La demande en énergie dans les réseaux de téléphonie mobile augmente en raison de l’émergence de nouvelles technologies et de nouveaux services aux exigences de plus en plus élevées (débits de données, délais, etc.). Dans ce contexte, l'opérateur de réseau mobile (ORM) doit fournir d'avantage de ressources radio et de capacité de traitement dans son réseau, entraînant ainsi des coûts financiers plus élevés. L’ORM n’a pas d’autre choix que de mettre en œuvre des stratégies d’économie d’énergie sur plusieurs niveaux de son infrastructure, notamment au niveau du réseau d’accès radio (RAN).En parallèle, le réseau électrique devient plus intelligent, avec de nouvelles fonctionnalités pour équilibrer l'offre et la demande en faisant varier les prix de l'électricité, permettant ainsi à certains agrégateurs d'énergie de faire partie du processus d'approvisionnement et en signant des accords de réponse à la demande avec ses clients les plus important. Dans le contexte d'un réseau électrique intelligent et fiable, l'ORM, qui compte des milliers de evolved NodeB (eNB) répartis sur tout le pays, doit jouer un rôle majeur dans le réseau en agissant en tant que consommateur potentiel capable de vendre de l'électricité. Toutefois, dans les pays d'Afrique subsaharienne, le réseau peut ne pas être fiable, voire même inexistant, l'ORM n'a d'autre choix que de déployer une centrale électrique virtuelle (VPP) qui l'alimente partiellement ou totalement.Dans cette thèse, nous étudions les interactions entre l’opérateur de réseau et le réseau électrique, qu’il soit fiable ou non, dans les pays développés comme dans les pays en cours de développement. Nous étudions la gestion optimale de l'énergie à long et à court terme, dans le but de minimiser le coût total de possession (TCO) en énergie de l'opérateur par station de base, qui correspond à la somme de ses dépenses d'investissement (CAPEX) et de ses dépenses opérationnelles (OPEX), en assurant la satisfaction des besoins croissants en trafic de ses utilisateurs dans la cellule.L'étude à long terme nous permet de prendre des décisions d'investissement semestrielles pour le dimensionnement de la batterie et des sources énergies renouvelables, en tenant compte de la dégradation des performances des équipements, des prévisions de la croissance du trafic des utilisateurs et de l'évolution du marché de l'électricité sur une longue période de temps comptée en années.Dans le cas où elle est alimentée par un réseau intelligent fiable, la politique à court terme aide l’opérateur à définir quotidiennement une stratégie de gestion optimale de la batterie assurant l'arbitrage ou à le trading d’électricité tout en exploitant les fluctuations horaires des prix de l’électricité afin de minimiser la facture énergétique journalière de l'ORM tout en respectant certaines règles d'utilisation de ces équipements.Dans le cas d'un réseau électrique non fiable ou complètement inexistant, l'opérateur est alimenté par des sources hybrides couplant stockage (batteries), générateurs diesel, énergie solaire et le réseau électrique si ce dernier est opérationnel. Ici, nous définissons un ordre de priorité fixe sur l’utilisation de ces sources qui vise à étendre la durée de vie de la batterie et maintenir ses performances / The energy demand in mobile networks is increasing due to the emergence of new technologies and new services with higher requirements (data rates, delays, etc). In this context, the Mobile Network Operator (MNO) has to provide more radio and processing resources in its network leading for higher financial costs. The MNO has no choice but to implement energy saving strategies in all the parts of its infrastructure and especially at the Radio Access Network (RAN).At the same time, the electrical grid is getting smarter including new functionalities to balance supply and demand by varying the electricity prices, allowing some aggregators to be part of the supply process and signing demand response agreements with its clients. In the context of reliable smart grid, the MNO having thousands of evolved NodeB (eNB) spread over all the country, has to play major role in the grid by acting as a prosumer able to sell electricity. In African Sub-Saharan countries however, the grid may be not reliable or even non existent, the MNO has no choice but to deploy a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) and rely partially or totally on it.In this thesis, we study the interactions between the network operator and the grid either reliable or not in both developed and developing countries. We investigate both long term and short term optimal energy related management, with the aim of minimising the operator's Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for energy per base station which is the sum of its Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) and