Bakgrund: Studier visar att ungas upplevda- och psykiska hälsa samt deras hälsorelaterade levnadsvanor försämras med åldern. Elevers trivsel och påverkansmöjligheter i skolan minskar också med stigande ålder. Hälsofrämjande arbete i skolan kan därför vara värdefullt för att förbättra ungas hälsa. Det kan exempelvis ske genom Korpen Svenska Motionsidrottsförbundets koncept: Hälsodiplomerad gymnasieskola. I Västerås är Carlforsska gymnasiet en hälsodiplomerad skola. Syfte: Att studera om den hälsodiplomerade skolans hälsofrämjande arbete medfört någon förändring gällande elevers hälsa i årskurs två mellan åren 2004 och 2008. Metod: En resultatutvärdering genomfördes innefattande; en kvalitativ och en kvantitativ metod. Kvalitativ studie omfattade fyra intervjuer med skolpersonal. Underlag för den kvantitativa studien var ett insamlat material från undersökningen "Liv- och hälsa- Ung i Västmanland". Resultat: Skolpersonal upplevde att förbättringar skett gällande elevers hälsorelaterade levnadsvanor och ökad trivsel i skolan. Båda könen rapporterade förbättrad psykisk hälsa avseende minskad nervositet och ökad skoltrivsel. Pojkar hade också förbättrade resultat gällande; livskvalitet, irritation, stress, alkoholintag och snusvanor. Flickor rapporterade förbättrade resultat rörande; fysisk aktivitet, frukostintag och utökad arbetsro i skolan. Slutsatser: Skolans hälsofrämjande arbete har troligtvis bidragit till att förbättra elevers hälsa. Det är ett långsiktigt arbete och fler studier inom området behövs för att utläsa dess egentliga effekter på hälsa. / Background: Studies have shown that young people's experienced- and psychological health and their health related habits declines with age. Student's comfort and influence opportunities in school also weaken with age. Health promotion work in school might therefore be valuable to increase young people's health. This could for instance be achieved through Korpen - the Swedish exercise union's concept: Health certified school. Västerås, a city in the county of Västmanland, has one health certified high school, Carlforsska. Aim: To study if the health certified school's health promotion work has resulted in any change concerning the second grade student's health, between the years 2004 and 2008. Method: A outcome evaluation has been conducted including both qualitative and quantitative method. The qualitative method included four interviews with school staff. The foundation for the quantitative study was a collected material from a survey called "Liv och hälsa- Ung in Västmanland". Result: School staff experienced improvements concerning student's health related habits and increased comfort in school. Both boys and girls reported improved psychological health such as lower feelings of nervousness and improved comfort in school. Boys had also improved results in; self reported quality of life, irritation, stress and alcoholand snuff use. Girls improved their results in; physical activity, breakfast habits and improved feelings of better working conditions in school. Conclusion: The school's health promotive work has probably contributed to the student's improved health results. Working with health in school is a longterm process and more studies are needed to assure the detailed influence by health promotive work on young people's health.

