Atualmente, é fácil perceber que as pessoas estão envolvidas em vários projetos simultaneamente e que têm que organizar suas agendas dividindo tempo entre vida pessoal, acadêmica, empresarial, etc. Este cenário traz uma necessidade de possuir poder de mobilidade e capacidade de trabalhar assincronamente e em locais diferentes e distantes; e isto pode ser propiciado por ferramentas virtuais. Para atingir seus objetivos, muitas organizações estão explorando diversos níveis de virtualização ou trabalho remoto facilitado pela tecnologia. Desta forma, o objetivo geral do trabalho é propor componentes de um modelo que seja operado e esteja disponível na internet, de baixo custo, estejam eles ou não integrados. A finalidade é a facilitação das atividades e da gestão de pequenas empresas de TI. Para atingir tal objetivo, foram realizadas três atividades de campo, num estudo de caráter exploratório. As duas primeiras atividades foram realizadas em laboratório de informática, com alunos de graduação em Administração, e a terceira em empresa de pequeno porte que atua no ramo de TI. O intuito é que, ao final de tais atividades, se chegue a um modelo que possa ser utilizado por empresas de pequeno porte que já disponham de infra-estrutura tecnológica (computadores e internet), com a finalidade de auxiliá-las na realização de suas principais atividades e na sua gestão, de forma virtual, remota e compartilhada. / Currently, it is easy to notice that people are simultaneously involved in several projects and have to organize their schedules sharing their time between personal, academic, and business life, etc. This scenario brings the need of mobility power and the ability to work asynchronously and in different and distant places. This can be brought about by virtual tools. To achieve their goals, many organizations are exploring different levels of virtualization or remote work facilitated by technology. Thus, the overall objective of the study is to propose components and tools of a model that is operated and is available on the Internet, free to use, whether they are integrated or not. The purpose is to facilitate the operation and the management of small IT companies and consulting management. To achieve this goal, there have been realized three field activities, with exploratory characteristics. The first two activities were held in a computer lab with undergraduate management students, and the third, in a small business that operates in the IT industry. The intention is, at the end of such activities, to reach a model that can be used by small businesses that already have the technological infrastructure (computers and Internet) in order to assist them in performing their key management activities, in a virtual, remote and shared way.

abstract: This study investigates the relation between the line of service (audit, tax, advisory) of Big Four office managing partners (OMPs) and both non-audit service fees and audit quality. Given that audit quality has been shown to vary across offices and because changes in office-level leadership can impact the office culture, I examine the impact of the OMP’s line of service on non-audit service fees and audit quality. I find that when an accounting firm office changes leadership to an advisory OMP, non-audit service revenues increase while audit quality suffers. This finding is consistent with advisory partners encouraging an office culture that emphasizes selling non-audit services more than conducting quality audits. Overall, this study provides evidence consistent with regulators’ concerns that the recent trend toward greater advisory services at the largest accounting firms reduces their focus on providing high-quality audits, thereby leading to decreased audit quality. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Accountancy 2016

abstract: Predictive analytics embraces an extensive area of techniques from statistical modeling to machine learning to data mining and is applied in business intelligence, public health, disaster management and response, and many other fields. To date, visualization has been broadly used to support tasks in the predictive analytics pipeline under the underlying assumption that a human-in-the-loop can aid the analysis by integrating domain knowledge that might not be broadly captured by the system. Primary uses of visualization in the predictive analytics pipeline have focused on data cleaning, exploratory analysis, and diagnostics. More recently, numerous visual analytics systems for feature selection, incremental learning, and various prediction tasks have been proposed to support the growing use of complex models, agent-specific optimization, and comprehensive model comparison and result exploration. Such work is being driven