Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-14T14:33:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 397639.pdf: 91565 bytes, checksum: 5d2c8877bf9ab375f20569bd4542ef7b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-12-19 / A presente disserta??o versa sobre o cheque p?s-datado, a sua origem, a sua utiliza??o pela sociedade brasileira, a sua previs?o legal, a doutrina e a jurisprud?ncia sobre o assunto. Considerando-se a sua crescente utiliza??o e a falta de regulamenta??o legal, ocorre uma inseguran?a jur?dica. Comenta-se, tamb?m, a solu??o legal encontrada por outros pa?ses. Analisam-se, ainda, os projetos de lei em tramita??o na c?mara federal e senado que buscam a regulamenta??o do cheque p?s-datado. A disserta??o encerra, demonstrando que os projetos de lei n?o poder?o alterar a estrutura da lei do cheque, pois a referida lei ? fruto de acordo internacional aprovado pelo congresso nacional, concluindo que o titulo de credito analisado devera surgir como um novo titulo de credito, atrav?s de lei pr?pria.

Abstract Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia in the clinical setting with a population prevalence of 1–2%. AF significantly increases the risk of stroke and death, worsens coexistent heart diseases and may leave the patient with disabling symptoms. The treatment of AF consists of the control of the underlying conditions, prevention of complications and symptom relief by controlling heart rate (rate control) or by targeting normal rhythm (rhythm control), with the latter achieved either by antiarrhythmic drug (AAD) therapy or catheter ablation (CA). Ablation therapy has generally been applied and studied after failure of AAD therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of first-line CA in AF. The other objectives were to assess the safety of continuous warfarin therapy during CA and to identify prognostic markers for treatment outcome. A meta-analysis of all randomised studies and a secondary analysis of one randomised study comparing CA and AAD as first-line therapy were performed. In the first study, ablation therapy reduced AF recurrences more than AAD therapy (HR 0.63) when provided as first-line therapy; the rate of complications was similar with both therapies. Some of the complications of ablation therapy were more serious than those encountered with AADs. The second study revealed that the antiarrhythmic efficacy of ablation therapy was more durable. In the third study, the efficacies of continuous and interrupted warfarin therapy were compared in 228 procedures; both strategies were found to be equally safe during a three month follow-up. Furthermore, an analysis of 2317 AF episodes revealed a new electrocardiographic feature at AF initiation, which was associated with AF relapse after the initiation of therapy. Finally, a thorough echocardiographic examination was performed in 49 patients prior to ablation therapy. Mild diastolic dysfunction was associated with AF recurrence. In conclusion, CA was more effective as a first-line therapy than AADs but may cause more severe complications. Continuous warfarin therapy was found to be safe during CA. New electrocardiographic and echocardiographic markers for treatment outcome were recognised. / Tiivistelmä Eteisvärinä on yleinen rytmihäiriö, jonka esiintyvyys väestössä on 1–2 % luokkaa. Eteisvärinä lisää merkittävästi kuolleisuutta ja aivoinfarktiriskiä, vaikeuttaa muiden sydänsairauksien oireita ja saattaa aiheuttaa invalidisoivia oireita. Eteisvärinän hoito keskittyy liitännäissairauksien hoitoon ja komplikaatioiden estoon sekä oireiden lievitykseen joko syketaajuutta säätämällä (sykkeenhallinta) tai pyrkimällä normaaliin rytmiin (rytminhallinta). Rytminhallinnassa käytetään yleisesti joko rytmihäiriölääkkeitä tai katetriablaatiohoitoa. Eteisvärinän katetriablaatiota on useimmiten käytetty ja tutkittu tilanteessa, jossa rytmihäiriölääkitys on osoittautunut tehottomaksi. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli arvioida eteisvärinän katetriablaatiohoidon tehoa ja turvallisuutta ensilinjan hoitona. Muina tavoitteina oli katetriablaation turvallisuuden arviointi jatkuvan varfariinihoidon aikana sekä löytää uusia katetriablaatiohoidon tehoa ennustavia tekijöitä. Teimme meta-analyysin kaikista randomisoiduista tutkimuksista ja sekundaarisen analyysin yhdestä randomisoidusta tutkimuksesta, jotka vertasivat rytmihäiriölääke- ja katetriablaatiohoitoa ensilinjan hoitona. Ensimmäisessä työssä ablaatiohoito esti eteisvärinän uusiutumista tehokkaammin (riskisuhde 0.63), eikä komplikaatioiden yleisyydessä ollut eroa hoitojen välillä. Jotkut ablaatiohoitoon liittyvät komplikaatiot olivat kuitenkin luonteeltaan vakavampia kuin lääkehoidossa. Ablaatiohoidon eteisvärinää estävä vaikutus todettiin pidempikestoiseksi toisessa työssämme. Kolmannessa työssä vertasimme jatkuvaa ja tauotettua varfariinihoitoa 228 ablaatiotoimenpiteen aikana. Molemmat lähestymistavat osoittautuivat yhtä turvallisiksi 3 kuukauden seuranta-aikana. Analysoimme edelleen 2317 eteisvärinäkohtausta ja löysimme osalla potilaista uuden eteisvärinäkohtauksen alkuun liittyvän ominaisuuden, joka oli yhteydessä rytminhallinnan tehottomuuteen. Lisäksi teimme 49 potilaalle laajan sydämen ultraäänitutkimuksen ennen katetriablaatiotoimenpidettä. Diastolisen dysfunktion havaittiin olevan yhteydessä eteisvärinän uusiutumiseen. Yhteenvetona totesimme että katetriablaatiohoito on rytmihäiriölääkehoitoa tehokkaampaa ensilinjan hoitona, mutta siihen mahdollisesti liittyvät komplikaatiot olivat luonteeltaan hankalampia. Jatkuva varfariinihoito todettiin turvalliseksi katetriablaation yhteydessä. Löysimme lisäksi sydänsähkökäyrästä ja sydämen ultraäänitutkimuksesta uusia hoidon tehoa ennustavia tekijöitä.

