TDG Engineering: Do We Really Need Another Upgrade?

This case covers an important decision of a type that confronts many managers. Several years ago TDG Engineering upgraded its IT network infrastructure, and now experienced and trusted employees are recommending yet another upgrade. The question at hand is whether this upgrade is justified, and how long the new capabilities will last before another request for yet another upgrade. In addition to addressing issues about the importance of infrastructure and the justification of IT investments, this case provides an example that illustrates concepts related to system life cycles, the alignment between business strategy and IT strategy, and the uncertainties related to whether IT investments will be successful

TDG Engineering: Do We Need Another Upgrade?

This case covers an important decision of a type that confronts many managers. Several years ago TDG Engineering upgraded its IT network infrastructure, and now experienced and trusted employees are recommending yet another upgrade. The question at hand is whether this upgrade is justified, and how long the new capabilities will last before another request for yet another upgrade. In addition to addressing issues about the importance of infrastructure and the justification of IT investments, this case provides an example that illustrates concepts related to system life cycles, the alignment between business strategy and IT strategy, and the uncertainties related to whether IT investments will be successful

MORPHOMETRIC TRAITS AND THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH SEX IN THE KEEL-BILLED TOUCAN RAMPHASTOS SULFURATUS

Sexing monomorphic birds is essential for reproduction in conservation programs. In ramphastids (toucans) species, males have longer beaks than females, making beak morphometry potentially useful for sexing. In this study, we measured the following traits: curved beak length, total culmen length, straight beak length, curved and straight length of the ventral line of the gnathotheca, beak width, lateral area of the rhinotheca, and cloacal opening in 44 Keel-billed Toucans, as well as previously reported morphometric data from 17 additional individuals. Measurements were obtained using two methods (manual and image processing software), and the reliability between the two methods was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Individuals of unknown sex were sexed via PCR tests. The ICC showed poor reliability between the two measurement methods, so we only used manual measurements for comparisons between the sexes. We used GLMMs to determine whether the morphometric traits we measured could be used to determine sex in keel-billed toucans. In addition, we evaluated GLMMs to determine which morphometric trait was the strongest predictor of sex in this species. Beak length was longer in adult males than in females. The GLMMs indicated that beak traits associated with sex in this species are beak curved length, beak straight length, straight length of the ventral line of the gnathotheca, and total culmen length. The straight length of the ventral line of the gnathotheca was the strongest predictor of sex in the Keel-billed Toucan. Unlike previous research, the development of GLMMs allows us to determine the probability of a toucan’s sex based on continuous variables, facilitating sexing and allowing us to evaluate the reliability of the estimation of the sexing of each toucan. This method is an alternative for situations where other sexing methodologies cannot be performed

Beneficios económicos del uso de biodigestores en una empresa productora de quesos

A nivel mundial el uso de combustibles fósiles ha crecido conforme pasa el tiempo. Sin embargo, estos tipos de energía se están agotando, lo que conlleva a que sus costos aumenten, resultado de la oferta y demanda global, por lo que es necesario utilizar otro tipo de energías que no afecten al medio ambiente y tampoco recurran a grandes costos. Una de las maneras de generar energía renovable es a través del uso de biodigestores que permiten la producción de biogás, el cual está compuesto por una mezcla de gases, principalmente dióxido de carbono  y metano. Este subproducto  puede ser empleado  como generador de energía eléctrica o como reemplazo de ciertos combustibles fósiles usados en las actividades diarias. El objetivo del estudio fue calcular el impacto económico generado por la producción y uso de biogás en una empresa productora de quesos en el municipio de Saucillo, Chihuahua, México. Esta empresa cuenta con una instalación de biodigestores, cuya producción de biogás es suficiente para reemplazar el uso del gas LP. En el presente estudio se analizó el impacto económico resultante del uso del proceso de biodigestión en la empresa, a través de diversos indicadores económicos aplicados conforme la información recolectada y de acuerdo a la metodología de Baca Urbina. Obteniendo como resultados una TIR de 46.72%, VPN de $4, 937, 745. 64 y una relación beneficio-costo de 1.80. Como conclusión, el uso de los biodigestores proporciona un impacto aceptable y favorable mostrando que la inversión del proyecto es rentable para la empresa