A proactive approach o XY international expansion

This work project was conducted under a Direct Research internship (DRI) that consists on an individual dissertation established on a given organization. DRI has a problem solving format to an empirical question to be addressed, «Which country has the highest potential for the next step of XY internationalization process? ». In order to achieve the project’s purpose, it was conducted a scanning process using a top-down approach over an initial list of nine countries given by XY. To do so it was developed an international scanning framework based on different domains and weights that allowed to achieve the top two countries with highest potential. After an in depth analysis over the final set, it was recommended Switzerland as the best country to make the next step of XY internationalization in Europe.

International partner selection Indian technical textile market

Due to a combination of a vast agricultural industry and a tremendously growing technical textile industry, Ludvig Svensson identified India as target market for possible expansion through domestic production and supply. However, Svensson needed additional information about the industry structure and key players. Therefore, this project focused on a detailed analysis of the technical textile market and its players by following the international partner selection process. Thereby, five key players were identified as potential partners, as well as the need for additional research to determine alternative entry modes, as the market does not currently seem to be receptive for Svensson products.

Genetic algorithm for shipping route estimation with long-range tracking data : automatic reconstruction of shipping routes based on the historical ship positions for maritime safety applications

Ship tracking systems allow Maritime Organizations that are concerned with the Safety at Sea to obtain information on the current location and route of merchant vessels. Thanks to Space technology in recent years the geographical coverage of the ship tracking platforms has increased significantly, from radar based near-shore traffic monitoring towards a worldwide picture of the maritime traffic situation. The long-range tracking systems currently in operations allow the storage of ship position data over many years: a valuable source of knowledge about the shipping routes between different ocean regions. The outcome of this Master project is a software prototype for the estimation of the most operated shipping route between any two geographical locations. The analysis is based on the historical ship positions acquired with long-range tracking systems. The proposed approach makes use of a Genetic Algorithm applied on a training set of relevant ship positions extracted from the long-term storage tracking database of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). The analysis of some representative shipping routes is presented and the quality of the results and their operational applications are assessed by a Maritime Safety expert.

Structured business solution for infrastructure projects

Companies seeking to continue growing and developing need to consider the possibility of international expansion and what that represents to their future. To tackle this challenge it becomes necessary to establish the company’s interests and priorities as well as defining and assessing the foreign market opportunities of a specific industry. This directed research internship proposes and conducts a simulation of the preliminary foreign market assessment and selection within the Juncker Plan: country filtering and ranking having as a frame of reference the second largest construction company in Brazil, Andrade Gutierrez.

Equity offerings, stock price crash risk, and the impact of securities regulation: international evidence

We examine whether earnings manipulation around seasoned equity offerings (SEOs) is associated with an increase in the likelihood of a stock price crash post-issue and test whether the enactment of securities regulations attenuate the relation between SEOs and crash risk. Empirical evidence documents that managerial tendency to conceal bad news increases the likelihood of a stock price crash (Jin and Myers, 2006; Hutton, Marcus, and Tehranian, 2009). We test this hypothesis using a sample of firms from 29 EU countries that enacted the Market Abuse Directive (MAD). Consistent with our hypothesis, we find that equity issuers that engage in earnings management experience a significant increase in crash risk post-SEO relative to control groups of non-issuers; this effect is stronger for equity issuers with poor information environments. In addition, our findings show a significant decline in crash risk post-issue after the enactment of MAD that is stronger for firms that actively manage earnings. This decline in post-issue crash risk is more effective in countries with high ex-ante institutional quality and enforcement. These results suggest that the implementation of MAD helps to mitigate managers’ ability to manipulate earnings around SEOs.

Design of a case-based reasoner for information security in military organizations

Information security is concerned with the protection of information, which can be stored, processed or transmitted within critical information systems of the organizations, against loss of confidentiality, integrity or availability. Protection measures to prevent these problems result through the implementation of controls at several dimensions: technical, administrative or physical. A vital objective for military organizations is to ensure superiority in contexts of information warfare and competitive intelligence. Therefore, the problem of information security in military organizations has been a topic of intensive work at both national and transnational levels, and extensive conceptual and standardization work is being produced. A current effort is therefore to develop automated decision support systems to assist military decision makers, at different levels in the command chain, to provide suitable control measures that can effectively deal with potential attacks and, at the same time, prevent, detect and contain vulnerabilities targeted at their information systems. The concept and processes of the Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) methodology outstandingly resembles classical military processes and doctrine, in particular the analysis of “lessons learned” and definition of “modes of action”. Therefore, the present paper addresses the modeling and design of a CBR system with two key objectives: to support an effective response in context of information security for military organizations; to allow for scenario planning and analysis for training and auditing processes.

