Ce travail étudie l’évolution des politiques de défense et des acquisitions militaires du Qatar et des Emirats arabes unis (EAU) depuis les années 1990. Il cherche à évaluer la prégnance du rôle des déterminants extérieurs et intérieurs dans l’élaboration des stratégies de ces deux petits Etats du Golfe et s’interroge sur la raison pour laquelle, confrontés à des défis en apparence assez similaires, ils ont adopté des stratégies différentes. Tandis que le Qatar a privilégié son rayonnement diplomatique et peu ou prou délégué sa sécurité à ses partenaires extérieurs, les EAU ont quant à eux organisé leur doctrine militaire autour de la consolidation de leurs outils de sécurité et de défense intérieurs tout en veillant à rayonner sur la scène régionale et internationale par divers canaux souvent identiques à ceux choisis par leurs voisins qataris. La thèse montre que les mutations du contexte régional doivent être articulées avec celles du contexte international pour comprendre les dynamiques communes aux politiques de défense et aux acquisitions militaires du Qatar et des EAU. Puis, elle montre que ces déterminants structurels doivent être articulés avec des variables intervenant au niveau national (territoire, démographie) et infranational (perception et réseaux du Prince) pour comprendre les contrastes entre leurs politiques. Pour finir, la thèse interroge la pérennité de l’économie et de la sociologie politique de ces « petits Etats-Princes » en les confrontant à des reconfigurations endogènes et exogènes susceptibles de les faire évoluer. / This thesis studies the evolving defence policies and military acquisitions of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from the 1990s onwards. It seeks to assess the role of external and domestic incentives in shaping the survival strategies of these two small Gulf states and to understand why, while they were confronted with apparently similar challenges, they adopted different strategies. While Qatar has favoured its diplomatic influence and essentially guaranteed its security through its partnerships with external powers, the UAE have consolidated their internal security and defence tools while gaining regional and international influence through various channels which often were the same as those chosen by Qatari leaders. The thesis shows that the mutations of the regional context must be articulated with those of the international context to understand the common dynamics in Qatar’s and the UAE’s defence policies and military acquisitions. It then shows that these structural determinants must be articulated with variables at national (territory, demography) and subnational (the Prince’s perception and networks) levels to understand the contrasts between their policies. Finally, the thesis questions the sustainability of the political economy and political sociology of these “small Princes-states” by confronting them to endogenous and exogenous developments which are likely to make them evolve.

No description available.

Ce travail prend pour thème général les relations entre, d’un côté, les segments actifs et liés à la science et à l’université au Brésil et, de l’autre, le champ de la « politique » ainsi que les politiques publiques qui en proviennent. Pour comprendre ces rapports, il faut mettre en relation des processus sociaux plus amples, comme la constitution du travail scientifique en tant que pratique sociale et professionnelle légitime, dotée d’un règlement minimum, de la reconnaissance mutuelle et d’un certain degré de consensus entre ses participants pour ce qui est des valeurs et intérêts qui confèrent à la fois une singularité et une différenciation sociale à ce groupe et servent de référence aux disputes internes. La création et la consolidation d’institutions gouvernementales ayant joué un rôle actif dans la structuration des masters/doctorats ont également été mises en relief du fait qu’elles expriment, dans des logiques bureaucratiques et administratives, les arrangements et les rapports de force mis en oeuvre par les secteurs gouvernementaux et l’université. En ce sens, nous avons pris le 4e Plano Nacional de Pós-graduação (Plan national de master/doctorat) comme une expression et une référence fondamentale des valeurs hégémoniques orientant les politiques et, en même temps, comme plan d’action formalisé, délimitant le cours de l’action gouvernementale. Sachant que l’un des principes de formation et de gestion des politiques de financement de la science est la « participation » des agents liés à l’université (soit, le « public cible » des politiques), l’analyse s’est concentrée sur les conceptions et représentations sociales du rôle des scientifiques et chercheurs dans les processus de décision, sur leurs critères et conditions d’accès dans les arènes d’influence et les espaces de pouvoir et de contrôle bureaucratique de l / O presente trabalho tem como foco geral as relações entre os segmentos atuantes e ligados à ciência e à universidade no Brasil e o campo da “política”, bem como as políticas públicas que daí advêm. Na