Submitted by Josimara Dias Brumatti (bcgdigital@ndc.uff.br) on 2017-01-17T16:11:56Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao_maria_jaciara_2014.pdf: 9126595 bytes, checksum: 7f15a9b9b42cf2ce0d4c3204748b3628 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Josimara Dias Brumatti (bcgdigital@ndc.uff.br) on 2017-01-17T16:12:35Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao_maria_jaciara_2014.pdf: 9126595 bytes, checksum: 7f15a9b9b42cf2ce0d4c3204748b3628 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-17T16:12:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao_maria_jaciara_2014.pdf: 9126595 bytes, checksum: 7f15a9b9b42cf2ce0d4c3204748b3628 (MD5) / Investiga as possibilidades de inserção das Histórias em Quadrinhos no campo da Ciência da Informação a partir da constatação, oriunda de pesquisa anterior, da dificuldade tanto do profissional da informação como da área em lidar com este tipo de material. Busca por meio de pesquisa bibliográfica tecer as relações entre quadrinhos, cultura, educação e informação para defender o fato da narrativa quadrinística ser relevante fonte de informação dos modos de ser e pensar do mundo contemporâneo. Busca pesquisas sobre a temática dos quadrinhos na Ciência da Informação bem como a natureza destes trabalhos através de revisão de literatura e levantamentos em bases de dados diversas (Lattes, BRAPCI). Delineia o perfil do leitor de quadrinhos e a natureza de sua relação com esta narrativa com base na analise das categorizações de leitores propostas por Eco (2011) e Vergueiro (1998, 2005). Como primeiro resultado apresenta a análise do conteúdo da Série Fábulas de Bill Willingham (2002-) feita em duas partes: a primeira evidenciando suas relações com a cultura bem como com a história e a literatura do tempo presente; e a segunda enfatizando os elementos arquetípicos utilizados pelo autor na construção dos enredos e dos personagens, com destaque a Jornada do Herói, através do esquema proposto por Campbell (2007). Por fim traz a percepção dos leitores de Fábulas do universo dos quadrinhos e apresenta propostas de mediação e dinamização deste tipo de acervo. / Investigates the possibilities of integration of Comics in the field of Information Science from the observation, derived from previous research, much of the difficulty of information professionals as the area in dealing with this type of material. Search by means of literature weaving relations between comics, culture, education and information to defend the fact that the narrative in comics be relevant source of information on modes of being and thinking of the contemporary world. Search researches on the subject of comics in information science and the nature of these works through literature review and surveys in various data bases (Lattes, BRAPCI). Outlines the profile of the comic reader and the nature of your relationship with this narrative based on the analysis of readers categorizations proposed by Eco (2011) and Vergueiro (1998, 2005). As a first result presents the analysis of the content of the Fables series by Bill Willingham (2002 - ) made in two parts: the first showing their relations to culture as well as history and literature of the present time; and the second emphasizing the archetypal elements used by the author in the construction of plots and characters, especially the Hero's Journey through the scheme proposed by Campbell (2007 ). Finally brings the perception of readers of the Fables comics universe and presents proposals for mediation and promotion of this type of collection.

Thesis deals with the use of Competitive Intelligence methods for selected IT company. The main objective of this work is the use of competitive intelligence analysis within the company and the characteristics of the company's competitive environment. Another goal is to identify appropriate information sources to obtain information about the external business environment and tools for monitoring them. The theoretical part of this work comes from the professional literature and focuses on the characteristics of competitive intelligence, and the intelligence cycle, including a description of its phases. Furthermore is mentioned the categorization of information sources and described the tools for collecting and analyzing information on the Internet. Part of theoretical part is a chapter devoted to CI in small and medium-sized companies. The practical part of this thesis deals with designing a system of competitive intelligence for a particular company. The first part includes the evaluation of the current situation in the ICT sector. Next chapter contains useful information sources to track and monitor information. Part of the proposed solution is a proposal profile person responsible for the conduct of CI. Thesis contribution in general involves a practical demonstration of using the CI methods possibilities in small business. From the practical side is the benefit mainly evaluating various analyzes, the conclusions and recommendations drawn from them.

