The impact of high involvement human resources practices on resistance to change: The mediator effect of commitment to change and the influence of ethical leadership

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Predicting the impacts of climate change on the distribution and conservation of endemic forest land snails of Madeira Island

Climate change is emerging as one of the major threats to natural communities of the world’s ecosystems; and biodiversity hotspots, such as Madeira Island, might face a challenging future in the conservation of endangered land snails’ species. With this thesis, progresses have been made in order to properly understand the impact of climate on these vulnerable taxa; and species distribution models coupled with GIS and climate change scenarios have become crucial to understand the relations between species distribution and environmental conditions, identifying threats and determining biodiversity vulnerability. With the use of MaxEnt, important changes in the species suitable areas were obtained. Laurel forest species, highly dependent on precipitation and relative humidity, may face major losses on their future suitable areas, leading to the possible extinction of several endangered species, such as Leiostyla heterodon. Despite the complexity of the biological systems, the intrinsic uncertainty of species distribution models and the lack of information about land snails’ functional traits, this analysis contributed to a pioneer study on the impacts of climate change on endemic species of Madeira Island. The future inclusion of predictions of the effect of climate change on species distribution as part of IUCN assessments could contribute to species prioritizing, promoting specific management actions and maximizing conservation investment.

Pointlike reducibility of pseudovarieties of the form V*D

In this paper, we investigate the reducibility property of semidirect products of the form V *D relatively to (pointlike) systems of equations of the form x1 =...= xn, where D denotes the pseudovariety of definite semigroups. We establish a connection between pointlike reducibility of V*D and the pointlike reducibility of the pseudovariety V. In particular, for the canonical signature consisting of the multiplication and the (omega-1)-power, we show that V*D is pointlike-reducible when V is pointlike-reducible.

Influence of different fibers on the change of pore pressure of self-consolidating concrete exposed to fire

The focus of this paper is given to investigate the effect of different fibers on the pore pressure of fiber reinforced self-consolidating concrete under fire. The investigation on the pore pressure-time and temperature relationships at different depths of fiber reinforced self-consolidating concrete beams was carried out. The results indicated that micro PP fiber is more effective in mitigating the pore pressure than macro PP fiber and steel fiber. The composed use of steel fiber, micro PP fiber and macro PP fiber showed clear positive hybrid effect on the pore pressure reduction near the beam bottom subjected to fire. Compared to the effect of macro PP fiber with high dosages, the effect of micro PP fiber with low fiber contents on the pore pressure reduction is much stronger. The significant factor for reduction of pore pressure depends mainly on the number of PP fibers and not only on the fiber content. An empirical formula was proposed to predict the relative maximum pore pressure of fiber reinforced self-consolidating concrete exposed to fire by considering the moisture content, compressive strength and various fibers. The suggested model corresponds well with the experimental results of other research and tends to prove that the micro PP fiber can be the vital component for reduction in pore pressure, temperature as well spalling of concrete.

A change in the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms

OBJECTIVE: One of the most exciting potential applications of percutaneous therapy is the treatment of abdominal aneurysms. METHODS: Of 230 patients treated with a self-expanding polyester-lined stent-graft for different aortic pathologies at our institution, we selected 80 abdominal aneurysm cases undergoing treatment (from May 1997 to December 2002). The stent was introduced through the femoral artery, in the hemodynamic laboratory, with the patient under general anesthesia, with systemic heparinization, and induced hypotension. RESULTS: The procedure was successful in 70 (92.9%) cases; 10 patients with exclusion of abdominal aortic aneurysms were documented immediately within the hemodynamic room and 5 patients persisted with a residual leak. Two surgical conversions were necessary. Additional stent-grafts had to be inserted in 3 (3.7%) cases. In the follow-up, 91.4% of patients were alive at a mean follow-up of 15.8 months. CONCLUSION: We believe that stent-grafts are an important tool in improving the treatment of abdominal aneurysms, and this new policy may change the conventional medical management of these patients.

