10,021 research outputs found
Synthesis and Characterization of Sugar Derivatives as Functional Gelators
Systems formed by the supramolecular assemblages of organic molecules known as organogelators and hydrogelators are currently, and only recently, a subject of great attention and promise. In this context, low molecular weight gelators (LMWGs) are of particular interest because they provide a bottom-up approach to the formation of supramolecular architectures through self-assembly. Gelator molecules do so via the initial formation of a one-dimensional array of individual molecules bound non-covalently through forces such as: hydrogen bonds, electrostatic forces, Van der Waals interactions, and other weak forces such as Ï-Ï interactions. These interactions then lead to secondary structure formation through a similar assembly mechanism. Understanding the gelation process through characterization techniques is critical to the development of a design rationale for gelator molecules. Past and current research performed by the Wang group indicates that analogues of various 4,6-benzylidene acetals form stable gels in organic, aqueous, and organic/aqueous solvents at varying concentrations. The basis of varying the 4,6-protecting groups on glucose and glucosamine derivatives is to discern the relative structure activity relationships of these systems, and as well to fabricate functional systems which respond to external stimulus. Stimuli responsive or trigger release gel systems formed by sugar based low molecular weight gelators (LMWGs) have applications as smart biocompatible materials, and such responsiveness in various media was explored and developed to determine the feasibility of such applications using monosaccharide derivatives
Construction productivity analysis for asphalt concrete pavement rehabilitation in urban corridors
The results of a constructibility and productivity analysis for the California Department of Transportation Long Life Asphalt Concrete Pavement Rehabilitation Strategies program are presented. With the assistance of California asphalt concrete (AC) paving contractors, the analysis explored the effects on construction productivity of rehabilitation materials, design strategy (crack seat and overlay, full-depth replacement), layer profiles, AC cooling time, resource constraints, and alternative lane closure tactics. Deterministic and stochastic analysis programs were developed. A sensitivity study that examined the construction production capability within a 55-h weekend closure was performed. Weekend closures were also compared with continuous closures. Demolition and AC delivery truck flows were the major constraints limiting the AC rehabilitation production capability. It was concluded from the study that efficient lane closure tactics designed to work with the pavement profile (an minimize the nonworking time to increase the construction product! on efficiency. The results of the study will help road agencies evaluate rehabilitation strategies and tactics with the goal of balancing the maximization of production capability and minimization of traffic delay during urban pavement rehabilitation.open114sciescopu
Cadre conceptuel pour dĂ©finir la population statistique de lâĂ©conomie sociale au QuĂ©bec
Sous la direction de Marie J. BouchardLâobjectif du cadre conceptuel est de fournir des concepts et des dĂ©finitions pour guider la collecte
de donnĂ©es et la production de statistiques cohĂ©rentes et comparables sur lâĂ©conomie sociale
quĂ©bĂ©coise. Lâobjectif est aussi de contribuer au dĂ©veloppement de la recherche analytique sur
lâĂ©conomie sociale en identifiant des indicateurs pertinents pour la dĂ©crire quantitativement. Le
cadre conceptuel doit ĂȘtre Ă la fois assez gĂ©nĂ©ral pour tĂ©moigner de lâappartenance de lâĂ©conomie
sociale à un mouvement international, et assez particulier pour bien refléter son originalité
québécoise. Dans ce document, nous employons le terme économie sociale dans une définition large
et inclusive, couvrant les domaines de lâĂ©conomie sociale coopĂ©rative, mutualiste et sans but lucratif
ainsi que lâaction communautaire et lâaction communautaire autonome, tels que gĂ©nĂ©ralement
reconnus au Québec.
Le point de dĂ©part de la conceptualisation dâune dĂ©finition « statistique » de lâĂ©conomie sociale est la
DĂ©finition de lâĂ©conomie sociale adoptĂ©e au QuĂ©bec en 1996. Cette dĂ©finition, Ă lâinstar dâautres
dĂ©finitions employĂ©es ailleurs dans le monde, montre la primautĂ© de la finalitĂ© sociale sur lâactivitĂ©
économique. Ceci se manifeste notamment dans les traits empiriques qui sont caractéristiques des
structures et du fonctionnement de lâĂ©conomie sociale et qui la distinguent du reste de lâĂ©conomie.
Le cadre conceptuel qui en dĂ©coule Ă©tablit le type dâentitĂ©s, les statuts juridiques, les secteurs
dâactivitĂ©s exclus et un faisceau de critĂšres de qualification des organisations de lâĂ©conomie sociale.
