Analysis of Participatory Research Projects in the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center

Through a survey of scientists from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in 2004, this study assessed the extent to which participatory methods had been used by the center, how they were perceived by the scientists, and how participatory research could be applied more effectively by CIMMYT and partners. Results for 19 CIMMYT projects suggest among other things that participatory approaches at the center were largely “functional”—that is, aimed at improving the efficiency and relevance of research—and had in fact added value to the research efforts. The authors suggest that CIMMYT should (1) create a more conducive environment for scientists to share experiences on such approaches and (2) better document their impacts on farmers’ livelihoods and well-being.Economic analysis, Research projects, Research methods, Quantitative analysis, Surveys, Statistics, Evaluation, Scientists, Research institutions, Mexico., Crop Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, E10, A50,

ESTIMATING GENDER DIFFERENCES IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY: BIASES DUE TO OMISSION OF GENDER-INFLUENCED VARIABLES AND ENDOGENEITY OF REGRESSORS

This study evaluates managerial differences between men and women and assesses the degree of bias introduced by omission of gender-influenced variables and ignoring the endogeneity of farmer characteristics and input levels. The results also give insight to improving research methods for isolating the gender impact on productivity.Labor and Human Capital, Productivity Analysis,

Species- and organ-specificity of secretory proteins derived from human prostate and seminal vesicles

Polyclonal antibodies against semenogelin (SG) isolated from human seminal vesicle secretion and acid phosphatase (PAP), β‐microseminoprotein (β‐MSP), and Prostate‐Specific Antigen (PSA) derived from human prostatic fluid, as well as a monoclonal antibody against β‐MSP were used for immunocytochemical detection of the respective antigens in different organs from different species. SG immunoreactivity was detected in the epithelium of the pubertal and adult human and in monkey seminal vesicle, ampulla of the vas deferens, and ejaculatory duct. PAP, β‐MSP, and PSA immunoreactivities were detected in the pubertal and adult human prostate and the cranial and caudal monkey prostate. With the exception of a weak PSA immunoreactivity in the proximal portions of the ejaculatory duct, none of the latter antisera reacted with seminal vesicle, ampullary, and ejaculatory duct epithelium. Among the non‐primate species studied (dog, bull, rat, guinea pig) only the canine prostatic epithelium displayed a definite immunoreactivity with the PAP antibody and a moderate reaction with the PSA antibody. No immunoreaction was seen in bull and rat seminal vesicle and canine ampulla of the vas deferens with the SG antibody. The same was true for the (ventral) prostate of rat, bull, and dog for β‐MSP. The epithelium of the rat dorsal prostate showed a slight cross‐reactivity with the monoclonal antibody against β‐MSP and one polyclonal antibody against PSA. The findings indicate a rather strict species‐dependent expression of human seminal proteins which show some similarities in primates, but only marginal relationship to species with different physiology of seminal fluid

Cholesterol concentration in bovine blood plasma relation with growth rate alkaline phosphatase activity and thyroxine degradation

International audienc

Hyvinvointiteknologian määritelmää ja eettisiä perusteita etsimässä

Tutkimuksessa etsittiin mukautetun systemaattisen kirjallisuusanalyysin avulla määritelmää termille ”hyvinvointiteknologia”. Lähteinä käytettiin kotimaisia opinnäytetöitä ja kotimaisia ja ulkomaisia tieteellisiä kirjoituksia. Löydösten perusteella voitiin todeta, että vaikka julkaistuja määritelmiä on vähän, hyvinvointiteknologia käsitteenä voidaan määritellä. Seuraava määritelmä on kontekstista riippumaton synteesi tutkimuksen tuloksista. Hyvinvointiteknologia on monialaista ja poikkitieteellistä opetusta, tutkimusta ja kehitystä, jonka tavoitteena on edistää sellaisten teknisten ratkaisujen toteuttamista, asentamista ja käyttämistä, joiden avulla jokainen pystyy selviämään arjesta mahdollisimman itsenäisesti koko elämänsä ajan. Hyvinvointiteknologian toteuttamisessa ja käytössä kunnioitetaan humaaneja arvoja, joita ovat elämän, ihmisen ja ihmisarvon kunnioitus, kestävän kehityksen periaatteiden hyväksyminen, avoimmuus käyttöönotossa, kaikkien osapuolten vapaaehtoisuus ja yksityisyyden kunnioitus sekä tasa-arvon, yhdenvertaisuuden ja syrjimättömyyden periaatteiden noudattaminen kaikilla tasoilla.In this thesis the applied systematic literature review was used to find an acceptable definition for the term “welfare technology”. Finnish theses as well as Finnish and foreign scientific works were used as sources. Based on the results of this study, it can be stated that, although very few definitions have been published, welfare tecnology as a concept can be defined. The following definition is a context-free synthesis of the findings of this research. Welfare technology means multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary education, research and development aimed to promote the production, implementation and usage of technical solutions, with which each person can manage his / her everyday chores as independently as possible throughout his / her life. In the implementation and usage of welfare technology the human values are to be respected. These values are respect for life, the human being and human dignity, acceptance of the principles of sustainable development, openness in implementation, voluntariness of all participants, respect and protection of privacy and adopting the principles of equality, parity and non-discrimination on all levels

