This master thesis aims to examine how the transfer of product related information is carried out in the manufacturing industry. The study was supposed to give suggestions for improving the CAD courses provided at Linköping University. This thesis is the concluding step for the authors’ master’s degree in mechanical engineering.In the beginning of the project a study of relevant literature was made. The literature was aimed to gain more knowledge of the subject at hand and finding relevant methods for collecting and analyzing data. To examine how the industry deals with product related data a multiple case study was conducted, investigating seven different companies that are working with both product development and production. As data collection method, semi-structured interviews of employees on the different companies were conducted.An adaptation of the “affinity diagram technique” was used when analyzing the collected data. The method divided the answers to questions provided by the different companies into different categories, in the form of statements. These where compared between the companies by the use of tables, showing the results in a clear manner. To give better insight in each company´s methods, a descriptive summary was written for each of the studied companies.To be able to give propositions of improvement for the courses at the University, some of the courses given where analyzed by reviewing the course description and goals, and through informal interviews of the course administrator. This led to better insight in what is included in the courses and what they are supposed to teach the students. The knowledge of what is included in the courses at this time and the results of the study of the companies, were the foundation when determining what could be changed in the courses.The case study showed that it varies greatly how much the companies are adapting new approaches for generating and spreading product related data. This made it difficult to find tangible evidence supporting changes to the courses, however, a few conclusions could be drawn from the results. It was found that 2D-drawings are still used to a great extent for carrying product related information. Only one of the studied companies have transitioned to using the 3D-model as an information carrier. Although it was mentioned on some of the other companies that such an approach seemed interesting.The study also showed that less handling of physical papers seems to be something most companies are interested in, and are also trying to achieve. It was also noted that all the companies studied had implemented some form of digital platform for handling product related documents.A few things that were deemed worth implementing in the mandatory courses were the introduction to PDM/PLM, introduction of 3D-annotations for dimensions and tolerances and increased use of the 3D-model for manufacturing operations. / Detta examensarbete ämnar undersöka hur informationsöverföringen av produktrelaterad data sker i industrin för att kunna ge förbättringsförslag för Linköpings Universitets CAD- och ritteknikskurser. Detta för att kurserna bättre ska spegla industrins nuvarande och även framtida behov. Examensarbetet utfördes på avdelningen maskinkonstruktion vid Linköpings Universitet och är det avslutande momentet på författarnas civilingenjörsutbildning i maskinteknik.Till att börja med utfördes en litteraturstudie. Detta för att ge kunskap inom det aktuella området och vilka metoder som kan användas för datainsamling och analys. För att undersöka hur industrins arbetssätt ser ut utfördes en flerfallstudie på sju olika företag som bedriver produktutveckling tillsammans med egen produktion. Som datainsamlingsmetod valdes semistrukturerade intervjuer med anställda på de olika företagen.Analysen utfördes med hjälp av en adaption av ”affinity diagram technique” vilket delade upp företagens svar i kategorier i form av påståenden. Dessa jämfördes mellan företagen med hjälp av tabeller eftersom det var tydligt sätt att representera resultatet. För att ge en inblick i hur varje enskilt företag arbetar utarbetades även en deskriptiv sammanfattning av varje företag.För att kunna ge förbättringsförslag till universitetets CAD- och ritteknikskurser granskades några av de nuvarande kursernas kursplaner. Detta tillsammans med en informell intervju av de kursansvariga ledde till bättre insikt om hur kurserna är uppbyggda och vad målen med dem är. Insikten om vad kurserna innehåller i dagsläget tillsammans med analysen av de studerade företagens arbetssätt bidrog till att ett antal förbättringsförslag kunde föreslås.Det visade sig att graden av användande av modernare arbetssätt varierar kraftigt bland företagen. Detta gjorde det svårt att komma fram till ett enhetligt resultat som gällde för alla de studerade företagen. Däremot kunde ett antal slutsatser dras. Bland annat används fortfarande 2D-ritningar flitigt som ett informationsbärande dokument. En övergång till att enbart använda 3D-modellen som informationsbärare noterades endast på ett utav företagen men nämndes på ett par andra.Papperslöst arbete verkar vara på frammarsch trots att vissa specifika moment fortfarande utförs på papper. Det noterades även att digitala system används för lagring och hantering av produktrelaterad information hos alla de studerade företagen.Det som ansetts värt att implementera i universitets obligatoriska kurser efter genomförd studie är främst ökad användning av PDM/PLM-system, introduktion av 3D-måttsättning samt utnyttjande av 3D-modellen vid tillverkning.

