The influence of national culture on the level and outcome of IS decision making in the IS maintenance/redevelopment decision

Would the outcome of a Global multinational organization’s decision be the same if the same decision were to be made in different countries throughout the world? Within the same organization, we propose that national cultural differences can influence decision making in different countries and cultural clusters. While much work has been done on organizational cultural influences, this study examines the influence that national culture has on organizational decision making in respect to the evolution/redevelopment decision that organizations face when a system is believed to be entering the obsolescence phase. Building on findings from the Globe research program, we show by empirical testing of a theoretical model that national cultural dimensions are significantly associated with a) the outcome of the decision to enhance or re-develop a system, and b) the organizational level at which such decisions are made. This research is significant as a means to improve management decision making, particularly with regard to the enhancement versus re-development decision. The research suggests that a relatively uniform sub-culture exists across the global IS project level but that national cultural dimensions play a more important role in determining the organizational management level at which decisions are made.

CARACTERÍSTICAS PSICOSSOCIAIS E DE PERSONALIDADE DE ADOLESCENTES INFRATORES EM CUMPRIMENTO DE MEDIDA SOCIOEDUCATIVA

Para atingir os objetivos propostos, ou seja, levantar e descrever indicadores socioculturais de uma amostra de adolescentes em cumprimento de medida socioeducativa, e descrever características psicológicas e de personalidade dos adolescentes infratores, num estudo que pesquisou adolescentes em cumprimento de medida socioeducativa. O trabalho foi realizado em duas as etapas: na primeira, os 47 adolescentes participaram de uma entrevista semidirigida; na segunda, dez desses adolescentes foram selecionados e submetidos a um instrumento projetivo para investigação de aspectos da personalidade: o “desenho da Figura Humana” de Machower, adaptado por Van Kolck (1956; 1984). A discussão teórica dos resultados baseou-se numa abordagem psicanalítica pós-freudiana para a compreensão da adolescência tanto como fase do desenvolvimento humano como dos comportamentos antissociais. Os resultados do estudo corroboraram a teoria advinda da literatura psicológica que aborda padrões comuns no período da adolescência, fase em que ocorre um complexo de fatores individuais da maturidade biológica associados ao meio social/cultural e que, por sua vez, estabelecem relações com as instâncias psicológicas ou psíquicas do sujeito junto com as características específicas de cada indivíduo. Na busca da compreensão desses padrões comuns da amostra dos adolescentes infratores utilizados no presente estudo, foram levantados dados do perfil psicossocial, cultural e demográfico; dos aspectos psicossociais e aspectos psicodinâmicos e de características de personalidade. A título de conclusão, o estudo destacou a problemática do adolescente em conflito com a lei, associada às questões sociais, de saúde mental, além do desenvolvimento psíquico, sinalizando a necessidade de ações psicoprofiláticas voltadas para população infantil, jovem, agrupamentos familiares e para a comunidade que representa seu entorno.

SmartBook – the future E-book and educatonal hypermedia

Доклад по покана, поместен в сборника на Националната конференция "Образованието в информационното общество", Пловдив, май, 2009

Predictability of unplanned extubations

Acute life threatening events such as cardiac/respiratory arrests are often predictable in adults and children. However critical events such as unplanned extubations are considered as not predictable. This paper seeks to evaluate the ability of automated prediction systems based on feature space embedding and time series methods to predict unplanned extubations in paediatric intensive care patients. We try to exploit the trends in the physiological signals such as Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate, Systolic Blood Pressure and Oxygen saturation levels in the blood using signal processing aspects of a frame-based approach of expanding signals using a nonorthogonal basis derived from the data. We investigate the significance of the trends in a computerised prediction system. The results are compared with clinical observations of predictability. We will conclude by investigating whether the prediction capability of the system could be exploited to prevent future unplanned extubations. © 2014 IEEE.

A qualitative study of an interagency relationship: Education interventions for foster children

