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Thesis (M Sport Sc)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: See full text for abstract / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sien volteks vir opsomming

Thesis (M Sport Sc)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The running industry has seen a lot of changes over the past years. Minimalistic footwear and barefoot training are redefining the running industry and community. These new developments have led to extensive research being conducted on the effects of barefoot running on kinetics, kinematics, energy expenditure and the prevention of injuries. Most of the shoe manufacturers have come up with an idea to mimic barefoot running. Barefoot running has shown to increase running economy and decrease impact forces. Inconclusive evidence exists as to whether barefoot training improves proprioception and muscle strength or reduces running-related injuries. The primary aim of the study was to determine the effects of barefoot training on speed, agility, power and balance in netball players. Twenty women netball players (age: 20 ± 2 years) volunteered for the study and were randomly assigned to the barefoot group (n = 10) and the shod group (n = 10). All participants had to attend at least 14 training sessions, where the barefoot group gradually increased the barefoot exercise time. Speed, agility, vertical jump height, single leg stability and lower leg circumferences were measured prior to and after completion of the intervention programme. At the completion of the intervention programme, participants had to give verbal feedback regarding their subjective experience of barefoot training. Seventy percent of the barefoot participants preferred barefoot training to shod training. The speed test showed a small improvement over 10-metres (P > 0.05), but not over 20-metres (P > 0.05).Agility had a significant improvement (0.14 seconds ± 0.10 seconds; P < 0.05) on the left and right leg (0.19 seconds ± 0.07 seconds; P < 0.05) for the barefoot group. There was also an improvement in the single leg stability with the right leg showing a significant improvement (P < 0.05) in anterior/posterior, medial/lateral and overall stability for the barefoot group. All except the left anterior/posterior index had a small practical effect post-intervention. No significant increases were found in the circumferences or the vertical jump height. The results show that barefoot training results in improved agility and single leg stability, compared to shod training. The effect it has on the prevention of injuries could not be determined, as the duration of the study was too short. In conclusion it can be deduced that barefoot training has a positive effect on agility and stability, thus possibly leading to improved performance. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Daar het baie veranderinge in die hardloopwêreld plaasgevind die afgelope paar jaar. Minimalistiese skoene en kaalvoetoefening is van die grootste redes daarvoor. Baie navorsing oor die effek van kaalvoet hardloop op die kinetiese en kinematiese veranderinge in die voet, sowel as die energieverbruik en die voorkoming van beserings is die laaste tyd gedoen. Die meeste van die groot skoenvervaardigers het ook nie agtergebly nie en spog elk met hul eie minimalistiese skoen. Daar is reeds bewys dat kaalvoetoefening effektiwiteit tydens hardloop verbeter en dat die kragte wat op die liggaam inwerk tydens kaalvoetaktiwiteite, minder is tydens kaalvoethardloop as wanneer daar met skoene gehardloop word. Baie navorsers beweer ook dat kaalvoetoefening propriosepsie en spierkrag verbeter en dat oefengeïnduseerde beserings verminder word as gevolg daarvan. Hierdie bewerings is egter nog nie deur die navorsing bewys nie en kan dus net as bewerings gesien word. Die hoofdoel van die studie was om die effek van kaalvoetoefening op die spoed, ratsheid, plofkrag en balans van netbalspelers te bepaal. Die steekproef het uit 20 vroulike netbalspelers bestaan (ouderdom: 20 ± 2 jaar), wat lukraak in die kaalvoet- (n = 10) en die kontrole groep (n = 10) opgedeel is. Daar is van die spelers verwag om ‘n minimum van 14 oefensessies by te woon. Tydens die oefensessies het die kaalvoet-groep die hoeveelheid tyd wat hulle kaalvoet oefeninge doen stelselmatig vermeerder. Spoed, ratsheid, vertikale sprong hoogte, eenbeen stabiliteit en omtrekke van die onderbeen is voor en na die intervensieprogram gemeet. Die spelers hetverbale terugvoering gegee oor hul ervaring van kaalvoetoefening. ‘n Meerderheid van die deelnemers (70%) het kaalvoetoefening bo oefening in skoene verkies. Daar was ‘n effense verbetering in die 10-meter spoedtoets (P > 0.05), maar oor 20-meter kon dit nie volgehou word nie. ‘n Betekenisvolle verbetering tydens die ratsheid toets is waargeneem vir die linker- (0.14 sekondes ± 0.10 sekondes; P < 0.05) en regterbeen (0.19sek ± 0.07sek; P < 0.05) van die kaalvoetgroep. Daar was ook ‘n verbetering in die stabiliteit van die regterbeen in die anterior/posterior, mediaal/lateraal en algemene stabiliteit (P < 0.05). Daar was ‘n klein praktiese effek in al die post-intervensie metings ten opsigte van stabiliteit, behalwe vir die anterior/posterior indeks van die linkerbeen. Geen betekenisvolle verskille het na die intervensie voorgekom vir die plofkrag of onderbeen omtrekke nie. Die resultate van die studie dui daarop dat kaalvoetoefening kan lei tot ‘n verbetering in ratsheid en stabiliteit. Die invloed wat kaalvoetoefening het op die voorkoming van beserings kon egter nie bepaal word nie, aangesien die duur van die studie nie lank genoeg was nie. Die gevolgtrekking van die studie is dat kaalvoetoefening ‘n positiewe effek op ratsheid en stabiliteit het, dus kan dit ook moontlik ‘n positiewe effek op prestasie hê.

