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Beginning in 1920, bird banding in the United States was coordinated by an office within the U.S. Biological Survey that recruited volunteers, issued permits, distributed bands and reporting forms, and collected and organized the data that resulted. In the 1920s and 1930s, data from thousands of volunteers banding millions of birds helped ornithologists map migratory flyways and census bird populations on a continental scale. This essay argues that the success of the bird-banding program depended on a fragile balance between the centripetal effects of national coordination and the centrifugal effects of volunteer enthusiasm. For various reasons, efforts to maintain this balance were largely abandoned by the Bird-Banding Office from the late 1930s onward. Nonetheless, the first two decades of the national bird-banding effort provide an example of how a “citizen-science” project that generates “Big Data” can produce significant scientific results without subordinating the enthusiasms of volunteers t...

Seaports represent a major component of multimodal transport networks and they are key in the operation of supply chains and global logistics. In multimodal transport networks it is well acknowledged the use of information and communication technology (ICT) can deliver benefits that include real time track and trace, visibility and reduced lead-time, among others. Given the importance of the benefits associated to the adoption of ICT in the operation of multimodal transport networks, this work uses institutional-related theories in a multiple-case study comprising seven seaports terminals located in two continents. The purpose of the study is to identify key elements that affect and influence the adoption of ICT to support interoperability and connectivity in multi-modal seaport terminal operations. The analysis is used to identify groupings of influence linked to elements comprising institutional-related theories like coercion and mimesis, part of institutional isomorphism, among others. The study shows that both government legislation and dominant organizations running ports in various geographical locations exert great influence regarding ICT adoption policies in seaport terminals. The adoption of ICT has become important given the proliferation of technologies, the increasing need for track and trace capabilities and the economic impact of seaports terminals.

International audience

International audience; A new enantiopure cyclometallated iridium complex bearing a [4]helicenic C perpendicular to C--coordinating and two N perpendicular to C--coordinating dfppy (2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-pyridyl) ligands was prepared. This complex displayed long-lived phosphorescence both in solution and in the solid state. Its chiroptical properties, namely electronic circular dichroism and circularly polarized luminescence, were also examined. Comparison with former chiral complexes enabled assignment of the Delta(Ir)-(-) and ? (Ir)-(+) absolute configurations.

Distributed ledger/blockchain has emerged as an important technology that can have a significant impact on the management of supply chains. This paper investigates the feasibility of adopting blockchain technology in both manufacturing and perishable goods supply chains. Two cases are used to illustrate the approach proposed in this work. The first case addresses the use of blockchain technology in the supply chain of composite materials in order to facilitate the certification process of components made of carbon fiber employed in the aerospace sector. The second case investigates the feasibility of adopting blockchain technology in the supply chain of live seafood. In the first case blockchain technology has the potential to be used by industry peers to perform experimental validation tests including flammability, crashworthiness, operational, etc. Additionally in both cases blockchain technology can be used for transportation, handling and storage, not to mention tamper proof checks, product history and provenance tracking.

ArgumentIn recent decades, through the work of Jane Goodall and other ethologists, the practice of giving personal names to nonhuman animals who are the subjects of scientific research has become associated with claims about animal personhood and scientific objectivity. While critics argue that such naming practices predispose the researcher toward anthropomorphism, supporters suggest that it sensitizes the researcher to individual differences and social relations. Both critics and supporters agree that naming tends to be associated with the recognition of individual animal rights. The history of the naming of research animals since the late nineteenth century shows, however, that the practice has served a variety of purposes, most of which have raised few ethical or epistemological concerns. Names have been used to identify research animals who play dual roles as pets, workers, or patients, to enhance their market value, and to facilitate their identification in the field. The multifaceted history of naming suggests both that the use of personal names by Goodall and others is less of a radical break with previous practices than it might first appear to be and that the use of personal names to recognize the individuality, sentience, or rights of nonhuman animals faces inherent limits and contradictions.