Idégenerering är den första fasen i en innovationsprocess och för att hantera den så finns det idéhanteringssystem som kort fattat är till för att generera, hantera, utveckla och utvärdera idéer. Den här processen är väldigt svår, vilket oftast har lett till att företag väljer att använda sig av en, eller flera experter för att utvärdera de idéer som kommer in. Detta är förmodligen den bästa lösningen när det gäller effektivitet och inkrementella innovationer. Däremot så är det inte optimalt när det kommer till medarbetarnas motivation, engagemang, kreativitet, idéernas kvalité och de radikala/diskontinuerliga innovationerna. Därför så har det här arbetet undersökt hur ett deltagardemokratiskt idéhanteringssystem kan fungera personalägda företag. Detta undersöktes genom fem intervjuer med respondenter som jobbade på personalägda företag, litteratursökning inom områdena deltagandedemokrati, idéhantering och personalägande, samt idégenereringsmöten med sakkunniga. Resultatet av arbetet blev ett tvåstegssystem som ska kunna hantera komplexiteten av idégenerering, hantering, utveckling och utvärdering. Det första steget är en öppen plattform där alla i företaget kan lägga in idéer, diskutera idéer och ändra idéer. På den här plattformen kan medarbetarna sedan rösta upp de idéer som dem tycker är bäst och bör tas vidare. När en idé får många uppröstningar så tas den vidare till nästa del av systemet. Fördelarna med det här steget är att företaget kan mobilisera medarbetarens kreativitet och kunskap på ett mycket bättre sätt. Till nästa del sätts en grupp ihop av personer som berör eller berörs av idéen ihop för att använda sin kontextuella kunskap för att diskutera och utvärdera idéen. Om den första urvalsgruppen är för stor för detta så görs ytterligare ett urval, för att gruppen ska kunna diskutera idéen på ett effektivt och konstruktivt sätt. När denna grupp är klar så läggs det fram ett slutgiltigt förslag som denna grupp får rösta på om det ska gå vidare eller inte. Här skapas en större känsla av delaktighet hos medarbetarna och en större förståelse/acceptans för de beslut som tas. Med det här idéhanteringssystemet stärks också medarbetarnas motivation och engagemang. Allt detta redovisas i en modell som visualiserar hur systemet fungerar och vilka vägval som görs under processen gång.

Bakgrund Returer är en avgörande del inom e-handel och bidrar till ett företags framgång och konkurrenskraft. Däremot fokuserar svenska e-handelsföretag främst på flödet till kund och returhanteringsprocessen är för närvarande en underutnyttjad affärsmöjlighet. Genom en effektiv och välutvecklad returhanteringsprocess kan e-handelsföretag erhålla värde. Dock är synen på returer ofta kopplade till höga kostnader, vilket bidrar till att returhanteringsprocessen förblir underprioriterad. Inom tidigare forskning finns det begränsad litteratur avseende returhanteringsprocessen utifrån ett företagsperspektiv. Syfte Syftet med uppsatsen är således att, med utgångspunkt ur ett företagsperspektiv, undersöka värdeadderande aktiviteter och effektiviseringsmöjligheter inom returhanteringsprocesser främst utifrån tid och kostnad men även miljö. Det genom att studera svenska e-handelsföretags returhanteringsprocesser inom detaljhandeln. Metod Uppsatsen har ett kvalitativt forskningsangrepp där tio semistrukturerade intervjuer legat till grund för datainsamlingen. Dessutom har sekundärdata samlats kring e-handelsföretagen och deras returhanteringsprocesser, vilka har kompletterat primärdata. Uppsatsen har ett företagsperspektiv, vilket innebär att respondenterna är representanter från olika svenska e-handelsföretag inom detaljhandeln som besitter kunskap om e-handelsföretagens returhanteringsprocess. Slutsats Slutligen konkluderar uppsatsen att det finns tre olika returhanteringssystem, det vill säga manuellt, digitalt och hybrid. Valet av returhanteringssystem beror på vad e-handelsföretagen anser vara värdeadderande aktiviteter. Det manuella returhanteringssystemet fokuserar på att skapa en enkel returhanteringsprocess för kund, medan det digitala returhanteringssystemet värdesätter effektivitet. Dessutom påverkas beslutet av returhanteringssystem på e-handelsföretagets storlek och returvolym. För att erhålla en effektiv och värdeadderande process bör ett digitalt returhanteringssystem användas. Dessutom visar uppsatsen att samtliga e-handelsföretag i framtiden kommer behöva genomgå en transformering till mer digitala returhanteringssystem för att vara konkurrenskraftiga. / Background Returns are a crucial part of e-commerce and contributes to the company´s success and competitive edge. However, Swedish e-commerce companies mainly focus on the flow towards the customer and returns management is currently an underutilized business opportunity. Through an effective and well-developed returns management process the business can create greater value. Unfortunately, returns management is often overlooked as it perceives to entails higher costs. Additionally, there is a lack of literature regarding returns management from a business perspective. Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the value adding activities and opportunities for improved efficiency within the returns management process mainly with regards to time and cost but also sustainability. This will be achieved by gathering data pertaining to specific research questions from e-commerce businesses’ returns management processes within the retail sector. Method This thesis has a qualitative approach where ten semi-structured interviews and secondary data comprise the basis for data collection. This thesis has a business perspective, which means that the respondents are representatives from different Swedish e-commerce businesses within the retail sector that possess knowledge about the e-commerce business’s returns management process. Conclusion In summary, this thesis shows that there are three different returns management systems, namely manual, digital and hybrid systems. The choice of returns management system depends on what the e-commerce business considers to be value adding. The manual returns management system focuses on creating a simple returns management process for the customer, whereas the digital returns management system values efficiency. Furthermore, the choice of returns management system also depends on the size of the e-commerce business and their volume of returns. In order to achieve a value adding and effective process a digital returns management system should be used. Lastly, this thesis indicates that every e-commerce business in the future will need to transform into a digital returns management system in order to remain competitive. This thesis is written in Swedish.

This study investigates existing learning management systems practices, in this case Canvas and Moodle in relation to user personalization and students’ learning styles as both factors are closely contribute to the design of a meaningful learning experience for learners. With the expansion of these teaching tools and methods, it seems crucial to determine to what extent they actually serve the learner and what role is really given to the student using these online platforms. Factors such as instructors’ feedback, peer communication, learning objects and follow-up will be examined. This study is anchored in a Swedish academic setting, and aims to provide a comprehensive overview of learners' needs, expectations, and preferences to benefit educational institutions as well as LMS developers. The goal is to assess how such factors play an essential role in the personalization of learning tools and to suggest that their consideration can lead to the development of more intuitive LMS platforms that do not solely rely on content uploaded by teachers, but that can in turn potentially offer relevant content tailored to each user. / Den här uppsatsen undersöker befintliga praxis för lärande hanteringssystem, i detta fall Canvas och Moodle, i förhållande till användaranpassning och studenternas inlärningsstilar, eftersom båda faktorerna bidrar till utformningen av en meningsfull inlärningsupplevelse för studenterna. På grund av expansionen av dessa undervisningsverktyg verkar det avgörande att bestämma i vilken utsträckning de faktiskt tjänar inläraren och vilken roll studenten verkligen får när hen använder dessa plattformar. Faktorer som lärarnas återkoppling, kommunikation med andra elever, lärandeobjekt och uppföljning kommer att undersökas noggrant. Studien är förankrad i en svensk akademisk miljö och syftar att ge en heltäckande översikt av inlärarnas behov, förväntningar och preferenser. Målet är att förstå hur dessa faktorer spelar en väsentlig roll i personaliseringen av lärverktyg och att föreslå att deras beaktande kan leda till utveckling av mer intuitiva LMS-plattformar som inte enbart förlitar sig på innehåll som laddas upp av lärare, utan som i sin tur potentiellt kan erbjuda relevant innehåll som är skräddarsytt för varje användare.

