Thesis (M.A.)--University of St. Michael's College, 1982. / Description based on Print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 200-207).

E-commerce has been growing in Sweden over the years. It has not only contributed to economy, but also has shaped people’s way of living, especially with the service of home delivery. Consumers enjoy the various choices of products with reasonable prices and the convenience of receiving parcels with a single click on the mouse or by using their phones. Meanwhile, the problem of not-at-home and repeated delivery have caused trouble for both consumers and logistic service providers leading to an increase in delivery cost. Therefore, it takes a lot of cooperation and innovations to come up with solution which will both convenient to customer and 3PL providers, which we call ‘last mile delivery’.This thesis was written with purpose of evaluating the solutions used to address the not at home problem of last mile in e-Commerce. Moreover, the thesis seeks find out which of these solutions are preferred by customers and the impact of these solution on customers. The thesis focuses on the Swedish customers because they have more experience buying online.In this thesis we first established a literature review of E-commerce, E- Shoppers preference of last mile delivery, last mile delivery concept, last mile logistics solution (not at home) which we came up with a theoretical framework by examining the impact of last mile delivery. In order to answer the research questions a focus group discussion and nine interviews were carried out focusing mainly on professional and non professional customers in Sweden. The study identified that apart from home delivery, the customers in Sweden mainly use Collection Points in online shopping. Some other delivery methods such as automated locker banks and controlled home access exist but still in early stage. After analyzing the literature review, current solutions and empirical findings, the study concluded with three potential solutions to solve not at home problem. These solutions are - Secured room at residential building to drop parcel, Automated Locker Bank and Collection Points more closer to residential area.

Sarus cranes (Grus antigone) are the tallest members of the crane family, Gruidae. They are found in four geographically distinct regions: northwest India (Indian Sarus- Grus antigone antigone), southeast Asia (Burmese Sarus- Grus antigone sharpei) and northern Australia (Australian Sarus- Grus antigone gillae). Although the three subspecies are morphologically distinct, their genetic distinctness is unclear. In this study, I focused on control region sequences of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to assess the genetic and phylogeographic distinctness of Sarus subspecies. I used samples from four fragmented populations, seven from India, 16 from southeast Asia, five from Myanmar and eight from Australia. Phylogenetic trees were estimated using two Brolga crane sequences (G. rubicunda) as outgroups. All phylogenetic trees had low resolution, but AMOVA showed that all four Sarus populations are differentiated from each other. Nested clade phylogenetic analysis showed that most of the southeast Asian haplotypes are found at the center, suggesting that the Thai population includes the maximum number of ancestral haplotypes. Sarus cranes probably originated in southeast Asia and migrated both north towards India and south towards Australia during the last glacial maximum.

Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades / Informe de Seminario para optar al grado de Licencia en Lengua y Literatura Inglesa / Our research began through Blake’s poetry, by seeing how the people he portrayed were engulfed by the city, how this new modern construct affected their daily living. As Heather Glen has very accurately stated in her Blake’s London: “The eighteenth-century London street was […] a place where that sense of the other as object –often as feeble and wretched object- […] was the dominant mode of relationship (148).” This new type of urban mode of living is extreme to the 18th century Englishman, a place where the rule becomes to survive, if you can, in this distant society. “This world simply is. Reciprocal human relationships in which otherness is acknowledged and the needs of all harmonized do not exist: the only relationships […] are instrumental ones. People have become objects (155).” As is very well shown through Glen and Blake in this case, this is a very bleak prospect. Cities become in a way, object-enemies, by this I mean that the city is distant and unfamiliar, in much the same way people are according to Glen, and each citizen has to do what he can to survive in this hostile world. Glen specifically focuses her analysis on Blake’s London, a portrayal of this growing metropolis that pushes the common Londoners further into ‘their’ corner; they watch it with fear because it is becoming distant. They belong in the city, for without them the city would not function, yet they are mere objects, they are not part of its creation or development. They are not free in the city.

