Esta pesquisa foi motivada pela observação de um problema prático com potenciais contribuições teóricas. O problema em questão é a dificuldade de gerenciar projetos complexos de construção de modo que os objetivos estratégicos de sua implementação sejam alcançados, problema observado em um complexo programa de reestruturação urbana na cidade de Porto Alegre. Estudos indicam que nas últimas décadas houve um aumento na complexidade de gestão de projetos que resultou em desafios para as práticas gerenciais tradicionalmente adotadas. Alguns autores relacionam esse aumento de complexidade com uma demanda, cada vez maior, de compreender como projetos estão alinhados com os objetivos estratégicos e como irão contribuir para a geração dos benefícios esperados pelos diversos agentes intervenientes de um projeto. Dentro deste contexto, a falta de suporte dado pelas tradicionais praticas gerenciais é apontada. As críticas focam não só na falta de alinhamento estratégico e na dificuldade de gerenciar interesses conflitantes, mas também na dificuldade de lidar com a susceptibilidade desses projetos ao contexto politico, econômico e social no qual se inserem, e com a dinâmica desse contexto. Dentro deste contexto, foram identificadas duas abordagens gerenciais que emergem no contexto da construção civil em resposta às deficiências observadas: a Benefits Realisation Approach (BeReal) e o Lean Project Delivery System (LPDS). O foco da literatura existente sobre essas abordagens é predominantemente de caráter prescritivo, oferecendo modelos e métodos para sua aplicação. Identificou-se portanto a necessidade de avaliar a contribuição dessas abordagens para lidar com os desafios observados e contribuir para a melhoria do suporte a geração de valor em projetos complexos. Uma terceira abordagem, a Logical Framework Approach (LFA), utilizada no programa onde o problema foi identificado, também foi avaliada, pois é sugerido na literatura que ela oferece suporte para lidar com alguns aspectos da complexidade dos projetos. O processo de pesquisa envolveu as principais etapas de Design Science Research: encontrar um problema prático e com potencial para contribuição teórica, obter um entendimento deste problema, desenvolver ou identificar potencial solução, testar a solução, avaliando sua utilidade, e avaliar a contribuição teórica desta solução. Neste estudo, ênfase foi dada à avaliação das potenciais soluções identificadas. Três estudos empíricos foram realizados: o primeiro teve como objetivo entender o problema - programa de reestruturação urbana em Porto Alegre/Brasil; o segundo para avaliar as contribuições da adoção da BeReal em um programa de reestruturação de um campus hospitalar em Brighton/Inglaterra; e o terceiro para avaliar as contribuições do LPDS em um projeto de um hospital em San Carlos/Estados Unidos. Os três estudos apresentam diferentes contribuições gerenciais para o suporte a geração de valor em projetos complexos de construção. Tais contribuições são explicadas com base em um referencial teórico desenvolvido, formando um modelo conceitual que explica as mudanças necessárias no contexto de gestão de empreendimentos complexos para um melhor foco na geração de valor e como as diferentes praticas observadas e mecanismos de suporte contribuem para esta mudança. / This research was motivated by a practical problem with potential theoretical contributions. The problem in hand is the difficulty to generate value in complex construction projects, a problem observed in a large urban regeneration programme in Porto Alegre. Past research indicate that in the last decades there was an increase in project complexity, posing challenges to traditional managerial practices. According to some authors, such complexity is partially due to an increasing concern to understand how project’s outputs contribute to generating change and delivering benefits to different stakeholder groups. Within this context, the lack of managerial support provided by traditional project management approaches is pointed out. Firstly because such approaches generally focus on the delivery of a physical product, within time and budget. Secondly, they do not provide support for dealing with the conflicting interests of multiple stakeholders. And thirdly because they do not properly consider that projects are susceptible to their economic, social and political context and subject to changes in such environment. In this research, two managerial approaches that are being used in the construction industry were identified as having potential contributions to improve value generation in complex projects: the Benefits Realisation Approach (BeReal) and the Lean Project Delivery System (LPDS). The literature available about these approaches is mainly prescriptive. Thus, there is still a need to understand why and how such approaches contribute for value generation. A third approach, the Logical Framework Approach (LFA) used where the problem was identified, was also analysed, as the literature suggests it also offers contributions to deal with some aspects of complexity. This research followed a Design Science Research process: finding a practical problem with potential theoretical contributions, framing the problem and searching for potential solutions, understanding how and why the solutions contribute for solving the problem and analyse the theoretical contributions of the solutions. In this study, emphasis was given to the evaluation of potential solutions identified. Three empirical cases were realised: the first one was in a urban regeneration programme in Brazil, aiming to understand the problem; the second was realised in a healthcare infrastructure programme in the UK, to analyse the adoption of BeReal; and the third in a healthcare infrastructure programme in the US, to analyse the adoption of LPDS. The three studies presented different managerial contributions to support value generation. Such contributions are analysed based on a conceptual framework that was devised. The model reveals the underlying concepts of observed managerial practices that contribute towards the improvement of value generation.

