The overall objective of this study was to determine the factorial invariance of a South African-developed Employee Engagement Instrument (EEI) across different race groups in financial institutions. A secondary objective of this study was to determine whether race groups differ significantly with regard to the six dimensions of the employee engagement instrument. A quantitative, cross-sectional and descriptive research design was followed in this study, using a non-probability, convenience sampling (N = 1175). The EEI was electronically administered to 285 000 businesspeople from various demographic backgrounds, which form part of a research database. The focus was respondents from financial institutions. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was employed to achieve the empirical objectives of this study. Findings from the statistical analysis indicated that White and Black employees differed significantly with regards to how they are engaged by their immediate managers; however, the practical significance was small. Furthermore, the employee engagement instrument was found to be reliable and valid and the instrument was invariant across the four different race groups. By understanding how employees from different backgrounds are engaged it enables organisations to customise their engagement programmes to meet the needs of the various types of employees within the organisation, instead of applying a “one size fits all” approach to engagement programmes. The findings of this study provided valuable insights into the importance of employee engagement in a South African context, especially for financial institutions. Finally, the study adds to the vast body of knowledge that exists with regard to employee engagement and race, both locally and internationally. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

A presente dissertação objetiva demonstrar a aplicabilidade dos conceitos relativos à arquitetura organizacional à criação de entidade de autogestão em saúde. Para atingir este propósito agregamos à revisão bibliográfica de trabalhos versando sobre a nova teoria da firma e sobre o mercado de saúde suplementar brasileiro informações coletadas a partir da experiência profissional do autor e de colaboradores atuantes no setor em questão. A fundamentàção teórica agrupando os conceitos econômicos utilizados no trabalho conjugada com a realização de retrospectiva histórica do setor, bem como a contextualização de seu cenário atual, possibilitaram a construção de proposta para constituição de entidade de autogestão . em saúde do tipo patrocinada.Desse modo, podemos concluir que a correta leitura do ambiente de negócios ao qual se vincula, traduzida na elaboração de estratégia viabilizadora das aspirações da entidade, possibilita estruturar a firma sob o critério de melhor uso do conhecimento específico disperso entre os empregados. Para tanto, deve-se definir uma política de delegação de poder para tomada de decisões aos colaboradores conjuntamente com a formulação de sistemas de incentivos e avaliação e monitoramento de performance como alternativa eficiente na busca pela maximização do resultado da instituição. / The present dissertation objective to demonstrate the applicability of the relative concepts to the organizacional architecture to the creation of entity of self management in health. To reach this intention we add to the bibliographical revision of works turning on the new theory of the firm and on the brazilian market of suplemental health the information collected from the professional experience of the author and of operating collaborators in the sector in questiono The theoretical recital grouping the used economic concepts in the work conjugated with the accomplishment of historical retrospect of the sector, as well as the contextualization of its current scene, makes possible the construction of proposal for constitution of entity of self management in health of the sponsored type. In this manner, we can conclude that the correct business-oriented reading of the environment which if ties, translated in the elaboration of strategy of the aspirations of the entity, makes possible to structuralize the firm under the criterion of better use of the dispersed specific knowledge between the employees. For in such a way, one politics of delegation of jointly being able for taking of decisions to the collaborators with the formularization of systems of incentives and evaluation and monitoring of efficient performance as alternative in the search for the maximization of the result of the institution must be defined.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T13:51:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 WalidAE_TESE.pdf: 3318878 bytes, checksum: 4ecbf8bfcfad7cfbc051e03f99a43870 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-11-30 / The present thesis aimed at understanding how the insertion of music in the work environment contributes to achieving Quality of Work Life. - QWL, under the perspective of biopsychosocial and organizational well-being. As to music insertion we considered the theoretical-empirical perception about how music is inserted at work and its functions on such place. The context where the study was taken was the manufacturing area of a major textile company, located in Natal, state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, in which music is used during labor activities. The only study case was the research strategy adopted, with exploratory and descriptive purposes. The primary data were collected through the focus group technique, applied to the collaborator in the manufacturing sector. The semi-structured