The purpose of this thesis is to comprehend the concept of warehousing 4.0 and to examine the critical factors influencing its adoption in developing countries. while at the same time exploring how manufacturing companies can address these factors prior to adopting warehousing 4.0. This master’s thesis employs a multiple case study approach, conducting semi-structured interviews and engaging focus group discussions with respondents from three manufacturing companies operating in 2 developing countries (Sri Lanka and Cameroon). The finding reveals critical factors like cost, technological readiness, availability of skilled workers, IT infrastructure, etc. With a higher level of criticality amongst some critical factors when compared to others. The findings also revealed strategies identified to effectively address the critical factors. These strategies include employee training programs, building partnerships, infrastructure upgrades, data security systems, etc. These proposed strategies across the companies exhibit similarities, indicating a shared understanding of critical factors and a similar approach to addressing them. This research contributes to the existing knowledge on warehousing 4.0 adoption and provides practical insights for manufacturing companies in developing countries. By carefully identifying and addressing the specified critical factors, manufacturing companies in developing countries can navigate challenges and leverage the opportunities presented by warehousing 4.0 technologies in their raw material warehouses.

In this study, the main topic which we tried to study and understand is the qualitative study balance between employees’ productivity and loyalty in case of working from home during the period of Covid-19 pandemic in which both companies and employees are facing many restrictions and lockdown situations to follow only to keep themselves safe and others as well along with keeping their work going as well. As employees are integral part of any of the organization which are also the back bone of any of the company for its process, development and achieving its goal but at the same time when they are providing their efforts into work, they also consider themselves to be treated as rear commodity and they want their work to be appreciated well in the form of promotion, benefits (both financial and non-financial) and provide professional development opportunities for them. During this current pandemic environment in which all the organizations are fighting the battle of their survival have to be more concerned about them to keep themselves alive and running one way or the other, the same is true for the employees where they are only concerned about themselves and are not having the same motivation towards the organization and its goal, because of many factors which are the results of their such behavior. This thesis deal with these factors, we look at the synergy between employees and organizations, which is the integral part of any business organization, which is being affected by this pandemic, how much and to what extent is the basis of this thesis. The tools, which we are using to conduct this study, are questionnaire and face-to-face interview and personal observation. During the face-to-face interview which are done with the participants, the study sample which is selected for this study are very much diversified, and the basis of this diversification is in the form of different types and forms of organization from food industry, study institutions, non-profit organization to national and multinational organizations. The same is true for the employees that are the participants for the questionnaire and face-to-face interview. Our study samples consist of from managerial staff to low level of production line employees. Their responses are presented in the form of graphs and the discussion done is based on the results of their responses and later conclusion is based on this discussion. The conclusion is the presentation of the correlation between variables, which are used for the development of this questionnaire, and how they represent the main topic of this thesis. The conclusion which came out from our study is very much a combination which depend on may factor such as type of the organizational field of work, type of employees, organizational business field, restrictions imposed by the country in which these organization are doing their business. Keeps in mind these factors the conclusion which came to be is combination as in some scenarios manages managers of organizations said covid-19 has not affected their business at all and it is running at it was before Covid-19, some organizations see an increase in their business, businesses as IT industry, in which employees are not bound with the location of work. But organizations which are production based for example home appliances production organization are being affected very much and their employees are effect same as. Our hypothesis, “Pandemic has effect on production and loyalty of employees in a firm/organization in case of working from home” is accepted as Covid-19 has weakened the production of the firm/organization and loyalty of the employees towards their job and firm/organization.

No description available.

In this thesis the pioneer settlement of northern Dalarna is investi­gated by means of a local study of lithic technology and raw material use on the Orsa 527 site in the area. This newly excavated site will be presented, for the first time in completion, in this thesis. The technological traits and raw material distribution on the site, which directly relate to the prehistoric people moving in this area during the Middle Mesolithic, are subsequently put into a larger regional perspective by comparing these results with other Middle Mesolithic sites in northern Dalarna and eastern Norway.             Through the theoretical framework of chaîne opératoire and methods, such as dynamical classification of blades, the study of knapping properties of local raw materials and the study of raw material composition on five other sites in the area, questions regarding cultural transition, mobility and contacts can be discussed.             The results of this work indicate that both technological and raw material parallels exist between eastern Norway and northern Dalarna during the Middle Mesolithic. This places these areas in a larger cultural sphere that was based on contacts and mobility during the pioneer settlement of the area.

