One of the fastest growing segments of Internet applications are real-time mul- timedia applications, like Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Real-time multimedia applications use the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) as the transport protocol because of the inherent conservative nature of the congestion avoidance schemes of Transmis- sion Control Protocol (TCP). The e®ects of uncontrolled °ows on the Internet have not yet been felt because UDP tra±c frequently constitutes only » 20% of the total Internet tra±c. It is pertinent that real-time multimedia applications become better citizens of the Internet, while at the same time deliver acceptable Quality of Service (QoS). Traditionally, packet losses and the increase in the end-to-end delay experienced by some of the packets characterizes congestion in the network. These two signals have been used to develop most known °ow control schemes. The current research considers the °ow accumulation in the network as the signal for use in °ow control. The most signi¯cant contribution of the current research is to propose novel end- to-end °ow control schemes for unicast real-time multimedia °ows transmitting over best-e®ort networks. These control schemes are based on predictive control of the accumulation signal. The end-to-end control schemes available in the literature are based on reactive control that do not take into account the feedback delay existing between the sender and the receiver nor the forward delay in the °ow dynamics. The performance of the proposed control schemes has been evaluated using the ns-2 simulation environment. The research concludes that active control of hard real- time °ows delivers the same or somewhat better QoS as High Bit Rate (HBR, no control), but with a lower average bit rate. Consequently, it helps reduce bandwidth use of controlled real-time °ows by anywhere between 31:43% to 43:96%. Proposed reactive control schemes deliver good QoS. However, they do not scale up as well as the predictive control schemes. Proposed predictive control schemes are e®ective in delivering good quality QoS while using up less bandwidth than even the reactive con- trol schemes. They scale up well as more real-time multimedia °ows start employing them.

The purpose of this study was to determine the core competencies needed by state Baldrige examiners, to identify best practices in examiner training programs provided by state Baldrige organizations, and to identify best practices for teaching core competencies. A Delphi panel ranked core competencies, best practices, and best practices for teaching core competencies using a Likert-style survey. Descriptive statistics and a formula for determining consensus quantified the results. The key findings of this study were that the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence continue to provide the core competencies for which examiners need to be trained to effectively evaluate and score applications and provide meaningful feedback to applicants. The best practices for teaching core competencies, however, vary according to the needs of each state organization and the expertise and teaching styles of the trainers in the various state organizations. Coaching was the one best practice upon which the panel agreed as being applicable to teaching most of the core competencies. A template for training examiners using the best practices for teaching core competencies was the outcome of this study. Recommendations include using this template to train examiners and using the actual teams, of which the examiners will be a part, for evaluating and scoring the applications from receipt of the application through the life of the application. It is recommended that the individual review of applications be eliminated. As examiners will work with the actual applications from the beginning of the process, it is recommended that the case study be eliminated as pre-work. It is also recommended that coaches work with the actual teams from the training session until the feedback report is written.

ºK ­n This study is to discuss the core competence of IC seal industry, and to construct the model. The purpose of this study are presented as follows: 1. To define which competence is core competence of IC seal industry. 2. To structure the core competence build-up model. 3. To confirm the model is workable. 4. To develop and to manage the core competence. This conclusions of this study are presented as follows: 1. Core competence of IC seal industry includes research and design ability, product engineering technology development ability, cost control and strategy management ability, manpower development ability. 2. Core competence will build up from the process of executing the total quality management.

Texte remanié de: Diplomarbeit--Universität Wien, 2004. / Bibliogr. et ressources Internet p. 195-216. Notes bibliogr.

Performance management is used as a tool not only to justify government expenses, but also to help public managers in terms of better planning, accountability, resource allocation, goal focusing, and many other benefits (Poister, 2003; Redburn, et al., 2007; Behn, 2003 etc.). As interest in and concerns about performance management systems continue to grow, scholars have increasingly suggested methods to better design and implement these systems in the public sector organizations, with the underlying assumption that they will help public organizations perform better. Using a management model proposed by Meier and O’Toole (1999, 2001), I explored the efficacy of following recommended practices in designing and implementing performance management systems for local police departments in the US. I used the 2012 Uniform Crime Report (UCR) dataset prepared by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and original surveys of the chiefs of various police agencies for this undertaking. I used ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis to compare the performance of police agencies (measured in terms of number of crimes per 100,000 people) to the extent to which they follow recommended practices while designing and implementing performance management systems in their respective agencies. The results from this study suggest do not suggest a link between the recommended practices and police performance, as only the practices of using performance information and providing discretion to officers were found to be supporting the hypotheses for only one out of the eight crime categories. These two significant results might be attributed to chance alone. The results, hence, raise questions about the effectiveness of the recommended practices in improving organizational performance. Justification of the use of recommended practices, however, can still be traced to goal-setting theory.

