Punitive damages in Brazilian law and the boundaries between criminal and civil liabilities

This article demonstrates the existence of civil responsibility with punitive purposes in Brazilian Law, explaining how it was introduced by jurisdictional activity in cases involving moral damages. Next, it points out main problems this situation represents to Brazilian Law from the standpoint of our juridical dogmatics and public policies. Additionally, it proposes the execution of an empirical research for comprehension of the structure and fundamentals of jurisprudence on the punitive character of civil responsibility for moral damages and establishes criteria for use in this research based on theories of punishment. Finally, it positions the problem of punitive function of civil responsibility in the broader ambit of relationships and boundaries between civil and criminal responsibility.

Organizações da sociedade civil de interesse público e as parcerias com os municípios do estado de Pernambuco: um olhar sobre a atuação das OSCIPs à luz do ideário de sua criação

Análise das parcerias firmadas entre Organizações da Sociedade Civil de Interesse Público e municípios do interior do Estado de Pernambuco frente ao permissivo legal. Estado e neoliberalismo. O Estado visto como ineficiente e incapaz de prestar os serviços que lhe são próprios. A Reforma do Estado como mote para estimular a transferência de atividades exercidas pelo Estado para entidades privadas que “atenderiam a interesses públicos” desvinculados do assim denominado núcleo estratégico configurado por funções essenciais à definição e execução das políticas públicas. Burocracia e gerencialismo. Plano Diretor da Reforma do Aparelho do Estado. A transferência das atividades não-exclusivas do Estado vista como saída para a melhoria da capacidade de o Estado atender às demandas sociais. Serviços sociais ou não exclusivos. Publicização ou privatização? Terceiro setor. Organizações não governamentais. Entidades sem fins lucrativos. Títulos e qualificações concedidos a entidades do terceiro setor. Organizações sociais - OSs: a tentativa de privatização de entidades estatais. Os contratos de gestão como mecanismo de obtenção de resultados. As organizações da sociedade civil de interesse público - OSCIPs e a nova tentativa de passar atividades prestadas pelo Estado para o setor privado, o chamado “terceiro setor”. Os termos de parceria como forma de passar prestação de serviços a particular sem o devido processo de concorrência. O voluntariado como meio em si para prestação dos serviços objeto dos termos de parceria. As muitas brechas e fragilidades da Lei 9.790/1999 – Lei das OSCIPs, considerada o marco legal do terceiro setor. As “parcerias” entre municípios do Estado de Pernambuco e entidades qualificadas como OSCIPs com intuitos diversos do “proposto” na Lei.

A teoria da causa madura: alcance e limites do art. 515, § 3º do Código de Processo Civil

A Teoria da Causa Madura é um instituto de direito processual civil que visa aprimorar a prestação jurisdicional. A possibilidade conferida pelo instituto de viabilizar o julgamento direto pelos tribunais, caso estejam presentes os requisitos legais, em caso de extinção equivocada do processo sem a resolução do mérito pelo juízo de origem, encurta o trâmite processual de maneira cirúrgica, sem macular qualquer princípio constitucional. A partir desta premissa louvável é que deve ser realizada a interpretação do instituto, possibilitando a delimitação do seu campo de atuação. A rigor, a aplicação da Teoria da Causa Madura está limitada ao recurso que a disciplina, a saber, apelação, tendo em vista que o dispositivo legal que a regula, art. 515, §3°, do Código de Processo Civil, está inserido no capítulo da apelação. No entanto, a localização geográfica do dispositivo não pode servir de obstáculo à interpretação que permita alargar o seu campo de atuação. A interpretação literal do dispositivo legal que a disciplina, portanto, não é a que melhor se ajusta com a hipótese em comento. As benesses que podem ser extraídas da norma, como mencionado, bem como o objetivo constitucional de tornar célere a entrega da prestação jurisdicional, permitem maior extensão dos seus efeitos, de modo a viabilizar sua aplicação a outros recursos previstos no sistema processual civil. Neste diapasão, a presente monografia tem o condão de demonstrar, à luz dos princípios constitucionais e processuais aplicáveis ao tema, que a Teoria da Causa Madura é um instituto plenamente aplicável a outros recursos disciplinados pelo CPC. Conclusão esta extraída de acordo com a missão constitucional de abreviar a tramitação dos processos, encerrando com a maior mazela deste serviço público essencial: a morosidade.

