scholarly journals Tackling rarity and sample bias with large-scale biodiversity monitoring: a case study examining the status, distribution and ecology of the lichen Cladonia rei in Alberta, Canada

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane L. HAUGHLAND ◽  
Ashley HILLMAN ◽  
Ermias T. AZERIA
Keyword(s):  
Rare Species ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Species Conservation ◽  
Comparative Morphology ◽  
Biodiversity Monitoring ◽  
Accurate Identification ◽  
Historical Collections ◽  
Sample Bias ◽  
The Status

AbstractSpecies conservation depends on accurate data, but for many lichens existing collections are geographically biased and contain many taxonomic errors. It is unclear whether ‘non-expert’, systematic monitoring schemes can address these sources of error, particularly for taxonomically challenging lichens (e.g. species requiring chemistry for accurate identification). In this case study we use the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI), a large-scale, systematic, multi-taxon monitoring programme, to better understand the ecology and distribution of a putative rare species, Cladonia rei. Collections of C. rei from Alberta dating from 1947 suggested the species was broadly distributed but rare, with seven accessioned specimens. We used comparative morphology, thin-layer chromatography and habitat modelling to compare historical records against more recent material from ABMI surveys. Contrary to the historical collections, ABMI samples suggest C. rei is almost entirely limited to the dry mixed grassland, northern fescue grassland and aspen parkland natural regions, and that within these ecosystems it is relatively common. The typical ecotype exhibited included a persistent primary thallus, podetia with a persistent basal cortex, and secondary squamules; typically they lacked cups, well-developed apothecia and fumarprotocetraric acid, and ramifications were sparse. Cladonia rei was consistently found in pastures and undisturbed grasslands that hosted relatively rich communities of epigeic lichens, thus it does not appear to act as a pioneer in Alberta or to commonly occupy the anthropogenic niches documented elsewhere. In summary, large-scale, systematic, non-targeted monitoring employing novices redressed issues of sample bias through almost 300 C. rei collections, simultaneously improving the ecological understanding of a putative rare species.

scholarly journals Collaborative Barriers Among University - Industry - Policy (U-I-P) Entities on Environmental Matters: A Case Study in Sarawak, Malaysia

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 316-329
Author(s):  
Janice Manyie ◽  
Geoffery James Gerusu ◽  
Roland Kueh Jui Heng
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Environmental Concern ◽  
Success Factor ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Private Knowledge ◽  
The Status ◽  
Industry Policy ◽  
University Industry

Realizing the importance of practicing environmental concern, it is needed to understand the tools used to tackle the issues. In this study, university – industry – policy (U-I-P) entities collaboration is a significant approach that was viewed to be the success factor towards the efforts of tackling environmental issues. Collaboration work, which involves different entities benefit in a way that pushes the entities to move towards shared objectives and goals which is to improve the environmental condition. However, although the significance of U-I-P entities collaboration was known and the linkages among U-I-P entities has started, there are still limited information on the practice of collaboration specifically on the U-I-P entities linkage structures on environmental matters in Sarawak. Thus, there is a need to identify the barriers and success factor in order to develop successful collaboration. This study addressed the gap through a mixed method of qualitative and quantitative approaches which the data were collected from 199 respondents based on a face to face interview using structured questionnaires in the major divisions of Sarawak. Drawing from a large scale of study, the study explores the status of collaboration and the barriers of collaboration in Sarawak. Findings indicated that cost, private knowledge and knowledge barrier to be a major hurdle that inhibit the development of collaboration. The assessment suggested that more efforts to increase awareness on collaboration be disseminated.

scholarly journals Identification of Nepeta olgae Regel and phylogenetic status of some genera in subtribe Nepetinae (Lamiaceae) using DNA markers

2021 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 00087
Author(s):  
Elena Nikitina ◽  
Abdurashid Rakhmatov
Keyword(s):  
Dna Barcoding ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Dna Barcode ◽  
Dna Barcodes ◽  
Biodiversity Monitoring ◽  
Reference Library ◽  
Accurate Identification ◽  
Unknown Species ◽  
Phylogenetic Status ◽  
Nuclear Its

The species level diversity is the reference unit for biodiversity accounting, should be systematized and include full information about the species. Reliable identification of any species is critical for a large-scale biodiversity monitoring and conservation. A DNA barcode is a DNA sequence that identifies a species by comparing the sequence of an unknown species with barcodes of a known species sequence database. Accurate identification of important plants is essential for their conservation, inventory. The species diversity assessing exampled on the subtribe Nepetinae (Lamiaceae) representatives, growing in Uzbekistan is given, using DNA barcoding method. The study was aimed to identify indigenous important plants with the nuclear (ITS) and plastid (matK, rbcL, trnL-F) genomes. This work demonstrates the phylogenetic relationships of some genera within the subtribe Nepetinae Coss. & Germ. (Lamiaceae), based on ITS locus gene. All results indicate that the DNA barcoding tool can be successfully used to reliably identify important plants, to inventory the botanical resources of Uzbekistan and to create a reference library of DNA barcodes. So, the combination of three-four locus gene is a good candidate for this approach.

