin Schubert

    Full Text Available To evaluate the performance of a model-based optimisation process for volumetric modulated arc therapy applied to prostate cancer in a multicentric cooperative group. The RapidPlan (RP knowledge-based engine was tested for the planning of Volumetric modulated arc therapy with RapidArc on prostate cancer patients. The study was conducted in the frame of the German RapidPlan Consortium (GRC.43 patients from one institute of the GRC were used to build and train a RP model. This was further shared with all members of the GRC plus an external site from a different country to increase the heterogeneity of the patient's sampling. An in silico multicentric validation of the model was performed at planning level by comparing RP against reference plans optimized according to institutional procedures. A total of 60 patients from 7 institutes were used.On average, the automated RP based plans resulted fully consistent with the manually optimised set with a modest tendency to improvement in the medium-to-high dose region. A per-site stratification allowed to identify different patterns of performance of the model with some organs at risk resulting better spared with the manual or with the automated approach but in all cases the RP data fulfilled the clinical acceptability requirements. Discrepancies in the performance were due to different contouring protocols or to different emphasis put in the optimization of the manual cases.The multicentric validation demonstrated that it was possible to satisfactorily optimize with the knowledge based model patients from all participating centres. In the presence of possibly significant differences in the contouring protocols, the automated plans, though acceptable and fulfilling the benchmark goals, might benefit from further fine tuning of the constraints. The study demonstrates that, at least for the case of prostate cancer patients, it is possibile to share models among different clinical institutes in a cooperative

  16. Participatory innovation through user-designed knowledge sharing and Web2.0 in the Danish seed industry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tveden-Nyborg, Svend; Boelt, Birte; Misfeldt, Morten

    seed scientists from Aarhus University will work together with seed growers and seed company consultants in designing a collaborative knowledge platform to optimise the diffusion of innovation between them. The aim of the Ph.D. project is to look at the processes within the three communities......For many years the Danish seed industry has been at the forefront with high quality seed production, but in a rapidly changing global market innovation is a key factor for the future of Danish seed production - one important element to innovation is transfer of knowledge. In a new Ph.D. project...... of practice in their participatory efforts to design and select technologies that will improve their knowledge dissemination through a shared understanding of learning and innovation within the Danish seed industry. The research questions are: •What boundary objects emerge between and within the collaborating...

  17. Participatory innovation through user-designed knowledge sharing and Web2.0 in the Danish seed industry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tveden-Nyborg, Svend; Boelt, Birte; Misfeldt, Morten

    2010-01-01

    For many years the Danish seed industry has been at the forefront with high quality seed production, but in a rapidly changing global market innovation is a key factor for the future of Danish seed production - one important element to innovation is transfer of knowledge. In a new Ph.D. project...... seed scientists from Aarhus University will work together with seed growers and seed company consultants in designing a collaborative knowledge platform to optimise the diffusion of innovation between them. The aim of the Ph.D. project is to look at the processes within the three communities...... of practice in their participatory efforts to design and select technologies that will improve their knowledge dissemination through a shared understanding of learning and innovation within the Danish seed industry. The research questions are: •What boundary objects emerge between and within the collaborating...

  18. Organizational Adaptation to the Rapidly Changing External Environment: A Case Study of Strategic Marketing at Notre Dame College in Ohio

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Shawn M.

    2012-01-01

    This thesis examined the role of strategic marketing in organizational adaptation to a rapidly changing and competitive external environment among institutions of higher education. Colleges and universities adapt to external pressures as open systems operating within a broader external environment (Bess & Dee, 2008; Keller, 1983). How does…

  19. The Role of Traditional Knowledge and Crop Varieties in Adaptation to Climate Change and Food Security in SW China, Bolivian Andes and coastal Kenya

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Swiderska, Krystyna; Reid, Hannah; Song, Yiching; Li, Jingsong; Mutta, Doris; Ongugo, Paul; Pakia, Mohamed; Oros, Rolando; Barriga, Sandra

    2011-09-15

    Paper prepared for the UNU-IAS workshop on Indigenous Peoples, Marginalised Populations and Climate Change: Vulnerability, Adaptation and Traditional Knowledge, Mexico, July 2011. Indigenous peoples and local communities often live in harsh natural environments, and have had to cope with extreme weather and adapt to environmental change for centuries in order to survive. They have done this using long standing traditions and practices – or traditional knowledge (TK) – relating to adaptive ecosystem management and sustainable use of natural resources. The three case studies presented provide evidence of the crucial role of traditional crop varieties, knowledge and practices in enabling adaption to changes in climate. The question is whether the climatic changes observed in these cases are human induced climate change or just natural changes. The findings show that indigenous farmers in SW China, coastal Kenya and the Bolivian Andes are already severely impacted by changes in climate, including drought, with serious consequences for crop production and food security. The scale of the changes, and the fact that they have occurred quite recently (in the last 10 or 20 years), suggests that they may be the result of human induced climate change.

  20. Integrating technologies for effective knowledge management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beaugrand, F.S.; Curtis, T.A. [Public Petroleum Data Model, PPDM Association, Calgary, AB (Canada)

    2002-06-01

    In order to succeed in today's business environment, effective knowledge management strategies are needed along with effective tools to solve real business problems. Relational databases provide accessible and practical tools that can be used to manage corporate knowledge assets. However, technology is growing so rapidly that it is difficult and too expensive for individual corporations to pursue each line of development independently. Collaborative efforts are needed to improve access to shared knowledge. The PPDM Association is an international not for profit standards body that is working collaboratively with the petroleum exploration and production industry to develop standards for managing data and knowledge, spatially enabling data, standardizing data content and data exchange. The PPDM Association provides a vendor-neutral environment for development, technical support and a methodology for designing, developing and publishing technical deliverables.

  1. Knowledge Management: A Skeptic's Guide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linde, Charlotte

    2006-01-01

    A viewgraph presentation discussing knowledge management is shown. The topics include: 1) What is Knowledge Management? 2) Why Manage Knowledge? The Presenting Problems; 3) What Gets Called Knowledge Management? 4) Attempts to Rethink Assumptions about Knowledgs; 5) What is Knowledge? 6) Knowledge Management and INstitutional Memory; 7) Knowledge Management and Culture; 8) To solve a social problem, it's easier to call for cultural rather than organizational change; 9) Will the Knowledge Management Effort Succeed? and 10) Backup: Metrics for Valuing Intellectural Capital i.e. Knowledge.

  2. Knowledge Blogging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agerdal-Hjermind, Annette

    The rise of social media and web 2.0 technologies over the last few years has impacted many communication functions. One influence is organizational bloggers as knowledge mediators on government agency practices. The ways in which these organizational bloggers in their roles as experts are able...... to change, facilitate, and enable communication about a broad range of specialized knowledge areas, in a more open interactional institutional communication environment than traditional media typically offer, give rise to a set of new implications as regards the mediation of expert knowledge to the target...

  3. Inter-firm Networks, Organizational Learning and Knowledge Updating: An Empirical Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Su-rong; Wang, Wen-ping

    In the era of knowledge-based economy which information technology develops rapidly, the rate of knowledge updating has become a critical factor for enterprises to gaining competitive advantage .We build an interactional theoretical model among inter-firm networks, organizational learning and knowledge updating thereby and demonstrate it with empirical study at last. The result shows that inter-firm networks and organizational learning is the source of knowledge updating.

  4. Rapid Modulation of Aromatase Activity in the Vertebrate Brain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thierry D. Charlier

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Numerous steroid hormones, including 17β-estradiol (E2, activate rapid and transient cellular, physiological, and behavioral changes in addition to their well-described genomic effects. Aromatase is the key-limiting enzyme in the production of estrogens, and the rapid modulation of this enzymatic activity could produce rapid changes in local E2 concentrations. The mechanisms that might mediate such rapid enzymatic changes are not fully understood but are currently under intense scrutiny. Recent studies in our laboratory indicate that brain aromatase activity is rapidly inhibited by an increase in intracellular calcium concentration resulting from potassium-induced depolarization or from the activation of glutamatergic receptors. Phosphorylating conditions also reduce aromatase activity within minutes, and this inhibition is blocked by the addition of multiple protein kinase inhibitors. This rapid modulation of aromatase activity by phosphorylating conditions is a general mechanism observed in different cell types and tissues derived from a variety of species, including human aromatase expressed in various cell lines. Phosphorylation processes affect aromatase itself and do not involve changes in aromatase protein concentration. The control of aromatase activity by multiple kinases suggests that several amino acids must be concomitantly phosphorylated to modify enzymatic activity but site-directed mutagenesis of several amino acids alone or in combination has not to date revealed the identity of the targeted residue(s. Altogether, the phosphorylation processes affecting aromatase activity provide a new general mechanism by which the concentration of estrogens can be rapidly altered in the brain.

  5. Making sense of global warming: Norwegians appropriating knowledge of anthropogenic climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryghaug, Marianne; Sørensen, Knut Holtan; Naess, Robert

    2011-11-01

    This paper studies how people reason about and make sense of human-made global warming, based on ten focus group interviews with Norwegian citizens. It shows that the domestication of climate science knowledge was shaped through five sense-making devices: news media coverage of changes in nature, particularly the weather, the coverage of presumed experts' disagreement about global warming, critical attitudes towards media, observations of political inaction, and considerations with respect to everyday life. These sense-making devices allowed for ambiguous outcomes, and the paper argues four main outcomes with respect to the domestication processes: the acceptors, the tempered acceptors, the uncertain and the sceptics.

  6. Changes in insurance physicians' attitudes, self-efficacy, intention, and knowledge and skills regarding the guidelines for depression, following an implementation strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zwerver, Feico; Schellart, Antonius J M; Anema, Johannes R; van der Beek, Allard J

    2013-03-01

    To improve guideline adherence by insurance physicians (IPs), an implementation strategy was developed and investigated in a randomized controlled trial. This implementation strategy involved a multifaceted training programme for a group of IPs in applying the guidelines for depression. In this study we report the impact of the implementation strategy on the physicians' attitude, intention, self-efficacy, and knowledge and skills as behavioural determinants of guideline adherence. Any links between these self-reported behavioural determinants and levels of guideline adherence were also determined. Just before and 3 months after the implementation of the multifaceted training, a questionnaire designed to measure behavioural determinants on the basis of the ASE (attitude, social norm, self-efficacy) model was completed by the intervention (n = 21) and the control group (n = 19). Items of the questionnaire were grouped to form scales of ASE determinants. Internal consistency of the scales was calculated using Cronbach's alphas. Differences between groups concerning changes in ASE determinants, and the association of these changes with improvements in guideline adherence, were analyzed using analysis of covariance. The internal consistency of the scales of ASE determinants proved to be sufficiently reliable, with Cronbach's alphas of at least 0.70. At follow-up after 3 months, the IPs given the implementation strategy showed significant improvement over the IPs in the control group for all ASE determinants investigated. Changes in knowledge and skills were only weakly associated with improvements in guideline adherence. The implementation strategy developed for insurance physicians can increase their attitude, intention, self-efficacy, and knowledge and skills when applying the guidelines for depression. These changes in behavioural determinants might indicate positive changes in IPs' behaviour towards the use of the guidelines for depression. However, only changes in

  7. Rapid evolutionary change of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L plastome, and the genomic diversification of legume chloroplasts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dávila Guillermo

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Fabaceae (legumes is one of the largest families of flowering plants, and some members are important crops. In contrast to what we know about their great diversity or economic importance, our knowledge at the genomic level of chloroplast genomes (cpDNAs or plastomes for these crops is limited. Results We sequenced the complete genome of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Negro Jamapa chloroplast. The plastome of P. vulgaris is a 150,285 bp circular molecule. It has gene content similar to that of other legume plastomes, but contains two pseudogenes, rpl33 and rps16. A distinct inversion occurred at the junction points of trnH-GUG/rpl14 and rps19/rps8, as in adzuki bean 1. These two pseudogenes and the inversion were confirmed in 10 varieties representing the two domestication centers of the bean. Genomic comparative analysis indicated that inversions generally occur in legume plastomes and the magnitude and localization of insertions/deletions (indels also vary. The analysis of repeat sequences demonstrated that patterns and sequences of tandem repeats had an important impact on sequence diversification between legume plastomes and tandem repeats did not belong to dispersed repeats. Interestingly, P. vulgaris plastome had higher evolutionary rates of change on both genomic and gene levels than G. max, which could be the consequence of pressure from both mutation and natural selection. Conclusion Legume chloroplast genomes are widely diversified in gene content, gene order, indel structure, abundance and localization of repetitive sequences, intracellular sequence exchange and evolutionary rates. The P. vulgaris plastome is a rapidly evolving genome.

  8. Rapid Land Cover Map Updates Using Change Detection and Robust Random Forest Classifiers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Konrad J. Wessels

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The paper evaluated the Landsat Automated Land Cover Update Mapping (LALCUM system designed to rapidly update a land cover map to a desired nominal year using a pre-existing reference land cover map. The system uses the Iteratively Reweighted Multivariate Alteration Detection (IRMAD to identify areas of change and no change. The system then automatically generates large amounts of training samples (n > 1 million in the no-change areas as input to an optimized Random Forest classifier. Experiments were conducted in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa using a reference land cover map from 2008, a change mask between 2008 and 2011 and Landsat ETM+ data for 2011. The entire system took 9.5 h to process. We expected that the use of the change mask would improve classification accuracy by reducing the number of mislabeled training data caused by land cover change between 2008 and 2011. However, this was not the case due to exceptional robustness of Random Forest classifier to mislabeled training samples. The system achieved an overall accuracy of 65%–67% using 22 detailed classes and 72%–74% using 12 aggregated national classes. “Water”, “Plantations”, “Plantations—clearfelled”, “Orchards—trees”, “Sugarcane”, “Built-up/dense settlement”, “Cultivation—Irrigated” and “Forest (indigenous” had user’s accuracies above 70%. Other detailed classes (e.g., “Low density settlements”, “Mines and Quarries”, and “Cultivation, subsistence, drylands” which are required for operational, provincial-scale land use planning and are usually mapped using manual image interpretation, could not be mapped using Landsat spectral data alone. However, the system was able to map the 12 national classes, at a sufficiently high level of accuracy for national scale land cover monitoring. This update approach and the highly automated, scalable LALCUM system can improve the efficiency and update rate of regional land

  9. Rapid Aminoglycoside NP Test for Rapid Detection of Multiple Aminoglycoside Resistance in Enterobacteriaceae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nordmann, Patrice; Jayol, Aurélie; Dobias, Jan; Poirel, Laurent

    2017-04-01

    The rapid aminoglycoside NP (Nordmann/Poirel) test was developed to rapidly identify multiple aminoglycoside (AG) resistance in Enterobacteriaceae It is based on the detection of the glucose metabolism related to enterobacterial growth in the presence of a defined concentration of amikacin plus gentamicin. Formation of acid metabolites was evidenced by a color change (orange to yellow) of the red phenol pH indicator. The rapid aminoglycoside NP test was evaluated by using bacterial colonies of 18 AG-resistant isolates producing 16S rRNA methylases, 20 AG-resistant isolates expressing AG-modifying enzymes (acetyl-, adenyl-, and phosphotransferases), and 10 isolates susceptible to AG. Its sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 97%, respectively, compared to the broth dilution method, which was taken as the gold standard for determining aminoglycoside resistance. The test is inexpensive, rapid (<2 h), and implementable worldwide. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

  10. Threshold and resilience management of coupled urbanization and water environmental system in the rapidly changing coastal region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Yangfan; Li, Yi; Wu, Wei

    2016-01-01

    The concept of thresholds shows important implications for environmental and resource management. Here we derived potential landscape thresholds which indicated abrupt changes in water quality or the dividing points between exceeding and failing to meet national surface water quality standards for a rapidly urbanizing city on the Eastern Coast in China. The analysis of landscape thresholds was based on regression models linking each of the seven water quality variables to each of the six landscape metrics for this coupled land-water system. We found substantial and accelerating urban sprawl at the suburban areas between 2000 and 2008, and detected significant nonlinear relations between water quality and landscape pattern. This research demonstrated that a simple modeling technique could provide insights on environmental thresholds to support more-informed decision making in land use, water environmental and resilience management. - Graphical abstract: Fig. Threshold models and resilience management for water quality. Display Omitted - Highlights: • Coupling urbanization and water environmental system. • Developing threshold models of the coupled land-water systems. • Nonlinear relations between water quality variables and landscape metrics. • Enhancing resilience management of coastal rapid urbanization. - We develop environmental threshold models and provide their implications on resilience management for a coupled land-water system with rapid urbanization.

  11. Neolithisation of the Aegean and Southeast Europe during the 6600–6000 calBC period of Rapid Climate Change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernhard Weninger

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available In extension of the recently established ‘Rapid Climate Change (RCC Neolithisation Model’ (Clare 2013, in the present paper we demonstrate the existence of a remarkable coincidence between the exact (decadel-scale entry and departure dates of the Neolithic into/from the Aegean (~6600/6050 calBC with begin/end of RCC-conditions.

  12. Water Quality Changes during Rapid Urbanization in the Shenzhen River Catchment: An Integrated View of Socio-Economic and Infrastructure Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hua-peng Qin

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Surface water quality deterioration is a serious problem in many rapidly urbanizing catchments in developing countries. There is currently a lack of studies that quantify water quality variation (deterioration or otherwise due to both socio-economic and infrastructure development in a catchment. This paper investigates the causes of water quality changes over the rapid urbanization period of 1985–2009 in the Shenzhen River catchment, China and examines the changes in relation to infrastructure development and socio-economic policies. The results indicate that the water quality deteriorated rapidly during the earlier urbanization stages before gradually improving over recent years, and that rapid increases in domestic discharge were the major causes of water quality deterioration. Although construction of additional wastewater infrastructure can significantly improve water quality, it was unable to dispose all of the wastewater in the catchment. However, it was found that socio-economic measures can significantly improve water quality by decreasing pollutant load per gross regional production (GRP or increasing labor productivity. Our findings suggest that sustainable development during urbanization is possible, provided that: (1 the wastewater infrastructure should be constructed timely and revitalized regularly in line with urbanization, and wastewater treatment facilities should be upgraded to improve their nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiencies; (2 administrative regulation policies, economic incentives and financial policies should be implemented to encourage industries to prevent or reduce the pollution at the source; (3 the environmental awareness and education level of local population should be increased; (4 planners from various sectors should consult each other and adapt an integrated planning approach for socio-economic and wastewater infrastructure development.

  13. Recording Scientific Knowledge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bowker, Geof

    2006-01-01

    The way we record knowledge, and the web of technical, formal, and social practices that surrounds it, inevitably affects the knowledge that we record. The ways we hold knowledge about the past - in handwritten manuscripts, in printed books, in file folders, in databases - shape the kind of stories we tell about that past. In this talk, I look at how over the past two hundred years, information technology has affected the nature and production of scientific knowledge. Further, I explore ways in which the emergent new cyberinfrastructure is changing our relationship to scientific practice.

  14. From open source communications to knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Preece, Alun; Roberts, Colin; Rogers, David; Webberley, Will; Innes, Martin; Braines, Dave

    2016-05-01

    Rapid processing and exploitation of open source information, including social media sources, in order to shorten decision-making cycles, has emerged as an important issue in intelligence analysis in recent years. Through a series of case studies and natural experiments, focussed primarily upon policing and counter-terrorism scenarios, we have developed an approach to information foraging and framing to inform decision making, drawing upon open source intelligence, in particular Twitter, due to its real-time focus and frequent use as a carrier for links to other media. Our work uses a combination of natural language (NL) and controlled natural language (CNL) processing to support information collection from human sensors, linking and schematising of collected information, and the framing of situational pictures. We illustrate the approach through a series of vignettes, highlighting (1) how relatively lightweight and reusable knowledge models (schemas) can rapidly be developed to add context to collected social media data, (2) how information from open sources can be combined with reports from trusted observers, for corroboration or to identify con icting information; and (3) how the approach supports users operating at or near the tactical edge, to rapidly task information collection and inform decision-making. The approach is supported by bespoke software tools for social media analytics and knowledge management.

