Recent development has lead to the emergence of distributed Wireless Sensor and Actor Networks (WSAN), which are capable of observing the physical environment, processing the data, making decisions based on the observations and performing appropriate actions. WSANs represent an important extension of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) and may comprise a large number of sensor nodes and a smaller number of actor nodes. The sensor nodes are low-cost, low energy, battery powered devices with restricted sensing, computational and wireless communication capabilities. Actor nodes are resource richer with superior processing capabilities, higher transmission powers and a longer battery life. A basic operational scenario of a typical WSAN application follows the following sequence of events. The physical environment is periodically sensed and evaluated by the sensor nodes. The sensed data is then routed towards an actor node. Upon receiving sensed data, an actor node performs an action upon the physical environment if necessary, i.e. if the occurrence of a disturbance or critical event has been detected. The specific characteristics of sensor and actor nodes combined with some stringent application constraints impose unique requirements for WSANs. The fundamental challenges for WSANs are to achieve low latency, high energy efficiency and high reliability. The latency and energy efficiency requirements are in a trade-off relationship. The communication and coordination inside WSANs is managed via a Communication Protocol Stack (CPS) situated on every node. The requirements of low latency and energy efficiency have to be addressed at every layer of the CPS to ensure overall feasibility of the WSAN. Therefore, careful design of protocol layers in the CPS is crucial in attempting to meet the unique requirements and handle the abovementioned trade-off relationship in WSANs. The traditional CPS, comprising the application, network, medium access control and physical layer, is a layered protocol stack with every layer, a predefined functional entity. However, it has been found that for similar types of networks with similar stringent network requirements, the strictly layered protocol stack approach performs at a sub-optimal level with regards to network efficiency. A modern cross-layer paradigm, which proposes the employment of interactions between layers in the CPS, has recently attracted a lot of attention. The cross-layer approach promotes network efficiency optimization and promises considerable performance gains. It is found that in literature, the adoption of this cross-layer paradigm has not yet been considered for WSANs. In this dissertation, a complete cross-layer enabled WSAN CPS is developed that features the adoption of the cross-layer paradigm towards promoting optimization of the network efficiency. The newly proposed cross-layer enabled CPS entails protocols that incorporate information from other layers into their local decisions. Every protocol layer provides information identified as beneficial to another layer(s) in the CPS via a newly proposed Simple Cross-Layer Framework (SCLF) for WSANs. The proposed complete cross-layer enabled WSAN CPS comprises a Cross-Layer enabled Network-Centric Actuation Control with Data Prioritization (CL-NCAC-DP) application layer (APPL) protocol, a Cross-Layer enabled Cluster-based Hierarchical Energy/Latency-Aware Geographic Routing (CL-CHELAGR) network layer (NETL) protocol and a Cross-Layer enabled Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Minimum Preamble Sampling and Duty Cycle Doubling (CL-CSMA-MPS-DCD) medium access control layer (MACL) protocol. Each of these protocols builds on an existing simple layered protocol that was chosen as a basis for development of the cross-layer enabled protocols. It was found that existing protocols focus primarily on energy efficiency to ensure maximum network lifetime. However, most WSAN applications require latency minimization to be considered with the same importance. The cross-layer paradigm provides means of facilitating the optimization of both latency and energy efficiency. Specifically, a solution to the latency versus energy trade-off is given in this dissertation. The data generated by sensor nodes is prioritised by the APPL and depending on the delay-sensitivity, handled in a specialised manor by every layer of the CPS. Delay-sensitive data packets are handled in order to achieve minimum latency. On the other hand, delay-insensitive non critical data packets are handled in such a way as to achieve the highest energy efficiency. In effect, either latency minimization or energy efficiency receives an elevated precedence according to the type of data that is to be handled. Specifically, the cross-layer enabled APPL protocol provides information pertaining to the delay-sensitivity of sensed data packets to the other layers. Consequently, when a data packet is detected as highly delay-sensitive, the cross-layer enabled NETL protocol changes its approach from energy efficient routing along the maximum residual energy path to routing along the fastest path towards the cluster-head actor node for latency minimizing of the specific packet. This is done by considering information (contained in the SCLF neighbourhood table) from the MACL that entails wakeup schedules and channel utilization at neighbour nodes. Among the added criteria, the next-hop node is primarily chosen based on the shortest time to wakeup. The cross-layer enabled MACL in turn employs a priority queue and a temporary duty cycle doubling feature to enable rapid relaying of delay-sensitive data. Duty cycle doubling is employed whenever a sensor node’s APPL state indicates that it is part of a critical event reporting route. When the APPL protocol state (found in the SCLF information pool) indicates that the node is not part of the critical event reporting route anymore, the MACL reverts back to promoting energy efficiency by disengaging duty cycle doubling and re-employing a combination of a