Modern disk-storage systems have to accomplish the requirements of a variety of application classes. Applications that process continuous-media data such as video and audio streams require the storage system to guarantee sustained bandwidths. Interactive applications demand the storage system to ensure bounded response times, posing timing constraints on the execution of individual disk requests. Traditional timesharing applications may require both high throughput or overall short response times. With the described applications being more and more used together in todays computing systems, the disk-storage subsystems have to efficiently combine the different requirements of this application mix. In this thesis, I develop the design of a storage system that comprehensively addresses the various challenges posed by including the support for quality-of-service guarantees in disk-storage systems. The presented storage system provides three main properties. First, the admission control includes the support for statistical guarantees to increase the share of the disk bandwidth that can be utilized by the admission control. Second, the disk-request scheduling clearly separates the enforcement of real-time guarantees from the task to establish the optimal execution order of the requests, and it provides a flexible mechanism to combine the execution of requests with different quality-of-service requirements. Finally, the file system addresses both the needs of the former two elements of the storage system and of the various file types used by the applications by providing a flexible block-allocation policy and customized client interfaces. I show the implementation of the presented designs with the DROPS Disk-Storage System and I provide a detailed evaluation based on this implementation.

The world is getting busier and more crowded each year. Due to this fact resources such as public transport, available energy, and usable space are becoming congested and require vast amounts of logistical support. As of February 2018, nearly 95% of Americans own a mobile cell phone according to the Pew Research Center. These devices are consistently broadcasting their presents to other devices. By leveraging this data to provide occupational awareness of high traffic areas such as public transit stops, buildings, etc logistic efforts can be streamline to best suit the dynamics of the population. With the rise of The Internet of Things, a scalable low-cost occupancy monitoring system can be deployed to collect this broadcasted data and present it to logistics in real time. Simple IoT devices such as the Raspberry Pi, wireless cards capable of passive monitoring, and the utilization of specialized software can provide this capability. Additionally, this combination of hardware and software can be integrated in a way to be as simple as a typical plug and play set up making system deployment quick and easy. This effort details the development and integration work done to deliver a working product acting as a foundation to build upon. Machine learning algorithms such as k-Nearest-Neighbors were also developed to estimate a mobile device's approximate location inside a building.

Trots att det i sjukvården betraktas som normalt att föda barn vaginalt väljer en del kvinnor att föda sina barn med hjälp av kejsarsnitt utan att det föreligger någon medicinsk indikation, varken för mor eller barn (elektivt sectio). Den medicinska vetenskapen visar att det både är säkrare och bättre i de flesta fall att föda vaginalt, men antalet elektiva kejsarsnitt ökar årligen. Kunskap om vad som driver kvinnor att önska elektivt kejsarsnitt kan öka möjligheten att minska kejsarsnitt som görs utan medicinsk indikation. Kunskapen är viktig för barnmorskor som kan hjälpa gravida kvinnor att i högre grad välja att föda sitt barn vaginalt då det inte föreligger indikation för kejsarsnitt. Syftet med arbetet var att beskriva kvinnors önskan om att föda sitt barn med hjälp av  elektivt kejsarsnitt utan att det föreligger någon medicinsk indikation för kejsarsnitt. En litteraturstudie har genomförts där sökningar efter artiklar gjorts i databaserna PubMed, CINAHL och APA PsychInfo. Till studiens resultat har 20 vetenskapliga artiklar, både kvalitativa och kvantitativa artiklar använts. De publicerade studierna är genomförda i  olika länder, en del i höginkomstländer och en del i medelinkomstländer enligt måttet bruttonationalprodukt per person och år, vilken beskriver ett lands produktion utifrån dess befolkningsutveckling (BNP per capita). Samtliga artiklar är publicerade mellan åren 2009-2019, och är etiskt godkända.  Kvinnors anledning att önska elektivt kejsarsnitt utan medicinsk indikation sammanfattas i detta arbete med två övergripande teman: Vaginal förlossning ett hot och Kejsarsnitt garanterar hälsa och trygghet. Kvinnornas rädsla för vaginal förlossning var en framträdande anledning till att önska kejsarsnitt. Rädslan hade sitt ursprung i egna eller andras negativa erfarenheter av vaginal förlossning. Rädslan grundades också i en oro för att kvinnans utseende och hennes relation skulle påverkas av en vaginal förlossning. Önskan om kejsarsnitt utan medicinsk indikation grundades i en tro om att ingreppet skulle garantera hälsa och trygghet för mor och barn, något som vaginal förlossning inte kunde erbjuda.  Den mest framträdande anledningen till att kvinnor önskade kejsarsnitt utan medicinsk indikation var en intensiv rädsla för en vaginal förlossning. Kvinnorna hade uppfattningen att ett kejsarsnitt skulle garantera säkerhet för mor och barn. Det kan inte uteslutas att önskan om elektivt kejsarsnitt kan bero på brist på kunskap.  Det finns ytterligare behov av forskning på ämnet, förslagsvis på interventioner från sjukvården som fokuserar på att utbilda födande kvinnor om vinsterna med vaginal förlossning.

