The OE is a working holiday phenomenon in New Zealand that shapes the life experiences of many young adults. "Should I stay or should I go?" critically engages with this social phenomenon by approaching it as simultaneously an opportunity for freedom and choice and a field of rules, regulations, and constraints. The analysis of the OE offered in this thesis draws on Foucauldian understandings of power and discourse and, more particularly, Nikolas Rose's approach to governance through freedom and the constitution of subjects in advanced liberal democracies. By using these theoretical resources, it investigates how the OE is discursively constructed as a life course experience through which power operates via the promises of freedom and choice. A combination of substantive resources, including existing academic literature, print and virtual media, questionnaires, web-based discussions, and conversations with young New Zealanders planning to pursue an OE are used to illustrate how many of them are governed as they embrace the freedoms associated with the OE. The use of Foucault facilitates an understanding of the discourses through which young New Zealanders are constituted and constitute themselves as OE travellers. Attention is also paid to the ways in which the actions of authorities - governments, non-state organisations, and commercial travel operators - contribute to the regulatory environments and social imaginaries that shape young adults' experiences of the OE.

This project focused on the pulmonary application of magnetic resonance (MR) quantitative equilibrium signal (qS0) mapping, dynamic oxygen-enhanced (OE-) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE-) MRI in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Initially, a retrospective analysis of MRI and X-ray computed tomography (CT) data from 24 COPD patients and 12 healthy controls demonstrated that MR qS0 mapping had good one-week reproducibility and was comparable to CT in the localization and quantification of emphysema in patients with COPD. In the same data, a reduced oxygen (O2) delivery signal was detected by dynamic OE-MRI in COPD patients regardless of the presence or absence of emphysema on CT, while a significantly reduced baseline spin-lattice relaxation time (T1air) was only observed in emphysematous COPD. Emphysematous COPD also showed significant correlations between dynamic OE-MRI readouts, i.e. enhancing fraction (EF) and the change in the partial pressure of O2 in lung parenchyma (ΔPO2max), and pulmonary diffusion capacity and CT estimates of emphysema. A prospective pilot study was conducted in 10 asthmatic patients which demonstrated that dynamic OE-MRI readouts, including EF, ΔPO2max and O2 wash-in time constant (τup), were reproducible within one month, sensitive to asthma severity and strongly correlated with spirometric readouts of airway function and lung volume. This was followed by a second prospective intervention study in 30 asthmatic patients and 10 healthy controls which revealed a pattern of decreased O2 delivery signal as a response to salbutamol inhalation in severe asthmatics but not in mild asthmatics or healthy controls using short-term repeated dynamic OE-MRI. In addition, DCE-MRI was also performed on 30 asthmatic patients and 10 healthy subjects. A semi-quantitative analysis demonstrated that contrast agent kinetics in asthmatic lungs were characterised by a reduced first-pass peak (SI%max) and a shallower downslope during the late redistribution phase (kwashout) than was observed in healthy controls, and that these were related to pulmonary function test measurements. An extended Tofts model-based quantitative analysis further revealed a significantly increased fractional extravascular extracellular space (ve) in patients with asthma than in healthy controls while the contrast agent transfer coefficient (Ktrans), an index related to vascular permeability, and the fractional blood plasma volume (vp), did not distinguish asthmatics from controls. In conclusion, this project demonstrated the promise of 1) MR qS0 mapping for the assessment of emphysema in COPD lungs, 2) dynamic OE-MRI for the assessment of impaired pulmonary oxygenation in COPD and asthma and for the monitoring of short-term treatment effects in asthma and 3) DCE-MRI for the evaluation of pulmonary microvascular inflammation in asthma. The non-invasive non-ionizing properties and simple setup requirements make these three proton MRI techniques attractive options in the assessment of structural and functional alterations of the lungs in asthma and COPD in clinical settings.

