Gestão de processos de negócio em organizações desportivas: um estudo de caso no Comitée Européen de Rink-Hockey

A Gestão de Processos de Negócio (BPM – Business Process Management) é uma abordagem que tem como objetivo melhorar a eficiência nas organizações, através da gestão dos processos, em que se realiza a sua modelação, organização e otimização de uma forma iterativa e contínua. O BPM permite suportar os processos de negócio, através da utilização de métodos, técnicas e software para projetar, representar e analisar processos organizacionais que envolvem, pessoas, organizações, aplicações, documentos e outras fontes de informação (Aalst, Hofstede, & Weske, 2003). Neste estudo é utilizado um Business Process Management System (BPMS) para realizar a modelação dos processos do Comité Européen de Rink-Hockey (CERH), para a inscrição de equipas e atletas, nos eventos realizados sob a responsabilidade deste comité. A modelação é realizada através da utilização do Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN). A utilização do BPMS foi realizada considerando as seguintes etapas: (1) desenho do processo; (2) definição do processo; (3) desenvolvimento do processo e (4) administração e utilização de processos. Pretendeu-se, demonstrar a viabilidade e operacionalidade na utilização de uma ferramenta BPMS open-source, numa abordagem BPM, na modelação e implementação de processos, em detrimento de soluções proprietárias de custo elevado. O critério adotado para a seleção da ferramenta baseia-se na análise de relatórios sobre BPMS, que nos permitiu identificar e sustentar a solução adotada (Hill, Cantara, & Kerremans, 2009; Ovum, 2010; Richardson, Moore, Clair, & Vitti, 2010; Sinur & Hill, 2010). O resultado foi o desenvolvimento dos processos na organização, com a sua modelação em BPMN e implementação num BPMS, onde podemos comprovar a abordagem BPM numa organização desportiva.

Portfolio Entrepreneurship in Family Firms: A Resource-based Perspective

The phenomenon of portfolio entrepreneurship has attracted considerable scholarly attention and is particularly relevant in the family fi rm context. However, there is a lack of knowledge of the process through which portfolio entrepreneurship develops in family firms. We address this gap by analyzing four in-depth, longitudinal family firm case studies from Europe and Latin America. Using a resource-based perspective, we identify six distinct resource categories that are relevant to the portfolio entrepreneurship process. Furthermore, we reveal that their importance varies across time. Our resulting resource-based process model of portfolio entrepreneurship in family firms makes valuable contributions to both theory and practice.

Threatening Messages in Climate Change Communication

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Oral Health Experiences of Social Workers Serving Children in the Foster Care System: Assessing the Feasibility of a Social Worker-Driven Oral Health Intervention

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

What You Get Out of Memory Depends on the Question You Ask

Following study, participants received 2 tests. The 1st was a recognition test; the 2nd was designed to tap recollection. The objective was to examine performance on Test I conditional on Test 2 performance. In Experiment 1, contrary to process dissociation assumptions, exclusion errors better predicted subsequent recollection than did inclusion errors. In Experiments 2 and 3, with alternate questions posed on Test 2, words having high estimates of recollection with one question had high estimates of familiarity with the other question. Results supported the following: (a) the 2-test procedure has considerable potential for elucidating the relationship between recollection and familiarity; (b) there is substantial evidence for dependency between such processes when estimates are obtained using the process dissociation and remember-know procedures; and (c) order of information access appears to depend on the question posed to the memory system.

Mathematical modelling

The development of a new process model of cement grinding in two-stage mills is discussed. The new model has been used to simulate cement grinding and predicting mill performance in open and closed circuit configuration. The new model considered the two-compartment mill as perfectly mixed slices in series. The breakage rate function uses the back calculation technique to determine offline using drop weight and abrasion tests.