  15. Legal Knowledge as a Tool for Social Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    González Vélez, Ana Cristina; Jaramillo, Isabel Cristina

    2017-01-01

    Abstract In May 2006, Colombia’s Constitutional Court liberalized abortion, introducing three circumstances under which the procedure would not be considered a crime: (1) rape or incest; (2) a risk to the woman’s health or life; and (3) fetal malformations incompatible with life. Immediately following the court’s ruling, known as Sentence C-355, members of La Mesa por la Vida y Salud de las Mujeres (hereinafter La Mesa) began to mobilize to ensure the decision’s implementation, bearing in mind the limited impact that the legal framework endorsed by the court has had in other countries in the region. We argue that La Mesa’s strategy is an innovative one in the field of legal mobilization insofar as it presumes that law can be shaped not just by public officials and universities but also by social actors engaged in the creation and diffusion of legal knowledge. In this regard, La Mesa has become a legal expert on abortion by accumulating knowledge about the multiple legal rules affecting the practice of abortion and about the situations in which these rules are to be applied. In addition, by becoming a legal expert, La Mesa has been able to persuade health providers that they will not risk criminal prosecution or being fired if they perform abortions. We call this effect of legal mobilization a “pedagogical effect” insofar as it involves the production of expertise and appropriation of knowledge by health professionals. We conclude by discussing La Mesa’s choice to become a legal expert on abortion as opposed to recruiting academics to do this work or encouraging women to produce and disseminate this knowledge. PMID:28630545

  16. Beyond the Law: A Review of Knowledge, Attitudes and Perceptions in ADA Employment Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Gould

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA, 1990 is the cornerstone of civil rights policy for people with disabilities. Although enforced through the justice system, the legacy of the ADA transcends well beyond its legal ramifications. The policy’s framework and the rhetoric of Disability Rights suggest both an embrace of the spirit and the letter of the law, or promulgating both legislative and cultural change to ensure that the rights of people with disabilities are met.  In attempting to understand how and if such change has happened, researchers have gathered extensive evidence since 1990.  Much of this research evidence, however, remains fragmented, under-utilized, and at times inconclusive.  This article presents the results of a rapid evidence review of a sample of such research that is crucial to understand the ADA’s progress.  The study examines evidence about the ADA’s influence on knowledge, attitudes and perceptions about employment of people with disabilities. The research illustrates the importance of moving beyond the law to incorporate changes in knowledge about the law, perceptions of employability, and workplace culture.

  17. The place of knowledge management in influencing lasting health change in Africa: an analysis of AMREF's progress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shoo, Rumishael; Matuku, Willy; Ireri, Jane; Nyagero, Josephat; Gatonga, Patrick

    2012-01-01

    AMREF (African Medical and Research Foundation) developed a Knowledge Management Strategy that focused on creating, capturing and applying health knowledge to close the gap between communities and health systems in Africa. There was need to identify AMREF's current Knowledge Management implementation status, problems and constraints encountered after two years of enforcement of the strategy and suggest the way forward. This study was conducted between October 2011 and February 2012. Quantitative data on number and foci of AMREF research publications were collected using a questionnaire. Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were used to gather data on explanations for the trend of publications and the status of the implementation of the 2010-2014 Knowledge Management Strategy. Quantitative data was analysed using SPSS computer software whereas content analysis of themes was employed on qualitative data. Between 1960 and 2011, AMREF produced 257 peer reviewed publications, 158 books and manuals and about 1,188 technical publications including evaluations, guidelines and technical reports. However, the numbers of publications declined from around the year 2000. Large quantities of unpublished and unclassified materials are also in the custody of Heritage. Barriers to Knowledge Management included: lack of incentives for documentation and dissemination; limited documentation and use of good practices in programming; and superficial attention to results or use of evidence. Alternative ways of reorganizing Knowledge Management will enable AMREF to use evidence-based knowledge to advocate for appropriate changes in African health policies and practices.

  18. A roadmap for knowledge exchange and mobilization research in conservation and natural resource management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Vivian M; Young, Nathan; Cooke, Steven J

    2017-08-01

    Scholars across all disciplines have long been interested in how knowledge moves within and beyond their community of peers. Rapid environmental changes and calls for sustainable management practices mean the best knowledge possible is needed to inform decisions, policies, and practices to protect biodiversity and sustainably manage vulnerable natural resources. Although the conservation literature on knowledge exchange (KE) and knowledge mobilization (KM) has grown in recent years, much of it is based on context-specific case studies. This presents a challenge for learning cumulative lessons from KE and KM research and thus effectively using knowledge in conservation and natural resources management. Although continued research on the gap between knowledge and action is valuable, overarching conceptual frameworks are now needed to enable summaries and comparisons across diverse KE-KM research. We propose a knowledge-action framework that provides a conceptual roadmap for future research and practice in KE/KM with the aim of synthesizing lessons learned from contextual case studies and guiding the development and testing of hypotheses in this domain. Our knowledge-action framework has 3 elements that occur at multiple levels and scales: knowledge production (e.g., academia and government), knowledge mediation (e.g., knowledge networks, actors, relational dimension, and contextual dimension), and knowledge-based action (e.g., instrumental, symbolic, and conceptual). The framework integrates concepts from the sociology of science in particular, and serves as a guide to further comprehensive understanding of knowledge exchange and mobilization in conservation and sustainable natural resource management. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

  19. How Knowledge Accumulation changed the Competitive Advantage of Strategy Consulting Firms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    F.A.J. van den Bosch (Frans); M.G. Baaij (Marc); H.W. Volberda (Henk)

    2005-01-01

    textabstractResearch evidence confirms that the accumulation of knowledge contributes to the competitive advantage of firms. In the strategy consulting industry, one of the most knowledge-intensive professional services industries, however, established firms that exploited their knowledge

  20. Knowledge models as agents of meaninful learning and knowledge creation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fermín María González García

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available 0 0 1 172 952 USAL 7 2 1122 14.0 Normal 0 21 false false false ES JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabla normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-ansi-language:ES; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} The educational change that pushes the current context requires a shift in the unfortunately predominant positivist-behaviourist model that favours mechanical      memoristic learning, ideal breeding ground for the existence and maintenance of conceptual errors, to another cognitive-constructivist that stimulates meaningful learning to allow students to build and master knowledge, therefore to be more creative and critical. We present here a model of knowledge where students construct new knowledge as a result of significant learning. Students play an active role, learning not only about the product, but also about the process itself (meta-cognition. We also show how to promote teacher activity primarily in order to create the conditions that facilitate the student to transform the information in useful, substantive knowledge, to be  incorporated in his knowledge structure and in his long-term memory. Finally, we provide elements to measure what the student knows and to assess how their cognitive structure has changed regarding their ancient knowledge; that is, to assess the necessary conceptual change.

  1. Managing customer knowledge

    OpenAIRE

    2013-01-01

    M. Phil. (Information Management) Customer relationship management has been exposed as a strategic failure, unveiling only customer dissatisfaction. A new method for managing customers is consequently required. The effect of the knowledge economy has brought about a change in global orientation, in the focus on customer wants and needs to increase satisfaction. There was then a shift in focus from information to knowledge. In such an economy, the customer knowledge management strategy, as ...

  2. Protocol for a national, mixed-methods knowledge, attitudes and practices survey on non-communicable diseases

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Demaio, Alessandro R; Dugee, Otgontuya; Amgalan, Gombodorj

    2011-01-01

    Mongolia is undergoing rapid epidemiological transition with increasing urbanisation and economic development. The lifestyle and health of Mongolians are changing as a result, shown by the 2005 and 2009 STEPS surveys (World Health Organization's STEPwise Approach to Chronic Disease Risk Factor...... Surveillance) that described a growing burden of Non-Communicable Diseases and injuries (NCDs).This study aimed to assess, describe and explore the knowledge, attitudes and practices of the Mongolian adult population around NCDs in order to better understand the drivers and therefore develop more appropriate...

  3. The origin of climate changes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delecluse, P

    2008-08-01

    Investigation on climate change is coordinated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which has the delicate task of collecting recent knowledge on climate change and the related impacts of the observed changes, and then developing a consensus statement from these findings. The IPCC's last review, published at the end of 2007, summarised major findings on the present climate situation. The observations show a clear increase in the temperature of the Earth's surface and the oceans, a reduction in the land snow cover, and melting of the sea ice and glaciers. Numerical modelling combined with statistical analysis has shown that this warming trend is very likely the signature of increasing emissions of greenhouse gases linked with human activities. Given the continuing social and economic development around the world, the IPCC emission scenarios forecast an increasing greenhouse effect, at least until 2050 according to the most optimistic models. The model ensemble predicts a rising temperature that will reach dangerous levels for the biosphere and ecosystems within this century. Hydrological systems and the potential significant impacts of these systems on the environment are also discussed. Facing this challenging future, societies must take measures to reduce emissions and work on adapting to an inexorably changing environment. Present knowledge is sufficientto start taking action, but a stronger foundation is needed to ensure that pertinent long-term choices are made that will meet the demands of an interactive and rapidly evolving world.

  4. Tensile behavior change depending on the microstructure of a Fe-Cu alloy produced from rapidly solidified powder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kakisawa, Hideki; Minagawa, Kazumi; Halada, Kohmei

    2003-01-01

    The relationship between consolidating temperature and the tensile behavior of iron alloy produced from Fe-Cu rapidly solidified powder is investigated. Fe-Cu powder fabricated by high-pressure water atomization was consolidated by heavy rolling at 873-1273 K. Microstructural changes were observed and tensile behavior was examined. Tensile behavior varies as the consolidating temperature changes, and these temperature-dependent differences depend on the morphology of the microstructure on the order of micrometers. The sample consolidated at 873 K shows a good strength/elongation balance because the powder microstructure and primary powder boundaries are maintained. The samples consolidated at the higher temperatures have a microstructure of recrystallized grains, and these recrystallized samples show the conventional relationship between tensile behavior and grain size in ordinal bulk materials

  5. A rapid colorimetric screening method for vanillic acid and vanillin-producing bacterial strains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zamzuri, N A; Abd-Aziz, S; Rahim, R A; Phang, L Y; Alitheen, N B; Maeda, T

    2014-04-01

    To isolate a bacterial strain capable of biotransforming ferulic acid, a major component of lignin, into vanillin and vanillic acid by a rapid colorimetric screening method. For the production of vanillin, a natural aroma compound, we attempted to isolate a potential strain using a simple screening method based on pH change resulting from the degradation of ferulic acid. The strain Pseudomonas sp. AZ10 UPM exhibited a significant result because of colour changes observed on the assay plate on day 1 with a high intensity of yellow colour. The biotransformation of ferulic acid into vanillic acid by the AZ10 strain provided the yield (Yp/s ) and productivity (Pr ) of 1·08 mg mg(-1) and 53·1 mg L(-1) h(-1) , respectively. In fact, new investigations regarding lignin degradation revealed that the strain was not able to produce vanillin and vanillic acid directly from lignin; however, partially digested lignin by mixed enzymatic treatment allowed the strain to produce 30·7 mg l(-1) and 1·94 mg l(-1) of vanillic acid and biovanillin, respectively. (i) The rapid colorimetric screening method allowed the isolation of a biovanillin producer using ferulic acid as the sole carbon source. (ii) Enzymatic treatment partially digested lignin, which could then be utilized by the strain to produce biovanillin and vanillic acid. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting the use of a rapid colorimetric screening method for bacterial strains producing vanillin and vanillic acid from ferulic acid. © 2013 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  6. Alliance entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial orientation: the mediating effect of knowledge transfer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arash Rezazadeh

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Today’s rapidly changing business environment has impelled companies to cooperate with their competitors gaining more competitive advantages by achieving win-win situation. Thereby, building alliances as one of the cooperative strategies has been adopted by many enterprises, consequently attracting great attention of numerous scholars. Nevertheless, the alliance literature seems to lack studies in the domain of entrepreneurship. Accordingly, this paper aims to extend entrepreneurship into the field of alliances highlighting two phenomenal concepts: alliance entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial orientation. Hence, the relationship between these two constructs together with the mediating role of knowledge transfer between alliance partners are investigated. We used Structural Equation Modeling with Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM technique under two sections of measurement model and structural model assessment in order to analyze data. The results gathered from Iran’s automotive industry confirmed the positive significant impact of alliance entrepreneurship on partners’ entrepreneurial orientation and the mediating effect of knowledge transfer

  7. Changes in knowledge and attitudes of hospital environmental services staff: The Researching Effective Approaches to Cleaning in Hospitals (REACH) study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, Brett G; White, Nicole; Farrington, Alison; Allen, Michelle; Page, Katie; Gardner, Anne; Halton, Kate; Riley, Thomas V; Gericke, Christian A; Paterson, David L; Graves, Nicholas; Hall, Lisa

    2018-03-14

    The Researching Effective Approaches to Cleaning in Hospitals (REACH) study tested a multimodal cleaning intervention in Australian hospitals. This article reports findings from a pre/post questionnaire, embedded into the REACH study, that was administered prior to the implementation of the intervention and at the conclusion of the study. A cross-sectional questionnaire, nested within a stepped-wedge trial, was administered. The REACH intervention was a cleaning bundle comprising 5 interdependent components. The questionnaire explored the knowledge, reported practice, attitudes, roles, and perceived organizational support of environmental services staff members in the hospitals participating in the REACH study. Environmental services staff members in 11 participating hospitals completed 616 pre- and 307 post-test questionnaires (n = 923). Increases in knowledge and practice were seen between the pre-and post-test questionnaires. Minimal changes were observed in attitudes regarding the role of cleaning and in perceived organizational support. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report changes in knowledge, attitudes, and perceived organizational support in environmental services staff members, in the context of a large multicenter clinical trial. In this underexplored group of hospital workers, findings suggest that environmental services staff members have a high level of knowledge related to cleaning practices and understand the importance of their role. Copyright © 2018 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Rapid detection of small oscillation faults via deterministic learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Cong; Chen, Tianrui

    2011-08-01

    Detection of small faults is one of the most important and challenging tasks in the area of fault diagnosis. In this paper, we present an approach for the rapid detection of small oscillation faults based on a recently proposed deterministic learning (DL) theory. The approach consists of two phases: the training phase and the test phase. In the training phase, the system dynamics underlying normal and fault oscillations are locally accurately approximated through DL. The obtained knowledge of system dynamics is stored in constant radial basis function (RBF) networks. In the diagnosis phase, rapid detection is implemented. Specially, a bank of estimators are constructed using the constant RBF neural networks to represent the training normal and fault modes. By comparing the set of estimators with the test monitored system, a set of residuals are generated, and the average L(1) norms of the residuals are taken as the measure of the differences between the dynamics of the monitored system and the dynamics of the training normal mode and oscillation faults. The occurrence of a test oscillation fault can be rapidly detected according to the smallest residual principle. A rigorous analysis of the performance of the detection scheme is also given. The novelty of the paper lies in that the modeling uncertainty and nonlinear fault functions are accurately approximated and then the knowledge is utilized to achieve rapid detection of small oscillation faults. Simulation studies are included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.

  9. Rapid Environmental Change Drives Increased Land Use by an Arctic Marine Predator.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Todd C Atwood

    Full Text Available In the Arctic Ocean's southern Beaufort Sea (SB, the length of the sea ice melt season (i.e., period between the onset of sea ice break-up in summer and freeze-up in fall has increased substantially since the late 1990s. Historically, polar bears (Ursus maritimus of the SB have mostly remained on the sea ice year-round (except for those that came ashore to den, but recent changes in the extent and phenology of sea ice habitat have coincided with evidence that use of terrestrial habitat is increasing. We characterized the spatial behavior of polar bears spending summer and fall on land along Alaska's north coast to better understand the nexus between rapid environmental change and increased use of terrestrial habitat. We found that the percentage of radiocollared adult females from the SB subpopulation coming ashore has tripled over 15 years. Moreover, we detected trends of earlier arrival on shore, increased length of stay, and later departure back to sea ice, all of which were related to declines in the availability of sea ice habitat over the continental shelf and changes to sea ice phenology. Since the late 1990s, the mean duration of the open-water season in the SB increased by 36 days, and the mean length of stay on shore increased by 31 days. While on shore, the distribution of polar bears was influenced by the availability of scavenge subsidies in the form of subsistence-harvested bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus remains aggregated at sites along the coast. The declining spatio-temporal availability of sea ice habitat and increased availability of human-provisioned resources are likely to result in increased use of land. Increased residency on land is cause for concern given that, while there, bears may be exposed to a greater array of risk factors including those associated with increased human activities.

  10. Rapid changes in ice core gas records - Part 1: On the accuracy of methane synchronisation of ice cores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Köhler, P.

    2010-08-01

    Methane synchronisation is a concept to align ice core records during rapid climate changes of the Dansgaard/Oeschger (D/O) events onto a common age scale. However, atmospheric gases are recorded in ice cores with a log-normal-shaped age distribution probability density function, whose exact shape depends mainly on the accumulation rate on the drilling site. This age distribution effectively shifts the mid-transition points of rapid changes in CH4 measured in situ in ice by about 58% of the width of the age distribution with respect to the atmospheric signal. A minimum dating uncertainty, or artefact, in the CH4 synchronisation is therefore embedded in the concept itself, which was not accounted for in previous error estimates. This synchronisation artefact between Greenland and Antarctic ice cores is for GRIP and Byrd less than 40 years, well within the dating uncertainty of CH4, and therefore does not calls the overall concept of the bipolar seesaw into question. However, if the EPICA Dome C ice core is aligned via CH4 to NGRIP this synchronisation artefact is in the most recent unified ice core age scale (Lemieux-Dudon et al., 2010) for LGM climate conditions of the order of three centuries and might need consideration in future gas chronologies.

  11. Sitting Time in Adults 65 Years and Over: Behavior, Knowledge, and Intentions to Change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alley, Stephanie; van Uffelen, Jannique G Z; Duncan, Mitch J; De Cocker, Katrien; Schoeppe, Stephanie; Rebar, Amanda L; Vandelanotte, Corneel

    2018-04-01

    This study examined sitting time, knowledge, and intentions to change sitting time in older adults. An online survey was completed by 494 Australians aged 65+. Average daily sitting was high (9.0 hr). Daily sitting time was the highest during TV (3.3 hr), computer (2.1 hr), and leisure (1.7 hr). A regression analysis demonstrated that women were more knowledgeable about the health risks of sitting compared to men. The percentage of older adults intending to sit less were the highest for TV (24%), leisure (24%), and computer (19%) sitting time. Regression analyses demonstrated that intentions varied by gender (for TV sitting), education (leisure and work sitting), body mass index (computer, leisure, and transport sitting), and physical activity (TV, computer, and leisure sitting). Interventions should target older adults' TV, computer, and leisure time sitting, with a focus on intentions in older males and older adults with low education, those who are active, and those with a normal weight.

