Conservation of Olfactory Avoidance in Drosophila Species and Identification of Repellents for Drosophila suzukii.

Flying insects use olfaction to navigate towards fruits in complex odor environments with remarkable accuracy. Some fruits change odor profiles substantially during ripening and related species can prefer different stages. In Drosophila species attractive odorants have been studied extensively, but little is understood about the role of avoidance pathways. In order to examine the role of the avoidance cue CO2 emitted from fruit on behavior of two species with different ripening stage preferences, we investigated the CO2-detection pathway in Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila suzukii, a harmful pest of fruits. Avoidance to CO2 is not conserved in D. suzukii suggesting a behavioral adaptation that could facilitate attraction to younger fruit with higher CO2 emission levels. We investigated known innate avoidance pathways from five species at different evolutionary distances: D. melanogaster, D. yakuba, D. suzukii, D. pseudoobscura and D. virilis. Surprisingly, only DEET shows strong repellency across all species, whereas CO2, citronellal and ethyl 3-hydroxybutyrate show only limited conservation. These findings guide us to test recently discovered safe DEET substitutes, and we identify one that protects fruits from D. suzukii thus providing a new behavioral strategy for controlling agricultural pests

The collective consciousness of Information Technology research: The significance and value of research projects. A. The views of IT researchers

This research seeks to reveal the different perceptual worlds in a research community, with the longterm intent of fostering increased understanding and hence collaboration. In the relatively new field of information technology (IT) research, available evidence suggests that a shared understanding of the research object or territory does not yet exist. This has led to the development of different perceptions amongst IT researchers of what constitutes significant and valuable research. A phenomenological approach is used to elicit data from a diverse range of IT researchers in semistructured interviews. This data is presented to show (1) the variation in meaning associated with the idea of significance and value and (2) the awareness structures through which participants experience significance and value. An Outcome Space represents the interrelation between those different ways of seeing, revealing a widening awareness. Five categories of ways of seeing the significance and value of research projects were found: The Personal Goals Conception, The Research Currency Conception, The Design of the Research Project Conception, The Outcomes for the Technology End User Conception and The Solving Real-World Problems Conception. These are situated within three wider perceptual boundaries: The Individual, The Research Community and Humankind. The categories are described in detail, demonstrated with participants’ quotes and illustrated with diagrams. A tentative comparison is made between this project and a similar investigation of IT professionals’ ways of seeing the significance and value of IT research projects. Finally, some recommendations for further research are made

The collective consciousness of Information Technology research: The significance and value of research projects. B. The views of IT industry professionals

This research seeks to reveal the different perceptual worlds in a research community, with the longterm intent of fostering increased understanding and hence collaboration. In the relatively new field of information technology (IT) research, available evidence suggests that a shared understanding of the research object or territory does not yet exist. This has led to the development of different perceptions amongst IT researchers of what constitutes significant and valuable research. Phenomenological methodology is used to elicit data from a diverse range of IT industry professionals in semi-structured interviews. This data is presented to show (1) the variation in meaning associated with the idea of significance and value and (2) the awareness structures through which participants experience significance and value. An Outcome Space represents the interrelation between those different ways of seeing, revealing a widening awareness. Five categories of ways of seeing the significance and value of research projects were found: The Personal Goals Conception, The Commercial Goals Conception, The Outcomes for the Technology End User Conception, The Solving Real-World Problems Conception and The Design of the Research Project Conception. These are situated within three wider perceptual boundaries: The Individual, The Enterprise and Society. The categories are described in detail, demonstrated with participants’ quotes and illustrated with diagrams. A tentative comparison is made between this project and a similar investigation of IT researchers’ ways of seeing the significance and value of IT research projects. Finally, some recommendations for further research are made

The Collective Consciousness of Information Technology Research: Ways of seeing Information Technology Research: Its Objects and Territories

