abstract: Data-driven applications are becoming increasingly complex with support for processing events and data streams in a loosely-coupled distributed environment, providing integrated access to heterogeneous data sources such as relational databases and XML documents. This dissertation explores the use of materialized views over structured heterogeneous data sources to support multiple query optimization in a distributed event stream processing framework that supports such applications involving various query expressions for detecting events, monitoring conditions, handling data streams, and querying data. Materialized views store the results of the computed view so that subsequent access to the view retrieves the materialized results, avoiding the cost of recomputing the entire view from base data sources. Using a service-based metadata repository that provides metadata level access to the various language components in the system, a heuristics-based algorithm detects the common subexpressions from the queries represented in a mixed multigraph model over relational and structured XML data sources. These common subexpressions can be relational, XML or a hybrid join over the heterogeneous data sources. This research examines the challenges in the definition and materialization of views when the heterogeneous data sources are retained in their native format, instead of converting the data to a common model. LINQ serves as the materialized view definition language for creating the view definitions. An algorithm is introduced that uses LINQ to create a data structure for the persistence of these hybrid views. Any changes to base data sources used to materialize views are captured and mapped to a delta structure. The deltas are then streamed within the framework for use in the incremental update of the materialized view. Algorithms are presented that use the magic sets query optimization approach to both efficiently materialize the views and to propagate the relevant changes to the views for incremental maintenance. Using representative scenarios over structured heterogeneous data sources, an evaluation of the framework demonstrates an improvement in performance. Thus, defining the LINQ-based materialized views over heterogeneous structured data sources using the detected common subexpressions and incrementally maintaining the views by using magic sets enhances the efficiency of the distributed event stream processing environment. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Computer Science 2011

Att urskilja om en andraspråkselevs läs- och skrivsvårigheter är av tillfällig, andraspråksrelaterad natur eller ett tecken på en djupare problematik är svårt. Samtidigt är det av fundamental betydelse för att eleven i fråga ska få den undervisning som svarar mot aktuell utvecklingsnivå och behov. I föreliggande kvalitativa studie har pedagoger som ansvarar för språkundervisning i grundskolans högstadium och gymnasium intervjuats. Syftet med studien är att förstå pedagogers tankar kring faktorer som bidrar till att de uppmärksammar och urskiljer dyslexi hos tonåriga andraspråkselever, samt vad de anser vara viktigt för att skolorna ska kunna agera på ett adekvat sätt när funderingar kring dyslexi finns. Resultaten har analyserats utifrån teorin the Simple View of Reading och Aarons m.fl. (2008) vidareutveckling av denna teori. Pedagogerna i studien diskuterar läs- och skrivsvårigheter i allmänhet och dyslexi i synnerhet på ett sätt som visar att de har kunskap om vad som skiljer dyslexi från övriga läs- och skrivsvårigheter och förmåga att upptäcka vad som kan vara avvikande och problematiskt i en enskild elevs språkutveckling. Pedagogerna framhäver samarbete och elevens lärmiljö som viktiga faktorer för att skolan ska kunna agera på ett adekvat sätt kring andraspråkselever med eventuell dyslexi. Fasta modersmålslärare gagnar eleverna, eftersom dessa finns i verksamheten och är involverade i det dagliga arbetet. En önskan finns bland flera av informanterna att specialpedagoger och speciallärare kommer ut i klassrummen. Tillsammans med övriga pedagoger kan de observera, reflektera, föreslå och hjälpa till med extra anpassningar utifrån eleven i kontexten. Likaså uttrycks en önskan om en mindre hierarkisk organisation där pedagoger och skolledning har tillit och respekt för varandra och där fokus ligger på ett effektivt arbete med att stödja elevens utveckling. Genom en rutin att screena alla elevers läs- och skrivförmåga kan svårigheter upptäckas tidigare. Ett problem som fler av informanterna i studien tar upp är den långa väntan på utredning av extern aktör, vilket kan leda till att insatser för att stötta elevens utveckling försenas när skolorna saknar underlag för ändamålsenliga åtgärder. Därför är det önskvärt att skolan har egen kompetens att utreda läs- och skrivsvårigheter. Ett proaktivt ledarskap, där skolan är tydlig med vad den står för, har höga förväntningar på både elev och personal, struktur i undervisningen, regelbunden kunskaps- och färdighetskontroll och snabb respons är några exempel på framgångsrikt agerande, likaså att snabbt reagera när en elev inte utvecklar sina färdigheter och kunskaper som förväntat.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Boston University

