Using spreadsheets in production planning in a pharmaceutical company

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Information Systems and Technologies ManagementLiving in the technological era, a successful company nowadays is the company that integrates Information Technology (IT) with its business. Otherwise, it might face a huge risk of not being able to survive in today’s market against the huge competition that is highly influenced by IT. However, integrating IT with business is not so simple due to several factors, namely: the available resources, choosing the right solution, top management support, time constraints, and finally achieving the proper user training and adoption. It is obviously not so wise to keep on waiting until all these obstacles are solved when there is a possibility of using some of the available resources such as Microsoft Office tools that might ease several processes of the business until the needed system is implemented and used. In a supply chain, as a supplier or a manufacturer, production usually follows a production plan that is typically created by the supply planning department. A production plan relies on a demand forecast, whereas a demand forecast usually relies on historical data, but the market demand changes and a forecast does not always match the demand, so whenever there is a change in the forecast, production plans are updated accordingly (Graves, 2011). Therefore, if we are looking to optimize the supply chain, it is necessary to build a strong relationship between the supply chain partners because their collaboration becomes vital in such a scenario. This collaboration means that the partners of the supply chain must share their information with each other (Groznik & Maslaric, 2012). Such information can be about the inventory stock levels of the customer towards the supplier which helps in optimizing the Reorder Level that is defined as “the point at which the company will reorder stock” (Meng, 2006), resulting in creating more successful production plans that matches the market demand. However, these processes can hardly be done and managed manually, theyactually require the help of an IT system that is integrated with the supply chain for achieving the expected results. Aligning IT with the supply chain and using e-business to manage the relationship between suppliers and customers can lower costs, this is due to the fact that IT can contribute in supporting the collaboration and coordination through an easy way of information sharing between the partners of the supply chain (Auramo, Kauremaa, & Tanskanen, 2005). Moreover, using IT in a supply chain does not necessarily need to be costly or difficult to use; insteadspreadsheets for instance can be used for Inventory Planning that is defined as “figuring out what your inventory should be (not counting what you have)” (Estep, 2012). Even though using spreadsheet tools such as Microsoft Office tools does not require purchasing an IT system, it is still considered a type of integrating IT with a business process that can significantly improve the supply chain

The Struggle for Palestinian Hearts and Minds: Violence and Public Opinion in the Second Intifada

This paper examines how violence in the Second Intifada influences Palestinian public opinion. Using micro data from a series of opinion polls linked to data on fatalities, we find that Israeli violence against Palestinians leads them to support more radical factions and more radical attitudes towards the conflict. This effect is temporary, however, and vanishes completely within 90 days. We also find some evidence that Palestinian fatalities lead to the polarization of the population and to increased disaffection and a lack of support for any faction. Geographically proximate Palestinian fatalities have a larger effect than those that are distant, while Palestinian fatalities in targeted killings have a smaller effect relative to other fatalities. Although overall Israeli fatalities do not seem to affect Palestinian public opinion, when we divide those fatalities by the different factions claiming responsibility for them, we find some evidence that increased Israeli fatalities are effective in increasing support for the faction that claimed them.Israeli-Palestinian conflict, fatalities, public opinion

Farmland prices in New Zealand and Finland

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Evaluation of on-line pulse control for vibration suppression in flexible spacecraft

A numerical simulation was performed, by means of a large-scale finite element code capable of handling large deformations and/or nonlinear behavior, to investigate the suitability of the nonlinear pulse-control algorithm to suppress the vibrations induced in the Spacecraft Control Laboratory Experiment (SCOLE) components under realistic maneuvers. Among the topics investigated were the effects of various control parameters on the efficiency and robustness of the vibration control algorithm. Advanced nonlinear control techniques were applied to an idealized model of some of the SCOLE components to develop an efficient algorithm to determine the optimal locations of point actuators, considering the hardware on the SCOLE project as distributed in nature. The control was obtained from a quadratic optimization criterion, given in terms of the state variables of the distributed system. An experimental investigation was performed on a model flexible structure resembling the essential features of the SCOLE components, and electrodynamic and electrohydraulic actuators were used to investigate the applicability of the control algorithm with such devices in addition to mass-ejection pulse generators using compressed air