  12. Changes in the etiology of valvular heart disease in the rapidly aging Korean population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, Shin Yi; Ju, Eun-Young; Seo, Su Ra; Choi, Ji Yeon; Park, Sung-Ji; Kim, Duk-Kyung; Park, Seung Woo

    2014-06-15

    The aim of this study is to assess the changes in the causes of valvular heart disease between 2006 and 2011 in Korea. Data were collected from the Korean National Health Insurance Service from 2006 through 2011. These data consisted of primary diagnoses related to valvular heart disease regardless of other conditions. Valvular heart disease included non-rheumatic mitral valve disorders, non-rheumatic aortic valve disorders, rheumatic mitral valve disorders, and rheumatic aortic valve disorders. Overall, the age-standardized cumulative prevalence of non-rheumatic valvular heart disease was 70.6 per 100,000 persons in 2006 and 110.3 in 2011. This represented an increase from 42.2 to 65.2 in women and from 28.4 to 45.1 in men. In particular, there was a greater increase in prevalence in patients aged 65 years or older compared with groups aged 20-44 years or 45-64 years for both genders. The age-standardized cumulative prevalence of rheumatic valve disease did not change dramatically between 2006 and 2011. The overall age-standardized cumulative prevalence of non-rheumatic valvular heart diseases increased between 2006 and 2011, especially in individuals older than 65 years. These changes should be considered in future designs of cardiovascular healthcare services in countries with a rapidly aging population. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Knowledge workers and knowledge-intense organizations, Part 2: Designing and managing for productivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weaver, D; Sorrells-Jones, J

    1999-09-01

    Our economy is shifting from a hard goods and material products base to one in which knowledge is the primary mode of production. Organizations are experimenting with designs that support knowledge work by clustering individuals with different but complementary skills in focused teams. The goal is to increase applied knowledge that furthers the organization's strategic intent. The team-based knowledge work model holds promise for healthcare organizations that are under pressure to use knowledge to improve clinical care, integrate care across disciplines and settings, and accept accountability for costs. However, the shift from the traditional bureaucratic model to the flexible team-based design mandates changes in the design of the organization, the role of leadership, and the attributes of the teams and team members. In Part 2 of this three-part series, the authors explore the necessary design changes and the new roles for leadership, teams, and their members. Additionally, implications for healthcare clinicians, particularly nurses, are discussed.

  14. Social web and knowledge management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dolog, Peter; Kroetz, Markus; Schaffert, Sebastian

    2009-01-01

    Knowledge Management is the study and practice of representing, communicating, organizing, and applying knowledge in organizations. Moreover, being used by organizations, it is inherently social. The Web, as a medium, enables new forms of communications and interactions and requires new ways...... to represent knowledge assets. It is therefore obvious that the Web will influence and change Knowledge Management, but it is very unclear what the impact of these changes will be. This chapter raises questions and discusses visions in the area that connects the Social Web and Knowledge Management – an area...... of research that is only just emerging. The World Wide Web conference 2008 in Beijing hosted a workshop on that question, bringing together researchers and practitioners to gain first insights toward answering questions of that area....

  15. Knowledge maintenance in myCBR

    OpenAIRE

    Aul, Vani; Sauer, Christian; Roth-Berghofer, Thomas

    2014-01-01

    CBR systems, being knowledge based systems, process knowledge. Due to changes in the environment a CBR system’s knowledge model can become outdated, thus creating a need for constant maintenance of said knowledge model. In this paper, we describe an implementation of (semi-)automatic knowledge maintenance of two of the four knowledge containers of CBR systems, specifically case base maintenance and maintenance of similarity measures within the CBR system development SDK myCBR. We describe our...

  16. Uncovering tacit knowledge: a pilot study to broaden the concept of knowledge in knowledge translation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kothari, Anita R; Bickford, Julia J; Edwards, Nancy; Dobbins, Maureen J; Meyer, Mechthild

    2011-08-18

    All sectors in health care are being asked to focus on the knowledge-to-practice gap, or knowledge translation, to increase service effectiveness. A social interaction approach to knowledge translation assumes that research evidence becomes integrated with previously held knowledge, and practitioners build on and co-create knowledge through mutual interactions. Knowledge translation strategies for public health have not provided anticipated positive changes in evidence-based practice, possibly due in part to a narrow conceptualization of knowledge. More work is needed to understand the role of tacit knowledge in decision-making and practice. This pilot study examined how health practitioners applied tacit knowledge in public health program planning and implementation. This study used a narrative approach, where teams from two public health units in Ontario, Canada were conveniently selected. Respondents participated in individual interviews and focus groups at each site. Questions were designed to understand the role of tacit knowledge as it related to the program planning process. Data were analyzed through a combination of content analysis and thematic comparison. The findings highlighted two major aspects of knowledge that arose: the use of tacit knowledge and the integration of tacit and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge included: past experiences, organization-specific knowledge, community contextual knowledge, and the recognition of the tacit knowledge of others. Explicit knowledge included: research literature, the Internet, popular magazines, formal assessments (surveys and interviews), legislation and regulations. Participants sometimes deliberately combined tacit and explicit knowledge sources in planning. This pilot demonstrated that front-line public health workers draw upon both tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge in their everyday lived reality. Further, tacit knowledge plays an important role in practitioners' interpretation and implementation

  17. DNA microarray unravels rapid changes in transcriptome of MK-801 treated rat brain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Yuka; Kulikova, Sofya P; Shibato, Junko; Rakwal, Randeep; Satoh, Hiroyuki; Pinault, Didier; Masuo, Yoshinori

    2015-01-01

    AIM: To investigate the impact of MK-801 on gene expression patterns genome wide in rat brain regions. METHODS: Rats were treated with an intraperitoneal injection of MK-801 [0.08 (low-dose) and 0.16 (high-dose) mg/kg] or NaCl (vehicle control). In a first series of experiment, the frontoparietal electrocorticogram was recorded 15 min before and 60 min after injection. In a second series of experiments, the whole brain of each animal was rapidly removed at 40 min post-injection, and different regions were separated: amygdala, cerebral cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus, midbrain and ventral striatum on ice followed by DNA microarray (4 × 44 K whole rat genome chip) analysis. RESULTS: Spectral analysis revealed that a single systemic injection of MK-801 significantly and selectively augmented the power of baseline gamma frequency (30-80 Hz) oscillations in the frontoparietal electroencephalogram. DNA microarray analysis showed the largest number (up- and down- regulations) of gene expressions in the cerebral cortex (378), midbrain (376), hippocampus (375), ventral striatum (353), amygdala (301), and hypothalamus (201) under low-dose (0.08 mg/kg) of MK-801. Under high-dose (0.16 mg/kg), ventral striatum (811) showed the largest number of gene expression changes. Gene expression changes were functionally categorized to reveal expression of genes and function varies with each brain region. CONCLUSION: Acute MK-801 treatment increases synchrony of baseline gamma oscillations, and causes very early changes in gene expressions in six individual rat brain regions, a first report. PMID:26629322

  18. Comprehensive and Methodical: Diagnostic and Management Approaches to Rapidly Progressive Dementia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahajan, Supriya; Appleby, Brian S

    2017-09-30

    Purpose of review The sudden emergence of a change in cognitive abilities or behavior is an important symptom that warrants medical evaluation and may represent the early stages of a rapidly progressive dementia (RPD). To correctly ascertain the cause of RPD in a given patient, the clinician must be methodical and knowledgeable about the range of potential causes and must move forward with supportive treatment, and in some cases empiric treatment, based on clinical features alone. Recent findings Significant advances in prion disease biomarkers, the molecular features of rapidly progressive Alzheimer's disease, and new detection of autoimmune limbic encephalitis disease entities have caused a shift in the diagnostic and treatment framework of RPD. Additionally, in the past decade, emerging retrospective data have led to suggested treatments in autoimmune encephalitis that, if instituted early, can protect patients against residual deficits and disease relapse. Summary Here, we provide an integrative clinical and diagnostic treatment approach that is applicable to the various forms of RPD. We have highlighted the clinical features of selected types of RPD that have experienced advances in the last 10-15 years.

  19. Changes in Indirect Markers of Muscle Damage and Tendons After Daily Drop Jumping Exercise with Rapid Load Increase

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vidas Paleckis, Mantas Mickevičius, Audrius Snieckus, Vytautas Streckis, Mati Pääsuke, Saulius Rutkauskas, Rasa Steponavičiūtė, Albertas Skurvydas, Sigitas Kamandulis

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to assess changes in indirect markers of muscle damage and type I collagen degradation, as well as, patellar and Achilles tendon morphological differences during nine daily drop-jumps sessions with constant load alternated with rapid increases in load to test the hypothesis that frequent drop-jump training results in negative muscular and tendon adaptation. Young men (n = 9 performed daily drop jump workouts with progression every 3 days in terms of number of jumps, platform height and squat amplitude. Voluntary and electrically evoked knee extensor torque, muscle soreness, blood plasma creatine kinase (CK activity and carboxyterminal cross-linked telopeptide (ICTP, patellar and Achilles tendon thickness and cross-sectional area (CSA were assessed at different time points during the training period and again on days 1, 3, 10 and 17 after the training. The findings were as follows: (1 steady decline in maximal muscle strength with major recovery within 24 hours after the first six daily training sessions; (2 larger decline in electrically induced muscle torque and prolonged recovery during last three training sessions; (3 increase in patellar and Achilles tendons CSA without change in thickness towards the end of training period; (4 increase in jump height but not in muscle strength after whole training period. Our findings suggest that frequent drop-jump sessions with constant load alternated with rapid increases in load do not induce severe muscle damage or major changes in tendons, nonetheless, this type of loading is not advisable for muscle strength improvement.

  20. Three-dimensional evaluation of soft tissue changes in the orofacial region after tooth-borne and bone-borne surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nada, R.M.; Loon, B. van; Maal, T.J.J.; Berge, S.J.; Mostafa, Y.A.; Kuijpers-Jagtman, A.M.; Schols, J.G.J.H.

    2013-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: This study seeks to three-dimensionally assess soft tissue changes in the orofacial region following tooth-borne and bone-borne surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion (SARME). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective cohort study included 40 skeletally mature patients with

  1. A “New Deal” for the profession : Regulatory initiatives, changing knowledge conceptions and the Committee on Accounting Procedure

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Detzen, Dominic

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze how “New Deal” regulatory initiatives, primarily the Securities Acts and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), changed US auditors’ professional knowledge conception, culminating in the 1938 expansion of the Committee on Accounting Procedure

  2. Evidence-based medicine in rapidly changing technologies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schroeder, Torben Veith

    2008-01-01

    Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is not a randomised controlled trial (RCT), but EBM seeks to apply evidence gained from scientific methods - which could be RCT - to daily medical practice. Any surgical treatment reflects a certain development technically as well as skills based. The procedure may....... Special considerations should be given in rapidly developing fields. If started too early the resulting comparison will likely turn out to be irrelevant because the new technology is not fully developed, not mastered or the device may have undergone major modifications rendering the results obsolete....... On the other hand, if started too late there is a chance that data may be lost because the technology has already been introduced into the daily clinics and physicians may be unwilling to recruit patients. Or the opposite, that the technique may have been rejected without a proper trial. In this situation...

  3. Analysis of Swedish Forest Owners' Information and Knowledge-Sharing Networks for Decision-Making: Insights for Climate Change Communication and Adaptation

    Science.gov (United States)

    André, Karin; Baird, Julia; Gerger Swartling, Åsa; Vulturius, Gregor; Plummer, Ryan

    2017-06-01

    To further the understanding of climate change adaptation processes, more attention needs to be paid to the various contextual factors that shape whether and how climate-related knowledge and information is received and acted upon by actors involved. This study sets out to examine the characteristics of forest owners' in Sweden, the information and knowledge-sharing networks they draw upon for decision-making, and their perceptions of climate risks, their forests' resilience, the need for adaptation, and perceived adaptive capacity. By applying the concept of ego-network analysis, the empirical data was generated by a quantitative survey distributed to 3000 private forest owners' in Sweden in 2014 with a response rate of 31%. The results show that there is a positive correlation, even though it is generally weak, between forest owner climate perceptions and (i) network features, i.e. network size and heterogeneity, and (ii) presence of certain alter groups (i.e. network members or actors). Results indicate that forest owners' social networks currently serve only a minimal function of sharing knowledge of climate change and adaptation. Moreover, considering the fairly infrequent contact between respondents and alter groups, the timing of knowledge sharing is important. In conclusion we suggest those actors that forest owners' most frequently communicate with, especially forestry experts providing advisory services (e.g. forest owner associations, companies, and authorities) have a clear role to communicate both the risks of climate change and opportunities for adaptation. Peers are valuable in connecting information about climate risks and adaptation to the actual forest property.

  4. Bridging the gap: simulations meet knowledge bases

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Gary W.; Morrison, Clayton T.; Westbrook, David L.; Cohen, Paul R.

    2003-09-01

    Tapir and Krill are declarative languages for specifying actions and agents, respectively, that can be executed in simulation. As such, they bridge the gap between strictly declarative knowledge bases and strictly executable code. Tapir and Krill components can be combined to produce models of activity which can answer questions about mechanisms and processes using conventional inference methods and simulation. Tapir was used in DARPA's Rapid Knowledge Formation (RKF) project to construct models of military tactics from the Army Field Manual FM3-90. These were then used to build Courses of Actions (COAs) which could be critiqued by declarative reasoning or via Monte Carlo simulation. Tapir and Krill can be read and written by non-knowledge engineers making it an excellent vehicle for Subject Matter Experts to build and critique knowledge bases.

  5. A scoping review of rapid review methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tricco, Andrea C; Antony, Jesmin; Zarin, Wasifa; Strifler, Lisa; Ghassemi, Marco; Ivory, John; Perrier, Laure; Hutton, Brian; Moher, David; Straus, Sharon E

    2015-09-16

    Rapid reviews are a form of knowledge synthesis in which components of the systematic review process are simplified or omitted to produce information in a timely manner. Although numerous centers are conducting rapid reviews internationally, few studies have examined the methodological characteristics of rapid reviews. We aimed to examine articles, books, and reports that evaluated, compared, used or described rapid reviews or methods through a scoping review. MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, internet websites of rapid review producers, and reference lists were searched to identify articles for inclusion. Two reviewers independently screened literature search results and abstracted data from included studies. Descriptive analysis was conducted. We included 100 articles plus one companion report that were published between 1997 and 2013. The studies were categorized as 84 application papers, seven development papers, six impact papers, and four comparison papers (one was included in two categories). The rapid reviews were conducted between 1 and 12 months, predominantly in Europe (58 %) and North America (20 %). The included studies failed to report 6 % to 73 % of the specific systematic review steps examined. Fifty unique rapid review methods were identified; 16 methods occurred more than once. Streamlined methods that were used in the 82 rapid reviews included limiting the literature search to published literature (24 %) or one database (2 %), limiting inclusion criteria by date (68 %) or language (49 %), having one person screen and another verify or screen excluded studies (6 %), having one person abstract data and another verify (23 %), not conducting risk of bias/quality appraisal (7 %) or having only one reviewer conduct the quality appraisal (7 %), and presenting results as a narrative summary (78 %). Four case studies were identified that compared the results of rapid reviews to systematic reviews. Three studies found that the conclusions between

  6. Investigating the Climate Change Beliefs, Knowledge, Behaviors, and Cultural Worldviews of Rural Middle School Students and their Families During An Out-of-School Intervention: A Mixed-Methods Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutierrez, Kristie Susan

    In a recent nationwide survey, 63% of American adults believe that there is global warming, yet 52% received a 'grade' of 'F' on climate change knowledge and beliefs. Climate change is a politically-charged topic in the 21st century. Even for those who support the 97% of scientists who assert that climate change is occurring, many are still uncertain about the role that humans play in this complex process. This mixed-methods study examined the climate change beliefs, content knowledge, worldviews, and behaviors of rural middle school students and their families in four rural, high poverty school districts in the Southeastern United States (US). The students, who ranged from 5-8th grades, were part of an after school STEM Career Club program that met for two hours, six times per semester. STEM Club students (N = 243) and selected students' families (n = 15) interacted with climate change activities and materials in the student clubs and in an at-home intervention. Quantitative pre- and post-intervention surveys were used to measure any changes in climate change content knowledge and beliefs as well as participants' worldviews. Qualitative audio data gathered from at-home intervention activities with students and their family members, as well as during family dyad interviews, was coded using the Determinants of Behavior framework that reflected climate change awareness, during and post-intervention. This embedded mixed-methods design with climate change education was designed to reflect place-based examples in these rural, southeastern US communities, and to empower families to see the relevance of this global issue, consider their role, learn more about climate science, and take actions locally. Initially, a large percentage of students believed that global warming is occurring (69.5%) and is occurring at least in some part due to human influence (69.3%). Students had learned significantly more total climate change knowledge, post-intervention. Analyses of variance

  7. The art and science of knowledge synthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tricco, Andrea C; Tetzlaff, Jennifer; Moher, David

    2011-01-01

    To review methods for completing knowledge synthesis. We discuss how to complete a broad range of knowledge syntheses. Our article is intended as an introductory guide. Many groups worldwide conduct knowledge syntheses, and some methods are applicable to most reviews. However, variations of these methods are apparent for different types of reviews, such as realist reviews and mixed-model reviews. Review validity is dependent on the validity of the included primary studies and the review process itself. Steps should be taken to avoid bias in the conduct of knowledge synthesis. Transparency in reporting will help readers assess review validity and applicability, increasing its utility. Given the magnitude of the literature, the increasing demands on knowledge syntheses teams, and the diversity of approaches, continuing efforts will be important to increase the efficiency, validity, and applicability of systematic reviews. Future research should focus on increasing the uptake of knowledge synthesis, how best to update reviews, the comparability between different types of reviews (eg, rapid vs. comprehensive reviews), and how to prioritize knowledge synthesis topics. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. We really need to talk: adapting FDA processes to rapid change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lykken, Sara

    2013-01-01

    The rapidly evolving realm of modern commerce strains traditional regulatory paradigms. This paper traces the historical evolution of FDA crisis-response regulation and provides examples of ways in which the definitions and procedures resulting from that past continue to be challenged by new products as market entrants, some in good faith and others not, take actions that create disconnects between actual product and marketing controls and those that consumers might expect. The paper then explores some of the techniques used by other federal agencies that have faced similar challenges in environments characterized by rapid innovation, and draws from this analysis suggestions for improvement of the FDA's warning letter system.

  9. Integrating Neuroscience Knowledge into Social Work Education: A Case-Based Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egan, Marcia; Neely-Barnes, Susan L.; Combs-Orme, Terri

    2011-01-01

    New knowledge from the rapidly growing field of neuroscience has important implications for our understanding of human behavior in the social environment, yet little of this knowledge has made its way into social work education. This article presents a model for integrating neuroscience into instruction on human development, the bio psychosocial…

  10. Arctic sea-ice syntheses: Charting across scope, scale, and knowledge systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Druckenmiller, M. L.; Perovich, D. K.; Francis, J. A.

    2017-12-01

    Arctic sea ice supports and intersects a multitude of societal benefit areas, including regulating regional and global climates, structuring marine food webs, providing for traditional food provisioning by indigenous peoples, and constraining marine shipping and access. At the same time, sea ice is one of the most rapidly changing elements of the Arctic environment and serves as a source of key physical indicators for monitoring Arctic change. Before the present scientific interest in Arctic sea ice for climate research, it has long been, and remains, a focus of applied research for industry and national security. For generations, the icy coastal seas of the North have also provided a basis for the sharing of local and indigenous knowledge between Arctic residents and researchers, including anthropologists, biologists, and geoscientists. This presentation will summarize an ongoing review of existing synthesis studies of Arctic sea ice. We will chart efforts to achieve system-level understanding across geography, temporal scales, and the ecosystem services that Arctic sea ice supports. In doing so, we aim to illuminate the role of interdisciplinary science, together with local and indigenous experts, in advancing knowledge of the roles of sea ice in the Arctic system and beyond, reveal the historical and scientific evolution of sea-ice research, and assess current gaps in system-scale understanding.