Modern banking theories provide a host of explanations for the existence of intermediaries, highlight their important influence on economic growth, delineate the risks inherent in the services they provide, and illustrate the market failures and real costs of bank failures that precipitate the need for regulation and oversight of the sector. This thesis is a collection of three essays that looks at three of these key aspects of financial intermediaries - the development of financial intermediaries, the function of the lender of last resort that has emerged as an important part of the safety net afforded to financial intermediaries, and the occurrence of financial crises. The first chapter of this thesis provides an introduction to the academic literature on financial intermediation covering different theories put forward to explain their emergence, and highlighting the risks inherent in their operation. It emphasizes the crucial functions they perform in the economy and makes a case for regulation and oversight of the sector to reduce the incidence and alleviate the effects of financial crises. The second chapter seeks to determine the policy and institutional factors that influence the development of financial institutions as measured across three dimensions - depth, efficiency, and stability. Applying the concept of the financial possibility frontier, developed by Beck and Feyen (2013) and formalized by Barajas et al. (2013b), we determine key policy variables affecting the gap between actual levels of development and benchmarks predicted by structural variables. Our dynamic panel estimation shows that inflation, trade openness, institutional quality, and banking crises significantly affect financial development. We also assess the impact of the policy variables across the different dimensions of development thereby identifying complementarities and potential trade-offs for policy makers. The third chapter models the role of the lender of last resort (LoLR) in a general equilibrium framework. We allow for heterogeneous agents and a risk-averse banking sector, and incorporate the frictions of endogenous default, liquidity, and money. Adverse supply shocks in monetary endowments trigger default, leading to deterioration in the value of bank assets, and subsequent bank illiquidity in some states of the world. LoLR intervention is then assessed with regards to its economy-wide effect on welfare, bank profitability, and the level of default. The results provide a justification for constructive ambiguity. The fourth chapter aims to provide an explanation for the incidence of financial crises by combining insights from agency theory and Minsky's financial instability hypothesis (Minsky, 1992) in a model with endogenous default. Our theoretical model shows that the probability of a financial crisis increases as the quality of shareholder information decreases. We then develop a measure for the quality of shareholder information following Simon (1989) and show that the market-wide quality of shareholder information: i) is poor (with no trend) in the Pre-SEC period (1840 to 1934); ii) improves substantially following the SEC reforms; and iii) gradually declines starting in the 1960s/70s until it is now back to pre-SEC levels. This matches up with the standard list of US financial crises (as in Reinhart and Rogoff 2009; Reinhart 2010) and supports our hypothesis that the likelihood of a financial crisis increases with deterioration in the quality of shareholder information.

O cenário brasileiro do mercado de calçados caracteriza-se cada vez mais por consumidores que procuram produtos com maior valor agregado. Para o universo feminino, é perceptível que o fator moda possui relevância vital, mas os requisitos de conforto do calçado ganham cada vez mais importância. Através da união de recursos tecnológicos e da experiência pragmática do setor calçadista, esta pesquisa antropométrica sobre pés femininos procura contribuir com um embasamento científico que traga mais suporte ao processo de desenvolvimento de produto. Neste contexto, a dissertação tem por objetivo organizar e validar uma sistemática atualizada de medição de pés em diferentes posições de altura de salto com base em recursos tecnológicos disponíveis, com os quais é possível mensurar parâmetros antropométricos importantes para o desenvolvimento de novos projetos de formas e calçados. Para a consecução deste objetivo, o trabalho foi embasado por uma revisão e fundamentação teórica que apontou a antropometria como um elemento em comum para estudos sobre biomecânica e ergonomia. A amostra do estudo foi composta por 407 brasileiras adultas, considerando-se a faixa etária entre 16 e 55 anos, sendo realizado experimentalmente com mulheres com residência fixa ou temporária na Região Metropolitana de Porto Alegre, no Vale do Rio dos Sinos, no Vale do Paranhana e em cidades vizinhas dessas regiões no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. O projeto foi aprovado em Comitê de Ética e contou com o uso de equipamentos e softwares que permitiram a investigação proposta pela pesquisa, propiciando desde a coleta de dados antropométricos, tratamento, conversão e leitura dos arquivos digitalizados até a análise estatística destes mesmos dados de modo a permitir a apresentação de resultados coerentes com o objetivo estabelecido. Como resultados, são expostas uma