Project Evaluation: A Mixed-Method Study into Dilemmas in Continuation Decisions

Project evaluations are highly crucial for organizations to manage their information systems and technology project portfolios. This study postulates equivocal situations as the source of dilemmas hindering stakeholders to achieve proper evaluation and purposeful decisions. We examine three factors that are conceived to have high association with equivocal situations when evaluating IS/IT projects, Challenges in project management, Different frames of reference and Lack of evaluation data. The developed model is tested using a survey data of IS/IT professionals through PLS. We find the three factors are significantly affecting the occurrence of equivocal situations with the highest contribution come from the Challenges in project management. Multi-group examinations reveal distinct impacts of the three factors within public versus private sector and high versus low projects in the project evaluation ladder. Post hoc interviews suggest several interesting points especially on how to cope with equivocal situation

Photolysis of fluometuron in the presence of natural water constituents

International audiencePhototransformation of the herbicide fluometuron (1 ΜM) in natural sunlight was investigated in neutral Milli-Q water and in synthetic waters containing either fulvic acids, nitrate ions or both in order to mimic reactions taking place in aquatic environments. Fluometuron degradation followed a pseudo-first order kinetics. The reaction was faster in synthetic than in Milli-Q water. Fulvic acids (10 mg L-1) increased the rate of fluometuron photolysis by a factor 2.5 and nitrates (25 mg L-1) by a factor 15. Identification of major photoproducts was conducted under laboratory conditions using LC-ESI-MS. Numerous photoproducts were detected and tentatively characterized. In the presence of nitrates, hydroxylation of the aromatic ring with or without hydrolysis of CF3 into CO2H and oxidation of the urea chain leading to demethylation were observed. In the presence of fulvic acids, hydroxylation of the aromatic ring was the major reaction route

Grape marc extract acts as elicitor of plant defence responses

International audiencePlant protection based on novel alternative strategies is a major concern in agriculture to sustain pest management. The marc extract of red grape cultivars reveals plant defence inducer properties. Treatment with grape marc extract efficiently induced hypersensitive reaction-like lesions with cell death evidenced by Evans Blue staining of tobacco leaves. Examination of the infiltration zone and the surrounding areas under UV light revealed the accumulation of autofluorescent compounds. Both leaf infiltration and a foliar spray of the red grape extract on tobacco leaves induced defence gene expression. The PR1 and PR2 target genes were upregulated locally and systemically in tobacco plants following grape marc extract treatment. The grape extract elicited an array of plant defence responses making this natural compound a potential phytosanitary product with a challenging issue and a rather attractive option for sustainable agriculture and environmentally friendly practices

Consecuencias económicas de la prohibición del Plástico en Colombia

Trabajo de InvestigaciónEl plástico es un material orgánico y que durante su fabricación son muchos los usos para obtener diferentes formas, además de su utilización económica para la industria y su bajo costo de fabricación, es inevitable no estar rodeados de artículos hechos a base de este componente. Sin embargo, el plástico se ha convertido en un problema que con el pasar de los días se va creciendo, dado que se encuentra en casi todos los productos que utilizamos a diario, ya sea en consumo personal o en las actividades y hasta en los alimentos. La producción y consumo de plásticos en el mundo durante los últimos años ha aumentado de forma acelerada, alcanzando cifras alarmantes y cuya consecuencia principal es la contaminación del entorno y el medio ambiente, poniendo en peligro las especies que habitan los ecosistemas del planeta, principalmente los océanos, mares y ríos; razón por la cual se es necesario empezar a revisar este tema y así tomar las diferentes decisiones que permitan dar una solución de fondo y así reducir el consumo, apoyándose en programas para la reutilización y el reciclaje de desechos impulsados por el Estado y la población en general.1. Capítulo 1: Introducción 2. Capítulo 2: Marco de Referencia 3. Resultados y Discusión de resultados 4. Conclusiones 5. ReferenciasPregradoEconomist

Small microplastics as a main contributor to plastic mass balance in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre

Estimates of cumulative plastic inputs into the oceans are expressed in hundred million tons, whereas the total mass of microplastics afloat at sea is 3 orders of magnitude below this. This large gap is evidence of our ignorance about the fate of plastics, as well as transformations and sinks in the oceans. One of the current challenges consists of identifying and quantifying plastic particles at the microscale, the small microplastics (SMP, 25–1000 μm). The aim of the present study is to investigate SMP concentration in count and in mass at the sea surface in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre during the sea campaign Expedition 7th Continent. After isolation, SMP were characterized by micro-Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Microplastic distribution was modeled by a wind-driven vertical mixing correction model taking into account individual particle properties (dimension, shape and density). We demonstrate that SMP buoyancy is significantly decreased compared to the large microplastics (LMP, 1–5 mm) and consequently more susceptible to vertical transport. The uncorrected LMP concentration in count was between 13 000 and 174 000 pieces km–2, and was between 5 and 170 times more abundant for SMP. With a wind-driven vertical mixing correction, we estimated that SMP were 300 to 70 000 times more abundant than LMP. When discussing this in terms of weight after correction, LMP concentrations were between 50 and 1000 g km–2, and SMP concentrations were between 5 and 14 000 g km–2

Ir(III) complexes of diamine ligands for asymmetric ketone hydrogenation

The use of a combination of IrCl3 with a series of ligands derived from the C2-symmetric diamine diphenylethanediamine (DPEN) forms a catalyst capable of the asymmetric hydrogenation of ketones in up to 85% ee

Weathering and persistence of plastic in the marine environment: Lessons from LEGO

12 months embargo applied minus 1 day to account for leap year