  11. The effect of fifth grade science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge on their decision making and student learning outcomes on the concept of chemical change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogletree, Glenda Lee

    This study investigated the science pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) among teachers as they taught the concept of chemical change to fifth grade students. The purpose was to identify teachers' PCK and its impact in middle grade science classrooms. A second purpose was to investigate the possible relationship of teachers' science PCK to teacher actions and student learning outcomes in the classroom. The instruments used to capture PCK were background and demographic information, Content Representations (CoRe), and Professional and Pedagogical experience Repertoire (PaP-eR). The study investigated CoRe and PaP-eR with seven classroom teachers as they planned and taught chemical change to fifth grade students. Four levels of a Pedagogical Content Knowledge rubric were used to describe varying levels of PCK. The four levels were content knowledge of chemical change; knowledge of students' thinking; knowledge of how to represent chemical change to promote student learning; and professional development, collaboration, and leadership roles in science. The Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) described and evaluated science teaching performance levels of the teachers. In this study, 176 students were assessed to determine understanding of chemical change. There was a significant correlation between teachers' PCK scores and student achievement. The study also determined that a significant correlation existed between teachers' PCK scores and their RTOP scores revealing that RTOP scores could be predictors of PCK. Through this approach, understandings of PCK emerged that are of interest to university preservice preparation programs, research in understanding effective teachers and teaching, and the planning and implementation of professional development for teachers of science with middle grade students.

  12. Assessment of the Knowledge Acquisition Process in Lithuanian Insurance Sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jurgita Raudeliūnienė

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Under the development of favourable globalization conditions, the demand for and importance of knowledge in the insurance sector are rapidly growing, which is characterized by the variety of insurance services and offered products as well as by a permanent change in efforts to efficiently meet the needs of society. Therefore, knowledge is becoming a unique factor that leads to the increased exclusivity of the organization in this particular sector when the recently acquired knowledge helps the employees of the company with efficiently performing work activities and creating for consumer advantages that can be hardly imitated by other insurance organizations. However, the process of knowledge acquisition will be worthless without efficient instruments for assessing the procedures leading to obtaining the necessary knowledge on demand and time. Every insurance organization in Lithuania tries to acquire the necessary knowledge on time in the most convenient way; however, researchers and business representatives feel a lack of tools for assessing and improving the knowledge acquisition process. According to scientific literature, a lack of complexity evaluating the knowledge acquisition process creates a precondition for developing instruments for the assessment of this process. The object of research is the evaluation of the knowledge acquisition process in the organizations of Lithuanian insurance sector. The goal of the article is to offer an integrated instrument of the knowledge acquisition process for the organization working in Lithuanian insurance sector. To achieve this goal, the following tasks have been implemented: the analysis of the theoretical aspects of the factors and methods of the knowledge acquisition process; the establishment of the factors specific to organizations in Lithuanian insurance sector for the purposes of assessing the knowledge acquisition process; the identification of the problematic areas of the knowledge

  13. Interprofessional Simulations Promote Knowledge Retention and Enhance Perceptions of Teamwork Skills in a Surgical-Trauma-Burn Intensive Care Unit Setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    George, Katie L; Quatrara, Beth

    The current state of health care encompasses highly acute, complex patients, managed with ever-changing technology. The ability to function proficiently in critical care relies on knowledge, technical skills, and interprofessional teamwork. Integration of these factors can improve patient outcomes. Simulation provides "hands-on" practice and allows for the integration of teamwork into knowledge/skill training. However, simulation can require a significant investment of time, effort, and financial resources. The Institute of Medicine recommendations from 2015 include "strengthening the evidence base for interprofessional education (IPE)" and "linking IPE with changes in collaborative behavior." In one surgical-trauma-burn intensive care unit (STBICU), no IPE existed. The highly acute and diverse nature of the patients served by the unit highlights the importance of appropriate training. This is heightened during critical event situations where patients deteriorate rapidly and the team intervenes swiftly. The aims of this study were to (1) evaluate knowledge retention and analyze changes in perceptions of teamwork among nurses and resident physicians in a STBICU setting after completion of an interprofessional critical event simulation and (2) provide insight for future interprofessional simulations (IPSs), including the ideal frequency of such training, associated cost, and potential effect on nursing turnover. A comparison-cohort pilot study was developed to evaluate knowledge retention and analyze changes in perceptions of teamwork. A 1-hour critical event IPS was held for nurses and resident physicians in a STBICU setting. A traumatic brain injury patient with elevated intracranial pressure, rapid deterioration, and cardiac arrest was utilized for the simulation scenario. The simulation required the team to use interventions to reduce elevated intracranial pressure and then perform cardiac resuscitation according to Advanced Cardiac Life Support guidelines. A

  14. Science and rhetoric in a globalizing public sphere: mediating systems of climate change knowledge and action

    OpenAIRE

    Üzelgün, Mehmet Ali

    2014-01-01

    Mestrado em Psicologia / Classification (PsychINFO): 3000 Social Psychology 3040 Social Perception & Cognition 4070 Environmental questions e attitudes People’s knowledge and beliefs about intangible problems such as climate change rely heavily on mediated discourses of science and policy. This thesis employs a dialogical and rhetorical approach to social representations to examine how two mediating systems -the mainstream press and environmental non-governmental organizatio...

  15. Triple-loop learning as foundation for profound change, individual cultivation, and radical innovation. Construction processes beyond scientific and rational knowledge.

    OpenAIRE

    Peschl, Markus F.

    2007-01-01

    Purpose: Ernst von Glasersfeld’s question concerning the relationship between scientific/ rational knowledge and the domain of wisdom and how these forms of knowledge come about is the starting point. This article aims at developing an epistemological as well as methodological framework that is capable of explaining how profound change can be brought about in various contexts, such as in individual cultivation, in organizations, in processes of radical innovation, etc. This fra...

  16. The role of the Asian winter monsoon in the rapid propagation of abrupt climate changes during the last deglaciation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chu, Guoqiang; Sun, Qing; Zhu, Qingzeng; Shan, Yabing; Shang, Wenyu; Ling, Yuan; Su, Youliang; Xie, Manman; Wang, Xishen; Liu, Jiaqi

    2017-12-01

    High-resolution temperature records spanning the last deglaciation from low latitudes are scarce; however, they are important for understanding the rapid propagation of abrupt climate events throughout the Northern Hemisphere and the tropics. Here, we present a branched GDGTs-based temperature reconstruction from the sediments of Maar Lake Huguangyan in tropical China. The record reveals that the mean temperature during the Oldest Dryas was 17.8 °C, which was followed by a two-step increase of 2-3 °C to the Bølling-Allerød, a decrease to 19.8 °C during the Younger Dryas, and a rapid warming at the onset of the Holocene. The Oldest Dryas was about 2 °C warmer than the Younger Dryas. The reconstructed temperature was weighted towards the wintertime since the lake is monomictic and the mixing process in winter supplies nutrients from the lake bottom to the entire water column, greatly promoting biological productivity. In addition, the winter-biased temperature changes observed in the study are more distinctive than the summer-biased temperature records from extra-tropical regions of East Asia. This implies that the temperature decreases during abrupt climatic events were mainly a winter phenomenon. Within the limits of the dating uncertainties, the broadly similar pattern of winter-weighted temperature change observed in both tropical Lake Huguangyan and in Greenland ice cores indicates the occurrence of tightly-coupled interactions between high latitude ice sheets and land areas in the tropics. We suggest that the winter monsoon (especially cold surges) could play an important role in the rapid transmission of the temperature signal from the Arctic to the tropics.

  17. Economic analyses of rapid population growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Birdsall, N

    1989-01-01

    "Discussion of the macroeconomic consequences of rapid population growth is organized into three schools: pessimists, optimists, and the recent revisionists. For the revisionists, differing views are presented about the pervasiveness and relevance of market failures, such as the negative externalities of childbearing, and about the ability of families and institutions to adjust rapidly to changes brought on by rapid population growth. A welfare economics approach is used to review the merits of various public policies to reduce fertility, including public financing of family planning services and taxes and incentives associated with childbearing." The focus is on developing countries. excerpt

  18. Organisational change and knowledge management in urban regeneration planning

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Jacob Norvig; Engberg, Lars A.

    2011-01-01

    Place­‐based urban policy interventions have added new and innovative solutions to increasingly complex and intertwined economic, social, and physical planning problems in urban locations. Whereas these approaches in the first place were initiated top-­‐down, they eventually result...... in the cultivation and production of new local knowledge of planning needs and on-­‐site experiences with implementation of planning. Thereby, new knowledge is brought into the open, and it confronts existing local government planning as well as the traditional bureaucracy’s division of labour between specialised...

  19. Innoversity in knowledge-for-action and adaptation to climate change: the first steps of an 'evidence-based climatic health' transfrontier training program

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Véronique Lapaige

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Véronique Lapaige1–3, Hélène Essiembre41Department of Psychiatry, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada; 2Fernand-Seguin Research Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada; 3Quebec National Public Health Institute; 4Industrial and Organizational Program, Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, CanadaAbstract: It has become increasingly clear to the international scientific community that climate change is real and has important consequences for human health. To meet these new challenges, the World Health Organization recommends reinforcing the adaptive capacity of health systems. One of the possible avenues in this respect is to promote awareness and knowledge translation in climatic health, at both the local and global scales. Within such perspective, two major themes have emerged in the field of public health research: 1 the development of advanced training adapted to 'global environment' change and to the specific needs of various groups of actors (doctors, nurses, public health practitioners, health care managers, public service managers, local communities, etc and 2 the development of strategies for implementing research results and applying various types of evidence to the management of public health issues affected by climate change. Progress on these two fronts will depend on maximum innovation in transdisciplinary and transsectoral collaborations. The general purpose of this article is to present the program of a new research and learning chair designed for this double set of developmental objectives – a chair that emphasizes 'innoversity' (the dynamic relationship between innovation and diversity and 'transfrontier ecolearning for adaptive actions'. The Écoapprentissages, santé mentale et climat collaborative research chair (University of Montreal and Quebec National Public Health Institute based in Montreal is a center for 'transdisciplinary research' on the transfrontier knowledge-for-action that can aid

  20. Climate-driven changes in functional biogeography of Arctic marine fish communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frainer, André; Primicerio, Raul; Kortsch, Susanne; Aune, Magnus; Dolgov, Andrey V; Fossheim, Maria; Aschan, Michaela M

    2017-11-14

    Climate change triggers poleward shifts in species distribution leading to changes in biogeography. In the marine environment, fish respond quickly to warming, causing community-wide reorganizations, which result in profound changes in ecosystem functioning. Functional biogeography provides a framework to address how ecosystem functioning may be affected by climate change over large spatial scales. However, there are few studies on functional biogeography in the marine environment, and none in the Arctic, where climate-driven changes are most rapid and extensive. We investigated the impact of climate warming on the functional biogeography of the Barents Sea, which is characterized by a sharp zoogeographic divide separating boreal from Arctic species. Our unique dataset covered 52 fish species, 15 functional traits, and 3,660 stations sampled during the recent warming period. We found that the functional traits characterizing Arctic fish communities, mainly composed of small-sized bottom-dwelling benthivores, are being rapidly replaced by traits of incoming boreal species, particularly the larger, longer lived, and more piscivorous species. The changes in functional traits detected in the Arctic can be predicted based on the characteristics of species expected to undergo quick poleward shifts in response to warming. These are the large, generalist, motile species, such as cod and haddock. We show how functional biogeography can provide important insights into the relationship between species composition, diversity, ecosystem functioning, and environmental drivers. This represents invaluable knowledge in a period when communities and ecosystems experience rapid climate-driven changes across biogeographical regions. Copyright © 2017 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

  1. Linking Hunter Knowledge with Forest Change to Understand Changing Deer Harvest Opportunities in Intensively Logged Landscapes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Todd J. Brinkman

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available The effects of landscape changes caused by intensive logging on the availability of wild game are important when the harvest of wild game is a critical cultural practice, food source, and recreational activity. We assessed the influence of extensive industrial logging on the availability of wild game by drawing on local knowledge and ecological science to evaluate the relationship between forest change and opportunities to harvest Sitka black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. We used data collected through interviews with local deer hunters and GIS analysis of land cover to determine relationships among landscape change, hunter access, and habitat for deer hunting over the last 50 yr. We then used these relationships to predict how harvest opportunities may change in the future. Intensive logging from 1950 into the 1990s provided better access to deer and habitat that facilitated deer hunting. However, successional changes in intensively logged forests in combination with a decline in current logging activity have reduced access to deer and increased undesirable habitat for deer hunting. In this new landscape, harvest opportunities in previously logged landscapes have declined, and hunters identify second-growth forest as one of the least popular habitats for hunting. Given the current state of the logging industry in Alaska, it is unlikely that the logging of the remaining old-growth forests or intensive management of second-growth forests will cause hunter opportunities to rebound to historic levels. Instead, hunter opportunities may continue to decline for at least another human generation, even if the long-term impacts of logging activity and deer harvest on deer numbers are minimal. Adapting hunting strategies to focus on naturally open habitats such as alpine and muskeg that are less influenced by external market forces may require considerably more hunting effort but provide the best option for

  2. Scotland's Knowledge Network: translating knowledge into action to improve quality of care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wales, A; Graham, S; Rooney, K; Crawford, A

    2012-11-01

    The Knowledge Network (www.knowledge.scot.nhs.uk) is Scotland's online knowledge service for health and social care. It is designed to support practitioners to apply knowledge in frontline delivery of care, helping to translate knowledge into better health-care outcomes through safe, effective, person-centred care. The Knowledge Network helps to combine the worlds of evidence-based practice and quality improvement by providing access to knowledge about the effectiveness of clinical interventions ('know-what') and knowledge about how to implement this knowledge to support individual patients in working health-care environments ('know-how'). An 'evidence and guidance' search enables clinicians to quickly access quality-assured evidence and best practice, while point of care and mobile solutions provide knowledge in actionable formats to embed in clinical workflow. This research-based knowledge is complemented by social networking services and improvement tools which support the capture and exchange of knowledge from experience, facilitating practice change and systems improvement. In these cases, the Knowledge Network supports key components of the knowledge-to-action cycle--acquiring, creating, sharing and disseminating knowledge to improve performance and innovate. It provides a vehicle for implementing the recommendations of the national Knowledge into Action review, which outlines a new national approach to embedding knowledge in frontline practice and systems improvement.

  3. A culture of technical knowledge: Professionalizing science and engineering education in late-nineteenth century America

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nienkamp, Paul

    This manuscript examines the intellectual, cultural, and practical approaches to science and engineering education as a part of the land-grant college movement in the Midwest between the 1850s and early 1900s. These land-grant institutions began and grew within unique frontier societies that both cherished self-reliance and diligently worked to make themselves part of the larger national experience. College administrators and professors encountered rapidly changing public expectations, regional needs, and employment requirements. They recognized a dire need for technically skilled men and women who could quickly adapt to changes in equipment and processes, and implement advances in scientific knowledge in American homes, fields, and factories. Charged with educating the "industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life," land-grant college supporters and professors sought out the most modern and innovative instructional methods. Combining the humanities, sciences, and practical skills that they believed uniquely suited student needs, these pioneering educators formulated new curricula and training programs that advanced both the knowledge and the social standing of America's agricultural and mechanical working classes.

  4. The meaning of teacher competence in contexts of change: In search of missing elements of a knowledge base for teacher education – moral purposes and change agentry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pantic, N.

    2011-01-01

    The thesis contributes to an articulation of a more comprehensive knowledge base for teacher education. It explores the concept of teacher competence as basis for teacher education including preparation for moral roles and change agentry. The thesis develops tools for exploration of the

  5. Placing knowledge

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Adriansen, Hanne Kirstine; Valentin, Karen; Nielsen, Gritt B.

    ; on the other hand, the rationale for strengthening mobility through internationalisation is based on an imagination of the potentials of particular locations (academic institutions). Intrigued by this tension between universality and particularity in academic knowledge production, this paper presents...... preliminary findings from a project that study internationalisation of higher education as an agent in the interrelated processes of place-making and knowledge-making. The project is based on three case-studies. In this paper, focus is on PhD students’ change of research environment. This is used as a case......Internationalisation of higher education is premised by a seeming paradox: On the one hand, academic knowledge strives to be universal in the sense that it claims to produce generalizable, valid and reliable knowledge that can be used, critiqued, and redeveloped by academics from all over the world...

  6. Interim Results of a National Test of the Rapid Assessment of Hospital Procurement Barriers in Donation (RAPiD)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Traino, H. M.; Alolod, G. P.; Shafer, T.; Siminoff, L. A.

    2012-01-01

    Organ donation remains a major public health challenge with over 114 000 people on the waitlist in the United States. Among other factors, extant research highlights the need to improve the identification and timely referral of potential donors by hospital health-care providers (HCPs) to organ procurement organizations (OPOs). We implemented a national test of the Rapid Assessment of hospital Procurement barriers in Donation (RAPiD) to identify assets and barriers to the organ donation and patient referral processes; assess hospital–OPO relationships and offer tailored recommendations for improving these processes. Having partnered with seven OPOs, data were collected at 70 hospitals with high donor potential in the form of direct observations and interviews with 2358 HCPs. We found that donation attitudes and knowledge among HCPs were high, but use of standard referral criteria was lacking. Significant differences were found in the donation-related attitudes, knowledge and behaviors of physicians and emergency department staff as compared to other staff in intensive care units with high organ donor potential. Also, while OPO staff were generally viewed positively, they were often perceived as outsiders rather than members of healthcare teams. Recommendations for improving the referral and donation processes are discussed. PMID:22900761

  7. The intellectual structure and substance of the knowledge utilization field: a longitudinal author co-citation analysis, 1945 to 2004.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Estabrooks, Carole A; Derksen, Linda; Winther, Connie; Lavis, John N; Scott, Shannon D; Wallin, Lars; Profetto-McGrath, Joanne

    2008-11-13

    It has been argued that science and society are in the midst of a far-reaching renegotiation of the social contract between science and society, with society becoming a far more active partner in the creation of knowledge. On the one hand, new forms of knowledge production are emerging, and on the other, both science and society are experiencing a rapid acceleration in new forms of knowledge utilization. Concomitantly since the Second World War, the science underpinning the knowledge utilization field has had exponential growth. Few in-depth examinations of this field exist, and no comprehensive analyses have used bibliometric methods. Using bibliometric analysis, specifically first author co-citation analysis, our group undertook a domain analysis of the knowledge utilization field, tracing its historical development between 1945 and 2004. Our purposes were to map the historical development of knowledge utilization as a field, and to identify the changing intellectual structure of its scientific domains. We analyzed more than 5,000 articles using citation data drawn from the Web of Science. Search terms were combinations of knowledge, research, evidence, guidelines, ideas, science, innovation, technology, information theory and use, utilization, and uptake. We provide an overview of the intellectual structure and how it changed over six decades. The field does not become large enough to represent with a co-citation map until the mid-1960s. Our findings demonstrate vigorous growth from the mid-1960s through 2004, as well as the emergence of specialized domains reflecting distinct collectives of intellectual activity and thought. Until the mid-1980s, the major domains were focused on innovation diffusion, technology transfer, and knowledge utilization. Beginning slowly in the mid-1980s and then growing rapidly, a fourth scientific domain, evidence-based medicine, emerged. The field is dominated in all decades by one individual, Everett Rogers, and by one paradigm

  8. Measurement of Change in the Knowledge and Attitude about Leprosy in Physiotherapy Students Undergoing Intensive One Week Training in Leprosy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prakashkumar, M D; Ebenezer, M; Richard, J

    2014-01-01

    Leprosy is a disease that causes not only physical problems, but also mental and social problems. In the post integration era, every health care professional needs to understand about leprosy, to be able to diagnose and treat them. Physiotherapy students, in their usual syllabus, have minimal exposure to leprosy, in spite of the fact that they have a major role in preventing impairments and disabilities caused by leprosy, as well as treating such impairments. In order to educate physiotherapy students on leprosy, a one-week intensive training course was organised. This study was done to assess if the intensive training to physiotherapy students resulted in increase in their knowledge on leprosy and change their attitude positively. A batch consisting of 42 physiotherapy students went through the one-week training programme. The improvement in knowledge and attitude were assessed through a pre-test and a post-test design. Results showed that there was significant improvement in knowledge (53.05%) and brought positive change in attitude (75.0%). Such training programmes are recommended for all physiotherapy students.

