It is argued that the future of the workforce will be ‘humans and machines’ but not ‘humans vs machines’ due to the drift from ‘workforce planning’ to ‘work planning’. Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its sub-fields have enabled the development of a new form of automation that is described as Intelligent Automation. It is the application of AI in ways that can learn, adapt and improve over time to automate tasks that were formally undertaken by a human. The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual framework on the necessity of agility within the capital budgeting process for Intelligent Automations, as the traditional approaches ignore the effects of new or disruptive technologies like Artificial intelligence. This study provides advice to managers on the strategic fit of traditional capital budgeting models vs. alternatives like beyond budgeting in the context of Intelligent Automations for knowledge work (consulting, education, etc.) and service work (retail, cleaning, etc.). The approach to conduct this study will be mixed methods. From the outcomes of qualitative analysis through semi-structured interviews, the conceptual framework is formulated. This framework is tested using the survey responses data and quantitative methods. From the preliminary analysis of the pilot study conducted with 7 participants at the c-suite level, the consistent themes that are observed in this phenomenon are a) lack of data for planning due to non-linearity in the resource models in projects where AI is applied, b) use or misuse of the discretionary pool funding model and c) lack of adoption to new ways of working due to organizational climate. The two conflicting themes are the disagreements on ethics council, whether internal vs external and the expectations on human skills that cause the burden of change in large firms. A survey instrument is developed for data collection to analyze the conceptual model, which results from the qualitative study and literature review. A random sample of 217 respondents is chosen during the period from Nov 2020 to Mar 2021. A structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis is applied to investigate the research model. The measurement model is first examined for instrument validity, followed by an analysis of the structural model for testing associations hypothesized by the research model. The main findings show that – a) relationship between intelligent automation and agility in capital budgeting is positively significant b) the relationship between intelligent automation and agility in capital budgeting is negatively moderated by demand unpredictability. These findings provide advice to practitioners and decision-makers that one size fits all capital budgeting models are not recommended for projects with increased levels of intelligent automation. The novel contribution to theory is that ‘Demand unpredictability’ is a useful decision input parameter, which can be counter-intuitive at times when managers allocate capital or prioritize projects during capital budgeting cycles. This suggests that firms need to adapt to hybrid strategies by picking the best-fit approach to allocate capital towards Intelligent Automations or AI projects. It is not necessary to have one size fits all approach for capital budgeting. / Business Administration/Strategic Management / Accompanied by three files: 1) SurveyResponseData -Excel file 2) SPSS Data Analysis Output.spv 3) Data Analysis (all data) (2).Rmd

Dramaturgs have been struggling to define themselves and assert their raison d'être in the American theatre for the past four decades. In an evolving theatrical landscape that includes expanding new play development processes and new modes of collaborative interdisciplinary theatre-making, the role of the dramaturg must be reexamined in order for it to stake a new artistic claim in the field. Devised theatre-making processes rely on dramaturgical practice as an integral part of generating, editing, and structuring performance material and offer a fertile artistic avenue for dramaturgs to utilize their skills. To explore the role of the dramaturg in devised theatre, I chose to curate a festival of three new devised works entitled Beyond the Horizon. This thesis describes in detail my role as curator in the planning, creation, and execution of the festival, as well as my role as a dramaturg within the devising process of one of the three works. To encompass both the idea of the dramaturg as an active co-creator of performance and an empowered facilitator of change, I proposed a new title for the role: artistic instigator. Drawn from my conclusions and discoveries while working on the Beyond the Horizon festival, I have formed a description about how the dramaturg-as-artistic-instigator might function within devising ensembles, propose changes to current new play development practices, and advocate for expanded methods of play-making.

Areas beyond national jurisdiction or the high seas are vital areas for biodiversity and marine resources in our oceans, yet the protection and conservation of this global resource is insufficient due to absence of international agreement concerning the matter. Therefore, the new Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) agreement was recently agreed upon, with the objective of ensuring protection for these resources.This study endeavours to assess the applicability of Ostrom's and Stern'sprinciples, as the theoretical frameworks for sustainable governance of global commons, on the BBNJ agreement. By employing deductive reasoning, this study compares and contrasts the principles proposed by Ostrom and Stern, using them as lenses to examine the agreement. As a case study, this research investigates the utilization of international agreements as integral components of international law for the governance of shared resources. Conducted as a qualitative desk study, the analysis involved scrutinizing the BBNJ agreement to identify keywords and themes associated with eachprinciple. The study’s findings reveal that Ostrom's and Stern's principles exhibit varying degrees of applicability. Despite sharing certain similarities, they embody distinct foundational approaches, with Stern's principles demonstrating better applicability to the governance of global commons. The study suggests that the BBNJ agreement holds the potential to govern the global commons in a sustainable manner.

