97,536 research outputs found
Joshua Davis: Author of Spare Parts
Get PDFCitation: K-State First (2016). Joshua Davis: Author of Spare Parts [Flier]. Manhattan, Kansas: K-State First.Flyer advertising Joshua Davis's author talk at Kansas State University
Steven Johnson Author Talk Poster
No full textK-State Book NetworkA poster advertising an author talk by Steven Johnson at Kansas State University on September 3, 2014. Steven Johnson's book "The Ghost Map" was the 2014-2015 common book
Circular migration and the rights of migrant workers in Slovenia
Get PDFV zadnjih letih države članice Evropske unije (EU) opažajo velike tokove priseljevanja in spreminjajo se tudi značilnosti mednarodnih migracijskih tokov. Med najpogostejše dejavnike migracij spadajo socialni, politični, demografski, ekonomski, okoljski in podnebni. Krožne migracije so ponavljajoče se gibanje delavcev migrantov z namenom zaposlitve. V političnem diskurzu so pogosto predstavljene kot zagotovitev ugodnosti državam izvora in ciljnim državam ter tudi migrantom. Krožne migracije pripomorejo k zadovoljevanju potreb na evropskem trgu delapodročja ukrepanja vključujejo podporo aktivaciji malo zastopanih oseb na trgu dela, podporo razvoju spretnosti, usposabljanja in izobraževanja, izboljšanje pogojev dela, zavzemanje za pravičnejšo mobilnost delovne sile znotraj EU ter predvsem privabljanje talentov iz tretjih držav. EU je z namenom, da bi pritegnila visokokvalificirane delavce maja 2009 uveljavila tako imenovano Direktivo o modri karti, ki pa jo je oktobra 2021 nadomestila prenovljena direktiva. Z velikim pomanjkanjem delovne sile se srečuje tudi Slovenijaob tem delodajalci vse bolj računajo na tuje delavce. Toda pogoji zaposlovanja državljanov tretjih držav so preveč kompleksnipostopki pridobivanja in podaljševanja dovoljenj so zamudni in delavce iz tretjih držav pogosto odvračajo tudi pogoji dela. Vlada Republike Slovenije se zaveda pomembnosti upoštevanja spreminjajočega se globalnega dogajanja in spoštovanja človekovih pravic. Pravila v posodobljeni direktivi o modri karti se uporabljajo vzporedno s pravnimi akti v Sloveniji, da lahko delavci priseljenci, ki zakonito sklenejo delovno razmerje v Sloveniji, uživajo enake pravice in imajo enake dolžnosti kot slovenski delavci.In recent years, EU member states have seen large flows of immigration. Characteristics of international migration flows are also changing. Common factors of migration are social, political, demographic, economic, environmental, and climatic. Circular migration is the repeated movement of migrant workers for employment. Politically, they are often presented as providing benefits to countries of origin and destination, as well as to migrants. Circular migration helps meet the needs of the European labor market, and the areas of action include supporting the activation of underrepresented persons on the labor market, supporting the development of skills, training, and education, improving working conditions, advocating for fairer labor mobility within the EU and, above all, attracting talent from third countries. To attract highly qualified workers, the EU implemented the so-called Blue Card Directive in May 2009 which was replaced by a revised directive in October 2021. Slovenia is also facing a major labor shortage, and employers are increasingly counting on foreign workers. However, the conditions of employment of third-country nationals are somewhat too complex and the procedures for obtaining and renewing permits are time-consuming, and they are discouraged by the working conditions. The Government of the Republic of Slovenia is aware of the importance of taking into account the changing global situation and respecting human rights. The rules in the updated Blue Card Directive are applied in parallel with legal acts in Slovenia so that immigrant workers who enter into an employment relationship in Slovenia legally can enjoy the same rights and have the same duties as Slovenian workers
Threats of online shopping during covid-19