The increasing globalization has changed the dynamics of different functions within organizations. One function is procurement which has transformed from an operational to a strategic function. This transformation now requires standardization so that the entire sourcing of products is synchronized especially concerning the Request for Quotation (RFQ) process. A theoretical gap was also identified where the researchers observed that an in-depth RFQ process has not been explicitly discussed in the literature. The aim of this study was thus to explore the practices that global multi-categorical companies use to source their products, especially concerning the request for quotations. To investigate this aim, three research questions were used that helped identify the practices that purchasers use to source products with RFQs. To answer the research questions, the researchers conducted a case study at IKEA. A qualitative approach was chosen to better study the phenomenon in-depth. Methods used for data collection involved a combination of semi-structured interviews and open-ended questionnaires. In total, seven interviews were held with the focal firm with an additional 16 answering the questionnaire. An additional six interviews were also held with purchasers external to the focal firm to complement in filling the gap in existing research. The data was analyzed through thematic analysis and benchmarking. The main findings from the research were the identification of the RFQ process used by the focal company and consultant within the field of purchasing. The RFQ process for the focal company consisted of 7 themes (Triggers to launch RFQ; Defining Scope; Finalize Scope; Making Tactics, Structure and Approach; Execute and evaluate offer; Aligning solution and confirming the purchase agreement; and follow up and feedback).  The process explained by consultants consisted of 8 themes (Preparation; Supplier identification and reduction; Making tactics and communication; Evaluate the quotations and internal alignment; Negotiations; Risk assessment and communication of results; and Feedback). These themes were highly similar to each other while at the same time providing an opportunity to identify areas that can be improved. Overall, besides contributing to filling the existing gap in the request for quotation process, this study concludes with a framework that global retail companies could adopt to procure more efficiently.

