A qualitative enquiry into the appropriation of mobile telephony at the bottom of the pyramid

Purpose: The paper aims to analyse Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) customers’ (e.g. Bangladeshi farmers) use and appropriation of mobile telephony and to critically identify a suitable research strategy for such investigation.

Design/methodology/approach: Concentrated ethnographic immersion was combined with both methodological and investigator triangulation during a four-month period of fieldwork conducted in Bangladeshi villages to obtain more robust findings. Concentrated immersion was required to achieve relatively speedier engagement owing to the difficulty in engaging with respondents on a long-term basis.

Findings: The farmers’ use of mobile telephony went beyond the initial adoption, as they appropriated it through social and institutional support, inventive means and/or changes in their own lifestyle. The paper argues that technology appropriation, being a result of the mutual shaping of technology, human skills and abilities and macro-environmental factors, enables users to achieve desired outcomes which may not always be the ones envisaged by the original designers.

Research limitations/implications: The paper contributes to two major areas: first, it identifies technology appropriation as an important and emerging concept in international marketing research; second, it suggests a concentrated form of ethnographic engagement for studying technology appropriation in a developing country context.

Practical implications: A good understanding of the dynamic interplay between users’ skills and abilities, social contexts and technological artefacts/applications is required in order for businesses to serve BoP customers profitably.

Originality/value: The paper presents a dynamic model of technology appropriation based on findings collected through a pragmatic approach by combining concentrated ethnographic immersion with methodological and investigator triangulation

Functional and Structural Diversification of the Anguimorpha Lizard Venom System

Venom has only been recently discovered to be a basal trait of the Anguimorpha lizards. Consequently, very little is known about the timings of toxin recruitment events, venom protein molecular evolution, or even the relative physical diversifications of the venom system itself. A multidisciplinary approach was used to examine the evolution across the full taxonomical range of this similar to 130 million-year-old clade. Analysis of cDNA libraries revealed complex venom transcriptomes. Most notably, three new cardioactive peptide toxin types were discovered (celestoxin, cholecystokinin, and YY peptides). The latter two represent additional examples of convergent use of genes in toxic arsenals, both having previously been documented as components of frog skin defensive chemical secretions. Two other novel venom gland-overexpressed modified versions of other protein frameworks were also recovered from the libraries (epididymal secretory protein and ribonuclease). Lectin, hyaluronidase, and veficolin toxin types were sequenced for the first time from lizard venoms and shown to be homologous to the snake venom forms. In contrast, phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that the lizard natriuretic peptide toxins were recruited independently of the form in snake venoms. The de novo evolution of helokinestatin peptide toxin encoding do-mains within the lizard venom natriuretic gene was revealed to be exclusive to the helodermatid/anguid subclade. New isoforms were sequenced for cysteine-rich secretory protein, kallikrein, and phospholipase A 2 toxins. Venom gland morphological analysis revealed extensive evolutionary tinkering. Anguid glands are characterized by thin capsules and mixed glands, serous at the bottom of the lobule and mucous toward the apex. Twice, independently this arrangement was segregated into specialized serous protein-secreting glands with thick capsules with the mucous lobules now distinct (Heloderma and the Lanthanotus/Varanus clade). The results obtained highlight the importance of utilizing evolution-based search strategies for biodiscovery and emphasize the largely untapped drug design and development potential of lizard venoms. Molecular & Cellular Proteomics 9:2369-2390, 2010.

Characteristics of the interfacial capacitance in thin film Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 capacitors with SrRuO3 and (La, Sr)CoO3 bottom electrodes

Thin film Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 (BST) capacitors of thickness similar to75 nm to similar to1200 nm, with Au top electrodes and SrRuO 3 (SRO) or (La, Sr)CoO3 (LSCO) bottom electrodes were fabricated using Pulsed Laser Deposition. Implementing the "series capacitor model," bulk and interfacial capacitance properties were extracted as a function of temperature and frequency. 'Bulk' properties demonstrated typical ceramic behaviour, displaying little frequency dependence and a permittivity and loss peak at 250 K and 150 K respectively. The interfacial component was found to be relatively temperature and frequency independent for the LSCO/BST capacitors, but for the SRO/BST configuration the interfacial capacitance demonstrated moderate frequency and little temperature dependence below T similar to 300 K but a relatively strong frequency and temperature dependence above T similar to3 00 K. This was attributed to the thermal activation of a space charge component combined with a thermally independent background. The activation energy for the space charge was found to be E-A similar to 0.6 eV suggesting de-trapping of electrons from shallow level traps associated with a thin interfacial layer of oxygen vacancies, parallel to the electrodes.