Föreliggande studie undersöker utvecklingssamtalets roll i att forma det psykologiska kontraktet. Den hermeneutiska spiralen har legat till grund för studiens struktur, och empiri har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Tidigare forskning kring psykologiska kontrakt har främst fokuserat på effekterna av kontraktsbrott eller att finna samband till motivation, välmående, effektivitet och lönsamhet. Det har visat sig att uppfyllnad av det psykologiska kontraktet kan bidra med positiva effekter till alla ovan nämnda delar om utformningen av kontraktet går i linje med företagets strategi. Forskningen kring hur kontrakten utformas är dock begränsad. Därmed har denna studie undersökt hur psykologiska kontrakt formas genom utvecklingssamtal samt andra informationskällor. Resultatet i föreliggande studie visar på att utvecklingssamtalets roll varierar från individ till individ, och att andra informationskällor kan ha en mer inflytelserik roll. Studien visar på att det är ett flertal delar av kontraktet som utvecklingssamtalet inte brukar ha något inflytande över, exempelvis vilka regler som finns för klädsel och beteende. De delar av det psykologiska kontraktet som utvecklingssamtalet tenderar att vara mer inflytelserikt över, är de delar som traditionellt diskuteras på ett utvecklingssamtal, vilket är utbildning, prestationer samt lön. Utöver detta stärker föreliggande studie övrig litteratur kring hur viktig närmsta chef är för att forma det psykologiska kontraktet. Studien visar även på att litteratur kring psykologiska kontrakt och utvecklingssamtal från andra länder är överförbar till den svenska kontexten gällande utformningen av psykologiska kontrakt. / This study aims to explore how the performance appraisal plays a part in shaping the psychological contract. The study is based on the hermeneutic spiral, and semi structured interviews were used to collect information. Previous studies regarding psychological contracts have mainly focused on the effects of breaches of contract and finding connections to motivation, wellbeing, effectiveness and profitability. They have shown that fulfillment of the psychological contract can contribute to positive effects to all of those fronts if the contract fits with the company’s overall strategy. However, studies regarding how the psychological contract is shaped is limited, which is why this study aims to explore how the contract is shaped, specifically by performance appraisals. The results show that the role of the performance appraisal in shaping the psychological contract varies from individual to individual, and that other sources of information take a more influential role in the psychological contract. The study shows that there are multiple parts of the psychological contract where the performance appraisal tends to play a part, for example rules regarding how to dress and behave. The parts of the psychological contract in which the performance appraisal tends to play an influential role, are the parts that traditionally speaking gets discussed in a performance appraisal, things such as education, performance and salary. In addition, this study reinforces previous claims that the closest manager plays an important role in shaping the psychological contract. It also shows that the American and British psychological contract and performance appraisal literature is applicable in a Swedish context.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-02T21:42:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gloria M M de Oliveira pg1_100.pdf: 1160905 bytes, checksum: c07ec59f326b9cebc94ff6aa80c11d26 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-09-29 / No campo da estratégia, a inovação é reconhecida como uma possível fonte de vantagem competitiva a médio e longo prazo. No Brasil, onde ações visando a melhoria de competitividade internacional tem sido empreendidas, a inovação torno-se um assunto de grande interesse entre aqueles que buscam uma melhoria no desempenho de seus produtos e processos, além da conquista de novos mercados. Não temos conhecimento, no entanto, de trabalhos que analisem os resultados