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Conservation easements are one of the primary tools for conserving biodiversity on private land. Despite their increasing use, little quantitative data are available on what species and habitats conservation easements aim to protect, how much structural development they allow, or what types of land use they commonly permit. To address these knowledge gaps, we surveyed staff responsible for 119 conservation easements established by the largest nonprofit easement holder, The Nature Conservancy, between 1985 and 2004. Most easements (80%) aimed to provide core habitat to protect species or communities on-site, and nearly all were designed to reduce development. Conservation easements also allowed for a wide range of private uses, which may result in additional fragmentation and habitat disturbance. Some residential or commercial use, new structures, or subdivision of the property were permitted on 85% of sampled conservation easements. Over half (56%) allowed some additional buildings, of which 60% restricted structure size or building area. Working landscape easements with ranching, forestry, or farming made up nearly half (46%) of the easement properties sampled and were more likely than easements without these uses to be designated as buffers to enhance biodiversity in the surrounding area. Our results demonstrate the need for clear restrictions on building and subdivision in easements, research on the compatibility of private uses on easement land, and greater public understanding of the trade-offs implicit in the use of conservation easements for biodiversity conservation.

Abstract Today, groundwater is the source of about one third of global water withdrawals and provides drinking water for a large portion of the global population. In many regions it is subject to stress with respect to both quantity and quality. Hence, it is of utmost importance to improve our knowledge about the impacts of climate change on groundwater. Climate change will affect groundwater recharge, i.e. long-term average renewable groundwater resources, via increases in mean temperature, precipitation variability and sea level, as well as via changes in mean precipitation (increasing in some areas and decreasing in others). Over many areas groundwater recharge is projected to increase in the warming world (though less than river runoff), but many semi-arid areas that suffer from water stress already may face decreased groundwater recharge. The sea level rise that is likely to occur during the 21st century might leave many flat coral islands without a reliable groundwater source. However, in coastal areas with a land surface elevation of a few metres or more, groundwater availability is more strongly impacted by changes in groundwater recharge than sea-level rise. Under climate change, reliable surface water supply is likely to decrease due to increased temporal variations of river flow that are caused by increased precipitation variability and decreased snow/ice storage. Under these circumstances, it might be beneficial to take advantage of the storage capacity of groundwater and increase groundwater withdrawals. However, this option is only sustainable where groundwater withdrawals remain well below groundwater recharge. Groundwater is not likely to ease freshwater stress in those areas where climate change is projected to decrease groundwater recharge (e.g. Northeast Brazil and the Mediterranean basin).

This paper presents the findings of two studies that replicate previous work by Fred Davis on the subject of perceived usefulness, ease of use, and usage of information technology. The two studies focus on evaluating the psychometric properties of the ease of use and usefulness scales, while examining the relationship between ease of use, usefulness, and system usage. Study 1 provides a strong assessment of the convergent validity of the two scales by examining heterogeneous user groups dealing with heterogeneous implementations of messaging technology. In addition, because one might expect users to share similar perspectives about voice and electronic mail, the study also represents a strong test of discriminant validity. In this study a total of 118 respondents from 10 different organizations were surveyed for their attitudes toward two messaging technologies: voice and electronic mail. Study 2 complements the approach taken in Study 1 by focusing on the ability to demonstrate discriminant validity. Three popular software applications (WordPerfect, Lotus 1-2-3, and Harvard Graphics) were examined based on the expectation that they would all be rated highly on both scales. In this study a total of 73 users rated the three packages in terms of ease of use and usefulness. The results of the studies demonstrate reliable and valid scales for measurement of perceived ease of use and usefulness. In addition, the paper tests the relationships between ease of use, usefulness, and usage using structural equation modelling. The results of this model are consistent with previous research for Study 1, suggesting that usefulness is an important determinant of system use. For Study 2 the results are somewhat mixed, but indicate the importance of both ease of use and usefulness. Differences in conditions of usage are explored to explain these findings.