A implementação de ações de integração na segurança pública: o caso das polícias civil e militar do Rio Grande do Norte

The research aimed to understand the challenges for the implementation of the proposed integration between the Civil Police and the Military Police in Rio Grande do Norte to the proposals of the SUSP. This study aimed to explore the gap with regard to the deepening of the possible causes that may hinder the implementation of integrated working between the police in public security, through a specific analysis on the state of Rio Grande do Norte. Was based on a theoretical framework that includes policies: general concepts, the steps of a public policy, the implementation stage , public security : conceptual definitions, policies on security in Brazil, the structure of public security in Brazil and systems police, Military Police x Civil Police: Roles and conflicts , integrating public security: the challenges to be overcome, the Unified public Safety (SUSP) and the main difficulties in the integration of the police. Being classified as to the purposes as an exploratory research on how to approach ranks as qualitative. The research unit was the Center for Integrated Operations Public Safety (CIOSP) through three subjects who were the chief CIOSP, the representative of the military police acting with the CIOSP, and representative civil police also active with the CIOSP. These subjects were chosen because of the understanding that individuals occupying senior positions would have more ability to respond to questions that guide the research problem. Data were collected through a set of interviews, qualitative data analysis was performed based content analysis, based on the definition of categories of analysis, gated time cross. With the results, it was revealed that the main problems of integration between the state police are treatment protocols, lack of political will and lack of infrastructure. The relationship between the Military Police and Civil Police in Rio Grande do Norte has differing cultural aspect, but can be considered as good value, professionalism and integrated operations. The implementation of CIOSP-RN followed the characteristics of the top-down model, the main difficulties in implementing the proposals of the SUSP, lack of own resources, the lack of standardization in public safety and the lack of professional training of public safety. It was concluded that with respect to the challenges to the implementation of the proposed integration between the Civil Police and the Military Police in Rio Grande do Norte to the proposals of the SUSP, the actions follow the characteristics of the top-down model, with no autonomy of administrators public to say in decisions, which restricts the view of the public safety of the state

Desenvolvimento de um sistema de planejamento, gestão de serviços e controle de custos em obras de construção civil

The increasing competitiveness of the construction industry, set in an economic environment in which the offer is now greater than the demand , causes the prices of many products and services, are strongly influenced by the processes of production and the final consumer. Thus, to become more competitive in the market and construction companies are seeking new alternatives to reduce and control costs, production processes and tools that allow for close monitoring of the construction schedule, with the consequent compliance deadline with the client. Based on this scenario, the creation of control tools, service management and planning work emerges as an investment opportunity and an area that can promote great benefits to construction companies. The goal of this work is to present a system of planning, service management and costs control that through worksheets provide information relating to the production phase of the work, allowing the visualization of possible irregularities in the planning and cost of the enterprise, enabling the company to take steps to achieve the goals of the enterprise in question, and correct them when necessary. The developed system has been used in a piece of real estate in Rio Grande do Norte, and the results showed that its use together allowed the construction company to accompany their results and take corrective and preventive actions during the production process, efficiently and effective

Transandean railroads: the interruption of service and prospects for resumption

Building the infrastructure and then operating a railroad which starts on the Pacific coast of South America and which, a few score kilometres inland, must climb close to 4,000 metres above sea level in the Andes mountains has always presented challenges both for the civil engineers responsible for its construction and for the managers in charge of its operation.As at mid-2001, two of the four transandean railroads that ran 20 years ago are out of service, owing to adverse weather conditions, and a third is not operating as a result of institutional problems.Nevertheless, two of the three railroads that are now shut down could resume service soon. Furthermore, there is a possibility that a new transandean railroad could be built that would cross the Andes mountains further south, at an altitude of less than 1,750 meters.

