Pruning the family tree: when is it necessary?

The longevity that characterizes many family businesses is explained, to a large extent, by the continuous effort that is made within them to ensure their own governance over the years. To this end, it is important that the structures and regulations developed in the various decision-making areas (such as the General Meeting, the Board of Directors, the Family Council or the Management Committee) are the appropriate ones, as well as the fact that the people who lead them (owners, directors or managers) are active and competent to initiate processes sufficiently in advance. Based on the experience of the authors, this document proposes possible decisions to be taken in favour of governance, developed based on the existence of unity within the family and the degree of balance between the levels of potestas and auctoritas of the people involved in the decision-making process, as well as in relation to the size of both the business and of the family. In addition, and due to the crucial importance of the process itself, different factors are proposed to make this possible and favour it. The analysis of the various elements included in the article aim to provide suggestions for reflection, to professionals and academics in the field of family business, in order to advance upon our mutual understanding of the implications that caring for the family tree has on its own governance.  The longevity that characterizes many family businesses is explained, to a large extent, by the continuous effort that is made within them to ensure their own governance over the years. To this end, it is important that the structures and regulations developed in the various decision-making areas (such as the General Meeting, the Board of Directors, the Family Council or the Management Committee) are the appropriate ones, as well as the fact that the people who lead them (owners, directors or managers) are active and competent to initiate processes sufficiently in advance. Based on the experience of the authors, this document proposes possible decisions to be taken in favour of governance, developed based on the existence of unity within the family and the degree of balance between the levels of potestas and auctoritas of the people involved in the decision-making process, as well as in relation to the size of both the business and of the family. In addition, and due to the crucial importance of the process itself, different factors are proposed to make this possible and favour it. The analysis of the various elements included in the article aim to provide suggestions for reflection, to professionals and academics in the field of family business, in order to advance upon our mutual understanding of the implications that caring for the family tree has on its own governance

Utility of mathematical knowledge as a motivating factor in students' learning of Adult Secondary Education

This paper analyzes the utility of the mathematics for Adult Secondary Education (ASE) as a factor to recover motivation in learning. The results of a survey with N=820 ASE students about their perspectives of the utility of mathematics are presented. The results show that teaching mathematics based on its inherent formative utility for daily life and work, could reduce much of adults’ difficulty to study mathematics. For mathematics to be useful for students, mental calculation and numerical operations should take an important place in the school curriculum. Mathematics problems should be developed in a similar way to those that adults face daily, regaining the arithmetic knowledge which adults master. The current way Algebra is taught should be reconsidered, students admit it is unhelpful, despite its potential. This phenomenon suggests a new research question: What type of school algebra should be taught in ASE?Fil: Donvito, Angel Eduardo. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Núcleo de Investigación en Educacion Ciencia y Tecnologia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Otero, Maria Rita. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Núcleo de Investigación en Educacion Ciencia y Tecnologia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil; Argentin

Why do adults go to adult secondary school?

This paper analyzes the motivation of adult students to attend Adult Secondary Education (ASE) in Argentina. The investigation consisted of an exploration stage using the Focus Groups technique (FG) in which 29 ASE students participated, then a stage of analysis and construction of a survey based on the results of the FG, and finally, a stage of implementation and analysis of the survey, which was administered to 820 adult students nationwide. The results show that students' motivation is related to three aspects: improving job position, improving self-esteem and preparing to study a career. Furthermore, these aspects are not isolated, but are significantly associated with each other. Considering the students' motivation to attend the ASE both in the curricular conformation and at classrooms, could be a way to improve not only the teaching but also the quality of life of adults.Fil: Donvito, Angel Eduardo. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Núcleo de Investigación en Educacion Ciencia y Tecnologia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Otero, Maria Rita. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Núcleo de Investigación en Educacion Ciencia y Tecnologia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil; Argentin

Evaluation Approach for an Effective Blockchain Implementation in an Accounting Environment

Blockchain has the potential to revolutionize accounting transactions in the same way the Internet revolutionized the collection and dissemination of information. Nonetheless, like the Internet, blockchain technology is a double-edged sword offering tremendous benefits but also drawbacks. The literature points to inadequacies in blockchain implementations, particularly when evaluating and selecting controls to help ensure an effective blockchain implementation in organizations. This research develops an approach that not only addresses the inadequacies identified in the literature, but also prompts organizations to a more precise evaluation and selection of controls to achieve effective blockchain implementation. The approach uses Desirability Functions to quantify the desirability of each control after considering its benefits and drawbacks, providing organizations with an objective metric when assessing and selecting controls. Through a case assessment exercise, the approach proved successful in providing accurate evaluation, ranking, and potential selection of controls for organizations to consider when implementing blockchain accounting technology

STUDY AND RESEARCH IN TEACHING MATHEMATICS IN TWO HIGH SCHOOLS

This work describes and analyzes the dialectic study and research, during implementation of Study and Research Path (SRP), in two high school courses. We analyzed   over more than eight hundred protocols that generated the responses of (N = 75) students. The inquiry started with the question: “Which is the best savings plan to generate the greatest amount of income with a bank deposit that pays interest?” for which the students did not have an immediate response. That is to say, they did not know with what mathematical knowledge, or extra-mathematical, they could approach it. The analysis shows that implementing this type of teaching in an institution with previous experience in this paradigm works better than in one that lacks of prior experience.  Article visualizations