A lysimeter experimental study and numerical characterisation of the leaching of incinerator bottom ash waste

Incinerator bottom ash (IBA) is a residual produced from incinerating municipal solid waste. In the past, IBA presented a big waste disposal problem; however, various recycling approaches have been adopted in recent years to mitigate this problem, as well as to provide a useful alternative to using primary aggregate resources. The use of IBA as an alternative to conventional aggregates in different civil engineering construction applications helps to conserve premium grade aggregate supplies; however, when IBA is in contact with water in the field, as a consequence of precipitation events or changes in water table, elements, such as salts and heavy metals, may be released to the soil and ground water. In this work, IBA waste was mixed with limestone aggregate to produce a blend with acceptable mechanical properties and minimum environmental risks for use as road foundation. The study focused on evaluating potential environmental impacts of some constituents, including sulphate, chloride, sodium, copper, zinc and lead in IBA blends using a lysimeter as a large scale leaching tool. Moreover, a specific scenario simulating field conditions was adopted in the lysimeter to assess the potential impact of changing conditions, such as IBA content in the blend, liquid to solid ratio (L/S) and pH value, on long-term release of heavy metals and salts. Then, numerical modelling was used to predict the release of the aforementioned constituents from IBA based on initial measurement of intrinsic material properties and the kinetic desorption process concept. Experimental results showed that zinc and lead were released in very low concentrations but sodium and sulphate were in high concentrations. The control limestone only blend also demonstrated low release concentrations of constituents in comparison to IBA blends, where constituent concentrations increased with increase in IBA content. Experimental results were compared with numerical results obtained using a non-equilibrium desorption model. Good agreement was found between the two sets of data. 

Dynamics of the Indonesian seas circulation. Part I – The influence of bottom topography on temperature and salinity distributions

The influence of bottom topography on the distribution of temperature and salinity in the Indonesian seas region has been studied with a high-resolution model based on the Princeton Ocean Model. One of the distinctive properties of the model is an adequate reproduction of all major topographic features in the region by the model bottom relief. The three major routes of flow of Pacific water through the region have been identified. The western route follows the flow of North Pacific Water through the Sulawesi Sea, Makassar Strait, Flores Sea, and Banda Sea. This is the main branch of the Indonesian Throughflow. The eastern routes follow the flow of South Pacific water through the eastern Indonesian seas. This water enters the region either through the Halmahera Sea or by flowing to the north around Halmahera Island into the Morotai Basin and then into the Maluku Sea. A deep southward flow of South Pacific Water fills the Seram Sea below 1200 m through the Lifamatola Passage. As it enters the Seram Sea, this overflow turns eastward at depths greater than 2000 m, then upwells in the eastern part of the Seram Sea before returning westward at ~1500-2000 m. The flow continues westward across the Seram Sea, spreading to greater depths before entering the Banda Sea at the Buru-Mangole passage. It is this water that shapes the temperature and salinity of the deep Banda Sea. Topographic elevations break the Indonesian seas region down into separate basins. The difference in the distributions of potential temperature, ?, and salinity, S, in adjacent basins is primarily due to specific properties of advection of ? and S across a topographic rise. By and large, the topographic rise blocks deep flow between basins whereas water shallower than the depth of the rise is free to flow between basins. To understand this process, the structure of simulated fields of temperature and salinity has been analyzed. To identify a range of advected ? or S, special sections over the sills with isotherms or isohalines and isotachs of normal velocity have been considered. Following this approach the impact of various topographic rises on the distribution of ? and S has been identified. There are no substantial structural changes of potential temperature and salinity distributions between seasons, though values of some parameters of temperature and salinity distributions, e.g., magnitudes of maxima and minima, can change. It is shown that the main structure of the observed distributions of temperature and salinity is satisfactorily reproduced by the model throughout the entire domain.

Getting to the bottom of arsenic standards and guidelines

Public health policy for arsenic needs to better reflect the ability to detect the risk(s).

The effect of the spectral distribution of wave energy on the performance of a bottom hinged flap type wave energy converter

The power output from a wave energy converter is typically predicted using experimental and/or numerical modelling techniques. In order to yield meaningful results the relevant characteristics of the device, together with those of the wave climate must be modelled with sufficient accuracy.

