Thesis (Ph. D.) -- Universiteit Leiden, 2004. / Added thesis title page inserted. Includes bibliographical references (p. [175]-183).

Submitted by Elba Lopes (elba.lopes@fecap.br) on 2016-05-04T20:57:57Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Rubens_Santanna_Junior.pdf: 651868 bytes, checksum: 37ccb1fbac0e554051327465270028f3 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-04T20:57:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Rubens_Santanna_Junior.pdf: 651868 bytes, checksum: 37ccb1fbac0e554051327465270028f3 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-10-30 / We examine with an empirical study the hypothesis that the IT Deployment Capabilities impacts are positively associated with competitive advantage in Brazilian companies. The study uses the conceptual research model proposed by Tian et al. (2009). As part of this study, some of the main theoretical concepts of Resource Based View are reviewed, establishing a link between these concepts and the explanation about competitive advantage. The three constructs that set up the IT Deployment Capabilities are identified and investigated: Strategic Flexibility Partnership Business and Business Alignment. This is a descriptive exploratory research with a quantitative approach. The data collection instrument answered by the employees was a survey with a 7-point Likert scale available through Electronic Link on the Internet, using the website Survey Monkey. The study used public or private companies, national or international companies headquartered in Brazil as criteria for population, within various segments, and sample included the following functions: CEOs and Directors, Managers and Coordinators working at Information Technology areas in their companies. 320 e-mails were sent, yielding 192 responses. Of these 108 were selected as surveys with the desired research profile. To provide validation to the study, a statistical tool validation was used performing exploratory factor analysis tests (FAT) and multiple linear regression (MLR). The results showed that the constructs Strategic Flexibility and Business Partnership are positively associated with the perception of the impact of information technology competitive advantage, while the construct Business Alignment had no significant results to corroborate the studies by Tian et al. (2009) in Chinese companies. / O principal objetivo deste trabalho ?? examinar, com um estudo emp??rico, se os impactos da Capacidade Implanta????o-TI est??o positivamente associados ?? vantagem competitiva nas empresas brasileiras. O estudo utiliza o modelo conceitual de pesquisa proposto por Tian et al. (2009). Como partes deste estudo s??o revistos, dentre eles alguns dos principais conceitos te??ricos da Vis??o Baseada em Recursos, estabelece-se um elo entre esses conceitos e a explica????o da vantagem competitiva, identificando-se e investigando-se os tr??s constructos que comp??em a Capacidade Implanta????o-TI: Flexibilidade Estrat??gica, Parceria de Neg??cio e Alinhamento do Neg??cio. Trata-se de uma pesquisa explorat??ria descritiva, com uma abordagem quantitativa. O instrumento de coleta de dados empregado foi um Survey, utilizando-se a escala Likert com 7 pontos de Link eletr??nico, dispon??vel na Internet atrav??s do site Monkey Survey. O estudo utilizou como crit??rio de popula????o empresas nacionais ou internacionais sediadas no Brasil, de capital aberto ou fechado, e seus diversos segmentos, sendo que a amostra envolveu as fun????es de: CEOs, Diretores, Gerentes e Coordenadores que estavam ligados ?? ??rea de Tecnologia da Informa????o nas empresas onde colaboram. Foram enviados 320 e-mails, obtendo-se 192 respostas. Desse total, foram selecionadas 108 respostas com o perfil desejado da pesquisa. Para proporcionar garantia ao estudo, foi utilizado o instrumento estat??stico de valida????o, no qual foram realizados os testes de an??lise fatorial explorat??ria (AFE) e regress??es lineares m??ltiplas (RLM). Os resultados mostraram que os constructos Flexibilidade Estrat??gica e Parceria de Neg??cio est??o positivamente associados ?? percep????o dos impactos da Tecnologia da Informa????o na vantagem competitiva, enquanto o constructo Alinhamento do Neg??cio n??o apresentou resultados significativos, corroborando os estudos realizados por Tian et al. (2009) nas empresas chinesas.

The working hypothesis for this study is that the introduction of GIS technology into the ancient procedures of map-making has changed the map-making context sufficiently to require a revision of the way we think about, learn from, and use maps, specifically in the public involvement process in natural resource management. The assumption that we jointly know what maps mean, and how to use them, has been carried unchallenged into the vastly changed arena of digital, information-dense, and highly technical map-making, courtesy of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). It has remained unchallenged even as the social context for environmental policy-making is undergoing historic upheaval. GIS fundamentally changes how information is viewed, literally, by many different groups, for its maps and databases contain varying levels of uncertainty, multiple embedded assumptions, potentially privileged knowledge, and considerable power as story-makers, along with unintended and unexplored social consequences. GIS maps/databases are used here as the central refractor of ideas about relationships between scientists and lay audiences; between the post-modern understanding of privilege and social change; and ultimately between technology and meaning, where changing expectations about the role of science in natural resource management resonate most profoundly. Key research questions are: (1) How can GIS maps contribute to mutual learning in the natural resource management arena?, and (2) Which consequences of GIS development could change approaches to natural resource management? The exploratory case study used to address these questions examines GIS maps from the Coastal Landscape Analysis and Modeling Study (CLAMS), a landscape-scale bioregional assessment in western Oregon that draws heavily on GIS technology to illustrate ecological and socioeconomic dynamics and interactions. Findings suggest that use of GIS through time may change the realm of designing and structuring decision problems, adjusting it from a largely science-driven exercise in natural resource management to a more collaborative story-making one. While epistemological differences between scientists and lay audiences remain, they can be offset through such collaboration, with concomitant shifts in power structures that could affect a range of conditions including rates of technology diffusion, and management of a broad transition in how natural resources are perceived and utilized. / Graduation date: 2005

