COMP6049 Quantitative analysis

notes for class discussion and exercise

Avaliação do impacto do plano de expansão da rede federal na qualidade dos institutos federais de educação segundo indicadores de desempenho

The Expansion Plan of the Federal Network of Vocational Education foresees the construction of 860 new units of instruction until 2020, representing a strong growth against the 140 existing units prior to its disclosure by Federal Government of Brazil, in 2005. The Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology have been performing the expansion while experiencing the shortcomings and challenges of units still in development, created in previous phases of the Plan. The quality of the services of these institutions has been evaluated by the control bodies, which require the submission of performance indicators in annual management reports of institutions under their jurisdiction. In this context of expansion process, particularly, is desirable to identify possible changes in quality standards. Thus, this research was motivated by the following problem: there was difference in the performance of the Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology after the inauguration of the first units of phase II of the Expansion Plan of the Federal Network of Vocational Education? This is an exploratory-descriptive, ex-post-facto, quantitative approach research, which aims to contribute to the knowledge of the impact of the expansion of the Federal Network. The data were collected from 12 indicators presented in management reports of 38 Federal Institutes through years 2007 to 2011 to evaluate the performances using descriptive statistical techniques. The indicators were analyzed in both consolidated and open manners by the following perspectives: country region, growth of instruction units and institutions origin. Was also performed a multivariate analysis of clusters in order to identify excellence groups of Institutes. The results showed differences in the expansion plan s development among Brazilian regions, both in terms of infrastructure and academic indicators, with better results in the Midwest and South, and that there are differentiated profiles of institutes as its origin, where the best quality indicators occur in those originated by integration of different educational institutions. Still, were identified two excellence groups, with emphasis on academic management, human resources and expansion

Representações sociais sobre indisciplina em sala de aula dos professores em início de carreira da rede municipal de Presidente Prudenrte-SP: implicações para a formação inicial

Pós-graduação em Educação - FCT

A temática gênero nas produções provenientes dos grupos de pesquisa da Universidade Federal do Pará

Neste estudo objetivou-se realizar um mapeamento que revelasse as produções científicas das/os pesquisadoras/es vinculadas/os a grupos de pesquisa situados na Universidade Federal do Pará, visando analisar como a temática gênero ganhava evidência em pesquisas realizadas no cenário acadêmico-científico daquela instituição, no período de 1995-2006. Nesse sentido, foram levantados os seguintes questionamentos: 1) O que se tem discutido, no campo acadêmico, em tomo das questões de gênero? 2) Como está evidenciada a produção científica generificada na base de dados dos grupos de pesquisa cadastrados no CNPq durante o período 1995 a 2006? 3) Como se apresenta a produção generificada das/os pesquisadoras/es, nos grupos de pesquisa, a partir dos indicadores estatísticos no Campus da UFPA de Belém? Os dados foram analisados quanti/qualitativamente por meio do cruzamento dos indicadores de produtividade científica - disponíveis no site do Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (http://www.cnpq.br) - com os referenciais teóricos balizadores da temática gênero - Louro (2001) e Rosemberg (2001) -, aspecto que permitiu fazer uma radiografia da produção generificada no cenário nacional para posterior incursão na produção dos grupos de pesquisa da UFP A. Constatou-se que grande parte das pesquisas em tomo do gênero tem abordado principalmente questões alusivas à mulher e que aquelas pesquisas refutam as explicações de cunho biologicista na composição de femininos e masculinos, bem como asseveram que culturalmente há relações de poder entre os sexos; além disso, o estudo revelou que no panorama nacional o gênero encontrou guarida principalmente nos grupos de pesquisa na área das Ciências Humanas; no tocante à participação feminina na Ciência, observou-se um parâmetro androcêntrico na estrutura do fazer científico, aspecto esse que ressoa no quantitativo das produções acadêmicas de autoria feminina, posto que elas ainda precisam conciliar a carreira profissional com as exigências do mundo privado; mas, apesar do domínio masculino nas produções científicas, os estudos sobre gênero ganham envergadura nas pesquisas desenvolvidas por mulheres, tanto em nível nacional como local. No que tange especificamente aos indicadores da UFP A, o gênero ganhou lugar de destaque na produção paraense e essas/es intelectuais têm se esmerado naquele campo exibindo uma produção freqüente em um período de 11 anos, embora tenham que assumir um acréscimo incomensurável de trabalho em conseqüência de a maioria fazer parte dos quadros docentes em programas de pós- graduação vigentes na UFP A. Com isso, reafirma-se que os grupos de pesquisa da Instituição em destaque, ainda que com menor expressão quantitativa em relação ao cenário nacional, são de grande relevância para a fertilização dos estudos de gênero na região Norte e para a projeção dessa Universidade como lugar institucional em que se produzem pesquisas que garantem a ela destaque nacional.

