TITLE: THE GENDER WAGE GAP OF CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES AT ILLINOIS PUBLIC FOUR-YEAR UNIVERSITIES

The current patterns of consumption are threatening the availability of natural resources. These natural resources, such as raw materials and biomass, are critical for different economic activities. ProductService System (PSS) has received attention as a solution to drive resource efficiency by extending the life cycle of products. Given the many barriers to shifting from product to PSS-based offering, the literature has acknowledged the importance of partnerships to support Small and Medium-SizedManufacturers (SMMs) during the life cycle of PSS. However, the role played by the partner in supporting the SMM, as well as how are they supporting to overcome existing barriers, remains unclear. To address this gap, the present thesis to aims comprehensively identify the multifaceted role of external partners throughout the life cycle of PSS developed by SMM. The research follows a cross-sectional design to investigate three industry sectors located in Finland, Norway, and Sweden: forestry, farming, and mining machinery manufacturers. Through semi-structured qualitative interviews with CEOs and directors, data was collected and analyzed by thematic analysis. The results show the existence of eight key partners along the life cycle of PSS: Dealers, Suppliers, End Customers, Service Providers, Industry Hubs, Parent Company, New Partners (such as KIBS firms),and Other, such as the ones associated with delivery. These partners were found to support SMMs by co-creation (joint activities involving the exchange of resources between the partner and SMM), education (knowledge sharing from the partner to the SMM), market-related roles (activities associated with the end user, such as sales, marketing, and service provision), and supply chain (roles liked to supply of components and logistics). Partners can drive the shift from current product-oriented PSStowards use- and result-oriented ones, which have a higher potential of creating environmental benefits. The findings of this thesis contribute to the existing literature in many ways. First, it clarifies how partners are supporting SMMs along the life cycle of PSS. Second, it shows that some partners, such as dealers, are more important through the life cycle than other partners. Third, it shows that SMMs opt for different partners to perform the same role. Therefore, it opens the opportunity for future research questions to investigate the causes behind such choices. In terms of practical implications, the thesis support SMMs to optimize and diversify their network of partners by considering partnership alternatives. From the partner’s point of view, it shows the expectations of the SMMs for their partners. Therefore, it can be used to improve the existing solutions aiming to better address the SMMs’ needs.

This study has contributed to the developing concepts of circular economy by assessing circular business models and to test different approaches for circularity in a measurable way. In our current era of time, we stand against environment challenges with a warming planet and resources scarcity. To mitigate the effect of greenhouse gasemissions and to find new more circular solutions to material demand. The developing concept of circular economy is aligned with these goals. In this study the climate impact and profitability of circular business models are investigated using material flow analysis. The result is an assessment of these parameters from a sustainability perspective for product organizations and show that longer lifetime and use period a product has the lower the yearly global warming potential. For profitability the assessment is dependent on more parameters such ascurrent business models, gross margin, raw material, logistics and distribution cost an increased profit is not as strongly connected to lifetime or use. When an increasedcircularity can be accomplished as a complement to current business (withoutsignificant cost increase) there is a possible profit.The study suggests an analysis model for investigate circular strategies in theAssessment model for circular business models. The study contributed to the practical adaptation of circular economy principles providing a suggested analysis framework .By applying circular economy principles and this assessment model it is possible to contribute to a more sustainable future for the system of planet Earth. / <p>2023-06-08</p>

The concept of the circular economy has been introduced to China and encouraged to be implemented in manufacturing industries by the government in recent years. The implementation of a circular economy in the mobile phone product system can potentially serve as a solution to reducing a significant amount of waste mobile phones. However, the development of a circular economy in China is still at the beginning phase. To help with the promotion of a circular economy, this thesis was proposed. The aim is to explore the possibility to promote a circular economy in the mobile phone product system in China and the main target group is mobile phone producers. The main methodology of this thesis was system dynamics modeling. A system dynamic model was developed to analyze the potential sustainability profits and economic profits. A questionnaire and a literature review were conducted to collect relevant data for the model. The study proposed three strategies (old-for-new, eco-design, and product service system) for producers to promote a circular economy. The profitability of the three scenarios was evaluated and then a sensitivity analysis of the parameters in the model was conducted. According to the model results, the old-for-new strategy was the most profitable and the strategy of the product- service system could not bring additional profit to producers if only economic profits were considered. The general suggestion for producers on maximizing the profitability was propagandizing the significance of mobile phone collection and recycling to increase consumers’ awareness.

