Frameworks for Systemic and Structural Analysis of Financial Innovations in Infrastructure

Financial innovations have emerged globally to close the gap between the rising global demand for infrastructures and the availability of financing sources offered by traditional financing mechanisms such as fuel taxation, tax-exempt bonds, and federal and state funds. The key to sustainable innovative financing mechanisms is effective policymaking. This paper discusses the theoretical framework of a research study whose objective is to structurally and systemically assess financial innovations in global infrastructures. The research aims to create analysis frameworks, taxonomies and constructs, and simulation models pertaining to the dynamics of the innovation process to be used in policy analysis. Structural assessment of innovative financing focuses on the typologies and loci of innovations and evaluates the performance of different types of innovative financing mechanisms. Systemic analysis of innovative financing explores the determinants of the innovation process using the System of Innovation approach. The final deliverables of the research include propositions pertaining to the constituents of System of Innovation for infrastructure finance which include the players, institutions, activities, and networks. These static constructs are used to develop a hybrid Agent-Based/System Dynamics simulation model to derive propositions regarding the emergent dynamics of the system. The initial outcomes of the research study are presented in this paper and include: (a) an archetype for mapping innovative financing mechanisms, (b) a System of Systems-based analysis framework to identify the dimensions of Systems of Innovation analyses, and (c) initial observations regarding the players, institutions, activities, and networks of the System of Innovation in the context of the U.S. transportation infrastructure financing.

Serviço de nuvem pública e sua relação com os arranjos de governança de TI e o alinhamento estratégico

Increasingly, the Information Technology (IT) has been used to sustain the business strategies, causing increased its relevance. Therefore IT governance is seen as one of the priorities of organizations at the time. The search for strategic alignment between business and IT is debated as a factor for business success, but even with that importance, usually the main business managers are reluctant to take responsibility for decisions involving IT, mainly due to the complexity of your infrastructure. Since cloud computing is being seen as an element capable of assisting in the implementation of organizational strategies, because their characteristics enable greater efficiency and agility in IT, and is considered as a new computing paradigm. The main objective of the analyze the relationship between IT governance arrangements and strategic alignment with the infrastructure as a service (IaaS) of public cloud computing. Therefore, an exploratory, descriptive and inferential was developed, with approach to the problem of quantitatively research, with descriptive survey method and cross section. An electronic questionnaire that was applied to the ISACA chapters Associates of São Paulo and the Distrito Federal, totaling 164 respondents was used. The instrument used based on the theories of Weill and Ross (2006) for array of IT governance arrangement; Henderson and Venkatraman (1993) and Luftman (2000), for maturity of the strategic alignment model; and NIST (2011 b), ITGI (2007) and CSA (2010) for infrastructure maturity as a service (IaaS) public in its essential characteristics. As regards the main results, this research proved that with public IaaS decision-making structures have changed, with a greater participation of senior executives in all five key IT decisions (IT governance arrangement array) including more technical decisions as architecture and IT infrastructure. With increased participation of senior executives the decrease was also observed in the share of IT specialists, characterizing the decision process with the duopoly archetype (shared decision). With regard to strategic alignment, it was observed that it changes with cloud computing, and organizations with public IaaS, a maturity of strategic alignment with statistically significant and greater difference when compared to organizations without IaaS. The maturity of public IaaS is at the intermediate level (level 3 - "defined process"), with the elasticity and measurement achieved level 4 - "managed and measurable" It was also possible to infer in organizations with public IaaS, there are positive correlations between the key decisions and the maturity of IaaS, especially at the beginning, architecture and infrastructure, and the archetypes involving senior executives and IT specialists. In the correlation between the maturity and mature strategic alignment of public IaaS therefore the higher the strategic alignment, the greater the maturity of the public IaaS and vice versa.

