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Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-jop-10.1177_02698811211033603 for Three regulatory compliant test systems show no signs of MDMA-related genotoxicity by Isaac Victor Cohen, Laken Barber, Tyson Paul Dubnicka, Sara Beth Hurtado, Sarah Ann Tincher, Leon Frank Stankowski and Berra Yazar-Klosinski in Journal of Psychopharmacology

Submitted by Adriana Alves Rodrigues (aalves@espm.br) on 2020-10-14T10:50:46Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Victor Ragazzi Isaac.pdf: 636466 bytes, checksum: 4a1583f1a07898f4d888f1285b626b6d (MD5) Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Alves Rodrigues (aalves@espm.br) on 2020-10-14T10:51:36Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Victor Ragazzi Isaac.pdf: 636466 bytes, checksum: 4a1583f1a07898f4d888f1285b626b6d (MD5) Approved for entry into archive by Ana Cristina Ropero (ana@espm.br) on 2020-10-14T11:19:54Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Victor Ragazzi Isaac.pdf: 636466 bytes, checksum: 4a1583f1a07898f4d888f1285b626b6d (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2020-10-14T11:20:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Victor Ragazzi Isaac.pdf: 636466 bytes, checksum: 4a1583f1a07898f4d888f1285b626b6d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2019-12-03 This thesis aims to analyze the factors that influence the development and transformation of local innovations into global innovations of emerging market subsidiaries. We believe that the relational embeddedness of subsidiaries with the external local network is paramount for the development of local innovations. On the other hand, the transformation of local innovations into global ones is due to the level of innovation developed by the subsidiary located in an emerging market. We also believe that the transformation of local innovations into global innovations will occur when subsidiaries have previously transferred reverse knowledge in functional areas. Reverse knowledge transfers therefore indicate an internal embeddedness, essential for local innovation to be transformed into global innovation. Our sample consisted of 131 foreign subsidiaries operating in Brazil. Using the Structural Equation Modeling technique, the results corroborate our hypotheses and show that the relational embeddedness of subsidiaries to the external LAN is positively associated with local innovation, which is transformed into global innovation, especially when innovation is developed in the functional areas of the network. subsidiary with previous transfers of reverse knowledge. With this, we have developed implications for the field of subsidiary management research, specifically to understand the role of local innovation of foreign subsidiaries in emerging markets. Esta tese tem como objetivo analisar os fatores que influenciam no desenvolvimento e na transformação de inovações locais em inovações globais de subsidiárias de mercado emergente. Acreditamos que a o embeddedness relacional das subsidiárias com a rede local externa é preponderante para o desenvolvimento de inovações locais. Por outro lado, a transformação de inovações locais em globais se deve ao nível de inovação desenvolvido pela subsidiária localizada em um mercado emergente. Também acreditamos que a transformação de inovações locais em inovações globais ocorra quando subsidiárias já que tenham transferido anteriormente o conhecimento reverso em áreas funcionais. Transferências reversas de conhecimento indicam, portanto, um embeddedness interno, essencial para que a inovação local seja transformada em inovação global. Nossa amostra foi de 131 subsidiárias estrangeiras que operam no Brasil. Usando a técnica de Modelagem de Equações Estruturais, os resultados corroboram nossas hipóteses e mostram que o embeddedness relacional das subsidiárias à rede local externa está positivamente associado à inovação local, que é transformada em inovação global, especialmente quando a inovação é desenvolvida nas áreas funcionais da subsidiária com transferências anteriores de conhecimento reverso. Com isso, desenvolvemos implicações para o campo da pesquisa em gerenciamento de subsidiárias, especificamente para entender o papel da inovação local de subsidiárias estrangeiras em mercados emergentes.