Supply chain management has attracted much attention in the last decade. There has been a noticeable shift from a traditional individual organisation-based management to an integrated management across the supply chain network since the end of the last century. The shift contributes to better decision making in the supply chain context, as it is necessary for a company to cooperate with other supply chain members by utilising relevant information such as inventory, demand and resource capacity. In other words, information sharing and coordinated management are essential mechanisms to improve supply chain performance. Supply chains may differ significantly in terms of industry sectors, geographic locations, and firm sizes. This study was based on case studies from small and medium sized manufacturing supply chains in People Republic of China. The study was motivated by the following facts. Firstly, small and medium enterprises have made a big contribution to China’s economic growth. Several studies revealed that most of the Chinese manufacturing enterprises became aware of the importance of supply chain management, but compared to western firms, the supply chain management level of Chinese firms had been lagging behind. Research on supply chain management and performance optimisation in Chinese small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) was very scarce. Secondly, there had been plenty of studies in the literature that focused on two or three level supply chains whilst considering a number of uncertain factors (e.g. customer demand) or a single supply chain performance indicator (e.g. cost). However, the research on multiple stage supply chain systems with multiple uncertainties and multiple objectives based on real industrial cases had been spared and deserved more attention. One reason was due to the lack of reliable industrial data that required an enormous effort to collect the primary data and there was a serious concern about data confidentiality from the industry aspect. This study employed two SME manufacturing companies as case studies. The first one was in the Aluminium industry and another was in the Chemical industry. The aim was to better understand the characteristics of the supply chains in Chinese SMEs through performing in-depth case studies, and built models and tools to evaluate different strategies for improving their supply chain performance. The main contributions of this study included the following aspects. Firstly, this study generalised a supply chain model including a domestic supply chain part and an international supply chain part based on deep case studies with the emphasis on identifying key characteristics in the case supply chains, such as uncertainties, constraints and cost elements in association with flows and activities in the domestic supply chain and the international supply chain. Secondly, two important SCM issues, i.e. the integrated raw material procurement and finished goods production planning, and the international sales planning, were identified. Thirdly, mathematical models were formulated to represent the supply chain model taking into account multiple uncertainties. Fourthly, several operational strategies utilising the concepts of just-in-time, safety-stock/capacity, Kanban, and vendor managed inventory, were evaluated and compared with the case company's original strategy in various scenarios through simulation methods, which enabled quantification of the impact of information sharing on supply chain performance. Fifthly, a single objective genetic algorithm was developed to optimise the integrated raw material ordering and finished goods production decisions under (s, S) policy (a dynamic inventory control policy), which enabled the impact of coordinated management on supply chain performance to be quantified. Finally, a multiple objectives genetic algorithm considering both total supply chain cost and customer service level was developed to optimise the integrated raw material ordering and finished goods production with the international sales plan decisions under (s, S) policy in various scenarios. This also enabled the quantification of the impact of coordinated management on supply chain performances.

Mongolia is a country whose Gross Domestic Income relies heavily on raw material prices. The recent downturn in important commodity prices like copper or coal affect national income, taxes and the social welfare system. Mongolia should try to diversify its industries further to become less dependent on commodity business cycles. Mongolia should also try to lower the rate of corruption, which in many countries is highly correlated with mining businesses. Modern high tech companies and business technologies are corruption averse. Relationships based on corruption are short-lived and instable. This is what those companies do not like. A country like Mongolia that strives towards high wealth and less dependence on commodities should try to get rid of corruption.