Every year thousands of tons of chemicals are transported by railroad in Delaware County, Indiana. All the rail lines pass through the geographical center of Muncie. Because of population densities close to rail lines is high, the vulnerability is substantial for any kind of chemical spill.To respond to possible emergency problems, the latest technology is needed which can be used in the most efficient and fastest way, so that lives can be protected. GIS can provide detailed, and time sensitive information before and after the disaster, thereby increasing the ability to make better decisions during the time of emergency.According to Gosnell (2004), the Emergency Management Agency of Delaware County is least prepared for any kind of action plan if a chemical spill situation occurs. This research is intended to create an Emergency Management System for a hypothetical chemical spill involving all the five phases of operation using GIS so that it can be a demonstration for the emergency management agency of Delaware County of how such a situation can be planned from its initial stage to final stage of operation thereby the life, property and environment can be protected. / Department of Geography

This study has attempted to model and quantify the impacts of Beneficial Management Practices (BMP) like buffer strips on the phosphorus concentration and loading in the Buck Creek Watershed of Central Indiana. The GIS based modeling was done using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Services (USDA-ARS). The results from the EPA funded two year (2002-2004) Upper White River Watershed Project (UWRWP) for the Buck Creek Watershed were used as the measured base data for the modeling evaluation. These measured data were compared against the data generated out of the model simulation based on two different scenarios which took into consideration the combinations of land use, agricultural management practices, point source pollutions and BMPs. Scenario-1 simulated all the aspects of land use intensity, moderate agricultural management practices and moderate point source pollutions taking place in the Buck Creek watershed. While running the model in scenario-1, there was a noticeable increase in the phosphorus loading to the sub-watersheds ranging from 10% in the lowland sub-watershed of BC-4 to 39% in the highland sub-watershed of BC-7. In scenario-2, BMPs were implemented in the model which added 100 acres of vegetated buffer strips uniformly in all sub-watersheds and 3 acres of grassed buffers along the streams except BC-3. On re-running the model in scenario-2, there was a drastic decline in the phosphorus loading to the stream. It has been noted that there was at least 15% reduction in the loading of phosphorus to the stream where buffer strips were implemented. The present GIS modeling study helped to quantify the changes in the loading of sediments and nutrients which are induced by any parametric changes in the watershed including soil, slope, land use, agricultural management practices and BMPs. / Department of Geography

The SAP HANA database is positioned as the core of the SAP HANA Appliance to support complex business analytical processes in combination with transactionally consistent operational workloads. Within this paper, we outline the basic characteristics of the SAP HANA database, emphasizing the distinctive features that differentiate the SAP HANA database from other classical relational database management systems. On the technical side, the SAP HANA database consists of multiple data processing engines with a distributed query processing environment to provide the full spectrum of data processing -- from classical relational data supporting both row- and column-oriented physical representations in a hybrid engine, to graph and text processing for semi- and unstructured data management within the same system. From a more application-oriented perspective, we outline the specific support provided by the SAP HANA database of multiple domain-specific languages with a built-in set of natively implemented business functions. SQL -- as the lingua franca for relational database systems -- can no longer be considered to meet all requirements of modern applications, which demand the tight interaction with the data management layer. Therefore, the SAP HANA database permits the exchange of application semantics with the underlying data management platform that can be exploited to increase query expressiveness and to reduce the number of individual application-to-database round trips.

The doctoral dissertation thesis is focused on assessment of information systems and defines the main deficiencies in operation and management of information systems in relation to processes in the department of informatics with partial overlapping into the other parts of the company. The thesis further extends the current view of assessment of information systems in the company and, in accordance with the goal of the work, it defines its own methodology, which defines the specific assessment process and subdivides its contents into individual units. The proposed methodology provides an overview of the deficiencies and possible measures in operation and management of information systems. Qualitative verification of methodology in small, medium and large companies using case studies form a part of the thesis as well.

Wildfires destroy large tracts of veld and forest land every year in South Africa. These fires can be devastating, resulting in loss of human lives, the destruction of property and the loss of income, for example the forest fire in the Sabie district in Mpumalanga in 2007 which destroyed about 7% of South Africa’s forested areas. There are frequently legal disputes with respect to the origin of wildfires, the extent of the fire and the land cover destroyed by the fires. The forensic capabilities of remote sensing in detecting and analysing post-wildfire characteristics have become an important contribution towards solving such legal disputes and in understanding wildfire characteristics. These post fire products can be used as evidence in court cases. Most of the time those court cases came up a few years after the fire event. By then, little or no evidence can be found on the terrain where the fire was. Remote sensing archives provide a reliable source of data that can be used to analyse these events after these long intervals. The objective of this project is to highlight the methods used to generate these post-wildfire analysis products. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Science)

Wildfires destroy large tracts of veld and forest land every year in South Africa. These fires can be devastating, resulting in loss of human lives, the destruction of property and the loss of income, for example the forest fire in the Sabie district in Mpumalanga in 2007 which destroyed about 7% of South Africa’s forested areas. There are frequently legal disputes with respect to the origin of wildfires, the extent of the fire and the land cover destroyed by the fires. The forensic capabilities of remote sensing in detecting and analysing post-wildfire characteristics have become an important contribution towards solving such legal disputes and in understanding wildfire characteristics. These post fire products can be used as evidence in court cases. Most of the time those court cases came up a few years after the fire event. By then, little or no evidence can be found on the terrain where the fire was. Remote sensing archives provide a reliable source of data that can be used to analyse these events after these long intervals. The objective of this project is to highlight the methods used to generate these post-wildfire analysis products. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Science)