Bimodal information increases spontaneous interpersonal synchronization of goal directed upper limb movements

When interacting with each other, people often synchronize spontaneously their movements, e.g. during pendulum swinging, chair rocking[5], walking [4][7], and when executing periodic forearm movements[3].Although the spatiotemporal information that establishes the coupling, leading to synchronization, might be provided by several perceptual systems, the systematic study of different sensory modalities contribution is widely neglected. Considering a) differences in the sensory dominance on the spatial and temporal dimension[5] , b) different cue combination and integration strategies [1][2], and c) that sensory information might provide different aspects of the same event, synchronization should be moderated by the type of sensory modality. Here, 9 naïve participants placed a bottle periodically between two target zones, 40 times, in 12 conditions while sitting in front of a confederate executing the same task. The participant could a) see and hear, b) see , c) hear the confederate, d) or audiovisual information about the movements of the confederate was absent. The couple started in 3 different relative positions (i.e., in-phase, anti-phase, out of phase). A retro-reflective marker was attached to the top of the bottles. Bottle displacement was captured by a motion capture system. We analyzed the variability of the continuous relative phase reflecting the degree of synchronization. Results indicate the emergence of spontaneous synchronization, an increase with bimodal information, and an influence of the initial phase relation on the particular synchronization pattern. Results have theoretical implication for studying cue combination in interpersonal coordination and are consistent with coupled oscillator models.

Public service culture collections of microorganisms: are they important for biotechnology?

Microbiology as a scientific discipline recognised the need to preserve microorganisms for scientific studies establishing from its very beginning research culture collections (CC). Later on, to better serve different scientific fields and bioindustries with the increasing number of strains of scientific, medical, ecological and biotechnological importance public service CC were established with the specific aims to support their user communities. Currently, the more developed public service CC are recognised as microBiological Resources Centres (mBRC). mBRC are considered to be one of the key elements for sustainable international scientific infrastructure, which is necessary to underpin successful delivery of the benefits of biotechnology, whether within the health sector, the industrial sector or other sectors, and in turn ensure that these advances help drive economic growth. In more detail, mBRCs are defined by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as service providers and repositories of the living cells, genomes of organisms, and information relating to heredity and functions of biological systems. mBRCs contain collections of culturable organisms (e.g., microorganisms, plant, animal cells), replicable parts of these (e.g. genomes, plasmids, virus, cDNAs), viable but not yet culturable organisms, cells and tissues, as well as database containing molecular, physiological and structural information relevant to these collections and related bioinformatics. Thus mBRCs are fundamental to harnessing and preserving the world’s microbial biodiversity and genetic resources and serve as an essential element of the infrastructure for research and development. mBRCs serve a multitude of functions and assume a range of shapes and forms. Some are large national centres performing a comprehensive role providing access to diverse organisms. Other centres play much narrower, yet important, roles supplying limited but crucial specialised resources. In the era of the knowledge-based bio-economy mBRCs are recognised as vital element to underpinning the biotechnology.

The Data Mining applied for the prediction of highway roughness due to overloaded trucks

Currently, the quality of the Indonesian national road network is inadequate due to several constraints, including overcapacity and overloaded trucks. The high deterioration rate of the road infrastructure in developing countries along with major budgetary restrictions and high growth in traffic have led to an emerging need for improving the performance of the highway maintenance system. However, the high number of intervening factors and their complex effects require advanced tools to successfully solve this problem. The high learning capabilities of Data Mining (DM) are a powerful solution to this problem. In the past, these tools have been successfully applied to solve complex and multi-dimensional problems in various scientific fields. Therefore, it is expected that DM can be used to analyze the large amount of data regarding the pavement and traffic, identify the relationship between variables, and provide information regarding the prediction of the data. In this paper, we present a new approach to predict the International Roughness Index (IRI) of pavement based on DM techniques. DM was used to analyze the initial IRI data, including age, Equivalent Single Axle Load (ESAL), crack, potholes, rutting, and long cracks. This model was developed and verified using data from an Integrated Indonesia Road Management System (IIRMS) that was measured with the National Association of Australian State Road Authorities (NAASRA) roughness meter. The results of the proposed approach are compared with the IIRMS analytical model adapted to the IRI, and the advantages of the new approach are highlighted. We show that the novel data-driven model is able to learn (with high accuracy) the complex relationships between the IRI and the contributing factors of overloaded trucks

Derechos de participación e información en programas dirigidos a adolescentes en escuelas secundarias de la Ciudad de Córdoba: cumplimiento progresivo y estrategias de promoción. Participation and information rights in programs for adolescents in secondary schools in Cordoba City: progressive implementation and promotion strategies.