The vision of a circular economy (CE) promises both profitability and eco-sustainability to industries, and can, from a material and energy resource flow perspective, be operationalized by combining three business and design strategies: closing loops; narrowing and slowing down resource flows by material recycling, improving resource efficiency; and by extending product life by reuse, upgrades and remanufacturing. These three strategies are straightforward ways for industries to radically reduce their use of virgin resources. From a product design perspective, it is doable. However, from a business perspective, it is no less than a revolution that is asked for, as most Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) have, over time, designed their organizations for capturing value from selling goods in linear, flow-based business models. This thesis aims to contribute to the discourse about CE by exploring practical routes for operationalizing circular product design in a “stock-based” CBM. The approach is three-fold. Firstly, the role of design as a solution provider for existing business models is explored and illustrated by case studies and interviews from the automotive industry. Secondly, challenges and possibilities for manufacturing firms to embrace all three strategies for circularity are explored. Thirdly, implications for designing products suitable to stock-based CBMs are discussed. In spite of the vast interest in business model innovation, a circular economy, and how to design for a circular economy, there are still many practical, real-life barriers preventing adoption. This is especially true for designing products that combine all three of the circular strategies, and with regard to the risk of premature obsolescence of products owned by an OEM in a stock-based business model. Nevertheless, if products are designed to adapt to future needs and wants, business risks could be reduced. The main findings are that CE practices already have been implemented in some respects in the automotive industry, but those practices result in very low resource productivity. Substantial economic and material values are being lost due to the dominant business and design logic of keeping up resource flows into products sold. The primary challenge for incumbent OEMs is to manage, in parallel, both a process for circular business model innovation and a design process for future adaptable products. / <p>This licentiate studies have been financed by the Swedish EnergyAgency. The Appended Paper I is a part of the research project:Future-adaptivity for more energy-efficient vehicles, a collaborationbetween RISE VIKTORIA and Academy of Design &amp; Crafts,University of Gothenburg.</p>

In the United States, rapid military mobilization for the world wars marked a turning point in the national need to manage and evaluate manpower. To orchestrate manpower needs for the military, industry, and those relating to familial obligations, Woodrow Wilson's administration created the Selective Service System during the First World War. In categorizing men, local Selective Service boards utilized rapid physical and psychological diagnostic techniques and applied their assessments to current military branch induction standards to pronounce candidates as militarily fit or unfit. From World War I to World War II, the Selective Service System expanded as a bureaucracy but did not adequately address induction issues surrounding rapidly changing standards, racism, and inconsistent testing procedures. These persistent problems with Selective Service prevented the system from becoming truly consistent, fair, or effective. As a result of Selective Service System, War Department, and military branch standards, military rejection and prematurely military discharge rates increased in World War II. Additionally, though Selective Service did not accurately predict who would or would not serve effectively, rejected and prematurely discharged men faced harsh discrimination on the American home front during World War II.

There is a gradually spreading servitization trend that is forcing industrial manufacturing companies acting in the global market to rethink their business. Manufacturing companies that were traditionally perceived as product-centered, are today increasingly influenced by a service-oriented theory, which claims that manufacturing companies are driven to shift their business focus towards a strategy where customer-perceived value is in the spotlight, and where products are bundled with services to offer Product-Service Systems (PSS). The need to integrate several knowledge domains (i.e. product development, service development, recycling, etc.) means that industry companies need to move “downstream” knowledge from the entire lifecycle into the early phases of the PSS design process where critical decisions are made. At the same time, this raises the awareness of, and requirements for, methods and tools that support cross-disciplinary team collaboration in the process of designing these PSS solutions. Value co-creation is one strategy to address customer collaboration to develop PSS in a framework that allows different stakeholders to participate in defining design concepts and finding the optimal combination of hardware and service that supplies the desired value. Value co-creation strategy and global collaborative innovation are essential for manufacturing companies to explore new ways of designing PSS. The thesis summarizes the research performed by the author, as an industrial Ph.D. student and director for system innovation at BIGmind Innovation. This thesis aims to study and explore the motivation for, and challenges of, working with value co-creation for PSS design by global manufacturing companies. Firstly, the empirical research determined that there are different challenges that global manufacturing companies and product development face when designing PSS. The work involves exploring value co-creation via a customer collaborative design platform and experience prototyping for product-service system design. The research shows that there is a lack of knowledge about guidelines and processes for collaboration in value co-creation. The research emphasizes that the PSS design methodologies of today neglect to specify the roles and responsibilities of the actors who co-create PSS offerings, and there is a lack of understanding of the entire process and how it is implemented in industrial practice when developing solutions. Conclusions from this work suggest that government policies can make a fast and major impact on the demand for innovations and PSS development. Additionally, a value co-creation approach promotes large-scale user participation in the early phase of PSS design. To enhance stakeholder participation and gather feedback, experiential prototypes were utilized during the conceptual design phase of the PSS design. To support further development in the area of value co-creation, the Future Innovation Framework (FIF) is proposed as a mechanism to facilitate the adoption and use of value co-creation of PSS design. This thesis discusses the implications, opportunities, and challenges of the FIF for industrial PSS design. The thesis concludes with a discussion on the possibility of using value co-creation for PSS design in different industry domains in the future.

