Generation and analysis of the 2005 land cover map for Mexico using 250m MODIS data

Land cover plays a key role in global to regional monitoring and modeling because it affects and is being affected by climate change and thus became one of the essential variables for climate change studies. National and international organizations require timely and accurate land cover information for reporting and management actions. The North American Land Change Monitoring System (NALCMS) is an international cooperation of organizations and entities of Canada, the United States, and Mexico to map land cover change of North America's changing environment. This paper presents the methodology to derive the land cover map of Mexico for the year 2005 which was integrated in the NALCMS continental map. Based on a time series of 250 m Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data and an extensive sample data base the complexity of the Mexican landscape required a specific approach to reflect land cover heterogeneity. To estimate the proportion of each land cover class for every pixel several decision tree classifications were combined to obtain class membership maps which were finally converted to a discrete map accompanied by a confidence estimate. The map yielded an overall accuracy of 82.5% (Kappa of 0.79) for pixels with at least 50% map confidence (71.3% of the data). An additional assessment with 780 randomly stratified samples and primary and alternative calls in the reference data to account for ambiguity indicated 83.4% overall accuracy (Kappa of 0.80). A high agreement of 83.6% for all pixels and 92.6% for pixels with a map confidence of more than 50% was found for the comparison between the land cover maps of 2005 and 2006. Further wall-to-wall comparisons to related land cover maps resulted in 56.6% agreement with the MODIS land cover product and a congruence of 49.5 with Globcover.

Resources, staff beliefs and organizational culture: factors in the use of information and communication technology for adults with intellectual disabilities

Background  Access to, and the use of, information and communication technology (ICT) is increasingly becoming a vital component of mainstream life. First-order (e.g. time and money) and second-order factors (e.g. beliefs of staff members) affect the use of ICT in different contexts. It is timely to investigate what these factors may be in the context of service provision for adults with intellectual disabilities given the role ICT could play in facilitating communication and access to information and opportunities as suggested in Valuing People. Method  Taking a qualitative approach, nine day service sites within one organization were visited over a period of 6 months to observe ICT-related practice and seek the views of staff members working with adults with intellectual disabilities. All day services were equipped with modern ICT equipment including computers, digital cameras, Internet connections and related peripherals. Results  Staff members reported time, training and budget as significant first-order factors. Organizational culture and beliefs about the suitability of technology for older or less able service users were the striking second-order factors mentioned. Despite similar levels of equipment, support and training, ICT use had developed in very different ways across sites. Conclusion  The provision of ICT equipment and training is not sufficient to ensure their use; the beliefs of staff members and organizational culture of sites play a substantial role in how ICT is used with and by service users. Activity theory provides a useful framework for considering how first- and second-order factors are related. Staff members need to be given clear information about the broader purpose of activities in day services, especially in relation to the lifelong learning agenda, in order to see the relevance and usefulness of ICT resources for all service users.

Understanding digital literacies: a practical introduction

Understanding Digital Literacies provides an accessible and timely introduction to new media literacies. It supplies readers with the theoretical and analytical tools with which to explore the linguistic and social impact of a host of new digital literacy practices. Each chapter in the volume covers a different topic, presenting an overview of the major concepts, issues, problems and debates surrounding the topic, while also encouraging students to reflect on and critically evaluate their own language and communication practices. Features include: coverage of a diverse range of digital media texts, tools and practices including blogging, hypertextual organisation, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Wikipedia, websites and games an extensive range of examples and case studies to illustrate each topic, such as how blogs have affected our thinking about communication, how the creation and sharing of digital images and video can bring about shifts in social roles, and how the design of multiplayer online games for children can promote different ideologies a variety of discussion questions and mini-ethnographic research projects involving exploration of various patterns of media production and communication between peers, for example in the context of Wikinomics and peer production, social networking and civic participation, and digital literacies at work end of chapter suggestions for further reading and links to key web and video resources a companion website providing supplementary material for each chapter, including summaries of key issues, additional web-based exercises, and links to further resources such as useful websites, articles, videos and blogs.

