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Title: PROJECT REVIEW MATURITY AND PROJECT PERFORMANCE: AN EMPIRICAL CASE STUDY.
Creator: Vergopia, Catherine, Kotnour, Timothy, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Many organizations use project management maturity models to improve their project performance. These systematic and sequential frameworks are designed to help organizations quantify their project management maturity and improve their project management processes. However, these models rarely put enough emphasis on project reviews as tools to improve project performance, because, too often, project reviews are considered as non-productive administrative processes. The lack of emphasis on...
Show moreMany organizations use project management maturity models to improve their project performance. These systematic and sequential frameworks are designed to help organizations quantify their project management maturity and improve their project management processes. However, these models rarely put enough emphasis on project reviews as tools to improve project performance, because, too often, project reviews are considered as non-productive administrative processes. The lack of emphasis on project reviews in project management maturity models is also illustrated by the limited amount of research published on the relationship between project reviews and project performance. Based on the concept of project management maturity models, this dissertation presents a project review maturity model used to measure the project review maturity for four (4) types of reviews (routine, gate, post-mortem, and focused-learning) as well as the overall project review maturity. In addition, this research establishes the quantitative relationship between project review maturity and project performance. This dissertation also quantifies the concept of project review performance and its relationship with project performance for all four (4) types of reviews, as well as for the overall project review performance. Finally, this research provides enablers, barriers, and best practices for effective reviews, based on the answers of written interview questions, and observations from a post-mortem review meeting at a highly-technical organization. The empirical case study and survey analysis conducted by this dissertation led to some unique findings. Five (5) specific conclusions were developed: •Organizations use all types of reviews in their project management procedures, and view each review role differently. •Some reviews are more related than others to project performance, although generally, review maturity and performance are significantly relevant to project performance. •Organization culture (beliefs, expected actions, etc.) is not significantly relevant to project team members when assessing project status or PM procedures during project life-cycle. •Post-mortem and focused-learning reviews are linked with higher levels of learning than routine and gate reviews. •Effective reviews need managerial support. This research is the first of its kind to show significant positive relationships between project review maturity and performance with project performance and to provide quantifiable results for organizations to further improve their review processes.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: CFE0002401, ucf:47743
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002401

Title: AN ASSESSMENT OF ALIGNMENT BETWEEN PROJECT COMPLEXITY AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT STYLE.
Creator: Camci, Alper, Kotnour, Timothy, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The main drivers for this research are the complexities associated with the project management and an organization's project management style in dealing with these complexities. This research aims to demonstrate that alignment between project complexity and project management style increases project performance and decreases project issues, and also, with increased project issues, project performance deteriorates. In order to test these claims, this research developed measures for...
Show moreThe main drivers for this research are the complexities associated with the project management and an organization's project management style in dealing with these complexities. This research aims to demonstrate that alignment between project complexity and project management style increases project performance and decreases project issues, and also, with increased project issues, project performance deteriorates. In order to test these claims, this research developed measures for assessing project complexity, project management styles and project issues by employing a survey of project management professionals. The measure for project complexity is based on a taxonomy with four categories: organizational complexity, product complexity, methods (process) complexity and goal complexity. Project management style is defined as the management paradigm that guides the managers of an organization in perceiving and dealing with management problems. The measure for project nagement style is based on the plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycle and the Newtonian and complexity paradigms. Also the measures for project issues are developed after an extensive content analysis on the literature on project issues, risks and success factors. A self-administered survey instrument (paper-based and on-line) with 40 questions (seven point Likert scale) was utilized. The respondents were the project management professionals from different industries in the Central Florida region. Each respondent was asked to answer questions for two different kinds of projects: a successful project and a challenged project. Based on the data collected by the survey instrument, the results of confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses provide strong evidence that the final measures for project technology complexity, project management styles, project issues and project performance have adequate validity and reliability. Results of the hypothesis tests demonstrate that increased alignment of project complexity and project management style leads to increased project performance and decreased project issues, and also increased project issues leads to project decreased performance. From the perspective of project management, the results of this study have illustrated the importance of aligning a project's complexity and management style. These results suggest that project or program managers can improve the performance of their projects by any attempt to increase the alignment between project complexity and project management style. Project management professionals and theoreticians can use the methodologies provided in this dissertation to assess project complexity, project management style and alignment.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: CFE0001195, ucf:46853
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001195

