No abstract available. / Thesis (M.B.A)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietemaritzburg, 2005.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1975.

This research investigates the specific labour market dynamics that underline the shortage of engineers in the Petrochemical Industry in South Africa. The central argument of this dissertation is that an understanding of a skills shortage requires a distinct knowledge of the internal and external nature of each labour market in which the shortage is being experienced. This dissertation develops a critique of the neoclassical perspective which dominates current analysis of skill shortages. While it is important to understand the external labour market, it is equally important to consider the internal labour market to better identify and understand the specific dynamics that underline a skills shortage in an organisation and industry. Using Engen Refinery as a case study, this dissertation focuses on an in depth examination of the experiences of engineers working at the Refinery. The findings reveal that the dynamics that underline the skill shortage of engineers in the Petrochemical Industry in the South African context are manifold. Skill shortages are a consequence of dynamics in both the external and internal labour market; these I argue are interrelated. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

Abstract not available. / Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

The prices of technological equipment have seen significant declines in recent decades. In Chapter 2 of this thesis, we examine the evidence and causes of these price declines. Among several factors, we focus on the learning curve effect where the cost of producing technological equipment declines as the cumulative number of produced units increases. In Chapter 3 we review the literature on technology adoption and the timing decisions of such adoptions. We aim to contribute to the literature by examining the timing of technology adoption under price declines. Furthermore, we consider the effect of human capital on such adoption decisions. We begin in Chapter 4 by developing a model of the timing of technology adoption under an exogenous price decline. Section 1 considers a single price drop in followed by multiple price drops in section 2. From the analytical results developed in these sections, we examine the effect of human capital on the adoption decision. Chapter 5 considers the price of the technological equipment to be endogenous to the model. We run computational experiments to demonstrate the declining price as a function of time. We examine the effect of the distribution of human capital on the price decline and adoption decision of the individuals of the population. We conclude with insights on the relationship between human capital inequality and technology adoption decisions.

The overarching research objective is to address the tightly-coupled interactions between the demand-side and supply-side components of the United States Commercial Air Transportation System (CATS) in a time-variant environment. A system-of-system perspective is adopted, where the scope is extended beyond the National Airspace System (NAS) level to the National Transportation System (NTS) level to capture the intermodal and multimodal relationships between NTS stakeholders. The Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation technique is employed where the NTS/NAS is treated as an integrated Multi-Agent System comprising of consumer and service provider agents representing the demand-side and supply-side components respectively. Successful calibration and validation of both model components against the observable real world data provided a CATS simulation tool where the aviation demand is estimated from socioeconomic and demographic properties of the population instead of merely based on enplanement growth multipliers. This valuable achievement enabled a 20-year outlook simulation study to investigate the implications of a global fuel price hike on the airline industry and the U.S. CATS at large. Simulation outcomes revealed insights into the airline competitive behaviors and the subsequent responses from transportation consumers.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-88).