The role of Planning Aid England in supporting communities’ engagement in planning

In considering the position of community engagement within planning in a time of neo-liberalism and a context of ‘neo-communitarian localism’ (cf. Jessop, 2002; DeFilippis, 2004), this paper reviews the role and relevance of Planning Aid in terms of its performance and aspirations in guiding and transforming planning practice (Friedmann, 1973; 1987; 2011) since its inception in 1973. In doing this we reflect on the critiques of Planning Aid performance provided by Allmendinger (2004) and bring the account up-to-date following on from past considerations (e.g. Bidwell and Edgar, 1982; Thomas, 1992; Brownill and Carpenter, 2007a,b; Carpenter and Brownill, 2008) and prompted by the 35 years since the University of Reading produced the first published work reviewing Planning Aid (Curtis and Edwards, 1980). Our paper is timely given renewed attacks on planning, the implementation of a form of localism and reductions in funding for planning in a time of austerity. Our view is that the need for forms of ‘neo-advocacy’ planning and community development are perhaps even more necessary now, given the continuing under-representation of lower income groups, minority groups and to allow for the expression of alternative planning futures. Thus further consideration of how to ensure that Planning Aid functions are sustained and understood requires the attention of policymakers and the planning profession more widely.

Molecular mechanisms of crosstalk between thyroid hormones and estrogens

Purpose of review Novel analyses of the relations between thyroid hormone receptor signaling and estrogen receptor—dependent mechanisms are timely for two sets of reasons. Clinically, both affect mood and foster neuronal growth and regeneration. Mechanistically, they overlap at the levels of DNA recognition elements, coactivators, and signal transduction systems. Crosstalk between thyroid hormone receptors and estrogen receptors is possibly important to integrate external signals to transcription within neurons. Recent findings It has been shown that reproductive functions, including behaviors, driven by estrogens can be antagonized by thyroid hormones, and it has been argued that such crosstalk is biologically adaptive to ensure optimal reproduction. Transcriptional facilitation during transient transfunction studies show that the interactions between thyroid receptor isoforms and estrogen receptor isoforms depend on cell type and promoter context. Overall, this pattern of interactions assures multiple and flexible means of transcriptional regulation. Surprisingly, in some brain areas, thyroid hormone actions can synergize with estrogenic effects, particularly when nongenomic modes of action are considered, such as kinase activation, which, as has been reported, affect later estrogen receptor—induced genomic events. Summary In summary, recent work with nerve cells has contributed to a paradigm shift in how the molecular and behavioral effects of hormones which act through nuclear receptors are viewed.

The Stephen Dwoskin dossier: introduction

This dossier aims to consider the contribution Stephen Dwoskin and his work made to the development of film and its infrastructure in the UK from 1964 when he arrived in the London until his death in 2012. Dwoskin not only straddled different contexts and ideologies about film but advocated for the support of work in a wide variety of forms. Because of this he was not easily categorizeable. Much of the work analyzing his camera work and his contribution to film is written in French and there is little, particularly in recent years, in English. As such this dossier constituted an important contribution to the reassessment of a singular avant-garde artist and film maker. (can I use avant garde here?) In the light of his recent death this is a timely moment for a consideration of Dwoskin’s achievements and legacy. As well as having a groundbreaking vision of what film could do, he was an influential figure and constituting force in terms of the milieu and structures that supported the independent film world in the UK for several decades. Much of the literature surrounding this world in the UK has been formed by key figures making sense of their part in history. This dossier aims towards some first steps in historicising his legacy. Two of the proposed texts will be making use of new material to conduct original research made available through the recently acquired Dwoskin Archive at University of Reading. Due to Dowksin’s heterogenous involvement in film, there are many ways in which Dwoskin can be considered and the proposed essays will take a range of perspectives to assess and analyse his contribution.

LiLEDDA – a six step forum-based netnographic research method for nursing and caring sciences

Internet research methods in nursing science are less developed than in other sciences. We choose to present an approach to conducting nursing research on an internet-based forum. This paper presents LiLEDDA, a six-step forum-based netnographic research method for nursing science. The steps consist of: 1. Literature review and identification of the research question(s); 2. Locating the field(s) online; 3. Ethical considerations; 4. Data gathering; 5. Data analysis and interpretation; and 6. Abstractions and trustworthiness. Traditional research approaches are limiting when studying non-normative and non-mainstream life-worlds and their cultures. We argue that it is timely to develop more up-to-date research methods and study designs applicable to nursing science that reflect social developments and human living conditions that tend to be increasingly online-based.

Local politico-administrative perspectives on quality improvement based on national registry data in Sweden : a qualitative study using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research.

