Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Events'

Some people with aphasia may have difficulty in talking about events because of trouble in processing situations in a language-ready fashion. A number of models of language production include a level at which messages are shaped to the demands of a particular language system. However, the relation between such conceptual processing and production in aphasia has been less fully explored. This study takes an empirical approach, investigating the relationship between the verb and sentence difficulties of six people with aphasia and their conceptualisation of events. Following a range of preparatory assessments, so individuals were hypothesised to have some difficulty in conceptualising events for language. Three novel tests were then devised to explore the skills of these individuals, and in one case, the whole group, in more detail. One test examines participants' focus over pictured situations, through their naming of the people and objects involved. A second probes the adoption of perspective over a particularly problematic situation type, investigating the effect of visual and linguistic cues on verb production. The third test focuses on gesture, exploring the relationship between verbal description and the production of action gestures. One participant's drawing of simple events was also probed using a recently developed assessment (Sacchett, 2005). In each case the results point to some differences between the participants with aphasia and a group of non-brain damaged speakers, thus providing support for the psychological reality of the notion of 'thinking for speaking' (Slobin, 1996) in aphasia. In addition, the test findings bring to light some previously hidden processing strengths. However, they also highlight the difficulty both of designing valid tests in this area and of accurately interpreting their results. The discussion considers the implications of the findings for therapy in aphasia, and for our understanding of the relationship between language loss and event conceptualisation.

Thesis (M.S. in psychology)--Washington State University, December 2008.
Title from PDF title page (viewed on July 10, 2009). "Department of Psychology." Includes bibliographical references (p. 31-33).

Mestrado em Marketing
Este trabalho, tem como finalidade, a elaboração de um Plano de Comunicação Integrada de Marketing para o evento Queima das Fitas Coimbra 2018, tendo por isso enfoque na temática de comunicação em eventos. Concorreram para o desenvolvimento deste projeto o facto da organização possuir pouco know how na área da comunicação e os seus constrangimentos em recursos financeiros. A elaboração deste plano visa alcançar um aumento de notoriedade, um incremento em bilhética, o crescimento de visitantes, uma melhor coordenação das ferramentas de comunicação e o reforço da identidade do evento. No que concerne à metodologia adotada neste plano, o objetivo do estudo foi descritivo e a estratégia adotada a action research. Este projeto assumiu um tipo de estudo com recurso a métodos mistos, utilizando uma amostragem não probabilística, sendo que as técnicas de recolha de dados incluíram dados secundários e a recolha de dados primários, através de entrevistas semiestruturadas, questionários e análise qualitativa de conteúdo de publicações em redes sociais. Os resultados obtidos permitiram concluir que o principal público-alvo ? estudantes do Ensino Superior em Coimbra, identifica os canais digitais como a ferramenta de comunicação preferencial e, apesar da notoriedade positiva do evento, existem alguns sinais de perda de identidade enquanto o mais tradicional evento académico do país. Em suma, de referir que as táticas sugeridas para este plano foram idealizadas com o pressuposto de abranger as preferências e hábitos dos principais públicos-alvo, sem descurar de uma aposta comunicacional a nível nacional que resulte numa expansão do evento enquanto marca.
The purpose of this work is to prepare an Integrated Marketing Communication Plan for the Queima das Fitas Coimbra 2018 event, focusing on the theme of communication at events. The development of this project was due to the fact that the organization has little know how in the communication area and its constraints on financial resources. The elaboration of this plan aims to achieve an increase of awareness, an increase in ticketing, the growth of visitors, a better coordination of the communication tools and the reinforcement of the identity of the event. Regarding the methodology adopted in this plan, the purpose of the study was descriptive and the strategy adopted was action research. This project assumed a mix-method study, using a non-probabilistic sampling, and the data collection techniques included secondary data collection and the collection of primary data through semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and qualitative analysis of content of publications in the social networks. The results obtained allow us to conclude that the target audience - students of Higher Education in Coimbra, identify the digital channels as the preferred communication tool and, despite the positive awareness of the event, there are some signs of loss of identity as the most traditional academic event from the country. It should be noted that the tactics suggested for this plan were conceived to cover the preferences and habits of the main target audiences, without neglecting a national communication program that would result in an expansion of the event as a brand.
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The main object of this thesis is to study and explore if students at Umeå School of Business and Economics (USBE) can find potential employers though Event Marketing (EM). The authors will analyze EM as a tool for interaction and information, and if these tools will help students gain more knowledge about companies that can make them more interesting as potential employers. Previous research was found regarding both EM and Employer Branding (EB), however there was little research found on how they can be used together. There was also little research to be found from business students point of view since in both EM and EB the previous research had rather been done from a company standpoint. Therefore, with the aim to fill these research gaps the following research question was formulated: Does event marketing help business and economics students find potential employers? The study uses a deductive research design with a quantitative research strategy, and the data was collected using a self-completing questionnaire. The authors adopted objectivism and positivism as their research philosophical standpoints. The sample was drawn though multi-stage cluster sampling, the samples selected contained 384 students enrolled at USBE and 132 replies was received and analyzed. The questions in the online self-completing questionnaire were designed to measure variables such as information and interaction. Findings indicate that EM does help Umeå business and economics students find new potential employers. However, students do not feel that they learn that much about new companies, they do not feel that they are interacting with companies and they do not feel that they are gaining more knowledge about a company at an event. The findings contribute to the research field of business administration. Specifically, the merging of EB and EM and how it is perceived from a student´s point of view rather than from a company’s perspective. The students do believe that events are an effective way to meet companies, however the empirical results from event attendees show differently. The theories within the subject and the answers from students regarding if they believe in EM or not are counterintuitive. Therefore, this study opens up possibilities for future research.

Data conversion for evolving events in an Event Sourcing System is a complex issue and needs to be maintainable. There are suggested ways handling data conversion today which combine different methods into a framework. However, there is a lack of exploration of different and alternative methods to handle the complicated matter.This thesis explores data conversion with fine-grained events. The purpose is to explore methods and broaden knowledge for handling data conversion while using attribute driven events called fine-grained events. The goal was to build a proof-of-concept that preserves the attributes reliability and availability and can handle data conversion of these specific events.The results found by using fine-grained events are a decrease in terms of system complexity and a proof-of-concept that maintains the desired attributes.
Datakonvertering för utvecklande händelser i ett Event Sourcing System är en komplex fråga som kräver att systemet är enkelt underhållning. Det finns förslag på sätt att hantera datakonvertering idag, vilket kombinerar olika metoder i ett ramverk. Det finns emellertid en brist på undersökning av olika och alternativa metoder för att hantera den komplexa orsaken.Denna avhandling undersöker datakonvertering med finkorniga händelser. Syftet är att utforska metoder och utvidga kunskap för hantering av datakonvertering genom att använda attributdrivna händelser som kallas finkorniga händelser. Målet var att bygga ett proof-of-concept som bevarar egenskaperpålitlighet och tillgängligt och som dessa specifika händelser.även hanterar datakonvertering förResultaten som hittas genom att använda finkorniga händelser är en minskning av systemkomplexiteten och ett bevis på koncept som upprätthåller de önskade egenskaperna.

This research examines the impact of inter-organisational relationships of public sector events agencies on events tourism strategy making within Australian state/territories. The global expansion of events tourism and sustained interest in networks and relationships as conduits to strategy underpin this topic. Although public sector institutional arrangements exist in many countries including Australia to develop events tourism, there is no known empirical research of inter-organisational relationships for strategy making in this domain. Against this background, the research problem of the thesis is: How and why do inter-organisational relationships of public sector events agencies impact upon events tourism strategy making within Australian states and territories? Based on a review of themes and issues within the two parent theories of tourism strategy and inter-organisational relationships, a theoretical framework and four research issues are developed. These issues are: RI 1: How does the public sector institutional environment impact upon events tourism strategies and the inter-organisational relationships that shape them, and why? RI 2: How do events tourism strategy forms and processes reflect and influence events agencies' inter-organisational relationships, and why? RI 3: What are the forms and characteristics of events agencies' inter- organisational relationships for shaping events tourism strategies, and why? RI 4: What are the incentives and disincentives for events agencies to engage in inter-organisational relationships for events tourism strategy making, and why? Because this research explores a new field within events tourism, it adopts a realism paradigm to uncover the 'realities' of events agencies' inter-organisational relationships and strategies. Two qualitative methodologies are adopted: the convergent interview technique (Carson, Gilmore, Perry, and Gronhaug 2001b; Dick 1990) and multiple case research (Perry 1998, 2001; Yin 1994). The convergent interviews serve to explore and refine the theoretical framework and the four research issues investigated in the multiple case research. These cases are represented by the inter-organisational relationships of events agencies in six Australian states/territories. Findings about the public sector institutional environment (research issue 1) show that events tourism strategies are influenced by different public sector policies and influences, the organisational arrangements for events tourism, the roles of events agencies and the lifecycle phase of events tourism in each state/territory. In relation to events tourism strategy forms (research issue 2), reactive/proactive strategies that respond to or address arising events or opportunities are common with a limited application of formal planning strategies. However, events agencies' strategy processes do reflect a range of strategic activities of importance. Inter-organisational relationships of events agencies (research issue 3) are typified by informal, government-led networks that influence, rather than develop, events tourism strategies. Finally, the importance of a number of incentives and disincentives for agencies to engage in inter-organisational relationships for events tourism strategy making is established. The final conceptual model depicts the themes within all four research issues and links between them to address the research problem. The conclusions of this research make a major contribution to events tourism theory and build upon theories in tourism strategy and inter-organisational relationships. Further research opportunities are presented by these conclusions and the conceptual model which may be explored using other methodologies or alternative research contexts. Practical implications of the research for policy makers and agency executives relate to policy-strategy linkages, public sector organisational arrangements for events tourism, strategy forms and processes and frameworks to engage stakeholders in inter-organisational relationships for strategy making. Knowledge of incentives and disincentives for these inter-organisational relationships also provides a platform for events agencies to reflect upon and revise their modes of governance for events tourism strategy making.

