Social enterprises are in some contexts considered to be a solution of social exclusion. Studies have tried to reach a deeper understanding of the relatively new phenomenon 'work-integrating social enterprises' by asking questions like 'what is a social enterprise?'. The purpose of this research is to create a greater understanding of how social enterprises can enable and/or restrict work-integration. Data is collected through qualitative interviews conducted on six social enterprise managers. The research focuses on how and to what extent organizational structure components (including functions, target group, leadership and control, along with recruitment and specialization) can lead to work-integration. The research shows a discrepancy of what the social enterprises say they are and what they say they do. I find it to be an effect depending on them being similar to other common enterprises. This is evident in their being located on the regular labor market, having the same demands in competitive and effective production. This research shows how social enterprises restrict individuals just as a common enterprise. By only recruiting individuals with desired abilities and knowledge, the social enterprises reproduces exclusion of individuals and thereby restrict work-integration for the most marginalized individuals. The research also shows that by actually giving a chance of work-integration to marginalized individuals (even if it is a limited chance), social enterprises are an alternative to common enterprises. / I flera sammanhang anses sociala företag vara en lösning på utanförskapet. Tidigare studier har sökt en djupare förståelse av det relativt nya fenomenet "arbetsintegrerande sociala företag" genom att ställa sig frågor som "vad är ett socialt företag?". Syftet med denna studie är att skapa en större förståelse för hur sociala företag kan möjliggöra och/eller begränsa arbetsintegration. I studien har en kvalitativ metod använts i form av intervjuer med sex verksamhetsledare på olika sociala företag. Studien fokuserar på hur och i vilken utsträckning som organisationsstrukturens komponenter (funktion, målgrupp, ledarskap, kontroll samt rekrytering och specialisering) kan leda till arbetsintegration. Studien visar hur sociala företag begränsar individer precis som ett vanligt företag. Genom att bara rekrytera individer med efterfrågade förmågor och kunskaper reproducerar de sociala företagen exklusionen av individer och därmed begränsar de arbetsintegration för de mest marginaliserade individerna. Resultatet visar också att genom att de sociala företagen faktiskt ger en chans till arbetsintegrering för marginaliserade individer (även om det är en begränsad sådan), så är de ändå ett alternativ till de vanliga företagen för individerna.

The use of different materials is a central part of our development, especially in the electronics industry since it is dependent on materials such as gold, silver and copper etc. to achieve the required performance. The material consumption is increasing, while material production is limited to a few countries. Industries and companies that consume unusual or large amounts of material are most exposed to this problem. Therefore it is important for companies to be able to identify their critical materials. There is a lack of systems that can identify different materials criticality at a company level. This report proposes a system that can identify critical materials at a company level, regardless of the company's industry and size. By combining a literature study with a case study in a leading electronic company, a system that identifies materials criticality at a company level was developed. The theoretical study consisted of a comparison between three existing systems for evaluating critical materials, combined with a qualitative study, interviews, that were conducted at the electronic company Ericsson. The developed system evaluates a material's criticality based on two parameters; supply risk and corporate importance. Each parameter includes several categories and indicators that measure the materials criticality. By testing the system on Ericsson's most important and used materials such as; Al, Au, Ag, Cu, etc., it was found that the company do not have any critical materials. The developed systems corporate importance part is configurable, which makes it company-specific. It is up each company to customize it for their own business and situation. The case study also showed that a nation´s critical material doesn’t necessarily need to be company critical just because the company operates within the nation, it mainly depend on the material usage. Companies that manufacture end products so called OEMs in the electronics industry don’t usually buy materials directly from the mine, but components containing these materials. This makes it difficult for OEMs to trace the material origin. Apart from the material production concentration that is limited to a few countries, the knowledge of how to manufacture certain components may also be limited, by being concentrated in few countries. This factor makes the OEMs to become more dependent on certain suppliers, which can affect the business.