The Interagency Agreement between the Broward County School System and District 10 Department of Children and Families (DCF) was implemented to improve the organization's relationship and in turn improve education interventions for foster children. The purpose of this study was to examine and describe key decision-makers' perspectives of this interagency relationship after implementing mutual policy. ^ The research questions which drove this study were: (a) from the perspectives of the participants, what was the relationship between the decision-makers of the Department of Children and Families and the Broward County School System, after the implementation of a unification plan that was influenced by the court system? and, (b) how was the relationship between the school system and DCF reflected in the Interagency Agreement? ^ Data were obtained through a case study that included interviews, document analysis and field observations. Participants were key decision-makers in their respective institutional settings and were chosen using criterion sampling. The researcher analyzed and interpreted data from the District 10 DCF commissioned assessment of foster care, the State of Florida Management Plans (education section), the Interagency Agreement, and participant interviews. ^ This study focused on the following five contextual areas regarding the Interagency Agreement: interagency cooperation, interagency coordination, interagency collaboration, traditional organizational linkages, and organizational climate. The results of this study suggest that the organizations' improved relationship improved the educational system for foster children. ^ This researcher recommends that the Interagency Agreement shares the leadership structure with an active parent organization of 15 foster parents who would be divided into three subcommittees. These subcommittees would perform specific tasks such as involving other foster parents, and writing mini proposals to address the social and tutoring needs of foster children. A Wraparound process including community organizations (clubs, businessmen and concerned community groups, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Clubs) is also recommended in order to engage foster children in activities to build their social skills, friendships and self-esteem. This researcher also recommends that the Broward County School System consider a role that would provide for the development of curriculum for inservice for teachers. This would empower teachers and allow them to better address the academic and social needs of the foster children. ^

Tsunami simulation and detection using global navigation satellite system reflectometry

In this thesis, research for tsunami remote sensing using the Global Navigation Satellite System-Reflectometry (GNSS-R) delay-Doppler maps (DDMs) is presented. Firstly, a process for simulating GNSS-R DDMs of a tsunami-dominated sea sur- face is described. In this method, the bistatic scattering Zavorotny-Voronovich (Z-V) model, the sea surface mean square slope model of Cox and Munk, and the tsunami- induced wind perturbation model are employed. The feasibility of the Cox and Munk model under a tsunami scenario is examined by comparing the Cox and Munk model- based scattering coefficient with the Jason-1 measurement. A good consistency be- tween these two results is obtained with a correlation coefficient of 0.93. After con- firming the applicability of the Cox and Munk model for a tsunami-dominated sea, this work provides the simulations of the scattering coefficient distribution and the corresponding DDMs of a fixed region of interest before and during the tsunami. Fur- thermore, by subtracting the simulation results that are free of tsunami from those with presence of tsunami, the tsunami-induced variations in scattering coefficients and DDMs can be clearly observed. Secondly, a scheme to detect tsunamis and estimate tsunami parameters from such tsunami-dominant sea surface DDMs is developed. As a first step, a procedure to de- termine tsunami-induced sea surface height anomalies (SSHAs) from DDMs is demon- strated and a tsunami detection precept is proposed. Subsequently, the tsunami parameters (wave amplitude, direction and speed of propagation, wavelength, and the tsunami source location) are estimated based upon the detected tsunami-induced SSHAs. In application, the sea surface scattering coefficients are unambiguously re- trieved by employing the spatial integration approach (SIA) and the dual-antenna technique. Next, the effective wind speed distribution can be restored from the scat- tering coefficients. Assuming all DDMs are of a tsunami-dominated sea surface, the tsunami-induced SSHAs can be derived with the knowledge of background wind speed distribution. In addition, the SSHA distribution resulting from the tsunami-free DDM (which is supposed to be zero) is considered as an error map introduced during the overall retrieving stage and is utilized to mitigate such errors from influencing sub- sequent SSHA results. In particular, a tsunami detection procedure is conducted to judge the SSHAs to be truly tsunami-induced or not through a fitting process, which makes it possible to decrease the false alarm. After this step, tsunami parameter estimation is proceeded based upon the fitted results in the former tsunami detec- tion procedure. Moreover, an additional method is proposed for estimating tsunami propagation velocity and is believed to be more desirable in real-world scenarios. The above-mentioned tsunami-dominated sea surface DDM simulation, tsunami detection precept and parameter estimation have been tested with simulated data based on the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman tsunami event.

Effects of vehicle speed in structural health monitoring from operational conditions of bridges

The effects of vehicle speed for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of bridges under operational conditions are studied in this paper. The moving vehicle is modelled as a single degree oscillator traversing a damaged beam at a constant speed. The bridge is modelled as simply supported Euler-Bernoulli beam with a breathing crack. The breathing crack is treated as a nonlinear system with bilinear stiffness characteristics related to the opening and closing of crack. The unevenness of the bridge deck is modelled using road classification according to ISO 8606:1995(E). The stochastic description of the unevenness of the road surface is used as an aid to monitor the health of the structure in its operational condition. Numerical simulations are conducted considering the effects of changing vehicle speed with regards to cumulant based statistical damage detection parameters. The detection and calibration of damage at different levels is based on an algorithm dependent on responses of the damaged beam due to passages of the load. Possibilities of damage detection and calibration under benchmarked and non-benchmarked cases are considered. Sensitivity of calibration values is studied. The findings of this paper are important for establishing the expectations from different vehicle speeds on a bridge for damage detection purposes using bridge-vehicle interaction where the bridge does not need to be closed for monitoring. The identification of bunching of these speed ranges provides guidelines for using the methodology developed in the paper.