This research examines the impact of inter-organisational relationships of public sector events agencies on events tourism strategy making within Australian state/territories. The global expansion of events tourism and sustained interest in networks and relationships as conduits to strategy underpin this topic. Although public sector institutional arrangements exist in many countries including Australia to develop events tourism, there is no known empirical research of inter-organisational relationships for strategy making in this domain. Against this background, the research problem of the thesis is: How and why do inter-organisational relationships of public sector events agencies impact upon events tourism strategy making within Australian states and territories? Based on a review of themes and issues within the two parent theories of tourism strategy and inter-organisational relationships, a theoretical framework and four research issues are developed. These issues are: RI 1: How does the public sector institutional environment impact upon events tourism strategies and the inter-organisational relationships that shape them, and why? RI 2: How do events tourism strategy forms and processes reflect and influence events agencies' inter-organisational relationships, and why? RI 3: What are the forms and characteristics of events agencies' inter- organisational relationships for shaping events tourism strategies, and why? RI 4: What are the incentives and disincentives for events agencies to engage in inter-organisational relationships for events tourism strategy making, and why? Because this research explores a new field within events tourism, it adopts a realism paradigm to uncover the 'realities' of events agencies' inter-organisational relationships and strategies. Two qualitative methodologies are adopted: the convergent interview technique (Carson, Gilmore, Perry, and Gronhaug 2001b; Dick 1990) and multiple case research (Perry 1998, 2001; Yin 1994). The convergent interviews serve to explore and refine the theoretical framework and the four research issues investigated in the multiple case research. These cases are represented by the inter-organisational relationships of events agencies in six Australian states/territories. Findings about the public sector institutional environment (research issue 1) show that events tourism strategies are influenced by different public sector policies and influences, the organisational arrangements for events tourism, the roles of events agencies and the lifecycle phase of events tourism in each state/territory. In relation to events tourism strategy forms (research issue 2), reactive/proactive strategies that respond to or address arising events or opportunities are common with a limited application of formal planning strategies. However, events agencies' strategy processes do reflect a range of strategic activities of importance. Inter-organisational relationships of events agencies (research issue 3) are typified by informal, government-led networks that influence, rather than develop, events tourism strategies. Finally, the importance of a number of incentives and disincentives for agencies to engage in inter-organisational relationships for events tourism strategy making is established. The final conceptual model depicts the themes within all four research issues and links between them to address the research problem. The conclusions of this research make a major contribution to events tourism theory and build upon theories in tourism strategy and inter-organisational relationships. Further research opportunities are presented by these conclusions and the conceptual model which may be explored using other methodologies or alternative research contexts. Practical implications of the research for policy makers and agency executives relate to policy-strategy linkages, public sector organisational arrangements for events tourism, strategy forms and processes and frameworks to engage stakeholders in inter-organisational relationships for strategy making. Knowledge of incentives and disincentives for these inter-organisational relationships also provides a platform for events agencies to reflect upon and revise their modes of governance for events tourism strategy making.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Tourism and Hotel Management
Full Text

Para el presente trabajo de investigación se detectaron dos problemas en la coyuntura Limeña. El primero es que las empresas organizadoras de eventos culturales tienen poca afluencia debido a una difusión ineficiente de sus eventos. El segundo, es complicado encontrar oferta cultural en Lima. Para darle solución a estos problemas, el equipo de investigación ha planteado el desarrollo de un aplicativo mediante el cual los organizadores pueden difundir sus eventos y vender entradas por el mimo aplicativo; y donde los usuarios podrán encontrar toda la oferta cultural que Lima ofrece mediante un mapa que le permite ver en tiempo real lo que sucede a su alrededor. Para el desarrollo del trabajo se realizaron un sin fin de experimentos con usuarios y clientes que permitieron hacer proyecciones adecuadas, así como los planes estratégicos, operativo, de marketing, de recursos humanos, de responsabilidad social y financiero de acuerdo a las necesidades del mercado. El análisis cuantitativo de la investigación concluye en la necesidad de invertir S/. 44,350.75 soles para obtener S/. 26,207.20 como utilidad neta el primer año, S/. 197,488.59 en el segundo año y S/. 609,430.36 en el tercer año. El valor del proyecto es de S/ 1,252,819.49.
For the present research work, two problems were detected in the Lima juncture. In first place, companies organizing cultural events have little influx due to inefficient dissemination of their events. On the other hand, it is difficult to find cultural offer in Lima. To solve these problems, the research team has proposed the development of an application through which organizers can disseminate their events and sell tickets in the same application; and where users can find all the cultural offer that Lima offers through a map that allows them to see in real time what is happening around them. For the development of the work, an endless number of experiments were carried out with users and clients that allowed adequate projections, as well as strategic, operational, marketing, human resources, social and financial responsibility plans according to market needs. The quantitative analysis of the research concludes in the need to invest S /. 44,350.75 soles to obtain S /. 26,207.20 as net income the first year, S /. 197,488.59 in the second year and S /. 609,430.36 in the third year. The value of the project is S/. 1,252,819.49.
Trabajo de investigación

Introducing event sourcing to a system that is based on a model following Create, Read, Update and Delete (CRUD) operations can be a challenging task and requires an extensive rework of the current system. By introducing coarse-grained events it is possible to persist the structure of the data in a CRUD model and still gain the benefits of event sourcing, avoiding an extensive rework of the system. This thesis investigates how large amounts of data can be handled with coarse-grained events and still gain the benefits of event sourcing, by comparing with the conventional way of using fine-grained events. The data to be examined is trade data fed into a data warehouse. Based on research, an event sourcing application is implemented for coarse-grained as well as fine-grained events, to measure the difference between the two event types. The difference is limited to the metrics, latency and size of storage. The application is verified with an error handler, using example data and a profiler to make sure that it does not have any unnecessary bottlenecks. The resulting performance of the two cases show that fine-grained events have excessively larger latency than coarse-grained events in most cases whereas the size of storage is strictly smaller for fine-grained events.
Att introducera event sourcing i ett system baserat på en model som använder Create-, Read-, Update- och Delete-operationer (CRUD) kan vara en utmanande uppgift och kräver en omfattande omstrukturering av det nuvarande systemet. Genom att introducera grova händelser är det möjligt att bevara hela strukturen på datan i en CRUD-modell och ändå få fördelarna med event sourcing, för att därigenom undvika en omfattande omarbetning av systemet. Detta arbete undersöker hur stora datamängder kan hanteras genom grova händelser och ändå ge fördelarna med event sourcing, genom att jämföra med det konventionella sättet att använda fina händelser. Datan som undersöks är transaktionsdata på finansiella derivat som matas in i ett datalager. Baserat på forskning implementeras en event sourcing-applikation för både grova och fina händelser, för att mäta skillnaden mellan dessa två händelsetyper. Skillnaden är avgränsad till latens och lagringsutrymme. Applikationen verifieras genom felhantering, exempeldata och profilering för att säkerställa att den inte har några onödiga flaskhalsar. Den resulterande prestandan visar att fina händelser har betydligt större latens än grova händelser i de flesta fallen, medan lagringsutrymmet är strikt mindre för fina händelser.

A presente dissertação debruça-se sobre a indústria de eventos, caracteriza-a conceptualmente,apresenta a sua estrutura organizacional e os seus actores, estuda a relação entre a Indústria do Turismo e os Eventos e analisa os seus impactos (sociais, culturais, ambientais, económicos e turísticos). Numa segunda parte, mais prática, analisam-se as categorias e tipologias de eventos, as fases do seu planeamento, passando pela conceptualização, criação até à sua gestão operacional. Para finalizar e consolidar esta dissertação, toma-se como estudo de caso um evento de média dimensão decorrido em Junho de 2008 em Lisboa. Tratou-se do lançamento de um automóvel familiar, de marca internacionalmente conhecida, que foi apresentado aos seus vendedores e concessionários a nível mundial durante 16 dias consecutivos. O enfoque deste estudo é sobre o impacto do evento na pacata Praça das Flores, conhecida pela sua harmonia urbana e pelo seu tranquilo quotidiano. Este venue, por se tratar de um espaço público, foi a parte do programa do evento que apresentou os maiores desafios, tanto ao nível do planeamento(comunicação, licenças e aspectos formais), quanto ao nível operacional do evento (vivência diária com população local, imprensa e execução da programação). O objectivo geral é desenvolver um guião para a realização de eventos em espaço público de média dimensão em Lisboa, não descurando outros aspectos genéricos, como: inventariar a logística para eventos de média dimensão; elencar as questões legais; definir o planeamento estratégico e operacional; estudar as vantagens e desvantagens destes venues para as comunidades locais e propor um processo de comunicação com os mesmos, demonstrativo dos benefícios associados a este tipo de eventos.
This master project will explore the events industry and characterize it as such, in particular on its conceptual definition, its organizational structure and actors, the relationship between the Tourism Industry and Events and its impacts (social, cultural, environmental, economic and tourism). In the second and most practical part, we analyze the categories and types of events and its specifications, the phases of the events through the creation of an event concept, its planning to its operational management. To finalize and consolidate this work we present a case study of a medium-sized event elapsed in June 2008 in Lisbon, Portugal. This was a car launch of an international known brand for its vendors and dealers worldwide during 16 consecutive days. The focus of this study is the impact of the event in the quiet square called Praça das Flores, known for its urban harmony and its quiet everyday life. Being a public space, this venue was the part of the overall program that presented the greatest challenges, both in planning (communication, licensing and formal aspects), as in its operational level (with daily living with the local community, media and staging of the event). In this context, all the elements and actions involved in such process were collected and analyzed. The overall objective is to develop a screenplay for mid-sized events in public spaces in Lisbon. While the more specific objectives are: the logistics inventory for events of medium size; rank the legal issues implicit in this type of events; set the strategic and operational planning for events of medium size; study the advantages and disadvantages of the use of these venues for local communities and propose a process of communication with them, demonstrating the benefits associated with this type of event.