A Cloud Platform-as-a-Service for Multimedia Conferencing Service Provisioning

Multimedia conferencing is the real-time exchange of multimedia content between multiple parties. It is the basis of a wide range of applications (e.g., multimedia multiplayer game). Cloud-based provisioning of the conferencing services on which these applications rely will bring benefits, such as easy service provisioning and elastic scalability. However, it remains a big challenge. This paper proposes a PaaS for conferencing service provisioning. The proposed PaaS is based on a business model from the state of the art. It relies on conferencing IaaSs that, instead of VMs, offer conferencing substrates (e.g., dial-in signaling, video mixer and audio mixer). The PaaS enables composition of new conferences from substrates on the fly. This has been prototyped in this paper and, in order to evaluate it, a conferencing IaaS is also implemented. Performance measurements are also made.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, IEEE ISCC 201

Progettazione digitale

Richiedendo prerequisiti minimi sotto l’aspetto informatico, tecnologico e matematico, il testo si propone di presentare principi e metodologie fondamentali per il progetto di sistemi digitali e guida lo studente mediante problemi via via più avanzati attraverso le problematiche tipiche del progetto digitale. Poiché attualmente gran parte del progetto digitale viene realizzato servendosi di strumenti di progettazione automatica (i vari tool CAD), il testo tratta costantemente la teoria facendo anche riferimento alla possibilità di sperimentazione pratica basata su strumenti automatici di progettazione. Questo approccio risulta sicuramente innovativo e stimolante e costituisce uno dei contributi principali del libro alla didattica sulla progettazione digitale

Molecular simulations for dynamic nuclear polarization in liquids: a case study of TEMPOL in acetone and DMSO

A computational strategy for calibrating, validating and analyzing molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to predict dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) coupling factors and relaxivities of proton spins is presented. Simulations of the polarizing agent TEMPOL in liquid acetone and DMSO are conducted at low (infinite dilution) and high (1 M) concentrations of the free radical. Because DNP coupling factors and relaxivities are sensitive to the time scales of the molecular motions, the MD simulations are calibrated to reproduce the bulk translational diffusion coefficients of the pure solvents. The simulations are then validated by comparing with experimental dielectric relaxation spectra, which report on the rotational dynamics of the molecular electric dipole moments. The analysis consists of calculating spectral density functions (SDFs) of the magnetic dipole–dipole interaction between the electron spin of TEMPOL and nuclear spins of the solvent protons. Here, MD simulations are used in combination with an analytically tractable model of molecular motion. While the former provide detailed information at relatively short spin–spin distances, the latter includes contributions at large separations, all the way to infinity. The relaxivities calculated from the SDFs of acetone and DMSO are in excellent agreement with experiments at 9.2 T. For DMSO we calculate a coupling factor in agreement with experiment while for acetone we predict a value that is larger by almost 50%, suggesting a possibility for experimental improvement

Data collection methods for task-based information access in molecular medicine

An important area of improving access to health information is the study of task-based information access in the health domain. This is a significant challenge towards developing focused information retrieval (IR) systems. Due to the complexities of this context, its study requires multiple and often tedious means of data collection, which yields a lot of data for analysis, but also allows triangulation so as to increase the reliability of the findings. In addition to traditional means of data collection, such as questionnaires, interviews and observation, there are novel opportunities provided by lifelogging technologies such as the SenseCam. Together they yield an understanding of information needs, the sources used, and their access strategies. The present paper examines the strengths and weaknesses of the traditional and the more novel means of data collection and addresses the challenges in their application in molecular medicine, which intensively uses digital information sources

Wyoming

Management of greater sage-grouse populations continues to be a major issue for Wyoming and other western states. On June 2, 2011, Wyoming\u27s Governor Matt Mead issued an Executive Order addressing Greater Sage-Grouse Core Area Protection. In his Executive Order, Governor Mead adopted and updated the work and Executive Orders of his predecessor, former Governor Dave Freudenthal. Governor Mead recognized that on November 10, 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed Wyoming\u27s Core Population Area strategy as a long-term, science-based vision for the conservation of Greater Sage-Grouse. The Governor also recognized that several western states have either adopted or are considering adopting the Wyoming Core Area Strategy, thus making the concept consistent across the species range. These efforts are critically important to the oil and gas industry in Wyoming, because as Governor Mead noted, the Greater Sage- Grouse is a candidate species for listing under the Endangered Species Act, and listing would have significant adverse effect on the Wyoming economy, including oil and gas development in the state