Тема магистерской диссертации: «Обработка клиентских запросов с использованием облачных технологий в банковской сфере» Магистерская диссертация выполнена на 98 страницах, содержит 3 таблицы, 18 рисунков, 60 использованных источников. Актуальность использования облачных технологий в банках возросла в связи с переходом России на «цифровую» экономику, что подразумевает под собой перевод значительной части капитальных вложений в ИТ, а не в операционные расходы, сокращение затрат и ускорение цикла создания и вывода на рынок новых продуктов. Целью работы является внедрение и обеспечение безопасности облачных технологий для обработки клиентских запросов в банковской сфере. Задачи работы:  изучение теоретических основ облачных технологий и защиты информации;  анализ обработки запросов и выявление текущих проблем;  разработка методологии внедрения облачных технологий при обработке внешних запросов. Объект исследования является региональный̆ банк АО «ВУЗ-банк». Предмет исследования - обработка клиентских запросов. В первой главе был проведен обзор облачных технологий, характерных при развитии цифровой экономики, а также вопросы безопасности их применения в банковской сфере. Кроме того, были рассмотрены крупнейшие провайдеры и способы подбора лучшего из них для каждого конкретного предприятия. Во второй главе описывается методология внедрения облачных технологий при обработке внешних запросов клиента, подробно рассматривается политика информационной безопасности банка и принципы обучения сотрудников. Третья глава посвящена изучению характеристики предприятия АО «ВУЗ-банк», анализу обработки внешних запросов в компании и описанию основных проблем в ходе обработки данных при использовании облачных технологий. Результаты работы: внедрение и обеспечение безопасности облачных технологий для обработки клиентских запросов в банковской сфере была успешно доказана. / Theme of the master's thesis is: "Processing of client requests using cloud technologies in the banking sphere" The master's thesis is executed on 98 pages, contains 3 tables, 18 figures, 60 sources used. The urgency of using cloud technologies in banks has increased in connection with the transition of Russia to a "digital" economy, which implies the transfer of a significant part of capital investments in IT, rather than in operating expenses, reducing costs and accelerating the cycle of creating and launching new products. The goal of the work is to implement and provide security for cloud technologies for processing client requests in the banking sector. Objectives of work:  studying the theoretical foundations of cloud technologies and information protection;  analysis of query processing and identification of current problems;  development of a methodology for implementing cloud technologies for processing external requests. The object of the study is a regional bank of VUZ-Bank JSC. The subject of the research is the processing of client requests. In the first chapter, a review was made of cloud technologies, characteristic for the development of the digital economy, as well as the safety of their application in the banking sector. In addition, the largest providers and ways of selecting the best of them for each particular enterprise were considered. The second chapter describes the methodology for implementing cloud technologies when processing external customer requests, details the Bank's information security policy and the principles of employee training. The third chapter is devoted to the study of the characteristics of the enterprise JSC VUZ-Bank, the analysis of processing external requests in the company and a description of the main problems in the processing of data using cloud technologies. The results of the work: the introduction and security of cloud technologies for the processing of client requests in the banking sector has been successfully proven.

Жилищно-коммунальный комплекс является важнейшей составляющей в системе жизнеобеспечения граждан, охватывает практически все население страны и в связи с этим занимает исключительное положение в ряду прочих отраслей экономики. По данным Федеральной службы статистики на протяжении 2013-2017 гг. российский рынок услуг ЖКХ характеризуется положительной динамикой. Ежегодный прирост показателя обеспечивался как за счет прироста жилищного фонда и развития коммунальной инфраструктуры, так и за счет повышения тарифов на жилищно-коммунальные услуги. В работе рассматривается деятельность службы водоотведения МУП Водоканал, выявлены проблемы и предложены пути повышения эффективности деятельности. / The housing and communal complex is the most important component in the life support system of citizens, covers almost the entire population of the country and, in this regard, occupies an exceptional position among other sectors of the economy. According to the Federal Statistics Service during 2013-2017. The Russian housing and communal services market is characterized by positive dynamics. The annual increase in the indicator was ensured both by an increase in the housing stock and the development of communal infrastructure, and by an increase in tariffs for housing and communal services. The work considers the activities of the water disposal service of the Municipal Unitary Enterprise Vodokanal, identified problems and proposed ways to increase the efficiency of activities.

In the construction industry, there are various methods for how the client and contractor should work together. Historically, most contracts have been awarded through traditional cooperation, resulting in limited collaboration between the contractor and the client. In recent times, partnering has become increasingly common, based on close collaboration between the client and the contractor. As partnering has gained popularity, the profitability of different collaboration forms has come under scrutiny, as well as which collaboration form contributes to the highest quality of the final product and the lowest cost for the client. The purpose of this work is to examine how incentives and competition will affect the different parties’ approach to risk management within the different collaboration forms. This will be done through three different methods: a literature study, a case study, and interviews, clearly demonstrating how risk management varies depending on the collaboration form applied in the project. The literature study forms the basis for the analysis of the case study and the formulation of the questions asked in the interviews. The case study compares the risk and opportunity assessments of two ongoing construction projects, one using traditional cooperation and the other using partnering. The interview study is based on seven interviews with relevant respondents, each offering their perspective on the collaboration forms. The work shows that incentives and competition will influence the parties eagerness to work with risk management to the extent that it is profitable. Since many partnering agreements have somewhat loose reins, it means that the client must take on greater responsibility for a partnering project to become profitable. The work also highlights that competition will have a significant impact on the contractor's risk allocations depending on the collaboration form applied in the project.