very low duty cycle and preamble sampling. The APPL protocol conversely considers the current queue size of the MACL and temporarily halts the creation of data packets (only if the sensed value is non critical) to prevent a queue overflow and ease congestion at the MACL By simulation it was shown that the cross-layer enabled WSAN CPS consistently outperforms the layered CPS for various network conditions. The average end-to-end latency of delay-sensitive critical data packets is decreased substantially. Furthermore, the average end-to-end latency of delay-insensitive data packets is also decreased. Finally, the energy efficiency performance is decreased by a tolerable insignificant minor margin as expected. The trivial increase in energy consumption is overshadowed by the high margin of increase in latency performance for delay-sensitive critical data packets. The newly proposed cross-layer CPS achieves an immense latency performance increase for WSANs, while maintaining excellent energy efficiency. It has hence been shown that the adoption of the cross-layer paradigm by the WSAN CPS proves hugely beneficial with regards to the network efficiency performance. This increases the feasibility of WSANs and promotes its application in more areas. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / unrestricted

Doenças complexas são caracterizadas por serem poligênicas e multifatoriais, o que representa um desafio em relação à busca de genes relacionados a elas. Com o advento das tecnologias de sequenciamento em larga escala do genoma e das medições de expressão gênica (transcritoma), bem como o conhecimento de interações proteína-proteína, doenças complexas têm sido sistematicamente investigadas. Particularmente, baseando-se no paradigma Network Medicine, as redes de interação proteína-proteína (PPI -- Protein-Protein Interaction) têm sido utilizadas para priorizar genes relacionados às doenças complexas segundo suas características topológicas. Entretanto, as redes PPI são afetadas pelo viés da literatura, em que as proteínas mais estudadas tendem a ter mais conexões, degradando a qualidade dos resultados. Adicionalmente, métodos que utilizam somente redes PPI fornecem apenas resultados estáticos e não-específicos, uma vez que as topologias destas redes não são específicas de uma determinada doença. Neste trabalho, desenvolvemos uma metodologia para priorizar genes e vias biológicas relacionados à uma dada doença complexa, através de uma abordagem integrativa de dados de redes PPI, transcritômica e genômica, visando aumentar a replicabilidade dos diferentes estudos e a descoberta de novos genes associados à doença. Após a integração das redes PPI com dados de expressão gênica, aplicamos as hipóteses da Network Medicine à rede resultante para conectar genes sementes (relacionados à doença, definidos a partir de estudos de associação) através de caminhos mínimos que possuam maior co-expressão entre seus genes. Dados de expressão em duas condições (controle e doença) são usados separadamente para obter duas redes, em que cada nó (gene) dessas redes é pontuado segundo fatores topológicos e de co-expressão. Baseado nesta pontuação, desenvolvemos dois escores de ranqueamento: um que prioriza genes com maior alteração entre suas pontuações em cada condição, e outro que privilegia genes com a maior soma destas pontuações. A aplicação do método a três estudos envolvendo dados de expressão de esquizofrenia recuperou com sucesso genes diferencialmente co-expressos em duas condições, e ao mesmo tempo evitou o viés da literatura. Além disso, houve uma melhoria substancial na replicação dos resultados pelo método aplicado aos três estudos, que por métodos convencionais não alcançavam replicabilidade satisfatória. / Complex diseases are characterized as being poligenic and multifactorial, so this poses a challenge regarding the search for genes related to them. With the advent of high-throughput technologies for genome sequencing and gene expression measurements (transcriptome), as well as the knowledge of protein-protein interactions, complex diseases have been sistematically investigated. Particularly, Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) networks have been used to prioritize genes related to complex diseases according to its topological features. However, PPI networks are affected by ascertainment bias, in which the most studied proteins tend to have more connections, degrading the quality of the results. Additionally, methods using only PPI networks can provide just static and non-specific results, since the topologies of these networks are not specific of a given disease. In this work, we developed a methodology to prioritize genes and biological pathways related to a given complex disease, through an approach that integrates data from PPI networks, transcriptomics and genomics, aiming to increase replicability of different studies and to discover new genes associated to the disease. The methodology integrates PPI network and gene expression data, and then applies the Network Medicine Hypotheses to the resulting network in order to connect seed genes (obtained from association studies) through shortest paths possessing larger coexpression among their genes. Gene expression data in two conditions (control and disease) are used to obtain two networks, where each node (gene) in these networks is rated according to topological and coexpression aspects. Based on this rating, we developed two ranking scores: one that prioritizes genes with the largest alteration between their ratings in each condition, and another that favors genes with the greatest sum of these scores. The application of this method to three studies involving schizophrenia expression data successfully recovered differentially co-expressed gene in two conditions, while avoiding the ascertainment bias. Furthermore, when applied to the three studies, the method achieved a substantial improvement in replication of results, while other conventional methods did not reach a satisfactory replicability.

