Enligt Clegg m fl (1997) når 80-90% av systemutvecklingsuppdrag inte upp till de mål som är satta för projektet. Teknologiska aspekter anses inte ensamt vara orsaken till att projekten "misslyckas", utan misslyckanden anses även bero på att mänskliga och organisatoriska aspekter inte uppmärksammas vid systemutveckling. Detta arbetet fokuserar på att utreda om organisatoriska och mänskliga aspekter uppmärksammas vid systemutveckling och vilka aspekter som specifikt beaktas. Metoden för att undersöka de centrala frågeställningarna har varit att genomföra en survey (undersökning) med sex djupintervjuer. Som målgrupp valdes projektledare på IT-företag av varierande storlek. Resultatet tyder på att det i praktiken inte har skett några större förändringar i sättet att arbeta på. De teknologiska aspekterna står fortfarande i centrum och upptar enligt undersökningen ca 60% av resurserna. Bland organisatoriska och mänskliga aspekter som uppmärksammas av företagen kan följande nämnas: att skapa en strategi för informationssystemet och användardeltagande.

Syfte: Denna studie har två huvudsyften, ett praktiskt och ett akademiskt. Det praktiska huvudsyftet är att genomföra en utvärdering av e-tjänsten Nationella Exjobb-poolen (’xjobb.nu’) som drivs av Verket för Högskoleservice (’VHS’). Kopplat till detta har vi haft vårt akademiska huvudsyfte som varit att utvärdera hur väl tre metoder (’Effektstyrning’, ’DEVIS’ och ’Expertutvärdering’) passar för att utvärdera en existerande e-tjänst. Frågor: Vi har utgått från tre forskningsfrågor som med grund i vårt syfte är uppdelade i akademiska och praktiska frågor med inriktning på att utvärdera användbarheten hos en e-tjänst och hur användbara de tre metoderna är för utvärdering av e-tjänst. Forskningsmetod: Vår studie har varit till största delen kvalitativ med inslag av kvantitativ metod och har haft en induktiv ansats. Arbetet har även varit en fallstudie ur det perspektivet att våra studier av metoderna kan ses som fall. Arbetsordningen har varit sådan att vi sammanställde metoderna för att kunna ställa upp dem så att den efterföljande metodjämförelsen blev möjlig. Efter metodjämförelsen har vi sedan tillämpat metoderna på vårt undersökningsobjekt och analyserat resultatet av detta för att få fram vårt utvärderingsresultat. Kunskapsbidrag: Vår studie har ett praktiskt kunskapsbidrag och ett akademiskt kunskapsbidrag. Det praktiska kunskapsbidraget är ett utvärderingsresultat till VHS; att deras sida är funktionell och stödjer de flesta designregler för användbarhet men har ett antal punkter som kan åtgärdas. Det akademiska kunskapsbidraget är i form av ett utvärderingsresultat av de tre metoderna; att metoderna kan användas tillsammans och åtminstone Effektstyrning inte bör användas ensamt vid utvärdering. Vi har även valt att kalla den uppsättning verktyg vi har använt för en metod vid namn S.A.E. – Systematisk Användbarhetsutvärdering av E-tjänst.

