Traditional versus Modern? Perceptions and Preferences of Urban Park Users in Iran

This study involved four parks in Iran—two modern ones located in Tehran and two historical, traditional examples, one in Kashan and one in Esfahan—in order to ask what are the key factors contributing to the satisfaction of visitors to the two types of park and also to compare user’s perceptions and values of the different types. An extensive questionnaire survey was conducted in each park, with a target of 300 responses, using a random sampling technique. Respondents were asked to rate the importance of a number of factors, while thinking about the park they were visiting, using a 5-point Likert scale. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was undertaken. The results of the scores revealed differences between the two types of park. A factor analysis of the pooled results revealed that the key aspects contributing to a visit were named as ‘having fun and enjoying oneself’, in a place with ‘no barriers to using the park’ and ‘leaving one’s cares behind’ followed by ‘relaxing in the presence of natural beauty’. A further Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling analysis was undertaken to determine the main factors affecting the differences in preference for each type of park in relation to the key demographic variables. This revealed that the modern parks were preferred over the traditional ones for three significant sets of factors—recreation, accessibility and culture—and that there was a tendency for the historical parks to been favoured by more educated people. The conclusions are that the modern parks support the main preferred activities to support the quality of life of the population—not through their design per se but because they offer many more recreational opportunities. There is potential to include traditional elements such as water features more into parks. Park planners can take the findings and use them to help improve the quality of the parks over time

Quantitative functional complexity analysis of commercial software systems

Digitisation of this thesis was sponsored by Arcadia Fund, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin

Linnaparkide kasutusmustrid, ruumiline ligipääsetavus ja kasutajaeelistused Iraani pealinnas Teheranis

A Thesis for applying for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Landscape Architecture.Väitekiri filosoofiadoktori kraadi taotlemiseks maastikuarhitektuuri erialal.Tehran, the capital of Iran, suffers from many social and environmental problems. The most important problem is poor urban planning, which led to massive sprawl. The amount of urban green or blue space, in particular parks, has not kept pace with residential development and the increase in population density resulting from inward migration. As parks are increasingly recognised as vital components of the urban fabric for a wide range of benefits, such as the health, well-being and quality of life of urban residents, it is time that this subject was given serious consideration. Investigations were made related to aspects of urban park distribution within the city, patterns of use, park quality and user preferences of a representative sample of parks distributed across the city. Data were collected through city and site assessments, user observations, and a questionnaire. This study revealed there was no consistency or clear pattern in the distribution of parks or other green areas in relation to the urban residential patterns and whether the district is a better off or poor one. It also found that patterns of urban park use and their relationship to factors of quality, depend on each other and work together, so all these criteria should fit the needs of future users. It recognised that design should focus on the most important criteria to improve the quality of life of local residents. The findings also revealed that three significant sets of factors – recreation, accessibility and culture – contribute to the satisfaction of visitors to two types of park, modern ones and historical, traditional ones. The results showed that the modern parks were preferred over the traditional ones. A broad overview of the emerging picture also revealed important problems associated with spatial justice and especially gender issues – where there are specific obstacles placed in the way of women using parks equally with men. Therefore, it is recommended that more attention be paid to provide green space in an equitable way within the city, as a priority for planning. Also careful consideration is required of the people’s need for parks in Tehran. The results provide guidance for future research about understanding the needs for park users in Tehran and should help park planners to identify the priorities for future planning.Iraani pealinn Teheran vaevleb paljude sotsiaalsete ja keskkonnaprobleemide käes. Kõige olulisem neist on kehv linnaplaneerimine, mis on viinud linna ulatusliku laialivalgumiseni. Linna rohealade ja veekogude ning eelkõige parkide hulk ei ole suutnud sammu pidada elamuarenduse ja sisserändest tulenenud asustustiheduse kasvuga. Kuna parke peetakse järjest enam linnaruumi eluliselt tähtsaks osaks, mis on mitmes mõttes kasulikud (näiteks linnaelanike tervise, heaolu ja elukvaliteedi jaoks), siis on aeg see teema tõsisemalt käsile võtta. Kogu linna haarava parkide esindusliku valimi põhjal viidi läbi parkide jaotust puudutavate aspektide, kasutusmustrite, parkide kvaliteedi ja kasutajaeelistuste uuringud. Andmeid koguti linna- ja kohahindamise, kasutajavaatluste ja küsimustiku kaudu. Uuringust selgus, et parkide või teiste rohealade jaotumuses puudub järjepidevus ning selge seaduspära linna elamustruktuuride ja ka selle vahel, kas tegu on paremal või halvemal järjel linnaosaga. Samuti leiti, et linnaparkide kasutusmustrid ja nende suhe kvaliteediteguritega sõltuvad üksteisest ning toimivad koos, mistõttu peaksid kõik need kriteeriumid olema kooskõlas tulevaste kasutajate vajadustega. See tähendab, et kavandamisel peaks keskenduma kõige olulisematele kriteeriumitele, et parandada kohalike elanike elukvaliteeti. Uuringu tulemustest selgus ka see, et puhkamisvõimalused, ligipääsetavus ja kultuur on kolm olulist tegurit, mis annavad panuse külastajate rahulolusse kahte tüüpi parkide (ajalooliste ehk traditsiooniliste ja tänapäevaste) puhul. Tulemuste järgi eelistatakse tänapäevaseid parke traditsioonilistele. Üldine ülevaade olukorrast tõi ilmsiks ka mitu ruumikasutusõigluse ning eelkõige soolise võrdõiguslikkusega seotud probleemkohta – naistele on seatud teatud piirangud, mis ei luba neil parke meestega võrdselt kasutada. Seetõttu on soovitatav pöörata planeerimisel esmalt rohkem tähelepanu rohealade võrdsele kasutusõigusele. Samuti tuleb hoolikalt läbi mõelda inimeste vajadused Teherani parkides. Tulemused annavad suunised edasisteks uuringuteks, et mõista Teherani pargikasutajate vajadusi ja peaksid aitama pargiplaneerijatel määrata kindlaks tulevaste planeeringute prioriteedid.Publication of this dissertation is supported by the Estonian University of Life Sciences

