Processos de backoffice apresentam um grande impacto nos custos de uma empresa. Centros de Serviço Compartilhados têm sido implementados a fim de controlar e melhorar tais processos. O lean, por sua vez, tem em comum com os CSC o objetivo de trazer excelência a processos. Uma análise da literatura indica haver sinergia entre os métodos e que as ferramentas lean possam promover melhorias que a implantação exclusiva de um CSC não tenha atingido. O objetivo deste trabalho é implantar princípios e ferramentas lean visando a busca de excelência em processos de backoffice, que pertençam a um CSC maduro. Para analisar essa possibilidade foi realizado um estudo de caso em empresa do ramo metalúrgico que já dispõe de um CSC considerado maduro em pesquisas de benchmarking na área. Foram implementados: um estudo de estabilidade e capacidade, posteriormente a prática de gerenciamento diário para implementação de melhorias, ocorrendo coleta de dados qualitativa e quantitativa para avaliação dos seus impactos. Por fim, um questionário foi aplicado para detectar a percepção dos colaboradores a respeito das mudanças obtidas com as ferramentas. Os resultados indicaram que mesmo em um CSC já completamente implantado, havia instabilidade e incapacidade nos processos, detectadas através do estudo de capacidade e estabilidade que são usadas na metodologia Lean. Em relação à utilização de gerenciamento diário, agregado à gestão visual, observou-se ser a abordagem que possibilitaria melhores resultados Em uma pesquisa realizada com todos os níveis hierárquicos envolvidos, que comparava o cenário anterior às ferramentas, um mês após a implantação e a expectativa para o cenário em um ano, foi possível comprovar que 64% dos princípios Lean apresentados por Liker (2005) foram melhorados no primeiro mês e que existe uma expectativa de melhorar 95% dos princípios Lean e das funções da comunicação no próximo um ano com os estudos de capacidade/estabilidade e gerenciamento diário. Observou-se que, enquanto os estudos de capacidade e estabilidade detectam as falhas, o gerenciamento diário permite operacionalizar as mudanças, ao mesmo tempo em que reforça os princípios lean. Embora não possam ser generalizáveis os resultados obtidos, pode-se dizer que neste estudo foi possível atingir melhores níveis de desempenho dos processos de um CSC maduro utilizando ferramentas lean, confirmando a hipótese inicial. / Backoffice processes have a high impact on the costs of a company. Shared Service Centers (SSC) has been implemented in order to control and improve these processes. The lean methodology, in turn, has in common with the SSC the aim to bring excellence to processes. A literature review indicates that there is synergy between the methods and the lean tools can make improvements that exclusive implementation of a CSC has not reached. The aim of this study is to implement lean principles and tools aimed at the pursuit of excellence in backoffice processes, belonging to a mature SSC. To test the initial hypothesis it was conducted a case study in a metal industry that already has a mature SSC. It was implemented: stability and capacity analysis and the practice of daily management to implement improvements, occurring qualitative and quantitative data collection to assess its impact. Finally, a questionnaire was applied to detect the perception of employees about the changes obtained with the tools. The results indicated that even in a SSC already fully deployed, there is instability and failure in processes, detected by stability and capacity analysis that are used in lean methodology. Regarding the use of daily management, added to the visual management, was noted to be the approach would enable better results In a survey of all levels involved, which compared the previous scenario before the tools, one month after implantation and the expectation for the scenario in a year, it was possible to prove that 64% of the lean principles have been improved in the first month and it is expected to improve 95% of the lean principles and communication functions in one year with stability and capacity analysis and daily management. It was observed that, while the stability and capacity analysis detect faults, the daily management enables operational changes at the same time that increases lean principles perception. Although the results obtained may not be generalizable, it can be said that in this study it was possible to achieve better performance levels of processes of a mature CSC using lean tools, confirming the initial hypothesis.