Clear hero and dark hero in the cinematographic narration

The role of the hero is changing, slightly irregular, but it’s purpose is constant. The line that separates good from evil is frequently so thin that sometimes the main hero can act in a negative way, casting doubts about his own nature in the pursuit of good. This paper aims to inquire into the character’s heroic condition showing two variations of this archetype in the context of postmodern cinema: the “clear hero”, and the “dark hero”. The former keeps the most traditional values of the hero, while the latter provides a dimension which distinguishes it from the previous one: his experience executing evil as a part of his process to heroici­ty. Postmodernity implies an ambivalence in the character’s identity which can be comparable to the hero’s role, and to his way of making good. The “clear hero” does not imply negative features in the active nature of the hero, whilst the “dark hero” does include them. Through the protagonists of Gladiator (Scott, 2000) and Batman Begins (Nolan, 2005) are offered both heroic perspectives based on a selection of their principal ac­tions which have been subjected to analysis according to some parameters: behavior, implication, and cause. The decisive action will also be signalized, according to the narration’s teleonomy in reason of the favorable or unfavorable sense for the hero. Finally, each character will be observed from its archetype. By analyzing their actions from these perspectives, we observe the clear hero and the dark hero as affordable categories for the heroic role.

The Genesis Of The Mycenaean Citadel: A Philosophical Quest For The Origins Of The Architectural Forms

This thesis deals with the origins of the architectural forms as expressed in the Homeric Mycenaean citadel. The Genesis of the Mycenaean Citadel is a philosophical quest which reveals the poetic dimension of the Mycenaean architecture. The Introduction deals with general theories on the subject of space, which converge into one, forming the spinal idea of the thesis. The ‘process of individuation’, the process by which a person becomes ‘in-dividual’ that is a separate, indivisible unity or ‘whole’, is a process of transformation and renewal which at collective level takes place within the citadel. This is built on the archetype which expresses both the nature of the soul as a microcosm and of the divinely ordered Cosmos. The confrontation of the rational ‘ego’ with the unconscious is the process which brings us to the ‘self’, that organising center of the human psyche which is symbolised through the centre of the citadel. . Chapter I refers to ‘the Archetype of the Mycenaean citadel’. The Mycenaean citadel, which is built on a certain pattern of placement and orientation in relation to landscape formations, reproduces images which belong to the category of the ‘archetypal mother’. On the other hand, its adjustment to a central point with ‘high’ significance, recalls the archetypal image of Shiva-Shakti. The citadel realises the concept of a Kantian ‘One-all embracing space’; it is a cosmogonic symbol but also a philosophical one. Chapter II examines the column in its dual meaning, which is expressed in one structure; column and capital unite within their symbolism the conscious and unconscious contents of the human psyche and express the archetype of wholeness and goal of the individuation process. 33 Chapter III is a philosophical research into the ‘symbolism of the triangle’, the sacred Pythagorean symbol which expresses certain cosmological beliefs about the relation between human nature and the divinely ordered Cosmos. The triangular slab over the Lion Gate is a representation of the Dionysiac ‘palingenesia’, that is the continuity of One life, which was central to the Mycenaean religion. Chapter IV deals with the tripartite ‘megaron’. The circular hearth within the four-columned hall expresses the ‘quaternity of the One’, one of the oldest religious symbols of humanity. Zeus is revealed in the ‘fiery monadic unit-cubit’ as an all-embracing god next to goddess Hestia, symbolised by the circular hearth. The ‘megaron’ expresses the alchemical quaternity and the triad but also the psychological stages of development in the process towards wholeness. In the Conclusions it is emphasised that the Mycenaean citadel was created as if in a repetition of a cosmogony. It is a ‘mandala’, the universal image which is identified with God-image in man. Moreover it is built in order to be experienced by its citizen in the process of his psychological transformation towards the ‘self’, the divine element within the psyche which unites with the divinely ordered Cosmos

Robin Hood: de leyenda a mito cultural

[es] A lo largo de la historia, los villanos, ya sean reales o imaginarios, han tenido funciones útiles para la sociedad y a menudo han actuado como «válvulas de seguridad» para aliviar las presiones sociales. Esta es probablemente la razón por la que muchos «villanos» han sido definidos como «bandidos sociales», término utilizado originalmente por Eric Hobsbawm para referirse a un forajido quizás mejor ejemplificado por el personaje de Robin Hood en la tradición inglesa. Este bandido social, admirado por todos y en todas partes, que roba a los ricos y reparte el botín entre los pobres, actúa al margen de la ley y personifica asimismo la resistencia a la opresión social y una serie de virtudes más personales. En este artículo, vamos a analizar la forma en que el bandido inglés se ha convertido en un héroe mítico más que legendario. De hecho, el personaje de Robin Hood ha trascendido el tiempo y la cultura, y se ha convertido en el arquetipo del proscrito benevolente, un héroe popular nacido de las frustraciones de una clase inferior que considera que no hay leyes ni reglas en una sociedad injusta, sino la voluntad y el capricho de quien detenta el poder. [en] Throughout history, villains -whether real or imaginary- have served useful functions, especially those of “safety valves” for society. This is probably why many “villains” have been defined as “social bandits”, a term originally used by Eric Hobsbawm to refer to a type best exemplified in the Anglo-Saxon tradition by Robin Hood. This true and widely admired social bandit who steals from the rich and gives to the poor operates outside the law but at the same time personifies both group resistance to oppression and a number of more personal virtues. In this paper, we shall analyse the way in which the English bandit has become a mythical rather than a legendary hero. Indeed, the Robin Hood figure has transcended time and culture, and has become the archetype of the benevolent outlaw, a folk hero born of the frustrations of an underclass that sees the law as the will and whim of the privileged classes above them.

