Submitted by Erika Demachki (erikademachki@gmail.com) on 2014-09-25T18:57:04Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Bruno de Souza Barreto - 2008 - Dissertação.pdf: 2633509 bytes, checksum: 9a1040f27931399225f28b393e640b6e (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2014-09-26T11:43:42Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Bruno de Souza Barreto - 2008 - Dissertação.pdf: 2633509 bytes, checksum: 9a1040f27931399225f28b393e640b6e (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-09-26T11:43:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Bruno de Souza Barreto - 2008 - Dissertação.pdf: 2633509 bytes, checksum: 9a1040f27931399225f28b393e640b6e (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-06-06 / Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa - FUNAPE / The units of conservation are main strategy adopted by the rulers to guarantee that the negative effects of the socioeconomic development reach less the biodiversity. recent researches have been trying to outline the problem through reserve selection that seek larger representativeness of the goals of conservation (in general some estimador of the biodiversity as the species) in terms of a smaller number of areas as possible. in the last 50 years the cerrado is going by transformations in their natural landscapes due to the progress of the modern agriculture and of the livestock. due to that, the objective of that work was to define priority areas network for conservation of bats in terms of five conservation sceneries differents. the generated nets were restricted by socioeconomic cost, presence of cave and a cost that considers the previous two cost. the results revealed main features of analyses of complementarity: multiple solutions, flexibility of the nets, and influence of the rarity of the species for the definition of groups starting from the pattern of rarity. the costs were important for definition of nets that avoided as much conflicts of conservation as prioritized the species in areas of cave. / As unidades de conservação são principal estratégia adotada pelos governantes para garantir que os efeitos negativos do desenvolvimento socioeconômico atinjam menos a biodiversidade. recentes pesquisas têm tentado contornar o problema através de seleção de reservas que visam maior representatividade das metas de conservação (em geral algum estimador da biodiversidade como as espécies) em termos de um menor número de áreas quanto possível. nos últimos 50 anos o cerrado vem passando por transformações em suas paisagens naturais em decorrência do avanço da agricultura moderna e da pecuária. os morcegos são também ameaçados e em decorrência disso, o objetivo desse trabalho foi definir redes de reservas regionais prioritárias para conservação de morcegos em termos de cinco cenários de conservação diferentes. as redes geradas foram restringidas por custo socioeconomico, custo presença de caverna e custo que podera os dois anteriores. os resultados reelaram as principais caracteísticas de análises de complementaridade: multiplas soluçoes, flexibilidade das redes, influência da raridade das espécies pela definição de grupos a partir do padrão de raridade. os custos foram importantes para definição de redes que evitaram tanto conflitos de conservação quanto priorizaram as espécies em regioes de caverna.

Este trabalho disserta sobre o processo de adaptação arquitetônica dos edifícios hospitalares frente às mudanças físicas e funcionais trazidas pelas inovações tecnológicas na área médica. Principalmente após a segunda metade do século XX, se acelerou o desenvolvimento científico na medicina, com a descoberta de novas enfermidades, novos tratamentos e, especialmente, novas formas e ferramentas de diagnóstico. A existência e o aperfeiçoamento destas atividades têm se apoiado cada vez mais na tecnologia, cujas inovações foram sendo introduzidas nos edifícios na forma de equipamentos, exigindo espaços e instalações especiais. Os hospitais existentes, tendo que se adaptar às especificidades técnicas, foram submetidos a um ritmo intenso de transformações arquitetônicas, no intuito de evitar a sua obsolescência. Para investigar o impacto destas freqüentes inovações tecnológicas sobre os edifícios hospitalares, buscou-se analisar o desenvolvimento arquitetônico dos mesmos, nas suas áreas mais relacionadas ao uso de tecnologia. Os casos estudados foram o Instituto do Coração (InCor), o Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein (HIAE) e o Hospital de Doenças do Aparelho Locomotor Sarah Kubitschek de Brasília (HDAL), cujos edifícios são representativos do cenário ilustrado. Reconhecendo nas instituições de saúde o dinamismo técnico-científico, a complexidade espacial e os desafios quanto à preservação da sua integridade arquitetônica, esta pesquisa espera alertar os arquitetos sobre a inconstância das variáveis que desenham as edificações hospitalares, sobre a importância de depreendê-las e sobre a necessidade de projetar edifícios flexíveis para incorporar estas variáveis de modo menos impactante. / This dissertation is about the architectural adaptation process that medical buildings undergo in face of physical and functional changes brought by technological innovations in medicine. Especially after the second half of the 20th century, the scientific progress in medicine accelerated with the discovery of new diseases, new treatments and new forms and tools of diagnosis. The existence and improvement of these healthcare activities have been supported more and more by technology and its machinery, which were absorbed by medical buildings in the form of equipment, demanding special space and infrastructure. Existing hospitals were