O gerenciamento de projetos de forma sistematizada vem se tornando essencial para todo tipo de organização, pois os mercados a cada dia tornam-se cada vez mais competitivos, os recursos mais escassos e os clientes muito mais exigentes. É possível observar isso com o número crescente de empresas que se associam ao Project Management Institute (PMI) - referência nas melhores práticas em gerenciamento de projetos - que desde o final de 2013 possui mais de 400.000 empresas associadas em todo o planeta. Tal tendência é natural, visto que as empresas necessitam se destacar nos negócios em um mercado cada vez mais dinâmico a fim de garantir a sua sobrevivência. De acordo com Gu et al. (2013), uma questão-chave na investigação de gerenciamento de projetos gira em torno de porquê alguns projetos são bem sucedidos, enquanto outros não. Esta questão levou os pesquisadores a explorar determinantes potenciais que possam levar ao sucesso ou fracasso de um projeto. Por exemplo, o Standish Group International (2009) encontrou uma taxa global de fracasso do projeto em torno de 72% nos EUA. É certo que a cultura organizacional exerce forte influência no sucesso dos projetos, mas seria possível diagnosticá-la para com isso melhor conduzir as equipes de projeto? Deste modo, o objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar a relação entre a cultura organizacional e o gerenciamento de projetos, utilizando-se para tanto dos modelos como o Competing Values Framework (CVF) e o Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI). O emprego dos modelos se justifica por serem os mais utilizados na literatura em gestão organizacional, embora não tenham sido encontrados estudos empíricos que os utilize no contexto brasileiro em gerenciamento de projetos. O método utilizado para obtenção do perfil cultural dominante para o sucesso em gerenciamento de projetos foi survey, na qual o modelo OCAI foi adaptado e destinado para gerentes e membros de equipe de projetos. Observou-se através da análise dos dados, que a cultura de clã foi a que apresentou forte influência para o sucesso no gerenciamento de projetos de acordo com a percepção dos respondentes da survey. É importante ressaltar que não há um perfil de cultura melhor que o outro, portanto, a cultura de gerenciamento de projetos obtida é apenas o diagnóstico de uma cultura organizacional que poderá permitir a obtenção de um desempenho superior, ou seja, sucesso no atendimento de escopo, qualidade, custo e prazo. Discute-se para estudos futuros a importância de se empregar respondentes de diferentes estados do Brasil e ainda de outros países, buscando estabelecer que não existam influências de outros fatores culturais regionais na percepção dos respondentes. / Project management in a systematic manner has become essential for any type of organization, because the markets every day become increasingly competitive, scarce resources and more demanding customers. You can see this with the growing number of companies that are associated with the Project Management Institute (PMI) - reference the best practices in project management - which since late 2013 has more than 400,000 affiliates around the world. This tendency is natural, since companies need to stand out in business in an increasingly dynamic market in order to ensure their survival. According to Gu et al. (2013), a key issue in project management research centers on why some projects are successful while others do not. This question led the researchers to explore potential determinants that can lead to success or failure of a project. For example, the Standish Group International (2009) found an overall rate of failure of the project around 72% in the US. Admittedly, the organizational culture has a strong influence on the success of the projects, but it would be possible to diagnose it for it better lead project teams? Thus, the aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between organizational culture and project management, using for both models like the Competing Values Framework (CVF) and the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI). The use of models is justified because they are the most used in the literature on organizational management, although we did not find empirical studies that use them in the Brazilian context in project management. The method used to obtain the dominant cultural profile for success in project management was the survey, in which the OCAI model was adapted and designed for managers and project team members. It was observed by analyzing the data, the clan culture showed the strong influence for success in project management according to the perception of the survey respondents. Importantly, there is a better culture profile than the other, so the obtained project management culture is only the diagnosis of an organizational culture that may allow obtaining superior performance, ie success in scope of service, quality, cost and schedule. It is argued for further study the importance of employing respondents from different states of Brazil and even from other countries, seeking to establish that there are no influences from other regional cultural factors in the perception of respondents.

