Digital Commons Network^™

Importance And Effect Of Nitrogen On Crop Quality And Health, Jürg Blumenthal, David D. Baltensperger, Kenneth G. Cassman, Stephen Mason, Alexander Pavlista

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Nitrogen (N) is often the most limiting factor in crop production. Hence, application of fertilizer nitrogen results in higher biomass yields and protein yield and concentration in plant tissue is commonly increased. Nitrogen often affects amino acid composition of protein and in turn its nutritional quality. In cereals, abundant supply of nitrogen decreases the relative proportion of lysine and threonine, thus, reducing the biological value of the protein. Increasing nitrogen supply generally improves kernel integrity and strength, resulting in better milling properties of the grain. In oil seed crops, protein levels are increased upon nitrogen fertilization, whereas oil concentration is …

Viewing Rural Female Superintendents Through An Efficacy Lens, Jean M. Haar, John Palladino, Marilyn Grady, Kaye Lynn Peery

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Rural education is an important part of the American educational system. As noted in the Rural Trust report, Why Rural Matters 2003: The Continuing Need for Every State to Take Action on Rural Education: "Forty~three percent of the nation's public schools are in rural communities or small towns of fewer than 25,000 people, and 31 percent of the nation's children attend these schools". Rural schools are facing a number of challenges. Common concerns among rural schools are poverty, changing demographics, and declining numbers. They are also faced with the issues of accountability and mandates from No Child Left Behind. The …

Whole-Plant Mineral Partitioning Throughout The Life Cycle In Arabidopsis Thaliana Ecotypes Columbia, Landsberg Erecta, Cape Verde Islands, And The Mutant Line Ysl1ysl3, Brian M. Waters, Michael A. Grusak

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Minimal information exists on whole-plant dynamics of mineral flow through Arabidopsis thaliana or on the source tissues responsible for mineral export to developing seeds. Understanding these phenomena in a model plant could help in the development of nutritionally enhanced crop cultivars. A whole-plant partitioning study, using sequential harvests, was conducted to characterize growth and mineral concentrations and contents of rosettes, cauline leaves, stems, immature fruit, mature fruit hulls, and seeds of three WT lines (Col-0, Ler, and Cvi) and one mutant line (Col-0::ysl1ysl3). Shoot mineral content increased throughout the life cycle for all minerals, although tissue-specific …

Review Of Career Development In Bioengineering And Biotechnology By Guruprasad Madhavan, Barbara Oakley, And Luis Kun (Editors), Springer Science+Business Media, Llc, 2008, Mark R. Riley

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

As an educator in biological engineering, I am often asked by students about career opportunities in this growing field. The field of biological engineering merges approaches and methodologies from a variety of traditional disciplines, and so practitioners of biological engineering can find professional opportunities in numerous areas.

The recently published book Career Development in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, (485 pages) edited by Madhavan, Oakley, and Kun, represents an ambitious undertaking with the goal of not only presenting career options and career development techniques but also addressing how the work of an individual can impact society. The book contains 71 chapters divided …

Pea Aphid, Jennifer A. Brisson, Gregory K. Davis

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Aphids have long been of interest because of their complex life cycles, environmentally induced morphologies, and importance to agriculture. However, only recently has the resulting wealth of ecological and population genetic data begun to be supplemented by genomic and genetic mapping approaches. In 2004, the International Aphid Genomics Consortium, a collaboration of aphid researchers, chose to establish the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, as the aphid of choice for the development of genomic resources. Here we introduce the pea aphid and discuss a number of biological questions for which the species is well suited. We then review previous mapping and quantitative …

Interspecific Demographic Trade-Offs And Soil-Related Habitat Associations Of Tree Species Along Resource Gradients, Sabrina E. Russo, Patrick Brown, Sylvester Tan, Stuart J. Davies

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Summary

1. Interspecific relationships between fundamental demographic rates, often called demographic trade-offs, emerge from constraints within individuals related to morphology, physiology and resource allocation. Plant species that grow fast in high light usually have high mortality in shade, and this well-established relationship in part defines a species’ successional niche. More generally, this relationship represents a trade-off between a species’ ability to grow quickly to exploit abundant resources vs. avoiding mortality when resources are less plentiful, but few studies have described this demographic trade-off with respect to environmental factors other than light.