The International Business literature emphasizes interorganizational relationships in business networks, based on embeddedness, as a mechanism for multinational enterprises to improve their performance. However, an in-depth analysis of the literature shows that embeddedness alone is insufficient to subsidiaries to gain local competitive advantage. Thus, in order to better understand this issue, a systematic review of the literature was carried out using the online database with 45 articles that address three central constructs in networks embeddedness, power and centrality. The analysis suggests a gap in the studies on power and centrality of the subsidiary in its external network. Therefore, through a conceptual model, but with managerial application, this article suggests that the subsidiary use embeddedness, power and centrality in an integrated way to optimize access to the tangible and intangible resources, and reduce network conflicts needed to obtain specific (SSA) and global competitive advantage (FSA). La literatura de Negocios Internacionales enfatiza las relaciones interorganizacionales en redes de negocios, basadas en el embeddedness, como mecanismo para una empresa multinacional mejorar su desempeño. Todavía, un análisis en profundidad muestra que el embeddedness por sí solo es insuficiente para obtener ventaja competitiva local. Así, buscando comprender mejor esta cuestión, se realizó una revisión sistemática: de la literatura, utilizando la base de datos online Science Direct. Se seleccionaron 45 artículos que abordan embeddedness, poder y centralidad. El análisis sugiere un gap en los estudios sobre poder y centralidad de la subsidiaria en su red externa. Por lo tanto, a través de un modelo conceptual, pero con aplicación gerencial, este artículo sugiere que la subsidiaria utilice de forma integrada el embeddedness, poder y centralidad para optimizar el acceso a los recursos tangibles e intangibles y reducir conflictos de la red necesarios para obtener ventaja competitiva local (SSA) y global (FSA). A literatura de Negócios Internacionais enfatiza as relações interorganizacionais em redes de negócios, baseadas no embeddedness, como mecanismo para uma empresa multinacional melhorar seu desempenho. Entretanto, uma análise aprofundada da literatura mostra que o embeddedness por si só é insuficiente para que as subsidiárias obtenham vantagem competitiva local. Assim, buscando compreender melhor esta questão, foi realizada uma revisão sistemática da literatura com 45 artigos que abordam três constructos centrais em redes: embeddedness, poder e centralidade. A análise sugere uma lacuna nos estudos sobre poder e centralidade da subsidiária em sua rede externa. Portanto, por meio de um modelo conceitual, mas com aplicação gerencial, este artigo sugere que a subsidiária utilize de forma integrada embeddedness, poder e centralidade de modo a otimizar o acesso aos recursos tangíveis e intangíveis e reduzir os conflitos da rede local necessários para obter vantagem competitiva específica (SSA) e global (FSA).

RESUMO A proximidade social entre as pessoas traz em seu bojo a questão do relacionamento. A necessidade de se relacionar transcende a barreira formal dos negócios entre as empresas e proporciona oportunidade de criar o diferencial entre uma e outra empresa ou uma e outra rede de negócios. Ademais, os aspectos sociais podem contribuir para que nasçam as redes de negócio. Sendo assim, cada ator participante poderá tirar alguma vantagem que o tornará mais fortalecido e que, junto com os demais envolvidos na rede, fará com que este grupo que representa um negócio ou uma região, se torne mais competitivo face aos demais competidores. Este estudo, ao analisar a relação entre as empresas do setor de embalagens plásticas flexíveis, tem como objetivo identificar através da teoria de redes de negócios como os fatores sociais podem contribuir na formação de redes de negócio. Adotou-se para este fim, o método de pesquisa qualitativo exploratório por intermédio de um estudo de caso, abrangendo a relação entre três empresas sediadas no município de Caieiras, sendo a primeira de médio porte, a segunda de pequeno porte e a terceira uma microempresa. A pesquisa constatou que existem sinais evidentes de rede de negócios, mesmo que insciente, entre as empresas pesquisadas, porém trata-se de uma rede com relações totalmente informais entre os atores, motivadas por alguns problemas comuns pontuais o que remete a afirmar que os atores não se encontram totalmente imersos na rede e não existe nenhuma interação do governo local que tenha a proximidade geográfica. Outro ponto evidenciado nesta pesquisa foi que o conhecimento entre os atores gerou uma relação de confiança e proporcionou que pudessem resolver problemas comuns sem a necessidade de formalização das ações através de contratos explícitos. E por fim, também se evidencia como ponto importante nesta pesquisa a existência de uma relação social antecedente entre os atores que, contribuiu para a formação da rede informal, mesmo que insipiente. Palavras-chave: Redes de Negócio, Redes Sociais, Imersão, Embalagens Plásticas Flexíveis. ABSTRACT The social proximity among people brings the issue of relationship. The need for relationships goes beyond formal business barrier among companies and provides opportunities to create the difference among companies in a business network. Besides, social aspects can contribute for the creation of business networks. Thus, every participant will be able to, somehow, have some kind of benefit, which will make him/her stronger and, along with the others involved who represent a company or a place, becomes more competitive towards their competitors. The objective of the following paper, by analyzing the relationship among flexible plastic packaging companies, is to identify, through the business networks theory, how social factors can contribute to make business networks. The method used for the study was an exploratory qualitative research through a case study, which comprehended the relationship among three companies located in the city of Caieiras. There was a medium business, a small business and a “micro business”. In Brazil, a “micro business” is a company whose revenue is not so high, and because of that, it has fiscal benefits. The study shows that there is clear evidence that there is a business network, even not efficient, among the companies surveyed. Therefore, it is an informal network among the participants due to some specific problems. It makes one thinks that some of them are not fully involved in the network and there is no response from the local administration where the companies are located. In addition, the study shows the connection among participants has created a trustworthy relationship, which made possible to solve recurrent problems without having explicit contracts. Finally, it shows evidence of a previous social relationship among the participants, which contributed to making an, even not efficient, informal network. Keywords: Business Network, Social Networks, embeddedness, Flexible Plastic Packaging.