Significant shifts in social ideology and legislation have brought about considerable changes in work and family dynamics in the Western world, and the male as breadwinner-wife as homemaker model is no longer the norm. However, despite increasingly gender egalitarian ideals, the division of labor among dual-earner couples tends to adopt a "neo traditional" once children are born, where women devote more time to family labor and men spend more time in paid employment Although asymmetrical divisions of labor have clear workplace and societal consequences in terms of women's earnings, organizational advancement, and inequality, the effects on individual well-being are not well understood. The purpose of the present study was to apply the theoretical lens of person-environment fit to examine how misfit between dual-earner couples' pre-child division of labor preferences and post-child actual divisions of labor relate to affective (career, marital, and family satisfaction) and health-related (depression and physical health symptoms) well-being. Additionally, several conditions were posited to temper the strengths of these relationships (domain centrality, gender, voice in division of labor decision making, and satisfaction with the current division of labor). Participants were 126 dual-earner couples with small children, and hypotheses were testing using polynomial regression analyses. The results suggested that congruence between an individual's own pre-child desires for the division of paid labor and the actual post-child division of paid labor relates to his/her own career and marital satisfaction, depression, and physical health symptoms. Congruence in the family domain is also important, as desire-division of family labor fit related to affective sentiments toward family and one's spouse. With the exception of career satisfaction, these relationships were curvilinear, such that deviations in either direction from perfect fit related to poorer well-being. On the other hand, there was little evidence for spousal effects, as dual-earner well-being did not relate the congruence between division of labor abilities and spousal demands. Finally, evidence of moderation was only found in a few cases, and none were consistent with prediction, highlighting the need for future research on the contextual conditions of P-E fit in the dual-earner context.

Die anhaltende Entwaldung tropischer Regenwälder und die damit einhergehenden sozialen und ökologischen Folgen finden zunehmend Beachtung nationaler Regierungen und zivilgesellschaftlicher Akteure, die Initiativen zur Verringerung der Entwaldung und Strategien zum Schutz von Lebensräumen und Artenvielfalt entwickelt haben. Die Waldrestaurierung, d.h. die Wiederherstellung von Waldökosystemen, stellt hierbei, neben der Verringerung der Entwaldung, ein entscheidendes Ziel dar. Brasilien spielt in diesem Zusammenhang eine entscheidende Rolle. Der Großteildes Amazonas-Regenwaldes, der größte zusammenhängende tropische Regenwald der Welt, liegt auf brasilianischem Gebiet. Nahezu 18% des brasilianischen Regenwaldes sind bereits gerodet. Landspekulation, Bergbau, und Landwirtschaft stellen die stärkste Bedrohung für die Existenz des Regenwaldes dar. Im Rahmen des Pariser Abkommens hat sich Brasilien dazu verpflichtet die Netto-Entwaldung bis 2030 zu stoppen und 12 Millionen Hektar Waldökosysteme wiederherzustellen. Eine zentrale Rolle für die Umsetzung der Verpflichtung kommt dem brasilianischen Waldschutzgesetz (BFC) zu, der wichtigsten brasilianischen Umweltgesetzgebung, die die Rahmenbedingungen für die Landnutzung auf privatem Landbesitz regelt. Im brasilianischen Amazon verlangt das BFC den Schutz von 80% der natürlichen Vegetation, als sogenanntes Legal Reserves (LRs). In der neusten Gesetzesversion von 2012 wurde erstmals der Umgang mit denjenigen Landbesitzern festgelegt, die den Gesetzesvorgaben nicht entsprechen. Es wird erwartet, dass die Umsetzung des neuen BFCs auf der einen Seite den Schutz der Wälder in den LRs gewährleistet und auf der andern Seite, unter Mitwirkung der Landbesitzer, zu ein großflächige Waldrestaurierung führt. Vor diesem Hintergrund ist das Ziel dieser Dissertation die Potenziale des BFC für den Schutz der Ur- und den nachwachsenden Wäldern zu ermitteln. Im Speziellen habe ich in der vorliegenden Dissertation (i) die Raum-Zeitlichen Veränderungen der Waldflächen im Einflussbereich der Bundesstraße BR-163, zwischen Cuiabá und Santarém, analysiert; (ii) das Potenzial der BFC für den Schutz der des Regenwaldes und für die Waldrestaurierung bewertet; und (iii) prioritäre Gebiete