For many years, Sales and Operations Plannning process, or S&OP, had been considered as the promise of alignment between demand and supply that would provide the solution to all planning problems to companies. However, time has shown that in volatile planning environments with high levels of uncertainty, the traditional planning hierarchi, S&OP aligned with MPS, no longer provides all the expected benefits, failing to meet the expectations of numerous organizations that have put great efforts to implement it. As result, in recent years, there have been adaptations of planning processes to meet the need for alignment in highly dynamic environments. These adaptations have often appeared in the form of a weekly \"S&OP\", with short-term horizon, weekly frequency and low level of plans aggregation. However, a more sophisticated solution found to address the need for more agile planning was the creation of a new process that aims to link S&OP to the Master Production Schedule (MPS) called Sales and Operations Execution (S&OE). Although the subject has arisen for some time, studies on the subject are scarce. Thus, the goal of this research is to formalize this process in academic literature in an in-depth way. For this, it was carried out a broad literature review, case studies in four companies that sought to explore how S&OE process occurs in practice. From the analysis resulting from the case studies, both individual and cross-case, it was proposed a model of the process using BPMN language and a list of all the main process characteristics. This model was compared to the existing literature to analyze its convergence and it can be considered transferable given the same conditions of application. It was possible to conclude that S&OE is a process that performs the breakdown of the S&OP plans to the execution in a way that is more aligned with the business goals than the traditional MPS application isolated. / Durante muitos anos, o processo de Sales and Operations Plannning, ou S&OP, foi visto como a promessa de alinhamento entre demanda e suprimentos que traria a solução para todos os problemas de planejamento nas empresas. Entretanto, o tempo mostrou que em ambientes de planejamento voláteis e com alto nível de incertezas, a hierarquia de planejamento tradicional, S&OP alinhado ao MPS, já não proporciona todos os benefícios esperados, falhando em atender as expectativas das inúmeras organizações que empregaram grandes esforços em sua implementação. Como resultado, nos últimos anos, surgiram adaptações dos processos de planejamento para atender a necessidade de alinhamento em ambientes altamente dinâmicos. Estas adaptações apareceram, muitas vezes, no formato de um \"S&OP semanal\", com horizonte de curto prazo, frequência semanal e baixo nível de agregação dos planos. Entretanto, uma solução mais sofisticada que o mercado encontrou para sanar a necessidade de planejamentos mais ágeis foi a criação de um novo processo que faz o elo entre o S&OP e o Master Production Schedule (MPS), chamado Sales and Operations Execution, o S&OE. Apesar de já ter surgido há algum tempo, estudos sobre o tema são bastante escassos. Assim, o objetivo desta pesquisa foi formalizar este processo na literatura acadêmica de maneira aprofundada. Para tal, foi realizada uma ampla revisão de literatura, estudos de caso em quatro empresas que buscaram explorar como o processo de S&OE ocorre na prática. A partir da análise resultante dos estudos de caso, tanto individual quanto inter-casos, foi proposto um modelo do processo em linguagem BPMN e uma listagem de todas as principais características do processo. Este modelo foi comparado à literatura existente para analisar sua convergência e pode ser considerado transferível dadas as mesmas condições de aplicação. Foi possível concluir que o S&OE é um processo que desagrega os planos do S&OP para a execução de uma maneira mais alinhada com os objetivos do negócio do que a aplicação isolada tradicional do MPS.