In 2018, the dominant greenhouse gases released into Earth's atmosphere-carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide-continued their increase. The annual global average carbon dioxide concentration at Earth's surface was 407.4 ± 0.1 ppm, the highest in the modern instrumental record and in ice core records dating back 800 000 years. Combined, greenhouse gases and several halogenated gases contribute just over 3 W m−2 to radiative forcing and represent a nearly 43% increase since 1990. Carbon dioxide is responsible for about 65% of this radiative forcing. With a weak La Niña in early 2018 transitioning to a weak El Niño by the year's end, the global surface (land and ocean) temperature was the fourth highest on record, with only 2015 through 2017 being warmer. Several European countries reported record high annual temperatures. There were also more high, and fewer low, temperature extremes than in nearly all of the 68-year extremes record. Madagascar recorded a record daily temperature of 40.5°C in Morondava in March, while South Korea set its record high of 41.0°C in August in Hongcheon. Nawabshah, Pakistan, recorded its highest temperature of 50.2°C, which may be a new daily world record for April. Globally, the annual lower troposphere temperature was third to seventh highest, depending on the dataset analyzed. The lower stratospheric temperature was approximately fifth lowest. The 2018 Arctic land surface temperature was 1.2°C above the 1981-2010 average, tying for third highest in the 118-year record, following 2016 and 2017. June's Arctic snow cover extent was almost half of what it was 35 years ago. Across Greenland, however, regional summer temperatures were generally below or near average. Additionally, a satellite survey of 47 glaciers in Greenland indicated a net increase in area for the first time since records began in 1999. Increasing permafrost temperatures were reported at most observation sites in the Arctic, with the overall increase of 0.1°-0.2°C between 2017 and 2018 being comparable to the highest rate of warming ever observed in the region. On 17 March, Arctic sea ice extent marked the second smallest annual maximum in the 38-year record, larger than only 2017. The minimum extent in 2018 was reached on 19 September and again on 23 September, tying 2008 and 2010 for the sixth lowest extent on record. The 23 September date tied 1997 as the latest sea ice minimum date on record. First-year ice now dominates the ice cover, comprising 77% of the March 2018 ice pack compared to 55% during the 1980s. Because thinner, younger ice is more vulnerable to melting out in summer, this shift in sea ice age has contributed to the decreasing trend in minimum ice extent. Regionally, Bering Sea ice extent was at record lows for almost the entire 2017/18 ice season. For the Antarctic continent as a whole, 2018 was warmer than average. On the highest points of the Antarctic Plateau, the automatic weather station Relay (74°S) broke or tied six monthly temperature records throughout the year, with August breaking its record by nearly 8°C. However, cool conditions in the western Bellingshausen Sea and Amundsen Sea sector contributed to a low melt season overall for 2017/18. High SSTs contributed to low summer sea ice extent in the Ross and Weddell Seas in 2018, underpinning the second lowest Antarctic summer minimum sea ice extent on record. Despite conducive conditions for its formation, the ozone hole at its maximum extent in September was near the 2000-18 mean, likely due to an ongoing slow decline in stratospheric chlorine monoxide concentration. Across the oceans, globally averaged SST decreased slightly since the record El Niño year of 2016 but was still far above the climatological mean. On average, SST is increasing at a rate of 0.10° ± 0.01°C decade−1 since 1950. The warming appeared largest in the tropical Indian Ocean and smallest in the North Pacific. The deeper ocean continues to warm year after year. For the seventh consecutive year, global annual mean sea level became the highest in the 26-year record, rising to 81 mm above the 1993 average. As anticipated in a warming climate, the hydrological cycle over the ocean is accelerating: dry regions are becoming drier and wet regions rainier. Closer to the equator, 95 named tropical storms were observed during 2018, well above the 1981-2010 average of 82. Eleven tropical cyclones reached Saffir-Simpson scale Category 5 intensity. North Atlantic Major Hurricane Michael's landfall intensity of 140 kt was the fourth strongest for any continental U.S. hurricane landfall in the 168-year record. Michael caused more than 30 fatalities and $25 billion (U.S. dollars) in damages. In the western North Pacific, Super Typhoon Mangkhut led to 160 fatalities and $6 billion (U.S. dollars) in damages across the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Tropical Storm Son-Tinh was responsible for 170 fatalities in Vietnam and