d11B and metal/Ca ratios versus size fractions in the Surface and deep dwelling species, ODP Holes 130-806B and 108-664C

We have assessed the reliability of several foraminifer-hosted proxies of the ocean carbonate system (d11B, B/Ca, and U/Ca) using Holocene samples from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. We examined chemical variability over a range of test sizes for two surface-dwelling foraminifers (Globigerinoides sacculifer and Globigerinoides ruber). Measurements of d11B in G. ruber show no significant relationship with test size in either Atlantic or Pacific sites and appear to provide a robust proxy of surface seawater pH. Likewise there is no significant variability in the d11B of our Atlantic core top G. sacculifer, but we find that d11B increases with increasing test size for G. sacculifer in the Pacific. These systematic differences in d11B are inferred to be a consequence of isotopically light gametogenic calcite in G. sacculifer and its preferential preservation during postdepositional dissolution. The trace element ratio proxies of ocean carbonate equilibria, U/Ca and B/Ca, show systematic increases in both G. ruber and G. sacculifer with increasing test size, possibly as a result of changing growth rates. This behavior complicates their use in paleoceanographic reconstructions. In keeping with several previous studies we find that Mg/Ca ratios increase with increasing size fraction in our well-preserved Atlantic G. sacculifer but not in G. ruber. In contrast to previous interpretations we suggest that these observations reflect a proportionally larger influence of compositionally distinct gametogenic calcite in small individuals compared to larger ones. As with d11B this influences G. sacculifer but not G. ruber, which has negligible gametogenic calcite.

Strontium isotopes and sedimentology of a marine Triassic succession (upper Ladinian) of the westernmost Tethys, Spain

Chemical Stratigraphy, or the study of the variation of chemical elements within sedimentary sequences, has gradually become an experienced tool in the research and correlation of global geologic events. In this paper 87Sr/ 86Sr ratios of the Triassic marine carbonates (Muschelkalk facies) of southeast Iberian Ranges, Iberian Peninsula, are presented and the representative Sr-isotopic curve constructed for the upper Ladinian interval. The studied stratigraphic succession is 102 meters thick, continuous, and well preserved. Previous paleontological data from macro and micro, ammonites, bivalves, foraminifera, conodonts and palynological assemblages, suggest a Fassanian-Longobardian age (Late Ladinian). Although diagenetic minerals are present in small amounts, the elemental data content of bulk carbonate samples, especially Sr contents, show a major variation that probably reflects palaeoenvironmental changes. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios curve shows a rise from 0.707649 near the base of the section to 0.707741 and then declines rapidly to 0.707624, with a final values rise up to 0.70787 in the upper part. The data up to meter 80 in the studied succession is broadly concurrent with 87Sr/86Sr ratios of sequences of similar age and complements these data. Moreover, the sequence stratigraphic framework and its key surfaces, which are difficult to be recognised just based in the facies analysis, are characterised by combining variations of the Ca, Mg, Mn, Sr and CaCO3 contents

Revisiting the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous of the NW South Iberian Basin: new ages and sedimentary environments

The study of the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous deposits (Higueruelas, Villar del Arzobispo and Aldea de Cortés Formations) of the South Iberian Basin (NW Valencia, Spain) reveals new stratigraphic and sedimentological data, which have significant implications on the stratigraphic framework, depositional environments and age of these units. The Higueruelas Fm was deposited in a mid-inner carbonate platform where oncolitic bars migrated by the action of storms and where oncoid production progressively decreased towards the uppermost part of the unit. The overlying Villar del Arzobispo Fm has been traditionally interpreted as an inner platform-lagoon evolving into a tidal-flat. Here it is interpreted as an inner-carbonate platform affected by storms, where oolitic shoals protected a lagoon, which had siliciclastic inputs from the continent. The Aldea de Cortés Fm has been previously interpreted as a lagoon surrounded by tidal-flats and fluvial-deltaic plains. Here it is reinterpreted as a coastal wetland where siliciclastic muddy deposits interacted with shallow fresh to marine water bodies, aeolian dunes and continental siliciclastic inputs. The contact between the Higueruelas and Villar del Arzobispo Fms, classically defined as gradual, is also interpreted here as rapid. More importantly, the contact between the Villar del Arzobispo and Aldea de Cortés Fms, previously considered as unconformable, is here interpreted as gradual. The presence of Alveosepta in the Villar del Arzobispo Fm suggests that at least part of this unit is Kimmeridgian, unlike the previously assigned Late Tithonian-Middle Berriasian age. Consequently, the underlying Higueruelas Fm, previously considered Tithonian, should not be younger than Kimmeridgian. Accordingly, sedimentation of the Aldea de Cortés Fm, previously considered Valangian-Hauterivian, probably started during the Tithonian and it may be considered part of the regressive trend of the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous cycle. This is consistent with the dinosaur faunas, typically Jurassic, described in the Villar del Arzobispo and Aldea de Cortés Fms.

