Dans cette thèse, un système personnalisé de stadification automatique du sommeil est proposé, combinant fusion symbolique et système de contrôle rétroactif. La fusion symbolique est inspirée par le processus décisionnel mis en œuvre par les cliniciens experts du sommeil lors la reconnaissance visuelle des stades de sommeil. Il commence par l'extraction de paramètres numériques à partir des signaux polysomnographiques bruts. L'interprétation symbolique de haut niveau se fait par l'intermédiaire de l'extraction de caractéristiques à partir des paramètres numériques. Enfin, la décision est générée en utilisant des règles inspirées par les recommandations internationales en médecine du sommeil. Les symboles et les valeurs des caractéristiques dépendent d'un ensemble de seuils, dont la détermination est une question clé. Dans cette thèse, deux algorithmes de recherche différents, Differential Evolution et Cross Entropy ont été étudiés pour calculer la valeur de ces seuils automatiquement. La variabilité individuelle a souvent été ignorée dans les systèmes automatiques de stadification du sommeil existants. Cependant, elle a été démontrée dans plusieurs travaux de recherche vis à vis de nombreux aspects du sommeil (comme les enregistrements polysomnographiques, les habitudes de sommeil, l'architecture du sommeil, la durée du sommeil, les événements liés au sommeil, etc.). Afin d'améliorer l'efficacité des classificateurs des stades de sommeil, un système automatisé de sommeil automatique adapté aux différentes personnes et tenant compte de la variabilité individuelle a été exploré et évalué. / In this thesis, a personalized automatic sleep staging system is proposed by combining symbolic fusion and feedback system control technique. Symbolic fusion is inspired by the decision-making process of clinical sleep staging. It starts from the extraction of digital parameters from raw polysomnography signals and it goes up to a high-level symbolic interpretation through a features extraction process. At last, the decision is generated using rules inspired by international guidelines in sleep medicine. Meanwhile, the symbols and the features computations depend on a set of thresholds, whose determination is a key issue. In this thesis, two different search algorithms, Differential Evolution and Cross Entropy, were studied to compute these thresholds automatically.Individual variability was often ignored in existing automatic sleep staging systems. However, an individual variability was observed in many aspects of sleep research (such as polysomnography recordings, sleep patterns, sleep architecture, sleep duration, sleep events, etc.). In order to improve the effectiveness of the sleep stages classifiers, a personalized automatic sleep staging system that can be adapted the different persons and take individual variability into consideration was explored and evaluated.The perspectives of this work are based on evaluating the complexity and the performances of these algorithms in terms of latencies and hardware resource requirements, in order to target a personalized automated embedded sleep staging system.

Les amyotrophies spinales infantiles (ASI) de type 1 (subdivisées en type 1 vrai et 1 bis), sont des maladies neuromusculaires qui paralysent progressivement l’enfant, mettant en jeu son pronostic vital lors de l’atteinte des muscles respiratoires. L’assistance respiratoire invasive par trachéotomie évite son décès, mais soulève un questionnement éthique compte-tenu de la gravité du handicap moteur. L’ASI de type 1 vrai représente la forme la plus grave. Ces enfants étant totalement paralysés et pouvant très difficilement communiquer, ils ne sont pas trachéotomisés et décèdent dans la petite enfance. Le type 1 bis étant un peu moins sévère avec possibilité pour l'enfant de s'exprimer, les équipes médicales françaises se positionnent généralement en faveur de la trachéotomie, ce qui ne fait pas l’unanimité au niveau international. Cette question soulève donc un questionnement éthique, car lorsque les professionnels évaluent la vie qu’elle va imposer à l’enfant ainsi qu’à sa famille, ils redoutent éventuellement qu’elle représente une obstination déraisonnable de soins. Mais qu’ils y soient favorables ou au contraire défavorables, ils ne peuvent décider seuls de la démarche à entreprendre et il leur est impossible d’exclure les parents du processus décisionnel. Au regard de ces problématiques, ce travail porte une attention particulière aux parents de ces enfants avec 2 thématiques de recherche approchées par des études qualitatives : L’une sur leur vécu de la prise de décision de recourir ou non à la trachéotomie, avec la réalisation de deux études phénoménologiques : une auprès de parents dont l’enfant est décédé sans trachéotomie, l’autre auprès de parents ayant un enfant vivant avec une trachéotomie. L’autre sur les conséquences de la trachéotomie pour l’enfant et sa famille, menée auprès de mamans d’enfants trachéotomisés. Les résultats de ces travaux mettent en exergue les difficultés d’être exposé à une telle prise