Mokesčiai yra pagrindinis valstybės pajamų šaltinis, todėl varta panagrinėti kodėl per ilgą laikotarpį susiklostė tokia situacija ir valstybės neranda ar tiesiog negali rasti kitų pajamų šaltinių. Daugelyje pasaulio valstybių kartu ir Lietuvoje naudojamos panašios mokesčių sistemos, dažniausiai vyrauja tie patys pagrindiniai mokesčiai. Vėlgi kyla klausimas, kodėl pasirenkami tokie mokesčiai kaip PVM, akcizai ar pajamų mokesčiai? Kodėl šių mokesčių reikšmė tokia didelė? Mokesčiai yra pagrindinis pajamų šaltinis. Nuo šio pajamų šaltinio priklauso valstybės teikiamų paslaugų kiekybė, kokybė bei visuotinė gyventojų gerovė. Todėl svarbu išanalizuoti kaip kito lėšų gaunamų iš pagrindinių mokesčių surinkimas, kokios yra kitimo pagrindinės priežastys, kurie faktoriai yra esminiai, o kurie pervertinami. Kyla darbo problema. Kurie ir kokie veiksniai yra svarbiausi surenkant mokestines lėšas iš didžiausią svorį biudžete turinčių mokesčių? Ar pagrįstai mokestinių lėšų surinkime ypač akcentuojamas mokesčio tarifas? Darbo objektas- priežasčių, lemiančių mokestinių lėšų surinkimą iš didžiausią svorį biudžete turinčių mokesčių, analizė. Darbo tikslas- atlikti didžiausią svorį biudžete turinčių mokesčių ir iš jų gaunamų įplaukų analizę, išskirti pagrindinius surinkimą lemiančius veiksnius, nustatyti jų įtaką surinkimo procesui. Darbo uždaviniai: apžvelgti mokesčių reikšmę formuojant valstybės finansų išteklius; apibūdinti mokesčių kaip reiškinio įtaka valstybės pajamoms; nustatyti svarbiausių... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Tax is the most significant source of a state income, so it is important to analyse the reasons why year after year this situation has settled that countries do not find or simply can not find an alternative source of an income. Usually similar tax systems are used and the same taxes are applied in many countries as well as Lithuania. The question is why taxes like VAT, excise duty or income tax are used. Why is the importance of these taxes so great? Tax is the main source of income. The quantity and the quality of social services provided by the country and the wellbeing of citizens depend on this source of income. That is why it is so important to analyse how tax collection has been changing, what the reasons of that change were and which factors are essential and which ones are overestimated. The problem of employment arises. Which factors are the most important in fund collection from taxes having the greatest importance to the state budget? Is the rate of tax emphasised reasonably in fung collection? The object of the work – the analysis of reasons, determinant to fund collection from taxes having the greatest importance to the state budget. The goal of the work – to perform the analysis of taxes having the greatest importance to the state budget and funds received from them; to accentuate the main factors determining tax collection, and to designate their impact to the process of collection. Work tasks: to review the meaning of taxes while forming state finance... [to full text]

Magisto darbe tiriama Balkasodžio botaninio draustinio saugomų ir retų augalų būklė ir gamtosauginė svarba. Magistro baigiamąjį darbą sudaro 69 puslapiai. Jame yra lentelės, paveikslėliai, literatūros šaltiniai ir priedai. Darbo objektas – Vėjalandės šilagėlės (Pulsatilla patens), plikažiedžio linlapio (Thesium ebracteatum), smiltyninio gvazdiko (Dianthus arenarius) ir kitų rūšių radimvietės Balkasodžio botaniniame draustinyje. Darbo tikslas – Nustatyti į ES buveinių direktyvos II priedą įrašytų rūšių: vėjalandės šilagėlės (Pulsatilla patens), plikažiedžio linlapio (Thesium ebracteatum) , smiltyninio gvazidiko (Dianthus arenarius) – populiacijų apsaugos būklę. Šios rūšys, LRK paskutinių metų duomenimis, priskirtos 2 (V) saugomų augalų kategorijai. Darbo metodai – Buvo vykdomi lauko darbai ir floros inventorizacija. Nustatytos retų ir saugomų augalų rūšių radimvietės, fiksuojamos rastos floros rūšys, apibūdintos jų augavietės. Tyrimui pasirinktas maršrutinis apžiūros ir įvertinimo metodas. Darbo rezultatai - Norūnų miško saugomoje teritorijoje, kurios plotas sudaro 243 ha, užregistruota 471 induočių augalų rūšis. Iš jų 451 rūšies yra savaiminiai ir 20 rūšių svetimžemiai augalai. Teritorijoje aptikta 11 rūšių, įrašytų į LRK, tarp jų 3 induočių augalų rūšys įrašytos į ES buveinių direktyvos II priedą. Didžiausios teritorijoje esančios vertybės yra retosios, į ES buveinių direktyvos II priedą įrašytos rūšys – vėjalandė šilagėlė (Pulsatilla patens), plikažiedis linlapis... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The study is intended to analyse the rare and protected plants state and ecological reserve importance in Balkasodis reserve. Final master degree work of university, pages, figures, tables, references, appendix. The object - The rare and protected plants in Balkasodis reserve. The objects for the research plants included in The Red Data Book of Lithuania and which is growing in the botanical reserve of Balkasodis (Alytus region). This botanical reserve was opened in 1992. The aim - Implementing the previsions of the European Union Habitat Directive in Lithuania, on the most important task is to evaluate the state of the three plant species, included in the Annex 2 of the EU Habitat Directive. Dianthus arenarius, Pulsatilla patens, Thesium ebracteatum, during their vegetation period in the year 2008 and to suggest effective measure for their protection. According to the latest facts of the Lithuanian Red Data Book these three plant species are ascribed to the 2 (V) category of the legally protected species. The methods – Outside works and flora invetorization were carried out. Places where rare and protected plants grow were defined as well as all discovered flora species were recorded and described. The results - At the time of the research in the botanical reserve of Balkasodis were found 471 plant species: 451 plants are locals and 20 plant species are other. In the area were found 11 species of sparse plants (plants included in The Red Book of Lithuania). ... [to full text]