Diretrizes para a melhoria do nível de serviço logístico na execução de perícias criminais de engenharia civil: um estudo de caso

No presente trabalho, são discutidas questões relacionadas à verificação e à análise do nível de serviço logístico, prestado pelo Estado, na execução de perícias criminais de engenharia civil. Foram considerados fatores como equipamentos e meios de transporte utilizados, qualificação dos profissionais envolvidos, padronização de procedimentos adotados e a emissão de laudos periciais. O objetivo é a obtenção de diretrizes na atividade estudada, através da identificação das possíveis oportunidades de melhoria existentes na gestão desta área da Criminalística, considerando-se os componentes de desempenho logísticos relacionados aos fatores chaves: estoque, transporte, instalações e informação. A estratégia de pesquisa utilizada foi o estudo de caso, com o emprego de relatórios estatísticos e entrevistas semi-estruturadas aos gestores do órgão responsável pela atividade pericial no Pará. Quanto aos resultados obtidos, ao se analisar o conteúdo das entrevistas realizadas, observou-se que as hipóteses de trabalho apresentavam correlação com algumas das diretrizes logísticas elaboradas, tais como o aumento na eficiência do nível de serviço logístico na atividade estudada através da adoção de procedimentos operacionais padronizados.

A vigilância sem farda: a espionagem interna na ditadura civil militar através do DEOPS

Pós-graduação em História - FCHS

Creep and damage models for the service behaviour of structural members

Deformability is often a crucial to the conception of many civil-engineering structural elements. Also, design is all the more burdensome if both long- and short-term deformability has to be considered. In this thesis, long- and short-term deformability has been studied from the material and the structural modelling point of view. Moreover, two materials have been handled: pultruded composites and concrete. A new finite element model for thin-walled beams has been introduced. As a main assumption, cross-sections rigid are considered rigid in their plane; this hypothesis replaces that of the classical beam theory of plane cross-sections in the deformed state. That also allows reducing the total number of degrees of freedom, and therefore making analysis faster compared with twodimensional finite elements. Longitudinal direction warping is left free, allowing describing phenomena such as the shear lag. The new finite-element model has been first applied to concrete thin-walled beams (such as roof high span girders or bridge girders) subject to instantaneous service loadings. Concrete in his cracked state has been considered through a smeared crack model for beams under bending. At a second stage, the FE-model has been extended to the viscoelastic field and applied to pultruded composite beams under sustained loadings. The generalized Maxwell model has been adopted. As far as materials are concerned, long-term creep tests have been carried out on pultruded specimens. Both tension and shear tests have been executed. Some specimen has been strengthened with carbon fibre plies to reduce short- and long- term deformability. Tests have been done in a climate room and specimens kept 2 years under constant load in time. As for concrete, a model for tertiary creep has been proposed. The basic idea is to couple the UMLV linear creep model with a damage model in order to describe nonlinearity. An effective strain tensor, weighting the total and the elasto-damaged strain tensors, controls damage evolution through the damage loading function. Creep strains are related to the effective stresses (defined by damage models) and so associated to the intact material.

Removable dentures with implant support in strategic positions followed for up to 8 years

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to analyze prosthetic maintenance in partially edentulous patients with removable prostheses supported by teeth and strategic implants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty patients with removable partial prostheses and combined tooth-implant support were identified within the time period from 1998 to 2006. One group consisted of 42 patients (planned group) with a reduced residual dentition and in need of removable partial dentures (RPDs) or overdentures in the maxilla and/or mandible. They were admitted consecutively for treatment. Due to missing teeth in strategic important positions, one or two implants were placed to improve symmetrical denture support and retention. The majority of residual teeth exhibited an impaired structural integrity and therefore were provided with root copings for denture retention. A few vital teeth were used for telescopic crowns. The anchorage system for the strategic implants was selected accordingly. A second group of 18 patients (repair group) wearing RPDs with the loss of one abutment tooth due to biologic or mechanical failure was identified. These abutment teeth were replaced by 21 implants, and patients continued to wear their original prostheses. The observation time for planned and repair groups was 12 months to 8 years. All patients followed a regular maintenance schedule. Technical or biologic complications with supporting teeth or implants and prosthetic service were registered regularly. RESULTS: Three maxillary implants were lost after loading and three roots with copings had to be removed. Biologic problems included caries and periodontal/peri-implant infection with a significantly higher incidence in the repair group (P < .05). Technical complications with the dentures were rather frequent in both groups, mostly related to the anchorage system (matrices) of root copings and implants. Maintenance and complications were observed more frequently in the first year after delivery of the denture than in the following 3 years (P < .05). No denture had to be remade. CONCLUSIONS: The placement of a few implants allows for maintaining a compromised residual dentition for support of RPDs. The combination of root and implant support facilitates treatment planning and enhances designing the removable denture. It also proves to be a practical rescue method. Technical problems with the anchorage system were frequent, particularly in the first year after delivery of the dentures.

