Management information:design of a system for change identification

This thesis deals with the problem of Information Systems design for Corporate Management. It shows that the results of applying current approaches to Management Information Systems and Corporate Modelling fully justify a fresh look to the problem. The thesis develops an approach to design based on Cybernetic principles and theories. It looks at Management as an informational process and discusses the relevance of regulation theory to its practice. The work proceeds around the concept of change and its effects on the organization's stability and survival. The idea of looking at organizations as viable systems is discussed and a design to enhance survival capacity is developed. It takes Ashby's theory of adaptation and developments on ultra-stability as a theoretical framework and considering conditions for learning and foresight deduces that a design should include three basic components: A dynamic model of the organization- environment relationships; a method to spot significant changes in the value of the essential variables and in a certain set of parameters; and a Controller able to conceive and change the other two elements and to make choices among alternative policies. Further considerations of the conditions for rapid adaptation in organisms composed of many parts, and the law of Requisite Variety determine that successful adaptive behaviour requires certain functional organization. Beer's model of viable organizations is put in relation to Ashby's theory of adaptation and regulation. The use of the Ultra-stable system as abstract unit of analysis permits developing a rigorous taxonomy of change; it starts distinguishing between change with in behaviour and change of behaviour to complete the classification with organizational change. It relates these changes to the logical categories of learning connecting the topic of Information System design with that of organizational learning

Hydrodynamic characterization of bubble column using Dynamical High Order Decomposition approach

Bubble columns are present in several applications, such as chemical and biochemical reactors and petrochemical and environmental engineering industries. This variety of applications is why understanding the bubble columns' dynamics is essential. This paper aims to describe a 2D bubble column system by a data-driven method to comprehend its dynamics better. We provided a set of simulations considering different superficial velocities to produce training data. With this data set, we compared two approaches: the Fast Fourier transformation (FFT) and the High-Order Dynamic Mode Decomposition (HODMD). Our results showed that FFT could not adequately describe the system as it has been done for a long time in the industry. However, with a few measurement points, HODMD can well represent and reconstruct the dynamics of this complex dispersed multiphase flow system.Comment: 20 page

Bottom-up vs. top-down : trade-offs in efficiency, understanding, freedom and creativity with InfoVis tools

The emergence of tools that support fast-and-easy visualization creation by non-experts has made the benefits of InfoVis widely accessible. Key features of these tools include attribute-level operations, automated mappings, and visualization templates. However, these features shield people from lower-level visualization design steps, such as the specific mapping of data points to visuals. In contrast, recent research promotes constructive visualization where individual data units and visuals are directly manipulated. We present a qualitative study comparing people's visualization processes using two visualization tools: one promoting a top-down approach to visualization construction (Tableau Desktop) and one implementing a bottom-up constructive visualization approach (iVoLVER). Our results show how the two approaches influence: 1) the visualization process, 2) decisions on the visualization design, 3) the feeling of control and authorship, and 4) the willingness to explore alternative designs. We discuss the complex trade-offs between the two approaches and outline considerations for designing better visualization tools.Postprin

SUSTAINABILITY IN PPPS: A NETWORK ANALYSIS

Over the last decades, sustainability-related topics have increased their relevance to infrastructure development. Researchers have conducted studies analyzing the relationship between Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and sustainability. However, despite the PPPs have been recognized as a relevant factor for sustainable development, no bibliometric analyses have been conducted studying the relation between PPPs and sustainability. This paper introduces a comprehensive understanding of the body of knowledge of the nexus between sustainability and PPPs, their evolution, and the connections of their main topics. This analysis allows for integrating disperse studies within a comprehensive PPP-sustainable framework. The Network Analysis unraveled that the significance of sustainability within PPPs has grown over time evolving from traditional developed English-speaking countries to developing countries. Overall, the PPP research agenda has evolved from road infrastructure dominance driven by a public sector’s perspective of social welfare to increasing types of infrastructure driven by economic and environmental performance yet remaining to strengthen the latter

Pancreatoblastoma in a paediatric patient: anatomo-pathological aspects of a case with multiple hepatic metastases

