Web-based report generators, data visualization, and Web-to-database connectivity

Because some Web users will be able to design a template to visualize information from scratch, while other users need to automatically visualize information by changing some parameters, providing different levels of customization of the information is a desirable goal. Our system allows the automatic generation of visualizations given the semantics of the data, and the static or pre-specified visualization by creating an interface language. We address information visualization taking into consideration the Web, where the presentation of the retrieved information is a challenge. ^ We provide a model to narrow the gap between the user's way of expressing queries and database manipulation languages (SQL) without changing the system itself thus improving the query specification process. We develop a Web interface model that is integrated with the HTML language to create a powerful language that facilitates the construction of Web-based database reports. ^ As opposed to other papers, this model offers a new way of exploring databases focusing on providing Web connectivity to databases with minimal or no result buffering, formatting, or extra programming. We describe how to easily connect the database to the Web. In addition, we offer an enhanced way on viewing and exploring the contents of a database, allowing users to customize their views depending on the contents and the structure of the data. Current database front-ends typically attempt to display the database objects in a flat view making it difficult for users to grasp the contents and the structure of their result. Our model narrows the gap between databases and the Web. ^ The overall objective of this research is to construct a model that accesses different databases easily across the net and generates SQL, forms, and reports across all platforms without requiring the developer to code a complex application. This increases the speed of development. In addition, using only the Web browsers, the end-user can retrieve data from databases remotely to make necessary modifications and manipulations of data using the Web formatted forms and reports, independent of the platform, without having to open different applications, or learn to use anything but their Web browser. We introduce a strategic method to generate and construct SQL queries, enabling inexperienced users that are not well exposed to the SQL world to build syntactically and semantically a valid SQL query and to understand the retrieved data. The generated SQL query will be validated against the database schema to ensure harmless and efficient SQL execution. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)^

Security specification and enforcement in mediation system

Mediation techniques provide interoperability and support integrated query processing among heterogeneous databases. While such techniques help data sharing among different sources, they increase the risk for data security, such as violating access control rules. Successful protection of information by an effective access control mechanism is a basic requirement for interoperation among heterogeneous data sources. ^ This dissertation first identified the challenges in the mediation system in order to achieve both interoperability and security in the interconnected and collaborative computing environment, which includes: (1) context-awareness, (2) semantic heterogeneity, and (3) multiple security policy specification. Currently few existing approaches address all three security challenges in mediation system. This dissertation provides a modeling and architectural solution to the problem of mediation security that addresses the aforementioned security challenges. A context-aware flexible authorization framework was developed in the dissertation to deal with security challenges faced by mediation system. The authorization framework consists of two major tasks, specifying security policies and enforcing security policies. Firstly, the security policy specification provides a generic and extensible method to model the security policies with respect to the challenges posed by the mediation system. The security policies in this study are specified by 5-tuples followed by a series of authorization constraints, which are identified based on the relationship of the different security components in the mediation system. Two essential features of mediation systems, i. e., relationship among authorization components and interoperability among heterogeneous data sources, are the focus of this investigation. Secondly, this dissertation supports effective access control on mediation systems while providing uniform access for heterogeneous data sources. The dynamic security constraints are handled in the authorization phase instead of the authentication phase, thus the maintenance cost of security specification can be reduced compared with related solutions. ^

