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In this thesis, I present my study on the impact of multi-group network structure on the performance of consensus building strategies, and the preliminary mathematical formulation of the problem on improving the performance of the National Airspace system (NAS) through long-term investment. The first part of the thesis is concerned with a structural approach to the consensus building problem in multi-group distributed sensor networks (DSNs) that can be represented by bipartite graph. Direct inference of the convergence behavior of consensus strategies from multi-group DSN structure is one of the contributions of this thesis. The insights gained from the analysis facilitate the design and development of DSNs that meet specific performance criteria. The other part of the thesis is concerned with long-term planning and development of the NAS at a network level, by formulating the planning problem as a resource allocation problem for a flow network. The network-level model viewpoint on NAS planning and development will give insight to the structure of future NAS and will allow evaluation of various paradigms for the planning problem.

För att uppnå ett långsiktigt hållbart samhälle ställs idag höga krav på en miljömässigt och ekonomiskt hållbar utveckling. Samhällets expansion i form av nybyggnation är en stor del i detta. Genom att planera och bygga mer långsiktigt hållbara byggnader så kan dessa krav uppfyllas. Att skapa flexibla byggnader, som kan anpassas efter samhällets framtida behov, leder till en effektivisering av lokalutnyttjandet och genererar mer långsiktigt hållbara byggnader. I Sverige är kommunerna landets största byggherrar och de har därför ett stort ansvar att förse samhället med fastigheter och då framförallt offentliga lokaler. En typ av offentliga lokaler där behovet av flexibla byggnader är stort är förskolor, i och med att det är svårt att förutse hur det framtida behovet av förskolor kommer att se ut då storleken på barnkullarna varierar. Detta examensarbete inom högskoleingenjörsprogrammet i byggteknik har utförts under tio veckor på Tengbom Arkitekter i Uppsala. Arbetet behandlar ämnet flexibilitet i byggnader och innefattar ett förslag på utformningen av en flexibel byggnad i form av en förskola som i framtiden kan konverteras till ett äldreboende. / Society today has an increasing demand for environmentally and economically sustainable developments in order to create a sustainable society. Society’s growth in new construction is a big part of this, and by planning and building more sustainable buildings these requirements can be fulfilled. The development of flexible buildings, which can adapt to future needs of society, lead to a more efficient utilization and longevity of premises and generate more sustainable buildings.In Sweden, the municipalities are the country’s largest property developers and therefore have a significant responsibility to provide society with real estate and public buildings. In recent time we have seen a shift towards flexible public buildings and in particular preschools. With the current socio-economic climate and ageing population buildings like preschools need to be flexible to ensure they can cater for future demands of society. This degree project, within the Bachelor programme in Construction Engineering, has been carried out during 10 weeks on Tengbom Architects in Uppsala. The thesis deals with the subject of flexibility in buildings and includes a proposal for the design of a flexible building as a pre-school that in the future can be converted into a retirement home.

This research examined how public policy addresses long-term societal challenges. The case study focused on policy narratives and frames of resource efficiency in the ‘Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe’ of the European Commission (EC). The study followed an interpretive constructionist perspective on public policy and assumed a research strategy based on a single critical case study. The literature review examined perspectives on policy narratives, frames, knowledge and social learning in the interpretive policy analysis and organisation studies literature. Foresight and futures literature also provided insights on the use and nature of knowledge and policy learning in the process of deliberation of future visions. The empirical enquiry was based on a series of in-depth interviews with policy stakeholders, formal EU policy documents and speeches as well as participation in targeted policy events. The thesis makes contributions in three areas. First, the study developed and applied a new conceptual and methodological approach – a policy narrative framework analysis(POLFRAME) – to examine different discursive and narrative layers of policy narratives of the resource efficiency agenda. The framework can lend itself to interrogate any policy narrative, notably ones with explicit or implicit future scenarios and vision. Second, the policy case study contributed to knowledge on the evolving EU policy area of resource efficiency, addressing challenges of the sustainable use of natural resources. The research provided insights into how a complex societal, economic and environmental challenge of resource efficiency was understood by different stakeholders and intentionally framed in the official policy narrative. The emerging EU agenda on resource efficiency was intentionally reframed to advance a broader approach to environmental policy that moves beyond a traditional goal of environmental protection towards a systemic transition of economic system to achieve decoupling of economic growth from environmental impacts. While the study found evidence of a significant shift in scoping the challenge, their framing has not led to radical changes in underlying normative assumptions on the relation between nature and society or on the central role of economic growth in transition. Third, the research discussed theoretical implications of introducing a long-term challenge-driven perspective to public policy narratives. Introducing a future vision to policy narrative added a stronger normative orientation to policy argumentation. The case study demonstrated that an inclusion of a long-term societal challenge to the resource efficiency agenda influenced the selection, interpretation and use of evidence in policy narratives. The design of challenge-driven long-term policies bears a family resemblance to the perspective of post-normal science. Finally, the thesis puts forward messages and recommendations for policy makers and practitioners interested in the process of radical policy reframing. It also suggests further research encompassing a comparative dimension and longer periods of enquiry of policy frames, which would allow for better understanding the effects of the reframing of policy on various phases of policy cycles.