Processos de backoffice apresentam um grande impacto nos custos de uma empresa. Centros de Serviço Compartilhados têm sido implementados a fim de controlar e melhorar tais processos. O lean, por sua vez, tem em comum com os CSC o objetivo de trazer excelência a processos. Uma análise da literatura indica haver sinergia entre os métodos e que as ferramentas lean possam promover melhorias que a implantação exclusiva de um CSC não tenha atingido. O objetivo deste trabalho é implantar princípios e ferramentas lean visando a busca de excelência em processos de backoffice, que pertençam a um CSC maduro. Para analisar essa possibilidade foi realizado um estudo de caso em empresa do ramo metalúrgico que já dispõe de um CSC considerado maduro em pesquisas de benchmarking na área. Foram implementados: um estudo de estabilidade e capacidade, posteriormente a prática de gerenciamento diário para implementação de melhorias, ocorrendo coleta de dados qualitativa e quantitativa para avaliação dos seus impactos. Por fim, um questionário foi aplicado para detectar a percepção dos colaboradores a respeito das mudanças obtidas com as ferramentas. Os resultados indicaram que mesmo em um CSC já completamente implantado, havia instabilidade e incapacidade nos processos, detectadas através do estudo de capacidade e estabilidade que são usadas na metodologia Lean. Em relação à utilização de gerenciamento diário, agregado à gestão visual, observou-se ser a abordagem que possibilitaria melhores resultados Em uma pesquisa realizada com todos os níveis hierárquicos envolvidos, que comparava o cenário anterior às ferramentas, um mês após a implantação e a expectativa para o cenário em um ano, foi possível comprovar que 64% dos princípios Lean apresentados por Liker (2005) foram melhorados no primeiro mês e que existe uma expectativa de melhorar 95% dos princípios Lean e das funções da comunicação no próximo um ano com os estudos de capacidade/estabilidade e gerenciamento diário. Observou-se que, enquanto os estudos de capacidade e estabilidade detectam as falhas, o gerenciamento diário permite operacionalizar as mudanças, ao mesmo tempo em que reforça os princípios lean. Embora não possam ser generalizáveis os resultados obtidos, pode-se dizer que neste estudo foi possível atingir melhores níveis de desempenho dos processos de um CSC maduro utilizando ferramentas lean, confirmando a hipótese inicial. / Backoffice processes have a high impact on the costs of a company. Shared Service Centers (SSC) has been implemented in order to control and improve these processes. The lean methodology, in turn, has in common with the SSC the aim to bring excellence to processes. A literature review indicates that there is synergy between the methods and the lean tools can make improvements that exclusive implementation of a CSC has not reached. The aim of this study is to implement lean principles and tools aimed at the pursuit of excellence in backoffice processes, belonging to a mature SSC. To test the initial hypothesis it was conducted a case study in a metal industry that already has a mature SSC. It was implemented: stability and capacity analysis and the practice of daily management to implement improvements, occurring qualitative and quantitative data collection to assess its impact. Finally, a questionnaire was applied to detect the perception of employees about the changes obtained with the tools. The results indicated that even in a SSC already fully deployed, there is instability and failure in processes, detected by stability and capacity analysis that are used in lean methodology. Regarding the use of daily management, added to the visual management, was noted to be the approach would enable better results In a survey of all levels involved, which compared the previous scenario before the tools, one month after implantation and the expectation for the scenario in a year, it was possible to prove that 64% of the lean principles have been improved in the first month and it is expected to improve 95% of the lean principles and communication functions in one year with stability and capacity analysis and daily management. It was observed that, while the stability and capacity analysis detect faults, the daily management enables operational changes at the same time that increases lean principles perception. Although the results obtained may not be generalizable, it can be said that in this study it was possible to achieve better performance levels of processes of a mature CSC using lean tools, confirming the initial hypothesis.

