O Conselho de Administração (CA) é foco de diversas pesquisas por ser considerado o principal mecanismo de governança corporativa. Inserido na linha de pesquisa que investiga o impacto da estrutura do CA sobre as decisões corporativas, esta pesquisa tem o intuito de verificar a relação entre o alinhamento às práticas recomendadas de governança relativas ao CA e o nível de evidenciação das empresas. Especificamente, avalia-se a relação de complementaridade ou substituição entre as práticas de governança e o nível de evidenciação. Adicionalmente, investiga-se a relação entre a presença do profissional da área contábil nos conselhos e o nível de evidenciação das empresas. Optou-se pela elaboração de índices para mensurar o alinhamento às práticas de governança. O índice construído é composto por subíndices referentes à independência, disponibilidade de tempo, diversidade e comitês. Para a variável dependente, foi elaborado um índice de evidenciação com base na divulgação de políticas sobre gerenciamento de risco, gastos com auditoria, operações com partes relacionadas, código de ética e remuneração dos administradores. Foram realizadas análises exploratórias por meio de diferenças de médias entre determinados grupos de empresas, e análise de dados em painel a fim de verificar a consistência das relações entre o alinhamento às práticas de governança e o nível de evidenciação. Os resultados exploratórios evidenciam que tanto a média do índice de alinhamento às práticas de governança do CA quanto o índice de evidenciação ficaram abaixo da metade da pontuação máxima, 16 e 6 pontos, respectivamente. Constata-se que muitas recomendações em relação à independência, disponibilidade de tempo, diversidade e comitês ainda não foram adotadas pelas empresas, havendo ainda muito a ser aprimorado. Em relação à participação do profissional da área contábil, destaca-se que empresas com conselheiros ou membros externos com formação em contabilidade na composição do Comitê de Auditoria apresentam média estatisticamente superior em relação ao índice de evidenciação se comparada às empresas que não têm profissionais com essa formação na composição deste Comitê. Os resultados da análise de dados em painel não confirmam a hipótese desta pesquisa em relação à complementaridade entre a adoção de práticas recomendadas de governança corporativa e o nível de evidenciação. Porém confirmam a complementaridade entre o nível de evidenciação e as variáveis relacionadas à negociação no Novo Mercado e na Bolsa de Nova Iorque (empresas com emissão de ADRs), provavelmente este fato pode sugerir o esforço dos administradores em evidenciar informações devido ao fortalecimento do papel de monitoramento dos conselhos das empresas com estas características. Os progressos nas melhorias das práticas de governança corporativa no Brasil dependem de maior ação dos agentes de mercado e as evidências desta pesquisa indicam alguns pontos para melhoria e aprofundamento de pesquisas acadêmicas tanto na adoção de práticas de governança quanto no nível de transparência de informações. / The Board of Directors (BoD) is the focus of several researches as it is considered the main corporate governance mechanism. Following the research line that investigates the impact of BoD structure on corporate decisions, this research aims to investigate the relationship between the alignment of recommended governance practices related to the BoD and the disclosure level of companies. Specifically, it evaluates the complementary or substitute relationship between governance practices and disclosure level. Additionally, it investigates the relationship between the presence of accounting professional in the BoD and the disclosure level of companies. An index has been elaborated to measure the alignment to corporate governance practices. The index has been built comprising sub indexes relating to independence, time availability, diversity and committees. For the dependent variable, a disclosure index has been elaborated based on disclosure of policies on risk management, audit expenditures, related party transactions, ethics code and administrators\' remuneration. Exploratory analyses were performed by differences between average of certain companies groups and panel data analysis to verify the consistency of the relationship between governance practices alignment and disclosure level. The exploratory results presented that both means of alignment to governance practices of BoD index and disclosure index were below half the maximum score, 16 and 6 points respectively. It appears that many recommendations in relation to independence, time availability, diversity and committees have not yet been adopted by companies and there is still much to be improved. Regarding the accounting professionals participation in BoD, the relevant results presented that companies that have directors or external advisors with accounting background in the composition of the Audit Committee have statistically higher average of disclosure index compared to companies that do not have accounting professionals in the composition of this Committee. The panel data analysis results haven\'t confirmed the research hypothesis that there is a complementary relationship between the adoption of recommended governance practices and disclosure level. However confirm the complementarity between the level of disclosure and the variables related to trading on Novo Mercado and New York Stock Exchange (companies issuing ADRs), probably this may suggest this relation follows the administrators\' efforts to disclose information due to the strengthening of boards monitoring role. Progress in the improvement of corporate governance practices in Brazil depends on greater action of market agents, the evidences of this research indicate some points for improvement and further academic research development in both adoption of governance practices and on transparency information level.