für ein großflächige Waldrestaurierung, unter Einbezug von Kosten, Biodiversität und Kohlenstoffspeicherung, identifiziert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass ein Großteil der massiven Entwaldung in der Region zwischen Cuiabá und Santarém auf privaten Grundstücken stattfand. Dies lässt auf eine weitverbreitete Nichteinhaltung des BFCs schließen. Hohe Netto-Entwaldungsraten und eine rückläufige Verbreitung nachwachsenden Waldes deutet darauf hin, dass die Region weit von einer Trendwende von Netto-Waldverlust, zu Netto-Waldzuwachs entfernt ist. Um eine Ausbreitung der Wälder voranzutreiben, ist es daher notwendig, das Management der Ur- und nachwachsenden Wälder zu verbessern. Die Ergebnisse dieser Dissertation zeigen, dass mehr als 6 Millionen Hektar der derzeitigen Waldregeneration geschützt und ein Drittel der LR-Defizite ausgeglichen werden könnten, wenn die nachwachsenden Wälder in die Schutzzonen der LRs einbezogen werden. Die künftige Regulierung der BFC-Ausgleichsmechanismen wird einen entscheidenden Effekt auf die Waldrestaurierung und den Schutz der Urwälder haben. Die Analyse möglicher Regulierungs-Szenarien hat deutliche Variation zwischen prioritären Gebieten für die Waldrestaurierung in Mato Grosso gezeigt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Waldrestaurierung auf privaten Grundstücken entscheidend für den Schutz von Biodiversität ist. Demgegenüber zeigt sich die Wiederherstellung von Waldökosystemen auf öffentlichem Land kostengünstiger und effektiver für die Kohlenstoffspeicherung. Die Ergebnisse demonstrieren die Relevanz detaillierter räumlicher Informationen zu Landbesitz und Landnutzungsänderungen, um die Auswirkungen von neuen rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen für den Waldschutz und die Waldrestaurierung in tropischen Gebieten zu untersuchen. Die Schätzungen der derzeit nachwachsenden Waldflache, und dessen Schutzstatus, sind entscheidend um die nationalen Ziele der Waldrestaurierung zu erreichen. Die Ergebnisse verdeutlichen, dass ein besseres Management von nachwachsenden Waldökosystemen durch Bundes- und Landesgesetze notwendig ist, und neue Strategien und Mechanismen, die den Schutz nachwachsenden Wäldern sicherstellen, erarbeitet werden müssen. / Continued tropical forests decline has drawn concerted attention by governments and distinct sectors of the civil society, which have responded with anti-deforestation policies and conservation strategies. Alongside conservation, large-scale forest restoration is crucial for counteracting the negative impacts of deforestation on socio-ecological processes. In this context, Brazil plays a pivotal role. Most of the Amazon, the largest continuous tropical forest in the world, lies within the Brazilian territory. Nearly 18% of the Brazilian Amazon forest cover was already lost, and land speculation, mining, and agricultural expansion continue to threaten the forest. Therefore, cutting back land use change emissions is a major pillar of Brazil’s commitment to the Paris Agreement, which includes the plan to achieve zero net deforestation in the Amazon and restore 12Mha of forests countrywide by 2030. In this thesis I focused on the Brazilian Forest Code (BFC), the flagship environmental legislation governing land use in private lands of Brazil. In forestlands of the Amazon biome, the BFC requires the protection of 80% of the native vegetation as Legal Reserves (LRs). The latest version of the law, from 2012, also established the compliance conditions for past law offenders. Particularly, there are high expectations that the enforcement of the BFC will secure the protection of forests in LRs, and drive large-scale forest restoration. Therefore, my overall goal was to advance the knowledge about the potential of the BFC enforcement for the conservation of old- and regrowing forests in the Brazilian Amazon. Specifically, I (i) investigated the spatio-temporal patterns of net forest cover change for the influence area of the Cuiabá-Santarém highway, crossing the federal states of Pará and Mato Grosso in the Brazilian Amazon; (ii) evaluated the potential of the BFC enforcement for the protection of old and regrowing forests in the Brazilian Amazon, and estimated the contribution of regrowing forests for LRs demarcation; and (iii) applied a multicriteria analysis to map priority areas for large-scale forest restoration in private and public lands of Mato Grosso, contrasting the costs of restoration with the gains for biodiversity and carbon enhancement. Results show that the Cuiabá-Santarém focus region accumulated substantial