A personal perspective on the role of electrochemical science and technology in solving the challenges faced by modern societies

Non peer reviewed

Exploring Auditors’ Perceptions of the Usage and Importance of Audit Information Technology

This study provides novel evidence on the extent to which auditors perceive the usage and importance of audit technology in an emerging market. It explores the types of audit technology tools used and factors influencing the use of these; it tests the association between the perceived use and importance of the tools and firm-specific/ auditor-specific characteristics. Using interviews and questionnaires from auditors at Big 4 and international non-Big 4 audit firms, the findings reflect the highly perceived importance of using audit technology in technical and administrative procedures, specifically to assess risk. We find that the perceived use and importance of audit technology is relatively higher for those in Big 4 firms, with less years of auditor experience and higher auditor technology expertise, and those in management positions. The results provide policy makers with guidance on the opportunities and challenges of using information technology in the audit process.

The Use of Conceptual Business Model in Managing Information Technology Projects

The business model of an organization is an important strategic tool for its success, and should therefore be understood by business professionals and information technology professionals. By this context and considering the importance of information technology in contemporary business models, this article aims to verify the use of the business model components in the information technology (IT) projects management process in enterprises. To achieve this goal, this exploratory research has investigated the use of the Business Model concept in the information technology projects management, by a survey applied to 327 professionals from February to April 2012. It was observed that the business model concept, as well as its practices or its blocks, are not so well explored in its whole potential, possibly because it is relatively new. One of the benefits of this conceptual tool is to provide an understanding in terms of the core business for different areas, enabling a higher level of knowledge in terms of the essential activities of the enterprise IT professionals and the business area.

Report on Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Ames, Iowa for the year ended June 30, 2015

Report on Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Ames, Iowa for the year ended June 30, 2015

Twenty years of the Foundation of the School of Library, Documentation and Information of the National University Intellectual Property in Costa Rica - The information technology environment

This year the School of Library, Documentation and Information is twenty years from its beginning as Unit Library.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS IN NONPROFIT UNIVERSITY: A PROJECT GOVERNANCE PERSPECTIVE

The universities rely on the Information Technology (IT) projects to support and enhance their core strategic objectives of teaching, research, and administration. The researcher’s literature review found that the level of IT funding and resources in the universities is not adequate to meet the IT demands. The universities received more IT project requests than they could execute. As such, universities must selectively fund the IT projects. The objectives of the IT projects in the universities vary. An IT project which benefits the teaching functions may not benefit the administrative functions. As such, the selection of an IT project is challenging in the universities. To aid with the IT decision making, many universities in the United States of America (USA) have formed the IT Governance (ITG) processes. ITG is an IT decision making and accountability framework whose purpose is to align the IT efforts in an organization with its strategic objectives, realize the value of the IT investments, meet the expected performance criteria, and manage the risks and the resources (Weil & Ross, 2004). ITG in the universities is relatively new, and it is not well known how the ITG processes are aiding the nonprofit universities in selecting the right IT projects, and managing the performance of these IT projects. This research adds to the body of knowledge regarding the IT project selection under the governance structure, the maturity of the IT projects, and the IT project performance in the nonprofit universities. The case study research methodology was chosen for this exploratory research. The convenience sampling was done to choose the cases from two large, research universities with decentralized colleges, and two small, centralized universities. The data were collected on nine IT projects from these four universities using the interviews and the university documents. The multi-case analysis was complemented by the Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to systematically analyze how the IT conditions lead to an outcome. This research found that the IT projects were selected in the centralized universities in a more informed manner. ITG was more authoritative in the small centralized universities; the ITG committees were formed by including the key decision makers, the decision-making roles, and responsibilities were better defined, and the frequency of ITG communication was higher. In the centralized universities, the business units and colleges brought the IT requests to ITG committees; which in turn prioritized the IT requests and allocated the funds and the resources to the IT projects. ITG committee members in the centralized universities had a higher awareness of the university-wide IT needs, and the IT projects tended to align with the strategic objectives. On the other hand, the decentralized colleges and business units in the large universities were influential and often bypassed the ITG processes. The decentralized units often chose the “pet” IT projects, and executed them within a silo, without bringing them to the attention of the ITG committees. While these IT projects met the departmental objectives, they did not always align with the university’s strategic objectives. This research found that the IT project maturity in the university could be increased by following the project management methodologies. The IT project management maturity was found higher in the IT projects executed by the centralized university, where a full-time project manager was assigned to manage the project, and the project manager had a higher expertise in the project management. The IT project executed under the guidance of the Project Management Office (PMO) has exhibited a higher project management maturity, as the PMO set the standards and controls for the project. The IT projects managed by the decentralized colleges by a part-time project manager with lower project management expertise have exhibited a lower project management maturity. The IT projects in the decentralized colleges were often managed by the business, or technical leads, who often lacked the project management expertise. This research found that higher the IT project management maturity, the better is the project performance. The IT projects with a higher maturity had a lower project delay, lower number of missed requirements, and lower number of IT system errors. This research found that the quality of IT decision in the university could be improved by centralizing the IT decision-making processes. The IT project management maturity could be improved by following the project management methodologies. The stakeholder management and communication were found critical for the success of the IT projects in the university. It is hoped that the findings from this research would help the university leaders make the strategic IT decisions, and the university’s IT project managers make the IT project decisions.