Valid measurement scales for predicting user acceptance of computers are in short supply. Most subjective measures used in practice are unvalidated, and their relationship to system usage is unknown. The present research develops and validates new scales for two specific variables, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, which are hypothesized to be fundamental determinants of user acceptance. Definitions for these two variables were used to develop scale items that were pretested for content validity and then tested for reliability and construct validity in two studies involving a total of 152 users and four application programs. The measures were refined and streamlined, resulting in two six-item scales with reliabilities of .98 for usefulness and .94 for ease of use. The scales exhibited high convergent, discriminant, and factorial validity. Perceived usefulness was significantly correlated with both self-reported current usage (r=.63, Study 1) and self-predicted future usage (r=.85, Study 2). Perceived ease of use was also significantly correlated with current usage (r=.45, Study 1) and future usage (r=.59, Study 2). In both studies, usefulness had a significantly greater correlation with usage behavior than did ease of use. Regression analyses suggest that perceived ease of use may actually be a causal antecedent to perceived usefulness, as opposed to a parallel, direct determinant of system usage. Implications are drawn for future research on user acceptance.

The technology acceptance model (Davis 1989) is one of the most widely used models of IT adoption. According to TAM, IT adoption is influenced by two perceptions: usefulness and ease-of-use. Research has shown that perceived usefulness (PU) affects intended adoption of IT, but has mostly failed to do so regarding perceived ease of use (PEOU). The basic proposition of this study is that this varying importance of PEOU may be related to the nature of the task. PEOU relates to assessments of the intrinsic characteristics of IT, such as the ease of use, ease of learning, flexibility, and clarity of its interface. PU, on the other hand, is a response to user assessment of its extrinsic, i.e., task-oriented, outcomes: how IT helps users achieve task-related objectives, such as task efficiency and effectiveness. Accordingly, the study theorizes that PEOU directly affects IT adoption only when the primary task for which the IT is deployed is directly associated with intrinsic IT characteristics, such as when the task itself is an integral part of an IT interface. Extending this proposition to e-commerce, it was hypothesized that when a Web site is used to purchase products, PEOU would not affect IT adoption because IT ease-of-use is not an inherent quality of the purchased product. On the other hand, when the Web site is used to inquire about products, PEOU should affect IT adoption because the required information is embedded in the IT and thus its quality is directly related to IT ease-of-use. Data collected from 217 subjects in a free simulation experiment support these hypotheses. Implications for future Web development and theoretical refinements are discussed.

Much previous research has established that perceived ease of use is an important factor influencing user acceptance and usage behavior of information technologies. However, very little research has been conducted to understand how that perception forms and changes over time. The current work presents and tests an anchoring and adjustment-based theoretical model of the determinants of system-specific perceived ease of use. The model proposes control (internal and external—conceptualized as computer self-efficacy and facilitating conditions, respectively), intrinsic motivation (conceptualized as computer playfulness), and emotion (conceptualized as computer anxiety) as anchors that determine early perceptions about the ease of use of a new system. With increasing experience, it is expected that system-specific perceived ease of use, while still anchored to the general beliefs regarding computers and computer use, will adjust to reflect objective usability, perceptions of external control specific to the new system environment, and system-specific perceived enjoyment. The proposed model was tested in three different organizations among 246 employees using three measurements taken over a three-month period. The proposed model was strongly supported at all points of measurement, and explained up to 60% of the variance in system-specific perceived ease of use, which is twice as much as our current understanding. Important theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has been widely used to predict user acceptance and use based on perceived ease of use and usefulness. However, in order to design effective training interventions to improve user acceptance, it is necessary to better understand the antecedents and determinants of key acceptance constructs. In this research, we focus on understanding the determinants of perceived ease of use. Data from three experiments spanning 108 subjects and six different systems supported our hypothesis that an individual's perception of a particular system's ease of use is anchored to her or his general computer self-efficacy at all times, and objective usability has an impact on ease of use perceptions about a specific system only after direct experience with the system. In addition to being an important research issue in user acceptance research, understanding antecedents of perceived ease of use is also important from a practical standpoint since several systems in which millions of dollars are invested are rejected because of poor user interfaces. Moreover, the actual underlying problem might be low computer self-efficacy of the target user group. In such cases, training interventions aimed at improving computer self-efficacy of users may be more effective than improved interface design for increasing user acceptance.