A framework for the analysis and evaluation of enterprise models

Bibliography: leaves 264-288.The purpose of this study is the development and validation of a comprehensive framework for the analysis and evaluation of enterprise models. The study starts with an extensive literature review of modelling concepts and an overview of the various reference disciplines concerned with enterprise modelling. This overview is more extensive than usual in order to accommodate readers from different backgrounds. The proposed framework is based on the distinction between the syntactic, semantic and pragmatic model aspects and populated with evaluation criteria drawn from an extensive literature survey. In order to operationalize and empirically validate the framework, an exhaustive survey of enterprise models was conducted. From this survey, an XML database of more than twenty relatively large, publicly available enterprise models was constructed. A strong emphasis was placed on the interdisciplinary nature of this database and models were drawn from ontology research, linguistics, analysis patterns as well as the traditional fields of data modelling, data warehousing and enterprise systems. The resultant database forms the test bed for the detailed framework-based analysis and its public availability should constitute a useful contribution to the modelling research community. The bulk of the research is dedicated to implementing and validating specific analysis techniques to quantify the various model evaluation criteria of the framework. The aim for each of the analysis techniques is that it can, where possible, be automated and generalised to other modelling domains. The syntactic measures and analysis techniques originate largely from the disciplines of systems engineering, graph theory and computer science. Various metrics to measure model hierarchy, architecture and complexity are tested and discussed. It is found that many are not particularly useful or valid for enterprise models. Hence some new measures are proposed to assist with model visualization and an original "model signature" consisting of three key metrics is proposed.Perhaps the most significant contribution ofthe research lies in the development and validation of a significant number of semantic analysis techniques, drawing heavily on current developments in lexicography, linguistics and ontology research. Some novel and interesting techniques are proposed to measure, inter alia, domain coverage, model genericity, quality of documentation, perspicuity and model similarity. Especially model similarity is explored in depth by means of various similarity and clustering algorithms as well as ways to visualize the similarity between models. Finally, a number of pragmatic analyses techniques are applied to the models. These include face validity, degree of use, authority of model author, availability, cost, flexibility, adaptability, model currency, maturity and degree of support. This analysis relies mostly on the searching for and ranking of certain specific information details, often involving a degree of subjective interpretation, although more specific quantitative procedures are suggested for some of the criteria. To aid future researchers, a separate chapter lists some promising analysis techniques that were investigated but found to be problematic from methodological perspective. More interestingly, this chapter also presents a very strong conceptual case on how the proposed framework and the analysis techniques associated vrith its various criteria can be applied to many other information systems research areas. The case is presented on the grounds of the underlying isomorphism between the various research areas and illustrated by suggesting the application of the framework to evaluate web sites, algorithms, software applications, programming languages, system development methodologies and user interfaces