compreensão destas relações estão interligados processos sociais mais amplos, como a constituição do trabalho científico como prática social e profissional legítima, dotada de um regramento mínimo, do reconhecimento mútuo e de algum grau de consenso entre os seus praticantes acerca dos valores e interesses que, ao mesmo tempo, conferem singularidade e diferenciação social ao grupo e referenciam as disputas internas. Também foi dada ênfase à criação e à consolidação de instituições de governo que desempenharam um papel ativo na estruturação da pós-graduação, tendo em vista que as mesmas expressam, dentro de lógicas burocráticas e administrativas, os arranjos e relações de força empreendidas pelos setores governamentais e a universidade. Neste sentido, tomamos o 4º Plano Nacional de Pós-graduação como uma expressão e referência fundamental dos valores hegemônicos que orientam as políticas e, simultaneamente, como plano de ação formalizado, que delimita o curso da ação governamental. Considerando que as políticas de apoio à ciência têm como um de seus princípios de formação e gestão a “participação” dos agentes ligados à universidade (ou seja, o próprio “público alvo” das políticas), a análise recai nas concepções e representações sociais do papel dos cientistas e pesquisadores nos processos decisórios, nos critérios e nas condições de acesso dos mesmos às arenas de influência e espaços de poder e de controle burocrático da universidade. / The main focus of this work is on the relations between segments active in and connected to science and Brazilian universities and the field of "politics", as well as the resulting government policy. Understanding these relations as broader interconnected social processes, such as the constitution of scientific work as a legitimate social and professional practice in possession of a minimum rule set, mutual recognition and a certain degree of consensus among those practicing it regarding its values and interests, which at the same time confers singularity and social differentiation to the group and serves as a reference for its internal disputes. Emphasis has also been given to the creation and consolidation of government institutions that have played an active role in structuring graduate studies, considering that these express, within bureaucratic and administrative logic, the arrangements and power relations undertaken by governmental sectors and the universities. In this sense, we understand the 4º Plano Nacional de Pós-graduação (4th National Post-Graduate Studies Plan) as an expression of and fundamental reference to the hegemonic values that guide the policies, and simultaneously as a formal plan of action delimiting governmental course of action. Considering that policies in support of science hold as one of their principles of education and management the “participation” of agents tied to the university (in other words, the “target”of the policies), the analysis falls back on social conceptions and representations regarding the role of scientists and researchers in decision making processes, criteria and their conditions of access to the arenas of influence and spaces of power and bureaucratic control of the university.

Text in Afrikaans / Die volwassene wat 'n professionele beroep beoefen, vervul nie net die rol van professionele beroepsbeoefenaar nie, maar is ook 'n voltydse leerder (student), tuisteskepper en landsburger. Hierdie verskillende rolle kan s6 veeleisend raak dat die volwassene oorweldig voel en in spanningsituasies of te midde van 'n vol program, onvanpaste. besluitnemingstrategiee aanwend. Die openbaring van onvanpaste besluitnemingsgedrag sluit in die onvermoe om • die kern van die probleem te formuleer • alternatiewe te genereer en te evalueer • die besluit te neem, te implementeer en te evalueer 'n Empiriese ondersoek is onderneem om te bepaal watter besluitnemingstrategiee deur professionele volwassenes bemeester behoort te word en of die andragoog die volwassene tydens die afhandeling van die besluitnemingsproses moet bystaan. Die faktore wat 'n rol by besluitneming speel, is ook behandel. Die navorser se eie voorstelling van die besluitnemingsproses, wat as opsomming van die literatuurstudie beskou kan word, is as raamwerk gebruik om vrae te genereer wat in die vraelys opgeneem kon word, asook om onderhoude te voer. Die belangrikste gevolgtrekking van die ondersoek is dat professionele volwassenes tydens die besluitnemingsproses op ondersteuning aangewese is en dat besluitnemingskonflik verlig kan word indien 33 belangrike besluitnemingsvaardighede bemeester is. Verder is gevind dat daar beduidende verskille is ten opsigte van die besluitnemingsvermoe van die agt verskillende beroepsgroepe wat by hierdie navorsing betrek is, asook tussen manlike en vroulike respondente en Afrikaanssprekende en Engelssprekende respondente. Die algemene gevolgtrekking waartoe gekom is, is dat sommige professionele volwassenes onderpresteer wat besluitneming betref en dat hulle in besonder op begeleiding aangewese is. Die andragoog wat as besluitnemingskonsultant