Banking on Web 2.0 Approaches to Build a Sustainable Enterprise

This paper approaches the issue of sustainability in business in a less traditional manner by considering more than just the competitive advantage a company has to build in the rivalry with its competitors. Building enterprise sustainability requires a broader understanding of the interdependencies between the company and its human and natural environments. Effective stakeholder engagement is key and online openness and cooperation bring about new conditions for corporate social responsibility. The paper discusses the potential of the Web 2.0 tools for the interaction between the company and its stakeholders and the impact of those tools on the organizational culture in support of sustainability is analyzed. This is particularly relevant during the current economic crisis when most of the efforts go into cutting costs in order to survive.sustainable corporation; corporate social responsibility; organizational change; Web 2.0 culture; CSR 2.0.

The Sustainable University

The paper attempts to leverage theoretical constructs and practical ideas into conceptualizing the “sustainable university”. We propose an academic management approach that could improve the prospects for sustainability of a university’s evolution. Based on a literature review and documentary research, we researched modern trends, patterns and practices of academic management, supportive of sustainability. Like any organization, a university is a structure subjected to the pressures of change and affected by its consequences. Due to its mission and social function, a university should follow an ascending road to high performance and demonstrate staying power and lasting success. It is in this view that we investigated concepts and practices of corporate management applicable to academic management. Our paper is a first attempt to define the concept of sustainability in the academic world.sustainable academic performance; sustainable university; academic management; university branding; university organizational culture; academic leadership.

Measuring and Reporting on Sustainability Performance in the Cement Industry

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) performance assessment and reporting has drawn a considerable amount of attention. In this context, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has been among the first organizations to develop a framework for sustainability performance reporting, which is synonymous with reporting on CSR actions and results. Now at its 3rd edition, GRI offers a very detailed set of indicators that describe CSR performance as envisioned by the framework. Yet, GRI itself warns that its set of performance indicators is not universally applicable to companies in all industries and, in addition, certain areas of industrial activities may need additional indicators for a reliable and realistic assessment of CSR performance. The Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI), a global project of a group of cement producers with worldwide presence, that are also members of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), has been early to recognize the limits of GRI and develop an industry specific approach. The paper analyzes the pathway the cement industry has pursued in order to improve its performance in mitigating social and environmental impacts, and report on the results. Based on direct experience with and firsthand knowledge of the cement industry, the set of alternative performance indicators developed by CSI is presented and a parallel is drawn between that set and the general-purpose indicators developed by GRI. The approach taken by CSI to assure compliance of the quantitative data with accepted reporting principles such as accuracy, reliability, and comparability is also detailed and commented on.cement; measuring; reporting; sustainability.

Understanding and Managing Challenges to the Romanian Companies During Transition

The paper starts by analyzing the major problems that occur during the transition period in Romania, both at the macroeconomic and at the macroeconomic level. We draw on information obtained from our consulting work, from direct contact with managers participating in educational and training programs, and from published data. In the course of analysis we advance and discuss two theses regarding the challenges facing Romanian companies during transition: (1) in the post- 1 989 Romania, the managerial deficiencies are more severe than the resource shortages, and (2) the restructuring of Romanian companies should be achieved by a process of human resource centered organizational change. The two theses lead us to propose a particular approach to deal with these challenges: focusing on people, as the most valuable resource of the organization, and properly handling the relationship between the strategy and the cultural dimension of the organization.

Understanding and Managing Challenges to the Romanian Companies During Transition

The paper starts by analyzing the major problems that occur during the transition period in Romania, both at the macroeconomic and at the macroeconomic level. We draw on information obtained from our consulting work, from direct contact with managers participating in educational and training programs, and from published data. In the course of analysis we advance and discuss two theses regarding the challenges facing Romanian companies during transition: (1) in the post- 1 989 Romania, the managerial deficiencies are more severe than the resource shortages, and (2) the restructuring of Romanian companies should be achieved by a process of human resource centered organizational change. The two theses lead us to propose a particular approach to deal with these challenges: focusing on people, as the most valuable resource of the organization, and properly handling the relationship between the strategy and the cultural dimension of the organization.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39583/3/wp196.pd