Pancreatoblastoma is a rare paediatric malignant neoplasm. The treatment of choice is complete surgical resection. However, it is often unresectable due to its large size, local infiltration or distant metastasis. Since the condition is rare, there is currently no standard treatment regimen. We outline the case of a 4-year-old child who presented with abdominal pain and distention, together with an enlarged liver and elevated serum α-fetoprotein levels. Imaging studies showed the presence of an abnormal pancreatic tumour and multiple nodular lesions in the liver, the biopsies from which led to a diagnosis of pancreatoblastoma. In this case, the patient received cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, combining cisplatin and doxorubicin. The patient subsequently underwent scheduled surgery in which the primary pancreatic lesion was resected, obtaining a circumscribed and nodular specimen measuring 7 × 6 cm and weighing 150 g. Given the extent of the metastasis, the child is currently awaiting a liver transplant.Fil: Cao, Gabriel Fernando. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños Pedro Elizalde (ex Casa Cuna); Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Mendez, Julián. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños Pedro Elizalde (ex Casa Cuna); ArgentinaFil: Navacchia, Daniel. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños Pedro Elizalde (ex Casa Cuna); Argentin

Os obstáculos do licenciamento ambiental municipal - Análise das principais dificuldades e dos entraves existentes nos procedimentos de licenciamentos ambiental de competência dos municípios

Environmental licensing is one of the main instruments of the National Environmental Policy, mainly due to its nature of prevention of the significance of environmental damages. After the enactment of complementary law no. 140/11, municipalities were given the explicit competence to license enterprises and activities whose environmental impact is classified as local, provided they have a qualified technical body and a municipal environmental council. After almost six years of enforcement of the aforementioned complementary law, it is verified that most municipalities have not yet been able to implement an efficient and effective environmental licensing system, configuring themselves as mere emitters of environmental licenses. The main problems encountered in municipal environmental licensing are addressed in this paper, such as inconsistencies in the definition of competence of the licensing body, deficiencies in the normative framework, mainly regarding legislation on land use and occupation (zoning), low technical capacity and Lack of independence of municipal environmental agencies, excessive bureaucracy and high processing time, as well as lack of transparency and social control. The analysis of these obstacles points to the need for improvements and effective changes in municipal environmental systems, making environmental licensing play the role of collective protection.O licenciamento ambiental constitui um dos principais instrumentos da Política Nacional de Meio Ambiente, principalmente pelo seu caráter de prevenção da significância dos danos ambientais. Após a edição da lei complementar nº 140/11, os municípios passaram a ter a competência explícita para licenciar os empreendimentos e atividades cujo impacto ambiental seja classificado como de âmbito local, desde que possuam órgão técnico capacitado e conselho municipal de meio ambiente. Após quase seis anos de vigência da referida lei complementar, verifica-se que grande parte dos municípios ainda não consegui implementar um sistema de licenciamento ambiental eficiente e eficaz, configurando-se como meros emissores de licenças ambientais. Os principais problemas encontrados no licenciamento ambiental municipal são tratados no presente trabalho, a saber: incongruências na definição de competência do órgão licenciador, as deficiências no arcabouço normativo, principalmente quanto às legislações de uso e ocupação do solo (zoneamentos), a baixa capacidade técnica e falta de independência dos órgãos ambientais municipais, a excessiva burocracia e o elevado tempo de tramitação dos processos, além da falta de transparência e de controle social. A análise desses obstáculos aponta para a necessidade de melhorias e mudanças efetivas nos sistemas municipais de meio ambiente, fazendo com que o licenciamento ambiental cumpra o papel de proteção da coletividade

Optimizing the inventorying and distribution of chemical fluids: An innovative nested column generation approach

Vendor-managed-inventory is a successful business practices based on the cooperation between a supplier and its customers in which demand and inventory information from the customers are shared with the supplier. This practice is gaining popularity in the chemical industry and relies on the inventory-routing-problem, which integrates inventory management, vehicle routing, and delivery scheduling decisions. This one is a difficult combinatorial optimization problem both theoretically and practically. However, because of the large expenses involved in distribution and inventorying of chemical products, it is attractive to make use of optimization tools for exploiting as many degrees of freedom as possible with the goal of minimizing both distribution and inventorying costs. Consequently, we propose a nested column generation algorithm for solving an inventorying and distribution problem that models the delivery of several chemicals fluids. The approach is building on a column generation & incomplete branch-and-price algorithm in which for each delivery route, the delivery patterns of fluids are also determined by column generation. We detail the implementation and provide computational results for realistic test instances.Fil: Coccola, Mariana Evangelina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química; ArgentinaFil: Mendez, Carlos Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química; ArgentinaFil: Dondo, Rodolfo Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química; Argentin