efetivos de inovação da cooperação e do acesso a fontes de informação. Assim, este trabalho visa contribuir com a análise do impacto percebido pelos gestores com relação aos efeitos da cooperação e das fontes de informação sobre a inovação em produtos, processos e mercado, considerando as empresas com sede no Estado de São Paulo. Utilizou-se a base de dados da PINTEC - Pesquisa de Inovação Tecnológica, publicada pelo IBGE Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, referente ao triênio 2006-2008. Foram estimados 32 modelos de regressão categórica múltipla, a fim de averiguar o quanto as variáveis cooperação e fontes de informação explicam o impacto percebido em produtos, processos e mercado. Nos resultados das regressões para 1413 empresas que apresentaram uma alta cooperação com universidades ou institutos de pesquisa foi possível observar um impacto altamente significante no aumento da capacidade de produção ou de prestação de serviços e significante na abertura de novos mercados. Para todas as variáveis dependentes do estudo, indicadoras de inovação em produto, processo e mercado foram observados efeitos altamente significantes sobre as variáveis dependentes de impacto inovativo quando consideradas as variáveis independentes indicadoras de fontes de informação com clientes, consumidores e fornecedores, em quaisquer níveis de intensidade (alto, médio e baixo) atribuídos pelo respondente. Já o acesso a fontes de informação advindo das universidades e instituições de ensino superior mostrou-se significante para as seguintes variáveis dependentes de resultados de inovação a) melhoria na qualidade dos bens ou serviços, b) na ampliação da gama de bens ou serviços ofertados, c) na redução dos custos de produção ou dos serviços prestados e d) na abertura de novos mercados. Entre as principais contribuições acadêmicas deste trabalho estão o melhor entendimento sobre a percepção dos efeitos em inovação e suas origens sob a perspectiva do gestor. Espera-se que os resultados desse trabalho possam embasar decisões de gestores e formadores de políticas de inovação.

This thesis describes the design of Competitive Intelligence for the selected construction company. The main objective of this work is to choose a competent person responsible for the implementation of activities of CI in this company, identify appropriate sources for information about the company environment and tools for monitoring. The theoretical part is based on the scientific literature and focuses on the characteristics of competitive intelligence and describes the various phases of the intelligence cycle. The theoretical part includes the chapter, which deals with the issue of CI in the small companies. Then, there is the typology of information sources which describes the tools for information monitoring through the Internet. The practical part of this thesis deals with the design system of the competitive intelligence for the selected company. The first part has evaluated the actual situation in the construction industry in the Czech Republic and conducted research information sources suitable for tracking environment of the construction company. Based on this research there are recommended sources of information in the next chapter that should be monitored and there are also selected tools for collecting and monitoring information. Part of the proposed solution is the choice of the officer responsible for the conduct of CI. The last chapter of the practical part describes the processes that must be performed by the specialist in the various stages of the reporting cycle and it also determines the structure of the data entered into the system. The contribution of this work is to improve collecting, processing and distributing information efficiency about the company´s environment and to establish a systematic recording of detected events, opportunities and threats. Another benefit is a practical demonstration of the introduction of the CI system that respects the constraints of small companies and an overview of IT tools, which can be used by these companies for systematic information monitoring and collection.

