3,6-Di(furan-2-yl)pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione and bithiophene copolymer with rather disordered chain orientation showing high mobility in organic thin film transistors

Pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione or diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) is a useful electron-withdrawing fused aromatic moiety for the preparation of donor-acceptor polymers as active semiconductors for organic electronics. This study uses a DPP-furan-containing building block, 3,6-di(furan-2-yl)pyrrolo[3,4- c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione (DBF), to couple with a 2,2′-bithiophene unit, forming a new donor-acceptor copolymer, PDBFBT. Compared to its structural analogue, 3,6-di(thiophen-2-yl)pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione (DBT), DBF is found to cause blue shifts of the absorption spectra both in solution and in thin films and a slight reduction of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level of the resulting PDBFBT. Despite the fact that its thin films are less crystalline and have a rather disordered chain orientation in the crystalline domains, PDBFBT shows very high hole mobility up to 1.54 cm 2 V-1 s-1 in bottom-gate, top-contact organic thin film transistors.

Technology, Natural Resources and Economic Growth: Improving the Environment for a Greener Future

Description Through a combination of global data analysis and focused country level analysis, this timely book provides answers to the most pertinent country and industry specific questions defining the current relationship between technology, natural resources and economic growth. Contents Contents: Preface Part I: Global Analysis 1. Economic Growth and the Environment 2. Energy Substitution and Carbon Dioxide Emissions 3. Pollution, Natural Resources, and Economic Growth 4. Trade Openness and Environmental Quality 5. Environmental Productivity 6. Energy Price-induced Technological Change 7. Trade-induced Technological Change 8. Regional Economic Integration Part II: Country-Level Analysis 9. Emissions Trading in the United States 10. Increasing Returns to Pollution Abatement in the United States 11. Policy-induced Competitiveness in the United States 12. Trade Liberalization, Technology, and the Environment 13. Policy Implementation and its Effectiveness in China 14. Clean Technological Inventions in Japan 15. Intervention of Economic Policy and its Nonlinear Effects in Japan 16. The Next Emerging Giants: India and Africa 17. Conclusion Index Further information Through a combination of global data analysis and focused country level analysis, this timely book provides answers to the most pertinent country and industry specific questions defining the current relationship between technology, natural resources and economic growth. Shunsuke Managi takes a distinctive approach by focusing on the design and implementation of environmental regulations that encourage technological progress and, in doing so, looks at ways to ensure productivity improvements in the face of increasingly stringent environmental regulations and natural resource depletion. The findings in this important book demonstrate how successful environmental policies can contribute to efficiency by encouraging, rather than inhibiting, technological innovation. Technology, Natural Resources and Economic Growth will provide a valuable resource for a wide readership including postgraduate students, researchers, academics and policy makers working in the fields of environmental and ecological economics.

World emissions and economic growth: Application of non-parametric methods

The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesises an inverse U-shaped relationship between a measure of environmental pollution and per capita income levels. In this study, we apply non-parametric estimation of local polynomial regression (local quadratic fitting) to allow more flexibility in local estimation. This study uses a larger and globally representative sample of many local and global pollutants and natural resources including Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) emission, CO2 emission, CO2 damage, energy use, energy depletion, mineral depletion, improved water source, PM10, particulate emission damage, forest area and net forest depletion. Copyright © 2009 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Introduction : Call Centres, the Networked Economy and the Value Chain

In July 2006, members of Monash University’s Australian Centre for Research in Employment and Work (ACREW) joined with colleagues from King’s College London to hold a conference focused on ‘Socially responsive, socially responsible approaches to employment and work’ (DeCieri et al., 2006). One of the five conference streams was devoted to work and employment in call centres and was organized by the lead author of this introduction (Rainnie). This special edition of the JIR includes a number of articles from that stream.

Total factor productivity growth and convergence in the petroleum industry : empirical analysis testing for convexity

While economic theory acknowledges that some features of technology (e.g., indivisibilities, economies of scale and specialization) can fundamentally violate the traditional convexity assumption, almost all empirical studies accept the convexity property on faith. In this contribution, we apply two alternative flexible production technologies to measure total factor productivity growth and test the significance of the convexity axiom using a nonparametric test of closeness between unknown distributions. Based on unique field level data on the petroleum industry, the empirical results reveal significant differences, indicating that this production technology is most likely non-convex. Furthermore, we also show the impact of convexity on answers to traditional convergence questions in the productivity growth literature.

Productivity growth and biased technological change in Japanese airports

In this paper, the productivities of Japanese airports over the period of 1987-2005 are analyzed using the Malmquist index, and technological bias is investigated. During this period, airports on average became less efficient and experienced technological regress. Our results indicate that the traditional growth accounting method, which assumes Hicks neutral technological change, is not appropriate for analyzing changes in productivity for Japanese airports.

