5,425 research outputs found
Force Field Energy Functionals for Image Feature Extraction
No full textEars are an emergent biometric accruing application advantages including no requirement for subject contact and acquisition without demand. To recognize a subject's ear, we aim to extract a characteristic vector from a human ear image that may subsequently be used to identify or confirm the identity of the owner. Towards this end, a novel force field transformation and potential well extraction technique has been developed which leads to a compact characteristic vector offering immunity to initialization, rotation, scale, and noise. The image is transformed by considering the image to consist of an array of Gaussian attractors, which act as the source of a force field. The directional properties of the force field are exploited to automatically locate a small number of potential energy wells, which form the basis of the characteristic vector. We show how this is extracted for a selection of ears, and demonstrate its advantages. As such, we report a new technique in an exciting new biometric
Emotional availability (EA) teleintervention for adoptive families
No full text2012 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.This study evaluated the new online Emotional Availability (EA) Intervention for use with adoptive families in enhancing parent-child EA, parental perceptions of EA, child attachment behaviors, parent-child emotional attachment, and reducing parent-reported child behavioral problems and parenting-related stress. Participants in this study were adoptive parents and their adopted children ages 1.5 - 5 years old (N = 15 dyads). Participants were placed in an immediate intervention group (IG) or a delayed intervention group (DG) that would receive the 6-week EA Intervention after the IG. Results revealed significant differences in the IG in child behavioral problems, parent-child EA, parental perceptions of EA, and parent-child emotional attachment, improvements not seen in the DG. Analysis of effects of the DG after receiving the EA Intervention revealed significant differences over time also in child behavioral problems, parent-child EA, parental perceptions of EA, and parent-child emotional attachment. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed
Environmental (waste) compliance control systems for UK SMEs
No full textWhile the ‘environment’ is often perceived as a heavily regulated area of business, in reality, directly-regulated businesses represent a small proportion of the business community. This study aimed to evaluate and outline potential improvements to compliance controls for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly those involved in the waste sector. Forty-four SMEs from England were interviewed/audited between April-September 2008. Using a UK-based system as a case-in-point, the Environment Agency’s (EA) Operational Risk Appraisal (‘Opra’)/Compliance Assessment Report (CAR) system was analysed. Environmental compliance performance indicators and an initial assessment methodology for SMEs were developed. The study showed:• Compliance with permitting legislation was poor in many areas.• Regulatory authorities are either unable/failing to implement their enforcement policies or unable/failing to identify non-compliances due to the infrequency or limited nature of their inspections.• Improvements are needed to the EA Opra/CAR system – control measures are not fully taken into account when calculating risk.Recommendations to improve SME compliance controls include using internationally applicable general and specific compliance and non-compliance performance indicators, re-designing the Opra system and using an initial assessment methodology based on understanding the hazardousness of SME categories, compliance levels and operator competency.<br/
Euphorbia friesiorum S. Carter
No full textEuphorbia friesiorum (A.Hässl.) S.Carter — Habit: Shrub or small tree. Habitat: LMWF; up to 2 000 m. Distribution: IIIb. Voucher: Southeast Mount Kenya, 1981 m, Oct. 1932, Dale 3074 (EA, K). References: Fries & Fries (1930b), Carter & Smith (1988), Agnew (2013).Published as part of Zhou, Ya-Dong, Mwachala, Geoffrey, Hu, Guang-Wan & Wang, Qing-Feng, 2022, Annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Mount Kenya, East Africa, pp. 1-108 in Phytotaxa 546 (1) on page 57, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.546.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/655046