Laos. Nearly all the islands of Micronesia experienced at least moderate impacts from various tropical cyclones. Across land, many areas around the globe received copious precipitation, notable at different time scales. Rodrigues and Réunion Island near southern Africa each reported their third wettest year on record. In Hawaii, 1262 mm precipitation at Waipā Gardens (Kauai) on 14-15 April set a new U.S. record for 24-h precipitation. In Brazil, the city of Belo Horizonte received nearly 75 mm of rain in just 20 minutes, nearly half its monthly average. Globally, fire activity during 2018 was the lowest since the start of the record in 1997, with a combined burned area of about 500 million hectares. This reinforced the long-term downward trend in fire emissions driven by changes in land use in frequently burning savannas. However, wildfires burned 3.5 million hectares across the United States, well above the 2000-10 average of 2.7 million hectares. Combined, U.S. wildfire damages for the 2017 and 2018 wildfire seasons exceeded $40 billion (U.S. dollars).

In 2017, the dominant greenhouse gases released into Earth's atmosphere-carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide-reached new record highs. The annual global average carbon dioxide concentration at Earth's surface for 2017 was 405.0 ± 0.1 ppm, 2.2 ppm greater than for 2016 and the highest in the modern atmospheric measurement record and in ice core records dating back as far as 800 000 years. The global growth rate of CO2 has nearly quadrupled since the early 1960s. With ENSO-neutral conditions present in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean during most of the year and weak La Niña conditions notable at the start and end, the global temperature across land and ocean surfaces ranked as the second or third highest, depending on the dataset, since records began in the mid-to-late 1800s. Notably, it was the warmest non-El Niño year in the instrumental record. Above Earth's surface, the annual lower tropospheric temperature was also either second or third highest according to all datasets analyzed. The lower stratospheric temperature was about 0.2°C higher than the record cold temperature of 2016 according to most of the in situ and satellite datasets. Several countries, including Argentina, Uruguay, Spain, and Bulgaria, reported record high annual temperatures. Mexico broke its annual record for the fourth consecutive year. On 27 January, the temperature reached 43.4°C at Puerto Madryn, Argentina-the highest temperature recorded so far south (43°S) anywhere in the world. On 28 May in Turbat, western Pakistan, the high of 53.5°C tied Pakistan's all-time highest temperature and became the world-record highest temperature for May. In the Arctic, the 2017 land surface temperature was 1.6°C above the 1981-2010 average, the second highest since the record began in 1900, behind only 2016. The five highest annual Arctic temperatures have all occurred since 2007. Exceptionally high temperatures were observed in the permafrost across the Arctic, with record values reported in much of Alaska and northwestern Canada. In August, high sea surface temperature (SST) records were broken for the Chukchi Sea, with some regions as warm as +11°C, or 3° to 4°C warmer than the longterm mean (1982-present). According to paleoclimate studies, today's abnormally warm Arctic air and SSTs have not been observed in the last 2000 years. The increasing temperatures have led to decreasing Arctic sea ice extent and thickness. On 7 March, sea ice extent at the end of the growth season saw its lowest maximum in the 37-year satellite record, covering 8% less area than the 1981-2010 average. The Arctic sea ice minimum on 13 September was the eighth lowest on record and covered 25% less area than the long-term mean. Preliminary data indicate that glaciers across the world lost mass for the 38th consecutive year on record; the declines are remarkably consistent from region to region. Cumulatively since 1980, this loss is equivalent to slicing 22 meters off the top of the average glacier. Antarctic sea ice extent remained below average for all of 2017, with record lows during the first four months. Over the continent, the austral summer seasonal melt extent and melt index were the second highest since 2005, mostly due to strong positive anomalies of air temperature over most of the West Antarctic coast. In contrast, the East Antarctic Plateau saw record low mean temperatures in March. The year was also distinguished by the second smallest Antarctic ozone hole observed since 1988. Across the global oceans, the overall long-term SST warming trend remained strong. Although SST cooled slightly from 2016 to 2017, the last three years produced the three highest annual values observed; these high anomalies have been associated with widespread coral bleaching. The most recent global coral bleaching lasted three full years, June 2014 to May 2017, and