2. Using demographic data from 960 tree species in …

Ecological Genomics: Understanding Gene And Genome Function In The Natural Environment, M. C. Ungerer, L. C. Johnson, M. A. Herman

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The field of ecological genomics seeks to understand the genetic mechanisms underlying responses of organisms to their natural environments. This is being achieved through the application of functional genomic approaches to identify and characterize genes with ecological and evolutionary relevance. By its very nature, ecological genomics is an interdisciplinary field. In this review, we consider the significance of this new area of study from both an ecological and genomic perspective using examples from the recent literature. We submit that by considering more fully an ecological context, researchers may gain additional insights into the underlying genetic basis of ecologically relevant phenotypic …

Corporate Social Responsibility For Solving The Housing Problem For The Poor In South Africa, Ayman Ahmed Ezzat Othman, Basheera Mia

Architectural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Incorporating Value And Risk Management Principles In Developing Low-Income Housing Projects, Ayman Ahmed Ezzat Othman

Architectural Engineering

The construction industry is concerned with satisfying its customers’ needs through delivering projects that achieve their objectives and meet their expectations on time, within budget and as specified. Despite the several housing programmes constructed by government authorities, there is a real housing problem for the poor. This problem is attributed to a number of reasons. Amongst them, the inability of the low-incomers to cover the cost of supplied houses and the lack of the constructed projects to achieve users’ satisfaction. This highlighted the need to develop innovative and creative solutions that can deliver housing projects that achieve the satisfaction of …

Investigation Of Millimetre Wave Generation By Stimulated Brillouin Scattering For Radio Over Fibre Applications, Markus Junker

Doctoral

The rising demand for greater bandwidth and increased flexibility in modern telecommunication systems has lead to increased research activities in the field of Millimetre Wave-Photonics. The combination of an optical access network and the radio propagation of high data-rate signals provides a solution to meet these demands. Such structures are also known as Radio Over Fibre Systems. They implement the optical Millimetre Wave generation in a central station and the transmission of radio waves via a remote antenna unit to the radio cell. The expected data rate is very high, due to the fact that both the optical and the …

Strategic Approaches To Erp Implementation, Farshad Salimi, Ben Dankbaar

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Strategic reasoning behind ERP triggers a specific path to ERP implementation. In this article we present a simple typology of ERP implementation approaches based on literature review and an empirical research for both manufacturing and services. We distinguish between bottom-up and top-down approaches and between process-oriented and technology-oriented approaches and we discuss the differences between the four resulting types of implementation approaches.

Determinants Of Mobile Payments: An Empirical Analysis, Lei-Da Chen, Ravi Nath

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Success of mobile commerce hinges on the availability of methods of payment that are secure, ubiquitously available, globally accepted, and easy-to-use. Mobile payment (mPayment) entails making payments using mobile devices such as wireless handsets, personal digital assistants, and other radio frequency (RF) and near field communication (NFC) devices. While mPayment is still in its infancy, its acceptance is likely to increase considerably in the coming years. In the United States, the acceptance of mPayment lags behind that of Europe and Asia. In the U.S, many experts believe that the next step in mPayment evolution is the development of a single-device …

Expanding Group Support System Capabilities From The Knowledge Management Perspective, Shin-Yuan Hung, King-Zoo Tang, Tsan-Chuan Shu

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

A group support system (GSS) is a computer-based system that enables people in different places to discuss and make decisions on connected computers. Expanding GSS capabilities from the knowledge management perspective is believed to significantly improve the performance and satisfaction of group meetings. This study develops the organizational knowledge management process, proposed by Alavi and Leidner (2001), to expand the capabilities of a GSS. Additionally, a prototype system has been implemented. Finally, an experiment is conducted to evaluate the system and demonstrate its applicability and usability. Experimental results indicate that users perceive a web-based GSS with knowledge management capabilities to …

Project Management: Is/It Research Challenges, Debbie Tesch, Lewis R. Ireland, Julie Yu-Chih Liu

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

A major challenge in Information Systems and Information Technology is to improve the ability to conceptualize, design, develop and deliver information systems that meet customer requirements. Project management is often adopted to create solutions that work and meet customer needs. The principles of project management as defined by the Project Management Institute, can improve project success rates. Researchers in the project management need to help practitioners understanding the impact of different principles on the success of IS development. This study undertakes a survey of project management experts on the state of practice and research to examine the need for improving …

Technology Support For The Classroom: Technology Alternatives To The Traditional Classroom, Michael L. Gibson, Mari W. Buche, Jerry J. Waite

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

As technology continues to advance, instructors in higher education are able to enhance course instruction. Course support tools can be customized to meet the needs of the instructor, including file sharing, grade tracking, communicating, and making announcements. Blended learning advances course enhancements to include integrated solutions such as links to electronic textbooks and assignments. The most advanced use of technology for educational purposes is found in the distance learning format. This paper describes various uses of technology to support classroom instruction. Examples are provided.