Operational Expenditure (OPEX) while satisfying the growing needs of its user traffic in the cell.The long term study enables us to make semestral based investment decisions for the battery and renewable energy sources dimensioning considering equipment performance degradation, predictions on users traffic growth and electricity market evolution over a long period of time counted in years.In the case of being powered by a reliable smart grid, the short term policy helps the operator to set on a daily basis, an optimal battery management strategy by performing electricity arbitrage or trading that takes advantage of the electricity prices hourly fluctuations in order to minimize the MNO daily energy bill while respecting some rules on the usage of its equipments.In the case of a non reliable or off-grid environment, the operator is powered by hybrid sources coupling storage, diesel generators, solar power and the grid if the latter is operational. Here, we define a fixed order of priority on the use of these sources that extends the battery lifetime and maintain its performance

abstract: With the increased demand for genetically modified T-cells in treating hematological malignancies, the need for an optimized measurement policy within the current good manufacturing practices for better quality control has grown greatly. There are several steps involved in manufacturing gene therapy. These steps are for the autologous-type gene therapy, in chronological order, are harvesting T-cells from the patient, activation of the cells (thawing the cryogenically frozen cells after transport to manufacturing center), viral vector transduction, Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) attachment during T-cell expansion, then infusion into patient. The need for improved measurement heuristics within the transduction and expansion portions of the manufacturing process has reached an all-time high because of the costly nature of manufacturing the product, the high cycle time (approximately 14-28 days from activation to infusion), and the risk for external contamination during manufacturing that negatively impacts patients post infusion (such as illness and death). The main objective of this work is to investigate and improve measurement policies on the basis of quality control in the transduction/expansion bio-manufacturing processes. More specifically, this study addresses the issue of measuring yield within the transduction/expansion phases of gene therapy. To do so, it was decided to model the process as a Markov Decision Process where the decisions being made are optimally chosen to create an overall optimal measurement policy; for a set of predefined parameters. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Industrial Engineering 2020

Traveling around the world is a highly appreciated phenomenon globally. In recent years, backpacking has grown in popularity. Characterised by simplicity and adventurousness, it is especially frequent within a young demographic. However, these types of trips produce certain risks to consider, with women being subject to greater risks in the society in large. This study aims to examine risk perception amongst young female backpackers. It was performed using a qualitative method based on 15 semi-structured interviews. Results showed that risk perception has a large impact on women’s chosen destination, with certain destinations subsequently being deselected. Moreover, variable risk perception can be observed over time, in response to the decision process. At commencement, high perception of risk was exhibited, yet later shown to gradually decrease as the trip progressed. Finally, an increased perception of risk was noted post returning from the journey. / Intresset för resor har ökat i stor omfattning. En växande trend under den senaste tiden är backpackerresor. Dessa resor karaktäriseras av en enklare reseform där äventyr står i fokus. Backpackerresor är förekommande speciellt hos unga resenärer. Dessa resor medför olika typer av risker för resenären att ta i beaktande, dessutom kan det uppmärksammas att kvinnor generellt sett utsätts för många risker. Målet med denna studie var därför att undersöka riskuppfattningen hos unga kvinnliga backpackers. Denna studie genomfördes med en kvalitativ metod baserad på 15 semistrukturerade intervjuer. Resultaten antyder att riskuppfattning har en stor påverkan på valet av destination hos kvinnliga resenärer. Till följd av detta tenderar vissa destinationer att väljas bort på grund av de höga uppfattade riskerna. Dessutom kan en variation inom riskuppfattningen noteras över tid i samband med beslutsprocessen. Inför resan uppfattades en hög riskuppfattning som sedan minskade under resan. Följaktligen uppmärksammades återigen en ökad riskuppfattning efter resan.