Processos de backoffice apresentam um grande impacto nos custos de uma empresa. Centros de Serviço Compartilhados têm sido implementados a fim de controlar e melhorar tais processos. O lean, por sua vez, tem em comum com os CSC o objetivo de trazer excelência a processos. Uma análise da literatura indica haver sinergia entre os métodos e que as ferramentas lean possam promover melhorias que a implantação exclusiva de um CSC não tenha atingido. O objetivo deste trabalho é implantar princípios e ferramentas lean visando a busca de excelência em processos de backoffice, que pertençam a um CSC maduro. Para analisar essa possibilidade foi realizado um estudo de caso em empresa do ramo metalúrgico que já dispõe de um CSC considerado maduro em pesquisas de benchmarking na área. Foram implementados: um estudo de estabilidade e capacidade, posteriormente a prática de gerenciamento diário para implementação de melhorias, ocorrendo coleta de dados qualitativa e quantitativa para avaliação dos seus impactos. Por fim, um questionário foi aplicado para detectar a percepção dos colaboradores a respeito das mudanças obtidas com as ferramentas. Os resultados indicaram que mesmo em um CSC já completamente implantado, havia instabilidade e incapacidade nos processos, detectadas através do estudo de capacidade e estabilidade que são usadas na metodologia Lean. Em relação à utilização de gerenciamento diário, agregado à gestão visual, observou-se ser a abordagem que possibilitaria melhores resultados Em uma pesquisa realizada com todos os níveis hierárquicos envolvidos, que comparava o cenário anterior às ferramentas, um mês após a implantação e a expectativa para o cenário em um ano, foi possível comprovar que 64% dos princípios Lean apresentados por Liker (2005) foram melhorados no primeiro mês e que existe uma expectativa de melhorar 95% dos princípios Lean e das funções da comunicação no próximo um ano com os estudos de capacidade/estabilidade e gerenciamento diário. Observou-se que, enquanto os estudos de capacidade e estabilidade detectam as falhas, o gerenciamento diário permite operacionalizar as mudanças, ao mesmo tempo em que reforça os princípios lean. Embora não possam ser generalizáveis os resultados obtidos, pode-se dizer que neste estudo foi possível atingir melhores níveis de desempenho dos processos de um CSC maduro utilizando ferramentas lean, confirmando a hipótese inicial. / Backoffice processes have a high impact on the costs of a company. Shared Service Centers (SSC) has been implemented in order to control and improve these processes. The lean methodology, in turn, has in common with the SSC the aim to bring excellence to processes. A literature review indicates that there is synergy between the methods and the lean tools can make improvements that exclusive implementation of a CSC has not reached. The aim of this study is to implement lean principles and tools aimed at the pursuit of excellence in backoffice processes, belonging to a mature SSC. To test the initial hypothesis it was conducted a case study in a metal industry that already has a mature SSC. It was implemented: stability and capacity analysis and the practice of daily management to implement improvements, occurring qualitative and quantitative data collection to assess its impact. Finally, a questionnaire was applied to detect the perception of employees about the changes obtained with the tools. The results indicated that even in a SSC already fully deployed, there is instability and failure in processes, detected by stability and capacity analysis that are used in lean methodology. Regarding the use of daily management, added to the visual management, was noted to be the approach would enable better results In a survey of all levels involved, which compared the previous scenario before the tools, one month after implantation and the expectation for the scenario in a year, it was possible to prove that 64% of the lean principles have been improved in the first month and it is expected to improve 95% of the lean principles and communication functions in one year with stability and capacity analysis and daily management. It was observed that, while the stability and capacity analysis detect faults, the daily management enables operational changes at the same time that increases lean principles perception. Although the results obtained may not be generalizable, it can be said that in this study it was possible to achieve better performance levels of processes of a mature CSC using lean tools, confirming the initial hypothesis.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi a preparação de um revestimento inteligente com resina epóxi, capaz de autorreparar-se quando o sofre um defeito mecânico. A autorreparação é possibilitada pela presença de microcápsulas, dispersas na resina (revestimento de epóxi sem pigmentos) e que contêm no seu núcleo o agente de autorreparação, o óleo de linhaça. Estas cápsulas foram preparadas por uma emulsão de óleo de linhaça em água para formar micelas e sobre estas uma parede ou casca exterior de poliuréia-formaldeído. Para a avaliação da resistência à corrosão e do efeito de autorreparação do revestimento, chapas de aço carbono foram revestidas e avaliadas pela técnica de espectroscopia de impedância eletroquímica (EIE) em 0.1molL-1 1 NaCl e também foram avaliadas pelo teste acelerado de corrosão em câmara de névoa salina (SSC). Após a cura do revestimento aditivado com as microcápsulas, aplicado sobre placas de aço carbono, as medidas eletroquímicas de impedância foram realizadas em corpos de prova com um defeito mecânico provocado de forma controlada e reprodutível. Uma célula de três eletrodos foi utilizada. Estas medidas foram efetuadas após 0h, 24h e 48h da execução da incisão ou defeito mecânico. Para comparação, as mesmas medidas foram realizadas