optree, sal hom dit spesifiek ten doel stel om sy medevolwassene wat ontoereikende besluitnemingsgedrag openbaar, te begelei tot die vorming van 'n realistiese besluitnemingsidentiteit. Verder word 'n nuwe, meer omvattende uiteensetting van die besluitnemingshandeling vanuit die Sielkundige Opvoedkunde voorgestel wat ten doel het om 'n meer indringende beskrywing van die konatiewe handeling daar te stel as wat tans in die opvoedkundige sielkundige teorie te vind is. / The adult who practises a profession, does not only fulfil the role of a professional career person, but is also full-time learner (student), homemaker and citizen. The adult tries to meet the demands of all these different roles and may at times feel unable to cope. In a situation where there is great tension or in the midst of time constraints, this may give rise to the implementation of inappropriate decision-making strategies. Inappropriate decision-making behaviour manifests itself in the inability to • recognise and define the problem • generate and evaluate alternatives • take the decision, implement it and evaluate the result An empirical investigation was undertaken to determine which decision-making strategies should be mastered by professional adults and if the andragogue should assist the adult during the execution of the decision-making process. The different factors which play a role in decision making, are also discussed. The researcher's own representation of the decision-making process is presented and this may be regarded as a summary of the literature study. This representation was also used as a framework to generate questions which were used in the questionnaire and during the interviews. The most important conclusion of the investigation is that professional adults are dependent on support during the execution and completion of the decision-making process. Decision-making conflict can be alleviated if 33 important decision-making skills are mastered. It was further concluded that there are significant differences between the decision-making abilities of the eight different occupational groups involved in this investigation, and between the decision-making abilities of male and female respondents, as well as Afrikaans and English speaking respondents. The general conclusion is that some professional adults show signs of underachievement with respect to decision making and that they are in particular dependent on guidance. The andragogue who acts as a decision-making consultant will aim to guide his colleagues who display inadequate decision-making behaviour, to form a realistic decision-making identity. Furthermore, a new and more comprehensive description of the act of decisionmaking in the Psychology of Education is suggested, aimed at contributing to the proper description of the conative act. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Sielkundige Opvoedkunde)

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T13:26:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 764332 bytes, checksum: 6591145bb16c1c4a41dc6d296d63bb57 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-08 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This monograph is a overview discussion of the political situation of Paraíba s brazilian state in which the first Paraíba s State Health Surveillance Agency (in portuguese Agência Estadual de Vigilância Sanitária - AGEVISA-PB) was created in 2002, specially all the decision process involved in the implementation of it s Public Health. The main points studied were the decisions, the governors agents, politicians and others interested persons involved on this process. Were highlighted during this study the participation of all agents involved in the early negociation, their interests, as well as their conflicting and cooperanting relationship, the strategies to induce the decisions and the rules that had effect on the action to be made, including the relation among the Executive and Legislative powers, on the State and Federal scope. This study was conducted between the year 2001 e 2002 and followed the influence of the first State Conference of Health Surveilance related to the changes that turned the State Coordination Health Surveillance to Paraíba s State Health Surveillance Agency, besides all the Public Health problems in that age. In this context, we emphasize the discussion about the Health Surveillance and contemporary risk society, as well all the alternatives that could be possible to the State Coordination Health Surveillance to become a agency and meet the demands of the healthcare and economic scenario and political situation of the state. As a consequence, we report the technical and political ways that were followed in the institutional transformation, whose design will be defined by complex processes of negotiation and consensus. The research was funded in large documentary material and interviews with key actors, which allowed empirically unravel the power relations that in a short time, led to the creation of the Paraíba s State Health