Defined in the early 1990s for use with gridded satellite passive microwave data, the Equal-Area Scalable Earth Grid (EASE-Grid) was quickly adopted and used for distribution of a variety of satellite and in situ data sets. Conceptually easy to understand, EASE-Grid suffers from limitations that make it impossible to format in the widely popular GeoTIFF convention without reprojection. Importing EASE-Grid data into standard mapping software packages is nontrivial and error-prone. This article defines a standard for an improved EASE-Grid 2.0 definition, addressing how the changes rectify issues with the original grid definition. Data distributed using the EASE-Grid 2.0 standard will be easier for users to import into standard software packages and will minimize common reprojection errors that users had encountered with the original EASE-Grid definition.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the safety and efficacy of empagliflozin 10- and 25-mg doses plus a unique lower dose (2.5 mg) as adjunct to intensified insulin in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The EASE (Empagliflozin as Adjunctive to inSulin thErapy) program (N = 1,707) included two double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trials: EASE-2 with empagliflozin 10 mg (n = 243), 25 mg (n = 244), and placebo (n = 243), 52-week treatment; and EASE-3 with empagliflozin 2.5 mg (n = 241), 10 mg (n = 248), 25 mg (n = 245), and placebo (n = 241), 26-week treatment. Together they evaluated empagliflozin 10 mg and 25 mg, doses currently approved in treatment of type 2 diabetes, and additionally 2.5 mg on 26-week change in glycated hemoglobin (primary end point) and weight, glucose time-in-range (>70 to ≤180 mg/dL), insulin dose, blood pressure, and hypoglycemia. RESULTS The observed largest mean placebo-subtracted glycated hemoglobin reductions were −0.28% (95% CI −0.42, −0.15) for 2.5 mg, −0.54% (−0.65, −0.42) for 10 mg, and −0.53% (−0.65, −0.42) for 25 mg (all P < 0.0001). Empagliflozin 2.5/10/25 mg doses, respectively, reduced mean weight by −1.8/−3.0/−3.4 kg (all P < 0.0001); increased glucose time-in-range by +1.0/+2.9/+3.1 h/day (P < 0.0001 for 10 and 25 mg); lowered total daily insulin dose by −6.4/−13.3/−12.7% (all P < 0.0001); and decreased systolic blood pressure by −2.1/−3.9/−3.7 mmHg (all P < 0.05). Genital infections occurred more frequently on empagliflozin. Adjudicated diabetic ketoacidosis occurred more with empagliflozin 10 mg (4.3%) and 25 mg (3.3%) but was comparable between empagliflozin 2.5 mg (0.8%) and placebo (1.2%). Severe hypoglycemia was rare and frequency was similar between empagliflozin and placebo. CONCLUSIONS Empagliflozin improved glycemic control and weight in T1D without increasing hypoglycemia. Ketoacidosis rate was comparable between empagliflozin 2.5 mg and placebo but increased with 10 mg and 25 mg. Ketone monitoring for early ketoacidosis detection and intervention and lower empagliflozin doses may help to reduce this risk.

Abstract: Land trusts, partnered with government agencies or acting alone, are working to conserve habitat, open space, and working landscapes on private land. Spending both public and private funds, such institutions frequently acquire less than full title by purchasing or accepting donations of conservation easements. These title and organizational arrangements are evolving so fast that it is difficult to assess their conservation accomplishments and long‐term viability. To understand the contribution of these arrangements to the preservation and restoration of biodiversity, conservation biologists need to identify the biological resources likely to be conserved and those likely to be left unprotected through easements held by land trusts. We describe land trusts and conservation easements and why they are currently an attractive approach to land protection. Our review of the literature showed that little information is available on (1) the resulting pattern of protected lands and resources being conserved, (2) the emerging institutions that hold conservation easements and the landowners they work with, and (3) the distribution of costs and benefits of land trusts and easements to communities and the general public. The prescriptive literature on how to establish land trusts and negotiate easements is extensive. However, easily available information on protected resources is too aggregated to determine what is actually being conserved, and more detailed data is widely scattered and hence difficult to synthesize. The social science literature provides some insight into the motives of landowners who participate but offers little about the variety of institutions or which type of institution works best in particular ecological and political settings. Equally undeveloped is our understanding of the inherent tension between the public and private benefits of this widely used incentive‐based conservation strategy. Interdisciplinary research is needed to determine the ecological and social consequences of acquiring partial interest in private land for conservation purposes.

