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.

Energy Management of a Battery-Ultracapacitor Hybrid Energy Storage System in Electric Vehicles

Electric vehicle (EV) batteries tend to have accelerated degradation due to high peak power and harsh charging/discharging cycles during acceleration and deceleration periods, particularly in urban driving conditions. An oversized energy storage system (ESS) can meet the high power demands; however, it suffers from increased size, volume and cost. In order to reduce the overall ESS size and extend battery cycle life, a battery-ultracapacitor (UC) hybrid energy storage system (HESS) has been considered as an alternative solution. In this work, we investigate the optimized configuration, design, and energy management of a battery-UC HESS. One of the major challenges in a HESS is to design an energy management controller for real-time implementation that can yield good power split performance. We present the methodologies and solutions to this problem in a battery-UC HESS with a DC-DC converter interfacing with the UC and the battery. In particular, a multi-objective optimization problem is formulated to optimize the power split in order to prolong the battery lifetime and to reduce the HESS power losses. This optimization problem is numerically solved for standard drive cycle datasets using Dynamic Programming (DP). Trained using the DP optimal results, an effective real-time implementation of the optimal power split is realized based on Neural Network (NN). This proposed online energy management controller is applied to a midsize EV model with a 360V/34kWh battery pack and a 270V/203Wh UC pack. The proposed online energy management controller effectively splits the load demand with high power efficiency and also effectively reduces the battery peak current. More importantly, a 38V-385Wh battery and a 16V-2.06Wh UC HESS hardware prototype and a real-time experiment platform has been developed. The real-time experiment results have successfully validated the real-time implementation feasibility and effectiveness of the real-time controller design for the battery-UC HESS. A battery State-of-Health (SoH) estimation model is developed as a performance metric to evaluate the battery cycle life extension effect. It is estimated that the proposed online energy management controller can extend the battery cycle life by over 60%.

Designing Efficient Subsidy Policies in a Regional Economy: A Multicriteria Decision-Making (MCDM)-Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Approach

Since policy-makers usually pursue several conflicting objectives, policy-making can be understood as a multicriteria decision problem. Following the methodological proposal by André and Cardenete (2005) André, F. J. and Cardenete, M. A. 2005. Multicriteria Policy Making. Defining Efficient Policies in a General Equilibrium Model, Seville: Centro de Estudios Andaluces. Working Paper No. E2005/04, multi-objective programming is used in connection with a computable general equilibrium model to represent optimal policy-making and to obtain so-called efficient policies in an application to a regional economy (Andalusia, Spain). This approach is applied to the design of subsidy policies under two different scenarios. In the first scenario, it is assumed that the government is concerned just about two objectives: ensuring the profitability of a key strategic sector and increasing overall output. Finally, the scope of the exercise is enlarged by solving a problem with seven policy objectives, including both general and sectorial objectives. It is concluded that the observed policy could have been Pareto-improved in several directions.

Estudo sócio-ecológico sobre tráfico de seres humanos para fins de exploração laboral na região do Alentejo : análise espacial e estatística

O presente relatório, inserido no Mestrado em Gestão do Território, Área de Especialização em Deteção Remota e Sistemas de Informação Geográfica, lecionado pelo Departamento de Geografia e Planeamento Regional da Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, pretende descrever o trabalho desenvolvido pelo mestrando enquanto estagiário no Observatório do Tráfico de Seres Humanos (OTSH). O relatório está estruturado em três capítulos distintos. No primeiro capítulo é realizada uma abordagem teórica sobre o Tráfico de Seres Humanos e a distinção entre o mesmo com o Auxílio à Imigração Ilegal. Neste, é também feita uma pequena referência à problemática dos novos fluxos de refugiados/migrantes que, no momento da realização do mesmo, constituem uma questão bastante complexa sobretudo ao nível europeu. No segundo capítulo é realizada uma caracterização da área de estudo, assim como a descrição dos dados utilizados e a metodologia aplicada no mesmo. No terceiro capítulo são apresentados os resultados finais do estudo e a cartografia de síntese que sustenta os mesmos. Para a realização deste estudo recorreu-se a uma análise multicritério em SIG para prever a localização de áreas de maior suscetibilidade de ocorrência de novos casos relativos ao crime do tráfico de seres humanos para exploração laboral na agricultura, na região do Alentejo (distritos de Beja, Évora e Portalegre), através do recurso a dados estatísticos disponibilizados tanto pelo OTSH, como por outras entidades. A metodologia apresentada integra um SIG baseado num modelo raster com o Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Através da realização deste estudo, a importância dos SIG como ferramenta no auxílio ao processo de tomada de decisão, pôde ser testada, conjuntamente com o processo metodológico AHP, através dos resultados apresentados. Com um possível desenvolvimento deste modelo analítico, pretende-se que o mesmo seja adaptável a outras regiões e em última instância, outros tipos de exploração e/ou tráfico.

