This study examined two item characteristics believed to influence rater agreement: observability and difficulty. The first goal of this study was to replicate the findings of Roch, Paquin and Littlejohn (2009), which found that rater agreement was negatively related to item observability (Hypothesis 1) and rating difficulty (Hypothesis 2). The study also explored whether participants had closer item performance ratings to their overall impression when items were less observable (Hypothesis 3) and more difficult to rate (Hypothesis 4). A sample of 254 Undergraduate psychology students viewed a video of a leaderless group discussion and then filled out a rating form assessing performance of one of the individuals in the video and rating difficulty. Results were that rater agreement was positively related to observability (not supporting Hypothesis 1) and negatively related to difficulty (supporting Hypothesis 2). RDS, a distance score between participant’s overall impression and the item performance rating was computed to assess Hypotheses 3 and 4. RDS was positively related to observability (supporting Hypothesis 3) and not related to difficulty (not supporting Hypothesis 4). The positive relationship between observability and rater agreement was surprising given that it was the opposite of previous findings. Not hypothesized but of interest to the study was that observability and difficulty were not correlated. In previous studies, these variables were negatively correlated. Implications of these findings are discussed along with directions for further research.

The determinants that affect the financial performance of an insurance company are complicated due to the intangible nature of insurance products and the lack of transparency in the market. Consequently, the financial performance of insurance companies is important to various stakeholders such as policyholders, insurance intermediaries and policymakers. This study aims to investigate the determinants of financial performance of insurance companies based on their financial strength rating performance. The empirical data are drawn from A.M. Best Insurance Report Online: Non- US Database. The sample consists of 57 insurers in the United Kingdom over the period of 2006 to 2010. The analyses include eight firm-specific variables, which are leverage, profitability, liquidity, size, reinsurance, growth, type of business and organisational form. Rating transition matrices and regression models are employed in this study. Rating transition analysis demonstrates a significant degree of rating changes, as reflected in the rating fluctuations. Based on the empirical results, this study establishes that profitability, liquidity, size and organisational form are statistically significant determinants of financial performance of insurance companies in the United Kingdom. This study recommends an alternative to measure the size of an insurance company, which is based on the gross premium written. In addition, this study provides insights into the effects of the global financial crisis on the financial performance of the insurance companies.

The determinants that affect the financial performance of an insurance company are complicated due to the intangible nature of insurance products and the lack of transparency in the market. Consequently, the financial performance of insurance companies is important to various stakeholders such as policyholders, insurance intermediaries and policymakers. This study aims to investigate the determinants of financial performance of insurance companies based on their financial strength rating performance. The empirical data are drawn from A.M. Best Insurance Report Online: Non- US Database. The sample consists of 57 insurers in the United Kingdom over the period of 2006 to 2010. The analyses include eight firm-specific variables, which are leverage, profitability, liquidity, size, reinsurance, growth, type of business and organisational form. Rating transition matrices and regression models are employed in this study. Rating transition analysis demonstrates a significant degree of rating changes, as reflected in the rating fluctuations. Based on the empirical results, this study establishes that profitability, liquidity, size and organisational form are statistically significant determinants of financial performance of insurance companies in the United Kingdom. This study recommends an alternative to measure the size of an insurance company, which is based on the gross premium written. In addition, this study provides insights into the effects of the global financial crisis on the financial performance of the insurance companies. / Ministry of Education of Malaysia; Universiti Utara Malaysia

