Big data: the potential role of research data management and research data registries

Universities generate and hold increasingly vast quantities of research data – both in the form of large, well-structured datasets but more often in the form of a long tail of small, distributed datasets which collectively amount to ‘Big Data’ and offer significant potential for reuse. However, unlike big data, these collections of small data are often less well curated and are usually very difficult to find thereby reducing their potential reuse value. The Digital Curation Centre (DCC) works to support UK universities to better manage and expose their research data so that its full value may be realised. With a focus on tapping into this long tail of small data, this presentation will cover two main DCC, services: DMPonline which helps researchers to identify potentially valuable research data and to plan for its longer-term retention and reuse; and the UK pilot research data registry and discovery service (RDRDS) which will help to ensure that research data produced in UK HEIs can be found, understood, and reused. Initially we will introduce participants to the role of data management planning to open up dialogue between researchers and library services to ensure potentially valuable research data are managed appropriately and made available for reuse where feasible. DMPs provide institutions with valuable insights into the scale of their data holdings, highlight any ethical and legal requirements that need to be met, and enable planning for dissemination and reuse. We will also introduce the DCC’s DMPonline, a tool to help researchers write DMPs, which can be customised by institutions and integrated with other systems to simplify and enhance the management and reuse of data. In the second part of the presentation we will focus on making selected research data more visible for reuse and explore the potential value of local and national research data registries. In particular we will highlight the Jisc-funded RDRDS pilot to establish a UK national service that aggregates metadata relating to data collections held in research institutions and subject data centres. The session will conclude by exploring some of the opportunities we may collaboratively explore in facilitating the management, aggregation and reuse of research data

Managers’ Incentives to Manipulate Earnings in Management Buyout Contests: An Examination of How Corporate Governance and Market Mechanisms Mitigate Earnings Management

In an MBO contest, managers offer to buy the firm from public shareholders at a premium to the current market price and thus have incentives to buy the firm “cheap.” Prior studies have found evidence that managers, on average, manipulate earnings downward prior to an MBO offer in an attempt to convince shareholders that their offer is fair. We extend this finding by attempting to explain the substantial cross sectional variation in the degree of manipulation across firms reported in these earlier studies. We find that boards with more independent directors and higher levels of incentive based compensation for the CEO act to discourage such manipulation. Additionally, our results show that some shareholders, minority and preexisting large outside blockholders, appear to be misled by the manipulation. However, new blockholders that acquire large shareholdings in the year before the offer are not. We also discover that managers are more likely to revise their bid upwards when the manipulation is most severe and that these new blockholders put pressure on managers to make these revisions. Finally, we investigate whether the manipulation has an impact on the final buyout contest outcome. We find that downward manipulation does not prevent managers from retaining control of the firm; however, they pay a higher premium

Do Companies Value Maintaining ISO 9000 Certification? 2009 Case Study of 41 US Companies First Certified in 2000

The costs of obtaining and maintaining ISO certification are high. Moreover, studies have shown mixed results on the benefits of the certification. Consequently, the objective of this research was to verify whether or not companies do value maintaining the ISO 9000 certification. The empirical study was conducted on 41 U.S. companies that were first certified in 2000. The companies formed an existing database as they were used by Dr. Arbuckle in 2004 in his doctoral dissertation. Of the 41 companies, 12 were found to be out of business, leaving a final sample size of 29. Data were gathered from this sample through telephone interviews and verified through the organizations’ online documents. In this group, 23 companies were found to be still maintaining the ISO 9000 certification as of 2009. When the statistical analyses were performed, the results clearly indicated that companies do significantly value maintaining the ISO 9000 certification. However, it was interesting to note that the primary reason behind maintaining the ISO 9000 certification was pressure from customers and not necessarily as a tool towards achieving quality production or continuous improvement. Indeed, such an observation may help to explain why even certified companies sometimes produce goods and services of inferior quality

Emerging good practice in managing research data and research information within UK Universities