was the longest, most widespread, and almost certainly most destructive such event on record. Global integrals of 0-700-m and 0-2000-m ocean heat content reached record highs in 2017, and global mean sea level during the year became the highest annual average in the 25-year satellite altimetry record, rising to 77 mm above the 1993 average. In the tropics, 2017 saw 85 named tropical storms, slightly above the 1981-2010 average of 82. The North Atlantic basin was the only basin that featured an above-normal season, its seventh most active in the 164-year record. Three hurricanes in the basin were especially notable. Harvey produced record rainfall totals in areas of Texas and Louisiana, including a storm total of 1538.7 mm near Beaumont, Texas, which far exceeds the previous known U.S. tropical cyclone record of 1320.8 mm. Irma was the strongest tropical cyclone globally in 2017 and the strongest Atlantic hurricane outside of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean on record with maximum winds of 295 km h-1. Maria caused catastrophic destruction across the Caribbean Islands, including devastating wind damage and flooding across Puerto Rico. Elsewhere, the western North Pacific, South Indian, and Australian basins were all particularly quiet. Precipitation over global land areas in 2017 was clearly above the long-term average. Among noteworthy regional precipitation records in 2017, Russia reported its second wettest year on record (after 2013) and Norway experienced its sixth wettest year since records began in 1900. Across India, heavy rain and flood-related incidents during the monsoon season claimed around 800 lives. In August and September, above-normal precipitation triggered the most devastating floods in more than a decade in the Venezuelan states of Bolívar and Delta Amacuro. In Nigeria, heavy rain during August and September caused the Niger and Benue Rivers to overflow, bringing floods that displaced more than 100 000 people. Global fire activity was the lowest since at least 2003; however, high activity occurred in parts of North America, South America, and Europe, with an unusually long season in Spain and Portugal, which had their second and third driest years on record, respectively. Devastating fires impacted British Columbia, destroying 1.2 million hectares of timber, bush, and grassland, due in part to the region's driest summer on record. In the United States, an extreme western wildfire season burned over 4 million hectares; the total costs of $18 billion tripled the previous U.S. annual wildfire cost record set in 1991.

Resumo O artigo tem como objetivo analisar as diferenças existentes no processo de constituição das redes de franquias estrangeiras que atuam no mercado brasileiro e as redes de franquias domésticas brasileiras. Este processo compreende a instalação, a manutenção e a expansão das redes. A revisão teórica e o desenvolvido teórico se baseiam na Teoria da Agência e na Teoria da Escassez de Recursos. Por meio de uma regressão logística com 147 redes de franquias brasileiras e 41 redes de franquias estrangeiras em operação no mercado brasileiro, observou-se que as redes de franquias estrangeiras e domésticas se diferem nas três etapas do processo de constituição: instalação, manutenção e expansão. Complementarmente, foram realizadas três entrevistas semiestruturadas com três franqueadores de redes de franquias estrangeiras. Os resultados apontam que as franquias estrangeiras apresentam uma maior taxa de investimento e manutenção do que as redes de franquias brasileiras, no entanto exibem uma menor capacidade de monitoramento e controle do que as redes de franquias brasileiras. Por outro lado, ao contrário do esperado, observou-se que as redes de franquias estrangeiras atuantes no Brasil apresentam uma menor taxa de crescimento do que as redes de franquias domésticas deste país. Abstract This article aims to analyze the differences between the process of establishing foreign franchises and those of domestic franchise chains operating in the Brazilian market. This process includes the installation, maintenance and expansion of chains. The theoretical review and theory developed are based on Agency Theory and Resource Scarcity Theory. A logistic regression with 147 chains of Brazilian franchises and 41 chains of foreign franchises operating in Brazil showed that foreign and domestic franchise chains differ in three stages of the establishment process: installation, maintenance and expansion. In addition, three semi-structured interviews were conducted with three franchisors from foreign chains. The results show that foreign franchises have a higher rate of investment and maintenance than Brazilian franchises, however, they exhibit a lower capacity for monitoring and control than Brazilian franchise chains. On the other hand, contrary to expectations, foreign franchise chains active in Brazil have a lower growth rate than domestic franchise chains.