by advances in interactive machine learning and the desire of end-users to understand and engage with the modeling process. However, despite the numerous and promising applications of visual analytics to predictive analytics tasks, work to assess the effectiveness of predictive visual analytics is lacking. This thesis studies the current methodologies in predictive visual analytics. It first defines the scope of predictive analytics and presents a predictive visual analytics (PVA) pipeline. Following the proposed pipeline, a predictive visual analytics framework is developed to be used to explore under what circumstances a human-in-the-loop prediction process is most effective. This framework combines sentiment analysis, feature selection mechanisms, similarity comparisons and model cross-validation through a variety of interactive visualizations to support analysts in model building and prediction. To test the proposed framework, an instantiation for movie box-office prediction is developed and evaluated. Results from small-scale user studies are presented and discussed, and a generalized user study is carried out to assess the role of predictive visual analytics under a movie box-office prediction scenario. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Engineering 2017

abstract: Herbert G. Klein was one of the important political figures of the mid to late 20th Century. Born in 1918, Klein’s career spanned 63 years. He retired as Editor-in-Chief of Copley Press, a company he worked for from the start of his career as a young journalist covering an up-and-coming Richard Nixon and was active in public affairs up to his death in 2009. Klein is best known as longtime advisor to Richard Nixon, and was with Nixon at peak moments in his career, including the Checkers Speech, as well as Nixon’s 1960 and 1962 campaigns. Upon Nixon’s election as President, Klein became the White House Director of Communications, a new position Klein was tasked with designing. For four years, Klein is known as one of Nixon’s chief advisors. But then, for reasons historians never have fully explored, he disappears from Nixon’s political landscape as well as from scholarly and public prominence. The purpose of this dissertation is to establish Herbert G. Klein as a formative figure in the Richard Nixon White House, whose contributions to Nixon’s television strategies, their subsequent impact on the President’s actions and attitudes and eventual fall, have been largely overshadowed in the scholarly literature. The work draws from previously unexplored materials on Klein in the Nixon Library. The account is notable for the first examination of Klein’s only known oral history, lessening a gap in the existing literature on Nixon’s aides and his relationship with the media. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Journalism and Mass Communication 2017

This thesis is about the standardization of the planning phase in a project management office (PMO). The purpose of the research is to find the way to standardize the planning phase in PMO. This purpose is motivated by the relevance of planning phase in projects. Planning is about to forecast, and the consequences of a bad forecasting can be critical for the developing of the project. The research question of the study is the following one:➢ How can the planning phase be standardized in a Project Management Office?To answer this question five interviews have been performed. The interviewees were senior project managers from different companies in Sweden. In order to keep the confidentiality, the names of the managers and the companies which they belong to are omitted. A literature review has been done to set up a theoretical framework and validate the results from the interviews. The study concludes that the only part in planning which can be easily standardized is the work breakdown structure. The results showed that standardization of planning phase as a whole is a big challenge for PMO and also that specialization helps in great measure the standardization of planning.