  9. Using video and theater to increase knowledge and change attitudes-Why are gorillas important to the world and to Congo?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breuer, Thomas; Mavinga, Franck Barrel; Evans, Ron; Lukas, Kristen E

    2017-10-01

    Applying environmental education in primate range countries is an important long-term activity to stimulate pro-conservation behavior. Within captive settings, mega-charismatic species, such as great apes are often used to increase knowledge and positively influence attitudes of visitors. Here, we evaluate the effectiveness of a short-term video and theater program developed for a Western audience and adapted to rural people living in two villages around Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, Republic of Congo. We assessed the knowledge gain and attitude change using oral evaluation in the local language (N = 111). Overall pre-program knowledge about Western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) was high. Detailed multivariate analysis of pre-program knowledge revealed differences in knowledge between two villages and people with different jobs while attitudes largely were similar between groups. The short-term education program was successful in raising knowledge, particularly of those people with less pre-program knowledge. We also noted an overall significant attitude improvement. Our data indicate short-term education programs are useful in quickly raising knowledge as well improving attitudes. Furthermore, education messages need to be clearly adapted to the daily livelihood realities of the audience, and multi-variate analysis can help to identify potential target groups for education programs. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. Changing climate, changing frames

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vink, Martinus J.; Boezeman, Daan; Dewulf, Art; Termeer, Catrien J.A.M.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► We show development of flood policy frames in context of climate change attention. ► Rising attention on climate change influences traditional flood policy framing. ► The new framing employs global-scale scientific climate change knowledge. ► With declining attention, framing disregards climate change, using local knowledge. ► We conclude that frames function as sensemaking devices selectively using knowledge. -- Abstract: Water management and particularly flood defence have a long history of collective action in low-lying countries like the Netherlands. The uncertain but potentially severe impacts of the recent climate change issue (e.g. sea level rise, extreme river discharges, salinisation) amplify the wicked and controversial character of flood safety policy issues. Policy proposals in this area generally involve drastic infrastructural works and long-term investments. They face the difficult challenge of framing problems and solutions in a publicly acceptable manner in ever changing circumstances. In this paper, we analyse and compare (1) how three key policy proposals publicly frame the flood safety issue, (2) the knowledge referred to in the framing and (3) how these frames are rhetorically connected or disconnected as statements in a long-term conversation. We find that (1) framings of policy proposals differ in the way they depict the importance of climate change, the relevant timeframe and the appropriate governance mode; (2) knowledge is selectively mobilised to underpin the different frames and (3) the frames about these proposals position themselves against the background of the previous proposals through rhetorical connections and disconnections. Finally, we discuss how this analysis hints at the importance of processes of powering and puzzling that lead to particular framings towards the public at different historical junctures

  11. Shifts in frog size and phenology: Testing predictions of climate change on a widespread anuran using data from prior to rapid climate warming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheridan, Jennifer A; Caruso, Nicholas M; Apodaca, Joseph J; Rissler, Leslie J

    2018-01-01

    Changes in body size and breeding phenology have been identified as two major ecological consequences of climate change, yet it remains unclear whether climate acts directly or indirectly on these variables. To better understand the relationship between climate and ecological changes, it is necessary to determine environmental predictors of both size and phenology using data from prior to the onset of rapid climate warming, and then to examine spatially explicit changes in climate, size, and phenology, not just general spatial and temporal trends. We used 100 years of natural history collection data for the wood frog, Lithobates sylvaticus with a range >9 million km 2 , and spatially explicit environmental data to determine the best predictors of size and phenology prior to rapid climate warming (1901-1960). We then tested how closely size and phenology changes predicted by those environmental variables reflected actual changes from 1961 to 2000. Size, phenology, and climate all changed as expected (smaller, earlier, and warmer, respectively) at broad spatial scales across the entire study range. However, while spatially explicit changes in climate variables accurately predicted changes in phenology, they did not accurately predict size changes during recent climate change (1961-2000), contrary to expectations from numerous recent studies. Our results suggest that changes in climate are directly linked to observed phenological shifts. However, the mechanisms driving observed body size changes are yet to be determined, given the less straightforward relationship between size and climate factors examined in this study. We recommend that caution be used in "space-for-time" studies where measures of a species' traits at lower latitudes or elevations are considered representative of those under future projected climate conditions. Future studies should aim to determine mechanisms driving trends in phenology and body size, as well as the impact of climate on population

  12. The Partnership between Project Management and Organizational Change: Integrating Change Management with Change Leadership

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffith-Cooper, Barber; King, Karyl

    2007-01-01

    The nature of project management is change. Even though all knowledge areas in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) are rooted in controlling change, none of these areas specifically addresses the human elements of change. There is a significant distinction between directly controlling change relative to the nonhuman aspects of a…

  13. Highways of Knowledge

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cappelen, Katja Strøm; Højmark, Jeppe; Nielsen, Christian

    The objective of this paper is to discuss mechanisms, enablers and barriers for knowledge transfer in university - industry collaboration projects. The underlying question is how to acquire the right kind of knowledge to stay innovative and competitive in today’s fast changing society. The study......, such as student-industry cooperation or collaboration projects between researchers and businesses. This research shows that to secure real value adding through knowledge transfer in university - in-dustry collaboration projects, it is important that the involved parties view each other as equal part......-ners. Allowing for curiosity, mutual sharing and experimentation might lead to unforeseeable, valu-able knowledge creation in contrast to secrecy and holding back information. Another key finding in this paper is that the level of reciprocal knowledge transfer is perceived as lower in student - business...

  14. Emotional Knowledge: the Hidden Part of the Knowledge Iceberg

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Contantin BRĂTIANU

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available According to Daniel Kahneman (2011, our thinking process is based on two systems: system 1 operates automatically and quickly, with little awareness of voluntary control, system2 operates slowly and constructs thoughts in a logic order. System 1 processes actually emotional knowledge using our unconscious cognitive capability. Cognitive scientists discovered that we are primarily emotional decision makers, which means that managers and leaders need to rely on their emotional knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to present a qualitative and quantitative research concerning the paradox of emotional knowledge. That means that on one hand most of us ignore emotional knowledge by identifying knowledge with cognitive knowledge, and on the other hand by using emotional knowledge in decision making. The qualitative research has been done by reflecting on knowledge management, strategic management and change management literature concerning emotional knowledge and emotional intelligence, while the quantitative research has been done by conceiving a questionnaire and using it in an academic environment. A total of 1200 questionnaires were distributed to the students of Bucharest University of Economic Studies, and we got a response rate of 37%. Each questionnaire contains 40 questions concerning the awareness, education, transfer, and management of emotional knowledge. The data has been processed with the help of the specialized software SPSS version 19, and AMOS version 18. Statistical analysis includes both exploratory and confirmatory factorial analysis. The results of the statistical analysis reveal the main influence factors affecting our understanding of emotional knowledge, the way we learn through education about emotional knowledge, the way this knowledge is transferred, and the importance of using it by managers and leaders.

  15. Single wafer rapid thermal multiprocessing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saraswat, K.C.; Moslehi, M.M.; Grossman, D.D.; Wood, S.; Wright, P.; Booth, L.

    1989-01-01

    Future success in microelectronics will demand rapid innovation, rapid product introduction and ability to react to a change in technological and business climate quickly. These technological advances in integrated electronics will require development of flexible manufacturing technology for VLSI systems. However, the current approach of establishing factories for mass manufacturing of chips at a cost of more than 200 million dollars is detrimental to flexible manufacturing. The authors propose concepts of a micro factory which may be characterized by more economical small scale production, higher flexibility to accommodate many products on several processes, and faster turnaround and learning. In-situ multiprocessing equipment where several process steps can be done in sequence may be a key ingredient in this approach. For this environment to be flexible, the equipment must have ability to change processing environment, requiring extensive in-situ measurements and real time control. This paper describes the development of a novel single wafer rapid thermal multiprocessing (RTM) reactor for next generation flexible VLSI manufacturing. This reactor will combine lamp heating, remote microwave plasma and photo processing in a single cold-wall chamber, with applications for multilayer in-situ growth and deposition of dielectrics, semiconductors and metals

  16. Knowledge and perceptions about the health impact of climate change among health sciences students in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nigatu, Andualem S; Asamoah, Benedict O; Kloos, Helmut

    2014-06-11

    Climate change affects human health in various ways. Health planners and policy makers are increasingly addressing potential health impacts of climate change. Ethiopia is vulnerable to these impacts. Assessing students' knowledge, understanding and perception about the health impact of climate change may promote educational endeavors to increase awareness of health impacts linked to climate change and to facilitate interventions. A cross-sectional study using a questionnaire was carried out among the health science students at Haramaya University. Quantitative methods were used to analyze the results. Over three quarters of the students were aware of health consequences of climate change, with slightly higher rates in females than males and a range from 60.7% (pharmacy students) to 100% (environmental health and post-graduate public health students). Electronic mass media was reportedly the major source of information but almost all (87.7%) students stated that their knowledge was insufficient to fully understand the public health impacts of climate change. Students who knew about climate change were more likely to perceive it as a serious health threat than those who were unaware of these impacts [OR: 17.8, 95% CI: 8.8-32.1] and also considered their departments to be concerned about climate change (OR: 7.3, 95% CI: 2.8-18.8), a perception that was also significantly more common among students who obtained their information from the electronic mass media and schools (p health impacts of climate change. Health sciences students at Haramaya University may benefit from a more comprehensive curriculum on climate change and its impacts on health.

  17. Knowledge exchange for climate adaptation planning in western North America

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garfin, Gregg; Orr, Barron

    2015-04-01

    In western North America, the combination of sustained drought, rapid ecosystem changes, and land use changes associated with urban population growth has motivated concern among ecosystem managers about the implications of future climate changes for the landscapes which they manage. Through literature review, surveys, and workshop discussions, we assess the process of moving from concern, to planning, to action, with an emphasis on questions, such as: What are the roles of boundary organizations in facilitating knowledge exchange? Which practices lead to effective interactions between scientists, decision-makers, and knowledge brokers? While there is no "one size fits all" science communication method, the co-production of science and policy by research scientists, science translators, and decision-makers, as co-equals, is a resource intensive, but effective practice for moving adaptation planning forward. Constructive approaches make use of alliances with early adopters and opinion leaders, and make strong communication links between predictions, impacts and solutions. Resource managers need information on the basics of regional climate variability and global climate change, region-specific projections of climate changes and impacts, frank discussion of uncertainties, and opportunities for candid exploration of these topics with peers and subject experts. Research scientists play critical roles in adaptation planning discussions, because they assist resource managers in clarifying the cascade of interactions leading to potential impacts and, importantly, because decision-makers want to hear the information straight from the scientists conducting the research, which bolsters credibility. We find that uncertainty, formerly a topic to avoided, forms the foundation for constructive progress in adaptation planning. Candid exploration of the array of uncertainties, including those due to modeling, institutional, policy and economic factors, with practitioners, science

  18. From Cultural Knowledge to Intercultural Communicative Competence: Changing Perspectives on the Role of Culture in Foreign Language Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piatkowska, Katarzyna

    2015-01-01

    Approaches to the concept of culture and teaching cultural competence in a foreign language classroom have been changing over the last decades. The paper summarises, compares, contrasts and evaluates four major approaches to teaching cultural competence in foreign language teaching, that is, knowledge-based approach, contrastive approach,…

  19. Knowledge Management at CNAT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Callosada, C. de la

    2016-07-01

    Knowledge management at CNAT (Almaraz & Trillo NPPs) representsa significant part of our safety-oriented management system. The purpose is to generate for the stations useful knowledge, which should be then preserved and made easily accessible for everyone in the organization. The aim is to promote knowledge usage for ensuring safe plant operation and facilitating the required generational change-over. In fact, knowledge management is considered one of the main policies at CNAT, with everyone in the organization being expected to collaborate in it. Similarly, some general behavioral expectations at CNAT are directly or indirectly related to knowledge management (i.e. qualification, teamwork, learning and continuous improvement). (Author)

  20. Are rapid changes in brain elasticity possible?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, K. J.

    2017-09-01

    Elastography of the brain is a topic of clinical and preclinical research, motivated by the potential for viscoelastic measures of the brain to provide sensitive indicators of pathological processes, and to assist in early diagnosis. To date, studies of the normal brain and of those with confirmed neurological disorders have reported a wide range of shear stiffness and shear wave speeds, even within similar categories. A range of factors including the shear wave frequency, and the age of the individual are thought to have a possible influence. However, it may be that short term dynamics within the brain may have an influence on the measured stiffness. This hypothesis is addressed quantitatively using the framework of the microchannel flow model, which derives the tissue stiffness, complex modulus, and shear wave speed as a function of the vascular and fluid network in combination with the elastic matrix that comprise the brain. Transformation rules are applied so that any changes in the fluid channels or the elastic matrix can be mapped to changes in observed elastic properties on a macroscopic scale. The results are preliminary but demonstrate that measureable, time varying changes in brain stiffness are possible simply by accounting for vasodynamic or electrochemical changes in the state of any region of the brain. The value of this preliminary exploration is to identify possible mechanisms and order-of-magnitude changes that may be testable in vivo by specialized protocols.

  1. Shifts in hatch dates do not provide pied flycatchers with a rapid ontogenetic route to adjust offspring time schedules to climate change

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ouwehand, Janne; Burger, Claudia; Both, Christiaan

    1. Environments change rapidly, and it is unclear whether organisms with complex life-styles, such as avian migrants, are able to adjust sufficiently. For understanding human impacts on ecosystem functioning, it is crucial to understand how well, and by which mechanisms species are able to adapt. 2.

  2. Changes in physiotherapy students' knowledge and perceptions of EBP from first year to graduation: a mixed methods study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McEvoy, Maureen P; Lewis, Lucy K; Luker, Julie

    2018-05-11

    Dedicated Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) courses are often included in health professional education programs. It is important to understand the effectiveness of this training. This study investigated EBP outcomes in entry-level physiotherapy students from baseline to completion of all EBP training (graduation). Mixed methods with an explanatory sequential design. Physiotherapy students completed two psychometrically-tested health professional EBP instruments at baseline and graduation. The Evidence-Based Practice Profile questionnaire collected self-reported data (Terminology, Confidence, Practice, Relevance, Sympathy), and the Knowledge of Research Evidence Competencies instrument collected objective data (Actual Knowledge). Focus groups with students were conducted at graduation to gain a deeper understanding of the factors impacting changes in students' EBP knowledge, attitudes, behaviour and competency. Descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, 95% CI and effect sizes (ES) were used to examine changes in outcome scores from baseline to graduation. Transcribed focus group data were analysed following a qualitative descriptive approach with thematic analysis. A second stage of merged data analysis for mixed methods studies was undertaken using side-by-side comparisons to explore quantitatively assessed EBP measures with participants' personal perceptions. Data were analysed from 56 participants who completed both instruments at baseline and graduation, and from 21 focus group participants. Large ES were reported across most outcomes: Relevance (ES 2.29, p ≤ 0.001), Practice (1.8, p ≤ 0.001), Confidence (1.67, p ≤ 0.001), Terminology (3.13, p ≤ 0.001) and Actual Knowledge (4.3, p ≤ 0.001). A medium ES was found for Sympathy (0.49, p = 0.008). Qualitative and quantitative findings mostly aligned but for statistical terminology, participants' self-reported understanding was disparate with focus group reported experiences. Qualitative

  3. Study on Knowledge Propagation in Complex Networks Based on Preferences, Taking Wechat as Example

    OpenAIRE

    Chen, Si-hua; He, Wei

    2014-01-01

    As platform based on users’ relationship to acquire, share, and propagate knowledge, Wechat develops very rapidly and becomes an important channel to spread knowledge. This new way to propagate knowledge is quite different from the traditional media way which enables knowledge to be spread surprisingly in Wechat. Based on complex network theory and the analysis of the factors which influence the knowledge propagation in Wechat, this paper summarizes the behavior preferences of Wechat users in...

  4. Impact of a United Kingdom-wide campaign to tackle antimicrobial resistance on self-reported knowledge and behaviour change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaintarli, Katerina; Ingle, Suzanne M; Bhattacharya, Alex; Ashiru-Oredope, Diane; Oliver, Isabel; Gobin, Maya

    2016-05-12

    As part of the 2014 European Antibiotic Awareness Day plans, a new campaign called Antibiotic Guardian (AG) was launched in the United Kingdom, including an online pledge system to increase commitment from healthcare professionals and members of the public to reduce antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The aim of this evaluation was to determine the impact of the campaign on self-reported knowledge and behaviour around AMR. An online survey was sent to 9016 Antibiotic Guardians (AGs) to assess changes in self-reported knowledge and behaviour (outcomes) following the campaign. Logistic regression models, adjusted for variables including age, sex and pledge group (pledging as member of public or as healthcare professional), were used to estimate associations between outcomes and AG characteristics. 2478 AGs responded to the survey (27.5 % response rate) of whom 1696 (68.4 %) pledged as healthcare professionals and 782 (31.6 %) as members of public (similar proportions to the total number of AGs). 96.3 % of all AGs who responded had prior knowledge of AMR. 73.5 % of participants were female and participants were most commonly between 45 and 54 years old. Two thirds (63.4 %) of participants reported always acting according to their pledge. Members of the public were more likely to act in line with their pledge than professionals (Odds Ratio (OR) =3.60, 95 % Confidence Interval (CI): 2.88-4.51). Approximately half of participants (44.5 %) (both healthcare professionals and members of public) reported that they acquired more knowledge about AMR post-campaign. People that were confused about AMR prior to the campaign acquired more knowledge after the campaign (OR = 3.10, 95 % CI: 1.36-7.09). More participants reported a sense of personal responsibility towards tackling AMR post-campaign, increasing from 58.3 % of participants pre-campaign to 70.5 % post-campaign. This study demonstrated that the campaign increased commitment to tackling AMR in both healthcare

  5. Rapid environmental change over the past decade revealed by isotopic analysis of the California mussel in the northeast Pacific.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine A Pfister

    Full Text Available The anthropogenic input of fossil fuel carbon into the atmosphere results in increased carbon dioxide (CO(2 into the oceans, a process that lowers seawater pH, decreases alkalinity and can inhibit the production of shell material. Corrosive water has recently been documented in the northeast Pacific, along with a rapid decline in seawater pH over the past decade. A lack of instrumentation prior to the 1990s means that we have no indication whether these carbon cycle changes have precedence or are a response to recent anthropogenic CO(2 inputs. We analyzed stable carbon and oxygen isotopes (δ(13C, δ(18O of decade-old California mussel shells (Mytilus californianus in the context of an instrumental seawater record of the same length. We further compared modern shells to shells from 1000 to 1340 years BP and from the 1960s to the present and show declines in the δ(13C of modern shells that have no historical precedent. Our finding of decline in another shelled mollusk (limpet and our extensive environmental data show that these δ(13C declines are unexplained by changes to the coastal food web, upwelling regime, or local circulation. Our observed decline in shell δ(13C parallels other signs of rapid changes to the nearshore carbon cycle in the Pacific, including a decline in pH that is an order of magnitude greater than predicted by an equilibrium response to rising atmospheric CO(2, the presence of low pH water throughout the region, and a record of a similarly steep decline in δ(13C in algae in the Gulf of Alaska. These unprecedented changes and the lack of a clear causal variable underscores the need for better quantifying carbon dynamics in nearshore environments.