A Quantitative Model For Crm Performance Evaluations, Sanjeev K. Bordoloi, Prabhu Aggarwal, Tom Tobin

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This paper identifies important performance measurements for the operation of CRM units in the call center industry, and then uses Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to compare the performances of a selected set of call centers. The results provide several managerial insights that will assist CRM managers in effective decision making, especially in the areas of increasing efficiencies and improving customer service. Overall, this paper contributes towards managing resources and processes that would aid in the acquisition and support of information technology within a firm.

Validating An End-User Computing Satisfaction Instrument: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis Approach Using International Data, Kee-Sook Lim, Jeen-Su Lim, John H. Heinrichs

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This study evaluates the construct validity of an end-user computing satisfaction scale in the context of the Korean culture. The structure and dimensionality, reliability and validity of an end-user computing satisfaction (EUCS) instrument were cross-validated using data obtained from 108 managers of Korean firms in the context of the end-user satisfaction with their office information system. The results of this study are generally consistent with previous findings regarding the measurement property of this instrument. However, Korean data also supports the five correlated first-order factors model. Managerial and research implications of the identified results are discussed.

Identifying Opportunities In Multilingual Business Environments Using Environmental Scanning And Text Mining Techniques, Jody Strong, Kaushik Ghosh, Sumali Conlon

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

The identification of opportunities for growth can be made easier if comprehensive information relevant to the business environment is available to managers. Such recognition of business opportunities can also help sustain competitive advantage. Information relevant to business environment is usually written and posted in many languages and can be accessed from many sources. The collection of this information is time consuming and labor intensive and techniques such as environmental scanning that are proposed in previous research can facilitate this information search. In this study, we propose a technique to automatically perform tasks using text mining tools that search, translate, and …

Uc: Ubiquitous Collaboration Platform For Multimodal Team Interaction Support, Veton Z. Kepuska, Sabri Gurbuz, Walter Rodriguez, Stephen M. Fiore, Deborah Carstens, Patrick D. Converse, David Metcalf

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

A human-centered computing platform that improves teamwork and transforms the “human- computer interaction experience” for distributed teams is presented. This Ubiquitous Collaboration, or uC (“you see”), platform's objective is to transform distributed teamwork (i.e., work occurring when teams of workers and learners are geographically dispersed and often interacting at different times). It achieves this goal through a multimodal team interaction interface realized through a reconfigurable open architecture. The approach taken is to integrate: (1) an intuitive speech- and video-centric multi-modal interface to augment more conventional methods (e.g., mouse, stylus and touch), (2) an open and reconfigurable architecture supporting information gathering, …

Information Relevance And Availability: Toward Effective Management Of Projects In Public Sector, Carlos F. Gomes, Mahmoud M. Yasin

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Information plays a critical role in the different stages of managing a project. This study examines the views of one hundred and two (102) Portuguese Public sector officials on the relevance, availability and sharability of information as practiced in their organizations. Cluster analysis, gap analysis and confirmatory factor analysis procedures are utilized to analyze the collected data. The results of this study tend to underscore the growing need to have well- designed information systems, which are capable of enhancing the availability and promoting the sharability of relevant information.

Strategies, Contributions And Inhibitors Of Information Systems To Organizational Competitiveness: An Empirical Analysis Within The Caribbean, Stephen Louis, Ashley Braganza, Ray Hackney

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

The study examines the impact of Information Systems (IS) through a consideration of improved competitiveness within a multi-business Caribbean firm. The methodology draws on a participant-observer approach for data collection and compares the application of IS by three business units within each of three organizations. It is argued that while there is already a substantial amount of research on IS effectiveness its value in the context of developing countries such as those of the Caribbean will be most significant. In this context firms are perceived to face more constraints than in developed countries so there is a need to explicitly …

Impact Of Behavioral Performance Management In A Korean Application, Fred Luthans, Shanggeun Rhee, Brett C. Luthans, James B. Avey

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine whether the use of money, social recognition, and feedback have a similar impact on employee performance in the context of a modern Korean broadband internet service firm.

Design/methodology/approach – The study design was a quasi-field experiment (with control group). First, the leaders of this Korean firm were trained in behavioral performance management. Following the steps of organisational behavior modification (O.B. Mod.) they identified, measured, and analyzed critical performance behaviors and then intervened with the following reward incentives: money (n = 38), social recognition and caring attention (n = 41), and …

Preface [To Identification Keys To Strongylid Nematode Parasites Of Equids], J. Ralph Lichtenfels

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Preface to a special issue of Veterinary Parasitology (v. 156, nos. 1-2, 2008), titled Identification Keys to Strongylid Nematode Parasites of Equids.