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Australia�s policy on Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) aims to achieve appropriate use of medicines and improved health outcomes. Drug and Therapeutics Committees (DTCs) are educators, policy makers as well as financial gatekeepers in matters relating to medicine use. Increasingly, DTCs are also involved in risk management and clinical governance. As such, DTCs could be considered to be QUM advocates in the institutions in which they function. In a health care arena where there are escalating demands on high standards of clinical practice, quality assessment and improvement is essential in ensuring safe and effective patient care. Given the role DTCs play in safeguarding the interests of the stakeholders of the health care system, research into ways in which DTC performance could be enhanced is required. Although indicators specific to DTCs exist, the literature does not seem to provide straightforward answers to the question of what is currently being done in terms of quality assessment and quality improvement of DTCs. In the absence of such data, an opportunity for research is clearly identified. The first aim of this research project was to gain insight into the current activities undertaken by, and challenges facing Australian DTCs. Following this, the second aim was to explore ways in which DTC performance could be augmented. In addressing the first aim of this project, a national survey of Australian DTCs was conducted. These findings reinforce the evidence in the literature about the roles, structure and stakeholder expectations of DTCs. Our research also documents DTCs� quality improvement initiatives and barriers to DTC activities. It appears that there is little support available to Australian DTCs. Further, a case study was undertaken in order to gain an understanding of the depth and detail of DTC operations. An audit of a DTC in an Australian hospital was conducted. This study revealed that DTC decisions are being implemented in an ad hoc manner. In fact, there were no strategies (or action) planned to implement the majority of their decisions. This could have an impact on DTC performance. In view of this finding, qualitative methods were used to explore stakeholder opinions regarding the implementation of DTC decisions and policies. Stakeholders believed that strategies used to implement DTC policies should be targeted (to the audience as well as the type of decision/policy being implemented), timely, and delivered at the point of care. Face-to-face strategies were perceived to be more effective than printed materials, particularly when an influence on clinical practice was desired. Stakeholders also felt that the lack of resources was a significant barrier to DTC performance augmentation. This probably contributed to a lack of follow-up (or review) of implemented policies. According to stakeholders, other barriers to policy implementation include a lack of ownership of policies, low DTC profile, and an over-reliance on pharmacy to implement DTC decisions. Stakeholders felt one of the ways in which DTC performance could be improved was to prioritise DTC decisions for implementation. In pursuit of a method to prioritise DTC decisions, a survey was conducted. Stakeholders identified patient safety, cost, and the practice of evidence-based medicine as domains of important DTC decisions. The results also suggest that stakeholders recognise the need for the prioritisation of DTC decisions for implementation. Stakeholders implied that higher priority would be assigned to DTC decisions considered to be important. In a follow-up survey, stakeholders (including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and DTC members) seemed to have agreement of the primary domains of DTC decisions. Higher levels of importance and higher priority were assigned to decisions involving the primary domains of patient safety and cost. However, level of importance and priority assignment were not consistently correlated. The work presented in this thesis suggests that there are ways to improve DTC performance. Although conducted primarily on hospital-based DTCs, it is anticipated that the lessons learnt could be applied to state-based, or even, Area Health-based DTCs. In conclusion, this research found that there was a range of views regarding �importance� and prioritisation for implementation. Social, organisational, as well as environmental factors may contribute to this. Future research should examine other possible factors contributing to the importance and priority of DTC decisions, so that DTC policy could be appropriately implemented into practice.