Problem-formulation in a South African organization. Executive summary

Complex Problem Solving is an area of cognitive science that has received a good amount of attention, but theories in the field have not progressed accordingly. In general, research of problem solving has focussed on identifying preferable methods rather than on what happens when human beings confront problems in an organizational context Queseda, Kirtsch and Gomez (2005) Existing literature recognises that most organizational problems are ill-defined. Some problems can become well-defined whereas others are and remain ill-structured. For problems that can become well-defined, failure to pay attention to the area of problem definition has the potential to jeopardise the effectiveness of problem-formulation and thus the entire problem solving activity. Problem defining, a fundamental part of the problem-formulation process, is seen as the best defence against a Type III Error (trying to solve the wrong problem). Existing literature addresses possible processes for problem-formulation and recognises the importance of applying problem domain knowledge within them. However, inadequate attention is given to the possible circumstances that, within an organization, the participants do not know enough about the problem domain and do not recognise the importance of applying adequate problem domain knowledge or experience to the problem-formulation process. A case study is conducted into exactly these circumstances as they occurred and were successfully addressed within Eskom Holdings Ltd (Eskom), the national electricity utility in South Africa. The case study is a fundamental part of this research project, which explores the gap in the existing body of knowledge related to the circumstances described above and specifically to problems that can become well-defined, and provides the basis for the innovation developed herein that addresses that gap

Phoenix dactylifera L. seeds: a by-product as a source of bioactive compounds with antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory properties

Date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) seeds are a valuable and abundant by-product with various potential food applications and a source of functional and bioactive ingredients. In this study, date seeds from eight cultivars (Ourous “OUR”, Tazizaout “TAZ”, Tazarzeit “TAR”, Tazoughart “TAG”, Ouaouchet “OUC”, Oukasaba “OUK”, Delat “DEL” and Tamezwertn'telet “TWT”) cultivated in the M'zab oasis (south of Algeria) were analyzed for their chemical and phytochemical compositions, antioxidant capacities and in vitro inhibition of some enzymes. Variations in chemical compositions were observed in the studied date seeds. The greatest contents of total phenolic compounds (476 mg GAE per g dw), total flavonoids (6.52 mg QE per g dw), anthocyanins (1.26 mg Q3GE per g dw), flavonols (3.36 mg Q3GE per g dw), proanthocyanidins (85.13 mg CE per g dw), and ascorbic acid were detected in the seeds of the TAG cultivar. All extracts manifested good antioxidant activities tested by ORAC and FRAP assays. The OUC and OUR extracts displayed the most potent antioxidant capacity against DPPH˙ free radicals (IC50 = 37.30 μg ml−1) and ABTS˙+ cation radicals (IC50 = 13.89 μg ml−1), respectively. The antioxidant activity evaluated through a xanthine/xanthine oxidase system demonstrated that the TAZ extract was more efficient as a superoxide radical scavenger (IC50 = 9.08 μg ml−1). Date seed extracts (DSE) exhibited inhibitory activities on enzymes, showing substantial potential as skin-whitening, neuroprotective, anti-hyperglycemic or anti-hyperlipidemic agents; the inhibitory potential was tested using tyrosinase (TYR), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), α-glucosidase (α-GLU) and lipase. All date seed cultivars were able to inhibit tyrosinase and α-glucosidase in a dose-dependent manner reaching the maximum inhibition

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

A first update on mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19

peer reviewe

Rural Latino adolescent health: Preliminary examination of health risks and cultural correlates

Latino adolescents living in rural settings may be at increased risk of health problems; however, data describing the health status of this population are limited. This study examined 60 rural Latino adolescents and found high rates of health risk, including at-risk/clinical results for hemoglobin A1C (23.3%), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (55%), systolic blood pressure (21.7%), and overweight/obesity (55%). Time in sedentary behaviors was high and physical activity was limited. Adolescent language use was associated with health risk status, with greater use of English associated with lower risk. Health psychologists could promote improved health by providing health behavior interventions to this underserved population

Protection against oral and gastrointestinal diseases: Importance of dietary nitrate intake, oral nitrate reduction and enterosalivary nitrate circulation.