com as placas pintadas com o revestimento não-aditivado, com a mesma espessura total de 120 m. Os resultados mostraram que as cápsulas foram quebradas e se liberou o óleo de linhaça, reparando a área da incisão o defeito após pelo menos 24 horas de exposição natural ao ar ambiente. Verificou-se que para as placas revestidas sem defeito, os valores de | Z | mantiveram-se elevados. No entanto, o revestimento sem as microcápsulas, após 24 horas, mostrou uma diminuição considerável no valor de módulo de impedância, |Z|. Assim, usando a técnica de EIE foi possível avaliar quantitativamente o mecanismo de autorreparação do revestimento aditivado com microcápsulas que contêm óleo de linhaça. Os ensaios acelerados de corrosão (SSC) mostraram resultados em estreita concordância com os obtidos por EIE. / The aim of this work was the preparation of a smart coating with epoxy resin which is able to repair itself (self-healing effect) after suffering a mechanical defect. Self-healing is possible due to the presence of microcapsules, dispersed in the resin (clear type epoxy coating) and contain in their core the self-healing agent, the linseed oil. These capsules were prepared in an emulsion of linseed oil in water to form micelles and an outer skin or wall of poly(urea-formaldehyde) was formed. For the corrosion resistance and the self-healing effect evaluation of the coating, carbon steel plates were coated and tested by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy technique (EIS) in 0.1molL-1 NaCl solution and by accelerated corrosion test in salt spray chamber (SSC). After curing of the capsules additivated epoxy based clear coating applied on carbon steel plates, electrochemical impedance measurements were performed on plates with a controlled and reproducible mechanical defect. A three-electrode electrochemical cell was used. These measurements were performed after 0h, 24h and 48h of making the incision or mechanical defect. For comparison, the same measurements were performed with the plates painted with a non- capsules additivated clear coating of the same total thickness of 120 m. The results showed that the capsules were broken and released the linseed oil, which indeed have repaired the incision area after at least 24 hours of natural air aging. It was found that for the plates coated without a defect, the values of impedance modulus, |Z|, remained high. However, the coating without the capsules after 24 hours, showed a considerable decrease in |Z|. So, using EIS it was possible to quantitatively assess the mechanism of self-healing of the additivated coating using microcapsules containing linseed oil. The SSC accelerated corrosion tests showed results in close agreement with those obtained by EIS.

This diploma thesis deals with the topic of personal marketing in the area of shared services centres, mainly by its external part focusing on acquisition of university students and graduates. The main aim of the thesis is to propose improvements for personal marketing strategy of one concrete company. For this purpose, the key notions from the field of personal marketing as employer branding and employer reputation are defined as well as the terms from the area of shared services centres. After the definition of SSC, the sector of shared company services is going to be described to give reasons for the need for them to set up an effective personal marketing strategy aimed on university students and graduates. In practical part the assessment of the current approach to the personal marketing of the chosen company is to be made by analysing individual elements of its personal marketing strategy and comparing it to its competition. Then by using that and the results of the survey made amongst the target groups, the recommendation to improve current HR marketing strategy of the chosen company will be concluded.

Applicering av överlast på kalkcementförstärkta jordar är ofta förekommande idag, forskning indikerar dock på att överlasten här, inte ger samma effekt som på oförstärkta jordar. Med grund i uppmätta värden i fält, visas i denna rapport, sättningsdifferenser mellan att använda överlast jämfört med att endast applicera brukslast. Resultat av analyserna visar på sättningsbeteende observerat i fält. Om erforderlig liggtid för brukslast finns, uppstår endast små sättningsdifferenser mellan att använda överlast eller inte. Genom att utföra sensitivitetsanalys i FEM- programvaran PLAXIS studeras kryputvecklingen i den förstärkta jorden. Effekten av att applicera en överlast visas för krypsättningar över lång tid. Inget resultat från de numeriska FEM- analyserna visade att märkbart gynnsam effekt uppstår på grund av överlastens applicering, med avseende på krypsättningar. De numeriska analyserna utförs i 2 och 3 dimensioner för att belysa effekt av förenkling av ett lastfall som inte uppfyller krav för oförstärkta jordar i plant töjningstillstånd. Utöver detta ges efter en litteraturstudie, förslag på hur vissa indataparametrar kan utvärderas från empiriska relationer. Indataparametrar som ligger till grund för analyserna är utvärderade från sonderingsresultat i kombination med värden från laborationsförsök och empiriska data.