Background: Omeprazole is a proton pump inhibitor used to manage gastrointestinal disorders. Special populations may require omeprazole to be given as an oral suspension. Objective: The purpose of this project was to compare the stability of omeprazole in the FIRST kit product to a traditionally compounded omeprazole suspension, when stored in refrigerated unit-dosed syringes. NG tube delivery of the 2 products was also investigated. Methods: Five batches of compounded omeprazole oral suspension and 5 kits of FIRST-Omeprazole were prepared to an initial concentration of 2 mg/mL. Suspensions were aliquoted into 5-mL doses in clear plastic oral syringes, and stored at 2-8 °C. Syringes from each batch were analyzed at baseline and after 7, 14, 21, and 30 days for omeprazole potency using HPLC. To assess suitability for NG tube administration, 20 mL of each suspension were administered through NG tubes (8Fr, 10Fr, and 18Fr), and percent omeprazole recovery assessed. Results: The chemical potency remained within 90-110% for 14 days and 30 days for compounded samples and FIRST-Omeprazole samples, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in initial concentration; 1.89 mg/mL versus 1.98 mg/mL for compounded and FIRST-Omeprazole, respectively. After 30 days, FIRST-Omeprazole demonstrated 97.20% API recovery. Neither suspension experienced statistically significant loss of potency following NG tube passage. Conclusion: FIRST-Omeprazole suspension may be stored in refrigerated clear luer-lock oral syringes for 30 days. Traditionally compounded omeprazole suspension should be used within 14 days. Both suspensions are suitable for NG tube administration.

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The budgeting debate concerns that traditional budgets have become dysfunctional in today’s volatile business environment. Thus, it can seem logical that organisations would implement alternatives, and beyond budgeting has become popular. Nevertheless, knowledge of beyond budgeting’s practical implications is limited, and future research needs to study organisations that have implemented beyond budgeting. This study, therefore, investigates beyond budgeting in practice through a qualitative multiple case study with eight semi-structured interviews, whose respondents come from four retail organisations. The study intends to research reasons for choosing beyond budgeting, how the beyond budgeting solution is designed and what consequences beyond budgeting implies. The study finds that organisations choose to implement beyond budgeting for several reasons, some similar, such as budgets being time-consuming and aiming for higher adaptability, and some more organisation specific. The study also finds that the beyond budgeting solutions differ, for example, the companies’ management processes are designed differently. However, no organisation intentionally implemented all beyond budgeting principles, and all have a high focus on the management processes. Further, the study finds that the company's consequences implies some similarities and differences. For example, higher adaptability was a consistent outcome. Moreover, the study shows that all companies experienced consequences that were unanticipated. Lastly, the study implies that an organisation’s contingencies affects reasons, beyond budgeting solution and outcomes as beyond budgeting should be adjusted to its situation.

This dissertation is focused on three lines of work. In the first part, we consider aspects of holography and gauge/gravity duality in lower and higher dimensions. In particular, we study the duality for exact solutions localized on the Randal-Sundrum 2-branes. We also test if some holographic principles in general relativity can be generalized to include higher derivative theories of gravity; namely Lovelock gravity. In the second part we consider the role of pseudo Nambu-Goldstone bosons (pNGBs) in inflationary cosmology. Specifically, we construct an inflationary model using string theory axions, and use these pNGBs to produce the observed coherent magnetic field in the Universe. The third part of the thesis is devoted to the study of the phenomenology of emergent phenomena. we investigated whether one could test if diffeomorphism invariance, the sacred symmetry of general relativity, is emergent. We also construct a new minimal vectorial Standard Model, and argue that the absence of mirror particles predicted by this model can give us a hint about the fundamental nature of space.

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yes / This is the tenth workshop to be organised under the postgraduate programmes in electrical and electronic engineering (EEE). Over the past ten years, the Research Seminar Series has provided a snapshot of the research agenda. Early Proceedings addressed issues such as third-generation (3G) mobile and GPS satellite navigation, while in this issue, the importance of the green agenda and the influence of broadband mobile communications, smartphones and the World Wide Web are in evidence. In total, forty-five papers have been selected for the Proceedings.

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