interview was done as a complementary tool, directed to the supervisor in that sector. Respecting the theoretical saturation criterion, we formed four focus groups, each one composed of eight members randomly selected, among the seventy-six collaborators in the sector. The data were analyzed qualitatively, through the content analysis technique, more specifically the category analysis. We identified twenty-eight QWL attributes. Six of them were found present in the four focus groups and in the interview. Among these ones, the attribute of Interpersonal Relationship at Work, contemplating the Psychological and Organizational dimensions, was the only one anticipated in four out of fifteen theoretical models here listed. The attribute Music at Work Environment could be inserted in the four QWL dimensions, highlighting the power and relevance of this attribute for the research participants. The way music has been inserted in the labor environment contributes to promoting well-being at work, which goes against theoretical conceptions, especially when it comes to musical genre. We identified nine functions of music at work, among which, Improving Work Conditions, Improving Interpersonal Relationship at Work and Favoring Motivation for Work had to be emphasized for being associated to three QWL attributes. In the total, we highlighted seven associations. The most affected QWL dimension through the insertion of music at work was the Psychological one, followed by the Organizational one. We conclude that music insertion provides biological, social and, above all, psychological and organizational well-being to the contributors, thus contributing to obtaining QWL at the labor environment researched. However, we should consider the context and proceed to periodical plans and adjustments in the way of music insertion so as to avoid health and well-being problems to those people at work / A presente Tese objetivou compreender como a inser??o de m?sica no ambiente laboral contribui para a obten??o da Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho - QVT, na perspectiva da percep??o do bem-estar biopsicossocial e organizacional. Com rela??o ? inser??o musical, partiu-se de concep??es te?rico-emp?ricas acerca da forma como a m?sica ? inserida no trabalho e das fun??es por ela exercida naquele ambiente. O contexto onde se realizou o estudo foi o setor de confec??o de uma ind?stria t?xtil de grande porte, localizada na cidade de Natal, estado do Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil, em que se utilizava m?sica durante a atividade laboral. O estudo de caso ?nico foi a estrat?gia de pesquisa adotada, com finalidades explorat?ria e descritiva. Os dados prim?rios foram coletados atrav?s da t?cnica de grupo focal, adotada como instrumento principal de coleta de dados, aplicado aos colaboradores do setor de confec??o. A entrevista semiestruturada foi utilizada como instrumento complementar, direcionado ? supervisora daquele setor. Respeitando-se o crit?rio de satura??o te?rica, foram formados quatro grupos focais, cada um dos quais compostos por oito participantes, selecionados de forma aleat?ria, entre os setenta e seis colaboradores do setor. Os dados foram analisados qualitativamente, atrav?s da t?cnica de an?lise de conte?do, mais especificamente, a an?lise categorial. Identificaram-se vinte e oito atributos de QVT. Seis deles estavam presentes nos quatro grupos focais e na entrevista. Dentre esses, o atributo Relacionamento Interpessoal no Trabalho, contemplado nas dimens?es Psicol?gica e Organizacional, foi o ?nico previsto em quatro dos quinze modelos te?ricos aqui elencados. O atributo M?sica no Ambiente de Trabalho p?de ser inserido nas quatro dimens?es de QVT, evidenciando a for?a e a relev?ncia desse atributo para os participantes da pesquisa. A forma como a m?sica vem sendo inserida no ambiente laboral contribui para promover o bem-estar no trabalho, o que contraria concep??es te?ricas, sobretudo no que concerne ao g?nero musical. Foram identificadas nove fun??es da m?sica no trabalho, dentre as quais, Melhorar as Condi??es de Trabalho, Melhorar o Relacionamento Interpessoal no Trabalho e Favorecer a Motiva??o Para o Trabalho mereceram destaque por estarem associadas a tr?s atributos de QVT. Ao todo, foram evidenciadas sete associa??es. A dimens?o de QVT mais afetada pela inser??o de m?sica no trabalho foi a Psicol?gica, seguida da dimens?o Organizacional. Conclui-se que a inser??o musical proporciona bem-estar biol?gico, social, e, sobretudo, psicol?gico e organizacional aos colaboradores, contribuindo para a obten??o de QVT no ambiente laboral pesquisado. Contudo, faz-se necess?rio considerar o contexto e proceder a planejamento e ajustes peri?dicos na forma de inser??o musical, de modo a evitar danos ? sa?de e ao bem-estar das pessoas no trabalho

