The Normal Operations Safety Survey (NOSS) is an observational methodology to collect safety data during normal Air Traffic Control (ATC) operations. It aims to inform organizations about safety matters by using trained ATC staff to take a structured look at everyday operations. By monitoring normal operations through the use of direct over-the-shoulder observations, it is believed that safety deficiencies can be identified in a proactive manner prior to the occurrence of accidents or incidents. NOSS was developed as a collaborative effort between the International Civil Aviation Organization, ATC providers, controller representatives, government regulators, and academics to fill a gap in available ATC safety information. System designers consider three basic assumptions: the technology needed to achieve the system production goals, the training necessary for people to operate the technology, and the regulations that dictate system behavior. These assumptions represent the expected performance. When systems are deployed, however, particularly in realms as complex as ATC, they do not perform quite as designed. NOSS aims to capture the operational drift that invariably occurs upon system deployment. NOSS captures how the ATC system operates in reality, as opposed to how it was intended to operate. NOSS is premised on the Threat and Error Management (TEM) framework. TEM frames human performance in complex and dynamic settings from an operational perspective by simultaneously focusing on the environment and how operators respond to that environment. TEM posits that threats and errors are a part of everyday operations in ATC and must be managed in order to maintain safety margins. This dissertation describes NOSS and its contributions to ATC safety management systems. It addresses the validity and reliability of NOSS data and presents case studies from field trials conducted by a number of ATC providers. / text

This study explored changes in goal orientations throughout the semester that might be influenced by self efficacy and a sense of classroom community in hybrid courses in which course management systems (CMS) were used. A hybrid course is distinguished from a traditional face-to-face classroom in that there is an extension of the class, and students interact online in addition to face-to-face. Data were gathered from 14 hybrid courses two times during a semester, once at the beginning of the semester and once again at the end, and were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to investigate the relationships among the variables. Overall, the results indicated that each goal orientation changed throughout the semester, dynamically interacted with one another, and had unique relationship with self efficacy and sense of classroom community. More specifically, first, a sense of classroom community acted as a significant antecedent of goal orientations and mediated the relationship between pre-mastery goal orientation and post-mastery goal orientation. Second, self efficacy, another antecedent of goal orientations, mediated the relationship between pre-performance avoidance goal orientation and post-performance avoidance goal orientation. Third, post-performance approach goal orientation was influenced by sense of classroom community but not by self efficacy whereas post-performance avoidance goal orientation was influenced by self efficacy but not by sense of classroom community. Fourth, the nature of performance approach goal orientation at the beginning of the semester seemed to change throughout the semester as students gain or lose their competence and develop sense of classroom community. The results also showed that the collaborative function of the course management system most significantly contributed to the sense of classroom community in hybrid courses among four categories of functions (information delivery, external links, course materials, and collaborative function). Lastly, the study suggests ways for instructional designers and college teachers to identify and design courses that promote motivation and a sense of classroom community using various CMS functions, thereby enhancing teachers’ teaching and student learning. / text