O gerenciamento de projetos de forma sistematizada vem se tornando essencial para todo tipo de organização, pois os mercados a cada dia tornam-se cada vez mais competitivos, os recursos mais escassos e os clientes muito mais exigentes. É possível observar isso com o número crescente de empresas que se associam ao Project Management Institute (PMI) - referência nas melhores práticas em gerenciamento de projetos - que desde o final de 2013 possui mais de 400.000 empresas associadas em todo o planeta. Tal tendência é natural, visto que as empresas necessitam se destacar nos negócios em um mercado cada vez mais dinâmico a fim de garantir a sua sobrevivência. De acordo com Gu et al. (2013), uma questão-chave na investigação de gerenciamento de projetos gira em torno de porquê alguns projetos são bem sucedidos, enquanto outros não. Esta questão levou os pesquisadores a explorar determinantes potenciais que possam levar ao sucesso ou fracasso de um projeto. Por exemplo, o Standish Group International (2009) encontrou uma taxa global de fracasso do projeto em torno de 72% nos EUA. É certo que a cultura organizacional exerce forte influência no sucesso dos projetos, mas seria possível diagnosticá-la para com isso melhor conduzir as equipes de projeto? Deste modo, o objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar a relação entre a cultura organizacional e o gerenciamento de projetos, utilizando-se para tanto dos modelos como o Competing Values Framework (CVF) e o Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI). O emprego dos modelos se justifica por serem os mais utilizados na literatura em gestão organizacional, embora não tenham sido encontrados estudos empíricos que os utilize no contexto brasileiro em gerenciamento de projetos. O método utilizado para obtenção do perfil cultural dominante para o sucesso em gerenciamento de projetos foi survey, na qual o modelo OCAI foi adaptado e destinado para gerentes e membros de equipe de projetos. Observou-se através da análise dos dados, que a cultura de clã foi a que apresentou forte influência para o sucesso no gerenciamento de projetos de acordo com a percepção dos respondentes da survey. É importante ressaltar que não há um perfil de cultura melhor que o outro, portanto, a cultura de gerenciamento de projetos obtida é apenas o diagnóstico de uma cultura organizacional que poderá permitir a obtenção de um desempenho superior, ou seja, sucesso no atendimento de escopo, qualidade, custo e prazo. Discute-se para estudos futuros a importância de se empregar respondentes de diferentes estados do Brasil e ainda de outros países, buscando estabelecer que não existam influências de outros fatores culturais regionais na percepção dos respondentes. / Project management in a systematic manner has become essential for any type of organization, because the markets every day become increasingly competitive, scarce resources and more demanding customers. You can see this with the growing number of companies that are associated with the Project Management Institute (PMI) - reference the best practices in project management - which since late 2013 has more than 400,000 affiliates around the world. This tendency is natural, since companies need to stand out in business in an increasingly dynamic market in order to ensure their survival. According to Gu et al. (2013), a key issue in project management research centers on why some projects are successful while others do not. This question led the researchers to explore potential determinants that can lead to success or failure of a project. For example, the Standish Group International (2009) found an overall rate of failure of the project around 72% in the US. Admittedly, the organizational culture has a strong influence on the success of the projects, but it would be possible to diagnose it for it better lead project teams? Thus, the aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between organizational culture and project management, using for both models like the Competing Values Framework (CVF) and the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI). The use of models is justified because they are the most used in the literature on organizational management, although we did not find empirical studies that use them in the Brazilian context in project management. The method used to obtain the dominant cultural profile for success in project management was the survey, in which the OCAI model was adapted and designed for managers and project team members. It was observed by analyzing the data, the clan culture showed the strong influence for success in project management according to the perception of the survey respondents. Importantly, there is a better culture profile than the other, so the obtained project management culture is only the diagnosis of an organizational culture that may allow obtaining superior performance, ie success in scope of service, quality, cost and schedule. It is argued for further study the importance of employing respondents from different states of Brazil and even from other countries, seeking to establish that there are no influences from other regional cultural factors in the perception of respondents.