Procesos de cambio en la cultura jurídica: análisis desde la experiencia del juicio por jurados. Processes of change in the Legal Culture: Analysis from the Experience of Jury Trials.

El presente proyecto de investigación se orienta a analizar la institución del juicio por jurados, considerada como un punto estratégico para la observación de los procesos de cambio que recorren la cultura jurídica en Argentina. Frente a las múltiples transformaciones y a los intensos procesos de reestructuración de las relaciones sociales observados en el contexto latinoamericano y especialmente en Argentina, la necesidad de reconstruir la legitimidad de los jueces ante la opinión pública se ha vuelto impostergable, y el recurso a la participación popular en el campo judicial aparece como un instrumento útil para ello. Analizar la efectividad de esta estrategia para la legitimación del poder judicial es uno de los objetivos del presente proyecto de investigación. Abordar dicho objetivo implica, indagar en la relación entre la administración de justicia y diferentes actores sociales, especialmente los miembros de la profesión jurídica y la opinión pública.Se explora igualmente la contradicción entre el hecho de que esta institución, nacida para atenuar la dureza de los castigos, se ha implementado recientemente en la provincia de Córdoba en la situación inversa. El modo en que la tensión entre el espíritu garantista de los jueces y la demanda de castigos de los ciudadanos comunes se manejará en la práctica de los juicios por jurado, y su incidencia en el éxito de las estrategias legitimadoras del poder judicial, aparece como una cuestión relevante para el análisis que se propone. Con la utilización de diferentes fuentes de información cuantitativas y cualitativas, se espera que el análisis de la implementación del juicio penal con jurados populares en la provincia de Córdoba propuesto en el presente proyecto, contribuya a documentar los niveles de articulación entre la cultura jurídica interna y externa.

Assessing the structural change of strategic mobility: determinants under hypercompetitive environments

The primary purpose of this exploratory empirical study is to examine the structural stability of a limited number of alternative explanatory factors of strategic change. On the basis of theoretical arguments and prior empirical evidence from two traditional perspectives, we propose an original empirical framework to analyse whether these potential explanatory factors have remained stable over time in a highly turbulent environment. This original question is explored in a particular setting: the population of Spanish private banks. The firms of this industry have experienced a high level of strategic mobility as a consequence of fundamental changes undergone in their environmental conditions over the last two decades (mainly changes related to the new banking and financial regulation process). Our results consistently support that the effect of most explanatory factors of strategic mobility considered did not remain stable over the whole period of analysis. From this point of view, the study sheds new light on major debates and dilemmas in the field of strategy regarding why firms change their competitive patterns over time and, hence, to what extent the "contextdependency" of alternative views of strategic change as their relative validation can vary over time for a given population. Methodologically, this research makes two major contributions to the study of potential determinants of strategic change. First, the definition and measurement of strategic change employing a new grouping method, the Model-based Cluster Method or MCLUST. Second, in order to asses the possible effect of determinants of strategic mobility we have controlled the non-observable heterogeneity using logistic regression models for panel data.

The change of behavior of two strains of Leishmania after cultivation in a defined medium

Attempts have been made to characterize two strains of Leishmania that became infective to golden hamsters only after they had been maintained for several years in a chemically defined culture medium. Observations were made on the growth rates of promastigotes in vitro, course of infection in hamsters, morphology of amastigotes, and electrophoretic mobility patterns of eight isoenzymes. Information was obtained about the buoyant densities of n-DNA and k-DNA, and one strain was tested against monoclonal antibodies. The identity of both strains remains obscure.

