A Floresta Ombrófila Mista também chamada de Floresta de Araucária representa um dos mais ricos remanescentes de florestas pluviais subtropicais brasileiras, tendo como principal representante a Araucaria angustifolia, espécie considerada ameaçada de extinção. A diversidade microbiana possui um importante papel no funcionamento e manutenção do equilíbrio dos ecossistemas florestais, mas é desconhecida em solos com araucária. O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a diversidade, funcionalidade e estrutura das comunidades microbianas em florestas de Araucaria angustifolia natural, introduzida e impactada pela queima acidental. O estudo foi realizado no Parque Estadual de Campos de Jordão, SP, tendo como áreas de estudo: floresta nativa com predomínio de araucária (FN), reflorestamento de araucária (RF), e reflorestamento de araucária com queima acidental em julho de 2001 (RQ). Em cada área, foram escolhidas ao acaso dez árvores de araucária e ao redor de cada árvore coletou-se uma amostra composta de três subamostras. Foram avaliados atributos químicos, microbiológicos, estrutura das comunidades de Bacteria e Archaea por PCR-DGGE e seqüenciamento parcial do gene rRNA 16S de Bacteria, análise da capacidade de utilização de substratos de carbono (Biolog) e perfis de ácidos graxos ligados a ésteres de fosfolipídios (PLFAs). As áreas são caracterizadas por solos ácidos, com elevado conteúdo de matéria orgânica (MO) e baixa disponibilidade de cátions metálicos básicos. A área FN apresentou maiores teores de carbono da biomassa microbiana (CBM), atividade respiratória basal (C-CO2) e relação carbono da biomassa microbiana: carbono orgânico total (CBM:COT), comparada ao RF e RQ. Os maiores valores de quociente metabólico (qCO2) foram encontrados no RQ quando comparado a FN e RF. A análise canônica discriminante identificou o atributo microbiano qCO2 e químicos, Mg e pH, como sendo responsáveis pela discriminação das áreas, seguidos do teor de P. A análise de PCRDGGE revelou que as estruturas das comunidades bacterianas de FN e RQ foram mais similares entre si do que em RF. A análise de escala multidimensional (NMDS) com ANOSIM baseada nos perfis de amplicons de Bacteria mostrou que as três áreas são diferentes entre si, enquanto para Archaea não houve diferença entre as áreas estudadas. A afiliação taxonômica das seqüências de clones do gene rRNA 16S mostrou que o solo de FN apresenta uma maior diversidade de táxons. Os filos Proteobacteria e Actinobacteria foram os mais freqüentes nas três áreas. A maior diversidade estimada pelo índice de Shannon foi encontrada em RQ, em comparação a FN e RF. A análise por Biolog mostrou que área FN apresenta a maior taxa de utilização de substratos, em relação RF e RQ, as quais não diferiram entre si. Os perfis de PLFAs não apresentaram diferenças entre as áreas estudadas. Observou-se uma maior biomassa bacteriana, principalmente de Gram-positivas, quando comparada a biomassa fúngica de PLFAs das áreas estudadas. As análises multivariadas apresentaram-se como importantes ferramentas no estudo de diversidade microbiana, sendo os atributos químicos e microbiológicos do solo úteis para a interpretação dos resultados obtidos. / The Ombrophilic Mixed Forest, also called Araucaria Forest, represents one of the richest remainders of subtropical pluvial forests in Brazil. Its main representative species is the endangered Araucaria angustifolia. The microbial diversity plays an important role in functioning of forest ecosystems. However, the microbial diversity in soils with araucaria forests is mostly unknown. The aim of this work was to evaluate the diversity, structure of microbial communities in their possible functions in a natural preserved araucaria forest (FN), a planted araucaria forest (RF) and a planted araucaria forest impacted by accidental fire (RQ). The study was carried out at the State Park of Campos of Jordão (SP). For each area, ten araucaria trees were randomly selected and a sample composed of three sub-samples was collected at approximately one meter from the trunk of each tree. Chemical and microbiological attributes, as well as structures of bacterial and archaeal communities were evaluated using PCR-DGGE and the partial sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene from Bacteria, community level physiological profiles using Biolog, the phospholipid fatty acids profiles (PLFAs). The studied areas were characterized by acidic soils, with high content of organic matter (OM) and low availability of basic metallic cations. The area FN presented the highest contents of carbon in the microbial biomass (CBM), higher basal respiration activity (C-CO2) and higher microbial biomass carbon: total organic carbon ratio (CBM:TOC), compared to RF and RQ. The highest values of metabolic quotient (qCO2) were observed in RQ, when compared to FN and RF. Using canonical discriminant analysis (CDA), qCO2, Mg concentration and pH were identified as the main attributes responsible for the discrimination of the areas, followed by the P concentration. The PCR-DGGE analysis revealed that the bacterial community structures in FN and RQ share higher levels of similarity, as compared to RF. Non-metric multidimensional scale analysis (NMDS) and ANOSIM based on the profiles of bacterial 16S rRNA gene amplicons showed that the all three areas had different bacterial communities, whereas archaeal communities were similar, based on 16S rRNA genes amplicon profiles. The phylogenetic affiliation of 16S rRNA gene clone sequences showed that soil from FN presents higher taxa diversity, as compared to RF and RQ. The phyla Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were the most frequent in the three areas studied. Higher Shannon index was observed in RQ soil than FN and RF soils. Biolog analysis showed that FN has the highest substrate utilization rates, when compared to RF and RQ, which did not show significant differences. In general, PLFAs profiles did not show differences for the areas studied. Estimated bacterial biomass was higher than fugal biomass, with predominance of Gram-positive bacteria. Integration of chemical and microbial attributes through multivariate analyses is essential for identifying the factors determining microbial community structure in forest soils.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-20T14:33:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tese_viviane_santos_silva_terra.pdf: 3226542 bytes, checksum: 468c5162baa20a455b268e2abda6ef7e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-12-27 / The fruitculture is an important component of Brazilian agribusiness assuming prominence in the economy of the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS). The municipality of Pelotas, located in the south part of RS state, is responsible for 90% of peach production having adequate conditions of climate and soil for its production. One of the main problems faced by fruit farmers is the management of the peach orchard, which has been homogeneously managed, without considering the spatial and temporal variability of soil, plant and climate attributes in the peach orchard. Therefore, some aspects deserve attention from researchers, among them we can highlight the knowledge of the physical environment in which the peach tree grows. This work had as objectives: i. to evaluate the relationship between soil hydric-physical and crop attributes through the canonical correlation analysis, ii. to determine the spatial and temporal structures of soil hydric-physical, crop and climate attributes, applying geostatistics analysis. The work was conducted in an experimental area, located in the city of Morro Redondo-RS, cultivated with 18 line peach crops, cv. Esmeralda, totaling 1,450 plants. In this area was established a experimental grid consisted of 101 experimental peach trees. At a distance of 0.50m to the right side of each crop tree, trenches were opened to collect disturbed and undisturbed soil samples to determine the following soil hydric-physical attributes, in the 0.00-0.10m and 0.10-0.20m soil layers: sand, silt and clay contents, soil bulk density, soil total porosity, soil macro- and micro-porosities, and volumetric soil water content. We also evaluated the following peach crop attributes in the years of 2010 and 2011: trunk diameter, size of the fruit/plant, total number of fruits/plant, fresh mass of fruits, fruit firmness, brix content and crop productivity. The attributes of climate air temperature and relative humidity were also evaluated in the peach orchard. All data sets were submitted to descriptive statistical analysis. The correlation between soil and crop attributes was evaluated by canonical correlation analysis. The spatial and temporal variability structures of all data sets were evaluated by geostatistics as well as the relationship between them. Results show that the canonical correlation analysis identified the highest correlation coefficients of soil micro-porosity and clay content variables and peach productivity, and that the geostatistical analysis allowed establishing homogeneous management zones of soil, crop and climate attributes as well as to infer, visually, spatial inter-relationships between variables. The association of soil, crop and climate maps indicates that future differentiated managements of agricultural practices on the peach orchard should be based on the spatial distribution of these variables aiming rational water and fertilizer