Στην παρούσα εργασία μελετάται η αποτίμηση της ευχρηστίας στο πλαίσιο των συστημάτων διαχείρισης της μάθησης (Learning Management Systems - LMS). Σκοπός της έρευνας που διεξάγεται είναι η εγκυροποίηση του ερωτηματολογίου System Usability Scale (SUS) (Brooke, 1996), ως εργαλείο αποτίμησης της ευχρηστίας, στο πλαίσιο αυτό. Επιπλέον στόχος της εργασίας είναι η εγκυροποίηση της ελληνικής μετάφρασης του ερωτηματολογίου SUS, όπως αυτή δημιουργήθηκε από τους Katsanos, Tselios and Xenos (2012), και τέλος διερευνώνται τα αποτελέσματα του SUS σε σχέση με διάφορους παράγοντες, π.χ. φύλο, ηλικία, κ.ά. Για την επίτευξη των στόχων πραγματοποιήθηκαν 11 μελέτες στις οποίες συμμετείχαν συνολικά 771 φοιτητές του Πανεπιστημίου Πατρών. Οι συμμετέχοντες αξιολόγησαν την ευχρηστία των συστημάτων eClass και Moodle που χρησιμοποιούνται στο πλαίσιο μαθημάτων του προγράμματος σπουδών τους, συμπληρώνοντας ένα ανώνυμο ερωτηματολόγιο το οποίο συμπεριλάμβανε το ερωτηματολόγιο SUS. Από την ανάλυση των δεδομένων που συλλέχθηκαν, προέκυψε ότι το ερωτηματολόγιο SUS φαίνεται να είναι ένα έγκυρο εργαλείο αποτίμησης ευχρηστίας για τα συστήματα διαχείρισης της μάθησης. Η ελληνική έκδοση του ερωτηματολογίου επιβεβαιώθηκε ως κατάλληλη για την αξιολόγηση της ευχρηστίας των LMS από φοιτητές που μιλούν ελληνικά. Τέλος, επιβεβαιώθηκαν ευρήματα προηγούμενων μελετών (Tullis & Stetson, 2004; Bangor, Kortum & Miller, 2008; Kobsa, Sonawalla, Tsudik, Uzun, & Wang, 2009; Granića & Ćukušić, 2011; Sauro, 2011a; Kortum & Bangor, 2013), και βρέθηκαν κάποιες επιπλέον συσχετίσεις των αποτελεσμάτων του ερωτηματολογίου SUS με τους παράγοντες: αυτοαποτελεσματικότητα για το Διαδίκτυο, στάση προς το Διαδίκτυο ως μαθησιακό εργαλείο και συχνότητα χρήσης του LMS. / In this paper we study the evaluation of usability in the context of management learning (Learning Management Systems - LMS). The purpose of the survey conducted is the validation of the questionnaire System Usability Scale (SUS) (Brooke, 1996), a tool for assessment of usability, in this context. Additional aim of this work is the validation of the Greek translation of the questionnaire SUS, as created by Katsanos, Tselios and Xenos (2012), and then the investigation of the effects of SUS in relation to various factors, eg gender, age, etc. To achieve the objectives 11 studies were held involving a total of 771 students of the University of Patras. Participants evaluated the usability of systems eClass and Moodle, which are used within the course curriculum, by completing an anonymous questionnaire, which included the SUS. From the analysis of the data collected it was showed that the SUS questionnaire appears to be a valid usability assessment tool for learning management systems. The Greek version of the questionnaire was confirmed as suitable for evaluating the usability of LMS by students who speak Greek. Finally, findings of previous studies were confirmed (Tullis & Stetson, 2004; Bangor, Kortum & Miller, 2008; Kobsa, Sonawalla, Tsudik, Uzun, & Wang, 2009; Granića & Ćukušić, 2011; Sauro, 2011a; Kortum & Bangor, 2013), and some additional correlations between the SUS score and three factors were found: self-efficacy on the Internet, attitude towards the Internet as a learning tool and frequency of use of LMS.

Today, organizations often need to modify their business processes to cope with changes in the environment, such as mergers/acquisitions, new government regulations, and new customer demand. Most organizations also have a set of business policies defining the way they conduct their business. Although there has been extensive research on process analysis and design, how to systematically extract workflow models from business policies has not been studied, resulting in a missing link between the specification of business policies and the modeling of business processes.Given that process changes are often determined by executives and managers at the policy level, the aforementioned missing link often leads to inefficient and inaccurate implementation of process changes by business analysts and process designers. We refer to this problem as the policy mismatch problem in business process management. For organizations with large-scale business processes and a large number of business policies, solving the policy mismatch problem is very difficult and challenging.In this dissertation, we attempt to provide a formal link between business policies and workflow models by proposing a logic-based methodology for process analysis and design. In particular, we first propose a Policy-driven Process Design (PPD) methodology to formalize the procedure of extracting workflow models from business policies. In PPD, narrative process policies are parsed into precise information on various workflow components, and a set of process design rules and algorithms are applied to generate workflow models from that information.We also develop a logic-based process modeling language named Unified Predicate Language (UPL). UPL is able to represent all workflow components in a single logic format and provides analytical capability via logic inference and query. We demonstrate UPL's expressive power and analytical ability by applying it to process design and process change analysis. In particular, we use UPL to define and classify process change anomalies and develop algorithms to verify and enforce process consistency.The Policy-driven Process Design, Unified Predicate Language, and process change analysis approach found in this dissertation contribute to business process management research by providing a formal methodology for resolving the policy mismatch problem.