The term Grid computing refers to multiple clusters of resource linked together in order to achieve a common objective. The power of grid computing lies in its capacity to aggregate widely distributed heterogeneous resources, and provide non-trivial services to users. Task management or workload management is a key issue that must be solved in grid computing, and a better scheduling scheme can greatly improve the efficiency of grid. In this paper we propose a multiple queuing scheme that employs a sorting mechanism and a trust based scheduling scheme that ensures the shortest makespan possible. In order for users to gain simultaneous access for their applications to be executed in parallel, advance reservation of resource is necessary.

According to Oliver (2002) the success of turnaround maintenances is measured in terms of the cost of completion, time, safety performance and the performance of the plant afterwards. The Escravos gas plant (EGP) is a gas processing plant that converts associated gas from Chevron owned crude oil wells to liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas and gas condensate (Chevron intranet. Website assessed on September 14, 2007). According to the EGP plant operations coordinator (See interview Appendix A), the plant undergoes a turnaround maintenance exercise once every two years. The major tasks done during these turnaround maintenances are 1. Change–out of three molecular sieve beds. 2. Servicing of three compressor turbines. 3. Servicing of expander turbo–machinery. 4. Clean–out of fired gas heater tubes and burners. 5. Tie–ins for major upgrades. The EGP management does not involve the contractor personnel that carry out the tasks in the management of the turnaround maintenance. The contractor’s personnel simply follow the work plans and instructions developed by the EGP management. The EGP turnaround management team consists of the coordinator who is the head of the turnaround maintenance team, shift supervisors, maintenance supervisors (rotating equipment maintenance supervisor, instrumentation and electrical maintenance supervisor, and static equipment maintenance supervisors), safety supervisors, maintenance planners, process engineers and construction supervisors. All these listed personnel in the preceding paragraph and the supervisors of the contractor teams participate in the pre–turnaround meetings which happen once a month for the first 10 months of the 12 months leading to the turnaround. The meeting frequency increases to once every two weeks during the last two months leading to the turnaround maintenance. The meeting is held daily during the turnaround maintenance and once every two weeks for the first month after the turnaround maintenance. During the preceding months to the turnaround maintenance, the work scope is defined, the job sequence outlined and schedules are developed. Resources requirements are detailed and procured. During the turnaround maintenance the focus of the turnaround meeting is to discuss potential deviations, observe at–risk behaviors and likely challenges. Plans are then made to address these deviations, challenges and at–risk behaviors. After the turnaround maintenance, “lessons learnt” are captured and the turnaround maintenance is closed out. According to the EGP coordinator (see interview in appendix A), the success of its turnaround maintenance is measured by the time used to complete the turnaround maintenance, the total recordable incident rate during the turnaround maintenance, the days away from work, the lost time injury(LTI) and the cost incurred. Poling et al noted that it is difficult to rate turnaround maintenance projects because no two turnaround maintenances strategies are exactly the same. They iterated that the most common tactics used is benchmarking and that benchmarking enables a company to measure and compare its performance against peer companies in a constructive and confidential manner. They pointed out that the quantitative differences computed between a plant and other similar plants using detailed data taxonomy can provide invaluable information regarding improvement opportunities. This is a way of effectively extending a “lessons learned” exercise across multiple companies. According to then however a critical attribute of effective reliability and maintenance benchmarking is the ability to compare disparate assets; but even small differences for similar plants can alter the value of the comparison. Existing literature indicate that the parameters the gas plant management use to rate the safety of its turnaround maintenance (i.e. the total recordable incident rate, the days away from work and the lost time injury)are reactive in nature. They are otherwise called lagging indicators. Lagging indicators are safety performance metrics that are recorded after the accident or incidents has occurred. For example lost time injury is any work related injury or illness which prevents that person from doing any work day after accident (E&P Consultancy Associates. Website assessed on June 15, 2009). In contrast the other group of metrics called pro–active metrics or leading indicators such as at–risk behaviors, near misses and preventive maintenance not completed are parameters that measure safety performance before accident occurs. Leading indicators gained popularity in the 1930’s after Heinrich postulate his iceberg theory (Wright, 2004). Heinrich’s used the iceberg analogy to explain reactive (lagging) and proactive (leading) indicators. Heinrich likened accident and at–risk behaviors to two parts of an Iceberg; the part you see above water and the part hidden under the water. The size of the iceberg above water is relatively small compared to that under water. The iceberg starts to grow under the water and only after they reach a certain