applications to preserve natural resources in the agricultural farmers. / A fruticultura é um importante componente do agronegócio brasileiro assumindo destaque na economia do estado do Rio Grande do Sul (RS). O município de Pelotas, localizado no sul do RS, é responsável por 90% da produção de pêssego, possuindo condições adequadas de clima e solo para a sua produção. Um dos principais problemas enfrentados pelos produtores de frutas é o manejo do pomar, que tem sido realizado de forma homogênea, sem considerar a variabilidade espacial e temporal dos atributos do solo, da planta e do clima dentro do pomar. Desta forma, alguns aspectos merecem atenção dos pesquisadores, dentre os quais, pode-se destacar o conhecimento do ambiente físico no qual o pessegueiro se desenvolve. Este trabalho teve como objetivos avaliar a relação entre os atributos físico-hídricos do solo e da planta por meio da análise de correlação canônica, determinar a estrutura de correlação espacial e temporal dos atributos físico-hídricos do solo, da planta de pessegueiro e do clima, por meio da técnica de geoestatística. O trabalho foi conduzido em uma área experimental, localizada no município do Morro Redondo-RS, cultivada com a cultivar de pêssego Esmeralda com 18 linhas, totalizando 1.450 plantas, onde foi estabelecida uma malha experimental composta por 101 plantas. A 0,50m do lado direito da cada planta, foram abertas trincheiras para a coleta de amostras deformas e indeformadas de solo para determinação dos atributos físico-hídricos, nas profundidades de 0,00-0,10m e de 0,10-0,20m: teores de areia, silte e argila, densidade do solo, porosidade total, macro e microporosidade do solo e umidade volumétrica. Também foram avaliados os seguintes atributos da planta nos anos de 2010 e 2011: diâmetro do tronco, tamanho do fruto/planta, número total de frutos/planta, massa fresca dos frutos, firmeza de polpa, teor de brix e produtividade. Os atributos do clima temperatura do ar e umidade relativa do ar também foram avaliados dentro do pomar. Todos os conjuntos de dados foram submetidos a análise exploratória por meio da estatística descritiva. A análise de correlação canônica foi aplicada para analisar as inter-relações entre as variáveis do solo e da planta, enquanto que, a geoestatística foi aplicada para avaliar a estrutura de correlação espacial e temporal de todos os dados bem como relação entre eles. Resultados mostram que a análise de correlação canônica permitiu identificar as variáveis do solo argila e microporosidade como as mais fortemente correlacionadas com a produtividade do pessegueiro e que a análise geoestatística permitiu delimitar as zonas homogêneas dos atributos do solo, da planta e do clima bem como inferir visualmente sobre as inter-relações espaciais entre as variáveis. A associação dos mapas das variáveis do solo, da planta e do clima indica que os futuros manejos diferenciados de práticas agrícolas deverão se basear na distribuição espacial das variáveis no pomar de pessegueiro visto que isto possibilitará a racionalização da aplicação de insumos e de água e a preservação dos recursos naturais na propriedade.

This work was based in methods of classic descriptive statistics, methods of geostatistics and geoprocessing, in the identification of the size and the structure of the spatial variability of the physical and chemical attributes of the soil in area of Paraguay Tea forestry. The area of study, localized in the Tupian Farm, in the municipality of New Silver, RS, where were raised samples from January to March, 2005, embracing the Latosoil humic dystrophic soil. It was accomplished systematic sample with grid of regular spacing among the one hundred meter points, totalizing thirty-six sample points and the six hundred and thirty pairs of data, in an area of thirty-six hectares. Were collected samples of soil in situ for analysis in laboratory of the physic attributes of the bulky sand (BS), thin sand (TS) , silt (SIL), argil (ARG), soil density (SD), particle density (PD) and whole porosity (WP) and chemical attributes of argil, texture, pH (H2O), phosphorus (P), potassium(P), organic material (OM), aluminum (AL), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), exchangeable aluminum (H + Al), cations real exchange capacity (CTCe), cations exchange capacity to pH7 (CTCpH7) and saturation of basis (V%). The magnitudes of spatial variabilities were obtained by the variation of coefficient (CV%), with confidence level of 95%, through Microsoft Office Excel 2003 program, while the structure was identified by semivariogrames, in applications geostatistics establishing the necessary parameters to the krigagem . All models of semivariogrames presented zones of anisotropic influence, having