Search results for "CONST"
showing 10 items of 7706 documents
Acceptance and Continuance Intention of Web-based Learning Technologies (WLT) Use among University Students in a Baltic Country
2006
This paper presents the acceptance and "continuance intention" of use for Web-based learning tools among University students in an Eastern European Country, namely Estonia. In this paper, we used the technology acceptance model (TAM), which was extended to include two external constructs: the technology and user characteristics. These two constructs were modeled to influence the perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness constructs in the TAM. Further, another construct - continuance intention - in the information systems (IS) post-adoption literature was linked to the TAM. We used a sample of 72 students from four local higher educational institutions that have experience with a speci…
'Niche Selection' and the evolution of a complex behavior in a changing environment--a simulation.
2000
One of the key problems in theoretical biology is the identification of the mechanisms underlying the evolution of complexity. This paper suggests that some difficulties in current models could be avoided by taking account of “niche selection” as proposed by Waddington [21] and subsequent authors [2]. Computer simulations, in which an evolving population of artificial organisms “selects” the niche(s) that maximize their fitness, are compared with a Control Model in which “Niche Selection” is absent. In the simulations the Niche Selection Model consistently produced a greater number of “fit” organisms than the Control Model; although the Niche Selection Model tended, in general, to produce o…
Nested assemblages resulting from host size variation: the case of endoparasite communities in fish hosts
2001
Nested species subsets are a common pattern in many types of communities found in insular or fragmented habitats. Nestedness occurs in some communities of ectoparasites of fish, as does the exact opposite departure from random assembly, anti-nestedness. Here, we looked for nested and anti-nested patterns in the species composition of communities of internal parasites of 23 fish populations from two localities in Finland. We also compared various community parameters of nested and anti-nested assemblages of parasites, and determined whether nestedness may result simply from a size-related accumulation of parasite species by feeding fish hosts. Nested parasite communities were characterised b…
The Sicilian wild cabbages as biological resources: taxonomic update and a review on chemical constituents and biological activities
2020
Considering the growing interest that wild brassicas have as sources of bioactive molecules as well as a genetic resource, the authors review and update the taxonomy of Brassica sect. Brassica, limited to the native flora of Sicily, an island considered to be an active diversification center for the group of species of the aforementioned section. Regarding the taxonomic aspects, Brassica tardarae is here considered a subspecies of B. rupestris; the distinction at the subspe- cific level of B. raimondoi, a critical taxon included in B. incana, is also confirmed. In addition, two new subspecies are proposed, respectively in B. incana and B. rupestris. The taxonomic information relating to the…
Effects of temporal abiotic drivers on the dynamics of an allometric trophic network model
2023
Current ecological research and ecosystem management call for improved understanding of the abiotic drivers of community dynamics, including temperature effects on species interactions and biomass accumulation. Allometric trophic network (ATN) models, which simulate material (carbon) transfer in trophic networks from producers to consumers based on mass-specific metabolic rates, provide an attractive framework to study consumer–resource interactions from organisms to ecosystems. However, the developed ATN models rarely consider temporal changes in some key abiotic drivers that affect, for example, consumer metabolism and producer growth. Here, we evaluate how temporal changes in carrying ca…
Economic Freedom and its Measurement
2008
Interest in the measurement of economic freedom originates from two separate lines of inquiry. The first, firmly embedded in the tradition of normative economics, focuses on freedom measurement for enlarging the narrow evaluative bases of welfare economics. The second, rooted in the libertarian tradition, tries to construct objective empirical indices of the extent of economic freedom enjoyed by countries on a world-wide basis. Despite their different origins, methodology and aims, both traditions share a common denominator that informs their theoretical underpinnings and the measures that they construct, viz., individual choice. More precisely, economic freedom measures constructed within …
Reconnecting with poverty: new challenges of disaster management
2011
PurposeIt is clear that poverty can be a key factor to take into consideration at time of potentiating or mitigating the unexpected aftermaths of disasters. In some extent, the degree of vulnerability created by poverty leads scholars to preclude material conditions of life plays a pivotal role in disaster rebuilt. Nonetheless, the present paper aims to explore precisely the connection between the false conceptualization of poverty as pathways towards the conditions of disasters with the disaster in such.Design/methodology/approachThis thesis is that the poverty is a humanitarian disaster often intellectualized as cause of disaster in order for real liable actors not assume their faults. Th…
Meeting the challenges of the 21st century: Social change and the family
2020
The article recounts major changes in the European family and challenges it creates in accounting and supporting families. Fragility and diversity of family relationships, individualization and shrinking size of households are seen both as a result of change in the system of values and the processes of economics. Statistical tools used to assess the family dynamics increasingly become inadequate to monitor and interpret the change and situation in families. Statistical figures also construct the way families are imagined in policies. Fertility, marriage and divorce rates are connected to reproductive functions of the society while employment figures feature the productive needs in societies…
Obesity in the State of Mexico: Interfaces and concurrences
2014
AbstractIn Mexico, from the eighties decade, various documents were made, and in which is specified the health care of the population, including obesity, documents which have been enriched by documents recently issued yet. However, as a health problem, overweight and obesity have become major challenges, placing the country at first place in health statistics on worldwide. This situation is identified in the different zones of the country, such as in the case of the State of Mexico. The objective of this work was to understand the relationship between emission of health programs, its contents, and the performance of the participants. The present paper was documentary, retrospective, analyti…
Local social services in disaster management: Is there a Nordic model?
2017
Abstract The Nordic states have extensive welfare systems in which the local social services are an important component. Despite a growing research on disaster resilience, we lack research examining in systematic way whether and how local social services in the Nordic countries contribute to resilience. Aiming to fill this gap, this article asks whether we can identify a common Nordic model of the role of local social services in disasters, or whether the countries have taken different paths. We use policy documents and legislation to examine the extent to which roles for local social services are embedded in the disaster management systems of the five Nordic countries. We analyze the insti…