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:32:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 6089.pdf: 2493882 bytes, checksum: b18fa0ec5dde486ef33533f0babf7c86 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-26 / Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos / The fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (SMITH, 1797) is a voracious pest of numerous crops of economic importance throughout the New World. In Brazil, their larvae can be attacked by several species of parasitic wasps, which are candidate to biological control agents against this pest. Surveying the parasitoid fauna on S. frugiperda in maize throughout Brazil two very morphological similar species of Campoletis are found. To ensure the efficiency of the biological control works, the knowledge about the taxonomy of the species related is necessary. Campoletis specimens emerged from Spodoptera frugiperda were studied mofologically and molecularly, in order to solve taxonomic problems among C. sonorensis (CAMERON, 1886) and C. flavicincta (ASHMEAD,1890). The samples came from three regions of Brazil: Santa Maria, RS; Ribeirão Preto, SP; Sete Lagoas, MG. Pictures from the type material of the two species were studied, besides the original descriptions of them. A possible sinonimy is indicated between the both species, for which the name C. sonorensis will be used based on the priority law for species names. A redescription is made to Campoletis sonorensis from Brazil, using morphological characters and DNA Barcoding. / Spodoptera frugiperda (SMITH, 1797) é uma praga voraz de diversas culturas de importância econômica no Novo Mundo. No Brasil, suas larvas podem ser atacadas por diversas espécies de vespas parasitóides que são candidatos a agentes de controle biológico contra essa praga. Pesquisando os parasitóides da fauna de Spodoptera frugiperda em cultivos de milho no Brasil, duas espécies do gênero Campoletis, muito similares morfologicamente, foram encontradas. Para garantir a eficiência dos trabalhos de controle biológico, é de grande importância o conhecimento taxonômico das espécies relacionadas. Exemplares de Campoletis emergidos de Spodoptera frugiperda foram estudados morfológica e molecularmente, a fim de resolver os problemas taxonômicos existentes entre as espécies C. sonorensis (CAMERON, 1886) e C. flavicincta (ASHMEAD,1890). Os exemplares foram provenientes de três regiões do Brasil: Santa Maria, RS; Ribeirão Preto, SP; Sete Lagoas, MG. Fotos de material tipo das duas espécies foram estudadas, além das suas descrições originais. Os resultados indicam uma possível sinonímia entre as duas espécies, para a qual será usado o nome C. sonorensis com base na lei da prioridade para o nome das espécies. Apresentamos uma redescrição para Campoletis sonorensis usando caracteres morfológicos e de DNA Barcoding.

Orientador: Peter James Harris / Banca: Munira Hamud Mutran / Banca: Norma Wimmer / Resumo: Este trabalho tem por objetivo a análise da peça A importância de ser Prudente (2007), escrita por Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), de acordo com a perspectiva teórica de base estética, da qual Wilde foi um dos expoentes maiores. O método analógico foi utilizado para estruturar a comparação entre a teoria estética de Wilde e o texto de sua peça A importância de ser Prudente, representante de sua prática dramatúrgica. Os textos teórico-críticos de Wilde foram escolhidos com base nos objetivos da proposta, os mais relevantes sendo: O crítico como artista, A decadência da mentira, A verdade das máscaras e Pena, lápis e veneno, todos eles compilados no livro Intenções, publicado no volume único da Obra Completa de Oscar Wilde (2007). A pesquisa partiu, ainda, dos conceitos teóricos do Movimento Estético (geral) para os conceitos estéticos encontrados nos ensaios críticos de Wilde (específico), e os ensaios em questão se prestaram à abordagem teórica estética utilizada na pesquisa. Considerando que o principal teórico do Movimento Estético foi Walter Pater (1839 - 1894), suas obras Appreciations, with an Essay on Style (1889) e The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry (1873) foram analisadas a fim de clarificar quais são os pressupostos teóricos do Movimento Estético e quais desses são compartilhados com Oscar Wilde. Tomando como base tais conjecturas, verificaram-se como esses conceitos teóricos incidem na prática de Wilde / Abstract: This study has as its aim the analysis of the play The Importance of Being Earnest (2007), written by Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), in accordance with the aesthetic theoretical perspective, of which Wilde was a major exponent. A method of analogical comparison was utilised, contrasting Oscar Wilde's theory, taken from some of his critical essays, with the text of the play The Importance of Being Earnest, as a representation of his dramaturgy in practice. The theoretical and critical texts by Wilde were chosen according to the aims of this proposal, the most relevant being: "The Critic as Artist", "The Decay of Lying", "The Truth of Masks" and "Pen, Pencil and Poison", all of which were published together in the book Intentions, republished in Oscar Wilde's Complete Works (2007). The research moved from the theoretical conceptions of the Aesthetic Movement (general) to the aesthetic conceptions found in Wilde's articles (specific), therefore the aforementioned essays are used as the aesthetic theoretical approach which was chosen to lead the research. Considering that the main theorist of the Aesthetic Movement was Walter Pater (1839 - 1894), his works, Appreciations, with an Essay on Style (1889) and The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry (1873), were analysed in order to clarify the theoretical premises of the Aesthetic Movement and which of these are shared with Oscar Wilde. Taking these conjectures as a starting point, the impact of these theoretical concepts on Wilde's practice was then analysed / Mestre

