Transitions towards co-management: the process of marine resource management devolution in three east African countries

Communities are increasingly empowered with the ability and responsibility of working with national governments to make decisions about marine resources in decentralized co-management arrangements. This transition toward decentralized management represents a changing governance landscape. This paper explores the transition to decentralisation in marine resource management systems in three East African countries. The paper draws upon expert opinion and literature from both political science and linked social-ecological systems fields to guide exploration of five key governance transition concepts in each country: (1) drivers of change; (2) institutional arrangments; (3 institutional fit; (4) actor interactions; and (5) adaptive management. Key findings are that decentralized management in the region was largely donor-driven and only partly tranferred power to local stakeholders. However, increased accountability created a degree of democracy in regards to natural resource governance that was not previously present. Additionally, increased local-level adaptive management has emerged in most systems and, to date, this experimental management has helped to change resource user's views from metaphysical to more scientific cause-and-effect attribution of changes to resource conditions.

Measuring student perception and actual usage of online learning management system

Online learning management systems are in use to facilitate the face to face learning process in many universities. There are many variables that shape and influence a student’s perception of an online learning management system. This study investigates whether there is a relationship between the perception of a student regarding the learning management system and their actual usage of such system. It is believed to help better understand the student usage of online learning management system. An online questionnaire was published on a course management system for a selected subject and the student participation was voluntary. Results indicate that no significant relationship between the perception students had about the learning management system and the actual use of the system. Interestingly, a significant relationship was found between having internet access away from university and the student perception about the system. Students who had internet access away from university had better perception about the learning management system even though there was no significant difference in the level of online learning management system usage between the groups.

Arid rangeland production systems of Southern Africa

This paper analyses and describes the semi-arid rangelands of southern Africa. These rangelands are found in the grassland, savanna and thicket biomes and comprise all the remaining land which does not support commercial rainfed agriculture, in extent some 778221 km2 (66% of South Africa). Although production is primarily driven by rainfall, rangeland management systems have been developed to cope with the uncertain climate and to ameliorate the impact of inter-annual variation in production. We describe the rangeland types that occur, provide an insight into their management and examine some constraints on livestock production which the socio-economic environment presents. We describe the grazing management systems which apply under the two land tenure systems, namely freehold and leasehold tenure, and discuss how each of these systems effects livestock production, management and resource condition.

Effects of agricultural management practices on earthworm populations and crop yield: validation and application of a mechanistic modelling approach

There is little consensus on how agriculture will meet future food demands sustainably. Soils and their biota play a crucial role by mediating ecosystem services that support agricultural productivity. However, a multitude of site-specific environmental factors and management practices interact to affect the ability of soil biota to perform vital functions, confounding the interpretation of results from experimental approaches. Insights can be gained through models, which integrate the physiological, biological and ecological mechanisms underpinning soil functions. We present a powerful modelling approach for predicting how agricultural management practices (pesticide applications and tillage) affect soil functioning through earthworm populations. By combining energy budgets and individual-based simulation models, and integrating key behavioural and ecological drivers, we accurately predict population responses to pesticide applications in different climatic conditions. We use the model to analyse the ecological consequences of different weed management practices. Our results demonstrate that an important link between agricultural management (herbicide applications and zero, reduced and conventional tillage) and earthworms is the maintenance of soil organic matter (SOM). We show how zero and reduced tillage practices can increase crop yields while preserving natural ecosystem functions. This demonstrates how management practices which aim to sustain agricultural productivity should account for their effects on earthworm populations, as their proliferation stimulates agricultural productivity. Synthesis and applications. Our results indicate that conventional tillage practices have longer term effects on soil biota than pesticide control, if the pesticide has a short dissipation time. The risk of earthworm populations becoming exposed to toxic pesticides will be reduced under dry soil conditions. Similarly, an increase in soil organic matter could increase the recovery rate of earthworm populations. However, effects are not necessarily additive and the impact of different management practices on earthworms depends on their timing and the prevailing environmental conditions. Our model can be used to determine which combinations of crop management practices and climatic conditions pose least overall risk to earthworm populations. Linking our model mechanistically to crop yield models would aid the optimization of crop management systems by exploring the trade-off between different ecosystem services.