Surveillance Agency (AGEVISA-PB). As such, it constituted itself as a political-institutional improvement, the first steps toward the discussions and reflections on its implementation, that this work proposes to introduce. / O presente projeto enfoca o estudo sobre o panorama político estadual que permeou a criação da primeira Agência Estadual de Vigilância Sanitária do país, a AGEVISA-PB, em especial todo o processo decisório envolvido na fase de formulação de sua política pública, na Paraíba, quando de sua instituição, no ano de 2002. Priorizaram-se, como terreno de pesquisa, as arenas decisórias, os agentes públicos, os atores políticos e os interesses organizados envolvidos no processo. Foram ressaltados, na abordagem realizada, os registros descritivos quanto à participação dos atores envolvidos nas negociações, seus interesses, bem como as relações conflituosas e de cooperação, as estratégias para influenciar a tomada de decisão e as regras do jogo que influenciaram as alternativas de ação, incluindo as relações entre os Poderes Executivo e Legislativo, em âmbito estadual e federal. O estudo abrange o período entre 2001 e 2002, e destaca os principais aspectos referentes à influência estratégica da I Conferência Estadual de Vigilância Sanitária na trajetória de mudança da então Coordenadoria Estadual para o modelo de agência reguladora de Vigilância Sanitária da Paraíba, além dos graves problemas sanitários estaduais e nacionais que permearam a época. Nesse contexto, ressalta-se a discussão sobre a Vigilância Sanitária contemporânea e a sociedade do risco, bem como sobre as diversas alternativas que possibilitassem à coordenadoria assumir um novo formato institucional, face às exigências do cenário sanitário-econômico e da conjuntura política estadual. Como conseqüência, relata-se os caminhos técnicos e políticos que foram percorridos na transformação institucional, cujo desenho vai ser definido por complexos processos de negociação e consenso. A pesquisa foi subsidiada em amplo material documental e entrevistas com atores privilegiados, o que possibilitou desvendar empiricamente as relações de força que, em um curto espaço de tempo, levaram à criação da Agência Estadual de Vigilância Sanitária da Paraíba, a AGEVISA-PB. Como tal, constituiu-se em um processo político-institucional em aperfeiçoamento, cujos primeiros passos em direção às discussões e reflexões sobre sua implementação, o presente trabalho se propõe a introduzir.

Ce travail prend pour thème général les relations entre, d’un côté, les segments actifs et liés à la science et à l’université au Brésil et, de l’autre, le champ de la « politique » ainsi que les politiques publiques qui en proviennent. Pour comprendre ces rapports, il faut mettre en relation des processus sociaux plus amples, comme la constitution du travail scientifique en tant que pratique sociale et professionnelle légitime, dotée d’un règlement minimum, de la reconnaissance mutuelle et d’un certain degré de consensus entre ses participants pour ce qui est des valeurs et intérêts qui confèrent à la fois une singularité et une différenciation sociale à ce groupe et servent de référence aux disputes internes. La création et la consolidation d’institutions gouvernementales ayant joué un rôle actif dans la structuration des masters/doctorats ont également été mises en relief du fait qu’elles expriment, dans des logiques bureaucratiques et administratives, les arrangements et les rapports de force mis en oeuvre par les secteurs gouvernementaux et l’université. En ce sens, nous avons pris le 4e Plano Nacional de Pós-graduação (Plan national de master/doctorat) comme une expression et une référence fondamentale des valeurs hégémoniques orientant les politiques et, en même temps, comme plan d’action formalisé, délimitant le cours de l’action gouvernementale. Sachant que l’un des principes de formation et de gestion des politiques de financement de la science est la « participation » des agents liés à l’université (soit, le « public cible » des politiques), l’analyse s’est concentrée sur les conceptions et représentations sociales du rôle des scientifiques et chercheurs dans les processus de décision, sur leurs critères et conditions d’accès dans les arènes d’influence et les espaces de pouvoir et de contrôle bureaucratique de l / O presente trabalho tem como foco geral as relações entre os segmentos atuantes e ligados à ciência e à universidade no Brasil e o campo da “política”, bem como as políticas públicas que daí advêm. Na compreensão destas relações estão interligados processos sociais mais amplos, como a constituição do trabalho científico como prática social e profissional legítima, dotada de um regramento mínimo, do reconhecimento mútuo e de algum grau de consenso entre os seus praticantes acerca dos valores e interesses que, ao mesmo tempo, conferem singularidade e diferenciação social ao grupo e referenciam as disputas internas. Também foi dada ênfase à criação e à consolidação de instituições de governo que desempenharam um papel ativo na estruturação da pós-graduação, tendo