A Qualidade, actualmente, é encarada como um instrumento estratégico de extrema importância para a sobrevivência de qualquer organização, em que a melhoria da qualidade passou assim a ser uma filosofia de vida para todos aqueles que nelas trabalham. Nesta linha, é fundamental que os eventos desportivos se esforcem por conhecer e auscultar os seus clientes, tanto externos como internos, visando satisfazer as suas necessidades e preferências, concebendo, simultaneamente, resultados de modo a potenciar e melhorar novas formas de gestão da qualidade nos eventos desportivos. O presente estudo versa um conjunto de preocupações relacionadas com a qualidade dos eventos desportivos no Município de Loulé, tendo por finalidade conhecer a perspectiva dos gestores, colaboradores e atletas através da aplicação de três inquéritos por questionários distintos. Este estudo revelou que a percepção acerca da qualidade dos eventos desportivos, tanto dos atletas como dos gestores, é globalmente positiva. Contudo, no caso dos colaboradores os dados obtidos em ambos os eventos apresentam coeficientes de fiabilidade inaceitáveis (α<0,7), remetendo para a elaboração de um novo estudo. O trabalho efectuado pretende afirmar-se como um contributo para aprofundar esta matéria e, acima de tudo, prover aos eventos desportivos instrumentos para a implementação de programas de melhoria da qualidade e, por conseguinte, facilitar a obtenção de resultados orientados para a satisfação de todas as partes interessadas, numa perspectiva de optimização dos eventos desportivos; ABSTRACT:Quality, currently is seen as a strategic tool of extreme importance for the survival of any organization, in which quality improvement thus became a philosophy of life for all who work in them. In this line, it is essential that sporting events strive to meet and listen to the customers, both external and internal, in order to meet their needs and preferences by designing simultaneously in order to maximize results and enhance new forms of quality management in sporting events. This study deals with a set of concerns about the quality of sporting events in the Municipality of Loulé, which aims to know the perspective of managers, employees and athletes through the application of three separate surveys by questionnaires. This study revealed that the perception about the quality of sporting events, both the athletes and managers, is positive. However, in the case of employees with the data from both events have unacceptable reliability coefficients (α<0.7), referring to the elaboration of a new study. The work undertaken aims to establish itself as a contribution to further discuss this matter and, above all, sporting events to provide instruments for the implementation of programs to improve the quality and thus facilitate result-oriented to the satisfaction of all stakeholders, in order to optimize the sporting events.

Substitute major events include live sites, event celebrations and viewing parties that are held at the same time as the actual major event, but away from the actual major event site. These events are becoming increasingly used by stakeholders to counteract venue and destination capacity concerns, and in leveraging the social value connected with major sporting and non-sporting events. They are also becoming frequently used by consumers as a way of feeling a part of the major event, particularly when spectatorship to the actual event venue may not be possible. However, little is known about how consumers arrive at the decision to attend a substitute event rather than spectatorship at the actual major event. Research on event spectatorship behaviour has begun to identify the main constraints experienced by attendees and non-attendees to special events. However, a lack of research has focused on the constraints encountered by substitute attendees. In addition, research has yet to identify the main ways in which consumers overcome or alleviate the effects of constraints on spectatorship towards major and substitute events. Furthermore, event research has yet to examine the relationships between motivation, constraints, negotiation and participation, including substitution, in consumers’ spectatorship decisions. Similarly, research within the frameworks of leisure constraint theory and the theory of substitutability has yet to investigate this “constraint negotiation process” with the outcome of substitution. As such, this study builds and examines a structural model that assists in predicting and understanding the constraint negotiation process in consumers’ decisions towards spectatorship at substitute major events. Hubbard and Mannell’s (2001) constraint-effects-mitigation model was adapted and extended through incorporating components of Jackson’s et al (1993) leisure constraint negotiation and Iso-Ahola’s (1986) substitution outcome behaviour propositions...
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department of Tourism, Leisure, Hotel and Sport Management
Griffith Business School
Full Text

Este trabalho tem como objecto de estudo a temática da restauração e dos eventos, através da associação de um serviço de restauração singular a uma dinâmica de entretenimento sustentada numa programação lúdica e de entretenimentos de várias ordens, sendo a localização geográfica prevista a região de Leiria. O presente projecto está inicialmente sustentado no enquadramento teórico da temática em questão (restauração e eventos), conceitos e princípios estruturantes para a concepção e dinamização do negócio. Posteriormente, desenvolveu-se uma análise do mercado susceptível de contemplar, nomeadamente, um estudo com o objectivo de escalpelizar o perfil e potencial da procura, tendo em consideração o âmbito da temática da oferta inicialmente idealizada para o projecto. Com base no enquadramento teórico e na análise de mercado foram desenvolvidos os planos de Recursos Humanos, de Marketing e de Estudo Financeiro, este último com o intuito de aferir a viabilidade económico-financeira do projecto. Globalmente, considerando os planos desenvolvidos e as análises realizadas, o projecto aqui considerado apresenta um desempenho positivo em termos da sua viabilidade económico-financeira.
The genesis and motivation of this project, based on the events and catering binomial, are related to my 15-year experience in hotels and restaurants, and a Masters degree in Tourism - strategic management of events, i.e., including catering events. This project is also based on the National Strategic Plan for Tourism (PENT), which considers food and wine as one of the ten strategic tourist products for Portuguese tourism. This work is aimed at studying the theme of events and catering, by combining a unique catering service with dynamic event programs. The geographic location chosen for this project is the region of Leiria. The project is supported by a theoretical framework (events and catering), including major concepts and principles to create and develop this business. Thereafter a market analysis was developed, which included a market study to determine the demand’s profile and potential, considering the product characteristics offered by this project. Based on the theoretical framework together with the market analysis, a Human Resources management plan was also developed as well as a marketing plan and a financial plan. The last one was developed with the purpose of determining the feasibility of the project in the economic-financial field. Globally and taking into account the developed plans and the analyses made, this project presents a positive performance referring to the economic-financial dimension.

Dissertação de Mestrado em Psicologia Clínica apresentada ao ISPA - Instituto Universitário
Problema: A investigação em eventos significativos em psicoterapia tem dado resultados, contudo existe ainda uma lacuna sobre a perspectiva do paciente sobre os eventos significativos em psicoterapia na abordagem existencial. Objectivo: Este estudo tem como objectivo realizar uma análise qualitativa sobre os eapurar sobre os eventos significativos em psicoterapia existencial na perspectiva do paciente. Método: Foram analisados dados de 10 pacientes que realizaram 1 ano de terapia, com o formulário de Aspectos Úteis da Terapia (HAT) após cada sessão, onde lhes foi pedido que identificassem e descrevessem eventos positivos e negativos de cada sessão específica. Os dados foram posteriormente analisados segundo a metodologia qualitativa Grounded Theory. Resultados: Dos dados analisados surgiram 19 subcategorias de eventos positivos organizadas em 5 categorias principais. As principais subcategorias são: consciencialização; verbalização; reflexividade; esperança/percepção de mudança; e identificação/aprofundamento de novos significados. Conclusões: Os eventos significativos que surgiram neste estudo são, de um modo geral, consistentes com os surgidos em outras abordagens teóricas. No entanto, surgiu uma nova categoria, com elevada saturação, que diz respeito às intervenções e competências do terapeuta, esta sim menos referida em estudos anteriores. Esta última vem salientar a importância da postura e papel do terapeuta no processo terapêutico e de mudança no paciente.
ABSTRACT: Problem: The research on significant events inpsychotherapy has given results. However there is still a gap on the patient’s perspective on the significant events in psichotherapy on existential approach. Aim: This study aims to conduct a qualitative analysis of significant events in existential psychotherapy in the patient’s perspective. Method: Data from 10 patients who underwent one year of therapy, with the form of Helpful Aspects in Therapy (HAT) form after each session, where was asked to identify and describe positive and negative events for each particular session. The data were analyzed according to the Grounded Theory qualitative methodology. Results: Of the analyzed data came ou 20 sucategories of positive events organized into 3 main categories. The main subcategories emerged are: awareness; verbalization; reflection; hope/perception of change; and identification/deepening of new meanings. Conclusions: The significant events found in this study are generally consistent with those found in other theoretical frameworks. However, a new category emerged with high saturation which is the therapist’s intervention and skills, less reported in previous studies. This underlines the importance of therapist’s posture and role in the therapeutic process and change in the pacient.

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2003.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-113).
In the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001, terrorism emerged as a legitimate threat not just to society, but to corporations as well. This new threat has challenged old business rules and prompted companies to rethink their supply chain operations. However, the events of September 11th were not the first or the only disruptions that the business world had experienced. This thesis reviews past historical events that simulate the effects of a terrorist attack and extracts lessons that can be applied by today's corporations to prepare for future attacks or disruptions. The types of events studied include Biological, Chemical, Radiological and Cyber disruptions. Through the analysis and synthesis of each event's impact, the following generalized recommendations emerged: Prior warnings and events should be acknowledged, studied and utilized. Government intervention may strain operations under disruptive stress. Alternate sourcing should be considered to ease supply issues. Disruptions should be approached in a comprehensive and forthright manner. A security and safety culture should be fostered to prevent disruptions and control their spread. Systems should be prepared to quickly operate in isolation during a disruption. Finally, impact is frequently less severe then initially predicted. Through the events described and these recommendations, this thesis aims to provide lessons for firms to manage their supply chains through future disruptions.
by Reshma P. Lensing.
M.Eng.in Logistics

Esta é uma dissertação de caráter teórico-empírico que apresenta como resultado uma proposta de método ou seqüência de etapas com conceitos, análises, \"ferramentas\" e atividades fundamentais para realização do planejamento estratégico de marketing nas empresas organizadoras de eventos vistas como empresas inseridas em redes de organizações que atendem a demanda do turismo de eventos. Para se chegar a proposta de método foi realizada a revisão teórica de quatro obras e seus métodos, encontradas na literatura em marketing, turismo e eventos. As etapas (com suas atividades e análises) propostas nos métodos estudados foram selecionadas, reunidas e \"enriquecidas\" com o enfoque de rede e análises adicionais. No campo empírico, antes de ser estruturada e apresentada definitivamente, a proposta de método foi apresentada a especialistas e gestores de empresas organizadoras de eventos em entrevistas, na busca de contribuições. Os conhecimentos tratados na revisão teórica em contato com a experiência prática levantada nas entrevistas permitiram estabelecer um diálogo entre a combinação das teorias que compuseram o método pré-estruturado a partir de outros métodos e a prática dos gestores e especialistas gerando como resultado um novo conhecimento para a gestão de marketing de eventos.
This is a theoretical and empirical dissertation which presents as result a proposal of method or sequence of steps with concepts, analysis, \"tools\" and fundamental activities to the strategic marketing planning process at the special events organizer companies, seen as companies inserted in networks of organizations that deal with tourism events demand. In order to reach the method\'s proposal it was made a review of four books and its methods, found in the marketing, tourism and special events literature. The steps (including its activities and analysis) proposed at the method were selected, grouped and improved with the network focus and additional analysis. At the empirical field, before have been structured and presented definitively, the method proposal was presented to specialists and managers of events organizer companies on interviews in search of contributions. The knowledge collected by the theoretical review in contact with the practical experience raised from the interviews allowed establishing a dialog between the combinations of theories that composed the prestructured method from the other methods and the practice of specialists and managers generating as result a new knowledge for the marketing management of events.