forced to adapt to the technical needs, and were submitted to an intense pace of architectural transformation, fighting against their obsolescence. In order to investigate the impact of these frequent technological innovations upon medical buildings, their architectural development was analyzed in the areas most affected by technology. The case studies were the Instituto do Coração (InCor), the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein (HIAE) and the Hospital de Doenças do Aparelho Locomotor Sarah Kubitschek (HDAL) of Brasília, whose buildings represent the illustrated scenario. Acknowledging in medical buildings the spatial complexity, the technical and scientific dynamism and the challenges involving the preservation of their physical integrity, this research expects to call attention to the lack of constancy of the elements that design medical buildings, to the importance of knowing them and to the necessity of planning flexible buildings that are able to absorb those elements with less impact.

Le développement du quartier comme échelle d’un développement urbain plus durable s’inscrit dans une période de prise de conscience liée au changement climatique pour lequel l’Union Européenne a mise en place une politique de transition énergétique. Actuellement, les écoquartiers se structurent autour de deux points clés au niveau énergétique : l’efficacité énergétique et l’approvisionnement énergétique. L’efficacité énergétique qui englobe la performance énergétique du bâtiment et la maitrise de la demande énergétique est le fer de lance des politiques de transition énergétique locale existante. A l’opposé, l’approvisionnement énergétique bas carbone ne semble pas avoir encore atteint une maturité suffisante pour être réalisée en totalité à l’échelle du quartier. Néanmoins, l’analyse des projets d’écoquartiers montre l’intérêt croissant porté à la création d’une offre énergétique bas carbone employant les ressources locales. Cet intérêt traduit, notamment, la volonté de certains acteurs locaux d’atteindre un certain degré d’autonomie énergétique. Afin d’envisager le quartier comme une échelle pertinente pour l’approvisionnement énergétique bas carbone, il est nécessaire d’analyser les conditions technico-économiques et institutionnelles à mettre en œuvre. Elle révèle le besoin d’un changement de paradigme dans la structuration des systèmes énergétiques passant de systèmes centralisés à des systèmes décentralisés. Or, ce nouveau paradigme est conditionné par la maturité technico-économique des infrastructures pouvant être installées dans le quartier et par la capacité à trouver un modèle d’affaire viable rendant l’investissement rentable à cette échelle. D’un point de vue institutionnel, il provoque une modification des relations entre les acteurs utilisant les vecteurs énergétiques étudiés (électricité et chaleur). L’essor de nouveaux profils de production avec le développement des énergies renouvelables et l’émergence de nouveaux profils de consommateurs devenant des producteurs modifie la chaîne de valeur énergétique et oblige à garantir la flexibilité des systèmes énergétiques pour garantir leur bon fonctionnement. Pour tenter d’apporter un éclairage sur les possibles formes que pourraient prendre ces relations, une démarche méthodologique reposant sur la construction d’idéal-types a été réalisé. Elle fait apparaître le besoin d’un nouvel acteur, le gestionnaire de l’énergie, pour garantir le bon fonctionnement des systèmes énergétiques installés dans les quartiers. / The development of the neighborhood as a scale of a more sustainable urban development takes part in a period of awareness linked to climate change for which the European Union has implemented an energy transition policy. In this context, the eco-neighborhoods are structured around two key points in terms of energy: energy efficiency and energy supply. Energy efficiency, which encompasses the energy performance of buildings and the control of energy demand, is the spearhead of existing local energy transition policies. In contrast, the low-carbon energy supply does not seem to have reached sufficient maturity to be fully implemented at the neighborhood level. Nevertheless, the analysis of eco-district projects shows the growing interest in the creation of a low carbon energy supply using local resources. This interest reflects, in particular, the willingness of some local actors to reach a degree of energy autonomy. In order to consider the neighborhood as a relevant scale for low-carbon energy supply, it is necessary to analyze the technical-economic and institutional conditions to be implemented. It reveals the need for a paradigm shift in the structuring of energy systems from centralized to decentralized systems. However, this new paradigm is conditioned by the technical and economic maturity of the infrastructures that can be installed in the district and by the ability to find a viable business model making the investment profitable on this scale. For the institutional part, it causes a modification of the relations between the actors using the energetic vectors studied (electricity and heat). The rise of new production profiles with the development of renewable energies and the emergence of new consumer profiles becoming producers, alters the energy value chain and makes it necessary to guarantee the flexibility of energy systems to ensure their correct functioning. To plan a different pathway that these relationships might take, a methodological approach based on the construction of the ideal-type was carried out. It shows the need for a new player, the energy manager, to ensure the proper functioning of the energy systems installed in the neighborhoods.