Impacto dos sistemas colaborativos nas organizações : estudo de casos de adopção e utilização de sistemas workflow

A importância, e o grau de adopção dos Sistemas Workflow nas organizações, têm vindo a aumentar progressivamente nos últimos anos, um pouco por todo o mundo. Apesar de já existirem alguns estudos no que concerne aos aspectos tecnológicos e computacionais sobre estes sistemas, são raros, ainda, os estudos sobre o seu impacto nas organizações. Também se desconhece o grau de utilização destes sistemas nas organizações portuguesas. A presente dissertação procura contribuir para o preenchimento destas lacunas. Para isso, procedeu-se, numa primeira fase, a uma sondagem que permitiu obter conhecimento sobre o grau de penetração de algumas Tecnologias de Informação, incluindo os sistemas Workflow, em algumas grandes empresas portuguesas. Numa segunda fase, e para estudar o impacto dos sistemas Workflow nas organizações, desenvolveu-se uma estrutura de análise que integrou os domínios onde as mudanças provocadas podem ser mais visíveis. Analisaramse, também, os factores organizacionais que influenciaram o uso desse sistema. Considera-se a organização como um sistema composto por subsistemas e onde as mudanças são resultado de um processo que ocorre ao longo de um dado período de tempo, fruto, não só dos factores organizacionais, mas também das relações de inter-influência que se estabelecem entre eles. A estrutura de análise foi aplicada junto de duas empresas, que constituíram os casos do estudo. A recolha de dados foi efectuada através de entrevista, observação e análise documental, ao que se seguiu uma análise qualitativa de conteúdo. A aplicação desta estrutura de análise revelou que os sistemas Workflow levam a alterações a nível da produtividade, com a redução de tempos globais e eliminação de papel; a nível da comunicação, colaboração e coordenação de tarefas, com a eliminação de barreiras temporais e geográficas, com a uniformização dos processos, a redução das incertezas e ambiguidade dos comportamentos dos utilizadores, entre outros; e a nível do conhecimento e da aprendizagem organizacional, devido à necessidade de se explicitarem informações, anteriormente detidas pelos utilizadores, proceder ao registo dos eventos, contribuindo, assim, para a constituição de parte da memória organizacional, para só citar as mais relevantes. Foi, também, possível observar a importância relativa dos vários factores organizacionais, nomeadamente dos estruturais, tecnológicos, políticos, humanos e culturais, na compreensão das alterações que possam resultar da implementação de um sistema Workflow.The importance and the degree of penetration of Workflow Systems in markets and organisations have developed progressively in the last years, all over the world. Although there are a few studies concerning the computational and technological aspects of these systems, research about their organisational impact is rare. In particular, studies about the degree of penetration of these systems in the portuguese organizations are lacking. This thesis attempts to fill these gaps. The study was developed in two phases. In the first phase a survey about the degree of penetration of Information Technology, and in particular about Workflow Systems, in large portuguese enterprises was carried out. In the second phase, and in order to study the impact of Workflow Systems in organizations, I developed a framework of analysis that integrates the identification of the domains where changes can be observed. I have also analysed the organisational factors that influenced the use of the system. I considered the organisation as a system, composed by sub systems, where changes are the result of a process evolving in a period of time. Changes are the result, not only of the characteristics of organisational factors, but also of the relations that are established among them. The framework of analysis was applied to two enterprises that constituted the cases of the study. Data was gathered through interviews, observations and document analysis and later analysed qualitatively. The application of this framework of analysis revealed that the use of Workflow Systems leads to changes in productivity with the reduction of cycle accomplishment time and elimination of paper; in communication, collaboration and coordination of tasks, with the elimination of obstacles of time and space, standardisation of processes, reduction of behaviour uncertainty, among others; in knowledge and organisational learning, due to the need of explicit information detained by users, to register events, to contribute to the building of an organisational memory, to mention the most important ones. I also could observe the relevance of the several organisational factors, namely the structure, the technology, the politics, the humans and the relationships established among them, and finally the culture, to understand changes that happened after the implementation of the Workflow System. L’importance et le degré de pénétration des systèmes Workflow dans le marché et dans les organisations, a subi un développement progressif dans les dernières années, un peu partout dans le monde. Malgré l’existence de quelques études concernant les aspects technologiques et computationnels de ses systèmes, les études concernant leurs impacts dans l’organisation sont rares. Aussi, méconnaît-on le degré de pénétration des ces systèmes dans les organisations portugaises. Cette thèse essaye de combler ces lacunes. L’étude a été développée en deux phases. Dans la première phase, j’ai fait un sondage qui a permit de mieux connaître le degré de pénétration des technologies d’information, et en particulier des systèmes Workflow, dans les grandes entreprises portugaises. Dans la seconde phase, pour étudier l’impact des systèmes Workflow dans les organisations, j’ai développé une structure d’analyse qu’intègre l’identification des domaines où on peut observer les changements. Aussi ai-je analysé les facteurs organisationnels qui ont influencé l’utilisation du système. On considère l’organisation comme un système, composé de sub-systèmes, où les changements sont le résultat, non seulement d’un processus qui survient tout au long d’une période de temps, mais aussi des relations d’influence qui s’établirent entre eux. Cette structure d’analyse a été appliquée en deux entreprises qui ont constitué les cas de l’étude. La récolte des donnés a été effectuée par interviews, observations et analyse documentaire. Les données ont été analysées qualitativement. L’application de cette structure d’analyse a révélé que les systèmes Workflow peuvent provoquer des changements au niveau de la productivité, avec la réduction des temps de réalisation des tâches et l’élimination du papier; au niveau de la communication, collaboration et coordination des procédures, avec l’élimination des obstacles de temps et d’espace, l’uniformisation des processus, la réduction des ambiguïtés de comportements des utilisateurs, entre autres; et au niveau de la connaissance et de l’apprentissage organisationnel, due à la nécessité d’expliciter des informations détenues par les employés, procéder à l’enregistrement des événements, en contribuant ainsi pour la construction d’une part de la mémoire organisationnelle, pour citer les plus importants. On a aussi pu observer l’importance des plusieurs facteurs organisationnels, nommément les facteurs structurels, technologiques, politiques, humains et sociaux et culturels, dans la compréhension des changements dus à l’adoption d’un système Workflow.Fundação Luso-Americana; Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian; PRODEP