Presently the automotive industry is facing enormous pressure due to global competition and ever changing legislative, economic and customer demands. Both, agility and reconfiguration are widely recognised as important attributes for manufacturing systems to satisfy the needs of competitive global markets. To facilitate and accommodate unforeseen business changes within the automotive industry, a new proactive methodology is urgently required for the design, build, assembly and reconfiguration of automation systems. There is also need for the promotion of new technologies and engineering methods to enable true engineering concurrency between product and process development. Virtual construction and testing of new automation systems prior to build is now identified as a crucial requirement to enable system verification and to allow the investigation of design alternatives prior to building and testing physical systems. The main focus of this research was to design and develop reconfigurable assembly systems within the powertrain sector of the automotive industry by capturing and modelling relevant business and engineering processes. This research has proposed and developed a more process-efficient and robust automation system design, build and implementation approach via new engineering services and a standard library of reusable mechanisms. Existing research at Loughborough had created the basic technology for a component based approach to automation. However, no research had been previously undertaken on the application of this approach in a user engineering and business context. The objective of this research was therefore to utilise this prototype method and associated engineering tools and to devise novel business and engineering processes to enable the component-based approach to be applied in industry. This new approach has been named Configurable and Collaborative Automation Systems (CO AS). In particular this new research has studied the implications of migration to a COAS approach in terms of I) necessary changes to the end-users business processes, 2) potential to improve the robustness of the resultant system and 3) potential for improved efficiency and greater collaboration across the supply chain.

Title: The ifluence of active and passive recovery for repetitive short-term motorised exercise Objectives: To explore and discover the influence of active and passive recovery for repetitive short-term motorised exercise. Methods: Research of the professional publications used during the process. Target group sample consists of female footballers of FK Dukla Praha, who actively play the chosen sport - football. The entire sample were divided into two groups containing 5 members. Each group completed 2 tests with a different type of recovery and a 48 hour break. The results were measured with a photocell and then evaluated and utilised. Results: We discovered that during repetitive short-term motorised exercise passive recovery is better than active recovery. For passive recovery, the overall average of the measured values of 10.6 and active recovery, it was 10.67. Keywords: active recovery, passive recovery, motorised excercise, agilities of performance

This research study investigated the influence of maintaining a partnership form of relationship between a Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) multinational company and its core suppliers, on their abilities to achieve supply chain agility. It took place within the Middle East region, where the in-depth case study used for data collection was Unilever (North Africa Middle East). The research also focused on the role played by information technology within Unilever’s (North Africa Middle East) partnership with its core suppliers and the achievement of a high level of agility within their supply chain. In addition to these two main aims, the research also focused on exploring the required attributes of supply chain agility within FMCG industry and also to explore the attributes of buyer-supplier partnership required to help the companies working within this type of industry to achieve agility within their supply chain. To achieve the aims and objectives of this research, this study used qualitative methods for collecting rich and valuable data. Several data collection methods under the umbrella of the in-depth case study approach were used. The methodological approach used by the research was the Grounded Theory approach (Strauss and Corbin, 1990-1998). Data was collected from the case study managerial level in Unilever’s (North Africa Middle East) main clusters within the Middle East in three different rounds, using semi-structured interviews. Data was also collected from five core suppliers for Unilever (North Africa Middle East). The research also used other data collection means, such as documents collected during the researcher’s visits to the case studies and observation. Data was analysed using the steps and procedures of the Grounded Theory approach (Strauss and Corbin, 1990-1998). Data analysis took place in three interrelated iterative steps: open coding process, axial coding process followed by the selective coding process, leading to the generated theory of the research. The findings of the study, as presented in the research’s generated theory, showed that the partnership, with