Software evolution and maintenance have received great attention with the steadily increasing complexity of software systems. One recent approach in this field is adaptive programming, which focuses on the evolution of large class hierarchies. Its main objectives are to manage the change in evolutionary systems and to keep costs for adaptive maintenance low. In this thesis we present our experiences with the application of adaptive programming for modeling and implementing the legal advisory system ADONIS. Unlike most other information systems, ADONIS does not simply process data but regulations. Since regulations and laws are frequently a subject to change, we have chosen this domain as the basis for our practical research on adaptive programming. / Die Evolution und Wartung von Software haben wegen der stetig wachsenden Komplexität von Softwaresystemen deutlich an Beachtung gewonnen. Ein aktueller Ansatz auf diesem Gebiet ist die adaptive Programmierung, welche sich auf die Evolution von großen Klassenhierarchien konzentriert. Ihre Hauptziele liegen darin, die wechselnden Anforderungen in evolutionären Systemen zu bewältigen und die Kosten für adaptive Wartung gering zu halten. In dieser Arbeit präsentieren wir unsere Erfahrungen mit der Anwendung der adaptiven Programmierung zur Modellierung und Implementierung des rechtlichen Beratungssystemes ADONIS. Im Gegensatz zu vielen anderen Informationssystemen verarbeitet ADONIS nicht einfach Daten, sondern Vorschriften. Aufgrunddessen, daß Vorschriften und Gesetze häufig geändert werden, haben wir diese Domäne als Grundlage für unsere praktischen Nachforschungen zum Thema adaptive Programmierung ausgewählt.

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Dagens konsumtion av kläder hos den genomsnittlige konsumenten består till stor del av överkonsumtion. Ett bristande engagemang samt okunskap om klädkonsumtionens miljöpåverkan är ofta bidragande faktorer till ohållbar konsumtion. Detta skapar stora miljöproblem vilket gör vidare studier som kan bidra till en minskad överkonsumtion till en omedelbar prioritet inom miljöforskning. Inom klädindustrin har begreppet personal shopper blivit ett allt vanligare begrepp. En personal shopper anlitas och används idag för att ge stöd och rådgivning vid inköp av nya kläder och mode. Denna personliga rådgivning är ett exempel på ett så kallat Product Service System (PSS). PSS är ett växande område som har visat sig ha positiva effekter på konsumentens attityd till överkonsumtion och hållbarhet. Syftet med denna uppsats är att göra kvalitativ undersökning på individnivå hur en konsulterande PSS-modell upplevs. För att få en djupare inblick av hur kunder uppfattar denna typ av PSS-modell utfördes en empirisk studie som skapade, genomförde och utvärderade en konsulterande stylingstjänst. Genom att analysera och diskutera den insamlade empirin besvaras följande forskningsfrågorna (F1) Hur påverkar denna tjänst konsumentens attityd till hållbar konsumtion?, (F2) På vilket sätt upplever deltagarna att denna tjänst erbjuder de verktyg som krävs för att kunna handla mer hållbart i framtiden?, (F3) Vilka behov anser deltagarna att denna tjänst fyller? Samt (F4) Vilka fördelar finns det för modeföretag att applicera en konsulterande PSS-modell i deras affärsmodell? Utifrån tematisk analys lyfter studien fram en samlad bild av hur denna typ av PSS-modell kan bidra med flera fördelar till konsumenten såsom: Ökat självförtroende vid klädinköp, information om hållbarhet som direkt appliceras till konsumentens specifika behov, ökat affektionsvärde till de kläder som konsumenten redan äger samt nya plagg som införskaffas samt reflektion av gamla vanor och rutiner som bidrar till överkonsumtion. För ett företag kan en utveckling, alternativt implementering av en PSS modell, öka värdet i produkter och stärka kundlojalitet. Detta skulle i längden också kunna bidra till att minska den globala överkonsumtionen. / Today's consumption of clothing by the average consumer consists largely of overconsumption. A lack of commitment and knowledge about the environmental impact of clothing consumption is often a contributing factor to unsustainable consumption. This creates major environmental problems, which makes further studies that can contribute to a reduction in overconsumption an immediate priority in environmental research. Within the clothing industry, the term personal shopper has become an increasingly common term. A personal shopper is hired and used today to provide support and advice when purchasing new clothes and fashion. This personal consultancy is an example of a so-called Product Service System (PSS). PSS is a growing field that has been shown to have positive effects on consumer attitudes towards overconsumption and sustainability. The purpose of this essay is to conduct a qualitative investigation at the individual level of how a consulting PSS model is experienced. In order to gain a deeper insight into how customers perceive this type of PSS model, an empirical study was conducted that created, implemented and evaluated a consulting styling service. By analyzing and discussing the collected empirical data, the following research questions are answered (F1) How does this service affect the consumer's perspective on sustainable consumption?, (F2) In what way do the participants feel that this service offers the tools required to be able to shop more sustainably in the future ?, (F3) What needs do the participants think this service fulfills? As well as (F4) What advantages are there for fashion companies to apply a consulting PSS model in their business model? Based on thematic analysis, the study highlights an overall picture of how this type of PSS model can contribute several benefits to the consumer such as: Increased self-confidence when purchasing clothes, Information about sustainability that is directly applied to the consumer's specific needs, increased affection to the clothes that the consumer already own as well as new garments that are purchased as well as reflection of old habits and routines that contribute to overconsumption. For a company, a development or implementation of a PSS model can increase value in products and strengthen customer loyalty. In the long run, this could also contribute to reducing global overconsumption.