Environmental quality of life index incorporationg MCA & GIS : case study Lisbon Metropolitan Area, Portugal

The study of Quality of Life (Qol) has been conducted on various scales throughout the years with focus on assessing overall quality of living amongst citizens. The main focus in these studies have been on economic factors, with the purpose of creating a Quality of Life Index (QLI).When it comes down to narrowing the focus to the environment and factors like Urban Green Spaces (UGS) and air quality the topic gets more focused on pointing out how each alternative meets this certain criteria. With the benefits of UGS and a healthy environment in focus a new Environmental Quality of Life Index (EQLI) will be proposed by incorporating Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Working with MCA on complex environmental problems and incorporating it with GIS is a challenging but rewarding task, and has proven to be an efficient approach among environmental scientists. Background information on three MCA methods will be shown: Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), Regime Analysis and PROMETHEE. A survey based on a previous study conducted on the status of UGS within European cities was sent to 18 municipalities in the study area. The survey consists of evaluating the current status of UGS as well as planning and management of UGS with in municipalities for the purpose of getting criteria material for the selected MCA method. The current situation of UGS is assessed with use of GIS software and change detection is done on a 10 year period using NDVI index for comparison purposes to one of the criteria in the MCA. To add to the criteria, interpolation of nitrogen dioxide levels was performed with ordinary kriging and the results transformed into indicator values. The final outcome is an EQLI map with indicators of environmentally attractive municipalities with ranking based on predefinedMCA criteria using PROMETHEE I pairwise comparison and PROMETHEE II complete ranking of alternatives. The proposed methodology is applied to Lisbon’s Metropolitan Area, Portugal.

Algoritmos construtivos para treino de redes neuronais b-spline

Dissertação de mest. em Engenharia de Sistemas e Computação - Área de Sistemas de Controlo, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Univ.do Algarve, 2001

Efficient Hill Climber for Constrained Pseudo-Boolean Optimization Problems

Efficient hill climbers have been recently proposed for single- and multi-objective pseudo-Boolean optimization problems. For $k$-bounded pseudo-Boolean functions where each variable appears in at most a constant number of subfunctions, it has been theoretically proven that the neighborhood of a solution can be explored in constant time. These hill climbers, combined with a high-level exploration strategy, have shown to improve state of the art methods in experimental studies and open the door to the so-called Gray Box Optimization, where part, but not all, of the details of the objective functions are used to better explore the search space. One important limitation of all the previous proposals is that they can only be applied to unconstrained pseudo-Boolean optimization problems. In this work, we address the constrained case for multi-objective $k$-bounded pseudo-Boolean optimization problems. We find that adding constraints to the pseudo-Boolean problem has a linear computational cost in the hill climber.

Real-time Biosensor for the Assessment of Nanotoxicity and Cancer Electrotherapy

Knowledge of cell electronics has led to their integration to medicine either by physically interfacing electronic devices with biological systems or by using electronics for both detection and characterization of biological materials. In this dissertation, an electrical impedance sensor (EIS) was used to measure the electrode surface impedance changes from cell samples of human and environmental toxicity of nanoscale materials in 2D and 3D cell culture models. The impedimetric response of human lung fibroblasts and rainbow trout gill epithelial cells when exposed to various nanomaterials was tested to determine their kinetic effects towards the cells and to demonstrate the biosensor’s ability to monitor nanotoxicity in real-time. Further, the EIS allowed rapid, real-time and multi-sample analysis creating a versatile, noninvasive tool that is able to provide quantitative information with respect to alteration in cellular function. We then extended the application of the unique capabilities of the EIS to do real-time analysis of cancer cell response to externally applied alternating electric fields at different intermediate frequencies and low-intensity. Decreases in the growth profiles of the ovarian and breast cancer cells were observed with the application of 200 and 100 kHz, respectively, indicating specific inhibitory effects on dividing cells in culture in contrast to the non-cancerous HUVECs and mammary epithelial cells. We then sought to enhance the effects of the electric field by altering the cancer cell’s electronegative membrane properties with HER2 antibody functionalized nanoparticles. An Annexin V/EthD-III assay and zeta potential were performed to determine the cell death mechanism indicating apoptosis and a decrease in zeta potential with the incorporation of the nanoparticles. With more negatively charged HER2-AuNPs attached to the cancer cell membrane, the decrease in membrane potential would thus leave the cells more vulnerable to the detrimental effects of the applied electric field due to the decrease in surface charge. Therefore, by altering the cell membrane potential, one could possibly control the fate of the cell. This whole cell-based biosensor will enhance our understanding of the responsiveness of cancer cells to electric field therapy and demonstrate potential therapeutic opportunities for electric field therapy in the treatment of cancer.

