Sankt Gallen, Universiẗat, Diss., 2008.

Broadband has revolutionised the way the Internet is used and has become the critical enabling infrastructure of our modem and knowledge-based economy. Its widespread introduction has not only greatly enhanced the speed at which information online can be accessed, but also the range and sophistication of the content available. It is still penetrating the telecommunication market and is seen by some as the most significant evolutionary step since the emergence of the Internet. However in the rush to achieve market share, there is a risk that insufficient attention may be paid to quality issues, the central theme of this research. The research addresses the issues of broadband quality with a stated objective of assessing broadband quality by means of an integrated framework that encompasses factors beyond strict technical characteristics of broadband networks. Indeed, the concept of quality is a multi-facetted one, for which various perspectives can be distinguished. In this work, broadband quality as perceived by users, ISP and Government in the United Kingdom (UK) is looked at and a survey report is given and analysed. The aim of this doctoral research was to provide much needed empirical broadband quality framework that would guide the service provider as well as the UK government in the provision of quality broadband to its consumers. It will also stand as a benchmark to countries wanting to provide quality broadband to its citizens. A survey research approach was employed to achieve the overall aim and objective of this research. This was conducted using the response of 133 participants located in various boroughs in the UK. The results of the survey show that quality, though desired by many, has been short-changed by the desire to have access to the Internet via broadband at the lowest cost possible. However, this has not encouraged some consumers to switch to broadband from dial-up service despite continuous low prices being offered by service providers. Furthermore, the results also indicated that focusing on broadband quality will improve and promote investment in broadband capacity and decrease the uncertainty in consumer demand for applications such as multi-media content delivery, enhanced electronic commerce and telecommuting that exploit broadband access.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-09-28T12:41:04Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Ricardo Stocco Saponara.pdf: 2695558 bytes, checksum: b991296da6cc52bc739bd257d9f2a122 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-28T12:41:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ricardo Stocco Saponara.pdf: 2695558 bytes, checksum: b991296da6cc52bc739bd257d9f2a122 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-09-12 / This research aims to analyze the relevance of the insurance sector in the economy, as they mutually cause changes in their environments, focusing on the Brazilian market, ending with a future perspective of the sector after the new technological disruptions. Three chapters were prepared to achieve these intentions. First, an historical evolution of the insurance industry and the major changes in the Brazilian market, the economic importance of the insurance industry and how it reacted in the last financial crisis was analyzed followed by a review of John Maynard Keynes's economic theory and the responsibility of an institutional investor with a global analysis of asset allocations in 2016. Second, the evaluation of individual’s decisions regarding risks and uncertainties followed by an econometric analysis based on Brazilian macroeconomic series during the period between 2000 and 2016 to determine the most relevant determinants of the demand of the insurance sector, ending with a Brazilian sector analysis in the referred period. Third, the study of a historical evolution of science, the birth of the knowledge economy, disruptive technologies and their changes in the economy and the insurance industry. In concluding remarks, the conclusion that the insurance industry needs to realize its importance in the economy and, together with the promising growth that the knowledge economy and disruptive technologies will bring, to direct its investments with the responsibility of long-term growth, benefitting the economic environment in which is inserted / A presente pesquisa visa analisar, com foco no mercado brasileiro, a relevância do setor de seguros na economia e o modo como estes domínios ocasionam mutuamente alterações em seus ambientes; ademais, aborda-se ainda uma perspectiva futura do setor após as novas disrupções tecnológicas. A fim de alcançar esses objetivos, foram elaborados três capítulos principais, quais sejam: em primeiro lugar, tem-se a evolução histórica do setor de seguros e as principais mudanças no mercado brasileiro, bem como a importância econômica do setor de seguros e como este reagiu à última crise financeira. Posteriormente, há uma revisão da teoria econômica de John Maynard Keynes e discute-se a responsabilidade de ser um investidor institucional, com uma comparação mundial das alocações dos ativos do setor em 2016; em segundo lugar, tem-se a avaliação sobre as decisões individuais frente a riscos e incertezas, seguida por uma análise econométrica baseada em séries macroeconômicas brasileiras durante o período compreendido entre os anos 2000 e 2016, a fim de determinar as mais relevantes determinantes da demanda do setor de seguros, prossegue-se com uma análise setorial brasileira no referido período; e, em terceiro lugar, propõe-se o estudo da evolução histórica da ciência, o nascimento da economia do conhecimento até as tecnologias disruptivas, bem como suas mudanças ocasionadas na economia e no setor de seguros. No que concerne às considerações finais, verificou-se que o setor de seguros precisa perceber sua importância na economia e, aliada ao crescimento promissor que a economia do conhecimento e as tecnologias disruptivas trarão, deve dirigir seus investimentos com a responsabilidade de um crescimento a longo prazo, beneficiando o ambiente econômico social no qual está inserido