Independent Monitoring the Cuban Economic Zone Oil Development

The extensive impact and consequences of the 2010 Deep Water Horizon oil drilling rig failure in the Gulf of Mexico, together with expanding drilling activities in the Cuban Exclusive Economic zone, have cast a spotlight on Cuban oil development. The threat of a drilling rig failure has evolved from being only hypothetical to a potential reality with the commencement of active drilling in Cuban waters. The disastrous consequences of a drilling rig failure in Cuban waters will spread over a number of vital interests of the US and of nations in the Caribbean in the general environs of Cuba. The US fishing and tourist industries will take major blows from a significant oil spill in Cuban waters. Substantial ecological damage and damage to beaches could occur for the US, Mexico, Haiti and other countries as well. The need exists for the US to have the ability to independently monitor the reality of Cuban oceanic oil development. The advantages of having an independent US early warning system providing essential real-time data on the possible failure of a drilling rig in Cuban waters are numerous. An ideal early warning system would timely inform the US that an event has occurred or is likely to occur in, essentially, real-time. Presently operating monitoring systems that could provide early warning information are satellite-based. Such systems can indicate the locations of both drilling rigs and operational drilling platforms. The system discussed/proposed in this paper relies upon low-frequency underwater sound. The proposed system can complement existing monitoring systems, which offer ocean-surface information, by providing sub-ocean surface, near-real time, information. This “integrated system” utilizes and combines (integrates) many different forms of information, some gathered through sub-ocean surface systems, and some through electromagnetic-based remote sensing (satellites, aircraft, unmanned arial vehicles), and other methods as well. Although the proposed integrated system is in the developmental stage, it is based upon well-established technologies.

Three essays on dual-class stock structure

Dual-class stock structure is characterized by the separation of voting rights and cash flow rights. The departure from a common "one share-one vote" configuration creates ideal conditions for conflicts of interest and agency problems between controlling insiders (the holders of voting rights) and remaining shareholders. The owners of voting rights have the opportunity to extract private benefits and act in their personal interest; as a result, dual-class firms are often perceived to have low transparency and high information asymmetry. This dissertation investigates the quality of information and the information environment of firms with two classes of stock. The first essay examines the quality of information by studying accruals in dual-class firms in comparison to firms with only one class of stock. The results suggest that the quality of accruals is better in dual-class firms than in single-class firms. In addition, the difference in the quality of accruals between firms that abolish their dual-class share structure by unification and singe-class firms disappears in the post-unification period. The second essay investigates the earnings informativeness of dual-class firms by examining the explanatory power of earnings for returns. The results indicate that the earnings informativeness is lower for dual-class firms as compared to single-class firms. Earnings informativeness improves in firms that unify their shares. The third essay compares the level of information asymmetry between dual-class firms and single-class firms. It is documented that the information environment for dual-class firms is worse than for single-class firms. Also, the finding suggests that the difference in information environment between dual-class firms and single-class firms disappears after dual-class stock unification.

La théorie sociale de la connaissance et la gestion du patrimoine documentaire à l’ère numérique

Les institutions de mémoire et de savoir (par exemple, les bibliothèques, les archives, les musées) font face à des défis importants dans leurs responsabilités d’assurer la pérennité du patrimoine documentaire à l’ère numérique. Citons la surabondance de l’information numérique, la possibilité de production, théoriquement illimitée, offerte aux individus comme aux groupes sociaux, les limites dans les capacités de stockage et de diffusion de l’information numérique qui sont à la disposition des institutions mandataires du patrimoine documentaire. De plus, il est apparu que les approches et les méthodes utilisées pour identifier, gérer, préserver et diffuser le patrimoine documentaire de la société canadienne dans un environnement analogique n’étaient transférables à un environnement numérique. Nous suggérons que la théorie sociale de la connaissance peut servir de base à une réflexion portant sur le développement d’une politique publique qui viserait à encadrer l’identification, la sélection, la gestion et la préservation du patrimoine documentaire d’une société à l'ère numérique. Nous définissons la problématique puis proposons des réponses à travers trois articles scientifiques. Les résultats indiquent que les connaissances et les pratiques professionnelles utilisées demeurent persistantes et limitent la formulation et l'application de nouveaux cadres théoriques, de politiques administratives et de techniques associés à l'identification et la sélection du patrimoine documentaire. Cette recherche propose un cadre conceptuel qui permet de développer des politiques publiques sur le patrimoine documentaire du Canada.