Special Purpose acquisition company (SPAC) är ett skalbolag grundat av investerare med det enda syftet att samla kapital genom en börsintroduktion för att senare förvärva ett annat bolag. Tidigare empirisk forskning för SPAC har fokuserat på egenskaperna hos SPAC bolagen samt deras långsiktiga och kortsiktiga avkastning. Denna studie tar en kvantitativ ansats och syftar till att undersöka vilka underliggande makroekonomiska faktorer har bidragit till en ökning i antalet SPAC bolag. Detta undersöks genom en linjär regressionsanalys där studien undersöker korrelationen mellan olika variabler. Studien syftar även till att se om de underliggande makroekonomiska faktorer bakom ökningen av traditionella börsintroduktioner är detsamma som de bakom SPAC. All data för SPAC, makroekonomiska variabler och börsintroduktioner har samlats in genom olika databaser som Yahoo Finance och Nasdaq. Studiens resultat visar på att vissa makroekonomiska variabler som testats för en korrelation har en påverkan på antalet SPAC och börsintroduktioner medans vissa variabler inte bevisade någon påverkan. Variabeln som visade starkast korrelation med antalet SPAC är den generella marknadens avkastning där det är tydligt att om den generella marknaden är stark så är viljan att göra en börsnotering större Studien fann även att de makroekonomiska variabler bakom ökningen av antalet SPAC och vanliga börsnoteringar inte skiljer sig åt. / This paper is written in Swedish. A special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) is a shell company set up by investors with the sole purpose of raising money through an IPO to eventually acquire another company. Past empirical research on Special purpose acquisition companies has mostly focused on the characteristics of the SPACs and long term returns as well as the short term returns. This study takes a quantitative approach and aims to examine whether underlying macroeconomic factors have contributed to the increase in SPAC companies. This is done by a linear regression analysis that tests for correlations between different variables. The study also aims to see if the underlying macroeconomic factors behind the increase of traditional IPOs are the same as those behind SPACs. All data regarding SPACs, IPOs and the macroeconomic factors were collected from different databases and websites such as Yahoo finance and NASDAQ. The results from this study show that some of the macroeconomic factors which were tested for a correlation indeed have a positive impact on the number of SPACs and IPOs and some did not. The variable that showed the strongest correlation was the performance of the general market and it is clear that when the general market is strong the willingness to go public increases. The study also finds that the macroeconomic variables behind the increase in the number of SPACs and IPOs do not differ.

La ineficiente gestión del alcance en proyecto de edificaciones en el Lima genera cambios durante la etapa de ejecución, estos cambios de alcance se convierten en adicionales que causan sobrecostos y afectan al presupuesto contractual. A fin de mitigar los cambios en edificaciones, se formula un procedimiento para optimizar la gestión del alcance. La propuesta consta de 6 procesos para gestionar el alcance: Estudio de condiciones de sitio y de Stakeholders, Definición de Alcance, Desarrollo de Diseño, Validación del Alcance, Control de OCA’s y Análisis de OCA’s; los cuales están basados en distintas fuentes bibliográficas y de información de proyectos locales. El producto final que validará la investigación se obtendrá con el procedimiento propuesto retroalimentado en el resultado del análisis de los adicionales aprobados de 3 proyectos de edificación. Dicho análisis consiste en la clasificación de los adicionales en distintos tipos de causantes que serán agrupados, comparados y evaluados de acuerdo a los procesos de gestión de alcance y a las especialidades involucradas, con el objetivo de identificar cuál de estas requieran establecer medidas de mejora. / An inefficient Scope Management in building projects in Lima may generate changes during the execution phase, those Scope changes can become into additional works that causes overcost and variations to the contractual budget. In order to reduce changes in building projects, it has been formulated a procedure to improve the Scope Management and it is composed by 6 processes: Site conditions and Stakeholders Study, Scope definition, Design development, Scope validation, Change orders control and Change orders Analysis; all the processes are based on various bibliographical sources and information of local’s Projects. The final product which will validate the investigation is a feedback of the proposed procedure with the results of the analysis of approved scope changes coming from the building projects studied. This analysis consists of the classification of scope changes according their causes which have been grouped, compared and evaluated in accordance with the Scope management processes and the specialties involved, aiming to identify those that require setting improvement measures. / Tesis