The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze Swedish male handball players power in the lower limbs, dependent on position, in different anatomical planes. Previous studies has examined vertical and horizontal power but not medial lateral power. This study used previous studies as theory. Power was examined through vertical, horizontal and medial lateral CMJAS, unilateral and bilateral, in a laboratory setting. The vertical jumping performance was measured with ‘My Jump 2’ and the vertical power (W; W/kg) was calculated with Lewis formula. Only the jumping performance (cm) was noted in the horizontal and medial lateral CMJAS. No significance difference was observed (p>0.05) in power between the positions. A strong correlation between the vertical and horizontal CMJAS was observed (p<0.05; r=0.860-0.883). Conclusion, handball players, independent position, possesses similar power, bilateral and unilateral, in vertical, horizontal and medial lateral CMJAS. Medial lateral power needs to be examine to create a better profile of the player.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T18:39:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Francisco Clairton Araujo.pdf: 525978 bytes, checksum: 3101f9a1e0593821687d983cfc750405 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-11-19 / In a dynamic and highly competitive business environment, the pressure for results is growing within organizations. On the market only organizations that best work up their competitive edges through a good management and creativity will remain. In this sense, shared services centers have contributed to organizations because they provide a consolidation of the company common activities optimizing resources, integrating technologies, processes and people, and above all generation of value for shareholders. When shared services centers are related internally to other business units of the organization it becomes necessary the valorization of intercompany transactions; hence the importance of transfer pricing because the lack of pricing methods for transfer price may jeopardize the measurement of results between business units and consequently the overall result of the organization. The objective of this work is to evaluate the various methods of transfer pricing between business units aiming at identifying the most suitable for evaluation and measurement of performance of a shared services center. To achieve this purpose, one has chosen to adopt as a research methodology, in addition to the literature a case study with action research in a German multinational company that has a shared services center. To achieve this purpose, in addition to a bibliographical survey one has chosen to adopt as research methodology a case study with research-action in a German multinational company having a shared services center. The research results have confirmed the expectation of cost reduction provided by the centralization of services through the SSC, and also in the light of the results obtained by the application of several methods of pricing for transfer pricing the most appropriate one to value intercompany transactions is the method based on market value / Num ambiente empresarial dinâmico e altamente competitivo, a pressão por resultados torna-se cada vez maior dentro das organizações. Permanecerão no mercado somente as organizações que melhor trabalharem seus diferenciais por meio de uma boa gestão e criatividade. Nesse sentido, é que os centros de serviços compartilhados têm contribuído com as organizações, pois propiciam uma consolidação das atividades comuns da empresa otimizando recursos, integrando tecnologias, processos, pessoas e, sobretudo, geração de valor aos acionistas. Quando os centros de serviços compartilhados se relacionam internamente com outras unidades de negócios da organização, torna-se necessária a valorização das transações intercompanhias; daí a importância do preço de transferência, pois a ausência de métodos de apreçamento do preço de transferência poderá comprometer a aferição dos resultados entre as unidades de negócio, e por consequência, o resultado global da organização. O objetivo da presente obra é o de avaliar os diversos métodos de preço de transferência entre as unidades de negócio, visando à identificação dos mais apropriados para avaliação e mensuração de desempenho de um centro de serviços compartilhados. Para atingir o objetivo proposto, optou-se por adotar como metodologia de pesquisa, além do levantamento bibliográfico, um estudo de caso conjugado com pesquisa-ação, em uma empresa multinacional alemã, que possui um centro de serviços compartilhados. Os resultados da pesquisa confirmaram a expectativa de redução de custos proporcionados pela centralização dos serviços por intermédio do CSC, e também, que à luz dos resultados apurados pela aplicação dos diversos métodos de apreçamento do preço de transferência, o método mais adequado para valorização das transações intercompanhias é o método com base no valor de mercado

In this thesis, the relationship between several high-latitude phenomena and the ionospheric conductance in both hemispheres is studied theoretically and experimentally. </p>Theoretically, the high-latitude electrodynamics is studied by considering currents in the magnetosphere-ionosphere system resulting from the ionospheric sheet current redistribution between the conjugate ionospheres. It is shown that strong flow between the conjugate ionospheres, the interhemispheric currents (IHC), can be set up if the conductance distribution is asymmetric in the conjugate ionospheric regions. Such conditions are typical for solstices owing to the differences in the solar illumination. Analytical and numerical modeling shows that IHCs can appear in the regions of strong conductance gradient, more specifically around the solar terminator line, and that the intensity of the IHCs can be comparable to the intensity of the well known Region 1/Region 2 currents. The effect of IHC excitation on observable magnetic perturbations on the ground is investigated. It is shown that in the vicinity of the solar terminator line, the pattern of magnetic perturbation can be such that an apparent equivalent current vortex can be detected. In addition, strong conductance gradients are shown to affect significantly the quality