Abstract Problems of female urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse are common. Traditional operative techniques in the treatment of these conditions have unsatisfactory efficacy outcomes and involve complications. Attempts have been made to solve this problem with synthetic meshes, but with the use of meshes mesh-related complications have appeared. The situation is difficult because the number of different meshes, techniques and instrumentations is numerous. The present study was conducted to investigate the safety issues and complication rates of four structurally different polypropylene meshes used in transvaginal surgery when treating female urinary incontinence and apical or posterior vaginal prolapse. Vaginal mesh exposures were under special interest. Subjective outcome and patient satisfaction of tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) and transobturator tape (TOT) methods in the treatment of female urinary incontinence were reported. Objective and subjective cures of posterior intravaginal sling (PIVS) and Elevate®Posterior procedures were investigated. The incidence of vaginal mesh exposure varied between different meshes. The highest exposure incidence, 16–25%, was found with heavyweight microporous multifilament mesh. The lowest mesh exposure incidence, 0.9%, was seen with lightweight macroporous monofilament mesh. The subjective cures of the TVT and TOT procedures were 84% and 80%, and patient satisfaction rates were 79% and 74%, respectively. The objective cure of posterior IVS was only 69% and patient satisfaction rate 62%, while Elevate®Posterior reached 84–98% objective cure rate, depending on the definition used. Subjective efficacy of this procedure was 86%. According to this study, the use of heavyweight microporous multifilament should be abandoned because of the intolerably high vaginal mesh exposure incidence. The subjective efficacy and patient satisfaction of TVT and TOT procedures are satisfactory. Both objective and subjective cure rates of posterior IVS are poor, whereas the Elevate®Posterior technique with lightweight macroporous monofilament mesh presents promising results. / Tiivistelmä Virtsankarkailu ja emättimen monimuotoiset laskeumat ovat naisilla yleisiä. Näitä vaivoja perinteisillä leikkaustekniikoilla hoidettaessa leikkaustulokset ovat olleet epätyydyttäviä sekä tehon että komplikaatioiden ilmaantuvuuden osalta. Ongelmaa on yritetty ratkaista synteettisien verkkojen avulla, mutta verkkojen käytön myötä niihin on havaittu liittyvän myös ongelmia. Tilannetta hankaloittaa myös erilaisten verkkomateriaalien, tekniikoiden ja instrumentaatioiden runsaslukuisuus. Tässä tutkimuksessa selvitettiin neljän rakenteeltaan erilaisen polypropyleenistä valmistetun verkon turvallisuutta ja komplikaatioiden esiintyvyyttä hoidettaessa verkkoavusteisesti naisen virtsankarkailua ja emättimen pohjukan tai emättimen takaseinämän laskeumaa. Erityisenä kiinnostuksen kohteena olivat verkkoihin liittyvät eroosiot. Virtsankarkailun hoidon subjektiivinen teho ja potilastyytyväisyys selvitettiin käytettäessä tension-free vaginal tape- (TVT) ja transobturator tape (TOT) -tekniikoita. Laskeumien hoidon objektiivinen ja subjektiivinen teho arvioitiin käytettäessä posterior intravaginal sling- (PIVS) ja Elevate®Posterior -tekniikoita. Verkon eroosioiden ilmaantuvuus vaihteli rakenteeltaan erilaisten verkkojen välillä siten, että tiivistä mikroporoottista multifilamenttinauhaa käytettäessä eroosioiden ilmaantuvuus oli 16–25 %, kun taas kevyttä makroporoottista monofilamenttiverkkoa käytettäessä eroosioprosentti oli 0.9. TVT-menetelmällä saavutettiin 84 %:n ja TOT menetelmällä 80 %:n subjektiivinen teho. TVT-potilaista hoitoon tyytyväisiä oli 79 % ja TOT-potilaista 74 %. Posteriorinen IVS saavutti vain 69 %:n objektiivisen tehon pohjukan laskeuman hoidossa. Potilastyytyväisyys oli samaa luokkaa, 62 %. Sen sijaan Elevate®Posterior-menetelmää käytettäessä saavutettiin käytetystä tehon määritelmästä riippuen 84–98 %:n objektiivinen teho. Subjektiivinen teho tällä menetelmällä oli 86 %. Tämän tutkimuksen perusteella tiiviin mikroporoottisen multifilamenttiverkon käyttöön liittyvä verkkoeroosioiden määrä on sietämättömän suuri. Vakiintuneiden TVT- ja TOT-menetelmien subjektiivinen teho ja potilastyytyväisyys ovat hyväksyttäviä. PIVS-metodia käytettäessä sekä objektiivinen että subjektiivinen tulos on huono, kun taas Elevate®Posterior-menetelmän ja siinä käytetyn kevyen verkon käytöstä saadut tulokset ovat lupaavia.