The Life Cycle of Corporate Venture Capital

This paper establishes the life-cycle dynamics of Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) to explore the information acquisition role of CVC investment in the process of corporate innovation. I exploit an identification strategy that allows me to isolate exogenous shocks to a firm's ability to innovate. Using this strategy, I first find that the CVC life cycle typically begins following a period of deteriorated corporate innovation and increasingly valuable external information, lending support to the hypothesis that firms conduct CVC investment to acquire information and innovation knowledge from startups. Building on this analysis, I show that CVCs acquire information by investing in companies with similar technological focus but have a different knowledge base. Following CVC investment, parent firms internalize the newly acquired knowledge into internal R&D and external acquisition decisions. Human capital renewal, such as hiring inventors who can integrate new innovation knowledge, is integral in this step. The CVC life cycle lasts about four years, terminating as innovation in the parent firm rebounds. These findings shed new light on discussions about firm boundaries, managing innovation, and corporate information choices.

Abundance of calcareous dinoflagellates of sediment cores from the South Atlantic Ocean

Despite the increasing interest in the South Atlantic Ocean as a key area of the heat exchange between the southern and the northern hemisphere, information about its palaeoceanographic conditions during transitions from glacial to interglacial stages, the so-called Terminations, are not well understood. Herein we attempt to increase this information by studying the calcareous dinoflagellate cysts and the shells of Thoracosphaera heimii (calcareous cysts) of five Late Quaternary South Atlantic Ocean cores. Extremely high accumulation rates of calcareous cysts at the Terminations might be due to a combined effect of increased cyst production and better preservation as result of calm, oligotrophic conditions in the upper water layers. Low relative abundance of Sphaerodinella albatrosiana compared with Sphaerodinella tuberosa in the Cape Basin may be the result of the relatively colder environmental conditions in this region compared with the equatorial Atlantic Ocean with high relative abundance of S. albatrosiana. Furthermore, the predominance of S. tuberosa during glacials and interglacials at the observed site of the western Atlantic Ocean reflects decreased salinity in the upper water layer.

From Unemployment to Sustainable Livelihoods in Ottawa's Technology Sector (Working Paper 44)

Since submission of the draft report to the OECD‐LEED Program on 30 June 2007, a unique seven‐years retrospective study of the unemployed high technology workers was released by Statistics Canada.1 Drawing upon Statistics Canada’s confidential Longitudinal Worker File – itself constructed from four administrative data sources that linked Records of Employment and tax filer information by the Social Insurance Number and firm‐level data by a company identifier – this study was able to identify and trace the re‐employment of those permanently laid off in the high‐tech industry by location. The findings are stunning.

O bibliotecário como mediador no processo de transferência da informação para pessoas com deficiência visual

MAIA, Maria Aniolly Queiroz et al. O bibliotecário como mediador no processo de transferência da informação para pessoas com deficiência visual. In: CONGRESSO BRASILEIRO DE BIBLIOTECONOMIA, 24., DOCUMENTAÇÃO E CIÊNCIA DA INFORMAÇÃO, 2011, Maceió. Anais... Maceió: CBBD, 2011

An Empirical Analysis of Performance Impacts Resulting From Conversion to Franchise Operations

Franchising is an important form of organizational control. Possible benefits of franchising include its ability to reduce agency costs that increase with costly monitoring, and provide incentives for the use of local information by onsite managers. However, these benefits may come at a cost, as franchisees may reduce quality by choosing to free ride. While many studies have investigated the reasons for franchising, few studies have documented the impacts of franchising on unit level operating performance. Using time-series data from a number of lodging properties that were converted to franchisee control from company control, this study documents the performance impacts of franchising. The analysis reveals that conversion results in a modest decline in financial performance and an immediate sharp decline in quality.

Do tratamento das reclamações à gestão da insatisfação: o comportamento de empresas hoteleiras mediante a insatisfação de seus clientes

