The Panama canal expansion mega project : a case study and stakeholder´s analysis

As globalization increases integration, a new playing field is emerging which is driving the need for operational efficiencies and alignment of complementary capabilities among countries to build sustainable models and integrated offerings. As demands increase, companies are turning to effective project management as means to control operations and countries are increasing the amount of mega projects to boost their competitiveness and global footprint. Given the scale, complexity, political nature, multicultural makeup, and high level of visibility; mega projects rely on successful stakeholder management to effectively manage its operational, tactical, and strategic levels to execute their mission. This paper examines the success drivers of mega projects and presents an in depth stakeholder assessment of the Panama Canal Expansion mega project to identify the perceived value to its stakeholder community. The stakeholder categories include: the Panama Canal Authority, subcontractors executing the expansion project, customers of the canal in Panama and U.S., as well as the communities surrounding the Panama Canal and ports in the U.S. East Coast. The conclusion of this paper captures the relationship between the effective stakeholder engagement from the Panama Canal Authority, the perceived value of the Panamanian stakeholders, and compares it to U.S. based mega projects being executed simultaneously to allow the U.S. East Coast ports to accommodate increased cargo volumes.

Design of boundary-scan testing in CMOS image sensors for industrial applications: internship repor

Tests on printed circuit boards and integrated circuits are widely used in industry,resulting in reduced design time and cost of a project. The functional and connectivity tests in this type of circuits soon began to be a concern for the manufacturers, leading to research for solutions that would allow a reliable, quick, cheap and universal solution. Initially, using test schemes were based on a set of needles that was connected to inputs and outputs of the integrated circuit board (bed-of-nails), to which signals were applied, in order to verify whether the circuit was according to the specifications and could be assembled in the production line. With the development of projects, circuit miniaturization, improvement of the production processes, improvement of the materials used, as well as the increase in the number of circuits, it was necessary to search for another solution. Thus Boundary-Scan Testing was developed which operates on the border of integrated circuits and allows testing the connectivity of the input and the output ports of a circuit. The Boundary-Scan Testing method was converted into a standard, in 1990, by the IEEE organization, being known as the IEEE 1149.1 Standard. Since then a large number of manufacturers have adopted this standard in their products. This master thesis has, as main objective: the design of Boundary-Scan Testing in an image sensor in CMOS technology, analyzing the standard requirements, the process used in the prototype production, developing the design and layout of Boundary-Scan and analyzing obtained results after production. Chapter 1 presents briefly the evolution of testing procedures used in industry, developments and applications of image sensors and the motivation for the use of architecture Boundary-Scan Testing. Chapter 2 explores the fundamentals of Boundary-Scan Testing and image sensors, starting with the Boundary-Scan architecture defined in the Standard, where functional blocks are analyzed. This understanding is necessary to implement the design on an image sensor. It also explains the architecture of image sensors currently used, focusing on sensors with a large number of inputs and outputs.Chapter 3 describes the design of the Boundary-Scan implemented and starts to analyse the design and functions of the prototype, the used software, the designs and simulations of the functional blocks of the Boundary-Scan implemented. Chapter 4 presents the layout process used based on the design developed on chapter 3, describing the software used for this purpose, the planning of the layout location (floorplan) and its dimensions, the layout of individual blocks, checks in terms of layout rules, the comparison with the final design and finally the simulation. Chapter 5 describes how the functional tests were performed to verify the design compliancy with the specifications of Standard IEEE 1149.1. These tests were focused on the application of signals to input and output ports of the produced prototype. Chapter 6 presents the conclusions that were taken throughout the execution of the work.

