Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

‘Project performance’ is the metric of delivering project objectives. This research is motivated by levels of project failure and the purpose of the research is to investigate improved project performance. The scientific spectrum is considered; arguing project management as a sub-field of management science based in ‘design science’. Despite research since the 1950s, there is no established community paradigm for project management, illustrated by multiple ‘schools of thought’ failing to stimulate performance improvement. This is investigated with respect to the changing nature of projects and their management; application in numerous industrial sectors, across increasing scope of the product lifecycle (including service projects), and the changing role of project managers as value adding ‘implementers’ rather than status ‘reporters’. Methodology examines the community paradigm and identifies the lack of community paradigm and argues that gap spotting is not appropriate. Conducting research that fills knowledge gaps does not identify underlying issues and reinforces fundamental failings. Underlying assumptions are identified and challenged. Key characteristics are examined in the context of requirements of the community paradigm. The purpose of theory is to describe, explain and predict. Some techniques describe and explain. Few, if any, predict. This locates ‘performance prediction’ as the research issue and suggests it is a missing function for performance improvement. The research focus considers single tasks within a project network. A research model of early stage deviation from plan is developed from the literature on project pathogens and incubation processes. ‘Deviation lifecycle’ as a project function is identified as having no previous evidence in literature. This is developed into a practice model extending the role of failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) and integrating weak signals and tipping point theory to test performance. Case studies examine representative application of the model and build on the previous cases to illustrate potential for practice. The case studies were reviewed by industrial experts. The changing role of project managers to value added implementers implies a need to improve performance. Research found potential to understand and predict early stage deviation and develops the deviation lifecycle and research model. Across the case studies the research model illustrated potential application. Practical implications indicate potential contribution of project management techniques based on prediction rather than traditional reporting. Developing the community paradigm based on design science is discussed as further work. The originality of the research challenges the lack of theoretical foundation for project management by discussion of the community paradigm and proposes design science as a candidate. The work identifies ‘prediction’ as a relevant but missing function from the project management ‘toolbox’, and introduces the concept of the deviation lifecycle and note no previous literature. The research develops an industrial research model that extends the application of FMEA to examine ‘performance’ and integrates weak signals and tipping point analysis to manage the resolution.

Over more than forty years many proposals have been drawn up to complement, integrate and overcome the traditional methodologies measuring the financial dimension of corporate performance. In parallel, thousands of companies, and especially the listed ones, have introduced, developed and implemented different practices of non-financial reporting. So, what is the state of the art with regard to the most important initiatives aimed at supporting companies in managing social, environmental and sustainability performance? And, what are the current corporate approaches to sustainability evaluation and reporting? In order to answer the two research questions, the study introduced a collaborative paradigm, based on a relational view of the firm, which recognizes the strategic value of stakeholder relationships. The stakeholder framework (that is, the multiple bottom line approach) is the lens adopted to conduct the study. With regard to the first question, a broad and up-to-date review of the most important standards and tools – aimed at managing, controlling, evaluating, and reporting the social, environmental and sustainability performance of companies – has been carried out. In reference to the second question, a qualitative content analysis, based on an interpretive perspective, of the current corporate practices has been conducted. The investigation mainly explored the social/CSR/sustainability reports of sixteen leading companies from four crucial industries (i.e., four firms per each of the four industries: banks, retailing, telecommunications, and utilities). In comparison with previous contributions in this area, the analysis is characterized by depth (that is, the number of items checked for every company), breadth (i.e., the number of stakeholders and documents/information sources covered), and complexity because of the interpretive nature. What emerged from the overall study is that, because of several and different reasons (essentially, complexity and the still prevailing focus on financial value for management tools; redundancy and incompleteness for corporate reports; and lack of innovation, that is, isomorphism, for both), the prevailing methodologies and the corporate evaluation and reporting activities are unable to fully assess the sustainability, that is, the quality, of the corporate relationships with the stakeholder groups. Therefore, in order to fill the gap new solutions are needed. As an attempt to address this point and reconnect theory and practice, a sustainability evaluation and reporting system, that is, the SERS2 methodology, characterized by an innovative, stakeholder-based scheme of integrated report, has been advanced.