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências Empresariais.
A realização de eventos tem vindo a ser considerada uma das mais importantes manifestações do Turismo em Portugal e no mundo, sendo notório que os mesmos geram uma dinâmica na economia das localidades. Assim, importa saber que tipos de impactos resultam desses eventos. A Viagem Medieval em Terra de Santa Maria é o maior evento de recriação medieval do País, constituindo uma oferta turística única que potencia a promoção do município, razão pela qual foi escolhido o estudo de caso - “Os impactos dos Eventos turísticos – O Caso da Viagem Medieval em Santa Maria da Feira”, que tem por objectivo analisar a percepção da população e das instituições locais sobre os impactos causados pelo evento, na localidade. Para o efeito, foram aplicados questionários para aferir os tipos de impactos – económicos, sociais, culturais e ambientais, e a sua natureza – positivos e negativos, em SMF. As principais conclusões apontam para:  A importância dos impactos económicos do evento para SMF: para as entidades e população respondentes (cerca de 72% e cerca de 80%, respectivamente) acreditam que o maior impacto económico positivo é o aumento do volume de transacções comerciais;  A importância social e cultural do evento turístico para SMF: sendo a valorização e preservação do património histórico e cultural o impacto sócio-cultural positivo, comum às entidades (com cerca de 83% das concordâncias) e à população respondente (com cerca de 70% das concordâncias). Por outro lado, o maior impacto negativo decorrente do evento refere-se ao aumento do congestionamento e tráfego urbano (cerca de 78%, na perspectiva nas entidades e cerca de 83%, na perspectiva da população respondente);  As preocupações ambientais relacionadas com o evento: as entidades (cerca de 70%) apontam para a utilização racional dos espaços como sendo o maior impacto ambiental positivo decorrente do evento. Esta percepção é confirmada pela cuidada ocupação do espaço do evento e pelo recente projecto de requalificação e expansão do parque do Cáster; O contributo dos impactos gerados pelo evento para o desenvolvimento de SMF, em que cerca de 32% dos impactos explicam o desenvolvimento da localidade. The production of events has been considered as one of the most important expressions of tourism in countries and in the world being notorious that the same events creates dynamics in the economy of towns. Therefore, it is important understanding what types of impact result from these events. The “Viagem Medieval em Terra de Santa Maria” is the biggest medieval recreation event in the Country, setting up an unique touristic offer that enhances the promotion of the municipality, being this the reason for the choice of the case study: - “The events touristics impacts – the case of Viagem Medieval in Santa Maria da Feira”, which has as objective the analysis of the perception of the local entities and population on the impacts caused by the event in the town. For that purpose, questionnaires were applied to assess the types of impacts - economic, social, cultural and environmental and their nature – positives and negatives, in Santa Maria da Feira. The main conclusions suggest for:  The economic impacts importance of the event for SMF; being the valorisation and preservation of the historical and cultural heritage, the positive socio-cultural impact, common to the entities (with approximately 83% of all concordances) and the respondent population (about 70% of all concordances). On the other hand, the largest negative impact resulting from the event refers to the increase urban traffic and congestion (approximately 78%, from the perspective of the entities and around 83%, from the respondent population’s perspective);  Social and cultural importance of the touristic event for the local population; for entities and population respondents (approximately 72% and nearly 80%, respectively) believes that the greatest positive economic impact is the increase in the volume of commercial transactions;  Environmental concerns related to the event: the entities (approximately 70%), Identify the rational use of spaces as being the largest positive environmental impact VIII resulting from the event. This perception is confirmed by careful event’s space occupancy and the recent plan of the rehabilitation and expansion of Cáster Park;  The contribution of the impacts event for the development of SMF, where approximately 32% of impacts explain the development of the locality.

This paper examines the effects of dividend announcements and dividend payments on OMX30 stock prices and tests if these effects indicate market efficiency. An event study methodology is used to find if the dividend events have a significant impact on stock prices. The study finds that both dividend announcements and dividend payments have a significant negative effect on prices. Disappointed investors or lowered expectations for future dividends may be the cause of the announcement effect. The results indicate that the stock market is semi-strong efficient for the announcements but inefficient when it comes to the payments.

In this thesis, we will study issues related to prediction problems and put an emphasis on those arising when recurrent events are involved. First we define the basic concepts of frequentist and Bayesian statistical prediction in the first chapter. In the second chapter, we study frequentist prediction intervals and their associated predictive distributions. We will then present an approach based on asymptotically uniform pivotals that is shown to dominate the plug-in approach under certain conditions. The following three chapters consider the prediction of recurrent events. The third chapter presents different prediction models when these events can be modeled using homogeneous Poisson processes. Amongst these models, those using random effects are shown to possess interesting features. In the fourth chapter, the time homogeneity assumption is relaxed and we present prediction models for non-homogeneous Poisson processes. The behavior of these models is then studied for prediction problems with a finite horizon. In the fifth chapter, we apply the concepts discussed previously to a warranty dataset coming from the automobile industry. The number of processes in this dataset being very large, we focus on methods providing computationally rapid prediction intervals. Finally, we discuss the possibilities of future research in the last chapter.