Abordar la infancia desde el enfoque de derechos (ED) implica una lectura de los derechos de los cuales los niños, niñas y adolescentes (NNA) son titulares y de las acciones estatales que se implementan para viabilizar el ejercicio concreto de ellos. Esta perspectiva exige comprender los contenidos de las políticas púb,el grado de participación que se les asigna y los sentidos que ellas toman en términos de progresividad de los derechos. Los cambios de concepción de la infancia desde la Convención Internacional de los Derechos del Niño (CIDN) y los cambios legislativos interpelan al Estado y la sociedad a modificar la visión hegemónica. Nuestra hipótesis gira alrededor de las siguientes considerac.: se han producido algunas modificaciones en las políticas y acciones estatales, aún no se dan las transformaciones necesarias de las lógicas institucionales y de los operadores que estimulen la participación de NNA en el ámbito escolar. Esto se visualiza en la ausencia de análisis cuali de los contenidos de las acc. y la falta de ftes estadísticas específicas, que muestren la orientac.de los contenidos en los principios de la protecc.integral. Estos presupuestos plantean interrogantes que delimitan el problema de investigación: ¿cómo se construye y reconstruye el ejercicio de la ciudadanía a través de la participación de los NNA, en su paso por la escuela, y cuáles son las lógicas institucionales que habilitan u obstaculizan ese ejercicio? Y ¿cuáles son los recursos institucionales que permitan que los programas y acciones redunden en el ejercicio efectivo de los derechos?.Obj.gral: Describir, analizar e interpretar la progresividad en el ejercicio de los derechos de participación e informacióin que tienen los adolescentes en escuelas secundarias de la cd de Cba, durante 2005 / 2010, para promover espacios públicos de construcción de ciudadanía. Se analizarán tres escuelas de Córdoba, escuela pública provincial, púb. nacional y privada. Obj. Espec.: Analizar las prácticas participativas formales e informales en las escuelas seleccionadas.- Aplicar indicadores cuanti y cualitativos del “Sistema de Indicadores para los derechos de la Infancia” Describir y analizar los recursos materiales y humanos. Elaborar y proponer procedim. para la confec. de registros de datos estadísticos - Elaborar y proponer lineamientos para la elaborac.e implementac.de acciones. Diseñar herramientas de difusión sobre los ds de participación e información.Esta investigac. es de carácter descriptivo e interpretativo, analizará diferentes ftes de informac.con técnicas cuanti y cualitativas, durante período la promulgación de la Ley 26061/05 y la adhesión prov. 9396/07. Se tomarán del Sistema de Indicadores, el derecho a la educación, el tema transversal “Acceso a la información y participación”, y las categorías de análisis “Recepción del Derecho y Capacidades estatales”. Se trabajaran indicadores cuanti y señales de progreso (cualitativos): estructurales, proceso y resultados. Serán analizados los Programas implementados durante el período de estudio. Estrategias cuali observac. participante, entrevistas, grupos focales, talleres de sensibilización, etc .Otras ftes de info: doc. institucionales, registros, evaluac, contenidos de programas y campañas y de difusión, prensa escrita, legislaciones, etc. La info se analizará a través Programa Atlas Ti, y del análisis estadístico. Algunos resultados esperados: Evaluac.y ajuste del Sistema de indicadores, la sensibilizac. desde el EF de autorid. escol. para la formulac. de planes y programas para el monitoreo adecuado de los mismos y para la rendic. de ctas de su gestión. Estimular la participac. de NNA en la escuela. Realizac.de documental. Brindar herramientas al Edo para superv de la aplicación progresiva del ejercicio de los derechos de participación e información de NNA Promov la continua evaluac. de los programas y acc.desde el ED para estimular el reconoc. de la nec.de ajuste de la política. The issue of children from the rights focus implies a reading of the rights in which children and adolescents are the holders and the state actions that are implemented to enable the exercise of them. This perspective requires understanding the contents of the public policies, the participation level that is assigned, and the senses that they take in terms of rights progressivity of. The conception changes about children since the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and legislative changes challenge to the State and society to modify hegemony vision. Our hypothesis revolves around the following considerations: there have been some public policies and state actions changes, but they not turn out, yet, transformations in logical institutional and actors whose are encourages children participation in school. This could be reflects in the absence of qualitative analysis in the actions contents and the lack of sources specific statistics, that will be showing the control of the principal contents of integral protection. These, raise the questions that delimit our problem research: how is built citizenship exercise through children and adolescent’s participation in the school, and what are the institutional logical that empowers or turns difficult that exercise? And What are the institutional resources that make possible the effective exercise of the rights, through different programs and actions?. General Objective: To describe, analyze and interpret exercise progressivity participation and information rights that have the adolescents in secondary schools in Córdoba City during 2005 / 2010, in order to promote public spaces for the construction of citizenship. It will analyze three schools in Cordoba, provincial public school, national public school and private school. . Obj. Specifics: To analyze the formal and informal participative practices in the schools selected. - To apply quantitative and qualitative indicators of the “Indicators System for Infa

