Cleaning up a spill 
                                                       Written by Laura Hill

Water and oil don’t mix. We see this every day; just try washing olive oil off your hands without soap or washing your face in the morning with only water. It just doesn’t work!
When an oil spill occurs in the ocean, like the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, what do scientists do to clean up the toxic mess? There are a number of options for an oil spill cleanup and most efforts use a combination of many techniques. The fact that oil and water don’t mix is a blessing and a curse. If oil mixed with water, it would be difficult to divide the two.
Crude oil is less dense than water; it spreads out to make a very thin layer (about one millimetre thick) that floats on top of the water. This is good because we can tell what is water and what is oil. It is also bad, because it means the oil can spread really quickly and cover a very large area, which becomes difficult to manage. Combined with wind, ocean currents and waves, oil spill cleanup starts to get really tricky.
Chemical dispersants can be used to break up big oil slicks into small oil droplets. They work like soaps by emulsifying the hydrophobic (waterrepelling) oil in the water. These small droplets can degrade in the ecosystem quicker than the big oil slick. But unfortunately, this means that marine life of all sizes ingest these toxic, broken-down particles and chemicals.
If the oil is thick enough, it could be set fire, a process called “in situ burning”. Because the oil is highly flammable and floats on top of the water, it is very easy to set it alight. It’s not environmentallyfriendly though; the combustion of oil releases thick smoke that contains greenhouse gases and other dangerous air pollutants.
Some techniques can contain and recapture spilled oil without changing its chemical composition. Booms float on top of the water and act as barriers to the movement of oil. Once the oil is controlled, it can be gathered using sorbents. “Sorbent” is a fancy word for sponge. These sponges absorb the oil and allow it to be collected by siphoning it off the water.
However, weather and sea conditions can prevent and obstruct the use of booms, sorbents and in situ burning. Imagine trying to perform these operations on the open sea with wind, waves and water currents moving the oil (and your boat!) around on the water.
What about the plants and animals? It’s easy to forget about the organisms in the sea that are under water. Out of sight, out of mind! There is not much we can do to help them. But when oil reaches the shore it impacts sensitive coastal environments including the many fish, bird, amphibian, reptilian, and crustaceanspecies that live there. We have easy access to these areas and there are some things we can do to clean up. For the plants, it is often a matter of setting them on fire, or leaving them to degrade the oil naturally. Sometimes, we can spray the oil with nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) that can encourage the growth of specialized microorganisms. For species that can tolerate our soaps, manpower is needed to wash every affected animal. Yet, if the animal has tried to lick itself clean, it can die from ingesting the toxic oil.
Unfortunately, there can be many negative economic and social impacts, in addition to the environmental impacts of oil spills and, as you’ve just read, the clean up techniques are far from perfect. Prevention is the very best cleanup technique we have. http://www.curiocity.ca/everyday-science/environme... -cleaning-up-a-spill.html, retrieved on Dec 10, 2010

                                                 Computer Systems Analysts
Nearly all organizations rely on computer and information technology (IT) to conduct business and operate efficiently. Computer systems analysts use IT tools to help enterprises of all sizes achieve their goals. They may design and develop new computer systems by choosing and configuring hardware and software, or they may devise ways to apply existing systems resources to additional 5 tasks. Training requirements for computer systems analysts vary depending on the job, but many employers, when hiring computer systems analysts, usually prefer applicants who have a bachelor's degree. Relevant work experience also is very important. Advancement opportunities are good for those with the necessary skills and experience. For more technically complex jobs, people with graduate 10 degrees are preferred. For jobs in a technical or scientific environment, employers often seek applicants who have at least a bachelor's degree in a technical field, such as computer science, information science, applied mathematics, engineering, or the physical sciences. For jobs in a business environment, employers often seek applicants with at least a bachelor" degree in a business-related field such as management information systems (MIS). Increasingly, employers are seeking individuals 15 who have a master's degree in business administration (MBA) with a concentration in information systems. Despite the preference for technical degrees, however, people who have degrees in other areas may find employment as systems analysts if they also have technical skills. Courses in computer science or related subjects combined with practical experience can qualify people for some jobs in the 20 occupation. Employers generally look for people with expertise relevant to the job. For example, systems analysts who wish to work for a bank may need some expertise in finance, and systems analysts who wish to work for a hospital may need some knowledge of health management. Furthermore, business enterprises generally prefer individuals with information technology, business, and accounting skills and 25 frequently assist employees in obtaining these skills. Technological advances come so rapidly in the computer field that continuous study is necessary to remain competitive. Employers, hardware and software vendors, colleges and universities, and private training institutions offer continuing education to help workers attain the latest skills. Additional training may come from professional development seminars offered by professional 30 computing societies. COMPUTER Systems Analysts. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 5 jan. 2011. Adaptado. 