Social media and the web give a target group a never ending flow of information up to a point where there is no possibility to take it all in. Because of this a campaign easily disappears amongst all the information. Therefore it can be advantageous for a company to use events as a marketing channel. An event is an activity that gathers the target group in time and space – a meeting in which an experience is created and a message is communicated. It triggers emotions and can be used by a company in order to create a stronger relationship to a target group, which could generate a stronger brand identity. Since a happening like an event creates stronger feelings than traditional media, such as an advertisement in a newspaper, an event can also create strong negative feelings. These feelings can be connected to the brand. Because of this, it is important to plan the work process of the event carefully and to use quality management methods. This should be done with the brand in consideration, and how it is supposed to be communicated. By the conduction of four qualitative interviews and observations for twelve weeks, an investigation has been done on a communication agency. The aim was to investigate how a communication agency works with quality management when doing events. The aim was also to investigate how they, when working, consider the customer’s brand. This is done in order to see how quality management affect a target group’s impression of a brand. The material has been analysed or compared to theories about quality management, brand communication and emotional marketing. The result shows that there is methods that can be used to quality manage a work process of an event. Overall the focus should be on building in quality in the work process by hiring and consulting the right people and partners and using tried out methods and approaches. When that foundation is built, the quality management of every part of the project should be done continuously throughout the project. By using quality management, the focus can initially be on the aim of the event and on the target group as well as on finding the appropriate project group. It is crucial that the agency initially gets all the information needed about the customer and the brand. That information helps the agency to fulfil the goals and to continue the process, production and implementation with the brand in consideration. If the project initially has goals and aims, a valuable evaluation can be conducted after the event and its results can be used in order to improve the agency’s work. The work with the brand, that is supposed to be communicated, should be considered in the overall theme and goals of the event, as well as in all the small components. In this way the customer gets a well--‐adjusted solution with the goal to communicate the brand in the right way to the right target group. Exactly how different types of quality management methods can affect the target group’s impression of the brand is hard to answer without further investigations. One thing to be sure of is that it does affect the impression. The agency’s initial research and considerations of needs and goals of the company and its target group strongly affects the agency’s work. Therefore it also affects the outcome of the event and how well it suits the customer’s needs. If an agency work with the customer and its needs in mind, it gives better conditions for giving the customer what the customer needs and to reach the right target group with right message.
Sociala  medier  och  webben  ger  oändligt  mycket  information  till  en  målgrupp.  Det  är  därmed  lätt  att  målgruppen  blir  mättad  och  att  en  kampanj  försvinner  i  mediebruset.  Det  kan  därför  vara  fördelaktigt  att  som  företag  använda  event  som  marknadsföringskanal.   Ett  event  är  en  aktivitet  som  samlar  målgruppen  i  tid  och  rum  --‐  ett  möte  i  vilket  en  upplevelse  skapas  och  ett  budskap  kommuniceras.  Det  är  en  emotionsladdad  marknadsföringsmetod  som  gör  att  ett  företag  kan  skapa  en  starkare  relation  till  en  målgrupp,  vilket  i  sin  tur  stärker  varumärkesidentiteten.  Då  en  händelsebaserad  upplevelse  ofta  ger  starkare  känslor  än  traditionella  media,  såsom  en  tryckt  kampanj,  medför  det  också  att  ett  event  kan  skapa  starkare  negativa  känslor  hos  besökaren.  Dessa  känslor  kan  sedan  komma  att  appliceras  på  varumärket.  Det  bör  därför  läggas  stor  vikt  vid  kvalitetssäkring  och  planering  av  arbetet  i  samband  med  ett  event,  med  hänsyn  tagen  till  det  varumärke  som  ska  kommuniceras.  Genom  fyra  kvalitativa  intervjuer  och  observation  under  tolv  veckor  har  en  undersökning  gjorts  på  en  kommunikationsbyrå.  Undersökningen  är  inriktad  på  byråns  arbete  i  samband  med  events,  hur  de  kvalitetssäkrar  sin  arbetsprocess  samt  hur  de  i  sitt  arbete  tar  hänsyn  till  varumärket.  Detta  i  syfte  att  undersöka  hur  kvalitetssäkring  av  arbetet  i  samband  med  ett  event  påverkar  målgruppens  uppfattning  om  varumärket.  De  kvalitativa  uppgifterna  som  genererats  från  undersökningen  har  analyserats  eller  jämförts  med  teorier  om  kvalitetssäkring,  varumärkeskommunikation  och  emotionsladdad  marknadsföring.  Resultatet  visar  att  det  finns  en  rad  metoder  att  använda  för  att  kvalitetssäkra  arbetsprocessen  i  samband  med  ett  event.  Övergripande  handlar  det  om  att  bygga  in  kvalitet  i  arbetsprocessen  genom  rätt  bemanning,  samarbetspartners,  beprövade  teorier  och  tillvägagångssätt.  När  grunden  är  byggd  bör  kvalitetssäkring  av  alla  led  och  aktörer  i  ett  projekt  ske  kontinuerligt  under  projektets  gång.  Genom  kvalitetssäkring  kan  fokus  initialt  ligga  på  syfte  och  målgrupp,  att  sätta  upp  mål  och  delmål,  planera  och  bemanna  projekt  utefter  detta.  Att  en  byrå  initialt  får  tillgång  till  information  om  kund  och  varumärket  som  ska  kommuniceras,  ger  bra  förutsättningar  för  ett  väl  utfört  förarbete.  Ett  väl  utfört  förarbete  och  en  väl  utarbetad  strategigrund  ger  i  sin  tur  bra  förutsättningar  för  fortsatt  kvalitetssäkrat  produktionsarbete  och  genomförande  med  hänsyn  till  varumärket.  Om  mål  sätts  upp  initialt  kan  en  värdefull  utvärdering  göras  när  eventet  är  genomfört,  vilket  kan  generera  lärdomar  inför  kommande  projekt.  Vidare  bör  arbetet  med  varumärket  och  hur  det  ska  kommuniceras  ske  både  genom  eventets  syfte  på  en  övergripande  nivå,  men  även  inarbetat  i  eventets  alla  mindre  delar  med  målet  att  kommunicera  varumärket  på  ett  genomgående  och  önskvärt  sätt,  till  rätt  målgrupp.  Exakt  hur  olika  typer  av  kvalitetssäkringsmetoder  kan  påverka  målgruppens  uppfattning  om  varumärket  är  svårt  att  svara  på  utan  vidare  undersökningar,  men  att  de  påverkar  är  mer  säkert.  Kvalitetssäkring  i  form  av  den  initiala  kartläggningen  av  behov  och  kundens  situation,  målgrupp  och  varumärke  påverkar  starkt  det  arbete  en  byrå  utför  åt  kund  och  hur  välanpassat  detta  blir.  Att  som  byrå  jobba  för  kundens  bästa  med  uppsatta  syften  och  mål  ger  bättre  förutsättningar  för  att  verkligen  ge  kunden  det  kunden  behöver,  nå  rätt  målgrupp  och  nå  dem  med  rätt  budskap.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2008.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-142).
Broadcast video and virtual environments are just two of the growing number of domains in which language is embedded in multiple modalities of rich non-linguistic information. Applications for such multimodal domains are often based on traditional natural language processing techniques that ignore the connection between words and the non-linguistic context in which they are used. This thesis describes a methodology for representing these connections in models which ground the meaning of words in representations of events. Incorporating these grounded language models with text-based techniques significantly improves the performance of three multimodal applications: natural language understanding in videogames, sports video search and automatic speech recognition. Two approaches to representing the structure of events are presented and used to model the meaning of words. In the domain of virtual game worlds, a hand-designed hierarchical behavior grammar is used to explicitly represent all the various actions that an agent can take in a virtual world. This grammar is used to interpret events by parsing sequences of observed actions in order to generate hierarchical event structures. In the noisier and more open -ended domain of broadcast sports video, hierarchical temporal patterns are automatically mined from large corpora of unlabeled video data. The structure of events in video is represented by vectors of these hierarchical patterns.
(cont.) Grounded language models are encoded using Hierarchical Bayesian models to represent the probability of words given elements of these event structures. These grounded language models are used to incorporate non-linguistic information into text-based approaches to multimodal applications. In the virtual game domain, this non-linguistic information improves natural language understanding for a virtual agent by nearly 10% and cuts in half the negative effects of noise caused by automatic speech recognition. For broadcast video of baseball and American football, video search systems that incorporate grounded language models are shown to perform up to 33% better than text-based systems. Further, systems for recognizing speech in baseball video that use grounded language models show 25% greater word accuracy than traditional systems.
by Michael Ben Fleischman.
Ph.D.

The invention and development of Next Generation Sequencing has opened up new possibilities for exploring the genomes of non-model organisms. For this thesis, a diverse range of non-model species from both plants and animals were used to identify and answer questions of evolutionary interest in four case studies. In doing so, a wide assortment of methodologies were used and developed, taking full advantage of the versatility that whole genome sequencing can provide. The genome of the Natal Long Fingered Bat, Miniopterus natalensis, was assembled to investigate the genetic mechanisms responsible for the evolution of the bat wing. The assembled genome was required to facilitate RNA-seq and ChIP-seq analysis. In addition to the genome assembly and annotation, dN/dS analysis and lncRNA prediction were also conducted. This resulted in a high quality genome assembly with just over 24000 genes being annotated and 227 putative lncRNAs being identified. None of the genetic pathways highlighted by the RNA-seq analysis showed any elevated dN/dS signal, suggesting this was not the loci of evolutionary change. The Amboseli National Park in Kenya has a local population of Yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus) that has recently come into contact and hybridised with a population of Olive baboons (Papio anubis). A genome assembly of P. cynocephalus was created and used to align low coverage sequencing from 45 baboons, including admixed individuals along with unadmixed individuals from each species. By identifying SNPs that were predictive of the species, hybrid individuals were confirmed and evidence for previous admixture events discovered, such as P. anubis SNPs already at fixation in the P. cynocephalus population at Amboseli. The Ruschioideae are a clade of plants that encompasses the prolific tribe, the Ruschieae, which is comprised of approximately 1500 recently diverged species. An exploratory analysis sequenced two Ruschieae genomes (Polymita steenbokensis and Faucaria felina) along with a sister taxon (Cleretum herrei) from a neighbouring tribe (Dorotheantheae). The three plants were compared to each other in order to try and identify any genetic signatures that could be influencing the rapid speciation. The two Ruschieae species were found to have increased levels of non-tandem duplication within the genome as well as on going transposable element activity when compared to C. herrei. Xerohpyta humilis is a desiccation tolerant plant. In order to further facilitate research into how this is possible, the genome was sequenced and assembled. Irregular data led to the discovery that the plant had a genome duplication as well as a large amount of somatic mutations in its genome. Further analysis confirmed that this pattern of somatic mutations was only present in plants that had undergone multiple cycles of desiccation and rehydration. These apparently disparate topics explored the possibilities and limitations for whole genome sequencing in the study of non-model organisms. Mechanisms of genetic change were examined at the genomic scale, from adaptation and hybridisation to various forms of duplication and mutation. In this way, a large variety of events responsible for the evolutionary change of genomes in plants and animals were analysed in a diverse set of systems.

This dissertation deals with the cognitive act of perception and the linguistic form of perceptual reports, and the linguistic mechanism of anaphoric processes involved in the semantics of atomic "events" in human language. It has been claimed that the notion of "events" should be incorporated into formal grammar. Adopting this insight, our main concern in the present thesis is how "events" are realized in syntactic and semantic structures. I show that Japanese is a suitable language to demonstrate that an "event" is a fundamental notion of human thought and language. I follow Davidson's (1967) original conception of event semantics, and I illustrate that human language has a variety of devices for marking events, and that our language architecture does reflect the event structure of the human mind. More specifically, following the ontological discussion of Bach (1981, 1989), I provide evidence that supports Higginbotham (1985, 1987, 1996) and Higginbotham and Ramchand (1996), who claim that every predicate (including stative predicates) has an implicit event argument that can be bound by either overt or non-overt operators. For this purpose, I look at data from three general areas. The first area is the cognitive judgment style of thetic assertion and its syntactic realization in perceptual reports. I show that thetic sentences are sentences in which an event variable e&barbelow; is obligatorily existentially closed. The second area I address involves anaphoric processes of reciprocity and eventualities in linguistics semantics. Specifically, I investigate otagai and V-aw, the so-called "reciprocals" in Japanese. The properties of otagai and V-aw give rise to the seeming appearance of reciprocity. However, I illustrate that "reciprocals" in Japanese are not like the reciprocals in English. I propose that otagai is a dual existential quantifier over event positions, and that it binds event variables in predicates. The third area is the semantics of zibun (the so-called "reflexive" in Japanese) and otagai with regard to "intensional context". This analysis reveals the different stage-phases of the properties of the Japanese pro-forms. Throughout the chapters, I pursue the question of how "stageness" is captured and computed in human language devices.

In a big organization there are many events organized every day. To know about the events, we typically need to check an events page, rely on flyers or on distributed pamphlets or through word of mouth. To register for an event a user now a days typically does this online which involves inputting user details. At the event, the user either signs a sheet of paper or enters credentials in a web page loaded on a tablet or other electronic device. Typically, this is a time-consuming process with many redundancies like entering user details every time the user wants to register for a new event and re-entering the details at the event. This project designs a system that eliminates these redundancies and improves event management.

