Mutation testing is a powerful, but resource intense technique for asserting software quality. This report investigates two claims about one of the mutation operators on procedural logic, the relation operator replacement (ROR). The constrained ROR mutant operator is a type of constrained mutation, which targets to lower the number of mutants as a “do smarter” approach, making mutation testing more suitable for industrial use. The findings in the report shows that the hypothesis on subsumption is rejected if mutants are to be detected on function return values. The second hypothesis stating that a test case can only detect a single top-level mutant in a subsumption graph is also rejected. The report presents a comprehensive overview on the domain of mutation testing, displays examples of the masking behaviour previously not described in the field of mutation testing, and discusses the importance of the granularity where the mutants should be detected under execution. The contribution is based on literature survey and experiment. The empirical findings as well as the implications are discussed in this master dissertation.

[pt] Sistemas de software estão evoluindo frequentemente devido a diversas requisições de mudanças. A medida que o software evolui, seu tamanho e complexidade aumentam, e consequentemente, sua arquitetura tende a se degradar. Sintomas de degradação arquitetural são por muitas vezes uma consequência direta da inserção progressiva de anomalias de código. Uma anomalia de código é uma estrutura da implementação recorrente que possivelmente indica problemas mais severos no projeto arquitetural. Anomalia de código é considerada crítica quando ela está relacionada problemas estruturais na arquitetura do software. Sua criticidade origina-se da sua influência negativa em uma ampla gama de requisitos não-funcionais. Por exemplo, a presença e anomalias e código críticas dificulta a manutenibilidade e software., ex. uma grande refatoração pode ser necessária para remover um problema arquitetural. Diversas abordagens tem sido propostas para a detecção de anomalias em sistemas de software, mas nenhuma delas suporta eficientemente a priorização e classificação de anomalias de código críticas de acordo com seu impacto na arquitetura. O presente trabalho investiga como a priorização e classificação dessas anomalias críticas de código pode se melhorado com o uso de blueprints arquiteturais. Blueprints arquiteturais são providos pelo arquiteto de software desde estágios iniciais de desenvolvimento do sistema. Blueprints são modelos de projeto informais normalmente definidos para capturar e comunicar as principais decisões de projeto arquitetural. Embora blueprints normalmente sejam incompletos e inconsistentes com respeito a implementação do sistema, eles podem contribuir para o processo de priorização e classificação de anomalias de código críticas. Com o intuito de alcançar nossos objetivos de pesquisa, um conjunto de estudos empíricos foram realizados. O trabalho também propõe e avalia um conjunto de heurísticas para auxiliar desenvolvedores na priorização e classificação de anomalias de código em 3 sistemas de software. Os resultados mostraram uma acurácia média de mais de 60 porcento na priorização e classificação de anomalias de código associadas com problemas arquiteturais nesses sistemas. / [en] Software systems are often evolving due to many changing requirements. As the software evolves, it grows in size and complexity, and consequently, its architecture design tends to degrade. Architecture degradation symptoms are often a direct consequence of the progressive insertion of code anomalies in the software implementation. A code anomaly is a recurring implementation structure that possibly indicates deeper architectural design problems. Code anomaly is considered critical when it is related with a structural problem in the software architecture. Its criticality stems from its negative influence on a wide range of non-functional requirements. For instance, the presence of critical code anomalies hinders software aintainability, i.e. these critical anomalies require wide refactoring in order to remove an architectural problem. Symptoms of architecture degradation have often to be observed in the source code due to the lack of an explicit, formal representation of the software architecture in a project. Many approaches are proposed for detecting code anomalies in software systems, but none of them efficiently support the prioritization and ranking of critical code anomalies according to their architecture impact. Our work investigates how the prioritization and ranking of such critical code anomalies could be improved by using blueprints. Architecture blueprints are usually provided by software architects since the early stages of the system development. Blueprints are informal design models usually defined to capture and communicate key architectural design decisions. Even though blueprints are often incomplete and inconsistent with respect to the underlying implementation, we aim to study if their use can contribute to improve the processes of prioritizing and ranking critical code anomalies. Aiming to address these research goals, a set of empirical studies has been performed. We also proposed and evaluated a set ofheuristics to support developers when prioritizing and ranking code anomalies in 3 software systems. The results showed an average accuracy higher than 60 percent when prioritizing and ranking code anomalies associated with architectural problems in these systems.

