Background: Patients with mental disabilities are more prone to somatic illnesses than the general public. Unhealthier lifestyles and side effects of medication might be causes of conditions that lead to diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and premature death. According to the Social Board patients with mental disabilities receive poorer treatment than patients with only somatic diagnosis. Aim: The aim of the study was to describe nurses' experiences to identify, assess and manage somatic symptoms and problems within the psychiatric care. Method: The study is based on interviews with 12 nurses working in psychiatric outpatient and inpatient care. A qualitative content analysis was chosen. Result: The nurses performed nursing through talking, blood sampling and measuring for example blood pressure. They followed up side effects of medication. This was done routinely or on their own initiative in order to identify, assess and manage somatic symptoms and problems. The nurses had the experience that they did not have sufficient knowledge of somatic care. They had wanted more collaboration with colleagues and other care units to increase this. The alliance with the patient was a precondition for aiding patients to make lifestyle changes. Conclusion: There is need for simple routines and strategies to control somatic symptoms and problems. It is of importance for the patients to receive equivalent care and making it easier for the nurses to provide care. Increased collaboration with colleagues and other care units could facilitate this process of care taking.

Mass collaboration has been made possible through social networking tools likewikis. With features that support the principles wikinomics, wikis are enabling largenumber of people to participate in the production process without necessarily beingat the same physical location. Organizations and IT managers are beginning to har-ness this new technology in a way that will create business value for their companies,helping them to produce goods and services that are valuable for their customers.This research sets out to explore the business values of using wikis in enterprises, andhow the CIOs and other IT managers who are responsible for handling the IT/IS re-sources of their firms leverage wikis to create business value. This was accomplishedby examining collaborations on wikis from two different perspectives: Firstly, fromthe CIO or IT manager’s perspective where we gathered their own views about thebusiness values of wikis and also assess their own impact on creating those businessvalues. Secondly, we examined the business values of wikis from the user’s perspec-tive by gathering the views of different wiki users.The main contribution of this research is to identify if any, the business values thatare obtained from using wikis in enterprises and to ascertain the impact of the CIOon the business values that are being created. / The report we did is research report which aims to investigate the impact of CIO and enterprise wikis for companies. / Master Thesis in Informatics

ABSTRACT In the past decade, the construction industry has been identified to be among the industries that are lagging in the application of modern information and communication technology as tools to enhance project performance. Where this technology has been applied, little has been done to meet up with the pace of advancements in information and communication technology. This research looks at the extent to which information and communication technology (ICT) tools have being integrated for project enhancement in a major railway construction project. Most precisely, it looks at how ICT tools have affected communication and collaborative processes in the context of the soft skills processes and the hard skills processes. Enormous literature in this field of study was reviewed to set the base upon which to make the investigation. Findings show that ICT tools have been integrated just to a limited extent on the project which still used traditional management and project communication methods.; and there was room for integration of better tools as project participants were aware of some of these ICT tools that can enhance the performance of the project. Finally, an ICT infrastructure that encompasses all aspects of the project environment and the entire project lifecycle is proposed. This infrastructure enhances project performance by integrating all project stakeholders in the process of knowledge sharing and use in the project. The research also determines that most project organisations would refrain from integrating certain kinds of project enhancement tools because of he cost obtaining them as well as the cost to train employees on their usage.

Syftet med detta examensarbete har varit att undersöka hur samarbetet fungerar mellan klasslärare och specialpedagoger på en skola i Stockholmsområdet samt dess påverkan på berörda elever. Frågeställningarna som har fungerat som stöd för undersökningens genomförande är följande: Vilka problem upplever klasslärare och specialpedagoger i sin undervisning i förhållande till elever i behov av särskilt stöd? Hur fungerar samarbetet mellan klasslärare och specialpedagoger på skolan? Hur påverkas berörda elever av detta? Metoden som har använts för att genomföra undersökningen har främst varit kvalitativ i form av intervjuer. Undersökningen utgörs av fyra kvalitativa intervjuer med två klasslärare samt två specialpedagoger på en skola i Stockholms län. Resultatet för studien visar att problemen som klasslärarna och specialpedagogerna upplever i undervisningen i förhållande till elever som kräver extra stöd framför allt relateras till tidsbristen. Tidsbristen leder till att eleverna inte får tillräckligt stöd som egentligen krävs av pedagogerna, fastän de själva strävar efter att stödja eleverna fullständigt. Tidsbristen visar sig dock drabba klasslärarna mer än vad den drabbar specialpedagogerna. Detta på grund av att specialpedagogerna har tillgång till att arbeta med barnen i mindre grupper som i sin tur bidrar till att eleverna får mer hjälp än vad de vanligtvis skulle få hos klassläraren. Resultatet av studien visar även att samarbetet mellan klasslärarna och specialpedagogerna fungerar både bra och dåligt på grund av en mängd olika faktorer. Den främsta orsaken till att samarbetet många gånger brister är på grund av klasslärarnas och specialpedagogernas skilda syn på vad som är viktiga behov för eleverna, det vill säga vilka elevers behov som det bör tas hänsyn till.