Nanodomain Faceting In Ferroelectrics, J. F. Scott, Alexei Gruverman, D. Wu, M. Alexe

Alexei Gruverman Publications

We show that after long times (24 h), individual circular domains in 50 nm thick [0 0 1] epitaxial films of ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) develop facets due to the crystalline anisotropy, e.g. along [1 0 0] directions. This appears to be a creep process (Tybell et al. 2002 Phys. Rev. Lett. 89 097601; Paruch et al. 2006 J. Appl. Phys. 100 051608) and was first seen in a nanoarray of 180° domains (Ganpule et al. 2002 Phys. Rev. B 65 014101). The effect is independent of polarity and thus rules out any electronic dependence on different work functions …

Twin Studies, Molecular Genetics, Politics, And Tolerance: A Response To Beckwith And Morris, John R. Alford, Carolyn L. Funk, John R. Hibbing

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Beckwith and Morris raise concerns about the value of twin studies for understanding the role of genetics in complex human behavior, but virtually all of their concerns have been raised and rebutted before. When it comes to the equal environments assumption (EEA), the best approach is to test for and control possible violations of the EEA on heritability estimates rather than merely rejecting all empirical evidence because of the possibility of EEA violations. In many respects, since the study of the genetic basis of complex human behaviors now includes many methods in addition to twin studies, Beckwith and Morris’s critique …

Mammalian Visitation To Candidate Feral Swine Attractants, Tyler A. Campbell, David B. Long

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Few data exist regarding suitable feral swine (Sus scrofa) attractants in the United States. We compared species-specific visitation and contact rates of mammals to 11 candidate feral swine attractants at scent stations using motion-sensing digital photography to identify promising attractants. We found feral swine had greater visitation rates to apple and strawberry stations than to control stations. We recommend managers consider using strawberry attractants for feral swine-specific applications. If, however, a general feral swine attractant is needed, then apple, berry, or caramel attractants may perform well.

Procedural Justice In Family Conflict Resolution And Deviant Peer Group Involvement Among Adolescents: The Mediating Influence Of Peer Conflict, Jennifer Stuart, Mark Fondarco, Scott A. Miller, Veda Brown, Eve M. Brank

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The involvement of adolescents with deviant peer groups is one of the strongest proximal correlates to juvenile delinquency and stems from a variety of causes. Past research has linked ineffective parenting with peer variables, including deviant peer group involvement and peer conflict during adolescence. In this study, adolescents’ appraisals of procedural justice within the family (adolescents’ appraisals of how fairly they are treated by parents in the process of resolving family conflict) were examined as one aspect of effective parenting that may relate to deviant peer group involvement in early adolescence. Data from 1660 middle school students (ages 11-14, mean …

Boselaphus Tragocamelus (Artiodactyla: Bovidae), David M. Leslie Jr.

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Boselaphus tragocamelus (Pallas, 1766) is a bovid commonly called the nilgai or blue bull and is Asia’s largest antelope. A sexually dimorphic ungulate of large stature and unique coloration, it is the only species in the genus Boselaphus. It is endemic to peninsular India and small parts of Pakistan and Nepal, has been extirpated from Bangladesh, and has been introduced in the United States (Texas), Mexico, South Africa, and Italy. It prefers open grassland and savannas and locally is a significant agricultural pest in India. It is not of special conservation concern and is well represented in zoos and …

Implementation Of Active Collections Framework Using .Net, Sushil Magdum

Theses

For many years, large distributed enterprises have faced a common problem of near real time sharing of enterprise data typically stored in databases. As these databases may be located globally, distributed nature of this data makes it difficult to access instantaneously. The Active Collections Framework (ACF) acts as a good foundation on which to build distributed applications. This framework requires distributed applications to view changes to data as events of interest. The ACF framework integrates access to data and data changes through active collections. ACF framework is based on two different research areas: event management in distributed computing and active …

Gender, And Other Variables, Affecting Graduation Outcomes And The Future Of Science. Male Vs. Female Students 1995-2003 Rochester Institute Of Technology’S College Of Science, Catherine Mahrt-Washington

Theses

This thesis focuses on the impact of retention of undergraduate students on the future of science. If there are insufficient numbers of science students pursuing and succeeding in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education and careers, it has been argued that the United States will lose its innovative, competitive, and technological edge. The focus is on the challenges of retaining students, both male and female, in the sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology from 1995-2003. This thesis will describe and analyze existing data in an effort to develop a case specific understanding of retention metrics, student retention dynamics, and consideration …