This thesis is the documentation of an empirical study using quantitative methods to identify variables that are impacting on the delivery of Music in the learning area Arts and Culture in South Africa. These variables were extrapolated from surveys, interviews and questionnaires. The learning area Arts and Culture is one of the eight compulsory learning areas for all learners from Grades 4-9 in South Africa. One of the four strands is Music. The research question was formulated on the basis that a perceived problem existed in the delivery of Music in the learning area Arts and Culture. This supposition is supported by the literature review. The employment of univariate descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations of two-variable relationships and chi-squared tests to draw inferences about the relationship between categorical variables were adopted to quantify which variables are impacting on the delivery of Music in the learning area Arts and Culture. Four dominant approaches to Music were defined as key issues: -- Governmental policies on educational reform -- Learning area Arts and Culture -- International viewpoints -- An African perspective on Music The findings on these dominant approaches to Music revealed that the government policy of decentralisation was employed as a mechanism to address the disparities in education. The curriculum implemented, Curriculum 2005, was also employed as a structure to redress the dispersed education system that existed prior to the democratic participation of South African citizens. A comparative analysis of international countries reviewed depicts arts education as an encompassing field with discrete arts disciplines. South Africa, conversely, adopts an integrated approach to the arts in the learning area Arts and Culture. This aligns to an African perspective of Music, having no subject boundaries and with the performing arts disciplines seldom separated in creative thinking. The findings in these dominant approaches to Music led to the further delineation of the research question into three main avenues of inputs: -- human resources -- physical resources -- the societal role of the arts The analysis of the data obtained from the educators indicated that all educators possess a qualification of some kind, but that there is a lack of specialisation in Music. Those who have an arts qualification alluded to the fact that they have a natural bias towards the art form in which they received their training. Statistical analysis proved that the type of school influences the level of implementation, the budget and the accessibility of resources for Music. The research indicates that the response of the learners to the learning area Arts and Culture in South Africa is associated with the grade of the learner, the race of the learner and whether the learner acknowledges the value of learning about Music or not. Although school principals view the learning area as an integral part of education, they raised justified concerns pertaining to the learning area. On the basis of the identification and quantification of variables impacting on the delivery of Music in the learning area Arts and Culture in South Africa, recommendations are made. / Thesis (DMus)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Music / unrestricted

Bakgrund: Forskning påvisar att självskadeproblematiken har ökat vilket delvis kan bero på samhällets ökande krav på unga människor. I omvårdnadsmöten med unga människor som har ett självskadebeteende redovisar forskning att sjuksköterskor brister i att uppmärksamma patienternas verkliga problem på grund av att de saknar kunskap. Detta kan leda till frustration och maktlöshet. Syfte: Studiens syfte var att beskriva på vilket sätt sjuksköterskan skapar omvårdnadsmöten med unga människor som har ett självskadebeteende. Metod: Empirisk studie med kvalitativ ansats utifrån semistrukturerande intervjuer med fyra sjuksköterskor verksamma vid barn-och ungdomspsykiatrin. Innehållsanalys modifierad efter Malterud (2009). Resultat: Ur innehållsanalysen har tre kategorier utvecklats; Insikt om den andre, Insikt om sig själv och Insikt om att ta hjälp av andra. Dessa beskriver betydelsen av att sjuksköterskan har insikt i mötet med unga människor som skadar sig själva. Slutsats: Analysens resultat, Insikt om den andre, Insikt om sig själv och Insikt om att ta hjälp av andra förtydliggjorda och förklarade med Erikssons teori att mötet med unga människor med ett självskadebeteende sätts lidandet i ett nytt ljus, sjuksköterskan har modet att bekräfta sig själv och att det finns samspel i en gemenskap. Klinisk betydelse: Förhoppningen med denna studie är att upplysa blivande sjuksköterskor och legitimerade sjuksköterskor om innebörden av att ha insikt om den sårbara patienten, insikt om sig själv och insikt om att se sina begränsningar för att ta hjälp av andra genom reflektion och kunskap. / Background: Research shows that self-injury problems have increased which may partly be due to society's increasing demands on young people. In nursing meetings with young people who have a self-injury, research reports that nurses fail to pay attention to patients' real problems because of their lack of knowledge. This can lead to frustration and powerlessness. Objective: The aim of the study was to describe how nurses create care meetings with young people who have a self-harm behavior. Method: Empirical study with qualitative approach based on semi-structuring interviews with four nurses working in child and adolescent psychiatry. Content analysis modified after Malterud (2009). Results: From the content analysis three categories developed; insight about the other, insight about oneself, and insight of the support of others. This describes the role of the nurse insight in dealing with young people who harm themselves. Conclusion: Analysis results, Insight about the other, Insight about oneself and Insight to enlist the help of other clarified and explained by Erikson's theory that when dealing with young people with self-harm is suffering in a new light, the nurse has the courage to acknowledge himself and that there is interaction in a solidarity. Clinical significance: The hope of this study is to inform prospective nurses and registered nurses the importance of having knowledge of the vulnerable patient, understanding oneself and insight to see its limitations in order to enlist the help of others through reflection and knowledge.