Estudos da área de melhores práticas de produção têm revelado que a implementação de práticas idênticas em firmas diferentes pode conduzir a níveis de desempenhos distintos. É sugerida, pela literatura consultada, uma discussão mais apropriada das melhores práticas para contextos específicos. O objetivo principal desta pesquisa é avaliar o relacionamento entre práticas (ou programas de ação) implantadas e a estratégia de produção e, também, analisar os efeitos das práticas sobre a melhoria de indicadores de desempenho operacional e de negócio em empresas do setor moveleiro no Brasil. O objetivo secundário é, por intermédio da análise desses relacionamentos, analisar se tais práticas podem ser consideradas as melhores práticas no contexto do setor pesquisado. Foi elaborado um modelo conceitual com cinco hipóteses de pesquisas, baseado na revisão da literatura. A pesquisa de campo consistiu de uma survey explanatória e de corte-transversal. Os dados foram coletados por meio de entrevistas, observações diretas no chão-de-fábrica e, também, mediante questionário estruturado respondido pela internet. Noventa e nove firmas participaram da pesquisa. A técnica usada para a análise dos dados foi a modelagem de equações estruturais com o método de estimação dos mínimos quadrados ponderados. Os resultados indicaram que (a) práticas de produção em diferentes áreas afetam direta e indiretamente indicadores de performance operacional e de negócio; (b) a implantação conjunta de práticas de infra-estrutura dão suporte às práticas-chave que estimulam a melhoria da performance de diferentes indicadores de indicadores; (c) em geral as práticas de produção influenciam diretamente, com maior magnitude, o desempenho operacional que o desempenho de negócio, uma vez que esse último é afetado indiretamente pelas práticas, por intermédio da melhoria do desempenho operacional; (d) práticas nas áreas de desenvolvimento de novos produtos, recursos humanos, gestão de qualidade e planejamento e controle de produção podem ser consideradas como melhores práticas para o contexto estudado, conforme análise da pesquisadora por meio da revisão da literatura. / Studies in the area of best practices have shown that the implementation of identical practices in different companies may result in diverse performance levels. Studies also suggest the need for deeper analysis of best practices for specific contexts. The main objective of this work is twofold. It analyses the relationship between manufacturing strategy and production practices. It also investigates the effects of such practices on the improvement on business and operational performance indicators in brazilian furniture companies. The secondary objective is to investigate whether such production practices can be considered indeed the best practices for the furniture industry. A conceptual model, with five research hypotheses, has been elaborated following thorough literature review. The empirical research consisted of an explanatory cross-sectional survey. Data have been collected during interviews and direct observations on the shop-floor from 99 furniture companies. Some data have also been collected from online questionnaire available on the internet. The technique used for data analysis was the structural equation modeling (SEM) with the weighted least square (WLS) estimation method. Results indicated that (a) practices of production in different areas direct and indirectly affect operational performance indicators of specific and general areas and also firm indicators; (b) the joint adoption of infrastructure supports key practices that stimulate improved performance of different indicators; (c) most of the practices of production influence operational performance directly and with greater magnitude than firm performance, as this last one is affected indirectly by the practices, through improved operational performance; and (d) practices in the area of development of new products, human resources, production planning and control and quality management were could be considered best practices in the context under study, in accordance with the analyzes of the researcher and theory review.

A indústria de jogos eletrônicos está entrando em uma nova era, na qual a tecnologia e a criatividade fundem-se, produzindo alguns dos mais estonteantes entretenimentos do Séc. XXI. Essa indústria, que já em 2003 ultrapassou o faturamento do cinema, tendo um rendimento anual de bilhões de dólares, emerge como uma das mais poderosas, excitantes e influentes no mundo das artes. Mesmo com toda essa pujança e rentabilidade, muitos dos relatos sobre projetos de jogos (doravante denominados postmortems) mostram que a produção desses softwares não é uma tarefa simples, estando ainda distante de um processo de trabalho saudável e sinergético. Entretanto, ao analisarmos mais atentamente os postmortems disponíveis nos sites especializados em jogos eletrônicos, pode-se constatar a adoção de várias práticas de engenharia de software, em especial, práticas ágeis de desenvolvimento. Assim, é possível melhorar o processo de desenvolvimento de jogos eletrônicos através da aplicação dessas práticas? Que práticas são mais adequadas para este domínio? Que impacto sua adoção tem sobre propriedades subjetivas como a criatividade e a diversão? O objetivo deste trabalho é avaliar o impacto da aplicação de práticas ágeis no processo de desenvolvimento de jogos eletrônicos, analisando os principais problemas da indústria de jogos, levantando as boas práticas já adotadas e propondo um conjunto de práticas ágeis que contemplem as características do processo de desenvolvimento de jogos. Finalmente, com o intuito de obter resultados experimentais da aplicação dessas práticas, será realizado um estudo de caso, possibilitando avaliar seus efeitos sobre o processo de trabalho. / The industry of electronic games is entering a new age, in which technology and creativity are fused, producing some of the most stunning entertainment of the 21st Century. This industry, which already in 2003 exceeded the cinema invoice, having an annual yield of billions of dollars, emerges nowadays as one of the most powerful, exciting and influential in the world of arts. Despite of all this exuberance and profitability, many reports about games projects show that the production of these softwares is not a simple task, surrounded by common problems and being still distant of having a healthy and synergetic work process. However, despite of problems found, game postmortems claims to use software engineering best practices in the game development process, specially, agile practices. Thus, is possible to improve the electronic game development process using agile practices? What practices are most appropriate for game development? What is the impact of such practices on subjective properties as creativity and fun? The aim of this work is to study the effects of agile practices on electronic game development process, analysing the most important problems in the game industry, surveying best practices and proposing a set of agile practices focused on the game development issues. Finally, a case study will be presented.