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-03T18:33:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcelo_LeitE_Esteves.pdf: 979118 bytes, checksum: 4a3545630278b1fbb9d0593fb16a7aa4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-06-09 / For a few years the issue of debentures was restricted to publicly traded companies. From January 2009 through CVM Instruction 476, the Securities Commission has extended access to the capital market issuers allowing private companies could also issue Debentures. This access leads us to question what the main factors in the formation of spread in primary issuances of debentures of non-financial companies, listed and unlisted on stock exchanges in Brazil, from 2009 to 2013, and this is the goal of this work. The next question that seeks to answer is whether there is additional spread in the debentures of unlisted companies, and this is the main specific objective of this study. Also seeks to assess whether the spread is influenced by the tax benefit granted to the investor allocates resources debenture financing infrastructure projects. Additionally, the paper studies the influence of the choice of lead manager of the issuing bank in the formation process of the spread and a possible relationship between the spread of the emission and indicators Profitability, Performance and Indebtedness. The sample is composed only of primary emissions of listed and unlisted companies, which occurred between 2009 and 2013, through the SND - National Debenture System, maintained by ANBIMA. We used the OLS - OLS, estimated with the dependent variable spread and fifteen independent variables, resulting in nine statistically significant variables. The results indicate the existence of an additional premium to non- listed companies; influence in shaping the spread according to the choice of lead manager bank of the process; a statistically significant relationship between financial indicators and the formation of the spread / Por alguns anos a emiss??o de deb??ntures estava restrita a empresas de capital aberto. A partir de janeiro de 2009, atrav??s da Instru????o CVM 476, a Comiss??o de Valores Mobili??rios ampliou o acesso de emissores ao mercado de capitais permitindo que empresas de capital fechado tamb??m pudessem emitir deb??ntures. Este acesso nos leva questionar quais os principais fatores determinantes na forma????o do spread em emiss??es prim??rias de deb??ntures de empresas n??o financeiras, listadas e n??o listadas em Bolsa de Valores no Brasil, de 2009 a 2013, e este ?? o objetivo geral deste trabalho. A pergunta seguinte que se procura responder ?? se existe spread adicional nas deb??ntures de empresas n??o listadas, e este ?? o principal objetivo espec??fico deste estudo. Busca-se tamb??m avaliar se o spread ?? influenciado pelo benef??cio fiscal concedido ao investidor que aloca recursos em deb??ntures que financiam projetos de infraestrutura. Adicionalmente, o trabalho estuda a influ??ncia da escolha do banco coordenador l??der do processo de emiss??o na forma????o do spread e uma poss??vel rela????o entre o spread da emiss??o e indicadores de lucratividade, rentabilidade, desempenho e alavancagem (endividamento e composi????o de d??vida). A amostra ?? composta somente por emiss??es prim??rias, de empresas listadas e n??o listadas, ocorridas entre 2009 e 2013, atrav??s do SND Sistema Nacional de Deb??ntures , mantido pela ANBIMA. Utilizou-se o MQO M??nimos Quadrados Ordin??rios , estimado com a vari??vel dependente spread e com quinze vari??veis independentes, resultando em nove vari??veis estatisticamente significantes. Os resultados apontam a exist??ncia de um pr??mio adicional ??s empresas n??o listadas; a influ??ncia na forma????o do spread de acordo com a escolha do banco coordenador l??der do processo; a rela????o estatisticamente significante entre os indicadores cont??beis e a forma????o do spread