Knowing the past to predict the future: land-use change and the distribution of invasive bullfrogs

Biological invasions and land-use changes are two major causes of the global modifications of biodiversity. Habitat suitability models are the tools of choice to predict potential distributions of invasive species. Although land-use is a key driver of alien species invasions, it is often assumed that land-use is constant in time. Here we combine historical and present day information, to evaluate whether land-use changes could explain the dynamic of invasion of the American bullfrog Rana catesbeiana (=Lithobathes catesbeianus) in Northern Italy, from the 1950s to present-day. We used maxent to build habitat suitability models, on the basis of past (1960s, 1980s) and present-day data on land-uses and species distribution. For example, we used models built using the 1960s data to predict distribution in the 1980s, and so on. Furthermore, we used land-use scenarios to project suitability in the future. Habitat suitability models predicted well the spread of bullfrogs in the subsequent temporal step. Models considering land-use changes predicted invasion dynamics better than models assuming constant land-use over the last 50 years. Scenarios of future land-use suggest that suitability will remain similar in the next years. Habitat suitability models can help to understand and predict the dynamics of invasions; however, land-use is not constant in time: land-use modifications can strongly affect invasions; furthermore, both land management and the suitability of a given land-use class may vary in time. An integration of land-use changes in studies of biological invasions can help to improve management strategies.

Effects of genetic alterations in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on plant growth and on their response to a change of host

Abstract :The majority of land plants form the symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The AM symbiosis has existed for hundreds of millions of years but little or no specificity seems to have co- evolved between the partners and only about 200 morphospecies of AMF are known. The fungi supply the plants most notably with phosphate in exchange for carbohydrates. The fungi improve plant growth, protect them against pathogens and herbivores and the symbiosis plays a key role in ecosystem productivity and plant diversity. The fungi are coenocytic, grow clonally and no sexual stage in their life cycle is known. For these reasons, they are presumed ancient asexuals. Evidence suggests that AMF contain populations of genetically different nucleotypes coexisting in a common cytoplasm. Consequently, the nucleotype content of new clonal offspring could potentially be altered by segregation of nuclei at spore formation and by genetic exchange between different AMF. Given the importance of AMF, it is surprising that remarkably little is known about the genetics and genomics of the fungi.The main goal of this thesis was to investigate the combined effects of plant species differences and of genetic exchange and segregation in AMF on the symbiosis. This work showed that single spore progeny can receive a different assortment of nucleotypes compared to their parent and compared to other single spore progeny. This is the first direct evidence that segregation occurs in AMF. We then showed that both genetic exchange and segregation can lead to new progeny that differentially alter plant growth compared to their parents. We also found that genetic exchange and segregation can lead to different development of the fungus during the establishment of the symbiosis. Finally, we found that a shift of host species can differentially alter the phenotypes and genotypes of AMF progeny obtained by genetic exchange and segregation compared to their parents.Overall, this study confirms the multigenomic state of the AMF Glomus intraradices because our findings are possible only if the fungus contains genetically different nuclei. We demonstrated the importance of the processes of genetic exchange and segregation to produce, in a very short time span, new progeny with novel symbiotic effects. Moreover, our results suggest that different host species could affect the fate of different nucleotypes following genetic exchange and segregation in AMF, and can potentially contribute to the maintenance of genetic diversity within AMF individuals. This work brings new insights into understanding how plants and fungi have coevolved and how the genetic diversity in AMF can be maintained. We recommend that the intra-ir1dividual AMF diversity and these processes should be considered in future research on this symbiosis.Résumé :La majorité des plantes terrestres forment des symbioses avec les champignons endomycorhiziens arbusculaires (CEA). Cette symbiose existe depuis plusieurs centaines de millions d'années mais peu ou pas de spécificité semble avoir co-évoluée entre les partenaires et seulement 200 morpho-espèces de CEA sont connues. Le champignon fournit surtout aux plantes du phosphate en échange de carbohydrates. Le champignon augmente la croissance des plantes, les protège contre des pathogènes et herbivores et la symbiose joue un rôle clé dans la productivité des écosystèmes et de la diversité des plantes. Les CEA sont coenocytiques, se reproduisent clonalement et aucune étape sexuée n'est connue dans leur cycle de vie. Pour ces raisons, ils sont présumés comme anciens asexués. Des preuves suggèrent que les CEA ont des populations de nucleotypes différents coexistant dans un cytoplasme commun. Par conséquent, le contenu en nucleotype des nouveaux descendants clonaux pourrait être altéré par la ségrégation des noyaux lors de la fonnation des spores et par l'échange génétique entre différents CEA. Etant donné l'importance des CEA, il est surprenant que si peu soit connu sur la génétique et la génomique du champignon.Le principal but de cette thèse a été d'étudier les effets combinés de différentes espèces de plantes et des mécanismes d'échange génétique et de ségrégation chez les CEA sur la symbiose. Ce travail a montré que chaque nouvelle spore produite pouvait recevoir un assortiment différent de noyaux comparé au parent ou comparé à d'autres nouvelles spores. Ceci est la première preuve directe que la ségrégation peut se produire chez les CEA. Nous avons ensuite montré qu'à la fois l'échange génétique et la ségrégation pouvaient mener à de nouveaux descendants qui altèrent différemment la croissance des plantes, comparé à leurs parents. Nous avons également trouvé que l'échange génétique et la ségrégation pouvaient entraîner des développements différents du champignon pendant l'établissement de la symbiose. Pour finir, nous avons trouvé qu'un changement d'espèce de l'hôte pouvait altérer différemment les phénotypes et génotypes des descendants issus d'échange génétique et de ségrégation, comparé à leurs parents.Globalement, cette étude confirme l'état multigénomique du CEA Glumus intraradices car nous résultats sont possibles seulement si le champignon possède des noyaux génétiquement différents. Nous avons démontrés l'importance des mécanismes d'échange génétique et de ségrégation pour produire en très peu de temps de nouveaux descendants ayant des effets symbiotiques nouveaux. De plus, nos résultats suggèrent que différentes espèces de plantes peuvent agir sur le devenir des nucleotypes après l'échange génétique et la ségrégation chez les CEA, et pourraient contribuer à la maintenance de la diversité génétique au sein d'un même CEA. Ce travail apporte des éléments nouveaux pour comprendre comment les plantes et les champignons ont coévolué et comment la diversité génétique chez les CEA peut être maintenue. Nous recommandons de considérer la diversité génétique intra-individuelle des CEA et ces mécanismes lors de futures recherches sur cette symbiose.