[pt] O gerenciamento da cadeia de suprimento (GCS) recebeu muita atenção de acadêmicos e praticantes da indústria no que tange a grandes empresas. Contudo, existe uma carência de estudos do GCS focados em pequenas empresas. Isto se faz necessário em função das diferenças entre as realidades de grandes e pequenas empresas, implicando na dificuldade de aproveitar o conhecimento acumulado já existente de GCS para as pequenas empresas, e na importância que as pequenas empresas têm para a economia de diversos países, em particular as emergentes, como a Brasileira. Neste contexto, a presente dissertação de mestrado tem como objetivo avançar no conhecimento do GCS em pequenas empresas por meio da análise de práticas de GCS em empresas no Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Brasil). As práticas analisadas nesta pesquisa são gestão de relacionamento com o cliente, práticas de gerenciamento de operações, planejamento e processos de negócios e gestão do relacionamento com fornecedores. A metodologia adotada é composta de três etapas, as quais visam através da adoção das quatro abordagens do MIT GeneSys coletar dados acerca do perfil do gerente e da empresa, das práticas de negócios utilizadas pela empresa, mapear os ativos da empresa, verificar quais práticas de GCS são utilizadas, determinar quais atividades e quanto tempo o tomador de decisões gasta nelas e em quais atividades ele gasta mais tempo. Sendo consolidada nessa dissertação a assessoria dada às empresas, pois após todo o processo da coleta de dados foi realizado um feedback à empresa, através de uma apresentação dos resultados com as recomendações. Como resultado, a dissertação oferece um guia prático para implementar e gerir com sucesso práticas de GCS em pequenas empresas, o qual está disponível para que as empresas possam utilizar. / [en] Supply chain management (SCM) has received a lot of attention from academics and industry practitioners when it comes to large companies. However, there is a shortage of SCM studies focused on small enterprises. This is necessary due to the differences between the realities of large and small enterprises, resulting in the difficulty of harnessing the existing accumulated knowledge of SCM for small enterprises, and the importance that small enterprises have for the economy of various countries, particularly emerging ones, such as the Brazilian. In this context, this master dissertation aims to advance the knowledge of SCM in small enterprises by analyzing SCM practices in enterprises in the State of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). The practices analyzed in this research are customer relationship management, operations management practices, planning and business processes and supplier relationship management. The methodology adopted consists of three stages, which aim to adopt the four approaches of MIT GeneSys to collect data about the profile of the manager and the company, the business practices used by the company, map the company s assets, verify which practices of SCM are used, determining which activities and how much time the decision maker spends on them and on what activities he spends the most time. The advice given to the companies was consolidated in this dissertation, since after the entire data collection process, a feedback was made to the company, through a presentation of the results with the recommendations. As a result, the dissertation provides a hands-on guide for successfully implementing and managing small enterprises SCM practices, which is available for the companies to use.