In this thesis I have tried to identify if there exists a correlation between IT Governance Maturity (ITGM) and the success of an Information system implementation. The method chosen for this research was a Case study, performed at an IT-company, Medius AB in Linköping, Sweden. Six customers of Medius where selected, based on their successfulness project implementation, that the same project manager at Medius was involved and that their existed a comparable customer in the same industry for each customer selected. Out of the six customers selected for this thesis, two of them where from the retail industry, two from the manufacturing industry and two from the service industry. Their maturity level (according to SAMM) was determined using the framework suggested by Khaita & Zaulkernan (2009), by estimating each attribute from the interviews performed with the respondents. Each customers ITGM level was then compared to the degree of success of the implementation project of the Medius system. A correlation was found, between high ITGM and successful outcomes of the implementation project. The two attributes that seem to affect the outcome the most was: communication and knowledge sharing. These two attributes was also the ones least implementeted at the customers which unsuccesfully implemented the system. / I den här rapporten har jag tittat på hur ett IT-företags kunders IT-mognad påverkar utfallet av införandet av ett IT-system. Som underlag användes en fallstudie av företaget Medius AB och deras Linköpingskontor, där sex av deras kunder intervjuades och bedömdes i enlighet med SAMM. Fallföretaget i sig analyserades, med data från interna intervjuer och med stöd av en observation bedömdes deras IT-mognadsgrad enligt CSM. Målet var att undersöka huruvida IT-mognadsgraden hos en kund påverkar utfallet av ett införandeprojekt av ett IT-system. IT-systemet i fråga var ett elektroniskt arbetsflödessystem för faktura hantering, och för att eliminera risk användes bara projekt där samma projektledare varit ansvarig hos Medius AB. Två stycken kundföretag per bransch valdes ut, för branscherna utgjordes av: tillverkande, tjänste och detaljhandel. En bransch stack ut i studien, där detaljhandelns två företag i rapporten var de som visade sig ha högst mognadsvärde enligt SAMM. Vidare kunde jag konstatera att det finns en tydlig koppling mellan de med hög mognadsgrad och lyckade projektutfall. De två faktorer som verkade påverka utfallet främst, var effektiv intern kommunikation och förmågan att överföra kunskap. De två projekt som helt hade misslyckats införa bra rutiner för dessa, var också de som lyckats dåligt med att införa produkten under det givna projektet.

Informe de Seminario para optar al grado de Licenciada en Lengua y Literatura Inglesa / The aim of the present work is to demonstrate that The Doctor is Sick sets out the way in which the subject abandons the institutionalized boundaries of the sign, understood under the structuralism constraints, and discovers a New World characterized by the sign deconstruction. The analogy for that purpose is an Old World that functions as a living body machine, and a New World that is unstable, infinite and subject-dependent; characterized as an anti-hegemonic corpse. As a patient/doctor, the subject dissects what was unknown and invisible by providing an anatomical reading of his lethargic route.

Context. Every day software practitioners need information for resolving a number of questions. This information need should be identified and addressed in order to successfully develop and deliver a software system. One of the ways to address these information needs is to make use of some information sources like blogs, websites, documentation etc. Identifying the needs and sources of software practitioners can improve and benefit the practitioners as well as the software development process. But the information needs and sources of software practitioners are partially studied and rather it is mostly focused on the knowledge management in software engineering. So, the current context of this study is to identify the information needs and information sources of software practitioners and also to investigate the practitioner’s perception on different information sources.            Objectives. In this study we primarily investigated some of the information needs of software practitioners and the information sources that they use to fulfill their needs. Secondly we investigated the practitioner’s perception on available information sources by identifying the aspects that they consider while using different information sources.  Methods. To achieve the research objectives this study conducted an empirical investigation by performing a survey, with two data collection techniques. A simple literature review was also performed initially to identify some of the information needs and sources of software practitioners. Then we started survey by conducting the semi-structured interviews, based on the data obtained from the literature. Moreover, an online questionnaire was designed, after conducting the preliminary analysis of the data obtained from both the interviews and literature review. Coding process of grounded theory was used for analyzing the data obtained from the interviews and descriptive statistics were used for analyzing the data obtained from the online questionnaire. The data obtained from both the qualitative and quantitative methods is triangulated by comparing the identified information needs and sources with those that are presented in the literature.  Results. From the preliminary literature review, we identified seven information needs and six information sources. Based on the results of the literature review, we then conducted interviews with software practitioners and identified nine information needs and thirteen information sources. From the interviews we also investigated the aspects that software practitioners look into, while using different information sources and thus we identified four major aspects. We then validated the results from the literature review and interviews with the help of an online questionnaire. From the online questionnaire, we finally identified the frequency of occurrence of the identified information needs and the frequency of use of different information sources.      Conclusions. We identified that the software practitioners are currently facing nine type of information needs, out of which, information on clarifying the requirements and information on produce design and architecture are the most frequently faced needs. To address these needs most of the practitioners are using the information sources like blogs and community forums, product documentation and discussion with colleagues. While the research articles are moderately used and the IT magazines and social networking sites are least used to address their needs. We also identified that most of the practitioners consider the reliability/accuracy of the information source as an extremely important factor. The identified information needs and sources along with the practitioner’s perception are clearly elucidated in the document. A future direction of this work could be, testing the applicability of the identified information needs by extending the sample population. Also, there is a scope for research on how the identified information needs can be minimized to make the information acquisition more easy for the practitioners.