Submitted by Elba Lopes (elba.lopes@fecap.br) on 2017-08-15T19:30:42Z No. of bitstreams: 2 RAFAEL P??VARO DE SOUZA.pdf: 389892 bytes, checksum: b76b41623785f298964fc9c30851aa56 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-15T19:30:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 RAFAEL P??VARO DE SOUZA.pdf: 389892 bytes, checksum: b76b41623785f298964fc9c30851aa56 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-21 / The objective of this paper is to analyze the different portfolios formed by Markowitz's (1952) mean-variance model and a naive strategy (1/N) composed of ETFs that can surpass the Bovespa Index. We used 13 ETFs listed on the S??o Paulo Stock Exchange from 01/01/2012 to 04/11/2016 to perform four portfolio optimization and weighting strategies: 1) Model with short sale and leverage restrictions; 2) Portfolios with a maximum position of 30% in each asset; 3) Wallets with a leveraged position, where it is allowed to be sold up to -30% and bought up to 130% in each asset (strategy 130/30); 4) Portfolios where each asset may be short-listed up to a limit of -5%, provided that the maximum percentage sold in the portfolio does not exceed -45%. For each of these strategies, balances were determined in temporal windows of 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. In all analyzes, there was no significant difference in terms of return, although naive portfolios (1/N) had marginally higher numbers. Optimized portfolios composed of ETFs in the different strategies presented a significantly lower risk than the naive portfolio of ETFs and the market index. There was no predominance in terms of risk and return in the comparison between naive portfolios composed of ETFs and naive portfolios composed of randomly chosen Stock Investment Funds (FIAs). ETFs feature ease of trading, transparency and economy, and can become an alternative in the composition of the investor's asset portfolio. / O presente artigo tem como objetivo analisar diferentes carteiras formadas pelo modelo de m??dia-vari??ncia de Markowitz (1952) e uma estrat??gia ing??nua (1/N) compostas por ETFs que possam superar o ??ndice Bovespa. Foram utilizados 13 ETFs listados na Bolsa de Valores de S??o Paulo no per??odo de 01/01/2012 at?? 04/11/2016 para realizar quatro estrat??gias de otimiza????o e pondera????o de carteiras: 1) Modelo com restri????es de venda a descoberto e alavancagem; 2) Carteiras com posi????o m??xima de 30% em cada ativo; 3) Carteiras com posi????o alavancada, onde ?? permitido ficar vendido em at?? -30% e comprado em at?? 130% em cada ativo (estrat??gia 130/30); 4) Carteiras onde cada ativo pode ser vendido a descoberto at?? o limite de -5%, desde que o percentual m??ximo vendido da carteira n??o ultrapasse -45%. Para cada uma destas estrat??gias, foram determinados balanceamentos em janelas temporais de 1, 3, 6 e 12 meses. Em todas as an??lises efetuadas, n??o houve diferen??a significativa em termos de retorno, ainda que as carteiras ing??nuas (1/N) tivessem n??meros marginalmente superiores. As carteiras otimizadas compostas por ETFs nas diferentes estrat??gias apresentaram risco significativamente inferior ??s carteiras ing??nuas de ETFs e ao ??ndice de mercado. N??o houve predomin??ncia em termos de risco e retorno na compara????o entre carteiras ing??nuas compostas por ETFs e carteiras ing??nuas compostas por Fundos de Investimento em A????es (FIAs) escolhidas aleatoriamente. Os ETFs apresentam facilidade de negocia????o, transpar??ncia e economia, podendo se tornar uma alternativa na composi????o da carteira de ativos dos investidores.

Submitted by Elba Lopes (elba.lopes@fecap.br) on 2017-08-16T13:55:58Z No. of bitstreams: 2 MARCELO SANTANA DA SILVA.pdf: 579761 bytes, checksum: 31198b1e756da9a787c417c0e54d6c5a (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-16T13:55:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 MARCELO SANTANA DA SILVA.pdf: 579761 bytes, checksum: 31198b1e756da9a787c417c0e54d6c5a (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-22 / The objective of this study is to analyze the factors that determine the spread of the public issues of debentures indexed to the Broad Consumer Price Index (IPCA) in Brazil. Emissions indexed to the IPCA were choose because they are instruments usually used to capture resources of longer maturity by the issuing companies. The database had 245 series of issues occurred between January 2010 and December 2015. Regressions were estimated by ordinary least squares and weighted least squares methods, and the results presented by the last method were more robust. The rating-spread ratio was confirmed in all regressions and the results indicate that this variable explains, by itself, 58% of the spread variation. Other the rating, the results indicate that the main factors that determine the spread of the issues are: collateral, issuer experience, maturity, amount, prestige of the coordinating bank, tax benefits and economic scenario. Due to the results achieved, other issues related to market efficiency were approached, such as agency conflicts, information asymmetry and adverse selection. The results show that the collaterized issues remunerated the investors with a higher spread than the unsecured ones, and this premium ranged from 35 to 38 basis points. The results were interpreted in the context of agency theory and resemble those found by John, Lynch and Puri (2003) for the US corporate bonds market. Finally, the favorable economic scenario, as measured by the Emerging Market Bond Index - Brazil (EMBI + BR), showed negativelycorrelated with the spread, and these results were interpreted as effects of the information asymmetry and adverse selection present in the local market for debt issuance. / O objetivo deste estudo ?? analisar os fatores que determinam o spread das emiss??es p??blicas de deb??ntures indexadas ao ??ndice de Pre??os ao Consumidor Amplo (IPCA) no Brasil. Utilizou-se as emiss??es indexadas ao IPCA por serem instrumentos usualmente empregados na capta????o de recursos de maturidade mais longa pelas empresas emissoras. A base de dados contou com 245 s??ries de emiss??es realizadas entre janeiro de 2010 e dezembro de 2015. As regress??es foram estimadas pelos m??todos de m??nimos quadrados ordin??rios e m??nimos quadrados ponderados, e os resultados apresentados por este ??ltimo foram mais robustos. A rela????o rating-spread foi confirmada em todas as regress??es e os resultados indicam que essa vari??vel explica, isoladamente, 58% da varia????o do spread. Al??m do rating, os resultados indicam que os principais fatores que determinam o spread das emiss??es s??o: garantias, experi??ncia do emissor, maturidade, volume, prest??gio do banco coordenador, benef??cios fiscais e cen??rio econ??mico. Em raz??o dos resultados alcan??ados, foram abordados temas relacionados ?? efici??ncia de mercado, tais como conflitos de ag??ncia, assimetria de informa????o e sele????o adversa. Os resultados demonstram que, as emiss??es com garantia remuneraram seus investidores com spread maior que as sem garantia, e esse pr??mio variou de 35 a 38 basis points. Os resultados foram interpretados no contexto da teoria da ag??ncia e se assemelham aos encontrados por John, Lynch e Puri (2003) para o mercado norte-americano de corporatebonds. Finalmente, o cen??rio econ??mico favor??vel, medido pelo ??ndice Emerging Market Bond Index - Brazil (EMBI+ BR), demonstrou-senegativamentecorrelacionado com o spread, e esses resultados foram interpretados como efeitos de assimetria de informa????o e sele????o adversa presentes no mercado local de emiss??o de d??vida.

Submitted by Sara Ribeiro (sara.ribeiro@ucb.br) on 2017-04-17T13:37:17Z No. of bitstreams: 1 AdrianoSodredeMoraesDissertacao2016.pdf: 2692686 bytes, checksum: 02903722f8b64234e02d992301b3616e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Sara Ribeiro (sara.ribeiro@ucb.br) on 2017-04-17T13:38:05Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 AdrianoSodredeMoraesDissertacao2016.pdf: 2692686 bytes, checksum: 02903722f8b64234e02d992301b3616e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-17T13:38:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AdrianoSodredeMoraesDissertacao2016.pdf: 2692686 bytes, checksum: 02903722f8b64234e02d992301b3616e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-29 / This dissertation applies a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium ??? DSGE model to the Brazilian economy, doing simulations on the main macroeconomic variables of the economy. The model of Divino and Silva Junior (2014) was modified to include bonds linked to the economy??s basic interest rate and used to analyze the dynamics of the economy under alternative scenarios for the fiscal policy. It is performed a welfare analysis exploring the relationship between debt composition