A Política educacional para o Maranhão: uma (re)visão nas diretrizes e estratégias para a reestruturação do ensino médio

A presente dissertação objetiva analisar as mediações entendidas como mecanismos e ações propostas pela SEDUC/MA, a partir da LDB - Lei nº 9.394/96, das DCNEM, dos PCNEM e das Diretrizes e Estratégias para a Política Educacional do Estado do Maranhão, que orientaram a reestruturação do ensino médio. Explicita os fundamentos e os princípios da reforma do ensino médio levando em consideração o contexto socioeconômico e político que influenciaram a definição de políticas e diretrizes educacionais desde os anos de 1990; analisa as diretrizes e estratégias definidoras da política educacional no Estado e verifica a implementação das mediações adotadas pela SEDUC/MA para concretização dessa política. É uma pesquisa documental de cunho qualitativo, fundamentada no materialismo histórico dialético, tendo como procedimentos a revisão da literatura, a análise documental e a análise dos mecanismos e ações que foram adotas pela Secretaria para a implementação de sua política de ensino médio. No percurso do estudo, ficou evidenciada a influência do contexto global de mundialização do capital e de reestruturação produtiva, bem como as políticas educacionais em nível nacional sobre a política educacional maranhense. Tais influências foram explicitadas nos diplomas legais que indicaram os princípios e as diretrizes que orientaram a organização administrativa e pedagógica dos sistemas de ensino e das escolas, com destaque para a interdisciplinaridade, a contextualização e a formação de competências. O estudo demonstrou, ainda, que as diretrizes e estratégias que nortearam a política educacional do Estado do Maranhão e os mecanismos implementados para a sua efetivação - os Referenciais Curriculares do Ensino Médio, as Diretrizes para a Avaliação da Aprendizagem e o Plano de Formação -, apresentaram fragilidades em suas concepções e em seu processo de implementação com reflexo nos indicadores de desempenho escolar. Também revelou que estas estratégias não produziram a qualificação do ensino médio no Estado.

Strategic decision making in international firms: effect of top management team internationalization on international strategic decision process

In this research project, I have integrated two research streams on international strategic decisions making in international firms: upper echelons or top management teams (TMT) internationalization research and international strategic decision making process research. Both research streams in international business literature have evolved independently, but there is a potential in combining these two streams of research. The first empirical paper “TMT internationalization and international strategic decision making process: a decision level analysis of rationality, speed, and performance” explores the influence of TMT internationalization on strategic decision rationality and speed and, subsequently, their effect on international strategic decision effectiveness (performance). The results show that the internationalization of TMT is positively related to decision effectiveness and this relationship is mediated by decision rationality while the hypotheses regarding the association between TMT internationalization and decision speed, and the mediating effect of speed were not supported. The second paper “TMT internationalization and international strategic decision rationality: the mediating role of international information” of my thesis is a simple but logical extension of first paper. The first paper showed that TMT Internationalization has a significant positive effect on international strategic decision rationality. The second paper explicitly showed that TMT internationalization affect on international strategic decision rationality comes from two sources: international experience (personal international knowledge and information) and international information collected from managerial international contacts. For this research project, I have collected data from international software firms in Pakistan. My research contributes to the literature on upper echelons theory and strategic decision making in context of international business and international firms by explicitly examining the link between TMT internationalization and characteristics of strategic decisions making process (i.e. rationality and speed) in international firms and their possible mediating effect on performance.

Building family/general practice research capacity

To promote the range of interventions for building family/general practice (family medicine) research capacity, we describe successful international examples. Such examples of interventions that build research capacity focus on diseases and illness research, as well as process research; monitor the output of research in family/general practice (family medicine); increase the number of family medicine research journals; encourage and enable research skills acquisition (including making it part of professional training); strengthen the academic base; and promote research networks and collaborations. The responsibility for these interventions lies with the government, colleges and academies, and universities. There are exciting and varied methods of building research capacity in family medicine.

Directions for a troubled discipline:strategy research, teaching and practice introduction to the dialog

This Dialog responds to a growing debate about the relevance of business schools generally and the value of strategy theory and research for strategic management practice. The authors propose that academic theory and management practice can be better connected through management education. The academy researches practice, derives theory, and returns it to practice through the development of teaching materials and the teaching of current and future practitioners. The three articles in this Dialog examine how different approaches to strategy research inform strategy teaching and its application to practice. Joseph Bower explains the rise of business policy and the process research approach that informed that teaching tradition at Harvard Business School. Robert Grant responds by emphasizing the economic theory underpinnings of strategic management research and its impact on teaching. Paula Jarzabkowski and Richard Whittington conclude by proposing a strategyas-practice perspective and suggesting ways to better incorporate strategy-as-practice research into strategy teaching.

Developing and evaluating a methodology for business process improvement

Purpose – There appears to be an ever-insatiable demand from markets for organisations to improve their products and services. To meet this, there is a need to provide business process improvement (BPI) methodologies that are holistic, structured and procedural. Therefore, this paper describes research that has formed and tested a generic and practical methodology termed model-based and integrated process improvement (MIPI) to support the implementation of BPI; and to validate its effectiveness in organisations. This methodology has been created as an aid for practitioners within organisations. Design/methodology/approach – The research objectives were achieved by: reviewing and analysing current methodologies, and selecting a few frameworks against key performance indicators. Using a refined Delphi approach and semi-structured interview with the “experts” in the field. Intervention, case study and process research approach to evaluating a methodology. Findings – The BPI methodology was successfully formed and applied by the researcher and directly by the companies involved against the criteria of feasibility, usability and usefulness. Research limitations/implications – The paper has demonstrated a new knowledge on how to systematically assess a BPI methodology in practice. Practical implications – Model-based and integrated process improvement methodology (MIPI) methodology offers the practitioner (experienced and novice) a set of step-by-step aids necessary to make informed, consistent and efficient changes to business processes. Originality/value – The novelty of this research work is the creation of a holistic workbook-based methodology with relevant tools and techniques. It extends the capabilities of existing methodologies.

Investigating the process of translation:humour translation norms, strategies and approaches in children's literature

Research in the present thesis is focused on the norms, strategies,and approaches which translators employ when translating humour in Children's Literature from English into Greek. It is based on process-oriented descriptive translation studies, since the focus is on investigating the process of translation. Viewing translation as a cognitive process and a problem soling activity, this thesis Think-aloud protocols (TAPs) in order to investigate translator's minds. As it is not possible to directly observe the human mind at work, an attempt is made to ask the translators themselves to reveal their mental processes in real time by verbalising their thoughts while carrying out a translation task involving humour. In this study, thirty participants at three different levels of expertise in translation competence, i.e. tn beginner, ten competent, and ten experts translators, were requested to translate two humourous extracts from the fictional diary novel The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend (1982) from English into Greek. As they translated, they were asked to verbalise their thoughts and reason them, whenever possible, so that their strategies and approaches could be detected, and that subsequently, the norms that govern these strategies and approaches could be revealed. The thesis consists of four parts: the introduction, the literature review, the study, and the conclusion, and is developed in eleven chapters. the introduction contextualises the study within translation studies (TS) and presents its rationale, research questions, aims, and significance. Chapters 1 to 7 present an extensive and inclusive literature review identifying the principles axioms that guide and inform the study. In these seven chapters the following areas are critically introduced: Children's literature (Chapter 1), Children's Literature Translation (Chapter 2), Norms in Children's Literature (Chapter 3), Strategies in Children's Literature (Chapter 4), Humour in Children's Literature Translation (Chapter 5), Development of Translation Competence (Chapter 6), and Translation Process Research (Chapter 7). In Chapters 8 - 11 the fieldwork is described in detail. the piolot and the man study are described with a reference to he environments and setting, the participants, the research -observer, the data and its analysis, and limitations of the study. The findings of the study are presented and analysed in Chapter 9. Three models are then suggested for systematising translators' norms, strategies, and approaches, thus, filling the existing gap in the field. Pedagogical norms (e.g. appropriateness/correctness, famililarity, simplicity, comprehensibility, and toning down), literary norms (e.g. sound of language and fluency). and source-text norms (e.g. equivalence) were revealed to b the most prominent general and specific norms governing the translators'  strategies and approaches in the process of translating humour in ChL. The data also revealed that monitoring and communication strategies (e.g. additions, omissions, and exoticism) were the prevalent strategies employed by translators. In Chapter 10 the main findings and outcomes of a potential secondary benefit (beneficial outcomes) are discussed on the basis of the research questions and aims of the study, and implications of the study are tackled in Chapter 11. In the conclusion, suggestions for future directions are given and final remarks noted.