FIRST PART In the last decade we have seen a major shift in the practices of marketing. The literature behind the topic of Events is considerable and sheds light on a particular type of events that are called Special Events. Authors have provided different definitions of special events but they all agree that these events attract a large number of people. Moreover, authors have given their opinion regarding how these special events are divided in, in terms of categories. In this regard, some classes are discussed. The use of events as a means of business communication is nowadays largely used. Firms use business events in order to communicate their products to consumers and/or to release both financial and corporate information. Anyway, special events differ also if they are planned or unplanned. Planning an event requires a sharp management system and a trained staff whereas the others do not have a real organization. In addition, events can be divided according to their size, content and even form. Although these differences among events, they all share a mere characteristic. They are all conceived to cater to the need of the audience of living an experience. Each special event is an experience which can be designed in multiple ways, according to the objective and the result that the organizer wants to accomplish. Each event organized is the sum of experience provided to the public and all the business matters behind it. SECOND PART Managing an event is not an easy task and requires a planned strategy in order not to incur in prospective hurdles that can hinder the success of the event itself. For this reason, it is vital to gather enough internal information and plot them in order to visualize what are the points of strength and weakness to consider. Furthermore, the analysis of the external environment is required, to look for opportunities to exploit and threats that can mine the outcome of the event. In addition, when deficiencies are pinpointed, it is of great importance to provide alternative solutions to solve problem areas. This approach would allow the organizer to better drive resources where needed. Ultimately, the success of an event depends on a sum of factors interrelated. Using the model of the five Ws and the six Ps of Marketing, an organizer is able to look at all the variables that shape an event from its conception. Besides, the practice of Sponsorship is examined. Nowadays, it is largely used by events’ creators and firms as a way of pushing sales, increasing customers’ awareness or raising funds. In the last part, is discussed a typology of events that has not a great recognition from a business standpoint, namely Commemorative events. These events are worldwide organized and can be split into diverse categories based on the content of the commemoration. These events represent a part of the events targeted during the Internship at FCT Flames company. In the thesis, are highlighted some tasks performed during the internship that find a linkage with the theory discussed.

A partir de finais do século XIX, o processo de democratização do turismo e da imprensa desenrolou-se paralelo, quando ambos deixaram de ser bens unicamente acessíveis às elites, passando a estar também ao alcance das massas. Nos dias de hoje o Turismo representa uma indústria de milhões, uma das mais importantes fontes geradoras de riqueza do Mundo, e é ao mesmo tempo uma actividade que promove a socialização e a disseminação de informação e cultura entre povos. Desde os primórdios que a informação é um factor determinante no desenvolvimento turístico, e os media (sobretudo a imprensa) desempenham um papel fundamental na sua disseminação, potenciando e dinamizando a promoção do turismo e dos seus produtos junto da Opinião Pública. Conscientes das sinergias que se desenvolvem entre ambos os sectores, este trabalho irá explorar o tratamento noticioso que a imprensa portuguesa dá aos temas turísticos, tendo o seu foco na cobertura mediática dos mega-eventos na imprensa escrita generalista. Além disso, pretende também reunir um conjunto de pistas que nos permitam entender melhor as relações e os laços que se estabelecem entre ambos. Visando retratar o mais fielmente possível a realidade observada, foi examinada e revista literatura de referência nos campos do estudo dos media, jornalismo, jornalismo de viagens e turismo. A revisão bibliográfica foi complementada por um caso de estudo de vertente mais prática, com a análise da cobertura jornalística, pelos quatro principais jornais generalistas portuguesas, da etapa portuguesa do Red Bull Air Race 2007 – 2009. Concluímos que no âmbito do estudo dos media ainda persiste uma visão estereotipada do jornalismo sobre temas turísticos, remetendo-o para um grau de especialização inferior aos restantes tipos de jornalismo. Um preconceito fundamentado no facto de em muitos dos casos, o jornalismo de turismo assentar no relato de experiências de lazer e de viagens, mas que desconsidera a importância da veiculação sobre turismo nos media, ignorando o papel que estes têm junto dos seus leitores, entre os quais também se incluem potenciais turistas. Analisamos a concepção crítica focada nos aspectos negativos daquilo que definimos como jornalismo de viagens, e pomos em evidência as suas limitações por não contemplar todo o universo do jornalismo de turismo, onde também encontramos o jornalismo turístico. Por fim, este trabalho vem testar teoria de que, cada vez mais, o turismo e os eventos ganham lugar na imprensa escrita portuguesa. E que, contrariamente ao estereótipo q que se verificava no passado estes temas já vão sendo apresentados nas notícias com elementos comuns às hard news, e tendencialmente apresentados junto da Opinião Pública como assuntos «sérios» que fazem parte da actualidade.
In late nineteenth century, both tourism products and media began to be accessible to masses, and not only to the elites, thus beginning a simultaneous democratization process. Tourism evolved to be, nowadays, a worldwide strong revenue industry, and, at the same time, an activity which boosts social contacts and the spreads information and culture amongst people. Information is, since the very first moment, an essential factor to tourist development and the media, and mainly printed media, play a key role in this process, contributing to spread and boost tourist promotion and products amongst the public opinion. Aware of the synergies established between both sectors, this paper aims to explore the approach of Portuguese Media to the tourism area, focusing in the large events’ media coverage by general print media. Additionally, the paper also points out some clues that allow us to a better understanding of the relation and bonds established between tourism and media. Aiming to closely report the reality observed, we examined and reviewed reference literature concerning media analysis, travel and tourism press. The bibliographic review was completed by a more practical case study, namely the analysis of the Portuguese Stage of Red Bull Air Race 2007-2009 coverage made by the four more important general newspapers in Portugal. We conclude that, in what concerns media analysis, there is still a stereotyped vision referring to tourism press, considering it less specialized than other thematic press areas. A prejudice based in the fact that, in many cases, tourism press focuses on leisure and travel experiences, but not accounting the fact that this type of journalism has a great influence in the readers, including potential tourists, having the potentially impacting, in a practical way, in the market which they report. We have also analysed the critical concept focused in the negative issues of what we named “Travel press”, highlighting its limits, which result from the fact it doesn’t consider all tourism press universe, where we also include tourism press. Finally, this work aims to put the test the theory that, increasingly, tourism and events are gaining momentum in the Portuguese printed media. And that, contrary to the previously dominant idea, these themes are, nowadays, presented in the news as common elements of hard news, and also presented to public opinion as “serious” themes integrating the daily news.

