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The behaviour of consumers on the Internet is increasingly a focus of marketing research. In particular, consumers’ behaviour in online shopping, from adoption motivation to post-usage behaviour, has become a major focus of research in the field of marketing, especially within consumer behaviour. Yet it has been acknowledged that while aspects such as adoption and usage motivation are now better understood, there are many questions that remain unanswered, and this warrants continued research effort. In line with the above, this research addresses an issue in online consumer behaviour that is currently under researched and which relates to the role that the consumer’s regulatory focus trait plays in their manifested behaviour in online shopping. The research argues that it is important to understand the role of regulatory focus in online shopping because this psychological trait has been shown to affect other aspects of human behaviour such as in response to advertising, dieting and sports. Drawing upon research from consumer behaviour and the wider fields of marketing and psychology, this research proposes a number of hypotheses relating the consumer’s regulatory focus to her perception of online shopping, motivation for online shopping, and actual usage behaviour in a structural manner. The resulting structural equation model is then tested using empirical data obtained from 306 Internet shoppers in the United Kingdom. The results of the research confirm that regulatory focus has an influence on consumer behaviour in online shopping by affecting their perception, motivation and usage of online shopping. The research makes a unique contribution by demonstrating that regulatory focus is a valid and robust predictor of online shopping behaviour and behavioural outcomes, a conclusion which is relevant to both marketing research and marketing practice. Finally, the research identifies and recommends areas for future studies.

Current concepts of environmental waste focus on the total production of waste from a production plant or industrial setting and the subsequent consequences on the natural environment. Hence, there is an emphasis on containing waste within the industrial boundaries and applying a post-production process to clean it up. However, waste is generated by individual processes within the production system and can be more effectively treated at this individual site level. Therefore, focused management of environmental waste reduction requires that production engineers first know what the environmental waste is and where specifically it is being generated. However, this is often simply not known with any accuracy. In addition, production plants are controlled and improved by lean methods. Current environmental waste methods lack integration with lean methods and thus are not included in the continuous improvement cycles. Consequently, there is a need to include environmental waste impacts alongside the other primary lean wastes. This work develops just such an integrative method which includes both environmental waste and Value Stream Mapping (VSM). This method was developed and tested in a re-manufacturing setting (i.e. Christchurch Engine Centre, Pratt and Whitney) and is able to represent a variety of environmental wastes. Specifically, it integrates aspects from the generic environmental standard ISO14001 through to an organisational environmental risk register. It provides integration within the VSM process which ensures that the established lean improvement programme (through the use of Kaizen improvements) is focused on specific environmental improvement actions. While the example for this thesis used the factors of carbon footprinting, perceived impact, costs to remediate and waste volumes (both removed from process and residual); the method is capable of being generalised to nth dimension environmental factors. It is thus able to represent a customised environmental waste index for any particular industry. Ambiguous user estimation of waste quantities was accommodated through PERT beta distributions. Several ways to represent the multi-dimensional environmental waste impact data were explored via industry focus group reviews and the preferred representation was designed to completion. The resulting method can be used by production staff to quantify and represent environmental impacts at the level of the individual processes and aggregated to report wastes for the whole value stream. The method may also be used by executives to align organisational practices with strategic objectives for waste reduction.