its spatial variability the greatest in the perpendicular sense to these areas the declivity. The chemical attribute that presented greatest variability was phosphorus (P), with CV%=127,73, followed by the aluminum attribute (Al), com CV%= 99,23 and the attribute of least variability was the pH (H2O), com CV%=0,0013. To the physical attributes in the distribution of particles size (%), the attribute of greatest variability was bulky sand, with CV%=36,39, while the statistics made to the density attributes of soil, what present the greatest variability was the attribute of whole porosity, with CV%=95,49 and they least variability was verified was the argil, with CV%=12,32. IN the analysis of the structure of the spatial variability through geostatistics, the chemical attribute Ca presented IDE (%)=64,42 and the physical attribute ARG with IDE (%)=62,50, getting the greatest rates. To the accomplishment of agreement in the program VARIOWIN® 2.21- Software for Spatial Data Analysis , the method used was the visual, named the feeling , where the Spherical model was what better was adapted to the studied attributes, indicated in 55% of the variogrames. The Gaussian s model to the attribute of texture got the most overtaking with a (m)=421. A crusade validation with the usage of the program GSLIB90 Geostatistical Software Library pointed out accuracy in the agreement of the variographic models, having the attributes Ca, Al and ARG with R² (%) of 0,841; 0,705 and 0,760, respectively. The usual krigagem of the studied attributes permitted the detailed of the distribution of these through the maps of isolineas. / Este trabalho utilizou-se de métodos de estatística descritiva clássica, métodos de geoestatística e de geoprocessamento, na identificação do tamanho e da estrutura da variabilidade espacial de atributos físico-químicos do solo em área de florestamento de erva-mate. A área de estudo, localizada na Fazenda Tupi, no município de Nova Prata, RS, foi levantada amostras nos meses de janeiro a março de 2005, compreendendo a classe de solo Latossolo Húmico Distrófico Álico. Realizou-se amostragem sistemática com grid de espaçamento regular entre os pontos de 100 metros, totalizando 36 pontos amostrais e 630 pares de dados, em uma área de 36 hectares. Foram coletadas amostras de solo in situ para análise em laboratório dos atributos físicos areia grossa (AG), areia fina (AF), silte (SIL), argila (ARG), densidade de solo (DS), densidade de partícula (DP) e porosidade total (PoT) e atributos químicos argila, textura, pH (H2O), fósforo (P), potássio (K), matéria orgânica (M.O.), alumínio (Al), cálcio (Ca), magnésio (Mg), alumínio trocável (H+Al), capacidade de troca de cátions efetiva (CTCe), capacidade de troca de cátions à pH7 (CTCpH7) e saturação de bases (V%). As magnitudes das variabilidades espaciais foram obtidas pelo coeficiente de variação (CV%), com nível de confiança de 95,0%, através do programa Microsoft Office Excel 2003, enquanto que a estrutura foi identificada por meio de semivariogramas, em aplicativos geoestatísticos, definindose os parâmetros necessários para a krigagem. Todos os modelos de semivariogramas apresentaram zonas de influência anisotrópicas, tendo sua variabilidade espacial maior no sentido perpendicular a declividade destas áreas. O atributo químico que apresentou maior variabilidade foi o fósforo (P), com CV%=127,73, seguido do atributo alumínio (Al), com CV%=99,23 e o atributo de menor variabilidade, foi o pH(H2O), com CV%=13,79. Para os atributos físicos, na distribuição do tamanho de partículas (%), o atributo de maior variabilidade foi areia grossa, com CV%=36,39, enquanto a estatística realizada para os atributos densidade do solo, o que apresentou maior variabilidade foi o atributo porosidade total, com CV%=95,49 e a menor variabilidade foi constatada a argila, com CV%=12,32. Na análise de estrutura da variabilidade espacial através da geoestatística, o atributo químico Ca apresentou IDE(%)=64,42 e o atributo físico ARG com IDE(%)=62,50, obtendo os maiores índices. Para realização do ajuste no programa VARIOWIN® 2.21 Software for Spatial Data Analysis , o método utilizado foi o visual, denominado a sentimento , onde o modelo Esférico foi o que melhor se ajustou aos atributos estudados, indicado em 55% dos semivariogramas. O modelo Gaussiano para o atributo textura obteve o maior alcance com a(m)=421. A validação cruzada, com o uso do programa GSLIB 90 Geostatistical Software Library mostrou acuracidade no ajuste dos modelos variográficos, tendo os atributos Ca, Al e ARG com R²(%) de 0,841; 0,705 e 0,760, respectivamente. A krigagem ordinária dos atributos estudados permitiu o detalhamento da distribuição destas a partir dos mapas de isolinhas.

