[pt] O objetivo central da dissertação é avaliar o Processo de Planejamento em desenvolvimento no Sistema PETROBRAS, focalizando sua evolução e sistematização. Com vistas à obtenção desse objetivo, abordam-se, primeiramente, várias metodologias de planejamento com a finalidade de compor o referencial teórico necessário à elaboração de critérios de avaliação do Processo adotado pela Empresa. Em seguida, são apresentados os resultados de uma pesquisa realizada na Companhia com o intuito de analisar a evolução do Planejamento no nível estratégico, as relações políticas inerentes a esse processo, os atores nele envolvidos e suas responsabilidades. Finalmente, são apresentadas propostas, baseadas na teoria discutida, ajustadas à realidade observada, visando contornar desvios detectados no Processo de Planejamento da Empresa. / [en] The objective of this dissertation is to evaluate the planning model developed at PETROBRAS, focusing its evolution and structure. With this aim, some planning methodologies are described, in order to create a theoretical framework that can provide basic criteria to evaluate the planning process adopted by the Company. Next, the results of a case study carried out at this Company are presented,describing the evolution of the Strategic Planning process, the power relations and the actors involved in this process and their responsibilities. Finally, some proposals,based on the theory discussed and appropriate to the observed reality are presented, aiming at improving the Planning Process.

This thesis is a study of Johann Adam Moehler's critical theology as an achievement in the nineteenth century's quest for a historical methodology. As the first Catholic theologian to apply a critical-historical analysis to the development of doctrine, Moehler is important as both the theologian and as a German historian. As the theologian, Moehler's efforts to discover the essential meaning of Christian doctrine led him to conclude that doctrine develops within a human context of experience, namely, the Catholic Church. This development of doctrine is possible given the organic nature of the Christian community and its relationship to the divine. It is only the subjective form which doctrine assumes at different stages in life of the Church that is susceptible to change. The objective truth of Christian principles remains immutable. As the historian, Moehler applied a critical method, symbolism, to his theological subject matter. By an objective investigation of the symbols of Protestantism and Catholicism, he felt that the essential differences and the meanings of the respective confessions could be properly analyzed. History, as the proper framework in which to acquire the objective meaning of the Catholic experience, is the common denominator between Christ and his institution, the Church, and remains the only means of justifying its continued existence. This study of Moehler's ideas begins with a discussion of the historical context in which Moehler lived and by which he was influenced. This discussion highlights the German Aufklärung and its reaction to the French Enlightenment, the Romantic Movement as it uniquely developed in Germany and the rise of the Tübingen School as the locus of romantic Catholic theology in the early nineteenth century. The second chapter relates the details of Moehler's biography, particularly as a member of the Tübingen theological faculty. In the third chapter Moehler's critical theology is discussed as it reflects his historical consciousness and his methodology. The fourth chapter consists of a review of the literature written about Moehler as well as some interesting interpretations of his concepts and their consequences. Finally, the conclusion attempts to place Moehler in a perspective to his German philosophical heritage and to the historical theories of his time as a historical theologian.

This dissertation is original in using the contrasting ideas of two leading 20th century philosophers of science, Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn, to provide a philosophical understanding, firstly, of the shift from traditional software methodologies to the so-called Agile methodologies, and, secondly, of the values, principles and practices underlying the most prominent of the Agile methodologies, Extreme Programming (XP). This dissertation will take a revisionist approach, following Fuller—the founder of social epistemology—in reading Popper against Kuhn's epistemological hegemony. The investigations in this dissertation relate to two main branches of philosophy— epistemology and ethics. The epistemological part of this dissertation compares both Kuhn and Popper's alternative ideas of the development of scientific knowledge to the Agile methodologists' ideas of the development of software, in order to assess the extent to which Agile software development resembles a scientific discipline. The investigations relating to ethics in this dissertation transfer concepts from social engineering—in particular, Popper's distinction between piecemeal and utopian social engineering—to software engineering, in order to assess both the democratic and authoritarian aspects of Agile software development and management. The use of Kuhn's ideas of scientific revolutions and paradigm shift by several leading figures of the Agile software methodologies—most notably, Kent Beck, the leader of the most prominent Agile software methodology, Extreme Programming (XP)—to predict a fundamental shift from traditional to Agile software methodologies, is critically assessed in this dissertation. A systematic investigation into whether Kuhn's theory as a whole, can provide an adequate account of the day-to-day practice of Agile software development is also provided. As an alternative to the use of Kuhn's ideas, the critical rationalist philosophy of Karl Popper is investigated. On the one hand, this dissertation assesses whether the epistemological aspects of Popper's philosophy—especially his notions of falsificationism, evolutionary epistemology, and three worlds metaphysics—provide a suitable framework for understanding the philosophical basis of everyday Agile software development. On the other hand, the aspects of Popper's philosophy relating to ethics, which provide an ideal for scientific practice in an open society, are investigated in order to determine whether they coincide with the avowedly democratic values of Agile software methodologies. The investigations in this dissertation led to the following conclusions. Firstly, Kuhn's ideas are useful in predicting the effects of the full-scale adoption of Agile methodologies, and they describe the way in which several leaders of the Agile methodologies promote their methodologies; they do not, however, account for the detailed methodological practice of Agile software development. Secondly, several aspects of Popper's philosophy, were found to be aligned with several aspects of Agile software development. In relation to epistemology, Popper's principle of falsificationism provides a criterion for understanding the rational and scientific basis of several Agile principles and practices, his evolutionary epistemology resembles the iterative-incremental design approach of Agile methodologies, and his three worlds metaphysical model provides an understanding of both the nature of software, and the approach advocated by the Agile methodologists' of creating and sharing knowledge. In relation to ethics, Popper's notion of an open society provides an understanding of the rational and ethical basis of the values underlying Agile software development and management, as well as the piecemeal adoption of Agile software methodologies. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Computer Science / unrestricted