Soil bacterial phoD gene abundance and expression in response to applied phosphorus and long-term management

Bacterial transformation of phosphorus (P) compounds in soil is largely dependent on soil microbial community function, and is therefore sensitive to anthropogenic disturbances such as fertilization or cropping systems. However, the effect of soil management on the transcription of bacterial genes that encode phosphatases, such as phoD, is largely unknown. This greenhouse study examined the effect of long-term management and P amendment on potential alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and phoD gene (DNA) and transcript (RNA) abundance. Soil samples (0–15 cm) were collected from the Glenlea Long-term Rotation near Winnipeg, Manitoba, to compare organic, conventional and prairie management systems. In the greenhouse, pots of soil from each management system were amended with P as either soluble mineral fertilizer or cattle manure and then planted with Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiforum). Soils from each pot were sampled for analysis immediately and after 30 and 106 days. Significant differences among the soil/P treatments were detected for inorganic P, but not the organic P in NaHCO3-extracts. At day 0, ALP activity was similar among the soil/P treatments, but was higher after 30 days for all P amendments in soil from organically managed plots. In contrast, ALP activity in soils under conventional and prairie management responded to increasing rates of manure only, with significant effects from medium and high manure application rates at 30 and 106 days. Differences in ALP activity at 30 days corresponded to the abundance of bacterial phoD genes, which were also significantly higher in soils under organic management. However, this correlation was not significant for transcript abundance. Next-generation sequencing allowed the identification of 199 unique phoD operational taxonomic units (OTUs) from the metagenome (soil DNA) and 35 unique OTUs from the metatranscriptome (soil RNA), indicating that a subset of phoD genes was being transcribed in all soils.

Impactos da adoção das novas tecnologias BPM (business process management) nos processos governamentais

Este relatório consolida os trabalhos de pesquisa, desenvolvidos entre abril de 2005 e abril de 2006, sobre o estado de adoção e oportunidades para uso de novas tecnologias de informação em processos de governo. A ampliação de fronteiras, para além dos limites tradicionais das organizações, traz uma nova e mais forte demanda por flexibilidade que possibilite o tratamento integrado de organismos de diferentes constituições, arquiteturas e processos operacionais, sem falar nos diferentes sistemas de informações. Isto é ainda mais importante nas organizações públicas. Por outro lado, uma das principais características negativas dos órgãos públicos é a morosidade e a burocracia nos processos administrativos e de atendimento ao cidadão. A falta de uma visão tecnológica moderna, isto é, a falta de um Plano Diretor de Tecnologia da Informação (PDTI) voltada para novas soluções, como é o caso do BPM, alinhada à falta de integração entre os sistemas e processos, faz com que muitos órgãos governamentais estejam caminhando na contramão do desenvolvimento tecnológico. Este projeto de pesquisa reveste-se, portanto, de alto interesse, pois focaliza as possibilidades e impactos da adoção das novas tecnologias orientadas a processos e web services (BPM - Business Process Management e BPMS - Business Process Management Systems) na área governamental, bastante desprovida de soluções integradas de serviços aos cidadãos e empresas. Estas novas tecnologias trazem paradigmas completamente diferentes dos até aqui adotados na implementação de sistemas de informações e automação de processos. Apesar das dificuldades inerentes ao tratamento de um tema complexo e novo, mais ainda em organismos governamentais, acreditamos ter desenvolvido um trabalho bastante aprofundado, atendendo aos objetivos estabelecidos no plano original, com os necessários acertos de rota e foco dos trabalhos. Cremos, também, que este trabalho estabelece uma referência relevante no conhecimento relacionados à melhoria de processos de governo, com base em novas tecnologias. Como sub-produtos planejados e realizados, inseridos no caderno de anexos a este relatório, estão conteúdos já desenvolvidos para a edição um ou dois livros sobre o tema, diversos artigos produzidos, além de diversos eventos realizados na EAESP, envolvendo o tema do projeto, que proporcionaram a oportunidade de excelentes trocas de experiências. Este relatório, apresentado de forma objetiva e sintética, focalizando somente os principais aspectos tratados, é complementado por um extenso conteúdo complementar, entregue em um caderno de Anexos.

