Enterprise Data Mining & Machine Learning Framework on Cloud Computing for Investment Platforms

Machine Learning and Data Mining are two key components in decision making systems which can provide valuable in-sights quickly into huge data set. Turning raw data into meaningful information and converting it into actionable tasks makes organizations profitable and sustain immense competition. In the past decade we saw an increase in Data Mining algorithms and tools for financial market analysis, consumer products, manufacturing, insurance industry, social networks, scientific discoveries and warehousing. With vast amount of data available for analysis, the traditional tools and techniques are outdated for data analysis and decision support. Organizations are investing considerable amount of resources in the area of Data Mining Frameworks in order to emerge as market leaders. Machine Learning is a natural evolution of Data Mining. The existing Machine Learning techniques rely heavily on the underlying Data Mining techniques in which the Patterns Recognition is an essential component. Building an efficient Data Mining Framework is expensive and usually culminates in multi-year project for the organizations. The organization pay a heavy price for any delay or inefficient Data Mining foundation. In this research, we propose to build a cost effective and efficient Data Mining (DM) and Machine Learning (ML) Framework on cloud computing environment to solve the inherent limitations in the existing design methodologies. The elasticity of the cloud architecture solves the hardware constraint on businesses. Our research is focused on refining and enhancing the current Data Mining frameworks to build an enterprise data mining and machine learning framework. Our initial studies and techniques produced very promising results by reducing the existing build time considerably. Our technique of dividing the DM and ML Frameworks into several individual components (5 sub components) which can be reused at several phases of the final enterprise build is efficient and saves operational costs to the organization. Effective Aggregation using selective cuboids and parallel computations using Azure Cloud Services are few of many proposed techniques in our research. Our research produced a nimble, scalable portable architecture for enterprise wide implementation of DM and ML frameworks

Toward an understanding of youth in community governance: Policy priorities and research directions

For more than a decade, many researchers and practitioners have endorsed a “positive youth development” approach, which views adolescents as active contributors to their own development and as assets to their communities. As part of this shift, youth are increasingly being invited to engage in community governance. In youth organizations, schools, community organizations, and public policy arenas, youth are making strong contributions to advisory boards and planning councils, and are integrally involved in key day-to-day functions such as program design, budgeting, outreach, public relations, training, and evaluation. State and local policy-makers are also beginning to endorse the engagement of youth in community governance. This policy endorsement, however, has largely occurred independent of scholarship on adolescent development. In this Social Policy Report, our aim is to help bridge this gap. We discuss the cultural context for youth engagement, theoretical rationales and innovative models, empirical evidence, and priorities for policy and research. Why involve youth in community governance? Three main theoretical rationales have been established: Ensuring social justice and youth representation, building civil society, and promoting youth development. Moreover, across the country, innovative models demonstrate that the theory can be effectively translated into policy. Finally, a strong research base supports the practice. When youth are engaged in meaningful decision-making – in families, schools, and youth organizations – research finds clear and consistent developmental benefits for the young people. An emerging body of research shows that organizations and communities also derive benefits when youth are engaged in governance. Several directions need to be pursued for youth engagement to exert a maximum positive impact on young people and their communities. We recommend three areas for policy development. First, public awareness of the practice needs to be better established. Societal expectations for youth remain low and negative stereotypes remain entrenched in the mass media. Second, more stable funding is needed for youth engagement. It will be especially critical to support community-based youth organizations because these places are likely to remain the primary catalysts for youth engagement in the civic life of communities. Third, it is necessary to build local capacity by supporting outreach and training through cross-sector community coalitions and independent, nonprofit intermediary organizations. These entities are best positioned to convince stakeholder groups to chart, implement, and sustain youth engagement. It is equally important to broaden the scientific context for youth engagement in community governance. Priorities for scholars are to focus research on understanding: the organizational and community outcomes that emanate from engaging youth in governance; the competencies that youth bring to governance; and how the practice of youth engagement can be sustained by communities

Keys to Effective Development in South Africa

One out of four of the world’s population lives in absolute poverty. Twenty percent of these poor live in sub-Saharan Africa. Seventy percent of the absolute poor live in rural areas (Mikos 2001). These statistics paint a picture of a world in tremendous need of development. South Africa is no stranger to this development crisis. Approximately fifty percent of the country’s population lives in poverty, unemployment rates are 26.6 percent and HIV/AIDS is the cause of an estimated 1,000 deaths per day (USAID 2006). This paper focuses on development solutions, investigating whether or not participatory development approaches are effective strategies and identifying the strengths and weaknesses as well as the methods implemented by organizations using these tactics. The creation and evolution of development theory is first discussed as well as the current thinking and ideas on development paradigms. After a detailed analysis of development theory, I place South Africa in context, explaining the country’s development strategies post-1994 and showing how they have transformed throughout the first decade of democracy. I then focus on a rural development NGO in Cape Town, the Social Change Assistance Trust (SCAT), using it as a case study to critique the implementation of a participatory approach to rural development. Finally, using this case study (in the context of the South Africa), I identify successes and challenges associated with the implementation these methods. With these objectives in mind, I hope to answer my research questions and discover effective development strategies. SCAT’s mission is to: “improve the quality of life of people living in rural communities with the aim of them living in a vibrant and sustainable environment” (SCAT Strat 2007). To do this it uses four strategies: institution building, capacity building, mobilizing resources, and developing intellectual capital. SCAT partners with over 50 local development agencies (LDAs) across South Africa in isolated rural communities, working in conjunction to realize sustainable progress. SCAT’s tactics include: grantmaking, fieldwork, and the process of becoming a learning organization, each of which is instrumental in its success. By listening, linking, and learning, SCAT, and other organizations like it, can transform the process of rural development in South Africa and together create lasting and effective change