The aim of the thesis is to explore which attributes of expression and attributes of manifestation are commonly found in bibliographic records and compare them with the information needs of users. The research is focused on the Union catalog of the Czech Republic - CASLIN. In the theoretical part there are presented problems with attributes of expression and attributes of manifestation in model FRBR. In the research part there was performed content analysis of several bibliographic records owing to problems of attributes of expression and attributes of manifestation. In the research section there was made the analysis of information needs of users, too. As qualitative research methods were selected observation of participants and semi-structured interviews with respondents. The result of this thesis should be a comparison between reality in library catalogs and information needs of users.

Orientador: Marlene Cristina Alves / Banca: Francisco Maximino Fernandes / Banca: Rafael Montanari / Resumo: Com a produção de papel e celulose as indústrias do setor têm gerado diariamente grandes quantidades de resíduos sólidos e efluentes, constituindo-se em uma grande preocupação ambiental e econômica. No intuito de retornar com estes subprodutos de forma sustentável à natureza, esse trabalho teve como objetivo testar a eficácia de um resíduo orgânico advindo da indústria de papel e celulose quanto a sua influência sobre os atributos químicos e físicos do solo e desenvolvimento de plantas arbóreas. O experimento foi implantado em um Latossolo Vermelho distrófico no município de Selvíria, MS. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos ao acaso, onde se avaliou o clone Eucalyptus spp. e a espécie nativa Mabea fistulifera com cinco tratamentos: sem adubação (controle), adubação mineral, 10 t ha -1, 15 t ha-1 e 20 t ha-1 do resíduo celulósico. Nas camadas de solo de 0-0,05; 0,05-0,10; 0,10-0,20 e 0,20-0,40 m avaliaram-se os atributos químicos: MO, pH, P, K, Ca, Mg, H + Al, Al e calculou-se a SB, CTC e V%; e os atributos físicos: macroporosidade, microporosidade, porosidade total, densidade do solo, estabilidade de agregados em água, resistência do solo à penetração e infiltração de água. Para as características dendrométricas das plantas foram avaliados: altura média de plantas, diâmetro do caule na superfície do solo (DSS) e diâmetro médio das copas (DMC) trimensalmente, até os 21 meses. Para a cultura do eucalipto, também foram determinados o diâmetro a altura do peito (DAP), o volume de madeira e o incremento médio anual do volume de madeira aos 21 meses. Os resultados foram analisados aplicando-se a comparação entre médias, contrastes e análise de regressão. Concluiu-se que o uso de resíduo celulósico influenciou os atributos do solo estudado, principalmente nas camadas superficiais do solo... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: A large amount of solid waste and effluents have been daily generated by industries due to the cellulose and paper production, becoming a major environmental and economic concern. In order to return with these by-products in a sustainable way to nature, the aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of an organic waste from cellulose and paper industry as its influence on soil chemical attributes and development of eucalyptus plants. The experiment was implanted in an Oxisol in the city of Selvíria, MS, Brazil. A randomized block design was used, which evaluated Eucalyptus spp. and and the native species Mabea fistulifera with five treatments: no fertilization (control), mineral fertilizers, 10 t ha -1, 15 t ha-1 and 20 t ha-1 of cellulosic residue. In the soil layers of 0-0,05; 0,05-0,10; 0,10 - 0,20 and 0,20 - 0,40 m, were evaluated: organic matter, pH, P, K, Ca, Mg, H+AL, Al and calculated the sum of bases, CEC and base saturation, and physical attributes: macroporosity, microporosity, total porosity, bulk density, aggregate stability in water, soil resistance to penetration and water infiltration. For the plants dendrometric characteristics were evaluated: plant height, stem diameter at the soil surface and diameter of the crown quarterly, up to 21 months. For the cultivation of eucalyptus the diameter at breast height, the volume of wood and the average of the annual increment of timber volume were also determined. The results were analyzed by comparison of means, contrasts and regression analysis. In conclusion, the use of cellulosic waste influence the soil characteristics studied mainly in the surface layers of soil (0-0,10 m), negatively macroporosity and infiltration of water to the cultivation of eucalyptus and stabilit y of aggregates M. fistulifera. For the chemical increased the contents of Ca, Mg, SB and CEC of the soil for eucalyptus... (Complete abstract click electronic acces / Mestre