Over the last 20 years, dietary nitrate has been implicated in the formation of methemoglobin and carcinogenic nitrosamines in humans. This has led to restrictions of nitrate and nitrite levels in food and drinking water. However, there is no epidemiological evidence for an increased risk of gastric and intestinal cancer in population groups with high dietary vegetable or nitrate intake. A reevaluation of our currently very negative perception of dietary nitrates comes from recent research into the metabolism and enterosalivary circulation of nitrate in mammals. These studies showed that nitrate is converted to nitrite in the oral cavity that then “fuels” an important mammalian resistance mechanism against infectious diseases. Moreover, there is now evidence that the conversion of nitrate into oxides of nitrogen prevents the formation carcinogenic nitrosamines

Using Symbolic Execution for Verifying Safety-Critical Systems

Safety critical systems require to be highly reliable and thus special care is taken when verifying them in order to increase the confidence in their behavior. This paper addresses the problem of formal verification of safety critical systems by providing empirical evidence of the practical applicability of symbolic execution and of its usefulness for checking safety-related properties. In this paper, symbolic execution is used for building an operational model of the software on which safety properties, expressed by means of a Path Description Language (PDL), can be assessed

Rakennusyrityksen tarjousvaiheen kustannuslaskenta

Opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli koota Rakennus K. Karhu Oy:lle toimintaohje tarjousvaiheen kustannuslaskentaan. Varsinaista tutkimustyötä tähän opinnäytetyöhön ei sisällytetty, vaan tarkoituksena oli useiden laajempia kokonaisuuksia käsittelevien eri lähteiden uumenista ja haastattelemalla aiheen parissa työskennelleitä henkilöitä koota pelkästään tarjousvaiheen kustannuslaskentaan keskittyvä ohje. Tarkoituksena ei ollut luoda uutta toimintatapaa yritykselle, vaan kehittää ja yhtenäistää jo käytössä olevia ja ajan saatossa muotoutuneita toimintaperiaatteita. Tämän tarjousvaiheen kustannuslaskentaan keskittyvän toimintamallin on tarkoitus päätyä osaksi mahdollisesti tulevaisuudessa koottavaa, koko yrityksen toiminnan kattavaa laatujärjestelmää. Tavoitteena oli luoda ohjeesta tiivis kokonaisuus, jota ei olisi liian raskas käyttää, jättäen jokaiselle projektinvetäjälle mahdollisuus toteuttaa omaa toimintatapaansa, kuitenkin yrityksen yhtenäistä linjaa noudattaen. Tässä ohjeen muotoon laaditussa opinnäytetyössä käsitellään rakennusyrityksen tarjousvaiheen kustannuslaskennan vaiheet, vaihe vaiheelta. Pääaihepiirit on jaoteltu projektin etenemisjärjestyksessä alusta loppuun. Tarkastellaan kohteen valinta, minkälainen ja mitkä kriteerit tulee kohteella olla, jotta siitä lähdetään tarjousta tekemään. Kun päätös tarjouskilpaan lähtemisestä on tehty, suoritetaan ennakkotarjouksien kysely alihankintana tehtävistä urakoista. Kun tämä on suoritettu, ja raaka-aineiden määrälaskenta on suoritettu, siirrytään hinnoitteluun ja varsinaiseen alihankintatarjousten kyselyyn. Ennen varsinaista tarjouskäsittelyä, käsiteltävää kohdetta verrataan vielä sopiviin viitekohteisiin ja näiden jälkilaskentatietoihin. Avainsanat (asiasanat) Kustannuslaskenta, tarjoaminen Muut tiedotThe purpose of this bachelor’s thesis was to collect instructions for tender-stage cost calculation in Rakennus K. Karhu Oy. No theoretical research was included in this bachelor’s thesis, but the purpose was to collect instructions just for tender-stage cost calculation, using several extensive sources and interviewing people working on the subject. The purpose was not to create a new kind of procedure for the company, but to develop and unify the principles already in use. The purpose is that this procedure, based on tender-stage cost calculation, is to be included as part of a quality system which will perhaps be created in the future. The main goal was to create a compact package that would not be too difficult to use, leaving each project leader the possibility to do things in his or her own way, still respecting the consistent? procedures of the company. In this bachelor’s thesis, compiled in a form of instruction, the stages of tender calculation in a construction company are dealt with step by step. The main topics are divided from start to finish in the order of the progress of the project. Choosing of the target is examined: what should it be like and what criteria should it have to lead to tendering. When the decision on participating in tendering is made,asking for preliminary bids from subcontractors follows. After this and the quantity calculations for raw-materials have been done, pricing and the actual asking for subcontractors’ tenders follow. Before the actual processing of the tender, the target is compared to similar reference targets and their post-calculation data