The construction industry has been identified with fragmentation, adversarial relationships, opportunism, and high rates of disputes. Therefore, there has been a call for the improvement of inter-firm relations in the sector through more appropriate governance strategies. This study drew upon transaction cost economics theory and new economic sociology in relation to the problem of inter-firm opportunism in economic relations. The study argues that depending on how patterns of inter-firm opportunism are viewed, different governance strategies may be formulated. Through a critical review of the prior publications concerning the problem of opportunism in the sector, the study argues that the construction management literature used theoretical works at both normative and explanatory levels. However, little is known about the construct of inter-firm opportunism itself and how it materialises within the construction industry. Therefore, this study aimed to provide insights into how practitioners in the construction industry conceptualise inter-firm opportunism and its patterns. Such insights extend the knowledge of how they approach governance strategies, and generally why they do what they do. To build a conceptual framework of inter-firm opportunism in the construction industry, this study was guided by a constructivist grounded theory. Rich qualitative data were constructed through 20 semi-structured interviews with practitioners involved in the construction industry who were working in the UK in either construction law firms, construction companies, construction development companies, or construction consultancy firms. The qualitative data were analysed following the Charmaz (2003 and 2006) guideline. In relation to the construct of inter-firm opportunism, the findings of the study indicate that there are considerable variations between the constructs of inter-firm opportunism. However, regardless of these variations, a win-lose relationship feeling is central to practitioners’ construct of inter-firm opportunism. The study argues that in response to the risk of inter-firm opportunism through setting up contractual governance, parties usually conduct a casual cost-benefit trade-off. In relation to the patterns of inter-firm opportunism from the points of view of the practitioners in the sector, the study provides a conceptual framework grounded in the data. This framework places emphasis on the dynamics of different types of power constructed between the client and its first tier suppliers in the pre- and post- contract stages. This framework is the study’s contribution to the body of knowledge concerned with the inter-firm relations in the construction industry.

Dans le contexte d’une globalisation croissante, la mondialisation des économies et des organisations a un fort impact sur les pratiques de gestion des ressources humaines. En effet, de plus en plus d’entreprises multinationales emploient des acteurs en provenance de divers pays et donc de cultures différentes. La gestion de la diversité est ainsi devenue indispensable pour ces entreprises qui s’implantent à l’étranger.Cette recherche vise à mettre en évidence la complexité de la gestion de la diversité culturelle et de la multitude de facteurs qui influencent le comportement des cadres/agents dans les filiales des firmes multinationales françaises implantées en Tunisie.Pour cela, nous étudions les apports de la littérature portant sur l'entreprise multinationale et le transfert des pratiques managériales ainsi que l’influence de la variable culturelle sur les pratiques managériales au sein des filiales en tenant compte des réactions des acteurs internes. Nous proposerons alors un cadre théorique innovant en articulant l’approche néo-institutionnaliste et l’approche culturaliste.Notre méthodologie de recherche repose la combinaison de l’analyse qualitative et quantitative. L’échantillon de l’enquête est constitué de 83 cadres locaux et expatriés travaillant dans 14 filiales françaises implantées dans différentes régions en Tunisie.L’étude quantitative est basée sur des questionnaires adressés aux différents acteurs ; elle est complétée par 22 entretiens semi-directifs auprès des cadres locaux et expatriés.Cette thèse a mis en évidence que la coopération entre acteurs issus de cultures différentes nécessite une prise en considération de la variable culturelle pour gérer les filiales. Elle a également mis en exergue les traits culturels au sein des filiales françaises implantés en Tunisie ainsi que les valeurs culturelles dominantes spécifiques aux cadres TunisiensMots clés: l’entreprise multinationale - les pratiques managériales- la variable culturelle- les valeurs culturelles dominantes- La gestion de la diversité. / In the context of a growing globalization, the globalization of economies and organizations has a strong impact on the human resources management practices.Indeed, more and more multinational companies recruit actors from various countries and therefore different cultures. Management of the diversity has become essential for these companies locating abroad.This research aims to highlight the complexity of managing cultural diversity and the multitude of factors which influence the behavior of managers/agents in subsidiaries of the multinationals French firms implanted in Tunisia.For this purpose, we study the literature of contributions on the multinational company and the transfer of managerial practices as well as the influence of cultural variable on the managerial practices within subsidiaries by taking into account feedback from internal stakeholders. We then propose an innovative theoretical framework articulating the neo-institutional approach and the culturalism approach.Our research methodology based the overall combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis. The survey sample consists of 83 local and expatriate executives working in 14 French subsidiaries implanted in different regions in Tunisia.The quantitative study is based on questionnaires sent to various actors; it is supplemented by 22 interviews semi-structured with both local and expats executives.This thesis has highlighted that the cooperation between actors from different cultures requires a consideration of cultural variable to manage subsidiaries. It also highlighted the cultural features within the French subsidiaries implanted in Tunisia as well as the dominant cultural values specific to the Tunisian executives.Key words : Multinational companies- the managerial practices -cultural variable- the dominant cultural values- Management of the diversity