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Bus is the main mode of urban transport in most cities in developing countries. Despite a high mode share, bus service quality is often poor and para-transit services are regarded as a problem in urban transport systems rather than a solution. Using Dhaka as a case study, this thesis investigates bus service quality through identification and valuation of thirteen important attributes using discrete choice models. The attributes examined are travel time, travel cost, waiting time, headway, priority seats for women, crowding inside the bus, boarding and alighting, picking up and dropping off passengers, bus stop facilities, driving quality, driver and crew behaviour, cleanliness inside the bus, and air conditioning. Five focus groups were conducted to identify key qualitative bus attributes and their levels in order to design choice experiments for valuation. A survey of 431 respondents in Dhaka was then undertaken. Two choice experiments were designed and implemented within the survey, each with seven attributes (set A and set B) with travel cost as the common attribute. Multinomial Logit (MNL) models and Mixed Logit (MXL) models were developed using the Dhaka choice data. Twelve of the thirteen attributes were statistically significant at the 99% level. The values of in-vehicle time (IVT), waiting time and headway were BDT 34.80, 47.40 and 64.20 per hour respectively for low income groups in the segmented model. Waiting time has a premium valuation, 1.36 times higher than IVT, which endorses existing evidence. The highest valuation is for the dummy variable seating all the way which is BDT 42.20 for high income females. The next largest was bus stops properly, picks and drops passengers nicely , followed by wide door and mild steps for boarding and alighting , smooth and safe journey , bus stop with shed, but no seating arrangements , and air conditioning . The lowest value was BDT 4.61 for deck and seats are clean and tidy , for the low income group. The WTP for the qualitative attributes is high, but given the poor level of the existing service and low fare levels this seems reasonable. Income has a significant impact on travel cost, as well as gender on priority seats for women and crowding inside the bus. However, household car ownership does not have a significant impact on any of the bus attributes examined. The high income group has 75% higher WTP for A set attributes and 79% higher WTP for B set attributes than low income group. Females have 76% higher WTP for standing comfortably all the way , but 38% higher WTP for seating all the way compared to the male. However, females have a WTP of BDT 0.44 for per percent of priority seats for women in contrast with males who have a WTP of BDT -0.11. There is significant taste heterogeneity for both quantitative and qualitative attributes. The qualitative attributes for picking up and dropping off passengers, boarding and alighting facilities and driving facilities have higher valuation and this attributes came from the existing within the market competition structure in a highly fragmented bus market. Therefore, it is recommended to introduce competition for the market and incentives for bus industry consolidation.

This research focuses on the relationship between self-esteem, graduateness skills and attributes and career adaptability among young adults in the school-to-work transition phase to assist them in dealing with the transitions they are faced with during the school-to-work transition phase in the hopes of making them more career adaptable and employable. A cross-sectional quantitative research approach was followed, and a non-probability convenience sample (N = 332) of undergraduate black (98.5%) and female (62%) young emerging adults (18 to 29 years) at a Further Education and Training (FET) college in South Africa participated in the study. A canonical correlation analysis indicated a significant overall relationship between the graduateness/self-esteem canonical variate and the career adaptability canonical variate. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the relationship between graduateness skills and attributes and career adaptability was moderated by self-esteem. Tests for mean differences revealed that males and females differed significantly regarding their personal self-esteem and lie items. Recommendations are suggested for use by human resource professionals in terms of career development practices. / Human Resource Management / M. Com. (Human Resource Management)

Författare: Emil Herder, Filip Nilsson och Mats Seglarvik Handledare: Anders Hytter Examinator: Bertil Hultén Kurs: Examensarbete 30hp, Civilekonomprogrammet inriktning marknadsföring, Linnéuniversitetet Kalmar, VT 2016, 4FE63E. Rapportens namn: Kredit-kort och gott Frågeställning: Hur värderar svenska konsumenter olika kreditkortsattribut? Syfte: Det primära syftet med vår studie är att undersöka hur svenska konsumenter värderar kreditkortsattribut på den svenska marknaden och att undersöka eventuella samband som existerar mellan deras värderingar och olika valda variabler. Som delsyfte ämnar vi att utifrån vår undersökning komma med relevanta rekommendationer som kan hjälpa Resurs Bank att skapa attraktiva kreditkortserbjudanden för konsumenter på den svenska marknaden. Metod: Uppsatsen har till en början en induktiv ansats som sedan övergår till en mer deduktiv ansats. Datainsamling har i huvudsak skett genom enkätundersökning, men även genom intervjuer. Resultat & slutsatser: Vi har rangordnat hur svenska konsumenter har värderat olika kreditkortsattribut och funnit att det existerar samband mellan hur olika individer värderat olika kreditkortsattribut baserat på andra värderingar och grupptillhörighet. Teoretiskt och praktiskt bidrag: Teoretiskt har vi bidragit med en grund för hur svenska konsumenter värderar olika kreditkortsattribut samt en undersökningsmodell som kan