For many years, Sales and Operations Plannning process, or S&OP, had been considered as the promise of alignment between demand and supply that would provide the solution to all planning problems to companies. However, time has shown that in volatile planning environments with high levels of uncertainty, the traditional planning hierarchi, S&OP aligned with MPS, no longer provides all the expected benefits, failing to meet the expectations of numerous organizations that have put great efforts to implement it. As result, in recent years, there have been adaptations of planning processes to meet the need for alignment in highly dynamic environments. These adaptations have often appeared in the form of a weekly \"S&OP\", with short-term horizon, weekly frequency and low level of plans aggregation. However, a more sophisticated solution found to address the need for more agile planning was the creation of a new process that aims to link S&OP to the Master Production Schedule (MPS) called Sales and Operations Execution (S&OE). Although the subject has arisen for some time, studies on the subject are scarce. Thus, the goal of this research is to formalize this process in academic literature in an in-depth way. For this, it was carried out a broad literature review, case studies in four companies that sought to explore how S&OE process occurs in practice. From the analysis resulting from the case studies, both individual and cross-case, it was proposed a model of the process using BPMN language and a list of all the main process characteristics. This model was compared to the existing literature to analyze its convergence and it can be considered transferable given the same conditions of application. It was possible to conclude that S&OE is a process that performs the breakdown of the S&OP plans to the execution in a way that is more aligned with the business goals than the traditional MPS application isolated. / Durante muitos anos, o processo de Sales and Operations Plannning, ou S&OP, foi visto como a promessa de alinhamento entre demanda e suprimentos que traria a solução para todos os problemas de planejamento nas empresas. Entretanto, o tempo mostrou que em ambientes de planejamento voláteis e com alto nível de incertezas, a hierarquia de planejamento tradicional, S&OP alinhado ao MPS, já não proporciona todos os benefícios esperados, falhando em atender as expectativas das inúmeras organizações que empregaram grandes esforços em sua implementação. Como resultado, nos últimos anos, surgiram adaptações dos processos de planejamento para atender a necessidade de alinhamento em ambientes altamente dinâmicos. Estas adaptações apareceram, muitas vezes, no formato de um \"S&OP semanal\", com horizonte de curto prazo, frequência semanal e baixo nível de agregação dos planos. Entretanto, uma solução mais sofisticada que o mercado encontrou para sanar a necessidade de planejamentos mais ágeis foi a criação de um novo processo que faz o elo entre o S&OP e o Master Production Schedule (MPS), chamado Sales and Operations Execution, o S&OE. Apesar de já ter surgido há algum tempo, estudos sobre o tema são bastante escassos. Assim, o objetivo desta pesquisa foi formalizar este processo na literatura acadêmica de maneira aprofundada. Para tal, foi realizada uma ampla revisão de literatura, estudos de caso em quatro empresas que buscaram explorar como o processo de S&OE ocorre na prática. A partir da análise resultante dos estudos de caso, tanto individual quanto inter-casos, foi proposto um modelo do processo em linguagem BPMN e uma listagem de todas as principais características do processo. Este modelo foi comparado à literatura existente para analisar sua convergência e pode ser considerado transferível dadas as mesmas condições de aplicação. Foi possível concluir que o S&OE é um processo que desagrega os planos do S&OP para a execução de uma maneira mais alinhada com os objetivos do negócio do que a aplicação isolada tradicional do MPS.