The Market orientation (MO) phenomena have been meticulously studied in the marketing literature for more than three decades. While in the beginning MO had been investigated from a focal form perspective, it has evolved to account for the role it plays in distribution channels or supply chains. However, the perspective taken has consistently been from a focal firm perspective, either about its own or its partners market orientation. This study seeks to extend the theory on market orientation to account for the role that it plays within business relationships (i.e. inter-firm market orientation). IMO was initially conceptualized as the joint activities between the focal firm and its channel partner in joint intelligence generation, joint intelligence dissemination and joint customer responsiveness. This study develops the theory that a business relationship can be either market oriented or not and attempts to explain the effect of this inter-firm market orientation on relationship performance as well as focal firm performance. Specifically, this study asks the question, does inter-firm market orientation mediate the focal firm market orientation – performance relationship?This study was investigated using a two-stage approach. In the first stage, a measurement scale was developed and empirically tested to measure inter-firm market orientation. It was from the scale development efforts that the conceptualization of IMO was refined to include the joint intelligence cooperation and joint customer responsiveness efforts between the focal firm and its channel partners. It appears that the focal firm and their channel partner do not differentiate or separate the activities of intelligence generation and intelligence dissemination. They view it more as a cooperative effort. Additionally, the focus of the intelligence cooperation efforts appears to be more about intelligence collected through market research about end-user customers rather than by speaking with customers directly. Finally, the customer responsiveness efforts appear to be reactively focused rather than both reactively and proactively. The scale development was followed by the second stage where the revised IMO construct was included in a model in which it mediated the often-studied market orientation – performance relationship. A number of hypotheses were developed using various relationship theories such as transaction cost economics, resource-based view, and interaction approach. The model was tested with a sample of 130 informants using a variance-based structural equation modeling technique called partial least squares. The final analysis indicated that all paths were significant and that the IMO and relationship performance constructs partially mediated the MO – performance relationship. These findings suggest that it is important to understand both intra and inter-firm market orientation activities to truly understand their impact on business performance.

