Fatores que afetam a adoção de análises de Big Data em empresas

With the total quantity of data doubling every two years, the low price of computing and data storage, make Big Data analytics (BDA) adoption desirable for companies, as a tool to get competitive advantage. Given the availability of free software, why have some companies failed to adopt these techniques? To answer this question, we extend the unified theory of technology adoption and use of technology model (UTAUT) adapted for the BDA context, adding two variables: resistance to use and perceived risk. We used the level of implementation of these techniques to divide companies into users and non-users of BDA. The structural models were evaluated by partial least squares (PLS). The results show the importance of good infrastructure exceeds the difficulties companies face in implementing it. While companies planning to use Big Data expect strong results, current users are more skeptical about its performance.Con la cantidad total de datos duplicándose cada dos años, el bajo precio de la informática y del almacenamiento de datos, la adopción del análisis Big Data (BDA) es altamente deseable para las empresas, como un instrumento para conseguir una ventaja competitiva. Dada la disponibilidad de software libre, ¿por qué algunas empresas no han adoptado estas técnicas? Para responder a esta pregunta, ampliamos la teoría unificada de la adopción y uso de tecnología (UTAUT) adaptado para el contexto BDA, agregando dos variables: resistencia al uso y riesgo percibido. Utilizamos el grado de implantación de estas técnicas para dividir las empresas entre: usuarias y no usuarias de BDA. Los modelos estructurales fueron evaluados con partial least squres (PLS). Los resultados muestran que la importancia de una buena infraestructura excede las dificultades que enfrentan las empresas para implementarla. Mientras que las compañías que planean usar BDA esperan muy buenos resultados, las usuarias actuales son más escépticos sobre su rendimiento.Com a quantidade total de dados duplicando a cada dois anos, o baixo preço da computação e do armazenamento de dados tornam a adoção de análises de Big Data (BDA) desejável para as empresas, como aquelas que obterão uma vantagem competitiva. Dada a disponibilidade de software livre, por que algumas empresas não adotaram essas técnicas? Para responder a essa pergunta, estendemos a teoria unificada de adoção e uso de tecnologia (UTAUT) adaptado para o contexto do BDA, adicionando duas variáveis: resistência ao uso e risco percebido. Usamos a nível da implementação da tecnologia para dividir as empresas em usuários e não usuários de técnicas de BDA. Os modelos estruturais foram avaliados por partial least squares (PLS). Os resultados mostram que a importância de uma boa infraestrutura excede as dificuldades que as empresas enfrentam para implementá-la. Enquanto as empresas que planejam usar Big Data esperam resultados fortes, os usuários atuais são mais céticos em relação ao seu desempenho

Parliamentary debates on death with dignity in Argentina: the rights of terminal patients on the legislative agenda, 1996-2012

En este artículo se revisa la producción legislativa sobre los derechos de los pacientes terminales en Argentina, examinando las condiciones en que la temática ingresa a estos ámbitos y la forma en que la gestión médica del final de la vida (término que engloba las prácticas médicas en torno a los procesos de morir) se construye como tópico de discusión pública en diferentes periodos.El objetivo del artículo es describir y analizar las producciones legislativas sobre la gestión médica del final de la vida en Argentina, focalizando el análisis en dos momentos relevantes: la presentación y discusión de los primeros proyectos para regular los derechos de los pacientes terminales en el Congreso Nacional, que datan de 1996, y el tratamiento parlamentario y la sanción de la llamada ley de ?muerte digna? durante los años 2011 y 2012. En primer lugar se analiza el ingreso de la temática en la agenda legislativa, examinando los primeros intentos por legislar sobre estos derechos en el Congreso Nacional. En segundo lugar se describe la construcción del final de la vida como problema público en años recientes, proceso que derivó en el tratamiento y la sanción de una ley de alcance nacional. Por último se analizan comparativamente ambos momentos, señalando continuidades y rupturas en la forma de concebir la problemática.This article examines the regulation on terminal patients’ rights in Argentina at two points in time: the first attempts to regulate end-of-life rights (1996), and the “death with dignity” law passed by the National Congress (2011-2012). Comparative analysis allows us to observe variations among the individuals and situations included in the legislation, as well as in the conceptualization of autonomy and the interventions that is considered lawful refuse. The political context and the differential way that “death with dignity” entered the legislative agenda in each period determined the public’s construction of the problem and thus the extent and result of the debates.Fil: Alonso, Juan Pedro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Instituto de Investigaciones "Gino Germani"; ArgentinaFil: Villarejo, Maria Agustina. Ministerio de Salud de la Nación; ArgentinaFil: Brage, Eugenia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Centro Argentino de Etnología Americana; Argentin

