Desenvolvimento de modelo matemático de otimização logística para o transporte multimodal de safras agrícolas pelo corredor centro-oeste

Este artigo apresenta um modelo matemático de otimização logística para o transporte multimodal de safras agrícolas pelo corredor Centro-Oeste. Tal ferramenta foi desenvolvida no contexto de três amplos projetos de pesquisa financiados pela FINEP e executados por um grupo de universidades. O modelo, conhecido genericamente como Modelo de fluxo de Custo Mínimo Multiproduto, considera a otimização de fluxos em rede, para os produtos açúcar, álcool, milho, soja, óleo de soja, farelo de soja e trigo. O modelo proposto para estimativa dos fluxos inter-regionais mostrou-se uma ferramenta factível para fins de avaliação do potencial de utilização da multimodalidade. A análise destes resultados gera importantes subsídios para a seleção dos locais com potencial para instalação de mecanismos e equipamentos de transferência de cargas, além de auxiliar no dimensionamento dessas infraestruturas. Também é um resultado importante do ferramental desenvolvido a identificação das zonas de cargas que apresentam potencial captável pelas ferrovias, hidrovias e dutovias, ou seja, possibilita a identificação das regiões que revelam potencial para uso da multimodalidade.

Identifying the ICT challenges of the agri-food sector to define the architectural requirements for a future internet core platform

This paper discussed the specific challenges of the agri-food sector in the light of research carried out in the Smart-AgriFod project. Using questionnaires and focus groups, our research identified as number of business needs and drivers which enable the identification of suitable Future Internet technologies across the three sub-domains of Smart Farming, Smart Agri-logistics, and Smart Food Awareness. The universal need for information access and the importance of standards to enable this lead us to propose an integrated scenario for end to end information access from farm to fork. We conclude by discussing wider implications of such developments especially for climate change and urbanisation.

A solution for information management in logistics operations of modern manufacturing chains

One dominant feature of the modern manufacturing chains is the movement of goods. Manufacturing companies would remain an unprofitable investment if the supplies/logistics of raw materials, semi-finished products or final goods are not handled in an effective way. Both levels of a modern manufacturing chain-actual production and logistics-are characterized by continuous data creation at a much faster rate than they can be meaningfully analyzed and acted upon manually. Often, instant and reliable decisions need to be taken based on huge, previously inconceivable amounts of heterogeneous, contradictory or incomplete data. The paper will highlight aspects of information flows related to business process data visibility and observability in modern manufacturing networks. An information management platform developed in the framework of the EU FP7 project ADVANCE will be presented.

eBEST platform a KKV-klaszterek operatív és együttműködési folyamatainak támogatására (eBEST platform for supporting operational and cooperative processes of SME's clusters)

Az Európai Bizottság jelentése szerint a magyar kis- és középvállalkozások helyzete 2005 óta stagnál. Bár ezek a vállalkozások adják a magyar vállalkozások 99%-át, mégis a közbeszerzési, valamint a növekvő piacokhoz való hozzáférés terén számos akadállyal kerülnek szembe. Az eBEST projekten (Empowering Business Ecosystems of Small Service Enterprises to Face the Economic Crisis) belül kialakított platform olyan funkcionalitással bír, ami mindamellett, hogy lehetővé teszi a vállalkozások szervezett csoportokba, azaz ökoszisztémákba rendeződését, hozzá tud járulni a fogyasztói igények kielégítése érdekében létrejövő ellátási lánc, illetve egyedi folyamatok mentén fellépő információszerzési, kommunikációs vagy együttműködési akadályok lebontásához. ____ It is widely recognised that the most important factor for increasing the productivity of small companies is a deep adoption of computer-based applications and services. The FP7 SME eBEST project proposed a new operational environment specifically conceived for net worked small companies, supported by an advanced suite of ICT services, the eBEST platform. The paper aims at presenting the projects achievements that are validated by a number of company clusters of different EU countries and industry sectors. The general objectives of the eBEST project are attracting customers to work with the clustered companies, facilitating companies to collaborate with each other, and enabling associations to foster the devised innovation.