Productivity growth and biased technological change : Credit banks in Japan

This paper investigates the productivity change of Japanese credit banks with a Malmquist index and the input technological bias during 2000-2006. Our results indicate that the traditional growth accounting method, which assumes Hicks neutral technological change, is not appropriate for analyzing changes in productivity. Our analysis unambiguously shows that management of Shinkin banks has to be improved. These must be based on the improvement of technical efficiency and/or technological change, emulating the procedures of the best-practice banks, i.e., those banks with Malmquist productivity scores higher than one and simultaneously with technical efficiency and technological change higher than one.

The relationship between small firm growth and HRM practices

The relationship between small firm growth and HRM practices Rowena Barrett, Susan Mayson and Niel Warriner Introduction In this chapter we explore the relationship between small firms’ growth orientation, their business planning efforts and the role the owner plays and whether or not formal HRM practices are used. Formal HRM practices are assessed in terms of whether they are written down, regularly applied or assured to take place. We take on board Heneman et al.’s (2000) suggestion that ‘surveys of employer practices across SMEs [would] be [a] valuable addition to the strategic human resource management literature’ (p. 23) and report the results of an online and paper survey of a sample of 1753 small firms (defined as those employing less than 20 people) in the state of Victoria (SE Australia). Our particular interest in this chapter, which is based on an analysis of 410 responses to the survey, is whether growthoriented small firms adopt formal HRM practices. This research contributes to understanding whether more formal organizational systems and routines are more likely to be used (or not) to nurture human capital in growth-oriented small firms. Moreover by focusing on firm growth, this chapter, consistent with recent calls in the literature (see Baron, 2003; Barrett and Mayson, 2006; Katz et al., 2000; Tansky and Heneman, 2003), contributes to a better understanding of issues at the intersection of entrepreneurship and HRM research.

Internet marketing and export market growth in Chile

Previous studies show that the Internet positively influences firms’ export activities from developed markets. However, the literature is vague as to whether the Internet has an impact on the export performance of firms from emerging markets. This study tests a conceptual model that includes the effect of Internet marketing capabilities on export market growth in an emerging market. Drawing on a cross-national sample of 204 export firms from a Latin American country (Chile), findings indicate that Internet marketing capabilities positively influence the availability of export information, which in turn impacts the development of business network relationships and export market growth.

Experimental assessment of the effects of sublethal salinities on growth performance and stress in cultured tra catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus)

The effects of a range of different sublethal salinities were assessed on physiological processes and growth performance in the freshwater ‘tra’ catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) juveniles over an 8-week experiment. Fish were distributed randomly among 6 salinity treatments [2, 6, 10, 14 and 18 g/L of salinity and a control (0 g/L)] with a subsequent 13-day period of acclimation. Low salinity conditions from 2 to 10 g/L provided optimal conditions with high survival and good growth performance, while 0 g/L and salinities[14 g/L gave poorer survival rates (p\0.05). Salinity levels from freshwater to 10 g/L did not have any negative effects on fish weight gain, daily weight gain, or specific growth rate. Food conversion ratio, however, was lowest in the control treatment (p\0.05) and highest at the maximum salinities tested (18 g/L treatment). Cortisol levels were elevated in the 14 and 18 g/L treatments after 6 h and reached a peak after 24-h exposure, and this also led to increases in plasma glucose concentration. After 14 days, surviving fish in all treatments appeared to have acclimated to their respective conditions with cortisol levels remaining under 5 ng/ mL with glucose concentrations stable. Tra catfish do not appear to be efficient osmoregulators when salinity levels exceed 10 g/L, and at raised salinity levels, growth performance is compromised. In general, results of this study confirm that providing culture environments in the Mekong River Basin do not exceed 10 g/L salinity and that cultured tra catfish can continue to perform well.

Managing growth and entry strategies across borders

Should the firm move successfully into a growth or expansion phase the owner manager will be required to increase the scale and scope of its operations. Part of this expansion will involve hiring additional employees, and increasing the overall complexity of the firm's activities. It is likely that the need for greater levels of professional management will be required to operate the firm, along with the need for enhanced planning and the introduction of systems to support the new levels of complexity. The transition from a small, owner-managed firm to a large systems-managed business will require the development of a team-based management approach with greater specialisation within the management team. Corporate governance is also likely to change as the growth cycle takes place. As it grows, the business will become more formalised in its accounting, management and other systems. The need for greater quantities of capital is likely to lead the business towards equity finance. As new equity partner are taken into the company the original owner managers may find their level of control diminished. The larger the firm becomes the more likely its management structure will become decentralised with greater separation between the owner and the firm in terms of operational and financial matters.