em vista que as mesmas expressam, dentro de lógicas burocráticas e administrativas, os arranjos e relações de força empreendidas pelos setores governamentais e a universidade. Neste sentido, tomamos o 4º Plano Nacional de Pós-graduação como uma expressão e referência fundamental dos valores hegemônicos que orientam as políticas e, simultaneamente, como plano de ação formalizado, que delimita o curso da ação governamental. Considerando que as políticas de apoio à ciência têm como um de seus princípios de formação e gestão a “participação” dos agentes ligados à universidade (ou seja, o próprio “público alvo” das políticas), a análise recai nas concepções e representações sociais do papel dos cientistas e pesquisadores nos processos decisórios, nos critérios e nas condições de acesso dos mesmos às arenas de influência e espaços de poder e de controle burocrático da universidade. / The main focus of this work is on the relations between segments active in and connected to science and Brazilian universities and the field of "politics", as well as the resulting government policy. Understanding these relations as broader interconnected social processes, such as the constitution of scientific work as a legitimate social and professional practice in possession of a minimum rule set, mutual recognition and a certain degree of consensus among those practicing it regarding its values and interests, which at the same time confers singularity and social differentiation to the group and serves as a reference for its internal disputes. Emphasis has also been given to the creation and consolidation of government institutions that have played an active role in structuring graduate studies, considering that these express, within bureaucratic and administrative logic, the arrangements and power relations undertaken by governmental sectors and the universities. In this sense, we understand the 4º Plano Nacional de Pós-graduação (4th National Post-Graduate Studies Plan) as an expression of and fundamental reference to the hegemonic values that guide the policies, and simultaneously as a formal plan of action delimiting governmental course of action. Considering that policies in support of science hold as one of their principles of education and management the “participation” of agents tied to the university (in other words, the “target”of the policies), the analysis falls back on social conceptions and representations regarding the role of scientists and researchers in decision making processes, criteria and their conditions of access to the arenas of influence and spaces of power and bureaucratic control of the university.

Ce travail prend pour thème général les relations entre, d’un côté, les segments actifs et liés à la science et à l’université au Brésil et, de l’autre, le champ de la « politique » ainsi que les politiques publiques qui en proviennent. Pour comprendre ces rapports, il faut mettre en relation des processus sociaux plus amples, comme la constitution du travail scientifique en tant que pratique sociale et professionnelle légitime, dotée d’un règlement minimum, de la reconnaissance mutuelle et d’un certain degré de consensus entre ses participants pour ce qui est des valeurs et intérêts qui confèrent à la fois une singularité et une différenciation sociale à ce groupe et servent de référence aux disputes internes. La création et la consolidation d’institutions gouvernementales ayant joué un rôle actif dans la structuration des masters/doctorats ont également été mises en relief du fait qu’elles expriment, dans des logiques bureaucratiques et administratives, les arrangements et les rapports de force mis en oeuvre par les secteurs gouvernementaux et l’université. En ce sens, nous avons pris le 4e Plano Nacional de Pós-graduação (Plan national de master/doctorat) comme une expression et une référence fondamentale des valeurs hégémoniques orientant les politiques et, en même temps, comme plan d’action formalisé, délimitant le cours de l’action gouvernementale. Sachant que l’un des principes de formation et de gestion des politiques de financement de la science est la « participation » des agents liés à l’université (soit, le « public cible » des politiques), l’analyse s’est concentrée sur les conceptions et représentations sociales du rôle des scientifiques et chercheurs dans les processus de décision, sur leurs critères et conditions d’accès dans les arènes d’influence et les espaces de pouvoir et de contrôle bureaucratique de l / O presente trabalho tem como foco geral as relações entre os segmentos atuantes e ligados à ciência e à universidade no Brasil e o campo da “política”, bem como as políticas públicas que daí advêm. Na compreensão destas relações estão interligados processos sociais mais amplos, como a constituição do trabalho científico como prática social e profissional legítima, dotada de um regramento mínimo, do reconhecimento mútuo e de algum grau de consenso entre os seus praticantes acerca dos valores e interesses que, ao mesmo tempo, conferem singularidade e diferenciação social