Background: There has been a great effort in the venture capital research community in trying to identify what criteria are used by venture capital firms (VCFs) when evaluating new ventures as an investment opportunity. Efforts have also been put on trying to rank these criteria’s importance in relation to each other, with the main literature arguing that the new venture team (NVT) has the greatest influence over the VCF’s investment decision. Although there is scientific consensus regarding the superior importance of the NVT relative to other criteria, the practical methods used by VCFs to evaluate the NVT is highly underexplored. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the decision process and evaluation of NVTs by VCFs in the Nordic venture capital industry. Method: A qualitative method with an inductive approach conducted through semi-structured interviews with seven relevant industry professionals within the Nordic venture capital space. Conclusion: The findings suggest that the evaluation of NVTs follows a linear process of five sequential phases. Ten practical evaluation methods are identified as being used in the five phases of the process. The evaluation of specific NVT sub-criteria is found to be influenced by the availability of methods of evaluation in a respective phase of the process. Furthermore, it is found that the first phase of the process can only evaluate hard NVT sub-criteria, and that to evaluate soft sub-criteria, methods underlined by personal interaction between the two involved parties are necessary. The findings are synchronized into a framework depicting the dynamics of the NVT evaluation process and temporality of the NVT sub-criteria.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur kundernas förväntningar på användarvänlighet på bankers produktutbud och förväntningar på byteskostnader har påverkats av ett bankbyte eller komplettering av en bank till. Det är av vikt för banker att förstå kunders förväntningar då kundrörligheten har ökat de senaste åren, därav är det fler kunder som genomgår bankbyte eller kompletterar med en bank till. Därmed har det blivit alltmer viktigt för bankerna att differentiera sig med sitt produktutbud och den aspekt som tas upp i studien vilket är användarvänlighet. Vidare associerar många kunder ett bankbyte med byteskostnader vilket gör att det är av intresse att förstå om de ändras efter ett bankbyte jämfört med ett tidigare bankbyte.   Studien stadgat sig på tidigare forskning som har utgjort grunden för undersökningen, däremot uppmärksammades det ingen modell som mäter förväntningar på det sätt som studien avser att göra. Det har gjort att studien har utgått från uppfattad användarvänligheten i Teknologi acceptans modellen och Byteskostnader för att besvara studiens frågeställningar. Då studien har försökt dra generella slutsatser har det använts en kvantitativ enkät som utgjorde grunden för statistiska tester. Däremot är det viktigt att påpeka studiens generaliserbarhet då studien inte lyckades uppnå ett urval som kan representera alla svenska bankkunder. De resultat som studien fick fram visar att kunders förväntningar på användarvänlighet på bankers produktutbud inte har realiserats efter bankbytet eller kompletteringen. Det kunde inte heller påvisa någon skillnad på hur kunders förväntningar på byteskostnader har ändrats efter bankbytet eller kompletteringen. / The purpose of this study is examined how customer expectations on perceived ease of use of the supply of banks products and the expectations on switch cost is affected by a switch or to complement with one bank more. It´s important for banks to understand the customer´s expectations due to the overall increase in customer mobility, where more customers undergo a switch or to complement with one bank more. Therefor it is importance for banks to differentiate their perceived ease of use of the supply of products with is the aspect with is addressed in this study. Furthermore, many customers associate a bank switch with switching costs and therefore it´s a subject that that is important to understand if the expectation have changed after they undergo a switch. This study foundation is based on previous research however it´s have not been found a model how to the measure the expectations in the manner that this study attempt to do. Instead this study has used perceived ease of use from the Technology acceptance model and the theories of switching cost to answer these study questions. Because this study has tried to draw general assumptions from the result, it has been used a quantitative survey as a base for statistical tests. Therefor it´s important to acknowledge the generalizability in the study have failed to generate a sample with can represent the Swedish bank customers. However, the resultant in the study indicates that customers’ expectations regarding customer perceived ease of use of the supply of products have not been fulfilled after a switch of bank or to complement with one bank more. It could neither detect any difference in expectations of switching cost after a switch or to complement with one bank more.

