Understanding governance in the implementation of rainwater systems in the amazon – Belem

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a case study of niche governance to analyze the governance of rainwater systems in the Amazon. Design/methodology/approach A visualization of the interactions of stakeholders was made with the use of social network analysis, where data were collected through interviews to experts from the region. A framework based on niche management and the safe, resilient and sustainable (Safe and SuRe) principles were used to interpret the results. Findings The work identifies key players and issues influencing governance for the implementation of rainwater systems; and capture of decision-making powers by agents making evident redundancies in the management of rainwater in the region; highlighting issues of lack of inclusion in the decision-making process, planning and implementation; threatening the sustainability, resilience and governance of rainwater systems in Belem. Originality/value Methodologically, this work is the first of its kind for the amazon and contributes to the exploration of tools and frameworks to assess governance in the implementation of rainwater systems

Teoria de Complejidad y Cibernetica organizacional: Aplicaciones y perspectivas de uso en el campo de seguridad y manejo de riesgo

1- Conceptos generales - Sistemas y Pensamiento de sistemas - Complejidad – Problemas complejos - Caja de herramientas: SD; SNA, Cibernetica Organizacional 2- Ejemplos de aplicacion - VSM y disenno de sistemas de defensa - VSM y Sistemas de Defensa Total - VSM y gestion de riesgo (desastres) - VSM ofensiva - DS y seguridad y toma de decisiones (Sensitivity Analysis / Malik) 3- Nuevos proyectos - VSM y sistemas dinamicos - VSM y Analisis Avanzado de Redes Sociale

Neo-developmentalism and Regional Integration: IIRSA impact in the environmental agenda in the Amazon

The regional integration policy in Latin America was based on the premises of the Initiative for the Integration of the Regional Infrastructure of South America (IIRSA), seen as a development strategy adopted by the regional political elites and as an instrument of Brazilian foreign policy. Focusing on the projects undertaken in the Amazon Hub, the article analyses the integration strategy and its impact on environmental regulation. The paper highlighted the role played by the developmentalism goals in the region regarding the environmental regulation, adopting a model of integration encompassing a reduction of natural resources stock, which is a strategic feature for sustainable development policies. This chapter results from descriptive research, based on secondary data and official documents available from the involved institutions. They analyze the Brazilian government's neo-developmentalism goals to understand how the environmental agenda in Pan Amazon was affected

Quilombo Communities and Opportunities for Market-Driven Mechanisms for the Protection of the Amazon Forest

Quilombos are communities created since colonial times by emancipated African-descendants who located their free communities in the deep forest north of the Amazon in Brazil. These vulnerable communities are still oppressed and neglected. Paradoxically, their actual economic activities based on amazon products' extraction are becoming key for protecting the rain forest in the north of Brazil (State of Para). In this chapter, the analysis of Honey production illustrates their socio-economical context, organizational capabilities, and the potential of their economic activities to preserve the rain forest's integrity. It also illustrates the challenges and limitations that they face to access markets where the value of their products' attributes is appreciated based on the profile of blue businesses (e.g., fair trade, organic, rain forest friendly)

Systemic Design for Food Self-Sufficiency in Urban Areas

This article adopts a systemic approach to address the problem of the operationalization of relationships between actors conducive to food self-sufficiency in urban areas. Through the use of Social Network Analysis (SNA), the literature on urban agriculture was analyzed, detecting eight key trends and topic areas. This information was used to design a generic recursive organizational structure with the identification of the key roles and functions for management and governance in the multi-level and multi-stakeholder relationships of a sustainable urban self-sufficient food production system, inspired by the principles of complexity management and organizational cybernetics. Methodologically, this is the first application that combines the exploratory capability of SNA and the recursive structure of the Viable System Model (VSM) to propose applicable organizational structures in any urban area, suggesting a new route for the study and application of systemic thinking in the development of urban agriculture schemes. However, due to the conceptual nature of this work, this study opens a discussion on how we can rethink interactions to seek continuous adaptation in food self-sufficiency, provide tools that foster inclusion, and adapt to every context to support the relevant actors and academics in urban agriculture.</jats:p

A methodological proposal for the complementarity of the SSM and the VSM for the analysis of viability in organizations

This paper presents a protocol that establishes the complementarity between Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) and the Viable System Model (VSM) for the analysis of viability in organizations. Various studies demonstrate the advantages of both hard and soft multimethodologies, especially in the field of operational research (OR). Relying on a literature review of multimethodology, the present research specifically focuses on papers that examine the resolution of problem situations in organizations using SSM and VSM. It subsequently addresses approaches to both methodologies and, as a result, presents the characteristics that favor complementarity. Thus, this research primarily contributes with a methodological proposal that integrates both SSM and VSM. In terms of its technical-methodological approach, this study proposes a comprehensive protocol for the integration of SSM and VSM. While some studies do extol the benefits of combining the two methodologies, a systematic protocol for their integration is still lacking. As such, the protocol presented herein consists of six steps used to diagnose or design a viable organization that includes a questionnaire for detecting organizational pathologies

A Systems Science Approach to Inter-Organisational Complementarity in Tourism SMEs