“No aspect of Basque linguistics has received more attention over the years than the morphology of the verb.” (Trask 1981:1) The current study examines the complex morphological agreement patterns found in the Basque auxiliary verb system as a case in point for discussion of theoretical approaches to inflectional morphology. The traditional syntax-driven treatment of these auxiliaries is contrasted with an inferential, morphology-driven analysis within the Paradigm Function Morphology framework. Additionally, a computational implementation of the current analysis using the DATR lexical knowledge representation language is discussed.

This thesis focuses on clarifying how brand loyalty interplays with brand satisfaction. As most research conducted on this subject have been quantitative, this study takes a qualitative approach as a way to further describe the interplay on an individual level in a specific context, in this case the clothing industry. It has been conducted through semi-structured interviews, using seven heterogeneously brand loyal informants who answered questions concerning their brand satisfaction and brand loyalty towards brands within the clothing industry. The results demonstrates that there are significant differences in the interplay on the individual level, though most of these can be explained through previous research. Furthermore, there is considerable differences between interplay that can be explained by the brand loyalty levels of the informants. The interplay was clear amongst manifestly brand satisfied consumers. Subcategories to mental brand loyalty influenced both brand loyalty and brand satisfaction and the identification-subcategory had a distinct influence on the reasoning of all consumers.

Global sustainability awareness and governmental regulations are pushing the automotive industry into finding alternatives to carbon dioxide emitting products. Solutions utilizing electricity in the vehicle powertrain is overtaking market share from internal combustion engines (ICE). This tendency has spread into the heavy-duty truck segment which poses questions regarding the future of the ICE. An alternative, electric motors, powered with batteries, fuel cells of even ICE’s, is thought to become a core part of future mobility. To mitigate discontinuities during a shift from ICE to electric motors, a study of possible factors affecting such transition has been performed. The result indicates 14 main factors which are thought to have a definite role in a major technology paradigm shift. These factors are: Supplier relations, Material management, Material availability, Available space, Scalability, Product flexibility, Risk management, External resource utilization, Internal relations, Demand estimation, Management endorsement, Appropriate methodology, Employee engagement, and Competence renewal. A structure using ISM methodology is established highlighting the factors’ influencing relation to each other. Anchored in the theory regarding paradigmatic shifts within industry, a tendency of technological, managerial, and institutional influence on organizational change can be discerned where the institutional level poses as the fundamental dimension of derived quality. The factors are identified from a Scania specific case but are broad enough to apply to similar situations facing challenges of a technological paradigm shift.

<p>Augmented reality (AR) allows people to view digital information overlaid on to real-world objects. While the technology is still new, it is currently being used in places such as the military and industrial assembly operations in the form of ocular devices worn on the head over the eyes. Head-mounted displays (HMDs) let people always see AR information in their field of view no matter where their head is positioned. Studies have shown that HMDs displaying information directly related to the immediate task can decreased cognitive workload and increase the speed and accuracy of task performance. However, task-irrelevant information has shown to decrease performance and accuracy of the primary task and also hinder the efficiency of processing the irrelevant information. This has been investigated in industry settings but less so in an everyday consumer context. This study proposes comparing two types of visual information (text and shapes) in AR displayed on an HMD to answer the following questions: 1) when content is of importance, which visual notification (text or shapes) is processed faster while degrading the performance of the primary task the least? And 2) When presence is of importance, which visual notification (text or shapes) is processed faster while degrading the performance of the primary task the least?</p>

Initially, this thesis arose from an interest in technology and smart city as a concept and how this concept is used practically in urban planning. This thesis focuses on urban planning in four municipalities. Värmdö, Täby, Danderyd and Vallentuna municipality. This thesis analyses the concept of smart cities and praxis in relation to urban planning. Concepts and theories central to the study are processed and explored. In-depth interviews are conducted with planners to then analyse source material using grounded theory analysis with themes. This is done in detail to analyse what impact smart city as a concept has on practices and values regarding urbanplanning in municipalities. Different theoretical perspectives are also considered regarding the concept itself. The analysis demonstrates that implementing smart city as a concept has an impact on municipality organisation through smart governance, creates new urban planning goals as well, such as digitalizing the planning process, focusing on digital solutions and expanding fiber-networks. The results show that there are several driving factors behind the emergence of both smart governance and smart city initiatives, the most prevalent driving factor is the need to streamline communication and planning in a more competitive contemporary world where efficiency and pragmatism is premiered.