de décision en tant que parent, et le cheminement ainsi que les évènements qui les mènent à un moment ou un autre à se positionner sur la question. Ils interrogent également la place dans la société de l’enfant tétraplégique, trachéotomisé et ventilo-dépendant. Son état représente un paroxystique degré de vulnérabilité physique et sociale, considérablement majoré par le fait qu’il ne peut pas, comme l’adulte, tenter de prendre sa vie en main. Ce sujet n’étant jamais évoqué dans la presse non spécialisée, ces situations restent souvent dans l’ombre alors qu’elles représentent des vies qui ont grandement besoin de tolérance et de solidarités humaines (individuelles et collectives) pour ne pas s’éteindre. Ces dernières déterminent en partie le devenir de l’enfant et favorisent ou au contraire, empêchent la création de sa place légitime au sein de la société / Childhood spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1 (divided into true type 1 and 1a), are progressively paralyzing neuromuscular diseases that afflict children, affecting their prognosis when respiratory muscles are involved. Invasive ventilatory support by tracheotomy prevents death, but raises ethical issues in view of the severity of motor impairment. SMA type 1 represents the most severe form. These children are completely paralyzed and communicate only with great difficulty; they are not tracheotomized and die in infancy. For Type 1a, being somewhat less severe with the possibility for children to express themselves, French medical teams are generally positioned in favor of tracheotomy, which is not an internationally unanimous approach. This question raises an ethical issue because when professionals assess the life that will result for the child and family, they sometimes fear that it represents unreasonable and excessive care. Whether their views are favorable or unfavorable regarding ventilatory support, they cannot decide alone which approach should be undertaken; it is impossible to exclude parents from decision making. Given these issues, this study pays particular attention to parents of children with two research themes through qualitative research : One focus was on parents’ experience of deciding whether or not to accept tracheotomy, which was examined through two phenomenological studies: one with parents whose child died without a tracheotomy, the other with parents with children living with a tracheotomy. The other focus was on the consequences of a tracheotomy for the child and family, conducted among mothers of children with tracheotomies. The results of these studies highlight the difficulties of being faced with such a decision as a parent, and the journey and events that lead to one point or another on this issue. They also question the place in society of the quadriplegic child with a tracheotomy and ventilator dependence. The child’s condition represents a paroxysmal degree of physical and social vulnerability, significantly increased by the fact that he/she cannot, as adults, take his/her life in hand. This subject is never mentioned in the lay press; these situations often remain in the shadows while there are lives that are in dire need of tolerance and human solidarity (individual and collective) to not be extinguished. This partly determines the future of the child and promotes or, on the contrary, prevents the creation of his/her rightful place in society.

La généralisation de l'usage destechnologies numériques a imposé au secteur dela santé de nombreux changements, notammentceux qui se rapportent à la circulation del'information sur les médicaments. Le volumeconsidérable d'informations de santé auquel sontconfrontés régulièrement les consommateurs estsusceptible d'affecter la manière avec laquelle cesderniers évaluent les différentes opportunités dece marché, notamment celles qui sont relatives àl'automédication. L'analyse des données obtenues,d'une part à l'aide d'entretiens approfondis avecdes pharmaciens, et d'autre part, grâce à uneimmersion totale en officine, nous ont apporté deséléments de réponses sur les implications quidécoulent de l'usage d'internet en sa qualité desource d'informations sur la perception du risquelors du processus de décision relatif à l'achat debiens de santé, plus particulièrement celui desmédicaments d'automédication. / The general use of digital technologieshas imposed on the healthcare sector manychanges, in particular, those relating to the flowof information on drugs. Consumers areconfronted with a sheer volume of healthinformation that is likely to affect the way inwhich they evaluate the different opportunitiesin this market, particularly those related to selfmedication.In this research, in-depth interviewswith pharmacists and participant observation(full immersion in pharmacies), were selected asthe data collection techniques. The analysis ofdata provided some possible answers about theimplications arising from the use of the Internetas a source of information on perceived risk inthe health products decision-making process,more particularly, that of self-medication drugs.