Os Procedimentos de Manifestação de Interesse (PMI) e Propostas Não Solicitadas (PNS) são mecanismos para a viabilização de projetos de Parcerias Público-Privadas (PPP/PFIs). Contudo, a ausência de critérios claros para avaliação e priorização de parceiros, de forma transparente e técnica, leva à seleção adversa de propostas, contribuindo para o insucesso dos projetos. O principal instrumento utilizado na avaliação PPP/PFIs é uma análise quantitativa baseada no Value For Money (VfM). O propósito deste trabalho foi investigar os problemas relacionados com os processos de avaliação das propostas dos PMI submetidas aos órgãos demandantes dos serviços. Iniciou-se com a análise do Fatores Críticos para o Sucesso (FCSs) das PPP/PFIs, dos PMI e PNS, identificadas na literatura. Os Fatores Críticos foram apresentados a um conjunto de 78 especialistas que responderam também sobre a processo de análise das propostas. No questionário os autores foram confrontados também com as propriedades da visão. O resultado indica que a análise com o VfM seria incompleta e insuficiente para capturar a complexidade do escopo destes projetos. A pesquisa possibilitou ainda organizar os fatores críticos em 7 dimensões a serem consideradas na avaliação destes projetos. Essas dimensões podem ser utilizadas para a criação de instrumentos de avaliação e um exemplo foi proposto, um indicador nomeado de índice \"T\", avaliado por um grupo de 12 especialistas em projetos de PPP/PFIs. A pesquisa contribui, portanto, para apoiar a criação de instrumentos de avaliação de PPP/PFIs que considerem uma análise mais ampla, considerando aspectos qualitativos e quantitativos. / Unsolicited Proposals (UNPs) are one of the main mechanisms for verifying the feasibility of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP/PFIs/PFIs) projects. However, the lack of clear criteria to evaluate and to prioritize the partner, in a transparent and technical way, has led to adverse selection of proposals increasing the level of failure of these projects. The main instrument used in the PPP/PFIs evaluation is a quantitative analysis based on Value for Money. The purpose of this research was to investigate the problems related with the processes of evaluation of the Unsolicited Proposals (UNPs) that are submitted to the respective government offices. The study compiles the analysis of Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for Public-Private Partnerships (PPP/PFI) and the Unsolicited Proposals (UNPs), identified in the literature, and synthetized by the evaluation of a group of 78 specialists, resulting in the organization of 7 (seven) dimensions to be considered in the evaluation of these projects. This study also demonstrated that, according to these experts, the analysis with VfM would be incomplete and insufficient to capture the complexity of the scope of these projects. As an alternative a set of 7 (seven) indicators where created related to each dimension and a general index that synthetize the performance in the dimensions, considering qualitative and quantitative aspects. The index was labeled as \"T\" index and evaluated by a group of 12 (twelve) experts on PPP/PFI projects. The results from the analyses indicate that the index allows a linear comparative analysis between the proposals received by the public entity requesting the Public- Private Partnership (PPP/PFI) services. The model of indicators decreases the subjectivity of the choices made by public managers, resulting in greater transparency for the process of proposal qualification and security to the market.

Neste trabalho buscamos investigar a aplicação dos mecanismos de participação dos administrados nos processos administrativos de elaboração dos contratos de parceria público-privada (PPP) e indicar alternativas de aprimoramento do diálogo com o Poder Público para possibilitar a preparação de avenças aos objetivos desses tipos de concessão. Concentramos nossas reflexões em quatro instrumentos que permitem a aproximação dos administrados na modelagem dos contratos de concessão administrativa e patrocinada, quais sejam, o procedimento de manifestação de interesse (PMI), a consulta pública, a audiência pública e o roadshow. / This essay intends to analyze individuals´ participation mechanism in the administrative procedure of public-private partnership (PPP) contract elaboration and to indicate alternatives for a better dialogue with Public Sector, in order to prepare the agreements and to assure its attainment to the objectives of such concession model. The analysis is focused in four different instruments that grant the individual approach on the developing of the PPP contracts, which are: call for expressions of interest (translated as PMI - procedimento de manifestação de interesse), public consultation, public hearing and roadshow.

Os Procedimentos de Manifestação de Interesse (PMI) e Propostas Não Solicitadas (PNS) são mecanismos para a viabilização de projetos de Parcerias Público-Privadas (PPP/PFIs). Contudo, a ausência de critérios claros para avaliação e priorização de parceiros, de forma transparente e técnica, leva à seleção adversa de propostas, contribuindo para o insucesso dos projetos. O principal instrumento utilizado na avaliação PPP/PFIs é uma análise quantitativa baseada no Value For Money (VfM). O propósito deste trabalho foi investigar os problemas relacionados com os processos de avaliação das propostas dos PMI submetidas aos órgãos demandantes dos serviços. Iniciou-se com a análise do Fatores Críticos para o Sucesso (FCSs) das PPP/PFIs, dos PMI e PNS, identificadas na literatura. Os Fatores Críticos foram apresentados a um conjunto de 78 especialistas que responderam também sobre a processo de análise das propostas. No questionário os autores foram confrontados também com as propriedades da visão. O resultado indica que a análise com o VfM seria incompleta e insuficiente para capturar a complexidade do escopo destes projetos. A pesquisa