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Rich Diversity (rich + diversity)
Selected AbstractsResearching Small Firms and Entrepreneurship in the U.K.: Developments and DistinctivenessENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE, Issue 2 2008Robert A. Blackburn This article charts the development of research on small firms and entrepreneurship in the U.K. over the last 30 years or so and identifies distinctive characteristics of the current orientation of the research field. The paper analyses the rapid increase in the number of researchers contributing to the field over the period, together with its growing legitimacy and institutionalization. One of the key underlying themes is the rich diversity of approaches, reflecting the origins and development path, with clusters of researchers ranging from those with normative objectives to those who view the phenomenon as an object of study. Specific features of the U.K. research field identified include its policy orientation; a rich empirical tradition, with methodological diversity; an emphasis on small firms, and entrepreneurship as a subject for study, rather than an object for promotion; aspects of the boundaries and language of small business and entrepreneurship research; and pre-paradigmatic and middle range theory development i.e., somewhere between grand theory and empirical findings. [source] Halophilic archaea in the human intestinal mucosaENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 9 2010Andrew P. A. Oxley Summary The human gastrointestinal tract microbiota, despite its key roles in health and disease, remains a diverse, variable and poorly understood entity. Current surveys reveal a multitude of undefined bacterial taxa and a low diversity of methanogenic archaea. In an analysis of the microbiota in colonic mucosal biopsies from patients with inflammatory bowel disease we found 16S rDNA sequences representing a phylogenetically rich diversity of halophilic archaea from the Halobacteriaceae (haloarchaea), including novel phylotypes. As the human colon is not considered a salty environment and haloarchaea are described as extreme halophiles, we evaluated and further discarded the possibility that these sequences originated from pre-colonoscopy saline lavage solutions. Furthermore, aerobic enrichment cultures prepared from a patient biopsy at low salinity (2.5% NaCl) yielded haloarchaeal sequence types. Microscopic observation after fluorescence in situ hybridization provided evidence of the presence of viable archaeal cells in these cultures. These results prove the survival of haloarchaea in the digestive system and suggest that they may be members of the mucosal microbiota, even if present in low numbers in comparison with methanogenic archaea. Investigation of a potential physiological basis of this association may lead to new insights into gastrointestinal health and disease. [source] Care provision for patients with eating disorders in Europe: what patients get what treatment where?EUROPEAN EATING DISORDERS REVIEW, Issue 3 2005Matthias Richard Abstract In this paper, we report on the similarities and differences between patients with eating disorders and the services provided to them across 80 centres participating in a European collaboration (COST Action B6). Differences in patient characteristics as well as differences in treatment regimen, especially length of treatment, are described. The relationship between patient characteristics, treatment setting and length of treatment is investigated by multilevel analysis. The findings show a rich diversity in service conditions and traditions across European countries. Patients with anorexia nervosa are mostly treated in inpatient settings, patients with bulimia nervosa are treated mostly as outpatients,with the exception of German-speaking countries. Day-patient settings were generally rare. Clinical characteristics of the patients,e.g. severity of symptoms or illness duration,contributed only little to the differences in treatment length (within as well as between centres), whereas organizational factors explained the largest proportion of between centre variability. The findings are discussed from a service research perspective. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [source] 6000 years of forest dynamics in Suserup Skov, a seminatural Danish woodlandGLOBAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2000Gina E. Hannon Abstract 1The history of a forest stand over the last 6000 years has been reconstructed by studying pollen, macrofossils and charcoal from a small, wet hollow in Suserup Skov on the island of Sjælland in eastern Denmark. 2The earliest recorded forest was Tilia -dominated but contained an intimate mixture of many different tree species that included Acer campestre, A. platanoides, Alnus glutinosa, Betula pubescens, Corylus avellana, Frangula alnus, Fraxinus excelsior, Malus sylvestris, Populus tremula, Pinus sylvestris, Quercus robur, Q. petraea, Salix spp., Sorbus aucuparia, Tilia cordata and T. platyphyllos. The preserved fruits of T. platyphyllos confirm its hitherto doubtful status as a native member of the Danish flora. 3The present-day woodland developed after a period of intensive anthropogenic disturbance between , 600 bc and ad 900, during which time open canopy conditions prevailed at Suserup. Fagus sylvatica and Fraxinus excelsior are the dominant trees at present, together with some Quercus robur and Ulmus glabra.4,Charcoal was present in the sediments from most time periods except at the Ulmus decline. In the last 1000 years of the sequence , the period of Fagus dominance , charcoal counts were consistently low. 5Pinus sylvestris was a natural component of this primarily deciduous forest, and the last macrofossil find dates from c. ad 900. Macrofossil Pinus cone scales recorded c. ad 1800 originate from planted individuals. Prior to Fagus dominance, the forest had an open structure partly caused by frequent, low-intensity fires associated with the presence of Pinus sylvestris. 