This study examines the effect of electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) on consumers’ purchasing decision process, more specifically: How does consumer attitudes and purchasing intent toward companies and their products affected by negative eWOM on social media. The study is based on three-component model of attitudes which identifies attitude as the awareness, assessment and readiness to act. The purpose of this study was to examine how negative eWOM on social media affects the consumer’s purchasing decision process. The purpose was to improve understanding of eWOM’s role and influence on the consumer’s attitudes and purchasing intent towards the companies and their products.   The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 individuals aged 18-20. Results indicate that negative customer reviews on social media have a negative influence on consumers attitudes and purchasing intent. The results also show that the effect varies between different product types. The effect may be stronger for expensive and important purchases than for cheap and routine purchases.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(情報学) / 甲第18614号 / 情博第538号 / 新制||情||95(附属図書館) / 31514 / 京都大学大学院情報学研究科知能情報学専攻 / (主査)教授 河原 達也, 教授 黒橋 禎夫, 教授 鹿島 久嗣 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Informatics / Kyoto University / DFAM

Self-organization is a management concept that has been implemented in different forms since the XIXth century. However, it seems that this particular model of management rediscovers increasing popularity. Indeed, various companies across the globe have transformed their systems to weaken the hierarchy and empower their workers. I explore the subject of consensus decision process in decentralized systems, and more precisely the context in which such a decision process takes place. To analyze the context of decision making-process in self-organizing teams, I suggest a model composed of three theories: the polycentric governance of Ostrom, the specific capital of Bourdieu, and the communicative action of Habermas. These three theories are gathered in a model composed of three levels of analysis. The integrative level uses the polycentric governance theory to analyze the overarching structure of rules that backbones a system. The distributive level studies the distribution of power and influence among the workers of the system. And the interactive level studies the characteristics of the discussion which ends on consensus with the help of the communicative action theory. Then, the model is composed of three levels that are studied through the analysis of 9 patterns highlighted in the literature review. The model is tested on a case study. I carry out interviews to analyze the decision-making context of the company Menlo Innovation, which has implemented a non-hierarchical management model. The analysis of the company shows that the model is useful to study context of decision-making. However, another level of analysis empirically came up. Patterns that did not fall in any of the existing levels of analysis have been empirically highlighted, and form together a new level of analysis: the cultural policy. Given the appearance of this new level, the model has been adapted to form a new framework composed of 4 areas interconnected that are studied through the analysis of 12 patterns. The thesis contributes to the existing knowledge in several ways. First, it provides a promising model of analysis for context of consensus decision making in selforganizing systems. Second, it brings a new understanding of the centrality of the specific capital distribution in nonhierarchical organizations. Finally, it highlights a new dimension of analysis for self-organization.

The world is becoming increasingly digitized, where rapid changeovers at companies are a must to continue competing. Technological development has shown the possibilities for flexible workplaces without requirements to be at a specific physical location. Leading hybrid teams and making decisions can be challenging when they are not dependent on time and space. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how decision-making is affected by hybrid work. The study assumes leadership and decision theories such as E-leadership, strategic decision-making, and decision processes. The study has applied a qualitative case study through semi-structured interviews with eight leaders at a Swedish telecom company. The results showed that the decision-making process looks different in physical and virtual contexts. The results indicate that informal conversations and cross-examination in a physical office environment are significant for overall decision-making. This type of communication does not exist in virtual contexts, and the decision-makers have a risk of omitting important information. At the same time, there is higher efficiency in virtual decision-making meetings.