ao grupo e referenciam as disputas internas. Também foi dada ênfase à criação e à consolidação de instituições de governo que desempenharam um papel ativo na estruturação da pós-graduação, tendo em vista que as mesmas expressam, dentro de lógicas burocráticas e administrativas, os arranjos e relações de força empreendidas pelos setores governamentais e a universidade. Neste sentido, tomamos o 4º Plano Nacional de Pós-graduação como uma expressão e referência fundamental dos valores hegemônicos que orientam as políticas e, simultaneamente, como plano de ação formalizado, que delimita o curso da ação governamental. Considerando que as políticas de apoio à ciência têm como um de seus princípios de formação e gestão a “participação” dos agentes ligados à universidade (ou seja, o próprio “público alvo” das políticas), a análise recai nas concepções e representações sociais do papel dos cientistas e pesquisadores nos processos decisórios, nos critérios e nas condições de acesso dos mesmos às arenas de influência e espaços de poder e de controle burocrático da universidade. / The main focus of this work is on the relations between segments active in and connected to science and Brazilian universities and the field of "politics", as well as the resulting government policy. Understanding these relations as broader interconnected social processes, such as the constitution of scientific work as a legitimate social and professional practice in possession of a minimum rule set, mutual recognition and a certain degree of consensus among those practicing it regarding its values and interests, which at the same time confers singularity and social differentiation to the group and serves as a reference for its internal disputes. Emphasis has also been given to the creation and consolidation of government institutions that have played an active role in structuring graduate studies, considering that these express, within bureaucratic and administrative logic, the arrangements and power relations undertaken by governmental sectors and the universities. In this sense, we understand the 4º Plano Nacional de Pós-graduação (4th National Post-Graduate Studies Plan) as an expression of and fundamental reference to the hegemonic values that guide the policies, and simultaneously as a formal plan of action delimiting governmental course of action. Considering that policies in support of science hold as one of their principles of education and management the “participation” of agents tied to the university (in other words, the “target”of the policies), the analysis falls back on social conceptions and representations regarding the role of scientists and researchers in decision making processes, criteria and their conditions of access to the arenas of influence and spaces of power and bureaucratic control of the university.

Orientadores: Osvair Vidal Trevisan, Boris Asrilhant / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-17T11:45:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rodriguez_MonicaRebelo_D.pdf: 37752110 bytes, checksum: fe86a28596b16f107e45c39acbce7fdd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: Há 10 anos da quebra do monopólio para a exploração e produção (E&P) de petróleo no Brasil o mercado se mostrou estável, competitivo e gerando resultados positivos que atraem o interesse das companhias nacionais e estrangeiras a investir no setor de "upstream". O processo de cessão de direitos e obrigações sobre as áreas de E&P é conduzido pela Agência Nacional de Petróleo, Gás Natural e Bio-combustíveis (ANP) por meio de licitação pública, com regras bem definidas, onde o vencedor assina um contrato de concessão com a ANP. Esta pesquisa apresenta e analisa o histórico destas licitações para áreas de exploração e produção e áreas inativas com acumulações marginais, dentro do cenário econômico brasileiro e do potencial exploratório do país, e compara o desempenho das empresas no Brasil e no Golfo do México Americano, segundo os investimentos realizados para aquisição dessas áreas. Apresenta, ainda, um modelo estocástico para estimava do valor dos blocos desenvolvido a partir das ofertas realizadas para áreas da Bacia de Campos em licitações pretéritas. Para analisar o nível de competição esperado para essas áreas, este estudo descreve também o desenvolvimento de um sistema especialista com a ferramenta Exsys Corvid®, baseado no julgamento de 36 especialistas da indústria do petróleo que trabalham em 20 companhias de pequeno, médio e grande porte. A aplicação desta metodologia permite que estas companhias estimem o nível de competição (alto, moderado, ou baixo) para áreas da Bacia de Campos. Conhecendo o valor das áreas e a estimativa do nível de competição, é possível subsidiar o processo decisório na elaboração de estratégias de oferta que permitam uma melhor alocção financeira dos recursos e a gestão ótima do portfólio exploratório pretendido pela companhia / Abstract: After 10 years of the ending of petroleum exploration and production (E&P) monopoly in Brazil, the market for those activities