Keolis conducts public transport on behalf of municipalities around the country. Through locally adapted and sustainable city traffic, Keolis creates value for travelers, society and owners. The company has been wholly owned by the international public transport group Keolis since the autumn of 2010. Keolis is located in Jönköping County, Örebro County, Stockholm County, Västra Götaland, Värmland, Östergötland and Dalarna. The company's working method focuses on putting the traveler's needs in focus, which is to offer the solution that is best for travelers and the environment, regardless of the type of traffic. One step in the company's journey was in 2017 a decision to centralize the personnel planning department to be able to increase steering towards set goals and saving resources. Process and flow activity are two interwoven pillars for successful efficiency improvement work. It is in the process that flow activity arises. In order to streamline flow activity, we need to understand the process The starting point for the project is a preliminary study conducted at the company earlier 2019. The preliminary study analyzed the flow process "preparing the traffic day" within the personnel planning department for the Stockholm area and identified improvement areas ahead of upcoming in-depth analysis that takes place in this work. An action plan for identifying and prioritizing improvement areas at the department is presented. The conclusion states the importance of introducing methodological working methods to enable continuous improvements. Based on the identified areas of improvement, the study is designed to answer the question of what improvement should be prioritize and in what order should the organization implement improvements. The implementation would accrue in working methods and approach to gradually streamline the department after centralization Subsequently, an action plan for identifying and prioritizing improvement areas at the department is presented. The conclusion states the importance of introducing methodological working methods to be able to work with continuous improvements. In the near future, leveling out workflow is necessary for stabilizing the process and providing the opportunity to reach the system limit. There are good chances to further develop the department by changing perspectives on the distribution and introducing new working flows. Improvements to these areas will lead to the gradual fulfillment of the initial goal of centralization in the form of a standard approach and increased productivity and profitability. / Keolis bedriver kollektivtrafik på uppdrag av kommuner runt om i landet. Genom lokalt anpassad och hållbar stadstrafik skapar Keolis värde för resenärerna, samhället och ägarna. Företaget ägs sedan hösten 2010 till 100 procent av den internationella kollektivtrafikskoncernen Keolis. Keolis finns i Jönköpings län, Örebro län, Stockholms län, Västra Götaland, Värmland, Östergötland och Dalarna.  Företagets arbetssätt fokuserar på att sätta resenärens behov i fokus, vilket är att erbjuda den lösning som är bäst för resenärer och miljön, oavsett trafikslag. Ett steg i företagets resa blev under 2017 ett beslut om att centralisera avdelningen personalplanerare för att kunna öka styrningen mot uppsatta mål och uppnå besparing av resurser. Process och flödesaktivitet är två sammanflätade grundpelare för ett lyckat effektiviseringsarbete. Det är i processen som flödesaktivitet uppstår; för att effektivisera flödesaktivitet behöver det finnas förståelse för processen.  Hos Keolis Sverige AB analyseras flödesprocessen ”förbereda trafikdagen” inom avdelningen personalplanering för Stockholmsområdet. Processen ska handla om planering och bemanning av personal för en trafikdag. Målet med denna uppsats har varit att kartlägga dagens flödesschema, analysera problemområden samt ta fram förbättringsförslag. En analys av flödesschema för processen har genomförts, där medarbetare från avdelningen personalplanerare samt trafikområden har varit involverade. Detta för att fånga upp möjliga förbättringar samt skapa en delaktighet inför framtida förändringar. Examensarbetet har avgränsats till att endast analysera Stockholmsområdet. Baserat på de identifierade förbättringsområdena har studien utformats för att besvara frågeställningen om vad organisationen bör prioritera och i vilken ordning organisationen bör genomföra förbättringar i arbetssätt och metoder för att gradvis effektivisera avdelningen efter centralisering. Utgångspunkten för examensarbetet är en förstudie utförd hos företaget tidigare samma år. Förstudien analyserade flödesprocessen ”förbereda trafikdagen” inom avdelningen personalplanering för Stockholmsområdet och identifierade förbättringsområden inför kommande fördjupad analys, vilken har skett i detta arbete.  En handlingsplan för att identifiera och prioritera förbättringsområden hos avdelningen presenteras. Slutsatsen visar vikten av att införa metodiska arbetssätt för att kunna jobba med ständiga förbättringar. I närtid är att jämna ut arbetsflöde nödvändigt för att stabilisera processen och ge möjlighet till att uppnå systemgränsen. Det finns goda chanser till att utveckla avdelningen ytterligare genom att ändra perspektiv på fördelningen och införa nya arbetssätt och fördelningar bland personalplanerare. Förbättringar av dessa områden kommer att leda till gradvis uppfyllelse av det ursprungliga målet för centraliseringen i form av ett enhetligt arbetssätt samt ökad produktivitet och lönsamhet.

Uppsatsnivå: D

The use of Lithium-ion batteries in the automotive industry has increased tremendously in the last few years. The anticipated increase in demand of lithium to power electric and hybrid cars has prompted researchers to examine the long term sustainability lithium as a transportation resource. To provide a better understanding of future availability, this thesis presents a systems framework for the key processes and materials and energy flows involved in the electric vehicle lithium-ion battery life cycle, on a global scale. This framework tracks the flow of lithium and energy inputs and outputs from extraction, to production, to on road use, and all the way to end of life recycling and disposal. This process flow model is the first step in developing a life cycle analysis model for lithium that will eventually help policymakers assess the future role of lithium battery recycling, and at what point in time establishing a recycling infrastructure becomes imminent.