The wave climate is commonly described using a scatter table of sea states defined according to parameters related to wave height and period. These sea states are traditionally modelled with the spectral distribution of energy defined according to some empirical formulation. Since the response of most wave energy converters vary at different frequencies of excitation, their performance in a particular sea state may be expected to depend on the choice of spectral shape employed rather than simply the spectral parameters. Estimates of energy production may therefore be affected if the spectral distribution of wave energy at the deployment site is not well modelled. Furthermore, validation of the model may be affected by differences between the observed full scale spectral energy distribution and the spectrum used to model it.

This paper investigates the sensitivity of the performance of a bottom hinged flap type wave energy converter to the spectral energy distribution of the incident waves. This is investigated experimentally using a 1:20 scale model of Aquamarine Power’s Oyster wave energy converter, a bottom hinged flap type device situated at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in approximately 13m water depth. The performance of the model is tested in sea states defined according to the same wave height and period parameters but adhering to different spectral energy distributions.

The results of these tests show that power capture is reduced with increasing spectral bandwidth. This result is explored with consideration of the spectral response of the device in irregular wave conditions. The implications of this result are discussed in the context of validation of the model against particular prototype data sets and estimation of annual energy production.

Influence of the interfacing with an electrically inhomogeneous bottom electrode on the ferroelectric properties of epitaxial PbTiO3

The influence of an electrically inhomogeneous epitaxial bottom layer on the ferroelectric and electrical properties has been explored in epitaxial PbTiO3 (PTO)/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) submicron structures using atomic force microscopy. The submicron LSMO-dot structures underneath the ferroelectric PTO film allow exploring gradual changes in material properties. The LSMO interfacial layer influences significantly both electrical and ferroelectric properties of the upper PTO layer. The obtained results show that the as-grown polarization state of an epitaxial ferroelectric layer is strongly influenced by the properties of the layer on top of which it is deposited. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

Cephalopods of the South Georgia slope

During January 2003 the bathymetric distribution of the cephalopod fauna of the South Georgia and Shag Rocks slope (100-900 m) was investigated using a commercial bottom trawl. Forty-four trawl stations caught 193 cephalopod specimens including six species of octopod and seven of squid. The benthic octopods Pareledone turqueti and Adelieledone polymorpha were abundant in shallow water at South Georgia, being replaced by Thaumeledone gunteri in greater depths. However, neither A. polymorpha nor T gunteri were caught on the adjacent Shag Rocks area. Two specimens of the deep-sea genus Graneledone were caught on the South Georgia slope. The most abundant squid species caught were Moroteuthis knipovitchi, Psychroteuthis glacialis and Slosarczykovia circumantarctica, which are primarily pelagic and may have been taken when their vertical migrations impinged on the slope.

Spin-Polarization Mechanisms of the Nitrogen-Vacancy Center in Diamond

The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond has shown great promise for quantum information due to the ease of initializing the qubit and of reading out its state. Here we show the leading mechanism for these effects gives results opposite from experiment; instead both must rely on new physics. Furthermore, NV centers fabricated in nanometer-sized diamond clusters are stable, motivating a bottom-up qubit approach, with the possibility of quite different optical properties to bulk.

Dynamics of the Indonesian seas circulation. Part II – The role of pressure head

The aim of this paper is to analyze the role of the pressure head, i.e., the difference of total pressure forces acting on the Indonesian seas waters from the western Pacific and the eastern Indian Ocean, in driving the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) and in determining the total transport of the ITF. These questions have been discussed in the literature but no consensus has been reached. A regional model of the Indonesian seas circulation has been developed that properly resolves all major topographic features in the region. The results of model runs have been used to calculate all components of the overall momentum balance. The estimates disclose that the dynamical balance is primarily between the volume integrated Coriolis acceleration, pressure gradient and the area integral of local wind stress. It is shown that consideration of components of momentum balance in the direction of the outflow through the Indian Ocean port leads to the formulation of a diagnostic relation between total inflow transports due to the Mindanao and New Guinea Coastal Currents and the external pressure head, internal pressure head, bottom form stress, and area integrated wind stress. Based on this relation, it is concluded that the external pressure head is not the major driving force of the ITF, which is why there is no unique relation between the total transport of the ITF and the external pressure head. However, Wyrtki's suggestion to monitor the variability of the total transport of the ITF by measurement of the sea-surface-height difference between the western Pacific and the eastern Indian Ocean is validated.