<p>Safety Management Systems (SMS) in the aviation industry is increasingly an essential aspect of identifying hazards and managing the associated risks. While SMS has become commonplace and is often a regulatory requirement for air carriers, it remains voluntary for many other aviation service providers such as airports. Over the past decade, commercial UAS operations have significantly increased, leading to safety and economic challenges for airports. This research studied the current state of SMS and commercial UAS operations at airports. This research utilized a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods, which included an extensive literature review, interviews, and a survey of airport stakeholders. The literature review confirmed an increase in UAS hazards and risks within the airport operating area coupled with immature SMS practices that address these UAS operations. To build on the findings from the review of literature, a survey instrument was developed, distributed to airport stakeholders, and the responses were statistically analyzed. To gain greater insight into these findings, researchers interviewed three airport subject matter experts. The study compared the airports current state of SMS with UAS operations, the airport stakeholder’s level of familiarity with related policies, and their need for additional UAS SMS guidance material or training. Research results suggest a need for further development and adoption of robust SMS practices at airports along with education and training. This study may assist airport stakeholders, UAS operators, and regulators to further develop robust safety and risk management practices that support safe UAS operations within the airport operating area.</p>

DBMS are a ubiquitous building block of the software stack in many complex applications. Middleware technologies, application servers and mapping approaches hide the core database technologies just like power, networking infrastructure and operating system services. Furthermore, many enterprise-critical applications demand a certain degree of quality of service (QoS) or guarantees, e.g. wrt. response time, transaction throughput, latency but also completeness or more generally quality of results. Examples of such applications are billing systems in telecommunication, where each telephone call has to be monitored and registered in a database, Ecommerce applications where orders have to be accepted even in times of heavy load and the waiting time of customers should not exceed a few seconds, ERP systems processing a large number of transactions in parallel, or systems for processing streaming or sensor data in realtime, e.g. in process automation of traffic control. As part of complex multilevel software stack, database systems have to share or contribute to these QoS requirements, which means that guarantees have to be given by the DBMS, too, and that the processing of database requests is predictable. Todays mainstream DBMS typically follow a best effort approach: requests are processed as fast as possible without any guarantees: the optimization goal of query optimizers and tuning approaches is rather to minimize resource consumption instead of just fulfilling given service level agreements. However, motivated by the situation described above there is an emerging need for database services providing guarantees or simply behave in a predictable manner and at the same time interact with other components of the software stack in order to fulfill the requirements. This is also driven by the paradigm of service-oriented architectures widely discussed in industry. Currently, this is addressed only by very specialized solutions. Nevertheless, database researchers have developed several techniques contributing to the goal of QoS-aware database systems. The purpose of the tutorial is to introduce database researchers and practitioners to the scope, the challenges and the available techniques to the problem of predictability and QoS agreements in DBMS.

Det har skett mycket de senaste åren inom tillverkningsindustrin. Kundanpassning med olika tillbehör och önskemål sätter press på företags förmåga att producera. En effektiv och noggrann hantering samt lagring av gods är en förutsättning för att förbli konkurrenskraftig. Det är väsentligt med lagerstyrning för kontroll av verksamhetens in- och utflöden i syfte att uppnå lönsamhet och hög kundnöjdhet. Hallberg-Rassy är skandinaviens största företag inom skeppsbyggnad som alltid levererat i tid. Med en ökad efterfråga och hantering av gods är lagerstyrningen viktig för att bevara kvaliteten. Företaget har uppmärksammat en misshantering av artiklar i främst höglagret som är i behov av ett förbättringsarbete.   