Research
Unlocking the Potential of Smart Watersheds: Leveraging Iot and Big Data for Sustainable Water Resource Management and Indicator Calculation
The present work aims to show how the Water Quality Indicators (IQA), defined in the Brazilian legislation, can be obtained using Information and Communication Technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data, and organizing them in decision support systems. This allows a decision based on up-to-date data and evidence, turning thewater management smarter. Methodologically, based on bibliographic and documentary data, it describes and evaluates the use of IoT and Big Data in calculating indicators applied to water resource management. The study also shows, in a practical way, how a network of sensors obtains the necessary data for the calculation of the Water Quality Indicator and how they were calculated using Big Data applications. With this, the results demonstrate how Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can be used to calculate different indicators in the management of water resources and, with the conceptual elements exposed here, provide greater familiarity with the theme of intelligent watersheds to fill a literature gap.
Economic Crises and Pandemics: Mitigating the Effects Through Sustainable Actions and Elements of Competitive Advantage
The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it a serious economic crisis in 2020, affecting several sectors of the economy and companies extensively, especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). History shows the recurrence of economic crises with global impacts, such as the Great Depression of 1929 and the 2008 subprime crisis, as well as localized impacts, like the 2014 crisis in Brazil. Faced with the potential repetition of similar events in the future and the need to identify risk mitigation strategies for SMEs, this work aims to provide a set of guidelines based on actions related to sustainability and elements of competitive advantage that SMEs can employ to face economic crises or pandemics. Regarding the methodological aspects, this is an exploratory and descriptive research with a qualitative approach. Data were collected through documentary and bibliographical research in the scientific literature, focusing on sustainability actions and competitive advantages employable by SMEs to mitigate risks arising from economic crises and pandemics. As a result, a set of guidelines is proposed, enabling SMEs to face fragile economic conditions, survive in scenarios of global economic paralysis, mitigate the reduction in employment levels, and cope with impacts related to reduced demand. In conclusion, SMEs that embrace elements of competitive advantage and sustainable practices stand a better chance of surviving the impacts and vulnerabilities caused by economic crises and pandemics.