AFEX: An Automated Fault Explorer for Faster System Testing

Fault injection is an often overlooked component of the software test cycle, yet it is critical for building robust systems. The main reasons for this neglect are ineffectual tools, an overwhelmingly large number of possible faults to inject, and extensive manual labor required to do such tests. We present AFEX, a system that automates fault injection for software systems, finds and ranks important faults faster and more accurately than random injection, and automatically characterizes the quality of the resulting fault sets. AFEX is parallelized, such that test time decreases linearly with the number of test nodes available. AFEX also includes four fault injectors that simulate faults in major layers in the system stack: hardware, network, libraries, and human operators. We show how AFEX uses metric-driven search algorithms to efficiently find top-ranked faults in real systems like MySQL cluster and rsync

Echocardiographic predictors of embolic events in infective endocarditis

Background: Systemic embolisation occurs in 22% to 50% of patients with infective endocarditis (IE). Up to 65% of embolic events (EE) involve the central nervous system which increases the mortality rate. Several echocardiographic studies have demonstrated higher embolic rates with the increase of vegetation (VEG) dimensions and mobility.Aim: To define echocardiographic parameters which can help in identifying patients with a high risk of EE and to assess the value of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in predicting EE in patients with IE.Methods: 236 patients (58% male, mean age 47.8±6) diagnosed with IE according to Duke criteria were followed for 3 years or until cardiac surgery. Echocardiographic parameters measured on VEG included the maximum length, thickness, the narrowest diameter, neck and mobility.Results: The rate of EE was 51.27% without any significant differences with respect to gender, age, fever, anaemia, VEG site or the presence of a significant regurgitation murmur. The univariate analysis showed a significant correlation between EE and IE caused by staphylococcus, IE of the right heart, and the length as well as mobility of VEG. The only independent predictors of EE were the maximum VEG length >15 mm and the increased mobility of VEG with a maximal displacement angle >60.7o. In 23% of patients EE occurred after the initiation of antibiotic treatment. VEG in this group were big and very mobile (length >15 mm, maximal angle of displacement >65o).Conclusions: 1. Vegetation dimension and mobility determined by TEE are important predictors of the embolic risk. 2. Significant echocardiographic predictors of embolic events included vegetation length >15 mm, neck/thickness ratio >0.69, and maximal angle of displacement of vegetation during cardiac cycle >60.7o. 3. During antibiotic treatment, the embolic risk depends only on vegetation mobility and dimension

UNHIDING FORESTED LANDSCAPES. THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL INDEX OF SOUTH-EASTERN CARPATHIANS

Starting with late 2018, a new archaeological research project has been unfolding in the framework funded by the Romanian Governmental Unit for Research and Development (UEFISCDI) dedicated to top fundamental research, as one of the few winners of 2016 edition (the single to date) of ‘Complex Projects for Frontier Research’ competition. The Project, whose aims and methods will be shortly presented further, is entitled ‘Hidden Landscapes: Exploratory Remote-sensing for the Archaeology of the Lost Roads, Borders and Battlefields of South-Eastern Carpathians’ (HiLands). It implements a systematic and diachronic investigation of the historic strategic circulation corridors crossing the South-Eastern part of the Carpathian Mountains – the main gate used along ages by people transiting between Transylvania and the Danube or the Black Sea. In order to achieve such aims we have been exploring, starting from large scale LiDAR surveys, the circulation corridors’ diachronic archaeological fingerprint, preserved in the shape of  repeatedly fortified landscapes. LiDAR surveys have been carried on continuously since 2018, by airplane, but also with portable sensors based on SLAM technology. The results of the LiDAR explorations were enhanced by field surveys, geophysical prospections and pin-pointed excavations, in order to elucidate the nature of anomalies or better contextualize the significance and layout of the roads’ routes. The results of these activities are resumed in a constantly updated, open access, online data base of archaeological sites - The archaeological index of South-Eastern Carpathians (AISEC). The current contribution details the essentials of HiLands research (aims, concepts, methods), in order to introduce in the scientific circuit the AISEC’s functions and instruments, ready to be used as citable work.</em