The collective consciousness of effective groups of researchers is characterised by shared understandings of their research object or territory. In the relatively new field of information technology research, rapid expansion and fragmentation of the territory has led to different perceptions about what constitutes information technology research. This project explores a facet of the collective consciousness of disparate groups of researchers and lays a foundation for constructing shared research objects. Making IT researchers’ ways of seeing explicit may help us understand some of the complexities associated with inter and intra disciplinary collaboration amongst research groups, and the complexities associated with technology transfer to industry. This report analyses IT research, its objects and territories, as they are constituted by IT researchers associated with the sub-disciplines of information systems, computer science and information security. A phenomenographic approach is used to elicit data from a diverse range of IT researchers in semistructured interviews. This data is analysed to show (1) the variation in meaning associated with the idea of IT research and (2) the awareness structures through which participants experience variation in ways of seeing the object and territories of IT research. An Outcome Space represents the interrelation between different ways of seeing the territory. Eight ways of seeing IT research, its objects and territories, were found: The Technology Conception, The Information Conception, The Information and Technology Conception, The Communication Conception, The Ubiquitous Conception, The Sanctioned Conception, The Dialectic Conception and The Constructed Conception. These are described in detail and illustrated with participants’ quotes. Finally, some recommendations for further research are made

Exploring Learning Experiences Of Students In An Experiential Community Health Practice Course

Introduction: Students in their first and second year of their Master of Public Health (MPH) programs worked in teams to collaborate with and assist local community partners in developing solutions to problems immediately relevant to local community health organizations. The course’s unique emphasis on co-generation of knowledge between students and community partners aimed to develop students’ practical skills relevant to working in practice-based community public health agencies as well as enhance their research skills as community-engaged academics. This study aims to identify lessons learned and key elements of the course that were most impactful on students’ learning experiences.Methods: Students were required to submit essays reflecting on their experience in the course at the end of the semester. E-mail outreach to 212 students resulted in consents from 104 students. A rapid qualitative analysis approach with both deductive and inductive lenses was used for analysis. Results: Overall, students reported having had positive experiences in the course. Six major themes emerged: 1) turning theory into practice, 2) navigating the complex environment of public health practice, 3) skills learned, 4) personal reflections, 5) challenges, and 6) strengths. Conclusions: Analysis of student reflections may make visible the learning processes that evolve as students strengthen important research skills and explore their identity as public health professionals. Collaboration with community partners allowed students to gain a deeper understanding of health disparities in a way that cannot be conveyed through readings and discussions alone. Methods used in this study demonstrate how reflection can be used as a teaching tool and a method for generating research data

A Local Search Modeling for Constrained Optimum Paths Problems (Extended Abstract)

Constrained Optimum Path (COP) problems appear in many real-life applications, especially on communication networks. Some of these problems have been considered and solved by specific techniques which are usually difficult to extend. In this paper, we introduce a novel local search modeling for solving some COPs by local search. The modeling features the compositionality, modularity, reuse and strengthens the benefits of Constrained-Based Local Search. We also apply the modeling to the edge-disjoint paths problem (EDP). We show that side constraints can easily be added in the model. Computational results show the significance of the approach

Stakeholder Opinions About Tourism

Research on sustainable tourism is growing but often not done in tandem with a community led initiative to effect policy. This study was part of a community and tourism sustainability effort that involved a stakeholder-involved process in a community in the southwestern U.S. The community is a popular destination by in-state, national and international tourists. This paper focuses on the results of two of the several data collection efforts that were part of this project: resident survey and business owner/manager survey. Specially, the findings of this research show that the community atmosphere factor that includes indicators related to the physical environment and safety most contributes to a high QOL in the community and must be a priority consideration in sustainable tourism planning. Conversely, the crowding factor most severely detracts from QOL with traffic, crowding and congestion being detrimental to QOL

Local residents’ perceptions about tourism development

Local residents are important stakeholders in tourism development. Their positive quality of life should be considered and ensured while destinations try to satisfy tourists and earn benefits from tourism. This paper examine residents’ perspectives at tourism destinations, specifically, the relationship between residents’ satisfaction with their quality of life related to tourism impacts and their support for tourism. The research site is a popular destination in the Southwest of the USA. Data were collected using a mail-back resident survey. The results of a structural equation modeling approach confirms the hypothesis that residents’ satisfaction with quality of life affects their level of support for further tourism development. However, the indicators and sub-constructs attributing to the residents’ satisfaction with quality of life could be varied, depending on features of each destination and demographics of the residents