Acceptance and use of big data techniques in services companies

Companies able to take advantage of the information coming from the use of Big Data will have a competitive advantage by being able to make decisions based on greater knowledge of customers and competition. Besides, the access to the software for the treatment of this great amount of data is free. So, the objective of this paper is to study the level of acceptance and use of these technologies, Big Data techniques, by services companies. To analyse the intention and use it extends the acceptance technologies model- Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) - to the context of Big Data techniques, incorporating the effect on it of three new variables: resistance to use, perceived risk and opportunity cost. The structural model was evaluated using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with an adequate global fit. The verification is carried out with a sample of 199 Spanish services companies, and its main results are the strong effect of the facilitating conditions on the intention and use of Big Data, as well as the direct effect of the opportunity cost and the resistance to use on the intention, and the indirect inhibiting effect of the perceived risk through the resistance to use on intention behaviou

Análisis de los proyectos de investigación concedidos por el Consejo Superior de Deportes (2006-2012), desde una perspectiva de género

The aim of this paper is to conduct a gender-based analysis of research projects approved for funding by the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD). For this purpose, we analysed all research projects approved for funding by the CSD (N = 185) between the years 2006-2012, taking the information from the CSD's website. For each of the research projects, the following variables were analysed: a) the institution; b) type of institution; c) region; d) discipline; e) amount of funding; and f) gender of the main researcher (MR). The most significant results indicated that: a) in 21.08% of the projects, the main researcher was female; b) 136 researchers, 55 institutions, and 15 regions have had at least one project approved by the CSD; c) the institution with the highest number of approved research projects was Madrid's Universidad Politécnica, followed by the same city's Universidad Europea; d) research projects by state universities were mainly approved for funding, followed by private ones; e) the Madrid region is the region with the highest number of approved research projects; f) the discipline for which most research projects were approved was the field of sports performance, followed by sports medicine, teaching and management; g) the average amount of funding awarded per research project was 11,151.21 euros and the projects that receive higher amounts have a male main researcher, are conducted by state universities, are in the Extremadura region, and are awarded for the fields of biomechanics, sports performance and training. This data is aimed at offering an insight into the approval of projects by the CSD, and it can be used both by sports research policy experts and potential participants in research projects.El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar los proyectos de investigación concedidos por el Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD), desde una perspectiva de género. Para ello se analizaron el total de proyectos de investigación concedidos por el CSD (N = 185) entre los años 2006-2012, a partir de la página web del CSD. De cada uno de los proyectos se analizaron las siguientes variables: a) Institución; b) Tipo de institución; c) Región; d) Disciplina; e) Cuantía; y f) Sexo del Investigador Principal (IP). Los resultados más significativos señalaron que: a) en el 21,08% de los proyectos de investigación concedidos por el CSD la IP es mujer, frente al 78.92%; b) 136 investigadores, 55 instituciones, y 15 comunidades autónomas, han recibido al menos un proyecto del CSD; c) la institución que mayor número de proyectos ha recibido ha sido la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, seguido de la Universidad Europea de Madrid; d) los proyectos se han concedido principalmente a Universidades públicas, seguido de Universidades privadas; e) la comunidad de Madrid es la que mayor número de proyectos ha recibido; f) La disciplina que mayor número de proyectos del CSD recibe es la de Interdisciplinar, seguido de Medicina del deporte, Didáctica y Gestión; g) la media de la cuantía obtenida por proyecto es de 11151.21 euros, de manera que los proyectos que reciben mayor cuantía son en los que los IP son hombres, de universidades privadas, de la comunicad autónoma de Extremadura y Navarra, y de la disciplina de Biomecánica, Interdisciplinar y Teórica del entrenamiento. Estos datos pretenden dar a conocer el panorama en la concesión de proyectos el CSD, y podrán ser utilizadas tanto por expertos en políticas de investigación el ámbito deportivo, como por los posibles participantes en dichas convocatorias.O objectivo do presente trabalho é analisar os projectos de investigação concedidos pelo Concelho Superior do Desporto (CSD), numa perspectiva de género. Para tal, foram analisados o total de projectos de investigação concedidos pelo CSD (N = 185) entre os anos 2006-2012, a partir da página Web do CSD. De cada um dos projectos foram analisadas as seguintes variáveis: a) Instituição; b) Tipo de Instituição; c) Região; d) Disciplina; e) Quantia; e f) Género do Investigador Principal (GIP). Os resultados mais significativos assinalaram que: a) em 21.08% dos projectos concedidos pelo CSD a IP é mulher, face aos 79.82%; b) 136 investigadores, 55 instituições e 15 comunidades autónomas, receberam pelo menos um projecto do CSD; c) a instituição que maior número de projectos recebeu foi a Universidade Politécnica de Madrid, seguida da Universidade Europeia de Madrid; d) os projectos foram concedidos principalmente a Universidades públicas, seguido de Universidades privadas; e) a comunidade de Madrid é a que recebeu maior número de projectos; f) a disciplina que maior número de projectos recebe é a de Performance Desportiva, seguida da Medicina do Desporto, Didáctica e Gestão; g) a média da quantia obtida por projecto é de 11151.21 euros, sendo que os projectos que recebem maior quantia são de IP homens, de universidades privadas, da comunidade autónoma da Estremadura e Navarra, e a disciplina de Biomecânica, Performance e Treino Desportivo. Estes dados pretendem dar a conhecer o panorama da concessão de projectos do CSD, e podiam ser utilizados tanto por especialistas em políticas de investigação no âmbito desportivo, como por possíveis participantes investigadores