Denna studie undersöker användarrecensioners påverkan på konsumenters beslutsprocess vid köp av produkter eller tjänster och faktorer som påverkar förtroendet för dessa recensioner. Studien visar att användarrecensioner har en betydande inverkan på konsumenters köpbeslut, med subjektiva normer och upplevd beteendekontroll som viktiga faktorer i beslutsprocessen. Det finns signifikanta skillnader i preferenser och beteende mellan olika åldersgrupper. Studien bidrar till ökad förståelse för konsumenters beteende och preferenser vid online-shopping och ger vägledning för framtida forskning inom detta område. Företag och e-handelsplattformar kan använda studiens insikter för att förbättra sina produkter, tjänster och marknadsföringsstrategier, genom att ta hänsyn till användarrecensioners betydelse och de faktorer som påverkar konsumenters förtroende för dessa recensioner. / This study examines the impact of user reviews on consumers decision-making process when purchasing products or services and factors that influence trust in these reviews. The study shows that user reviews have a significant influence on consumers purchasing decisions, with subjective norms and perceived behavioral control as important factors in the decision-making process. There are significant differences in preferences and behavior among different age groups. The study contributes to a better understanding of consumer behavior and preferences in online shopping and provides guidance for future research in this area. Companies and e-commerce platforms can use the insights from the study to improve their products, services, and marketing strategies by considering the importance of user reviews and the factors that influence consumers trust in these reviews.

Detta examensarbete undersöker användningen av mobiltelefoner som verktyg under användares beslutsprocess i en omnichannel-kundresa med fysisk och virtuell interaktion. Syftet är att identifiera både möjligheter och problem som kan uppstå vid användning av mobilen i en sådan interaktion, med fokus på fenomenet Webrooming. Studien belyser vikten av interaktionsdesign och tjänstedesign för att skapa en sömlös och positiv kundupplevelse i omnichannel-detaljhandeln. Examensarbetet undersöker tidigare forskning inom området, analyserar befintliga exempel på omnichannel-strategier samt undersöker användares beslutsprocess med mobilen som verktyg. Studien tar insikter från Cultural Probes som metod där användare dokumenterar en Webrooming-resa med olika medel där mobilen är i fokus. Intervjuer genomförs för att komplettera eventuella kunskapsluckor och öka förståelsen för deltagarnas inlämnade kit. Vidare analyseras insamlade data via Affinitetsdiagram samt Customer Journey Maps. Genom att tillhandahålla en djupgående analys av den nuvarande situationen inom användarens beslutsprocess, kan detta examensarbete bidra till en ökad förståelse för hur användaren använder mobilen som verktyg under den fysiska och virtuella interaktionen med ett företags olika tjänster under en webrooming-resa. Studiens resultat visar att mobilen används genomgående under hela kundresan för beslutsfattande, informationssökande, jämförelser och rekommendationer. Den slutsats som dras från studien är att mobilen används för beslutsfattande på ett flertal punkter och är ett viktigt verktyg under användarens beslutsprocess. Trots vissa utmaningar med mobiltelefonen som verktyg, såsom små skärmar och problem med mobilwebbsidor, upplevs mobiltelefonen som ett lättillgängligt och smidigt verktyg. / This thesis examines the use of mobile phones as tools during users' decision-making process in an omnichannel customer journey with physical and virtual interactions. The purpose is to identify both opportunities and issues that may arise when using the mobile phone in such interactions, with a focus on the phenomenon of webrooming. The study highlights the importance of interaction design and service design in creating a seamless and positive customer experience in omnichannel retail. To achieve this, the thesis examines previous research in the field, analyzes existing examples of omnichannel strategies, and investigates users' decision-making process using the mobile phone as a tool. The study employs insights from Cultural Probes as a method, where users document a webrooming journey using various means with the mobile phone at the center. Interviews are conducted to fill any knowledge gap and increase understanding of participants' submitted kits. Furthermore, collected data is analyzed through Affinity Diagrams and Customer Journey Maps. By providing an in-depth analysis of the current situation within the user's decision-making process, this thesis can contribute to a better understanding of how users use the mobile phone as a tool during the physical and virtual interaction with a company's various services during a webrooming journey. The findings of the study show that the mobile phone is consistently used throughout the entire customer journey for decision-making, information-seeking, comparisons, and recommendations. The conclusion drawn from the study is that the mobile phone is used for decision-making at multiple points and is an important tool during a user's decision-making process. Despite certain challenges with the mobile phone as a tool, such as small screens and issues with mobile web pages, the mobile phone is perceived as an accessible and convenient tool.