This thesis examines the nature and effects of current public information about food production, purchasing and sustainability that is available in Sweden. The thesis follows a two part structure based on the Action Research Cycle; it focuses predominantly on the initial diagnostic stage, using document review, questionnaires and Cultural Probes to examine what information is currently available to Swedish consumers, as well as how they respond to this information. The thesis then moves towards the action planning stage of the Action Research Cycle, using current academic literature in IS with the findings of my diagnostic research to suggest ways in which information-communication technology can be used to improve upon the current situation, and paving the way for future research in the area of public information and food sustainability.

The present thesis explores how personality traits are connected to academic achievement. First, a theoretical discussion on the neurobiological basis of different personality traits is presented, where variance in brain- activity, volume and chemistry describes possible differences in personality. Traits previously linked to academic achievement is also described in terms of neurobiology. This is followed by an empirical investigation of the connection between personality traits and academic achievement. Previous research suggest the Big Five (Costa & McCrae, 1992a) personality traits of conscientiousness, order and self-discipline to be positively associated with academic achievement. Also, similar suggestions have been put forward concerning the Values in Action (VIA-IS; Peterson & Seligman, 2004) character strengths of love of learning, self-regulation and persistence and academic achievement. 90 students in a medium sized Swedish senior high school completed the two personality inventories and their grades were collected. Positive correlations were found for the personality traits conscientiousness, order, and self-discipline and for the character strengths persistence, love of learning, perspective and open-mindedness. The results partly supported the hypotheses as well as extended the knowledge about what factors contribute to academic achievement. Discussion of the results and suggestions for further research concludes the thesis. Keywords: personality trait, character strength, neurobiology, academic achievement, BFI, VIA-IS