Nest use is influenced by the positions of nests and drinkers in aviaries.

The influence of the nest location and the placement of nipple drinkers on nest use by laying hens in a commercial aviary was assessed. Twenty pens in a laying hen house were equipped with the same commercial aviary system, but the pens differed in the nest location and the placement of nipple drinkers. Nests were placed along the walls in 10 pens, and nipple drinkers were installed in front of the nests in 5 of these pens. The other 10 pens were equipped with nests placed on a tier within the aviary (integrated nests). Nipple drinkers were installed in front of the nests in 5 of these pens. A total of 225 Lohmann Selected Leghorns were housed per pen. The hens were offered 4 nests per pen: 2 facing the service corridor of the laying hen house and 2 facing the outdoor area. The numbers of nest eggs and mislaid eggs were counted daily per pen. At 25, 36, and 43 wk of age, the nest platforms were videotaped and the behavior of laying hens in front of the nests was analyzed. The nest location affected the stationary and locomotive behaviors in front of the nests. Hens in front of the integrated nests and the nests with drinkers displayed more stationary behaviors than hens in front of wall-placed nests or nests without drinkers. No difference in the number of nest eggs could be detected, but the integration of the nests inside the aviary led to a more even distribution of hens while nest searching. In the pens with wall-placed nests, significantly more hens laid eggs in the nests at the wall near the service corridor than at the wall near the outdoor area. Due to this imbalance, crowding in front of the preferred nests occurred and pushing and agonistic interactions on the nest platforms were significantly more frequent. Placement of nipple drinkers in front of nests had no effect on the number of eggs laid in those nests.

Antonio Sánchez Barbudo y Guillermo de Torre. Una polémica durante la Guerra Civil española

Antonio Sánchez Barbudo y Guillermo de Torre mantuvieron durante 1937 una polémica en torno al arte y a la función social del intelectual y el artista. La misma se suscitó a partir de un artículo publicado por Guillermo de Torre en la revista Sur, que mereció la inmediata respuesta de Sánchez Barbudo en su condición de secretario de la revista Hora de España; y luego un segundo artículo del teórico de las vanguardias. La controversia, al igual que la que mantuvieron los artistas Ramón Gaya y José Renau, es ejemplar en tanto permite leer las condiciones de creación y el lugar del compromiso del artista e intelectual, durante los últimos momentos de la II República y en medio de la Guerra Civil. Este trabajo es parte de un artículo en curso que analiza el debate entre destacados intelectuales en la revista Sur, en donde se explicitan dos posiciones bien precisas y diferenciadas que trascienden el contexto del conflicto español.

Antonio Sánchez Barbudo y Guillermo de Torre. Una polémica durante la Guerra Civil española

Antonio Sánchez Barbudo y Guillermo de Torre mantuvieron durante 1937 una polémica en torno al arte y a la función social del intelectual y el artista. La misma se suscitó a partir de un artículo publicado por Guillermo de Torre en la revista Sur, que mereció la inmediata respuesta de Sánchez Barbudo en su condición de secretario de la revista Hora de España; y luego un segundo artículo del teórico de las vanguardias. La controversia, al igual que la que mantuvieron los artistas Ramón Gaya y José Renau, es ejemplar en tanto permite leer las condiciones de creación y el lugar del compromiso del artista e intelectual, durante los últimos momentos de la II República y en medio de la Guerra Civil. Este trabajo es parte de un artículo en curso que analiza el debate entre destacados intelectuales en la revista Sur, en donde se explicitan dos posiciones bien precisas y diferenciadas que trascienden el contexto del conflicto español.

Antonio Sánchez Barbudo y Guillermo de Torre. Una polémica durante la Guerra Civil española

Antonio Sánchez Barbudo y Guillermo de Torre mantuvieron durante 1937 una polémica en torno al arte y a la función social del intelectual y el artista. La misma se suscitó a partir de un artículo publicado por Guillermo de Torre en la revista Sur, que mereció la inmediata respuesta de Sánchez Barbudo en su condición de secretario de la revista Hora de España; y luego un segundo artículo del teórico de las vanguardias. La controversia, al igual que la que mantuvieron los artistas Ramón Gaya y José Renau, es ejemplar en tanto permite leer las condiciones de creación y el lugar del compromiso del artista e intelectual, durante los últimos momentos de la II República y en medio de la Guerra Civil. Este trabajo es parte de un artículo en curso que analiza el debate entre destacados intelectuales en la revista Sur, en donde se explicitan dos posiciones bien precisas y diferenciadas que trascienden el contexto del conflicto español.