[pt] As mudanças ocorridas nos últimos anos no Brasil, no que tange avanços tecnológicos de comunicação, novos meios de realização de transações comerciais e, consequentemente, novas atitudes dos consumidores em geral, de alguma forma impactam o setor de investimentos. Novos perfis atitudinais podem resultar em diferentes percepções e comportamentos em relação a marcas de gestores de ativos financeiros, a exemplo do Banco do Brasil e Itaú, mais tradicionais, e a XP Investimentos e o Nubank, mais modernas. A eventual diferença de percepção e a potencial preferência por essa ou aquela marca podem estar relacionadas à faixa etária dos públicos investidores, ou seja, suas gerações, influenciadas pelo ambiente onde se desenvolveram, pela intensidade do uso de meios tecnológico e pelos processos de compra de bens e serviços a que vêm sendo submetidos em suas vidas. O trabalho avalia a utilidade (peso) de diferentes atributos que influenciam a escolha de fundos de ações, tais como marca gestora, índice de retorno, perfil de risco, taxa de administração e critério de composição de ações de empresas com perfil de responsabilidade ambiental, social e transparência (ASG). O método é a análise conjunta, aplicado sobre 2 grupos de investidores, simulando investimentos em variados perfis de fundos. Os pesos (utilidades) atribuídos às variáveis selecionadas são comparados com base na idade (geração/cohort) dos participantes. Um questionário complementar busca dados que auxiliam na explicação dos resultados encontrados por meio das simulações. Apesar de relevantes, os aspectos associados a risco e retorno não foram suficientes para explicar inteiramente o processo de decisão dos investidores em fundos de ações, possivelmente, estes sejam influenciados por questões emocionais, afetivas, atitudinais que ilustraram a importância atribuída aos critérios marca e presença do critério ASG na composição da carteira dos fundos de investimentos. / [en] The changes that have taken place in Brazil in the last few years, regarding technological advances in communication, new means of carrying out commercial transactions and, consequently, consumers’ new attitudes impact the investment sector somehow. New attitudinal profiles can result in different perceptions and behaviors in relation to the brands of financial asset managers such as the most traditional, Banco do Brasil and Itaú, such as the most modern XP Investimentos and Nubank. The possible difference in perception and the potential preference for this or that brand may be related to the age group of the investing public, that is, their generations, influenced by the environment in which they developed, by the intensity of the use of technological means and by the purchase processes of goods and services to which they have been subjected in their lives. The work evaluates the usefulness (weight) of different attributes that influence the choice of equity funds, such as management brand, return index, risk profile, management fee and criteria for the composition of shares of companies with an environmental responsibility profile, and transparency (ESG). The method is the conjoint analysis, applied on 2 groups of investors, simulating investments in different profiles of funds. The weights (utilities) assigned to the selected variables are compared based on the age (generation/cohort) of the participants. A complementary questionnaire seeks data that helps to explain the results found through simulations. Although relevant, the aspects associated with risk and return were not enough to fully explain the decision process of investors in equity funds, possibly these are influenced by emotional, affective and attitudinal aspects that illustrated the importance attributed to Brand criteria and presence of the ESG Criteria in the composition of the investment fund portfolio.