Optimising container process at multimodal container terminal with automatic straddle carriers

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Co-creative media : theorising digital storytelling as a platform for researching and developing participatory culture

This paper considers the question, ‘what is co-creative media, and why is it a useful idea in social media research’? The term ‘co-creative media’ is now used by Creative Industries researchers at QUT to describe their digital storytelling practices. Digital storytelling is a set of collaborative digital media production techniques that have been used to facilitate social participation in numerous Australian and international contexts. Digital storytelling has been adapted by Creative Industries researchers at QUT as a platform for researching the potential of vernacular creativity in a variety of contexts, including social inclusion of marginalized and disadvantaged groups; inclusion in public histories of narratives that might be overlooked; and articulation of voices that otherwise remain silent in the formulation of social and economic development strategies. The adaption of digital storytelling to different contexts has been shaped by the reflexive, recursive, and pragmatic requirements of action research. Amongst other things, this activity draws attention to the agency of researchers in facilitating these kinds of participatory media processes and outcomes. This discussion serves to problematise concepts of participatory media by introducing the term ‘co-creative media’ and differentiating these from other social media production practices.

The open kimono: How Intel balances trust and power to maintain platform leadership

A small group of companies including Intel, Microsoft, and Cisco have used "platform leadership" with great effect as a means for driving innovation and accelerating market growth within their respective industries. Prior research in this area emphasizes that trust plays a critical role in the success of this strategy. However, many of the categorizations of trust discussed in the literature tend to ignore or undervalue the fact that trust and power are often functionally equivalent, and that the coercion of weaker partners is sometimes misdiagnosed as collaboration. In this paper, I use case study data focusing on Intel's shift from ceramic/wire-bonded packaging to organic/C4 packaging to characterize the relationships between Intel and its suppliers, and to determine if these links are based on power in addition to trust. The case study shows that Intel's platform leadership strategy is built on a balance of both trust and a relatively benevolent form of power that is exemplified by the company's "open kimono" principle, through which Intel insists that suppliers share detailed financial data and highly proprietary technical information to achieve mutually advantageous objectives. By explaining more completely the nature of these inter-firm linkages, this paper usefully extends our understanding of how platform leadership is maintained by Intel, and contributes to the literature by showing how trust and power can be used simultaneously within an inter-firm relationship in a way that benefits all of the stakeholders.

Maintaining centralised application systems : a cross-country, cross-sector, cross-platform comparison

Past studies of software maintenance issues have largely concentrated on the average North American firm. While they have made a substantial contribution to good information system management practice, it is believed that further segmentation of sample data and cross-country comparisons will help to identify patterns of behaviour more akin to many less average organizations in North America and elsewhere. This paper compares the Singapore maintenance scene with the reported North American experience. Comparisons are also made between: Government organizations, Singapore corporations and multinational corporations (MNCs); mainframe and minicomputer installations; and fourth-generation language (4GL) and non-4GL computer installations. Study findings, while in many cases were similar to earlier US studies, do show the importance of Singapore's young application portfolio, the widespread usage of 4GLs and the severe maintenance personnel problems.

Advancing e-learning policy and practice : influences on academics’ adoption, integration and development of multimodal e-learning courses

Tertiary education is increasingly a contested space where advances in Information Communications Technologies and their application to technology-mediated e-learning environments have forced university administrators and educators to dislocate themselves from traditional correspondence modes of student engagement. Compounding this paradigmatic shift within the traditional sphere of distance education pedagogy are multiple and conflicting pressures on academics to develop flexible, engaging, cost-effective and sustainable interactive learning resources that incorporate both multimedia and hypermedia. This chapter reports on a study that examined factors that influence educators’ decision to adopt and integrate educational technology and convert traditional print-based distance education materials into interactive multimodal e-learning formats. Although the broader study was conducted in a single Australian university and investigated pedagogical, institutional and individual factors, this chapter restricts its focus to solely the pedagogical motivations and concerns of educators. It is argued that findings from the study have significance at the institutional level, particularly in terms of developing an underlying pedagogical rationale that can permeate the e-learning culture throughout the university, while at the same time, providing a roadmap for educators who are yet to fully engage with the e-learning format.