Sound data intensive science depends upon effective research data and information management. Efficient and interoperable research information systems will be crucial for enabling and exploiting data intensive research however it is equally important that a research ecosystem is cultivated within research-intensive institutions that foster sustainable communication, cooperation and support of a diverse range of research-related staff. Researchers, librarians, administrators, ethics advisors, and IT professionals all have a vital contribution to make in ensuring that research data and related information is available, visible, understandable and usable over the mid to long term. This paper will provide a summary of several ongoing initiatives that the Jisc-funded Digital Curation Centre (DCC) are currently involved with in the UK and internationally to help staff within higher education institutions prepare to meet funding body mandates relating to research data management and sharing and to engage fully in the digital agenda

Effects of sediment depth on algal turf height are mediated by interactions with fish herbivory on a fringing reef

Closely cropped algal turfs support key ecosystem functions on healthy coraldominated reefs, yet how this important reef component is affected by sedimentation, a key stressor on reefs worldwide, is relatively unknown. We used a 2-factor caging experiment to evaluate the effects of varying sediment depth and presence of herbivorous fish on algal turf height on a fringing reef in Mo\u27orea, French Polynesia. Without herbivory, 2 mm of sediment reduced turf growth by ∼50% compared to sediment removal treatments; in contrast, growth with 4 mm of sediment was low or negligible regardless of herbivory treatment. Negative effects of sediment were linked to the development of black basal layers of sediment, indicating accumulation of hydrogen sulfide. Black sediment occurred in 60 to 70% of all 4 mm plots and in 43% of caged 2 mm plots but was not found in open 2 mm plots, implying that grazing ameliorated development of black sediment under 2 mm loads. Sediment levels of 2 mm did not deter herbivory, evidenced by the significant decrease in turf height in open compared to caged plots. Under 4 mm of sediment, black sediment inhibited both growth and herbivory where it occurred. Without black sediment, however, fish grazing balanced algal growth, resulting in negligible algal height changes across 4 mm plots but with differing underlying mechanisms. Field surveys on other sedimented reefs with healthy herbivore communities confirmed an increase in the presence of black sediment at depths over 3 mm. Thus, deeper sediment depths inhibit turf growth, yet under moderate levels of sedimentation, intact herbivorous fish communities may maintain closely cropped, healthy turf communities by preventing the negative effects of black sediment

A rapidly expanding alga acts as a secondary foundational species providing novel ecosystem functions in the South Pacific

Foundation species facilitate associated communities and provide key ecosystem functions, making anthropogenically driven phase-shifts involving these species critically important. One well documented such phase-shift has been from coral to algal domination on tropical reefs. On South Pacific coral reefs, the macroalga Turbinaria ornata has expanded its range and habitat but, unlike algae that often dominate after phase-shifts, T. ornata is structurally complex and generally unpalatable to herbivores. Therefore, it may serve a foundational role on coral reefs, such as providing habitat structure to more palatable primary producers and corresponding trophic support to fishes. We predicted increasing T. ornata density would facilitate growth of associated algae, resulting in a positive trophic cascade to herbivorous fish. An experiment manipulating T. ornata densities showed a uni- modal relationship between T. ornata and growth of understory algae, with optimal growth occurring at the most frequent natural density. Epiphyte cover also increased with density until the same optimum, but remained high with greater T. ornata densities. Foraging by herbivorous fishes increased linearly with T. ornata density. An herbivore exclusion experiment confirmed T. ornata facilitated epiphytes, but resource use of epiphytes by herbivores, though significant, was not affected by T. ornata density. Therefore, T. ornata performs foundational roles because it provides novel habitat to understory and epiphytic macroalgae and trophic support to consumers, though likely this function is at the expense of the original foundational corals

Juvenile homicide : a criminological study on the possible causes of juvenile homicidal delinquency in Jamaica