Title: The Relationship between Agile Project Management and Project Success Outcomes.
Creator: Bergmann, Thomas, Karwowski, Waldemar, Elshennawy, Ahmad, Hancock, Peter, Mikusinski, Piotr, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Agile project management (APM) has recently emerged as a new approach to managing complex projects. Some experts believe that APM will become the standard project management approach used in the 21st century. However, thus far, the role of agility in project management has not been widely investigated. In the recent past, the concept of agility has mainly been applied to software development projects. The literature on agility is still in its early stages, and further research needs to be...
Show moreAgile project management (APM) has recently emerged as a new approach to managing complex projects. Some experts believe that APM will become the standard project management approach used in the 21st century. However, thus far, the role of agility in project management has not been widely investigated. In the recent past, the concept of agility has mainly been applied to software development projects. The literature on agility is still in its early stages, and further research needs to be conducted in new project management domains.This study is intended to determine the impact of the adoption of APM on project success as perceived by project managers. This investigative approach can be applied to any project domain. In addition, the influencing effects of project complexity on the results of projects are analyzed. Through an analysis of the existing literature, critical success factors and success criteria are identified to develop a model that can be used to assess current APM practice.The research questions are answered by means of an empirical study that collected data using an online survey that was distributed to project managers located across the United States. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling are performed to gauge the validity of the proposed research model.The study results show a significant positive relationship between APM and project success. Furthermore, a weak negative association is identified between project complexity and project success, suggesting a need for further research into and refinement of the project complexity construct. Finally, the results reveal an apparent need for additional education and certification in the field of project management, which are expected to lead to an increased use of agile approaches to project management in the future.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0007391, ucf:52070
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007391

Title: System justification theory: Synthesizing and applying its theoretical motivations in behavioral accounting research.
Creator: Olczak, Wioleta, Roberts, Robin, Libby, Theresa, Tian, Yu, Patten, Dennis, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This dissertation consists of two studies on System Justification Theory, hereafter SJT. SJT (Jost and Banaji 1994) is a psychology theory stating that individuals justify the status quo even if doing so is against their own or their group's interest (Jost et al. 2004). Comprised of twenty propositions, SJT attempts to explain social and psychological factors driving individuals to perceive the social system as legitimate. These factors also drive individuals to support and maintain the...
Show moreThis dissertation consists of two studies on System Justification Theory, hereafter SJT. SJT (Jost and Banaji 1994) is a psychology theory stating that individuals justify the status quo even if doing so is against their own or their group's interest (Jost et al. 2004). Comprised of twenty propositions, SJT attempts to explain social and psychological factors driving individuals to perceive the social system as legitimate. These factors also drive individuals to support and maintain the social system. The synthesis and application of this psychological theory in behavioral accounting research is limited, but could provide explanatory evidence on individual decision-making in accounting. The first study of this dissertation synthesizes SJT's four foundational theories (-) cognitive dissonance, social identity, social dominance, and belief in a just world (-) in behavioral accounting research, specifically focusing on two predominantly used theoretical motivations, cognitive dissonance and social identity theory. Behavioral accounting and corporate social responsibility (CSR) have increasingly become more complex as interest in these two areas continues to grow. The first study reviews prior behavioral accounting research that applied cognitive dissonance or social identity theory, and then demonstrates how the application of SJT in behavioral accounting research addresses more complex research questions that cannot be addressed solely from one or a combination of SJT's four foundational theories. The second study then applies SJT's theoretical motivations in a complex managerial accounting setting by investigating whether maintaining the status quo is a factor explaining managers' decisions to overstate environmental capital expenditure (ECE) projections. This study uses an experimental design to understand whether the presence of an overstatement status quo and a system threat affects managers' decisions to overstate environmental projections. The results indicate that managers are more likely to overstate ECE projections when the industry exhibits an overstatement status quo. Additionally, this propensity to overstate ECE projections is further exacerbated when managers face a stakeholder threat, suggesting they (")dig in their heels(") and maintain the status quo. This study extends environmental accounting research by demonstrating that the societal status quo affects managers cognitively and psychologically as they make environmental disclosure decisions. Results also contribute to practice by shedding insight as to why managers make certain environmental disclosure decisions. Specifically, the results show that the social system impacts managers' willingness to use environmental disclosures as a legitimating tool. Overall these two studies contribute to behavioral accounting research by exploring and applying a psychological theory in a managerial environmental accounting setting. It demonstrates how a commonly used psychology theory that has never been utilized in accounting research could address broad and complex accounting topics
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: CFE0007697, ucf:52447
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007697