Bakgrund: Beslutsfattande inom en organisation blir allt mer komplext när det kommer till betydelsefulla beslut på grund av flera intressenter och skilda åsikter. Återkoppling spelar en betydande roll för att skapa en kultur av utveckling där positiva resultat och förbättringar kan uppnås. Skövde kommun representerar en av Sveriges kommuner och har en politiskt styrd struktur med sektorer och enheter. Kommunfullmäktige utgör det främsta beslutande organet på den politiska nivån och utser en kommunstyrelse som har ansvar för den dagliga ledningen. Beslutsprocessen innefattar flera steg och involverar olika politiska organ innan beslutet fattas. Återkoppling och en kultur av utvecklande feedback är av betydelse för att förbättra prestationen och främja tillväxt inom kommunen. Syftet: Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur beslut fattas i kommunens samhällsbyggnadssektor och hur feedback från interna och externa parter påverkar beslutfattandet. Metod: Studien baseras på en abduktiv ansats och genomför kvalitativ forskning med semistrukturerade intervjuer med 11 olika chefer och medarbetare i organisationen. En tematisk analys användes för att analysera det empiriska materialet som samlades in. Slutsatser: Studien visar att beslutsprocesserna i organisationen omfattar både individuella beslut och delegationsbeslut. Feedback samlas in från olika källor och kanaler, och både intern och extern feedback beaktas, men med viss variation. Beroende på beslutens natur och karaktären på feedbacken ges olika typer av feedback olika betydelse. När det gäller interna organisatoriska förändringar krävs politiskt stöd, vilket innebär att det läggs större vikt vid extern feedback. / Background: Decision-making within an organization becomes increasingly complex when it comes to significant decisions due to multiple stakeholders and diverse opinions. Feedback plays a significant role in fostering a culture of development where positive outcomes and improvements can be achieved. Skövde Municipality represents one of Sweden's municipalities and has a politically governed structure with sectors and units. The Municipal Council constitutes the primary decision-making body at the political level and appoints a Municipal Board responsible for daily management. The decision-making process involves several steps and involves different political bodies before a decision is made. Feedback and a culture of developmental feedback are essential for improving performance and promoting growth within the municipality. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how decisions are made in the municipality's urban development sector and how feedback from internal and external stakeholders influences the decision-making process. Method: The study is based on an abductive approach and employs qualitative research using semi-structured interviews with 11 different managers and employees within the organization. A thematic analysis was employed to analyze the empirical data collected. Conclusion: The study reveals that decision-making processes in the organization involve both individual decisions and delegation decisions. Feedback is gathered from various sources and channels, and both internal and external feedback are considered, albeit with some variation. Depending on the nature of the decisions and the character of the feedback, different types of feedback are given varying importance. In the case of internal organizational changes, political support is required, which means that greater emphasis is placed on external feedback.

This study aims to explore consumer behaviors and purchase decisions in e-commerce within the fashion industry. E-commerce has grown significantly in Sweden over the past years and the fashion industry has experienced rapid growth in e-commerce, becoming an important aspect of consumers' purchasing habits. To fulfill the purpose of the study, a quantitative method with "qualitative assessments" was used, and a questionnaire survey was designed and sent to university students in Borås University which is located in Sweden. A total of 201 respondents participated and answered the survey that was sent to their email through a platform the University of Borås provides. The results of the respondents provided information that there are some factors that affect their consumption behavior and how they take decisions when purchasing clothes online. Factors such as price, quality of clothes and a website's comfort were essential for the respondents’ consumption behavior in their purchasing decisions-making process. Other findings were that feedback and review from other consumers online can have a significant impact on other consumers' decisions, especially regarding factors such as quality, fit and credibility. Therefore by contributing to a better understanding of consumer behaviours and purchase decisions in e-commerce within the fashion industry, this study can help e-commerce companies develop more effective strategies to meet customers' needs and demands. The results of this study can also contribute to the ongoing societal debate in Sweden regarding the impact of digitalization on the retail industry. This study will be written in Swedish. / Denna studie syftar till att undersöka konsumentbeteenden och köpbeslut inom e-handel genom modebranschen. E-handeln har vuxit kraftigt i Sverige de senaste åren och modebranschen har upplevt en snabb tillväxt inom e-handeln och blivit en viktig del av konsumenternas köpvanor. För att uppfylla studiens syfte användes en kvantitativ metod med “kvalitativa bedömningar”, och en enkätundersökning utformades och skickades till högskolestudenter på Högskolan i Borås som ligger i Sverige. Totalt deltog 201 respondenter och besvarade enkäten som skickades till deras mejl via en plattform som Högskolan i Borås tillhandahåller. Respondenternas resultat gav information om att det finns några faktorer som påverkar deras konsumtionsbeteende och hur de fattar beslut när de köper kläder på nätet. Faktorer som pris, kvalitet på kläder och en webbplats bekvämlighet var avgörande för respondenternas konsumtionsbeteende i deras köpbeslutsprocess. Andra fynd var att feedback eller recensioner från andra konsumenter på nätet kan ha en betydande inverkan på andra konsumenters beslut, särskilt när det gäller faktorer som kvalitet på kläder, klädernas passform och en hemsidas trovärdighet. Genom att därför bidra till en bättre förståelse för konsumentbeteenden och köpbeslut inom e-handel genom modebranschen kan denna studie hjälpa e-handelsföretag att utveckla effektivare strategier för att möta kundernas behov och krav. Resultaten av denna studie kan också bidra till den pågående samhällsdebatten i Sverige kring digitaliseringens påverkan på detaljhandeln. Studien är skriven på svenska.