série de características demográficas e dados antropométricos da amostra investigada. A metodologia utilizada mostrou-se consistente, trazendo resultados que contribuem com o trabalho do designer de formas e calçados. Os resultados das medidas das variáveis antropométricas dos pés da amostra foram avaliados em 20 diferentes seções em cada pé, sendo que 2 correspondem a comprimentos, 6 correspondem a perímetros, 6 correspondem a alturas e 6 correspondem a larguras. A variabilidade das medidas apresentadas ratifica a importância do desenvolvimento e fabricação de formas e calçados com perfis diferenciados e instiga a análise pormenorizada de cada variável antropométrica como fundamento para o desenvolvimento de produtos mais adequados à geração de conforto. / The Brazilian footwear market scenery is more and more characterized by consumers who seek products with higher value added. Concerning the women’s world, it is noticed that the fashion concept owns a vital enhancement, but the footwear comfort requirements gain increasingly importance. Through the union of technological resources and the pragmatic experience of the footwear sector, this anthropometric research on women’s feet intends to contribute with a scientific fundamentation which brings more support to the product development process. In this context, this monograph aims to organize and make valid an up-to-date system of feet measurement in different positions of heel height based on available technological resources with which it is possible to measure important anthropometric parameters for the development of new last and shoe projects. In order to achieve this goal, the task was based on a review and theoretical fundamentation which has highlighted the anthropometric as an element in common for studies on biomechanics and ergonomics. The sampling study was made up by 407 female adult Brazilians, taking into account an age range from 16 to 55 years old, being made experimentally with women owning temporary or permanent residence in the Urban Region of Porto Alegre, Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Vale do Paranhana and the neighborhood cities of these regions in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. The project was approved by the ethical committee and equipments and software were used which allowed the investigation proposed by the research by assuring from the anthropometric data collecting, adjustments, conversion and reading of digitized files until the statistic analysis of this same data to permit the consistent result presentation according to the objective set. As a result, a set of demographic characteristics and anthropometric data of the sampling investigated are reported. The system used was shown to be consistent, bringing results which help the work of the last and shoe designer. The results of the foot anthropometric variable measures of the sampling were taken in 20 different parts of each foot, considering that 2 corresponds to the length, 6 corresponds to the perimeter, 6 corresponds to the height and 6 corresponds to the width. The variability of the measures presented confirms the importance of the development and production of lasts and shoes with different volumes and it instigates a detailed analysis of each anthropometric variable as a base for the development of more appropriate products to create comfort.

Nos últimos anos, muitas empresas de construção civil têm buscado melhorar seus sistemas de Planejamento e Controle da Produção (PCP) como uma das formas de melhorar o desempenho de empreendimentos em termos de prazo e custo, além dos constantes objetivos de aumentar a qualidade e a produtividade. Um marco importante no desenvolvimento de sistemas de PCP para esse setor foi a introdução do sistema Last Planner de controle da produção, concebido com base em modelos e teorias desenvolvidos para a Engenharia Industrial, a partir de meados da década de 90. Esse sistema tem sido refinado em diversos estudos ao redor do mundo, grande parte deles baseados em uma análise qualitativa dos dados gerados. De fato, as pesquisas relacionadas à implementação de sistemas de PCP desenvolvidas no Programa de Pós-graduação em Engenharia Civil da UFRGS nos últimos anos também foram fortemente baseadas no Last Planner. O objetivo geral dessa dissertação consiste em propor contribuições para a coleta e a análise de dados que permitam avaliar o impacto de sistemas de PCP no desempenho de empreendimentos de construção civil, assim como identificar algumas dificuldades de implementação. Foi criada uma base de dados com as medidas de desempenho coletadas em empresas, em pesquisas anteriores, e também com dados inseridos em um sistema de indicadores para benchmarking de empresas do setor. Foram realizadas diversas análises, principalmente dos indicadores PPC e causas do não cumprimento das tarefas, utilizando a análise de regressão múltipla. Entre as principais conclusões, o estudo apontou formas de melhorar a coleta de dados, incluindo a utilização de mecanismos pró-ativos para evitar o acúmulo de valores faltantes e dados espúrios. Além disso, sugeriu-se a formação de um banco de dados único para cada empresa para possibilitar o melhor aproveitamento dos dados, uma vez que algumas medidas são coletadas e acabam descartadas sem uma análise aprofundada. Quanto às dificuldades de implementação do PCP, destacaram-se as