Submitted by Caroline Xavier (caroline.xavier@pucrs.br) on 2017-06-29T14:03:04Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DIS_PAULINO_JOSE_PAULINO_DA_SILVA_COMPLETO.pdf: 2701546 bytes, checksum: bc300b842b1bd775174222a3fc979b99 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-29T14:03:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DIS_PAULINO_JOSE_PAULINO_DA_SILVA_COMPLETO.pdf: 2701546 bytes, checksum: bc300b842b1bd775174222a3fc979b99 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-31 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico - CNPq / Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is understood as a strategic posture management of organizations that is based on practices of constant innovativeness, proactiveness and risk taking. The adoption of an entrepreneurial attitude tends to raise the level of competitiveness of organizations. However, the adoption of this implies a set of conditions of several orders: economic, financial, intellectual, technological, material, etc., which theoretically are limited in micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs).Through the perspective to empirically understand this theoretical finding, the present work aimed to analyze how the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (innovation, proactivity and risk assumption) in the agro-industrial MSMEs in Mozambique. Based on a research of a qualitative and exploratory nature with 10 MSMEs, and through the literature review, followed by interviews, documentary analysis, content and validation by focus group, it was possible to reach the proposed objectives. The results of this research reveals the partial presence of EO elements in each dimension, which actions and effective practices more identified that demonstrate the manifestation of these elements that are related to (i) production and processing of new food crops for the innovativeness dimension; (ii) the inter-organizational partnership and the opening of new business units in the poactiveness dimension and (iii) the search for a bank financing, in the dimension of risk taking. On the other hand, the results reveal the existence of a set of internal specificities related to the organizational and external structure related to the political-legal aspects and the economic conjuncture, as being in greater negative occurrence related to its current condition of EO development. / A orienta??o empreendedora ? entendida como uma postura estrat?gica de gest?o das organiza??es que assente em pr?ticas de constante inovatividade, proatividade e assun??o do risco. A ado??o de uma postura empreendedora, tende a elevar o n?vel de competividade das organiza??es. Todavia, a ado??o desta, implica em um conjunto de condi??es de diversas ordens: econ?mico-financeiras, intelectuais, tecnol?gicas, materiais, etc., que teoricamente s?o ex?guas nas empresas de micro, pequeno e m?dio porte (MPMEs). Na perspectiva de empiricamente compreender esta constata??o te?rica, o presente trabalho objetivou analisar como se manifestam as dimens?es da orienta??o empreendedora (inovatidade, proatividade e assun??o do risco) nas MPMEs agroindustriais em Mo?ambique. Com base em uma pesquisa de natureza qualitativa e explorat?ria com 10 MPMEs e, atrav?s da revis?o da literatura, seguido da realiza??o de entrevistas, an?lise documental, de conte?do e a valida??o por grupo focal, foi poss?vel alcan?ar os objetivos propostos. Os resultados desta pesquisa revelam a presen?a parcial dos elementos da OE em cada dimens?o, cujas a??es e pr?ticas efetivas mais identificadas que demonstram a manifesta??o destes elementos s?o referentes ? (i) produ??o e processamento de novas culturas alimentares para a dimens?o inovatividade; (ii) a parceria interorganizacional e a abertura de novas unidades de neg?cios na dimens?o proatividade e (iii) a de busca de financiamento banc?rio, na dimens?o assun??o de risco. Por outro lado, os resultados revelam a exist?ncia de um conjunto de especificidades internas relacionadas ? estrutura organizacional e externas relacionadas aos aspectos pol?tico-legal e da conjuntura econ?mica, como estando em maior ocorr?ncia negativamente relacionadas ? sua condi??o atual de desenvolvimento da OE.

Legumes are unique among plants for their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen with the help of soil bacteria rhizobia. Medicago truncatula is used as a model legume to study different aspects of symbiotic nitrogen fixation. M. truncatula, in association with its symbiotic partner Sinorhizobium meliloti, fix atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, which the plant uses for amino acid biosynthesis and the bacteria get reduced photosynthate in return. M. truncatula NPF1.7 previously called MtNIP/LATD is required for symbiotic nitrogen fixing root nodule development and for normal root architecture. Mutations in MtNPF1.7 have defects in these processes. MtNPF1.7 encodes a member of the NPF family of transporters. Experimental results showing that MtNPF1.7 functioning as a high-affinity nitrate transporter are its expression restoring chlorate susceptibility to the Arabidopsis chl1-5 mutant and high nitrate transport in Xenopus laevis oocyte system. However, the weakest Mtnip-3 mutant allele also displays high-affinity nitrate transport in X. laevis oocytes and chlorate susceptibility to the Atchl1-5 mutant, suggesting that MtNPF1.7 might have another biochemical function. Experimental evidence shows that MtNPF1.7 also functions in hormone signaling. Constitutive expression of MtNPF1.7 in several species including M. truncatula results in plants with a robust growth phenotype. Using a synthetic auxin reporter, the presence of higher auxin in both the Mtnip-1 mutant and in M. truncatula plants constitutively expressing MtNPF1.7 was observed. Previous experiments showed MtNPF1.7 expression is hormone regulated and the MtNPF1.7 promoter is active in root and nodule meristems and in the vasculature. Two potential binding sites for an auxin response factors (ARFs) were found in the MtNPF1.7 promoter. Chromatin immunoprecipitation-qRT-PCR confirmed MtARF1 binding these sites. Mutating the MtARF1 binding sites increases MtNPF1.7 expression, suggesting a mechanism for auxin repression of MtNPF1.7. Consistent with these results, constitutive expression of an ARF in wild-type plants partially phenocopies Mtnip-1 mutants’ phenotypes.