An initial analysis of sustainable project life cycle management methodologies’ current status highlighted that social and environmental aspects of sustainable development are not addressed effectively. An acceptable model aimed at addressing the various sustainable development aspects from a project management perspective is thus needed. This study’s main research objective was consequently to develop the different elements of such a model for social business sustainability. The research focused on the three main research questions discussed below. Which lifecycles should be considered when evaluating the project’s possible impacts? Projects implement or deliver certain products, which in turn, can produce other commodities sold by the company. The three lifecycles, i.e. project, asset and product, were studied to determine which lifecycles to consider when evaluating projects’ possible impacts. It was concluded that it is specifically the project’s deliverables and its associated products that have economic, social and environmental consequences. These life cycles must therefore be considered as part of the project life cycle when evaluating social impacts. What social business sustainability impacts or aspects should be considered in the project life cycle? A sustainable development framework that can be applied to projects directly to ensure their alignment with sustainable development does not exist at present. A social sustainability assessment framework as part of a sustainability assessment framework for operational initiatives was consequently developed and introduced. The social framework was verified and validated by means of case studies, a survey and a Delphi Technique case study to test the framework’s completeness and relevance. How should project management methodologies be adopted to ensure incorporation of social business sustainability? The research indicated that the various social aspects are addressed in different ways in the individual asset life cycle phase. The social criteria in the framework should therefore also be addressed in different ways in the project management methodologies. A Social Impact Indicator (SII) calculation procedure, based on a previously introduced Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) calculation procedure for environmental Resource Impact Indicators (RIIs), was developed as a method to evaluate social impacts in the project life cycle phases. Case studies in the process industry and statistical information for South Africa have been used to establish information availability for the SII calculation procedure. / Thesis (PhD (Engineering Management))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Graduate School of Technology Management (GSTM) / unrestricted