abstract: This dissertation transforms a set of system complexity reduction problems to feature selection problems. Three systems are considered: classification based on association rules, network structure learning, and time series classification. Furthermore, two variable importance measures are proposed to reduce the feature selection bias in tree models. Associative classifiers can achieve high accuracy, but the combination of many rules is difficult to interpret. Rule condition subset selection (RCSS) methods for associative classification are considered. RCSS aims to prune the rule conditions into a subset via feature selection. The subset then can be summarized into rule-based classifiers. Experiments show that classifiers after RCSS can substantially improve the classification interpretability without loss of accuracy. An ensemble feature selection method is proposed to learn Markov blankets for either discrete or continuous networks (without linear, Gaussian assumptions). The method is compared to a Bayesian local structure learning algorithm and to alternative feature selection methods in the causal structure learning problem. Feature selection is also used to enhance the interpretability of time series classification. Existing time series classification algorithms (such as nearest-neighbor with dynamic time warping measures) are accurate but difficult to interpret. This research leverages the time-ordering of the data to extract features, and generates an effective and efficient classifier referred to as a time series forest (TSF). The computational complexity of TSF is only linear in the length of time series, and interpretable features can be extracted. These features can be further reduced, and summarized for even better interpretability. Lastly, two variable importance measures are proposed to reduce the feature selection bias in tree-based ensemble models. It is well known that bias can occur when predictor attributes have different numbers of values. Two methods are proposed to solve the bias problem. One uses an out-of-bag sampling method called OOBForest, and the other, based on the new concept of a partial permutation test, is called a pForest. Experimental results show the existing methods are not always reliable for multi-valued predictors, while the proposed methods have advantages. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Industrial Engineering 2011

Magister Scientiae - MSc / This thesis looks at the effect that the introduction of various techniques (weighting, bootstrapping and variable selection) has on the accuracy of the modelling process when using logistic regression. The data used in the modelling process is based on the sexual activity of entering first-year students at the University of the Western Cape, therefore, by constructing logistic regression models based on this data, certain predictor variables or factors associated with the sexual activity of these students are identified. The sample weighting technique utilized in this thesis assigned a weight to a student based on gender and racial representations within a sample when compared to the population of the entering first-year. The use of a sample weighting technique is shown to produce a more effective modelling process than a modelling process without weighting. The bootstrapping procedure is shown to produce logistic regression models that are more accurate. Utilizing more than 200 bootstrap samples did not necessarily produce logistic regression models that were more accurate than using a total of 200 bootstrap samples. It is, however, concluded that a weighted bootstrap modelling procedure will result in more accurate models compared to a procedure without this intervention. The forward, backward, stepwise, Newton-Raphson and Fisher variable selection methods are used. The Newton-Raphson and Fisher methods are found not to be effective when used in a logistic modelling process, whereas the forward, backward and stepwise methods are all shown to produce very similar results. Six predictor variables or factors are identified with respect to the sexual activity of the specified students: the age of the student; whether they consume alcohol or not; their racial grouping; whether an HIV test has been taken; the importance of religion in influencing their sexual behaviour; and whether they smoke or not.i i Conclusions are reached with respect to improvements that could be made to the HIV prevention programme at UWC with reference to the sexual activity of entering first-years.