Ensuring the health of a distributed system with frequent updates is complicated. Many tools exist to improve developers’ comprehension and productivity in this task, but room for improvement exists. Based on previous research within request flow comparison, we propose a system design for using distributed tracing data in the process of reviewing code changes. The design is evaluated from the perspective of system performance and developer productivity using a critical production system at a large software company. The results show that the design has minimal negative performance implications while providing a useful service to the developers. They also show a positive but statistically insignificant effect on productivity during the evaluation period. To a large extent, developers adopted the tool into their workflow to explore and improve system understanding. This use case deviates from the design target of providing a method to compare changes between software versions. We conclude that the design is successful, but more optimization of functionality and a higher rate of adoption would likely improve the effects the tool could have. / Att säkerställa stabilitet i ett distribuerat system med hög frekvens av uppdateringar är komplicerat. I dagsläget finns många verktyg som hjälper utvecklare i deras förståelse och produktivitet relaterat till den här typen av problem, dock finns fortfarande möjliga förbättringar. Baserat på tidigare forskning inom teknik för att jämföra protokollförfrågningsflöden mellan mjukvaruversioner så föreslår vi en systemdesign för ett nytt verktyg. Designen använder sig av data från distribuerad tracing för att förbättra arbetsflödet relaterat till kodgranskning. Designen utvärderas både prestanda och produktivitetsmässigt under utvecklingen av ett affärskritiskt produktionssystem på ett stort mjukvaruföretag. Resultaten visar att designen har mycket låg inverkan på prestandan av systemet där det införs, samtidigt som den tillhandahåller ett användbart verktyg till utvecklarna. Resultaten visar också på en positiv men statistiskt insignifikant effekt på utvecklarnas produktivitet. Utvecklarna använde primärt verktyget för att utforska och förbättra sin egen förståelse av systemet som helhet. Detta användningsområde avvek från det ursprungliga målet med designen, vilket var att tillhandahålla en tjänst för att jämföra mjukvaruversioner med varandra. Från resultaten drar vi slutsatsen att designen som helhet var lyckad, men mer optimering av funktionalitet och mer effektivt införande av verktyget i arbetsflödet hade troligtvis resulterat i större positiva effekter på organisationen.

With the advent of DevOps and its success stories, many large firms in the regulatory sector have begun to study more streamlined software deployment strategies. Traceability and change management is vital in these regulated organizations to keep track of when, why, and what was supplied to the production environment at what time. This thesis intends to provide a technique for one of the major banks in Sweden to deploy software using Azure DevOps pipelines while employing tracing and approving a deployment in an on-premises change management system. Since direct communication between the change management system and Azure DevOps is not possible, the decision was made to create an on-premises RFC handler and use Azure storage account queues to facilitate communication between pipelines searching for deployment grants and the on-premises change management system. To determine what value the RFC handler could provide the organization, interviews were conducted with several change management experts at the bank. One of the most notable conclusions from the interviews was that the RFC handler would likely reduce deployment time relative the old workflow. / Med tillkomsten av DevOps och dess framgångshistorier har många stora företag inom regleringssektorn börjat studera mer strömlinjeformade programvarudistributionsstrategier. Spårbarhet och förändringshantering är avgörande i dessa reglerade organisationer för att förklara när, varför och vad som levererades till produktionsmiljön vid vilken tidpunkt. Detta examensarbete avser att tillhandahålla en teknik för en av de stora bankerna i Sverige att distribuera programvara med hjälp av Azure DevOps-pipelines samtidigt som man använder spårning och godkännande av en driftsättning i ett lokalt förändringshanteringssystem. Eftersom direkt kommunikation mellan ändringshanteringssystemet och Azure DevOps inte är möjlig, togs beslutet att skapa RFC handler och använda Azure Storage-kontoköer för att underlätta kommunikationen mellan pipelines som söker efter driftsättningsgodkännande och den lokala förändringshanteringen. För att avgöra vilket värde RFC handler skulle ge organisationen, genomfördes intervjuer med flera experter på förändringshantering inom banken. En av de viktigaste slutsatserna från intervjuerna var att RFC handler kommer att minska driftsättningstiden jämfört med tidigare arbetsflöde.

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