Potencialidades e desafios dos marcadores de consumo alimentar para a segurança alimentar e nutricional

The objective of this research was to evaluate the perception of health professionals, managers, and specialists who monitor the Food and Nutritional Surveillance of the Brazilian National Health System on the potential contribution of the food consumption markers form for Food and Nutritional Security (FNS) of the Brazilian population. A semi-structured online experiment was applied. Data analysis for objective questions was performed using the SPSS® software. Microsoft Excel® was used to organize the categorization of subjective questions. There were 1.032 participants in the survey, being 632 professionals, 371 managers, and 29 specialists. Of the participating professionals, 84.7% stated that it was possible to identify the origin of the food. Around 50.7% of the managers stated that they use data on nutritional status and food consumption to plan management actions. Experts suggest aspects to change consumption markers that can collaborate with the strengthening of the FNS, namely, adaptation to the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population, following the new food classification; increasing the discriminatory capacity of foods; information about the origin of the food; in addition to the inclusion of the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale. Professionals, managers, and specialists suggest the need for changes in the food consumption markers form, as they see it as a potential tool for strengthening FNS.O objetivo dessa pesquisa foi avaliar a percepção de profissionais de saúde, gestores e especialistas que atuam com a Vigilância Alimentar e Nutricional do Sistema Único de Saúde sobre a potencial contribuição do formulário de marcadores de consumo alimentar para a Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional (SAN) da população brasileira. Foi aplicado um questionário on-line semiestruturado. A análise de dados para questões objetivas foi realizada por meio do software SPSS®. O Microsoft Excel® foi utilizado para organizar a categorização das questões subjetivas. Participaram da pesquisa 1.032 respondentes, sendo 632 profissionais, 371 gestores e 29 especialistas. Dos profissionais participantes, 84,7% afirmaram que era possível identificar pelo questionário a origem dos alimentos. Cerca de 50,7% dos gestores afirmaram utilizar os dados de estado nutricional e de consumo alimentar para planejar ações da gestão. Especialistas sugeriram aspectos para alterar os marcadores de consumo que podem colaborar com o fortalecimento SAN, a saber: a adequação ao Guia Alimentar para a População Brasileira, seguindo a nova classificação de alimentos; o aumento da capacidade discriminatória dos alimentos; informação sobre a origem do alimento; e inclusão da Escala Brasileira de Insegurança Alimentar. Profissionais, gestores e especialistas sugerem a necessidade de alterações no formulário de marcadores de consumo alimentar, por visualizar nele um potencial instrumento para o fortalecimento da SAN

Business intelligence as the support of decision-making processes in e-commerce systems environment

The present state of world economy urges managers to look for new methods, which can help to start the economic growth. To achieve this goal, managers use standard as well as new procedures. The fundamental prerequisite of the efficient decision-making processes are actual and right information. Managers need to monitor past information and current actual information to generate trends of future development based on it. Managers always should define strictly what do they want to know, how do they want to see it and for what purpose do they want to use it. Only in this case they can get right information applicable to efficient decision-making. Generally, managers´ decisions should lead to make the customers´ decision-making process easier. More frequently than ever, companies use e-commerce systems for the support of their business activities. In connection with the present state and future development, cross-border online shopping growth can be expected. To support this, companies will need much better systems providing the managers adequate and sufficient information. This type of information, which is usually multidimensional, can be provided by the Business Intelligence (BI) technologies. Besides special BI systems, some of BI technologies are obtained in quite a few of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems. One of the crucial questions is whether should companies and firms buy or develop special BI software, or whether they can use BI tools contained in some ERP systems. In respect of this, there is a question if the modern ERP systems can provide the managers sufficient possibilities relating to ad-hoc reporting, static and dynamic reports and OLAP analyses. A one of the main goals of this article is to show and verify Business Intelligence tools of Microsoft Dynamics NAV for the support of decision-making in terms of the cross-border online purchasing. Pursuant to above-mentioned, in this article authors deal with problems relating to managers´ decision-making, customers´ decision-making and a support of its using the BI tools contained in ERP system Microsoft Dynamics NAV. A great deal of this article is aimed at area of multidimensional data which are the source data of e-commerce systems.Business Intelligence, decision-making, e-commerce system, cross-border online purchasing, multi-dimensional data, reporting, data visualization

