106 research outputs found
Calculation of organic matter and nutrients stored in soils under contrasting management regimes
No full textEllert, B. H. and Bettany, J. R. 1995. Calculation of organic matter and nutrients stored in soils under contrasting manage- ment regimes. Can. J. Soit Sci. 75: 529-538 Assessments of managemenrinduced changes in soil organic matter depend on the methods used to calculate the quantities of organic C and N stored in soils. Chemical analyses in the laboratory indicate the con- centrations of elements in soils, but the thickniss and bulk density of the soil layers in the fieid must be considered to estimate the quantities of elements per unit area. Conventional methods that calculate organic matter storage as the product of concentration, bulk density and thickness do not fully account for variations in soil mass. Comparisons between the quantities of organic C, N, P and S in bray Luviscl soils under nitive aspen forest and various cropping systems were hampered by differences in the mass of soil under consideraiion. The influence of these differences was eliminated by calculating the masses of C, N, P and S in an equivalent soil mass (i.e. the mass of soil in a standard or reference surface layer). Reassessment of previously published data also indicated that estimates of organic matter storage depended on soil mass. Appraisals of organic matter depletion or accumr- lation usually were different for cimparisonr u-ong element masses in an equivalent soil mass than for comparisons among ele- ment massei in genetic horizons or in frxed sampling depths. Unless soil erosion or deposition had altered the mass of topsoil per unit area, comparisons among unequal soil massei were unjustified and erroneous. For management-induced changes in soil organic matter and nutrient storage to be assessed reliably, the masses of soil being compared must be equivalent
Natural abundance N and O stable isotopes in nitrate: an undervalued tool for agro-ecological research
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Short-term influence of tillage on CO2 fluxes from a semi-arid soil on the Canadian Prairies
No full textNatural abundance N and O isotope composition of KCl-extractable soil nitrate from distinct agricultural treatments in southern Alberta, Canada
No full textIdentifying with fun and family in the time of changes and downsize
No full textTitle: Identifying with fun and family in the time of changes and downsize. Seminar date: June 1st, 2009 Course: Masters thesis in Business Administration Programme for Managing People, Knowledge and Change, 15 University Credit Points (15 ECTS). Author: Ellert Örn Erlingsson and Elvar Ólafsson Advisor: Sara Louise Muhr Key words: Cultural family metaphor, Resistance, Cynicism, Organizational identity, Purpose: To explore identification within a small office where employees emphasize family ideology and whether they use cynicism to cope with other organizational changes made in the financial crises. Methodology: We have studies our empirical material by using reflective pragmatic approaches such as hermeneutics and critical theory. Theoretical perspectives: This study main structure derives from the use of three main topics; the cultural family metaphor, organizational identity and the use of cynicism in resistance. Empirical foundation: Empirical data was gathered through qualitative open-ended interviews of employees from a small freight office in Sweden. The employees was interviewed one at a time by the two researchers, who followed list of topics that where to be covered in the interviews. Conclusions: Employees at Shipper use the family metaphor to tighten them together in several ways in this hard times and they all identify them self as proud employees due to the good family environment within the office. But due to the fluid and unstable concept of the organizational identity it may be necessary to try to focus the identity construction of the employees to reflect on what they do. We have identified examples where the employees use cynicism to protect and/or justify themselves in situations where they are powerless
Many is beautiful : commoditization as a source of disruptive innovation
No full textThesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2003.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 44-45).This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.The expression "disruptive technology" is now firmly embedded in the modern business lexicon. The mental model summarized by this concise phrase has great explanatory power for ex-post analysis of many revolutionary changes in business. Unfortunately, this paradigm can rarely be applied prescriptively. The classic formulation of a "disruptive technology" sheds little light on potential sources of innovation. This thesis seeks to extend this analysis by suggesting that many important disruptive technologies arise from commodities. The sudden availability of a high performance factor input at a low price often enables innovation in adjacent market segments. The thesis suggests main five reasons that commodities spur innovation: ** The emergence of a commodity collapses competition to the single dimension of price. Sudden changes in factor prices create new opportunities for supply driven innovation. Low prices enable innovators to substitute quantity for quality. ** The price / performance curve of a commodity creates an attractor that promotes demand aggregation. ** Commodities emerge after the establishment of a dominant design. Commodities have defined and stable interfaces. Well developed tool sets and experienced developer communities are available to work with commodities, decreasing the price of experimentation. ** Distributed architectures based on large number of simple, redundant components offer more predictable performance. Systems based on a small number of high performance components will have a higher standard deviation for uptime than high granularity systems based on large numbers of low power components. ** Distributed architectures are much more flexible than low granularity systems. Large integrated facilities often provide cost advantages when operating at the Minimum Efficient Scale of production. However, distributed architectures that can efficiently change production levels over time may be a superior solution based on the ability to adapt to changing market demand patterns. The evolution of third generation bus architectures in personal computers provides a comprehensive example of commodity based disruption, incorporating all five forces.by Richard Ellert Willey.S.M.M.O.T
Natural carbon-13 distribution in forested and cultivated gleysols
No full textNon-Peer ReviewedNatural 13C abundance was measured in two Gleysols, one from a forest and one which had been under continuous corn for more than 25 yr. Delta 13C values increased slightly with depth in the forest soil. In the corn soil, delta 13C values were similar throughout the plow layer but lowest in the deepest layer sampled, 30-50 cm. Between 29 and 3 5% of the carbon in the plow layer of the cultivated soil was derived from corn. The 0-5 cm layer of each soil was separated into particle size fractions; delta 13c values indicated that the sand fraction had the largest proportion of carbon derived from corn whereas the coarse silt had the smallest proportion
Dissociative identity disorder in a forensic psychiatric patient: a case report
No full textp. 282-288Criminal acts can be performed in a dissociative state. Since a percentage of male and female patients with dissociative disorders act out aggression and display criminal behaviors, some of them may be found in the criminal justice system. This case report demonstrates that the long-term failure to diagnose dissociative identity disorder in a forensic psychiatric patient permitted the continued existence of highly aggressive dissociative identity states, and near-relapses into homicidal behavior. The author concludes that careful screening for dissociative disorders and the provision of treatment for dissociative disorders in forensic settings is necessary. The risks of both false negative and false positive diagnoses should both be recognized
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