Applicability of Two International Risk Scores in Cardiac Surgery in a Reference Center in Brazil

Background:The applicability of international risk scores in heart surgery (HS) is not well defined in centers outside of North America and Europe.Objective:To evaluate the capacity of the Parsonnet Bernstein 2000 (BP) and EuroSCORE (ES) in predicting in-hospital mortality (IHM) in patients undergoing HS at a reference hospital in Brazil and to identify risk predictors (RP).Methods:Retrospective cohort study of 1,065 patients, with 60.3% patients underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), 32.7%, valve surgery and 7.0%, CABG combined with valve surgery. Additive and logistic scores models, the area under the ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) curve (AUC) and the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) were calculated. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify the RP.Results:Overall mortality was 7.8%. The baseline characteristics of the patients were significantly different in relation to BP and ES. AUCs of the logistic and additive BP were 0.72 (95% CI, from 0.66 to 0.78 p = 0.74), and of ES they were 0.73 (95% CI; 0.67 to 0.79 p = 0.80). The calculation of the SMR in BP was 1.59 (95% CI; 1.27 to 1.99) and in ES, 1.43 (95% CI; 1.14 to 1.79). Seven RP of IHM were identified: age, serum creatinine > 2.26 mg/dL, active endocarditis, systolic pulmonary arterial pressure > 60 mmHg, one or more previous HS, CABG combined with valve surgery and diabetes mellitus.Conclusion:Local scores, based on the real situation of local populations, must be developed for better assessment of risk in cardiac surgery.

Documentation and sport information: the challenges and opportunities brought by new technologies

This text corresponds to the contents of the seminar “Information Services at the Sport Institutions” held by the author as part of the programme of activities of the Invited Professor of Olympism of the International Chair in Olympism (IOC-UAB) in 2001. The seminar discusses the potential of technologies such as the Internet in sports documentation.

The Olympic Movement and Information Society: New Internet Challenges and Opportunities

Article describing the current situation of the Internet, the use of Internet by sport institutions, and the relationship between the Internet and the Olympic Games, and the Olympic Movement. This paper was presented at the International Symposium on Television in the Olympic Games held in Lausanne in October 1998.

Understanding sources of the change in international business cycles

Macroeconomic activity has become less volatile over the past three decades in most G7 economies. Current literature focuses on the characterization of the volatility reduction and explanations for this so called "moderation" in each G7 economy separately. In opposed to individual country analysis and individual variable analysis, this paper focuses on common characteristics of the reduction and common explanations for the moderation in G7 countries. In particular, we study three explanations: structural changes in the economy, changes in common international shocks and changes in domestic shocks. We study these explanations in a unified model structure. To this end, we propose a Bayesian factor structural vector autoregressive model. Using the proposed model, we investigate whether we can find common explanations for all G7 economies when information is pooled from multiple domestic and international sources. Our empirical analysis suggests that volatility reductions can largely be attributed to the decline in the magnitudes of the shocks in most G7 countries while only for the U.K., the U.S. and Italy they can partially be attributed to structural changes in the economy. Analyzing the components of the volatility, we also find that domestic shocks rather than common international shocks can account for a large part of the volatility reduction in most of the G7 countries. Finally, we find that after mid-1980s the structure of the economy changes substantially in five of the G7 countries: Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S..

Co-movements between US and UK stock prices: the roles of macroeconomic information and time-series varying conditional correlations

This paper provides evidence on the sources of co-movement in monthly US and UK stock price movements by investigating the role of macroeconomic and financial variables in a bivariate system with time-varying conditional correlations. Crosscountry communality in response is uncovered, with changes in the US Federal Funds rate, UK bond yields and oil prices having similar negative effects in both markets. Other variables also play a role, especially for the UK market. These effects do not, however, explain the marked increase in cross-market correlations observed from around 2000, which we attribute to time variation in the correlations of shocks to these markets. A regime-switching smooth transition model captures this time variation well and shows the correlations increase dramatically around 1999-2000. JEL classifications: C32, C51, G15 Keywords: international stock returns, DCC-GARCH model, smooth transition conditional correlation GARCH model, model evaluation.