Production of Enzymatically active ketosteroid isomerase following insoluble expression in Escherichia coli

Enzymatically active Delta(5)-3-ketosteroid isomerase (KSI) protein with a C-terminus his(6)-tag was produced following insoluble expression using Escherichia coli. A simple, integrated process was used to extract and purify the target protein. Chemical extraction was shown to be as effective as homogenization at releasing the inclusion body proteins from the bacteria] cells, with complete release taking less than 20 min. An expanded bed adsorption (EBA) column utilizing immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) was then used to purify the denatured KSI-(His(6)) protein directly from the chemical extract. This integrated process greatly simplifies the recovery and purification of inclusion body proteins by removing the need for mechanical cell disruption, repeated inclusion body centrifugation, and difficult clarification operations. The integrated chemical extraction and EBA process achieved a very high purity (99%) and recovery (89%) of the KSI-(His(6)), with efficient utilization of the adsorbent matrix (9.74 mg KSI-(His(6))/mL adsorbent). Following purification the protein was refolded by dilution to obtain the biologically active protein. Seventy-nine percent of the expressed KSI-(His(6)) protein was recovered as enzymatically active protein with the described extraction, purification, and refolding process. In addition to demonstrating the operation of this intensified inclusion body process, a plate-based concentration assay detecting KSI-(His(6)) is validated. The intensified process in this work requires minimal optimization for recovering novel his-tagged proteins, and further improves the economic advantage of E. coli as a host organism. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Brain activity during automatic semantic priming revealed by event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging

Semantic priming occurs when a subject is faster in recognising a target word when it is preceded by a related word compared to an unrelated word. The effect is attributed to automatic or controlled processing mechanisms elicited by short or long interstimulus intervals (ISIs) between primes and targets. We employed event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) responses associated with automatic semantic priming using an experimental design identical to that used in standard behavioural priming tasks. Prime-target semantic strength was manipulated by using lexical ambiguity primes (e.g., bank) and target words related to dominant or subordinate meaning of the ambiguity. Subjects made speeded lexical decisions (word/nonword) on dominant related, subordinate related, and unrelated word pairs presented randomly with a short ISI. The major finding was a pattern of reduced activity in middle temporal and inferior prefrontal regions for dominant versus unrelated and subordinate versus unrelated comparisons, respectively. These findings are consistent with both a dual process model of semantic priming and recent repetition priming data that suggest that reductions in BOLD responses represent neural priming associated with automatic semantic activation and implicate the left middle temporal cortex and inferior prefrontal cortex in more automatic aspects of semantic processing.

Modelling frontal discontinuities in wind fields

A Bayesian procedure for the retrieval of wind vectors over the ocean using satellite borne scatterometers requires realistic prior near-surface wind field models over the oceans. We have implemented carefully chosen vector Gaussian Process models; however in some cases these models are too smooth to reproduce real atmospheric features, such as fronts. At the scale of the scatterometer observations, fronts appear as discontinuities in wind direction. Due to the nature of the retrieval problem a simple discontinuity model is not feasible, and hence we have developed a constrained discontinuity vector Gaussian Process model which ensures realistic fronts. We describe the generative model and show how to compute the data likelihood given the model. We show the results of inference using the model with Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods on both synthetic and real data.

IT support for managing aircraft spares in a closed-loop supply chain

This paper reports on the development of elements of an e-supply chain management system for managing maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) relationships in the aerospace industry. A standard systems development methodology has been followed to produce a process model (i.e. the AMSCR model); an information model (i.e. business rules) and a computerised information management capability (i.e. automated optimisation). The proof of concept for this web-based MRO supply chain system has been established through the collaboration with a sample of the different types of supply chain members. The proven benefit is a reduction in the stock-holding costs for the whole supply chain whilst also minimising non-flying time of the aircraft that the supply chain supports. This type of system is now vital in an industry that has continuously decreasing profit margins, which in turn means pressure to reduce servicing times and increase the interval between maintenance actions.

Designing a support system for aerospace maintenance supply chains

Purpose - To develop a systems strategy for supply chain management in aerospace maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO). Design/methodology/approach - A standard systems development methodology has been followed to produce a process model (i.e. the AMSCR model); an information model (i.e. business rules) and a computerised information management capability (i.e. automated optimisation). Findings - The proof of concept for this web-based MRO supply chain system has been established through collaboration with a sample of the different types of supply chain members. The proven benefits comprise new potential to minimise the stock holding costs of the whole supply chain whilst also minimising non-flying time of the aircraft that the supply chain supports. Research limitations/implications - The scale of change needed to successfully model and automate the supply chain is vast. This research is a limited-scale experiment intended to show the power of process analysis and automation, coupled with strategic use of management science techniques, to derive tangible business benefit. Practical implications - This type of system is now vital in an industry that has continuously decreasing profit margins; which in turn means pressure to reduce servicing times and increase the mean time between them. Originality/value - Original work has been conducted at several levels: process, information and automation. The proof-of-concept system has been applied to an aircraft MRO supply chain. This is an area of research that has been neglected, and as a result is not well served by current systems solutions. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Inter-organisational knowledge transfer strategies