Predictors of parental involvement activities in sport

The purpose of this research is to examine the utility of a theoretical model to predict parental involvement activities in children’s sport. Participants included 486 parents of young athletes of various sports, subdivided in two studies (n1 = 206, n2 = 280). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) conducted in Study 1 supported the proposed measurement model. All factors also show reliability, convergent and discriminant validity. In the Study 2, a structural equation model demonstrated that the parental role beliefs, parental self-efficacy, perceptions of child invitations, selfperceived time and energy, and knowledge and skills predicted parents’ home-based involvement. Perceptions of coach invitations were a significant negative predictor. These same constructs, with the exception of perceptions of knowledge and skills and perceptions of coach invitations, predicted parents’ club-based involvement. Multi-group analysis demonstrated the invariance of the model. Findings suggest that this model offers a useful framework to understand parents’ home and clubbased involvement.

Entrepreneurship: a long way to go

Entrepreneurship education has emerged as one popular research domain in academic fields given its aim at enhancing and developing certain entrepreneurial qualities of undergraduates that change their state of behavior, even their entrepreneurial inclination and finally may result in the formation of new businesses as well as new job opportunities. This study attempts to investigate the Colombian student´s entrepreneurial qualities and the influence of entrepreneurial education during their studies.

ESTUDIO PILOTO SOBRE LA EVALUACIÓN CUALITATIVA DE LOS PROBLEMAS Y PROPUESTAS DE SOLUCIÓN PARA EL USO DEL RECURSO HÍDRICO EN LA SUBCUENCA DEL RÍO VIRILLA

La experiencia en la gestión de cuencas, en particular en su aspecto hídrico-social, indica que el problema surge por causalidad recíproca de distintos factores biológicos y socioeconómicos, ligados a una gestión del desarrollo, que por lo común, no atiende los riesgos que crea. La gestión efectiva de los recursos hídricos y bióticos involucrados suele ignorar el conflicto que. en términos sociales, traen consigo los usos no sustentables. Por tanto, una gestión alternativa exige un enfoque integral, que busque relacionar valores sociales (no  únicamente económicos) con criterios ecológicos y con otros parámetros diversos.La integral idad de la gestión de cuencas depende de que las decisiones estén sujetas tanto a sistemas de planificación territorial, con la perspectiva abierta sobre los ecosistemas boscosos (protección de cuencas, control de erosión, ciclo del carbono, recreación, etc.) como a sistemas interdependientes de preferencias o toma de decisiones sociales.Lo anterior no se puede evaluar eficientemente con las técnicas convencionales de valoración, ni con las herramientas de la economía ambiental y de recursos naturales para países en desarrollo. Si bien esas técnicas son útiles en la administración de algunos recursos estratégicos. no son suficientes cuando se trata de valorar ambientes donde se debe enfrentar limitaciones en términos de indeterminación, incertidumbre, indivisibilidad, racionalidades sujetas a decisiones colectivas e individuales o a cuestiones de distribución socioecológica.El diseño metodológico aquí presentado ha permitido identificar los diferentes actores involucrados, describiendo, al mismo tiempo, los problemas de gestión que enfrentan y ha pennitido delimitar los conflictos sociales y mostrar diferentes posibilidades para su solución por medio de compromisos, cooperación y diálogo entre las panes, dando oportunidad que emergieran soluciones para el manejo integral de la subcuenca del no Viruta.Abstract:The experience in the administration of basins, in particular in their social-hydric aspect, it indicates that thc problem anses for reciprocal causation of different biological and socioeconomic factors, bound toan administration of dic development thai in general doesn’t assist dic risks thai shelhe believes. The effectivc administration of the hydrics resources and involved biotic usually ignore dic conflict that, in social terms. she/he brings 1 gel the non sustainablc uses. Therefore. an alternative administration demands an integral focus thai looks for to relate social values (nol only economic) to ecological approaches and other diverse parameters.The composedly of dic basin administration depends thai the decisions are subject to systems of territorial planning. with dic open perspective on the wooded ecosystems (basin protection, erosion control. cycle of the carbon. recreation, etc.) as much as Lo intcrdcpendeni systems of preferences or taking of social decisions.The above-mentioned you can nol evaluate efficiendy with the conventional techniques of valuacion, neithcr with the tools of the environmental economy and of natural resources for countries in development. Although those techniques are useful in ihe administration of sorne strategic resources. they are fol enough when it is to value atmospheres where it should be faced limitations in indetermination terms. uncertainty, indivisibility, rationalities subject to collecuve and individual decisions. or to questions of partner-ecological distribution.The mcthodological design here prescnted it has allowcd lo ideniify. the different involved actors, describing, al the same time, dic administration problems that face and it has allowed to define the social contlicts and to show different possibilities for dic their solution through comrnitments, cooperation and dialogue arnong dic paris. giving opportunity thai solutions emerged for the integral handling of the Vinila river basin.