Palacete dos Condes de Sampayo - proposta de refuncionalização no contexto de valorização da Zona Ribeirinha do Município da Moita

A percepção e intervenção no espaço histórico, enquanto arquétipo cultural, constituíram o mote enquadrador do presente trabalho, merecendo amplo tratamento no primeiro capítulo. O segundo capítulo é dedicado ao estudo do palacete dos condes de Sampayo, elemento patrimonial de elevado valor significativo e que aqui se apresenta como objecto de tratamento central. O espólio consultado relativo ao arquivo da casa de Sampayo, permitiu-nos claramente fazer recuar no tempo a construção original do palacete, num percurso temporal análogo ao contíguo moinho de maré, ambos implementados no núcleo histórico de Alhos Vedros. Igualmente clarificou como, quando e de que forma a casa da Cova, dos Mendonça Furtado, convergirá com a casa dos Sampayo, num contexto socioeconómico específico em que a estruturação interna da nobreza se escorava nos sistemas de parentesco para consolidação do seu poder e para o fortalecimento e manutenção das casas titulares. Os modelos comparativos são tratados no capítulo três e surgem na figura das pousadas, valorizadoras dos edifícios com valor histórico e indutoras de sinergias locais. Por último, o capítulo quatro é totalmente dedicado à conceptualização de um projecto para a funcionalização do palacete como pousada. A perspectiva da sustentabilidade na fundamentação patrimonial do projeto, inscreve-se no programa de requalificação da frente ribeirinha do concelho da Moita e ancora numa perspetiva de âmbito mais alargado, inerente às políticas da administração do território e turismo da Grande Área Metropolitana de Lisboa. ABSTRACT; The perception and action in space history, as cultural archetype, constituted the framed motto of this work deserves wider treatment in the first chapter. The second chapter is devoted to the study of the palace of the Counts of Sampayo, of its assets in high-value significant and presented here is treated as central. The stock found on the file's house Sampayo, allowed us to clearly back in time the original construction of the palace, a temporal course similar to the adjacent tidal mill, both implemented in the historical center of Plantsville. He also clarified how, when and how the pit house, the Mendonca Furtado, converge with the house of Sampayo, specific socio-economic context in which the internal structure of the nobility was underpinned in kinship systems to consolidate its power and the strengthening and maintaining the homes owners. Comparative models are treated in chapter three, appearing in the picture of the holiday, not value of buildings of historic and inducing local synergies. Finally, chapter four is devoted entirely to the conceptualization of a project to re-functionalization of the mansion and guesthouse. The perspective of sustainability in the grounds of equity of the project is part of the program of the riverfront redevelopment of Moita and grounded on a broader scope, inherent in the policies of the planning and tourism Greater Metropolitan Area of Lisbon.

Vila Real de Santo António, forma limite no urbanismo histórico português

Dissertação de dout. História da Arte, Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais, Univ. do Algarve, 2006

O tempo de permanência como caracterizador do espaço habitacional

para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Arquitectura, apresentada na Universidade de Lisboa - Faculdade de Arquitectura.

Colonialidade do poder no direito e povos indígenas na América Latina: as faces da subordinação/dominação jurídica frente ao direito de retorno às terras ancestrais dos povos indígenas Kaiowá do Tekohá Laranjeira Ñande‘Rú no Brasil e Mapuche do Lof Temucuicui no Chile

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Centro de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação sobre as Américas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Estudos Comparados sobre as Américas, 2016.