The subject knowledge management is of great relevance in knowledge intensive organizations such as consulting firms or high-tech businesses, since their business model builds on the knowledge of the em- ployees. Knowledge management is a broad subject that includes, among others, organizational theory, cognitive science, and IT. The literature study has its foundation in knowledge and how both tacit and explicit knowledge can be transferred between individuals or within an organization. A common organizational structure among consulting firms is the project based organization, therefore challenges related to knowledge management within such organizations, is studied. Different strategies for knowledge management are presented and various methods for knowledge transfer are categorized and assessed. An in depth look into knowledge management in consulting firms end the literature study partnered with a review of affecting factors and tools involved in knowledge exchange and distribution of best practices. The purpose is to create a framework with which to analyze how a case company, a technological consulting firm, works with knowledge exchange. The research questions focus on factors that affect knowledge exchange, what fo- rums and tools drive knowledge exchange, and how best practices are collected and implemented. Barriers to functional knowledge exchange that have been encountered include that many of the employed consultants are permanently stationed with customers in their projects, rendering contact with colleagues from the home office sparse. This, combined with a lack of management control and structure in the case of knowledge, affects and limits the knowledge exchange. Tools and forums for knowledge exchange were identified and show how knowledge is spread in the or- ganization. A majority of the knowledge exchange is found to take place through person-to-person inter- action through mentorship, working in projects, and through contacts that to not constitute a part of con- scious knowledge management. The organization employs a business system where templates and tools are available to the consultants along with documentation from prior projects and reference projects. The management view is that this system is to function as an important platform for learning and knowledge exchange, in essence a knowledge management system, but the system is burdened by technical issues that lead consultants to circumnavigate the system by using templates and tools provided by colleagues instead of the ones officially provided by the system. No structures for continuous development of best practices were identified, although specific projects to update routines and methods occur from time to time on an ad-hoc basis. That lack of structures and routines track back to the handling of consultants’ suggestions for improvements and ideas, where con- sultants experience a lack of directives, support and understanding of how their suggestions and ideas were supposed to be handled in the organization. A conclusion regarding knowledge management in a technical consulting firm is hence that organizational and cultural factors have a significant impact on the exchange of knowledge. A shortage of opportunities for contact and knowledge exchange with colleagues combined with lacking management control affects the exchange negatively, but the company also displays several success factors that research point out important in order to build a functioning knowledge management system. These include an openness and willingness to share amongst colleagues, in combination with an understanding of the importance of knowledge exchange in the organization that transcends organizational hierarchy.

Sustainable urban parks provide social and economical benefits to the residents and contribute to the urban ecosystem health. Municipalities are responsible for development and management of urban parks and the goal of this study was to better understand if, and why, the municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) have utilized sustainable development strategies in the planning, design, construction and management for their new park projects. A qualitative study utilizing an in-depth interview format was created based on the principles of sustainable development compiled from the Sustainable Sites Initiative. A sample of four municipalities in the GTA was selected based on population and development growth and the park authorities were contacted. The results indicated few sustainable initiatives implemented in the design and management stages of park development. Understanding the constraints against these suggest that there may be potential to increase the sustainability of urban parks. / The Goal of this thesis was to explore if, and why, the municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) have or have not adopted sustainable development strategies in planning, design, construction and management of their new parks.

Best practices have previously been developed for beef slaughter and further processing operations with input from academic and industry leaders. Best practices for pork processors have not been developed, and those developed for the beef industry may not always be applicable to the operations of Small and Very Small establishments. Small and Very Small establishments warrant unique consideration in terms of financial and technological capabilities. While larger processors utilize multiple capital-intensive microbial interventions, smaller establishments often must rely on sanitary practices and more traditional interventions. In order to develop best practices for Small and Very Small pork slaughter and further processing establishments, a survey instrument seeking information on establishment and facility characteristics as well as current sanitary practices was distributed to Small and Very Small establishments in the Southwest region. Additionally, microbiological baselines were established for six Small and Very Small pork slaughter and/or further processing establishments to allow the efficacy of best practices to be assessed following implementation in each of the six plants. Survey responses revealed areas where best practice recommendation efforts may be focused, and microbiological baseline data provided insight to the condition of carcasses and environmental surfaces using current sanitary practices. Combined, the data reveal the opportunities for improvement in the food safety systems of Small and Very Small pork processing establishments.

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