Datum: 29 Maj, 2023 Nivå: Magisteruppsats i företagsekonomi, 15 hp Institution: Akademin för Ekonomi, Samhälle och Teknik, Mälardalens Universitet Författare: Alan Touma (98/01/12), Shalaw Salih (00/04/03) Titel: Från traditionella arbetsuppgifter till en allt mer rådgivande roll - En kvalitativ undersökning om redovisningskonsulter kompetenskrav i den rådgivande rollen och deras upplevelse av eventuella förväntningsgap Handledare: Dariusz Osowski Nyckelord: Redovisning, rådgivning, automatisering, artificiell intelligens, kompetenser, förväntningsgap Forskningsfråga/or:  • På vilket sätt upplever redovisningskonsulter att deras yrkesroll har påverkats av automatisering och artificiell intelligens? • Vilka kompetenser efterfrågas i den rådgivande rollen och hur skiljer sig dessa från de kompetenser som tidigare har identifierats? • Upplever redovisningskonsulter eventuella förväntansgap som rådgivande redovisningskonsulter och vilka eventuella strategier kan det innebära för att möta kundens behov? Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur automatisering och artificiell intelligens påverkar redovisningskonsulternas yrkesroll, vilka kompetenser som eftersöks i den rådgivande rollen och hur dessa skiljer sig från tidigare identifierade kompetenser. Dessutom kommer studien att undersöka om redovisningskonsulterna upplever eventuellt förväntningsgap i den rådgivande rollen. Metod: Studien har tillämpat en kvalitativ forskningsmetod med ett abduktiv tillvägagångssätt. Primärdata samlades via semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex utvalda redovisningskonsulter. Den insamlade empirin har sedan analyserats genom tillämpning av tematisk analys. Slutsats: Studien visar att automatisering och artificiell intelligens har effektiviserat redovisningskonsulters arbetsuppgifter. Detta frigör tid för redovisningskonsulter att fokusera på mer analytiska och rådgivande uppgifter. För att framgångsrikt tillfredsställa kundernas behov i denna rådgivande roll behövs kompetenser som social kompetens, analytisk kompetens, teknisk kompetens, specialiserad kunskap samt grundläggande kunskaper. Vidare indikerar studien att förväntningsgapet mellan kunder och redovisningskonsulter inte är betydande. Detta beror på de effektiva strategier som konsulterna använder för att minska detta gap såsom tydlig kommunikation och transparens. / Date: May 29th, 2023 Level: Master thesis in Business Administration, 15 ECTS Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors: Alan Touma (98/01/12), Shalaw Salih (00/04/03) Title: From traditional tasks to an increasingly advisory role - A qualitative study on the competence requirements of accounting consultants in the advisory role and their experience of potential expectation gap Supervisor: Dariusz Osowski Keywords: Accounting, advisory, automation, artificial intelligence,  competencies, expectation gap Research questions:  • In what ways do accounting consultants feel that their professional role has been impacted by automation and artificial intelligence? • What competencies are in demand in the advisory role and how do these differ from the competencies that have been previously identified? • Do accounting consultants experience any expectation gaps as advisory accounting consultants and what possible strategies might this entail to meet customer needs? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how automation and artificial intelligence affect the role of accounting consultants, what competencies are sought in the advisory role, and how these differ from previously identified competencies. In addition, the study will investigate whether accounting consultants perceive a possible expectation gap in the advisory role. Method: The study has applied a qualitative research method with an abductive approach. Primary data were collected through semi structured interviews with six selected accounting consultants. The collected empirical data was then analyzed using thematic analysis. Conclusion: The study shows that automation and artificial intelligence have made accounting consultants' tasks more efficient. This frees up time for accounting consultants to focus on more analytical and advisory tasks. In order to successfully satisfy the customers' needs in this advisory role, competencies such as social competence, analytical competence, technical competence, specialist knowledge and basic knowledge are needed. Furthermore, the study indicates that the expectation gap between customers and accounting consultants is not significant. This is due to the effective strategies that the consultants use to reduce this gap, such as clear communication and transparency.

Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication using Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) technology promises to help drastically reduce vehicle collisions. DSRC allows vehicles in a highly mobile and complex network to send and receive safety messages with more reliability and lower latency compared with other wireless technologies used for automotive communications. However, there are many factors that could cause a safety-critical automotive application to become unreliable due to communication failures. While the reliability of V2V communication has been a subject of study by several researchers, there are still open questions regarding how the placement of the DSRC devices (inside or outside the host vehicle), the vehicle’s interior elements and the differences in altitude can affect the V2V communications. This article provides experimental testing data and analyses in order to quantify the impacts of relative vehicle speeds, altitude differences between vehicles, and interior obstacles on V2V communication range and reliability for opposite traffic, in both city and highway environments. We discuss how these results can adversely affect the design parameters of safety critical applications by considering the V2V application “Safe Pass Advisory” on two-lane rural highways.

This thesis acts as one of the first studies that analyzes the safety effects of Edge Lane Roads (ELR) for all road users. This is important since ELRs can be a solution to many issues, such as alleviating congestion, increasing multimodality along roadways, and reducing maintenance costs. ELRs in both North America and Australia were observed. Starting with the North American ELRs, the following study designs were employed to estimate the safety of ELRs: (a) yoked comparison where each ELR installation was matched with at least two comparable 2-lane roads to serve as comparison sites and (b) an Empirical Bayes (EB) before/after analysis for ELR sites where requisite data on AADT and other relevant characteristics were available. Crash data was collected and compiled into four different groups: ELR before implementation, ELR after implementation, comparison site before ELR implementation, and comparison site after ELR comparison. The yoked comparison showed 9 of the 13 sites that had lower crash counts compared to their respective comparison sites. The EB analysis showed all 11 ELRs that were observed demonstrated a reduction in crashes. Moving to the Australian ELRs, the following study designs were employed: (c) analysis of general crash counts/trends, and (d) reverse EB analysis. The analysis of general crash counts and trends showed that each of the Australian ELRs exhibited very low amounts of crashes for 5 years, which further shows how safe these facilities are. Moving forward to the reverse EB analysis, 5 of the 8 ELR sites demonstrated a reduction in crashes. Overall, the results were generally favorable and indicated that ELRs provided a safer experience for cyclists, drivers, and pedestrians. More analysis is recommended as more data becomes available on these ELRs. Examples of this include using pedestrian and bicycle data to better understand the safety effects VRUs experience on North American facilities or gathering enough crash data to conduct 3-year reverse EB analyses for ELRs that were expanded to 2-lane roads. Hence, a recommendation can be made to implement a few experimental ELRs in rural locations throughout the State of California to help it meet its SB-1 objectives.

Increasing pressure on schools to continually increase levels of academic performance has caused valuable career/technical education programs to be sacrificed. These programs are important as they not only help keep students engaged in school, but train them for the workforce, at a time when the United States is facing a serious skilled-worker crisis. This study examined the perceptions of business professionals as advisory members and their role and motivation for participation on ROC/P advisory committees in San Joaquin County. It also examined ROC/P educator perceptions about business professionals' role and motivation for participation on ROC/P advisory committees. Responses of both groups were analyzed as they related to eight specific research questions. The study group consisted of 59 business partners and 39 ROC/P educators from various industry advisory groups. Each participant completed a 20 item survey especially designed for this study. Participants also responded to several demographic-type questions. The results of both groups were analyzed and compared. Although there was a tendency toward agreement on most of the survey items between the business professionals and educators' responses, the results showed that there is still a need for better understanding and communication between education and business. Advisory committees are a mechanism by which education and business can come together to address issues of mutual concern, such as modifying curriculum to meet industry needs. Business professionals are not in full agreement that their recommendations are truly incorporated into the curriculum. This study recommends that educators focus more on assisting business professionals in understanding their role as advisory committee members, to communicate more clearly regarding recommended curriculum changes, and to increase the opportunities for mutually beneficial sharing.

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