deforestation, most of which on private lands, indicating a widespread non-compliance to the BFC. High net deforestation rates and decreasing prevalence of forest regrowth on deforested lands, indicates that this region is not near experiencing a turnaround from net forest losses to net forest gains. Hence, to promote forest expansion, it will be necessary to improve old- and regrowing forests governance. In this regard, results showed that if regrowing forests are included in LRs demarcation, over 6Mha of ongoing forest regeneration could be protected, and one third of LRs deficits could be offset. Also, the future regulation of BFC compensation mechanisms will be key for determining the potential of the law for promoting restoration and old-growth forests protection additionality. Finally, a substantial variation in the spatial distribution of priority areas for forest restoration was identified across Mato Grosso, and for different scenarios. Private properties were key to enhance intensively deforested habitats, while restoration in public lands was more effective in reducing restoration costs and mitigating carbon. The findings of this thesis demonstrate the importance of detailed spatial information on land tenure and land use change in tropical areas, to support spatial planning, and address the potential of legal frameworks for promoting forest conservation and restoration. The estimates of legal protection of current regrowing forests have strong implications for Brazil’s restoration targets. They call for an improved treatment of second-growth forests by federal and state legislations, and the creation of policy and mechanisms able to secure the protection of high-value regrowing forests.

Cette thèse initie et développe un programme ayant pour but de définir une stratégie de priorisation efficace pour accélérer la découverte de molécules bioactives au sein d’extraits végétaux. Dans le cadre de ce projet, plusieurs criblages biologiques ont été menés sur une collection de 292 extraits d'Euphorbiaceae.Afin d’identifier et cibler au sein de ces mélanges complexes les structures d’intérêt biologique tout en écartant les molécules connues ou présentant un intérêt structural limité, les profils métabolomiques des extraits ont été acquis par spectrométrie de masse tandem. Pour exploiter au mieux la quantité d'information générée par ces analyses, les spectres MS2 ont ensuite été organisés sous forme de réseaux moléculaires. Ces réseaux permettent de lier les ions détectés en fonction de la similarité de leurs voies de fragmentation et donc de leur proximité structurale. Les informations taxonomiques et d’activités biologiques ont été croisées avec les données spectrales au sein de cette carte moléculaire multi-informative, offrant ainsi une approche nouvelle pour accélérer la découverte de nouveaux ligands des cibles biologiques étudiées et pour une sélection plus pertinente des extraits à forte diversité structurale.Si l’outil des réseaux moléculaires représente une méthode innovante et particulièrement instructive pour le phytochimiste, il présente cependant quelques défauts qui limitent son spectre d'utilisation et ses capacités en métabolomique. Une deuxième partie de cette thèse a donc été consacrée à l’implémentation d’une étape de prétraitement pour améliorer la fiabilité des réseaux et au développement de MetGem, un logiciel dédié à la génération de réseaux moléculaires permettant d’optimiser la gestion et l’analyse des matrices de scores de similarité spectrale. / This thesis initiates and develops a program seeking to accelerate the discovery of new therapeutic molecules using an efficient prioritization strategy. As part of this project, a collection of 292 Euphorbiaceae extracts was screened over several biological targets.To focus on unknown bioactive chemicals and to avoid the isolation of known or inactive molecules, the acquisition of high resolution tandem mass spectrometry profiles of these extracts was performed. To highlight relevant information within these data, MS2 spectra were organized as molecular networks. It consists in visualizing tandem mass spectrometry data by detecting related MS2 spectra and representing them in a same spectral space. Taxonomical details and bioassay screening results were merged with the network visualization to generate a comprehensive multi-informative molecular map, which offers a radically novel outlook to target novel bioactive scaffolds and select extracts with high structural diversity. Although very instructive for the phytochemist, the molecular networking tool has some imperfections that limit its potential in metabolomics. Therefore, the second part of this thesis was dedicated to the introduction of a data preprocessing step to enhance the networks reliability and to the development of MetGem, a software dedicated to the generation of molecular networks to improve the way matrices of similarity scores are managed and analyzed.