Esse estudo exploratório investiga e identifica como diferentes ferramentas de planejamento podem ser utilizadas para controle, manutenção e melhoria da produtividade. A revisão de literatura nos sugere a construção Lean como vanguarda do sistema produtivo e este trabalho verifica à luz de seus princípios (Lean) quais são as condições necessárias à sua implementação num ambiente construtivo. O processo de execução das lajes de um edifício em estrutura metálica, envolve três grandes categorias de insumos: o steel deck, a armação e o concreto. O detalhamento da execução das atividades envolvidas nesse processo possibilitou aprofundar o entendimento do complexo equilíbrio entre suprimento e demanda, do balanceamento das frentes de serviço e a compreensão das condições necessárias à prática dos conceitos Lean na construção predial. Com esse intuito foi elaborado um PERT das atividades envolvidas no processo, organizadas em um mapa de fluxo e testadas em uma simulação em Excel que traduzidas na forma de gráficos de produtividade, apontam as tendências de comportamento e a interferência da variabilidade de ocorrência dos eventos nos prazos estimados e o aparecimento de esperas (desperdício). O mesmo fluxo de atividades submetido à teoria das filas completa o estudo, apresentando também sob a forma de gráficos de tendência a correlação entre as atividades de montagem do steel deck, a armação e a execução das concretagens. A análise dos resultados obtidos mostrou que a simulação em Excel confirma os valores obtidos no planejamento inicial em PERT e a teoria das filas apresenta certo grau de restrição quando o processo não apresenta produtividades crescentes. / This research investigates and identifies which tools of planning and management can be used to seek and improve productivity. The revision of literature suggests Lean as vanguard of the productive system and this work reveals the conditions for it implementation in a construction environment. The execution proceeding of a concrete slab of a building in metallic structure, involves three major steps: steel deck, steel frame and concrete. The detailing of the execution of the involved activities in this process made possible to deepen the agreement of the complex balance between supply and demand, of the balancing of the service fronts and to understand the conditions necessary to use the Lean concepts in the civil construction. The activities organized in flow were tested in a simulation, translated in the form of productivity graphs that point the trends of behavior and the interference of the variability in the trustworthiness of occurrence of the events in the targeted moments and the appearance of queues (waste). The same flow of activities submitted to the analysis of the queuing theory completes the study. The same flow of activities submitted to the queuing theory completes the study; also presenting under form of trend graphs the correlation between the assembly of steel deck, steel frame and the concrete placement. The analysis of the results showed that the simulation in Excel confirms the values gotten in the initial planning in PERT and the queuing theory presents certain degree of restriction when the process does not present increasing productivities.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The general purpose of this work is to analyze the general determinants of cotton production and the evolution of Brazilian cotton production from 1990 to 2013. Period in which the sector has undergone changes, and trade liberalization and deregulation in the market resulted in the entry of the foreign product with the highest quality causing crisis in the production of Brazilian cotton. However, with further technological incentives in the late 1990s it was possible to increase the commodity productivity resulting in the recovery, making the country among the leading manufacturers and exporters in the 2000s. To make the analysis was utilized the theoretical model of Blanchard and Quah (1989), but adapted by Barros et al. (2006) for agriculture and Alves, Barros e Bacchi (2008) for cotton. The results showed that it is the supply shocks (area and productivity) contributing to explain the export variations, averaging 40% of changes in exports is explained by area, with a significant contribution because the variable itself accounts for about 38% of its variations, and the variable productivity explains around 5%. Compared with the growth of production, it follows that the domestic price and productivity explain about 30% and 8% from the fourth year, respectively. Finally, we have as a conclusion that you need a period of adjustment to the decision to plant or not, taking into account the area, production and past prices and / or prospects for the next harvest. / O objetivo geral da dissertação é analisar os determinantes gerais da cotonicultura e a evolução da produção brasileira de algodão a partir de 1990 até 2013. Período no qual o setor passou por transformações, sendo que a abertura comercial e desregulamentação no mercado resultaram na entrada do produto externo com maior qualidade causando crise na produção de algodão brasileira. Porém, com maiores incentivos tecnológicos, no final da década de 1990, foi possível aumentar a produtividade da commodity resultando na recuperação transformando o país entre os principais produtores e exportadores na década de 2000. Para fazer a análise foi utilizado o modelo teórico de Blanchard e Quah (1989), porém adaptado por Barros et al. (2006) para a agricultura e por Alves, Barros e Bacchi (2008) para o algodão. Os resultados apontaram que são os choques de oferta (área e produtividade) que contribuíram para explicar variações da exportação, sendo em média 40% das variações das exportações é explicada pela área, sendo significativa a contribuição, pois a própria variável explica aproximadamente 38%, e a variável produtividade explica cerca de 5%. Em relação ao crescimento da produção, tem-se que o preço interno e a produtividade explicam aproximadamente 30% e 8% a partir do quarto ano, respectivamente. Por fim, tem-se como conclusão que é necessário um período de ajustamento para a decisão de plantar ou não, levando em consideração a área, produção e os preços passados e/ou perspectivas para a safra seguinte.

Esse estudo exploratório investiga e identifica como diferentes ferramentas de planejamento podem ser utilizadas para controle, manutenção e melhoria da produtividade. A revisão de literatura nos sugere a construção Lean como vanguarda do sistema produtivo e este trabalho verifica à luz de seus princípios (Lean) quais são as condições necessárias à sua implementação num ambiente construtivo. O processo de execução das lajes de um edifício em estrutura metálica, envolve três grandes categorias de insumos: o steel deck, a armação e o concreto. O detalhamento da execução das atividades envolvidas nesse processo possibilitou aprofundar o entendimento do complexo equilíbrio entre suprimento e demanda, do balanceamento das frentes de serviço e a compreensão das condições necessárias à prática dos conceitos Lean na construção predial. Com esse intuito foi elaborado um PERT das atividades envolvidas no processo, organizadas em um mapa de fluxo e testadas em uma simulação em Excel que traduzidas na forma de gráficos de produtividade, apontam as tendências de comportamento e a interferência da variabilidade de ocorrência dos eventos nos prazos estimados e o aparecimento de esperas (desperdício). O mesmo fluxo de atividades submetido à teoria das filas completa o estudo, apresentando também sob a forma de gráficos de tendência a correlação entre as atividades de montagem do steel deck, a armação e a execução das concretagens. A análise dos resultados obtidos mostrou que a simulação em Excel confirma os valores obtidos no planejamento inicial em PERT e a teoria das filas apresenta certo grau de restrição quando o processo não apresenta produtividades crescentes. / This research investigates and identifies which tools of planning and management can be used to seek and improve productivity. The revision of literature suggests Lean as vanguard of the productive system and this work reveals the conditions for it implementation in a construction environment. The execution proceeding of a concrete slab of a building in metallic structure, involves three major steps: steel deck, steel frame and concrete. The detailing of the execution of the involved activities in this process made possible to deepen the agreement of the complex balance between supply and demand, of the balancing of the service fronts and to understand the conditions necessary to use the Lean concepts in the civil construction. The activities organized in flow were tested in a simulation, translated in the form of productivity graphs that point the trends of behavior and the interference of the variability in the trustworthiness of occurrence of the events in the targeted moments and the appearance of queues (waste). The same flow of activities submitted to the analysis of the queuing theory completes the study. The same flow of activities submitted to the queuing theory completes the study; also presenting under form of trend graphs the correlation between the assembly of steel deck, steel frame and the concrete placement. The analysis of the results showed that the simulation in Excel confirms the values gotten in the initial planning in PERT and the queuing theory presents certain degree of restriction when the process does not present increasing productivities.