Patientutbildning är en viktig del av behandlingen vid typ 2 diabetes. Det finns dock ingen samlad kartläggning av vilken patientutbildning som bedrivs sedan tidigare. Syftet med studien var att kartlägga hur patientutbildning för personer med typ 2 diabetes bedrevs inom primärvården i Sverige år 2006 samt studera om det fanns något samband mellan hur patientutbildning bedrevs och personernas metabola kontroll. Totalt deltog 684 vårdcentraler/hälsocentraler/mottagningar (mottagningar). Data erhölls både från en enkät och Nationella diabetesregistret som omfattade 91 637 patienter med typ 2 diabetes. Resultatet analyserades genom kvalitativ innehållsanalys och med multipla linjära regressionsanalyser. Resultatet visade att den vanligaste formen av utbildning var patientutbildning med förutbestämt innehåll som bedrevs individuellt på 362 mottagningar, utav dessa mottagningar bedrev 108 kompletterande grupputbildning. Patientutbildning utifrån patienternas behov bedrevs individuellt på 55 mottagningar och utav dessa bedrev 12 kompletterande grupputbildning. Ospecificerad patientutbildning förekom på 267 mottagningar. Ett statistiskt signifikant samband konstaterades som indikerade att patienternas HbA1c var lägre på de mottagningar som bedrev individuell utbildning utifrån patientens behov, vilket förekom på 55 av mottagningarna. Studien har visat att vid patientutbildning var det främst vårdgivaren som bestämde vad patienten behövde veta och utgick ifrån någon form av checklista. Få vårdgivare utgick utifrån patientens behov och intresse. / Patient education is an important part of the treatment in type 2 diabetes. Today there is no collected survey of patient education. The aim of the study was to survey how patient education for persons with type 2 diabetes was carried out within the primary care in Sweden and study if there was some relation between how patient education was carried out and persons' HbA1c, BMI and physical activates. Totally 684 health care centres participated. Data was received from a questionnaire and the national diabetes register that covered 91637 patients with type 2 diabetes. Data was analyzed through qualitative content analysis and with multiple linear regression analysis. The result showed that most common form of education was "Patient education with a predestined content", that was practiced individually in 362 of the health care centres, 108 of these also practiced complementary group education.  "Patient education based on the patients needs" was carried out individually at 55 health care centres, 12 were also carried out complementary group education. "Unspecified patient education" was practiced in 267 health care centres. A statistical significant relation was found indicating that patients  receiving individual education based on the patient's needs HbA1c was lower (55 health care centres). The most common procedure was a checklist in which the care provider decided what the patient needed to know.  Most of the care providers in patient education disregarded the patient's needs and interest.

Un dels majors problemes experimentats pels sistemes de detecció de gasos basats en sensors d'òxids metàl·lics és la seva manca de reproduibilitat, estabilitat i selectivitat. A fi i a efecte d'intentar resoldre aquest problemes, diferents estratègies han estat desenvolupades en paral·lel. Algunes es relacionen a la millora dels materials i d'altres impliquen el condicionament o el pre-tractament de les mostres. Les més emprades han consistit en aprofitar que els sensors presenten sensibilitats solapades per construir matrius de sensors i emprar tècniques de processament del senyal o bé utilitzar característiques de la resposta dinàmica dels sensors. En els darrers anys, modular la temperatura de treball del sensors d'òxids metàl·lics s'ha convertit en un dels mètodes més utilitzats per incrementar-ne la selectivitat. Això s'esdevé així donat que la resposta del sensor varia amb la seva temperatura de treball. Per això, en determinats casos, mesurant la resposta d'un sensor a n temperatures de treball diferents pot ser equivalent a tenir una matriu de n sensors diferents. Això permet obtenir informació multivariant de cada sensor individualment i ajuda a mantenir baixa la dimensionalitat del sistema de mesura per resoldre una determinada aplicació. Malgrat que molts i bons resultats han estat publicats dins aquest àmbit, la tria de les freqüències emprades en la modulació de la temperatura de treball dels sensor ha consistit fins ara en un procés empíric que no garanteix la obtenció dels millors resultats per una determinada aplicació. En aquest context, el principal objectiu d'aquesta tesi doctoral ha consistit en desenvolupar un mètode sistemàtic que permeti determinar quines són les freqüències de modulació òptimes que caldria emprar per resoldre un determinat problema d'anàlisi de gasos. Aquest mètode, extret del camp d'identificació