This diploma thesis examines children's knowledge of natural science through the five years of primary school. Achievement test is used as the main data collection tool. It also mentions pupils with specific learning disorders or other developmental disorders. The results may assist teachers or others involved in this branch as a landmark on the map of children's knowledge.

An important issue for healthcare service providers is to achieve high levels of patient satisfaction. Collecting patient feedback about their experience in hospital enables providers to analyse their performance in terms of the levels of satisfaction and to identify the strengths and limitations of their service delivery. A common method of collecting patient feedback is via online portals and the forums of the service provider, where the patients can rate and comment about the service received. A challenge in analysing patient experience collected via online portals is that the amount of data can be huge and hence, prohibitive to analyse manually. In this thesis, an automated approach to patient experience analysis via Sentiment Analysis, Topic Modelling, and Dependency Parsing methods is presented. The patient experience data collected from the National Health Service (NHS) online portal in the United Kingdom is analysed in the study to understand this experience. The study was carried out in three iterations: (1) In the first, the Sentiment Analysis method was applied, which identified whether a given patient feedback item was positive or negative. (2) The second iteration involved applying Topic Modelling methods to identify automatically themes and topics from the patient feedback. Further, the outcomes of the Sentiment Analysis study from the first iteration were utilised to identify the patient sentiment regarding the topic being discussed in a given comment. (3) In the third iteration of the study, Dependency Parsing methods were employed for each patient feedback item and the topics identified. A method was devised to summarise the reason for a particular sentiment about each of the identified topics. The outcomes of the study demonstrate that text-mining methods can be effectively utilised to identify patients’ sentiment in their feedback as well as to identify the themes and topics discussed in it. The approach presented in the study was proven capable of effectively automatically analysing the NHS patient feedback database. Specifically, it can provide an overview of the positive and negative sentiment rate, identify the frequently discussed topics and summarise individual patient feedback items. Moreover, an API visualisation tool is introduced to make the outcomes more accessible to the health care providers.

Web-based service providers have long been required to deliver high quality services in accordance with standards and customer requirements. Increasingly, however, providers are required to think beyond service quality and develop a deeper understanding of their customers’ Quality of Experience (QoE). Whilst models exist that assess the QoE of Web Application, significant challenges remain in defining QoE factors from a Web engineering perspective, as well as mapping between so called ‘objective’ and ‘subjective’ factors of relevance. Specifically, the following challenges are considered as general fundamental problems for assessing QoE: (1) Quantifying the relationship between QoE factors; (2) predicting QoE as well as dealing with the limited data available in relation to subjective factors; (3) optimising and controlling QoE; and (4) perceiving QoE. In response, this research presents a novel model, called QoEWA (and associated software instantiation) that integrates factors through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Key Quality Indicators (KQIs). The mapping is incorporated into a correlation model that assesses QoE, in particular, that of Web Application, with a consideration of defining the factors in terms of quality requirements derived from web architecture. The data resulting from the mapping is used as input for the proposed model to develop artefacts that: quantify, predict, optimise and perceive QoE. The development of QoEWA is framed and guided by Design Science Research (DSR) approach, with the purpose of enabling providers to make more informed decisions regarding QoE and/or to optimise resources accordingly. The evaluation of the designed artefacts is based on a build-and-evaluate cycle that provides feedback and a better understanding of the utilised solutions. The key artefacts are developed and evaluated through four iterations: Iteration 1 utilises the Actual Versus-Target approach to quantify QoE, and applies statistical analysis to evaluate the outputs. Iteration 2: utilises a Machine Learning (ML) approach to predict QoE, and applies statistical tests to compare the performance of ML algorithms. Iteration 3 utilises the Multi-Objective Optimisation (MOO) approach to optimise QoE and control the balance between resources and user experience. Iteration 4 utilises the Agent-Based Modelling approach to perceive and gain insights into QoE. The design of iteration 4 is rigorously tested using verified and validated models.