its attributes explored during the research, between Unilever (North Africa Middle East) and its core suppliers can be considered as the starting driver helping the companies working within this type of industry to achieve a higher level of supply chain agility, through the attributes explored during the research. The generated theory also showed that the role played by information technology can be considered as the catalyst in this equation. It played the role of channelling the relationship between the two concepts: buyer-supplier partnership and supply chain agility. Information technology can be considered as the catalyst because the evidence indicates that without it the relationship between Unilever (North Africa Middle East) supplier partnership and supply chain agility would struggle to be achieved. In more detailed, 43 open codes had been derived from the first analysis coding process, and which were derived under the main pre-determined themes: FMCGs industry-based features, Buyer-supplier relationships, Information sharing and information technology, and Agility. These 43 open codes provided the basis for stages 2 and 3 of the analysis. In the axial coding process (the second data analysis), the axial sub categories and the axial categories were determined and the axial paradigm model was used in the analysis. In the final coding process: the selective analysis, the core category of the research was determined to be ‘Partnership existence with core suppliers’. The relationship of this core category with the other elements in the paradigm model namely: casual conditions, context, intervening conditions, action/interactional strategies, and consequences. The research has its own Theoretical, Methodological, and Managerial contributions. Among these contributions is that it can be considered a novel research, using a grounded theory approach to generate a theory, showing the relationship between buyer-supplier partnership and supply chain agility in this dimensional manner.

Depuis l’avènement des environnements dits turbulents, une réflexion a vu le jour puis s’est développée autour du type de comportement stratégique et de compétences clés à adopter afin d’en limiter les effets négatifs. Cette réflexion a élevé le débat sur les processus d’adaptation en continu des organisations par rapport aux fluctuations exogènes. Ces perturbations peuvent également provenir de facteurs endogènes qui remodèlent les activités et les trajectoires organisationnelles. Les organisations sont alors contraintes à reconfigurer leurs processus pour mieux intégrer les changements. Mieux appréhender les fluctuations amène les organisations à plus d’anticipation, à plus de rapidité d’exécution, à plus de flexibilité et à plus d’apprentissages pour soutenir leurs projets de développement sur la durée. L’ensemble de ces mutations amènent ainsi les décideurs de tous bords à reconsidérer les hommes, les structures et les capacités organisationnelles dans une visée « agile ». L'agilité organisationnelle, entendue comme l’aptitude à se mouvoir promptement et justement dans des environnements incertains nécessite selon nous une investigation qualitative dans une perspective de meilleure compréhension du concept, car l’incomplétude de la littérature évacue les limites d’une notion qui semble figée. Notre investigation explore ainsi les représentations différenciées de la part des acteurs du concept, son opérabilité –complexe- dans les organisations, et vise enfin à élargir l’existant en apportant de nouveaux éléments de compréhension tels que la proximité, l’entrepreneuriat, la redéfinition de l’articulation du triptyque réactivité-flexibilité-proactivité… / Since the beginning of the so-called turbulent environments, thought has appeared and has developed around the type of strategic behaviour and key skills to be adopted in order to limit their negative effects. This thinking process has lifted up the debate to the ongoing adaptation processes of organisations according to exogenous fluctuations. These disturbances can also stem from endogenous factors that remodel activities and organisational paths. Organisations are therefore compelled to rearrange their processes to better integrate changes. A better approach to fluctuations leads organisations to more anticipation, quicker implementation, more flexibility and more learning that will enable them to sustain their development projects in the long run. All these alterations bring decision makers from all spheres of activity to reconsider men, structures and organisational capacities from an “agile” point of view.Organisational agility understood as the ability to move swiftly and rightly within uncertain environments requires according to this research a qualitative examination leading to a better understanding of the concept since it appears from the review of literature that the theoretical object of agility is described as rigid whereas it has its limits. This research thus explores the differentiated representations that the actors of agility make of the concept, its effectiveness, its (complex) functioning inside organisations. Finally, it also aims at enlarging the state-of-the-art by bringing new elements of understanding as proximity, entrepreneurship, redefinition of the triptych articulation: reactivity-flexibility-pro-activity.