The Changing Structure of Opportunity: Recruitment and Careers in Large Law Firms

1983 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Law School ◽  
Law Firms ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Individual Choice ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
Historical Periods

Growth and bureaucratization have begun to transform patterns of recruitment and career development in large law firms. Based on a case study of four large Chicago firms, this article examines these changes and their implications. The findings indicate that the social composition of large firms has become substantially more heterogeneous with respect to the status of law school attended, gender, and ethnoreligious background. However, data on lawyers' careers suggest that associates entering firms today face an increasingly bureaucratic organizational context marked by higher levels of turnover, earlier and more intensive specialization, decreased levels of client responsibility, and more frequent assignment to large-scale litigation. The article also addresses the dynamics of individual choice over type of work performed in firms. Lawyers initially working in litigation fields are far more likely to change fields of practice than are lawyers who begin in office practice fields, reflecting the increased tendency for firms to assign new associates to litigation as well as the alienating propensity of large-firm litigation for many associates. Paradoxically, a greater proportion of lawyers in traditionally organized, general service firms than in bureaucratically organized, specialty firms report that their choice of work was dictated by the firm. Also, somewhat surprisingly, the frequency with which firms explicitly direct lawyers into particular fields has not increased from earlier periods. The article concludes that these anomalies result from the fact that firms control the career choices of lawyers, and always have, but that the way such control is exercised varies across firms and historical periods.

scholarly journals Tool of Automated System Armoured Scaffold to Rank Requirements through AHP

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 2718-2723
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Requirement Engineering ◽  
Fixed Number ◽  
Automated System ◽  
Priority List ◽  
Development Life Cycle ◽  
Software Firm ◽  
The Status ◽  
Software Development Life Cycle

Requirement Engineering is really significant phase in software development life cycle. Construction of software and its functionalities is entirelygrounded on the requirements elicited for the project[6]. In this paper, we propose a tool to prioritize the requirements only with AHP bearing in mind effortless implementation for large Scale Application, Precision of result and Stakeholder’s Contribution. The tool is developed in Java and SQL. This work principallyfocused on applying AHP for larger projects. The proposed framework has been assessed through an exploratory case study that has fixed number of requirements and the status after the arrival of new requirements to the priority list. This is to know about the certainty of the projected framework, which has been conducted in a software firm. Then the tool was developed for the framework and used by the company to check for the certainty of result. The deployment of the tool and the result obtained from the effort are presented.

scholarly journals BRAZILIAN AGRIBUSINESS IN MOZAMBIQUE: THE PROSAVANA PROGRAMME CASE STUDY/ O agronegócio brasileiro em Moçambique: estudo de caso sobre o Programa ProSAVANA/ El agronegocio brasileño en Mozambique: estudio de caso sobre el Programa ProSAVANA

REVISTA NERA ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 345-365
Author(s):  
Tamy Yukie Kobashikawa
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Agriculture Sector ◽  
Public Subsidies ◽  
Private Investments ◽  
The Status ◽  
Private Corporations

This paper is about the ProSAVANA Programme, a trilateral cooperation project between Japan, Brazil and, Mozambique. ProSAVANA Programme goal is to develop the agriculture sector in the Nacala Corridor and it has been controversial due to conflicts among government, private corporations, and civil society organizations. Private investments were expected to occur in the Nacala Corridor, mainly from Brazilian agribusiness, however, Brazilian private investments in Mozambique’s agriculture sector have been in a stagnant state in the period 2007-2017.The paper examines the status of the ProSAVANA Programme and what are the difficulties to Brazilian agribusiness invest to Mozambique. Current challenges of the programme were found as follows: (1) high risk of investment due to non-existent public subsidies to small, medium and large-scale agribusiness; (2) “land property” law bureaucracy; and (3) civil society mobilization against ProSAVANA. All they are key factors to repel Brazilian agribusinesses. Como citar este artigo:KOBASHIKAWA, Tamy Yukie. Brazilian agribusiness in Mozambique: the ProSAVANA Programme case study. Revista NERA, v. 23, n. 51, p. 345-365, jan.-abr., 2020.

scholarly journals Study of the Natural Heritage Condition of the Kursiu Nerija National Park Using Lidar Technology (Case Study of Agila Dune)

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 36-42
Author(s):  
Deimante Pankauskyte ◽  
Jolanta Valciukiene ◽  
Indrius Kuklys ◽  
Lina Kukliene
Keyword(s):  
Cross Section ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
National Park ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Precision Data ◽  
Protective Measures ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Status ◽  
High Precision Data

Analysis of the condition of the Agila dune is presented in this Article. The analysis is based on data collected during accurate geodetic measurements using LIDAR technology. The current state of the Agila dune was compared to the data of the previous year's LIDAR points in order to ensure the reliability and value of the research. In the course of the study, eleven cross sections were compared by height differences with previous year‘s measurements. The condition of the Agila dune was found to be the worst in three cross sections. First cross section‘s erosion measured at 13,98 meters, erosion in the fifth cross section – 9.90 meters, and erosion in the eighth cross section - 11.34 meters. The main reasons for the deterioration of the natural values of the Kursiu Nerija National Park are climate, wind, high visitor flows and the persistent failure to carry out comprehensive research. Therefore, in order to preserve these unique natural values, it is important to collect large-scale and high-precision data on the status of these values, to systematize, analyze and take appropriate protective measures.