This study developed and applied a field test to evaluate the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)/Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE)/United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Performance Measurement Protocols (PMP) for Commercial Buildings in a case-study office building in central Texas. As the first integrated protocol on building performance measurement, the ASHRAE PMP accomplished its goal of providing the standardized protocols for measuring and comparing the overall performance of a building, including energy, water, thermal comfort, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), lighting, and acoustics. However, several areas for improvement were identified such as conflicting results from different procedures or benchmarks provided in the ASHRAE PMP; limited guidelines for performing the measurements; lack of detailed modeling techniques, graphical indices, and clear benchmarks; and some practical issues (i.e., high cost requirements and time-intensive procedures). All these observations are listed as the forty issues, including thirteen for energy, five for water, and twenty-two for Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). Recommendations were developed for each issue identified. For the selected high-priority issues, twelve new or modified approaches were proposed and then evaluated against the existing procedures in the ASHRAE PMP. Of these twelve new or modified approaches, the following are the most significant developments: a more accurate monthly energy use regression model including occupancy; a monthly water use regression model for a weather-normalized comparison of measured water performance; a method how to use a vertical temperature profile to evaluate room air circulation; a method how to use LCeq – LAeq difference as a low-cost alternative to estimate low frequency noise annoyance; a statistical decomposition method of time-varying distribution of indices; and a real-time wireless IEQ monitoring system for the continuous IEQ measurements. The application of the forty recommendations and the twelve new or modified approaches developed in this study to the ASHRAE PMP is expected to improve the applicability of the ASHRAE PMP, which aligns the overall purpose of this study. Finally, this study developed a new single figure-of-merit rating system based on the ASHRAE PMP procedures. The developed rating system is expected to improve the usability of the protocols.

CAPES / Os desequilíbrios ambientais oriundos da incompatibilidade entre crescimento populacional e esgotabilidade dos recursos naturais trazem grandes desafios. Neste contexto, destaca-se a indústria da construção civil, que utiliza na sua cadeia produtiva grande quantidade de recursos não renováveis. As atuais práticas de produção utilizadas pela construção civil necessitam de ajustes imediatos para que o setor possa contribuir adequadamente com o desenvolvimento sustentável do país. Infelizmente são comuns, ainda, processos artesanais nas frentes de trabalho,uso de matérias-primas sem manejo sustentável e a aplicação de produtos industrializadosdesconsiderando os aspectos de conservação de água, energia e a necessária redução de resíduos e desperdícios. O surgimento dos sistemas de avaliação e certificação da construção civil em diferentes partes do mundo vem minimizando os impactos negativos que o setor da construção origina.Nos últimos anos o movimento ganhou novos adeptos e os números tornam-se expressivos, apontando uma demanda urgente de novas atitudes por parte dos profissionais e empresas do ramo. O estudo realizado consiste em analisar o Relatório Técnico AQUA de Operação e Uso, elaborado pela Fundação Vanzolini em 2010 como versão provisória, que no momento encontra-se em processo de revisão. Essa análise foi utilizada como base para a realização de um estudo de caso sobre a construção do Escritório Verde da UTFPR. O resultado dessa pesquisa é a avaliaçãode desempenho ambiental do escritórioquanto àconformidade com os requisitosdefinidos no referencialtécnicoAQUA de operação de edifícios, bem como o tratamento das não conformidades e a tomada de ações corretivas e preventivas para alcance de um desempenho satisfatório. Assim, esta dissertação é uma síntese de um processo de certificaçãode edificações sustentáveise busca realçar a importância da certificação na construção civil como modo de garantir que edifícios sejam planejados, projetados, construídos e principalmente utilizados seguindo os princípios da sustentabilidade: aspectos técnicos, econômicos, sociais, ambientais e culturais, que devem interagir de forma holística. / Environmental imbalances resulting from the lack of compatibility between the population growth and the exhaustibility of natural resources bring out great challenges. In such a context, the industry of civil engineering must be pointed out, for the use of great quantities of non-renewable resources in its production chain. The current production practices used in civil construction need immediate adjustments so that the sector may contribute appropriately for the sustainable development of the country. Unfortunately, it is still rather common to find artisanal processes on work fronts, use of raw materials without sustainable handling and the application of industrialized products with disregard to aspects such as water conservation, energy and the necessary reduction of residues and waste. The appearance of assessment and certification systems of civil construction in different parts of the world has reduced the negative impacts caused by the construction sector. Over the last years, such movement has gained new supporters and numbers have become more expressive, pointing towards a pressing demand for new actions by professionals and corporations in the field. The study performed consists of analyzing the AQUA´s Technical Report of Operation and Use, designed by the Vanzolini Foundation in 2010 as a temporary version, which is currently being revised. Such analysis has been used as the basis for the undertaking of a case study on the construction of the Green Office at UTFPR. The outcome of such research is the assessment of the office´s environmental performance as for conformity with requirements defined on the AQUA standard of buildings operation, as well as the treatment of non-conformities and undertaking of corrective and preventive actions in order to achieve satisfactory performance. Thus, such thesis is the summary of a certification process of sustainable buildings and aims to emphasize the importance of certification in civil construction as a way of assuring that buildings are planned, designed, built and primarily used according to the principles of sustainability: technical, economic, social, environmental, and cultural aspects, which must interact holistically.