The relatively new concept of talent management has been recognized to have a strategic role in disruptive business environments by both researchers and practitioners. A resourced-based view proposes that organizations should focus on internal resources and foster their own unique resources, for instance human resources. These unique and valuable resources are managed to become a core competence for facilitating organizations to seclude imitators and achieve competitive advantages. The proposition that initiate the research question of this thesis aims at delving into the relationships between talent management systems (TMS) and environmental volatility. The concept of talent management and other related theoretical concepts have formerly been theoretically ambiguous and remains empirically unexplored. This thesis aims to find out how TMS are managed in times of technology advancements. In order to achieve that goal, the authors integrated theoretical knowledge from the field of talent management and further developed a resource-based integrated TMS framework accordingly. Based upon a qualitative and abductive research approach, a single case study of a Nordic company operating in financial services was conducted to answer the research question and to test the framework. By following the order and structure of the framework, the semi-structured interviews were designed and analyzed respectively. The empirical findings reveal that strategic talent management proved to be of great importance in times of technology advancements. A lightweight structured talent management system addressing on flexibility and agility is managed to adapt to environmental uncertainty. Accordingly, the resource-based integrated TMS framework is reviewed and modified for future researchers and practitioners to use and further elaborate upon.

Aim: The purpose of this research is to develop an in-depth understanding on the environmental factors that influence the internationalization of SMEs in an emerging African market environment. Methods: The study was conducted by using a qualitative research design. To fulfil the purpose of this research, the researchers adopted the use of a single case study to explain the different aspects of the topic being studied within the emerging market context. The research was supported with primary data obtained directly from the company through interviews and also with secondary data in order to support and compare the results obtained from this research. Results were analyzed using thematic analysis with the use of the NVivo software to represent data collected. Results: The main findings of this research indicate the internationalization process of financial SMEs in an African country like Ghana is heavily influenced by the socio-cultural factors in their home market environment and the technological factors in their host markets. Again, it was realized that the internal resources of the firm, particularly the competitive advantage, remained highly relevant and influential in the internationalization process on both markets. Furthermore, it was found that the internationalization process was not only influenced by the firm’s resources or the environmental factors but also by the firm’s organizational internal processes, international activities, level of foreign experiences and firm identity. Conclusions: Environmental factors have both positive and negative influence on the internationalization process of financial SMEs in an emerging economy like Ghana. Some factors have more impact on the home market than on the host market and vice versa. In addition, the internationalization process of financial SMEs in Ghana can mostly be initiated and successful when the firm has a market gap or foothold strong enough to sustain competitive advantage in the long run on both host and home markets. More importantly, this unique edge must be buttressed by ample firm resources.

The purpose of the following essay is to study students with non-European backgrounds view of the multicultural perspective in history teaching at the upper secondary school in Sweden. To study this, student interviews have been made and the study has also answered how the students perceive the concept of multiculturalism and how they consider their teachers to take into account the students' ethnic backgrounds in the history teaching. The study results show that multiculturalism is a concept that can be defined in different ways, and that students believe that the history teaching has a European and Western perspective. Students want teachers to take more account of different ethnicities in teaching, and that history teaching not should be so generalizing as it is.