Village Ecocomplex Functioning With Common Property Resources: A Case-study on Coastal Orissa, India

1994 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hara Prasad Sahoo ◽  
Malaya Kumar Misra
Keyword(s):  
Social Welfare ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Common Property ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Rural Poor ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Common Property Resources ◽  
The Status

A study of the status of Common Property Resources (CPRs) in the coastal areas of Orissa, India, was made during 1989–90 to investigate privatization of land and its socio-economic implications for the rural poor.The proportion of CPR land to the total area of the villages was 20%, and the persons per hectare of CPR land numbered 70. High density of population in these areas imparts tremendous pressure on the natural resources. The area of the CPR lands in the villages has declined by 40% since ad 1950.The main cause of decline of CPRs is privatization. Transfer of CPR land to poor people through various social welfare programmes for their private use, and illegal occupation of the CPR land leading to subsequent legalization, were two important factors which resulted in large-scale privatization. The rural poor depend on CPRs for food, fodder, and fuel, in a variety of ways. Due to privatization, they have collectively lost a significant part of their source of livelihood in recent years.

Ocropodium: open source OCR for small-scale historical archives

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Blanke ◽  
Michael Bryant ◽  
Mark Hedges
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Accuracy Evaluation ◽  
Historical Collections ◽  
Historical Archives ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Language Modelling ◽  
Model Training

Large-scale digitization projects dealing with text-based historical material face challenges that are not well catered for by commercial software. This article discusses the results of a project to build a scalable OCR workflow for historical collections based on open source tools that is particularly tailored towards use in small-scale historical archives. It argues that open source tools allow for better customization to match these requirements, particularly with regard to character model training and per-project language modelling. We offer insights into our accuracy evaluation results of various open source OCR tools, as well as a case study about the challenges and opportunities of open source OCR in historical archives.

scholarly journals Risk Mitigation and Investability of a U-PHS Project in The Netherlands

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 5072
Author(s):  
Gert Kramer ◽  
Twan Arts ◽  
Janos Urai ◽  
Han Vrijling ◽  
Jan Huynen
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Electricity System ◽  
General Relevance ◽  
The Status ◽  
Southern Netherlands

We review the status of a 1.4 GW, 8 GWh underground pumped hydro storage (U-PHS) project in the southern Netherlands, which has been under development since the 1980s. Its history shows how the prospect of a large-scale U-PHS for The Netherlands (a country whose proverbial flatness prohibits PHS) has been attractive in every decade, based on proven technology in a subsurface location with validated properties, and solid analysis of its economics. Although the ongoing energy transition clearly requires massive electricity storage, (U-)PHS projects are challenging investment propositions, in The Netherlands, as elsewhere. This case study illustrates a point of general relevance, namely that although the project execution risk, related to uncertainty with respect to subsurface integrity, is very low, the transition risk, associated with the intrinsic uncertainties of an electricity system in transition, is significant. We point out mitigation strategies for both risk categories.

Social movements thinking for managing change in large-scale systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 697-714
Author(s):  
Judith A. Holton
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
System Change ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Large Scale Systems ◽  
Large Scale System ◽  
The Status

PurposeThis study explores the efficacy of social movements thinking for mobilizing resources toward sustainable change in large-scale systems such as health and social services.Design/methodology/approachThe study proceeds from a critical realist perspective employing a qualitative multi-case study approach. Drawing on the tenets of grounded theory (i.e. constant comparative analysis and theoretical sampling), data from semi-structured interviews and field notes were analyzed to facilitate theoretical integration and elaboration.FindingsOne case study explores the emergence of social movements thinking in mobilizing a community to engage in sustainable system change. Data analysis revealed a three-stage conceptual framework whereby building momentum for change requires a fundamental shift in culture through openness and engagement to challenge the status quo by acknowledging not only the apparent problems to be addressed but also the residual apathy and cynicism holding the system captive to entrenched ideas and behaviors. By challenging the status quo, energy shifts and momentum builds as the community discovers shared values and goals. Achieving a culture shift of this magnitude requires leadership that is embedded within the community, with a personal commitment to that community and with the deep listening skills necessary to understand and engage the community and the wider system in moving forward into change. This emergent conceptual framework is then used to compare and discuss more intentional applications of social movements thinking for mobilizing resources for large-scale system change.Originality/valueThis study offers a three-stage conceptual framework for mobilizing community/system resources toward sustainable large-scale system change. The comparative application of this framework to more intentional applications of social movements thinking to planned change initiatives offers insights and lessons to be learned when large-scale systems attempt to apply such principles in redesigning health and social service systems.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document