falhas na análise das causas do não cumprimento dos pacotes de trabalho na etapa de curto prazo e a implementação parcial do planejamento de médio prazo, devido à desconsideração da análise sistemática de restrições. / In recent years, several construction companies have attempted to improve their production planning and control systems in order to improve project performance in terms of time and costs, besides increasing quality and productivity. An important reference in the development of production planning and control systems in this sector has been the introduction of the Last Planner System, conceived from models and theories developed in industrial engineering, since the mid Nineties. This system has been refined in several research studies around the world, most of them based on a qualitative data analysis. In fact, the research studies concerned with production planning and control carried out at the Postgraduate Program in Civil Engineering at UFRGS is recent years have been strongly based on the Last Planner System. The main objective of this dissertation is to make contributions for data collection and analysis for assessing the impact of production planning and control systems in the performance of construction projects, as well as identify some implementation difficulties. A database was built with some measures collected in construction projects in previous research studies, as well as with data from a performance measurement system for benchmarking in this sector. Several analyses were carried out in this data base, mostly based on two measures, the percentage of plan completed (PPC) and the causes for the non completion of work packages, using multivariate regression analysis. Among the main conclusions, this study pointed out ways of improving data collection, including the use of pro-active mechanisms for avoiding the growth of missing values and outliers. Furthermore, it suggests the construction of a single database in each company, enabling the proper use of the data available, since some of the measures are collected but are further discarded without an in-depth analysis. Regarding the difficulties in the implementation of production planning and control, some failures during the analysis of the causes for the non-completion of work packages in short term planning and the incomplete implementation of look-ahead planning, due to the ineffectiveness of constraints analysis, were pointed out.

Diversos esforços têm sido dirigidos à melhoria do setor da construção civil no mundo inteiro, podendo ser destacado como um dos principais focos o processo de planejamento e controle da produção (PCP). Este processo tem grande impacto no desempenho dos empreendimentos de construção, em relação aos seus custos, prazos, qualidade e segurança. Uma das principais iniciativas realizadas para a melhoria do PCP foi o desenvolvimento e disseminação do Sistema Last Planner de Controle da Produção (LPS). Esse sistema vem sendo aplicado em diversos países desde meados da década de 1990. O principal indicador do LPS é o Percentual de Planos Concluídos (PPC), que mede a eficácia do planejamento. Contrastando com o elevado número de estudos qualitativos realizados sobre a implementação do LPS, poucas análises quantitativas foram realizadas sobre o impacto de sua implementação e os fatores que afetam a sua eficácia. A partir da construção de uma grande base de dados de empreendimentos, o presente trabalho buscou avaliar o impacto da eficácia de sistemas de PCP, baseados no LPS, no desempenho de empreendimentos da construção civil quanto ao custo e ao prazo. Buscou avaliar também influência de práticas de gestão da produção na construção civil na eficácia destes sistemas de PCP. A base de dados utilizada contém indicadores de PPC, desvio de custo, desvio de prazo, boas práticas de PCP e boas práticas de canteiros de obras. Através da técnica de regressão múltipla foram realizadas diversas análises. Como principais conclusões apontam-se algumas evidências sobre a forma como o PCP influencia o desempenho dos empreendimentos e a importância das boas práticas de PCP e de canteiros de obras na eficácia do planejamento. Apesar de as análises apresentarem níveis de correlação relativamente baixos, devido a algumas limitações dos dados disponíveis, observou-se uma forte consistência nos modelos de regressão desenvolvidos. / Several efforts for improving the construction sector have been made worldwide, and one of the main focus has been the production planning and control process This process has a large impact on the performance of construction projects, in terms of cost, time, quality and safety. One of the main initiatives for improving the planning and control process has been the development and dissemination of the Last Planner System of Production Control (LPS). This system has been used in many different countries since the mid Nineties. The main performance indicator of the LPS is the Percentage of Plans Completed (PPC), which measures planning effectiveness. In contrast with the large number of qualitative studies on the implementation of LPS, very few quantitative analyses have been undertaken on the impact of its implementation and on the factors that affect its effectiveness. Based on the construction of a large project database, this research study aims to assess the impact of LPS based production planning and