Esta pesquisa foi motivada pela observação de um problema prático com potenciais contribuições teóricas. O problema em questão é a dificuldade de gerenciar projetos complexos de construção de modo que os objetivos estratégicos de sua implementação sejam alcançados, problema observado em um complexo programa de reestruturação urbana na cidade de Porto Alegre. Estudos indicam que nas últimas décadas houve um aumento na complexidade de gestão de projetos que resultou em desafios para as práticas gerenciais tradicionalmente adotadas. Alguns autores relacionam esse aumento de complexidade com uma demanda, cada vez maior, de compreender como projetos estão alinhados com os objetivos estratégicos e como irão contribuir para a geração dos benefícios esperados pelos diversos agentes intervenientes de um projeto. Dentro deste contexto, a falta de suporte dado pelas tradicionais praticas gerenciais é apontada. As críticas focam não só na falta de alinhamento estratégico e na dificuldade de gerenciar interesses conflitantes, mas também na dificuldade de lidar com a susceptibilidade desses projetos ao contexto politico, econômico e social no qual se inserem, e com a dinâmica desse contexto. Dentro deste contexto, foram identificadas duas abordagens gerenciais que emergem no contexto da construção civil em resposta às deficiências observadas: a Benefits Realisation Approach (BeReal) e o Lean Project Delivery System (LPDS). O foco da literatura existente sobre essas abordagens é predominantemente de caráter prescritivo, oferecendo modelos e métodos para sua aplicação. Identificou-se portanto a necessidade de avaliar a contribuição dessas abordagens para lidar com os desafios observados e contribuir para a melhoria do suporte a geração de valor em projetos complexos. Uma terceira abordagem, a Logical Framework Approach (LFA), utilizada no programa onde o problema foi identificado, também foi avaliada, pois é sugerido na literatura que ela oferece suporte para lidar com alguns aspectos da complexidade dos projetos. O processo de pesquisa envolveu as principais etapas de Design Science Research: encontrar um problema prático e com potencial para contribuição teórica, obter um entendimento deste problema, desenvolver ou identificar potencial solução, testar a solução, avaliando sua utilidade, e avaliar a contribuição teórica desta solução. Neste estudo, ênfase foi dada à avaliação das potenciais soluções identificadas. Três estudos empíricos foram realizados: o primeiro teve como objetivo entender o problema - programa de reestruturação urbana em Porto Alegre/Brasil; o segundo para avaliar as contribuições da adoção da BeReal em um programa de reestruturação de um campus hospitalar em Brighton/Inglaterra; e o terceiro para avaliar as contribuições do LPDS em um projeto de um hospital em San Carlos/Estados Unidos. Os três estudos apresentam diferentes contribuições gerenciais para o suporte a geração de valor em projetos complexos de construção. Tais contribuições são explicadas com base em um referencial teórico desenvolvido, formando um modelo conceitual que explica as mudanças necessárias no contexto de gestão de empreendimentos complexos para um melhor foco na geração de valor e como as diferentes praticas observadas e mecanismos de suporte contribuem para esta mudança. / This research was motivated by a practical problem with potential theoretical contributions. The problem in hand is the difficulty to generate value in complex construction projects, a problem observed in a large urban regeneration programme in Porto Alegre. Past research indicate that in the last decades there was an increase in project complexity, posing challenges to traditional managerial practices. According to some authors, such complexity is partially due to an increasing concern to understand how project’s outputs contribute to generating change and delivering benefits to different stakeholder groups. Within this context, the lack of managerial support provided by traditional project management approaches is pointed out. Firstly because such approaches generally focus on the delivery of a physical product, within time and budget. Secondly, they do not provide support for dealing with the conflicting interests of multiple stakeholders. And thirdly because they do not properly consider that projects are susceptible to their economic, social and political context and subject to changes in such environment. In this research, two managerial approaches that are being used in the construction industry were identified as having potential contributions to improve value generation in complex projects: the Benefits Realisation Approach (BeReal) and the Lean Project Delivery System (LPDS). The literature available about these approaches is mainly prescriptive. Thus, there is still a need to understand why and how such approaches contribute for value generation. A third approach, the Logical Framework Approach (LFA) used where the problem was identified, was also analysed, as the literature suggests it also offers contributions to deal with some aspects of complexity. This research followed a Design Science Research process: finding a practical problem with potential theoretical contributions, framing the problem and searching for potential solutions, understanding how and why the solutions contribute for solving the problem and analyse the theoretical contributions of the solutions. In this study, emphasis was given to the evaluation of potential solutions identified. Three empirical cases were realised: the first one was in a urban regeneration programme in Brazil, aiming to understand the problem; the second was realised in a healthcare infrastructure programme in the UK, to analyse the adoption of BeReal; and the third in a healthcare infrastructure programme in the US, to analyse the adoption of LPDS. The three studies presented different managerial contributions to support value generation. Such contributions are analysed based on a conceptual framework that was devised. The model reveals the underlying concepts of observed managerial practices that contribute towards the improvement of value generation.