SYSTEM DYNAMICS MODELING AS A QUANTITATIVE-QUALITATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT: INSIGHTS FOR WATER QUALITY POLICY IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION

Early water resources modeling efforts were aimed mostly at representing hydrologic processes, but the need for interdisciplinary studies has led to increasing complexity and integration of environmental, social, and economic functions. The gradual shift from merely employing engineering-based simulation models to applying more holistic frameworks is an indicator of promising changes in the traditional paradigm for the application of water resources models, supporting more sustainable management decisions. This dissertation contributes to application of a quantitative-qualitative framework for sustainable water resources management using system dynamics simulation, as well as environmental systems analysis techniques to provide insights for water quality management in the Great Lakes basin. The traditional linear thinking paradigm lacks the mental and organizational framework for sustainable development trajectories, and may lead to quick-fix solutions that fail to address key drivers of water resources problems. To facilitate holistic analysis of water resources systems, systems thinking seeks to understand interactions among the subsystems. System dynamics provides a suitable framework for operationalizing systems thinking and its application to water resources problems by offering useful qualitative tools such as causal loop diagrams (CLD), stock-and-flow diagrams (SFD), and system archetypes. The approach provides a high-level quantitative-qualitative modeling framework for "big-picture" understanding of water resources systems, stakeholder participation, policy analysis, and strategic decision making. While quantitative modeling using extensive computer simulations and optimization is still very important and needed for policy screening, qualitative system dynamics models can improve understanding of general trends and the root causes of problems, and thus promote sustainable water resources decision making. Within the system dynamics framework, a growth and underinvestment (G&U) system archetype governing Lake Allegan's eutrophication problem was hypothesized to explain the system's problematic behavior and identify policy leverage points for mitigation. A system dynamics simulation model was developed to characterize the lake's recovery from its hypereutrophic state and assess a number of proposed total maximum daily load (TMDL) reduction policies, including phosphorus load reductions from point sources (PS) and non-point sources (NPS). It was shown that, for a TMDL plan to be effective, it should be considered a component of a continuous sustainability process, which considers the functionality of dynamic feedback relationships between socio-economic growth, land use change, and environmental conditions. Furthermore, a high-level simulation-optimization framework was developed to guide watershed scale BMP implementation in the Kalamazoo watershed. Agricultural BMPs should be given priority in the watershed in order to facilitate cost-efficient attainment of the Lake Allegan's TP concentration target. However, without adequate support policies, agricultural BMP implementation may adversely affect the agricultural producers. Results from a case study of the Maumee River basin show that coordinated BMP implementation across upstream and downstream watersheds can significantly improve cost efficiency of TP load abatement.

The Root of the Recycled: A Comparative Analysis of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and the Mythological "Ur-Hamlet"

The purpose of my thesis was to explore the problem surrounding the sources believed to constitute the Ur-Hamlet from which Shakespeare derived Hamlet. By utilization of close reading, analysis, and archetypical criticism, my thesis confirms Shakespeare’s usage of the “Hero as Fool” archetype present in the Danish legend of Amleth, translated by Saxo Grammaticus and Francois Belleforest, as the Ur-Hamlet. My study is significant because it further develops the notion that the earlier legend served as the originary source for Hamlet, while providing evidence that rejects the validity of other sources of the Ur-Hamlet. The evidence was corroborated by presenting analytical comparisons of the framework both works share. Focusing on the archetypal origins of Shakespeare’s plot, characters and their actions revealed a more complex understanding of the play. These findings indicate and substantiate the claim that the Ur-Hamlet can be no other source but the Danish legend of Amleth.

Defining Īśvara: A New Perspective in the Hermeneutics of Classical Yoga

The mere presence of the term īśvara in Patañjali’s Yogasūtra has come to affect the meaning of both the path and the goal of Classical Yoga as well as the meaning of the term Yoga itself. The frequent translation of the term īśvara as God leads to the system of Classical Yoga to be labeled as theistic, particularly obscuring the interpretation of īśvarapraṇidhāna, a functional component of the system, as well as perpetuating a syncretic trend that has led to the popular understanding of Yoga as ‘union with the divine’. From identifying problematic hermeneutical trends and their underlying causes, as well as understanding the term within the constraints of the original text in its original Sanskrit, the term īśvara emerges as the archetype of an ultimate reality functioning as a practical and experiential tool providing the yogi with a direct glimpse of its true nature.