Title: VALUE MAPPING FRAMEWORK INVOLVING STAKEHOLDERS FOR SUPPLY CHAIN IMPROVEMENT WHEN IMPLEMENTING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS.
Creator: Moore, Karla, Rabelo, Luis, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Successful Supply Chain Management (SCM) depends on how well an organization performs internal and external communications with trading partners, executes the logistics component, and understands/monitors related costs of conducting its business. The use of information technology (IT) is considered a prerequisite for the effective control of today's complex supply chains. Increased communication technology has redefined how businesses work together, raised customer expectations, and...
Show moreSuccessful Supply Chain Management (SCM) depends on how well an organization performs internal and external communications with trading partners, executes the logistics component, and understands/monitors related costs of conducting its business. The use of information technology (IT) is considered a prerequisite for the effective control of today's complex supply chains. Increased communication technology has redefined how businesses work together, raised customer expectations, and placed new demands on supply chain performance. IT components with proven and rapid return-on-investment are favored to support critical supply chain processes such as leaner manufacturing processes, consumer-driven supply chains, and customer responsiveness. The use of IT in the digital era has become critical and it is treated as a major competitive tool for success. Complex and comprehensive IT infrastructures support the firm's communications network, databases, and operating systems. Information technology facilitates the creation of value. However, the creation of value is defined by the different groups of stakeholders. Therefore, stakeholders must be integrated into this process of change management that uses IT as the enabler. Supply chains are due to change when higher levels of performance and/or adaptation are required as mandated by changes in the business structure and/or benchmarking and/or regulations. One of the major problems for any supply chain executive is to understand and manage these changes. These changes usually require the implementation of an IT project. Therefore, the successful design, execution, and completion of these IT projects are important for the supply chain. SCM is now a strategic function addressed at the highest levels of the organization in concert with multiple stakeholders on both the supplier and customer side of the table. The aim of this dissertation is to develop a value mapping framework involving stakeholders to improve supply chain performance when implementing IT projects. The framework has components that help define the supply chain, measure the size of the issues, identify necessary changes in the metrics to improve performance, measure the organizational consequences of these changes, and develop and follow a plan to implement IT projects to achieve the new goals of performance. Through this new framework, these IT projects will be able to bring the supply chain from a current state "As is" to a future state "To be"; capturing the existing and desired states of the proposed changes which are aligned with the objectives and goals of the organization. Therefore, the IT project can be designed, executed, and completed. One unique component of this framework is the inclusion of the stakeholders at different stages. This framework identifies the group of stakeholders to be taken into consideration in order to define the future "To be" state. In addition, the framework identifies the value creation of the "To be" system as seen by the stakeholders.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: CFE0002108, ucf:47541
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002108