Abstract Users’ information systems (IS) security behavior continuously draws attentions from scholars and practitioners. While previous studies usually focused on one context (e.g., employees’ compliance with IS security policies in an organizational context), little research has focused on the possible explanations for users’ IS security behavior if the context changes. To address this gap, this dissertation discusses the role of context in IS security behavior research. An analysis of the differences between the organizational context and the home context suggests a need to study users’ IS security behavior solely in a specific context, such as home. This study provides guidelines for applying and developing contextualized theories in IS security behavior research. Based on the guidelines, this dissertation includes two empirical studies. First, drawing on rational choice theory, it compares specific IS security behavior in two contexts: the work context (N = 210) and the personal context (N = 202). Second, drawing on stewardship theory, this dissertation develops a contextualized theory explaining employees’ IS security risk-taking behavior in the organizational context (N = 170). The findings of this dissertation show different explanations for users’ IS security behavior in different contexts and highlight the importance of taking context into account when doing IS security behavior research. The results of each empirical study provide both theoretical contributions to research as well as actionable advice to practice. / Tiivistelmä Tietokoneenkäyttäjien tietoturvakäyttäytyminen on jatkuvan kiinnostuksen kohteena niin tutkijoiden kuin käytännön ammatinharjoittajienkin keskuudessa. Aiempi tutkimus on keskittynyt tarkastelemaan tietoturvakäyttäytymistä yleensä yhdessä kontekstissa (esim. työntekijöiden tietoturvaohjeiden noudattaminen organisaatiokontekstissa), kun taas vähemmälle huomiolle on jäänyt se, kuinka kontekstin muuttuminen selittää tietoturvakäyttäytymistä. Tämä väitöskirja vastaa kyseiseen ongelmaan, sillä se käsittelee kontekstin roolia tietoturvakäyttäytymistutkimuksessa. Tutkimuksessa analysoidaan organisaatiokontekstin ja kotikontekstin eroja. Analyysi osoittaa, että on tarpeellista tutkia tietokoneen käyttäjien tietoturvakäyttäytymistä tietyissä konteksteissa, kuten esimerkiksi kotikontekstissa. Tutkimus tarjoaa ohjeita siihen, kuinka kontekstisidonnaisia teorioita sovelletaan ja kehitetään tietoturvakäyttäytymistutkimuksessa. Väitöskirja sisältää 2 empiiristä tutkimusta, jotka pohjautuvat edellä mainittuihin ohjeisiin. Ensimmäisessä vaiheessa tutkimuksessa sovelletaan rational choice -teoriaa, jonka pohjalta vertaillaan tiettyä tietoturvakäyttäytymistyyppiä 2 kontekstissa: työkonteksti<br clear="none"/> (N = 210) ja henkilökohtaisen käytön konteksti (N = 202). Toiseksi, tutkimus soveltaa stewardship -teoriaa ja kehittää siihen pohjautuen kontekstisidonnaisen teorian, joka selittää organisaation työntekijöiden käyttäytymistä liittyen tietoturvariskin ottamiseen<br clear="none"/> (N = 170). Väitöskirjan tutkimustulokset esittävät erilaisia selityksiä tietokoneen käyttäjien tie-toturvakäyttäytymiselle eri konteksteissa. Tutkimus korostaa sitä, kuinka tärkeää on ottaa konteksti huomioon tutkittaessa tietoturvakäyttäytymistä. Kummankin empiirisen tutkimuksen tulokset tarjoavat teoreettisen kontribuution lisäksi käytännöllisiä neuvoja tietoturvan toteuttamiseen.

Locus standi is a Latin word for standing. Traditionally, it implies that a litigant must have sufficient interest to apply to the court for the enforcement of the right of another person, challenge the actions of the government, have a court declare a law unconstitutional or even to litigate in the interest of the public otherwise the application will not be successful. The interpretation of locus standi before the courts in most common law jurisdictions is liberal. Nigerian courts, however, interpret the principle of locus standi strictly, in the sense that standing is accorded the person who shows cause of action or sufficient interest. This position denies access to justice to many Nigerians who are poor or have no knowledge of their rights as the courts position on standing prevents NGOs or other individuals from applying to the courts on their behalf or litigating in the interest of the public. Presently, the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009 regulate the practice and procedure for the enforcement of human rights before Nigerian courts. The Rules encourage the courts to ‗welcome public interest litigation in the human rights field‘ and not to dismiss or strike out human right cases for want of locus standi. However, it is doubtful if the courts will accept this invitation. This study looks at the context of the interpretation of the principle of locus standi by Nigerian Courts and its effect on access to justice and public interest litigation by NGOs and individuals. It also examines the impact of the provision for locus standi of the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009. Finally, this study provides an analysis of the interpretation of this concept in other common law jurisdictions such as Kenya, India, United Kingdom and South Africa who once interpreted the concept strictly but now interpret it more liberally. This comparison is necessary to show that Nigerian courts are isolated in their position in the interpretation of locus standi and that there is need for the courts to conform to international best practice. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2014 / Centre for Human Rights / LLM / Unrestricted

Although much research exists on human behavior in online environments, research on users with disabilities is still rare. To draw more attention to this population, this dissertation explored browsing patterns and adaptive behaviors of people with visual disability across different online environments common in daily activities: social network, e-commerce, online information, and search engines’ websites. The main objective of this study is to propose a conceptual framework of how blind and visually impaired users browse and adapt to different web environments. We achieve this objective using a qualitative approach through three studies. In the first study, the researchers collect data by means of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with six users with different levels of visual impairment. In the second study, we use survey questionnaires with open-ended questions to reach a larger sample of study participants. Finally, we conduct a follow-up observational study as means to confirm our results. Open, axial, and selective coding are used for data reduction and analysis as part of the grounded theory method.