  6. Navigate the Digital Rapids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindsay, Julie; Davis, Vicki

    2010-01-01

    How can teachers teach digital citizenship when the digital landscape is changing so rapidly? How can teachers teach proper online social interactions when the students are outside their classroom and thus outside their control? Will encouraging students to engage in global collaborative environments land teachers in hot water? These are the…

  7. Cone-beam computed tomography evaluation of dental, skeletal, and alveolar bone changes associated with bonded rapid maxillary expansion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Namrata Dogra

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Aims and Objectives: To evaluate skeletal changes in maxilla and its surrounding structures, changes in the maxillary dentition and maxillary alveolar bone changes produced by bonded rapid maxillary expansion (RME using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT. Materials and Methods: The sample consisted of 10 patients (6 males and 4 females with age range 12 to 15 years treated with bonded RME. CBCT scans were performed at T1 (pretreatment and at T2 (immediately after expansion to evaluate the dental, skeletal, and alveolar bone changes. Results: RME treatment increased the overall skeletal parameters such as interorbital, zygomatic, nasal, and maxillary widths. Significant increases in buccal maxillary width was observed at first premolar, second premolar, and first molar level. There was a significant increase in arch width both on the palatal side and on the buccal side. Significant tipping of right and left maxillary first molars was seen. There were significant reductions in buccal bone plate thickness and increase in palatal bone plate thickness. Conclusions: Total expansion achieved with RME was a combination of dental, skeletal and alveolar bone changes. At the first molar level, 28.45% orthopedic, 16.03% alveolar bone bending, and 55.5% orthodontic changes were observed.

  8. How to maintain nuclear competence and knowledge management in Europe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Comsa, Olivia; Meglea, Claudia; Paraschiva, M. V.; Banutoiu, Maria; Popescu, C.

    2002-01-01

    In the next decades, the tasks in nuclear activities will remain important in Europe irrespective of the different energy options decided by the Member State Governments. Radiation protection, safe nuclear plant operation and nuclear waste management where existing, rely on highly skilled people. There are serious concerns about their replacement from the coming generation. Reasons for concern occur now in several reports. Knowledge Management has evolved from an information technology buzzword, into a domain with a wide spectrum of practical applications in a rapidly growing number of organizations. In the information society, knowledge management techniques are seen as the decisive means in concentrating and preserving a company's knowledge, offering easy and fast access to this knowledge (particularly the experts 'implicit' knowledge as opposed to 'explicit' documents), ensuring its efficient use, thus keeping up the company's competitiveness. The variety of techniques employed by a knowledge management such as knowledge portals for easy access and navigation of the knowledge, document management systems for administration of arbitrary documents formats, content managers with extended classification, search and retrieval capabilities, yellow pages connecting the knowledge domain with the knowledgeable persons in the field, and inclusion of existing databases might help overcome the difficulties which are foreseen for the near future. As a consequence, the chances and benefits offered by knowledge management in the nuclear field should not be neglected. First projects use are under way in several countries to investigate these aspects. An efficient knowledge management should have those coming from other domains to enter easily into the nuclear sector. In the end, however, successful recruitment of skilled nuclear personnel will depend mostly on the attractiveness of the sector. In view of enlargement of the European Union, a major additional aspect is that all

  9. Mandibular dental arch short and long-term spontaneous dentoalveolar changes after slow or rapid maxillary expansion: a systematic review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arthur César de Medeiros Alves

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to analyze the short and long-term spontaneous dentoalveolar changes of the mandibular dental arch after slow (SME or rapid (RME maxillary expansion in the mixed and early permanent dentitions. Methods: An electronic search was performed in the following databases: PubMed/Medline, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Embase and Web of Science. Eligibility criteria for article selection included randomized controlled trials and prospective studies written in English, with no restriction of year of publication, involving patients who underwent SME or RME during the mixed or early permanent dentitions. A double-blind search of articles was performed by two reviewers. Initially, the title and the abstract of the studies were read, and their references were also hand-searched for possible missing studies. A methodological quality scoring scale was used to analyze the selected articles. Results: The search retrieved 373 articles, but only 6 were selected for review after application of the eligibility and exclusion criteria. Non-clinically significant spontaneous dentoalveolar changes of approximately 1mm were found in the mandibular dental arch in the short and long-term, after slow or rapid maxillary expansions. Furthermore, no significant differences were found between treated and control groups. Conclusions: There is enough evidence to conclude that negligible short and long-term spontaneous dentoalveolar changes tend to occur in the mandibular dental arch after SME or RME in the mixed and early permanent dentitions. More randomized studies with appropriate control group are required to better evaluate this issue.

  10. Women in Physics in a Rapidly Changing China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Ling-An

    2008-03-01

    Despite the upheavals of the 20th century, physics managed to survive quite well in China, where the first woman president of the American Physical Society was born and bred. During the 1950s as a result of policies that emphasized science and engineering, declared equal rights and equal pay for men and women, and assigned jobs to college graduates irrespective of sex, the number of women in physics increased rapidly, many of whom made notable achievements. Since China's opening up over the last thirty years tremendous changes have taken place, and women now face new opportunities as well as challenges in all aspects of society. Whereas physics used to be regarded as the most elite of the sciences, new fields such as computer science, biotechnology and business are now competing for the best students. Compared with other countries the statistics are not bad; in schools and many physics departments the ratio of women teachers may be 30% or higher, but the numbers drop drastically with rank. Moreover, in some research institutions the ratio of female physicists is actually declining, due to retirement of the older generation and fewer successors. Compulsory retirement for women at an earlier age than for men is also a new factor. Conversely, in recent years the ratio of female graduate students enrolling in physics has increased, even reaching 40% in some universities. However, the reasons for this do not bode well: men are not performing so well as women in entrance exams, while the latter are facing increasing discrimination in employment so they have to seek higher degree qualifications. With the further development of China's economy there will be abundant demand for qualified personnel including women with a physics background. It is imperative to actively support the upcoming generation of women physicists and not lose them in the leaky pipeline. The Chinese Physical Society has taken certain positive steps, such as the recent establishment of the Xie Xi

  11. Object-based change detection in rapid urbanization regions with remotely sensed observations: a case study of Shenzhen, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Lihuang; Dong, Guihua; Wang, Wei-Min; Yang, Lijun; Liang, Hong

    2013-10-01

    China, the most populous country on Earth, has experienced rapid urbanization which is one of the main causes of many environmental and ecological problems. Therefore, the monitoring of rapid urbanization regions and the environment is of critical importance for their sustainable development. In this study, the object-based classification is employed to detect the change of land cover in Shenzhen, which is located in South China and has been urbanized rapidly in recent three decades. First, four Landsat TM images, which were acquired on 1990, 2000 and 2010, respectively, are selected from the image database. Atmospheric corrections are conducted on these images with improved dark-object subtraction technique and surface meteorological observations. Geometric correction is processed with ground control points derived from topographic maps. Second, a region growing multi-resolution segmentation and a soft nearest neighbour classifier are used to finish object-based classification. After analyzing the fraction of difference classes over time series, we conclude that the comparison of derived land cover classes with socio-economic statistics demonstrates the strong positive correlation between built-up classes and urban population as well as gross GDP and GDPs in second and tertiary industries. Two different mechanisms of urbanization, namely new land development and redevelopment, are revealed. Consequently, we found that, the districts of Shenzhen were urbanized through different mechanisms.

  12. Knowledge models as agents of meaninful learning and knowledge creation.

    OpenAIRE

    Fermín María González García; Jorge Fernando Veloz Ortiz; Iovanna Alejandra Rodríguez Moreno; Luis Efrén Velos Ortiz; Beatriz Guardián Soto; Antoni Ballester Valori

    2013-01-01

    The educational change that pushes the current context requires a shift in the unfortunately predominant positivist-behaviourist model that favours mechanical      memoristic learning, ideal breeding ground for the existence and maintenance of conceptual errors, to another cognitive-constructivist that stimulates meaningful learning to allow students to build and master knowledge, therefore to be more creative and critical. We present here a model of knowledge where students construct new...

  13. Extremely rapid directional change during Matuyama-Brunhes geomagnetic polarity reversal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagnotti, Leonardo; Scardia, Giancarlo; Giaccio, Biagio; Liddicoat, Joseph C.; Nomade, Sebastien; Renne, Paul R.; Sprain, Courtney J.

    2014-11-01

    We report a palaeomagnetic investigation of the last full geomagnetic field reversal, the Matuyama-Brunhes (M-B) transition, as preserved in a continuous sequence of exposed lacustrine sediments in the Apennines of Central Italy. The palaeomagnetic record provides the most direct evidence for the tempo of transitional field behaviour yet obtained for the M-B transition. 40Ar/39Ar dating of tephra layers bracketing the M-B transition provides high-accuracy age constraints and indicates a mean sediment accumulation rate of about 0.2 mm yr-1 during the transition. Two relative palaeointensity (RPI) minima are present in the M-B transition. During the terminus of the upper RPI minimum, a directional change of about 180 ° occurred at an extremely fast rate, estimated to be less than 2 ° per year, with no intermediate virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) documented during the transit from the southern to northern hemisphere. Thus, the entry into the Brunhes Normal Chron as represented by the palaeomagnetic directions and VGPs developed in a time interval comparable to the duration of an average human life, which is an order of magnitude more rapid than suggested by current models. The reported investigation therefore provides high-resolution integrated palaeomagnetic and radioisotopic data that document the fine details of the anatomy and tempo of the M-B transition in Central Italy that in turn are crucial for a better understanding of Earth's magnetic field, and for the development of more sophisticated models that are able to describe its global structure and behaviour.

  14. Rapid detox: understanding new treatment approaches for the addicted patient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCabe, S

    2000-01-01

    Despite substantive advances in understanding of genetic and biochemical basis of substance abuse and addiction in the last decade, little information has been translated into alternative treatment models for the addicted patient. Rapid detox, an alternative form of detox treatment, is gaining in both acceptance and popularity. To increase readers' understanding of the neurobiology of addiction and the mode of action of new detox approaches for patients addicted to opiate drugs. A review of the current literature pertaining to rapid detox. Rapid detox is a viable alternative for selected patients attempting to detox from opiate agents of abuse. Increasing knowledge of new treatment approaches allows nurses working to assist addicted patients in planning and receiving treatment based on new awareness of the neurobiology of addiction.

  15. 'Rapid Learning health care in oncology' - an approach towards decision support systems enabling customised radiotherapy'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lambin, Philippe; Roelofs, Erik; Reymen, Bart; Velazquez, Emmanuel Rios; Buijsen, Jeroen; Zegers, Catharina M L; Carvalho, Sara; Leijenaar, Ralph T H; Nalbantov, Georgi; Oberije, Cary; Scott Marshall, M; Hoebers, Frank; Troost, Esther G C; van Stiphout, Ruud G P M; van Elmpt, Wouter; van der Weijden, Trudy; Boersma, Liesbeth; Valentini, Vincenzo; Dekker, Andre

    2013-10-01

    An overview of the Rapid Learning methodology, its results, and the potential impact on radiotherapy. Rapid Learning methodology is divided into four phases. In the data phase, diverse data are collected about past patients, treatments used, and outcomes. Innovative information technologies that support semantic interoperability enable distributed learning and data sharing without additional burden on health care professionals and without the need for data to leave the hospital. In the knowledge phase, prediction models are developed for new data and treatment outcomes by applying machine learning methods to data. In the application phase, this knowledge is applied in clinical practice via novel decision support systems or via extensions of existing models such as Tumour Control Probability models. In the evaluation phase, the predictability of treatment outcomes allows the new knowledge to be evaluated by comparing predicted and actual outcomes. Personalised or tailored cancer therapy ensures not only that patients receive an optimal treatment, but also that the right resources are being used for the right patients. Rapid Learning approaches combined with evidence based medicine are expected to improve the predictability of outcome and radiotherapy is the ideal field to study the value of Rapid Learning. The next step will be to include patient preferences in the decision making. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  16. Resilience-based perspectives to guiding high-nature-value farmland through socioeconomic change

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Plieninger, Tobias; Bieling, Claudia

    2013-01-01

    and their integration into HNV farmland management: (1) coupling of social and ecological systems, (2) key variables, (3) adaptive cycles, (4) regime shifts, (5) cascading effects, (6) ecosystem stewardship and collaboration, (7) social capital, and (8) traditional ecological knowledge. We argue that previous...... conservation efforts for HNV farmland have focused too much on static, isolated, and monosectoral conservation strategies, and that stimulation of resilience and adaptation is essential for guiding HNV farmland through rapid change....

  17. Human adaptation responses to a rapidly changing Arctic: A research context for building system resilience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapin, T.; Brinkman, T. J.

    2016-12-01

    Although human behavior accounts for more uncertainty in future trajectories in climate change than do biophysical processes, most climate-change research fails to include human actions in research design and implementation. This is well-illustrated in the Arctic. At the global scale, arctic processes strongly influence the strength of biophysical feedbacks between global human emissions and the rate of climate warming. However, most human actions in the arctic have little effect on these feedbacks, so research can contribute most effectively to reduction in arctic warming through improved understanding of the strength of arctic-global biophysical feedbacks, as in NASA's ABoVE program, and its effective communication to policy makers and the public. In contrast, at the local to regional scale within the arctic, human actions may influence the ecological and societal consequences of arctic warming, so research benefits from active stakeholder engagement in research design and implementation. Human communities and other stakeholders (government and NGOs) respond heterogeneously to socioeconomic and environmental change, so research that documents the range of historical and current adaptive responses to change provides insights on the resilience (flexibility of future options) of social-ecological processes in the arctic. Alaskan communities have attempted a range of adaptive responses to coastal erosion (e.g., seasonal migration, protection in place, relocation), wildfire (fire suppression to use of fire to manage wildlife habitat or landscape heterogeneity), declining sea ice (e.g., new hunting technology, sea ice observations and predictions), and changes in wildlife and fish availability (e.g., switch to harvest of alternative species, harvest times, or harvest locations). Research that draws on both traditional and western knowledge facilitates adaptation and predictions of the likely societal consequences of climate change in the Arctic. Effective inclusion of

  18. Traditional ecological knowledge trends in the transition to a market economy: empirical study in the Doñana natural areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-Baggethun, Erik; Mingorría, Sara; Reyes-García, Victoria; Calvet, Laura; Montes, Carlos

    2010-06-01

    Researchers and conservation managers largely agree on the relevance of traditional ecological knowledge for natural resource management in indigenous communities, but its prevalence and role as societies modernize are contested. We analyzed the transmission of traditional knowledge among rural local people in communities linked to protected areas in Doñana, southwestern Spain. We studied changes in knowledge related to local practices in agriculture and livestock farming among 198 informants from three generations that cover the period in which the area transited from an economy strongly dependent on local ecosystem services to a market economy with intensified production systems. Our results suggest an abrupt loss of traditional agricultural knowledge related to rapid transformations and intensification of agricultural systems, but maintenance of knowledge of traditional livestock farming, an activity allowed in the protected areas that maintains strong links with local cultural identity. Our results demonstrate the potential of protected areas in protecting remaining bodies of traditional ecological knowledge in developed country settings. Nevertheless, we note that strict protection in cultural-landscape-dominated areas can disrupt transmission of traditional knowledge if local resource users and related practices are excluded from ecosystem management.

  19. Increasing the Chances of Implementing NGSS by Bolstering High School Teacher Knowledge and Views about Climate Change, a NICE NASA Example

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bleicher, R. E.

    2013-12-01

    Purpose of Presentation This paper will highlight how the results of this initial study foreshadow possibilities of NGSS (NGSS, 2013) playing out in high school classrooms in the near future. Research findings from a three-year NASA-funded project, Promoting Educational Leadership in Climate Science (PEL) will be presented. Objectives and Research Questions PEL aims to increase climate science literacy in high school teachers and students through scientific argumentation using authentic NASA data. This initial study focuses on the following questions: 1. Are teachers increasing their climate science knowledge? 2. Are there changes in teachers' views about climate change? 3. What resources and are provided to assist teachers to develop their students' scientific argumentation skills? Theoretical Framework Because of the changing nature of climate science knowledge and its relevance to societal issues, teachers must be able to understand the basic concepts and remain up-to-date on scientific issues. The need for a more thorough understanding of the concepts of climate change are highlighted by recent studies on the public perceptions and attitudes on the subject (Leiserowitz et al., 2013). Teachers need to understand the difference between skepticism as a characteristic of the nature of science and denial of climate change (Sommervillle & Hasol, 2011). Teachers need to understand the natural and human-induced factors affecting climate, and the potential consequences, and ways to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Generally, when teachers learn about a subject, they demonstrate more self-efficacy to teach about it (Bleicher & Lindgren, 2005). Analytic Strategy Data were analyzed using paired-samples t-tests, independent t -tests, and ANOVA. Latent class analysis was employed to analyze the Six America's Survey data. Correlational studies were conducted to examine possible relationships among variables. Findings in Brief Teachers' content knowledge increased

  20. Greening Flood Protection - An Interactive Knowledge Arrangement Perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Janssen, S.K.H.; Tatenhove, van J.P.M.; Otter, H.S.; Mol, A.P.J.

    2015-01-01

    In flood protection, the dominant paradigm of ‘building hard structures’ is being challenged by approaches that integrate ecosystem dynamics and are ‘nature-based’. Knowledge development and policy ambitions on greening flood protection (GFP) are rapidly growing, but a deficit remains in actual

  1. CLASSIFICATION, DISTRIBUTION AND PRODUCTION OF KNOWLEDGE: THEORETICAL SUMMARY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. A. Tchupin

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper is devoted to systemizing the main theoretical approaches to classification, distribution and production of knowledge in the global economy. The author focuses on F. Machlup’s knowledge classification and the concept of useful knowledge by J. Mokyr.The interpersonal and public channels of communication and acquisition of knowledge are observed taking into consideration the total changes caused by transition from industrial to postindustrial economy. The paper provides a comparative analysis of the given model and alternative concepts of knowledge generation: finalization of science, strategic research, post-normal science, academic capitalism, post-academic science, and the triple helix concept. The author maintains that the current concepts of knowledge generation reflect the fact of transformation of modern institutional technical environment due to the global technological changes, and increasing contribution of knowledge to the economic development. Accordingly, the roles of the main participants of the given process are changing along with the growing integration of education and science, state and businesses. 

  2. Rapid and ultrasensitive colorimetric detection of mercury(II) by chemically initiated aggregation of gold nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Yinji; Chen, Wei; Yao, Li; Deng, Yi; Pan, Daodong; Cao, Jinxuan; Ogabiela, Edward; Adeloju, Samuel B.