Bakgrund - Den finansiella sektorn har en viktig funktion i omställningen mot ett merhållbart samhälle, där institutionella investerare genom hållbara investeringar kan ha storbetydelse för den hållbara utvecklingen. Samtidigt har hållbarhet också fått en störrebetydelse för institutionella investerare i deras beslut om investeringar. Att göra enhållbarhetsbedömning av potentiella investeringsobjekt har därför blivit en vanligtförekommande handling under institutionella investerares investeringsbeslutsprocess. Syfte - Syftet med rapporten är att skapa förståelse för hur investerare i svenskainvestmentbolag och riskkapitalbolag bedömer företagets hållbarhet inför investeringsbeslut. Metod - Studiens empiriska material har insamlats genom kvalitativa semistruktureradeintervjuer med investerare i svenska investmentbolag och riskkapitalbolag. Därefter har entematisk analysmetod tillämpats för att identifiera, beskriva och analysera teman i detinsamlade empiriska materialet. Resultat - Studiens resultat har visat att det finns ett flertal hållbarhetsrelaterade faktorer somtas i beaktande vid investerares hållbarhetsbedömning av företag. Dessa faktorer är (1) Hållbarhetsengagemang hos portföljföretagets företrädare, (2) Portföljföretagets medvetenhetinom hållbarhetsområdet, (3) Portföljföretagets strategi kopplat till hållbarhet, (4) Portföljföretagets hållbarhetsrelaterade kommunikation, (5) Portföljföretagets internakompetens inom hållbarhetsområdet, (6) Hållbarhetsfunktionens placering i portföljföretaget, (7) Portföljföretagets egen riskbedömning med avseende på hållbarhet och (8) Efterföljandeav hållbarhetsrelaterade regleringar, internationella riktlinjer och certifieringar. Vidare harframkommit att investerare vid bedömningen av företagets hållbarhet tar hänsyn till olikaobjekts- och kontextberoende faktorer, såsom företagets ålder, mognad, storlek, land,branschtillhörighet och företagets riskfylldhet. Slutligen har studiens resultat visat attbetydelsen av hållbarhet i investerares investeringsbeslutsprocess i hög utsträckning skiljersig beroende på investerarens investeringshorisont, investeringsstrategi och tillvägagångssättför hållbara investeringar. Forskningsbegränsningar - Att den empiriska studien endast innefattar investerare i svenskainvestmentbolag och riskkapitalbolag, kan ses som en begränsning. Författarna gjorde dockett aktivt val att inrikta studien mot den svenska kontexten, vilket därmed innebär att deegenskaper som kännetecknar den svenska finansmarknaden, måste tas i beaktande i studiensresultat. Nyckelord - Institutionella investerare, Investeringsbeslutsprocess, Hållbara Investeringar,Signalering, Hållbarhetssignaler / Background - The financial sector has an important function in the transition towards a moresustainable society, where institutional investors through sustainable investments can have agreat impact on sustainable development. Sustainability has also become more important forinstitutional investors in their investment decisions. Making a sustainability assessment ofpotential investment objects has therefore become a common act during institutionalinvestors’ investment decision-making process. Purpose - The purpose of the report is to create an understanding of how investors in Swedish investment companies and venture capital companies assess the company’ssustainability before investment decisions. Method - The study’s empirical material has been collected through qualitativesemi-structured interviews with investors in Swedish investment companies and venturecapital companies. Further, a thematic analysis method has been applied to identify, describeand analyze themes in the collected empirical material. Findings - The results of the study have shown that there are several sustainability-relatedfactors that are taken into account when investors assess the sustainability of companies.These factors are (1) Sustainability commitment of the portfolio company’s representatives,(2) The awareness in the area of sustainability within the portfolio company, (3) The strategylinked to sustainability within the portfolio company, (4) The sustainability-relatedcommunication within the portfolio company, (5) The internal competence in the area ofsustainability within the portfolio company, (6) The location of the sustainability in theportfolio company, (7) The portfolio company’s own risk assessment with regard tosustainability and (8) Following sustainability-related regulations, international guidelinesand certifications. Furthermore, it has emerged that when assessing the company’ssustainability, investors take into account various object- and context-dependent factors, suchas the company’s age, maturity, size, country, industry and the company’s riskiness. Finally,the results of the study have shown that the importance of sustainability in investors’investment decision-making process differs to a large extent depending on the investor’sinvestment horizon, investment strategy and approach to sustainable investment. Research limitations - The fact that the empirical study only includes investors in Swedishinvestment companies and venture capital companies can be seen as a limitation. However,the authors made an active choice to focus the study on the Swedish context, which thusmeans that the characteristics that characterize the Swedish financial market must be takeninto account in the study's results. Keywords - Institutional Investors, Investment Decision Process, Sustainable Investments,Signaling, Sustainability Signals