No description available.

No description available.

The primary aim of this study was to identify the motives for self-initiated mobility of highly educated New Zealanders across national boundaries. It further seeks to identify the relative importance of these motives and to explore relationships between motivation and mobiity behaviour.  This study on self-initiated mobility is opportune as an increasingly globalised market place and a demand for the skills of the highly educated rsult in competition for workers.       Most literature concerning mobility focuses on expatriate assignment.  By comparison, self-initiated movers remain an under-researched group.  Moreover, of the limited research on self-initiated mobility, most have used interviewing and narrative methods, so that the available information is detailed but restricted to individual experiences.  This study used a self-report survey via the internet to collect both quantitative and qualitative data and yielded 2,608 useable responses from New Zalanders living and working throughout the world.  It was highly exploratory, using the analytical marketing tool CHAID to show linkages between subjective attitudinal motives and objective measures of moility behaviours.     The desire for cultural and travel opportunities was the dominant subjective motive, being the best predictor for the objective mobility behaviours of establishment, current spatiality and return propensity and being a secondary predictor for restlessness.  Other associations were evident between the quality of life motive and the behaviour of restlessness, the career motive and cultural globalism and the relationships motive and the behaviour of latent transience.  Economics and the political environment motives were not found to be significant predictors of any behaviour.     The subjective data reinforced the importance of the cultural and travel opportunities and career motives, ranking these the most important motives in a decision to be mobile.  Within these motives, opportunities for travel and adventure and for career development were central.  Economics was ranked as the third most important motive, contrary to extant literature, followed by relationships, quality of life and the political environment.  The priority accorded to each of these six motives varies according to gender, location and life stage, creating different equations of motivation.

The primary aim of this study was to identify the motives for self-initiated mobility of highly educated New Zealanders across national boundaries. It further seeks to identify the relative importance of these motives and to explore relationships between motivation and mobility behaviour. This study on self-initiated mobility is opportune as an increasingly globalised market place and a demand for the skills of the highly educated result in competition for workers. Most literature concerning mobility focuses on expatriate assignment. By comparison, self-initiated movers remain an under-researched group. Moreover, of the limited research on self-initiated mobility, most have used interviewing and narrative methods, so that the available information is detailed but restricted to individual experiences. This study used a self-report survey via the internet to collect both quantitative and qualitative data and yielded 2,608 useable responses from New Zalanders living and working throughout the world. It was highly exploratory, using the analytical marketing tool CHAID to show linkages between subjective attitudinal motives and objective measures of moility behaviours. The desire for cultural and travel opportunities was the dominant subjective motive, being the best predictor for the objective mobility behaviours of establishment, current spatiality and return propensity and being a secondary predictor for restlessness. Other associations were evident between the quality of life motive and the behaviour of restlessness, the career motive and cultural globalism and the relationships motive and the behaviour of latent transience. Economics and the political environment motives were not found to be significant predictors of any behaviour. The subjective data reinforced the importance of the cultural and travel opportunities and career motives, ranking these the most important motives in a decision to be mobile. Within these motives, opportunities for travel and adventure and for career development were central. Economics was ranked as the third most important motive, contrary to extant literature, followed by relationships, quality of life and the political environment. The priority accorded to each of these six motives varies according to gender, location and life stage, creating different equations of motivation.