Estrategias de afrontamiento presentes ante el estrés percibido en el ámbito laboral en una cooperativa de ahorro y crédito en la ciudad de Quito durante el periodo de febrero-julio del 2023

La presente investigación llevada a cabo en una cooperativa de ahorro y crédito en la ciudad de Quito en el periodo febrero-julio del 2023, empezó por la cantidad de estrés que se ha reflejado en los trabajos y el cómo el ser humano los va enfrentando, de igual manera en cómo las empresas no brindan mayor importancia a la salud mental, el objetivo principal fue identificar que estrategias de afrontamiento están presentes ante el estrés percibido en el ámbito laboral, aquí veremos que es el estrés percibido y las causas por las cuales nace esta patología y también se repasara todas las dimensiones de las estrategias de afrontamiento, en esta investigación se aplicaron dos test los cuales son el PSS y el COPE-28, para poder realizar una comparación de las dimensiones de las estrategias de afrontamiento que predominan en los trabajadores con altos y bajo porcentajes de estrés percibido dentro de un ambiente laboral.La presente investigación llevada a cabo en una cooperativa de ahorro y crédito en la ciudad de Quito en el periodo febrero-julio del 2023, empezó por la cantidad de estrés que se ha reflejado en los trabajos y el cómo el ser humano los va enfrentando, de igual manera en cómo las empresas no brindan mayor importancia a la salud mental, el objetivo principal fue identificar que estrategias de afrontamiento están presentes ante el estrés percibido en el ámbito laboral, aquí veremos que es el estrés percibido y las causas por las cuales nace esta patología y también se repasara todas las dimensiones de las estrategias de afrontamiento, en esta investigación se aplicaron dos test los cuales son el PSS y el COPE-28, para poder realizar una comparación de las dimensiones de las estrategias de afrontamiento que predominan en los trabajadores con altos y bajo porcentajes de estrés percibido dentro de un ambiente laboral

Análise Crítica dos Sistemas de Informação de Resíduos Sólidos no Brasil

The comprehensiveness and reliability of information on the current management of urban solid waste in Brazil is a challenge to the objectives of scientific research. In the introduction to this article, the main information systems are appointed and their main limitations are briefly presented. ABRELPE's Panorama of Solid Waste in Brazil - as one of the main sources of information- was analyzed in detail regarding the statistical methodology used to determine its values. The results of this analysis revealed to be of low reliability in relation to the quantitative referring to the variables published on RSU - solid urban waste and RSS - health services waste. Either because there are no complete descriptions about the application of the method, as well as the evidence of inadequacies of the model developed with the adopted statistical method. The present work allowed us to conclude the importance of developing an independent national system for gathering information on the production, treatment and disposal of waste that effectively contributes to the search for solutions to the serious social, economic and environmental problem caused by solid urban waste and its poor management in general.A abrangência e confiabilidade de informações sobre a atual gestão de resíduos sólidos urbanos no Brasil é um desafio aos objetivos da pesquisa científica. Na introdução deste artigo são identificados os principais sistemas de informações e apresentadas brevemente suas principais limitações. O Panorama de Resíduos Sólidos do Brasil da ABRELPE – Associação Brasileira de Empresas de Limpeza Pública e Resíduos Especiais – como uma das principais fontes de informações foi analisado minuciosamente quanto à metodologia estatística empregada para determinação de seus valores. Os resultados desta análise revelaram-se de baixa confiabilidade com relação aos quantitativos referentes às variáveis sobre RSU – resíduos sólidos urbanos e RSS – resíduos de serviços de saúde publicados. Seja por não haver descrições completas sobre a aplicação do método, bem como pela evidência de inadequações do modelo desenvolvido com o método estatístico adotado. O presente trabalho permitiu concluir a importância do desenvolvimento de um sistema nacional de levantamento de informações de produção, tratamento e disposição de resíduos independente e que contribua efetivamente na busca de soluções para o grave problema social, econômico e ambiental causado pelos resíduos sólidos urbanos e sua má gestão, de forma geral