A inter-relação entre estratégias, recursos e performance das firmas é o foco central de investigação deste trabalho. Através da abordagem denominada como Visão da Firma Baseada em Recursos, estudou-se o caso do Cluster Vitivinícola da Região da Serra Gaúcha, visando à análise de sua competitividade. Como contribuição teórica à área de estratégia, foi proposto e detalhado um esquema de classificação de recursos em clusters, introduzindo-se os conceitos de Recursos Sistêmicos, Recursos de Acesso Restrito e Recursos Singulares. A investigação baseou-se em dados coletados através de entrevistas estruturadas realizadas com executivos e especialistas de 54 empresas produtoras de vinhos finos. O objetivo principal foi o estudo da influência exercida pelos recursos estratégicos sobre a performance das firmas. Complementarmente, foi investigado qual o papel das estratégias das firmas sobre o acesso a estes recursos. Os resultados evidenciaram uma influência positiva dos recursos e das estratégias sobre a performance, auxiliando na compreensão das assimetrias competitivas entre as firmas do cluster. / The interrelationships of strategy, resources and performance of the firms is the main subject of this work. Through the lens of the Resource Based View of the Firm, we studied the case of the South Brazilian Wine Cluster, analyzing its competitiveness. As a theoretical contribution to the strategy field, we proposed and detailed a classification scheme of resources in clusters, introducing the concepts of Systemic Resources, Singular Resources and Constrained Access Resources. The study was based on data collected trought in-depth and structured interviews with experts and executives of 54 fine wine produccing firms. The results were analysed by qualitative and quantitative techniques. The main goal was the identification of the influence of resources on the firms’ performance. In addition, we studied the role of firm’s operational strategies on access to these resources. The results evidenced a positive effect of resources and strategies on performance, improving the understanding of competitive assimetries between firms in the cluster.

This thesis describes modern approaches to Business intelligence. It also explains in detail platform Power BI and Business intelligence add-ins for Microsoft Excel 2013. This thesis also shows how to create an application that communicates with free billing service iDoklad. The resulting aaplication is evaluated from an economic and implementation standpoint.

This thesis deals with the creation of an application developed for a real company using Web Dynpro ABAP technology. The application allows devices running on Windows Mobile platform access to SAP warehouse management.

A internacionalização das empresas as coloca em frente a desafios e situações de adaptação e de intensa competitividade. As estratégias e os recursos organizacionais são afetados pelo processo de internacionalização, trazendo um efeito deste movimento internacional sobre a organização e seus recursos, promovendo uma desacomodação no dia a dia das empresas, exigindo uma readequação e consequente busca por retorno à estabilidade produtiva. A presente pesquisa propõe um framework para identificar e analisar as modificações nos recursos estratégicos resultantes do processo de internacionalização de uma empresa, ao longo do tempo, objetivando contribuir para o entendimento destes fatores que fundamentam a internacionalização a luz da teoria da Visão Baseada em Recursos. A análise dos diferentes modelos e teorias contemporâneos, juntamente com os resultados obtidos na pesquisa empírica, permite concluir que nas empresas estudadas, os recursos estratégicos sofreram modificações alterando suas características de valor, raridade, difícil imitação e difícil substituição durante o seu processo de internacionalização. Estas modificações foram promovidas por decisões históricas e pela entrada de novos conhecimentos, portanto, para que a empresa tenha êxito, seus recursos estratégicos devem ser trabalhados, por um lado o aprendizado, instrumentalizado pela capacidade absortiva e, por outro lado, os eventos históricos, que podem reforçar ou retirar o caráter estratégico dos recursos. Embora não seja possível generalizar as análises e considerações a partir do estudo de casos, estas poderão fornecer subsídios para empresas que estão ou pretendem entrar num processo de internacionalização. / The process of globalization and the internationalization of companies place them ahead of new challenges and of situations of adaptation of intense competitiveness. Organizational strategies and resources are affected by the internationalization process, affecting the organization path and its resources; creating a discomfort on daily basis for these companies and forcing a re-arrangement and a constant search for productive stability. The present research proposes a framework which identifies and analyzes the modifications in the strategic resources resulting from the process of internationalization of a company that, throughout time, look to contribute for the understanding of these factors which are studied through the Resourcebased View theory. The analysis of the different contemporary models and theories, together with the results obtained in the empirical research, allows concluding that in the studied companies, the strategic resources have suffered modifications, altering their value characteristics, rarity, difficult imitation and difficult substitution during their process of internationalization. These modifications had been promoted by historical decisions and by the entrance of new knowledge but, to enhance any success of the companies, their strategic resources they must be worked out, on one hand, through learning, instrumented by an out-in absorptive capacity and, on the other hand, by historical events, that can strengthen or weaken the strategic character of the resources. Although it is not possible to generalize the analysis and the considerations from the cases, they will be able to furnish insights for companies who are or intend to enter in an internationalization process.