Using presence-absence data to establish reserve selection procedures that are robust to temporal species turnover

Previous studies suggest that a network of nature reserves with maximum efficiency (obtained by selecting the minimum area such that each species is represented once) is likely to be insufficient to maintain species in the network over time. Here, we test the performance of three selection strategies which require presence-absence data, two of them previously proposed (multiple representations and selecting an increasing percentage of each species' range) and a novel one based on selecting the site where each species has exhibited a higher permanence rate in the past. Multiple representations appear to be a safer strategy than selecting a percentage of range because the former gives priority to rarer species while the latter favours the most widespread. The most effective strategy was the one based on the permanence rate, indicating that the robustness of reserve networks can be improved by adopting reserve selection procedures that integrate information about the relative value of sites. This strategy was also very efficient, suggesting that the investment made in the monitoring schemes may be compensated for by a lower cost in reserve acquisition

The runaway black hole GRO J1655-40

We have used the Hubble Space Telescope to measure the motion in the sky and compute the galactocentric orbit of the black hole X-ray binary GRO J1655-40. The system moves with a runaway space velocity of $112\pm 18$ km s$^{-1}$ in a highly eccentric ($e = 0.34\pm 0.05$) orbit. The black hole was formed in the disk at a distance greater than 3 kpc from the Galactic centre and must have been shot to such an eccentric orbit by the explosion of the progenitor star. The runaway linear momentum and kinetic energy of this black hole binary are comparable to those of solitary neutron stars and millisecond pulsars. GRO J1655-40 is the first black hole for which there is evidence for a runaway motion imparted by a natal kick in a supernova explosion.Comment: Published in Astronomy and Astrophysics. 5 pages, 2 color figures. Color figure and animation can be found at http://www.iafe.uba.ar/astronomia/mirabel/mirabel.html or ftp://ftp.cea.fr/incoming/y2k01/mirabe

In times of pandemic - How generation XYZ looks digital banking

In a time of digital disruption, users are deciding how they want banks to respond and exceed their expectations. The banking industry since pandemic has shifted servicing dramatically from its traditional branches to become far more digitally flexible. Banks rushed to face-lift the front-end look and feel and enable non-essential digital services without asking users their needs. Thus, this bank attitude as greater impact on building a good digital banking customer experience that leads the users to fully adopt digital. To have a clear vision of how banks can stand out to a successful digital transformation we interview 634 digital bank users from the generation XYZ. To find out about the digital banking perceptions of Generation Z (born 1997-2012), Generation Y (born 1981-1996), and Generation X (born 1965-1980) we perform a qualitative analysis using Leximancer content analysis software to determine differences and characteristics of users’ attitudes toward digital banking. The findings highlighted nineteen concepts (transfers, bank, channels, products, digital, availability, anywhere, services, operations, use, account, savings, speed, costs, information, options, price, complex, and market) grouped in eight key themes perceived by users using digital banking channels, namely: transfers, availability, use, speed, information, price, complex and market. The three tags categories generation XYZ result of the presence of highly connected with concepts or independent variables showing prominence between X-generation and availability and services concept, Y-generation, and market, anywhere, bank and operation concepts, Z-generation, and transfers concepts. These results show that digital bank users are concerned about price, speed of transfers and product information, the anywhere availability of services and operations in the financial market, with some constraints about the complexity of options used to manage their accounts and savings. More the Y-generation (middle age) take more advantage of digital banking to explore bank/financial market and perform operations anywhere, the X-generation (older age) look digital banking mainly for the availability of services and Z-generation (younger age) simple for transfers. This study contributes to understanding the use and preference of digital banking, allowing us to propose a new conceptual model to explain the digital banking usage, helps to identify what is important for each XYZ generation to increase their adoption of digital banking and alerts to the use complex of multiple options that probably are not the focus to successfully used by this generations. Highlighting the users’ perceptions is important for the bank industry to develop digital banking features that align with users’ expectations and to increase the success of digital transformation by shifting servicing dramatically from a brick-and-mortar stalwart to become far more business digitally flexible.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Main gamification concepts: a systematic mapping study

Gamification involves incorporating elements of online games, such as points, leaderboards, and badges into nongame contexts, in order to improve engagement with both employees and consumers. The main point of this paper is, to sum up, what previous authors investigated in the field of Gamification. An analysis of the literature covering 50 papers from 2011 to 2016 was conducted, using Leximancer software, to determine and shape the main themes and concepts proposed in gamification papers. Answering our research question, “What guidelines may provide to future research, the key themes and concepts found in published scientific papers on gamification?”, we conclude that the researchers identified eight themes (gamification; game; use; users; business; points; engagement; learning) and twenty-eight related concepts. The present systematic review contributes to establishing possible guidelines for prospective studies, based on the analyzed papers, considering particularly their 'Conclusions' and on the 'Future research' sections, integrating game design contents in business, learning and education. Further, highlights the usefulness of Leximancer for qualitative content analysis, in this field of research.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Technology management has a significant impact on digital transformation in the banking sector

Technology management and a good relationship among employees are vital keys to assure any digital transformation process. We may therefore rightly ask “What are the main drivers influencing IT and non-IT employee relationships that may have an impact on digital transformation in the banking sector?“. Aiming to identify those drivers, we developed a questionnaire for an exploratory study into employees' perceptions of the IT or non-IT measures undertaken to improve any digital transformation project. We had a sample of 604 bank employees working in software development. Leximancer was used as a qualitative technique tool for content textual analyses. The findings highlighted seven key factors that have an impact on digital transformation, namely: department, lack of cooperation, communication, requests, experience, relationship, and business. Internal clients tend to have a negative perception of IT developers mainly due to a lack of understanding of business requests. This study contributes to scholarship with a conceptual model to explain the main concepts that may affect the relationship between IT and non-IT employees’ and departments teamwork in the digital transformation process, in the banking sector specifically. We also contribute by identifying the most important elements to achieve organizational success.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio