The practice of developing information systems with the support of information systems development methods is not new. A vast number of systems development methods have been suggested over the years in an attempt to solve the problems a development organisation might encounter. From early approaches like the Waterfall model to more modern monolithic methods such as the Rational Unified Process and the newest approaches exemplified in the Agile methods, the ambition has often been to find the silver bullet and the most effective ways to produce quality systems. Methods are prescriptive by nature as they suggest action and as such they represent rationale. Thus, one can speak of a method rationale as the dimension within methods that motivate their existence. Method rationale is understood as the goal and value rational relations between a method’s underlying philosophy and its proposed actions. During the methods’ evolution, the practice of systems development and the supporting systems development methods have been subjected to research from many perspectives. One possible way to understand the nature of the existing research is to separate it into two fields. The suggested fields have different strengths and weaknesses. The field of traditional research on information systems development (ISD) emphasise relevance in their studies but often overlook aspects of generalisation. The field of method engineering (ME) is highly formalistic and emphasise rigour but often miss aspects concerning relevance, such as the role methods play in peoples daily systems development efforts. In this dissertation, a polarisation of existing systems development method research is suggested in order to find a synthesis more capable of serving as a common ground for method research and for the understanding of the systems development method phenomenon. This is achieved through a proposed extension of the field of ME into the field of extended method engineering (EME). The foundation of the EME is found in the concept of method rationale and a method component concept design capable of carrying and expressing method rationale. The method component concept design is applied, evaluated, and re-designed in three different empirical settings in order to ascertain its practical potential and the benefits in explicating the dimension of method rationale.

Magister Legum - LLM

In this thesis we have studied several aspects of the minimal realization problem for descriptor systems. These aspects include purely theoretical questions such as that about the order of a minimal realization of a general improper rational matrix and problems of a numerical nature, like rounding error analysis of the computing a minimal realization from a nonminimal one. We have also treated the minimal partial realization problem for general descriptor systems with application to model reduction and to generalised eigenvalue problems.

Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit der Fragestellung, inwiefern sich gegebene Verfahren zur Approximation von rationalen Krylow-Räumen zur Berechnung von Matrixfunktionen eignen. Als Modellproblem wird dazu eine 2.5D-Formulierung eines Problems aus der Gleichstrom-Geoelektrik mit finiten Elementen formuliert und dann mittels Matrixfunktionen auf rationalen Krylow-Unterräumen gelöst. Ein weiterer Teil beschäftigt sich mit dem Vergleich zweier Verfahren zur Transformation bestehender rationaler Krylow-Räume. Bei beiden Varianten werden die zugrunde liegenden Pole getauscht ohne dass ein explizites Invertieren von Matrizen notwendig ist. In dieser Arbeit werden die über mehrere Publikationen verteilten Grundlagen einheitlich zusammengetragen und fehlende Zusammenhänge ergänzt. Beide Verfahren eignen sich prinzipiell um rationale Krylow-Räume zu approximieren. Dies wird anhand mehrerer Beispiele gezeigt. Anhand des Modellproblems werden Beschränkungen der Methoden verdeutlicht.