Bakgrund: Globalisering och utveckling samt allt större konkurrens har ökat risker för många företag. Detta, tillsammans med de tidigare uppkomna finansiella kriserna i världen har gjort att vikten av riskhantering har ökat. Risk har blivit en betydelsefull faktor som varje företag borde ta hänsyn till och hantera utifrån egna behov. Med tillgång av råvaror, erfarenhet och kunskap är svensk möbelindustri en viktig industri för landets ekonomi där den största delen omfattar tillverkning av kontorsmöbler, vilket tillhör branschen “offentlig miljö”. Sveriges satsning på offentlig miljö är viktig för samhället på grund av allt snabbare utveckling och digitalisering där det uppstår ett allt större behov av kreativa och flexibla inredningslösningar på aktivitetsbaserade arbetsplatser. I och med ett allt större krav på kvalitet, design och hållbara produkter, ställs tillverkande möbelföretag inför olika risker som är branschspecifika och som måste behandlas. Det finns i dagsläget tre standarder ramverken som används för riskhantering, nämligen COSO ERM, ISO 31 000 samt FERMA. Ramverken är avsedda att hjälpa till företag att på ett systematiskt sätt hantera sina risker. Det som dock tidigare studier visar på är att dessa ramverken är alltför generella och inte anpassade till ett företags specifika behov. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är:- att identifiera vilka risker och riskområden uppfattas som mest problematiska i dagsläget och i framtiden- att beskriva och analysera hur tillverkande företag inom svensk möbelindustrin hanterar risker i dagsläget samt- att utveckla en riskhanteringsmodell som är anpassad till tillverkande företag inom svensk möbelindustri. Metod: En kvalitativ intervjustudie som byggs på den teoretiska referensramen utifrån studiens nyckelord. Empirin till studien har inhämtats genom semistrukturerade intervjuer från sex företag av olika storlek som tillverkar kontorsmöbler till det offentliga rummet. Slutsats: Det insamlade empiriska materialet har gett mig en bild över olika risker som bran- schen står inför idag och som måste hanteras. Dessa risker är återförsäljare, beroendet av arki- tekter, ändrade trender inom inredning av offentliga rum samt i viss mån även problem med transport, det vill säga platta paket. Riskområden som branschen står inför i framtiden är, för- utom förändrade kontorstrender och brist på rätt kompetens, även cirkulär ekonomi, arkitek- ternas makt, återförsäljare samt platta paket. På grund av faktum att det inom branschen inte jobbas aktivt med riskhantering samt med nackdelar de befintliga riskhanteringsramverken besitter, har en anpassad riskhanteringsmodell för tillverkande företag inom branschen ut- vecklats. / Background: Globalization and development as well as increasing competition have increased risks for many companies. This, together with the previously emerging financial crises in the world, has led to the increased importance of risk management. Risk has become an important factor that each company should consider and manage based on its own needs. With the availability of raw materials, experience and knowledge, the Swedish furniture in- dustry is an important industry for the country's economy, most of which involves the manufacture of office furniture, which belongs to the industry line "public environment". Sweden's commitment to the public environment is important for society due to faster development and digitization, where there is an increasing need for creative and flexible interior design solutions for activity-based workplaces. With increasing demands on quality, design and sustainable products, manufacturing furniture companies are a subject to various risks that are industry-specific and therefore must be treated. There are currently three standard frameworks used for risk management, namely COSO ERM, ISO 31 000 and FERMA. The frameworks are intended to help companies manage their risks systematically. What previous studies indicate, however, are that these frameworks are too general and not adapted to a company's specific needs. Purpose: The purpose of this study is:-to identify which risks and risk areas are perceived as most problematic at present time and in the future,-to describe and analyze how manufacturing companies in the Swedish furniture industry cur- rently handle risks and-to develop a risk management model that is adapted to manufacturing companies in the Swe- dish furniture industry. Method: A qualitative interview study based on the theoretical reference frame and on a study keywords. Empire for the study has been obtained through semi structured interviews from six companies of various sizes that manufacture office furniture for public spaces. Conclusion: The collected empirical material has given me an insight of various risks that the industry faces today and which should be addressed. These risks are retailers, dependence on architects, changed trends in interior decoration of public spaces and to some extent transport problems, that is flat packages. Risk areas facing the industry in the future, apart from chang- ing office trends and lack of proper skilled staff, include circular economics, architects' power, retailers and flat-rate packages. Since the industry does not work actively with risk man- agement and with the disadvantages existing risk management frameworks possess, a custom- ized risk management model for manufacturing companies in the industry has been developed.