Il Ă©tablit aussi une typologie des organisations. Le cadre conceptuel permet Ă©galement dâĂ©valuer les
composantes pĂ©riphĂ©riques du champ et de prĂ©voir sa propre Ă©volution (par ex. pour lâintĂ©gration
de nouvelles organisations qui seraient reconnues dâĂ©conomie sociale).
Les entitĂ©s de lâĂ©conomie sociale sont des entreprises (au sens de Statistique Canada) ayant les
statuts juridiques de coopĂ©ratives, mutuelles, ou dâorganismes sans but lucratif (OSBL). Le terme
« entreprise » nâĂ©tant pas utilisĂ© dans tous les milieux de lâĂ©conomie sociale, nous employons le
terme « organisations dâĂ©conomie sociale » de maniĂšre Ă toutes les englober.
Les secteurs du SystÚme de comptabilité nationale du Canada (SCNC) les plus susceptibles à contenir
des organisations dâĂ©conomie sociale sont le secteur des sociĂ©tĂ©s non financiĂšres, celui des sociĂ©tĂ©s
financiÚres et celui des institutions sans but lucratif au service des ménages. Il est peu probable de
trouver des organisations dâĂ©conomie sociale dans les autres secteurs Ă©conomiques du SCNC, Ă
savoir le secteur de lâadministration publique, celui des mĂ©nages, certaines parties du secteur des
institutions du secteur public au service des ménages et le secteur des entreprises non constituées
en sociĂ©tĂ©s. Certains secteurs dâactivitĂ© du SystĂšme de classification des industries de lâAmĂ©rique du Nord (SCIAN)
ne font pas partie de lâĂ©conomie sociale : les organismes religieux, les regroupements patronaux, les
regroupements professionnels, les syndicats et les partis politiques.
Des critĂšres permettent de qualifier les organisations qui font partie de lâĂ©conomie sociale (et leurs
filiales respectives) : la gouvernance démocratique; la distribution limitée ou interdite des
excĂ©dents ; lâautonomie et lâindĂ©pendance ; et la production organisĂ©e de biens ou de services. Un
seul de ces traits ne suffit pas pour caractĂ©riser lâĂ©conomie sociale, et ces traits ne sont pas
hiĂ©rarchisĂ©s entre eux. Câest plutĂŽt un ensemble de traits, ou un « faisceau de critĂšres », qui doit ĂȘtre
observĂ© pour qualifier lâĂ©conomie sociale. LâopĂ©rationnalisation de ces critĂšres se fait par tris
successifs, du plus simple au plus exigeant sur le plan méthodologique, de maniÚre à filtrer
progressivement la population statistique de lâĂ©conomie sociale. Au QuĂ©bec, les statuts juridiques de
la coopĂ©rative et de la mutuelle couvrent lâensemble des critĂšres du cadre conceptuel et permettent
dâemblĂ©e de classer ces organisations dans le champ. Les organisations ayant un statut juridique
dâorganisme sans but lucratif rencontrent le critĂšre de distribution limitĂ©e ou interdite des
excĂ©dents, mais doivent ĂȘtre examinĂ©es pour Ă©tablir (successivement, cette fois) quâils
correspondent aux critÚres de : a) production organisée de biens ou de services ; b) autonomie et
indépendance et c) gouvernance démocratique. Ainsi, puisque les organismes sans but lucratif
peuvent ĂȘtre mis sur pied pour de multiples fins, seuls ceux qui produisent de maniĂšre organisĂ©e
des biens ou des services font partie de lâĂ©conomie sociale. Ătant donnĂ© que les OSBL peuvent ĂȘtre
contrĂŽlĂ©s par des personnes ou des entitĂ©s qui nâen sont pas les membres, seuls ceux qui sont
exempts de contrĂŽle externe font partie de lâĂ©conomie sociale. Enfin, puisque OSBL nâont pas
dâobligation lĂ©gale en matiĂšre dâinspection, seuls ceux qui peuvent tĂ©moigner du fonctionnement de
leurs instances de gouvernance dĂ©mocratique font partie de lâĂ©conomie sociale.
Le cadre conceptuel sert aussi à développer une typologie qui vise à rendre compte de dynamiques
Ă©conomiques diffĂ©renciĂ©es des organisations dâĂ©conomie sociale. Se basant sur la capacitĂ©
dâhybridation des ressources qui caractĂ©rise lâĂ©conomie sociale, la typologie Ă©tablit six grands types
dâorganisations de lâĂ©conomie sociale suivant le mode dominant dâallocation des ressources
(échange marchand, redistribution ou réciprocité) et leur principale provenance (de source privée
ou publique). Cette typologie nâest certes pas suffisante pour classer les entitĂ©s de la population,
mais elle est complĂ©mentaire Ă dâautres classifications existantes1.