A presente dissertação objetiva demonstrar a aplicabilidade dos conceitos relativos à arquitetura organizacional à criação de entidade de autogestão em saúde. Para atingir este propósito agregamos à revisão bibliográfica de trabalhos versando sobre a nova teoria da firma e sobre o mercado de saúde suplementar brasileiro informações coletadas a partir da experiência profissional do autor e de colaboradores atuantes no setor em questão. A fundamentàção teórica agrupando os conceitos econômicos utilizados no trabalho conjugada com a realização de retrospectiva histórica do setor, bem como a contextualização de seu cenário atual, possibilitaram a construção de proposta para constituição de entidade de autogestão . em saúde do tipo patrocinada.Desse modo, podemos concluir que a correta leitura do ambiente de negócios ao qual se vincula, traduzida na elaboração de estratégia viabilizadora das aspirações da entidade, possibilita estruturar a firma sob o critério de melhor uso do conhecimento específico disperso entre os empregados. Para tanto, deve-se definir uma política de delegação de poder para tomada de decisões aos colaboradores conjuntamente com a formulação de sistemas de incentivos e avaliação e monitoramento de performance como alternativa eficiente na busca pela maximização do resultado da instituição. / The present dissertation objective to demonstrate the applicability of the relative concepts to the organizacional architecture to the creation of entity of self management in health. To reach this intention we add to the bibliographical revision of works turning on the new theory of the firm and on the brazilian market of suplemental health the information collected from the professional experience of the author and of operating collaborators in the sector in questiono The theoretical recital grouping the used economic concepts in the work conjugated with the accomplishment of historical retrospect of the sector, as well as the contextualization of its current scene, makes possible the construction of proposal for constitution of entity of self management in health of the sponsored type. In this manner, we can conclude that the correct business-oriented reading of the environment which if ties, translated in the elaboration of strategy of the aspirations of the entity, makes possible to structuralize the firm under the criterion of better use of the dispersed specific knowledge between the employees. For in such a way, one politics of delegation of jointly being able for taking of decisions to the collaborators with the formularization of systems of incentives and evaluation and monitoring of efficient performance as alternative in the search for the maximization of the result of the institution must be defined.

Apontadas como as principais fontes de entretenimento e de interação social da atualidade, as redes sociais conquistaram o espaço virtual e tornaram-se ferramentas digitais propícias para a exposição de discursos capazes de atingir diversos segmentos da comunicação. Diante disso, as redes transformaram-se em campos de entrelaçamento de várias linguagens, produtoras de todos os tipos de sentido e que tendem a funcionar de acordo com os desejos e intenções daqueles que as utilizam. Fala-se então da capacidade que os usuários passam a desenvolver construindo imagens de si através dos discursos. A presente pesquisa tem por escopo investigar o ethos discursivo político na rede social Facebook, por meio de construções discursivas que realçam traços de identificação e credibilidade, utilizados para causar boa impressão e alcançar o sucesso no campo político e social. Para o desenvolvimento desse estudo situamo-nos em teoria e metodologia da Análise do Discurso francesa, focando-nos em trabalhos específicos de Maingueneau (2001/2008), Pêcheux (1997a/1997b), Charaudeau (2011), Amossy (2008) e demais autores que desenvolveram pesquisas a respeito do ethos discursivo e de seu funcionamento na construção do discurso, bem como a análises vinculadas ao campo da Comunicação, no que concerne ao estudo de redes sociais. O corpus desse trabalho será composto por dados retirados da rede FACEBOOK, de onde serão analisados segmentos discursivos que se equiparam aos objetivos já mencionados. Os resultados obtidos em torno desse processo demonstraram-nos que o que persiste nessa conjuntura é a construção de discursos em que as maneiras de ser tendem a comandar as maneiras de dizer, fazendo do ethos o instrumento que rege as interações, construídas a partir da história e atravessados por ideologias, as quais os sujeitos, em rede e fora dela, manifestam por meio de seus enunciados. / Cited as the main source of entertainment and social interaction today, social networks have conquered virtual space and have become propitious digital tools of expressive speech that are able to make use of diverse forms of communication. As such, these networks have turned into an entanglement of multiple languages, producing all kinds of sentiments and tend to operate in accordance with the wishes and intentions of those who use them. This dissertation discusses the abilities that social network users develop in order to build images of themselves using these mediums of speech. The scope of this research is to investigate the political Discursive Ethos through the social network, FACEBOOK, utilizing discursive constructions that emphasize identifying traits and credibility used to make a good impression and achieve success in political and social arenas. For the development of this study we orient ourselves using the theory and methodology of the French Discourse Analysis, focusing on the specific works of Maingueneau (2001/2008), Pêcheux (1997a/1997b), Charaudeau (2011), Amossy (2008) and other authors who have developed research on the discursive Ethos and its operation in the construction of discourse. We will also look at analyses linked to the field of communication concerning the study of social networks. The body of this work is composed of data from the network FACEBOOK, where discourses which match the objectives mentioned above will be analyzed. The results acquired through this process will demonstrate that what persists at this juncture is the fact that these constructed discourses tend to control speech patterns, making Ethos the instrument that governs our interactions, constructed from history and traversed by ideologies, the subjects in these networks and beyond, manifest themselves through the discourses of these social network users.

