The main aim of structural safety control is the multiple assessments of the expected dam behaviour based on models and the measurements and parameters that characterise the dam’s response and condition. In recent years, there is an increase in the use of data-based models for the analysis and interpretation of the structural behaviour of dams. Multiple Linear Regression is the conventional, widely used approach in dam engineering, although interesting results have been published based on machine learning algorithms such as artificial neural networks, support vector machines, random forest, and boosted regression trees. However, these models need to be carefully developed and properly assessed before their application in practice. This is even more relevant when an increase in users of machine learning models is expected. For this reason, this paper presents extensive work regarding the verification and validation of data-based models for the analysis and interpretation of observed dam’s behaviour. This is presented by means of the development of several machine learning models to interpret horizontal displacements in an arch dam in operation. Several validation techniques are applied, including historical data validation, sensitivity analysis, and predictive validation. The results are discussed and conclusions are drawn regarding the practical application of data-based models.

Digital preservation aims to keep digital objects accessible over long periods of time, ensuring the authenticity and integrity of these digital objects. In such complex environments, Risk Management is a key factor in assuring the normal behaviour of systems over time. Currently, the digital preservation arena commonly uses Risk Management concepts to assess repositories. In this paper, we intend to go further and propose a perspective where Risk Management can be used not only to assess existing solutions, but also to conceive digital preservation environments. Thus, we propose a Risk Management-based approach to design and assess digital preservation environments, including:• the definition of context and identification of strategic objectives to determine specific requirements and characterize which consequences are acceptable within the identified context;• the identification, analysis and evaluation of threats and vulnerabilities that may affect the normal behaviour of a specific business or the achievement of the goals and conformance to the requirements identified in the context characterization; and, • definition of actions to deal with the risks associated with the identified threats and vulnerabilities.We generalize and survey the main requirements, threats, vulnerabilities and techniques that can be applied in the scope of digital preservation.

Enterprise Architecture approaches are used to provide rigorous descriptions of the organization-wide environment, manage the alignment of deployed services to the organization's mission, end ensure a clear separation of the concerns addressed in an architecture. Thus, an effective Enterprise Architecture approach assists in the management of relations and dependencies of any components of the organization environment and supports the integration and evolution of the architecture. However, the quality of that approach is strongly influenced by the precision of the architecture context description, a fact which is not always recognized. This paper focuses on the architecture context description and addresses the gap between the stakeholders' concerns and the resulting architecture. Based on a combination of established references and standards, we show how an explicit integration of the architecture context into the architecture model improves the linking of concerns and key elements of the architecture vision. We apply our approach to a subject of increasing concern in the Information Systems area: longevity of information. Digital preservation is an interdisciplinary problem, but existent initiatives address it in a very domain-centric way, making it impossible to integrate documented knowledge into an overall organization architecture. We analyze several references and models and derive a description of the architecture context and a capability model that supports incremental development through an explicit distinction between systems and their capabilities. The presented approach allows not just any organization to assess their current digital preservation awareness and evolve their architectures to address this challenge, but in particular demonstrates the added value of an explicit architecture context model in an Enterprise Architecture approach.

The goal of Risk Management activities is to define prevention and control mechanisms to address the risks attached to specify activities and valuable assets. Many Risk Management efforts operate in silos with narrowly focused, functionally driven, and disjointed activities. That fact leads to a fragmented view of risks, where each activity uses its own language, customs and metrics. The lack of interconnection and holistic view of risks limits an organization-wide perception of risks, where interdependent risks are not anticipated, controlled or managed. In order to address the Risk Management interoperability and standardization issues, this paper proposes an alignment between Risk Management, Governance and Enterprise Architecture activities, providing a systematic support to map and trace identified risks to enterprise artifacts modeled within the Enterprise Architecture, supporting the overall strategy of any organization. We discuss the main relationships between Risk Management and Enterprise Architecture and propose an architecture to integrate risks concerns into the overall organization environment.

The last decade has seen a number of reference models and compliance criteria for Digital Preservation (DP) emerging. However, there is a lack of coherence and integration with standards and frameworks in related fields such as Information Systems; Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC); and Organizational Engineering. DP needs to take a holistic viewpoint to acommodate the concerns of information longevity in the increasingly diverse scenarios in which DP needs to be addressed. In addition to compliance criteria, maturity models are needed to support focused assessment and targeted process improvement efforts in organizations. To enable this holistic perspective, this article discusses the question of capability maturity and presents a capability model for DP.We further demonstrate how such an architectural approach can be used as a basis to analyze the impact of criteria and metrics from the ISO Repository Audit and Certification standard on stakeholders, concerns, drivers, goals, and capabilities. The analysis presented here shall contribute to advance the understanding of cross-cutting concerns and the dicussion on maturity models in DP