KM is the process of creating value from the intangible assets of an enterprise. It deals with how best to leverage knowledge internally in the enterprise (in its individual employees, and the knowledge that gets built into its structures and systems) and externally to the customers and stakeholders. As KM initiatives, projects and systems are just beginning to appear in organisations, there is little research and empirical field data to guide the successful development and implementation of such systems or to guide the expectations of the potential benefits of such systems. In addition, about 84 per cent of KM programmes failed or exerted no significant impact on the adopting organisations worldwide due to inability to consider many critical factors that contribute to the success of KM project implementation. Hence, this study is an exploratory investigation into the KM implementation based on an integrated approach. This includes: (1) a comprehensive review of the relevant literature; (2) a comprehensive analysis of secondary case studies of KM implementations in 90 organisations presented in the literature, in order to arrive at the most critical factors of KM implementation and their degree of criticality; (3) exploratory global survey of 92 organisations in 23 countries that have already implemented or are in the process of implementing KM; (4) in-depth case studies of four leading organisations to understand how KM implementation processes and the critical factors identified are being addressed. Based on the empirical findings of the study, 28 critical factors were identified that must be carefully considered in the KM implementation to achieve a successful project. Moreover, the study proposes an integrated model for effective KM implementation which contains essential elements that contribute to project success. / Government of Saudi Arabia represented by King Saud University.

In the last decade, the rapid economic development in the Middle East has encouraged organisations to implement modem quality management and strategic initiatives such as Six Sigma to ensure continuous improvement and achieved excellence. Six Sigma is a comprehensive business strategic quality programme and a systematic process improvement methodology for achieving, sustaining and maximising business success. The proper implementation of Six Sigma leads to breakthrough in profitability through ensuring quantum gains in product/service quality, customer satisfaction and productivity. This research presents an empirical exploratory and comparative study that aims and attempts to bridge the gap in the existing literature of Six Sigma by investigating the current implementation status of Six Sigma in organisations of three Middle East countries (namely, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and United Arab Emirates (UAE)). The reasons/benefits that encourage Middle East organisations to implement Six Sigma projects, the challenges commonly faced during implementation, the critical success factors (CSFs) for effective implementation and the organisations’ satisfaction with the implementation are investigated. The key issues of Six Sigma implementation and their criticality relating to the experience of the implementing process of Six Sigma projects are explored through an extensive review of the relevant literature. The data were collected from a combination of quantitative (232 questionnaires) and qualitative (74 semi-structured interviews) methodologies. The research covered 44 organisations from manufacturing and services sectors and large, small, and medium enterprises (SME) sizes, which have implemented or were implementing Six Sigma projects in the selected countries at the time of study. The study findings identified 15 significant reasons/benefits which encourages Middle East organisations to implement Six Sigma projects, 13 major challenges commonly faced during implementation, 19 CSFs for effective implementation and level of the organisations’ satisfaction with the implementation. Based on the research findings, a generic model for successful and effective implementation of Six Sigma in Middle East organisations is developed and proposed. The research concludes that Six Sigma implementation in Middle East organisations still in early stage, most organisations have outstanding opportunities to implement the Six Sigma project successfully and effectively with tangible and intangible benefits. In addition, all the responding organisations, which are actively implementing Six Sigma programme, regardless of their countries, sectors and sizes are highly satisfied with the implementation results. However, the research output highlights that an improvement culture must be developed and promoted throughout the organisation to ensure long-term benefit and sustainable success. Furthermore, the research makes recommendations on development of an implementation strategy in Middle East organisations. Finally, a number of suggestions are made for future research.