Fatores intervenientes na competitividade dos portos brasileiros: um estudo de caso no Nordeste

A competitividade portuária intensificou-se a partir dos anos 1980/90, influenciada pelo aumento no comércio internacional e pelas reformas portuárias que se seguiram. Entre os fatores que a determinam, há alguns que estão acima do poder de atuação de um dado porto, como a concessão de subsídios governamentais em portos de países ou estados concorrentes. Consideram-se três áreas em que um porto pode atuar para modificar sua posição competitiva: infra-estrutura, operações e facilitação ao comércio através do porto. Foi realizada uma pesquisa sobre trinta e oito fatores intervenientes na competitividade dos portos, agrupados em seis conjuntos, relacionados dois a dois às três áreas mencionadas. A pesquisa examinou a relevância dos trinta e oito fatores para a competitividade portuária através de questionários apresentados a sessenta usuários de portos nordestinos com vinculação passada, presente ou potencial pelo porto de Natal. Complementarmente pesquisou a opinião desses usuários sobre a competitividade dos cinco portos inseridos no estudo de caso: Fortaleza (CE), Natal (RN), Pecém (CE), Salvador (BA) e Suape (PE). Os resultados obtidos destacaram a importância conferida pelos usuários à agilidade na liberação aduaneira, a fatores relacionados à utilização de contêineres e ao calado do porto. Os usuários foram consultados entre abril e maio de 2004 e consideraram Pecém (CE) como o porto mais competitivo entre os cinco

Calibração cega de receptores cinco-portas baseada em separação cega de fontes

The exponential growth in the applications of radio frequency (RF) is accompanied by great challenges as more efficient use of spectrum as in the design of new architectures for multi-standard receivers or software defined radio (SDR) . The key challenge in designing architecture of the software defined radio is the implementation of a wide-band receiver, reconfigurable, low cost, low power consumption, higher level of integration and flexibility. As a new solution of SDR design, a direct demodulator architecture, based on fiveport technology, or multi-port demodulator, has been proposed. However, the use of the five-port as a direct-conversion receiver requires an I/Q calibration (or regeneration) procedure in order to generate the in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components of the transmitted baseband signal. In this work, we propose to evaluate the performance of a blind calibration technique without additional knowledge about training or pilot sequences of the transmitted signal based on independent component analysis for the regeneration of I/Q five-port downconversion, by exploiting the information on the statistical properties of the three output signals

Desenvolvimento de antenas de microfita com aberturas nos patches condutores através do método da segmentação

Microstrip antennas are widely used in modern telecommunication systems. This is particularly due to the great variety of geometries and because they are easily built and integrated to other high frequency devices and circuits. This work presents a study of the properties of the microstrip antenna with an aperture impressed in the conducting patch. Besides, the analysis is performed for isotropic and anisotropic dielectric substrates. The Multiport Network Model MNM is used in combination with the Segmentation Method and the Greens function technique in the analysis of the considered microstrip antenna geometries. The numerical analysis is performed by using the boundary value problem solution, by considering separately the impedance matrix of the structure segments. The analysis for the complete structure is implemented by choosing properly the number and location of the neighboor element ports. The numerial analysis is performed for the following antenna geometries: resonant cavity, microstrip rectangular patch antenna, and microstrip rectangular patch antenna with aperture. The analysis is firstly developed for microstrip antennas on isotropic substrates, and then extended to the case of microstrip antennas on anisotropic substrates by using a Mapping Method. The experimental work is described and related to the development of several prototypes of rectangular microstrip patch antennas wtih and without rectangular apertures. A good agreement was observed between the simulated and measured results. Thereafter, a good agreement was also observed between the results of this work and those shown in literature for microstrip antennas on isotropic substrates. Furthermore, results are proposed for rectangular microstrip patch antennas wtih rectangular apertures in the conducting patch

