Understanding Data Analytics Practices in Kansas City: The Importance of Multi-Level Stewardship, Collaborative Governance and an Incremental Strategy

Local governments face complex challenges and are increasingly pressured to find innovative strategies to address them. Recently, they are leveraging data analytics and a number of policy modeling techniques to respond to those challenges. While a lot of attention is given to smart initiatives and data analytics endeavors in big cities, not enough studies have looked at experiences of smaller jurisdictions, who also have to solve difficult and often relatively unique problems. This paper examines how Kansas City, Missouri (KCMO) is currently using data analytics as a means of creating useful information for problem-solving around the city. As part of the What Work Cities network, the city embraced data-driven management as a new modus operandi and has been recognized nationally as a successful case. Among the main findings, it can be highlighted that: (1) data analytics can be kick started by committed public leadership, but is enabled organically by stewards who have traditionally and iteratively responded to information needs from a variety of local government agencies; and (2) stakeholders and organizations that are involved with data analytics have different capabilities, face different challenges, and frequently adopt incremental strategies that include data management and governance aspects

Problem Conceptualization as a Foundation of Data Analytics in Local Governments: Lessons from the City of Syracuse, New York

The use data and data analytics (DA) has been attracting the attention of academics and practitioners in the public sector and is sometimes seen as a potential strategy for process and service innovation. While research on the many possible uses of data have clearly increased - open data, big data, data analytics- empirical research on the socio-technical process that local governments followed when using data analytics to improve services and policies is still scarce. Based on existing literature about data analytics in the public sector and the data lifecycle concept, this paper examines how data analytics is actually used in a local government and what are the main steps in this process. It analyzes the experience of a mid-size American city that had a dedicated task force to data analytics use to support decision making at the local level – Syracuse, New York. Findings suggest that data analytics as a process not only involves data analysis and representations (such as visualizations), but also data collection and cleaning. Further, it seems clear that the conceptualization of the problem is a critical step in producing meaningful data analytics, but also in thinking about innovations even when data is not readily available

Assessing the Role of Executive Involvement and Information Needs as Socio-Technical Determinants of Governance in IIS Success

This paper systematically assesses two determinants of governance in IIS initiatives: information needs and executive involvement. As literature suggests and our hypotheses imply, those determinants are perceived to hold close relationships to the success of information sharing and collaboration initiatives through the mediation of governance mechanisms. By taking a quantitative stand to a US-based national survey data, we use structural equation modelling (SEM) techniques to verify to what extent those determinants are significantly associated with governance. We also propose a framework to explain the relative relevance of these two variables in determining the success of IIS (Information Integration and Sharing) project using governance as a mediator. Overall, this study puts the concept of governance in perspective, opening paths to expand theoretical and conceptual boundaries associated to the role it plays on the success of IIS in the public sector

Breeding for outcrossing ability in rice, to enhance seed production for hybrid rice cropping.

Background: Adoption of the hybrid rice varieties by farmers is often impaired by the high price of hybrid seed, due to low yields in hybrid seed production fields. Female outcrossing ability (FOA) and female hybrid seed production ability (FHSPA), defined as the rate of filled spikelets of the male sterile (MS) line and as its grain yield under outcrossing, respectively, determine plant traits for hybrid seed yield. Breeding for FOA and FHSPA in rice has suffered from the lack of a high throughput phenotyping method and the inbred breeding approach used for the development of MS lines. We developed an innovative hybrid rice breeding strategy that uses the monogenic recessive male-sterility gene ms-IR36 for the reciprocal recurrent improvement of maintainer and restorer populations. Results: High throughput screening for FOA and FHSPA can be achieved by scoring the grain weight of MS plants and the grain yield of fertile plants of progenies extracted from breeding populations segregating for the ms-IR36 gene. Using this phenotyping method in seven field trials, each involving several hundred entries, we revealed a very broad diversity for FOA (ranging from zero to 89%) and FHSPA, within the F3 progenies of bi-parental crosses and within S1 and S2 progenies extracted from different breeding populations. The seven experiments produced convergent results and heritabilities of 0.59-0.90 for FHSPA and 0.45-0.72 for FOA. Correlations between FHSPA and FOA were tight and highly significant. Correlations were looser between FHSPA and grain yield of the selfed fertile sibling (GW-MF). Correlations between FOA and GW-MF were not significant. Tight significant correlation was also observed between FHSPA of S1 lines and S2 lines extracted from the former. Conclusion: Population breeding through recurrent selection, using the ms-IR36 gene as a tool for both recombination and seed production for testcrossing, is a favorable framework for harnessing rice genetic diversity for FHSPA. Rapid and cost-effective genetic gain for hybrid seed production can be achieved using results of the ms-IR36 gene mediated test cross seed production process as FHSPA early screening

THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THE INTERIOR BALLISTICS OF A RIFLE 7.62

This study aims to examine theoretically and experimentally the interior ballistics of a rifle 7.62. Three theoretical methods are employed: the Vallier-Heydenreich, which is based on empirical data tables; the lumped parameters that is represented by a differential-algebraic system of equations, describing the propellant combustion, the thermodynamics of the gas inside the gun and the projectile dynamics; and the commercial software PRODAS. The theoretical solutions furnish the pressure, the projectile velocity and the projectile position inside the gun, the maximum pressure,the muzzle velocity and the total time of the interior ballistics. The experiments measure the pressure along of the time and the projectile velocity at seven meters ahead of the barrel. The proposed lumped parameter model indicates alternatives to model the energy lost and the resistance pressure functions. The theoretical solutions are compared with experiments. A thermodynamics analysis of the energy conversion in the gun is provided. The results are analyzed and the relevance of each method is highlighted

University quality measurement model based on balanced scorecard

A Higher Education Institution (HEI) has the responsibility to track the processes through indicators that guarantee the measurement of the results in almost real time. This article presents the design of a management and quality model of the processes in a university, through the integration of a Balance Scorecard (BSC) and the implementation of an information system. For which it was required: a review of existing tracing and monitoring systems in the academic sector, definition of the requirements of the proposed technological, a diagnosis of the current measurement system of the HEI analyzed, identify measurement indicators and develop a technological tool. The designed model presents a precise and clear methodological guide that can be replicated in any HEI to monitor its processes

Innovation, low energy buildings and intermediaries in Europe: systematic case study review

As buildings throughout their lifecycle account for circa 40% of total energy use in Europe, reducing energy use of the building stock is a key task. This task is, however, complicated by a range of factors, including slow renewal and renovation rates of buildings, multiple non- coordinated actors, conservative building practices, and limited competence to innovate. Drawing from academic literature published during 2005-2015, this article carries out a systematic review of case studies on low energy innovations in the European residential building sector, analysing their drivers. Specific attention is paid to intermediary actors in facilitating innovation processes and creating new opportunities. The study finds that qualitative case study literature on low energy building innovation has been limited, particularly regarding the existing building stock. Environmental concerns, EU, national and local policies have been the key drivers; financial, knowledge and social sustainability and equity drivers have been of modest importance; while design, health and comfort, and market drivers have played a minor role. Intermediary organisations and individuals have been important through five processes: (1) facilitating individual building projects, (2) creating niche markets, (3) implementing new practices in social housing stock, (4) supporting new business model creation, and (5) facilitating building use post construction. The intermediaries have included both public and private actors, while local authority agents have acted as intermediaries in several cases