Gestão da segurança e saúde no trabalho em empresas produtoras de baterias automotivas: um estudo para identificar boas práticas

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Diretrizes para implantação de sistemas de segurança e saúde do trabalho em empresas produtoras de baterias automotivas

O desenvolvimento de Sistemas de Gestão da Segurança e Saúde no Trabalho (SGSST) ganha um significado cada vez mais importante no desempenho das empresas, pois, por meio deles, é possível obter a promoção da saúde e satisfação dos trabalhadores e a redução dos riscos de acidentes. No entanto, para que um SGSST obtenha bons resultados, as empresas precisam estar atentas às dificuldades comumente encontradas durante o seu processo de implantação, procurando solucioná-las de maneira antecipada e estruturada. Pelo exposto, este trabalho tem como principal objetivo apresentar diretrizes, baseadas no referencial teórico e nos resultados dos estudos de caso realizados, para implantação de SGSSTs em empresas fabricantes de baterias automotivas. Para o seu desenvolvimento adotou-se o método de pesquisa qualitativa a partir da realização de dois estudos de caso em empresas fabricantes de baterias automotivas localizadas na cidade de Bauru. Os instrumentos de coleta de dados foram entrevistas semiestruturadas, análise de documentos e observação in loco. Ao final do artigo, são propostas diretrizes relacionadas aos seguintes elementos: alta direção, estratégia organizacional, cultura organizacional, departamento de Segurança e Saúde do Trabalho (SST), técnicos de SST, recursos humanos, treinamento, equipes multidisciplinares, comunicação interna, resistência à mudança, indicadores de desempenho, ferramentas gerenciais para solução de problemas de SST, gestão de projetos, recompensas e incentivos, e integração do sistema.

Soil management and nitrogen fertilization for sprinkler-irrigated upland rice cultivars

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Dynamics of aggregate stability influenced by soil management and crop residues

The type of tillage and crop systems used can either degrade or cause a recovery of the structure of agricultural soils. The objective of this study was to determine the structural stability of the soil using mean weight diameter (MWD) of soil aggregates in three different periods of a succession of crops consisting of beans/cover plants/maize under no tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) management systems. Soils were sampled at 0- to 5-cm and 5- to 15-cm depths in three periods (P1, P2, P3): 1) November 2002 (spring/summer), 2) April 2003 (beginning of autumn), and 3) December 2003 (end of spring/beginning of summer). Aggregate stability was determined by wet sieving. The effects of the tillage systems, vegetal residues, and sampling depths on the structural stability of the aggregates were assessed and then related to organic matter (OM) contents. Aggregate stability showed temporal variation as a function of OM contents and sampling period. No tillage led to high MWD values in all study periods. The lowest MWD values and OM contents were observed 4 months after the management of the residues of cover plants. This finding is consistent with the fact that at the time of the samplings, most of the OM had already mineralized. The residues of sunn-hemp, millet, and spontaneous vegetation showed similar effects on soil aggregate stability.

Integration of the dispersed generators in the distribution management system

Since the 80s huge efforts have been made to utilize renewable energy sources to generate electric power. An important issue about using renewable energy sources is a Distribution Management System (DMS) in presence of dispersed generators. This paper reports some aspects of integration of the dispersed generators in the DMS. Besides, an investigation of impact of the dispersed generators on the overall performances of the distribution systems in steady state is performed. In order to observe losses in the distribution networks with dispersed generators, several loss allocation methods are applied. Results obtained from case study using IEEE test network, are presented and discussed. © 2003 IEEE.

A tool to simplify the management of homogeneous and heterogeneous grids

To simplify computer management, several system administrators are adopting advanced techniques to manage software configuration on grids, but the tight coupling between hardware and software makes every PC an individual managed entity, lowering the scalability and increasing the costs to manage hundreds or thousands of PCs. This paper discusses the feasibility of a distributed virtual machine environment, named Flexlab: a new approach for computer management that combines virtualization and distributed system architectures as the basis of a management system. Flexlab is able to extend the coverage of a computer management solution beyond client operating system limitations and also offers a convenient hardware abstraction, decoupling software and hardware, simplifying computer management. The results obtained in this work indicate that FlexLab is able to overcome the limitations imposed by the coupling between software and hardware, simplifying the management of homogeneous and heterogeneous grids. © 2009 IEEE.

E-business innovation and customs renovation for secure supply chain management

Includes bibliography

Quality management and competitiveness: the diffusion of the ISO 9000 standards in Latin America and recommendations for government strategies

Includes bibliography

Municipal solid waste management in the Caribbean: a benefit-cost analysis

Includes bibliography