ERP in SMEs : exploring ERP lifestyle cost issues

This thesis presents a study of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems lifecycle in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The majority of businesses and firms around the globe can be considered to be SMEs. Thus, SMEs are seen to be typical companies that are the cornerstone of most economies. Compared with large enterprises (LEs), SMEs have limited budgets and resources, and have a higher sensitivity to costs. Although ERP adoption is one of the most complex, costly, and biggest projects an enterprise can embark on, many factors lead SMEs to take such a decision. When SMEs take the first steps towards adopting an ERP system, they need to think about many things; first and foremost, they need to take into account the cost of adoption. Literature and professional reports show that a prevailing number of ERP adoption projects fail because of inaccurate or optimistic budgets and time schedules. In addition, many organizations have difficulty identifying the potential cost factors that could occur during their adoption projects Moreover, current mainstream cost management and estimation methods are inadequate in ERP adoptions settings. The purpose of this thesis is to explore and identify the cost factors and other cost estimation related issues that may occur when SMEs adopt ERP systems. Many researchers have argued that expected and potential benefits are influential during the budgeting process and investment evaluation, and should not be ignored. Thus, the investigation of benefits management and realization practices falls within the boundaries of this research. In order to identify cost factors associated with ERP adoption in SMEs, and SMEs practices and behaviours in relation to the estimation of costs and benefits, it is necessary to explore one main research question and its subset of questions.- What are the challenges to the management and estimation of costs and benefits within on-premise ERP adoption projects in SMEs? The ERP adoption term used in this thesis refers to the first five phases of the ERP lifecycle framework developed by Esteves and Pastor (2007), which denote the ERP introduction process. This process moves from the “adoption decision” through to go-live and maintenance, and evolution; however, it excludes the retirement phase. In order to understand and investigate the challenges in their perspective context, a qualitative exploratory research approach is adopted to answer there search question stated above. This PhD study was carried out through a combination of literature reviews, panels of experts, and case study research. The empirical part of the study encompasses a multiple case study, an experts’ panel, and one in-depth case study of ERP adoptions in four SMEs. All four organizations are privately owned Egyptian small and medium -sized enterprises. Besides the target organizations, the data collection process covered two ERP vendors (local and international), two implementation partners, two independent ERP and investment consultants, and eight participants on the experts’ panel. Data analysis was carried out in order to identify impending cost factors and challenges that SMEs may encounter when justifying and evaluating their investments and estimating their adoption budgets. This thesis has mainly adopted a six-phase ERP lifecycle framework. There search results are presented in six articles, which focused on the different lifecycle phases. The articles have been published in international peer reviewed conference proceedings and journals