Cette recherche nait de l’intention de retrouver l’influence du « paradigme médical » dans le récit italien de la deuxième moitié du XXe siècle. Aussi, nous sommes nous donné comme objectif celui de reparcourir l’histoire de la médecine, et de voir comment celle-ci a pu influencer tant le texte littéraire que les différents domaines dans lesquels cette discipline s’est imposée comme modèle interprétatif et cognitif. Notre travail a consisté en une revisitation des principales révolutions médicales dans le but de déterminer les ruptures épistémiques qui ont fourni un modèle, applicable à différents domaines (éthique, politique, épistémologie, littérature). En effet, comme l’a affirmé Kuhn, les théories scientifiques devant être considérés comme des « idées », donc le changement de tout paradigmes ne grave pas seulement sur le domaine disciplinaire où celui-ci se vérifie, car il comporte une transformation de tout le système conceptuelle, c’est-à-dire, la manière par laquelle le monde, et donc l’homme, sont perçus. Les principaux changements épistémiques qui se sont succédés – à partir de la naissance de l’anatomie pathologique jusqu’à la génétique – a permis de déterminer quelques éléments forts à travers lesquels ont été décomposés et analysés les textes littéraires pris en examen. Le cadre théorique a permis d’acquérir des renseignements grâce auxquels il a été possible de (re)lire les « cas littéraires » affrontés dans la deuxième partie de la thèse, constitué de certaines œuvres de Primo Levi, de Stefano D’Arrigo et de Valerio Magrelli, dans lesquelles on a trouvé des aspects du même « paradigme » de connaissance. / This research has originated from the intention of finding the influence of the “medical paradigm” in the Italian literature of the second half of the twentieth century. Also, we want to retrace the history of Medicine, and see how it influenced both literary texts and several areas in which it dictate as interpretative and cognitive model. Our work consisted of a revisitation of the main medical revolutions with the aim of determining the epistemic ruptures which supplied a model applicable to different domains (ethics, politics, epistemology, literature). Indeed, as stated by Kuhn, the scientific theories that must be considered as “ideas”, as well as the change of all paradigms, engraves not only on the disciplinary area where it occurs, because it involves a transformation of the conceptual system, that is to say, the way by which the world and the humans are perceived. The main epistemic changes which took place – from the birth of pathological anatomy up to the genetics – has identified some strong elements through which several texts were decomposed and analyzed. The theoretical frame allowed to acquire information which allowed to read the “literary cases” faced in the second part of the thesis, constituted by certain works of Primo Levi, Stefano D’Arrigo and Valerio Magrelli, in which we found aspects of the same “paradigm” of knowledge.