CAPES; Fundação Araucária / A crescente necessidade de pesquisas empíricas e teóricas em relação à avaliação de desempenho em sustentabilidade das operações de cooperativas agropecuárias, além da necessidade de equilíbrio econômico, social e ambiental no planejamento e gerenciamento estratégico das operações de cooperativas agropecuárias, conduz ao objetivo da pesquisa de desenvolver um modelo de avaliação de desempenho em sustentabilidade das operações de cooperativas agropecuárias. Para atender ao objetivo proposto, foi realizado um levantamento sistemático da literatura científica sobre modelos de avaliação em sustentabilidade das operações de cooperativas agropecuárias, que possibilitou identificar as características e funcionalidades dos modelos existentes e construir um mapa conceitual de indicadores e princípios mais utilizados. Para refinar e sistematizar esse conjunto de princípios orientadores universais aplicáveis para a temática, especialistas foram entrevistados e delimitaram o escopo da avaliação, bem como identificaram medidas de desempenho das operações sustentáveis para as operações de cooperativas agropecuárias o qual foi nomeado Sustainability Assessment for Agriculture Cooperatives (SAAC). Por meio de estudos de casos múltiplos usando uma metodologia comum com entrevistas, observações e análise documental foi refinado e testado o modelo SAAC. Verificou-se que os indicadores utilizados no modelo proposto estão adequados à realidade das práticas de sustentabilidade nas operações de cooperativas agropecuárias e na formulação de suas estratégias. O modelo se mostrou factível, de relativo fácil uso e útil, e pode ser à base de avaliação de desempenho sustentável das operações de cooperativas agropecuárias e fonte para elaboração e desenvolvimento de políticas sobre desenvolvimento sustentável nas cooperativas agropecuárias, melhorando sua gestão estratégica. Assim, a pesquisa contribui tanto na evolução teórica e empírica para a temática, como para as cooperativas agropecuárias, proporcionando uma base auxiliadora para iniciar um processo de avaliação de desempenho sustentável nas cooperativas agropecuárias ou retroalimentar um já existente; já para a sociedade, oportuniza a verificação de ações sustentáveis realizadas pelo setor; e para a Engenharia de Produção proporciona o entendimento com relação à temática e disponibiliza o modelo SAAC para auxilio na gestão estratégica de operações das cooperativas agropecuárias. / The growing demand for empirical and theoretical research in relation to the evaluation of the sustainability in the performance of agricultural cooperatives operations, besides the need for economic, social and environmental balance in the strategic planning and management of agricultural cooperatives operations, leads to the objective of the research to develop a model evaluation of sustainability performance of agricultural cooperatives operations. In order to meet the proposed objective, a systematic survey of the scientific literature on sustainability assessment models of agricultural cooperatives operations was carried out, which enabled the identification of the characteristics and functionalities of the existing models and a conceptual map of the most commonly used indicators and principles. To refine and systematize this set of universal guiding principles applicable to the thematic experts were interviewed and delimited the scope of the evaluation and identified measures of performance of sustainable operations for agricultural cooperative operations which was named Sustainability Assessment for Agriculture Cooperatives (SAAC). And through multiple case studies using a common methodology with interviews, observations and documentary analysis was refined and tested the SAAC model it was verified that the indicators used in the proposed model are adequate to the reality of sustainability practices in the operations of agricultural cooperatives and in formulating their strategies. The model proved to be feasible, relative ease to use and useful and can be based on the evaluation of the sustainable performance of agricultural cooperatives operations and source for the elaboration and development of policies on sustainable development in agricultural cooperatives, improving their strategic management. Thus, the research contributes both to the theoretical and empirical evolution for the theme, as well as to the agricultural cooperatives, providing an auxiliary base to initiate a process of evaluation of sustainable performance in agricultural cooperatives or to feed an existing one; while for society, it facilitates the verification of sustainable actions carried out by the sector; and for Production Engineering provides the understanding regarding the subject and arranges the SAAC model for assistance in the strategic management of operations of agricultural cooperatives.