de sistemes, ha esta desenvolupat i implementat per primer cop dins l'àmbit dels sensors de gasos. Aquest consisteix en estudiar la resposta dels sensors en presència de gasos mentre la temperatura de treball dels sensors és modulada per un senyal pseudo-aleatori de longitud màxima. Aquest senyals comparteixen algunes propietats amb el soroll blanc, i per tant poden ajudar a estimar la resposta lineal d'un sistema amb no-linealitats (per exemple, la resposta impulsional d'un sistema sensor-gas). El procés d'optimització es duu a terme mitjançant la selecció entre els components espectrals de les estimacions de la resposta impulsional, d'aquells que millor ajuden bé a discriminar o a quantificar els gasos objectiu dins una aplicació d'anàlisi de gasos donada. Tenint en compte que els components espectrals estan directament relacionats amb les xvii Improving the performance of micro-machined metal oxide gas sensors: Optimization of the temperature modulation mode via pseudo-random sequences. freqüències de modulació, la tria d'uns pocs components espectrals resulta en la determinació de les freqüències òptimes de modulació. En els primer experiments, senyals binaris pseudo-aleatoris van ser emprats per modular la temperatura de treball de sensors de gasos basats en òxids metàl·lics micro-mecanitzats dins d'un rang comprès entre 0 i 112,5 Hz. La freqüència superior és lleugerament superior a la frequència de tall de les membranes dels sensors. El resultat principal derivat d'aques estudi va ser que les freqüències de modulació interessants es trobaven en un rang comprès entre 0 i 1 Hz. Això és comprensible donat que la cinètica de les reaccions i dels processos d'adsorció que es produeixen en la superfície dels sensors són lentes i si aquestes s'han de veure modificades per la modulació térmica, llavors caldran senyals de modulació de baixa freqüència. Això explica perquè s'han vingut emprant senyals moduladores de temperatura en el rang dels mHz, malgrat que les membranes d'un dispositiu micromecanitzat presenten respostes tèrmiques molts més ràpides (típicament de l'ordre de 100 Hz). En els experiments que continuaren els primers, un mètode evolucionat per determinar les freqüències de modulació tèrmica òptimes va ser implementat. Aquest es basa en l'ús de seqüències pseudo-aleatòries multi-nivell de longitud màxima. Els senyals de tipus multi-nivell van ser considerats en substitució dels senyals binaris ja que els primers permeten obtenir una millor estimació que els segons de la dinàmica lineal d'un sistema amb no linealitats. I és ben conegut que els sensors de gasos basats en òxids metàl·lics presenten no linealitat en la seva resposta. Aquests estudis sistemàtics van ser completament validats mitjançant la síntesi de senyals multi-sinusoïdals amb les freqüències prèviament identificades emprant sequències pseudo-aleatòries. Quan la temperatura de treball dels sensors va ser modulada amb un senyal, el contingut freqüencial del qual era l'òptim, els gasos i les mescles de gasos considerades van poder ser discriminades perfectament i es va mostrar la possibilitat d'obtenir models de calibració acurats per predir la concentració dels gasos. En alguns casos, aquest procés de validació es va portar a terme emprant sensors que no havien estat utilitzats durant el procés d'optimització (per exemple, una agrupació de sensors diferent però del mateix lot de fabricació). En resum, el nou mètode desenvolupat en aquesta tesi per seleccionar les freqüències de modulació òptimes s'ha mostrat consistent i efectiu. El mètode és d'aplicació general i podria ser emprat en qualsevol problema d'anàlisi de gasos o bé estès a altres tipus de sensors (per exemple sensors polimèrics). Les contribucions científiques d'aquesta tesi s'han recollit en quatre articles en revistes internacionals i 13 llibres d'actes de conferències. / Uno de los mayores problemas experimentados en los sistemas de detección de gases basados en dispositivos de óxidos metálicos es su falta de reproducibilidad, estabilidad y selectividad. Con el fin de intentar resolver estos problemas, diferentes estrategias han sido desarrolladas en paralelo. Algunas de ellas se relacionan con la mejora de los materiales y otras implican acondicionamiento o pre-tratamiento de las muestras. Otras estrategias ampliamente empleadas consisten en aprovechar que los sensores presentan sensibilidades solapadas para construir matrices de sensores y emplear técnicas de procesamiento de señal o bien utilizar características de la respuesta dinámica de los sensores.En los últimos años, modular la temperatura de trabajo de los sensores de óxidos metálicos se ha convertido en uno de los métodos más utilizados para incrementar su selectividad. Esto se debe a, dado que la respuesta del sensor varía con su propia temperatura de trabajo, entonces, en determinados casos, midiendo la respuesta de un sensor a n temperaturas de