Office workers spends about a third of the day at work and a majority of total daily sedentary behavior takes place at the office. Physical activity has positive effects on physical and mental health and could inhibit the adverse effects of a sedentary lifestyle. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of seven weeks of deadlift training on productivity, strength and endurance in office workers of both sexes. An experimental group (n=12, age 40,1±6,6 years) performed deadlift 8rm during office hours, three times per week. The experimental group conducted physiological tests (8RM deadlift, maximal grip strength, Biering-Sørensen Test) and The Health and Work Questionnaire at baseline and after the intervention period. A control group (n=18, age 35,2±10,7 years) was recruited to compare questionnaire score with the intervention group. Results show that after the intervention the participants had increased deadlift strength (pre 80,4±28,4 vs. post 97,5±31,6, p<0,0001, ES=0,58) and demonstrated higher productivity (pre 6,5±2,0 vs. post 8,0±0,4, p<0,001, RP=0,57, CI95% [0,37, 0,76]), but showed no change in endurance of the back and hip extensor muscles (pre 130,8±45,1 vs. post 143±51,3, p=0,098) or change in maximal grip strength (pre 48,7±16,3 vs. Post 48,6±14,8, p=0,92). This implicates that deadlift training is a time and cost-efficient way to increase productivity in office workers and at the same time increase physical activity at the workplace, but further research of high quality is needed. / Kontorsarbetare spenderar cirka en tredjedel av dygnet på arbetsplatsen och ofta sker en majoritet av dygnets totala stillasittande på arbetsplatsen. Fysisk aktivitet har positiva hälsoeffekter på fysisk och mental hälsa och kan hämma negativa hälsoeffekter av en stillasittande livsstil. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka effekterna av sju veckors marklyftsträning på produktivitet, styrka och uthållighet hos kontorsarbetare av bägge kön. En interventionsgrupp (n=12, ålder 40,1±6,6 år) fick träna marklyft 8rm under arbetstid, tre gånger per vecka. Interventionsgruppen utförde fysiologiska tester (8RM marklyft, maximal greppstyrka, Biering-Sørensen Test) och The Health and Work Questionnaire vid baseline och efter interventionsperioden. En kontrollgrupp (n=18, ålder 35,2±10,7 år) rekryterades för att jämföra enkätpoäng med interventionsgruppen. Resultaten visar att efter interventionsperioden hade deltagarna blivit starkare i marklyft (pre 80,4±28,4 vs. post 97,5±31,6, p<0,0001, ES=0,58) och visade högre produktivitet (pre 6,5±2,0 vs. post 8,0±0,4, p<0,001, RP=0,57, CI95% [0,37, 0,76]), däremot uppvisades ingen förändring i uthållighet i ryggsträckarmuskulaturen (pre 130,8±45,1 vs. post 143±51,3, p=0,098) eller maximal greppstyrka (pre 48,7±16,3 vs. Post 48,6±14,8, p=0,92). Detta tyder på att marklyftsträning är ett tids- och kostnadseffektivt sätt att höja produktiviteten hos kontorsarbetare och samtidigt öka fysisk aktivitet på en arbetsplats, men det krävs studier av hög kvalitét som undersöker det ytterligare.

Quality signalling in motion picture markets is hardly a new topic. It has been covered by many researchers over the years. However, most of the previous studies focused on quality signals in interactions between moviemakers and moviegoers. This study employs a more holistic approach as the author attempts to evaluate effects of quality signals throughout different stages of movies’ life cycle. The author has identified three audiences that movies are presented to; and, each group of audience generates a quality signal for the next audience. Based on the feedback from test audiences, moviemakers decide on when to show movies to professional critics and when to allow them to publish their reviews. Interpretation of these timelines become quality signals for the professional critics who interpret shorter time slot for review publication as a signal of the low quality of the movie and vice versa. Professional critics write their reviews which when published on review aggregators become quality signals for the moviegoers. Reviews generated by the initial moviegoers are interpreted by the moviegoers who intend to watch movies at a later stage. All three assumptions are operationalised and evaluated in a series of linear regression tests in this research on a sample containing 130 out of 134 widely released movies in the US and Canada domestic market in 2017. All of the abovementioned quality signals found to be significant as they could explain at least 40 % of the variance of respective response variables.