Title: ESSAYS IN OUTSOURCED IS PROGRAM MANAGEMENT.
Creator: Parolia, Neeraj, Jiang, James, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: IS vendor organizations are increasingly using program management practices to manage complex projects (Gierra 2004). The move to program teams is due to the realization that the management of many client projects and their underlying dependencies requires teamwork among project managers from different projects (Cooke-Davies 2002; Ferratt et al. 2006; Sanghera 2007). With two separate studies, first we extend the team competence framework and utilize organizational learning theory to...
Show moreIS vendor organizations are increasingly using program management practices to manage complex projects (Gierra 2004). The move to program teams is due to the realization that the management of many client projects and their underlying dependencies requires teamwork among project managers from different projects (Cooke-Davies 2002; Ferratt et al. 2006; Sanghera 2007). With two separate studies, first we extend the team competence framework and utilize organizational learning theory to understand the antecedents and outcomes of teamwork behaviors. Empirical results from the first study indicated that teamwork behaviors within the program team were significantly related to an increase in team competencies of personnel development, methodology development and dissemination and customer focus. Further, the three program team competencies were a significant predictor of program outcomes. In the second study, we investigate the outcomes of conflict resolution and their impact on program performance. The results indicated that conflict resolution can enhance the level of communication, mutual support and effort among IS program members Directions for practitioners and implications for future research are discussed.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: CFE0002344, ucf:47794
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002344

Title: UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL IN EXPERTISE COORDINATION IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT (ISD) TEAMS.
Creator: Hsu, Shih-Chieh, Jiang, James, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Information system development (ISD) project is a knowledge-intensive teamwork process which requires members to coordinate their expertise to generate the final outcome. Breakdown or coordination and insufficient knowledge integration have been reported as critical factors which lead to ISD project failure. Most existing coordination literature focus on the effect of administrative coordination mechanisms toward project performance which hints that more efforts are needed to understand...
Show moreInformation system development (ISD) project is a knowledge-intensive teamwork process which requires members to coordinate their expertise to generate the final outcome. Breakdown or coordination and insufficient knowledge integration have been reported as critical factors which lead to ISD project failure. Most existing coordination literature focus on the effect of administrative coordination mechanisms toward project performance which hints that more efforts are needed to understand expertise coordination and explore ways to improve it. Addressing the above issues, two studies in this dissertation attempt to understand expertise coordination within the IS development team based on social capital perspective. The first study, based on intention-behavior literature, knowledge management research, and Gerwin's (2004) coordination model, investigates relationships among willingness, competence, and actual expertise coordination. The relationships between expertise coordination and teamwork outcomes are also examined. The second study incorporates social capital theory and examines (1) dependencies among three dimensions of social capital and (2) linkage between social capital and expertise coordination. Data collected from more than five hundred information systems project team members was used to test the proposed hypotheses. The analysis results confirmed most of the hypotheses. This dissertation contributes to coordination, project management, and team mental model research through many perspectives. In each study, directions for management practice and future research are discussed.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: CFE0002347, ucf:47816
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002347

Title: QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT ISSUES USING PROCESS SIMULATION WITH SYSTEM DYNAMICS ELEMENTS.
Creator: Mizell, Carolyn, Malone, Linda, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The complexity of software development projects makes estimation and management very difficult. There is a need for improved cost estimation methods and new models of lifecycle processes other than the common waterfall process. This work has developed a new simulation model of the spiral development lifecycle as well as an approach for using simulation for cost and schedule estimation. The goal is to provide a tool that can analyze the effects of a spiral development process as well as a tool...
Show moreThe complexity of software development projects makes estimation and management very difficult. There is a need for improved cost estimation methods and new models of lifecycle processes other than the common waterfall process. This work has developed a new simulation model of the spiral development lifecycle as well as an approach for using simulation for cost and schedule estimation. The goal is to provide a tool that can analyze the effects of a spiral development process as well as a tool that illustrates the difficulties management faces in forecasting budgets at the beginning of a project which may encourage more realistic approaches to budgetary planning. A new discrete event process model of the incremental spiral development lifecycle approach was developed in order to analyze the effects this development approach has on the estimation process as well as cost and schedule for a project. The input data for the key variables of size, productivity, and defect injection rates in the model was based on analysis of Software Engineering Laboratory data and provided for analysis of the effects of uncertainty in early project estimates. The benefits of combining a separate system dynamics model with a discrete event process models was demonstrated as was the effects of turnover on the cost and schedule for a project. This work includes a major case study of a cancelled NASA software development project that experienced cost and schedule problems throughout its history. Analysis was performed using stochastic simulation with derived probability distributions for key software development factors. A system dynamics model of human resource issues was also combined with the process model to more thoroughly analyze the effects of turnover on a project. This research has demonstrated the benefits of using a simulation model when estimating to allow for more realistic budget and schedule determination including an interval estimate to help focus on the uncertainty of early estimates.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: CFE0001209, ucf:46939
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001209