Orientador: Pedro da Cunha Pinto Neto / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-20T22:49:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Bernardinello_Luciana_M.pdf: 2371649 bytes, checksum: e7baeae2eec17adc951418cfdd209bff (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: O presente trabalho propôs-se a compreender os sentidos discursivos que permeiam a produção acadêmica da graduação em Turismo, a fim de descrever como tais representações relacionam-se à formação universitária, bem como à apropriação das ferramentas da pesquisa científica pelos estudantes da área. Para tanto, após a seleção do corpus, a saber, os Trabalhos de Conclusão de Curso (TCC's) da graduação em Turismo da Escola de Comunicações e Artes da Universidade de São Paulo (ECA-USP), compreendidos entre os anos de 1998 a 2009, traçaram-se, em linhas gerais, as circunstâncias de produção ampla e imediata para a elaboração destes trabalhos, considerando-se ainda a sua exterioridade - contexto sócio-histórico. Nessa perspectiva, no interior do processo discursivo desta investigação, o imaginário dos universitários em Turismo materializou-se em seus TCC's, trazendo para essa produção acadêmica as representações acerca do próprio discurso científico entrelaçado com o mercado globalizado, refletindo, sobretudo a fusão entre a formação intelectual e a formação para o trabalho. / Abstract: This dissertation to propose understanding the meanings discourses that permeate the academic production for graduation in Tourism, for describe how this representations connection with the university formation, and also how through of it the students this area assimilate of the instruments for the science research. For that, after the select of the corpus, namely, the Papers of Conclusion of Course (TCC's) of the graduation in Tourism at the School of Communications and Art of the University of São Paulo (ECA-USP), included between the years of 1998 at 2009, distinguished, in general, the conditions of ample and immediate production for elaborate this papers, taken into consideration also their externality - the socio history context. In this perspective, in the inside of the discursive process in this investigation, the imaginary of the university students in Tourism materialized in theirs TCC's, bringing for this academic production the representations about the own scientific discourse related with the globalized market, reflecting, essencially the fusion between the intellectual formation and the formation for the work. / Mestrado / Ensino e Práticas Culturais / Mestre em Educação

M.Ed. (Philosopy of Education) / Every year the failure rate among matrics causes great concern among various parties such as the students’ parents, the community and teachers. These reports focus attention on a serious problem, namely the effectiveness of schools in South Africa. Economic, social and political factors significantly contribute to the large percentage of matric students who either drop out or fail their studies. The high number of dropouts and students who fail, is a serious problem that have severe implications and it must be addressed urgently. In order to address this problem it is imperative to investigate school effectiveness. The specific purpose of this study is to investigate schools in South-Africa, to identify problems, define criteria that can be used in school improvement programmes and to design models that explain the role of the criteria during implementation of school improvement programmes. The study required literature research in order to investigate the factors influencing the performance of students and to determine possible criteria for school effectiveness. The following criteria resulted from the research and would be interpreted in a functional simulation improvement model : * Clear academic goals * Social network * School ambience * Responsible leadership * Teacher efficiency * Quality instruction * Pupil well-being