Get PDFVsesplošna dostopnost interneta, različnih elektronskih naprav in spletnih storitev so prispevale k rasti in priljubljenosti spletnega nakupovanja. Vse več potrošnikov po svetu je klasičen način nakupovanja zamenjalo za spletno nakupovanje, saj ta ponuja številne prednosti. Tovrsten trend je še posebej spodbudila epidemija Covid-19, ki je bila razglašena v letu 2020 in je zaradi strogih vladnih omejitev gospodarske dejavnosti ter družabnega življenja vplivala na navade potrošnikov. Kljub vsem prednostim, ki jih ponuja spletno nakupovanje pa imajo številni posamezniki po svetu zadržke glede njegove uporabe, saj so potrošniki med procesom spletnega nakupovanja izpostavljeni mnogim tveganjem. Namen diplomskega dela je bil opraviti pregled dosedanjih raziskav, povezanih s spletnim nakupovanjem in tveganji, ki se pri tem pojavljajo ter raziskati navade slovenskih potrošnikov glede spletnega nakupovanja. Pri tem smo se osredotočili na to, kako zaznavajo različna tveganja in ali so ta tveganja povezana s spletnim nakupovanjem. Pri zasnovi raziskave smo izhajali iz teorije racionalne izbire, modela zdravstvenih prepričanj in varnostnomotivacijske teorije, ki med pomembne dejavnike povezane z odločitvami in vedenji ljudi umeščajo zaznavo tveganj. Na tej osnovi in na podlagi pregleda literature smo postavili 11 hipotez, s katerimi smo predpostavljali povezanost različnih skupin tveganj s pogostostjo spletnega nakupovanja. Ugotovili smo, da so vsa tveganja, ki smo jih zajeli v raziskavo negativno in statistično značilno povezana s pogostostjo nakupovanja. Najmočneje so s pogostostjo nakupovanja povezana tveganja vezana na ugodje in možnost vračila izdelkov ter psihološka tveganja, najšibkeje pa tveganja vezana na zasebnost. Prav tako smo ugotovili, da so respondenti v času epidemije Covid-19 zelo pogosto nakupovali preko spleta in pogosteje kot pred epidemijo. Pri tem večina sodelujočih v raziskavi še ni bila žrtev kakšne prevare, zlorabe, ali druge grožnje povezane s spletnim nakupovanjem. Rezultati raziskave so uporabni kot izhodišče za nadaljnje raziskave na tem področju, ugotovitve pa je prav tako mogoče upoštevati pri ozaveščanju spletnih potrošnikov o možnih nevarnostih pri spletnem nakupovanju.The availability of the Internet, various electronic devices, and online services have contributed to the growth and popularity of online shopping. More and more consumers worldwide have switched from traditional shopping to online shopping, as it offers many benefits. This trend was particularly fuelled by the Covid-19 epidemic, which was declared in 2020 and affected consumer habits due to strict government restrictions on economic activity and social life. Despite all the benefits of online shopping, many individuals worldwide have reservations about its use, as consumers are exposed to many risks during the online shopping process. The purpose of the diploma thesis was to review previous research related to online shopping and related risks and to explore the habits of Slovenian consumers regarding online shopping. In doing so, we focused on how they perceive different risks and whether these risks are related to online shopping. The research design was based on the rational choice theory, the health-belief model, and protection-motivation theory, which place the perception of risks among the important factors related to people\u27s decisions and behaviour. Based on this and based on a literature review, we set up 11 hypotheses, with which we assumed the connection of different risk groups with the frequency of online shopping. We found that all the risks we covered in the survey were negatively and statistically significantly correlated to the online shopping frequency. Convenience risks, return policy risks, as well as psychological risks, are most strongly related to the frequency of online shopping, while the risks associated with privacy are the weakest. We also found that respondents shopped online very often during the Covid-19 epidemic and more often than before the epidemic. Most of the participants in the research have not yet been the victims of any fraud, abuse, or other threats related to online shopping. The research results are useful as a starting point for further research in this area, and the findings can also be taken into account in raising the awareness of online consumers about the possible dangers of online shopping
The carbon footprint model of a telecommunications company and estimation of carbon costs
Get PDFŠtevilni primeri iz prakse in analize potrjujejo ključno povezavo med uspešnostjo podjetja in okoljskim delovanjem le-tega. Ogljični odtis organizacije in ogljični odtis za proizvode oziroma storitve sta ena izmed možnosti za okoljsko ozaveščanje podjetja, uporabnikov proizvodov ter storitev podjetja. Ogljični odtis (angl. »Carbon footprint«) je seštevek toplogrednih plinov, ki jih je neposredno in posredno povzročil posameznik, organizacija, dogodek ali proizvod in je izražen kot ekvivalent ogljikovega dioksida (CO2-ekv). Izračun ogljičnega odtisa je za podjetje koristen zaradi upravljanja z emisijami toplogrednih plinov (TGP), nižanja stroškov, primerjave emisij med podjetji v panogi ter zaradi poročanja tretjim osebam.