Företaget har ett stort centrallager som styrs av affärssystemet Navision. Problemet är att det befintliga affärssystemet inte kan utnyttjas till samtliga lager i verksamheten. Detta för att affärssystemet anpassats för mycket till centrallagret vilket resulterar i att systemets modul inte kan appliceras till företagets höglager. I dagsläget styrs höglagret av ett manuellt system i form av pärmar, där hanteringen leder till missvisande lagersaldon. Vi har med intervjuer och observationer av företaget samt framtagning av relevant teori, tagit reda på vilka faktorer som är anledningen till att manuella lagerrutiner bibehållas. Även vilka åtgärder som ska vidtas för att integrera manuella lagerrutiner i ett modernt lagerstyrningssystem. Men också undersökt vilka komplikationer en sådan övergång medför. Vi kom fram till att Hallberg-Rassy är kvar i manuella lagerrutiner för att integreringen i ett modernt lagerstyrningssystem medför stora kostnader med motstånd och rädsla från arbetarna. Denna integrering kan även medföra eventuella risker för en bristande kunskap av den nya modulen i affärssystemet. Detta sätter krav på utbildning för att upprätthålla hög arbetsmoral som främjar rätt indata till den nya modulen i affärssystemet. / A lot has happened in recent years in the manufacturing industry. Customization with different accessories and wishes puts pressure on companies' ability to produce. Efficient and accurate handling and storage of goods is a prerequisite for staying competitive. It is essential to have inventory management for control of the company's inputs and outflows in order to achieve profitability and high customer satisfaction. Hallberg-Rassy is Scandinavia's largest shipbuilding company that always delivers on time. With increased demand and handling of goods, inventory management is important in order to preserve quality. The company has a large central warehouse that is controlled by the business system Navision, but the problem is that the existing business system cannot be used for all the warehouses in the business. The business system has been adapted too much to the central warehouse, which means that the system cannot be applied to the company's other warehouse. Today is the other warehouse controlled by a manual system in the form of binders, where the handling entails a misleading stock balance. With interviews and observations of the company as well as the development of relevant theory, we’ve found out which factors that are the reasons manual inventory routines are retained. Also, which approach should be taken to integrate manual warehouse routines into a modern warehouse management system. We also investigated the complications of such a transition result. We concluded that Hallberg-Rassy remain the manual storage routines because integration to a modern warehouse management system causes high costs with resistance and fear from the workers. This integration can also pose potential risks for lack of knowledge of the new module in the business system. This requires training to maintain a high work ethic that promotes the right input to the new module in the business system.

Les séries temporelles deviennent omniprésentes dans la vie moderne et leur analyse de plus en plus difficile compte tenu de leur taille. L’analyse des grandes séries de données implique des tâches telles que l’appariement de modèles (motifs), la détection d’anomalies, l’identification de modèles fréquents, et la classification ou le regroupement (clustering). Ces tâches reposent sur la notion de similarité. La communauté scientifique a proposé de plusieurs techniques, y compris de nombreuses mesures de similarité pour calculer la distance entre deux séries temporelles, ainsi que des techniques et des algorithmes d’indexation correspondants, afin de relever les défis de l’évolutivité lors de la recherche de similarité.Les analystes, afin de s’acquitter efficacement de leurs tâches, ont besoin de systèmes d’analyse visuelle interactifs, extrêmement rapides, et puissants. Lors de la création de tels systèmes, nous avons identifié deux principaux défis: (1) la perception de similarité et (2) la recherche progressive de similarité. Le premier traite de la façon dont les gens perçoivent des modèles similaires et du rôle de la visualisation dans la perception de similarité. Le dernier point concerne la rapidité avec laquelle nous pouvons redonner aux utilisateurs des mises à jour des résultats progressifs, lorsque les temps de réponse du système sont longs et non interactifs. Le but de cette thèse est de répondre et de donner des solutions aux défis ci-dessus.Dans la première partie, nous avons étudié si différentes représentations visuelles (Graphiques en courbes, Graphiques d’horizon et Champs de couleur) modifiaient la perception de similarité des séries temporelles. Nous avons essayé de comprendre si les résultats de recherche automatique de similarité sont perçus de manière similaire, quelle que soit la technique de visualisation; et si ce que les gens perçoivent comme similaire avec chaque visualisation s’aligne avec différentes mesures de similarité. Nos résultats indiquent que les Graphes d’horizon s’alignent sur des mesures qui permettent des variations de décalage temporel ou d’échelle (i.e., ils promeuvent la déformation temporelle dynamique). En revanche, ils ne s’alignent pas sur des mesures autorisant des variations d’amplitude et de décalage vertical (ils ne promeuvent pas des mesures basées sur la z-normalisation). L’inverse semble être le cas pour les Graphiques en courbes et les Champs de couleur. Dans l’ensemble, nos travaux indiquent que le choix de la visualisation affecte les schémas temporels que l’homme considère comme