trabajo diferentes, es equivalente a tener una matriz de n sensores diferentes. Esto permite obtener información multivariante de cada sensor individualmente y ayuda a mantener baja la dimensionalidad del sistema de medida para resolver una determinada aplicación. A pesar de los buenos resultados que han sido publicados dentro de este ámbito, la selección de las frecuencias empleadas en la modulación de la temperatura de trabajo de los sensores ha consistido, hasta el momento, en un proceso empírico lo que no garantiza la obtención de los mejores resultados para una determinada aplicación.En este contexto, el principal objetivo de esta tesis doctoral ha consistido en desarrollar un método sistemático que permita determinar cuales son las frecuencias de modulación óptimas que podrían emplearse para resolver un determinado problema de análisis de gases. Este método, extraído del campo de identificación de sistemas, ha sido desarrollado e implementado por primera vez dentro del ámbito de los sensores de gases. Éste consiste en estudiar la respuesta de los sensores en presencia de gases mientras la temperatura de trabajo de los sensores es modulada mediante una señal pseudo-aleatoria de longitud máxima. Estas señales comparten algunas propiedades con el ruido blanco, y por tanto pueden ayudar a estimar la respuesta lineal de un sistema con no-linealidades (por ejemplo, la respuesta impulsional de un sistema sensor-gas).El proceso de optimización es llevado a cabo mediante la selección entre las componentes espectrales de las estimaciones de la respuesta impulsional, de aquellas que más ayudan ya sea a discriminar o a cuantificar los gases objetivo dentro de una aplicación de análisis de gases dada. Teniendo en cuenta que las componentes espectrales están directamente relacionadas con las frecuencias de modulación, la selección de unas pocas componentes espectrales resulta en la determinación de las frecuencias optimas de modulación.En los primeres experimentos, señales binarias pseudo-aleatorias fueron utilizadas para modular la temperatura de trabajo de los sensores de gases basados en óxidos metálicos micro-mecanizados en un rango comprendido entre 0 a 112.5 Hz. La frecuencia superior es ligeramente mayor a la frecuencia de corte de las membranas de los sensores. El resultado principal derivado de estos estudios fue que las frecuencias de modulación interesantes se encuentran en un rango comprendido entre 0 y 1 Hz. Esto es comprensible dado que la cinética de las reacciones y de los procesos de adsorción que se producen en la superficie del sensor son lentos y si estos se han de alterar mediante la modulación térmica, se habrá de elaborar señales de modulación a bajas frecuencias. Esto explica por que se han venido empleado señales moduladoras de temperatura en el rango de los mHz, a pesar que las membranas de un dispositivo micro-mecanizado presentan respuestas mucho más rápidas (típicamente en el orden de los 100 Hz).En los experimentos posteriores a los primeros, un método evolucionado para determinar las frecuencias de modulación óptimas de los sensores micro-mecanizados fue implementado, el cual se basa en el uso de secuencias pseudo-aleatorias multi-nivel de longitud máxima (MLPRS). Las señales de tipo multi-nivel fueron consideradas en lugar de las binarias ya que las primeras permiten obtener una mejor estimación que las segundas de la dinámica lineal de un sistema con no linealidades. Y es bien conocido que los sensores de gases basados en óxidos metálicos presentan no-linealidades en su respuesta.Estos estudios sistemáticos fueron completamente validados mediante la síntesis de señales multi-senoidales con las frecuencias previamente identificadas utilizando secuencias pseudo-aleatorias. Cuando la temperatura de trabajo de los sensores fue modulada por una señal, el contenido frecuencial de la cual es el óptimo, los gases y mezclas de gases considerados pudieron ser discriminados perfectamente y se verificó la posibilidad de obtener modelos de calibración precisos para predecir la concentración de los gases. En algunos casos, estos procesos de validación se llevaron a cabo con sensores que no habían sido utilizados durante el proceso de optimización (por ejemplo, una agrupación de sensores diferentes pero del mismo lote de fabricación).En resumen, El nuevo método desarrollado in esta tesis para seleccionar las frecuencias de modulación optimas se a mostrado consistente y efectivo. El método es de aplicación general y podría ser utilizado en cualquier problema de análisis de gases o bien extendido a otro tipo de sensores (por ejemplo sensores poliméricos).Las contribuciones científicas de esta tesis se han recogido en 4 artículos en revistas internacionales y trece actas de conferencias. / One of the major problems in gas sensing systems that use metal oxide devices is the lack of reproducibility, stability and selectivity. In order to tackle these