Overtourism: Sustainable Tourism Plan and Stakeholder Involvement

Overtourism with its negative impacts on tourism destinations is a threat to sustainability. Heavily visited destinations around the world have applied different methods to keep the problem in control such as capping the number of visitors, de-marketing, and changing visitors’ behaviors. However, tackling overtourism requires a systematic approach through planning and involving stakeholders. This on going case study examines the process of developing, implementing and monitoring sustainable tourism plan with a focus to diagnose overtourism and develop solutions in a popular destination. Data has been being collected through field trips, participant observation, review of project documents, and in-depth interviews. Findings will be useful for destination management in the context of overtourism and contribute to improve stakeholders’ involvement management framework in literature. Keywords: overtourism, tourism stakeholders, sustainable tourism plan, MSIM framewor

L'introduction d'un régime de responsabilité civile pour le préjudice écologique dans le corpus juridique québécois

Le présent mémoire a pour objectif de proposer un modèle de responsabilité civile pour le préjudice écologique dans le droit québécois. Notion ayant trouvé ancre dans de nombreuses juridictions, le préjudice écologique n’est malheureusement pas, à ce jour, un acteur connu de la scène juridique québécoise. Le préjudice écologique comporte un degré d’abstraction de plus que ces confrères, le préjudice moral, corporel et matériel. C’est un préjudice dont la victime n’est pas une personne physique, mais plutôt l’environnement. C’est en raison de ce degré de complexité que la première partie de ce mémoire sera dédiée à la compréhension théorique du préjudice écologique, pour après, présenter comment le préjudice écologique est déployé en droit français. Le concept de préjudice écologique acquis, peut alors être effectuée une incursion dans la jurisprudence et la législation québécoise afin de déterminer où en est situé le préjudice écologique. Cet examen permettra d’arriver, dans la deuxième partie du mémoire, au constat que le préjudice écologique est, malheureusement, encore méconnu au Québec. Or, considérant les défis climatiques auxquels la société contemporaine est confrontée présentement, l’introduction d’un régime de responsabilité écologique serait une nouvelle corde à l’arc afin de confronter ces bouleversements environnementaux. C’est ainsi que ce mémoire s’achèvera sur la proposition d’un modèle juridique d’un régime de responsabilité civile pour le préjudice écologique. Les particularités du préjudice écologique obligent à repenser le régime commun de la responsabilité civile, puisque ce dernier est inadapté à la nature d’un préjudice absent d’un quelconque lien le rattachant à l’homme. Ainsi, un nouvel angle de la responsabilité civile doit être découvert afin que puisse être intégré le préjudice écologique dans le droit québécois.This master’s thesis aims at proposing a new model of civil liability for the ecological prejudice in Québec law. Notion that is well implemented in several jurisdictions, the ecological prejudice has not, unfortunately, to this day, been a recognized actor on the legal stage of Québec. The ecological prejudice contains a superior degree of abstraction than his neighbors, the moral, corporal and material prejudice. It is a prejudice whose victim is not a physical person, but the environment. In light of this degree of complexity, the first part of this thesis will be dedicated to the theoretical understanding of the ecological prejudice prior to the presentation of the system used in French law to deploy the ecological prejudice. The concept of ecological prejudice acquired, an incursion in the jurisprudence and legislation of Québec will be possible in order to determine precisely where is the ecological prejudice situated. Analyzing the jurisprudence and the legislation will permit to arrive, in the second part of this thesis, to the finding that the ecological prejudice is still wildly unknown in Québec. Considering the climate challenges that the contemporary society is confronted nowadays, an introduction of a regime of civil liability for the ecological prejudice would be more than relevant tool in the battle against climate change. This thesis will end on a proposition of a legal model of a civil liability regime for the ecological prejudice. Its unique features make it mandatory to rethink the common regime of civil liability since it is unfit to the nature of a prejudice that doesn’t have any link attaching it to human. A new perspective of civil liability has to be discovered in order to integrate the ecological prejudice in Québec law