Freshwater ecosystem services in mining regions : modelling options for policy development support

The ecosystem services (ES) approach offers an integrated perspective of social-ecological systems, suitable for holistic assessments of mining impacts. Yet for ES models to be policy-relevant, methodological consensus in mining contexts is needed. We review articles assessing ES in mining areas focusing on freshwater components and policy support potential. Twenty-six articles were analysed concerning (i) methodological complexity (data types, number of parameters, processes and ecosystem-human integration level) and (ii) potential applicability for policy development (communication of uncertainties, scenario simulation, stakeholder participation and management recommendations). Articles illustrate mining impacts on ES through valuation exercises mostly. However, the lack of ground-and surface-water measurements, as well as insufficient representation of the connectivity among soil, water and humans, leave room for improvements. Inclusion of mining-specific environmental stressors models, increasing resolution of topographies, determination of baseline ES patterns and inclusion of multi-stakeholder perspectives are advantageous for policy support. We argue that achieving more holistic assessments exhorts practitioners to aim for high social-ecological connectivity using mechanistic models where possible and using inductive methods only where necessary. Due to data constraints, cause-effect networks might be the most feasible and best solution. Thus, a policy-oriented framework is proposed, in which data science is directed to environmental modelling for analysis of mining impacts on water ES

Engineering Agent Systems for Decision Support

This paper discusses how agent technology can be applied to the design of advanced Information Systems for Decision Support. In particular, it describes the different steps and models that are necessary to engineer Decision Support Systems based on a multiagent architecture. The approach is illustrated by a case study in the traffic management domain

Human Resources Strategy: The Era of Our Ways

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss some of the main features and trends in human resources (HR) strategy. Inasmuch as people are among the most important resources available to firms, one could argue that HR strategy should be central to any debate about how firms achieve competitive advantage. But this “people are our most important asset” argument is actually fairly hollow in light of the evidence. Far too many articles on HR start with this premise, but the reality is that organizations have historically not rested their fortunes on human resources. The HR function remains among the least influential in most organizations, and competitive strategies have not typically been based on the skills, capabilities, and behaviors of employees. In fact, as Snell, Youndt and Wright (1996:62) noted, in the past executives have typically tried to “take human resources out of the strategy equation--i.e., by substituting capital for labor where possible, and by designing hierarchical organizations that separate those who think from those who actually do the work.

Integrating formal reasoning into component-based approach to reconfigurable distributed systems

Distributed computing is becoming ubiquitous in recent years in many areas, especially the scientific and industrial ones, where the processing power - even that of supercomputers - never seems to be enough. Grid systems were born out of necessity, and had to grow quickly to meet requirements which evolved over time, becoming today’s complex systems. Even the simplest distributed system nowadays is expected to have some basic functionalities, such as resources and execution management, security and optimization features, data control, etc. The complexity of Grid applications is also accentuated by their distributed nature, making them some of the most elaborate systems to date. It is often too easy that these intricate systems happen to fall in some kind of failure, it being a software bug, or plain simple human error; and if such a failure occurs, it is not always the case that the system can recover from it, possibly meaning hours of wasted computational power. In this thesis, some of the problems which are at the core of the development and mainte- nance of Grid software applications are addressed by introducing novel and solid approaches to their solution. The difficulty of Grid systems to deal with unforeseen and unexpected cir- cumstances resulting from dynamic reconfiguration can be identified. Such problems are often related to the fact that Grid applications are large, distributed and prone to resource failures. This research has produced a methodology for the solution of this problem by analysing the structure of distributed systems and their reliance on the environment which they sit upon, often overlooked when dealing with these types of scenarios. It is concluded that the way that Grid applications interact with the infrastructure is not sufficiently addressed and a novel approach is developed in which formal verification methods are integrated with distributed applications development and deployment in a way that includes the environment. This approach allows for reconfiguration scenarios in distributed applications to proceed in a safe and controlled way, as demonstrated by the development of a prototype application