Glavni cilj magistrske naloge je postavitev modela ogljičnega odtisa za telekomunikacijsko podjetje po mednarodno uveljavljeni metodologiji GHG Protocol. V ta namen smo ugotavljali emisije TGP po procesih oz. aktivnostih v izbranem podjetju in ugotovili, katerim virom emisij TGP velja posvetiti še posebno pozornost. Ogljični odtis je smiselno primerjati s podjetji v panogi, zato smo opravili primerjavo kazalnikov ogljične intenzivnosti z nekaterimi IKT podjetji v Evropi.
Rezultat dela je prikaz korakov pri določevanju ogljičnega odtisa ter sam izračun. Izračun ogljičnega odtisa je pokazal, da v vseh treh poslovnih letih prispeva največ emisij TGP raba električne energije. Prevozi zaposlenih v službo in nazaj, uporaba lastnih avtomobilov podjetja za transport ter ogrevanje prostorov predstavljajo naslednje večje povzročitelje emisij TGP. Razveseljivo pa je dejstvo, da smo ugotovili negativen trend oz. zmanjševanje količin emisij TGP v poslovnih letih.
V pričujoči raziskavi gre za poskus postavitve modela za določevanje ogljičnega odtisa. Na izračunan ogljični odtis vplivajo predpostavke in omejitve v modelu. Zaradi tega so lahko končni rezultati ogljičnega odtisa iz tega vidika pogojno veljavni.
Količine emisij TGP običajno dobijo dodatni pomen za podjetje, če postane to zanj neposreden strošek. Emisije TGP v večini primerov za gospodarstvo še vedno pomenijo eksternalije ali negativne zunanje posledice, ki se jih še ne plačuje v takšni meri, kot bi bilo potrebno. Eno izmed možnosti za boj proti podnebnim spremembam predstavlja koncept določevanja t.im. cene ogljika (angl. carbon price). Cena ogljika je znesek, ki mora biti plačan za izpust vsake tone CO2-ekv v ozračje. Tako s pojmom stroški ogljika (angl. carbon cost) obravnavamo stroške emisij TGP, kar predstavlja vrednotenje emisij TGP v finančnem smislu. Številna podjetja, ki pričakujejo prihodnjo regulacijo emisij TGP, že vključujejo stroške ogljika v procese odločanja s pomočjo notranje, interne ali senčne cene ogljika. To daje slutiti, da se podjetja že pripravljajo na svet z omejitvami in cenami za emisije TGP. Zato izpostavljamo uporabo interne cene ogljika ter izračun stroškov ogljika v podjetništvu kot proaktiven pristop k obvladovanju stroškov. Finančno razsežnot emisij TGP prikazujemo z izračunom stroškov ogljika.Numerous examples from practice and analyses confirm the key link between the company performance and environmental performance thereof. The carbon footprint of an organization and the carbon footprint of products or services are one option for the environmental awareness of the company, users of the products and company services. Carbon footprint is the sum of greenhouse gas emissions, which are directly and indirectly caused by an individual, organization, event or product and is expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq). The calculation of the carbon footprint is useful to the company because of the management of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, lowering costs, a comparison of emissions between companies in the sector as well as for reporting to third parties.
The main objective of the master\u27s thesis is a layout of a carbon footprint model for the telecommunications company following the internationally established methodology GHG Protocol. To this end, we have established GHG emissions by processes or activities in selected company and found out which sources of GHG emissions should receive our special attention. Carbon footprint is reasonable to compare with companies in the sector, so we made a comparison of carbon intensity indicators with some ICT companies in Europe.
The result of the work is an overview of the steps for determining the carbon footprint and its calculation. Carbon footprint calculation showed that in all three business years, the largest contributor of GHG emissions is the electricity consumption. The transport of employees to work and back, use of own cars of the company for transportation and space heating represent the next major emitters of GHG. Especially gratifying is the fact that we found a negative trend or reduction of GHG emissions in the business years.
This study is about an attempt of laying out a model for determining the carbon footprint. The calculated carbon footprint is influenced by the assumptions and limitations in the model. Because of this, the final results of the carbon footprint are conditionally valid from this point of view.