Background. Through a national policy agreement, over 167 million Euros will be invested in the Swedish National Quality Registries (NQRs) between 2012 and 2016. One of the policy agreement¿s intentions is to increase the use of NQR data for quality improvement (QI). However, the evidence is fragmented as to how the use of medical registries and the like lead to quality improvement, and little is known about non-clinical use. The aim was therefore to investigate the perspectives of Swedish politicians and administrators on quality improvement based on national registry data. Methods. Politicians and administrators from four county councils were interviewed. A qualitative content analysis guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) was performed. Results. The politicians and administrators perspectives on the use of NQR data for quality improvement were mainly assigned to three of the five CFIR domains. In the domain of intervention characteristics, data reliability and access in reasonable time were not considered entirely satisfactory, making it difficult for the politico-administrative leaderships to initiate, monitor, and support timely QI efforts. Still, politicians and administrators trusted the idea of using the NQRs as a base for quality improvement. In the domain of inner setting, the organizational structures were not sufficiently developed to utilize the advantages of the NQRs, and readiness for implementation appeared to be inadequate for two reasons. Firstly, the resources for data analysis and quality improvement were not considered sufficient at politico-administrative or clinical level. Secondly, deficiencies in leadership engagement at multiple levels were described and there was a lack of consensus on the politicians¿ role and level of involvement. Regarding the domain of outer setting, there was a lack of communication and cooperation between the county councils and the national NQR organizations. Conclusions. The Swedish experiences show that a government-supported national system of well-funded, well-managed, and reputable national quality registries needs favorable local politico-administrative conditions to be used for quality improvement; such conditions are not yet in place according to local politicians and administrators.

Newly Automated System For Integrated Assessment Of The Conditions Of Underwater Gas Pipelines

An underwater gas pipeline is the portion of the pipeline that crosses a river beneath its bottom. Underwater gas pipelines are subject to increasing dangers as time goes by. An accident at an underwater gas pipeline can lead to technological and environmental disaster on the scale of an entire region. Therefore, timely troubleshooting of all underwater gas pipelines in order to prevent any potential accidents will remain a pressing task for the industry. The most important aspect of resolving this challenge is the quality of the automated system in question. Now the industry doesn't have any automated system that fully meets the needs of the experts working in the field maintaining underwater gas pipelines. Principle Aim of this Research: This work aims to develop a new system of automated monitoring which would simplify the process of evaluating the technical condition and decision making on planning and preventive maintenance and repair work on the underwater gas pipeline. Objectives: Creation a shared model for a new, automated system via IDEF3; Development of a new database system which would store all information about underwater gas pipelines; Development a new application that works with database servers, and provides an explanation of the results obtained from the server; Calculation of the values MTBF for specified pipelines based on quantitative data obtained from tests of this system. Conclusion: The new, automated system PodvodGazExpert has been developed for timely and qualitative determination of the physical conditions of underwater gas pipeline; The basis of the mathematical analysis of this new, automated system uses principal component analysis method; The process of determining the physical condition of an underwater gas pipeline with this new, automated system increases the MTBF by a factor of 8.18 above the existing system used today in the industry.

Recursos da tecnologia da informatica no ensino / aprendizagem : a visao dos professores das escolas estaduais de ensino medio de Porto Alegre

Frente às transformações advindas do impacto das tecnologias na sociedade e nas organizações, bem como as novas habilidades e competências a serem adquiridas pelos profissionais no disputado mercado de trabalho atual, faz-se relevante atualizar os processos de ensino/aprendizagem, de forma a qualificar a formação profissional do egresso de ensino médio. O presente estudo tem por objetivo analisar a visão dos professores sobre as implicações da introdução dos recursos de informática nas organizações estaduais de ensino médio de Porto Alegre. Sua investigação tem como dimensão predominante uma abordagem quantitativa, de caráter exploratório sobre as percepções dos professores. Uma segunda dimensão - contextual - identifica as principais políticas educacionais para a área de informática no ensino médio. A dimensão do professor tem, por sua vez, duas subdimensões: o papel do professor frente ao processo de ensino-aprendizagem e suas percepções quanto à introdução dos recursos da tecnologia da informática no ensino médio. A base empírica desta dimensão adveio de dez escolas, selecionadas através de amostragem por cotas, tendo como instrumento de coleta de dados um questionário. Na dimensão contextual, foram realizadas pesquisa documental e entrevistas junto aos ór gãos oficiais responsáveis pelas políticas de informática educacional e direções de escolas e professores. Os resultados mostram que os professores do ensino médio das escolas estaduais de Porto Alegre concordam e percebem como prioritária a introdução dos recursos da tecnologia da informática nas escolas e que, para usufruir adequadamente destes recursos, os docentes devem assumir uma nova postura frente aos métodos de ensino-aprendizagem. Esta postura vem permitir e incentivar que o discente seja o sujeito do processo de construção do seu conhecimento. Esta pesquisa também identificou diretrizes para a formação de professores subsidiando, assim, políticas públicas para a área de educação no Estado.

