A tool to simplify the management of homogeneous and heterogeneous grids

To simplify computer management, several system administrators are adopting advanced techniques to manage software configuration on grids, but the tight coupling between hardware and software makes every PC an individual managed entity, lowering the scalability and increasing the costs to manage hundreds or thousands of PCs. This paper discusses the feasibility of a distributed virtual machine environment, named Flexlab: a new approach for computer management that combines virtualization and distributed system architectures as the basis of a management system. Flexlab is able to extend the coverage of a computer management solution beyond client operating system limitations and also offers a convenient hardware abstraction, decoupling software and hardware, simplifying computer management. The results obtained in this work indicate that FlexLab is able to overcome the limitations imposed by the coupling between software and hardware, simplifying the management of homogeneous and heterogeneous grids. © 2009 IEEE.

Sustainable development: changing production patterns, social equity and the environment

Includes bibliography

Managing environmental training in organizations: Theoretical review and proposal of a model

Purpose: The aim of this work is to address the issue of environmental training in organizations, presenting a theoretical review on the subject and proposing a model that highlights the importance of this type of training for organizations. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents a thorough, updated literature review, discusses typology and the best practices of environmental training, and presents a framework integrating environmental training and organizational results. Findings: A careful consideration allows identifying a significant theoretical gap related to the lack of theoretical references, best practices, and an alignment between environmental training and organizational results. To overcome this gap, a model was proposed that helps to manage the environmental training process in organizations. Research limitations/implications: The paper needs to be complemented with empirical research on the topic. Originality/value: Environmental training is considered to be an essential element for organizations seeking to mitigate their environmental impacts. ISO 14001 states that environmental management is a duty of certified organizations. However, there have been few published articles that suggest models and insights to improve the environmental training in organizations. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

E-business innovation and customs renovation for secure supply chain management

Includes bibliography

Quality management and competitiveness: the diffusion of the ISO 9000 standards in Latin America and recommendations for government strategies

Includes bibliography

Gender, the environment and the sustainability of development

Includes bibliography

Water management at the river basin level: challenges in Latin America

Includes bibliography

Environmental diagnosis in areas with different use and occupation using the perception of diverse biological activity

In Brazil, the degradation of soil and landscape by urban and agricultural frontiers expansion leads to the need for comprehensive studies and consider the diverse biological activities generated from different interventions in the landscape, becoming an instrument for assessing the impacts and the decision for its environmental management. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of different forms of occupation of the landscape, considering ecological elements and their interactions. The work was carried out on the Instituto Agronômico in the county of Jundiai, in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The area under study has been subjected to different use and occupancy for a period of about 40 years. During this period the landscape has been transformed, with the current scenario can be classified as a degraded area mining; grassy area; Araucaria forest and pasture. These areas were evaluated by means of a transect, from which ten sampling sites were selected for the description of diverse biological activities, which included: evaluation and description of ground cover, identifying the presence of fungus and insect species. Furthermore, we evaluated in these points the pH, fertility and porosity of the topsoil (0-0.10 m). The results showed a variation of the elements analyzed and a relationship between the use and occupation of land in the different scenarios of the current landscape. The biological activity was more diverse in the Araucaria forest, reflected by the abundance of litter, higher content of organic matter and soil nutrients, demonstrating the effectiveness of the technique for assessing the level of degradation of the landscape used, which is expeditious and inexpensive.

The North-South dimension of the environmental and cleaner technology industries

Includes bibliography

Quality management promotion to improve competitiveness

Includes bibliography

Environmental training in organisations: From a literature review to a framework for future research

Although the research on the relationship between human factors and environmental sustainability is slowly progressing, environmental training has attracted the most attention from researchers and practitioners. However, there remains a lack of research that integrates and systematises the available knowledge on organisational environmental training. Environmental training is fundamental to any successful activity of environmental management, conservation and recycling of resources. Thus, the aim of this paper was to present the results of a systematic literature review on environmental training in organisations. The main studies in this area were classified and coded, and a research agenda with 9 recommendations that may advance the field was presented. As a result of the gaps in the current literature, a framework was proposed aiming guide and strengthens the state-of-the-art research on environmental training. Additionally, results show that more research is needed on environmental training, combining training and green human resource management and defining/measuring the objectives of the environmental training actions. Future studies should also consider mixed methodologies and comparative perspectives. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Green supply chain management in local and multinational high-tech companies located in Brazil

The objective of this article is to analyse how green supply chain management (GSCM) practices are being adopted by some high-tech companies located in Brazil. The research was conducted using the case study approach, focusing on eight companies that are representative of this sector. The main results are: (a) the most adopted GSCM practices in the studied high-tech companies located in Brazil are internal environmental management, investment recovery and reverse logistics and (b) Brazilian environmental legislation and international policies are very important in driving the adoption of GSCM practices. The internationalisation of companies was also found to be a variable that interferes with the adoption of GSCM practices. This is one of the first studies that examine the relationship between GSCM and the internationalisation of companies located in Brazil. © 2013 Springer-Verlag London.