troubles experienced with metal oxide gas sensors, different strategies have been developed in parallel. Some of these are related to the improvement of materials, or the use of sample conditioning and pre-treating methods. Other widely used techniques include taking benefit of the unavoidable partially overlapping sensitivities by using sensor arrays and pattern recognition techniques or the use of dynamic features from the gas sensor response.In the last years, modulating the working temperature of metal oxide gas sensors has been one of the most used methods to enhance sensor selectivity. This occurs because, since, the sensor response is different at different working temperatures, and therefore, measuring the sensor response at n different temperatures is, in some cases, similar to the use of an array comprising n different sensors. This allows for measuring multivariate information from every single sensor and helps in keeping low the dimensionality of the measurement system needed to solve a specific application. Although the good results reported, until now, the selection of the frequencies used to modulate the working temperature remained an empirical process and that is not an accurate method to ensure that the best results are reached for a given application.In view of this context, the principal objective of this doctoral thesis was to develop a systematic method to determine which are the optimal temperature modulation frequencies to solve a given gas analysis problem. This method, which is borrowed from the field of system identification, has been developed and introduced for the first time in the area of gas sensors. It consists of studying the sensor response to gases when the operating temperature is modulated via maximum-length pseudo-random sequences. Such signals share some properties with white noise and, therefore, can be of help to estimate the linear response of a system with non-linearity (e.g., the impulse response of a sensor-gas system).The optimization process is conducted by selecting among the spectral components of the impulse response estimates, the few that better help either discriminating or quantifying the target gases of a given gas analysis application. Since spectral components are directly related to modulating frequencies, the selection of spectral components results in the determination of the optimal temperature modulating frequencies.In the first experiments, pseudo-random binary signals (PRBS) were employed to modulate the working temperature of micro-machined metal oxide gas sensors in a frequency range from 0 up to 112.5 Hz. The upper frequency is slightly higher than the cutoff frequency of the sensor membranes. The outcome of this initial study was that the important modulating frequencies were in the range between 0 and 1 Hz. This is understandable, since the kinetics of reaction and adsorption processes taking place at the sensor surface (i.e., physisorption/chemisorption/ionosorption) are slow and if these are to be altered by the thermal modulation, low frequency modulating signals need to be devised. This explains why low-frequency temperature-modulating signals (i.e. in the mHz range) have been used with micro-hotplate gas sensors, even though the thermal response of their membranes is much faster (typically, near 100 Hz).In the experiments that followed the first ones, an evolved method to determine the optimal temperature modulating frequencies for micro-hotplate gas sensors was introduced, which was based on the use of maximum length multilevel pseudo-random sequences (MLPRS). Multilevel signals were considered instead of the binary ones because the former can provide a better estimate than the latter of the linear dynamics of a process with non-linearity. And it is well known that temperature-modulated metal oxide gas sensors present non-linearity in their response.These systematic studies were fully validated by synthesizing multi-sinusoidal signals at the optimal frequencies previously identified using pseudo-random sequences. When the sensors had their operating temperatures modulated by a signal with a frequency content that corresponded to the optimal, the gases and gas mixtures considered could be perfectly discriminated and the building of accurate calibration models to predict gas concentration was found to be possible. In some cases, the validation process was conducted on sensors that had not been used for optimization purposes (e.g. a different sensor array from the same fabrication batch).Summarizing, the new method developed in this thesis for selecting the optimal modulating frequencies is shown to be consistent and effective. The method applies generally and could be used in any gas analysis problem or extended to other type of sensors (e.g. conducting polymer sensors).The scientific contributions of this thesis are collected in four journal papers and thirteen conference proceedings.

