User participation during the implementation of software packages

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce.User participation is widely regarded as being important in the development of systems. Research has largely focused on describing participation in the context of traditional systems environments, such as transaction processing, management information and decision support. Very little research has concentrated on the implementation of software packages. The implementation of packaged software, as an alternative to traditional software development, has 'become increasingly popular and further research into this specific area could provide valuable insights into the user participation construct. [Abbreviated Abstract. Open document to view full version]AC201

Natura 2000 derogation procedure under the Habitats Directive: options for improvement

https://www.ester.ee/record=b544920

Organic Farming Research in the EU, towards 21st Century

Contents - Executive Summary - Research in Organic Farming in the EU - Review of Crop Production and weed Control: State of Arts and Outlook - Soil Fertility in Organic Farming - Review of Animal Health and Welfare - Review of Grassland and Fodder Production - Legal and Economical Aspects - Review of Crop Protection - Conclusions. Recommendations for Future research in Organic Farmin

Challenges of implementing decision support systems: Joining the views of consultant and customer

In today's business environment, organizations rely on information systems to store and process the information constantly gathered. These systems are used to support the everyday needs of the organization. It is apparent that many of these systems has limited or no analytical capabilities, can the introduction of a decision support system could enable practitioners to benefit from this can thus increase their productivity by executing excellent decisions. This thesis choose to focus on expertise necessary for implementing the system, and challenges accompanied with this process. In order to find the answers regarding these topics, a theoretical framework on the topic of decision support systems and the approaches necessary to implement the system. The framework is composed by four themes; External expertise, Internal expertise, Human challenges, Conceptual challenges. The thesis support the arguments from the theoretical grounding by conducting a qualitative analysis with both consultants and the customer in a specific implementation environment. The use of semi-structured interviewing enables the thesis to benefit from the development of each interviewee and can thus get a rich description on the situation of the implementation. Each of the four themes will present the personal impressions of both consultant and customer by presenting each party separately and thus enabling every factor to be discussed from a provider perspective as well as buyer. The findings of this thesis contribute to the body of knowledge by presenting each theme in context to the implementation setting of the project

Weaving global networks: handbook for policy influence

Networks are increasingly drawing scholarly and practitioner attention as very effective ways to organise efforts towards achieving certain social agendas. This has even led to the idea of a network society (term coined by Castells in 1996) who argues that the information technology revolution has facilitated the emergence of a new economy, which is structured around flows of information, power and wealth in global financial networks. The goal of this handbook is two-fold: 1) it aims at contributing towards the systemisation of lessons learned by practitioners from networks of civil society organisations (CSOs) throughout their participation in regional and global for a; and 2) based on these lessons, it seeks to offer some practical tools and guidelines that might help these networks through the use of evidence and knowledge in regional and global public policies and policymaking processes

Reducing the Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Water and Sanitation Services

The scientific evidence contained in the three volumes of the 6th IPCC report (AR6), published between August 2021 and April 2022, are another reminder of the urgent need to respect the 2015 Paris Agreement. 195 countries agreed to the goal of limiting long-term global temperature increase to “well below 2°C” compared to pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C by massively reducing their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). Water and climate questions are usually addressed from the perspective of adaptation to climate change. For urban water services the mitigation aspect has been less studied up till now. These considerations fit into the broader context of the interdependence of energy and water (Water-Energy Nexus). This report approaches the question from the angle of energy use in the water sector rather than the better-known water requirements for the energy sector. Reducing GHG emissions in urban water management requires reducing both fossil energy requirements and direct emissions of nitrous oxide and methane. Finally, it must be said that the need to reduce the GHG emissions of water and sanitation services goes with the growing demand for water. It should increase by 50% between now and 2030 worldwide due to the combined effects of population growth, economic development, and the shift in consumer patterns. This synthetic report aims to provide an overview of possible levers to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of water and sanitation services and provides an analysis of how adaptation measures can embrace this low-carbon approach