La thèse part d’un premier constat : le manque de réflexion sur les questions d’identité, d’altérité et d’intégration dans des sociétés occidentales pourtant de plus en plus hétérogènes. Le traitement médiatique québécois des accommodements raisonnables au milieu des années 2000 a ainsi rappelé la difficulté d'habiter plusieurs univers culturels à la fois. Comme si revendiquer une appartenance, c'était renoncer à toutes les autres. Comme si appartenir à une communauté religieuse, c'était y être enfermé. Notre thèse défend l’idée que les divergences identitaires et culturelles sont inhérentes à toute démocratie. Elles ne lui font donc pas obstacle, sauf quand des situations comme le traitement médiatique québécois des accommodements raisonnables tendent à accentuer ces divergences au point de rendre impossible toute communication entre cadres référentiels. Pour observer ce traitement médiatique, nous nous sommes limitée à une altérité en particulier, celle des minorités arabes et/ou musulmanes. L’observation privilégiée était par ailleurs très succincte #trois articles traductifs, trois articles non-traductifs et trois articles intraductifs tirés du journal Le Devoir#. Nous avons mobilisé une théorie de la traduction inter-référentielle pour mieux saisir les mécanismes discursifs qui ont pour vocation de montrer comment la représentation de l’Autre trahit en même temps la représentation de soi, celle de son cadre de référence ainsi que le contexte social dans lequel s’inscrivent ces représentations respectives. Nous avons également eu recours au concept de traduction citoyenne #Basalamah# qui part du principe qu’un cadre référentiel ne doit jamais être considéré comme autosuffisant. Le traducteur citoyen invite en ce sens le lecteur à une éventuelle remise en question, au repositionnement de soi vis-à-vis de l’Autre ainsi qu’au rapprochement mutuel. Or, que nous montre l’analyse des neuf articles tirés du journal Le Devoir? Elle nous montre d’abord que se situer dans une posture non traductive, c’est oublier sa dette envers l’Autre. Elle nous montre ensuite que se situer dans une posture intraductive, c’est courir derrière de vaines illusions #l’illusion d’être objectif, l’illusion d’être non-engagé ou parfois encore l’illusion de ne pas reproduire de vieilles hiérarchies#. Enfin, elle nous montre que même la posture traductive peut décourager le dialogue quand elle s’engage dans une voie trop moralisante.

The thesis financial analysis and inter-comparison of Benzina Ltd. have carried out a financial analysis using the methods: horizontal and vertical analysis of financial statements, analysis of index, the analysis of net working capital, through economic analysis of the value added analysis by creditworthy models. Further inter-comparison on methods: ranking, scoring, standard variable and distance from a fictitious object. All for the period 2005, 2006, 2007.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2015-12-09T12:38:04Z No. of bitstreams: 1 julioeduardodossantosribeiroreissimoes.pdf: 1183121 bytes, checksum: 825b28f5e29b3e6022160ae6180aef3d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2015-12-09T13:50:03Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 julioeduardodossantosribeiroreissimoes.pdf: 1183121 bytes, checksum: 825b28f5e29b3e6022160ae6180aef3d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-09T13:50:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 julioeduardodossantosribeiroreissimoes.pdf: 1183121 bytes, checksum: 825b28f5e29b3e6022160ae6180aef3d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-12 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Os estudos mais recentes sobre a identidade católica têm apontado para o século XVI como o ponto de partida de muitos traços delineadores desta mesma identidade, especialmente pela ação missionária dos jesuítas no contexto das Grandes Navegações. Este trabalho dispõe-se a compreender o motivo pelo qual os mesmos missionários oscilavam entre um discurso tridentino de fechamento doutrinário e a ação evangelizadora inclusiva, especialmente na Ásia. Para tanto, lança mão da análise de um missionário específico, Roberto Nobili (1577-1656), atuante na Índia do século XVII. O mesmo tem sido tomado como exemplo de abertura cultural e alteridade. Pretendemos demonstrar que Nobili pode ser compreendido como um jesuíta típico dentre os não-portugueses no século XVII, que corresponde à segunda geração de missionários da citada Ordem religiosa. Foi possível delimitar esta possibilidade interpretativa como clara, e as ambivalências da ordem ficam igualmente claras ao lidar com as produções literárias de Nobili. / The most recent studies about catholic identity point towards 16th century as the origin of many traces which delineate such identity, specially through the jesuit‟s missionary action in the context of Great Navigations. This essay pretends understanding the motives for the tension between a Tridentine doctrinaire enclosure and a inclusive missionary approach, especially in Asia. For that, we assay a specific missionary, Roberto Nobili (1577-1656), who worked on India during the 17th century. Roberto has being taken as an example of cultural openness and otherness. We aim to demonstrate that Nobili can be comprehended as a typical Jesuit among the non-Portuguese in 17th century, which corresponds to the second generation of missionaries of the quoted religious Order. It became possible to delimitate such interpretative approach as clear, and the ambivalences of the Order are also quite clear when we deal with Nobili‟s literary productions.