Circular economy strategies encourage, among others, concrete actions to extend the product lifetime. Product's repair and reuse, and component harvesting for reuse, all require the facilitated access to product components. Consequently, a reduction of the disassembly time and the related costs will increase the economic feasibility of product lifetime extension and therefore increase the viability of a circular economy in industrialised regions. Furthermore, disassembly has the potential to significantly increase the recycling yield and purity for precious metals, critical metals and plastics. For this reason, the European Commission and several ecolabels have considered to include design for disassembly requirements in legislation or voluntary environmental instruments. However, up to date, there is no standardised method to evaluate the ease of disassembly in an unambiguous manner with a good trade-off between the efforts required to apply the method and the accuracy of the determined disassembly time. The article proposes a robust method "eDiM" (ease of Disassembly Metric), to calculate the disassembly time based on the Maynard operation sequence technique (MOST). A straightforward calculation sheet is employed in eDiM to calculate the disassembly time given the sequence of actions and basic product information. This makes the results fully verifiable in an unambiguous manner, which makes eDiM suited to be used in policy measures in contrast to the results of prior developed methods One of the innovative aspects of eDiM is the categorization of disassembly tasks in six categories, which provides better insights on which disassembly tasks are the most time consuming and how the product design could be improved. The proposed method is illustrated by means of a case study of an LCD monitor. The presented case study demonstrates how the proposed method can be used in a policy context and how the calculated disassembly times per category can provide insights to manufacturers to improve the disassemblability of their products. The results also demonstrate how the proposed method can produce realistic results with only limited detail of input data.

EASE is a customizable software application for rapid biological interpretation of gene lists that result from the analysis of microarray, proteomics, SAGE and other high-throughput genomic data. The biological themes returned by EASE recapitulate manually determined themes in previously published gene lists and are robust to varying methods of normalization, intensity calculation and statistical selection of genes. EASE is a powerful tool for rapidly converting the results of functional genomics studies from 'genes' to 'themes'.

Recently, Adams, et al. (1992) presented the results of two studies designed to replicate previous work by Fred Davis (1989) regarding perceived usefulness, ease of use, and their influence on the usage of information technology. Specifically, these authors sought to: (1) evaluate the psychometric properties of the ease of use and usefulness scales, and (2) empirically examine the relationship between the constructs (or traits) of usefulness, ease of use, and reported levels of usage.

ABSTRACT As key components of Davis's technology acceptance model (TAM), the perceived usefulness and perceived ease‐of‐use instruments are widely accepted among the MIS research community as tools for evaluating information system applications and predicting usage. Despite this wide acceptance, a series of incremental cross‐validation studies have produced conflicting and equivocal results that do not provide guidance for researchers or practitioners who might use the TAM for decision making. Using a sample of 902 “initial exposure” responses, this research conducts: (1) a confirmatory factor analysis to assess the validity and reliability of the original instruments proposed by Davis, and (2) a multigroup invariance analysis to assess the equivalence of these instruments across subgroups based on type of application, experience with computing, and gender. In contrast to the mixed results of prior cross‐validation efforts, the results of this confirmatory study provide strong support for the validity and reliability of Davis's sixitem perceived usefulness and six‐item ease‐of‐use instruments. The multigroup invariance analysis suggests the usefulness and ease‐of‐use instruments have invariant true scores across most, but not all, subgroups. With notable exemptions for word processing applications and users with no prior computing experience, this research provides evidence that the item‐factor loadings (true scores) are invariant across spread sheet, database, and graphic applications. The implications of the results for managerial decision making are discussed.

Abstract This paper presents the results of a replication of construct measurement of perceived usefulness and ease of use. This replication extends the work of recent research which examined these constructs through structural equation modeling. This research uses a new data set for two different technologies in conducting the replication of the construct measurement. The results of the construct measurement for perceived usefulness and ease of use in this research are quite consistent with the results reported in recent research with minor variations. Perceived usefulness, and not ease of use, is a determinant of predicted future usage.

This research examines electronic commerce participation and attitudes by older Americans. Questionnaires were distributed at a large retirement community and several senior centers located in Pennsylvania. The sample of 110 respondents ranged in age from 52 to 87. Fifty nine percent reported purchasing an item online in the last six months. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used and modified to examine the impact attitudes concerning ease of use, usefulness and trust had on electronic commerce usage. Usefulness and trust were found to have a positive, direct affect on usage. Ease of use had significant impacts on usefulness and trust had a significant impact on both ease of use and usefulness. The paper concludes with a discussion of these results, study limitations and directions for future research.