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Dans le cadre des débats sur la transition énergétique, l'implémentation des Smart Grids est avancée comme une part de la solution pour répondre à la fois aux questions climatiques et aux enjeux énergétiques. Les modèles de prospective constituent des outils d'aide à la décision permettant d'orienter les trajectoires énergétiques afin de satisfaire aux futures demandes en tenant compte de contraintes environnementales et techniques. Ces modèles historiques, caractérisés principalement par l'adéquation de l'offre à la demande doivent désormais évoluer pour intégrer les développements futurs attendus du système électrique. Dans ce travail, nous avons implémenté dans une approche de long terme différentes fonctionnalités propres aux Smart Grids (gestion de la demande, stockage, énergies renouvelables). Cette approche nous permet d'évaluer les bénéfices liés à chacune d'entre elles séparément, ou bien conjointement au travers de bouquets de solutions, tenant ainsi compte des possibles interactions entre ces fonctionnalités. Nous avons également intégré un indicateur reflétant le niveau de fiabilité du système électrique dans notre modèle. Ce paramètre supplémentaire permet de contraindre les futurs systèmes électriques afin qu'ils garantissent un niveau de service en terme de fourniture électrique identique à celui des systèmes existants. Cette étude est illustrée par le cas de l'île de la Réunion, qui s'est donné pour objectif de produire d'ici 2030 son électricité à partir de sources uniquement renouvelables, et pour qui les fonctionnalités de Smart Grids pourraient constituer un levier intéressant. / In the context of discussions on the energy transition, the general consensus is that part of the solution could come from Smart Grids to deal both with climate and energy issues. Prospective energy systems models may be used to estimate the long-term development of the energy system in order to meet future energy demands while taking into account environmental and technical constraints. These historical models are demand driven and should from now on evolve to considerate future developments of the electricity system. In this study, we have implemented some functionalities related to the concept of Smart Grids in a long-term planning model (demand-side integration, storage, renewable energy). This approach makes it possible to evaluate their benefits separately or collectively, taking into account possible interactions between these functionalities. We have also implemented an indicator reflecting the level of reliability of the electricity system in our model. This additional parameter enables to constrain future electricity systems to ensure a level of reliability identical to the existing one. Our analysis is demonstrated by the case of the Reunion Island, which aims to produce electricity using 100% renewable sources by 2030, and for which Smart Grids functionalities are also potential solutions for reaching this objective.