similaires. Donc, la notion de similarité dans les séries temporelles est dépendante de la technique de visualisation.Dans la deuxième partie, nous nous sommes concentrés sur la recherche progressive de similarité dans de grandes séries de données. Nous avons étudié la rapidité avec laquelle les premières réponses approximatives et puis des mises à jour des résultats progressifs sont détectées lors de l’exécuton des requêtes progressives. Nos résultats indiquent qu’il existe un écart entre le moment où la réponse finale s’est trouvée et le moment où l’algorithme de recherche se termine, ce qui entraîne des temps d’attente gonflés sans amélioration. Des estimations probabilistes pourraient aider les utilisateurs à décider quand arrêter le processus de recherche, i.e., décider quand l’amélioration de la réponse finale est improbable. Nous avons développé et évalué expérimentalement une nouvelle méthode probabiliste qui calcule les garanties de qualité des résultats progressifs de k-plus proches voisins (k-NN). Notre approche apprend d’un ensemble de requêtes et construit des modèles de prédiction basés sur deux observations: (i) des requêtes similaires ont des réponses similaires; et (ii) des réponses progressives renvoyées par les indices de séries de données sont de bons prédicteurs de la réponse finale. Nous fournissons des estimations initiales et progressives de la réponse finale. / Time series are becoming ubiquitous in modern life, and given their sizes, their analysis is becoming increasingly challenging. Time series analysis involves tasks such as pattern matching, anomaly detection, frequent pattern identification, and time series clustering or classification. These tasks rely on the notion of time series similarity. The data-mining community has proposed several techniques, including many similarity measures (or distance measure algorithms), for calculating the distance between two time series, as well as corresponding indexing techniques and algorithms, in order to address the scalability challenges during similarity search.To effectively support their tasks, analysts need interactive visual analytics systems that combine extremely fast computation, expressive querying interfaces, and powerful visualization tools. We identified two main challenges when considering the creation of such systems: (1) similarity perception and (2) progressive similarity search. The former deals with how people perceive similar patterns and what the role of visualization is in time series similarity perception. The latter is about how fast we can give back to users updates of progressive similarity search results and how good they are, when system response times are long and do not support real-time analytics in large data series collections. The goal of this thesis, that lies at the intersection of Databases and Human-Computer Interaction, is to answer and give solutions to the above challenges.In the first part of the thesis, we studied whether different visual representations (Line Charts, Horizon Graphs, and Color Fields) alter time series similarity perception. We tried to understand if automatic similarity search results are perceived in a similar manner, irrespective of the visualization technique; and if what people perceive as similar with each visualization aligns with different automatic similarity measures and their similarity constraints. Our findings indicate that Horizon Graphs promote as invariant local variations in temporal position or speed, and as a result they align with measures that allow variations in temporal shifting or scaling (i.e., dynamic time warping). On the other hand, Horizon Graphs do not align with measures that allow amplitude and y-offset variations (i.e., measures based on z-normalization), because they exaggerate these differences, while the inverse seems to be the case for Line Charts and Color Fields. Overall, our work indicates that the choice of visualization affects what temporal patterns humans consider as similar, i.e., the notion of similarity in time series is visualization-dependent.In the second part of the thesis, we focused on progressive similarity search in large data series collections. We investigated how fast first approximate and then updates of progressive answers are detected, while we execute similarity search queries. Our findings indicate that there is a gap between the time the final answer is found and the time when the search algorithm terminates, resulting in inflated waiting times without any improvement. Computing probabilistic estimates of the final answer could help users decide when to stop the search process. We developed and experimentally evaluated using benchmarks, a new probabilistic learning-based method that computes quality guarantees (error bounds) for progressive k-Nearest Neighbour (k-NN) similarity search results. Our approach learns from a set of queries and builds prediction models based on two observations: (i) similar queries have similar answers; and (ii) progressive best-so-far (bsf) answers returned by the state-of-the-art data series indexes are good predictors of the final k-NN answer. We provide both initial and incrementally improved estimates of the final answer.