size does part of the ice begin to appear above water. Heinrich believed that accidents are the result of root causes such as at–risk behaviors, inconsistencies, wrong policies, lack of training and lack of information. When the number of accidents that occur in an endeavor is measured you get relatively smaller numerical quantities when compared to the number of at–risk behaviors. Heinrich suggested that to eliminate accidents that occur infrequently, organizations must make effort to eliminate the root causes which occur very frequently. This makes sense because imagine a member of personnel coming to work intoxicated every day. Binging intoxicated at work is an at–risk behavior. The employee is very likely to be involved in an accident at some time as a result of his drinking habit. The number of times he is intoxicated if counted will be huge when compared to the impact of the accident when it does occur. The iceberg theory is supported by work from Bird (1980) and Ludwig (1980) who both attempted to establish the correct ratio of accidents to root causes in different industries. Heinrich suggested a ratio of three hundred incidents to twenty nine minor injuries to one major injury. This researcher chose to use the number of at–risk behavior exhibited by the turnaround maintenance teams to rate the safety performance of tasks despite criticism from individuals like Robotham (2004) who said that from his experience minor incidents do not have the potential to become major accidents and Wright et al (2004). Leading indicators are convenient to analysis because of their relative large quantity. In a turnaround environment, the numbers of accidents that occur are relatively few unlike the number of near misses (Bird, 1980). It is easy to statistically analyze thirty at–risk behaviors than four accidents. In addition Fleming et al (2001) noted that data from industry show much success by companies in the reduction of accidents by efforts at reducing the number of at–risk behaviors, increase the number of safety audits, and reduce the number of closed items from audits etc. Phimister et al made similar claims when they said Near miss programs improve corporate environmental, health and safety performance through the identification of near misses. Existing literature also reveals many theories about management styles and their possible impact on performance. The theories are grouped into trait theories, situational theories and behavioral theories. The trait theories tries to explain management styles by traits of the managers like initiative, wisdom, compassion and ambitious. Situational theories suggest that there is no best management style and managers will need to determine which management style best suit the situation. Behavioral theories explain management success by what successful managers do. Behavioral theorists identify autocratic, benevolent, consultative and participatory management styles. Vroom and Yetton (1973) identified variables that will determine the best management style for any given situation. The variables are; 1. Nature of the problem. Is it simple, hard, complex or clear? 2. Requirements for accuracy. What is the consequence of mistakes? 3. Acceptance of an initiative. Do you want people to use their initiative or not? 4. Time–constraints. How much time do we have to finish the task? 5. Cost constraints. Do we have enough or excess to achieve the objective? A decision model was developed by Vroom and Yago (1988)to help managers determine the best management style for different situations based on the variables listed above (See figure six). They also defined five management style could adopt, namely the; 1. Autocratic I style 2. Autocratic II style. 3. Consultative I style 4. Consultative II style 5. Group II style The autocratic I management style is a management style where the leader solves the problem alone using information that is readily available to him/her, is the normal management style of the Escravos gas plant management in all turnarounds prior to 2009. However the Vroom and Yago model recommends the Consultative II management style for the type of work done during the Escravos gas plant turnaround maintenance. According to Coye et al (1995), participatory management or consultative style II creates a sense of ownership in organization. In this management style the leader shares problem with group members individually, and asks for information and evaluation. Group members do not meet collectively, and leader makes decision alone (Vroom and Yago, 1988). Coye et al believe that this management styles instills a sense of pride and motivate employees to increase productivity. In addition they stated that employees who participate in the decisions of the organization feel like they are a part of a team with a common goal, and find their sense of self–esteem and creative fulfillment heightened. According to Filley et al (1961), Spector and Suttle did not find any significant difference in the output of employees under autocratic and participatory management style. This research studies if and how the Escravos gas plant turnaround maintenance can be improved by changing the management style from autocratic I style to consultative II style. Two tasks in the turnaround were studied; namely the change out of the molecular sieve catalyst beds and the servicing of the turbine engines. The turnaround contractor Techint Nigeria Limited divides the work group into teams responsible for specific tasks. Six teams (team A, B, C, D, E and F) were studied. EGP management will not allow the researcher to study more than these six teams for fear of the research disrupting the work. The tasks completed by these teams are amongst those not on the projects critical path so delays caused by the research will not impact the entire