Temporal change of the aggregation response in Triatoma infestans

Adults and larvae of Triatoma infestans spend daylight hours assembled in shaded places. An assembling factor has been demonstrated in the excrement of this species. We analysed different aspects of the dynamics of the response of bugs. Recently fed insects do not aggregate around faeces. They start to show a significant assembling response from the 8th hour after feeding onwards. Just deposited faeces do not evoke assembling, but a significant rejection instead. This reaction switches 3 h after deposition, when the faeces become attractive to the insects. The attractiveness of faeces persists for about 10 days and can be recovered after this time by rehydration. These findings are discussed in relation to the biological role of faeces and the dynamics of the use of refuges by T. infestans.

ICT Action Plan Meeting the high-level skills needs of enterprise in Ireland

The technology sector in Ireland is thriving. Employment, through indigenous and multinational technology firms continues to grow strongly year on year. All of the top 10 multinational technology companies have a significant presence in Ireland and the indigenous software sector’s exports are worth well in excess of €1 billion annually. Five of the top 10 exporters in Ireland are technology companies, and the sector is responsible for approximately one-third of Ireland’s total turnover. Since January 2011, over 80 jobs a week have been announced in the sector. This is on foot of 6% employment growth in 2009 and 4% in 2010. A recent global competitiveness report ranks Ireland as the top destination in the world by quality and value of investments. With a growing multinational technology presence in Ireland and a vibrant and innovative indigenous software sector, the future prospects for Ireland’s technology sector are bright.

The effects of temperature change on the infection rate of Biomphalaria glabrata with Schistosoma mansoni

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of temperature on the development of Schistosoma mansoni infections in Biomphalaria glabrata. The snails were infected at 15, 20, and 30ºC, and the cercarial release was analyzed after 30 and 60 days post-infection. Our results showed that a decrease in the temperature has a substantial influence on the development of S. mansoni infection in B. glabrata, with significant differences (p < 0.05) between 15 and 30ºC. These data could provide a better understanding of the epidemiological aspects of schistosomiasis.