We address a number of operational challenges encountered in two emerging types of practices in the procurement of truckload transportation services: collaboration and auctions. The main objective in these two types of procurement strategies is identifying and exploiting synergies between the lanes of a carrier's network. In shipper collaboration, we take the perspective of a shipper who collaborates with other shippers to seek synergy between his lanes and other participants' lanes. On the other hand, in procurement auctions, although we take the carriers' perspective in our work, a shipper tries to discover the carrier (or carriers) whose network has the most synergy with his lanes. The first part of the thesis concerns the solution of optimization problems arising in collaborative transportation procurement networks where a group of shippers comes together and jointly negotiates with carriers for the procurement of transportation services. Through collaboration, shippers may be able to identify and submit sequences of continuous loaded movements to carriers, reducing the carriers' need for repositioning, and thus lowering the carriers' costs. A portion of the carriers' cost savings may be returned to the shippers in the form of lower prices. We discuss optimization technology that helps identify repeatable, dedicated truckload continuous move tours with little truck repositioning. Timing considerations are critical to practical viability and are a key focus of our efforts. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithms on randomly generated instances as well as on instances derived from real-world data. The second part concerns the pricing of transportation services offered by the trucking companies (carriers). We look at the bid determination problem faced by carriers in transportation procurement auctions where a shipper requests quotes from multiple carriers and purchases the services of the lowest bidder. The specific problem being studied is the bid valuation problem in the case where the carrier must place bids on multiple lanes simultaneously. We model the problem as a stochastic optimization problem and propose a coordinate search algorithm for solving this problem. Then, we conduct a simulation study to demonstrate the positive impact of the approach on carrier profits.

This study presents a conceptual model, based on absorptive capacity and affordance theory, for investigating the e-Top facilitation and knowledge representation required by the e-Top platform and the impact of such functions in enhancing knowledge assimilation and then knowledge exploitation. A scale that measures above constructs is developed and validated. Survey data from e-Top platform members is tested. The partial least squares (PLS) method is empirically used to test the conceptual model and hypotheses using the collected survey data. The empirical results support the proposed model. The analysis provides evidence that the e-Top facilitation and knowledge representation positively effect on knowledge assimilation; the knowledge assimilation has a positive effect on knowledge exploitation. This study provides initial insights into factors that are likely to be significant antecedents of knowledge exploitation for the e-Top platform. Besides, the consultant support positively amplified the effect of e-Top facilitation on knowledge assimilation. The findings are particularly valuable to the e-Top platform development team and administrators. The e-Top platform development team can develop the e-Top platform in accordance with these findings to ensure better knowledge assimilation and exploitation through the exploitation of e-Top platform. Thereby, with this platform the effectiveness of industry-university collaboration will be enhanced.

This study uses the case study method to investigate how IT facilitates business model innovation. The A Steel Corporation (A Company) is chosen for this study. We consider the business model and information technology (IT) factors andanalyze how A Company use IT to facilitate business model innovation. Regarding thebusiness model factor, we describe the A Company¡¦s value propositions, value configuration, and key resources for co-production; further we identify the needed abilities for each stakeholder among the value network to make the co-production business model possible. For the IT factor, we present what ITs are developed and deployed among the value configuration in order to make the business model work. Finally, we report A Company¡¦s performance after its innovation. The case company, applied for industrial technology development projects sponsored by the goverment policy as strategies to introduce their new collaborating-commerce business model.They invoked their strategies to integrate the supply chains for expansion through startup a new business model for partners to understand, communicate and improve the value chain to link to the global companies. The performances cause high impacts on collaborative effectiveness among value chain partners. This thesis, based on a case study of A Company,is to analyze and find the key factor how to use the knowledge management makes strategies success and enable to expend the enterprise worth.