Charity sport events have emerged as widespread and critical fundraising mechanisms for charitable organisations. This research examines the meaning participants hold for charity sport events, and the factors that underlie this meaning. The growth in popularity of charity sport events has resulted from the popularity of sport; an overall increase in giving to charity, including record highs in individual donations; and a post-materialist shift in consumer attitudes towards the products and services with which they align. As charity sport events continue to grow, challenges emerge for sport and event managers to develop sustainable events from which participants can derive not only enjoyment, but meaning. The purpose of this research is to delve into the meaning participants hold for charity sport events through an examination of participant attachment to the event, and the factors and processes that contribute to this meaning. In making this examination, the Psychological Continuum Model (PCM) is employed as the theoretical framework as it is adaptive to different contexts, stage-based, and accounts for attitudinal change across these stages. The PCM suggests three processes facilitate movement up and down among the stages of awareness, attraction, attachment, and allegiance. Prominent within this framework, a discussion of attachment suggests that the outcomes satisfied at the attraction level may align with an individual’s values. This alignment then leads to the event taking on emotional, symbolic, and functional meaning. This research advances recreation motives and motives for charitable giving as needs satisfied and benefits obtained through charity sport event participation. These motives interact with one another, as well as with values, leading to attachment to the event. This research determined the relative influence of these motives and values, while exploring their interaction. To make this determination, five studies were conducted. First, Study 1 involved four focus groups (N=31) to uncover the motives driving event participation and investigate their contribution to event attachment. Second, Study 2 employed a pre-event questionnaire (N=186) to provide pilot data designed to test the motives uncovered within the focus groups, while determining each motive’s relative contribution to attachment to a charity sport event...
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department of Tourism, Leisure, Hotel and Sport Management
Griffith Business School
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Introducció: En molts estudis clínics, epidemiològics i de salut pública, l'esdeveniment d'interès es presenta sovint més d'una vegada i els temps entre ocurrències poden estar correlacionats. Per a aquest tipus de situacions, es requereix comptar amb mètodes estadístics específics que permetin donar resposta a preguntes relacionades amb la probabilitat d'ocurrència de nous esdeveniments i l'impacte de les covariables afegides. Quan hi ha recurrència d'esdeveniments, l'experiència ha mostrat que es pot presentar dependència d'esdeveniment i heterogeneïtat individual que obliguen a pensar en mètodes d'anàlisi més enllà del model de Cox estàndard. En aquest tipus d'anàlisi, la censura a l'esquerra juga un paper determinant, però, la història prèvia sovint és desconeguda i és important establir estratègies per al seu maneig. Objectiu: Proposar una alternativa d'anàlisi de supervivència per a esdeveniments recurrents amb dependència d'esdeveniment quan es desconeix el nombre d'episodis previs a l'inici de l'seguiment per part (o tots) els subjectes de la mostra. Metodologia: Es van dur a terme dues fases. La primera va incloure la revisió de mètodes per al tractament de dades mancants i la identificació d'un mètode adequat per imputar aquestes dades quan la variable és de re-compte, a través d'un estudi de simulació que permetés comparar diferents mètodes basats en la distribució Poisson i generalitzacions d'aquesta distribució; tenint en compte a més diferents escenaris de dispersió i diferents percentatges de dades mancants. La segona fase va incloure la revisió de models disponibles per a l'anàlisi de supervivència quan hi ha esdeveniments recurrents amb dependència d'esdeveniment i heterogeneïtat individual i es va desenvolupar un estudi de simulació que permetés identificar el millor model per ajustar a dades d'esdeveniments recurrents amb aquestes característiques, imputant la informació prèvia (censura a esquerra) amb el mètode trobat a la primera simulació. Resultats: En la primera fase, es va trobar que el model adequat per imputar aquesta variable, quan hi ha sobredispersió, equidispersión, infradispersión o excés de zeros és la imputació múltiple basada en la distribució COMPoisson. En la segona fase, es va trobar que els models PWP-CP i PWP-GT incloent el component de fragilitat, estratificant segons si s'havia estat a risc previ, i imputant els episodis previs mostraba el millor rendiment. Addicional als dos estudis de simulació, es va construir un paquet en R miRecSurv posat a disposició de la comunitat científica per al seu ús. Conclusions Per a la imputació de dades mancants quan es té una variable de re-compte, la decisió de l'mètode es basa en l'anàlisi de dispersió de la variable i en el percentatge de dades perdudes. Segons els resultats de simulació en aquest estudi, el model COMPoisson es comporta bé per a la imputació de variable discreta ja que és flexible pel que fa a l'ús d'aquesta variable amb característiques de sobre i subdispersión, així com amb equidispersión. La proposta de model realitzada en aquesta tesi sembla funcionar raonablement bé per a la majoria de situacions estudiades, en general molt millor que l'alternativa de l'ús de models amb risc basal comú. Si el fenomen d'interès es genera a partir de funcions de risc constants, i quan tots els subjectes de la mostra han estat a risc de l'esdeveniment abans de l'inici de l'seguiment, el model proposat en la seva formulació gap time sembla ser el més adequat. I si el fenomen d'interès es genera a partir de funcions de risc no constants, el model més adequat és el proposat amb formulació counting process, al menys fins al 50% de subjectes a risc previ a l'inici de l'seguiment.
Introducción En muchos estudios clínicos, epidemiológicos y de salud pública, el evento de interés se presenta a menudo más de una vez y los tiempos entre ocurrencias pueden estar correlacionados. Para este tipo de datos, se requiere contar con métodos estadísticos específicos que permitan dar respuesta a preguntas relacionadas con la probabilidad de ocurrencia de nuevos eventos y el impacto de las covariables añadidas. Cuando hay recurrencia de eventos, se ha mostrado que se puede presentar dependencia de evento y heterogeneidad individual que conllevan a pensar en métodos de análisis más allá del modelo de Cox estándar. En este tipo de análisis, la censura a la izquierda juega un papel determinante, sin embargo, la historia previa a menudo es desconocida y es importante establecer estrategias para su manejo. Objetivo Proponer una alternativa de análisis de supervivencia para eventos recurrentes con dependencia de evento cuando se desconoce el número de episodios previos al inicio del seguimiento para parte (o todos) los sujetos de la muestra. Metodología Se llevaron a cabo dos fases. La primera incluyó la revisión de métodos para el tratamiento de datos faltantes y la identificación de un método adecuado para imputar estos datos cuando la variable fuese de conteo, a través de un estudio de simulación que permitiera comparar diferentes métodos basados en la distribución Poisson y generalizaciones de esta, teniendo en cuenta diferentes escenarios de dispersión y diferentes porcentajes de datos faltantes. La segunda fase incluyó la revisión de modelos disponibles para el análisis de supervivencia cuando hay eventos recurrentes con dependencia de evento y heterogeneidad individual y se desarrolló estudio de simulación para identificar el mejor modelo de ajuste a datos de eventos recurrentes con estas características, imputando la información previa (censura a izquierda) con el método encontrado. Resultados En la primera fase, se encontró que el modelo adecuado para imputar variable discreta, cuando hay sobredispersión, equidispersión, infradispersión o exceso de ceros es la imputación múltiple usando la distribución COMPoisson. En la segunda fase, se encontró que los modelos PWP-CP y PWP-GT incluyendo el componente de fragilidad, estratificando según si se había estado a riesgo previo e imputando los episodios previos mostraron mejor rendimiento. Para la implementación del modelo propuesto se construyó un paquete en R miRecSurv puesto a disposición de la comunidad científica para su uso. Conclusiones Para la imputación de datos faltantes cuando se tiene una variable de conteo, el modelo COMPoisson se comporta bien ya que es flexible en cuanto al manejo de esta variable con características de sobre y subdispersión, así como con equidispersión. La propuesta de modelo realizada en esta tesis parece funcionar razonablemente bien para la mayoría de situaciones estudiadas, en general, con mejor comportamiento que la alternativa del uso de modelos con riesgo basal común. Si el fenómeno de interés se genera a partir de funciones de riesgo constantes, y cuando todos los sujetos de la muestra han estado a riesgo del evento antes del inicio del seguimiento, el modelo propuesto en su formulación gap time parece ser el más adecuado. Si el fenómeno de interés se genera a partir de funciones de riesgo no constantes, el modelo más adecuado es el propuesto con formulación counting process, al menos hasta el 50 % de sujetos a riesgo previo al inicio del seguimiento
Introduction In many clinical, epidemiological, and public health studies, the event of interest often occurs more than once, and the times between occurrences may be correlated. For this type of data, it is required to have specific statistical methods that allow answering questions that arise in epidemiological investigations related to the probability of occurrence of new events and the impact of the additional covariates. When there is a recurrence of events, experience has shown that event dependence and individual heterogeneity are very common, leading to the need of analysis methods that go beyond the standard Cox model. In this type of analysis, left censorship plays a determining role. However, the previous history is often unknown and it is important to establish strategies for its management. Objective Propose an alternative survival analysis for recurrent events with event dependence when the number of episodes prior to the start of follow-up is unknown for part (or all) of the subjects in the sample. Methodology: To fulfill the main objective of this study, two phases were carried out. The first included the review of methods for the treatment of missing data and the identification of an adequate method to impute these data when the variable was discrete, through a simulation study that allowed the comparison of different methods based on the Poisson distribution and generalizations of this distribution, also taking into account different dispersion scenarios and different percentages of missing data. The second phase included the review of models available for survival analysis when there are recurrent events with event dependence and individual heterogeneity and a simulation study was developed to identify the best model to adjust data from recurrent events with these characteristics, imputing the previous information (left censorship) with the method found in the first phase. Results: In the first phase, it was found that the appropriate model to impute this variable, when there is over-dispersion, equidispersion, under-dispersion or excess of zeros is multiple imputation using the COMPoisson distribution. In the second phase, it was found that the PWP-CP and PWP-GT models including the frailty component, stratifying according to whether they had been at previous risk, and imputing the previous episodes, showed better performance. In addition to the two simulation studies, and taking into account the need for available software for this type of analysis, a package was built in R miRecSurv and made available to the scientific community for its use. Conclusions For the imputation of missing data when dealing with a count variable, the decision of the optimal method is based on the dispersion analysis of the variable and on the percentage of missing data. According to the simulation results in this study, the COMPoisson model behaves well for the imputation of the counting variable since it is flexible in terms of handling variables showing over and sub-dispersion, as well as with equidispersion. The model proposal made in this thesis seems to work reasonably well for most of the situations studied, in general much better than the alternative of using models with common baseline risk. If the phenomenon of interest is generated from constant risk functions, and when all the subjects in the sample have been at risk of the event before the start of the follow-up, the model proposed in its gap time formulation seems to be the more appropriate. And if the phenomenon of interest is generated from non-constant risk functions, the most appropriate model is the one proposed with a counting process formulation, at least up to 50% of subjects at risk prior to the start of follow-up.

Diese Dissertation beschreibt eine Messung von hadronischen Ereignisformvariablen (event shapes) in Protonkollisionen mit einer Schwerpunktsenergie von 7 TeV am Large Hadron Collider (LHC) am CERN (Conseil Europeenne pour la Recherche Nucleaire) bei Genf (Schweiz). Die analysierten Daten mit einer integrierten Luminosität von 1.1 inversen fb wurden im Jahr 2011 mit dem ATLAS Experiment aufgenommen. Für die Analyse wurden solche Ereignisse ausgewählt, in deren harten Streuprozessen ein Z-Boson produziert wurde, welches entweder in ein Elektron-Positron-Paar oder ein Muon-Antimuon-Paar zerfällt. Die Observablen wurden mit sämtlichen rekonstruierten Spuren innerhalb der Akzeptanz des inneren Spurdetektors (Inner Detector) von ATLAS außer denen der Leptonen des Zerfalls des Z-Bosons berechnet. Somit handelt es sich hierbei um die erste Messung dieser Art. Anschließend wurden die Observablen auf Untergrundprozesse mit auf Daten basierenden Methoden korrigiert wobei ein neues Verfahren für die Korrektur des sogenannten Pile-up (Überlagerung mehrerer Proton-Proton Wechselwirkungen) entwickelt und erfolgreich zur Anwedung gebracht wurde. Schließlich wurden die gemessenen Verteilungen entfaltet. Die so erhaltenen Daten sind insbesondere sensitiv auf das sogenannte Underlying Event und können direkt mit Monte-Carlo-Ereignisgeneratoren ohne aufwändige Simulation des ATLAS-Detektors verglichen werden. Abschließend wurde versucht die Modellparameter in den Simulationsprogrammen Pythia8 und Sherpa mithilfe der gewonnenen Daten durch eine bessere Abstimmung (Tuning) zu verbessern. Hierbei zeigte sich, dass das zugrunde liegende Sjostrand-Zijl Modell nicht ausreicht, um eine adäquate Beschreibung der gemessenen Verteilungen zu erreichen.
This thesis describes a measurement of hadron-collider event shapes in proton-proton collisions at a centre of momentum energy of 7 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN (Conseil Europeenne pour la Recherche Nucleaire) located near Geneva (Switzerland). The analysed data (integrated luminosity: 1.1 inverse fb) was recorded in 2011 with the ATLAS-experiment. Events where a Z-boson was produced in the hard sub-process which subsequently decays into an electron-positron or muon-antimuon pair were selected for this analysis. The observables are calculated using all reconstructed tracks of charged particles within the acceptance of the inner detector of ATLAS except those of the leptons of the Z-decay. Thus, this is the first measurement of its kind. The observables were corrected for background processes using data-driven methods. For the correction of so-called pile-up (multiple overlapping proton-proton collisions) a novel technique was developed and successfully applied. The data was further unfolded to correct for remaining detector effects. The obtained distributions are especially sensitive to the so-called Underlying Event and can be compared with predictions of Monte-Carlo event-generators directly, i.e. without the necessity of running time-consuming simulations of the ATLAS-detector. Finally, it was tried to improve the predictions of the event generators Pythia8 and Sherpa by finding an optimised setting of relevant model parameters in a technique called Tuning. It became apparent, however, that the underlying Sjostrand-Zijl model is unable to give a good description of the measured event-shape distributions.