possibilitou ainda organizar os fatores críticos em 7 dimensões a serem consideradas na avaliação destes projetos. Essas dimensões podem ser utilizadas para a criação de instrumentos de avaliação e um exemplo foi proposto, um indicador nomeado de índice \"T\", avaliado por um grupo de 12 especialistas em projetos de PPP/PFIs. A pesquisa contribui, portanto, para apoiar a criação de instrumentos de avaliação de PPP/PFIs que considerem uma análise mais ampla, considerando aspectos qualitativos e quantitativos. / Unsolicited Proposals (UNPs) are one of the main mechanisms for verifying the feasibility of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP/PFIs/PFIs) projects. However, the lack of clear criteria to evaluate and to prioritize the partner, in a transparent and technical way, has led to adverse selection of proposals increasing the level of failure of these projects. The main instrument used in the PPP/PFIs evaluation is a quantitative analysis based on Value for Money. The purpose of this research was to investigate the problems related with the processes of evaluation of the Unsolicited Proposals (UNPs) that are submitted to the respective government offices. The study compiles the analysis of Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for Public-Private Partnerships (PPP/PFI) and the Unsolicited Proposals (UNPs), identified in the literature, and synthetized by the evaluation of a group of 78 specialists, resulting in the organization of 7 (seven) dimensions to be considered in the evaluation of these projects. This study also demonstrated that, according to these experts, the analysis with VfM would be incomplete and insufficient to capture the complexity of the scope of these projects. As an alternative a set of 7 (seven) indicators where created related to each dimension and a general index that synthetize the performance in the dimensions, considering qualitative and quantitative aspects. The index was labeled as \"T\" index and evaluated by a group of 12 (twelve) experts on PPP/PFI projects. The results from the analyses indicate that the index allows a linear comparative analysis between the proposals received by the public entity requesting the Public- Private Partnership (PPP/PFI) services. The model of indicators decreases the subjectivity of the choices made by public managers, resulting in greater transparency for the process of proposal qualification and security to the market.

Questo studio vuole illustrare le possibilità di sviluppo dell’industria del venture capital nei mercati emergenti. Il venture capital rappresenta un’alternativa importante per le imprese emergenti dei paesi in via di sviluppo, contribuendo a rafforzare uno sviluppo integrato di tutto il sistema finanziario e dei suoi attori principali quali le istituzioni bancarie tradizionali, i fondi d’investimento ed il mercato dei capitali. L’obiettivo principale del progetto consiste nell’identificare gli attori principali, e gli investimenti target, così come le esperienze più significative, analizzando i fattori critici e mettendo a fuco azioni e programmi utili per attirare investitori di venture capital, accrescere la conoscenza di questi strumenti e superare i maggiori ostacoli al fine di massimizzare l’impatto che l’industria del venture capital può avere nel rafforzare la crescita industriale a livello paese. Il lavoro comprende alcune analisi empiriche nell’ambito dell’area arabo-mediterranea, svolte con l’obiettivo di facilitare partnership ed accrescere investimenti tra i paesi scelti ed i paesi europei. Commenti, spunti e proposte presentate nella parte finale del lavoro sono il frutto di un attento studio degli attori e fattori chiave che contraddistinguono le operazioni di venture capital. Le proposte ed i programmi suggeriti cercano di rispondere alle esigenze e necessità individuate nel corso delle analisi empiriche che sono state svolte trascorrendo lunghi periodi a contatto con gli imprenditori, investitori e funzionari locali. Le analisi empiriche sullo sviluppo dell’industria del venture capital a livello paese sono state svolte in: Giordania, Palestina, Egitto, Israele e Tunisia. / This research aims to verify development of venture capital in emerging markets. Venture capital represents an important alternative to emerging businesses in developing countries by increasing the strength of the entire financial system and its key players, from traditional banking institutions and investment funds, to stock market capital. The project’s main goal is to identify key actors, investment targets, and experiences as well as aiming at analyzing critical factors and conceptualizing related actions pertinent to becoming more competitive in attracting venture capital investors, developing know-how, overcoming barriers, and maximizing the impact venture capital industry may have on industrial growth. The project is focused on the Arab-Mediterranean region seeking to foster partnership and facilitate investment among European and Arab-Mediterranean countries. The comments, ideas, and proposals presented in the final part of the work come from a careful study of the key issues and players exemplified by the operation of venture capital. The findings are also the result of observations made at the end of country-level empirical analyses where much time has been spent in contact with entrepreneurs, investors, and local officials. Country Empirical Analyses on Venture Capital industry development are being carried out in Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Tunis and Israel.