A pesquisa aborda o conceito de mutabilidade com vistas a contribuir para o processo e a análise de projetos de Habitação de Interesse Social e seu desempenho ambiental. A abordagem conceitual de mutabilidade e autonomia é desenvolvida sob a ótica da cibernética (ASHBY, 1957), cuja aplicação em projeto tem como referências o conceito de interdependências (YEANG, 1995) e o conceito de suportes ou support structure (HABRAKEN, 1999). A análise do Conjunto Habitacional Zezinho Magalhães Prado é importante para enfatizar estes conceitos explicitamente defendidos e aplicados pelos arquitetos autores do projeto, e que podem ser relacionados à qualidade ambiental do empreendimento observada após 40 anos de ocupação. O desempenho ambiental dos empreendimentos habitacionais é avaliado no Brasil através das certificações processo AQUA e selo Casa Azul. A análise comparativa destes processos de certificação e do Conjunto Habitacional Zezinho Magalhães Prado identificou o conceito de autonomia em arquitetura nas mudanças geradas a partir do diálogo contínuo entre o sistema edificado e o meio ambiente. Por fim, legibilidade e flexibilidade são novos critérios propostos para que, incorporados nos processos de certificação de empreendimentos de interesse social, venham a colaborar na perpetuação do desempenho ambiental conquistado pelo sistema edificado. / This research work discusses the concept of mutability so as to contribute to the process and the analysis of Social Housing projects and their environmental performance. From the concept of mutability there rises the concept of autonomy. The conceptual approach of mutability and autonomy is developed under the perspective of cybernetics (ASHBY, 1957), whose application to project takes as reference the concept of interdependence (YEANG, 1995) and the concept of support or support structure (HABRAKEN, 1999). The analysis of the Housing Complex Zezinho Magalhães Prado becomes important for the identification of those concepts as they were explicitly upheld and applied by the architects responsible for the project and which can be associated to the environmental quality of the housing development as observed after 40 years of use. The environmental performance of housing developments is evaluated in Brazil by means of the certifications AQUA process and Casa Azul stamp. The comparative analysis of these certification processes and the analysis carried out in the Housing Complex Zezinho Magalhães Prado enabled the identification of the concept of autonomy in architecture pinpointed as changes implemented from the ongoing dialogue between the built system and the environment. Lastly, legibility and flexibility are proposed as new criteria so that, once they have been incorporated into the certification processes related to social housing developments, they may contribute to maintain the environmental performance achieved with the stamp.