[pt] A avaliação de desempenho em operações humanitárias é questão-chave, pois possibilita melhores resultados e rapidez no atendimento. Uma das perspectivas de avaliação está relacionada a quanto as operações humanitárias podem ser efetivas e eficientes na ajuda aos beneficiários. Nesse sentido, o objetivo principal deste estudo é propor um framework para avaliação de desempenho de operações humanitárias, a partir da percepção dos beneficiários. Para isso, 22 artigos são selecionados e 130 indicadores são identificados por meio de uma revisão sistemática da literatura. Com base nestes resultados, são propostos uma taxonomia de critérios pré e pós-desastres, uma agenda de pesquisa específica para aprimoramento do tópico e um framework para avaliação do desempenho. Em seguida, um estudo empírico abordando o caso sobre a queda da área de lazer de um prédio é conduzido, composto por uma survey, com os moradores do prédio e um estudo de caso com a empresa responsável pela obra. A survey apresenta 44 respostas com satisfações, insatisfações, pontos positivos e negativos da operação pós-desastre, onde os principais resultados apontam que existem insatisfações relacionadas a questão de adaptação ao novo local de moradia e o principal ponto positivo diz respeito a rapidez nos primeiros atendimentos as pessoas afetadas. Os resultados do estudo de caso apontam que a empresa se preocupa com a satisfação dos seus clientes e é flexível para atendimento das necessidades dos mesmos. Assim, os resultados conferem uma primeira validação do framework, sendo sugerido como pesquisas futuras o desenvolvimento de estudos aprofundando outros tipos de desastres. / [en] Performance evaluation in humanitarian operations is a vital issue, as it enables better results and faster service. One of the evaluation perspectives is related to how humanitarian operations can be effective and efficient in helping beneficiaries. In this sense, the main objective of this study is to propose a framework for evaluating the performance of humanitarian operations, based on the beneficiaries perception. For this, 22 articles are selected and 130 indicators are identified through a systematic review of the literature. Based on these results, a taxonomy of pre- and post-disaster criteria, a specific research agenda for topic improvement, and a framework for performance evaluation are proposed. Then, an empirical study addressing the case about the fall of the leisure area of a building is conducted, consisting of a survey, with the residents of the building and a case study with the company responsible for the work. The survey presents 44 responses with satisfactions, dissatisfactions, positives, and negatives of the post-disaster operation, where the main results indicate that there are dissatisfactions related to the issue of adaptation to the new place of residence and the main positive point concerns the speed of the first visits affected people. The results of the case study indicate that the company is concerned with the satisfaction of its customers and is flexible to meet their needs. Thus, the results give a first validation of the framework, being suggested as future research the development of studies deepen other types of disasters.

In September 2014, a new regulation was proposed in Sweden, which indicates aset of rules of giving way under different types of bicycle intersections. Meanwhile,new definitions were endued to bicycle passages and bicycle crossings. After thepriority of cyclists is guaranteed at bicycle crossings, potential delay for motorvehicles in the mainstream should not be ignored as well.Therefore, inspired by the previous study from Movea, this thesis project is goingto focus on unsupervised bicycle passages and bicycle crossings, with the aim ofassessing and inspecting the impacts of different bicycle intersections on vehicledelays.The relationship between delay and flows at bicycle intersections has beenresearched in detail. Initially, an empirical study has been carried out on the basisof data from field measurements. In addition, a microscopic traffic simulationmodel has been constructed for the analysis of theoretical situations. The delay isproved to have a linear relationship with vehicle flow and bicycle flow. However,the linear relationship based on field data turns out to be different from the onefrom simulation output.

Most research on the effects of race on people’s lived experiences focuses on how race affects the lives of people of color. Since the 1990’s, a growing body of literature has focused on “Whiteness” in society. Most “Whiteness Studies” focus on how “White” developed as a racial category and how various ethnic/national groups (e.g., Irish, Italians, Jews, Germans) came to be included under that racial label. However, nearly a century ago, in 1935, sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois referred to the public and psychological wage for Whiteness—in part, meaning the societal gravity or weight that the label “White” tends to carry. Du Bois’ oft-quoted proposition has never been empirically tested. The present study used the experimental method to empirically test Du Bois’ proposition. Using mock job applications that were identical except that (1) the applicant’s photograph had been electronically manipulated to vary race (Black or Caucasian) and sex (male or female) and (2) the application either did or did not suggest the applicant had a pending criminal charge. Each participant evaluated one mock applicant on a variety of employment and personality scales. Major findings show a main, usually negative, effect of criminal records status on ratings. Interaction effects show that participants ranked Black applicants with a pending criminal record higher than Whites with a pending record, while the reverse was true when applicants had no criminal record. Social desirability bias, and other possibilities (e.g., heightened socio-political consciousness and identification) – are discussed as possible explanation effects, including absence of prominent race or sex effects. / African American Studies