6The replacement of Tilia by Fagus in this forest was catalysed by human activity. If the forest had not been so disturbed, the rich diversity of trees would most probably have persisted up to the present time, with only a moderate-sized Fagus population. [source] Symmetric Wrinkling Patterns: Diffusion-Controlled, Self-Organized Growth of Symmetric Wrinkling Patterns (Adv. Mater.ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 13 200913/2009) Irradiation of thin polystyrene films leads to the formation of a stiff skin layer, which can dynamically wrinkle under osmotic swelling of a small molecule penetrant from localized defects in the film. As shown by Christopher Stafford and co-workers on p. 1358, these wrinkled surfaces display a rich diversity of pattern symmetries that are not readily accessible by any other route. [source] Science education in urban settings: Seeking new ways of praxis through critical ethnographyJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 8 2001Angela Calabrese Barton The challenges faced in urban science education are deeply rooted in the ongoing struggle for racial, class and gender equity. Part of this struggle is tied to huge differences in class and involves making more equitable the distribution of resources. Another part of this struggle is tied to the rich diversity of children who attend urban schools and involves generating new ways of understanding, valuing, and genuinely incorporating into school-based practices the culture, language, beliefs, and experiences that these children bring to school. Thus, this article argues that to address these two challenges,and indeed to achieve a more just science education for all urban students, explicitly political research methodologies must be considered and incorporated into urban education. One potential route for this is critical ethnography, for this kind of methodology emerges collaboratively from the lives of the researcher and the researched and is centrally about praxis and a political commitment to the struggle for liberation and in defense of human rights. In making this argument, I have drawn from stories from my own research with homeless children. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 899,917, 2001 [source] Culturally competent evaluation in Indian CountryNEW DIRECTIONS FOR EVALUATION, Issue 102 2004Joan LaFrance Culturally competent evaluation in Indian Country requires an understanding of the rich diversity of tribal peoples and the importance of self-determination and sovereignty. If an evaluation can be embedded within an indigenous framework, it is more responsive to tribal ethics and values. An indigenous orientation to evaluation suggests methodological approaches, a partnership between the evaluator and the program, and reciprocity. [source] Summer activity patterns of nocturnal Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) of the southern tablelands of New South WalesAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 1 2007Martin J Steinbauer Abstract, Australia has a rich diversity of Scarabaeoidea; however, little is known about the majority of them. Because adults of Anoplognathus, Automolius, Heteronychus, Heteronyx and Liparetrus in particular are reliant upon eucalypts, a number of bluegum plantation companies supported the commencement of research into the biology and ecology of scarabs of economic significance to them. Consequently, it was decided that the occurrences of species endemic to this area would be studied and it was assumed that information on the nocturnal species in the aforementioned genera would be obtained. From late November 2003 until late February 2004, the abundances of Scarabaeoidea caught in two light traps that partition insects caught on a given night into seven time periods each of 1.75 h duration were recorded. A total of 48 263 scarabs representing 21 genera were caught. Within the 14 species caught most often, six types of summer activity pattern were apparent: late spring to early summer (Australobolbus gayndahensis), early to mid-summer (Scitala sericans), mid-summer only (Sericesthis ignota), mid- to late summer (Acrossidius tasmaniae, Aphodius lividus, Heteronyx chlorotica, Het. praecox and Antitrogus morbillosus), late summer only (Ataenius picinus) and all summer (Anoplognathus pallidicollis, Phyllotocus macleayi, Sericesthis geminata, Ser. micans and Ser. nigrolineata). Abundances of nine species peaked between 21:30 and 23:15 h (Aph. lividus, Phy. macleayi, Het. chlorotica, Sci. sericans, Ser. geminata, Ser. micans, Ser. nigrolineata and possibly also Ant. morbillosus), three were most abundant between 19:45 and 21:30 h (Ano. pallidicollis, Ser. ignota and possibly also Ata. picinus), another two were most abundant from 19:45 to 23:15 h (Acr. tasmaniae and Het. praecox) and Aus. gayndahensis was most abundant between 23:15 and 01:00 h. Of course, it is not just a knowledge of the identity of the species and the timing of their occurrence that are important when making insect management decisions, but also the size of population needed to inflict economically significant loss. It is now beholden upon bluegum plantation companies to support further research to determine the relationships between light trap catches of eucalypt-feeding scarabs, tree age and/or size and level of defoliation in order to improve their confidence in this method of monitoring over ground surveys. [source] | |||||||||||||