Consumer dissatisfaction, when properly handled, is a significant information source for the manager. Studies in this area allow broadening the understanding of certain customer attitudes and behaviors, such as loyalty, repurchase intention or satisfaction and trust increase. Above and beyond supporting consumer feedback, dissatisfaction can provide significant opportunities for organizational learning. Starting from dissatisfied customer information, companies can detect service flaws and develop new products. This work presents the results of an investigation on the behavior of businesses belonging to the hotel sector in Natal, RN, through the dissatisfaction of their customers. We have sought to map the main problems presented by customers to hotels, in the perception of managers and employees, as well as to understand both the process of dissatisfactionrelated data collection, analysis, and processing, and the utilization of such information by businesses. Beyond this, we have compared the habits of organizations to the company reaction approaches described in the literature: Complaint Handling, Complaint Management, and Dissatisfaction Management. The used methodology has been based on case study. Data was collected via indepth interviews with managers and employees in six hotels, two independent ones and four belonging to national and international hotel networks. We have also made use of documents provided by the organizations, such as guest complaint registers and reports from satisfaction surveys on which content analysis was subsequently performed. The results of the investigation point to a high level of awareness in the companies concerning the importance of consumer dissatisfaction. Even though the maximum grade in the procedure scale is not achieved, it has been observed that answer to dissatisfaction is given in planned and systematic form, geared towards consumer satisfaction and improvement of products and processes. Hotel businesses still have to look into other possibilities for mapping consumer dissatisfaction, which implies, among other aspects, articulation with a range of public and private organizations in such a way as to guarantee sustainability of touristic activities in the long term

A internacionalização de PMEs apoiada pela AIDA e um estudo do impacto de atributos de CEOs na internacionalização

O Distrito de Aveiro caracteriza-se pelo seu extenso tecido empresarial, cada vez mais consciente da importância da internacionalização. Os dados recolhidos e posteriormente analisados, permitiram concluir que entidades como a AIDA (Associações Empresariais) devem promover a internacionalização de PME com um reduzido grau de internacionalização. Desta forma, este tipo de entidades aumentarão o alcance de PMEs ao nível da divulgação e acesso facilitado a informações sobre apoios à internacionalização, assim como a informações sobre os diversos mercados de interesse para as PME. O presente trabalho também estudou o impacto de atributos de CEOs na internacionalização de PMEs. Para o seu desenvolvimento foi utilizada uma amostra de três Micro, Pequenas e Médias Empresas do Distrito de Aveiro. Os resultados, que foram obtidos pela metodologia qualitativa através de entrevistas semiestruturadas e outras informações recolhidas nas respetivas empresas, mostram evidência que: os atributos dos CEOs analisados (Idade, Nível Educacional e Experiência Internacional) relacionados com o grau de internacionalização das empresas, permitiram uma validação das hipóteses colocadas na revisão de literatura. Conclui-se, através deste estudo exploratório, que a idade [mais avançada] do CEO tem um impacto negativo na internacionalização de uma PME; que o nível educacional [mais elevado] do CEO tem um impacto positivo na internacionalização de uma PME; e, ainda, que a [maior] experiência internacional do CEO tem um impacto positivo na internacionalização de uma PME.

Conceção de um sistema informático de gestão do pessoal do ISCED – Cabinda

Com um aumento significativo dos dados nos setores empresariais, urge a necessidade de criar formas de facilitar o seu tratamento para um ganho do tempo na execução das atividades, garantindo uma maior eficiência dos sistemas e também proporcionando a maximização do lucro às empresas, quando for esse o caso. O sucesso de uma empresa depende bastante dos seus recursos humanos e estes, constituem o seu “instrumento” mais importante. É (ou seria) das pessoas que a empresa define ações estratégicas, constituindo ganhos de diversas naturezas (de conhecimento, de marca, económicas ou financeiras). O objetivo principal desta dissertação é permitir que a instituição universitária ISCED – Cabinda se adapte ao potencial digital pelo recurso às tecnologias de informação e comunicação, no contexto da sua gestão de Recursos Humanos. Em consequência, a instituição beneficiará com a maior facilidade e rapidez do acesso à informação e a facilidade na atualização dos dados do sistema. Uma vez automatizado, o sistema poderá facilitar o acesso aos dados a fim de responder a uma determinada necessidade que possa existir, independentemente de estar prevista ou não (tornando o sistema mais flexível e adaptável a novas realidades). Com uma Base de dados, far-se-á o cadastro dos dados dos funcionários da instituição fazendo assim evoluir a gestão de Recursos Humanos e proporcionando a busca de informação relativa a um determinado funcionário de uma forma fácil, rápida, precisa, fiável e coerente. Recorrendo ao desenvolvimento de uma aplicação móvel baseada na arquitetura cliente-servidor, as operações de consultas (adicionar, modificar, eliminar), ficam facilitadas e permitem ainda uma maior exploração de dados. A apresentação de uma aplicação móvel para a consulta no âmbito da gestão de Recursos Humanos é complementada com uma agenda de trabalhos a serem desenvolvidos para garantir a proposta de um sistema de gestão de Recursos Humanos para o ISCED.