Les solvants occupent une place prépondérante dans l’industrie chimique et se retrouvent au cœur de nombreuses applications telles que la formulation de produits phytosanitaires, d’encres ou de peintures, le nettoyage industriel ou les procédés d’extraction, de synthèse ou de séparation. L’épuisement des ressources pétrolières, le durcissement de la réglementation, et une prise de conscience collective motivent le développement d’alternatives à l’utilisation de solvants pétrochimiques. En effet, environ 45% des émissions de composés organiques volatils (COVs) en France proviennent de l’utilisation des solvants, qui, pour la plupart, présentent une empreinte environnementale et sanitaire peu favorable. Le panorama des solvants industriels amorce inévitablement une mutation, qui nécessite la recherche de solvants plus respectueux de l’environnement et des utilisateurs, au regard de leurs propriétés et de leur mode de production. Outre les liquides ioniques, les fluides supercritiques et les solvants fluorés qualifiés de solvants verts, les biosolvants sont apparus comme une solution alternative capable de répondre à un grand nombre de spécifications requises dans diverses applications. L’élaboration de biosolvants s’accompagne d’un changement de matière première, au profit de ressources renouvelables issues de la biomasse. Parmi les molécules plateforme biosourcées utilisées pour la synthèse de bioproduits, le furfural, obtenu par déshydratation des sucres contenus dans les rafles de maïs, a été sélectionné dans le cadre de cette étude visant à développer de nouveaux biosolvants, en collaboration avec la société Rhodia-Solvay (projet InBioSynSolv). Ainsi, afin de substituer des solvants conventionnels utilisés pour formuler des actifs phytosanitaires ou pour le nettoyage industriel, deux méthodologies, différentes de l’approche essais et erreurs, ont été étudiées. La première méthodologie, prédictive, se base sur la prédiction des propriétés avant la synthèse des molécules. La formulation inverse est, quant à elle, une méthodologie innovante qui permet de concevoir des molécules de biosolvants grâce à un laboratoire virtuel; les étapes de génération de structures moléculaires et de prédiction des propriétés, sont intégrées à un outil informatique d’aide au design moléculaire (CAMD) qui propose des solutions répondant aux spécifications visées. Dans un premier temps, ces méthodologies ont conduit à identifier un pool de molécules candidates dérivées du furfural et susceptibles de jouer le rôle de solvant pour les applications envisagées. Dans un deuxième temps, la faisabilité des filières de leur production a été étudiée, depuis la molécule plateforme jusqu’à l’utilisation du biosolvant au sein d’une formulation. Pour cela, les molécules candidates ont été obtenues selon différentes voies de synthèse, que l’on a caractérisées à l’aide de la détermination d’indicateurs verts. Une démarche d’éco conception a également contribué à la mise en place d’une approche multi critère intégrant les aspects techniques, environnementaux et socio- économiques. Enfin, la production d’échantillons a permis de vérifier expérimentalement les propriétés recherchées, et de valider l’intérêt des méthodologies de substitution de solvants utilisées, en termes de gain de temps et d’efficacité. Celles-ci pourront être généralisées au développement de différents bioproduits pour accompagner les évolutions des marchés auxquelles doit faire face l’industrie chimique. / The solvents play a significant role in the chemical industry and are at the heart of many applications such as the formulation of pesticides, inks or paints, industrial cleaning or extraction processes, synthesis and separation. The depletion of fossil resources, stricter regulations and collective awareness incite the development of alternatives to the use of petrochemical solvents. In fact, about 45% of emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) come from the use of solvents, most of which have a very unfavorable environmental and health impact. The panorama of industrial solvents inevitably initiates a change, which requires the search for more eco friendly solvents in terms of their properties and their mode of production. In addition to the ionic liquids, supercritical fluids and fluorinated solvents, called green solvents, biosolvents emerged as an alternative capable of meeting a large number of specifications required in various applications. Developing biosolvents is accompanied by a change in raw material, from petroleum to renewable resources from biomass. Among the biobased platform molecules used for the synthesis of bioproducts, furfural, obtained by dehydration of sugars in corn cobs, was selected as part of this study to develop new biosolvents in collaboration with Rhodia-Solvay (InBioSynSolv project). Thus, to replace conventional solvents used in phytosanitary formulations or for industrial cleaning, two methodologies different from the tests and error approach, were studied. The first methodology, predictive, is based on the properties prediction before the synthesis of the molecules. The inverse formulation is, in turn, an innovative methodology to design molecules of biosolvents through a virtual laboratory. Stages of generation of molecular structures and properties prediction are integrated in a computer-aided molecular design tool (CAMD) providing solutions that meet the outlined specifications. First, these methodologies have led to identify a pool of candidate molecules derived from furfural that may act as a solvent for the intended applications. In a second step, the feasibility of their production chains has been studied from the molecule platform to the use of the biosolvent in a formulation. For this, the candidate molecules were obtained by different synthetic routes, which were characterized using the determination of green indicators. An eco-design approach has also contributed to take into account different criteria including technical, environmental and socio-economic aspects. Finally, with the production of samples, properties were experimentally verified, to validate the interest of solvents substitution methodologies in terms of time savings and efficiency. These could be generalized to the development of various bioproducts to make possible innovation in the chemical industry.

Traditional methodologies of software development are burdened with number of problems, especially its complexity, bureaucracy and sticking on detailed processes defined in advance. This all often mean overtiming and overpricing the project as well as other negative effects. Agile methodologies of software development pursue solving such problems. They are built on principles of team-work, communication and developers' relations and sharing their knowledge. These values are one of the most important in agile development concept. This thesis's target is to identify and describe those principles of agile software development which impact development team functioning, working motivation of developers and focus on the project goals. Reader is first shortly familiarized with general theory of working motivation, team-working and leading to achieve the target. Then particular agile development principles are analyzed and the impact on developers' motivation, whole team functioning and focusing on the project goals is described. Another target of the thesis is to identify requirements on agile software developers, to explain what the need of them lies in and how the absence of these personal characteristics would impact whole team's productivity and the development progress. The last target of this thesis is to examine agile development as a whole. A SWOT analysis is used to achieve this. It states the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities (advantages) and risks of agile development. There is a list of 11 serious mistakes that can take place in the agile development process and heighten the risk of the project fail stated at the end of the thesis.