Syfte: Hållbarhetsindex (HBI) är ett verktyg som har skapats av Svenskt vatten medsyftet att hjälpa VA-organisationer att analysera, utveckla och förbättra verksamheten.Den första HBI-undersökningen med 97 deltagande kommuner genomfördes 2014. År2019 deltog 171 kommuner. I studien som ligger till grund för den här rapportenundersöktes hur kommuners VA-organisationer använder HBI i praktiken samt vaddessa organisationer anser om HBI. Metod: En webenkät skickades till alla VA-organisationer i Sveriges kommuner.Svarstiden var mellan 31 mars och 9 april 2020. Totalt inkom 45 enkätsvar. Ettefterföljande mejlbrev till 14 av respondenterna genererade 7 fördjupade svar kringstudiens frågeställningar. Det genomfördes även en litteraturstudie av aktuell forskningi området och en dokumentanalys av HBI:s resultatrapport 2019. Resultat: 80 % av enkätrespondenterna anser att HBI identifierar viktiga frågor förverksamheten och även ger en överblick av VA-verksamhetens status. Endast 24%menar att HBI har hjälpt dem att ta fram dokument såsom VA-planer. Enkätsvaren visaratt 80 % tycker att HBI möjliggör jämförelser med andra kommuners HBI-resultat menendast 27 % anser att HBI faktiskt har hjälpt dem identifiera områden där samverkanmed andra kommuner kan ske. Resultatet i den här studien visar på stora variationermellan olika kommuners användning av HBI. Cirka en tredjedel av respondenterna -personer inom verksamheten som förväntas ha bäst inblick i HBI - vet inte huruvidaHBI använts som hjälp för att ta fram långsiktiga planer eller för att underlättakommunikationen med politiker. Konsekvenser: Slutsatser som dras utifrån den här studien är att landets VAorganisationerser positivt på HBI och att det finns ett behov av verktyget. Användandetav HBI varierar dock stort mellan olika kommuner. För att kunna tillämpa HBI ochstyra verksamheten mot en hållbar utveckling krävs resurser och rätt kompetens.Rekommendationer baserat på studiens resultat är att införa vägledande guider kringHBI i Svenskt vattens statistikdatabas VASS samt att ta fram riktlinjer och praktiskatips för hur HBI kan implementeras i VA-verksamheten. Begränsningar: Det går inte att dra några slutsatser av den här studiens resultat iförhållande till kommunernas olika förutsättningar gällande resurser,organisationsform, storlek etcetera. Undersökningen har inte berört HBI påparameternivå eller gjort dokumentanalys av respondenternas HBI-resultat. Trotsavgränsningar och begränsade möjligheter till generaliserering anses resultatet ändåvara användbart och ge en inblick i hur HBI har tagits emot och används av VAorganisationerna. / Purpose: Sustainability Index (SI) is a tool that has been created by Swedish Waterwith the aim of helping water and sewerage organizations to analyze, develop andimprove operations. The first SI survey with 97 participating municipalities wasconducted in 2014. In 2019, 171 municipalities participated. The study that forms thebasis of this report examined how municipalities' VA organizations use SI in practiceand what these organizations think about SI. Method: A web survey was sent to all VA organizations in Sweden's municipalities.The response time was between 31 March and 9 April 2020. A total of 45 questionnaireresponses were received. A subsequent email to 14 of the respondents generated 7 indepthanswers to the study's questions. A literature study of current research in the areaand a document analysis of SI's results report 2019 were also used as methods. Findings: 80% of the survey respondents believe that SI identifies important issues forthe business and also provides an overview of the VA operations' status. Only 24%believe that SI has helped them produce documents such as VA plans. The surveyresults show that 80% think that SI enables comparisons with other municipalities' SIresults, but only 27% believe that SI has actually helped them identify areas wherecollaboration with other municipalities can take place. The results of this study showlarge variations between different municipalities' use of SI. About a third of therespondents - people in the business who are expected to have the best insight into SI -do not know whether SI has been used to help develop long-term plans or to facilitatecommunication with politicians. Implications: Conclusions drawn from this study are that the country's VAorganizations view SI positively and that there is a need for the tool. However, the useof SI varies greatly between different municipalities. In order to be able to apply SI andsteer the business towards sustainable development, resources and the right skills arerequired. Recommendations based on the results of the study are to introduce guidingguides about SI in the Swedish Water's statistics database VASS and to developguidelines and practical tips for how SI can be implemented in the VA operations. Limitations: It is not possible to draw conclusions from the results of this study inrelation to the municipalities' different conditions regarding resources, organizationalform, size, etcetera. The survey did not refer to SI at the parameter level or did documentanalysis of respondents' SI results. Despite the limitations and limited possibilities forgeneralization, the results are still considered useful and provide an insight into how SIhas been received and used by the VA organizations.