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the knowledge of how the existing gap betweenstrategy formulation and strategy implementation can be bridged in a project-­‐based organization.  The reason for this is to contribute with an empirical example of what challenges and obstacles are associated with this gap and how these can be solved.Method: The investigation of the strategy implementation in a project-­‐based organization has been conducted as a case study. To collect the necessary empirical material, three rounds of interviews were held with relevant employees of the case company, such as the Head of Strategy, Head of Product and sales people. The interviews have been complemented by collection of documents and participation in meetings held at the case company.Findings: The findings of the case study have showed that the strategy can be implemented in three ways in a project-­‐based organization: through the organizational structure, through the executed external projects and through the portfolio management. Additionally, the findings have revealed a number of existing problems within strategy implementation. The major challenges found were achieving balance in the Balanced Scorecard, prioritization of both internal and external projects and managing a programme as a project, which were confirmed in the literature.Practical implications: This study has resulted in a description of  how  a  project-­‐based organization implements its strategy. Furthermore, this study highlights the existing challenges within this process, such as achieving balance in the Balanced Scorecard and better prioritizing the internal and external projects.Theoretical implications: This study contributes with increased insight and knowledge of how a project-­‐based organization implements strategy and thus, expands the knowledge of how the gap between strategy formulation and implementation can be decreased. Several problems highlighted in the literature associated with this gap have been verified by this study. In this way, additional theoretical implications are the proposed solutions for how these problems can be solved. / Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att öka kunskapen om hur det existerande gapet mellan strategiformulering och strategiimplementering kan överbryggas i en projektbaserad organisation. Anledningen till detta är att bidra med ett empiriskt exempel kring vilka utmaningarnas och hinder som associeras med detta gap samt hur dessa kan överkommas. Metod: Undersökningen av strategiimplementeringen i en projektbaserad organisation har genomförts i form av en fallstudie. För att samla in det nödvändiga empiriska materialet har tre intervjurundor genomförts  tillsammans  med relevanta anställda på fallstudieföretaget.  Exempel på dessa är Strategichefen, Produktchefen och säljare. Intervjuerna var kompletterade genom insamling av dokument och genom deltagande på möten som hölls på fallstudieföretaget. Resultat: Resultat av denna fallstudie visar att strategi kam implementeras på tre sätt i en projektbaserad organisation: genom organisationsstrukturen, genom exekveringen av externa projekt  och genom portföljhantering. Resultaten har också visat ett antal existerande problem inom  rategiimplementeringen. De stora utmaningarna är att uppnå balansen i de balanserade styrkorten, prioriteringen av både interna och externa projekt och hantera ett program som ett projekt. Dessa utmaningar var bekräftade i litteraturen. Praktiskt bidrag: Denna studie har resulterat i en beskrivning av hur en projektbaserad organisation implementerar sin strategi. Dessutom har denna studie lyft fram de existerande utmaningarna inom denna process, såsom att uppnå balansen i de balanserade styrkorten och bättre prioritering av interna och externa projekt. Vetenskapligt bidrag: Denna studie bidrar med ökad insyn och kunskap om hur en projektbaserad organisation implementerar strategi och således, utvidgar kunskapen om hur gapet mellan strategiformuleringen och implementeringen kan minska. Flera problem som lyfts fram i litteraturen och som associeras med detta gap har blivit bekräftade i denna studie. Därför är de föreslagna lösningarna på hur dessa problem kan lösas ännu ett vetenskapligt bidrag.

Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are statements that include recommendations intended to optimize patient care that are informed by a systematic review of evidence and an assessment of the benefits and harms of alternative care options. CPGs’ recommendations have traditionally focused on informing clinicians and patients on the best options, i.e., supporting decisions that occur at the clinical encounter level. Considering all their advantages (a systematic and comprehensive review of the evidence, a multidisciplinary team assessing the evidence and balancing benefits and harms, and the additional considerations such as patients’ preferences, implementability and feasibility of interventions and their costs) CPGs have also become powerful tools to inform decisions and activities outside the clinical encounter. This, because the clinical encounter cannot be completely separated from other decisions that indirectly affect that level, such as those related to quality improvement activities and economic decisions in healthcare. Moreover, activities that are not directly related to the clinical encounter can benefit from CPGs, like education and licensing activities and research prioritization processes, or judicial decisions. The role of CPGs in all these activities has been neglected in the literature. In this study, I performed a critical interpretive synthesis of the literature to summarize the different roles CPGs play outside the clinical encounter and to understand how, and under what conditions CPGs are used in these roles. I also conducted an international survey to describe how frequent these roles exist, from the CPGs developers' perspectives. Lastly, I conducted a multiple case study to understand how and under what conditions CPGs play one of the main roles outside the clinical encounter (drug funding decisions), in two different settings (Colombia and Canada/Ontario). Based on the results, I developed a framework to describe and categorize the roles of CPGs outside the clinical encounter and to determine how and under what conditions CPGs are used in these roles. I highlighted the key areas that require additional methodological research and categorize the roles in main, secondary and unanticipated roles. I also described how international developers reported that CPGs play these roles and how these roles are part of their CPGs final aims in the second study. Lastly, in the case study, I revealed that CPGs were instrumentally used to inform one of the main roles, drug funding decisions, in the Colombian case, and they had a minor conceptual use in the case of Canada/Ontario. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Svensk hälso- och sjukvård är en verksamhet som till största del är finansierad av skatteintäkter och omsätter varje år flera 100 mdkr. Trots stor budget sker det prioriteringar som innebär att någonting väljs bort till förmån för något annat. Att hitta och förstå vad som prioriteras bort är av stor vikt för att på ett bättre sätt förstå implikationerna av de val som görs. Tidigare studier har på aggregerad nivå försökt skatta kostnaden per QALY samt leta efter vad som mönstras ut ur ett hälso- och sjukvårdssystem när något nytt ska mönstras in. Syftet med denna uppsats är att försöka hitta de alternativkostnader som uppstår inom hälso- och sjukvården när prioriteringar görs på mikronivå.Till vår hjälp använder vi en metafor som brukar kallas kostnadseffektivitetsbokhyllan för att på ett pedagogiskt och teoretiskt sätt illustrera vad som mönstras ut. Metoden som använts i studien är triangulering och består av dokumentanalys, semistrukturerade intervjuer och fallstudier. Syftet med triangulering är att med flera metoder fånga upp olika delar av ett fenomen för att till sist kunna tolka resultaten till en helhet. Från dokumentanalysen har vi lärt oss att resursfördelningen inom hälso- och sjukvården är ett komplext system som kräver samspel mellan olika beslutsfattare. Till fallstudierna används två fall av resursfördelningsprocessen, ett för år 2020 och ett för år 2018.Resursfördelningsprocessen utgör ett forum där olika vårdcentrum inom Region Östergötland kan äska pengar från en förbestämd pott till sina inskickade förslag. Potten med pengarna som ska delas ut brukar variera mellan 30–120 mnkr medan summan för de äskade pengarna kan uppgå till flera 100 mkr. Beslutet från resursfördelningsprocessen visar därför exakt vad som har valts bort i förmån för annat. Våra resultat visar att ett mer kostnadseffektivt tillvägagångssätt skulle kunna generera stora hälsovinster till Region Östergötlands hälso- och sjukvårdssystem. Det faktiska utfallet från resursfördelningsprocessen 2020 visade att 131,3 QALYs hade producerats och det optimala utfallet med ett mer kostnadseffektivt tillvägagångssätt hade kunnat generera 303,38 QALYs. Det resulterar i en alternativkostnad på 172,08 QALYs. För år 2018 blev det faktiska utfallet från resursfördelningsprocessen att 324,55 QALYs hade producerats medan de optimala utfallet uppgick till 963,42 QALYs. Det betyder att alternativkostnaden uppgick till 638,87 QALYs.