D. Litt. et Phil. / The primary hypothesis postulated in this thesis reads The power of states in the postmodern age of knowledge is commensurate with their intelligence capabilities ', and is utilised in addressing the problem of state power and intelligence in an age of knowledge. It is argued that the contemporary era wherein states, individuals and other entities practice their existence is fundamentally different to that of historical precedent. In effect this era can be characterised as being an age of knowledge which has superceded the former information age. Sophisticated knowledge based technologies both informational and distributional are shown to be the catalysts which have facilitated the transformation to the age of knowledge, bringing about in effect a 'new world information order'. Information and intelligence are the metaphorical passengers and product ofthe use of knowledge based technologies and associated communication processes. They represent the raison d 'etre of such technologies, in effect spurring on their development. Intelligence, being a user-specific type of information designed to provide the recipient with context and opportunity with respect to a specific problem or situation, is shown in this thesis to be a fundamental resource for the making of both decisions and subsequently policy in, and for, government. It is demonstrated that the impact of intelligence on decision- and policymaking makes it a primary determinant of state power in an age of knowledge. The efficient management of information and intelligence does, and can, therefore impact upon the relative power of the state at both inter- and intranational levels. Consequently, the aforementioned primary hypothesis presented in the thesis is validated as it is clearly demonstrated that the power of states in the postmodern age of knowledge is in effect commensurate with their intelligence capabilities. The solution provided in this thesis in addressing the aforementioned problem lies in the need for recognition of the role and influence that information and intelligence have on state power in the age of knowledge. In addition, in order to exploit the power of information and intelligence it is necessary to regard it as being fundamental to information management at all levels, and for all functions, of government. This can, however, only be achieved by means of the development of a national information and intelligence strategy. A key aspect of such a strategy would be the utilisation of private sector resources for intelligence, specifically in the context of open source intelligence, a situation made possible by the 'new realities' which are characteristic of the age of knowledge. (Cf. Afrikaanse sinopsis op volgende bladsy.)

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is the major cause of illness and death in immunocompromised patients. HCMV is the most common cause of congenital viral infection in humans. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was developed for the rapid detection of CMV in urine. Several parameters of the PCR procedure were optimized to reduce time and improve sensitivity. By eliminating the extraction of DNA from clinical specimens, reducing the number of amplification cycles, utilization of the "hot start" PCR procedure and direct detection of PCR product by ethidium bromide fluorescence staining, a procedure was developed which could be performed in less than 3 hours. Comparison studies using cell culture and direct detection of CMV by PCR on urine specimens were performed. Sensitivity was further examined to determine if inhibitors of the PCR reaction were present in urine.

La gestion interorganisationnelle des connaissances est une préoccupation croissante des organisations et, en particulier, de celles oeuvrant pour la dissuasion nucléaire française. Elle contribue à la maîtrise des connaissances nécessaires à la réussite d'un projet sur lequel plusieurs entreprises collaborent. Conduite à la Direction des applications militaires du Commissariat à l'énergie atomique, notre thèse s'intéresse au processus selon lequel une organisation cliente peut participer à la façon dont un fournisseur crée, conserve, transfert et applique les connaissances relatives aux prestations qu'elle lui achète. En ciblant la relation client / fournisseur stratégique, la recherche aborde un aspect peu exploré de la gestion interorganisationnelle des connaissances : le contrôle de la gestion des connaissances d'un fournisseur stratégique. Retenant, comme définition, que le contrôle de la gestion des connaissances d'un fournisseur stratégique est l'influence qu'un client peut exercer sur la façon dont il gère ses connaissances, la recherche démontre qu'il permet à un client de participer à la gestion des connaissances d'un fournisseur stratégique. A partir d'une approche ingénierique, notre thèse appréhende cet objet de recherche en s'appuyant sur la conception d'un guide méthodologique, proposant une démarche dédiée. Les résultats de la recherche aboutissent à la conception d'une démarche constituée de quatre étapes successives. Sa mise en oeuvre pourrait, si elle était engagée, aider un client à contrôler la gestion des connaissances d'un fournisseur stratégique et, in fine, permettre la maîtrise des connaissances relatives aux prestations qu'il lui livre. / Interorganizational knowledge management is a growing concern for organizations and, in particular, for those which belong to the French nuclear deterrence. It contributes to the mastery of knowledges required for the success of a project implying several companies. Carried out in the military applications Division of the French atomic energy Commission, our PhD thesis looks at the process allowing a client organization to participate to the way a supplier acquire, conserve, transfer and apply knowledges relevant to the deliveries that it purchased. Focusing on the client / strategic supplier relationship, the research addresses an unexplored aspect of interorganizational knowledge management: the knowledge management control of a strategic supplier. Since knowledge management control of a strategic supplier can be defined as the influence that a customer may have on how a strategic supplier manages its knowledge, research demonstrates that it allows the client to participate in knowledge management deployed by the strategic supplier. From a design science approach, our PhD thesis deals with this research object owing to the design of a methodological guide which proposes a dedicated process. The results of the research lead to the design of a process which consists in four stages. If it was in use, the process implementation could help a customer to control knowledge management of a strategic supplier and, finally, enable the mastery of knowledges related to the purchased deliveries.