Lâadaptation du cadre conceptuel aux particularitĂ©s quĂ©bĂ©coises de lâĂ©conomie sociale permet de
tenir compte des entitĂ©s qui, aux vues du cadre conceptuel, paraissent ĂȘtre des « exceptions »
puisquâelles ne correspondent pas aux critĂšres du modĂšle logique, mais appartiennent nĂ©anmoins
au « mouvement » de lâĂ©conomie sociale du QuĂ©bec. Quelquesâuns de ces cas sont analysĂ©s en dĂ©tail
et sont intĂ©grĂ©s dans le ModĂšle logique opĂ©rationnel de lâĂ©conomie sociale au QuĂ©bec en 2011, qui
reprend les étapes du cadre général et tient compte des particularités québécoises.
Enfin, une analyse du cas des fondations permet de voir les caractéristiques de celles qui seraient le
plus susceptibles dâĂȘtre reconnues comme faisant partie de lâĂ©conomie sociale si la dĂ©finition
quĂ©bĂ©coise venait Ă les inclure. Ce type dâanalyse peut ĂȘtre repris pour dâautres organisations ou
secteurs dâactivitĂ©s, dans le contexte oĂč le cadre conceptuel viendrait Ă Ă©voluer.The objective of the conceptual framework is to supply concepts and definitions to guide the data
collection and the production of statistics which are coherent and comparable regarding QuĂ©becâs
social economy. The objective is also to contribute to the development of analytical research on
social economy by identifying relevant indicators to quantitatively describe it. The conceptual
framework must be quite general to establish the fact that the social economy is part of an
international movement and at the same time specific enough to properly reflect its Québec
originality. In this document, we will use the term âsocial economyâ in a large and inclusive
definition, which will cover the fields of cooperative, mutual and nonâprofit social economy, as well
as community action and autonomous community action as generally acknowledged in Québec.
The starting point of the conceptualization of the âstatisticalâ definition of social economy is the
Definition of Social Economy adopted in Québec in 1996. Like other definitions used elsewhere in the
world, this definition underlines the primacy of social purpose over economic activity. This is
especially shown in the empirical features which are typical of the structures and operation of the
social economy and which distinguish it from the rest of the economy. The resulting conceptual
framework establishes the type of entities, the legal status, sectors of activity which are excluded
and a cluster of qualification criteria of social economy organizations. It also establishes a typology
of organizations. The conceptual framework also allows assessing the peripheral components in this
field and forecasting its own progress (for example, for the integration of new organizations which
would be acknowledged as being part of the social economy).
Social economy entities are enterprises (within the meaning given by Statistics Canada) which have
legal status as cooperative, mutuals or nonâprofit organizations (NPOs). Because the term
âenterpriseâ is not used in all sectors of the social economy, we will use the term âsocial economy
organizationsâ so as to include all of them.
The sectors of the Canadian System of National Accounts (CSNA) which are the most likely to include
social economy organizations are those of nonâfinancial corporations, financial corporations and
nonâprofit institutions serving households. It is highly improbable that social economy
organizations will be found in other CSNA economic sectors, that is, the sectors of government,
households, some parts of the government institutions serving households sector and the
unincorporated business sector. Some sectors of activity of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) are not part of
the social economy. These are religious organizations, employersâ associations, professional
associations, trade unions and political parties.
Some criteria allow qualifying organizations which are part of the social economy (and their
respective subsidiaries): democratic governance; restricted or prohibited distribution of surplus;
autonomy and independence; and the organized production of goods or services. Only one criterion
is insufficient to characterize the social economy and there is no hierarchy of criteria. Instead, it is a
series of features or a âcluster of featuresâ which must be noted to qualify the social economy. The
operationalization of these criteria is done through successive triage from the simplest to the most
demanding from a methodological point of view, so as to progressively filter the statistical
population of the social economy. In Québec, the legal status of the cooperative and mutual cover all
of the criteria of the conceptual framework and allow classifying these organizations in this field.