and the monetary policy willingness to fight inflation versus stabilize the output gap. The results suggest that a higher degree of public debt indexation should increase the welfare of the economy. / Esta disserta????o aplica o modelo de Equil??brio Geral Din??mico Estoc??stico - DSGE para a economia brasileira, fazendo uma an??lise sobre o comportamento das principais vari??veis macroecon??micas, quando sujeitas ?? choques ex??genos. O trabalho modifica o modelo de Divino e Silva Junior (2014), para possibilitar a emiss??o de t??tulos p??blicos indexados ?? taxa de juros, al??m dos t??tulos prefixado e indexado ?? infla????o j?? previstos no trabalho dos autores. Al??m disso, realiza-se uma an??lise de bem-estar, investigando como a rela????o entre composi????o da d??vida p??blica e diferentes regras de pol??tica monet??ria seguidas pelo Banco Central pode afetar o bem-estar dos agentes econ??micos. Os resultados mostram que um maior grau de indexa????o da d??vida p??blica contribui para a suaviza????o da trajet??ria da d??vida p??blica e da tributa????o e um maior n??vel de utilidade dos agentes.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:53:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 GildeteFC_TESE.pdf: 3832787 bytes, checksum: 9d9174675d6d1744c17168384ff52967 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-12-12 / We have been living in a world of packed products. The package and the labels support the companies to communicate with the customers in addition to give protection, storage and convenience in proportion to the products that move in the price list. The labels mainly add up a value which helps the companies differ their products and increase the value of the brands among the final customers. However, the information given in the label are not clear sometimes. It displays a verbal-visual defective language resulted from a poor visibility, legibleness and comprehensibleness of the verbal and visual marks. The aim of this research is to verify, according to the costumers‟ view, the level of the clarity in the informative texts, harmony and ergonomic conformity of the package labels in the chocolate powder of the Claralate brand, considering the linguistic aspects presented on the labels. The criteria to evaluate the chocolate package selected were based on the linguistic field: the organization and the structure of the text derided from the classification of the textual genre; the clarity and the comprehension of the language utilized on those labels. From the ergonomic view, the informative and ergonomic conformity, based on the following requirements: legibility, symbols, characters, reading fields and intermission of the written lines. Therefore, the research done july 2007 and added july 2011 had a structured questionnaire in the interview put to the 118 customers of the chocolate package that go shopping in one of the two supermarkets in Floriano, Piau? S?o Jorge and/or Super Quaresma. The main results of the investigation show that the linguistic aspects in the informative texts of the labels provide the customers‟ expectancy partially, while the consideration of the informative ergonomic analyzed can contribute to the improvement of the information and consequent visual progress of those, on the labels of chocolate package investigated. As recommendation towards the maker of the product, the outcome of the research indicates: harmonize the proportion of the letters and numbers; enlarge the letters size; make the visual information more comprehensive determined by the reading field; put the expiry date in a better visual place / Vivemos num mundo de produtos embalados. A embalagem e os r?tulos ajudam as empresas a se comunicarem com os consumidores e a fornecerem prote??o, armazenagem e conveni?ncia, ? medida que os produtos se movimentam na cadeia de valor. Especialmente os r?tulos adicionam um valor que auxilia as empresas a diferenciar seus produtos e a aumentar o valor da marca entre os consumidores finais. Por?m, muitas vezes, as informa??es contidas nos r?tulos das embalagens n?o s?o claras, apresentando uma linguagem verbo-visual deficiente resultante da m? visibilidade, legibilidade e compreensibilidade de signos verbais e visuais. O objetivo dessa pesquisa ? verificar, na vis?o dos consumidores, o n?vel de clareza dos textos informativos, harmonia e conformidade ergon?mica do r?tulo de embalagem do achocolatado em p? Claralate , considerando os aspectos lingu?sticos e ergon?micos presentes no r?tulo do produto. Os crit?rios para avalia??o da embalagem do achocolatado selecionado foram do ponto de vista lingu?stico: a organiza??o e estrutura??o dos textos a partir da classifica??o do g?nero textual; a clareza e compreens?o da linguagem utilizada no r?tulo. Do ponto de vista da ergonomia, a conformidade ergon?mica informacional, com base nos requisitos: legibilidade, s?mbolos, caracteres, campo de leitura e espa?amento de linhas. Para tanto, a pesquisa de campo realizada em julho de 2007 e, ampliada em julho de 2011, utilizou um question?rio estruturado na entrevista a 118 consumidores de achocolatados que realizam suas compras em um dos dois supermercados de Floriano-Pi. S?o Jorge e/ou Super Quaresma. Os principais resultados da investiga??o mostram que os aspectos lingu?sticos presentes nos textos informativos do r?tulo atendem parcialmente ?s expectativas dos consumidores, enquanto a considera??o dos requisitos ergon?micos informacionais analisados podem vir a contribuir para o aperfei?oamento das informa??es e consequente melhoria visual destas, no r?tulo de embalagem do achocolatado investigado. Como recomenda??o ? fabricante do produto, o resultado da pesquisa aponta: Harmonizar a propor??o das letras e algarismos; Aumentar o tamanho das letras; Tornar melhor compreensiva a informa??o visual determinada pelos campos de leitura; Colocar a data de validade em local de melhor destaque