Jamaica, the so-called land of wood and water, normally is the embodiment of a dream holiday destination with white sandy beaches, tropical palm trees, dazzling sunshine and the typical Caribbean flair. Generally, murder and manslaughter are not associated with Jamaica. However, international comparisons of crime rates reveal that Jamaica has persistently had one of the highest homicide rates in the world. Jamaica has been described as the murder capital of the world in 2006 by the BBC news after more than 1’600 people were killed in the year 2005; a tally of at least five people murdered a day. The majority of the homicides are caused by young men. Despite the dimension and severity of the homicidal problem in Jamaica, it is astonishing that literature on this phenomenon in Jamaica is very sparse and the literature that is available either doesn’t conform to the current homicide situation in Jamaica anymore or is inconsistent with other studies. The aim of the present research study was thus to close this gap and to help the process of comprehending the problem of fatal juvenile delinquency by engaging empirical research in serious efforts to describe and explain the epidemic. According to the author, understanding juvenile homicidal delinquents and their actions and thus ascertaining a plausible explanation for their high homicide rate can only be achieved by going back to those whose acts are to be explained: The juvenile homicidal delinquents themselves. The findings of the present study are therefore based upon the data gathered by means of 20 face-to-face, semi-standardised interviews with young men who have committed at least one homicide during the last five years prior to the interview and were aged between 12 and 25 years at the time of the respective homicide(s). The author acts on the assumption that homicides by juveniles can be understood as a reaction that emerges situationally and is based on a complex bundle of causes which leads to an increased susceptibility to homicides. The aim of the present study was to generate a plausible and scientifically substantiated hypothesis to explain the high proportion of male juveniles responsible for the homicide rate in Jamaica. Three groupings were examined: The individual personality characteristics of the homicide delinquents, the social context influencing the individual’s thoughts and actions and the triggering factors in the homicide context. The study comes to the conclusion that the homicides of the respondents of the present study – additionally to the basic prerequisites of the occurrence of homicides in general such as a life in deprivation and the failure of the institutions of socialisation to sufficiently socialise their members – can be explained in high gear by the widely dispread culture of violence. Within this culture, violence constitutes a part of every-day behaviour and killing is perceived as a legitimate form of dispute resolution to which one has adapted because it utterly works. This is an instrumental understanding of violent behaviour. This apparent culture of violence of the underclass society with the deeply embedded willingness to apply violence to solve even seemingly minor disputes is intensified by a high gun prevalence and easy firearm accessibility as well as the wide distribution of and attachment to gangs. Firearms as well as delinquent gangs are two powerful factors that accord power, a feeling of strength and superiority to the individual. Status, power and respect rank high within the impecunious underclass society in Jamaica. Violence is perceived as a necessary instrument to sustain the own identity, status and respect. Thus, the fight for respect in the street culture of Jamaica’s urban inner-city youth depicts an act in self-defence for the parties involved. And such an act in self-defence legitimises to kill

Informing Canada’s commitment to biodiversity conservation: A science-based framework to help guide protected areas designation through Target 1 and beyond

Biodiversity is intrinsically linked to the health of our planet—and its people. Yet, increasingly, human activities are causing the extinction of species, degrading ecosystems, and reducing nature’s resilience to climate change and other threats. As a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Canada has a legal responsibility to protect 17% of land and freshwater by 2020. Currently, Canada has protected ∼10% of its terrestrial lands, requiring a marked increase in the pace and focus of protection over the next three years. Given the distribution, extent, and geography of Canada’s current protected areas, systematic conservation planning would provide decision-makers with a ranking of the potential for new protected area sites to stem biodiversity loss and preserve functioning ecosystems. Here, we identify five key principles for identifying lands that are likely to make the greatest contribution to reversing biodiversity declines and ensuring biodiversity persistence into the future. We identify current gaps and integrate principles of protecting (i) species at risk, (ii) representative ecosystems, (iii) intact wilderness, (iv) connectivity, and (v) climate refugia. This spatially explicit assessment is intended as an ecological foundation that, when integrated with social, economic and governance considerations, would support evidence-based protected area decision-making in Canada

Senegalese Women: A Comparative Analysis of Economic Development in Sine-Saloum and Dakar

The complex nexus of Dependency theories, Self-Reliance, and Afro-centric feminisms frame this exploration into economic development strategies Senegalese women deploy in the peanut and fishing sectors to ensure the survival of their families and communities