Pre-consensus Ontologies and Urban Databases

Abstract. Facing the difficulties of interoperability and cooperation between several urban databases, a solution is based on ontologies which can help not only clarify the vocabulary used in urban planning, but also organize urban applications; indeed multiple definitions can be given to various urban objects. So this is the scope of the Towntology project which aims at defining ontologies for urban planning whose design is characterized by the multiplicity of definitions. After having presented some ways of using ontologies for various actors in urban applications, a definition of pre-consensus ontologies is given, together with some groupware tools to collect multiple textual and multimedia definitions in sub-ontologies, to check and consolidate the vocabulary in order to reach some consensus. We conclude this paper by giving some recommendations for the Towntology project for covering the whole urban field by integrating various sub-ontologies

Precision management of pollination services to blueberry crops

While the cultivated area of pollinator-dependent crops is increasing, pollinator availability is decreasing, leading to problems in many agroecosystems. For this reason, pollinator-dependent crop growers often rent beehives to support their pollination requirements to sustain fruit productivity. However, the efficiency of those pollination systems has not been extensively studied. Here, we compared the effect of “precision” pollination (i.e., application of pesticides coordinated with growers, audit of hives, dietary supplementation and individual distribution of hives) with conventional practices (i.e., pesticides applications without coordination with growers and no audit of hives, low maintenance of hives and hives distributed in large groups) on the mean level of pollination and fruit production and quality in blueberry crops. In nine blueberry fields, we measured bee visitation rate to flowers, fruit set, fruit firmness and fruit weight. On average, precision-pollinated plots had 70% more bee visits to flowers and produced 13% more fruits that were 12% heavier and 12% firmer than those obtained through conventional practices. These results showed that pollination efficiency could be improved if key management related to bee strength, distribution and health care are taken into account. Due to these results, we encourage growers and beekeepers to include precision pollination practices to both increase the productivity of blueberry fields and the wellbeing of honey bees within agroecosystems.EEA ConcordiaFil: Cavigliasso, Pablo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Concordia; ArgentinaFil: Negri, Pedro. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigación en Abejas Sociales (ex Laboratorio de Artrópodos); ArgentinaFil: Negri, Pedro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Producción Sanidad y Ambiente; ArgentinaFil: Viel, Matias. Beeflow Inc. Smart Pollination Services; Estados UnidosFil: Graziani, Milagros María. Beeflow Inc. Smart Pollination Services; Estados UnidosFil: Challiol, C. Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos. Facultad de Ciencias de la Alimentación; ArgentinaFil: Bello, Fernando. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Concordia; ArgentinaFil: Saez, Agustin. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente (INIBIOMA). Grupo de Ecología de la Polinización; ArgentinaFil: Saez, Agustin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente (INIBIOMA). Grupo de Ecología de la Polinización; Argentin

The use of mixed methods research in the behavioral sciences field

Mixed methods research involves the combined use of quantitative and qualitative methods in the same research study, and it is becoming increasingly important in several scientific areas. The aim of this paper is to review and compare through a mixed methods multiple-case study the application of this methodology in three reputable behavioural science journals: the Journal of Organizational Behavior, Addictive Behaviors and Psicothema. A quantitative analysis was carried out to review all the papers published in these journals during the period 2003-2008 and classify them into two blocks: theoretical and empirical, with the latter being further subdivided into three subtypes (quantitative, qualitative and mixed). A qualitative analysis determined the main characteristics of the mixed methods studies identified, in order to describe in more detail the ways in which the two methods are combined based on their purpose, priority, implementation and research design. From the journals selected, a total of 1.958 articles were analysed, the majority of which corresponded to empirical studies, with only a small number referring to research that used mixed methods. Nonetheless, mixed methods research does appear in all the behavioural science journals studied within the period selected, showing a range of designs, where the sequential equal weight mixed methods research design seems to stand out