Mongolia is a country whose Gross Domestic Income relies heavily on raw material prices. The recent downturn in important commodity prices like copper or coal affect national income, taxes and the social welfare system. Mongolia should try to diversify its industries further to become less dependent on commodity business cycles. Mongolia should also try to lower the rate of corruption, which in many countries is highly correlated with mining businesses. Modern high tech companies and business technologies are corruption averse. Relationships based on corruption are short-lived and instable. This is what those companies do not like. A country like Mongolia that strives towards high wealth and less dependence on commodities should try to get rid of corruption.

A valorização racional da lignina e seus derivados é um dos maiores desafios ligado às biorrefinarias em que estas macromoléculas são geradas como subprodutos. Os lignossulfonatos, obtidos através do processo de polpação sulfito da madeira, são produzidos em larga escala e pouco utilizados como reagentes na preparação de compostos macromoleculares. A presença de grupos OH em sua estrutura permite o seu uso como macromonômero na obtenção de poliuretanos (PUs). O presente estudo teve como meta a obtenção de lignopoliuretanos e de compósitos baseados principalmente em matérias primas obtidas a partir de fontes renováveis. O óleo de mamona (OM) e lignossulfonato de sódio (NaLS), ambos oriundos de matérias primas renováveis, foram utilizados, em composições variadas, como substitutos de polióis convencionais, juntamente com difenilmetano diisocianato (MDI), na reação de obtenção de PUs. Inicialmente, PUs foram preparados a partir de NaLS e outros polióis, como dietilenoglicol (DEG), polietilenoglicol (PEG) e OM, assim como a partir destes reagentes, exceto NaLS (amostras controles). Visando aumentar a reatividade das hidroxilas do NaLS frente aos grupos isocianatos na síntese dos lignopoliuretanos, o NaLS foi oxipropilado (reação com óxido de propileno, gerando LS-Oxi) e hidroxialquilado (reações com glutaraldeído e formaldeído, gerando NaLS-Glu e NaLS-For, respectivamente). O uso de aldeídos na modificação do NaLS, até onde se tenha conhecimento, foi uma abordagem inédita no que se refere à síntese de lignopoliuretanos. Os produtos, (LS-Oxi, NaLS-Glu, NaLS-Glu) foram caracterizados por espectroscopia na região do infravermelho (IV) e, associados ou não com OM, foram usados na preparação de lignopoliuretanos (também caracterizados por IV). Fibras lignocelulósicas extraídas de sisal (Agave sisalana), cujo maior produtor mundial é o Brasil, foram utilizadas como reforço dos lignopoliuretanos preparados. Os compósitos lignopoliuretânicos, bem como os lignopoliuretanos não reforçados, foram caracterizados por análise termogravimétrica (TG), resistência ao impacto, resistência à flexão, microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV) e análise térmica dinâmico-mecânica (DMA). Os resultados mostraram que as fibras de sisal aumentaram consideravelmente a resistência ao impacto de todos os lignopoliuretanos. Entre os compósitos baseados em NaLS não modificado (Grupo 1), o DEG/NaLS/MDI/Sisal foi o que apresentou melhor resistência ao impacto (472 J m-1) e melhor resistência à flexão (47 MPa). Quando o NaLS oxipropilado foi utilizado (Grupo 2), o compósito LS-Oxi/MDI/Sisal apresentou resistência ao impacto de 459 J m-1 e resistência à flexão de 43 MPa, enquanto que o compósito NaLS-Glu/MDI/Sisal, preparado à partir do NaLS hidroxialquilado (Grupo 3), apresentou resistência ao impacto de 945 J m-1 e resistência à flexão de 23 MPa. As imagens de MEV da superfície de fratura pós-ensaio de impacto revelaram uma forte adesão na interface fibra/matriz, como consequência da presença de ligações hidrogênio entre os grupos uretanos da matriz e os grupos hidroxila das fibras, além das interações entre os domínios hidrofóbicos de ambos, fibra e matriz. Materiais