The present work is a reflection of the search for the study of problems encountered in daily practice of a professional worker of the Social Assistance Policy in a city of the northeastern of Brazil. Initially this study took the path of reckoning another determinism through by blaming the users of social assistance by an actual lack of initiative (or resignation) to try and break their condition of vulnerability, which hold back the social development of the country. However, throughout the research, which was born as an additional reporting practices of a distant civil service law and in defense of a greater state intervention, in this trajectory of recovery of the problems encountered in the field, was seen on the other prism. Started to question what meanings could emerge for these practices of the worker if they were other problems to note. Now, no more fit to report how much practice or "reality" failed to meet the requirements of a celebrated law. The legitimacy or, the "true value" of the logic in this movement of normalization of lives was now seen by the researcher due to the intervention of the worker. To make possible the shock of these seemingly antagonistic forces between researcher and worker - and why not objects of study - we propose an approach to ethnographic and ethnomethodological routine of the worker, wringing in a field diary months of your professional performance. In this paper the field diary that was written is reopened and once again lacerated, elapsed over a year of estrangement from both bodies (worker and researcher) with the studied field. This new writing is a radicalization of this distance, where the researcher ends up not searching for the meaning or explanation for the experienced things, but only discuss under other implications, the clippings of the events that was describe by the hands of the worker in his field diary. / O presente trabalho é reflexo da busca pelo estudo dos problemas encontrados na prática diária de atuação profissional de uma funcionária da Política de Assistência Social em um Município do interior do Nordeste brasileiro. Inicialmente, esta se deu pela via da fundamentação de mais um determinismo, através de uma forma de culpabilização dos usuários da assistência por uma dita falta de iniciativa (ou conformismo) em busca da superação de sua condição de vulnerabilidade, o que entravaria o desenvolvimento social do país. No entanto, ao longo da pesquisa, o que nasceu como mais um relato de práticas de um funcionalismo público distante da lei e em defesa de uma maior intervenção do Estado, nessa trajetória de retomada dos problemas encontrados no campo, passou a ser visto sobre outro prisma. Passou-se a questionar quais significados poderiam emergir para essas práticas da técnica se fossem outros os problemas a observar. Agora, não mais caberia relatar o quanto a prática ou a realidade deixava de atender às exigências de uma comemorada lei. A legitimidade, ou seja, a real validade das lógicas presentes nesse movimento de normatização das vidas agora eram vistas pela pesquisadora face à intervenção da técnica. Para tornar possível o choque dessas forças aparentemente antagônicas entre pesquisadora e técnica e porque não objetos de pesquisa tomamos como proposta uma abordagem etnográfica e etnometodológica da rotina da técnica, registrando em diário de campo meses de sua atuação profissional. No presente documento essa escrita do diário é reaberta e mais uma vez dilacerada, transcorrido mais de um ano de distanciamento dos corpos de ambas (técnica e pesquisadora) com o campo pesquisado. Nessa nova escrita coube uma radicalização desse distanciamento, por assim dizer, onde a pesquisadora termina por buscar não o sentido ou a explicação para as coisas vivenciadas, mas apenas problematizar, sob outras implicações, os recortes dos acontecimentos uma vez descritos pelas mãos da técnica em seu diário de campo.

Projektet skapades från viljan att framställa en virtuell träningsmiljö där blivande lärare kan öva och bättra på sin icke-verbala kommunikation när dem undervisar. Projektet funkar genom att fånga användarens rörelser och rendera virtuella agenter på en skärm framför användaren. Att stå framför en statisk skärm och undervisa kan dock inte kännas helt realistiskt. Denna rapport kommer gå igenom implementationen av en huvudmonterad display, mer specifikt Oculus Rift, för att skapa en virtuell verklighet och utökningen av de virtuella agenternas beetende och nya sätt att interagera med agenterna. De täcker även resultaten från experimenten där den nya funktionaliteten blev utvärderad. Experimenten gjordes genom att låta 18 personer testa systemet i både den gamla och nya uppsättningen och sedan fylla i frågeformulär efteråt. / This project was created from the desire to provide a virtual training environment for teachers-intraining to practice and improve their non-verbal communication with students. The project worked by capturing the user’s movements and rendering the virtual agent’s to a screen in front of the user. Standing in front of a static screen to hold a lecture might however not feel entirely realistic. This report covers the implementation of a head-mounted display, specifically the Oculus Rift, to create a virtual reality as well as the extension of the virtual agent’s behavior and new ways to interact with the virtual agent’s. It also covers the results of an experiment where the new functionality was evaluated. The experiment was done by allowing 18 persons to test the system in both the old and new configurations and fill in questionnaires afterwards.