control systems on the performance of construction projects in terms of cost and time. This investigation has also analysed the impact of a set of production management practices on the effectiveness of those planning systems. The database contains the following indicators: PPC, cost deviation, time deviation, good production planning and control practices, and good site management practices. Several analyses were carried out using regression analysis techniques. As main conclusions, the study provided some evidences on the way production planning and control influences project performance, and the importance of good production planning and control practices, and site management practices on the effectiveness of planning and control. Despite the fact that some of the analyses indicated a fairly low correlation index, due to some limitations on the data available, the regression models produced were very consistent.

Nos últimos anos, muitas empresas de construção civil têm buscado melhorar seus sistemas de Planejamento e Controle da Produção (PCP) como uma das formas de melhorar o desempenho de empreendimentos em termos de prazo e custo, além dos constantes objetivos de aumentar a qualidade e a produtividade. Um marco importante no desenvolvimento de sistemas de PCP para esse setor foi a introdução do sistema Last Planner de controle da produção, concebido com base em modelos e teorias desenvolvidos para a Engenharia Industrial, a partir de meados da década de 90. Esse sistema tem sido refinado em diversos estudos ao redor do mundo, grande parte deles baseados em uma análise qualitativa dos dados gerados. De fato, as pesquisas relacionadas à implementação de sistemas de PCP desenvolvidas no Programa de Pós-graduação em Engenharia Civil da UFRGS nos últimos anos também foram fortemente baseadas no Last Planner. O objetivo geral dessa dissertação consiste em propor contribuições para a coleta e a análise de dados que permitam avaliar o impacto de sistemas de PCP no desempenho de empreendimentos de construção civil, assim como identificar algumas dificuldades de implementação. Foi criada uma base de dados com as medidas de desempenho coletadas em empresas, em pesquisas anteriores, e também com dados inseridos em um sistema de indicadores para benchmarking de empresas do setor. Foram realizadas diversas análises, principalmente dos indicadores PPC e causas do não cumprimento das tarefas, utilizando a análise de regressão múltipla. Entre as principais conclusões, o estudo apontou formas de melhorar a coleta de dados, incluindo a utilização de mecanismos pró-ativos para evitar o acúmulo de valores faltantes e dados espúrios. Além disso, sugeriu-se a formação de um banco de dados único para cada empresa para possibilitar o melhor aproveitamento dos dados, uma vez que algumas medidas são coletadas e acabam descartadas sem uma análise aprofundada. Quanto às dificuldades de implementação do PCP, destacaram-se as falhas na análise das causas do não cumprimento dos pacotes de trabalho na etapa de curto prazo e a implementação parcial do planejamento de médio prazo, devido à desconsideração da análise sistemática de restrições. / In recent years, several construction companies have attempted to improve their production planning and control systems in order to improve project performance in terms of time and costs, besides increasing quality and productivity. An important reference in the development of production planning and control systems in this sector has been the introduction of the Last Planner System, conceived from models and theories developed in industrial engineering, since the mid Nineties. This system has been refined in several research studies around the world, most of them based on a qualitative data analysis. In fact, the research studies concerned with production planning and control carried out at the Postgraduate Program in Civil Engineering at UFRGS is recent years have been strongly based on the Last Planner System. The main objective of this dissertation is to make contributions for data collection and analysis for assessing the impact of production planning and control systems in the performance of construction projects, as well as identify some implementation difficulties. A database was built with some measures collected in construction projects in previous research studies, as well as with data from a performance measurement system for benchmarking in this sector. Several analyses were carried out in this data base, mostly based on two measures, the percentage of plan completed (PPC) and the causes for the non completion of work packages, using multivariate regression analysis. Among the main conclusions, this study pointed out ways of improving data collection, including the use of pro-active mechanisms for avoiding the growth of missing values and outliers. Furthermore, it suggests the construction of a single database in each company, enabling the proper use of the data available, since some of the measures are collected but are further discarded without an in-depth analysis. Regarding the difficulties in the implementation of production planning and control, some failures during the analysis of the causes for the non-completion of work packages in short term planning and the incomplete implementation of look-ahead planning, due to the ineffectiveness of constraints analysis, were pointed out.