com grau de entrecruzamento diversificados, com características entre elastomérica a termorrígidos, foram obtidos a partir do uso do NaLS e do OM, o que faz com que eles se tornem atrativos para diferentes aplicações, como em partes automotivas e painéis de uso arquitetônico. Neste sentido, e atendendo às expectativas atuais, materiais com excelentes propriedades e com elevada proporção de matérias-primas obtidas de fontes renováveis foram desenvolvidos. / The rational valuing of lignin and its derivatives is one of the major challenges in the biorefinery context where these macromolecules are generated as byproducts. Lignosulfonates obtained through the wood sulfite pulping process are produced on a large scale. However, they are rarely used as reagents in the preparation of macromolecular compounds. The presence of OH groups in their structure allows their use as a macromonomer to obtain polyurethanes (PU). This study aimed at obtaining lignopolyurethanes and composites based mainly on raw materials obtained from renewable sources. Castor oil (CO) and sodium lignosulfonate (NaLS), both derived from renewable raw materials, were used in different compositions as replacements for conventional polyols along with diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) in the PU synthesis. Initially, polyurethanes were prepared from NaLS and other polyols such as diethylene glycol (DEG), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and OM, as well as by using these reagents, except for NaLS (control samples). In order to increase the reactivity of the OH groups of NaLS against isocyanates in the lignopolyurethanes synthesis, NaLS was oxypropylated (reaction with propylene oxide, generating LS-Oxy) and hydroxyalkylated (reaction with formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde, generating NaLS-Glu-For NaLS, respectively). The use of aldehydes in the NaLS modification, as far as we know, is a novel approach with regard to the lignopolyurethane synthesis. The products (LS-Oxy, NaLS-Glu, and NaLS-For) were characterized by infrared spectroscopy (IR) and associated or not with CO were also used in lignopolyurethanes preparation (also characterized by IR). Lignocellulosic fibers extracted from sisal (Agave sisalana), which has Brazil as its largest producer in the world, were used as reinforcement for the prepared lignopolyurethanes. Lignopolyurethanic composites and the non-reinforced lignopolyurethanes were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TG), impact test, flexural strength, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Results showed that sisal fibers substantially increased the impact strength of all lignopolyurethanes. Among the composites based on unmodified NaLS (Group 1), DEG/NaLS/MDI/Sisal showed the best impact strength (472 J m-1) and the best flexural strength (47 MPa). When the oxypropylated NaLS was used (Group 2), the composite <br /> LS-Oxy/MDI/Sisal showed impact strength of 459 J m-1 and flexural strength of 43 MPa, while the composite NaLS-Glu/MDI/Sisal prepared from the hydroxyalkylated NaLS (Group 3) showed impact strength of 945 J m-1 and flexural strength of 23 MPa. The SEM images of the fracture surface after the impact test revealed a strong adhesion in the fiber/matrix interface as a consequence of the presence of hydrogen bonds between the urethane groups of the matrix and the hydroxyl groups of the fibers, in addition to the interactions between the hydrophobic domains of both fiber and matrix. Materials with different degrees of crosslinking and characteristics from elastomeric to thermoset were obtained from the use of NaLS and CO, which makes them attractive for different applications such as automotive parts and panels for architectural use. In general, materials with excellent properties and prepared with a high proportion of renewable raw materials were developed, thus meeting the current expectations concerning biobased materials.