CAPES / Os desequilíbrios ambientais oriundos da incompatibilidade entre crescimento populacional e esgotabilidade dos recursos naturais trazem grandes desafios. Neste contexto, destaca-se a indústria da construção civil, que utiliza na sua cadeia produtiva grande quantidade de recursos não renováveis. As atuais práticas de produção utilizadas pela construção civil necessitam de ajustes imediatos para que o setor possa contribuir adequadamente com o desenvolvimento sustentável do país. Infelizmente são comuns, ainda, processos artesanais nas frentes de trabalho,uso de matérias-primas sem manejo sustentável e a aplicação de produtos industrializadosdesconsiderando os aspectos de conservação de água, energia e a necessária redução de resíduos e desperdícios. O surgimento dos sistemas de avaliação e certificação da construção civil em diferentes partes do mundo vem minimizando os impactos negativos que o setor da construção origina.Nos últimos anos o movimento ganhou novos adeptos e os números tornam-se expressivos, apontando uma demanda urgente de novas atitudes por parte dos profissionais e empresas do ramo. O estudo realizado consiste em analisar o Relatório Técnico AQUA de Operação e Uso, elaborado pela Fundação Vanzolini em 2010 como versão provisória, que no momento encontra-se em processo de revisão. Essa análise foi utilizada como base para a realização de um estudo de caso sobre a construção do Escritório Verde da UTFPR. O resultado dessa pesquisa é a avaliaçãode desempenho ambiental do escritórioquanto àconformidade com os requisitosdefinidos no referencialtécnicoAQUA de operação de edifícios, bem como o tratamento das não conformidades e a tomada de ações corretivas e preventivas para alcance de um desempenho satisfatório. Assim, esta dissertação é uma síntese de um processo de certificaçãode edificações sustentáveise busca realçar a importância da certificação na construção civil como modo de garantir que edifícios sejam planejados, projetados, construídos e principalmente utilizados seguindo os princípios da sustentabilidade: aspectos técnicos, econômicos, sociais, ambientais e culturais, que devem interagir de forma holística. / Environmental imbalances resulting from the lack of compatibility between the population growth and the exhaustibility of natural resources bring out great challenges. In such a context, the industry of civil engineering must be pointed out, for the use of great quantities of non-renewable resources in its production chain. The current production practices used in civil construction need immediate adjustments so that the sector may contribute appropriately for the sustainable development of the country. Unfortunately, it is still rather common to find artisanal processes on work fronts, use of raw materials without sustainable handling and the application of industrialized products with disregard to aspects such as water conservation, energy and the necessary reduction of residues and waste. The appearance of assessment and certification systems of civil construction in different parts of the world has reduced the negative impacts caused by the construction sector. Over the last years, such movement has gained new supporters and numbers have become more expressive, pointing towards a pressing demand for new actions by professionals and corporations in the field. The study performed consists of analyzing the AQUA´s Technical Report of Operation and Use, designed by the Vanzolini Foundation in 2010 as a temporary version, which is currently being revised. Such analysis has been used as the basis for the undertaking of a case study on the construction of the Green Office at UTFPR. The outcome of such research is the assessment of the office´s environmental performance as for conformity with requirements defined on the AQUA standard of buildings operation, as well as the treatment of non-conformities and undertaking of corrective and preventive actions in order to achieve satisfactory performance. Thus, such thesis is the summary of a certification process of sustainable buildings and aims to emphasize the importance of certification in civil construction as a way of assuring that buildings are planned, designed, built and primarily used according to the principles of sustainability: technical, economic, social, environmental, and cultural aspects, which must interact holistically.