Employee work passion: A theoretical review

Treball Final de Màster Universitari en Direcció d'Empreses / Master in Management. Codi: SRO011. Curs acadèmic 2017-2018Passion for work is defined as a strong inclination toward a work that one loves, find important, that is self defining, and individuals invest significant amount of time and energy. It is conceptualized as a persistent state of desire based on cognitive and affective evaluations of one’s job. According to dualistic model there are two types of passion, harmonious and obsessive passion. Work passion is a concept relatively new and has started to receive increasing attention from management scholars in the last decade. As a result this paper aims to review the definition of passion for work, identifying the main factors predictors and outcomes of passion for work. The reviewed show that the two types of passion leads to very different outcomes. There is very little research has addressed to the issues about the factors that leads to the development of a harmonious passion (Forest et al., 2012). For that reason, at the end of this study it is suggested how to improve harmonious passion in organizations based on the growth and use of personal signature of strengths that match with an attractive job design with greater autonomy, building a culture of belongingness and development and finally creating a meaningful work, this will improve employee well-being and organizational performance

Rockefeller Brothers Fund Charles E. Culpeper Arts and Culture Grants Impact Assessment

Fulfilling the assignment received from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF), NEXT: Transition Advisors and AKA|Strategy present their review of the RBF's Charles E. Culpeper Arts and Culture Grants. After 11 years of funding arts and culture in New York City, the Culpeper grants were ready for review, according to the assessment protocol established by the RBF for all its program areas. NEXT and AKA, which specialize in transition and strategy studies for nonprofit institutions, present this review with respect for the RBF, its accomplishments, and its dedication over time to support of the nonprofit sector, including arts and culture. The review aims to situate and evaluate the activities of the Culpeper grants within the RBF's overall portfolio and within its field, and to bring to the surface questions and significant issues that should be addressed at its decade mark

Advocacy, Politics, & Philanthropy

Over the course of our history, Atlantic has made some big bets designed to help solve major social issues. Needless to say, our 11-year, $70 million initiative to reform America's immigration system certainly ranks among the biggest of such bets. Among the factors leading to our decision to take on this challenging work was our deep concern that millions of immigrants to the United States have been without access to basic rights accorded by law or common practice to the majority of Americans. As a result of a broken immigration system, far too many individuals and families have been left vulnerable to a wide range of discrimination and abuse in the workplace, in housing and in healthcare settings, among others. Undocumented immigrants increasingly face growing social marginalization and hostility from those whose ancestors arrived on our shores in earlier times. At the time we started this work, as far back as 2004, we also firmly believed there was a willingness at the federal level and in the United States Congress to find a workable solution

Final Report of the Experts Committee for Human Research Participant Protection in Canada

The Experts Committee for Human Research Participant Protection in Canada presents herewith its final report and recommendations concerning the development of a new comprehensive system in Canada. The final report is the product of some twenty months work. Beginning in September, 2006 and ending February, 2007 the Committee held monthly face-to-face meetings which it supplemented by conference calls and the circulation of draft texts by various members. During the course of its work, the Committee assessed the concerns that had been raised about the existing Canadian governance arrangements and then examined alternative models that might serve to deal effectively with these concerns. It also arranged to receive briefings from a number of organizations with relevant experience and expertise in its field, including the National Council on Ethics in Human Research (NCEHR), the Interagency Advisory Panel on Research Ethics (PRE), the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP), and the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC). The approach used by the Committee was to build on much work (analysis, consultations and consensus-building) that had been done over the preceding decade, particularly by NCEHR and PRE. Under the auspices of the Sponsors’ Table, a four month public consultation process was conducted. This process received 104 submissions totaling over 600 pages of comments. The Committee took seriously these comments as is evident in the changes in the final report. The Committee’s objective in developing its proposals was to achieve, not perfection, but workability. In our view, the most important thing at this stage is to put in place the best set of measures that can be devised and then let them evolve in the light of experience. The Committee’s conclusions and recommendations are set out in this report. The comprehensive system and organization that it proposes would, in the Committee’s judgment, provide the most effective way of enhancing the protection of human research participants in Canada

Helping People and Places Move Out of Poverty: Progress and Learning 2010

Presents a mid-course review of a ten-year program to help the poor build economic security in the Southeast. Examines impact, lessons learned, factors that facilitated or impeded progress, how resources were leveraged, changing contexts, and next steps

Honoring, Training, and Building a Statewide Network of Elder Activists: The California Senior Leaders Program (2002-2012)

This case study explores the first decade (2002-2012) of the California Senior Leaders Program (CSLP), including participants' creation of a formal advocacy group, the California Senior Leaders Alliance. Grounded in concerns with ageism and invisibility, the CSLP provides recognition and support for diverse California elders engaged in community building and social justice work. This study employs qualitative analysis of data from participant interviews, event evaluations, program documents, video footage, and participant observation. Findings show emotional, learning, and networking benefits for participants, intergenerational influences, collective capacity and coalition building, and contributions to policy. Program challenges are described, and future directions discussed. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

A Decade of Helping Civil Society Fight Corruption in the Philippines: Results and Lessons

This Report details the results and lessons of a decade long (2003-2013) Partnership for Transparency Fund (www.ptfund.org) support to Filipino civil society organizations to fight corruption. It celebrates the successes and reflects on challenges faced as PTF enters a new phase in its partnership. In 2014 PTF established a regional affiliate called PTF Asia as a foundation headquartered in Manila. As efforts worldwide and in the Philippines have evolved during these ten years, the discussion in this Report offers lessons in going forward towards this new phase as well as initiatives beyond the Philippine