has shown to be stable and competitive, providing positive results which attracted both national and international investment for the upstream oil and gas sector. The regulatory agency promotes public licensing of E&P areas through a competitive sealed bid auction, whose rules are clear and known in advance by the companies. This research describes and evaluates the historical data for these E&P licensing, as well as for tenders of marginal oilfield accumulations, under the Brazilian economic scenario and the geologic potential of the country. It also compares oil companies performance regarding investment made in acquiring areas in Brazil to those in US-Gulf of Mexico. A stochastic model for block-value estimation is presented and applied to previous data from Campos Basin licensed areas. In order to estimate the level of competition expected for those areas, an expert system was built using Exsys Corvid®, based on the knowledge captured from 36 specialists in Brazilian public licensing working for 20 oil companies. The proposed methodology is applied to the case of Campos Basin areas and showed to properly estimate the levels of competition expected (high, moderate or low in the bid. By knowing the block-value and the expected level of competition, decision makers are better prepared for formulating bidding strategies that can result in better resources allocation and yield a better exploration portfolio management / Doutorado / Reservatórios e Gestão / Doutor em Ciências e Engenharia de Petróleo

The aim of this thesis is to find an answer to the question if gender influences news production and news selection. It is hypothesized that in national daily broadsheet newspapers, the editor's gender has no influence on the professional behaviour and therefore editors' preferences of topics and news values should be identical. The theoretical part deals with different approaches to the topic of gender influence on the news production, describes the situation and stereotyping of female journalists and strategies they choose to deal with it. Next it briefly recapitulates the main news values theories and dichotomy of "hard" and "soft" news. The research part describes a study of gender influence on decision-making processes during news selection in Czech national daily broadsheet newspapers. The statistical methods used herein include the Student's T-test, Z-test and ANOVA. The statistics show no significant differences between male and female editors in consideration of news topic importance (to the reader), news values assessment or the selection of printable news. All the editors in the researched respondent population tend to favor "hard" news and to consider the same values and topics important in the same manner regardless of their gender. Despite slight differences in individual topics, this...

M. Tech. (Department of Information and Communication Technology, Faculty of Applied and Computer Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / Since their emergence in the 1990’s, recommendation systems have transformed the intelligence of both the web and humans. A pool of research papers has been published in various domains of recommendation systems. These include content based, collaborative and hybrid filtering recommendation systems. Recommendation systems suggest items to users and their principal purpose is to increase sales and recommend items that are predicted to be suitable for users. They achieve this through making calculations based on data that is available on the system. In this study, we give evidence that the research on group recommendation systems must look more carefully at the dynamics of group decision-making in order to produce technologies that will be more beneficial for groups based on the individual interests of group members while also striving to maximise satisfaction. The matrix factorization algorithm of collaborative filtering was used to make predictions and three movie recommendation for each and every individual user. The three recommendations were of three highest predicted movies above the pre-set threshold which was three. Thereafter, four virtual groups of varied sizes were formed based on four highest predicted movies of the users in the dataset. Plurality voting strategy was used to achieve this. A publicly available dataset based on Group Recommender Systems Enhanced by Social Elements, constructed by Lara Quijano from the Group of Artificial Intelligence Applications (GIGA), was used for experiments. The developed recommendation system was able to successfully make individual movie recommendations, generate virtual groups, and recommend movies to these respective groups. The system was evaluated for accuracy in making predictions and it was able to achieve 0.7027 MAE and 0.8996 RMSE. This study was able to recommend to virtual groups to enable social network group members to engage in discussions of recommended items. The study encourages members in engaging in similar activities in their respective physical locations and then discuss on social network.