Reverse Logistics as Source of Competitive Advantages and its Relationship with Total Quality Management

This paperwork analyze how Reverse Logistics (RL) provides great benefits like reduction of costs, new opportunities of business and facilitates adaptation to new regulations in the matter of environment, this benefits improves performance of the company and favour their growth. We analyze how companies which have Total Quality Management (TQM) and implanting a Reverse Logistics System (RLS) improve their recovery activities and reusability of materials and products, reduce its costs and improve its enterprise performance.Logistic, Reverse Logistics, Total Quality Management

Análisis de la extracción de la tendencia de una serie de tiempo mediante del uso del filtro de hodrick prescott con una aplicación al ipco

La tesis tiene como objetivo exponer de manera breve la metodología del filtro Hodrick Prescott como herramienta útil para el análisis de extracción de tendencia. También se repasan propiedades matemáticas del filtro H-P, para comprender que aspectos se deben considerar. Como aplicación del filtro, se analizan series con periodicidad mensual (IPCO, IPC, y las exportaciones de banano, cacao y flores) y se concluye que el parámetro de suavidad para series mensuales en la economía ecuatoriana es 1600

The Labor of Art

This study examines artists who pursue labor-intensive art forms. Artisans were specifically chosen due to the laborious nature of their craft, whether it be the time dedicated to or the physical demand required to finish a work of art. Throughout this study I seek to find why they continue to practice their art in the midst of a society where like pieces can be mass produced and sold at bottom dollar. I conduct semiformal interviews with these artists to understand their stories and identify their “why.” This inquiry uncovered five commonalities among the artists: Teacher, Memory, Embodiment, Family, and Challenge. These themes are not just interconnections between the interviewed artists, but may also suggest connections between the crafts and fine art

Art Therapy for Enhancing Academic Experience of Male High School Freshmen

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of group art therapy interventions in improving social and emotional issues for male high school freshmen. The Behavioral Assessment System for Children Second Edition (BASC-2) was used to measure academically tracked high school freshman (n = 80) receiving the 12 week intervention in a group setting in comparison to an academically matched control group (n=76). Independent sample t-tests compared participants in the Honor, Average and At Risk Tracks who received art therapy versus participants who did not. The findings indicate that for participants in the honors track, those receiving art therapy improved on Inattention/Hyperactivity (t (51) = 1.854, p\u3c.035) more than those in the control group. For participants in the Average Track, Personal Adjustment (t (50) = 2.086, p\u3c.021) and Self-Esteem scores (t (50) = 2.762, p\u3c.004) improved more for art therapy participants than for those in the control group. No statistically significant differences were found for participants in the At-Risk track. Participant responses collected through five prompts aimed to assess participant’s perceptions regarding elements of their art therapy intervention experience. Qualitative findings were analyzed within academic track and suggested the efficacy of art therapy for ventilating frustrations, processing daily challenges and mediating emotions. Overall, eight themes emerged; sense of ownership, cathartic release, introspection, ventilation of negative feelings, expression of positive affect, fantasy or future projection, concrete descriptors and change in affect. Eighty-six percent of participants in the Honors Track art therapy group expressed positive affect when describing their emotions post art creation. Responses from the Honors Track participants were classified into four themes; ventilation of negative emotions, expression of positive affect, concrete descriptors and use of symbolic language. For participants in the Average Track, 80% of responses indicated positive feelings after creating the art work. Four themes emerged from Average Track participant responses; sense of ownership, ventilation of negative feelings, expression of positive affect and concrete descriptors. Although 42% of At-Risk Track participants reported a sense of ownership directly after creating the art piece, only 17% continued to express such ownership when reflecting about the artwork after several weeks. After participating in art therapy groups, participants reported feeling “more relaxed,” “successful and confident.” Author Keywords: Art Therapy; Education; Secondary Education; High School Males; Inner City; Poverty; BASC-2; Academically Tracked; Delinquency; At-Risk Students; Honors Students; Enhancing Academic Experiences; Freshmen; Quasi-Experimental; Emotional Regulation; Trends in Education; Disappearance of Art; Anxiety; Depression; Self-Esteem; Inattention; Hyperactivity; Personal Adjustment; Internalizing Problems; School Problem

Enhancing T-Cell Responses to Vaccination of HIV-1 infected Subjects on Antiretroviral Therapy

With the advancement in anti-retroviral therapy (ART) regimens there has been a significant improvement in the quality of life and survival of those individuals infected with HIV-1. Even with the benefits to CD4+ cell counts, decrease in viremia and inflammatory biomarkers, HIV-1 infected individuals continue to exhibit functional issues in their T-cell immune responses to recall antigens and vaccines. Additionally, researchers believe that T-cell mediated responses will be important to elicit in a therapeutic vaccination setting. These T-cell functionality issues can leave individuals infected with HIV-1 at risk from opportunistic infections and co-morbidities. Furthermore, a therapeutic HIV-1 vaccine is needed that can elicit responses to help infected subjects better control HIV infection so as to potentially reduce the need for long-term therapy. However, basic research on HIV is still needed to solidify potential immune correlates against HIV and other pathogens affecting HIV-1 infected subjects. Likewise, investigation of therapeutic targets that can aid in enhancing T-cell immune responses in these individuals is of importance. In this thesis, we examined whether a therapeutic HIV-1 DNA vaccine delivered with in vivo electroporation to HIV-1 infected subjects on ART could elicit potent cellular immune responses previously suggested to be important in the control of HIV. This vaccine strategy demonstrated an enhancement in cell-mediated IFN-γ production and cytotoxic immune responses to HIV-1. However, until a vaccine or therapy for HIV-1 is developed, these individuals also continue to be at risk for other opportunistic infections, such as influenza infection. Supported by previous studies that focus on influenza vaccination, we found that a standard dose of the H1N1 vaccine (15μg; Novartis) did not elicit sero-protection in all individuals. Importantly, the ability of these individuals to respond to vaccination was associated with the frequency of naïve CD4+ T-cells prior to vaccination, thereby reinforcing the importance of CD4+ T-cell help and the need for better CD4+ T-cell reconstitution. In addition, HIV-1 infected subjects, despite ART, have an altered cytokine/chemokine environment. Thereby it is important to explore whether targeting the cytokine milieu can lead to improvements in responses to vaccination in these individuals. We specifically found that the pro-inflammatory chemokine IP-10 was elevated in the sera of those infected with HIV-1 while on ART. Additionally, elevated levels of IP-10 were associated with decreased cellular immune responses, which could be improved by neutralizing IP-10 prior to antigen stimulation. Therefore, the studies herein support the need for better understanding of the basic science of HIV-1 infection to uncover and comprehend what potential immune correlates are needed for therapeutic treatment of these individuals

Sistema de apoyo al proceso de captación de clientes.

Tesis (Ingeniero en Computación e Informática)INNOVA Corredora de Seguros, es una empresa dedicada a la venta de seguros generales y de vida. Tiene como principales clientes a empresas de distintos rubros, además proyecta abrirse al mercado y ofrecer otro tipo de productos financieros, como por ejemplo; APV, fondos mutuos y otros de sus giros. Actualmente la empresa realiza en forma manual parte de sus procesos de Captación de clientes y Venta de seguros, acarreando como consecuencia, que se produzcan errores en la información y que se requiera de tiempos mas prolongados para la realización de los procesos, dándole prioridad a tareas que no son primordiales para el negocio. Como consecuencia de lo anteriormente mencionado, los errores tienen un impacto económico en la empresa, ya que pueden derivar en la pérdida de clientes y en multas, por el incumplimiento de ciertas normas, impuestas por la Superintendencia de Valores y Seguros..