York University

About: York University is a education organization based out in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Politics. The organization has 18899 authors who have published 43357 publications receiving 1568560 citations.

Ecology and Control of Introduced Plants

Abstract: The global spread of plant species by humans is both a fascinating large scale experiment and, in many cases, a major perturbation to native plant communities Many of the most destructive weeds today have been intentionally introduced to new environments where they have had unexpected and detrimental impacts This 2003 book considers the problem of invasive introduced plants from historical, ecological and sociological perspectives We consider such questions as 'What makes a community invasible?', 'What makes a plant an invader?' and 'Can we restore plant communities after invasion?' Written with advanced students and land managers in mind, this book contains practical explanations, case studies and an introduction to basic techniques for evaluating the impacts of invasive plants An underlying theme is that experimental and quantitative evaluation of potential problems is necessary, and solutions must consider the evolutionary and ecological constraints acting on species interactions in newly invaded communities

Towards an Ontology-Driven Blockchain Design for Supply Chain Provenance

Abstract: An interesting research problem in our age of Big Data is that of determining provenance. Granular evaluation of provenance of physical goods -- e.g. tracking ingredients of a pharmaceutical or demonstrating authenticity of luxury goods -- has often not been possible with today's items that are produced and transported in complex, inter-organizational, often internationally-spanning supply chains. Recent adoption of Internet of Things and Blockchain technologies give promise at better supply chain provenance. We are particularly interested in the blockchain as many favoured use cases of blockchain are for provenance tracking. We are also interested in applying ontologies as there has been some work done on knowledge provenance, traceability, and food provenance using ontologies. In this paper, we make a case for why ontologies can contribute to blockchain design. To support this case, we analyze a traceability ontology and translate some of its representations to smart contracts that execute a provenance trace and enforce traceability constraints on the Ethereum blockchain platform.

Is there a relation between onset age of bilingualism and enhancement of cognitive control

Abstract: Young English-speaking monolingual and bilingual adults were examined for English proficiency, language use history, and performance on a flanker task. The bilinguals, who were about twenty years old, were divided into two groups (early bilinguals and late bilinguals) according to whether they became actively bilingual before or after the age of ten years. Early bilinguals and monolinguals demonstrated similar levels of English proficiency, and both groups were more proficient in English than late bilinguals. In contrast, early bilinguals produced the smallest response time cost for incongruent trials (flanker effect) with no difference between monolinguals and late bilinguals. Moreover, across the whole sample of bilinguals, onset age of active bilingualism was negatively correlated with English proficiency and positively correlated with the flanker effect. These results suggest a gradient in which more experience in being actively bilingual is associated with greater advantages in cognitive control and higher language proficiency.

Technology Adaptation in E-Commerce: Key Determinants of Virtual Stores Acceptance

Abstract: The emergence of the virtual store has paved the way for the diffusion of E-commerce. Understanding key determinants for successful virtual stores will provide important theoretical and practical implications for developing E-commerce strategies. Expanding the Technology Acceptance Model and Innovation Diffusion Theory, we propose a theoretical model for studying a wide array of issues involved in E-commerce strategies. We test the model using a Web-based survey, and identify factors that have impacted acceptance of virtual store, including product offerings, information richness, usability of storefront, perceived trust and perceived service quality. We discuss the implications for research and practice on how to remain competitive in the volatile electronic marketplace.