Optimal scheduling and fair servicepolicy for STDMA in underwater networks with acoustic communications

In this work, a multi-hop string network with a single sink node is analyzed. A periodic optimal scheduling for TDMA operation that considers the characteristic long propagation delay of the underwater acoustic channel is presented. This planning of transmissions is obtained with the help of a new geometrical method based on a 2D lattice in the space-time domain. In order to evaluate the performance of this optimal scheduling, two service policies have been compared: FIFO and Round-Robin. Simulation results, including achievable throughput, packet delay, and queue length, are shown. The network fairness has also been quantified with the Gini index

Change Management Over Financial Information: A Multi-Criteria Evaluation of System Change Controls Using Desirability Functions

The increasing complexity of information technology, attacks on confidential information, and the passing of new laws and regulations have shifted the focus around internal controls in organizations. Particularly, general information technology controls related to change management (i.e., system change controls) are critical in ensuring the integrity, completeness, and reliability of financial information. The literature points to various evaluation methods for these controls to determine which ones to implement. However, these methods do not necessarily consider relevant organization constraints, preventing the inclusion of required controls or the exclusion of unnecessary controls. This paper proposes a novel approach, using Desirability Functions, for evaluating system change controls providing management with a measurement that is representative of the overall quality of each control based solely on organizational goals and objectives. Through a case assessment, the approach is proven successful in providing a way for measuring the quality of system change controls in organizations

An Information Security Control Assessment Methodology for Organizations

In an era where use and dependence of information systems is significantly high, the threat of incidents related to information security that could jeopardize the information held by organizations is more and more serious. Alarming facts within the literature point to inadequacies in information security practices, particularly the evaluation of information security controls in organizations. Research efforts have resulted in various methodologies developed to deal with the information security controls assessment problem. A closer look at these traditional methodologies highlights various weaknesses that can prevent an effective information security controls assessment in organizations. This dissertation develops a methodology that addresses such weaknesses when evaluating information security controls in organizations. The methodology, created using the Fuzzy Logic Toolbox of MATLAB based on fuzzy theory and fuzzy logic, uses fuzzy set theory which allows for a more accurate assessment of imprecise criteria than traditional methodologies. It is argued and evidenced that evaluating information security controls using fuzzy set theory addresses existing weaknesses found in the literature for traditional evaluation methodologies and, thus, leads to a more thorough and precise assessment. This, in turn, results in a more effective selection of information security controls and enhanced information security in organizations. The main contribution of this research to the information security literature is the development of a fuzzy set theory-based assessment methodology that provides for a thorough evaluation of ISC in organizations. The methodology just created addresses the weaknesses or limitations identified in existing information security control assessment methodologies, resulting in an enhanced information security in organizations. The methodology can also be implemented in a spreadsheet or software tool, and promote usage in practical scenarios where highly complex methodologies for ISC selection are impractical. Moreover, the methodology fuses multiple evaluation criteria to provide a holistic view of the overall quality of information security controls, and it is easily extended to include additional evaluation criteria factor not considered within this dissertation. This is one of the most meaningful contributions from this dissertation. Finally, the methodology provides a mechanism to evaluate the quality of information security controls in various domains. Overall, the methodology presented in this dissertation proved to be a feasible technique for evaluating information security controls in organizations

Attitudes of Pedagogy Research in the framework of the TAD: analysis at three high schools

En el marco de la Teoría Antropológica de lo Didáctico, se analizan las actitudes propias de la pedagogía de la investigación y del cuestionamiento del mundo: de problematización, herbartiana, procognitiva y exotérica, a partir de los protocolos de (N=95) estudiantes de matemática, que participaron en un Recorrido de Estudio e Investigación (REI). Usando técnicas de análisis multivariado se describe la relación entre la institución y el tipo de pedagogía utilizada en la manifestación de las actitudes. Se construyen categorías, y se realiza una clasificación y una tipología. Los resultados, evidencian la necesidad de un cambio en la pedagogía tradicional pues un grupo importante de estudiantes no manifestaron las actitudes.In the theoretical framework of the Anthropological Theory of the Didactic based on (N = 95) protocols of math students, who participated in a Research and Study Path (RSP), the attitudes of pedagogy of research and questioning of world (problematization, herbartian, procognitive and exoteric) were analyzed. Multivariate analysis techniques were used to describe the relationship between the attitudes, the institution and the kind of pedagogy pointed out. A set of categories were developed, and a classification and a typology were opted. The results show the necessity of a change in traditional pedagogy because a big amount of students have not expressed attitudes related to the pedagogy of research and questioning the world.Fil: Donvito, Angel Eduardo. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Núcleo de Investigación En Educacion Ciencia y Tecnologia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Otero, Maria Rita. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Núcleo de Investigación En Educacion Ciencia y Tecnologia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Sureda Figueroa, Diana Patricia. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Núcleo de Investigación En Educacion Ciencia y Tecnologia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tandil; Argentin