The 'malnutrition universal screening tool' ('MUST') for adults has been developed for all health care settings and patient groups, but ease of use and agreement with other published tools when screening to identify malnutrition requires investigation. The present study assessed the agreement and the prevalence of malnutrition risk between 'MUST' and a variety of other tools in the same patients and compared the ease of using these tools. Groups of patients were consecutively screened using 'MUST' and: (1) MEREC Bulletin (MEREC) and Hickson and Hill (HH) tools (fifty gastroenterology outpatients); (2) nutrition risk score (NRS) and malnutrition screening tool (MST; seventy-five medical inpatients); (3) short-form mini nutritional assessment (MNA-tool; eighty-six elderly and eighty-five surgical inpatients); (4) subjective global assessment (SGA; fifty medical inpatients); (5) Doyle undernutrition risk score (URS; fifty-two surgical inpatients). Using 'MUST', the prevalence of malnutrition risk ranged from 19-60% in inpatients and 30% in outpatients. 'MUST' had 'excellent' agreement (kappa 0.775-0.893) with MEREC, NRS and SGA tools, 'fair-good' agreement (kappa 0.551-0.711) with HH, MST and MNA-tool tools and 'poor' agreement with the URS tool (kappa 0.255). When categorisation of malnutrition risk differed between tools, it did not do so systematically, except between 'MUST' and MNA-tool (P=0.0005) and URS (P=0.039). 'MUST' and MST were the easiest, quickest tools to complete (3-5 min). The present investigation suggested a high prevalence of malnutrition in hospital inpatients and outpatients (19-60% with 'MUST') and 'fair-good' to 'excellent' agreement beyond chance between 'MUST' and most other tools studied. 'MUST' was quick and easy to use in these patient groups.

Review Articles| October 06 2005 EASE: Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience Subject Area: Psychiatry and Psychology Josef Parnas; Josef Parnas aDepartment of Psychiatry, Hvidovre Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; dDanish National Research Foundation, Center for Subjectivity Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Paul Møller; Paul Møller bUnit for Mental Health Research and Development, Division of Psychiatry, Buskerud Hospital, Lier, Norway; Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Tilo Kircher; Tilo Kircher cDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Aachen, Aachen, Germany; Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Jørgen Thalbitzer; Jørgen Thalbitzer aDepartment of Psychiatry, Hvidovre Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Lennart Jansson; Lennart Jansson aDepartment of Psychiatry, Hvidovre Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Peter Handest; Peter Handest aDepartment of Psychiatry, Hvidovre Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Dan Zahavi Dan Zahavi dDanish National Research Foundation, Center for Subjectivity Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Psychopathology (2005) 38 (5): 236–258. https://doi.org/10.1159/000088441 Article history Received: January 12 2005 Accepted: April 26 2005 Published Online: October 06 2005 Content Tools Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Josef Parnas, Paul Møller, Tilo Kircher, Jørgen Thalbitzer, Lennart Jansson, Peter Handest, Dan Zahavi; EASE: Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience. Psychopathology 1 October 2005; 38 (5): 236–258. https://doi.org/10.1159/000088441 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll JournalsPsychopathology Search Advanced Search Article PDF first page preview Close Modal This content is only available via PDF. 2005Copyright / Drug Dosage / DisclaimerCopyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated into other languages, reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, microcopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.Drug Dosage: The authors and the publisher have exerted every effort to ensure that drug selection and dosage set forth in this text are in accord with current recommendations and practice at the time of publication. However, in view of ongoing research, changes in government regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and drug reactions, the reader is urged to check the package insert for each drug for any changes in indications and dosage and for added warnings and precautions. This is particularly important when the recommended agent is a new and/or infrequently employed drug.Disclaimer: The statements, opinions and data contained in this publication are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publishers and the editor(s). The appearance of advertisements or/and product references in the publication is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval of the products or services advertised or of their effectiveness, quality or safety. The publisher and the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content or advertisements. You do not currently have access to this content.

Three readability formulas were recalculated to be more suitable for Navy use. The three formulas are the Automated Readability Index (ARI), Fog Count, and Flesch Reading Ease Formula. They were derived from test results of 531 Navy enlisted personnel enrolled in four technical training schools at two Navy bases: Naval Air Station at Memphis, and Great Lakes Navy Training Center. Personnel were tested for their reading comprehension level according to the comprehension section of the Gates-McGinitie reading test. At the same time, they were tested for their comprehension of 18 passages taken from Rate Training Manuals.