Mining is essential to the human well-being in many aspects. Mining activities, however, contribute significantly to pollution and other environmental impacts in South Africa. Recently much more stringent environmental legislation has been developed in South Africa due to increased public awareness and environmental disasters caused by mining activities. Authorisations constitute one of the main "command and control" instruments that can be used to influence and direct the behaviour of individuals and organisations to achieve sound environmental protection ultimately. The problem is that in the ever-changing maze of South African environmental legislation, it is often difficult for individuals and organisations to identify, obtain and maintain environmental authorisations. This article provides a legislative framework for the mining sector, explores the purpose and importance of environmental authorisations, gives an overview of the underlying relationship between environmental authorisations, risk assessment and environmental management systems before proposing a generic procedure for identifying, obtaining and maintaining environmental authorisations. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Magistro baigiamajame darbe nagrinėjama kokybės vadybos sistemų ir marketingo sąveika modernius veiklos metodus besirenkančiose ir į vertės kūrimą vartotojams besiorientuojančiose įmonėse. Didelis dėmesys skiriamas paieškai kategorijų ir indikatorių, įrodančių šių, savo vertybėmis panašių verslo filosofijų, įtaką viena kitai. Darbą sudaro teorinė ir praktinė dalys. Teorinėje dalyje, remiantis atlikta naujausios mokslinės literatūros, mokslinių publikacijų, kokybės vadybos standartų analize, pateikiamas kokybės vadybos sistemų ir marketingo sąveikos aiškinimas teoriniame lygmenyje, nemažai dėmesio skiriama kokybės vadybos ir marketingo, kaip atskirų verslo filosofijų, aprašymui lyginamuoju aspektu, apibendrinta pasaulyje atliktų tyrimų ir žinomų įmonių patirtis. Praktinėje dalyje, pasitelkus atvejo studijos bei tradicinės apklausos metodus, pateikiami Šiaulių regiono verslo įmonėse atlikto tyrimo rezultatai. / The Master’s degree work is related to the interaction of the quality management systems and marketing in companies, oriented towards the creation of the value for consumers and preferring modern methods of activities. A big part of attention is given for the search of categories and indicators, which prove the inter-influence of these business philosophies, which are related to each other by their values. The work is composed from theoretical and practical parts. Theoretical part was prepared using the newest scientific literature, scientific publications, analysis of the quality management standards; the explanation of the interaction between quality management systems and marketing in theoretical level is presented, much attention is given to describing quality management and marketing, as separate business philosophies, on the comparative aspect; experience from researches, performed in the world as well as from well-known companies is summarised in the work. Practical part deals with the results of the research, performed in business companies in Šiauliai region using the methods of case analysis and traditional questionnaire.

Planning road maintenance and development activities, prioritizing road construction, reconstruction and rehabilitation works, performing project economic evaluations, forecasting road operation expenditures and road user effect always requires prediction of pavement behaviour. For this purpose models of pavement deterioration are used. Commonly they are integrated in more sophisticated computational systems, known as Pavement Management systems (PMS) and Highway Development and Management systems (HDM). The implementation of these systems started in Lithuania shortly after the Re-establishment of the Independence. This was triggered by the violent drop in financing of the road sector, forcing to change obsolete road management strategy and planning approach. The need for project economic evaluations, transport modelling and long term pavement performance forecasts grew up after Lithuania joined the European Union and this brought the opportunity for financing road infrastructure projects from the EU funds. At present only on the Lithuanian state road network the total value of implemented projects, justified by evaluations and modelling with PMS, amounts to about 500 million Litas annually. Any Pavement Management System is just as good as the models within it, used for pavement deterioration prediction. The performed test calculations show that prediction models, currently used for this purpose in PMS we have in Lithuania, are of doubtful accuracy and have to be improved.

