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This paper studies the role, impact, and effectiveness of geographic information technologies such as GIS. Contemporary, frameworks--such as economic evaluation, organizational context, or diffusion --deal with some aspects only. Institutionalization of geographic information technologies is proposed as a paradigm for studying the impact and effectiveness more comprehensively. It refers to the ongoing process within a group or society whereby this technology itself is becoming institutionalized and gaining a strong (normative) impact on common perceptions of spatial problems and, subsequently, on collective actions to remedy these problems. Hence, it is a paradigm that encompasses value, as well as organizational and societal issues, and links these to the level of individual behavior patterns. The paradigm therefore may provide context for economic evaluation, organizational considerations, and diffusion, as well as for other interpretative perspectives. The paper outlines the concept of institutionalization of geographic information technologies and some of its salient factors and conditions. The focus is on feedback and participatory approaches in the design, and choice and implementation of geographic information technologies; whether these are institutionalized or not. Further (empirical) research is needed to explore the practical usefulness of the concept. KEYWORDS: GIS, geographic information technologies, effectiveness, economic evaluation, organizational context, diffusion, institutionalization, paradigm, common problem perception, society, Introduction Geographic information technologies--such as geographic information systems (GIS)--have developed dramatically since the early pioneering work of Roger Tomlinson and others in the 1960s. (An overview of the state-of-the-art in [...]

Solutions obtained by soaking onion (Allium cepa L.) bulbs samples in water are frequently consumed, either directly or as part of dishes, both at home or in the food industry. However, little information is available regarding the extracted metabolites and the extraction mechanisms. In this article, the composition of raw onion extracts and of aqueous solutions where raw onion tissues were soaked was investigated directly by quantitative proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (q (1)H NMR). The assignment of NMR signals was performed, with less than 3% (in area) of unidentified peaks. Analyses of one-dimensional (1)H NMR spectra with additional two-dimensional NMR studies showed 20 regions of interest where 3 saccharides, 17 amino acids, and 5 organic acids were detected and quantified. Resonance assignment with chemical shift was done for each saccharide, as well as for each amino acid and organic acid, with additional work on spin-spin coupling pattern and on observed and not observed correlations from correlation spectroscopy studies. Quantification of saccharides was performed and qualified by works on peak decomposition algorithms. Complementary studies by high-performance liquid chromatography, mass spectroscopy and tandem mass spectroscopy, and thin layer chromatography and preparative layer chromatography were carried out in order to validate the NMR results on identification.

Although onion bulb tissues, either raw or thermally processed, are widely used as culinary ingredients in homes, in restaurants, and in the food industry, especially for sauces, little is known about the chemical constituents released from such systems. To get a straightforward and fast analysis of sugars released from onion dice soaked in model aqueous solutions, quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR) spectroscopy was applied, and the effect of a preliminary thermal processing in oil was investigated. Soaking of raw or fried onion bulb dice at room temperature was followed for 11 d as a model of long-term storage. For the Armstrong cultivar, the extracted dry matter (in milligrams per gram of fresh weight) as well as the content in 3 sugars (glucose, fructose, and sucrose) increased up to a maximum after about 48 h of soaking. Frying induces no measurable new water-soluble compounds. However, extraction kinetics are different (about 3 times faster with frying). Using additional microscopic studies, a possible extraction mechanism is proposed: compounds from sap-including sugars-would diffuse through conductive tissue channels.