Sulla tradizione manoscritta dei Discorsi sacri di Elio Aristide

Il presente lavoro consiste in uno studio della tradizione manoscritta dei Discorsi sacri (= DS) di Elio Aristide. Nel primo capitolo si presenta una descrizione dettagliata dei testimoni superstiti (tutti collazionati integralmente), talvolta ridatati su base paleografica; nel secondo si dimostra l’esistenza di un archetipo (O) a monte della trasmissione dell’opera aristidea; nel terzo, quarto e quinto si ricostruiscono gli stemmata codicum delle tradizioni, rispettivamente, di DS 1-2 (bipartita), 3-5 (monopartita) e 6 (monopartita); nel sesto – e ultimo – capitolo si ricostruisce la storia della circolazione dei DS dall’epoca di Areta di Cesarea al tardo XV sec. A completamento e supporto della ricerca sono offerte numerose tavole dei manoscritti esaminati nonché un indice dei codici collazionati.

Synthesis and characterization of prussian blue analogue materials for post-Li ion batteries

Energy issues have always been a subject of concern to people. During the past 30 years, rechargeable Li-ion batteries (LIBs) have been widely used in portable electronic devices and power tools because of their high energy density and efficiency among practical secondary batteries. While the unevenly distribution of Lithium sources and the increasing cost of lithium-raw material can not satisfy the requirement for further cost reduction, especially for the grid-scale energy storage. Post-lithium ion batteries as promising replacement for LIBs have attracted wide attention, owing to their high abundant resources and adequate insertion potential. Similar with Li-ion batteries, finding a suitable electrode material is the key for the research and application of the post-Li ion batteries. In our project, we focus our study on Prussian blue analogues (PBAs), with formula AxM[M’(CN)6]1-y□y•zH2O (0≤x≤2, 0archetype of metal-organic framework, with 3D frameworks which allow for a facile insertion/ extraction of ions with negligible lattice strain. By substituting the metal sites with different transition metals, we can get a series of compounds that can be used as both cathode and anode material for both Li-ion and post-Li batteries. The most commonly studied PBAs are metal haxacyanoferrate, with the carbon-sites of -CN- ligands fix connected with Fe. Here, we synthesized three different PBAs: manganese hexacynoferrate (MnHCF), zinc hexacynoferrate (ZnHCF) and titanium hexacynoferrate (TiHCF), using co-precipitation method, and their electrochemical properties were tested in both aqueous Na+, K+, Mg2+, Zn2+ and organic Li+, Na+ electrolytes. Various X-ray techniques were employed to study their electronic and structural properties of electrodes and electrochemical reaction mechanism during cycling.

The book of Qohelet. A digital scholarly edition of the hebrew text

The objective of the present dissertation is a born-digital critical edition of the Hebrew Old Testament book of Qohelet. The edition is based on an extensive collation of variant readings from indirect sources – the Septuagint, the Peshitta, the works of St. Jerome (the Vulgate and the Commentary), and the Targum – as well as from direct sources such as the Qumran fragments and Hebrew medieval manuscripts. The ultimate goal of the edition is (a) to reproduce the earliest textual form, the Archetype, that can be reconstructed on the basis of the available evidence; and (b) to propose a rehabilitation of the Original of the Author by resorting, when necessary, to conjectural emendation. We date the Archetype to the II century BCE, corresponding to the date of Hebrew fragments from Qumran, while we place the Original between the V and III centuries BCE. Unlike previous critical editions of Qohelet, ours follows the so-called eclectic model, which involves the reconstitution of a critical text and the preparation of an apparatus of secondary variants. Our edition includes, moreover, new data, taken both from primary literature, such as the recently published Göttingen Septuagint, and from up-to-date studies and critical commentaries on the text of Qohelet. The work is made up of five main parts: an introduction, which sets forth the rationale of the edition and the methodology adopted; the collation, where the variants are listed in their original language; the commentary, where they are extensively discussed; the critical text accompanied by the apparatus, which presents a selection of authentic Hebrew variants taken from the collation; and finally, a translation of the critical text. The edition uses the mark-up language of the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI). It is realized in pdf, via LaTeX, and will be available in digital form, via the TEI-Publisher editor.