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Nanoinformatics: developing new computing applications for nanomedicine

Nanoinformatics has recently emerged to address the need of computing applications at the nano level. In this regard, the authors have participated in various initiatives to identify its concepts, foundations and challenges. While nanomaterials open up the possibility for developing new devices in many industrial and scientific areas, they also offer breakthrough perspectives for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases. In this paper, we analyze the different aspects of nanoinformatics and suggest five research topics to help catalyze new research and development in the area, particularly focused on nanomedicine. We also encompass the use of informatics to further the biological and clinical applications of basic research in nanoscience and nanotechnology, and the related concept of an extended ?nanotype? to coalesce information related to nanoparticles. We suggest how nanoinformatics could accelerate developments in nanomedicine, similarly to what happened with the Human Genome and other -omics projects, on issues like exchanging modeling and simulation methods and tools, linking toxicity information to clinical and personal databases or developing new approaches for scientific ontologies, among many others

Certification Systems as Tools for Natural Asset Building: Potential, Experiences to Date, and Critical Challenges

Certification systems are becoming important tools to encourage and reward social and environmental responsibility. This paper explores whether these systems, which generally have not been designed for the explicit aim of poverty reduction, can assist poor people, either individually or in community-based and small-to-medium production units, to build their natural assets as a basis for sustainable livelihoods. The paper examines two leading certification systems -- the Forest Stewardship Council(TM); and the Fair Trade Certified(TM); system -- and emerging systems in tourism and mining. The results to date have been mixed. In the forestry sector, poverty reduction benefits of certification have been modest relative to its environmental benefits. In the agricultural commodity trade, where certification systems have been designed with a stronger focus on reducing poverty, the benefits have been greater. The long-term challenge is to ensure that the rapid global uptake and 'mainstreaming' of certification systems does not create new hurdles for low-income individuals and communities

Corporate Social Responsibility in the Diamond Mining Industry on the West Coast of South Africa

the study was aimed at seeing how communities benefit from minin

Applied business analytics approach to IT projects – Methodological framework

The design and implementation of a big data project differs from a typical business intelligence project that might be presented concurrently within the same organization. A big data initiative typically triggers a large scale IT project that is expected to deliver the desired outcomes. The industry has identified two major methodologies for running a data centric project, in particular SEMMA (Sample, Explore, Modify, Model and Assess) and CRISP-DM (Cross Industry Standard Process for Data Mining). More general, the professional organizations PMI (Project Management Institute) and IIBA (International Institute of Business Analysis) have defined their methods for project management and business analysis based on the best current industry practices. However, big data projects place new challenges that are not considered by the existing methodologies. The building of end-to-end big data analytical solution for optimization of the supply chain, pricing and promotion, product launch, shop potential and customer value is facing both business and technical challenges. The most common business challenges are unclear and/or poorly defined business cases; irrelevant data; poor data quality; overlooked data granularity; improper contextualization of data; unprepared or bad prepared data; non-meaningful results; lack of skill set. Some of the technical challenges are related to lag of resources and technology limitations; availability of data sources; storage difficulties; security issues; performance problems; little flexibility; and ineffective DevOps. This paper discusses an applied business analytics approach to IT projects and addresses the above-described aspects. The authors present their work on research and development of new methodological framework and analytical instruments applicable in both business endeavors, and educational initiatives, targeting big data. The proposed framework is based on proprietary methodology and advanced analytics tools. It is focused on the development and the implementation of practical solutions for project managers, business analysts, IT practitioners and Business/Data Analytics students. Under discussion are also the necessary skills and knowledge for the successful big data business analyst, and some of the main organizational and operational aspects of the big data projects, including the continuous model deployment

Corporate Influence in the Post-2015 Process

This working paper examines the role and influence of business actors in the process towards the Post-2015 agenda of the UN, with particular attention to the influence of large transnational corporations. The business sector certainly has an important role to play in the implementation process of the Post-2015 agenda, as sustainable development will require large-scale changes in business practices. Some pioneering companies are already on the path towards sustainable development solutions (for instance in the area of renewable energies). However, acknowledging corporations' role must not mean giving them undue influence on policymaking and ignoring their responsibility in creating and exacerbating many of the problems that the Post-2015 agenda is supposed to tackle.This working paper starts with a brief overview of the current process towards the Post-2015 agenda and assesses its political relevance. The second part maps out the key business players involved in various processes surrounding the post-2015 consultations. The third part of the paper analyzes the key messages and policy recommendations of business actors in the post-2015 process. The fourth part explores the problems, risks and side-effects of the corporate influence on the Post-2015 agenda. They relate, on the one hand, to the key messages, on the other hand to the promoted governance models. The final part draws some conclusions, provides policy recommendations for the UN, member states, civil society and academia, and highlights potential paths for future research and policy work