Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T17:35:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo2620_1.pdf: 2101146 bytes, checksum: 9393974b81107b7d181fbe8a43fa8a48 (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Azevedo de Lucena Sarmento, Rafaella; Menezes Campello de Souza, Fernando. Decision Theory in the automotive market. 2011. Dissertação (Mestrado). Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia de Produção, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, 2011.

As a result of the proved correlation between gender inequality and armed conflict, the United Nations Security Council approved Resolution 1325 in the year 2000. In the implementation of resolution 1325 it is important to understand which levels and actors that can improve women’s role as decision makers in order to build sustainable peace. This thesis has analyzed the results that the YEPGSN between FENOCIN and SAL has had on the participants ability to improve women’s role as decision makers within FENOCIN and if the participants feels that FENOCIN empowered by the YEPGSN can be an important actor in the process to improve women’s roles in Ecuador from grass-root level. In order to understand the YEPGSN results, a field study was conducted in Ecuador and interviews were done with the participants in the YEPGSN. The empirical material was then tested against Lederachs theory on levels and actors in peace buildings processes in order to understand if the YEPGSN approach could be seen as an effective way to implement the resolution 1325 vision or not. The results showed that the view on women’s role as decision makers among the participants has changed from their experiences in Sweden and that they felt that the YEPGSN had empowered their role within FENOCIN. The participants also felt the they, through FENOCIN, can improve women’s role as decision makers in Ecuador from grass-root level. But that the results must be seen in a long term perspective and that more focus has to be put on implementation of the results. This result was closely linked with the theory on levels and actors in peace building processes. Therefore, the conclusion is that the model of YEPGSN can be seen as a approach to improve women’s role as decision makers on grass-root levels in line with Resolution 1325. / C-uppsats i Freds och Konfliktstudier

The purpose of this study is to investigate how a financial literacy interface model could contribute towards the comprehensibility of financial information to decision makers in organisations. The way individuals and institutions use the concept of financial literacy suggests that different people attach different meanings to this construct. In order to establish a conceptual model for financial literacy, this study endeavours to formulate what financial literacy entails as well as decision makers’ expectations of financial information. The increase in the volume and complexity of financial information often outstrips the abilities of users to understand and interpret it for decision-making purposes. A financial literacy interface provides an opportunity window for decision makers in organisations to break through their fears and concerns in using financial figures and language. Users of financial information differ vastly with regard to their level of financial capability and sophistication, and preparers of financial information should take cognisance of the fact. The study revealed that financial literacy is a complex phenomenon and that the term encompasses more than the individual terms “financial” and “literacy”. It further endeavoured to develop a financial literacy interface model as a coordinating interface between financial information and decision makers. / Thesis (DCom)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Financial Management / unrestricted

This study aims to contribute to an understanding of how the credibility of asylum-seekers is being assessed in the UK; how narratives are valued by decision-makers and tribunal judges, how applicants’ credibility is determined, and what issues may be found with this process. I conducted interviews with seven lawyers who represent asylum-seekers, one decision-maker and one retired tribunal judge to establish their perspectives on the assessment of credibility in the UK. I then analysed these results through the theoretical framework of the sociology of law, focusing on the theories of Pierre Bourdieu and Michel Foucault. I firstly examined specific problematic areas in the practice of credibility assessment, before going on to explore broader contextual factors which may help to explain such issues. This study found that the greatest problems with credibility assessment in practice were demanding expectations of asylum-seekers and misapplication of the government guidelines on credibility, miscommunications and mistranslations, and a lack of considered reasoning in decision-making. These issues were shown to be driven by five main factors: a culture of disbelief, a lack of resources, information and communication issues, ineffective guidelines and the inherently subjective nature of credibility. The results of this study bring into question the neutrality and efficacy of the current system of credibility assessment in practice and its capacity to protect those fleeing persecution under the 1951 Refugee Convention.

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Many concrete problems may be cast in a multi-objective optimisation framework. The redundancy of existing methods for solving multi-objective programming problems susceptible to inconsistencies, coupled with the necessity for making in- herent assumptions before using a given method, make it hard for a nonspecialist to choose a method that ¯ts the situation at hand well. Moreover, using a method blindly, as suggested by the hammer principle (when you only have a hammer, you want everything in your hand to be a nail) is an awkward approach at best and a caricatural one at worst. This brings challenges to the design, development, implementation and deployment of a Decision Support System able to choose a method that is appropriate for a given problem and to apply the chosen method to solve the problem under consideration. The choice of method should be made according to the structure of the problem and the decision maker's opinion. The aim here is to embed a sample of methods representing the main multi-objective programming techniques and to help the decision maker find the most appropriate method for his problem. / Decisions Sciences / M. Sc. (Operations Research )