    2015-01-01

    The article describes a method for rapid and visual determination of Hg(II) ion using unmodified gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs). It involves the addition of Au-NPs to a solution containing Hg(II) ions which, however, does not induce a color change. Next, a solution of lysine is added which induces the aggregation of the Au-NPs and causes the color of the solution to change from wine-red to purple. The whole on-site detection process can be executed in less than 15 min. Other amines (ethylenediamine, arginine, and melamine) were also investigated with respect to their capability to induce aggregation. Notably, only amines containing more than one amino group were found to be effective, but a 0.4 μM and pH 8 solution of lysine was found to give the best results. The detection limits for Hg (II) are 8.4 pM (for instrumental read-out) and 10 pM (for visual read-out). To the best of our knowledge, this LOD is better than those reported for any other existing rapid screening methods. The assay is not interfered by the presence of other common metal ions even if present in 1000-fold excess over Hg(II) concentration. It was successfully applied to the determination of Hg(II) in spiked tap water samples. We perceive that this method provides an excellent tool for rapid and ultrasensitive on-site determination of Hg(II) ions at low cost, with relative ease and minimal operation. (author)

  3. Rapid behavioural gregarization in the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria entails synchronous changes in both activity and attraction to conspecifics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogers, Stephen M; Cullen, Darron A; Anstey, Michael L; Burrows, Malcolm; Despland, Emma; Dodgson, Tim; Matheson, Tom; Ott, Swidbert R; Stettin, Katja; Sword, Gregory A; Simpson, Stephen J

    2014-06-01

    Desert Locusts can change reversibly between solitarious and gregarious phases, which differ considerably in behaviour, morphology and physiology. The two phases show many behavioural differences including both overall levels of activity and the degree to which they are attracted or repulsed by conspecifics. Solitarious locusts perform infrequent bouts of locomotion characterised by a slow walking pace, groom infrequently and actively avoid other locusts. Gregarious locusts are highly active with a rapid walking pace, groom frequently and are attracted to conspecifics forming cohesive migratory bands as nymphs and/or flying swarms as adults. The sole factor driving the onset of gregarization is the presence of conspecifics. In several previous studies concerned with the mechanism underlying this transformation we have used an aggregate measure of behavioural phase state, Pgreg, derived from logistic regression analysis, which combines and weights several behavioural variables to characterise solitarious and gregarious behaviour. Using this approach we have analysed the time course of behavioural change, the stimuli that induce gregarization and the key role of serotonin in mediating the transformation. Following a recent critique that suggested that using Pgreg may confound changes in general activity with genuine gregarization we have performed a meta-analysis examining the time course of change in the individual behaviours that we use to generate Pgreg. We show that the forced crowding of solitarious locusts, tactile stimulation of the hind femora, and the short-term application of serotonin each induce concerted changes in not only locomotion-related variables but also grooming frequency and attraction to other locusts towards those characteristic of long-term gregarious locusts. This extensive meta-analysis supports and extends our previous conclusions that solitarious locusts undergo a rapid behavioural gregarization upon receiving appropriate stimulation for

  4. Standard model of knowledge representation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Wensheng

    2016-09-01

    Knowledge representation is the core of artificial intelligence research. Knowledge representation methods include predicate logic, semantic network, computer programming language, database, mathematical model, graphics language, natural language, etc. To establish the intrinsic link between various knowledge representation methods, a unified knowledge representation model is necessary. According to ontology, system theory, and control theory, a standard model of knowledge representation that reflects the change of the objective world is proposed. The model is composed of input, processing, and output. This knowledge representation method is not a contradiction to the traditional knowledge representation method. It can express knowledge in terms of multivariate and multidimensional. It can also express process knowledge, and at the same time, it has a strong ability to solve problems. In addition, the standard model of knowledge representation provides a way to solve problems of non-precision and inconsistent knowledge.

  5. Drought, Endurance and Climate Change 'Pioneers': Lived Experience in the Production of Rural Environmental Knowledge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deb Anderson

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available This article explores the politicisation of environmental knowledge on rural Australia, in an analysis of discourse on the lived experience of drought. It draws on research conducted in dryland farm communities in the Mallee wheat-belt of Victoria – where rural histories have presented spirited sagas of community perseverance in ‘battling’ a harsh climate – during a period of marked shift in public awareness of climate change (2004-07. Indeed climate change projections have intensified debate over rural futures in Australia, where droughts have played a powerful role in the mythologizing of rural battlers and landscapes, and where drought discourse has been dominated by the language of war. Cultural engagement with climate is, however, under constant renegotiation, as rural cultural research is apt to reveal.

  6. Knowledge-based computer security advisor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hunteman, W.J.; Squire, M.B.

    1991-01-01

    The rapid expansion of computer security information and technology has included little support to help the security officer identify the safeguards needed to comply with a policy and to secure a computing system. This paper reports that Los Alamos is developing a knowledge-based computer security system to provide expert knowledge to the security officer. This system includes a model for expressing the complex requirements in computer security policy statements. The model is part of an expert system that allows a security officer to describe a computer system and then determine compliance with the policy. The model contains a generic representation that contains network relationships among the policy concepts to support inferencing based on information represented in the generic policy description

  7. Observing the World Through Your Own Lenses – The Role of Perceived Adaptability for Epistemological Beliefs About the Development of Scientific Knowledge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ronny Scherer

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Students are exposed to vast amounts of information and knowledge that is rapidly changing. This exposure requires them to be adaptive, that is, to constantly adjust their thinking, behavior, and even their affect to successfully solve information-rich and knowledge-lean problems. Considering these developments, the purpose of the present study is twofold: First, it is aimed at exploring the link between students’ beliefs about their adaptability in an ever-changing world and their beliefs about the changing nature of scientific knowledge, thus linking two educationally relevant belief systems. Second, this study further explores validity issues related to the well-established and commonly used “Epistemological Beliefs about the Development of Scientific Knowledge (EBDE” scale. Performing structural equation modeling on a large-scale data set of 1,662 Norwegian tenth-grade students, we estimated the correlations among different aspects of adaptability (i.e., cognitive-behavioral and affective-emotional adaptability and EBDE. Moving beyond these correlations, we tested whether students’ perceived adaptability had an impact on the functioning of EBDE items by means of moderated factor analysis. Our analyses revealed that adaptability was associated with sophisticated EBDE in science, and the EB scale functioned differently with respect to different adaptability scores. The results of this study indicate that students perceive the development of scientific knowledge through the lenses of their own adaptability. Furthermore, the differential functioning of the EBDE scale challenges its validity.

  8. Variation in bacterial ATP concentration during rapid changes in extracellular pH and implications for the activity of attached bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albert, Lynal S; Brown, Derick G

    2015-08-01

    In this study we investigated the relationship between a rapid change in extracellular pH and the alteration of bacterial ATP concentration. This relationship is a key component of a hypothesis indicating that bacterial bioenergetics - the creation of ATP from ADP via a proton gradient across the cytoplasmic membrane - can be altered by the physiochemical charge-regulation effect, which results in a pH shift at the bacteria's surface upon adhesion to another surface. The bacterial ATP concentration was measured during a rapid change in extracellular pH from a baseline pH of 7.2 to pH values between 3.5 and 10.5. Experiments were conducted with four neutrophilic bacterial strains, including the Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida and the Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus epidermidis. A change in bulk pH produced an immediate response in bacterial ATP, demonstrating a direct link between changes in extracellular pH and cellular bioenergetics. In general, the shifts in ATP were similar across the four bacterial strains, with results following an exponential relationship between the extracellular pH and cellular ATP concentration. One exception occurred with S. epidermidis, where there was no variation in cellular ATP at acidic pH values, and this finding is consistent with this species' ability to thrive under acidic conditions. These results provide insight into obtaining a desired bioenergetic response in bacteria through (i) the application of chemical treatments to vary the local pH and (ii) the selection and design of surfaces resulting in local pH modification of attached bacteria via the charge-regulation effect. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. The knowledge society from popular multiculturalism and virtual surroundings of learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sonia Mª Santoveña Casal

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available The knowledge society is defined by multiculturalism, by variety in forms of expression and content. To understand the process of building social networks and new styles of cultural expression that are being developed, it is necessary to participate and experience what we are trying to teach. From school, we are talking about a reality that we do not know. A reality that is changing rapidly, where its true creators: young people, do not talk about it, but live and transform it. The acceptance from the education of different ways of comunication and exchange between students, could make easier the development and help us to harness the resources of the Internet, a network rich in expression, creativity and communication.

  10. Responses of antennal campaniform sensilla to rapid temperature changes in ground beetles of the tribe platynini with different habitat preferences and daily activity rhythms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Must, Anne; Merivee, Enno; Luik, Anne; Mänd, Marika; Heidemaa, Mikk

    2006-05-01

    Responses of temperature sensitive (cold) cells from the antenna of ground beetles (tribe Platynini) were compared in species with different ecological preferences and daily activity rhythms. Action potential rates were characterized at various temperatures (ranges 23-39 degrees C) and during rapid changes in it (Deltat=0.5-15 degrees C). The stationary firing frequencies were nearly twice as high in eurythermic open field ground beetles Agonum muelleri and Anchomenus dorsalis (firing rates ranging from 22 to 47imp/s) than in a stenothermic forest species Platynus assimilis. In the eurythermic species, the firing rate did not significantly depend on temperature (Anchomenus dorsalis range of 23-27 degrees C and Agonum muelleri range of 23-33 degrees C) but plots of firing rate versus temperature showed rapid declines when lethally high temperatures were approached. In contrast, a nearly linear decline of the firing rate/temperature curve was observed in Platynus assimilis. Responses to rapid temperature decreases were also considerably higher in eurythermic species. Both the peak frequency of the initial burst (maximum 420-650Hz) as well as the sustained discharge in the first 4s of the response were higher than in Platynus assimilis. Long silent periods, lasting up to several seconds, that occurred at the beginning of the response to rapid warming were significantly shorter in Agonum muelleri and Anchomenus dorsalis compared to Platynus assimilis. These findings suggest that the responses of thermoreceptors to temperature changes may be correlated with specific ecological preferences.

  11. Changes in Men's Physical Activity and Healthy Eating Knowledge and Behavior as a Result of Program Exposure: Findings From the Workplace POWERPLAY Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caperchione, Cristina M; Stolp, Sean; Bottorff, Joan L; Oliffe, John L; Johnson, Steven T; Seaton, Cherisse; Sharp, Paul; Jones-Bricker, Margaret; Lamont, Sonia; Errey, Sally; Healy, Theresa; Medhurst, Kerensa; Christian, Holly; Klitch, Megan

    2016-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine changes in physical activity and healthy eating knowledge and behaviors associated with the level of exposure to POWERPLAY, a men-centered workplace health promotion program. This study is based on a quasi-experimental prepost design. Using a computer assisted telephone interview survey, data regarding program exposure and physical activity and health eating knowledge and behaviors were collected from men (N = 103) in 4 workplaces. Exposure scores were calculated and participants were categorized as having low (n = 54) or high exposure (n = 49) to POWERPLAY. Compared with the low exposure group, those reporting high exposure scored significantly higher on physical activity knowledge (F (1, 99) =14.17, P workplace health promotion approach and may have an even greater impact when program exposure is augmented with environmental and policy changes.

  12. Multi-generational responses of a marine polychaete to a rapid change in seawater pCO2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez-Romero, Araceli; Jarrold, Michael D; Massamba-N'Siala, Gloria; Spicer, John I; Calosi, Piero

    2016-10-01

    Little is known of the capacity that marine metazoans have to evolve under rapid p CO 2 changes. Consequently, we reared a marine polychaete, Ophryotrocha labronica , previously cultured for approximately 33 generations under a low/variable pH regime, under elevated and low p CO 2 for six generations. The strain used was found to be tolerant to elevated p CO 2 conditions. In generations F1 and F2 females' fecundity was significantly lower in the low p CO 2 treatment. However, from generation F3 onwards there were no differences between p CO 2 treatments, indicating that trans-generational effects enabled the restoration and maintenance of reproductive output. Whilst the initial fitness recovery was likely driven by trans-generational plasticity (TGP), the results from reciprocal transplant assays, performed using F7 individuals, made it difficult to disentangle between whether TGP had persisted across multiple generations, or if evolutionary adaptation had occurred. Nonetheless, both are important mechanisms for persistence under climate change. Overall, our study highlights the importance of multi-generational experiments in more accurately determining marine metazoans' responses to changes in p CO 2 , and strengthens the case for exploring their use in conservation, by creating specific p CO 2 tolerant strains of keystone ecosystem species.

  13. Optimal phase estimation with arbitrary a priori knowledge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Demkowicz-Dobrzanski, Rafal

    2011-01-01

    The optimal-phase estimation strategy is derived when partial a priori knowledge on the estimated phase is available. The solution is found with the help of the most famous result from the entanglement theory: the positive partial transpose criterion. The structure of the optimal measurements, estimators, and the optimal probe states is analyzed. This Rapid Communication provides a unified framework bridging the gap in the literature on the subject which until now dealt almost exclusively with two extreme cases: almost perfect knowledge (local approach based on Fisher information) and no a priori knowledge (global approach based on covariant measurements). Special attention is paid to a natural a priori probability distribution arising from a diffusion process.

  14. Interdisciplinarity and Knowledge Networking: Co-Production of Climate-Authoritative Knowledge in Southern South America

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hidalgo, Cecilia

    2016-01-01

    Interdisciplinarity and knowledge networking are at the core of current global, regional, and national initiatives concerning climate. Both scientifc knowledge and public participation are essential to enhance the capacity of different sectors and governments to respond to challenges posed by climate variability and change. Exchange and bridge…

  15. Manufacturing in the knowledge economy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Teis; Winther, Lars

    2015-01-01

    and export. However, the character and activities of these industries are profoundly changing as they become increasingly knowledge intensive. Thus, innovation processes and knowledge production in manufacturing are much more complex than suggested by the classic division into high-, medium-and low...

  16. VIP: A knowledge-based design aid for the engineering of space systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Steven M.; Bellman, Kirstie L.

    1990-01-01

    The Vehicles Implementation Project (VIP), a knowledge-based design aid for the engineering of space systems is described. VIP combines qualitative knowledge in the form of rules, quantitative knowledge in the form of equations, and other mathematical modeling tools. The system allows users rapidly to develop and experiment with models of spacecraft system designs. As information becomes available to the system, appropriate equations are solved symbolically and the results are displayed. Users may browse through the system, observing dependencies and the effects of altering specific parameters. The system can also suggest approaches to the derivation of specific parameter values. In addition to providing a tool for the development of specific designs, VIP aims at increasing the user's understanding of the design process. Users may rapidly examine the sensitivity of a given parameter to others in the system and perform tradeoffs or optimizations of specific parameters. A second major goal of VIP is to integrate the existing corporate knowledge base of models and rules into a central, symbolic form.

  17. Rapid Learning health care in oncology’ – An approach towards decision support systems enabling customised radiotherapy’

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lambin, Philippe; Roelofs, Erik; Reymen, Bart; Velazquez, Emmanuel Rios; Buijsen, Jeroen; Zegers, Catharina M.L.; Carvalho, Sara; Leijenaar, Ralph T.H.; Nalbantov, Georgi; Oberije, Cary; Scott Marshall, M.; Hoebers, Frank; Troost, Esther G.C.; Stiphout, Ruud G.P.M. van; Elmpt, Wouter van; Weijden, Trudy van der; Boersma, Liesbeth; Valentini, Vincenzo; Dekker, Andre

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: An overview of the Rapid Learning methodology, its results, and the potential impact on radiotherapy. Material and results: Rapid Learning methodology is divided into four phases. In the data phase, diverse data are collected about past patients, treatments used, and outcomes. Innovative information technologies that support semantic interoperability enable distributed learning and data sharing without additional burden on health care professionals and without the need for data to leave the hospital. In the knowledge phase, prediction models are developed for new data and treatment outcomes by applying machine learning methods to data. In the application phase, this knowledge is applied in clinical practice via novel decision support systems or via extensions of existing models such as Tumour Control Probability models. In the evaluation phase, the predictability of treatment outcomes allows the new knowledge to be evaluated by comparing predicted and actual outcomes. Conclusion: Personalised or tailored cancer therapy ensures not only that patients receive an optimal treatment, but also that the right resources are being used for the right patients. Rapid Learning approaches combined with evidence based medicine are expected to improve the predictability of outcome and radiotherapy is the ideal field to study the value of Rapid Learning. The next step will be to include patient preferences in the decision making

  18. Rapid Geophysical Surveyor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roybal, L.G.; Carpenter, G.S.; Josten, N.E.

    1993-01-01

    The Rapid Geophysical Surveyor (RGS) is a system designed to rapidly and economically collect closely-spaced geophysical data used for characterization of US Department of Energy waste sites. Geophysical surveys of waste sites are an important first step in the remediation and closure of these sites; especially older sites where historical records are inaccurate and survey benchmarks have changed because of refinements in coordinate controls and datum changes. Closely-spaced data are required to adequately differentiate pits, trenches, and soil vault rows whose edges may be only a few feet from each other. A prototype vehicle designed to collect magnetic field data was built at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) during the summer of 1992. The RGS was funded by the Buried Waste Integrated Demonstration program. This vehicle was demonstrated at the Subsurface Disposal Area (SDA) within the Radioactive Waste Management Complex at the INEL in September 1992. Magnetic data were collected over two areas in the SDA, with a total survey area of about 1.7 acres. Data were collected at a nominal density of 2 1/2 in. along survey lines spaced 1-ft apart. Over 350,000 data points were collected over a 6 day period corresponding to about 185 worker-days using conventional ground survey techniques

  19. Shedding new light on rapidly resolving traumatic acute subdural hematomas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooke, Magdalene; Patel, Atul; Castro-Moure, Federico; Victorino, Gregory P

    2017-11-01

    Rapidly resolving acute subdural hematomas (RRASDHs) have been described in case reports and case series but are still poorly understood. We hypothesized that a cohort analysis would confirm previously reported predictors of RRASDH including coagulopathy, additional intracranial hemorrhage, and low-density band on imaging. We also hypothesized that rapid resolution would be associated with improved trauma outcomes. We reviewed all nonoperative acute subdural hematomas (ASDHs) treated at our center from 2011 to 2015. Inclusion criteria were ASDH on computed tomography (CT), admission Glasgow coma score >7, and repeat CT to evaluate ASDH change. RRASDH was defined as reduced hematoma thickness by 50% within 72 h. Clinical data, CT findings, and trauma end points were analyzed for the RRASDH and nonresolving groups. There were 154 ASDH patients included, with 29 cases of RRASDH. The RRASDH group had a lower rate of comorbidities than the nonresolving group (58.6% versus 78.4%, P = 0.03) and a lower rate of prehospital anticoagulation (7.7% versus 37.1%, P = 0.004). Previously reported predictors of RRASDH did not differ between the groups, nor did any clinical outcome measures. When compared with patients who experienced rapid growth (>50% increased width in 72 h), the RRASDH group had lower mortality (3.4% versus 23.5%, P = 0.04). To our knowledge, this is the largest review of RRASDHs. We identified two previously unrecognized factors that may predict resolution; however, previously reported predictors were not associated with resolution. We also found no relationship between RRASDHs and improved standard trauma outcomes, calling into question the clinical significance of RRASDH. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Structural Changes in Stx1 Engineering Monoclonal Antibody Improves Its Functionality as Diagnostic Tool for a Rapid Latex Agglutination Test

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela Luz

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Stx1 toxin is one of the AB5 toxins of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC responsible for foodborne intoxication during outbreaks. The single-chain variable fragment (scFv is the most common recombinant antibody format; it consists of both variable chains connected by a peptide linker with conserved specificity and affinity for antigen. The drawbacks of scFv production in bacteria are the heterologous expression, conformation and stability of the molecule, which could change the affinity for the antigen. In this work, we obtained a stable and functional scFv-Stx1 in bacteria, starting from IgG produced by hybridoma cells. After structural modifications, i.e., change in protein orientation, vector and linker, its solubility for expression in bacteria was increased as well as the affinity for its antigen, demonstrated by a scFv dissociation constant (KD of 2.26 × 10−7 M. Also, it was able to recognize purified Stx1 and cross-reacted with Stx2 toxin by ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, and detected 88% of Stx1-producing strains using a rapid latex agglutination test. Thus, the scFv fragment obtained in the present work is a bacteria-produced tool for use in a rapid diagnosis test, providing an alternative for STEC diagnosis.