Comparative genomic and transcriptomic analysis revealed genetic characteristics related to solvent formation and xylose utilization in <it>Clostridium acetobutylicum </it>EA 2018
No full textAbstract Background Clostridium acetobutylicum, a gram-positive and spore-forming anaerobe, is a major strain for the fermentative production of acetone, butanol and ethanol. But a previously isolated hyper-butanol producing strain C. acetobutylicum EA 2018 does not produce spores and has greater capability of solvent production, especially for butanol, than the type strain C. acetobutylicum ATCC 824. Results Complete genome of C. acetobutylicum EA 2018 was sequenced using Roche 454 pyrosequencing. Genomic comparison with ATCC 824 identified many variations which may contribute to the hyper-butanol producing characteristics in the EA 2018 strain, including a total of 46 deletion sites and 26 insertion sites. In addition, transcriptomic profiling of gene expression in EA 2018 relative to that of ATCC824 revealed expression-level changes of several key genes related to solvent formation. For example, spo0A and adhEII have higher expression level, and most of the acid formation related genes have lower expression level in EA 2018. Interestingly, the results also showed that the variation in CEA_G2622 (CAC2613 in ATCC 824), a putative transcriptional regulator involved in xylose utilization, might accelerate utilization of substrate xylose. Conclusions Comparative analysis of C. acetobutylicum hyper-butanol producing strain EA 2018 and type strain ATCC 824 at both genomic and transcriptomic levels, for the first time, provides molecular-level understanding of non-sporulation, higher solvent production and enhanced xylose utilization in the mutant EA 2018. The information could be valuable for further genetic modification of C. acetobutylicum for more effective butanol production.</p
Navigating Enterprise Architecture (EA) Institutionalization: The Interplay of EA and Agile
No full textIn the rapidly evolving context of digital transformation, the effective adoption, management, and institutionalization of Enterprise Architecture (EA) have emerged as significant efforts for organizations looking for ways to navigate the complex requirements of modern business environments. This Ph.D. thesis embarks on a comprehensive exploration of different aspects of EA, ranging from its adoption challenges to its interaction with agile transformations. This study's main objective is to shed light on different aspects of EA adoption, management, challenges, and integration within large-scale organizations.
The research questions that form the foundation of this thesis are designed to explore the complex nuances of an EA's journey within an organization. The thesis investigates the role of stakeholders in influencing the perception and institutionalization of EA in order to respond to the first research question. It highlights the complex interactions between different stakeholders and their different interests, showing how these interactions can have a big impact on how successful EA initiatives are. The study goes deeper into the organizational factors that contributed to the failure of EA management initiatives, explaining the significance of legitimacy and showing challenges to achieving normative and cultural-cognitive legitimacy.
The third research question focuses on the topic of delegitimization of established EA practices. The thesis shows the ways through which EA practices can lose momentum and relevance within organizations by examining the complex interplay of regulatory, pragmatic, normative, and cultural-cognitive legitimacy. Building on this foundation, the thesis navigates the cycles of EA's institutionalization, de-institutionalization, and re-institutionalization within the organizational context. This dynamic approach highlights the importance of regaining legitimacy and adapting to modern organizational approaches in order to achieve successful re-institutionalization.
In light of the growing popularity of agile approaches, the thesis investigates the challenges posed by such paradigm shifts to established EA practices. The study outlines the modifications that must be made to EA practices by identifying the main functions that EA must do to support organizational agility. The outcome of this study is a collection of five papers, each of which shows a different part of EA's journey. Together, these contributions enhance the understanding of EA's adoption, management, and integration with agile paradigms, significantly advancing the body of knowledge in this domain.