O uso da bicicleta na cidade de São Paulo para fins de deslocamento não é um fenômeno novo e muito menos trazido e/ou baseado sobre infraestrutura existente. Ciclistas enfrentam as ruas da cidade há mais de 10 anos, e tem tido influências crescentes na participação de políticas públicas de mobilidade que concernem a bicicleta. Contudo, fato é que a inclusão da bicicleta como peça-chave no desenho de políticas municipais durante os anos de 2012-2016 deu visibilidade acadêmica, social, econômica e cultural à bicicleta. Essa emersão deu margem à uma onda de novos ciclistas e impactou concretamente o cenário da bicicleta urbana na cidade. Essa pesquisa contemplou dois objetivos: o primeiro deles compreender como a bicicleta é utilizada pelos diversos atores sociais da cidade, e o impacto disso com relação à estilos de vida, sociabilidades, apropriação do espaço urbano, e o aspecto intrinsicamente corporal que tangencia essa experiência. O segundo objetivo foi a construção empírica diferenciada de um problema de pesquisa contemporâneo norteado pelo Paradigma das Novas Mobilidades e os Métodos Móveis, amparado no campo do conhecimento recente da Sociologia da Mobilidade. Ao contrário do discurso predominante relacionado à bicicleta, no qual se associa o \"novo\" modal à liberdade, simplicidade, economia, facilidade e praticidade, os resultados encontrados apontam que isso é apenas uma faceta da experiência vivida por ciclistas em uma cidade com alto índice de desigualdade como São Paulo, circunscrita a um grupo de ciclistas que circulam em determinados espaços sociais. Fazendo uso do conceito de motilidade surgido a partir de uma visão crítica pautada no Paradigma das Novas Mobilidades, é argumentado que embora a bicicleta tenha sido associada nos últimos anos com liberdade e direito à cidade por parte de seus usuários, em muitos casos a experiência que se tem da cidade sob essa perspectiva é agressiva, desconfortável, perigosa e nociva à saúde. A bicicleta é o instrumento único por meio da qual uma parcela empobrecida da população, moradora de regiões periféricas, é capaz de acessar trabalho, lazer, bens e serviços da cidade. Por outro lado, moradores de bairros centrais usufruem da maior porcentagem da infraestrutura cicloviária existente, e utilizam a bicicleta como mais uma modalidade de transporte em seu leque de opções. A pesquisa também possibilitou algumas inovações metodológicas, na forma de uma ferramenta desenvolvida para a coleta dos dados. Por fim, ao pensar no planejamento de uma política pública que concerne o Sistema de Mobilidade Urbana, é necessário pautar a bicicleta como sendo um mais um dispositivo inserido dentro de sistema coletivo de transportes que não abarcou a tempo o crescimento exponencial da cidade e de sua região metropolitana, tornando-o desconexo, obsoleto e à margem das necessidades cotidianas de seus usuários. Para que os benefícios da bicicleta possam impactar em grande escala a população da cidade, é essencial que ela seja pensada e planejada como um elemento na complexa rede de mobilidade da cidade de São Paulo - em meio a sistemas de transporte sobre trilhos, ônibus, automóveis particulares, e mobilidade a pé -, e não apenas como um dispositivo que margeia esse sistema. / The use of the bicycle in the city of São Paulo for purposes of mobility is not a new phenomenon, much less brought and/or based on existing infrastructure. Cyclists have faced the city streets for more than 10 years, and have had growing influence in the participation of public mobility policies concerning cycling. However, the inclusion of cycling as a key element in the design of municipal policies during the years 2012-2016 gave academic, social, economic and cultural visibility to the bicycle. This emergence gave way to a wave of new cyclists and affected the urban bike scene in the city. This research contemplated two objectives: the first one was to understand how the bicycle is used by the various social actors of the city, and its impact regarding lifestyles, sociabilities, appropriation of urban space, and the intrinsically corporal aspect that tangents the cycling experience. The second objective was the differentiated empirical construction of a contemporary research problem guided by the New Mobilities Paradigm and the Mobile Methods, supported by the recent field of knowledge of the Sociology of Mobility. Unlike the predominant discourse related to the bicycle, in which the \"new\" modal is associated with freedom, simplicity, economy, ease, and practicality, the results found point out that this is only one facet of the experience of cyclists in a city with a high index of inequality as São Paulo, circumscribed to a group of cyclists that circulate in certain social spaces. Making use of the concept of motility arising from a critical view based on the New Mobilities Paradigm, it is argued that although the bicycle has been associated in recent years with freedom and right to the city by its users, in many cases the city experience by cycling is aggressive, uncomfortable, dangerous and harmful to health. The bicycle is the only instrument through which an impoverished portion of the population, living in peripheral regions, is able to access work, leisure, goods, and services of the city. On the other hand, residents of central districts enjoy the largest percentage of existing bicycle infrastructure and use the bicycle as another mode of transportation in their range of options. The research also enabled some methodological innovations, in the form of a tool developed for data collection. Finally, when thinking about the planning of a public policy that concerns the Urban Mobility System, it is necessary to pinpoint the bicycle as one more device inserted within a collective transportation system that did not include the exponential growth of the city and its metropolitan region, making it disconnected, obsolete and at the margin of the daily needs of its users. In order for the bicycle\'s benefits to impact the city\'s population on a large scale, it is essential that it be designed and planned as an element adding to the complex mobility network of São Paulo - amid transport rail systems, buses, private cars, and walk -, and not simply as a tool that serves this systems.