Abstract The aim was to determine the association between baseline factors, such as oral health-related behavior, attitudes, knowledge and beliefs in relation to caries increment during a randomized clinical trial (RCT). A further aim was to evaluate treatment costs and health outcomes during and after the RCT. In Pori Finland, 11- to 12-year-old children with active initial caries lesion(s) participated in the RCT in 2001–05. The experimental group (n=250) received multiple measures for controlling caries. The control group (n=247) received standard dental care. In 2005–08, all received standard dental care. Regression analyses were used to study the associations between behavioral factors and caries increment. Cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted (trial period), and costs and health outcomes as well as dental service utilization were evaluated (post-trial period). In the experimental group, brushing teeth twice a day was indicative of developing no new caries lesions, whereas eating candy at least once a day, predicted new lesions. In the experimental and control groups, lack of concern about cavities and lack of knowledge about mother’s dental health predicted new caries lesions. The average incremental cost for averting one DMF surface was €34. The experimental regimen was more effective and more costly than the standard dental care. The total costs decreased year after year. The mean total cost per adolescent was lower and the clinical outcome was better among the former participants in the experimental group. The utilization of dental services was significantly more regular among the former participants in this group. It may be feasible to control caries more effectively by affecting toothbrushing, candy eating and oral health-related attitudes, as preventive procedures may be ineffective if those factors are not in order. It is important to discuss oral health-related topics in families, because this may improve the oral health-related behavior of children. Cost-effectiveness of regimen used for the experimental group may be improved by division of work or by selective reduction of preventive procedures. Well-timed caries control can decrease treatment cost and yield long-term improvement of dental health. / Tiivistelmä Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää satunnaistetun kliinisen kokeen alussa rekisteröityjen suunterveyteen liittyvien tapojen, tietojen, asenteiden, uskomusten ja karieskertymän välisiä yhteyksiä. Lisäksi arvioitiin hoitokustannuksia ja hoidollisia tuloksia sekä kokeen ajalta että kokeen jälkeiseltä ajalta. Ne 11–12-vuotiaat lapset, joilla oli ainakin yksi alkava aktiivinen kariesvaurio, osallistuivat kokeeseen Porissa vuosina 2001–05. Koeryhmän lapset (n=250) saivat tehostettua ehkäisevää hoitoa ja kontrolliryhmän lapset (n=247) tavanomaista hammashoitoa. Kaikki saivat tavanomaista hammashoitoa vuosina 2005–08. Käyttäytymisellisten tekijöiden ja karieskertymän välisiä yhteyksiä tutkittiin regressioanalyysien avulla. Kustannusvaikuttavuusanalyysi tehtiin kokeen ajalta. Hoitokustannuksia ja hoidollisia tuloksia sekä palveluiden käyttöä arvioitiin kokeen jälkeiseltä ajalta. Lapsilla, jotka harjasivat vähintään kaksi kertaa päivässä, oli yleensä ehjät hampaat, kun taas lapsilla, jotka söivät päivittäin makeisia, oli useasti reikiä. Huolettomuus reikiintymistä kohtaan ja tietämättömyys äidin hampaiden kunnosta näkyi lasten hampaiden reikiintymisenä. Yhden hammaspinnan säästyminen paikkaukselta maksoi keskimäärin 34 €. Koeryhmän saama hoito oli vaikuttavampaa, mutta kalliimpaa kuin kontrolliryhmän saama hoito. Kokonaiskustannukset laskivat vuosi vuodelta. Keskimääräiset hoitokustannukset olivat pienemmät ja hammasterveys parempi entisen koeryhmän jäsenillä kuin kontrolliryhmäläisillä. Myös palveluiden käyttö oli säännöllisempää koeryhmässä. Karieksen hallintaa voidaan todennäköisesti tehostaa vaikuttamalla hampaiden harjaukseen, makeisten syöntiin ja suunterveyteen liittyviin asenteisiin. On tärkeää varmistaa, että nämä asiat ovat kunnossa, koska ehkäisevät toimenpiteet saattavat muuten jäädä tehottomiksi. Suunterveyteen liittyvistä asioista olisi hyvä keskustella perheissä, koska asioiden esillä pitäminen voi vaikuttaa suotuisasti lasten terveystapoihin. Koeryhmän saaman hoito-ohjelman kustannusvaikuttavuutta voisi todennäköisesti parantaa muuttamalla suunterveydenhuollon henkilöstön työnjakoa tai karsimalla valikoiden ehkäisevien toimenpiteiden määrää. Oikea-aikainen karieksen hallinta voi vähentää hoitokustannuksia ja lisätä hammasterveyttä pitkällä aikavälillä.