The purpose of this case study was to conduct an investigation of educator perceptions of instructional leadership in the school improvement process. Interviews were conducted with educators and an administrator in a small, rural high school in Middle Tennessee. In 2010, the high school was labeled as a low performing school by the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE). In 2014, Commissioner Kevin Huffman announced the school was on the TDOE Reward School Cusp List for being in the top 10% of schools based on one-year progress data from the Tennessee Value-added Assessment System (TVAAS) school composites. Participants of this case study shared experiences and opinions of the instructional leadership utilized by the school principal. As indicated in the findings of this study, instructional leadership practices are crucial in the school improvement process. The key themes related to indicators of sound instructional leadership practices were: maintaining a culture of continuous school improvement, having every faculty member participate in the development and implementation of the school improvement plan, knowing how to use data to make crucial decisions, developing leadership capacity in the school, and being an engaged leader during the school improvement process. Developing a qualitative understanding of the perceptions of effective instructional leadership will enhance greater understanding of leadership practices in the school improvement process.

The Nigerian microfinance banks often close their offices abruptly, leading to the loss of shareholders' funds. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore strategies microfinance bank directors use to maintain business sustainability. The concepts of microfinance banking, sustainability value, and strategic management theory formed the conceptual framework for this study. Twenty managing directors from microfinance banks in the Anambra state of Nigeria participated in semistructured interviews. The data analysis process involved the use of Moussakas' modified van Kaam process, which resulted in the emergence of 3 themes: strategic management, fear of microlending, and maintaining sustainability. The emergent themes indicated the necessity of a strategic management focus on maintenance of sustainability, growth in microfinance banking knowledge, best practice implementations, savings mobilization, technological input, and expansion of microlending services. The implications for positive social change involved the potential for bank directors to apply these findings to improve Nigerian microfinance banking performance and provide regular payments of shareholders' dividends. The increase in shareholders' funds and provision of credit administration to indigent Nigerians may contribute to economic growth within local communities, decrease crime, and increase income generating business activities in Nigeria.

The U.S. Department of Education has mandated that each U.S. state develop successful initiatives to help students navigate their educational experience. Yet in Alabama students neither advance academically nor in improved life skills development. It is unclear if school administrators in Alabama Schools have contextual best practices for strategic planning and implementation to support and improve the experiences of vulnerable K-12 students. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to explore how administrators of Alabama schools develop contextual best practices for strategic planning and implementation to support students. The conceptual framework was designed using collaboration theory, organizational learning theory, and appreciative inquiry. The overarching question addressed developing an understanding about how Alabama school administrators develop contextual best practices for strategic planning and implementation. Appreciative inquiry was used to facilitate a focus group and individual interviews with 15 participants. Data were analyzed using inductive analysis and bracketing. Thus, 4 themes were identified from the interviews and focus group. Most significant results were the identification of having a positive, engaging mobile environment and improving full community participation in the collaborative process. Contributions to positive social change may be experienced by developing community-based collaboration where all contribute to, and benefit from, co-create, collaborate, and structure a more balanced and feasible approach to successful implementation of strategic plans in an environment of financial constraints.

Business leaders increasingly grapple with longer and more complex supply chain nodes wrought by the globalization of corporate manufacturing processes. The flow of outsourced materials is also more vulnerable to high-profile product-harm crises, sabotage, product defect, and recall problems. The purpose of this single case study was to explore manufacturing strategies used by business leaders of an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in the United States to minimize the defects in offshore-outsourced products. The sample was 2 OEM business leaders who have successfully reduced the defects in offshore-manufactured products in their Michigan facility. The conceptual framework was agency theory. Data were collected from observational field notes, company records, and transcripts of open-ended interviews. Data were coded and analyzed to identify emergent themes, which included factors the OEM considered in selecting offshore suppliers, strategies for minimizing defects, validation of the effectiveness of these strategies, and the development of trust and working partnerships with offshore suppliers. Reducing defect risks from outsourced products may decrease catastrophic fatalities and financial repercussions for businesses, and simultaneously improve consumer safety and trust as implications for social change.