Predicting Big Data Adoption in Companies With an Explanatory and Predictive Model

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that affect the intention to use Big Data Applications in companies. Research into Big Data usage intention and adoption is scarce and much less from the perspective of the use of these techniques in companies. That is why this research focuses on analyzing the adoption of Big Data Applications by companies. Further to a review of the literature, it is proposed to use a UTAUT model as a starting model with the update and incorporation of other variables such as resistance to use and perceived risk, and then to perform a neural network to predict this adoption. With respect to this non-parametric technique, we found that the multilayer perceptron model (MLP) for the use of Big Data Applications in companies obtains higher AUC values, and a better confusion matrix. This paper is a pioneering study using this hybrid methodology on the intention to use Big Data Applications. The result of this research has important implications for the theory and practice of adopting Big Data Applications

Electro-Osmotic Behavior of Polymeric Cation-Exchange Membranes in Ethanol-Water Solutions

The aim of this work is to apply linear non-equilibrium thermodynamics to study the electrokinetic properties of three cation-exchange membranes of different structures in ethanol-water electrolyte solutions. To this end, liquid uptake and electro-osmotic permeability were estimated with potassium chloride ethanol-water solutions with different ethanol proportions as solvent. Current-voltage curves were also measured for each membrane system to estimate the energy dissipation due to the Joule effect. Considering the Onsager reciprocity relations, the streaming potential coefficient was discussed in terms of ethanol content of the solutions and the membrane structure. The results showed that more porous heterogeneous membrane presented lower values of liquid uptake and streaming potential coefficient with increasing ethanol content. Denser homogeneous membrane showed higher values for both, solvent uptake and streaming coefficient for intermediate content of ethanol