Abstract The purpose of this thesis is to examine the role of learning and the constituents of learning in creating process innovations and realizing organizational change. Organizational learning was studied and the data was collected in process development projects, in which process simulations were used as a development method for process innovations and change. The empirical research was carried out mainly in 1988–2001. In this thesis, the results of those studies are reflected on, together with the recent literature related to organizational learning theories in the context of process innovations and management of change. Specifically, the concepts of learning enablers, learning outcomes (intangible/tangible), learning paths, and their relationships are studied. Qualitative longitudinal action research with case studies and abductive reasoning are used as the research methods throughout this thesis. The data consists of 34 cases and 99 process simulations in 12 different industries and varies from large core processes to support processes. The case organizations were mainly Finnish companies with Finns as the majority of participants. One case organization was from Switzerland, and in five cases, multicultural groups participated in the process simulations. In each project, process simulations were used at least once during a change project, in some cases even five to eight times. The data analysis proceeded in an abductive manner throughout the included five articles, and the findings are summarized based on the research questions. The theoretical contribution of this thesis is fourfold. The findings give new understanding 1) about learning enablers, their relationships to each other and influence on learning and process innovations, 2) about the role of intangible and tangible learning outcomes in individual and organizational learning processes and 3) about learning paths in process innovations and related change processes. The thesis also defines 4) a model for effective learning processes in change projects concerning process innovations. The contribution in the practical and managerial context should be applicable field of North and West European commercial organizations. This thesis highlights individual and organizational learning in the creation of process innovations, and it also defines the features of an effective development method for creating and implementing process innovations. / Tiivistelmä Tämän väitöskirjan tarkoituksena on tutkia organisaation oppimisen ja sen eri osatekijöiden roolia prosessi-innovaatioiden luomisessa ja muutoksen aikaansaamisessa organisaatiossa. Organisaation oppimista tutkittiin ja aineisto kerättiin prosessien kehittämisprojekteissa, joissa prosessisimulaatioita käytettiin prosessi-innovaatioiden menetelmänä. Tutkimuksen aineisto kerättiin pääsiassa vuosien 1988–2001 aikana. Tässä väitöskirjassa näitä tuloksia analysoidaan vallitsevien organisaatio-oppimisen teorioiden valossa prosessi-innovaatioiden ja muutoksen johtamisen asiayhteydessä. Erityisesti tutkitaan oppimisen mahdollistajia, oppimisen tuloksia (aineettomia/aineellisia), oppimisen polkuja ja kaikkien näiden keskinäisiä suhteita. Tutkimusmenetelmänä on käytetty laadullista pitkittäistä toimintatutkimusta tapaustutkimuksineen ja abduktiivisine päättelyineen. Aineisto koostuu 34 tapaustutkimuksesta ja 99 prosessisimulaatiosta, jotka toteutettiin 12 eri toimialalla, ja vaihtelevat ydinprosesseista tukiprosesseihin. Suurimmaksi osaksi tapausorganisaatiot olivat suomalaisia yrityksiä, ja yksi tapausorganisaatio oli sveitsiläinen. Projektiryhmät olivat pääasiassa suomalaisia, mutta monikulttuurinen ryhmä osallistui prosessisimulointiin viidessä tapaustutkimuksessa. Jokaisessa projektissa prosessisimulointia käytettiin ainakin kerran muutosprojektin aikana, joissakin tapauksissa jopa viidestä kahdeksaan kertaan. Väitöskirjan viiden artikkelin aineiston analysointi suoritettiin abduktiivisen päättelyn periaattein, ja tutkimuksen tulokset esitetään tutkimuskysymysten mukaisesti. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen tulos kohdistuu neljään osa-alueeseen. Tulokset lisäävät ymmärrystä 1) oppimisen mahdollistajista, niiden suhteesta toisiinsa ja vaikutuksesta oppimiseen ja prosessi-innovaatioihin, 2) aineettomien ja aineellisten oppimistulosten roolista yksilön ja organisaation oppimisprosesseissa, ja 3) prosessi-innovaatioiden ja niihin liittyvien muutosprosessien oppimisen poluista. Tutkimus myös määrittelee 4) prosessi-innovaatioita koskevien muutosprojektien oppimista korostavan mallin. Tutkimuksen tuloksia voitaneen soveltaa Pohjois- ja Länsi-Euroopan yritysmaailmassa. Tutkimus korostaa yksilön ja organisaation oppimisen merkitystä prosessi-innovaatioiden luomisessa ja lisäksi se määrittelee vaikuttavan prosessi-innovaatioiden kehittämisen ja käyttöönoton menetelmän piirteet.