O objetivo da presente dissertação foi comparar os efeitos agudos de diferentes métodos de alongamento sobre a performance em testes motores e parâmetros neuromusculares. Para tanto, foram realizados dois estudos. Participaram do estudo 1, doze jogadores de futebol treinados, sendo submetidos a 5 condições experimentais: alongamento ativo (AT), balístico (BA), passivo (PA), facilitação neuromuscular proprioceptiva (FNP) ou condição controle (CO), em ordem randomizada e com intervalo mínimo de 48 h entre cada condição. Foram avaliados a altura de salto (H), potência pico (PP) e potência relativa (PR) no squat jump (SJ) e countermovent jump (CMJ), amplitude de movimento (ADM), tempo (s) nos 10-20-30 m durante o sprint e percepção subjetiva de esforço (PSE). Os métodos de alongamento AT e BA não promoveram alterações agudas na performance nos 10, 20 e 30 m, e na H, PP e PR em ambas as técnicas CMJ e SJ. Por outro lado, os métodos PA e FNP promoveram efeitos negativos (p<0.05) na performance na H, PP e PR no CMJ e SJ. Além disso, escores significativamente superiores de PSE foram relatados após as sessões de alongamento PA e FNP em comparação a AT e BA. Foram encontrados aumentos significativos em ADM após todos os métodos de alongamento. Portanto, os métodos AT e BA podem ser utilizados previamente a atividades de salto vertical e sprint, com o objetido de aumento de flexibilidade. Já os métodos PA e FNP devem ser evitados, em função das maiores intensidades alcançadas nestas condições e pela extensa possibilidade de efeitos negativos posteriores na performance do salto vertical. Para o estudo 2, os jogadores de futebol foram submetidos as mesmas condições experimentais (CO, AT, BA, PA e FNP). Porem, foram avaliados a força máxima por meio do teste de uma repetição máxima (1 RM) para o exercício agachamento completo, e parâmetros neuromusculares através da técnica do twitch interpolation. Foram monitorados as variáveis força pico, taxa de desenvolvimento de força, amplitude da twitch superimposed e twitch potentiated, e percentual de ativação voluntária referentes ao sinal de força, e a root mean square, M-Wave e razão RMS/M-Wave referentes ao sinal eletromigráfico (EMG) (músculos: vasto lateral e reto femoral), durante contrações voluntária isométrica máxima (CVM) de extensão de joelho. Não foram encontradas alterações significativas na performance do teste de 1 RM e CVM após as condições CO, AT, BA, PA e FNP. Além disso, também não foram encontradas alterações significativas nas variáveis relativas ao sinal EMG. Dessa forma, sessões de alongamento semelhantes a do estudo [3 séries x 30 s de alongamento à 100% do point of discomfort (POD)], independente do método de alongamento, parecem não promover efeitos negativos posteriores na performance da força máxima e em parâmetros neuromusculares em atletas treinados. / The aim of this dissertation was to compare the acute effects of different stretching methods on motor tests performance and neuromuscular parameters. For this, two studies were conducted. Participated in the study 1, twelve trained soccer players, being submitted to 5 experimental conditions: active stretching (AC), ballistic (BA), passive (PA), proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) or control condition (CO), in random order and with a minimum interval of 48 h between each condition. It was evaluated the jump height (H), peak power (PP) and relative power (PR) in squat jump (SJ) and countermovent jump (CMJ), range of motion (ROM), 10-20-30 m sprint time and rating of perception exertion (RPE). The AC and BA stretching methods did not promote acute changes in performance at 10-20-30 m sprint time, and in H, PP and PR in both CMJ and SJ techniques. On the other hand, PA and PNF methods promoted negative effects (p <0.05) on H, PP and PR performance in CMJ and SJ. In addition, significantly higher RPE scores were reported after the PA and PNF stretching sessions compared to AC and BA. Significant increases were found in ROM after all stretching methods. Therefore, AC and BA methods can be used prior to vertical jump and sprint activities, with the aim of increasing flexibility. On the other hand, the PA and PNF methods should be avoided, due to the higher intensities reached in these methods and the extensive possibility of subsequent negative effects on vertical jump performance. For study 2, soccer players underwent the same experimental conditions (CO, AC, BA, PA and PNF). However, maximum strength was assessed by a maximal repetition test (1 RM) for the full squat exercise, and neuromuscular parameters using the twitch interpolation technique. The variables peak force, rate of force development, amplitude of superimposed twitch and potentiated twitch, and percentage of voluntary activation referring to the force signal, and root mean square, M-Wave and RMS/M-Wave ratio referring to the Electromyographic (EMG) signal (muscles: vastus lateralis and rectus femoris), during maximal isometric voluntary contractions (MVC) of knee extension. No significant changes were found in the 1 RM and CVM performance after CO, AC, BA, PA and PNF conditions. In addition, no significant changes were found in the variables related to the EMG signal. Thus, stretching sessions similar to the study [3 series x 30 s of 100% point of discomfort (POD) stretching], independent of the stretching method, do not seem to promote posterior negative effects on maximum strength performance and on neuromuscular parameters in trained athletes.