Translation Environment Tools (TEnTs) became popular in the early 1990s as a partial solution for coping with ever-increasing translation demands and the decreasing number of translators available. TEnTs allow the creation of repositories of legacy translations (translation memories) and terminology (integrated termbases) used to identify repetition in new source texts and provide alternate translations, thereby reducing the need to translate the same information twice. While awareness of the important role of terminology in translation and documentation management has been on the rise, little research is available on best practices for building and using integrated termbases. The present research is a first step toward filling this gap and provides a set of guidelines on how best to optimize the design and use of integrated termbases. Based on existing translation technology and terminology management literature, as well as our own experience, we propose that traditional terminology and terminography principles designed for stand-alone termbases should be adapted when an integrated termbase is created in order to take into account its unique characteristics: active term recognition, d one-click insertion of equivalents into the target text and document pretranslation. The proposed modifications to traditional principles cover a wide range of issues, including using record structures with fewer fields, adopting the TBX-Basic’s record structure, classifying records by project or client, creating records based on equivalent pairs rather concepts in cases where synonyms exist, recording non-term units and multiple forms of a unit, and using translated documents as sources. The overarching hypothesis and its associated concrete strategies were evaluated first against a survey of current practices in terminology management within TEnTs and later through a second survey that tested user acceptance of the strategies. The result is a set of guidelines that describe best practices relating to design, content selection and information recording within integrated termbases that will be used for translation purposes. These guidelines will serve as a point of reference for new users of TEnTs, as an academic resource for translation technology educators, as a map of challenges in terminology management within TEnTs that translation software developers seek to resolve and, finally, as a springboard for further research on the optimization of integrated termbases for translation.

The objectives of this study are to determine the awareness level of knowledge sharing amongst the employees of Sasol, to determine how Sasol utilises human capital in the company and to identify and analyse the methods of knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer. The literature review distinguishes between explicit and tacit knowledge. Explicit knowledge leads a company to codify while tacit knowledge leads to connecting people. The literature study also covers the utilisation of human capital and identifies methods of knowledge sharing and -transfer, namely legacy pages, expert location systems, buddy systems, post-retirement agreements, identification of successors, After Action Reviews, interviews, observation, protocol analysis, teach backs, story writing and storytelling, and process mapping. The literature study forms the foundation for the formulation and designing of a questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed amongst the employees of two of Sasol's divisions in order to obtain data about the utilisation of human capital in Sasol and to identify and analyse the current and preferred methods to capture and share tacit knowledge and skills. The data obtained from the questionnaires was processed, analysed and interpreted. Conclusions were drawn, linking the literature review and the results obtained from the empirical study. Based on these conclusions, recommendations were made. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Both in the United States and abroad, newspapers tend to portray people with mental illness negatively, making them vulnerable to social rejection, discrimination, and forced treatment. This portrayal also makes them hesitant to seek treatment for fear of being stigmatized. To help determine how reporting on mental illness can be improved, I interviewed in this study 11 U.S.-based print journalists who had won awards for stories on mental illness about how they covered their stories. The interviews, which were semi-structured, were conducted between October 2010 and February 2011 and were analyzed using a grounded-theory approach. Eight themes were identified in the interview transcripts: determining story idea, evaluating newsworthiness, identifying and obtaining information from interview sources, identifying and obtaining information from non-interview sources, ensuring accuracy, building rapport with sources, writing the story, and factors facilitating reporting. Overall, respondents prepared their stories in accordance with journalistic conventions. What helped them produce quality stories was a mixture of the following organizational and personal factors: editorial support, considerable journalism experience, personal exposure to mental illness, and empathy. Also noteworthy were respondents' opinions on suggestions in reporting guides about imitation or copy-cat suicides, sensitive language, and positive mental illness news. Whereas some agreed that reporting suicide details could lead to imitation suicides, others disagreed, explaining, for example, that the details were important to the story. Similarly, respondents expressed diverse views about the importance of using sensitive language to describe individuals with mental illness. Finally, respondents indicated that instead of calling for positive stories on mental illness, media guidelines should encourage thoughtful and balanced reporting on various aspects of mental illness. In conclusion, the results suggest that it would be valuable to investigate in more detail how journalists' personal attitudes toward mental illness influence their reporting. Also, guidelines for mental-health reporting should be created with the collaboration of journalists and mental-health professionals. Further, there is a need to make journalists aware of the copy-cat suicide phenomenon. Finally, lessons gleaned from respondents' experiences in reporting their award-winning stories can be used to inform mental-health media guides.