Historically researchers have focused much attention on performance appraisal practices, such as the rating form and rater training. However, there is a growing movement to eliminate not only annual performance reviews but to eliminate all formal employee ratings. This conversation hour will focus on the future of performance rating research.

Capes / Este trabalho tem por objetivo propor um modelo para análise da gestão do desempenho em redes horizontais de empresas. Para isto, realizou-se uma revisão bibliográfica sistematizada, construindo um portfólio de artigos baseado no estudo de fatores que afetam o desempenho em redes horizontais de empresas e na proposição de modelos e ferramentas para análise da gestão do desempenho nestes ambientes de colaboração. A partir desse portfólio definiu-se as perspectivas de avaliação e os fatores de desempenho para a construção do modelo. Para estruturação do modelo utilizou- se o método multicritério de apoio à decisão AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) para a valoração e classificação em níveis de importância das perspectivas de avaliação (PSPs). Os valores obtidos por meio da aplicação do método AHP, em conjunto com a estrutura de diagnóstico dos fatores de desempenho, compuseram um Diagrama Gestão do desempenho individual X Gestão do desempenho na rede, o qual possibilita analisar a evolução da gestão do desempenho em níveis da rede e nível individual de cada empresa constituinte dessa. Por fim, o modelo foi aplicado em uma rede horizontal de empresas do setor de Tecnologia da Informação situada na cidade de Ponta Grossa, Paraná. Como principais resultados desta pesquisa, o modelo mostrou-se consistente para gerar diagnósticos da situação de empresas, tanto em nível individual quanto em rede. Também foi possível, usando o modelo desenvolvido, realizar um diagnóstico específico para cada perspectiva de avaliação, o que torna possível a realização de um benchmarking entre as empresas, proporcionando uma avaliação detalhada e pontual de fatores que mais comprometem o desempenho da empresa em nível individual e global. / This study aims to propose a model for performance management analysis in horizontal networks of companies. For this, we carried out a systematic review, building a portfolio of articles based on the study of factors that affect performance in horizontal networks of companies and propose models and tools for analysis of performance management in these collaborative environments. From this portfolio defined the perspectives of evaluation and performance factors for the construction of the model. To structure the model we used the multi-criteria method to support decision AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) for the valuation and classification of levels of importance of perspectives assessment (PSPs). The values obtained by applying the AHP, together with the diagnostic performance factors of the structure, composed a diagram administration of the individual X-performance network performance management, which makes it possible to analyze the evolution of performance management on levels of network and individual level of each constituent company of this. Finally, the model was applied in a horizontal network of companies in the information technology sector in the city of Ponta Grossa, Paraná. The main results of this research, the model was consistent to generate diagnoses of the situation of companies, both individually and networking. It was also possible, using the developed model, make a specific diagnosis for each evaluation perspective, which makes it possible to perform a benchmarking between companies, providing a detailed and timely assessment of factors that compromise the company's performance at the individual level and global.

CNPq / Nesta dissertação de mestrado é apresentada uma proposta adaptativa com abordagem intercamadas para redes sem fio de múltiplos saltos. O objetivo principal é analisar o impacto que a troca de informações entre camadas do modelo de rede podem ter sobre seu desempenho geral. Informações sobre a qualidade das conexões na camada física são passadas diretamente para a camada de rede, que poderá calcular melhores rotas a serem utilizadas por cada nó. Esta proposta foi avaliada por meio de simulações com o intuito de ser comparada com outros modelos de cálculo de rotas existentes. Os resultados obtidos indicam redes mais estáveis, com menor quantidade de pacotes perdidos e menores valores de jitter. / In this master thesis an adaptive cross-layer solution for multihop wireless networks is presented. The main objective is to analyze the impact that the information exchange between network model layers can have on its overall performance. Connections quality information from physical layer is handled directly to the network layer, which may calculate better routes to be used by each node. This proposal was evaluated through simulations to be compared to other routes calculation models. Obtained results indicate more stable networks, with fewer dropped packets and lower jitter values. / 5000