Management Innovation at the Brazilian Superior Tribunal of Justice

We describe administrative reform involving management innovation undertaken at the Superior Tribunal of Justice, Brazil`s highest appellate court for infra-constitutional cases. The innovation is the introduction of a new management model based on strategic planning and a process management approach to work processes. Introduction of the new model has been supported by the use of information technology and project management techniques. Qualitative methods were used for data collection and analysis. Findings reveal that the innovation is contributing to the development of a systemic overview of key processes, reducing the fragmenting effects of the division of work activities within the Tribunal. At least three new organizational routines or capabilities have been developed as a result of the innovation studied: Electronic Court Management, Project Management, and Process Management. The paper contributes to knowledge about court management, a field that has received little research attention in the public administration literature.

Atratividade de projetos de software livre: importância teórica e estratégias para administração

Thousands of Free and Open Source Software Projects (FSP) were, and continually are, created on the Internet. This scenario increases the number of opportunities to collaborate to the same extent that it promotes competition for users and contributors, who can guide projects to superior levels, unachievable by founders alone. Thus, given that the main goal of FSP founders is to improve their projects by means of collaboration, the importance to understand and manage the capacity of attracting users and contributors to the project is established. To support researchers and founders in this challenge, the concept of attractiveness is introduced in this paper, which develops a theoretical-managerial toolkit about the causes, indicators and consequences of attractiveness, enabling its strategic management.

Evaluating an Agile Method for Planning and Controlling Innovative Projects

This article presents an extensive investigation carried out in two technology-based companies of the So Carlos technological pole in Brazil. Based on this multiple case study and literature review, a method, entitled hereafter IVPM2, applying agile project management (APM) principles was developed. After the method implementation, a qualitative evaluation was carried out by a document analysis and questionnaire application. This article shows that the application of this method at the companies under investigation evidenced the benefits of using simple, iterative, visual, and agile techniques to plan and control innovative product projects combined with traditional project management best practices, such as standardization.

Providing Integrity and Authenticity in DICOM Images: A Novel Approach

The increasing adoption of information systems in healthcare has led to a scenario where patient information security is more and more being regarded as a critical issue. Allowing patient information to be in jeopardy may lead to irreparable damage, physically, morally, and socially to the patient, potentially shaking the credibility of the healthcare institution. Medical images play a crucial role in such context, given their importance in diagnosis, treatment, and research. Therefore, it is vital to take measures in order to prevent tampering and determine their provenance. This demands adoption of security mechanisms to assure information integrity and authenticity. There are a number of works done in this field, based on two major approaches: use of metadata and use of watermarking. However, there still are limitations for both approaches that must be properly addressed. This paper presents a new method using cryptographic means to improve trustworthiness of medical images, providing a stronger link between the image and the information on its integrity and authenticity, without compromising image quality to the end user. Use of Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine structures is also an advantage for ease of development and deployment.

Generation and Analysis of Interaction Energy Maps of p-Substituted Benzoic Acid [(5-Nitro-thiophen-2-yl)-methylene]-Hydrazides Active against MRSA

In this preliminary study eighteen p-substituted benzoic acid [(5-nitro-thiophen-2-yl)-methylene]-hydrazides with antimicrobial activity were evaluated against multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, correlating the three-dimensional characteristics of the ligands with their respective bioactivities. The computer programs Sybyl and CORINA were used, respectively, for the design and three-dimensional conversion of the ligands. Molecular interaction fields were calculated using GRID program. Calculations using Volsurf resulted in a statistically consistent model with 48 structural descriptors showing that hydrophobicity is a fundamental property in the analyzed biological response.

The impact of Six Sigma in the performance of a Pollution Prevention program

The diffusion of Pollution Prevention faces organizational barriers as for instance resistance to change, insufficient support from decision-makers, unclear project leadership, insufficient employee accountability and inflexible organizational structures. To understand how to overcome such barriers, the performance of a Pollution Prevention program of a multinational corporation is analyzed. The quantitative analyses of 2096 Pollution Prevention projects conducted between 1995 and 2007 support the conclusion that the performance of the Pollution Prevention program increased after the implementation of the Six Sigma program. Moreover, the analyses of 1906 Pollution Prevention projects and 31,133 Six Sigma projects for cost reduction in 27 countries indicate that in countries where the implementation of Six Sigma is more expressive, pollution is prevented more than in countries with less expressive Six Sigma implementation. In fact, the Six Sigma implementation improved the organizational capability for data based project management. Therefore, comparing six years before and six years after the Six Sigma implementation, the total number of Pollution Prevention projects recognized increased 6.9 times and the total amount of pollution prevented increased by 62%. The qualitative analysis describes how the Six Sigma program interacts with the Pollution Prevention program in the studied company. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