La performance d'un projet est considérée comme un facteur important pour en assurer le succès. Les entreprises s'intéressent à l'utilisation de pratiques efficaces au moyen de méthodes et d'outils efficaces pour concevoir et offrir des produits et des services novateurs et réduire le temps de mise sur le marché. La durée, les coûts et le rendement du projet sont des aspects qui font normalement face à des changements au cours de l'élaboration du projet. Ces changements doivent être traités en utilisant des processus adaptés et optimisés afin de mieux contrôler, coordonner, gérer et améliorer les projets. Les méthodes agiles semblent être efficaces pour la gestion de projets réussis, mais elles sont surtout utilisées dans les entreprises où le domaine d'activité est le logiciel. Les méthodes agiles ont récemment suscité un intérêt croissant de la part de l'industrie et sont maintenant bien acceptées et déployées en génie logiciel. Cette thèse aborde donc l'intérêt de transférer les méthodes agiles du logiciel à l'ingénierie des systèmes, et les enjeux qui y sont induits.Le travail de thèse introduit d'abord la notion d'agilité et la naissance du mouvement agile ainsi que les principes et les valeurs du développement logiciel agile. Il présente également les principales méthodes agiles, ainsi que d'autres philosophies qui partagent un certain nombre de similitudes avec l'agile. Il y a des attributs de projet, dans la littérature, qui aident à caractériser les projets agiles, ces attributs de projet sont décrits et utilisés pour comparer différentes méthodes agiles pour identifier les différences entre elles. Agile et Lean sont comparés pour déterminer pourquoi Lean est utilisé dans le développement logiciel, et en quoi il diffère des autres méthodes agiles. Enfin, nous identifions plusieurs problèmes de transfert de méthodes agiles dans le contexte de l'ingénierie des systèmes.Nous nous concentrons ensuite sur la compréhension de l'agilité en ingénierie des systèmes. Deux sens d’agile se retrouvent dans la littérature. Considérant que l'agilité est centrée sur le changement rapide de processus de produits et de systèmes convaincants, conçus et mis en œuvre de manière simple, nous explorons la question de l'introduction de l'agilité en ingénierie des systèmes. Une première analyse est menée pour identifier toute notion d'agilité dans les normes d'ingénierie des systèmes. Les résultats de cette analyse nous aident à mettre en évidence les enjeux et les défis du transfert de l'agilité dans l'ingénierie des systèmes. En nous concentrant sur les enjeux, nous présentons ensuite une méthodologie de recherche en quatre étapes. La première étape vise à définir un modèle contextuel pour le développement de l'ingénierie des systèmes. Le modèle contextuel contient les facteurs organisationnels et les attributs des projets d'ingénierie. Ensuite, la sélection d'une méthode agile qui pourrait être utilisée pour la gestion de projets d'ingénierie est proposée à l'étape deux. La troisième étape introduit l'utilisation de Scrum. Les pratiques Scrum sont définies et évaluées en fonction des attributs de projet pour les projets d'ingénierie. Les difficultés sont identifiées et répertoriées lors de l'utilisation des pratiques Scrum dans les projets d'ingénierie. Enfin, la quatrième étape propose des alternatives pour résoudre un ensemble de difficultés.Ce travail propose enfin l'utilisation des pratiques Scrum dans deux projets d'ingénierie. Un projet éducatif est d'abord analysé. Ce projet vise à développer un robot connecté. En partant du modèle contextuel pour le développement de l'ingénierie des systèmes, nous caractérisons le projet pour identifier le type de projet, puis nous proposons l'utilisation de la vue graphique de Scrum pour planifier le développement du robot. Suivant le même schéma, un deuxième projet industriel est analysé. Le second projet vise à développer une application automobile pour la gestion du moteur. / Project performance is considered as an important factor to ensure the success of a project. Companies are interested in the use of efficient practices through efficient methods and tools to design and deliver innovative products and services and decrease the time to market. Project duration, costs, and performance are aspects that normally face changes during the project development. These changes should be treated by using adapted and optimized processes in order to better control, coordinate, manage, and improve projects. Agile methods seem to be efficient for the management of successful projects, however they are mainly use in companies where the business domain is software. Agile methods recently received a growing interest from industry and now are well accepted and deployed in software engineering. This thesis thus tackles the point of transferring the agile methods from software to systems engineering, and issues that are induced.The report first introduces the notion of agility and the birth