Geodatabase Development to Support Hyperspectral Imagery Exploitation

Geodatabase development for coastal studies conducted by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is essential to support the exploitation of hyperspectral imagery (HSI). NRL has found that the remote sensing and mapping science community benefits from coastal classifications that group coastal types based on similar features. Selected features in project geodatabases relate to significant biological and physical forces that shape the coast. The project geodatabases help researchers understand factors that are necessary for imagery post processing, especially those features having a high degree of temporal and spatial variability. NRL project geodatabases include a hierarchy of environmental factors that extend from shallow water bottom types and beach composition to inland soil and vegetation characteristics. These geodatabases developed by NRL allow researchers to compare features among coast types. The project geodatabases may also be used to enhance littoral data archives that are sparse. This paper highlights geodatabase development for recent remote sensing experiments in barrier island, coral, and mangrove coast types

Model-based spacecraft and mission design for the evaluation of technology

In order to meet the future vision of robotic missions, engineers will face intricate mission concepts, new operational approaches, and technologies that have yet to be developed. The concept of smaller, model driven projects helps this transition by including life-cycle cost as part of the decision making process. For example, since planetary exploration missions have cost ceilings and short development periods, heritage flight hardware is utilized. However, conceptual designs that rely solely on heritage technology will result in estimates that may not be truly representative of the actual mission being designed and built. The Laboratory for Spacecraft and Mission Design (LSMD) at the California Institute of Technology is developing integrated concurrent models for mass and cost estimations. The purpose of this project is to quantify the infusion of specific technologies where the data would be useful in guiding technology developments leading up to a mission. This paper introduces the design-to-cost model to determine the implications of various technologies on the spacecraft system in a collaborative engineering environment. In addition, comparisons of the benefits of new or advanced technologies for future deep space missions are examined

Strengthening Construction Management in the Rural Rehab Line of Business

The Five Key ObservationsObservation#1: Rural rehab success emanated from positive thinking and persistent implementationObservation #2: Almost every RHRO would benefit from a substantial increase in the per unit funding available, especially in light of the forthcoming HUD HOME requirement to establish written rehab standards in ten subcategories.Observation #3: A smartphone and tablet with 20 to 40 apps is the rehab specialist's Swiss Army knife. They are our, GPS, calculator, spec writer, office lifeline in case of danger, camera, clock, cost estimator calendar and a hundred other single-purpose but very important uses.Observation #4: NeighborWorks® Rural Initiative could provide a clearinghouse for success techniques targeted to rural rehab. Each month it might focus on a specific aspect of rehab management; inspection checklists in January, green specs in February, feasibility checklist in March, contractor qualification questionnaires in April and so on.Observation #5: Even with most components of in-house contractor success formula in place, per the Statistic Research Institute 53% of construction firms go out of business with in the first 4 years. It remains a very risky model that requires significant; funding, staff experience, administrative support and risk tolerance.Three Rehab Production Models And Their AlternativesThis middle section restates the introduction and methodology and offers a detailed review of the Traditional Rehab Specialist, Construction Management Of Subcontractor and the In-House General Contractor production models .for each model the article provides: definition and staffing pattern, design roles and tasks for each major player, benefits and challenges, alternative models and finally recommendations for successful implementationFocus TopicsDuring our interview process, three ideas surfaced that were best served with a mini discussion of the topic rather than being embedded in the already large middle section.The three topics are; software and technology, management of community relations – marketing and quality control, and budget solution

MSUO Information Technology and Geographical Information Systems: Common Protocols & Procedures. Report to the Marine Safety Umbrella Operation

The Marine Safety Umbrella Operation (MSUO) facilitates the cooperation between Interreg funded Marine Safety Projects and maritime stakeholders. The main aim of MSUO is to permit efficient operation of new projects through Project Cooperation Initiatives, these include the review of the common protocols and procedures for Information Technology (IT) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). This study carried out by CSA Group and the National Centre for Geocomputation (NCG) reviews current spatial information standards in Europe and the data management methodologies associated with different marine safety projects. International best practice was reviewed based on the combined experience of spatial data research at NCG and initiatives in the US, Canada and the UK relating to marine security service information and acquisition and integration of large marine datasets for ocean management purposes. This report identifies the most appropriate international data management practices that could be adopted for future MSUO projects

The construction project manager in South Africa: Analysis of industry-specific knowledge