De acordo com a hipótese de flexibilidade financeira, as firmas preservariam maiores posições em ativos líquidos e capacidade de endividamento para reduzir as potenciais restrições ao acessar recursos externos, evitar o risco do subinvestimento e absorver choques exógenos adversos sobre as suas decisões financeiras. Entretanto, tal conjectura, que tem recebido pouca atenção na literatura de finanças corporativas, seria capaz de responder a importantes lacunas teórico-empíricas, em especial, das principais teorias de estrutura de capital. À vista disso, o trabalho objetivou avaliar a influência da manutenção de flexibilidade financeira sobre o financiamento e investimento das companhias abertas brasileiras no período de 2008 a 2017, bem como analisar a repercussão desta política nas empresas consideradas restritas e flexíveis financeiramente. Para tanto, foram desenvolvidas as modelagens de financiamento, investimento e de avaliação de impacto. Foram utilizados métodos de estimação que pudessem corrigir potenciais problemas decorrentes da endogeneidade entre as variáveis, sendo eles: GMM, difference-in-difference e propensity score matching. Na primeira modelagem, investigou-se o efeito adicional nos níveis de flexibilidade financeira sobre os níveis de alavancagem das firmas classificadas como restritas e irrestritas sob cinco critérios: índices KZ, WW, SA, ativo total e distribuição de dividendos. Como principal achado, mediante a regressão com dados em painel dinâmico (GMM), verificou-se que incrementos no excesso de caixa e na capacidade de financiamento propiciam acréscimos mais acentuados na alavancagem contábil das firmas restritas sob distintos critérios de restrição financeira. Na segunda modelagem, por meio de equações de investimento (GMM) de Q de Tobin e acelerador de vendas, averiguou-se a sensibilidade do investimento ao fluxo de caixa nas firmas flexíveis e inflexíveis sob três critérios: excesso de caixa, capacidade de financiamento e a intersecção de ambos. Nesta avaliação, no modelo Q de investimento, o resultado mais importante é que as empresas flexíveis financeiramente, ao obter capacidade de endividamento, reduziriam a dependência da geração de fluxo de caixa para investir, comparativamente às inflexíveis. Ao final, por intermédio de métodos de avaliação de impacto (diferenças-em-diferenças e pareamento), examinou-se como a retirada do grau de investimento do rating de crédito soberano brasileiro em 2015 (evento exógeno negativo) impactou as decisões de financiamento e investimento nas firmas flexíveis e não flexíveis (com e sem rating de crédito de grau de investimento, respectivamente). O método de pareamento ofereceu evidências de que, sobretudo, os índices de alavancagem a valores de mercado das firmas flexíveis são menos impactados após a ocorrência do choque adverso quando comparados às inflexíveis. Em contraste, tal evento não provocou diferenças estatisticamente significantes nos patamares de investimento dos grupos, em ambos os métodos. Estes resultados contribuem para o entendimento do: persistente comportamento de subalavancagem das firmas restritas e não restritas; declarado anseio dos gestores financeiros por folga financeira para investimentos futuros; comportamento proativo da firma em resposta a eventos esperados e inesperados. Em síntese, os referidos achados indicam que a manutenção de flexibilidade financeira exerce relevante influência nas principais decisões financeiras das companhias abertas brasileiras e em condições atípicas de mercado. / Under the financial flexibility hypothesis, firms would preserve greater positions in liquid assets and borrowing capacity to reduce potential constraints on accessing external resources, avoid the risk of underinvestment, and absorb adverse exogenous shocks to their financial decisions. However, such a conjecture, which has received little attention in the corporate finance literature, would be able to respond to important theoretical-empirical gaps, especially the main theories of capital structure. In view of this, the objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of the maintenance of financial flexibility on the financing and investment of Brazilian publicly traded companies from 2008 to 2017, as well as to analyze the repercussion of this policy on companies considered constrained and financially flexible. For that, the models of financing, investment and impact assessment were developed. It was used estimation methods that could correct potential problems due to endogeneity among the variables, such as: GMM, difference-in-difference and propensity score matching. In the first model, was investigated the additional effect on the levels of financial flexibility on the levels of leverage of firms classified as constrained and unconstrained under five criteria: KZ, WW, SA, total assets and dividend payout index measures. As a main finding, through dynamic panel data regression (GMM), it was verified that increases in excess cash and in financing capacity lead to more accentuated increases in the book leverage of constrained firms under different criteria of financial constraint. In the second model, through investment equations (GMM) of Tobin\'s q and sales-accelerator, the sensitivity of the investment to cash flow in flexible and inflexible firms was investigated under three criteria: excess cash, financing capacity and the intersection of both. In this evaluation, in the Q model of investment, the most important result is that financially flexible companies, when obtaining debt capacity, would reduce the dependency of cash flow generation to invest, compared to inflexible firms. Finally, through quasi-experimental methods (differences-in-differences and matching), it was examined how the withdrawal of investment grade of the Brazilian sovereign credit rating in 2015 (negative exogenous event) impacted financing decisions and investment in flexible and non-flexible firms (with and without investment grade credit rating, respectively). The matching method provided evidence that, above all, the market leverage of the flexible firms are less impacted after the occurrence of the adverse shock when compared to the inflexible firms. In contrast, this event did not cause statistically significant differences in the investment levels of the groups in both methods. These results contribute to the understanding of: the persistent under-leverage behavior of the constrained and unconstrained firms; declared financial managers\' desire for financial freedom for future investments; proactive behavior in response to expected and unexpected events. In summary, these findings indicate that the maintenance of financial flexibility exerts a relevant influence on the main financial decisions of Brazilian public companies and in unusual market conditions.

Background: There has been very little research regarding the metabolic health of women during the postpartum period. Metabolic flexibility is the physiological ability to alter substrate oxidation in response to substrate availability and is a good indicator of overall metabolic health. Metabolic flexibility can be assessed by placing metabolic demands on the body and observing metabolic responsiveness- two examples of such metabolic stressors are lipid oxidation rates in response to a high-fat meal and as well as exercise. However, it is unknown whether postpartum women will respond similarly to these two different types of metabolic stressors. This information will allow researchers and clinicians to understand whether postpartum women can be considered more or less metabolically flexible based on one of these tests alone, or if both types of metabolic stress should be incorporated into research designs and/or clinical practice to fully understand one’s metabolic health during this critical time period. Objective: To determine the association between the metabolic responsiveness to a high-fat meal and a 30- minute continuous, moderate-intensity exercise among women during the sixth- month postpartum period. Methods: Seventeen healthy, postpartum women (age: 32 ± 4.5 year; body mass index: 24.74 ± 3.97 kg/m²) participated approximately six months after delivery. Metabolic measurements VO2 and VCO2 (L. min ̄ ¹) were measured and used to calculate the rates of lipid oxidation (g. min ̄ ¹) at baseline, two-hour post consumption of a high-fat meal and during a moderate-intensity exercise for 30-minutes. Results: A correlation was found between the lipid oxidation fold change in response to a high-fat meal and exercise (r= 0.45, p= 0.08; however, it was not statistically significant. There was a significant effect of time on lipid and carbohydrate oxidation rates (p<0.001) during baseline, after consumption of a high-fat meal and during a 30-minute exercise bout. Conclusion: A trending relationship was observed between the metabolic responsiveness to a high-fat meal and a 30-minute moderate-intensity exercise bout among women during the six-month postpartum

La plupart des travaux empiriques ont montré que les jeunes et les âgés utilisent de nombreuses stratégies pour accomplir des tâches cognitives. Ils mettent aussi en évidence que les âgés (a) utilisent moins de stratégies, (b) utilisent les stratégies disponibles dans des proportions différentes, (c) exécutent moins efficacement les stratégies utilisées, et (d) choisissent, sur chaque problème, moins fréquemment la meilleure stratégie que les jeunes. L’objectif général de cette thèse était de déterminer quels sont les mécanismes sous-tendant la différence de performances jeunes/âgés dans ces différentes dimensions stratégiques. Nous testons l’hypothèse que le déclin des fonctions exécutives médiatise les différences liées à l’âge dans le répertoire, la distribution, l’exécution et la sélection stratégiques. Pour atteindre cet objectif, nous avons adopté une approche