Inter-organisational knowledge transfer is very important for SMEs. However, compared to knowledge transfer within an organisation, its ‘boundary paradox’ makes its process more complicated and difficult to understand. In order to solve the ‘paradox’, inter-organisational knowledge transfer strategies need to be developed for SMEs. Through a review of the literature on knowledge transfer, this paper proposes an inter-organisational knowledge transfer process model that contains four stages (initiation, selection, interaction and conversion). It classifies three situations in which an SME exchanges knowledge with a customer (whether a larger company or an SME). It then applies a coordinating mechanism to analyse knowledge transfer strategies for the SME when it is a knowledgegiving firm and knowledge-receiving firm respectively, in the different stages of each situation.

A survey on the adoption and usage of broadband internet

In spite of the increasing significance of broadband Internet, there are not many research papers explicitly addressing issues pertaining to its adoption and postadoption. Previous research on broadband has mainly focused on the supply side aspect at the national level, ignoring the importance of the demand side which may involve looking more deeply into the use, as well as factors impacting organizational and individual uptake. In an attempt to fill this gap, the current study empirically verifies an integrated theoretical model comprising the theory of planned behavior and the IS continuance model to examine factors influencing broadband Internet adoption and postadoption behavior of some 1,500 organizations in Singapore. Overall, strong support for the integrated model has been manifested by our results, providing insight into influential factors. At the adoption stage, perceived behavioral control has the greatest impact on behavioral intention. Our findings also suggest that, as compared to attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control more significantly affect the broadband Internet adoption decision. At the postadoption stage, intention is no longer the only determinant of broadband Internet continuance; rather, initial usage was found to significantly affect broadband Internet continuance.

The impact of performance measurement in strategic planning

Purpose – To investigate the impact of performance measurement in strategic planning process. Design/methodology/approach – A large scale survey was conducted online with Warwick Business School alumni. The questionnaire was based on the Strategic Development Process model by Dyson. The questionnaire was designed to map the current practice of strategic planning and to determine its most influential factors on the effectiveness of the process. All questions were close ended and a seven-point Likert scale used. The independent variables were grouped into four meaningful factors by factor analysis (Varimax, coefficient of rotation 0.4). The factors produced were used to build regression models (stepwise) for the five assessments of strategic planning process. Regression models were developed for the totality of the responses, comparing SMEs and large organizations and comparing organizations operating in slowly and rapidly changing environments. Findings – The results indicate that performance measurement stands as one of the four main factors characterising the current practice of strategic planning. This research has determined that complexity coming from organizational size and rate of change in the sector creates variation in the impact of performance measurement in strategic planning. Large organizations and organizations operating in rapidly changing environments make greater use of performance measurement. Research limitations/implications – This research is based on subjective data, therefore the conclusions do not concern the impact of strategic planning process' elements on the organizational performance achievements, but on the success/effectiveness of the strategic planning process itself. Practical implications – This research raises a series of questions about the use and potential impact of performance measurement, especially in the categories of organizations that are not significantly influenced by its utilisation. It contributes to the field of performance measurement impact. Originality/value – This research fills in the gap literature concerning the lack of large scale surveys on strategic development processes and performance measurement. It also contributes in the literature of this field by providing empirical evidences on the impact of performance measurement upon the strategic planning process.

Organizing to reorganize:doing end-to-end management in practice

This paper takes a practice perspective on organizing, re-conceptualizing coordination mechanisms as dynamic activities that are under continuous construction and modification in order to socially accomplish intra-organizational relationships and activities. The paper is based on the case of Servico, an organization undergoing a major reorganization of its value chain in response to a change in government regulation. We examine the specific performances through which the ostensive and abstract character of a coordination mechanism, ‘end-to-end management’, is defined and refined into a set of activities that actors can use to effect the re-organization of relationships between two divisions during the delivery of a critical regulatory goal. We find six cycles of iteration between the ostensive and performative nature of end-to-end, which progressively help to organize three phases in the reorganization of Servico; absence, presence and formalization. The discussion examines the processual evolution of these cycles and phases and their implications for the way that reorganization occurred. We draw these findings together in a process model that makes contributions to the literature on organizing, on ostensive and performative routines, and on organizational restructuring.