Planificação de uma plataforma web de calendarização e divulgação da oferta cultural do município de Angra do Heroísmo

Com o intuito de melhorar a eficiência na gestão e execução de responsabilidades junto dos munícipes, a Câmara Municipal de Angra do Heroísmo (CMAH), localizada na ilha Terceira (Região Autónoma dos Açores), distribui as suas valências por vários departamentos e colaboradores especializados. Apesar desta segmentação existem circunstâncias em que os mesmos trabalham em conjunto e cruzam informações, por exemplo, nos processos de licenciamento. Contudo, esta necessária troca de dados é deficiente quando se calendarizam eventos organizados ou não pela instituição em causa. Consequentemente, esta falha resulta muitas vezes na sobreposição de eventos, algo considerado insustentável numa comunidade relativamente pequena, como é o caso de Angra do Heroísmo (em 2013, contava com 35.109 habitantes). A autarquia pretende solucionar o problema tendo em conta as capacidades proporcionadas pelas plataformas da Web 2.0 que, entre outras, permitem a participação dos utilizadores e a fácil inserção e gestão da informação por pessoas sem conhecimentos técnicos aprofundados. Esta dissertação determina as especificações que devem estar presentes numa plataforma Web de calendarização e divulgação da oferta cultural, ao serviço do Município de Angra do Heroísmo; conceptualiza um protótipo funcional que valida as especificações identificadas e serve de apoio à construção da plataforma final a desenvolver no futuro. Esta investigação tem como fim melhorar o processo de calendarização e divulgação de eventos da oferta cultural do concelho angrense. Esta finalidade implicou a necessidade de conhecer aprofundadamente o funcionamento da instituição, identificando e distinguindo o papel dos vários intervenientes e processos, pelo que parte da investigação decorreu na Câmara Municipal de Angra do Heroísmo. Entre os vários desafios desta pesquisa destacam-se a recolha e compreensão de informação sobre o processo em estudo e o planeamento de um sistema digital intuitivo, que respeite as estruturas de decisão e o sistema hierárquico da autarquia e que detenha o grau de rigor exigido nas organizações governativas.

Comunidad universitaria de unidades de información especializadas en ciencias sociales: una experiencia exitosa

Una de las características de los países de capitalismo dependiente – periférico es la escasa inversión en el campo de la investigación científica. En particular, en el ámbito de las ciencias sociales, esta situación se manifiesta en los muy limitados recursos para el desarrollo de centros de documentación y bibliotecas especializadas como soporte necesario para el desarrollo eficiente y eficaz de la investigación social sobre las realidades nacionales. La Comunidad Universitaria de Unidades de Información Especializadas en Ciencias Sociales es una experiencia exitosa en la educación superior, que provoca romper, a su vez, la lógica de mercantilizar la información, potenciando el uso de los limitados recursos que las universidades públicas costarricenses invierten en el campo de la información para investigación social, por medio de la coordinación de tareas y la integración de procesos técnicos entre distintas unidades de información participantes. Abstract One of the characeristics of peripherial capitalism dependant countries is the scant investment in scientific research particulary, in the field of Social Sciences; this situation is shown in the limited resources available for the development of specialized documentation centers and libraries as necessary support for the efficient and effective development of the social research on the national realities. The University Community of Specialized Information Units on Social Sciences is a successful experience in the university education field; this experience induces a break on the logic of commercialization of information by strengthening the use of the scarce resources that Costarican universities invest in this area. This action is carried out by means of coordinating the tasks and the integration of the technical processes between the different information units involved