Muitos fármacos, principalmente os agonistas B-adrenérgicos, vêm sendo utilizados na produção animal e, devido às novas formas de pecuária intensiva, sua utilização tem crescido exponencialmente. Dentre os agonistas B-adrenérgicos, a Ractopamina (RAC) é o mais utilizado como agente repartidor de nutrientes, pois promove ganho de peso, eficiência alimentar, deposição de tecido muscular e rendimento da carcaça de suínos, bovinos, ovinos e perus. Neste contexto, o desenvolvimento de métodos analíticos capazes de detectar e quantificar a RAC na matéria-prima, no produto acabado, em pré-formulações enriquecidas com nutrientes e minerais e na ração é de suma importância no controle de qualidade do produto acabado comercializado por indústrias veterinárias, visando maior segurança para os animais e para o consumidor de carnes. Desta forma, este projeto tem como objetivo desenvolver e validar métodos analíticos capazes de quantificar o fármaco nestas 4 etapas (matéria-prima, produto acabado Ractosuin®, pré-mistura com complexo vitamínico-mineral e na mistura destes componentes com a ração). No primeiro capítulo deste trabalho está descrito o método para quantificação da RAC na matéria- prima e no produto acabado Ractosuin®. Este método apresentou-se linear no intervalo de concentração de 160,00 a 240,00 ug mL-1 (r> 0,99). Os coeficientes de variação nos estudos de precisão intra e interensaios foram inferiores a 2,0% e a exatidão intra e interensaios variaram de 97 a 100%. No segundo capítulo, foi utilizada a extração líquido-líquido e acetato de etila como solvente extrator para a análise da RAC no complexo vitamínico-mineral. A curva analítica foi linear no intervalo de concentração de 90,00 a 210,00 ug mL-1 (r > 0,99). Os coeficientes de variação nos estudos de precisão intra e interensaios foram inferiores a 1,5%, a exatidão intra e interensaios variaram de 98 a 102% e a recuperação ficou em torno de 94%. O terceiro capítulo mostra o método desenvolvido e validado para análise da RAC na ração. A RAC foi extraída da matriz utilizando a extração líquido-líquido com acetato de etila. A curva analítica apresentou-se linear no intervalo de concentração de 6,50 a 14,40 ug mL-1 (r > 0,99), o limite de detecção (LD) foi de 2,00 ug mL-1 e o limite de quantificação (LQ) foi de 4,00 ug mL-1. Os coeficientes de variação nos estudos de precisão intra e interensaios foram inferiores a 5,0%, a exatidão intra e interensaios variaram de 90 a 98% e a recuperação foi de 84%. Desta forma, os métodos desenvolvidos e validados podem ser aplicados em análises de rotina de controle de qualidade de indústrias veterinárias para a quantificação da RAC na matéria-prima, no produto acabado Ractosuin®, no complexo vitamínico-mineral e na ração. / Several drugs, especially B-adrenergic agonists, have been used in animal production and due to new forms of intensive livestock their use has grown exponentially. Among the B-adrenergic agonists, ractopamine (RAC) is the most used as a nutrient repartitioning agent, it promotes weight gain, feed efficiency, deposition of muscle and carcass yield of pigs, cattle, sheep and turkeys. In this context, the development of analytical methods able to detect and quantify RAC in the raw material, feed additive, in pre-formulation (feed additive) enriched with nutrients and minerals and in the ration is very important in quality control of pharmaceutical formulation marketed by veterinary industries for greater security for animals and to consumers of meat. Thus, this project aims to develop and validate analytical methods able to quantify the drug in these 4 stages (raw material, feed additive Ractosuin®, pre-mixed with vitamin mineral complex and the mixture of these components with the ration). In the first chapter of this work is described the method for quantification of RAC in the raw material and feed additive Ractosuin®. This method showed linearity over the concentration range from 160.00 to 240.00 ug mL-1 (r > 0.99). The coefficients of variation in studies of intra-and interassay precision were less than 2,0% and intra and interassay accuracy ranged from 97 to 100%. In the second chapter, we used liquid-liquid extraction and ethyl acetate as solvent extractor for the analysis of RAC in complex vitamin-mineral. The calibration curve was linear over the concentration range from 90.00 to 210.00 ug mL-1 (r > 0.99). The coefficients of variation in studies of intra and interassay precision were less than 1.5%, intra and interassay precision varied from 98 to 102% and the recovery was around 94%. The third chapter shows the method developed and validated for analysis of RAC in the ration. The RAC was extracted from the matrix by liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. The analytical curve was linear over the concentration range 6.50 to 14.40 ug mL-1 (r > 0.99), the limit of detection (LD) was 2.00 ug mL-1 and limit of quantification (LQ) was 4.00 ug mL-1.The coefficients of variation in studies of intra and interassay precision were less than 5.0%, intra and interassay accuracy ranged from 90 to 98% and the recovery was 84%. Thus, the methods developed and validated can be applied in routine analysis for quality control of veterinary industries for the quantification of RAC in the raw material, feed additive Ractosuin®, vitamin mineral complex and in the ration.