turnaround project provided the float on these activities were not exceeded. They also had the fewest number of personnel, so cost impact of the research work could be easier to manager. Teams A, B and C are different maintenance teams comprising of eight personnel each. They were responsible for changing the EGP molecular sieve beds A, B and C respectively in the 2007 and 2009 turnaround. Their tasks are identical because the molecular sieve beds are identical. Teams E, D and F are also maintenance teams comprising of six personnel each. They were responsible for servicing the EGP turbine engines A, B and C during the 2007 and 2009 turnaround maintenance. Their tasks are also identical because the turbine engines are identical. Consultative management style II is exercised by involving team A and team D in the development of the procedures, processes and job safety analysis of all tasks that they were assigned to complete during the 2009 turnaround maintenance. They were also permitted to participate in the turnaround maintenance meetings and to make contributions in the meetings. In the 2007 turnaround maintenance team A and team D only carried out their tasks. They did not participate in the development of procedures and job safety analysis neither did they participate in the turnaround maintenance meetings. The other four teams; team B, team C, team E and team F are used as experimental controls for the research. They did not participate in the development of the procedures, processes nor the job safety analysis for the tasks in either of the turnaround maintenance. They were also not permitted to attend the daily turnaround meetings. They only completed their tasks based on instructions given to them during the 2007 and 2009 turnaround maintenance. It was necessary to study the experimental control teams as the researcher was not sure whether task repetition, increased knowledge or improved team cohesion would lead to a reduced time or a reduced numbers of at–risk behavior. ix The research tested the hypothesis 1H0 and 1H1 and 2H0and 2H1 at the 0.025 and 0.05 level of significance as follows; Null hypothesis, 1H0: There is no significant difference in the time spent by team A and team Din 2007 when they did not participate in the development of the procedures and processes with the time in 2009 when they did(u1-u2=0). Alternate hypothesis, 1H1: There is a significant difference in the time spent by the team A and Din 2007 when they did not participate in the development of the procedures and processes with the time in 2009 when they did (u1-u2!=0). Null hypothesis, 2H0: There is no significant difference in the number of at–risk behaviors observed to have been exhibited by the team A and team D in 2007 when they did not participate in the development of the procedures and processes with the number in 2009 when they did (u1-u2=0). Alternate hypothesis, 2H1: There is a significant difference in the number of at–risk behaviors observed to have been exhibited by the team A and team D in 2007 when they did not participate in the development of the procedures and processes with the number in 2009 when they did (u1-u2!=0). The student t test was used to analyze these times and number of at–risk behavior. At the 0.025 and the 0.05 level of significance, the data show that there is no difference in the times all the teams used to complete their task in 2007 and in 2009. The researcher concludes that a change in the management style from autocratic I style to consultative II style did not lead to a reduction in the time used by any team to complete their task. However at the 0.025 and the 0.05 level of significance, there is a significant difference in the number of at–risk behaviors of the research team A and team D. There is however no significant difference in the number of at–risk behavior of the control team B, team C, team E and team F at the same level of significance. The researcher concludes that a change in the management style from autocratic I style to consultative II style lead to a reduction in the number of at–risk behavior of team A and team D. In addition the reduction in the number of at–risk behavior of team A and team D could not have been because of task repetition, increased knowledge or improved team cohesion since there is no significant difference in the number of at–risk behavior exhibited by team B, team C, team E and team F. The research can be used by the Escravos gas plant management and the management of any similar process plant to fashion out more cost effective, time effective and safer methods for carrying out their turnaround maintenance. A change in management styles may just be a better approach to improving productivity than giving financial incentives to contractors and personnel. Changes in management style will have to be managed. The change must be gradual because sudden change can be detrimental as people may just need to understand and adapt to the change. The turnaround personnel must also understand the intent so as to prevent conflicts. Thesis (M.Ing. (Development and Management Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

This course examines the purposes and value of stories and storytelling as they relate to the classical story structure. The role of genres and cliches is examined as they relate to storytelling. The top five storytelling techniques are presented in detail, with many examples. The 10 principles of animation are revisited from a storytelling point of view. Classical story design and structure are presented as a simple and powerful model that travels across cultures and generations. And the five parts of a classical story are analyzed in detail. The course concludes with a summary of characterization and revelation of deep character. Short exercises complement the lectures and dialog.