Advanced computer technologies can transform the traditional electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring system for better efficiency and accuracy. ECG records a heart's electrical activity using electrodes placed on the skin, and it has become an essential tool for arrhythmia detection. The complexity comes from the variety of patients' heartbeats and massive amounts of information for humans to process correctly. The first part of the thesis presents an image based two-dimensional convolution neural network (CNN) to classify the arrhythmia heartbeats with inter-patient paradigm. It includes a new data pre-processing method. The inter-patient paradigm simulates the practical use case of an ECG heartbeat classifier. Compared to the reported work in the literature, the proposed solution achieves superior experiment results. The rest of the thesis introduces the remote ECG monitoring system. The RESTful API design concepts of the system are described. The proposed API supports an efficient and secure way of interaction between each module in this remote monitoring system. / Graduate

As the topic of sustainability is gaining a lot of importance, organizations in the aviation industry are coming together to form networks. The purpose of the study is to understand the concept of inter-organizational networks as potential learning organizations and find out how facilitating processes that enable these inter-organizational networks like collaboration, communication and knowledge management operate within networks. Further research will explore processes of learning in networks to investigate alignment and resemblance with the concept of sustainable learning organization and provide an insight on organization structure and culture as enablers of learning. The basic design of the study consists of semi-structured interviews of two networks in the aviation industry as primary data in order to support research questions with empirical analysis. In addition, systematic review of academic literature and official websites of various network stakeholders was used as a secondary data collection source to discover track record of current research study in this field and identify knowledge gaps and areas for further study. Major findings include impact of formal and informal structure of networks on learning processes and objective setting for the network. It also depicts a need for a holistic and systematic approach at interorganizational level in order to form a learning organization. In the end culture was also identified as a learning enabler in networks that tend to be sustainable learning organizations.

No description available.

Magister Educationis - MEd / In this mini-thesis I focus primarily on collaborative writing in the study of prescribed prose texts as a medium of academic development of primary school student teachers. The problem with the present approach to the teaching of prose texts, and the introduction of the prosess approach to writing as a possible solution to the problem, is briefly discussed. In Chapter 2 the deficiencies of the current approach to the teaching of prose texts are discussed in detail. To place the above in the proper perspective a critical analysis is made of the existing Teachers Diploma syllabus for Afrikaans prose setworks, with special reference to the interpretation of the syllabus, and the organisation and presentation of the teaching programme for prose texts at a specific teachers' college of education. The main shortcomings which are referred to in the study are, inter alia: the organisation of the prose setwork teaching programme, compartmentalisation of language components, limited teaching time, the implication of the single, vague teaching goal for prose "texts, lecturer-centredness, and student's inability to work independently. In Chapter 3 the possible influence of the present approach to writing on the teaching of prose texts is discussed with special reference to methods of collaboration in learning. It is argued that the application of groupwork in a learnercentered approach to the teaching of prose texts can contribute to the elimination of many of the above problems, and that it can result in a rejuvenation in the class context, which may lead to students experiencing literature study as an enjoyable learning activity. The holistic nature of the process approach to writing is also included, since it leads to the integration of different language components, and saves time. The process approach to writing provides the required instruments for independent study. It is argued that the process approach to writing helps students to take co-responsibility for their own learning, and offers them the opportunity to contribute towards their own academic development. Based on the advantages indicated above, I designed a draft curriculum in Chapter 4. Action research was :done and the process approach to writing was implemented in the reality of the classroom situation on a small scale. With the lecturer who acted as facilitator to guide them to a specific goal, twenty-two first year students studied a prose setwork text, Jerigo-krisis by André Jansen. A single aspect in the process approach to writing was emphasised in particular, viz., collaborative learning in literature study. During the implementation of the plan an observer monitored the reaction of the target group, and gave her comments after each lesson. Students were also asked to evaluate the course in their personal journals, and to discuss the course during their journal conferences. The biggest shortcoming of the provisional plan, which students mentioned, and which I also noticed was the lack of time. The students wanted to spend more time on certain conferences, particularly content and evaluation conferences. The revised plan in Chapter 5 is the result and amendment of the draft curriculum.