Title: IMPROVING PROJECT MANAGEMENT WITH SIMULATION AND COMPLETION DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS.
Creator: Cates, Grant, Mollaghasemi, Mansooreh, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Despite the critical importance of project completion timeliness, management practices in place today remain inadequate for addressing the persistent problem of project completion tardiness. Uncertainty has been identified as a contributing factor in late projects. This uncertainty resides in activity duration estimates, unplanned upsetting events, and the potential unavailability of critical resources. This research developed a comprehensive simulation based methodology for conducting...
Show moreDespite the critical importance of project completion timeliness, management practices in place today remain inadequate for addressing the persistent problem of project completion tardiness. Uncertainty has been identified as a contributing factor in late projects. This uncertainty resides in activity duration estimates, unplanned upsetting events, and the potential unavailability of critical resources. This research developed a comprehensive simulation based methodology for conducting quantitative project completion-time risk assessments. The methodology enables project stakeholders to visualize uncertainty or risk, i.e. the likelihood of their project completing late and the magnitude of the lateness, by providing them with a completion time distribution function of their projects. Discrete event simulation is used to determine a project's completion distribution function. The project simulation is populated with both deterministic and stochastic elements. Deterministic inputs include planned activities and resource requirements. Stochastic inputs include activity duration growth distributions, probabilities for unplanned upsetting events, and other dynamic constraints upon project activities. Stochastic inputs are based upon past data from similar projects. The time for an entity to complete the simulation network, subject to both the deterministic and stochastic factors, represents the time to complete the project. Multiple replications of the simulation are run to create the completion distribution function. The methodology was demonstrated to be effective for the on-going project to assemble the International Space Station. Approximately $500 million per month is being spent on this project, which is scheduled to complete by 2010. Project stakeholders participated in determining and managing completion distribution functions. The first result was improved project completion risk awareness. Secondly, mitigation options were analyzed to improve project completion performance and reduce total project cost.
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Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: CFE0000209, ucf:46243
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000209

Title: THE APPLICATION OF "CRASHING" A PROJECT NETWORK TO SOLVE THE TIME/COST TRADEOFF IN RECAPITALIZATION OF THE UH-60A HELICOPTER.
Creator: Fortier, Gregory, Reilly, Charles, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Since the beginning of project management, people have been asked to perform "more with less" in expeditious time while attempting to balance the inevitable challenge of the time/cost tradeoff. This is especially true within the Department of Defense today in prosecuting the Global War on Terrorism both in Afghanistan and Iraq. An unprecedented and consistent level of Operational Tempo has generated heavy demands on current equipment and has subsequently forced the need to recapitalize...
Show moreSince the beginning of project management, people have been asked to perform "more with less" in expeditious time while attempting to balance the inevitable challenge of the time/cost tradeoff. This is especially true within the Department of Defense today in prosecuting the Global War on Terrorism both in Afghanistan and Iraq. An unprecedented and consistent level of Operational Tempo has generated heavy demands on current equipment and has subsequently forced the need to recapitalize several legacy systems until suitable replacements can be implemented. This paper targets the UH-60A:A Recapitalization Program based at the Corpus Christi Army Depot in Corpus Christi, Texas. More specifically, we examine one of the nine existing project sub-networks within the UH-60A:A program, the structural/electrical upgrade phase. In crashing (i.e. adding manpower or labor hours) the network, we determine the minimal cost required to reduce the total completion time of the 68 activities within the network before a target completion time. A linear programming model is formulated and then solved for alternative scenarios. The first scenario is prescribed by the program manager and consists of simply hiring additional contractors to augment the existing personnel. The second and third scenarios consist of examining the effects of overtime, both in an aggressive situation (with limited longevity) and a more moderate situation (displaying greater sustainability over time). The initial linear programming model (Scenario 1) is crashed using estimates given from the program scheduler. The overtime models are crashed using reduced-time crash estimates. For Scenarios 2 and 3, the crashable times themselves are reduced by 50% and 75%, respectively. Initial results indicate that a completion time of 79.5 days is possible without crashing any activities in the network. The five-year historical average completion time is 156 days for this network. We continue to crash the network in each of the three scenarios and determine that the absolute shortest feasible completion times, 73 days for Scenario 1, 76 days for Scenario 2, and 77.5 days for Scenario 3. We further examine the models to observe similarities and differences in which activities get targeted for crashing and how that reduction affects the critical path of the network. These results suggests an in-depth study of using linear programming and applying it to project networks to grant project managers more critical insight that may help them better achieve their respective objectives. This work may also be useful as the groundwork for further refinement and application for maintenance managers conducting day-to-day unit level maintenance operations.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: CFE0001381, ucf:47008
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001381