Organizations that have legal status as nonâprofit organizations meet the criterion of limited or
prohibited distribution of surplus, but they must be examined to determine (successively this time)
if they correspond to the criteria of: a) organized production of goods or services; b) autonomy and
independence; and c) democratic governance. Accordingly, because nonâprofit organizations may be
established for many purposes, only those which produce goods or services in an organized manner
are part of the social economy. Considering that nonâprofit organizations may be controlled by
persons or entities which are not part of their membership, only those organizations which are not
externally controlled are part of the social economy. Finally, because nonâprofit organizations have
no legal requirement regarding inspection, only those which may attest to the operation of their
democratic processes of governance are part of the social economy.
The conceptual framework is also used to create a typology, the purpose of which is to account for
the differentiated economic dynamics of social economy organizations. Based on the capacity for
hybridization of the resources which characterizes the social economy, the typology establishes six
major types of organizations of the social economy according to the dominant mode of allocation of
resources (commercial exchange, redistribution or reciprocity) and their main source (private or
public). This typology is certainly insufficient to classify entities within the population but it is a
complement to other existing classifications2.
Adapting the conceptual framework to the specifics of QuĂ©becâs social economy allows taking into
consideration entities which seem to be âexceptionsâ as far as the conceptual framework is
concerned, because they do not correspond to the criteria of the logical model but nevertheless
belong to the social economy âmovementâ of QuĂ©bec. Some of these cases are analyzed in detail and
are integrated to the ModĂšle logique opĂ©rationnel de lâĂ©conomie sociale au QuĂ©bec en 2011 [Logical
Operational Model of the Social Economy in Québec in 2011], which repeats the steps of the general
framework and takes the specifics of Québec into consideration.
Finally, a case analysis of foundations shows the characteristics of those which would most likely be
acknowledged as being part of the social economy if the Québec definition would eventually include
them. If the conceptual framework should progress, this type of analysis may be repeated for other
organizations or sectors of activity.Le cadre conceptuel pour dĂ©finir la population statistique de lâĂ©conomie sociale au QuĂ©bec rĂ©sulte
dâune Ă©tude commandĂ©e par lâInstitut de la statistique du QuĂ©bec (ISQ), le ministĂšre de lâEmploi et
de la Solidarité sociale (MESS), le ministÚre de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) et le
SecrĂ©tariat Ă lâaction communautaire autonome et aux initiatives sociales (SACAIS). Le mandat a Ă©tĂ©
confiĂ© Ă la Chaire de recherche du Canada en Ă©conomie sociale de lâUQAM suite Ă un avis aux
chercheurs se clÎturant le 26 août 2010
Temptations, techniques and typologies: Insights from a Western Australian sample of young people who burgle
A significant amount of property crime is committed by young people. In this novel qualitative study, 50 young people were interviewed to obtain an insight into their motivations to burgle. Decisions were based on peer pressure, opportunity and perceived need. Bennett and Wrightâs typologies of adult burglars were applied to young burglars. Young burglars were more prone than adults in Bennett and Wrightâs study to commit opportunistic burglaries, but were deterred by similar target characteristics. The social and psychological factors are strong motivators for youth burglary and should guide the development of intervention and deterrence strategies
Congestion delays at hub airports
Cover titleJune 1986Includes bibliographical references (p. 146)A deterministic model was developed to study the effects of inefficient scheduling on flight delays at hub airports. The model bases the delay calculation on published schedule data and on user-defined airport capacities. Data from the Official Airline Guide of May, 1977 and May, 1985 was used for the analysis. Twelve large airports were studied in the hopes of finding a correlation between airport delay due to congestion and hubs. Data for both time periods was analyzed for the twelve airports in order to find historical trends in the growth of hubbing. Among the airports studied, those that were hubs had significantly more delays due to inefficient scheduling than the non-hubs, even for an equivalent number of operations. Also, these relative inefficiencies were shown to exist from hub to hub. Delays at hubs of similar size differed by up to 200 percent
Environmental enteric dysfunction and the fecal microbiota in malawian children
Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) is often measured with a dual sugar absorption test and implicated as a causative factor in childhood stunting. Disturbances in the gut microbiota are hypothesized to be a mechanism by which EED is exacerbated, although this supposition lacks support. We performed 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing of fecal samples from 81 rural Malawian children with varying degrees of EED to determine which bacterial taxa were associated with EED. At the phyla level, Proteobacteria abundance is reduced with severe EED. Among bacterial genera, Megasphaera, Mitsuokella, and Sutterella were higher in EED and Succinivibrio, Klebsiella, and Clostridium_XI were lower in EED. Bacterial diversity did not vary with the extent of EED. Though EED is a condition that is typically believed to affect the proximal small bowel, and our focus was on stool, our data do suggest that there are intraluminal microbial differences that reflect, or plausibly lead to, EED
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