of the agile movement as well as the principles and values of agile software development. It also presents the main agile methods, as well as other philosophies that share a number of similarities with Agile. Project attributes can be defined, from the literature, to help contextualizing agile projects; we describe and use these project attributes to compare different agile methods and identify the differences between them. Agile and Lean are compared to determine why Lean is used in software development, and how it differs from other agile methods. Finally, we identify several issues to transfer agile methods in the context of systems engineering.We then focus on the understanding of agility in systems engineering. Two meanings of "agile" are found in literature. Considering that agility is focused in the rapid change of convincing, designing, and implementing processes of products and systems in an easy way, we explore the question of introducing agility in systems engineering. A first analysis is led to identify any notion of agility in systems engineering standards. The results of this analysis help us to highlight the issues and challenges of transferring agility into systems engineering. Focusing on the issues, we then present a four steps research methodology. The first step aims to define a contextual model for systems engineering development. The contextual model contains the organizational factors and the project attributes for engineering projects. This contextualization lead us to identify if and which agile method could be used for the management of engineering projects (step two). The step three justifies our selection of the Scrum Framework, between agile methods, for the management of engineering projects. Scrum Practices are defined and evaluated in the project attributes for engineering projects. However, several difficulties are identified and listed while using the Scrum Practices in engineering projects. Finally, the step four proposes some solutions to solve a set of difficulties.This work finally proposes the use of Scrum Practices in two engineering projects. An educational project is analyzed first. This project aims to develop a connected robot. By starting from the contextual model for systems engineering development (cf. section III.4.2.d), we characterize the project to identify what type of project is, then we propose the use of the graphical view of the Scrum Framework to plan the development of the robot. Following the same schema, a second industrial project is analyzed. The second project aims to develop an automotive application for engine management.

O desenvolvimento da potência muscular e das habilidades motoras como salto vertical, velocidade de corrida e agilidade é fundamental para um bom desempenho nas modalidades esportivas coletivas, dentre elas o handebol. Os exercícios do levantamento de peso olímpico (LPO), dentre eles o hang power clean (HPC), têm sido comumente utilizados para esta finalidade; porém, pouco se sabe a respeito do efeito de diferentes intensidades de treinamento com o HPC sobre o desempenho motor de atletas. Desta forma, o objetivo do estudo foi investigar o efeito de dois protocolos de treinamento com 50% e 90% 1RM no exercício HPC nos ganhos de potência muscular dos membros inferiores, na altura do salto vertical, na velocidade de corrida, na mudança de direção e na força dinâmica máxima de jogadoras de handebol. Dezesseis atletas das categorias júnior e adulto foram divididas em dois grupos (LPO50 e LPO90; 50% e 90% 1RM, respectivamente) e submetidas a 15 sessões de treinamento durante sete semanas. Testes de potência muscular dos membros inferiores, altura do salto vertical sem e com contra-movimento (SJ e CMJ, respectivamente), velocidade de corrida, mudança de direção e força dinâmica máxima (1RM) nos exercícios meio-agachamento e HPC foram realizados pré- e pós-treinamento. Após o período de treinamento foi observado aumento significante da potência de membros inferiores no CMJ com 40% da massa corporal (MC) somente para o grupo LPO90, enquanto nenhuma alteração significante ocorreu no CMJ 60% e 80% MC para ambos os grupos. Não foram observadas alterações significantes na altura dos saltos verticais (SJ, CMJ e CMJ com diferentes sobrecargas externas) para os dois grupos; porém, a velocidade de corrida nas distâncias 0-5, 0-20 e 0-30m aumentou de forma significante e semelhante entre LPO50 e LPO90. Houve diminuição significante no desempenho da mudança de direção no teste T-40 para ambos os grupos. A 1RM no exercício HPC aumentou para os dois grupos enquanto nenhuma alteração significante foi observada para o exercício meio-agachamento. Assim, após 15 sessões de treinamento com HPC em diferentes intensidades (50% vs. 90% 1RM), pode-se afirmar que a utilização de menores intensidades promoveu adaptações positivas muito similares à utilização de maiores intensidades na velocidade de corrida e na força dinâmica máxima no exercício HPC, em