Impact of organization culture on TQM implementation barriers

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This study examines the relationship between organisational culture and TQM implementation barriers to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the factors affecting TQM implementation. For TQM implementation to take root effectively, the critical role of organisational culture is widely recognised. The existence of pitfalls and obstacles (barriers) to implementing TQM is also widely recognized, as is the importance of understanding these TQM implementation barriers. Nevertheless, whilst many TQM implementation models and frameworks have been designed and proposed, no study has been located in the literature that has systematically examined the relationship between organisational culture and TQM implementation barriers. This theoretical lapse in the TQM literature necessitates an investigation of the direction and significance of the relationship which can help in devising more informed TQM implementation models. In this context, a quantitative research methodology was adopted to examine the profiles of organisational culture and of TQM implementation barriers in organisations in Bahrain and to examine the relationship between these variables. Bahrain is presently going through a rapid expansion in quality management system adoption. Accordingly, the research uses four constructs of organisational culture as independent variables and six constructs of TQM implementation barriers identified through the literature as dependent variables. A set of hypotheses was developed describing the expected relationships between these two sets of variables. The study adopted a positivist, deductive approach using an online survey questionnaire to obtain quantitative data for hypothesis testing. The research instrument was assessed for validity and reliability through structured interviews. Responses to the survey were obtained from 325 organisations located in Bahrain. Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS) version 16.0 was used to test the measurement model using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and to test the structural model using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Both models showed a very good fit to the data, with good construct validity and reliability. The findings of the study showed that group culture, which is believed to be an ‘ideal’ culture for TQM implementation helps decrease employee barriers, information barriers and customer related barriers as predicted. However group culture wasn’t found to help decrease top management barriers. Rational culture was found to decrease top management barriers as predicted but it wasn’t found to help decrease employee and customer barriers. The findings confirm the significant impact of hierarchical culture in the Bahrain context in decreasing planning and process management barriers. Developmental culture’s potential to lower employee and customer barriers was observed but was not found to be statistically significant. This research makes several contributions in both academic and practical terms. Theoretically, positioning organisational culture as an antecedent of TQM implementation barriers, this study is the first holistic approach that attempts to empirically investigate which type of organisational culture is related to which TQM implementation barriers. Understanding the nature, strength and direction of these relationships can help to inform and support future TQM implementation attempts. Practically, this research will benefit organisations who have not been able to fully realise TQM, or who are in the process of planning the introduction of TQM. The findings of the study can help Bahraini organisations to realise the long term quality objectives of the Bahrain Centre of Excellence’s Vision 2030 programme. Furthermore, the study has contributed a new empirically tested scale for measuring TQM implementation barriers - a valuable tool on its own, or in conjunction with the organisational culture profile assessment tool - for both practitioners wishing to examine their readiness for TQM or progress in creating a TQM ethos, and for future researchers wishing to extend our understanding of the influence of TQM barriers and/or culture on major organisational improvement interventions. It is expected that replication of this study in other countries and regions with different culture and context may help in developing an improved model of TQM implementation. Implications for managers and future research are advanced.Ministry of Defence, Kingdom of Bahrai

From tools to theories: The emergence of modern financial economics

It is shown that early research in modern financial economics had substantially been driven by the application of the research strategy of economics and the use of newly developed mathematical methods. For this purpose the professionalization of business education as a consequence of changes in the U.S. economy after Word War II is presented. The emergence of professional Journals in financial economics, similar to the academic culture including the trend of applying abstract mathematical reasoning and during the war developed methods like linear programming are highlighted. Also the meaning of Milton Friedman's 1953 essay The Methodology of Positive Economics for the dominance of abstract and prediction driven research in modern financial economics gets discussed. Finally, the emergence of Harry Markowitz's paper Portfolio Selection (1952) is used to substantiate the hypothesis. --history of finance,portfolio theory,business schools,modern financial economics,modelling,theories of modern financial economics,risk management,positivism,professionalization,methodology of finance