Diversos esforços têm sido dirigidos à melhoria do setor da construção civil no mundo inteiro, podendo ser destacado como um dos principais focos o processo de planejamento e controle da produção (PCP). Este processo tem grande impacto no desempenho dos empreendimentos de construção, em relação aos seus custos, prazos, qualidade e segurança. Uma das principais iniciativas realizadas para a melhoria do PCP foi o desenvolvimento e disseminação do Sistema Last Planner de Controle da Produção (LPS). Esse sistema vem sendo aplicado em diversos países desde meados da década de 1990. O principal indicador do LPS é o Percentual de Planos Concluídos (PPC), que mede a eficácia do planejamento. Contrastando com o elevado número de estudos qualitativos realizados sobre a implementação do LPS, poucas análises quantitativas foram realizadas sobre o impacto de sua implementação e os fatores que afetam a sua eficácia. A partir da construção de uma grande base de dados de empreendimentos, o presente trabalho buscou avaliar o impacto da eficácia de sistemas de PCP, baseados no LPS, no desempenho de empreendimentos da construção civil quanto ao custo e ao prazo. Buscou avaliar também influência de práticas de gestão da produção na construção civil na eficácia destes sistemas de PCP. A base de dados utilizada contém indicadores de PPC, desvio de custo, desvio de prazo, boas práticas de PCP e boas práticas de canteiros de obras. Através da técnica de regressão múltipla foram realizadas diversas análises. Como principais conclusões apontam-se algumas evidências sobre a forma como o PCP influencia o desempenho dos empreendimentos e a importância das boas práticas de PCP e de canteiros de obras na eficácia do planejamento. Apesar de as análises apresentarem níveis de correlação relativamente baixos, devido a algumas limitações dos dados disponíveis, observou-se uma forte consistência nos modelos de regressão desenvolvidos. / Several efforts for improving the construction sector have been made worldwide, and one of the main focus has been the production planning and control process This process has a large impact on the performance of construction projects, in terms of cost, time, quality and safety. One of the main initiatives for improving the planning and control process has been the development and dissemination of the Last Planner System of Production Control (LPS). This system has been used in many different countries since the mid Nineties. The main performance indicator of the LPS is the Percentage of Plans Completed (PPC), which measures planning effectiveness. In contrast with the large number of qualitative studies on the implementation of LPS, very few quantitative analyses have been undertaken on the impact of its implementation and on the factors that affect its effectiveness. Based on the construction of a large project database, this research study aims to assess the impact of LPS based production planning and control systems on the performance of construction projects in terms of cost and time. This investigation has also analysed the impact of a set of production management practices on the effectiveness of those planning systems. The database contains the following indicators: PPC, cost deviation, time deviation, good production planning and control practices, and good site management practices. Several analyses were carried out using regression analysis techniques. As main conclusions, the study provided some evidences on the way production planning and control influences project performance, and the importance of good production planning and control practices, and site management practices on the effectiveness of planning and control. Despite the fact that some of the analyses indicated a fairly low correlation index, due to some limitations on the data available, the regression models produced were very consistent.