Differences in Organizational Cultures - A Challenge for IT Projects

An organization is a system of activities that consists of two or more persons, organizations or both. It has certain goals it is aiming to achieve. An organization is continuously and in most cases consciously coordinated by an officially nominated or informally selected leader, and the organization itself can be legally constituted or informal. The cooperative nature of an organization means that the survival of the organization is dependent on both the willingness and the ability of its members to cooperate and communicate. An organization may be born of “itself” if two potential members find it useful to cooperate, or it can be established by a certain founder or founders. An organization is a small society with its own particular culture that affects the behavior of the members. This inherent value system, known as the organizational culture, can be designed for a certain purpose or it may have arisen unconsciously. The visible signs of an organizational culture include organizational design, dress codes, graphic layouts, or status symbols. The invisible side of organizational culture consists of values and beliefs to which the members of an organization conform, often unconscious of the impacts of this commitment. This invisible part of culture gives a form to the visible (or audible) manifestations of organizational culture. The organizational culture of companies is often called business culture. Five different studies were conducted to approach the impact of differences in business cultures between customer and supplier on the success of an IT project: a literature review, case study, complementary study to the case study, Delphi-based study for experienced experts, and an open survey for grassroots users. The results of each study were consistent with each other and proved that differing organizational cultures must be taken into account when setting, planning and managing an IT project. The impacts of differences can be both positive and negative. Special attention should be paid to those differences and organizational characteristics that have been experienced as having mostly negative affects. These characteristics were • The lack of a common language • The lack of managerial support and commitment to the project • Differences in the parties’ organizational structures • Substantial differences in the size, ownership, and corporate form of the parties. A list of questions to be asked and activities to take part in was produced during the Delphi process in order to find out if there were differences that should be paid more attention to during the different phases of project. According to the case study, differences in the size and structure of the organization, different juridical forms or form of ownership and differences in corporate relationships or in styles of using power have their impacts on co-operation. The unexpected finding that dividing tasks according to gender might be a risk factor highlighted a need to study the equality policy and situation in firms included in the case study. In this complementary study, a weak correlation between an organization’s official equality policy and the success of an IT project was found. In addition to the themes named above, the Delphi-based survey conducted in 2010 highlighted two other themes: differences in understanding time, and the importance of a common language. An open survey, conducted in 2011 among the end users and grass-root workers involved in IT projects, confirmed the earlier findings and highlighted the importance of prompt and understandable communication, management’s involvement in the project, respect of common goals and timetables, and a clear and transparent hierarchy and command chain on both sides

Thoracic high resolution CT using the modified VetMousetrap (TM) device is a feasible method for diagnosing canine idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in awake West Highland White Terriers

Canine idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic, progressive interstitial lung disease particularly prevalent in West Highland White Terriers. In the present prospective pilot study, we evaluated the feasibility of modified VetMousetrap (TM) device in high resolution CT to detect idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in West Highland White Terriers. Twelve awake West Highland White Terriers with canine idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and 24 clinically healthy West Highland White Terriers were scanned using a helical dual slice scanner utilizing VetMousetrap (TM) device without or with minimal chemical restraint with butorphanol. Three evaluators blindly assessed the images for image quality and the presence of canine idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis related imaging findings such as ground glass opacity and reticular opacities. Additionally, the attenuation of the lung was quantified with ImageJ software using histogram analysis of density over the lung fields. Computed tomography was successfully completed and motion artifact ranked in statistical analysis barely noticeable to mild in all dogs. The agreement between imaging findings and clinical status was very good with overall kappa value 0.91 and percentage of agreement of 94%. There was also very good intraobserver (kappa(range) = 0.79-0.91) and interobserver agreement (kappa = 0.94). Moderate to severe ground glass opacity was present in all affected dogs. In the ImageJ analysis, a significant difference in lung attenuation between the study groups was observed. We conclude that modified VetMousetrap (TM) device is applicable in diagnosing canine idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in awake West Highland White Terriers avoiding anesthetic risk in these often severely hypoxic patients.Peer reviewe

2011 Proceedings of PICMET '11: Technology Management in the Energy Smart World (PICMET)

The reliability and validity of the selected research method are subjects to which every researcher is bound to address himself when representing the findings and conclusions of his/her work. In this study we will discuss the reliability, validity and philosophical aspects of the Delphi method, first with a small literature review and then by representing two different surveys conducted using the Delphi method. The point of view in our report is the usability of Delphi in collecting qualitative data for software engineering research. The most significant features of the Delphi method are its recursion and the possibility to get immediate feedback and evaluate one’s own answer. Although there are many forms of Delphi techniques, these features exist in one form or the other in all Delphi variations. In Delphi-based surveys, the minimum number of participants is smaller and participants are not selected at random but because of their particular expertise. Among the traditional research methods this is seen to cause the risk of bias and endangering both reliability and validity. In the Delphi method, the recursion produced by three or more rounds, the expertise and – in most cases – anonymity of participants, and the opportunity to evaluate and argue one’s own answer after having seen the other opinions and arguments are thought to guarantee the quality of well-planned and well-conducted research. </p