jogadoras de handebol / The development of muscle power and motor skills such as vertical jump, running speed and agility is fundamental for a good performance in several team sports, among them handball. Olympic weightlifting (OWL) exercises such as the hang power clean (HPC) have been commonly used for this purpose; however, little is known about the effect of different training intensities with HPC on athletes\' motor performance. Thus, the objective of the study was to investigate the effect of two training protocols with 50% and 90% 1RM of the HPC exercise on lower limbs muscle power, vertical jump height, running speed, agility, and maximum dynamic strength of female handball players. Sixteen junior and adult athletes were divided into two groups (OWL50 and OWL90, 50% and 90% 1RM, respectively) and underwent 15 training sessions for seven weeks. Test for lower limbs muscle power, squat jump and countermovement jump height (SJ and CMJ, respectively), running velocity, agility, and maximal dynamic strength (1RM) in half-squat and HPC exercises were performed pre- and post-training. After the training period, a significant increase in lower limbs power in the CMJ was observed with 40% of body mass (BM) only for the OWL90 group, while no significant alteration occurred in the CMJ 60% and 80% BM for both groups. No significant changes were observed in vertical jumps height (SJ, CMJ and CMJ with different external loads) for both groups; however, running speed at 0-5, 0-20 and 0-30m increased significantly and similarly between OWL50 and OWL90. There was a significant decrease in agility performance for both groups. The 1RM in the HPC exercise increased for both groups while no significant change was observed for the half-squat exercise. Thus, after 15 training sessions with HPC at different intensities (50% vs. 90% 1RM), it can be stated that the use of lower intensities promoted positive adaptations in running speed and maximum dynamic strength in the HPC exercise similar to the use of higher intensities, in handball players

Agility is referred to as the ability of a firm to proactively or reactively adapt successfully to rapid changes within the business environment both internally and externally. The Post-Merger Integration (PMI) phase is characterized by rapid organizational changes which require new strategy methods that suit the nature of today’s fast paced business environments. Though characterized by changes, the PMI presents an opportune moment for the transformation of a business by exploring and exhausting the innovation potential of the integrating firms through the use of agile aspects that seek to identify risks and explore opportunities in a nimble manner. These aspects are several, but in this study, we delve into three namely, flexibility, adaptability and customer focus. The aspects of agility originated from fields of Software Development and are fairly new to the discipline of Business Administration but are considered to be evolving and popular across other fields of study. The current era is noted by scholars as the Scaled Agile Framework Development Era which is characterized by an emergence in agile frameworks that aid in large scale programs of an organization, such as the PMI in this case. This era represents a steppingstone to business agility, the future of agility that seeks to transform an organization to be adaptive to changes. The purpose of this study is to develop an agile framework drawing from empirical findings of the use of agility aspects in the context of a merger and acquisition, more specifically, the post-merger integration phase, to act as an innovation catalyst. To obtain insights and a better understanding on what we set ourselves to research, we explore an embedded single case study of a firm operating in a traditional industry, the maritime industry, in order to investigate the following research question:How can agility in the context of a Post-Merger Integration (PMI) contribute toinnovation? Eight semi-structured interviews with senior executives and senior managers of the case company were conducted in order to draw insights on their previous experiences with mergers and acquisitions. Empirical evidence was collected and coded in line with the Gioia methodology and with the aid of references to extant literature we began to build theory thereof. Our findings revealed that agile aspects may be adopted to complement and not necessarily replace existing hierarchical structures, procedures and processes within the PMI. Additionally, all three aspects of agility we sought to investigate prove to be useful to promote innovation in PMIs when adopted. The theoretical contribution of our study is the development of an agile framework that may be utilized in the PMI to identify, exploit and exhaust the innovation potential of the M&amp;A activity. Furthermore, the framework may be validated in a different company or setting other than the company under study.