The thesis aims at design and implementation of a corporate performance management system in retail banking. It proposes a tree of performance metrics based on Dupont pyra-mid model. Using financial as well as non-financial measures, the proposed model manages to link all levels of management together into one shared hierarchy. As a result, the model shows how performance of a single worker adds up to the performance of the company as a whole. The model uses financial metrics such as interest margin, account balance, fees and remuneration cost and links them with non-financial measures such as client worker activities with clients, success rate of marketing campaigns, or client complaints. Implementation of the corporate performance management system is done using regular business intelligence tools. Third normal form data warehouse is the source for all data needed. A datamart on Teradata platform is proposed to hold the SQL transformed data from the data warehouse. Using the datamart a metadata layer in Microstrategy is created to distribute data among users.

This thesis is focused on Best Practices of agile methodologies, their application to the most common problems of project management and their integration into PRINCE2. The thesis will be focused mainly on the application of individual agile practices, not on the whole methodologies. This thesis will be divided into two main parts. In the first part PRINCE2 methodology basics, chosen agile methodology practices and Best Practices itself will be introduced. In the second part the most common problems of project management will be defined. Then every Best Practice will be applied to the defined problems and various aspects of PRINCE2. In the end the most usable Best Practices based on the results of research will be evaluated.

The purpose of this study was to examine and explore the meanings, structures and essence of the lived experience of Muslim women via an Islamic theoretical (Kalam) framework. The study's goal was to describe a detailed and comprehensive description of how Muslim women use Islam to promote gender equality and improve treatment within their daily lives. The critical importance of gleaning a better understanding of Islam and the perceived invisibility of Muslim women motivated the researcher to undertake this study. The research study included a qualitative phenomenology research approach. Data were collected from multiple sources: observations, semi-structured individual interviews and transcriptions from participants from various and diverse geographical locations, educational levels, sects, socio-economic backgrounds, and nationalities. Inductive analysis allowed for the emergence of patterns and themes in relation to Muslim women and gender equality within Islam. An Islamic theoretical (Kalam) model provided a conceptual framework for the study, which allowed participants to discuss acquiring and/or achieving gender equality within Islam without separating their religion from their respective traditions and cultures. Thirteen significant themes emerged from the research that helped to illustrate how Muslim women can employ Islam to promote gender equality while improving their lives. The anticipated results of this research study may also be useful in improving gender relations within Islam by serving as a roadmap to resolving conflict between Muslim women and Islamic clerics and scholars.

This non-experimental study examines the issues of over-representation of minorities in the criminal justice system due to drug-related incidences, race relations, and the impact such representation has on families, children, and communities. The exploration of the current criminal justice efforts against drugs is presented through a meta-analysis qualitative lens in an effort to disseminate the information on those arrested, sentenced, and subsequently incarcerated for various drug offenses. In an attempt to understand the encyclical racial disparities that promulgate the criminal justice system, the study relies on information from several key theorists to cement the discussions in the research. Qualitative data from scholastic and governmental resources will be presented from which the exploration of how drug sentencing and race may be closely related. By examining various case studies, both historical and current, the goal is to clarify the various processes on which different actions have attempted to transform social relationships and the various constraints these movements faced when trying to implement and adapt these transformations. The outcomes of this multi-layered study reveal the evolution of race relations and "identity formation" with which America attempts to change through various systematic processes. The study will examine how the implementation of governmental programs on incarceration impacts social classes and increases racial division. Three research strategies will be utilized: (1) qualitative analysis that covers racism from the media's portrayal of minorities, (2) review of the writings of theorists' addressing whether drug-related crimes or racism adds to disparity in the criminal justice system, and (3) examination of multiple case studies dealing with incarcerations' impact on minority children and communities. Data have been gathered from pre-published reports, newspapers, journals, and experiments conducted by social science theorists dealing with the new drug war and racism, and also the practices of restorative justice. This study suggests that racism is a phenomenon in the lives of every American or immigrant. Even with time and evident changes within society, racism still dominates and determines people's lives. Restoration is not inconsequential, and while various movements link social change with the governing of a new and different leader in America, this study will look at how it is possible to revisit race relations, and implement forgiveness through conflict resolution in an effort to enact systematic changes. These enactments have potential to preserve institutions and save future social infrastructure.