  1. Medical rehabilitation in low and middle income countries for adult acquired disability: challenges posed by rapidity of health system change and position on the individualistic-collectivist axis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karl Sandin

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Chronic illness prevalence has rapidly increased in low or middle income countries (LMIC and with it, the need for medical rehabilitation for adults with acquired conditions that stem from aging and long-term conditions. While Western medical rehabilitation programs have had at least two generations to develop, in LMIC, post-acute health care delivery change has been much more rapid. As a result, there has been little opportunity for models of medical rehabilitation to deliberately emerge in LMIC that reflect societal values. While adaptation of an independence-foremost model of medical rehabilitation may succeed in non-Western societies, there is a risk that adaptation of such a model will be ineffective where many value collectivism more than individualism. The rapid change in medical rehabilitation service delivery in LMIC gives Christian providers and organizations an opportunity to pause and reflect whether the dominant Western medical rehabilitation paradigm serves LMIC cultures and reflects Biblical principles.

  2. Case Study: Indigenous Knowledge and Data Sharing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cameron Neylon

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The IDRC-funded project 'Empowering Indigenous Peoples and Knowledge Systems Related to Climate Change and Intellectual Property Rights' is part of the Open and Collaborative Science in Development Network (OCSDNet. The project “examiners processes of open and collaborative science related to indigenous peoples’ knowledge, climate change and intellectual property rights”. Natural Justice, the lead organisation has a strong ethical stance on the agency and control over knowledge being vested with the contributing project participants, communities of the Nama and Griqua peoples of the Western Cape of South Africa. The project focuses on questions of how climate change is affecting these communities, how do they produce and maintain knowledge relating to climate change, how that knowledge is characterised and shared (or not with wider publics, and how legal frameworks promote or hinder the agenda of these indigenous communities and their choices to communicate and collaborate with wider publics. Indigenous Knowledge is an area where ethical issues of informed consent, historical injustice, non-compatible epistemologies and political, legal, and economic issues all collide in ways that challenge western and Anglo-American assumptions about data sharing. The group seeks to strongly model and internally critique their own ethical stance in the process of their research, through for instance, using community contracts and questioning institutional informed consent systems.

  3. Knowledge management: High energy physics as model case

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trabelsi, A.

    2004-01-01

    Full text: The world-wide High Energy Physics (HEP) community has emerged as one of the major forces in developing new tools and concepts to enhance the overall quality of knowledge management and to support technological innovation in this field. Though joint research and academic activities in HEP represent a more than 50-years old tradition, collaboration in this field has changed over the decades. In coming years, bigger and more distributed than ever before collaborations, with several thousand physicists and engineers, will concentrate on fewer major HEP experiments. They will face unprecedented challenges to accomplish their work at the leading laboratories where large accelerators are being constructed. These challenges arise primarily from the rapidly increasing size and complexity of datasets to be collected and the enormous computational, storage and networking resources to be deployed by global collaborations in order to process, distribute and analyze information. During the last two decades, the Web was HEP community response to the new wave of scientific collaborations. Almost all data networking in the HEP community is today based on the Internet which has since grown into a global information highway. Currently, HEP community needs to attempt to progress beyond structure information towards automated knowledge management of scientific data which requires extremely capable computing infrastructures supporting several key areas. Together with computer scientists, HEP community recognised as a driving force, is extremely well positioned to continue this successful strategy with respect to the initiative to build 'the next generation internet'. Facing knowledge sharing, acquisition and organisation growing requirement, HEP scientists invented the preprint concept in order to facilitate and speed up access to the ongoing research development and results. Preprint archive has since become a global repository for research particularly in physics

  4. Climate change, air pollution and human health in Sydney, Australia: A review of the literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dean, Annika; Green, Donna

    2018-05-01

    Sydney is Australia’s largest city and is growing rapidly. Although Sydney’s air quality is relatively good compared to the major cities in many industrialised countries, particulate matter (PM) and ozone (O3) occasionally exceed the national health standards and are the cause of premature mortalities and hospital admissions. Numerous studies from overseas (e.g. North America and continental Europe) suggest that climate change may impact air quality to the detriment of human health. There is limited knowledge about how climate change may impact air quality in Sydney. This study reviews the available literature on the impacts of climate change on air quality related health impacts in Sydney to identify knowledge and research gaps. Where no studies are available for Sydney, it draws on relevant studies from other Australian cities and overseas. Our findings summarise what is known about how climate change may impact air quality in Sydney and where research gaps exist. This approach can facilitate research agendas, policies and planning strategies that mitigate public health impacts and tackle climate change and air pollution in a coordinated way.

  5. FROM TRADITIONAL ACCOUNTING TO KNOWLEDGE BASED ACCOUNTING ORGANIZATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    NICOLETA RADNEANTU

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, we may observe that the rules of traditional economy have changed. The new economy – the knowledge based economy determine also major change in organizations resources, structure, strategic objectives, departments, accounting, goods. In our research we want to underline how the accounting rules, regulations and paradigms have changed to cope with political, economic and social challenges, as well as to the emergence of knowledge based organization. We also try to find out where Romanian accounting is on the hard road of evolution from traditional to knowledge based.

  6. Knowledge Translation: Supports, Challenges, and Opportunities for Change in Early Intervention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rabinowicz, Susan; Ray, Sharon

    2018-01-01

    Knowledge translation (KT) provides a lens to examine the process of moving research-informed knowledge into early intervention practice (P. Sudsawad, 2007). The process of KT entails cognitive, affective, and behavioral stages that are mediated by factors intrinsic and extrinsic to the practitioner. Facilitators and barriers to this process may…

  7. Knowledge is power: how conceptual knowledge transforms visual cognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins, Jessica A; Olson, Ingrid R

    2014-08-01

    In this review, we synthesize the existing literature demonstrating the dynamic interplay between conceptual knowledge and visual perceptual processing. We consider two theoretical frameworks that demonstrate interactions between processes and brain areas traditionally considered perceptual or conceptual. Specifically, we discuss categorical perception, in which visual objects are represented according to category membership, and highlight studies showing that category knowledge can penetrate early stages of visual analysis. We next discuss the embodied account of conceptual knowledge, which holds that concepts are instantiated in the same neural regions required for specific types of perception and action, and discuss the limitations of this framework. We additionally consider studies showing that gaining abstract semantic knowledge about objects and faces leads to behavioral and electrophysiological changes that are indicative of more efficient stimulus processing. Finally, we consider the role that perceiver goals and motivation may play in shaping the interaction between conceptual and perceptual processing. We hope to demonstrate how pervasive such interactions between motivation, conceptual knowledge, and perceptual processing are in our understanding of the visual environment, and to demonstrate the need for future research aimed at understanding how such interactions arise in the brain.

  8. Innoversity in knowledge-for-action and adaptation to climate change: the first steps of an 'evidence-based climatic health' transfrontier training program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lapaige, Véronique; Essiembre, Hélène

    2010-01-01

    It has become increasingly clear to the international scientific community that climate change is real and has important consequences for human health. To meet these new challenges, the World Health Organization recommends reinforcing the adaptive capacity of health systems. One of the possible avenues in this respect is to promote awareness and knowledge translation in climatic health, at both the local and global scales. Within such perspective, two major themes have emerged in the field of public health research: 1) the development of advanced training adapted to 'global environment' change and to the specific needs of various groups of actors (doctors, nurses, public health practitioners, health care managers, public service managers, local communities, etc) and 2) the development of strategies for implementing research results and applying various types of evidence to the management of public health issues affected by climate change. Progress on these two fronts will depend on maximum innovation in transdisciplinary and transsectoral collaborations. The general purpose of this article is to present the program of a new research and learning chair designed for this double set of developmental objectives - a chair that emphasizes 'innoversity' (the dynamic relationship between innovation and diversity) and 'transfrontier ecolearning for adaptive actions'. The Écoapprentissages, santé mentale et climat collaborative research chair (University of Montreal and Quebec National Public Health Institute) based in Montreal is a center for 'transdisciplinary research' on the transfrontier knowledge-for-action that can aid adaptation of the public health sector, the public mental health sector, and the public service sector to climate change, as well as a center for complex collaborations on evidence-based climatic health 'training'. This program-focused article comprises two main sections. The first section presents the 'general' and 'specific contexts' in which the

  9. Climate change: where to now?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pearman, Graeme

    2007-01-01

    Full text: Full text: The potential for human impact on global climate arose out of an understanding developed in the 19th century of the physical conditions influencing global temperatures. In the past three decades, observations and improved understanding of climate processes have led to the conclusions that the planet has warmed, this warming has been primarily due to increases of atmospheric greenhouse gases and that this has been due to human activities. But our knowledge is incomplete. The management of the risks associated with future climate change demands improvement of the knowledge base. Specific areas for improvement include the: role of aerosols in the amelioration or otherwise of warming trends; potential instability of systems, e.g. the deglaciation of Greenland that could lead to rapid destabilisation of climate; response of biological systems to climate change, their phrenology, behaviour, genetics and dispersion; opportunities for cost-effective managed adaptation; and improved technologies for meeting the energy demands. Climate science has been characterised by a level of integration of disciplinary fields uncommon in other areas. Yet the nature of the climate system, its diverse impacts and the range of mitigation options suggests that while disciplinary endeavours need to continue, further integration is required. Policy development requires the exploration of options that respect the complexity of climate and its impacts but also the pluralistic aspirations of societies. The 21st century should be characterised by considered, inclusive and strategic policy development. For science to contribute to this process, much more attention is needed to the processes involved in the exchange of knowledge between the scientific community and those who develop public or private policy. A new engagement and shared understanding of the potential role of science in modern societies, particularly with respect to climate change, is an essential component of

  10. Diabetes-Related Behavior Change Knowledge Transfer to Primary Care Practitioners and Patients: Implementation and Evaluation of a Digital Health Platform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abidi, Samina; Vallis, Michael; Piccinini-Vallis, Helena; Imran, Syed Ali; Abidi, Syed Sibte Raza

    2018-04-18

    Behavioral science is now being integrated into diabetes self-management interventions. However, the challenge that presents itself is how to translate these knowledge resources during care so that primary care practitioners can use them to offer evidence-informed behavior change support and diabetes management recommendations to patients with diabetes. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a computerized decision support platform called "Diabetes Web-Centric Information and Support Environment" (DWISE) that assists primary care practitioners in applying standardized behavior change strategies and clinical practice guidelines-based recommendations to an individual patient and empower the patient with the skills and knowledge required to self-manage their diabetes through planned, personalized, and pervasive behavior change strategies. A health care knowledge management approach is used to implement DWISE so that it features the following functionalities: (1) assessment of primary care practitioners' readiness to administer validated behavior change interventions to patients with diabetes; (2) educational support for primary care practitioners to help them offer behavior change interventions to patients; (3) access to evidence-based material, such as the Canadian Diabetes Association's (CDA) clinical practice guidelines, to primary care practitioners; (4) development of personalized patient self-management programs to help patients with diabetes achieve healthy behaviors to meet CDA targets for managing type 2 diabetes; (5) educational support for patients to help them achieve behavior change; and (6) monitoring of the patients' progress to assess their adherence to the behavior change program and motivating them to ensure compliance with their program. DWISE offers these functionalities through an interactive Web-based interface to primary care practitioners, whereas the patient's self-management program and associated behavior interventions are

  11. Specialists meeting on design and assessment of instrumentation and control systems in NPP coping with rapid technological change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-10-01

    A transition from analogue to computer based I and C (instrumentation and control) systems in nuclear power plants enabled the industry not only to make use of advantages of computers for the control of technological processes, but also transferred the unusual short innovation cycles in computer technology to become a constraint on the process I and C. This situation led the IAEA to provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of the problems and organize a Specialists` Meeting in the framework of the International Working Group on Nuclear Power Plant Control and Instrumentation. The basic objective was to elaborate the management, engineering and economic problems arising from rapid technological changes, to point out solutions and to discuss the future trends in the field. The Year 2000 Issue was also inside the scope of the Meeting. Typical problems were technology changes provoking major I and C concept changes, spare part availability, compatibility in refurbishment processes. The present document contains the papers presented by national delegates, each with an abstract, and the conclusions drawn from the final discussion Refs, figs, tabs

  12. Specialists meeting on design and assessment of instrumentation and control systems in NPP coping with rapid technological change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-10-01

    A transition from analogue to computer based I and C (instrumentation and control) systems in nuclear power plants enabled the industry not only to make use of advantages of computers for the control of technological processes, but also transferred the unusual short innovation cycles in computer technology to become a constraint on the process I and C. This situation led the IAEA to provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of the problems and organize a Specialists' Meeting in the framework of the International Working Group on Nuclear Power Plant Control and Instrumentation. The basic objective was to elaborate the management, engineering and economic problems arising from rapid technological changes, to point out solutions and to discuss the future trends in the field. The Year 2000 Issue was also inside the scope of the Meeting. Typical problems were technology changes provoking major I and C concept changes, spare part availability, compatibility in refurbishment processes. The present document contains the papers presented by national delegates, each with an abstract, and the conclusions drawn from the final discussion

  13. Using Knowledge Building to Foster Conceptual Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Chwee Beng; Chai, Ching Sing; Tsai, Chin-Chung; Hong, Huang-Yao

    2016-01-01

    In recent years, there have been many exchanges of perspectives and debates in the field of conceptual change. Most of the classical views on conceptual change have been criticized, and there have been recent discussions around bridging the cognitive and socio-cultural approaches in the research on conceptual change. On the other hand, researchers…

  14. Changes in Attitudes, Knowledge and Behavior Associated with Implementing a Comprehensive School Health Program in a Province of China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aldinger, Carmen; Zhang, Xin-Wei; Liu, Li-Qun; Pan, Xue-Dong; Yu, Sen-Hai; Jones, Jack; Kass, Jared

    2008-01-01

    After successful pilot projects, Zhejiang Province, China, decided to systematically scale-up health promoting schools (HPS) over the entire province of 47 million. This study describes the interventions and self-reported changes in attitudes, knowledge and behavior during the first phase of scaling-up. Group interviews were conducted with a…

  15. Rapid deuterium exchange-in time for probing conformational change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dharmasiri, K.; Smith, D.L.

    1995-01-01

    Isotopic exchange of protein backbone amide hydrogens has been used extensively as a sensitive probe of protein structure. One of the salient features of hydrogen exchange is the vast range of exchange rates in one protein. Isotopic exchange methods have been used to study the structural features including protein folding and unfolding (1), functionally different forms of proteins (2), protein-protein complexation (3), and protein stability parameter. Many backbone amide protons that are surface accessible and are not involved in hydrogen bonding undergo rapid deuterium exchange. In order to study, fast exchanging amide protons, fast exchange-in times are necessary

  16. Effect of internal R&D activities to the accumulation of organizational technical knowledge with the mediation role of absorptive capacity to establish the innovation capability of electronic industries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Purwanggono Bambang

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Innovation is a strategy for the electronics industry to create a sustainable competitive advantage, in the midst of a rapidly changing environment with all its complexity. Seven AT program as an effort for PT. Hartono Istana Teknologi (Polytron into enterprise knowledge, will accelerate the innovation process, combined with good organizational technical knowledge management. Organizational technical knowledge will be instrumental in innovation capabilities properly if there is an internal R & D activities that support and absorptive capacity as a mediator. This study reviewed the organizational technical knowledge influence to innovation capability, the influence of R & D activities to organizational technical knowledge, as well as the role of absorptive capacity as a mediator. The study was conducted by distributing questionnaires to 130 employees of PT. Hartono Istana Teknologi. Data processing was conducted using SEM. The results showed that the absorptive capacity mediate the relationship between R & D activities and organizational technical knowledge by 51%, and organizational technical knowledge affect innovation capabilities by 64%.

  17. Portable rapid gas content measurement - an opportunity for a step change in the coal industry?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beamish, Basil; Kizil, Mehmet; Gu, Ming

    2013-01-01

    The last major advance in gas content measurement for coal seams was the introduction of the quick crush technique in the early 1990s. This is a laboratory test method that has proven very reliable over the years. Recent laboratory testing using a portable quick crushing device, known as the portable gas content analyser, has produced consistent gas content results for a set of core samples obtained from a single borehole that intersected four coal seams. The retained gas content values obtained for the seams show the same increasing gas content pattern and gas composition change with depth as the standard quick crush technique. Use of the portable gas content analyser provides the opportunity to produce rapid, reliable gas content measurement of coal that could be developed for assessing gas compliance cores and outburst-prone conditions at a mine site.

  18. Rapid realist review of the evidence: achieving lasting change when mental health rehabilitation staff undertake recovery-oriented training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gee, Melanie; Bhanbhro, Sadiq; Cook, Sarah; Killaspy, Helen

    2017-08-01

    The aim of this study was to identify the factors contributing to lasting change in practice following a recovery-based training intervention for inpatient mental health rehabilitation staff. Staff training may help nurses and other staff groups in inpatient mental health rehabilitative settings to increase their recovery-oriented practice. There are no published reviews on the effectiveness of such training and few long-term evaluations. This review informed a realist evaluation of a specific intervention (GetREAL). Rapid realist review methodology was used to generate and prioritize programme theories. ASSIA, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Medline, PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science and grey literature searches were performed in September 2014-March 2015 with no date restrictions. Stakeholders suggested further documents. GetREAL project documentation was consulted. Programme theory development took place iteratively with literature identification. Stakeholders validated and prioritized emerging programme theories and the prioritized theories were refined using literature case studies. Fifty-one relevant documents fed into 49 programme theories articulating seven mechanisms for lasting change. Prioritized mechanisms were: staff receptiveness to change; and staff feeling encouraged, motivated and supported by colleagues and management to change. Seven programme theories were prioritized and refined using data from four case studies. Lasting change can be facilitated by collaborative action planning, regular collaborative meetings, appointing a change agent, explicit management endorsement and prioritization and modifying organizational structures. Conversely, a challenging organizational climate, or a prevalence of 'change fatigue', may block change. Pre-intervention exploration may help identify any potential barriers to embedding recovery in the organizational culture. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Product Knowledge Modelling and Management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Y.; MacCallum, K. J.; Duffy, Alex

    1996-01-01

    function-oriented design. Both Specific Product Knowledge and Product Domain Knowledge are modelled at two levels, a meta-model and an information-level.Following that, a computer-based scheme to manage the proposed product lknowledge models within a dynamically changing environment is presented.......The term, Product Knowledge is used to refer to two related but distinct concepts; the knowledge of a specific product (Specific Product Knowledge) and the knowledge of a product domain (Product Domain Knowledge). Modelling and managing Product Knowlege is an essential part of carrying out design.......A scheme is presented in this paper to model, i.e. classify, structure and formalise the product knowledge for the purpose of supporting function-oriented design. The product design specification and four types of required attributes of a specific product have been identified to form the Specific Product...

  20. Stages of change concept of the transtheoretical model for healthy eating links health literacy and diabetes knowledge to glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tseng, Hsu-Min; Liao, Shu-Fen; Wen, Yu-Ping; Chuang, Yuh-Jue

    2017-02-01

    Health literacy has been recognized as a key construct associated with clinical outcomes; however, few studies have explored the mechanism underlying the association. The transtheoretical model (TTM) has long been considered a useful conceptualization in the process of intentional behavior change. Stages of change lies at the heart of the TTM as studies of change have found that people move through a series of stages when modifying behavior. This study focuses on the role of knowledge and stages of change (SOC) as serial mediators linking health literacy to glycemic control. In this cross-sectional survey, a total of 232 patients with type 2 diabetes participated in this study. Participants completed questionnaires for assessing health literacy, readiness to consume healthy foods, and a dietary knowledge test specific to diabetes. Low health literacy was significantly associated with worse glycemic control. Statistical evaluation supported the serial mediation model, in which knowledge and SOC formed a serial mediation chain that accounted for the indirect effect of health literacy on glycemic control. In other words, dietary knowledge significantly motivated participants to move into the later stages of behavior change, which in turn improved the outcome of glycemic control. The results indicate that the ordering of mediators in the pathway between health literacy and health outcome may be complex, help explain the conflicting results of the past, and form a basis for the development of interventions promoting self-management of diabetes through glycemic control. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.