The dissertation consists of an introduction and three empirical articles. The introduction gives the theoretical background, integrates the three articles, and elaborates on future research questions. The first article investigates the important decision in the lives of German and Indian university students to identify the important areas of decision making. The second article examines the structure of real life decision making and reveals the underlying factors of five major decision areas. The third article investigates the similarities and differences on decision making between German and Indian students using prior qualitative findings in a large quantitative survey.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Umeå universitet, 2010. / Härtill 4 uppsatser. Pp. 62-73: Bibliography.

Tertiary institutions in South Africa have experienced radical changes in the past decades, especially due to the change from technikons to universities of technology. These changes created new mental and emotional demands for academic staff and placed them under additional pressure. Problems experienced by tertiary institutions include constantly changing systems, students from underprivileged backgrounds and decreased subsidies from the state. These factors could lead to role overload and role conflict. The objective of this research was to examine the relationships between individual indicators of work climate (job challenge demand, role overload and role conflict, job satisfaction and pay satisfaction and social support) and turnover intention. Further objectives included empirically determining if these indicators of work climate can be used to predict turnover intention and to determine if social support plays a moderating role in the translation of work climate in turnover intention. A cross-sectional survey design was used. A convenience sample was taken from a South African university of technology. Measuring instruments for all the variables of interest were administered. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Finally, a structural equation model was developed to explain the relations between the variables. The results obtained for the scales proved that four of the seven specific measuring instruments are reliable in terms of their specific use for employees in a South African tertiary institution. Job challenge demand, quantitative role overload and role conflict were less reliable. Results showed that when an employee feels that he/she has too much to do in too little time, or if the task is too difficult to complete, he/she will experience lower levels of job satisfaction which in turn may lead to higher levels of turnover intention. Social support from the supervisor and colleagues increase job satisfaction. A moderating effect for social support between work climate (role characteristics and satisfaction) and turnover intention was demonstrated. By way of conclusion, recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Tertiary institutions in South Africa have experienced radical changes in the past decades, especially due to the change from technikons to universities of technology. These changes created new mental and emotional demands for academic staff and placed them under additional pressure. Problems experienced by tertiary institutions include constantly changing systems, students from underprivileged backgrounds and decreased subsidies from the state. These factors could lead to role overload and role conflict. The objective of this research was to examine the relationships between individual indicators of work climate (job challenge demand, role overload and role conflict, job satisfaction and pay satisfaction and social support) and turnover intention. Further objectives included empirically determining if these indicators of work climate can be used to predict turnover intention and to determine if social support plays a moderating role in the translation of work climate in turnover intention. A cross-sectional survey design was used. A convenience sample was taken from a South African university of technology. Measuring instruments for all the variables of interest were administered. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Finally, a structural equation model was developed to explain the relations between the variables. The results obtained for the scales proved that four of the seven specific measuring instruments are reliable in terms of their specific use for employees in a South African tertiary institution. Job challenge demand, quantitative role overload and role conflict were less reliable. Results showed that when an employee feels that he/she has too much to do in too little time, or if the task is too difficult to complete, he/she will experience lower levels of job satisfaction which in turn may lead to higher levels of turnover intention. Social support from the supervisor and colleagues increase job satisfaction. A moderating effect for social support between work climate (role characteristics and satisfaction) and turnover intention was demonstrated. By way of conclusion, recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Research questions: This research was focused on exploring the impact of communication technologies on rural populations in the Congo. In particular, this research posed two questions: 1. Do mobile phones produce development in rural areas of the Congo? 