Fully digital educational materials, collaborative Digital Textbooks (cDTB), are common in the Swedish educational materials market. This study examines, from the teachers' point of view, the advantages and challenges of cDTB, and the decision-making process of teachers regarding the selection of educational materials was analysed. Six teachers in Swedish compulsory school grades 7 – 9 were interviewed, and the results show that the teachers' integration of cDTB into their teaching is value-driven and embedded in a dynamic system. The cDTB are considered to have many advantages, and at the same time, during the work process, challenges have been encountered that have required various types of decisions. These decisions have often resulted in the use of other digital teaching and learning materials and printed textbooks as a supplement to the cDTB. The use of the cDTB, however, may change over time and look different depending on what the teacher perceives as possible in a specific classroom context. The main conclusion of the study is therefore that the value of the technology use in relation to the teaching goal is primary for the teacher, while the product of the technology use, i.e., the extent to which the cDTB is used, is secondary. / Heldigitala läromedel, collaborative Digital Textbooks (cDTB), är vanligt förekommande på den svenska läromedelsmarknaden. Denna studie undersöker, utifrån lärares synvinkel, fördelar respektive utmaningar med heldigitala läromedel, och lärares beslutsprocess gällande val av läromedel för undervisningspraktiken analyserades. 6 lärare i grundskolans årskurs 7 – 9 intervjuades, och resultatet visar att lärarnas integrering av heldigitala läromedel i undervisningen är värdedriven och inbyggd i ett dynamiskt system. De heldigitala läromedlen anses ha många fördelar, och samtidigt har lärarna stött på utmaningar under arbetsprocessen som krävt olika typer av beslut. Dessa beslut har ofta resulterat i att andra digitala lärresurser och tryckta läroböcker använts som komplettering till det heldigitala läromedlet. Användningen av det heldigitala läromedlet kan dock förändras över tid och se olika ut beroende på vad läraren uppfattar som möjligt i en viss klassrumskontext. Studiens huvudsakliga slutsats är därför att värdet av teknikanvändningen i förhållande till målet med undervisningen är det primära för läraren, medan produkten av teknikanvändningen, det vill säga i vilken omfattning det heldigitala läromedlet används, är sekundär.

This doctoral thesis focuses on certain private actors that operate transnationally in fields relevant to administrative law, such as food security, environmental protection, pharmaceuticals and medical device regulation. We are only interested in some of the activities carried out by these private actors, concretely those which have an effect that we have termed “regulatory impact”. In this work, we use the term “regulatory” as a meta-juridical concept, in order to understand the capacity that characterizes the activities of our transnational private actors to influence the final recipients in the respective fields. These activities do not result in the coercive imposition of a certain behaviour or an obligation on recipients (whether public or private subjects). Instead, they materialise through a series of varied acts with a flexible nature and a non-binding nature (e.g. technical norms or private standards, guidelines, recommendations or other instruments). However, these activities have considerable multiplier effects on the analysed fields as a consequence of their possible impact (in particular, on the protection of certain fundamental rights recognised at an European level). This makes their study from a legal-administrative perspective all the more relevant. In our view, the branch of administrative law is perhaps the most experienced in this matter. In particular, administrative doctrine has shown the greatest interest in understanding how far certain private actors may intervene in the regulatory chain in a way that is analogous or parallel –and not substitutive– to that of the Public Administration itself in these or other comparable fields. Depending on the case studies, administrative law can be a tool for finding out and understanding how our private legal actors operate transnationally and how they carry out their activities. Likewise, many of the internal rules and codes of conduct that make up the internal policy of our private actors contain procedural criteria or practices. These rules include some of the cultural values of administrative law, particularly participation and transparency. These criteria or practices have a certain similarity to those typically procedural principles of a legal-administrative nature that govern the activity of the Public