Demand aggregation and credit risk effects in pooled procurement: evidence from the Brazilian public purchases of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies

Pooled procurement has an important role in reducing acquisition prices of goods. A pool of buyers, which aggregates demand for its members, increases bargaining power and allows suppliers to achieve economies of scale and scope in the production. Such aggregation demand e ect lowers prices paid for buyers. However, when a buyer with a good reputation for paying suppliers in a timely manner is joined in the pool by a buyer with bad reputation may have its price paid increased due to the credit risk e ect on prices. This will happen because prices paid in a pooled procurement should refect the (higher) average buyers' credit risk. Using a data set on Brazilian public purchases of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, we nd evidence supporting both e ects. We show that the prices paid by public bodies in Brazil are lower when they buy through pooled procurement than individually. On the other hand, federal agencies (i.e. good buyers) pay higher prices for products when they are joined by state agencies (i.e. bad buyers) in a pool. Such evidence suggests that pooled procurement should be carefully designed to avoid that prices paid increase for its members.

Unidades técnico-científicas da Polícia Federal: um estudo de caso do processo de descentralização da perícia criminal federal

Este estudo buscou identificar e analisar como foi planejado e executado o processo de descentralização da perícia criminal federal, bem assim, identificar a razão para os desvios havidos entre o planejamento e a implementação e as consequências advindas. Uma revisão da teoria precedeu a análise dos dados, obtidos através de pesquisa de campo constituída por oito entrevistas, sendo cinco entre os planejadores e executores do processo de descentralização, e três com os responsáveis por unidades descentralizadas. O planejamento do processo de descentralização foi realizado por equipes intermediárias do escalão dirigente do Departamento de Polícia Federal. Conforme levantamento empreendido por esses idealizadores, constatou-se uma alta demanda por assistência pericial em investigações conduzidas em cidades afastadas das capitais dos estados, onde residia o único centro forense disponível em cada unidade da federação. A distância do local da demanda para as capitais e a limitada capacidade de atendimento das unidades estaduais prevenia o atendimento tempestivo das requisições, situação que, por vezes, comprometia toda a eficácia da investigação policial. A par dessas constatações e tendo sido identificadas as principais especialidades requeridas, o volume de solicitações, a infraestrutura local disponível e outras características associadas à demanda e aos seus locais de origem, foram delimitados requisitos para a identificação de cidades que receberiam unidades técnico-científicas e delimitação das características dessas unidades. Os parâmetros fixados para dimensionar as unidades descentralizadas, como requisitos de infraestrutura, recursos humanos e equipamentos, acabaram por ser flexibilizados durante o processo de implementação devido à insuficiência de recursos financeiros para a implementação concebida. Como resultado, houve instalação de unidades incompletas; com corpo técnico carente das expertises requeridas; com infraestrutura física inadequada; em localidades não previstas; sem os laboratórios e equipamentos necessários. Os empecilhos indicados sinalizam que o plano foi estabelecido sem a análise precisa das forças e fraquezas, oportunidades e desafios que impactariam a sua execução. A ausência do envolvimento da alta administração da Polícia Federal pode explicar parte das deficiências encontradas no processo. Embora a descentralização tenha melhorado as condições para a atuação das equipes de investigação, diversas deficiências ainda precisam ser suprimidas para garantir melhor efetividade da assistência da perícia. Conclui-se pela necessidade de uma completa revisão do processo de descentralização da estrutura pericial, a fim de se identificar os ajustes necessários para o aprimoramento das condições de operação das unidades técnico-científicas descentralizadas.