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T13:53:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MaxLAB_DISSERT.pdf: 2767793 bytes, checksum: a3b9faba0d88e99be3e268d108f72f4e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-08-24 / The research aimed to evaluate the level of maturity of the project management office of the Public Ministry of the State of Rio Grande do Norte, on the model PMO Maturity Cube. It was based on a theoretical framework that includes project management, project management office and maturity of the project management office. The research was classified as to the purpose as exploratory and descriptive. According to the methods used was a case study, and how to approach is qualitative and quantitative. The research unit was the prosecutor of the State of Rio Grande do Norte, by two guys who represent all of the participants in the project management office of the institution. These subjects were chosen because they act with the office since the foundation of the same, having the knowledge necessary to deepen the research required, and experience with projects and work experience in the area. Data were collected through an adaptation of the evaluation form for the amplitude corporate developed and presented to the scientific environment for Pinto, Cota and Levin (2010). The results revealed that the level of maturity in the current strategic approach is 77%, and 97% desired; tactical approach in current is 66% and 97% desired, and the current operational approach is 78%, and 100% desired. He pointed out that several factors influence the level of maturity of the project management office of the Public Prosecutor and the recurrent related to information technology, regarding the storage and sharing of information. Concluded that the level of maturity of the project management office of the Public Ministry of the State of Rio Grande do Norte is advanced / A pesquisa teve por objetivo avaliar o n?vel de maturidade do escrit?rio de gerenciamento de projetos do Minist?rio P?blico do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte, com base no modelo PMO Maturity Cube. Baseou-se em um referencial te?rico que contempla gerenciamento de projetos, escrit?rio de gerenciamento de projetos e maturidade de escrit?rio de gerenciamento de projetos. A pesquisa foi classificada quanto aos prop?sitos como explorat?ria e descritiva. Segundo os m?todos empregados foi um estudo de caso, e quanto ? forma de abordagem ? qualitativa e quantitativa. A unidade de pesquisa foi o Minist?rio P?blico do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte, atrav?s de dois sujeitos que representam a totalidade dos participantes do escrit?rio de gerenciamento de projetos da institui??o. Esses sujeitos foram escolhidos por atuarem junto ao escrit?rio desde a funda??o do mesmo, tendo os conhecimentos necess?rios para o aprofundamento exigido pela pesquisa, al?m de experi?ncias com projetos e tempo de atua??o na ?rea. Os dados foram coletados atrav?s de uma adapta??o do formul?rio de avalia??o para a amplitude corporativa desenvolvido e apresentado ao ambiente cient?fico por Pinto, Cota e Levin (2010). Como resultados, revelou que o n?vel de maturidade na abordagem estrat?gica atual ? 77%, sendo desejado 97%; na abordagem t?tica atual ? 66%, sendo desejado 97%; e na abordagem operacional atual ? 78%, sendo desejado 100%. Apontou que diversos fatores influenciam no n?vel de maturidade do escrit?rio do gerenciamento de projetos do Minist?rio P?blico sendo recorrentes os relacionados ? tecnologia da informa??o, no que tange ao armazenamento e socializa??o de informa??es. Concluiu que o n?vel de maturidade do escrit?rio de gerenciamento de projetos do Minist?rio P?blico do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte ? avan?ado

In the eyes of Hollywood producers, film remakes are popular endeavors to undertake. Part of the logic behind remakes is that they will likely perform successfully in the domestic box office because of the tried-and-tested formula that was the remake’s source material as well as the pre-existing fanbase. In addition, over the past two decades the international box office, particularly countries like China and Russia, are overtaking the United States in generating box office revenue. Hence, with the increasing popularity of producing remakes, as well as the growing significance of foreign markets for the entertainment industry, I test whether the international share of the box office is higher for remakes compared to other types of films. I control for several standard variables including type of film, genre, production budget, critical review score, recency of film, and number of installments in the film franchise. In conclusion, I find that although film remakes do not achieve significantly higher foreign box office shares, factors like sequel films, the horror genre, production budget and critical review scores play a significantly positive role in determining foreign box office share, thus indicating the preferences of foreign film audiences.