What can the philosophy of science contribute to the ethics of science and technology?

Nascida para permitir que seus criadores possam atender suas próprias necessidades, a técnica científica sempre desempenhou papel significativo na civilização humana. Este é o contexto em que podemos vislumbrar o advento da tecnociência moderna, que tem contribuído significativamente para o incremento do controle humano sobre a natureza. Este estudo tem por objetivo analisar, sob o enfoque da bioética, reflexões sobre como a filosofia da ciência entende a neutralidade da ciência e sua convergência com a racionalidade epistêmica, bem como relacionar essas reflexões ao processo de tomada de decisões na administração da tecnociência. O estudo levantou dúvidas sobre a capacidade do conhecimento tecnocientífico para legitimar e justificar as decisões no âmbito dos sistemas de ciência e tecnologia nacionais, sinalizando assim a necessidade de promover ligação entre a auto-regulação tecnocientífico e hetero-regulação bioética. ______________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT

The role of science and technology management companies in the set-up and coordination of multi-partners scientific alliances

Mestrado em Economia e Gestão de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação

Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy : a science and technology-based framework to assess and reduce nutrients to Iowa waters and the Gulf of Mexico (2016)

On November 19, 2012, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, Director Chuck Gipp from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Dr. John Lawrence of Iowa State University announced the release of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy for public comment. A two-month public comment period and several informational meetings allowed the public to provide feedback on the draft strategy. Updates and improvements were made to the draft based on the public comments. The final version of the strategy was released May 29, 2013. The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy is a science and technology-based approach to assess and reduce nutrients delivered to Iowa waterways and the Gulf of Mexico. The strategy outlines voluntary efforts to reduce nutrients in surface water from both point sources, such as wastewater treatment plants and industrial facilities, and nonpoint sources, including farm fields and urban areas, in a scientific, reasonable and cost effective manner. The development of the strategy reflects more than two years of work led by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Iowa State University. The scientific assessment to evaluate and model the effects of practices was developed through the efforts of 23 individuals representing five agencies or organizations, including scientists from ISU, IDALS, DNR, USDA Agricultural Research Service and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The strategy was developed in response to the 2008 Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan that calls for the 12 states along the Mississippi River to develop strategies to reduce nutrient loading to the Gulf of Mexico. The Iowa strategy follows the recommended framework provided by EPA in 2011 and is only the second state to complete a statewide nutrient reduction strategy. This strategy is the beginning. Operational plans are being developed and work is underway. This is a dynamic document that will evolve over time, and is a key step towards improving Iowa’s water quality. The impetus for this report comes from the Water Resources Coordination Council (WRCC) which states in its 2014‐15 Annual Report “Efforts are underway to improve understanding of the multiple nutrient monitoring efforts that may be available and can be compared to the nutrient WQ monitoring framework to identify opportunities and potential data gaps to better coordinate and prioritize future nutrient monitoring efforts.” This report is the culmination of those efforts.

Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy : a science and technology-based framework to assess and reduce nutrients to Iowa waters and the Gulf of Mexico (2013)

On November 19, 2012, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, Director Chuck Gipp from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Dr. John Lawrence of Iowa State University announced the release of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy for public comment. A two-month public comment period and several informational meetings allowed the public to provide feedback on the draft strategy. Updates and improvements were made to the draft based on the public comments. The final version of the strategy was released May 29, 2013. The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy is a science and technology-based approach to assess and reduce nutrients delivered to Iowa waterways and the Gulf of Mexico. The strategy outlines voluntary efforts to reduce nutrients in surface water from both point sources, such as wastewater treatment plants and industrial facilities, and nonpoint sources, including farm fields and urban areas, in a scientific, reasonable and cost effective manner. The development of the strategy reflects more than two years of work led by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Iowa State University. The scientific assessment to evaluate and model the effects of practices was developed through the efforts of 23 individuals representing five agencies or organizations, including scientists from ISU, IDALS, DNR, USDA Agricultural Research Service and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The strategy was developed in response to the 2008 Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan that calls for the 12 states along the Mississippi River to develop strategies to reduce nutrient loading to the Gulf of Mexico. The Iowa strategy follows the recommended framework provided by EPA in 2011 and is only the second state to complete a statewide nutrient reduction strategy. This strategy is the beginning. Operational plans are being developed and work is underway. This is a dynamic document that will evolve over time, and is a key step towards improving Iowa’s water quality. The impetus for this report comes from the Water Resources Coordination Council (WRCC) which states in its 2014‐15 Annual Report “Efforts are underway to improve understanding of the multiple nutrient monitoring efforts that may be available and can be compared to the nutrient WQ monitoring framework to identify opportunities and potential data gaps to better coordinate and prioritize future nutrient monitoring efforts.” This report is the culmination of those efforts.

Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy : a science and technology-based framework to assess and reduce nutrients to Iowa waters and the Gulf of Mexico (2012)

On November 19, 2012, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, Director Chuck Gipp from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Dr. John Lawrence of Iowa State University announced the release of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy for public comment. A two-month public comment period and several informational meetings allowed the public to provide feedback on the draft strategy. Updates and improvements were made to the draft based on the public comments. The final version of the strategy was released May 29, 2013. The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy is a science and technology-based approach to assess and reduce nutrients delivered to Iowa waterways and the Gulf of Mexico. The strategy outlines voluntary efforts to reduce nutrients in surface water from both point sources, such as wastewater treatment plants and industrial facilities, and nonpoint sources, including farm fields and urban areas, in a scientific, reasonable and cost effective manner. The development of the strategy reflects more than two years of work led by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Iowa State University. The scientific assessment to evaluate and model the effects of practices was developed through the efforts of 23 individuals representing five agencies or organizations, including scientists from ISU, IDALS, DNR, USDA Agricultural Research Service and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The strategy was developed in response to the 2008 Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan that calls for the 12 states along the Mississippi River to develop strategies to reduce nutrient loading to the Gulf of Mexico. The Iowa strategy follows the recommended framework provided by EPA in 2011 and is only the second state to complete a statewide nutrient reduction strategy. This strategy is the beginning. Operational plans are being developed and work is underway. This is a dynamic document that will evolve over time, and is a key step towards improving Iowa’s water quality. The impetus for this report comes from the Water Resources Coordination Council (WRCC) which states in its 2014‐15 Annual Report “Efforts are underway to improve understanding of the multiple nutrient monitoring efforts that may be available and can be compared to the nutrient WQ monitoring framework to identify opportunities and potential data gaps to better coordinate and prioritize future nutrient monitoring efforts.” This report is the culmination of those efforts.