This research examines interviews conducted with more than a dozen authorities in architectural education on collaborative methodologies utilized in the design studio and identifies factors that inhibit and facilitate the incorporation of collaborative methods in the context of situated learning. This research explores the notion that the design and implementation of even the simplest architectural projects are almost exclusively collaborative endeavors requiring the expertise of a spectrum of individuals working together to achieve a singular goal. Each of these experts is highly trained in their respective areas, yet few are formally trained authorities in the skills of collaboration, including architects, individuals who are often put at the lead of design projects which include people of varied backgrounds, working styles and areas of expertise. Historically, the education of an architect has been a highly individualized pursuit, focused on the development of an individual skill set seldom requiring collaboration beyond that of student and professor. While this individualized, hands on approach to education has been highly revered by many, it often falls short of its potential and fails to recognize that the greatest design accomplishments of humankind have been the undertaking of collaborative enterprise. Furthermore, architecture students are being prepared in a manner that is contrary to the highly collaborative nature of the architectural practice they will enter without taking away from the inherent strengths of the traditional architectural education. Despite NAAB requirements for collaborative methods in the classroom, and an increasingly collaborative model of professional practice for architects, design education continues to trail woefully behind other disciplines such as business, law, nursing and medicine; each having long ago integrated collaborative study models into their curriculum. This research examines how collaborative methods including intradisciplinary, interdisciplinary and community based collaborations, can be further integrated as a formal part of the overall design curriculum and what factors facilitate and inhibit this inclusion.

As accountability for public schools continues to increase, educators are continually seeking the best practices in order to assure successful academic achievement, particularly in mathematics. This study focused on the popular reform movement of establishing professional learning communities (PLCs) within the schools, and combined it with a frame of reference from the math teaching context. The purpose of this study was to gain the perceptions of principals and math teachers in successful 5A high schools about the role of the professional learning communities in their schools. For several decades, educators have been trained and continue to be trained on the effective use of professional learning communities in all levels of education. Utilizing a PLC concept requires additional efforts by the school leadership and the teachers. By gaining insight into the perceptions of those in the field, the researcher was able to find common themes, analyze them, and develop recommendations for practice and further research. This qualitative research focused on reviews of literature beginning with early reform movements of forty years ago, which spawned the PLC movement to practitioners and researchers today. Participants were selected from highs schools with a Recognized or higher rating by the Texas Education Agency, and that were also acknowledged for their high performance in mathematics. Three large Texas high schools were chosen, and interviews conducted with twelve participants, three principals and nine teachers. The perspective was narrowed to the field of mathematics because this subject continues to be challenging for so many students as reflected on Texas state scores. After analysis of interviews with the three principals and nine math teachers, five common themes emerged from the data. Structure/time, leadership, collaboration, effective components of the PLC, and professional development were analyzed in the findings. It was evident that these educators saw value in the process of working within a professional learning community and advocate the continuation and development of such a work structure within their schools. The perceptions of these participants validated the research found in the literature supporting PLC's as an appropriate school reform strategy.

Voluntary associations representing numerous types of recreation users and environmental issues have flourished across the landscape in America. However, the literature has not sufficiently studied these associations and their role in collaborative natural resource management. A lack of understanding of voluntary associations has not only limited managers’ ability to accommodate changing values of the American public, but also resulted in tremendous costs for land management agencies. This dissertation was aimed at gaining a better understanding of outdoor recreation and environmental voluntary associations and their involvement in collaborative forest management. Five objectives guided this study: (1) assessing the organizational characteristics of voluntary associations; (2) exploring organizational concerns about forest management issues; (3) examining organizational leaders’ experiences in collaborating with the Forest Service; (4) evaluating the perceived effectiveness of collaboration efforts with the Forest Service, and (5) developing and testing a social psychological model to predict members’ participation in organizational activities. To achieve our research goals, a case-study approach utilizing a mixed-methods research framework was employed. The Sam Houston National Forest (SHNF) located in New Waverly, Texas served as the geographic focus of this research. Semi-structured interviews and a web-based survey were conducted with members in selected voluntary associations that are currently involved in collaborative forest management at SHNF. The findings identified stakeholder attributes and interests, validated assumptions held regarding voluntary groups and assessed collaboration effectiveness, and helped to uncover alternative explanations for members’ differential participation in voluntary associations. The study offers a conceptual bridge linking several areas of study including inter-organizational collaboration, environmental communication, outdoor recreation studies, and volunteerism.