Mixed methods research:don't "just do it"

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify some of the dilemmas involved in the debate on the how, when and why of mixed methods research. Design/methodology/approach The authors' starting point is formed by developments in the philosophy of science literature, and recent publications on mixed methods research outside of the management accounting domain. Findings Contrary to recent claims made in the management accounting literature, the authors assert that uncovering points of disagreement between methods may be as far as researchers can go by combining them. Being reflexive can help to provide a deeper understanding of the research process and the researcher's role in this process. Research limitations/implications The paper should extend the debate among management accounting researchers about mixed methods research. One of the lessons drawn is that researchers are actively immersed in the research process and cannot purge their own interests and views. Accepting this lesson casts doubt on what the act of research may imply and achieve. Practical implications The paper shows that combinations of research methods should not be made based on a "whatever works" attitude, since this approach ultimately is still infused with ontological and epistemological considerations that researchers have, and should try to explicate. Originality/value The value of this paper lies in the provision of philosophical underpinnings that have not been widely considered in the management accounting literature on mixed methods to date. © 2011 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.

“NYAM CHIEM” RECONSTRUCTING AND PERFORMING NIGHTMARE: A DANCE RESEARCH IN PERFORMANCE OF SLEEP PARALYSIS.

This paper is a documentation of a practice-based dance work of the creative process, research and performance presentation of the piece “Nyam chiem.” This thesis examines the phenomenon of sleep paralysis through a personal reflexive research. The work challenges the notion that sleep paralysis is evil, revealing the phenomenon as a part of the human experience. The research is in two parts, practical and theory. The practical component includes; dance rehearsals, and staging of the piece as presentation. The theoretical component includes the documentation of the work in a written format capturing my personal stories, and salient issues arising from the process into a scholarly paper.

Un aporte a la comprensión de las estrategias emergentes en las organizaciones a través del concepto de improvisación y la metáfora musical

Este trabajo se inscribe en uno de los grandes campos de los estudios organizacionales: la estrategia. La perspectiva clásica en este campo promovió la idea de que proyectarse hacia el futuro implica diseñar un plan (una serie de acciones deliberadas). Avances posteriores mostraron que la estrategia podía ser comprendida de otras formas. Sin embargo, la evolución del campo privilegió en alguna medida la mirada clásica estableciendo, por ejemplo, múltiples modelos para ‘formular’ una estrategia, pero dejando en segundo lugar la manera en la que esta puede ‘emerger’. El propósito de esta investigación es, entonces, aportar al actual nivel de comprensión respecto a las estrategias emergentes en las organizaciones. Para hacerlo, se consideró un concepto opuesto —aunque complementario— al de ‘planeación’ y, de hecho, muy cercano en su naturaleza a ese tipo de estrategias: la improvisación. Dado que este se ha nutrido de valiosos aportes del mundo de la música, se acudió al saber propio de este dominio, recurriendo al uso de ‘la metáfora’ como recurso teórico para entenderlo y alcanzar el objetivo propuesto. Los resultados muestran que 1) las estrategias deliberadas y las emergentes coexisten y se complementan, 2) la improvisación está siempre presente en el contexto organizacional, 3) existe una mayor intensidad de la improvisación en el ‘como’ de la estrategia que en el ‘qué’ y, en oposición a la idea convencional al respecto, 4) se requiere cierta preparación para poder improvisar de manera adecuada.

Personal values and the `country-of-origin effect`: the moderating role of consumers` demographics

This article has addressed the following research problem: what consumers` personal values most influence the country-of-origin effect? Furthermore, it has verified whether there are differences on this influence, in terms of consumers` demographic characteristics such as gender, age and country familiarity. A descriptive and quantitative empirical research has been used to analyse the product category of Chinese home appliances, using a sample of Brazilian executives. Results have shown that consumers` personal values exert different influences on the evaluation of foreign products. Most influences of personal values on the country-of-origin effect are negative; the more important the personal values, the more negative the products are evaluated. Exceptions are for women. With the results of this research, marketing professionals and theoreticians may better manage the use of a product`s country of origin as a marketing tool in international marketing activities.

Intracultural Diversity in Food Knowledge in Southern Brazil

This research explores the social distribution of food knowledge in Ribeirao Preto, a city in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Through an analysis of the distribution of individual expertise in regard to the cultural model of food along the dimensions of healthfulness, practicality, and prestige, this research demonstrates that knowledge of the cultural model of food is most strongly shared in the upper class of the city. Qualitative and quantitative ethnographic research suggests that the social patterning of health-related food knowledge in Ribeirao Preto may serve to maintain class distinction.