Technological innovations have been shown to improve the quality of health information and improve safety in health care systems. The purpose of this project was to offer hospital nurses a more flexible and practical alternative to education and training than the traditional face-to-face method, supporting nurse educators in overcoming many of the obstacles in responding to nurses' needs in the clinical areas. This project used a randomized, 2-group posttest-only experimental design to measure the effect of treatment at a targeted hospital. The experimental group received a new instructional approach using an Electronic Learning Management System (ELMS) and the control group used the site's traditional standard method; both groups completed the Posttest Knowledge Assessment. The study population consisted of registered nurses who had attended the project site's Safe Blood Transfusion Practice program over a period of 1 month. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups' members' gender, age, level of education, or nursing experience. Data analysis showed a significant (p < .00) difference between the 2 groups' posttest scores, indicating that the participants who used the ELMS attained a higher median knowledge (M = 89.39, SD = 9.26) than did participants who received traditional, face-to-face instruction (M = 76.85, SD = 10.628). These results suggest that ELMS-based learning is a more effective method of instructional delivery that could effectively replace many of the traditional face-to-face education programs. Implementing this innovative system will create positive social change on the targeted hospital by improving health care delivery. The application of the finding would support clinical educators to improve educational delivery to their clients at the clinical areas.

The literature suggests that information technology (IT), including Course Management Systems (CMSs), allows higher education faculty members (HEFMs) to adopt better methods for teaching and learning, and that training contributes to adoption. However, many HEFMs are unwilling to complete IT training on the CMS, contributing to low adoption rates. Yet, little is known about what influences HEFMs to complete IT training on their institution's CMS, even though CMSs are widely available. The purpose of this study was to address this gap in the literature through a quantitative, cross-sectional study of HEFM perceptions of CMS characteristics, based on Rogers' diffusion of innovations theory, which may affect their willingness to complete IT training on their institution's CMS. The research questions focused on how perceived relative advantage (RA), compatibility (CMP), complexity (CMX), trialability (TR), and observability (OB) of the CMS impacted HEFM willingness to complete IT training on their institution's CMS. Higher education faculty member tenure status, rank, length of CMS use, level of CMS expertise, department, gender, and age were potential mediating variables. Data from 102 Fitchburg State University HEFMs were collected, and multiple regression models developed. Compatibility was significantly associated with willingness to train online, adjusted for department, and RA with willingness to train in-person and combined. This study has a potential positive impact on society through providing information for researchers and higher education administrators who are changing IT training on CMSs in order to improve adoption rates and the quality of teaching and learning at institutions of higher learning.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the use of a course management system in relation to faculty characteristics and instructional environments at a rural community college in California. The use of the course management system, Blackboard, was the technology studied. This study used a nonexperimental quantitative ex post facto research design to analyze the use of Blackboard at all classes in fall semester 2008. This study used 10 faculty characteristics and five instructional environment conditions as the independent variables and the basis for analyses. The 10 faculty characteristics were age, gender, highest degree earned, discipline, number of faculty teaching in the discipline, number of courses teaching by an individual faculty member, average class size, number of years teaching, employment status, and hourly pay rate. The five instructional environmental conditions were teaching location, course delivery method, course type, career technical education status and course duration. The dependent variable was the use of a course management system. Elements of the course management system were placed into four general categories—activated, static, interactive and multimedia. Pearson's correlation analyses were calculated to identify any significant relationships between faculty characteristics and use of a course management system and between instructional environmental conditions and the use of a course management system. Cramer's V was used to determine the strength of those relationships. Faculty who were female, had more formal education, were tenured, earned more money, taught on campus, taught online or taught for the fill semester were more likely to use a course management system. There were moderate to strong relationships for faculty who were female, had more formal education, were tenured, earned more money, taught on campus, or taught online. Institutions of higher education are investing fiscal, human and technological resources in the purchase and deployment of course management systems. This study can be replicated by any college that has the ability to gather information about faculty and their use of a technology. Once the method by which the data is collected is determined, it can be repeated at regular intervals in order to track the progress of the adoption of the technology. This data can then be used by college leaders as an evaluative tool within the college's planning processes.