This study sought to gain a better understanding of how participants made decisions regarding placement for their first-born children for the prekindergarten year. The purpose of this research, to explore participants' decision-making process, was guided by the following research question: "How do parents make decisions to select placements for their children during the prekindergarten year?" The secondary research questions were the following: "What experiences do parents want their children to have during the prekindergarten year?"; "How do parents get information about programming for the prekindergarten year?"; and "How do parents assimilate information and make a final decision?" This research utilized an interview study to capture the stories of parents as they reflected on the decisions they made for their child's prekindergarten year. Sixteen mothers representing 18 children participated in this qualitative study. Participants were selected because, at the time of the study, they were currently parents of a public school kindergarten student, who is their oldest child. This criterion produced a population of parents who had already made the decision about their child's prekindergarten year, had made this decision recently, and were first-time decision makers regarding prekindergarten programming. Participants' children were kindergarteners in one of three elementary schools in the same school district in a Midwest city. Results showed that participants used the prekindergarten year to prepare their children and themselves for kindergarten. They gathered information from four main sources: friends, family, the child, and themselves. Participants valued their own intuition or opinion as the most important source of information. Participants' personal opinions were most valued because they needed to feel confident about a placement that they thought would fit their children's needs. Participants' decision-making was influenced by pre-school location, logistics (i.e. transportation), and preparation for kindergarten, hours, cost, and the first impressions of participants. Three major themes emerged from the interviews concerning participant selection of a prekindergarten placement: (a) parental desires for the prekindergarten year; (b) sources of information about prekindergarten programs; and (c) factors that influenced the decision-making process. Two deciding factors were location and participants' first impressions. When a participant decided against a placement due to location or first impressions, the placement was eliminated from further consideration. Participants were willing to work around other decision-making factors, but l these two critical factors ended further consideration of a placement. These findings contribute to existing research on parents' decision-making process of choosing their child's prekindergarten year by extending the research on childcare choices to include choices made specifically for the prekindergarten year. This research identifies key elements for parents including a transitional year for the parent, parents as a source of information , and critical influences on the decision-making process

This Master thesis deals with proposal of action improvements in company A-WebSys Ltd. while realizing their contracts. The thesis purpose is to minimize risks by future projects, enhance the effectiveness of realization and maintaining of current projects, minimize the employee fluctuation and enhance the overall stability of company. In accordance to this we have supported the thesis with theoretical knowledge and also have realized the analysis of current situation of the company and its environment. Shortcomings and problems identified are then solved by suggested changes each individually contributing to the situation improvement. Practical feasibility of proposed solution and profitability of expended costs is in conclusion proved by the economic assessment.

Hela samhället berörs av bristande kunskap och dåliga attityder kring sexualitet och sexuell hälsa. Syftet med studien var att beskriva ungdomars användning och upplevelse av informationskällor bland olika kunskapsområden inom sexualitet och sexuell hälsa, med en enkät. Resultatet visade att vänner/partners är den mest värdefulla informationskällan. Pornografi är en värdefull källa för kunskap om ”sätt att ha sex” och sociala medier är en värdefull källa för HBTQ+. Mest tillförlitliga informationskällorna var föräldrar/vårdnadshavare, ungdomsmottagning och vänner/partner. Den upplevda kunskapen om sex och samlevnad överlag uppnådde nivån “måttlig”, med bäst kunskaper inom preventivmedel och säkrare sex, och det viktigaste kunskapsområden upplevdes vara relationer. Studiens betydelsefullaste resultat visade att ungdomars upplevda kunskapsnivå inom ett område och upplevd tillförlitlighet av en källa korrelerar med hur värdefull ungdomar upplever informationskällan, inte i vilken omfattning informationskällan används. / The whole society is affected by the lack of knowledge and poor attitudes about sexuality and sexual health. The purpose of the study was to describe young people's use and experience of information sources among different areas of knowledge in sexuality and sexual health, with a questionnaire. The result showed that friends/partners are the most valuable source of information. Pornography is a valuable source of knowledge about ways of having sex, and social media is a valuable source of knowledge for LGBTQ+. The most reliable sources of information are parents, youth clinics and friends/partners. The perceived knowledge of sexuality and sexual health in general achieved the level “moderate”, with the best knowledge about contraception and safer sex, and the most important knowledge areas were perceived as relationships. The most significant results showed that young people's perceived level of knowledge in one area and perceived reliability of a source correlate with how valuable young people experience the information source, not to what extent the source of information is used.