Da compreensão novas viagens de Gulliver

Ayant comme opérateur cognitif le livre Les Voyages de Gulliver, de Jonathan Swift, la thése, écrite au format d'un journal de bord, suit dévoilant des indices pour une archéologie de la compréhension, au-delà de problématiser les interconexions entre communication et compréhension à l'actuel procés de planétarism. En suite, réalise quelques essais qui problématisent l'éthique, la science, et la condition humaine, sous l'inspiration du Parlément des Choses, suggéreé par Bruno Latour, où sont présents, symétriquement, les sciences, les scientists, les politiques, les natures, les cultures, et les sociétés. Pour une telle aventure, sont agencées des ideas de penseurs de diverses domaines de la connaissance, comme Edgar Morin, Henri Atlan, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Isabelle Stengers, David Bohm, Maria da Conceição de Almeida, Cremilda Medina, María Zambrano, Michel Serres, Boris Cyrulnik, dentre autres. Lettres de musique, registres littéraires et cinématographiques servent de points d'appuy pour la contextualization du récit de ce voyage qui ne comporte pas seulement la compréhension de la compléxité de l'être-humain, mais aussi, la compréhension des conditions dans lequelles sont forgées les mentalités et pratiques les actions. Ainsi, toule compréhension est un voyage sans fin: arrive à quelques ports, se ré-approvisionne et part à nouveau. Toute compréhension est ponctuelle, parcielle, provisoire, lacunaire et inachevée.

Rio Grande do Norte: interações urbanas e os centros de gestão do território

The state of Rio Grande do Norte has been undergoing transformations in their territory, they are promoted by the installation of new infrastructure equipment, which in turn cause changes in the dynamic spatial and social hour set, causing new arrangements and new dynamics between cities. The overall goal of the research is to understand, at present, the urban network of the Rio Grande do Norte, from the centers of territory management. The picture presented in the paper reveals a network of cities that has gained a material basis urban, with the installation of new objects macro state structures (roads, ports, wind farms, banks, pipelines, internet access) that enable a relationship more intense between the urban centers of the state and other cities in the world, that the current structure characteristic of the urban network, its global nature, since the possibility of relations between the centers is greater. Such a relationship is indeed possible because the characteristics of the current historical period, with the high density of the tripod technique, science and information controlled by the market. In Rio Grande do Norte intentionality of the new arrangement that is configured is not other but meet market demands

Subsistemas de comércio costeiros e internalização de interesses na dissolução do Império Colonial português (Santos, 1788-1822)

Discutem-se os primeiros resultados de uma pesquisa sobre o comércio costeiro e suas relações com o funcionamento do sistema colonial e com o contexto da Independência. A tese é de que em portos menores da costa da capitania de São Paulo, como em Santos, havia um grupo de comerciantes que atuava efetivamente no comércio costeiro e defendeu seus interesses de exclusividade de participação nesse setor contra a presença de comerciantes externos à vila. A discussão apoia-se em documentos da alfândega de Santos, como mapas de exportação-importação, mapas de embarcações, ofícios de governadores e juízes da alfândega e requerimentos de negociantes estrangeiros.

Maritime transport liberalization and the challenges to further its implementation in Chile

Includes bibliography

Foreign investment in Mexico after economic reform

Includes bibliography

Bridging infrastructural gaps in Central America: prospects and potential for maritime transport

Includes bibliography

Is the environmental policies procedures a barrier to development of inland navigation and port management? A case of study in Brazil

The main objective of this article is to discuss the Brazilian environmental legislation and policies towards the development of navigation and port management. The research illustrated some difficulties faced by the country and make suggestions to overcome it. The construction of the environmental legal framework began in the early 1960s and resulted in a very complex system, as a consequence of policies adopted by the country. Nowadays Brazilian environmental policies are developed in democratic and participative way, although with elevated degree of bureaucracy and lack of integration among the several governmental agencies, which makes the approval of environmental certifications demand several years for new port projects or improvements, which delays the economic development of the country. Efforts have been made to simplify the licensing process. As result of this research two flowchart for environmental licenses of ports installation are shown: The first shows the process until 2009 and the second shows the process nowadays. This become an important issue due the fact that inland navigation is one of the less pollutant modes of transportation, and although, the process of environmental certification was simplified, if compare with 2009, it is still complex and time-consuming, delaying the development of the infrastructure. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Port privatization, labour reform and social equity

Includes bibliography

An analysis of maritime transport and its costs for the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

Modernización portuaria: una pirámide de desafíos entrelazados

Modernización portuaria: una pirámide de desafíos entrelazados. Así se titula curso presentado por la Unidad de Transporte de la CEPAL en una serie de países en cuatro continentes, con la participación de autoridades ministeriales y portuarias, transportistas, exportadores, importadores y sindicalistas.