GHG emissions tend to have additional significance for the company if this becomes a direct cost for the company. GHG emissions in most cases continue to represent negative externalities or external effects for the economy, which are not paid to such an extent as would be necessary. One of the options for combating climate change represents the concept of determining the so-called carbon price. The carbon price is the amount that must be paid for the release of each tonne of CO2-eq into the atmosphere. Thus, the concept of the carbon cost deals with the costs of GHG emissions, which represents a valuation of GHG emissions in financial terms. Many companies that expect future regulation of GHG emissions already include the carbon cost in the decision-making processes through internal or shadow carbon price. This suggests that companies are already preparing for the world with constraints and prices for GHG emissions. Therefore, we highlight the use of an internal carbon price, and the calculation of the carbon cost in business as a proactive approach to cost management. Financial dimension of GHG emissions is shown by carbon cost calculation
Distinct Hydration Properties of Wild-Type and Familial Point Mutant A53T of α-Synuclein Associated with Parkinson's Disease
No full textAbstractThe propensity of α-synuclein to form amyloid plays an important role in Parkinson's disease. Three familial mutations, A30P, E46K, and A53T, correlate with Parkinson's disease. Therefore, unraveling the structural effects of these mutations has basic implications in understanding the molecular basis of the disease. Here, we address this issue through comparing details of the hydration of wild-type α-synuclein and its A53T mutant by a combination of wide-line NMR, differential scanning calorimetry, and molecular dynamics simulations. All three approaches suggest a hydrate shell compatible with a largely disordered state of both proteins. Its fine details, however, are different, with the mutant displaying a somewhat higher level of hydration, suggesting a bias to more open structures, favorable for protein-protein interactions leading to amyloid formation. These differences disappear in the amyloid state, suggesting basically the same surface topology, irrespective of the initial monomeric state
Exon-phase symmetry and intrinsic structural disorder promote modular evolution in the human genome
No full textA key signature of module exchange in the genome is phase symmetry of exons, suggestive of exon shuffling events that occurred without disrupting translation reading frame. At the protein level, intrinsic structural disorder may be another key element because disordered regions often serve as functional elements that can be effectively integrated into a protein structure. Therefore, we asked whether exon-phase symmetry in the human genome and structural disorder in the human proteome are connected, signalling such evolutionary mechanisms in the assembly of multi-exon genes. We found an elevated level of structural disorder of regions encoded by symmetric exons and a preferred symmetry of exons encoding for mostly disordered regions (>70% predicted disorder). Alternatively spliced symmetric exons tend to correspond to the most disordered regions. The genes of mostly disordered proteins (>70% predicted disorder) tend to be assembled from symmetric exons, which often arise by internal tandem duplications. Preponderance of certain types of short motifs (e.g. SH3-binding motif) and domains (e.g. high-mobility group domains) suggests that certain disordered modules have been particularly effective in exon-shuffling events. Our observations suggest that structural disorder has facilitated modular assembly of complex genes in evolution of the human genome. © 2013 The Author(s)
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Function and Flexibility: Friend or Foe?
Get PDFLouis Sullivan (1856 - 1924) revolutionized architecture by designing the first skyscraper and he became famous by proclaiming that “form follows function”. When x-ray crystallographers visualized the structures of proteins for the first time, the structural biology field embraced the view that “function follows form” as the 3D-architecture of proteins could unveil various aspects of their function. Despite the original “1 gene - 1 protein structure - 1 function” relationship, nowadays a far more complicated picture emerges where the flexibility and dynamics of a protein can play a central role in a multitude of functions. The ultimate form(s) that a protein adopt when interacting with (a) partner molecule(s) are the most biologically relevant and in this context Sullivan’s quote is still appropriate: the conformation that the protein adopts follows from the function of that protein. Despite the fact that many well-characterized proteins have a well-folded structure, there is a growing interest in the conformational flexibility within proteins. This flexibility is also a balanced phenomenon: excess of flexibility can be detrimental for protein behaviour, as well as the lack thereof. Notwithstanding its importance, studying intrinsically disordered protein regions or conformational rearrangements can be a very challenging. Therefore, flexibility can be perceived as a friend or a foe, depending on the context. This e-book showcases the impact of the study of protein flexibility on the structural biology field and presents protein flexibility in the context of disease as well as its benign aspects. As detailed knowledge of the structural aspects of polypeptides remains essential to comprehend protein function, one of the future challenges for structural biology also lies with large macromolecular protein complexes. Also there the dynamics and flexibility are essential for proper functioning and molecular movement, which is an important aspect of living matter. This challenge stimulated the development of advanced techniques to study protein flexibility and the use of those techniques to address fundamental biological and biomedical problems. Those innovations should help us to unravel the intimate link between protein function and flexibility and explore new horizons
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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