Title: CONTEXT-DRIVEN AGENTS IN COMPUTER SUPPORTED COOPERATIVE WORKS.
Creator: Lichtman, Brian, Gonzalez, Avelino, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis describes a research project that investigates the level of contextualization needed to successfully build context-driven agents that can manage a cooperative project. Many times in industry, collaborators in a large project may be located vast distances from each other. It is for this reason that management of such projects can often be difficult. The purpose of this research is to design an agent that can take on the role of a project manager (PM) to assist the human project...
Show moreThis thesis describes a research project that investigates the level of contextualization needed to successfully build context-driven agents that can manage a cooperative project. Many times in industry, collaborators in a large project may be located vast distances from each other. It is for this reason that management of such projects can often be difficult. The purpose of this research is to design an agent that can take on the role of a project manager (PM) to assist the human project manager. Specifically, this thesis looks to give such project management agents full situational awareness. It is hypothesized that only with situational awareness can an agent successfully act in the role of a project manager. This thesis describes the investigation into the use of Context-Based Reasoning and Contextual Graphs to create an agent with such situational awareness. This thesis shows that with enough situational awareness, an agent will have the ability to successfully take on the role of a project manager. In particular, this thesis looks at a PM-agent that can manage a simulated project to design and construct a small sounding rocket.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFH0004113, ucf:44871
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004113

Title: A GLOBAL STRATEGIC FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF THE LUXURY RETAIL INDUSTRY.
Creator: LaVan, Lauren, Curcio, Richard, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: A global strategic financial analysis of the luxury retail industry was conducted. The research entailed comprehensive analyses and forecasts of the global economy, the luxury retail industry and four of the most prominent, multi-national luxury goods firms in the world. These companies included: Coach, Michael Kors, Tiffany & Co., and LVMH Moet Hennessy, whom market among the world's finest personal luxury goods from handbags, clothing and accessories to diamonds, jewelry, watches,...
Show moreA global strategic financial analysis of the luxury retail industry was conducted. The research entailed comprehensive analyses and forecasts of the global economy, the luxury retail industry and four of the most prominent, multi-national luxury goods firms in the world. These companies included: Coach, Michael Kors, Tiffany & Co., and LVMH Moet Hennessy, whom market among the world's finest personal luxury goods from handbags, clothing and accessories to diamonds, jewelry, watches, fragrances, cosmetics and wines. The macroeconomic analysis focused on factors pertinent to the luxury goods industry such as: (1) the lasting effects of the global financial crisis, our gradual emergence from the Great Recession and the impact these conditions have had on consumer spending and confidence; (2) the generational shift of consumers from the retiring baby boomers to the technologically savvy Generation Z and their unique demands for products as well as experiences; and (3) the growth and demand from emerging economies, especially China which is the globe's top luxury nationality accounting for 25% of all luxury purchases worldwide. Comprehensive financial ratio analyses, SWOT assessments, technical trends and forecasts of revenues, earnings and share prices for the four companies, resulted in recommendations to investors and advice to top management of the four firms. Luxury retail is a fascinating, recession resilient industry and it is expected to reach €1 trillion within the next 5 years. However, regardless of how successful firms in this industry have been in the past, to survive and continue to succeed, it is imperative that they remain flexible and adaptable in this ever-changing world.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFH0004348, ucf:45005
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004348