This paper examines the possibilities of faking human behavior with artificial intelligence in computer games, by using efficient methods that save valuable development time and also creates a more rich experience for the players of a game. The specific implementation of artificial intelligence created and discussed is a neural network controlling a finite-state machine. The objective was to mimic human behavior rather than simulating true intelligence. A 2D shooter game is developed and used for experiments performed with human and artificial intelligence controlled players. The game sessions played were recorded in order for other humans to replay. Both players and spectators of the game sessions left feedbacks and reports that could later be analyzed. The data collected from these experiments was then analyzed, and reflections were made on the entire project. Tips and ideas are proposed to developers of shooter games who are interested in making human-like artificial intelligence. Conclusions are made and extra information is provided in order to further iterate on this research. / Denna rapport undersöker möjligheterna att förfalska mänskligt beteende genom artificiell intelligens i datorspel, med hjälp av effektiva metoder som sparar värdefull utvecklingstid och som även skapar en rikare upplevelse för spelare. Den specifika implementationen av artificiell intelligens som utvecklas och diskuteras är ett neuralt nätverk som kontrollerar en finite-state machine. Målet var att efterlikna mänskligt beteende snarare än att simulera verklig intelligens. Ett 2D shooter-spel utvecklas och används för utförda experiment med mänskliga och artificiell intelligens-kontrollerade spelare. De sessioner som spelades under experimenten spelades in, för att sedan låta andra människor titta på inspelningarna. Både spelare och åskådare av spelsessionerna lämnade återkoppling och rapporter för senare analysering. Datan som samlats in från experimenten analyserades, och reflektioner utfördes på hela projektet. Tips och idéer presenteras till utvecklare av shooter-spel som är intresserade av en mer människolik artificiell intelligens. Slutsatser läggs fram och extra information presenteras för att kunna fortsätta iterera vidare på denna undersökning.

Omni-directional (O-D) infrared (IR) vision is an effective capability for mobile systems in robotics, due to its advantages: illumination invariance, wide field-of-view, ease of identifying heat-emitting objects, and long term tracking without interruption. Unfortunately, O-D IR sensors have low resolution, low frame rates, high cost, sensor noise, and an increase in tracking time. In order to overcome these disadvantages, we propose an autonomous system application in indoor scenarios including 1) Dynamic 3D Reconstruction (D3DR) of the target view in real time images, 2) Human Behavior-based Target Tracking from O-D thermal images, 3) Thermal Multisensor Fusion (TMF), and 4) Visual Perception for Social Cognition from the motion behavior of the human target.

The economic concept of health is defined as an ability to fully utilize human capital. The health promotion shall procure healthy lifestyle among the population. It also appears as the most efficient way to prevent diseases, in particular the non-communicable diseases (NCD). Economic analysis of human behavior offers the explanation of the rational choices as well as the decisions with bounded rationality affecting people's' health conditions. The Czech population health development analysis shows tendencies to careless approach in this area, that is illustrated by the increase incidence of sick leaves caused by NCD in higher age categories. Application of the health promotion in Czech Republic may be significantly improved by the outcomes of economic analysis of human behavior in these regards. Incidental issues are to be analyzed by the methods of logical deduction logical deduction, comparative analysis and empirical results of the statistical survey. Synthesis of the findings and conclusions of the analysis is the starting point for the modeling of health strategies, policies and programs promoting health in the Czech Republic. The main hypothesis is supported by the outcomes of this analysis with regards to the applicability of the economic analysis of human behavior on the health promotion and its positive macroeconomical impact on the current medical system sustainability. The primary contribution of the thesis consist in formulation of specific outcomes of the economic analysis of human behavior for the health promotion concept development. A secondary benefit is the proposal to measure personal productive incapacity in time by the indicator of work incapacity. In this context, the risk of non-infectious diseases impact deepening in older age categories of workers in Czech Republic is emphasized