Determinants of User Acceptance of a Local eGovernment Electronic Document Management System (EDMS)

On numerous occasions the significant value of the investments involved in the development of eGovernment and the expectations of governmental information systems use do not correspond to the rate of effective use. This scenario makes it difficult to justify the development of electronic government by governments and local authorities among its citizens. It is therefore important to understand the factors that influence the employees' intention of using governmental information systems. With the aim of understanding the determining factors of using an Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) in the context of Portuguese municipalities, this study develops an empirical analysis using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model, (Venkatesh et al., 2003). This model's application for information systems research in the governmental context has a weak expression and is unique in EDMS research. This empirical research follows a realist and positivist approach. Data was collected from a survey answered by 2,175 employees of Portuguese municipalities (EDMS users). Partial Least Squares (PLS) was used to test the model proposed. The results showed that Intention to Use is positively affected by Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence and Facilitating Conditions. With respect to the EDMS Use, the results showed that it is positively influenced by Intention to Use and Facilitating Conditions. The main result indicates that EDMS users believe that the use of this information system will help them to obtain performance benefits in their work. However, the increasing use of EDMS is not very influenced by the system's perceived ease of use. In short, this study provides a contribution to the Information Systems Acceptance and Adoption literature in local eGovernmental contexts. In addition, our contribution empirically tests the model for implementation in governmental organizations and provides a better understanding of the adoption and use of an EDM

Visual Servoing and Robust Object Manipulation Using Symmetries and Conformal Geometric Algebra

Object tracking and manipulation is an important process for many applications in robotics and computer vision. A novel 3D pose estimation of objects using reflectionally symmetry formulated in Conformal Geometric Algebra (CGA) is proposed in this work. The synthesis of the kinematics model for robots and a sliding mode controller using the CGA approach is described. Real time implementation results are presented for the pose estimation of object using a stereo vision system.ITESO, A.C.CINVESTA

First principles determination of some static and dynamic properties of the liquid 3d transition metals near melting

Producción CientíficaWe report an ab initio molecular dynamics simulation study of several static and dynamic properties of the liquid 3d transition metals. The calculated static structure factors show qualitative agreement with the available experimental data, and its second peak displays an asymmetric shape which suggests a signi1cant local icosahedral short-range order. The dynamical structure reveals propagating density 2uctuations whose dispersión relation has been evaluated; moreover, its long wavelength limit is compatible with their respective experimental sound velocity. Results are reported for the longitudinal and transverse current spectral functions as well as for the respective dispersion relations. We also analyze the possible appearance of transverse-like low-energy excitations in the calculated dynamic structure factors. Several transport coeWcients have been evaluated and compared with the available experimental data.Junta de Castilla y León (Ref. project VA124G18)Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Project PGC2018-093745-B-I00) and FEDE

Prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss in children and adolescents with diabetes mellitus

To establish the prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), as well as the predisposing risk factors, in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) attending the Service of Endocrino-Pediatrics and Otolaryngology Department of the ‘‘Dr. José Eleuterio González’’ University Hospital and the Materno-Infantil Hospital, from January 2011 to December 2012. Material and methods: A total of 84 children with T1DM, with ages between 6 and 18 years old, were studied. Values of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were assessed and Tonal audiometry and Speech audiometry tests were performed. Results: A total of 84 patients with a diagnosis of T1DM were studied, out of which 12 (14.3%) presented SNHL. Fifty percent of patients with hearing loss were in the age range of 10---13 years old. Regarding time of evolution with the disease (T1DM), 33% of patients with more than 5 years with T1DM presented SNHL, and nearly 88.9% of the patients with less than 5 years with T1DM presented normal hearing (p = 0.011). Moreover, 65.47% of the patients presented complications due to poor glycemic control at some point in the evolution of their disease. All (100%) diabetic patients with SNHL and 91% of the patients without SNHL had HbA1c values greater than 6%. In patients with hearing impairments, 83.3% suffered mild and 16.4% suffered moderate hearing loss. Most presented bilateral hearing loss, with the right ear dominating. Acute frequencies, mainly 8000 kHz, were the most affected

Gangrena gaseosa: revisión de cuatro casos

Desde el mes de enero de 1988 hasta diciembre de 1993, hemos atendido en el Servicio de Cirugía Ortopédica y Traumatología 6.853 pacientes, de ellos 263 presentaron infecciones post-quirúrgicas, post-traumáticas o expontáneas. Del total de infecciones cuatro se manifestaron como un cuadro clínico de gangrena gaseosa. El origen fue post-traumático en tres casos y por arma de fuego en uno, localizándose la enfermedad en todos los pacientes en las extremidades inferiores. Para establecer el diagnóstico además de las manifestaciones clínicas se ha valorado el resultado bacterológico y anatomo-patológico de las muestras analizadas. El tratamiento consistió en Cirugía precoz, antibioticoterapia y oxigenoterapia hiperbárica cuando era necesario. La evolución ha sido buena en dos casos y desfavorable en el resto de los enfermos.From January 1988 to December 1993, we have seen in our institution 6853 patients, 263 of them presented post-surgical, post-traumatic or spontaneus infections. Of the total of infections, four of them were manifested as clinical cases of gaseous gangrene. The origin was post-traumatic in three cases, and gun shot in one case, localizing the disease in all patients in inferior extremities. For diagnosis clinical manifestations and the bacteriological and patologic results were evaluated. The treatment consisted of early surgery, antibiotical therapy and hiperbaric oxigenotherapy when it was necessary. The outcome was satisfactory in two cases and non favorable in the other two patients

Experimental adiabatic vortex ratchet effect in Nb films with asymmetric pinning trap

Nb films grown on top of an array of asymmetric pinning centers show a vortex ratchet effect. A net flow of vortices is induced when the vortex lattice is driven by fluctuating forces on an array of pinning centers without reflection symmetry. This effect occurs in the adiabatic regime and it could be mimiced only by reversible DC driven forces