of the ionospheric plasma flow estimates from the ground-based magnetometer data. </p>Experimentally, the effect of the nightside ionospheric conductance on occurrence of substorms, global storm sudden commencement and radar auroras is investigated. To characterize substorm occurrence, new parameters, the derivatives of the classical AE and AO indices, are introduced. It is shown that the seasonal and diurnal variations of these parameters are controlled by the total nightside ionospheric conductance in the conjugate regions. The substorm onsets preferentially occur at low levels of the total conductance, which is consistent with the idea of the substorm triggering through the magnetosphere-ionosphere feedback instability. It is hypothesized that the total conductance affects the global storm onsets as well. To check this idea, the 33-year sudden storm commencement (SSC) data are considered. The semiannual, annual, semidiurnal, and diurnal variations in the SSC occurrence rate are found to be significant and these components exhibit a strong relationship with the total conductance of the high-latitude ionospheres. Finally, the SuperDARN midnight echo occurrence is shown to correlate, for some radars, with the total conductance minima and presumably with electric field maxima, which is consistent with general expectation that the F-region irregularities occur preferentially during times of enhanced electric fields. The gradients of the high-latitude conductance can also lead to significant errors in the plasma convection estimates from the ground-based magnetometers, and to investigate this effect a statistical assessment of the difference between the true plasma convection (SuperDARN) and the magnetometer-inferred equivalent convection direction is performed. The largest differences are found for the transition region between the dark and sunlit ionospheres and in the midnight sector where strong conductance gradients are expected due to particle precipitation. Consideration of regular conductance gradients due to solar illumination improves the agreement between the radar and magnetometer data. Finally, an attempt is made to demonstrate the effects of conductance upon the properties of traveling convection vortices (TCVs). Joint SuperDARN and magnetometer data reveal that there is resemblance between the magnetometer and radar inferred TCV images on a scale of thousands of kilometers. However, on a smaller scale of hundreds of kilometers, significant differences are observed.

In this thesis, the relationship between several high-latitude phenomena and the ionospheric conductance in both hemispheres is studied theoretically and experimentally. </p>Theoretically, the high-latitude electrodynamics is studied by considering currents in the magnetosphere-ionosphere system resulting from the ionospheric sheet current redistribution between the conjugate ionospheres. It is shown that strong flow between the conjugate ionospheres, the interhemispheric currents (IHC), can be set up if the conductance distribution is asymmetric in the conjugate ionospheric regions. Such conditions are typical for solstices owing to the differences in the solar illumination. Analytical and numerical modeling shows that IHCs can appear in the regions of strong conductance gradient, more specifically around the solar terminator line, and that the intensity of the IHCs can be comparable to the intensity of the well known Region 1/Region 2 currents. The effect of IHC excitation on observable magnetic perturbations on the ground is investigated. It is shown that in the vicinity of the solar terminator line, the pattern of magnetic perturbation can be such that an apparent equivalent current vortex can be detected. In addition, strong conductance gradients are shown to affect significantly the quality of the ionospheric plasma flow estimates from the ground-based magnetometer data. </p>Experimentally, the effect of the nightside ionospheric conductance on occurrence of substorms, global storm sudden commencement and radar auroras is investigated. To characterize substorm occurrence, new parameters, the derivatives of the classical AE and AO indices, are introduced. It is shown that the seasonal and diurnal variations of these parameters are controlled by the total nightside ionospheric conductance in the conjugate regions. The substorm onsets preferentially occur at low levels of the total conductance, which is consistent with the idea of the substorm triggering through the magnetosphere-ionosphere feedback instability. It is hypothesized that the total conductance affects the global storm onsets as well. To check this idea, the 33-year sudden storm commencement (SSC) data are considered. The semiannual, annual, semidiurnal, and diurnal variations in the SSC occurrence rate are found to be significant and these components exhibit a strong relationship with the total conductance of the high-latitude ionospheres. Finally, the SuperDARN midnight echo occurrence is shown to correlate, for some radars, with the total conductance minima and presumably with electric field maxima, which is consistent with general expectation that the F-region irregularities occur preferentially during times of enhanced electric fields. The gradients of the high-latitude conductance can also lead to significant errors in the plasma convection estimates from the ground-based magnetometers, and to investigate this effect a statistical assessment of the difference between the true plasma convection (SuperDARN) and the magnetometer-inferred equivalent convection direction is performed. The largest differences are found for the transition region between the dark and sunlit ionospheres and in the midnight sector where strong conductance gradients are expected due to particle precipitation. Consideration of regular conductance gradients due to solar illumination improves the agreement between the radar and magnetometer data. Finally, an attempt is made to demonstrate the effects of conductance upon the properties of traveling convection vortices (TCVs). Joint SuperDARN and magnetometer data reveal that there is resemblance between the magnetometer and radar inferred TCV images on a scale of thousands of kilometers. However, on a smaller scale of hundreds of kilometers, significant differences are observed.