This article proposes a model based on the integration of systemic mechanisms such as the soft systems methodology, partial least squares path modelling and the viable system model as an alternative for fostering complementarity (associativity) in Small and Medium Enterprises to improve responsiveness and adaptations in the tourism sector. The systemic method was adopted as a framework for the proposal. In this regard: 1. The soft systems methodology was used to frame the problem and propose a construct for outlining a possible solution; the methodology included a questionnaire applied to 150 actors (including SME owners and managers and government officials). 2. Partial least squares path modelling was used to statistically validate the relationships in the construct. 3. Through the viable system model, the interactions between SMEs were reconsidered to recognise contextual impacts and foster complementarity. The goodness of fit of 70% obtained for the conceptual model suggests that complementarity, as an organisational form, is possible. The soft systems perspective is considered suitable because it deals with the complex nature of the problem (SME associativity). Although the results in this study apply to the Mexican context, we suggest that this potential limitation can be offset by the multi-methodological approach proposed here, allowing the model’s application to all kinds of organisations. Hence, the observations in this paper are constrained to the organisational domain. This study may enable scholars and managers to improve communication channels as well as inter-organisational relationships, emphasising the increase in the responsiveness and adaptation capabilities to facilitate associativity between SMEs in the studied sector

Systems Thinking Approach to Sustainable Performance in RAMSAR Sites

This article explores and validates the integrated use of the Viable System Model (VSM) and the Partial Least Squares Path Modeling (PLS-PM) approach to assess the sustainable management of RAMSAR sites carrying out economic activities. This work adopts a systems- thinking approach integrating systemic methodologies in three phases: 1) the VSM was first used to develop a conceptual model of the organisational problem; 2) PLS-PM was used to propose a construct to outline a solution, as well as to statistically validate the relationships proposed in the conceptual model; finally, 3) through the VSM, the relationships between actors were rethought in order to promote sustainable performance. The obtained results suggest that the joint use of VSM and PLS-PM is an effective approach that aids to the identification of relational and structural pathologies affecting the observed RAMSAR systems. It also proved useful to suggest that relationships can lead to the sustainable performance of the sites under study. It should be noted that the framework of systemic tools is constrained in its application to the organisational domain: assessing two RAMSAR areas in Mexico. Methodologically, this is the first application of the integrated use of VSM and PLS-PM to analyse the management and viability/sustainability of RAMSAR areas from an organisational perspective, opening a new avenue for the analysis and optimisation of management of such areas. This study provides tools to support actors and academics related to RAMSAR sites and opens up a discussion on how to rethink the organisational interactions in order to improve RAMSAR sites adaptive capabilities

ArteFill® Permanent Injectable for Soft Tissue Augmentation: I. Mechanism of Action and Injection Techniques

After more than 25 years of research and development, in October 2006 ArteFill® became the first and only permanent injectable wrinkle filler to receive FDA approval. ArteFill is a third-generation polymeric microsphere-based filler, following its predecessor Artecoll®, which was marketed outside the United States between 1994 and 2006. ArteFill is approved for the correction of nasolabial folds and has been used in over 15,000 patients since its U.S. market introduction in February 2007. No serious side effects have been reported to date according to the FDA’s MAUDE reporting database. ArteFill consists of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) microspheres (20% by volume), 30–50 μm in diameter, suspended in 3.5% bovine collagen solution (80% by volume) and 0.3% lidocaine. The collagen carrier is absorbed within 1 month after injection and completely replaced by the patient’s own connective tissue within 3 months. Each cc of ArteFill contains approximately six million microspheres and histological studies have shown that long-term wrinkle correction consists of 80% of the patient’s own connective tissue and 20% microspheres. The standard injection technique is subdermal tunneling that delivers a strand of ArteFill at the dermal–subdermal junction. This strand beneath a wrinkle or fold acts like a support structure that protects against further wrinkling and allows the diminished thickness of the dermis to recover to its original thickness

Mapping Antimicrobial Stewardship in Undergraduate Medical, Dental, Pharmacy, Nursing and Veterinary Education in the United Kingdom.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the teaching of antimicrobial stewardship (AS) in undergraduate healthcare educational degree programmes in the United Kingdom (UK). PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: Cross-sectional survey of undergraduate programmes in human and veterinary medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and nursing in the UK. The main outcome measures included prevalence of AS teaching; stewardship principles taught; estimated hours apportioned; mode of content delivery and teaching strategies; evaluation methodologies; and frequency of multidisciplinary learning. RESULTS: 80% (112/140) of programmes responded adequately. The majority of programmes teach AS principles (88/109, 80.7%). 'Adopting necessary infection prevention and control precautions' was the most frequently taught principle (83/88, 94.3%), followed by 'timely collection of microbiological samples for microscopy, culture and sensitivity' (73/88, 82.9%) and 'minimisation of unnecessary antimicrobial prescribing' (72/88, 81.8%). The 'use of intravenous administration only to patients who are severely ill, or unable to tolerate oral treatment' was reported in ~50% of courses. Only 32/88 (36.3%) programmes included all recommended principles. DISCUSSION: Antimicrobial stewardship principles are included in most undergraduate healthcare and veterinary degree programmes in the UK. However, future professionals responsible for using antimicrobials receive disparate education. Education may be boosted by standardisation and strengthening of less frequently discussed principles