With the recent boom in big data and the continuous need for innovation, Artificial Intelligence is carving out a bigger place in our society. Through its computer-based capabilities, it brings new possibilities to tackle many issues within organizations. It also raises new challenges about its use and limits. This thesis aims to provide a better understanding of the role of humans and Artificial Intelligence in the organizational decision making process. The research focuses on knowledge-intensive firms. The main research question that guides our study is the following one:   How can Artificial Intelligence re-design and develop the process of organizational decision making within knowledge-intensive firms?   We formulated three more detailed questions to guide us: (1) What are the roles of humans and Artificial Intelligence in the decision making process? (2) How can organizational design support the decision making process through the use of Artificial Intelligence? (3) How can Artificial Intelligence help to overcome the challenges experienced by decision makers within knowledge-intensive firms and what are the new challenges that arise from the use of Artificial Intelligence in the decision making process?   We adopted an interpretivist paradigm together with a qualitative study, as presented in section 3. We investigated our research topic within two big IT firms and two real estate startups that are using AI. We conducted six semi-structured interviews to enable us to gain better knowledge and in-depth understanding about the roles of humans and Artificial Intelligence in the decision making process within knowledge-intensive firms. Our review led us to the theoretical framework explained in section 2, on which we based our interviews.   The results and findings that emerged from the interviews follow the same structure than the theoretical review and provide insightful information in order to answer the research question. To analyze and discuss our empirical findings that are summarized in the chapter 5 and in a chart in the appendix 4, we used the general analytical procedure for qualitative studies. The structure of chapter 5 follows the same order than the three sub questions.   The thesis highlights how a deep understanding of Artificial Intelligence and its integration in the process of organizational decision making of knowledge-intensive firms enable humans to be augmented and to make smarter decisions. It appears that Artificial Intelligence is used as a decision making support rather than an autonomous decision maker, and that organizations adopt smoother and more collaborative designs in order to make the best of it within their decision making process. Artificial Intelligence is an efficient tool to deal with complex situations, whereas human capabilities seem to be more relevant in situations of uncertainty and ambiguity. Artificial Intelligence also raises new issues for organizations regarding its responsibility and acceptation by society as there is a grey area surrounding machines in front of ethics and laws.

Cette thèse a pour objet l’analyse du système de santé et des inégalités en matière de santé en Thaïlande. Il s’agit d’abord d’identifier les acteurs politiques du système de santé et les idéologies sur lesquelles ils se fondent, et sur cette base, d’examiner la manière dont les politiques mises en œuvre ont affecté la santé et la distribution de santé. En Thaïlande, la triade nationale "Nation-Bouddhisme-Roi" a imprégné toute la société, y compris le système de santé. Elle a également influencé les acteurs et les décideurs politiques qui ont conçu le système de protection sociale thaïlandais. Influencé par l'utilitarisme-nationalisme, le ministère de la Santé a privilégié l'efficacité plutôt que l'égalité, et a amélioré la santé de la population afin d'augmenter la croissance économique. Influencés par le bouddhisme, certains technocrates ont lancé des politiques de promotion de la santé, basées sur le concept de Karma, qui renforcent la responsabilité individuelle, mais ignorent les inégalités sociales. Les organisations caritatives royales ont fourni des soins de santé pour des groupes marginalisés, mais de nombreux patients n'ont toujours pas été traités. Grâce à ces acteurs, de nombreux indicateurs de santé de la population ont été améliorés, mais parallèlement les disparités de santé ont été renforcées. La réforme de la santé, lancée en 2001 par le parti Thai Rak Thai, a mis en place un nouveau programme d'assurance maladie qui fournit des soins de base à tous les Thaïlandais. Bien que de nombreux bilans aient confirmé la réduction des inégalités et l'amélioration de l'accès aux soins, certains groupes d'intérêts ont largement protesté. Ce nouveau programme, fondé sur l'égalité des chances et le droit à la santé, a involontairement défié les anciens acteurs et les anciennes idéologies. En conséquence, les conflits dans le système de santé et l'instabilité politique ont entravé le développement de nouvelles politiques de santé. / This thesis uses a political economy frame to analyze Thailand’s health system and its inequalities in health. After identifying the political actors of the health care system and the ideologies on which they are based, it examines the way in which the policies put in work have affected the health and the distribution of health. In Thailand, national trilogy "Nation-Buddhism-King" impregnated the whole political pattern, including health system. It also influenced political agents and political decision-makers in building the Thai social protection system. Influenced by utilitarianism and nationalism, the Ministry of Health had prioritized efficiency, rather than equality, and improved population health in order to increase economic growth. Due to Buddhism, some technocrats have launched health promotion policies based on the concept of Karma that reinforced individual responsibility for health, but ignored social inequalities that affected health-risk behaviors. Royal charities have provided health care for marginalized groups for long times, but many patients still were left untreated. Thanks to these actors, many health indicators were improved, but, at the same time, it increased health disparities between rich and poor, rural areas and urban areas, as between Bangkok and the poorest regions, North and Northeast. In 2001, Thai Rak Thai party launched a new health insurance program providing basic health care for all Thais. Although many reports confirmed the good results of a policy that reduced some inequalities and improved health care access for the poor, it raised the opposition from several stake-holders groups. This new program, based on equal opportunities and the right to health, unintentionally challenged the old policies and the old ideologies in health care justice. As a result, conflicts in health system as well as political instability as a whole constrained the development of new health policies for the next generations.

Many concrete problems may be cast in a multi-objective optimisation framework. The redundancy of existing methods for solving multi-objective programming problems susceptible to inconsistencies, coupled with the necessity for making in- herent assumptions before using a given method, make it hard for a nonspecialist to choose a method that ¯ts the situation at hand well. Moreover, using a method blindly, as suggested by the hammer principle (when you only have a hammer, you want everything in your hand to be a nail) is an awkward approach at best and a caricatural one at worst. This brings challenges to the design, development, implementation and deployment of a Decision Support System able to choose a method that is appropriate for a given problem and to apply the chosen method to solve the problem under consideration. The choice of method should be made according to the structure of the problem and the decision maker's opinion. The aim here is to embed a sample of methods representing the main multi-objective programming techniques and to help the decision maker find the most appropriate method for his problem. / Decisions Sciences / M. Sc. (Operations Research )