O aprovisionamento ou obtenção das rochas e minerais aptos para lascamento ou polimento constitui um dos temas mais abordados pela arqueologia de caçadores-coletores ao redor do mundo. O aprovisionamento lítico é um fenômeno cultural cujo estudo não está limitado à determinação da proveniência de tais materiais, integrando aspectos geomorfológicos e geológicos como disponibilidade, abundância e localização de afloramentos e clastos, com aspectos humanos da seleção como qualidade para as tarefas requeridas, cor, forma de remoção ou escavação e gestão tecnológica. A presente dissertação aborda o problema do aprovisionamento lítico em Dourado, região de cuestas basálticas no centro do estado de São Paulo, onde se insere o sítio Bastos, que apresenta datas entre ca. 7,650 e 12,640 anos cal a.P. e artefatos líticos manufaturados em arenito silicificado. Tendo como base uma relação conceitual entre tecnologia e suas consequências na paisagem lítica e uma perspectiva geoarqueológica sobre os recursos líticos, é proposto um protocolo de pesquisa que integra: a) prospecção de fontes potenciais e utilizadas de matéria-prima lítica num setor central e sul respeito do sítio; b) análise macroscópica mediante classificação paradigmática das amostras coletadas; c) análise petrográfico microscópico; d) e análise tecnológica dos artefatos recuperados em fontes, ocorrências e sítios. Os resultados indicam: 1) uma paisagem lítica caracterizada por extrações em afloramentos e clastos de arenito silicificado de muito boa a excelente qualidade para lascamento num raio mínimo de aprovisionamento diário de 3 km desde o sítio Bastos; 2) uma tendência a uma maior representação de poucas variedades específicas de arenito silicificado nos níveis antigos (ca. 12,500 cal a.P.) do sítio respeito dos mais tardios (<9000 cal a.P.), o que teria relação com a disponibilidade imediata; 3) uma tecnologia fora das fontes diferenciada entre o reverso das cuestas (setor central) e o frente da mesma (setor sul), com destaque no primeiro caso, do segundo registro de produção de lâminas (lascas alongadas especializadas) no Brasil. Concluiu-se com a ênfase na necessidade de se ampliar as escalas e métodos de análise da presente 5 pesquisa e de se realizar propostas semelhantes em outras partes do país, para um estudo comparativo sistemático do aprovisionamento lítico em diferentes períodos e lugares. / The procurement of rocks and minerals suitable for knapping and grinding constitutes one of the main topics of hunter-gratherer archaeology all around the world. As a cultural phenomenom, from the perspective of its study, lithic procurement is not restricted to sourcing materials, but integrates geomorfological and geological aspects such as availability, abundance and location of outcrops and clasts, with human aspects of lithic selection, such as quality, color, extraction or excavation mode and technological processing. The present Master thesis focuses on the problem of lithic procurement in the Dourado region, in the basaltic cuestas landscape of central São Paulo state, where the Bastos site is located, which exhibits dates between ca. 7,650 and 12,640 cal years BP and lithic artifacts manufactured in silicified sandstone. Using a conceptual approach that relies on the relationship between technology and its consequences in the lithic landscape with a geoarchaeological perspective on lithic resources, the research protocol integrates: a) potential and utilized raw material sources survey in a central and southern sector from the site; b) a paradigmatic macroscopic classification of the samples; c) a petrographic microscopic analysis; d) and technological analysis of artifacts recovered in sources, isolated spots and sites. Results indicate: 1) a lithic landscape characterized by extractions on very good-to-excellent knapping quality silicified sandstone outcrops and clasts in a 3-km minimum foraging radius around the Bastos site; 2) a trend towards a higher representation of few specific silicified sandstone varieties in the older levels (ca. 12,500 cal a.P.) as compared to the later ones (<9000 cal a.P.), which would be the effect of an inmediate availability; 3) an out-of-the-sources technology differentiated between the backside of the cuestas (central sector) and the front (southern sector), with the remarkable finding in the former,of the second record of blade production (specialized long flakes) in Brazil. An emphasis on the need of widening the scale and methods of this research is concluded, together with the need of making similar approaches in other parts of the country that will allow a systematic comparative study of lithic procurement in different periods and places.