[pt] Esta dissertação de mestrado tem como objetos de estudo o currículo escolar e suas relações com as concepções de escola. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida em Queimados, município localizado na Baixada Fluminense do Rio de Janeiro. O objetivo da pesquisa é compreender as concepções de escola a partir das (re)elaborações do currículo escolar realizadas pelos professores, durante o processo de priorização curricular desenvolvido pela Rede municipal de Queimados no contexto da pandemia de COVID-19, no ano de 2021. Foram aplicados questionários com 79 questões fechadas e 3 abertas, respondidos por 48 professores dos anos finais do ensino fundamental que trabalham nessa Rede. Além disso, realizou-se entrevistas semiestruturadas com 16 professores, respondentes dos questionários, para permitir aprofundamentos das análises. As análises realizadas a partir dos dados produzidos foram construídas baseadas na interlocução teórica com os estudos de Tomas Tadeu Silva, Sacristán, Moreira e Candau, acerca do currículo e os estudos de Dubet e Charlot a respeito da escola e de seus objetivos. Os estudos de Nóvoa sobre formação e profissão docente, antes e durante a pandemia, também fizeram parte do arcabouço teórico utilizado. Ao longo da investigação pode-se constatar que as concepções dos professores constituem três dilemas: entre conceber uma teoria tradicional de currículo e ser responsável pela formação de um currículo humanizador; entre defender uma priorização curricular, baseada nas necessidades dos alunos, e a necessidade de dar conta dos conteúdos escolares pré-estabelecidos; entre priorizar ou reduzir os conteúdos, mediante a nova e emergencial realidade imposta pela pandemia de COVID-19. Conclui-se que há uma multiplicidade de justificativas para as escolhas adotadas pelos professores em relação à concepção de currículo e aos objetivos da escola na priorização curricular. Tais escolhas são marcadas pela subjetividade dos professores, a tradição escolar e a influência dos documentos oficiais. Aponta-se que não há consenso entre os professores acerca dos objetivos da escola, o que reverbera na complexidade de se conceituar currículo. / [en] This Master s dissertation has as a goal the study of school curriculum and its relations with the conceptions of school. The research was developed in Queimados, which is a municipality located in Baixada Fluminense – Rio de Janeiro. Moreover, it has the intention of understanding the conceptions of school from the (re)elaboration of the school curriculum made by teachers during the process of the curriculum priorization developed by the Municipal System of Queimados in the context of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the year of 2021. Questionnaires with 79 closed queries and 3 open ones were applied, which were answered by 48 teachers of the Elementary School final years, who work at this Educational System Furthermore, semi-structured interviews with 16 teachers,who answered the querries, were taken in order to allow a deepening in the analyzes.The analyses made from the data produced were created based on the theoretical interlocution with the studies of Silva, Sacristán, Moreira and Candau -regarding the curriculum, the studies of Dubet vand Charlot concerning schooland their objectives. The studies of Nóvoa on the academic education and profession of teachers, before and during the Pandemic, also made part of the theoretical framework used. Along the investigation it is possible to confirm that the conceptions of the teachers compose three dilemmas: between establishing a traditional theory of the curriculum and and being responsible for the elaboration of a humanizing curriculum; between defending the curriculum priorization, basedon the needs of students, and the necessity of coping with the pre-stablished educational contents; between prioritize or reduce the contents, upon the new reality emergency imposed by the COVID-19 Pandemic. It can be concluded that there is a multiplicity of justifications to the choices adoped by teachers in relation to the conception of curriculum and the objectives of school in the curriculum prioritization. Such choices are highlighted by the teachers subjectivity, school tradition and the influence of official documents. It is pointed out that there is noconsensus among teachers concerning the purposes of school, what reverberates in the complexity of conceptualizing a curriculum.

Streams in small watersheds are often known to exhibit diel fluctuations, in which streamflow oscillates on a 24-hour cycle. Streamflow diel fluctuations, which we investigate in this study, are an informative indicator of environmental processes. However, in Environmental Data sets, as well as many others, there is a range of noise associated with individual data points. Some points are extracted under relatively clear and defined conditions, while others may include a range of known or unknown confounding factors, which may decrease those points' validity. These points may or may not remain useful for training, depending on how much uncertainty they contain. We submit that in situations where some variability exists in the clarity or 'Confidence' associated with individual data points – Notably environmental data – an approach that factors this confidence into account during the training phase is beneficial. We propose a methodological framework for assigning confidence to individual data records and augmenting training with that information. We then exercise this methodology on two separate datasets: A simulated data set, and a real-world, Environmental Science data set with a focus on streamflow diel signals. The simulated data set provides integral understanding of the nature of the data involved, and the Environmental Science data set provides a real-world case study of an application of this methodology against noisy data. Both studies' results indicate that applying and utilizing confidence in training increases performance and assists in the Data Mining Process.