In today’s economy the importance of knowledge in organizations is well underscored. The management of an organization’s knowledge has become one of the most important strategic vehicles to an organization's sustainable competitive advantage. The design and success of knowledge management systems (KMS) is viewed as the next evolutionary step in the management of knowledge processes and activities. The debate over the efficacy of these systems draws attention to the differences in approach to KMS that may develop among organizations whose employees’ work involves primarily the execution of procedural routines and those who are involved in primarily creative, problem solving work. This study explored empirically the factors defining Knowledge-intensive Organizations (KIOs) and related these factors to the choices of KMS deployed in these organizations. The study was conducted in two phases and employed both quantitative and qualitative methodologies for data collection. Survey and document analysis techniques were used in the first phase of the study which examined KIO defining factors, how they relate to each other, and how they contribute to knowledge intensity in KIOs. In the second phase semi-structured, in-depth interviews and survey techniques were employed. Grounded theory method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) was then utilized to uncover how knowledge-intensive defining factors interlace with the choice of KMS deployed in KIOs. The interviews were analyzed using QSR NVivo 9 qualitative data analysis software. Quantitative computations were carried out using the PASW Statistics 17.0 package. The study found that KIOs are described by unique knowledge-intense attributes and these attributes inform the design and choices of KMS implemented in KIOs. This research contributes to the literature on factors that describe knowledge intensity in organizations. It provides the research community with a new articulation of the underpinnings of KIOs and KMS, an important step in advancing subsequent theoreti¬cal developments. The study might also have practical value for sellers and systems designers who are looking at assessing user demand for new KMS design ideas and for decision makers within KIOs who would like to evaluate the offerings of sellers.

Creating and maintaining servers for hosting services in a secure and reliable way is an important but complex and time-consuming task. Misconfiguration and lack of server maintenance can potentially make the system vulnerable. Hackers can exploit these vul­nerabilities in order to penetrate into the system internals and cause damage. Having a standard architecture/configuration supporting the needed services saves time and re­sources while it reduces security risks. A server architecture protected by a security policy can secure the integrity and quality of the overall services. This research demon­strates building a secure server architecture protected by a security policy. To achieve this a security policy and a checklist was designed and combined with a host based IDPS, a NMS and a WAF.

Knowledge is a very important asset for organizations; it is one of the best sources of competitive advantage. Knowledge Management is used to effectively capture and apply knowledge in organizations. This task is usually carried out with the help of knowledge management systems, which serve for the creation, transfer, application and storage/retrieval of knowledge. Currently in Mexico the level of KM in organizations is not at the level that it could be. It seems that organizations are having a hard time applying the practices and level of KM that organizations in first world countries have achieved. The purpose of this study is to understand what factors drive employees in Mexico to adopt knowledge management systems. With these results organizations will know what factors they should pay close attention to, and it will shed light into what actions or interventions they should take in order to increase the adoption level of KMS. In order to do this, a research framework was designed based on a review of theoretical models used to study the adoption of technology, as well as previous KM adoption studies. And by applying a survey questionnaire, which received a total of 953 valid responses, through which several hypotheses were tested, it was found that subjective norm and efficiency gains have a significant positive influence over perceived usefulness, which in turn has a significant positive influence on the intention to use and attitude towards use of KMS. Subjective norm also influences image, which itself also influences perceived usefulness. It was also found that perceived ease of use has a positive influence on attitude towards use, perceived usefulness and attitude towards use. Finally voluntariness influences attitude towards use which in turn influences intention towards use, which is the primary factor that we wish to influence for usage behavior. The most important factors that organizations in Mexico, particularly in Monterrey, should pay attention to when seeking to increase the level of adoption of KMS are the following, in order of relevance: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norm, efficiency gains, voluntariness and image.