2. Do mobile phones improve the living conditions of people? The questions helped examine ways in which mobile phones were or were not engendering development among these populations. Methods: The research was undertaken using four methods: 1. Phenomenology, 2. Sen's capability approach, 3. Participatory method, and 4. Ecological method. Phenomenology aimed to cater to the experiences and meanings of mobile phone uses. Sen's capability approach allowed the interviews to be focused on the basic needs of the poor. Participatory method provided a greater participation of respondents in discussion groups, and ecological method helped achieve a higher inclusion of key players in the targeted area. Major findings: The major findings of this study included: 1. Much of the literature on mobile phones and development was not representative or inclusive of key players and their day-to-day lives. 2. Studies have tended to present snapshots or single-focused accounts of mobile phone and development. 3. Authors of mobile phone research have tended to see rural populations with an urban-led bias, leaving aside the actual characteristics of rural areas. 4. Mobile phones were not limited to a person and her properties, but rather mobile phones were owned and shared by the community. 5. Participants expressed a need for technical skills and means to be available to the community and their members. 6. Households were not separated, but rather they were connected to allow people take care of one another. 7. People were connected through collective solidarities in order to come to the aid of those with special needs. 8. Literature and mobile phone sponsors or companies were disseminating mobile phones with an extractive and commercial tendency, focused principally on fees of batteries, chargers, and prepaid cards. Major contributions: The major contributions of this research revolved around the focus on: 1. technology to enhance the needed technical skills among concerned populations. 2. shared ownership of mobile phones to cater to both users and non-users of mobile phones among concerned populations. 3. connected households to capitalize on the dynamics of family among concerned populations. 4. collective solidarities to accommodate the processes of aiding one another among concerned populations. 5. capabilities, from a commercial or extractive aspect to capabilities to enhance the capabilities of people to afford mobile phones fees. 6. capabilities, from a corporate or business aspect to capabilities to enhance the capabilities of people who did not and could not own a business. 7. human basic needs to enhance the capabilities of mobile phone users with regard to human basic needs. 8. outliers or the marginalized to attend to those left out among concerned populations. 9. mobile phone-centric libraries to enhance the storage and retrieval of needed information among concerned populations.

Purpose:  The purpose of this study is to analyze the perceived impact of business intelligence tools on marketing success. Methodology:  This research has conducted based on a literature study in the field business intelligence and pharmaceutical industry marketing. Primary  data  has  been  used  in  this  thesis  to  evaluate  the information technology impact on the  market performance for pharmaceutical industries. The SPSS software package is used to analyze the employee responses and statistical technique. Regression analysis is used to check the impact of information technology on market performance. Findings: One hundred fifty questionnaires were given to the employees of 15 different pharmaceutical companies located in Pakistan. Among them, 104 were collected back and 100 questionnaires were considered valid and used for further analysis. After analyzing the data, it was evaluated that information technology has a significant impact on market performance in pharmaceutical industries. According to the stakeholders, strategic planning, organizational support, knowledge management and technological advancement have significant impact on the success of information technology for decision support systems. Research limitations/Implications: More research will be required on the theory presented in this thesis “The Perceived Impact of Business Intelligence Tools on Marketing Success”.