On the microstructure, growth pattern and original porosity of belemnite rostra: insights from calcitic Jurassic belemnites

Calcitic belemnite rostra are usually employed to perform paleoenvironmental studies based on geochemical data. However, several questions, such as their original porosity and microstructure, remain open, despite they are essential to make accurate interpretations based on geochemical analyses.This paper revisits and enlightens some of these questions. Petrographic data demonstrate that calcite crystals of the rostrum solidum of belemnites grow from spherulites that successively develop along the apical line, resulting in a “regular spherulithic prismatic” microstructure. Radially arranged calcite crystals emerge and diverge from the spherulites: towards the apex, crystals grow until a new spherulite is formed; towards the external walls of the rostrum, the crystals become progressively bigger and prismatic. Adjacent crystals slightly vary in their c-axis orientation, resulting in undulose extinction. Concentric growth layering develops at different scales and is superimposed and traversed by a radial pattern, which results in the micro-fibrous texture that is observed in the calcite crystals in the rostra.Petrographic data demonstrate that single calcite crystals in the rostra have a composite nature, which strongly suggests that the belemnite rostra were originally porous. Single crystals consistently comprise two distinct zones or sectors in optical continuity: 1) the inner zone is fluorescent, has relatively low optical relief under transmitted light (TL) microscopy, a dark-grey color under backscatter electron microscopy (BSEM), a commonly triangular shape, a “patchy” appearance and relatively high Mg and Na contents; 2) the outer sector is non-fluorescent, has relatively high optical relief under TL, a light-grey color under BSEM and low Mg and Na contents. The inner and fluorescent sectors are interpreted to have formed first as a product of biologically controlled mineralization during belemnite skeletal growth and the non-fluorescent outer sectors as overgrowths of the former, filling the intra- and inter-crystalline porosity. This question has important implications for making paleoenvironmental and/or paleoclimatic interpretations based on geochemical analyses of belemnite rostra.Finally, the petrographic features of composite calcite crystals in the rostra also suggest the non-classical crystallization of belemnite rostra, as previously suggested by other authors.

The Affordable Care Act and the Transformation of US Health Care

The neoliberal period was accompanied by a momentous transformation within the US health care system.  As the result of a number of political and historical dynamics, the healthcare law signed by President Barack Obama in 2010 ‑the Affordable Care Act (ACA)‑ drew less on universal models from abroad than it did on earlier conservative healthcare reform proposals. This was in part the result of the influence of powerful corporate healthcare interests. While the ACA expands healthcare coverage, it does so incompletely and unevenly, with persistent uninsurance and disparities in access based on insurance status. Additionally, the law accommodates an overall shift towards a consumerist model of care characterized by high cost sharing at time of use. Finally, the law encourages the further consolidation of the healthcare sector, for instance into units named “Accountable Care Organizations” that closely resemble the health maintenance organizations favored by managed care advocates. The overall effect has been to maintain a fragmented system that is neither equitable nor efficient. A single payer universal system would, in contrast, help transform healthcare into a social right.

Item and task difficulty in a B2 reading examination: perceptions of test-takers and CEFR alignment experts compared with psychometric measurements

The article presents a study of a CEFR B2-level reading subtest that is part of the Slovenian national secondary school leaving examination in English as a foreign language, and compares the test-taker actual performance (objective difficulty) with the test-taker and expert perceptions of item difficulty (subjective difficulty). The study also analyses the test-takers’ comments on item difficulty obtained from a while-reading questionnaire. The results are discussed in the framework of the existing research in the fields of (the assessment of) reading comprehension, and are addressed with regard to their implications for item-writing, FL teaching and curriculum development.

Administración pública local y construcción de la central hidroeléctrica en la Amazonia

Exponemos los resultados de una observación exploratoria en la que se analizan los impactos funcionales en el sistema administrativo como consecuencia de la construcción de la Central Hidroeléctrica de Belo Monte (CHB) en el municipio de Altamira (Amazonia oriental brasileña). En la perspectiva teórico-conceptual de la teoría de sistemas sociales de Niklas Luhmann, realizamos una observación del sistema administrativo local sobre sus operaciones y funciones, en base a cuatro códigos preestablecidos: toma de decisiones, contingencia, significación simbólica del proyecto y planificación. Las conclusiones permiten entrever en un aplano conceptual la utilidad de los conceptos sistémicos de Luhmann, y en el empírico, una planificación y administración pública municipal reactivas.