Uma análise sobre o desempenho de uma unidade de projetos compartilhada numa instituição financeira de grande porte

Na realização deste trabalho foi utilizado o método de estudo de caso para estudar uma grande instituição financeira pública brasileira que decidiu substituir a estrutura organizacional funcional de projetos por outra que pudesse ser compartilhada por outras unidades organizacionais. Esta pesquisa analisa o desempenho desta unidade compartilhada de projetos, uma organização matricial de projetos, criada como um centro de serviços compartilhado. A concentração dos projetos neste centro buscou dentre os benefícios esperados em outros centros de serviço compartilhado a melhoria de desempenho dos projetos, quanto a maior pontualidade, melhor planejamento, controle dos atrasos e maior dedicação aos projetos. Porém não havia indicadores para verificação da melhoria após a implantação deste novo arranjo organizacional e, portanto, não era possível afirmar que seu desempenho havia melhorado conforme esperado. Foram então utilizados novos indicadores que permitiram efetuar o diagnóstico do desempenho dos projetos antes e depois da mudança organizacional. Para isto foram utilizadas as informações dos relatórios de acompanhamento do Escritório de Projetos do período de 2009 a 2013 para obtenção de indicadores de eficiência, eficácia e efetividade. Estes indicadores permitem afirmar que esta unidade compartilhada de projetos é mais eficiente, mais eficaz e mais efetiva que a estrutura organizacional funcional anterior quanto a maior pontualidade, melhor planejamento, menores atrasos e maior dedicação aos projetos.

Satisfação da lei de acesso à informação através do sistema de compras eletrônicas do governo do estado do Rio de Janeiro: a transparência proporcionada pelo Sistema Integrado de Gestão de Aquisições – SIGA

Esta Dissertação analisa em que medida os critérios contidos na Lei 12.527/11, conhecida como a Lei de Acesso à Informação, são atendidos pelo Sistema Integrado de Gestão de Aquisições – SIGA, do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. O pilar desta pesquisa é o inciso IV do art. 8º da referida Lei, que determina a divulgação dos registros de despesas, juntamente com os procedimentos licitatórios e os contratos celebrados, objetivando especialmente, transparência dos gastos públicos. A efetivação das compras públicas através da internet, é uma implementação da governança eletrônica, dimensão política mais avançada do governo eletrônico, proporcionando inúmeras vantagens como a celeridade nos processos licitatórios. Além disso, as transações efetuadas por meio de sistema são facilmente rastreáveis por auditorias. As informações registradas em um ambiente único garantem o cumprimento integrado de normas diminuindo erros. O pregão na forma eletrônica é, atualmente, a modalidade mais utilizada pela Administração Pública, pois vem ao encontro das demandas por transparência nos atos públicos E a análise apresentada neste trabalho É recomendada por destacara relevância da análise do site de compras eletrônicas do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, o Sistema Integrado de Gestão de Aquisições – SIGA. Para criar um parâmetro entre o SIGA e os sistemas utilizados por outros Estados, foram analisadas informações disponibilizadas nos pregões ocorridos durante o ano de 2014. Esta pesquisa mais ampla objetiva balizar o SIGA, do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, montando um ranking de transparência E o site ficou em quarto lugar, empatado com o Estado do Amazonas, atrás de São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul e Mato Grosso.A metodologia qualitativa favoreceu a leitura valorativa do emprego do SIGA, em busca do atendimento a política pública de significativo impacto social da modalidade enfocada devido a resultados rápidos e abertura participativa de acompanhamento cidadão.As entrevistas reforçaram essa característica inerente à postura qualitativa do estudo, com percepções e informações oportunas.As considerações finais destacam avanços e limitações nos sistemas de compras eletrônicas governamentais existentes. O Siga, embora consolidado, em uso desde 2009, por todos os órgãos estaduais do Rio de Janeiro, necessita, ainda, aperfeiçoamento a implantar-se durante 2015, quando novas pesquisas devem acompanhar o movimento.

Winning in Brazil: how institutional voids affect the entry decision making process of foreign venture capital firms coming to Brazil

The master thesis for the achievement of the academic status master of science in international management (MPGI) will aim to solve the research question of how institutional voids affect the entry decision-making process of foreign venture capital firms coming to Brazil. This is a timely matter since in the past years there has been a sudden eruption of foreign VC involvement in Brazil. Based on the actionable framework by Khanna and Palpeu (2010) we conducted quantitative as well as qualitative research with two sets of interview partners in a two-phase analysis. We interviewed experts from VC firms, foreign VC firms based in Brazil and perspective VC firms that are looking to come to Brazil. We started with the former, derived lessons learned and analyzed how they affect the latter in reaching a decision. As we expected we found that depending on the industry that ventures are in, institutional voids can either pose an opportunity or a threat and hence attract or push away potential VC firms entering Brazil. Opportunities exist especially when exploiting institutional voids, for example through ventures in the marketplace efficiency. Threats are posed by investments in for instance hard infrastructure, where the economic, political and judicial systems as well as corruption and bureaucracy play demanding roles.