användas som underlag för vidare forskning. Våra praktiska bidrag är att informationen kan användas som beslutsunderlag när ett kreditkortserbjudande som inriktar sig mot kundens upplevda värde ska läggas fram. Nyckelord: Kreditkortsattribut, kreditkort, bonussystem, välgörenhet, konsumentbeteende, konsumentvärde / Author: Emil Herder, Filip Nilsson and Mats Seglarvik Mentor: Anders Hytter Examiner: Bertil Hultén Course: Master Thesis 30 credits, Master of Business and Economics, Marketing, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Spring 2016 4FE63E. Name of report: Kredit-kort och gott Research question: How do swedish consumers value different credit card attributes? Purpose: The primary purpose of our study is to reserach how swedish consumers value credit card attributes on the swedish market and research possible correlations that exists between their values and different chosen vairables. The subpurpose of the study is to come up with relevant recommendations which may help Resurs Bank to create attractive credit card offerings for the swedish credit card market. Method: The study starts off with and inductive approach that later turns into a more deductive approach. The data was collected from a survey and interviews. Results and conclusion: We’ve ranked how swedish consumers value different credit card attributes based on other values and group membership. Theoretical and practical contribution: Theoretically we’ve contributed with a foundation on how swedish consumers value different credit card attributes and a researchmodel that can be used as a basis for further research. Our practical contribution is that the information from our study can be used to support decisions when it comes to creating a credit card offering that targets the customers percieved value. Keywords: Credit card attributes, credit card, bonus system, charity, consumer behaviour, consumer value.

Software effort estimation by analogy is a viable alternative method to other estimation techniques, and in many cases, researchers found it outperformed other estimation methods in terms of accuracy and practitioners' acceptance. However, the overall performance of analogy based estimation depends on two major factors: similarity measure and attribute selection & weighting. Current similarity measures such as nearest neighborhood techniques have been criticized that have some inadequacies related to attributes relevancy, noise and uncertainty in addition to the problem of using categorical attributes. This research focuses on improving the efficiency and flexibility of analogy-based estimation to overcome the abovementioned inadequacies. Particularly, this thesis proposes two new approaches to model and handle uncertainty in similarity measurement method and most importantly to reflect the structure of dataset on similarity measurement using Fuzzy modeling based Fuzzy C-means algorithm. The first proposed approach called Fuzzy Grey Relational Analysis method employs combined techniques of Fuzzy set theory and Grey Relational Analysis to improve local and global similarity measure and tolerate imprecision associated with using different data types (Continuous and Categorical). The second proposed approach presents the use of Fuzzy numbers and its concepts to develop a practical yet efficient approach to support analogy-based systems especially at early phase of software development. Specifically, we propose a new similarity measure and adaptation technique based on Fuzzy numbers. We also propose a new attribute subset selection algorithm and attribute weighting technique based on the hypothesis of analogy-based estimation that assumes projects that are similar in terms of attribute value are also similar in terms of effort values, using row-wise Kendall rank correlation between similarity matrix based project effort values and similarity matrix based project attribute values. A literature review of related software engineering studies revealed that the existing attribute selection techniques (such as brute-force, heuristic algorithms) are restricted to the choice of performance indicators such as (Mean of Magnitude Relative Error and Prediction Performance Indicator) and computationally far more intensive. The proposed algorithms provide sound statistical basis and justification for their procedures. The performance figures of the proposed approaches have been evaluated using real industrial datasets. Results and conclusions from a series of comparative studies with conventional estimation by analogy approach using the available datasets are presented. The studies were also carried out to statistically investigate the significant differences between predictions generated by our approaches and those generated by the most popular techniques such as: conventional analogy estimation, neural network and stepwise regression. The results and conclusions indicate that the two proposed approaches have potential to deliver comparable, if not better, accuracy than the compared techniques. The results also found that Grey Relational Analysis tolerates the uncertainty associated with using different data types. As well as the original contributions within the thesis, a number of directions for further research are presented. Most chapters in this thesis have been disseminated in international journals and highly refereed conference proceedings.