Title: BRAVE NEW WORLD RELOADED: ADVOCATING FOR BASIC CONSTITUTIONAL SEARCH PROTECTIONS TO APPLY TO CELL PHONES FROM EAVESDROPPING AND TRACKING BY THE GOVERNMENT AND CORPORATE ENTITIES.
Creator: Berrios-Ayala, Mark, Milon, Abby, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Imagine a world where someone's personal information is constantly compromised, where federal government entities AKA Big Brother always knows what anyone is Googling, who an individual is texting, and their emoticons on Twitter. Government entities have been doing this for years; they never cared if they were breaking the law or their moral compass of human dignity. Every day the Federal government blatantly siphons data with programs from the original ECHELON to the new series like PRISM...
Show moreImagine a world where someone's personal information is constantly compromised, where federal government entities AKA Big Brother always knows what anyone is Googling, who an individual is texting, and their emoticons on Twitter. Government entities have been doing this for years; they never cared if they were breaking the law or their moral compass of human dignity. Every day the Federal government blatantly siphons data with programs from the original ECHELON to the new series like PRISM and Xkeyscore so they can keep their tabs on issues that are none of their business; namely, the personal lives of millions. Our allies are taking note; some are learning our bad habits, from Government Communications Headquarters' (GCHQ) mass shadowing sharing plan to America's Russian inspiration, SORM. Some countries are following the United States' poster child pose of a Brave New World like order of global events. Others like Germany are showing their resolve in their disdain for the rise of tyranny. Soon, these new found surveillance troubles will test the resolve of the American Constitution and its nation's strong love and tradition of liberty. Courts are currently at work to resolve how current concepts of liberty and privacy apply to the current conditions facing the privacy of society. It remains to be determined how liberty will be affected as well; liberty for the United States of America, for the European Union, the Russian Federation and for the people of the World in regards to the extent of privacy in today's blurred privacy expectations.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFH0004537, ucf:45187
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004537

Project Management (3)	+ -
project complexity (2)	+ -
project management (2)	+ -
ACLU (1)	+ -
ADABTS (1)	+ -

AOA (1)	+ -
Agile project management (1)	+ -
Al-Qaeda (1)	+ -
American Civil Liberties Union (1)	+ -
Angle of Arrival (1)	+ -
Automatic Detection of Abnormal Behaviour and Threats in crowded Spaces (1)	+ -
Brickstream (1)	+ -
CALEA (1)	+ -
CFAA (1)	+ -
CIA (1)	+ -
CSCW (1)	+ -
Change Management (1)	+ -
Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (1)	+ -
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (1)	+ -
Context (1)	+ -
Crashing (1)	+ -
CxBR (1)	+ -
CxG (1)	+ -
DARPA (1)	+ -
DGSE (1)	+ -
DOJ (1)	+ -
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (1)	+ -
Department of Defense (1)	+ -
Department of Justice (1)	+ -
ECPA (1)	+ -

ETD Collection (10)	+ -
Honors Collection (3)	+ -

University of Central Florida (13)	+ -
Jiang, James (2)	+ -
Kotnour, Timothy (2)	+ -
Bergmann, Thomas (1)	+ -
Berrios-Ayala, Mark (1)	+ -

Camci, Alper (1)	+ -
Cates, Grant (1)	+ -
Curcio, Richard (1)	+ -
Elshennawy, Ahmad (1)	+ -
Fortier, Gregory (1)	+ -
Gonzalez, Avelino (1)	+ -
Hancock, Peter (1)	+ -
Hsu, Shih-Chieh (1)	+ -
Karwowski, Waldemar (1)	+ -
LaVan, Lauren (1)	+ -
Libby, Theresa (1)	+ -
Lichtman, Brian (1)	+ -
Malone, Linda (1)	+ -
Mikusinski, Piotr (1)	+ -
Milon, Abby (1)	+ -
Mizell, Carolyn (1)	+ -
Mollaghasemi, Mansooreh (1)	+ -
Moore, Karla (1)	+ -
Olczak, Wioleta (1)	+ -
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