Microrna-21 and colorectal cancer

Introducción. Los microRNAs son estructuras moleculares con actividad post-transcripcional que están implicados en la regulación de la expresión genética. Diversos estudios ponen de manifiesto la participación de los microRNAs con distintas funciones fisiológicas, así como con el proceso de la oncogénesis. La expresión de los microRNAs puede verse alterada en las neoplasias por su interacción bien con los genes supresores de tumores, bien con los oncogenes. Discusión. Llevamos a cabo una revisión de la literatura sobre el microRNA-21, poniendo de manifiesto la evidencia existente entre el microRNA-21 y la enfermedad neoplásica, de forma especial con el cáncer colorrectal. Conclusiones. El estado actual de los microRNAs hace necesario continuar con la investigación existente entre la etiopatogenia de las neoplasias y los microRNAs. El conocimiento de la verdadera implicación de los microRNAs en la fisiopatología de la enfermedad neoplásica, permitirá ampliar las supuestas aplicaciones clínicas del miR-21 no sólo a la determinación del pronóstico del cáncer colorrectal, sino también desde el punto de vista diagnóstico al poder diferenciar las lesiones de la mucosa colónicaIntroduction. MicroRNAs are molecular structures with post-transcriptional activity, involved in the gene expression regulation. Several studies have demonstrated the involvement of microRNAs in different physiological functions, as well as in the oncogenesis process. The expression of microRNAs may be altered in the tumors by either interaction with tumor suppressor genes or oncogenes. Discussion. A review of the medical literature on microRNA-21 has been conducted, showing the evidence between microRNA-21 and neoplastic disease, specially with colorectal cancer. Conclusion. The current status of microRNAs makes necessary to continue the investigation of the pathogenesis of cancer and microRNAs. The knowledge of the involvement of microRNAs in the pathophysiology of neoplastic disease, will allow to extend the supposed clinical applications of miR-21 not only to the determination of the prognosis of colorectal cancer, but also for the differential diagnosis of processes of colonic mucosa

Discusiones acerca de la toma de decisiones médicas en el final de la vida: configuración temática de la cobertura mediática sobre los debates en torno a la muerte digna en Argentina (2011-2015)

El objetivo de este artículo es analizar la cobertura periodística de los debates sobre “muerte digna” en la prensa escrita Argentina en el período 2011-2015, en ocasión de la discusión y aprobación de la llamada ley de “muerte digna” en el país. Se realizó un relevamiento de noticias en La Nación, Clarín y Página/12 y se conformó un corpus de 373 artículos periodísticos que fueron analizados a partir de un análisis cuantitativo y de análisis temático. En este artículo mostramos cómo la circulación de ideas en torno a la muerte digna se construye a partir de la preeminencia de tópicos legales y familiares, y el poco espacio de abordajes médicos y/o científicos; la centralidad de los estados vegetativos y de los daños neurológicos como condición de salud asociada a estas discusiones, motivada en parte por los casos que pusieron la temática en el ámbito público; el foco de la cobertura en casos emblemáticos y dramas particulares; y, por último, la casi nula referencia a temáticas como la eutanasia o el suicidio asistido en los debates, dominados por la limitación del esfuerzo terapéuticoThe objective of this article is to analyze the press coverage of the debates on “dignified death” in the Argentine written press in between 2011 and 2015. A news survey was carried out in La Nación, Clarín and Página/12 and the final corpus consisted of 373 articles, analyzed following quantitative and thematic strategies. In this paper we show how the circulation of ideas about dignified death is built from the preeminence of legal and family-related topics, and the little incidence of medical and/or scientific perspectives; the relevance of vegetative states and neurological damage as a health condition associated with these discussions, motivated in part by the cases that put the issue in the public sphere; the focus of coverage on emblematic cases and particular dramas; and, finally, the almost null reference to topics such as euthanasia or assisted suicide in the debates, dominated by the limitation of the therapeutic effortFil: Alonso, Juan Pedro. CONICET. Instituto de Investigaciones Gino Germani. Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Di Marco, Martín Hernán. CONICET. Instituto de Investigaciones Gino Germani. Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Villarejo, Agustina. CONICET. Instituto de Investigaciones Gino Germani. Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires; Argentin

Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma : report of five cases

Objectives: To document the clinical and histopathological characteristics of basaloid squamous cell carcinoma (BSCC). To add five new cases to the literature and compare them with another published series. Cases: retrospective review of five cases with the diagnosis of BSCC of the larynx. Results: all the patients were male. They were heavy smokers and drinkers. Most of the tumours were supraglottic. Three patients presented with stage-IV disease and the other two with stage-I disease. Surgery supplemented with radiation was used in three patients, partial surgery was used in another case and radiation and associated chemotherapy in the other one. Eight neck dissections were performed, six of them were functional and the other two radical dissections. Two cases were found to have metastatic lymph nodes. There were not any distant metastases but two patients had tumoral relapse. Conclusions: BSCC has well defined histological features. Central comedonecrosis within the cells nests, cell with nuclear palisading and high-grade dysplasia in overlaying mucosa are the main characteristics