A hotelaria e os eventos são duas actividades que remontam ao princípio das civilizações, embora na sua génese estejam necessidades e vontades diferentes. Enquanto a hotelaria surge devido às necessidades de alojamento dos viajantes, os eventos encontram as suas raízes na necessidade natural do ser humano em socializar. Através da evolução socioeconómica das sociedades tanto os eventos como a hotelaria evoluíram desde as suas formas incipientes, até aos actuais modelos, que como é possível actualmente observar apresentam variadas formas. O objecto deste estudo centrou-se na verificação da importância dos eventos para a hotelaria, nomeadamente para os hotéis de cinco estrelas que constituíram o universo observável desta realidade. Para a realização deste estudo foi utilizada a metodologia de pesquisa proposta por Quivy e Champenhoudt (2008), tendo por base uma pesquisa bibliográfica e as entrevistas realizadas junto de unidades hoteleiras da cidade de Lisboa e de empresas de eventos portuguesas. A metodologia aplicada permitiu observar qual a importância atribuída pelas unidades hoteleiras aos eventos e a sua repercussão na divulgação, promoção e estrutura financeira das unidades incluídas no estudo, revelando estas que consideram, na sua maioria, os eventos mais importantes em termos financeiros que o Food and Beverage (F&B). Cônscios da importância e poder dos eventos, os hotéis consideram-nos como uma importante forma de impulsionar os seus resultados financeiros e como uma estratégia de marketing e publicidade. Apesar da consciencialização dos hoteleiros para a importância dos eventos, a falta de dimensão e o branding dos eventos são duas limitações identificadas pelos hoteleiros, para a sua realização nos espaços que têm disponíveis. Esta opinião é igualmente partilhada pelos organizadores de eventos entrevistados que, apesar de considerarem os hotéis como um venue de excelência ao concentrarem em si todas as valências indispensáveis à organização de eventos, referem as limitações estruturais e de capacidade, a falta de formação específica do staff dos hotéis, a dificuldade em O segmento de mercado MICE nos hotéis de luxo em Lisboa 4 acompanhar o mercado, como os maiores entraves à escolha das unidades hoteleiras como venue. Estes aspectos levam, também, os organizadores de eventos a considerarem os hotéis como meros agentes prestadores de serviços. Relativamente à capacidade competitiva de Lisboa e das suas unidades hoteleiras denota-se um deficit de infra-estruturas, quando comparado com as principais cidades europeias concorrentes, Barcelona e Paris. Estas cidades apresentam diversos venues que permitem realizar eventos de média e grande dimensão. Em contraposição observou-se que em Lisboa o maior centro de congressos não permite a organização além da média dimensão. No que concerne à oferta hoteleira, a capital portuguesa é novamente suplantada pelas suas congéneres europeias, apresentando mesmo, em muitos casos, dificuldades logísticas na realização de médios eventos. Em suma, a evolução dos eventos e da hotelaria conduziram a uma junção destas duas actividades, com os hotéis a tomarem consciência da importância dos eventos, o que se reflecte na noção de que os eventos, no universo em estudo, apresentam uma maior importância em termos financeiros que o tradicional F&B. No entanto, embora Lisboa esteja bem posicionada no ranking das cidades onde os melhores eventos têm lugar (Rosa 2008), a falta de infra-estruturas ao nível dos veneus limita a capacidade competitiva da cidade, nomeadamente ao nível dos eventos de grande dimensão.
The hospitality and the events are two activities that go back to the beginning of civilization, although in its origins are different needs and desires. While the hospitality arises due to the accommodation needs of travelers, the meeting industry rooted in the natural human need to socialize. Through socio-economic development of societies both events and hotels have evolved from its incipient forms up to the current models that can be observed. The purpose of this study was to verify the importance of events for the hospitality industry, especially for five-star hotels which were the observable universe of this reality. For this study was used the research methodology proposed by Quivy (2008), based on a literature search and interviews with Lisbon five stars hotels and Portuguese events managers. The applied methodology allowed to observe how important the events are to the hotels financial structure, and its impacts on the advertising and promotional strategies of the units included in the study, with the majority of them, revealing that the events are more important, in financial terms, that the F&B. The importance and the power of the events is expressed by hoteliers, as they consider them as an important way to boost its financial performance and as a good marketing and advertising strategy. Despite the hotelier’s awareness of the importance of the events, the lack of size and the branding of the event are two limitations identified by hoteliers, to realization in the hotel’s available spaces. This view is also shared by the interviewed events manager’s, although they consider the hotels as an excellence venue, because they concentrate on themselves all the needs of the events manager’s (Catering, accommodation and events rooms), they refer that the structural and capacity limitations, the hotel staff lack of specific training and the difficulty in following the market needs, are the biggest barriers to chose the hotels as venues. These aspects also lead the events managers to consider the hotels only as service agents. O segmento de mercado MICE nos hotéis de luxo em Lisboa 6 Regarding the competitive capacity of Lisbon and its hotels units display a infrastructure deficit, when compared with its main competing cities, Barcelona and Paris. These cities have many different venues that can hold median and large size events. In contrast Lisbon’s largest convention center can hold only median size events. In regard to the hotel industry, the portuguese capital is again overtaken by their European counterparts, even showing difficulty in accommodating mid size events. In short, the evolution of the events and hotel industries led to the combination of these two activities, whit the hotel recognizing the events importance, which is reflected in the notion, given by the universe in study, the events department is more have more financial importance that the traditional F&B department. Although Lisbon is well positioned in cities where the best MICE events take place ranking (Rosa, 2008), the lack of venues infrastructures restrict the city competitive ability, especially regarding to large size events.

Psychology
Ph.D.
Learning relational terms such as verbs and prepositions is fundamental to language development. To learn relational words, children must first dissect and process dynamic event components, and then uncover how the particular language they are learning encodes these constructs. Building on a new area of research, this dissertation investigated two event components, figure (i.e., the moving entity) and ground (i.e., the stationary setting) that are central to learning relational words. In particular, we examine how English- and Japanese-reared infants process figures and grounds in nonlinguistic events and how language learning interacts with their conceptualization of these constructs. Four studies were designed to probe our questions. Study 1 examined English-reared infants' ability to form nonnative ground categories encoded only in Japanese. For example, "crossing a road," which extends in a line and is bounded, is expressed differently than "crossing a field" that extends in a plane and is unbounded. We found that infants can detect the geometry of the ground and form a nonnative ground category. Study 2 indicated that the path of an action plays a role in construing these categorical ground distinctions such that without the bounded paths infants do not differentiate between grounds. Study 3 demonstrated that even though infants notice figures and grounds in static representations of the dynamic events (even earlier for the ground discrimination), the Japanese categorical ground differentiation no longer emerged. In the last set of studies, we showed that despite the sensitivity to the event structure and categorical ground distinctions in dynamic events by both English- and Japanese-reared infants (Study 4a), only Japanese toddlers retained these categorical distinctions (Study 4b). Overall, these results suggest that 1) infants distinguish between figures and grounds in events with differential attention to static and dynamic displays; 2) before learning much about their native language infants form nonnative event categories; and 3) the process of learning language appears to shift earlier formed categorical boundaries.
Temple University--Theses

Modern transportation systems should be designed according to the requirements of their passengers, while considering operational costs for the managing organizations,as well as being environmentally friendly. The main objective of this work is to provide a realistic simulation of a transportation system, capable of identifying connections among the road network of operation areas, creating bus lines composedof multiple connected bus stops, simulating travel requests registered by potential passengers, as well as generating routes and timetables for bus vehicles, while taking into consideration factors which could affect the predefined schedule, includingun predictable events (e.g., traffic accidents) or dynamic levels of traffic density.The implemented bus management system is able to generate timetables dynamically,introducing a reasoning mechanism capable of evaluating travel requests based on dynamic clustering techniques, while offering the opportunity to its administrator to make decisions regarding the number of generated timetables, operating bus vehicles,passengers per timetable, waiting time of passengers, and processing time. In addition,the routes of bus lines are generated or updated dynamically, while taking into consideration real-time traffic data and evaluating parameters, such as covered distance or travelling time, in order to identify the most effective connectionsbetween the bus stops of each bus line and make adjustments to the corresponding timetables. Finally, the number of operating bus vehicles that are required in order to transport the passengers of each bus line is estimated, leading to a more efficient distribution of available resources.

Many of the tasks we complete every day require us to attend to the passing of time or to use time information in some way. Everyday tasks frequently require us to use time information in a strategic, deliberate, and explicit way, such as when we wish to steep a cup of tea for 3 minutes or must leave to meet a colleague in 5 minutes. Much of the previous research on timing has used very short duration tasks, in the range of seconds. Several models have been developed to account for timing in short duration tasks, but it is not known which model(s) best fit timing of everyday intervals. This dissertation research was designed to determine whether the AGM or memory storage models can account for timing in the range of everyday intervals. Experiment 1 investigated the underlying pattern of estimates in the range of 1-5 minutes. Participants produced underestimates for all intervals. Experiments 2 and 3 used a framing manipulation to investigate the role of memory chunking in timing everyday durations. Participants who were instructed to focus on the present task produced intervals that were longer than participants who were instructed to focus on a future task, consistent with the idea that a present frame serves as a better organizing structure for the interval and results in fewer chunks. According to memory storage models, the number of items in memory is compared to a stored value in reference memory to determine how much time has passed. When stimuli are organized more cohesively, resulting in fewer chunks, it takes a longer time to accumulate the target number of chunks. Experiment 4 used feedback and an attentional manipulation to investigate the role of reference memory and attention to timing. Participants produced more accurate intervals following feedback, consistent with the idea that reference memory for everyday intervals is inaccurate. Attention had no effect on estimate duration, which is inconsistent with the AGM. Taken together, the results from these experiments suggest that memory storage models are a better fit for timing in the range of everyday intervals.
Arts, Faculty of
Psychology, Department of
Graduate

Simulation of rare events can be costly with respect to time and computational resources. For certain processes it may be more efficient to begin at the rare event and simulate a kind of reversal of the process. This approach is particularly well suited to reversible Markov processes, but holds much more generally. This more general result is formulated precisely in the language of stationary point processes, proven, and applied to some examples. An interesting question is whether this technique can be applied to Markov processes which are substochastic, i.e. processes which may die if a graveyard state is ever reached. First, some of the theory of substochastic processes is developed; in particular a slightly surprising result about the rate of convergence of the distribution pi(n) at time n of the process conditioned to stay alive to the quasi-stationary distribution, or Yaglom limit, is proved. This result is then verified with some illustrative examples. Next, it is demonstrated with an explicit example that on infinite state spaces the reversal approach to analyzing both the rate of convergence to the Yaglom limit and the likely path of rare events can fail due to transience.