[pt] O escopo da presente dissertação é demonstrar como os conceitos de arquitetura de escolhas e nudge, pensados sob a ótica do paternalismo libertário, podem ser compatibilizados com o direito civil-constitucional e utilizados como instrumento de promoção do bem-estar em diversos aspectos da vida. Para tanto, serão fixadas as premissas sobre tomada de decisão utilizadas como base do paternalismo libertário. Como lastro teórico, serão apresentadas as principais conclusões dos estudos de Daniel Kahneman e Amos Tversky sobre racionalidade limitada para comprovar que as pessoas não são tão racionais quanto imaginam ser e cometem erros de julgamento previsíveis e sistemáticos. Neste ponto, as principais heurísticas e vieses cognitivos serão trabalhados com o escopo de se provar o conceito de racionalidade limitada. Fixadas as premissas, será apresentado o conceito de Paternalismo Libertário, arquitetura de escolhas e nudge de Richard Thaler e Cass Sunstein. Serão discutidos os filtros de legitimidade para as intervenções na arquitetura de escolhas desenvolvidos por Cass R. Sunstein e Lucia A. Reisch e se buscará compatibilizar tais filtros com a realidade civil-constitucional. Por fim, se buscará demonstrar que o legislador brasileiro, ainda que sem o recente arcabouço teórico das ciências cognitivas, concilia os conceitos de racionalidade limitada e arquitetura de escolhas e se utiliza de diversos instrumentos que poderiam ser entendidos dentro do contexto Paternalista Libertário. / [en] The scope of this dissertation is to demonstrate how the concepts of choice architecture and nudge, seen through the lens of libertarian paternalism, can be compatible with civil-constitutional law and used as an instrument for the promotion of well-being in various aspects of life. For this purpose, assumptions about decision-making shall be fixed as a base for libertarian paternalism. First, as a theoretical foundation, we discuss the findings of studies by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky about bounded rationality to prove that people are not entirely as rational as they might think and make predictable and systematic errors of judgment. At that point, we will work on the heuristic principles and cognitive biases to prove the concept of bounded rationality. Then, with these assumptions fixed, we shall present Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein s concept of Libertarian Paternalism, choice architecture, and nudge. Next, the filters of legitimacy surrounding interventions in the choice architecture shall be discussed, focusing on those developed by Cass R. Sunstein and Lucia A. Reisch, aiming to bring such filters in line with the civil-constitutional reality. Finally, this thesis will demonstrate that the Brazilian legislator, even without the current theoretical framework of cognitive sciences, reconciles the concepts of bounded rationality and choice architecture and uses various instruments which could understand within the Paternalist Libertarian context.

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In this study, the use of hypnosis in the treatment of chronic low back pain is described in terms of Ecosystemic thinking, as opposed to traditional conceptualisations of hypnosis. Six case studies were used. Each is described in detail, as well as the therapeutic rationale behind each case, in order to present the reader with an understanding of the thinking behind using Ecosystemic hypnotherapy. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

This dissertation, which is both exploratory and descriptive in nature, initially describes the development of the polygraph against a background of understanding society's rejection of the lying phenomenon. The theoretical foundations of polygraph thinking are then presented as forerunner to practical illustration of polygraph use in the private sector. The criminal justice system represents the sphere of polygraph ulitization central to the research. With strong American accent, polygraph use in all four components of the system is described in such a manner so as to provoke thought on the part of criminal justice functionaries as to polygraph possibilities in the execution of their functions. Research findings and recommendations aimed at stimulating thought and improvement in the field of polygraphy conclude the dissertation. / Criminology / M.A (Penology)

In the context of world economies transitioning to services, telecommunications services are the primary means of communication between different economic entities and are therefore essential. The focus on the end consumer, the convergence with the Internet, the separation between the software and the hardware implementing a service, and the telecommunications market deregulation have led to a revolution and a new era in the telecommunications industry. To meet these challenges, former national telecommunications providers have to reduce the construction time, from months to days, while affecting non-negatively other parameters (e.g., cost, quality of service, quality of experience) of new telecommunications services. To tackle this broad theme, we propose a telecommunications service construction process, the software tools that are to be used in this process and a tool building process to build them. The telecommunications service construction process reflects current practices in the telecommunications industry. As such, it should be (easily) accepted by practitioners. The software tools (i.e., Domain Specific Modeling Languages designed as profiles of an Enterprise Architecture Modeling Language, graphical editors, code generators, Off the Shelf network simulators, a collaboration Design Rationale Domain Specific Modeling Language) help telecommunications providers face the challenges. The tool building process relies on models and provides a high automation degree, hence software tools can be build more rapidly. We illustrate the telecommunications service construction process and the tools using a multimedia conferencing service. Our proposals contribute to reducing the construction time of new telecommunications services, while providing the possibility of improved quality of service and increased involvement of the consumer. Faster provisioning of new telecommunications services, that better answer the consumers¿ needs, will increase the rate of development of new economic services in general, and will ultimately have a positive impact on world economic development.