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Theories of Extended Mind have evolved in waves to reach the present state of disagreement with regard to whether or not external artefacts become part of the mind when used for memory purposes. A four-step approach has been used to address and resolve this disagreement. First, a new component for models of mind which provides a saliency function is provided. This saliency function corresponds to computational elements found necessary in large mainframe computer systems for handling rich data environments. Second, there is introduced a Computational Model of Memory containing the new component which models the operation of human memory. The Computational Model of Memory contains four interoperative elements including the new component, short-term memory, long-term memory, and a cross-reference associator. Third, the work of Marcin Milkowski is drawn upon to obtain a general method of assessing a computational model’s well-formedness, and the method is applied to prove the adequacy of the Computational Model of Memory. According to Milkowski’s schema, the model satisfies most criteria for a well-formed computational model, including in particular a separation between conceptual elements of the model, and constitutive elements of the model, which while explicitly related, are required to subsist at separate logical conceptual levels. Fourth, the Computational Model of Memory is applied to outstanding arguments in Extended Mind to clarify and resolve several of these arguments. The model serves to highlight where the nature of the disagreement depends upon a category error of reference, and further resolves a key disagreement by demonstrating that the mind may treat external artefacts as an alternative realizable constitutive element of short-term and long-term memory.

Avec l'évolution des technologies et le développement des objets connectés, la consommation des circuits est devenue un sujet important. Dans cette thèse nous nous concentrons sur la consommation des mémoires non volatiles à piégeage de charge. Afin de diminuer la consommation, différentes architectures ont vu le jour comme les mémoires 2T ou Split Gate. Nous proposons deux nouvelles architectures de mémoires permettant la diminution de la consommation par rapport à une mémoire Flash standard. La première, appelée ATW (Asymmetrical Tunnel Window), est composée d'une marche d'oxyde au niveau de son oxyde tunnel qui lui permet d'être moins consommatrice qu'une mémoire Flash standard. Une seconde architecture mémoire appelée eSTM (embedded Select Trench Memory) est aussi présentée. Son principal atout est la présence de son transistor de sélection qui est indispensable pour avoir une faible consommation. Grâce à son architecture, cette cellule est bien meilleure que l'architecture proposée précédemment (ATW). Une dernière étude a été réalisée afin d'optimiser le procédé de fabrication de la mémoire eSTM pour le rendre plus robuste. / With the evolution of technologies and the development of connected objects, the circuit consumption is becoming an important subject. In this thesis, we focus on the consumption of trap-charge non-volatile memories. To decrease the consumption, different architectures have emerged, like 2T or Split Gate memories. We propose two new memory architectures allowing to decrease the consumption compared to the standard Flash memory. The first, called ATW (Asymmetrical Tunnel Window), is composed of an oxide step in the tunnel oxide which allows to be less consumer than a standard Flash memory. A second memory architecture called eSTM (embedded Select Trench Memory) is also presented. Its main advantage is its select transistor which is essential to obtain a lower consumption. Thanks to its architecture, this cell is better than the previously proposed architecture (ATW). The last study has been performed to optimize the process flow of the eSTM memory to make it more robust.

Context. Software Project management focuses on planning and executing the activities for developing software. Agile Software Project Management helps to plan shorter iterations and frequent changes to customer requirement. Developing the process flow metrics helps to monitor the process and to tune the process for the given context. Objectives. The main objectives in the thesis are to identify process flow metrics and frameworks that are suitable for measuring the process flow in Agile projects especially projects with significant dependence on hardware components. Apart from identified metrics from the literature, we identify the impact, challenges, and advantages of using agile models with the help of productivity and process flow metrics and implement them on a test phase project and compare the productivity of agile model with waterfall model. Methods. The thesis presents a two-step study. The first step was to perform a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) and collect the metrics from the literature study that can be used for the comparison of the productivity of both the processes. The Second step was to conduct a case study at Volvo Cars to get us a better understanding the impact of the agile and how the process flow metrics can be used in real time for measuring and comparison.   Results. In the first step of SLR, 363 metrics that can be used by software teams have been identified of which 10 were suitable for the comparison of our current case study required by the second step of our thesis. In the second step, in the first iteration after the transition, an increase in productivity of 6.25% is achieved by the team following the agile process over the team following the traditional process. Several advantages and challenges faced during the transition have been identified which might have affected the achieved productivity. Conclusions. We conclude from the results achieved that metrics can be used as a tool to enhance the benefits of the Agile process. Process Flow metrics can be of good use to compare the difference of productivity between different processes and make improvements to the current processes. Use of process flow metrics increases the insight of all the team members on the progress of the project and guides them to enhance team performance and stay on track with the project schedule.