Evaluación de la profundidad de la fisuración superficial descendente en pavimentos asfálticos mediante técnicas de ultrasonidos. Validación teórico-práctica y modelos

La fisuración iniciada en la superficie de los pavimentos asfálticos constituye uno de los más frecuentes e importantes modos de deterioro que tienen lugar en los firmes bituminosos, como han demostrado los estudios teóricos y experimentales llevados a cabo en la última década. Sin embargo, este mecanismo de fallo no ha sido considerado por los métodos tradicionales de diseño de estos firmes. El concepto de firmes de larga duración se fundamenta en un adecuado seguimiento del proceso de avance en profundidad de estos deterioros y la intervención en el momento más apropiado para conseguir mantenerlos confinados como fisuras de profundidad parcial en la capa superficial más fácilmente accesible y reparable, de manera que pueda prolongarse la durabilidad y funcionalidad del firme y reducir los costes generalizados de su ciclo de vida. Por lo tanto, para la selección de la estrategia óptima de conservación de los firmes resulta esencial disponer de metodologías que posibiliten la identificación precisa in situ de la fisuración descendente, su seguimiento y control, y que además permitan una determinación fiable y con alto rendimiento de su profundidad y extensión. En esta Tesis Doctoral se presentan los resultados obtenidos mediante la investigación sistemática de laboratorio e in situ llevada a cabo para la obtención de datos sobre fisuración descendente en firmes asfálticos y para el estudio de procedimientos de evaluación de la profundidad de este tipo de fisuras empleando técnicas de ultrasonidos. Dichos resultados han permitido comprobar que la metodología no destructiva propuesta, de rápida ejecución, bajo coste y sencilla implementación (principalmente empleada hasta el momento en estructuras metálicas y de hormigón, debido a las dificultades que introduce la naturaleza viscoelástica de los materiales bituminosos) puede ser aplicada con suficiente fiabilidad y repetibilidad sobre firmes asfálticos. Las medidas resultan asimismo independientes del espesor total del firme. Además, permite resolver algunos de los inconvenientes frecuentes que presentan otros métodos de diagnóstico de las fisuras de pavimentos, tales como la extracción de testigos (sistema destructivo, de alto coste y prolongados tiempos de interrupción del tráfico) o algunas otras técnicas no destructivas como las basadas en medidas de deflexiones o el georradar, las cuales no resultan suficientemente precisas para la investigación de fisuras superficiales. Para ello se han realizado varias campañas de ensayos sobre probetas de laboratorio en las que se han estudiado diferentes condiciones empíricas como, por ejemplo, distintos tipos de mezclas bituminosas en caliente (AC, SMA y PA), espesores de firme y adherencias entre capas, temperaturas, texturas superficiales, materiales de relleno y agua en el interior de las grietas, posición de los sensores y un amplio rango de posibles profundidades de fisura. Los métodos empleados se basan en la realización de varias medidas de velocidad o de tiempo de transmisión del pulso ultrasónico sobre una única cara o superficie accesible del material, de manera que resulte posible obtener un coeficiente de transmisión de la señal (mediciones relativas o autocompensadas). Las mediciones se han realizado a bajas frecuencias de excitación mediante dos equipos de ultrasonidos diferentes dotados, en un caso, de transductores de contacto puntual seco (DPC) y siendo en el otro instrumento de contacto plano a través de un material especialmente seleccionado para el acoplamiento (CPC). Ello ha permitido superar algunos de los tradicionales inconvenientes que presenta el uso de los transductores convencionales y no precisar preparación previa de las superficies. La técnica de autocalibración empleada elimina los errores sistemáticos y la necesidad de una calibración local previa, demostrando el potencial de esta tecnología. Los resultados experimentales han sido comparados con modelos teóricos simplificados que simulan la propagación de las ondas ultrasónicas en estos materiales bituminosos fisurados, los cuales han sido deducidos previamente mediante un planteamiento analítico y han permitido la correcta interpretación de dichos datos empíricos. Posteriormente, estos modelos se han calibrado mediante los resultados de laboratorio, proporcionándose sus expresiones matemáticas generalizadas y gráficas para su uso rutinario en las aplicaciones prácticas. Mediante los ensayos con ultrasonidos efectuados en campañas llevadas a cabo in situ, acompañados de la extracción de testigos del firme, se han podido evaluar los modelos propuestos. El máximo error relativo promedio en la estimación de la profundidad de las fisuras al aplicar dichos modelos no ha superado