The genus Salmonella consists of pathogenic gram negative organisms which infect intestines of birds, animals and humans. They are the causative agents of salmonellosis which is characterised by diarrhoea, nausea, fever and abdominal cramps. If not treated in time, salmonellosis can also be fatal. Salmonella genus is divided into two species Salmonella bongori and Salmonella enterica. Salmonella enterica is further divided into six subspecies out of which the subspecies enterica has many of the pathogenic serovars of this species. Salmonella typhimurium is a server in the subspecies enterica of Salmonella enterica species. Transmission of salmonellosis takes place through contaminated food and water. When the organism enters a host, it encounters a range of hostile environments such as acidic pH, lack of oxygen as well as immune response of the host. In order to establish infection, the bacterium needs to survive under stressful conditions and propagate itself. Various proteins are induced in cells under unfavourable conditions that protect them in such situations. One such group of proteins belongs to the Universal Stress Protein (USP) family. Universal Stress Proteins are a set of proteins induced in organisms when it is exposed to a variety of environmental insults including heat shock, nutrient starvation, presence of toxic compounds, etc. Although survival in adverse conditions is mediated by induction of this group of proteins, the precise mechanism of cellular protection has not been elucidated yet. The functional role of a protein is directly related to its three-dimensional structure and hence important insights can be gained regarding the role of these proteins by determining their structures. The structures of two Universal Stress Proteins from S. typhimurium; a single domain protein, YnaF and another tandem USP domain protein, YdaA were determined by X-ray crystallography and biochemical analysis was carried out on them. Guided by structure, plausible roles for both the proteins in stress tolerance of S. typhimurium have been proposed. Additionally, work was also carried out on phosphomannose isomerise from S. typhimurium. Phosphomannose isomerase is a housekeeping enzyme which catalyses the interconversion of mannose-6-phosphate and fructose-6-phosphate. Mannose is important for mannosylation of various lipids and proteins which form an important component of bacterial and fungal cell walls. Presence of a functional phosphomannose isomerise enzyme is important as it helps the organism survive adverse conditions by forming a strong cell wall which shields it from harmful environments. Moreover, phosphomannose isomerase was also found to be essential for virulence of Leishmania mexicana and Cryptococcus neoformans. The structure of phosphomannose isomerase from S. typhimurium was determined in our laboratory in the year 2009. However, in the earlier studies, the catalytically important residues had not been identified and mechanism of isomerisation was not established. Structural analysis, site directed mutagenesis and biochemical assays were used to identify key residues in the active site of StPMI. Identification of these residues might help in deciphering the catalytic mechanism which will eventually be useful to develop inhibitors that arrest the growth of Salmonella as well as other microorganisms. The work reported in this thesis describes the efforts made to enhance our understanding of functional aspects of the two Universal Stress Proteins, YnaF and YdaA and phosphomannose isomerase from S. typhimurium. Chapter 1 begins with a brief introduction to the kinds of unfavourable environments encountered by microorganisms and their strategies of adaptation. This is followed by a review of the literature on Universal Stress Proteins, which are induced in many organisms in response to arrest of or perturbations in the growth rate. Structural, biochemical and evolutionary aspects of members of the family have also been discussed. Subsequently, a brief description of the earlier work carried out on another enzyme important in stress tolerance, phosphomannose isomerase, has been documented. A detailed account of mechanisms of isomerisation carried out by aldose ketose isomerases and identification of important strategies for determination of mechanism of phosphomannose isomerase catalysed reaction have then been provided. The chapter ends with a summary of aims and objectives of the present work. Chapter 2 describes the various experimental techniques and computational methods used during the course of this thesis work. Isolation of plasmids, overexpression and purification of protein, site directed mutagenesis, biochemical assays, crystallisation of proteins, X ray diffraction data collection form a part of the experimental aspect and have been described in detail. Brief descriptions of the programs used and principles behind computational methods used for structure determination (including data processing, phasing, model building and refinement), validation and analysis have also been provided. Chapter 3 includes the structural and functional studies carried out on YdaA, a tandem USP domain protein from S. typhimurium. Expression, purification, crystallisation and structure determination of YdaA in its native and ADP bound forms are described in the chapter. Biochemical assays with radiolabelled ATP showed that YdaA was an ATPase. The crystal structure of YdaA complexed with ATP revealed the presence of ADP (hydrolysis product of ATP) only in the C-terminal domain of the protein. Based on structural analysis and presence of ATP binding motif in the C-terminal domain, it could be hypothesized that ATP hydrolysis activity of the protein is confined to the C-terminal domain of the protein. The N-terminal domain of the