This dissertation presents the results of the qualitative and quantitative modeling of the Arroio Cancela urban basin, having an area of 4.35 km², with the use of the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM5). The generation and routing of the runoff, base flows and the processes of accumulation and washoff of the total suspended sediments (TSS) and organic matter represented by biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) were modeled. The package PEST (Parameter Estimator) was used in the calibrations of the most sensitive parameters of the SWMM5. Eight months of monitored rainfall and runoff data containing 34 rainfall events were calibrated. Calibration of the qualitative processes used 10 events containing monitored data with concentrations of TSS and BOD5. The validation of the average calibrated parameters was carried out over a period of three months, having 16 rainfall events, 4 of which containing monitored data of TSS and BOD5. The results indicate that the SWMM5 is more sensitive to parameters related with the impermeable areas of the basin. The parameters of the permeable areas were more sensitive in events of greater magnitude. The use of PEST proved to be valuable in optimizing the model, considering the speed at which the algorithm converges to a satisfactory solution. The runoff calibration of the events reached very good Nash-Sutcliffe efficiencies (ENS) (average of 0.92). For the continuous simulations, calculated ENS reached a value of 0.72. The average errors in the flow volume for both cases were less than 14%. The calibration of TSS reached an average ENS value of 0.56 and, for BOD5, an average ENS of -0.75, with a high dispersion of the washoff parameters for both pollutants. The runoff validation for events produced an average ENS equal to 0.47, calculated median equal to 0.87 and hydrograms with good reproduction of the shape of the observed data. The validation of the continuous series presented ENS equal to 0.74 and an underestimation of the flow volume equal to 7.7%. The validation of the quality processes resulted very poor ENS indexes, with deficiently representation of the variation of TSS and BOD5 concentrations. The results indicate that the use of the SWMM5 model coupled with the PEST calibrator can produce good results in the prediction of runoff events and continuous flow series. However, the representation of the qualitative processes require better initial parameter estimations for buildup and washoff, in addition to improvements in the calculation algorithm of buildup and washoff of pollutants. / Este trabalho apresenta os resultados da modelagem qualiquantitativa da bacia urbana do Arroio Cancela, possuindo 4,35 km² de área, com o uso do modelo Storm Water Management Model (SWMM5). Foram modelados os processos de geração e propagação do escoamento superficial e de base, além dos processos de acumulação e lavagem do total de sedimentos em suspensão (TSS) e da matéria orgânica representada pela demanda bioquímica de oxigênio (DBO5). O pacote de rotinas PEST (Parameter Estimator) foi empregado nas calibrações dos parâmetros mais sensíveis do SWMM5. Ao total, foram calibrados 8 meses de dados monitorados de chuva e vazão, contendo 34 eventos chuvosos. Na calibração dos processos qualitativos empregaram-se 10 eventos contendo estimativas da concentração do TSS e da DBO5. A validação da média dos parâmetros calibrados foi realizada num período de 3 meses, possuindo 16 eventos chuvosos, dos quais 4 contém dados monitorados do TSS e da DBO5. Os resultados indicam que o SWMM5 é mais sensível aos parâmetros relativos às áreas impermeáveis da bacia. Os parâmetros das áreas permeáveis foram mais sensíveis nos eventos de maior magnitude. O uso do PEST revelou-se de grande valia na otimização do modelo, tendo em vista a velocidade com que o algoritmo converge para uma solução satisfatória. A calibração por eventos do escoamento superficial atingiu índices de eficiência de Nash-Sutcliffe (ENS) muito bons (média de 0,92). Para a série contínua, o ENS calculado atingiu o valor de 0,72. Os erros médios no volume de vazão para ambos os casos foi inferior a 14%. A calibração do TSS atingiu ENS médio de 0,56 e, da DBO5, ENS médio de -0,75, com parâmetros de lavagem muito dispersos para ambos os poluentes. Na validação dos eventos, a média dos parâmetros calibrados produziu valores médios de ENS igual a 0,47, mediana calculada igual a 0,87 e hidrogramas com boa reprodução da forma da série observada. A validação da série contínua alcançou ENS igual a 0,74 e subestimativa no volume de vazão igual a 7,7%. A validação dos processos qualitativos foi muito deficiente, não sendo reproduzida satisfatoriamente a variação da concentração do TSS e da DBO5. Os resultados apontam que o uso do modelo SWMM5 acoplado ao calibrador PEST produz bons resultados na predição do escoamento superficial em eventos isolados e em séries contínuas. Todavia, a representação dos processos qualitativos requer melhores estimativas dos parâmetros iniciais de acumulação e lavagem, além do aperfeiçoamento do algoritmo de cálculo dos mesmos.