Straminipilan protists : a study of their taxonomic position, morphology and abiotic stress-mediated gene expression

Thraustochytrids have become of considerable industrial and scientific interest in the past decade due to their health benefits. They have been proven to be the principle source in marine and estuarine fish diets with high percentage of long chain (LC) or polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Therefore, the oil extracted from fish for human document.forms[0].elements[13].select();consumption is rich in PUFA with high omega-3 fatty acid content. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) of all of the omega-3 fatty acids, are considered beneficial essential oils for humans with a wide range of health benefits. These include brain and neural development in infants, general wellbeing of adults and drug delivery through precursor molecules. They have become one of the most extensively studied organisms for industrial oil preparations as PUFA extraction from fish becomes less profitable. Many forms of these Thraustochytrid oils are being trialled for human consumption all over the world. In Australia, there has been little research performed on these organisms in the past ten years. A few Australian studies have been conducted in the form of comparative studies related to PUFA production within the related genera, but not focussed on their identification or cellular and genomic characterisation. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to investigate the morphological and genetic characteristics of Australian Thraustochytrids in order to aid in their identification and characterisation, as well as to better understand the effect of environmental conditions in the regulation of PUFA production. It was also noted that there was a knowledge gap in the preservation and total genomic DNA extraction of these organisms for the purposes of scientific research. The cryopreservation of these organisms for studies around the world follows existing generic methods. However, it is well understood that many of these generic methods attract not only high costs for chemicals, but also uses considerable storage space and other resources, all of which can be improved with new or modified approaches. In this context, a simple and inexpensive bead preservation method is described, without compromising the storage shelf life. We also describe, for the first time, the effects of culture age on the successful cryopreservation of Thraustochytrids. It was evident in the literature that DNA and RNA extractions for molecular and genetic studies of Thraustochytrids follow the classical phenol-chloroform extraction methods. It was also observed that modern protocols failed to avoid the use of phenol-chloroform rather than improving preparation and cell disruption. In order to provide a high quantity and quality DNA extraction, a modified protocol has been introduced that employs the use of modern commercial extraction kits and standard laboratory equipment. Thraustochytrids have been shown to be highly conserved in their 18S rDNA gene sequences, which is used as the current standard for identification. It was demonstrated that the 18S rDNA gene sequence limits the recognition of closely related genera or within the genera from each member. Therefore, it was proposed that another profile, such as a randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) based profiling system, be tested for use in the characterisation of Thraustochytrids. The RAPD profiles were shown to provide a unique DNA fingerprint for each isolate and small variations in their genome were able to be detected. This method involved the use of a minimum number of standard arbitrary primers and with an increase in the number of different primers used, a very high discrimination between organisms could be achieved. However, the method was not suitable for taxonomic purposes because the results did not correlate with other taxonomic features such as morphology. Another knowledge gap was found with respect to Australian Thraustochytrid growth characteristics, in that these had not been recorded and published. In order to rectify this, a record of colony and microscopic features of 12 selected isolates was performed. The results of preliminary studies indicated that further microbiological and biochemical studies are needed for full characterisation of these organisms. This information is of great importance to bio-prospecting of new Thraustochytrids from Australian ecosystems and would allow for their accurate identification, and so permit the prediction of their PUFA capability by comparison with related genera/species. It was well recognized that environmental stress plays a role in the PUFA production and is mainly due to the reactive oxygen species as abiotic stress (Chiou et al., 2001; Okuyama et al., 2008; Shabala et al., 2009; Shabala et al., 2001). In this aspect, this study makes the first attempt towards better understanding of this phenomenon by way of the use of real-time PCR for the detection of environmental effects on the regulation of PUFA production. Three main environmental conditions including temperature, pH and oxygen availability were monitored as stress inducers. In summary, this study provides novel approaches for the preservation and handling of Thraustochytrids, their molecular biological features, taxonomy, characterisation and responses to environmental factors with respect to their oil production enzymes. The information produced from this study will prove to be vital for both industrial and scientific investigations in the future.

Urban growth in the Kathmandu Valley: The transformation of public space

Traditional towns of the Kathmandu Valley boast a fine provision of public spaces in their neighbourhoods. Historically, a hierarchy of public space has been distributed over the entire town with each neighbourhood centered around more or less spacious public squares. However, rapid growth of these towns over the past decades has resulted in haphazard development of new urban areas with little provision of public space. Recent studies indicate that the loss of public space is a major consequence of the uncontrolled urban growth of the Kathmandu Valley and its new neighbourhoods. This paper reviews the current urban growth of the Kathmandu Valley and its impact on the development of public space in new neighbourhoods. The preliminary analysis of the case study of three new neighbourhoods shows that the formation and utilization of neighbourhood public space exhibit fundamental differences from those found in the traditional city cores. The following key issues are identified in this paper: a) Governance and regulations have been a challenge to regulate rapid urban growth; b) The current pattern of neighbourhood formation is found to be different from that of traditional neighbourhoods due to the changes with rapid urban development; c) Public spaces have been compromised in both planned and unplanned new neighbourhoods in terms of their quantity and quality; d) The changing provision of public space has contributed to its changing use and meaning; and e) The changing demographic composition, changing society and life style have had direct impact on the declining use of public space. Moreover, the management of public spaces remains a big challenge due to their changing nature and the changing governance. The current transformation public space does not appear to be conducive, and has led to adversely changing social environment of the new neighbourhoods.