protein was found to play another interesting role. A zinc binding site could be identified in the N terminal domain based on structural analysis and elemental X-ray absorption studies done at the synchrotron. Site directed mutagenesis and biochemical experiments suggested that zinc binding in the N-terminal domain was not related to ATPase activity of the C-terminal domain. Additionally, an intermediate of lipid A biosynthesis pathway UDP-(3-O-(R-3-hydroxymyristoyl))-N-acetyl glucosamine was found bound to the N-terminal domain of YdaA. Lipid A is the membrane anchor of polysaccharides in the outer membrane of gram negative organisms and the intermediate occurs at the committed step of the pathway. However, no similarities could be identified between YdaA and members of the relevant biosynthetic pathway. Therefore, YdaA is unlikely to play a catalytic role in the same pathway but can function as a carrier molecule. A plausible link between the N- and C-terminal domains of YdaA could be identified by structural analysis. Many catalytically suitable residues from the N-terminal domain were found to be close to the β-phosphate of ADP bound to the C-terminal domain. Hence YdaA was identified to be a zinc binding ATPase which might play some yet unidentified role in lipid A biosynthesis pathway. Chapter 4 describes the attempts made towards understanding the functional role of YnaF, a single domain USP from S. typhimurium. A description of the expression, purification, crystallisation and X ray diffraction techniques used for structure determination of YnaF and its single site mutant have been provided in detail. Gel filtration, dynamic light scattering studies and the crystal structure determination of YnaF showed a tetrameric organisation of four USP protomers stabilised in the centre by chloride ions. Additionally, YnaF crystallised with a bound ATP even though ATP was not included in the crystallisation cocktail. Biochemical assays on YnaF with radiolabelled ATP showed that it was inactive with respect to ATP hydrolysis. When selected mutations that disrupt chloride binding were made, YnaF was converted to an active ATPase. The crystal structure of the mutant complexed with an ATP analogue revealed key differences at the active site in comparison with that of the wild type and allowed identification of residues that might be important for ATP hydrolysis in this group of proteins. Hence YnaF might play the role of a sensor protein in some signal transduction pathway involving chloride ions in bacteria. A structure based analysis and comparison of USPs from the Protein Data Bank with the structures of YnaF and YdaA is summarised at the end of this chapter. Chapter 5 describes the efforts carried out towards determination of mechanism of isomerisation catalysed by phosphomannose isomerise (PMI). Earlier reports suggest that the enzyme catalyses the reversible isomerisation of mannose-6-phosphate and fructose-6-phosphate via formation of a cis-enediol intermediate. The structure of phosphomannose isomerase from S. typhimurium has been reported by our laboratory. The enzyme is a monomer with three domains; a catalytic domain, a carboxy terminal domain and an α-helical domain. Residues from the catalytic domain were found to coordinate a zinc ion. Overexpression, purification, co crystallisation experiments and soaking studies carried out on crystals of PMI and its single site mutants are outlined in this chapter. The structure of a complex of PMI with mannose-6-phosphate at pH 7.0 revealed the presence of a blob of density close to the zinc binding site which was confirmed to be the active site by analysis of conservation of residues in the site. Based on site directed mutagenesis, activity studies and analysis of structure of PMI, zinc was identified to play an important role in maintaining the structural integrity of the active site. Electrostatic surface analysis of the structure of PMI revealed that the zinc ion might also play the role of anchoring phosphate moiety of the substrate in a highly negatively charged active site pocket. Activity assays following site directed mutagenesis studies eliminated the role of Glu264 in catalysis and implicated two lysines, Lys86 and Lys132 as the possible base in the reaction. The plausible role of a highly conserved residue Arg274 was also proposed based on comparison of structures of wild type and mutant PMIs. The future prospects of the work are briefly discussed towards the end of the thesis. Further experiments and analysis required to obtain better understanding of the functions of these proteins have been discussed. The Appendix section describes extensive crystallisation attempts that were carried out on the enzyme sorbitol-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase from S. typhimurium which catalyses the isomerisation reaction between sorbitol-6-phosphate and glucose-6-phosphate using NADPH as the cofactor. Needle shaped crystals were obtained which diffracted to a poor resolution of 7-8 Å at our in house X ray facility. Attempts to improve the quality of the crystals like co crystallisation with substrate and its analogues, soaking in various compounds and seeding are briefly described. The following manuscripts based on work described in this thesis have been published or will be communicated for publication. 1. Structural and functional analysis of two universal stress proteins YdaA and YnaF from Salmonella typhimurium: possible roles in microbial stress tolerance. Bangera M., Panigrahi R., Sagurthi S.R., Savithri H.S., Murthy M.R.N. Journal of Structural Biology, 2015 Mar; 189 (3): 238-50. 2. Structural and functional insights into phosphomannose isomerise: role of zinc and catalytic residues. Bangera M., Savithri H.S., Murthy M.R.N. Manuscript under preparation