Construction project managers in the built environment come from various backgrounds and knowledge bases; therefore, the project managers’ project management set may differ. The type of knowledge required to improve CPD training of project managers thus needs to be determined. This would raise the knowledge levels needed for built environment project managers. The aim of this article is to determine the knowledge needed for the successful management of projects within the built environment. Industry-specific guidelines for construction project management (PMBOK and SACPCMP) were obtained and analysed. Expert interviews were conducted with experienced specialists (n=10) who held a senior managerial position within project management in the built environment. A case study and email questionnaires (n=40) were also analysed to determine the type of knowledge required. Data analysis was done using Microsoft Excel 2003®. Three areas of knowledge were identified, namely project management knowledge, industry-specific knowledge and knowledge through experience. Of these, industry-specific knowledge was considered the most important, although all three were very important. Project management knowledge areas essential to project managers included the nine PMBOK knowledge areas from the PMI PMBOK guide, 4th edition 2008, four additional PMI Construction extension to the PMBOK areas, experience as well as built environment-specific knowledge. This study was limited to the nine knowledge areas and did not include stakeholder management as the tenth area. The results from all three test methods (interviews, questionnaires and a case study) indicated that knowledge was essential for effective leadership, trust and communication within a project. Without knowledge, these organisational factors were compromised and project success could be negatively affected. It is concluded that the knowledge needed for the management of projects within the built environment had to include industry-specific knowledge pertinent to the built environment. The knowledge required does not currently appear in a single document, and it is recommended that a new document or set of required skills be established

Improving reuse of semiconductor equipment through benchmarking, standardization, and automation

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2006.Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-92).The 6D program at Intel® Corporation was set up to improve operations around capital equipment reuse, primarily in their semiconductor manufacturing facilities. The company was faced with a number of challenges, including differing work flows across multiple locations, lack of centralized work flow management, discontinuous inventory information, and other opportunities for cost reduction. The internship was set up to benchmark and explore potential for integration of best known methods, accumulated both inside and outside the company. Based on interviews, research and quantitative analysis, opportunities were identified for reuse of equipment shipping crates, improvement in warehouse inventory management, and changes in labor models to facilitate better knowledge capture and dissemination. As a result of this study Intel® Corporation may realize significant improvement in the areas mentioned in terms of cost reduction, process improvement and knowledge management. By using a flexible approach to problem identification and generating organizational interest in the improvements, recommendations were well received and should lead to eventual adoption.by Jacob Silber.S.M.M.B.A

A Changing Gulf of Maine: Investigating the Role of Benthic Water Temperature in Determining the Timing of Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias) Arrival and Departure in the Gulf of Maine

Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias) is a highly migratory elasmobranch that undergoes annual migrations along the East Coast of the United States. Spiny dogfish have been studied extensively on the West Coast, but little information currently exists on the life history of this species in the Gulf of Maine (GOM). In the last few years, commercial gillnet fishermen in the GOM have been reporting unusual catch patterns while fishing offshore, perhaps indicating an increased abundance in dogfish and an extension of the length of time that dogfish occupy the GOM in a given year. Concurrent with these changes, rising average global temperatures have led to increased ocean temperatures in the GOM, a variable that could be altering the historical movement patterns of GOM fish. These changes are likely to have important ecological impacts and implications for commercial fisheries. This project sought to investigate the relationship between benthic water temperature and the presence or absence of spiny dogfish off the coast of New Hampshire. A greater understanding of the relationship between benthic water temperature and dogfish presence could increase the efficiency of commercial gillnet fishermen targeting spiny dogfish (e.g. targeting specific areas of a certain water temperature), increase our capacity to successfully manage the dogfish fishery, and suggest ecological impacts for these changes. Utilizing vessels in the NH Gillnet fishing fleet, dogfish catch and benthic water temperature were tracked seasonally from 2014-2016 over the course of three separate phases (Phase I – 2014, Phase II – 2015, Phase IIIA/IIIB – 2016). Limited data was also collected by recreational fishermen during 2016. Results indicated a threshold of approximately 5.0˚C benthic water temperature before dogfish arrival in 2014 in late June. In 2015 and 2016, dogfish time of departure was calculated on 8/17/2015 and 8/08/2016 when benthic water temperature was 6.16˚C and 7.42˚C respectively. The similarity in date but difference in water temperature indicate potentially a potential photoperiod correlation associated with the timing of dogfish departure. Initial observations were also made concerning patterns of sex ratio associated with spiny dogfish at Jeffrey’s Ledge, perhaps indicating separate movement patterns associated with differences in age/sex. Additional data is needed to improve the foundational work presented in this pilot study