Children with chronic conditions often participate in therapy, but there is little information about how often or for how long therapy services should be provided. Participatory action research (PAR) methods were utilized in this study and, therefore, involved both parents and occupational and physical therapists throughout the study. Parental interviews were conducted to understand parent perception of self-management and how parents felt their child’s therapist was doing or could do to facilitate self-management, particularly as it related to discharge planning or having their child take a break from ongoing therapy. Through analysis of parent interviews completed by the therapist team and additional parent feedback on priorities for change, there were several concerns parents identified as being important to them when thinking about long-term therapy planning. A shared decision making tool and supporting documents were subsequently developed and tested as a method for enhancing collaborative conversations between the parent and therapist regarding a long-term therapy plan for the child. During follow-up parent interviews, parents were able to clearly voice long-term goals or a long-term plan for their child’s therapy, and they had a more positive reaction to the idea of taking a break from ongoing therapy services. Use of PAR methodology in this study was effective in allowing parents and therapists to co-create a change that both parents and therapists identified as an improvement (during follow-up interviews with parents and a focus group with therapists).

TITLE: Strategic plan of association Vraťme dětem pohyb, z. s. OBJECTIVES: The diploma thesis examines the strategic management of a nonprofit sport organization, respectively long-term planning of association Vraťme dětem pohyb, z. s., goals are to characterize the organization and its products and to make a strategic analysis which will include an analysis of the internal and external environment as well as a comprehensive SWOT analysis of the organization. Strategic objectives and areas will be determined on the basis of the found information and will be subsequently solid in the proposal strategic plan of the organization. METHODS: This diploma thesis is concieved as applied research, a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods will be used for its purposes. The specific applied methods are observation, interviewing, questioninq, analysis of texts and documents, SWOT analysis, PORTER and PEST analysis. Design research, including research issues providing framework for the thesis are put in the relevant chapter. RESULTS: Within the framework of strategic analysis ware analysed internal and external environment and maked SWOT analysis of the organization. Subsequently was create strategic plan proposal of sports association plan Vraťme dětem pohyb for September 2018-2021. The following...

<p>People use a variety of means to orient themselves towards the future. A more organised approach to handling the future known as "futures studies" is often used in a variety of contexts including long-term planning within large organisations. In the effort to enhance the quality of such studies, there have been arguments for better methods (which makes sense), but methods may not be the most important aspect in the production of futures studies. Greater theoretical awareness in the substantive questions upon which the study is based is more important. To that end, the intent of this dissertation is to infuse a keener awareness of fundamental assumptions in futures studies and contribute to increasing their quality.</p><p>One objective of the dissertation is to formulate a method or procedure to analyse the futures studies of large organisations, apply it to two empirical cases and thereafter analyse its strengths and weaknesses. The method I discuss and develop extensively in this work consists of an analytical framework that focuses on three aspects of each future study: its architecture, its relationship to a few of the key future issues of our time and its assumptions regarding our views on society, humanity and technology. A second objective is to systematically study future documents from two large organisations and attempt to clarify motives, orientation, methodology and distinguishing characteristics in their future processes. The cases I have chosen are the Swedish Armed Forces and the telecommunications company Ericsson, which were both in a period of transition around the mid 1990s.</p><p>The dissertation shows how the method has been used to bring to the fore and clarify central ideas in futures studies, identify ambiguities and fuzzy thinking and to show and expose more covert assumptions. The analysis also illustrates that certain aspects of the model have been observed in the empirical material, other ideas are found to a lesser extent and certain perspectives are entirely absent. The paper stresses that the model developed has both strengths and weaknesses, but the overall assessment is that it was well-balanced and maintains appropriate depth in relation to desired efficiency. The study shows that the analytical method is relevant and adequate to understand and describe the direction and content of futures studies and in so doing enhance their quality.</p>