Dans cette thèse, nous nous sommes intéressés au problème de codage de sources avec information adjacente au décodeur seulement. Plus précisément, nous avons considéré le cas où la distribution jointe entre la source et l'information adjacente n'est pas bien connue. Dans ce contexte, pour un problème de codage sans pertes, nous avons d'abord effectué une analyse de performance à l'aide d'outils de la théorie de l'information. Nous avons ensuite proposé un schéma de codage pratique efficace malgré le manque de connaissance sur la distribution de probabilité jointe. Ce schéma de codage s'appuie sur des codes LDPC non-binaires et sur un algorithme de type Espérance-Maximisation. Le problème du schéma de codage proposé, c'est que les codes LDPC non-binaires utilisés doivent être performants. C'est à dire qu'ils doivent être construits à partir de distributions de degrés qui permettent d'atteindre un débit proche des performances théoriques. Nous avons donc proposé une méthode d'optimisation des distributions de degrés des codes LDPC. Enfin, nous nous sommes intéressés à un cas de codage avec pertes. Nous avons supposé que le modèle de corrélation entre la source et l'information adjacente était décrit par un modèle de Markov caché à émissions Gaussiennes. Pour ce modèle, nous avons également effectué une analyse de performance, puis nous avons proposé un schéma de codage pratique. Ce schéma de codage s'appuie sur des codes LDPC non-binaires et sur une reconstruction MMSE. Ces deux composantes exploitent la structure avec mémoire du modèle de Markov caché.

Export-led growth is important for a number of reasons. At a macro-economic level, it can create profit, allowing a country to balance its finances and manage its debt. Export-led growth can also lead to higher productivity and job creation. At a micro-economic level, exports and export-led growth lead to higher competitiveness and business growth. From an exporter’s perspective, however, participation in the global economy and export to new foreign markets bring with them the challenge of acquiring the required knowledge of an unknown market. Relevant information gathered has to be subjected to analysis and interpretation before it can be applied to strategic business decisions regarding the company and its market. This study proposes that Competitive Intelligence (CI) be used as an instrument to determine the types of export information that exporters require, as it focuses on exporters’ information requirements and enhances their competitiveness. The increasingly competitive business environment places increasing demands on Trade Promotion Organisations (TPOs) to make better use of resources available in order to tailor products and services to the needs of exporters. TPOs are amongst the main sources of information and export assistance for exporters. Other export information sources include publications and a variety of human sources. The assistance of TPOs can take the form of various export-promotion instruments, such as market research, trade fairs and business introductions. TPOs face various challenges, including that of scarce resources. Therefore, such resources must be utilised optimally and in order to achieve efficiency, Realistic Export Opportunities (REOs) need to be prioritised. This study stresses the importance of export diversification and the export of manufactured goods. Export diversification brings its own challenges including the question of which products to promote for export. The application of a Decision Support Model developed by Cuyvers et al. (1995:173) for South Africa identified a number of REOs. Amongst these was the export of South Africanmanufactured extruders to Tunisia. Against the background of the importance of export growth, the types of information that exporters use and the sources of such information were determined by means of a survey of extruder manufacturers, TPOs and users of extruders. With the export potential of extruders to Tunisia as an REO as focus, a market study was conducted using the case study research method. Results of the survey indicate that the only type of information that extruder manufacturers as potential new exporters in South Africa seek on a continuous basis is competitor information, specifically pricing information. However, the findings indicate that this is not typically the type of information supplied by TPOs in South Africa. Furthermore there is no evidence that extruder manufacturers have processes in place to monitor markets and competitors, or to identify key types of information. Concerning the case study, it was found that there is indeed a potential market for extruders in Tunisia and that the industries in which extruders are typically used are significant and growing. It was however also found that there are high trade barriers and high market concentration. Therefore, in terms of an export-promotion strategy for TPOs, an offensive exportpromotion strategy is proposed. In terms of further research, this study points to a need for research of this nature to extend to the wider capital equipment industry. It is further recommended that market profiles of the markets that show the most potential for specific products produced and manufactured in South Africa as evident from the results of Rossouw, Steenkamp, Viviers and Cuyvers (2010) be compiled. / Thesis (Ph.D. (International Trade))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.