corrélationnelle et une approche expérimentale. Les résultats répliquent les principales données concernant les différences jeunes/âgés dans les différentes dimensions stratégiques. De plus, ils mettent en évidence le rôle essentiel des fonctions exécutives, et, en particulier, de la flexibilité cognitive et de l’inhibition, dans la diminution avec l’âge du répertoire, de la sélection et de l’exécution stratégiques. Nous discutons les implications de ces résultats sur le vieillissement et les variations stratégiques, d’une part, et sur les modèles de la sélection stratégique, d’autre part. / Empirical studies on strategic variations during aging have shown that young andolder adults use multiple strategies to accomplish cognitive tasks. They also showed that older adults (a) use fewer strategies, (b) do not use available strategies with the same frequency as young adults (c) execute strategies less efficiently, and (d) select less frequently the best strategy than young adults. The aim of this study was to investigate which mechanisms underly the strategic differences in young and older adults. We tested the hypothesis that age related decline of executive functions mediate age-related differences in strategy repertoire, distribution, execution, and selection. To achieve these ends, we adopted correlational and experimental approaches. Results replicated previous data relative to differences between young and older adults in different strategy dimensions. Results also highlight crucial role ofexecutive functions, especially cognitive flexibility and inhibition, in strategy repertoire, selection, and execution. Implications for further our understanding of aging and strategic variations, as well as current theoretical models of strategy selection are discussed.

Title: Selected gymnastic exercises for flexibility development of hip joints in karate training Objective: The aim of this thesis is to verify, whether typical gymnastic exercises have an effect on the development of hip joints in a group of karatist with different length of training practice. Methods: This thesis is of quasi-experimental character. 18 probands were intentionally selected from two groups - a group of moderately advanced (10) and a group of advanced (8) aged 6-11 years. Probands have completed a movement program aimed at developing flexibility in the hip joints (static, dynamic and theraband exercises). Meantime all probands underwent initial, first control, second control and output measurements using the SFTR method in the hip joints every four weeks of the movement program. Methods used: Mann-Whitney test, Effect size, SFTR method. Results: In both groups, the joint range in the hip joint was improved, especially in the first control measurement (after static exercises). Overall, there is a slight increase in both groups from input to output for all movements. The effect of the exercise on the mobility of the hip joint was not proved, as well as the effect of different types of exercises in both groups with different length of training practice. Keywords: gymnastics, karate,...

The declines in oil and gas prices in 2014 by 50% or more led governments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to decrease healthcare budgets correspondingly by more than 30%. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the marketing strategies that managers of international pharmaceutical companies have successfully implemented in the MENA region to ensure profitability after the 2014 decreases in the healthcare budgets, which followed the decline in oil and gas prices. The study involved data collection through semistructured interviews of 6 middle and executive managers working in 2 international pharmaceutical companies located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The cultural intelligence and strategic flexibility theories constituted the conceptual framework for this study and exploration of challenges associated with implementing marketing strategies for international pharmaceutical companies in the MENA region. Participants had a minimum of 5 years of experience in planning and implementing marketing strategies in the MENA region. The findings from the thematic data analysis led to the identification of major marketing strategies, which have helped to maintain business sustainability of pharmaceutical companies, despite difficulties with the reduction in healthcare budgets in the MENA region. The important themes emerging from this study included: (a) product launch strategy and operating model, (b) transformation of leaders by vision and guidance, (c) recognition of culture and diversity, and (d) the importance of training and learning agility. The results of the study may contribute to positive social change because pharmaceutical and healthcare knowledge benefits human health and may serve to influence positive job creation and enrichment of the economies of the region.