The use of recycled demolition aggregate in precast concrete products – Phase III: Concrete pavement flags

A study undertaken at the University of Liverpool has investigated the potential for using construction and demolition waste (C&DW) derived aggregate in the manufacture of a range of precast concrete products, i.e. building and paving blocks and pavement flags. Phase III, which is reported here, investigated
concrete pavement flags. This was subsequent to studies on building and paving blocks. Recycled demolition aggregate can be used to replace newly quarried limestone aggregate, usually used in coarse (6 mm) and fine (4 mm-to-dust) gradings. The first objective was, as was the case with concrete building
and paving blocks, to replicate the process used by industry in fabricating concrete pavement flags in the laboratory. The ‘‘wet’’ casting technique used by industry for making concrete flags requires a very workable mix so that the concrete flows into the mould before it is compressed. Compression squeezes out water from the top as well as the bottom of the mould. This industrial casting procedure was successfully replicated in the laboratory by using an appropriately modified cube crushing machine and a special mould typical of what is used by industry. The mould could be filled outside of the cube crushing machine and then rolled onto a steel frame and into the machine for it to be compressed. The texture and mechanical properties of the laboratory concrete flags were found to be similar to the factory ones. The experimental work involved two main series of tests, i.e. concrete flags made with concrete- and
masonry-derived aggregate. Investigation of flexural strength was required for concrete paving flags. This is different from building blocks and paving blocks which required compressive and tensile splitting strength respectively. Upper levels of replacement with recycled demolition aggregate were determined
that produced similar flexural strength to paving flags made with newly quarried aggregates, without requiring an increase in the cement content. With up to 60% of the coarse or 40% of the fine fractions replaced with concrete-derived aggregates, the target mean flexural strength of 5.0 N/mm2 was still
achieved at the age of 28 days. There was similar detrimental effect by incorporating the fine masonry-derived aggregate. A replacement level of 70% for coarse was found to be satisfactory and also conservative. However, the fine fraction replacement could only be up to 30% and even reduced to 15% when used for mixes where 60% of the coarse fraction was also masonry-derived aggregate.

A multi-proxy chronological reconstruction of palaeosalinity in the eastern Limfjord, Denmark

The Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark is home to the Limfjord, one of the largest estuarine bodies of water in the region. Human inhabitance of the Limfjord’s surrounding coastlines stretches back further than 7,800 cal BP, with anthropogenic influence on the landscape beginning approximately 6,000 cal BP. Understanding how the Limfjord as a system has changed throughout time is useful in comprehending subsistence patterns and anthropogenic influence. This research is part of a larger project aimed at discerning subsistence patterns and environmental change in the region. Following the Younger Dryas, as the Fennoscandian ice sheet began to melt, Denmark experienced isostatic rebound, which contributed to the complex sea level history in the region. Between ice melt and isostatic rebound, the Jutland peninsula experienced many transgression and regression events. Connections to surrounding seas have shifted throughout time, with most attention focused on the western connection of the Limfjord with the North Sea, which has experienced numerous closures and subsequent re-openings throughout the Holocene. Furthermore, the Limfjord-North Sea connection has been the focal point of research because of the west to east water flow in the system, and the present day higher salinity in the west compared to the east. Little to no consideration has been paid to the influence of the Kattegat and Baltic on the Limfjord until now. A 10m sediment core was taken from Sebbersund (near Nibe, Limfjord), along the connection between the Limfjord and the Kattegat in the east to understand how the eastern part of the system has changed and differed from changes observed in the west. The Sebbersund sequence spans a majority of the Holocene, from 9600 cal BP to 1030 cal BP, determined via radiocarbon dating of terrestrial macrofossils and bulk sediment. Over this time period palaeoenvironmental conditions were reconstructed through the use of geochemical analyses (13C, 15N, C:N), physical sediment analyses, dinoflagellate cyst abundances and molluscan analyses. apart from two instances of low salinity, one at the top and one at the bottom of the core, the sequence has a strong marine signal for a majority of the Holocene. Radiocarbon dating of bulk sediment samples showed the presence of old carbon in the system, creating an age offset between 1,300 ± 200 and 2,800 ± 200 calibrated 14C years compared to the age-depth curve based on the terrestrial macrofossils. This finding, along with the strong marine influence in the system, discerned through geochemical data, dinoflagellate cyst and mollusc counts, is important for obtaining accurate radiocarbon ages in the region and stresses the importance of understanding both the marine and freshwater reservoir effects. The marine dominance in the eastern Limfjord differs from the west, which is characterized by a number of freshwater events when the North Sea connection was closed off during the Holocene. The eastern connection was open to the Kattegat throughout a large portion of the Holocene, with influx of open ocean water entering the system during periods of higher sea level.