                                                          Information Systems
Information Systems (IS) is concerned with the information that computer systems can provide to aid a company, non-profit or governmental organization in defining and achieving its goals. It is also concerned with the processes that an enterprise can implement and improve using information technology. IS professionals must understand both technical and organizational factors , 5 and must be able to help an organization determine how information and technology-enabled business processes can provide a foundation for superior organizational performance. They serve as a bridge between the technical and management communities within an organization. What information does the enterprise need? How is that information generated? Is it delivered to the people who need it? Is it presented to them in ways that permit them to use it readily? 10 Is the organization structured to be able to use technology effectively? Are the business processes of the organization well designed? Do they use the opportunities created by information technology fully? Does the organization use the communication and collaboration capabilities of information technologies appropriately? Is the organization capable of adapting quickly enough to changing external circumstances? These are the important issues that businesses rely on IS people to 15 address. A majority of IS programs are located in business schools; however, they may have different names such as management information systems, computer information systems, or business information systems. All IS degrees combine business and computing topics, but the emphasis between technical and organizational issues varies among programs. For example, 20 programs differ substantially in the amount of programming required. Traditionally, many graduates of IS programs have functioned in roles that are similar to the roles for which IT programs explicitly prepare their students. Information systems graduates continue to fill these roles, but the new programs in information technology offer an alternative path to these positions. INFORMATION Systems. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 03 jan. 2011. 

Model copes with chaos to deliver relief Computer program helps responders transport supplies in tough conditions
By Rachel Ehrenberg Science News, Web edition: Monday, February 21st, 2011
WASHINGTON — Getting blood or other perishable supplies to an area that’s been struck by an earthquake or hurricane isn’t as simple as asking what brown can do for you. But a new model quickly determines the best routes and means for delivering humanitarian aid, even in situations where bridges are out or airport tarmacs are clogged with planes.
The research, presented February 18 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, could help get supplies to areas which have experienced natural disasters or help prepare for efficient distribution of vaccines when the flu hits.
Efficient supply chains have long been a goal of manufacturers, but transport in fragile networks — where supply, demand and delivery routes may be in extremely rapid flux — requires a different approach, said Anna Nagurney of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, who presented the new work. Rather than considering the shortest path from one place to another to maximize profit, her system aims for the cleanest path at minimum cost, while capturing factors such as the perishability of the product and the uncertainty of supply routes. ‘You don’t know where demand is, so it’s tricky,’ said Nagurney. ‘It’s a multicriteria decision-making problem.’
By calculating the total cost associated with each link in a network, accounting for congestion and incorporating penalties for time and products that are lost, the computer model calculates the best supply chain in situations where standard routes may be disrupted.
‘Mathematical tools are essential to develop formal means to predict, and to respond to, such critical perturbations,’ said Iain Couzin of Princeton University, who uses similar computational tools to study collective animal behavior. ‘This is particularly important where response must be rapid and effective, such as during disaster scenarios … or during epidemics or breaches of national security.
’ The work can be applied to immediate, pressing situations, such as getting blood, food or medication to a disaster site, or to longer-term problems such as determining the best locations for manufacturing flu vaccines. . Retrieved April 7th, 2011.

'CityVille' now bigger on Facebook than 'FarmVille'
(Mashable) -- Facebook game developer Zynga has proved once
again that it knows exactly what it needs to do to keep millions of
Facebook users happy and occupied.
In less than a month, its latest game "CityVille"___ ______
(become) the most popular application on Facebook, surpassing
Zynga's previous hit "FarmVille" in all areas.
According to AppData, "CityVille" now has 16.8 million daily
active users, compared to "FarmVille's" 16.4 million. Looking at
monthly active users, "CityVille" is also ahead with 61.7 million
users, while "FarmVille" trails behind with 56.8 million users.
Zynga's "FrontierVille" and "Texas HoldEm Poker" also round out
the top five: put those four apps together (we'll disregard the fact
that many of those users overlap for a second) and you have a
very impressive number: 184 million active users across four
games.
The only non-Zynga app in the top five list is "Phrases," _____ at
one point threatened to take the top place, but is now
overshadowed by both "CityVille" and "FarmVille."
"CityVille's" future success wasn't hard to predict after an
amazingly good start at the beginning of December, but it's still
impressive to see Zynga amassing tens of millions of users in a
matter of days, proving that all that venture capital that went into
the company isn't there by accident.
Fonte :cnn.com