Administration. The participation and transparency function as “strategies” which, in certain cases, set out to substantiate said activities of some private actors, in order to put in place harmonized and more efficient instruments in the various sectors in which they operate. On the one hand, with the incorporation of the practice of participation, some private actors recognize multiple subjects and stakeholders the opportunity to take part in the regulatory task, in order to give voice to their claims and deliberate collectively. On the other, sometimes the practice of transparency allows the global community to know and understand how these private actors carry out their activities. As a basis, we rely on extant studies in administrative doctrine pertaining to associated matters and fields. We intend to address, in this context and from a subjective viewpoint, the meaning of such practices and criteria and how they operate within the structural framework of transnational private actors. / Nuestra tesis doctoral toma en consideración algunos actores privados que operan a nivel transnacional en sectores de relevancia para el Derecho administrativo, tales como la seguridad alimentaria, la protección ambiental, la regulación farmacéutica y de los dispositivos sanitarios. De esos actores privados nos interesan sólo algunas de las actividades que prestan y que aquí denominamos de “impacto regulador”. Ese “impacto regulador” se presenta en nuestro trabajo como un concepto meta-jurídico que empleamos de manera amplia para comprender la capacidad que caracteriza las actividades que prestan nuestros actores privados transnacionales para influir sobre los destinatarios finales en los respectivos sectores. Conviene indicar que esas actividades no se traducen en la imposición coactiva de un determinado comportamiento o una obligación a sus destinatarios (ya sean sujetos públicos como privados), pues se materializan a través de una serie de actos de diversa índole –tales como normas técnicas o estándares privados, directrices, recomendaciones u otros instrumentos– de naturaleza flexible y de carácter no vinculante. No obstante, y como se verá, son considerables los efectos multiplicadores que tales actividades despliegan sobre los sectores objeto de análisis, como consecuencia del impacto que pudieran generar –en particular sobre la protección de determinados derechos fundamentales reconocidos a nivel europeo– y de ahí su relevancia para ser estudiado desde la perspectiva jurídico-administrativa. Y es que consideramos que la rama del Derecho administrativo es, quizás, la más experimentada en este campo, máxime cuando es la doctrina administrativista la que mayor interés ha demostrado en comprender en qué medida ciertos actores privados pueden llegar a intervenir en la cadena regulatoria de forma análoga o paralela –que no sustitutiva– a como lo ha podido venir haciendo hasta ahora la propia Administración en esos u otros ámbitos análogos. En función de los casos de estudio, el Derecho administrativo podría interesarse por conocer y comprender cómo nuestros actores de naturaleza jurídica privada operan a nivel transnacional y llevan a cabo sus actividades de impacto regulador. Observamos, además, que buena parte de los reglamentos internos y códigos de conducta que conforman la política interna de nuestros actores privados contienen criterios o prácticas de procedimiento que guardan una cierta similitud con aquellas normas típicamente procedimentales de naturaleza jurídico-administrativa que rigen la actividad de la Administración. Estas representan, por analogía y de manera abstracta, algunos de los valores de la cultura del Derecho administrativo como son, en particular, la participación y la transparencia. En algunos casos, tales criterios o prácticas permiten a determinadas realidades privadas –especialmente aquellas donde han adquirido carta de naturaleza– poner en marcha instrumentos armonizados y más eficientes en los diversos sectores en los que estos se proyectan. Por un lado, con la incorporación de la práctica de la participación, algunos actores privados reconocen a múltiples sujetos e intereses especialmente relevantes la oportunidad de intervenir en la tarea regulatoria, a fin de dar voz a sus pretensiones, deliberar y decidir de manera compartida. Por otro lado, la práctica de la transparencia permite a la comunidad global, si cabe, conocer y comprender cómo llevan a cabo sus actividades. En este orden de cosas, y desde el plano subjetivo, con nuestro trabajo pretendemos indagar –apoyándonos en los estudios ya realizados por parte de la doctrina administrativista en materias y sectores concomitantes– sobre el verdadero sentido de tales criterios o prácticas y de qué manera operan dentro de este marco estructural de actores privados transnacionales.