This Ph.D. thesis gives a comprehensive overview of EA's strategic, operational, and innovative capacity. It shows how stakeholders, organizational dynamics, and an evolving digital environment all work together. This thesis helps organizations looking to use the advantages of EA in their goals of sustainable growth and agility by addressing the research questions and highlighting different aspects of the EA's role.Fulltext not availabl
Unprecedented staining of polar lipids by a luminescent rhenium complex revealed by FTIR microspectroscopy in adipocytes
No full textData source: Supplementary information, http://www.rsc.org/suppdata/c6/mb/c6mb00242k/c6mb00242k1.pdfFourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy and confocal imaging have been used to demonstrate that the neutral rhenium(i) tricarbonyl 1,10-phenanthroline complex bound to 4-cyanophenyltetrazolate as the ancillary ligand is able to localise in regions with high concentrations of polar lipids such as phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), sphingomyelin, sphingosphine and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) in mammalian adipocytes.C. A. Bader, E. A. Carter, A. Safitri, P. V. Simpson, P. Wright, S. Stagni, M. Massi, P. A. Lay, D. A. Brooksa and S. E. Plus
Emotional availability of adult interpersonal relationships questionnaire (EA-AIRQ): validation and implications for research and practice
No full text2017 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.Emotional Availability (EA) is commonly known as a parent-child construct used to describe the level of healthy emotional connection in the dyadic relationships (Biringen et al., 2014). Stemming from John Bowlby's (Bowlby, 1969) work on attachment, EA provides a gauge to the level of parent's receptiveness to a child's emotional feedback, both positive and negative (Biringen et al., 2014). In addition to relationships between the parent and child, EA conceptually should be applicable to a wide array of relationships. This paper will define the construct of EA and its foundations in attachment theory. It will then focus on the development and validation of a brief EA Adult Interpersonal Relationships Questionnaire (EA-AIRQ). A total of 215 Amazon Mechanical Turk workers were administered this measure (with request for participants to complete the measure for 'friends' and then for 'romantic partners'). Participants also completed the measures of attachment and mental well being. The EA-AIRQ was composited in two ways: 1-unit-weighted, with each item equally weighted (by adding all items), and 2-regression-weighted, that is, from a factor analysis for friends and romantic partners separately with the aim of obtaining a one-factor solution. Correlations between these composites and the other administered measures revealed meaningful patterns. Implications for research and clinical practice are discussed
Le Complexe de Pinocchio. Représentation du mythe de la rébellion chez Angela Carter et Ingmar Bergman
No full textInternational audienceThe author compares two contemporary works focusing on the traumatic relationship with the God-Father, with similar aesthetic codes (fairy-tale, imaginaire of the puppet). Creating an enchanted, Gothic-Freudian, highly referenced world, The Magic Toyshop (Angela Carter) and Fanny och Alexander (Ingmar Bergman) narrate violent and cruel stories of child rebellion culminating in the total destruction of the ancestral power by way of fire. The article stresses the ambivalence of these rebellions that do not open towards a future, although expressing the necessary and final end of childhood and its innocenceL’article met en regard deux œuvres contemporaines interrogeant, par des codes esthétiques proches (conte de fées, imaginaire de la marionnette), la relation (traumatique) au père-Dieu. Par l’instauration d’un univers enchanté gothico-freudien saturé de références, The Magic Toyshop (Angela Carter) et Fanny och Alexander (Ingmar Bergman) mettent en scène de violentes et cruelles histoires de rébellion à hauteur d’enfant, culminant dans la destruction de l’ancestral pouvoir par le feu. L’article insiste sur l’ambivalence de ces rébellions qui n’ouvrent sur aucun « après », mais n’en disent pas moins l’irrémédiable et nécessaire sortie hors de « l’ailleurs » de l’enfance
Why Organizations Fail in Implementing Enterprise Architecture Initiatives?
No full textEnterprise architecture (EA) initiatives consist of functions, processes, tools, instruments, and principles to guide the design of IT and its alignment with business. EA is often presented as a silver bullet to ensure that IT contributes to business. Yet, many EA initiatives do not work out or even fail, but in the literature this area is undertheorized. This study aims to understand the factors influencing the failure of EA initiatives. We identified 15 factors and invited 8 EA experts to evaluate the factors and their influence based on an approach combining grey systems theory, Decision-Making and Trial Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL), and Interpretative Structural Modeling (ISM). The findings indicate that the factors are correlated and interwoven in complex causal chains. This study reveals the root factor and suggests enhancing high-level managers’ EA knowledge and ensuring communication and leadership skills of enterprise architects as the starting point to avoid EA failure. Only later, organizing the EA function becomes important.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Information and Communication Technolog
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