P-T-Fluid evolution and graphite deposition during retrograde metamorphism in Ribeira Fold Belt, SE Brazil: Oxygen fugacity, fluid inclusions and C-O-H isotopic evidence

Combined fluid inclusion (FI) microthermometry, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, C-O-H isotopes and oxygen fugacities of granulites from central Ribeira Fold Belt, SE Brazil, provided the following results: i) Magnetite-Hematite fO(2) estimates range from 10(-11.5) bar (QFM + 1) to 10(-18.3) bar (QFM - 1) for the temperature range of 896 degrees C-656 degrees C, implying fO(2) decrease from metamorphic peak temperatures to retrograde conditions; ii) 5 main types of fluid inclusions were observed: a) CO(2) and CO(2)-N(2) (0-11 mol%) high to medium density (1.01-0.59 g/cm(3)) FI; b) CO(2) and CO(2)-N(2) (0-36 mol%) low density (0.19-0.29 g/cm(3)) FI; c) CO(2) (94-95 mol%)-N(2) (3 mol%)-CH(4) (2-3 mol%)-H(2)O (water phi(v) (25 degrees C) = 0.1) FI; d) low-salinity H(2)O-CO(2) FI; and e) late low-salinity H(2)O FI; iii) Raman analyses evidence two graphite types in khondalites: an early highly ordered graphite (T similar to 450 degrees C) overgrown by a disordered kind (T similar to 330 degrees C); iv) delta(18)O quartz results of 10.3-10.7 parts per thousand, imply high-temperature CO(2) delta(18)O values of 14.4-14.8 parts per thousand, suggesting the involvement of a metamorphic fluid, whereas lower temperature biotite delta(18)O and delta D results of 7.5-8.5 parts per thousand and -54 to -67 parts per thousand respectively imply H(2)O delta(18)O values of 10-11 parts per thousand and delta D(H2O) of -23 to -36 parts per thousand suggesting delta(18)O depletion and increasing fluid/rock ratio from metamorphic peak to retrograde conditions. Isotopic results are compatible with low-temperature H(2)O influx and fO(2) decrease that promoted graphite deposition in retrograde granulites, simultaneous with low density CO(2), CO(2)-N(2) and CO(2)-N(2)-CH(4)-H(2)O fluid inclusions at T = 450-330 degrees C. Graphite delta(13)C results of -10.9 to -11.4 parts per thousand imply CO(2) delta(13)C values of -0.8 to -1.3 parts per thousand suggesting decarbonation of Cambrian marine carbonates with small admixture of lighter biogenic or mantle derived fluids. Based on these results, it is suggested that metamorphic fluids from the central segment of Ribeira Fold Belt evolved to CO(2)-N(2) fluids during granulitic metamorphism at high fO(2), followed by rapid pressure drop at T similar to 400-450 degrees C during late exhumation that caused fO(2) reduction induced by temperature decrease and water influx, turning carbonic fluids into CO(2)-H(2)O (depleting biotite delta(18)O and delta D values), and progressively into H(2)O. When fO(2) decreased substantially by mixture of carbonic and aqueous fluids, graphite deposited forming khondalites. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mineralogical and microthermometric studies and structural aspects of imperial topaz mineralization in Antonio Pereira, Ouro Preto District (Minas Gerais) - Brazil

The occurrences of imperial topaz in the Antonio Pereira mine, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, are associated with the metamorphic carbonate rocks of the Minas Supergroup. The crystals have densities varying from 3.46 to 3.58. The parameters of the unitary cells obtained were: 4.658 to 4.663 angstrom (ao), 8.823 to 8.832 angstrom (b(o)), 8.382 to 8.389 angstrom (c(o)), and 344.65 to 345.46 angstrom 3 (V). The refraction indices presented the following variations: 1.622 to 1.630 (nX), 1.624 to 1.632 (nY), 1.633 to 1.640 (nZ), and 0.008 to 0.011 (B). These properties are coherent with the low fluorine contents obtained (16,48%/17,05wt%). Infrared spectroscopy and microthermometry showed that the fluid inclusions, which represent the mineralizing fluids, are formed by H(2)O (with Ca(2+), Mg(2+) and Na(+)), and CO(2) +/- CH(4). The minimal trapping T-P conditions of 290/320 degrees C and 2,349/2,497bar were obtained for the primary fluid inclusions. The pseudo-secondary fluid inclusions were trapped at conditions of lower temperatures and variable pressures, during the deformation process under local alternating states of stress. The microthermometric studies, the structural analysis and the fluorine contents suggest that the mineralized veins were formed from hydrothermal fluids originated during the Brasiliano tectono-metamorphic event.