el 13%, con un nivel de confianza del 95%, en el conjunto de todos los ensayos realizados. La comprobación in situ de los modelos ha permitido establecer los criterios y las necesarias recomendaciones para su utilización sobre firmes en servicio. La experiencia obtenida posibilita la integración de esta metodología entre las técnicas de auscultación para la gestión de su conservación. Abstract Surface-initiated cracking of asphalt pavements constitutes one of the most frequent and important types of distress that occur in flexible bituminous pavements, as clearly has been demonstrated in the technical and experimental studies done over the past decade. However, this failure mechanism has not been taken into consideration for traditional methods of flexible pavement design. The concept of long-lasting pavements is based on adequate monitoring of the depth and extent of these deteriorations and on intervention at the most appropriate moment so as to contain them in the surface layer in the form of easily-accessible and repairable partial-depth topdown cracks, thereby prolonging the durability and serviceability of the pavement and reducing the overall cost of its life cycle. Therefore, to select the optimal maintenance strategy for perpetual pavements, it becomes essential to have access to methodologies that enable precise on-site identification, monitoring and control of top-down propagated cracks and that also permit a reliable, high-performance determination of the extent and depth of cracking. This PhD Thesis presents the results of systematic laboratory and in situ research carried out to obtain information about top-down cracking in asphalt pavements and to study methods of depth evaluation of this type of cracking using ultrasonic techniques. These results have demonstrated that the proposed non-destructive methodology –cost-effective, fast and easy-to-implement– (mainly used to date for concrete and metal structures, due to the difficulties caused by the viscoelastic nature of bituminous materials) can be applied with sufficient reliability and repeatability to asphalt pavements. Measurements are also independent of the asphalt thickness. Furthermore, it resolves some of the common inconveniences presented by other methods used to evaluate pavement cracking, such as core extraction (a destructive and expensive procedure that requires prolonged traffic interruptions) and other non-destructive techniques, such as those based on deflection measurements or ground-penetrating radar, which are not sufficiently precise to measure surface cracks. To obtain these results, extensive tests were performed on laboratory specimens. Different empirical conditions were studied, such as various types of hot bituminous mixtures (AC, SMA and PA), differing thicknesses of asphalt and adhesions between layers, varied temperatures, surface textures, filling materials and water within the crack, different sensor positions, as well as an ample range of possible crack depths. The methods employed in the study are based on a series of measurements of ultrasonic pulse velocities or transmission times over a single accessible side or surface of the material that make it possible to obtain a signal transmission coefficient (relative or auto-calibrated readings). Measurements were taken at low frequencies by two short-pulse ultrasonic devices: one equipped with dry point contact transducers (DPC) and the other with flat contact transducers that require a specially-selected coupling material (CPC). In this way, some of the traditional inconveniences presented by the use of conventional transducers were overcome and a prior preparation of the surfaces was not required. The auto-compensating technique eliminated systematic errors and the need for previous local calibration, demonstrating the potential for this technology. The experimental results have been compared with simplified theoretical models that simulate ultrasonic wave propagation in cracked bituminous materials, which had been previously deduced using an analytical approach and have permitted the correct interpretation of the aforementioned empirical results. These models were subsequently calibrated using the laboratory results, providing generalized mathematical expressions and graphics for routine use in practical applications. Through a series of on-site ultrasound test campaigns, accompanied by asphalt core extraction, it was possible to evaluate the proposed models, with differences between predicted crack depths and those measured in situ lower than 13% (with a confidence level of 95%). Thereby, the criteria and the necessary recommendations for their implementation on in-service asphalt pavements have been established. The experience obtained through this study makes it possible to integrate this methodology into the evaluation techniques for pavement management systems.