在博物館或各類型展覽中，導覽是非常普遍的服務。數位科技的進步帶來許多新的導覽互動體驗方式，從早期紙本、錄音機、語音導覽到目前智慧型裝置已成為重要的導覽載具，提供使用者更多便利性與行動應用的擴展。然而以現行的主要的導覽模式，使用者仍須手動操作選擇導覽內容，例如選按數字鍵盤或點選觸控畫面等，影響參觀展覽的流暢性。另外，目前在智慧型裝置上的導覽服務，多為針對展館或單一展覽設計，缺少重複使用性也無法連結使用者每次的參觀行為與經驗。 本研究之目的為加強導覽內容管理效率並透過iBeacon提昇觀眾之展覽導覽服務使用體驗。結合iBeacon實作一包含網頁後台管理系統與前台統一入口app之導覽服務系統，以iBeacon基地台主動推之特性減少導覽使用者需自行操作的頻率，並同時將導覽服務由展覽品內容介紹推廣至觀眾進入展覽前、參觀展覽中、離開展覽後不同階段的服務應用，並讓觀眾能跟展覽場域有更多互動。另一方面，將導覽製作的過程簡化，展覽單位只需要操作網頁即可透過管理系統將內容上架至前端app，且可同時管理多個不同展覽。藉由前後台的配合完成一套完整的導覽服務系統，並根據使用者測試結果歸納出可改進或後續開發設計之功能建議。 / Guide service is common in exhibitions and some museums. The improvement in digital technology has brought us to a new era of guide experience. Visitors used to read guidebook or listen to an audio guide via recorder, but smart devices now play an important role in guide service. However, most of guide devices require user to press buttons or touch screen when they want to access particular exhibits and the application in those devices are designed for one specific exhibition. This research designed and developed a guide service system with iBeacon, in order to make guide content management more efficient and enhance the visitor experience. The system iBeaGuide contains a Web-based content manage system and a portal guide service mobile app for exhibition visitors. With the feature of iBeacon, users no longer need to select the guide of exhibits they are watching. When iBeaGuide app detect iBeacon signal, it will turn to the correspond page automatically, not only when watching masterpieces but also when enter the exhibition venue or close to some facilities like information desk or toilet. iBeacon content manage system is for exhibition administrator. Via this Web system, administrators can easily upload guide content and update immediately.

Human Computer Interaction (HCI) interventions such as User Experience, Usability and Accessibility are widely accepted as great milestones in the developmental process of computer-based system applications – be it web-based, PC-based or ubiquitous. However, there is still a need for an understanding of the critical benefits – both tangible and intangible – that HCI interventions may bring within business. It is still necessary to investigate and clearly understand how the issues that emanate from the usability and accessibility problems affect business as well as what value HCI techniques contribute to the profitability of implementing and using computer-based systems. A case study approach was undertaken within a Travel Management Company (TMC) on a computer-based system used for both back-end and front-end activities, such as invoicing as well as Management Information System (MIS) reports. The aim was to ascertain how the incorporation of HCI interventions (Usability and Accessibility) in evaluating the design and the development process of software applications can impact on the usefulness of such computer application systems. The investigation in areas such as the redefining business processes in order to generate a competitive advantage, enhancing user skills, improving user productivity, user satisfaction and retention, reducing training costs, and quality service provision were of particular interest. The end results of the study affirm an important and significant role that specific and focussed HCI interventions make in the successful implementation of contemporary computer-based systems. However, for businesses to gain most of the potential benefits from HCI interventions, both the software development houses and business practitioners should make use of the HCI techniques and place greater priority and emphasis on the awareness and use of HCI (Usability) standards in the development process / Computing / M. Sc. (Information Systems)

Physical customer products have an environmental impact, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to the use of virgin resources from cradle-to-grave, especially when the origin of the material is from fossil resources. This thesis aims to create a circular business model, by investigating the product ‘stroller’ and place it in a Product Service System, where the user subscribes to the Stroller Service System. This means that the product gets a service function: ‘transportation of a child’, mapped with a user-centered approach. The main objective is to lower the ecological footprint by adopting a modular design including bio-based material and stainless steel, and also include services to address economical and social sustainability goals. The methodology that is used is divided into two parts: Status Analysis – which consists of stroller related literature study, literature review and case study, and the second part is the Design Process – creating the product-, service- and system design. The results are grounded in user insights, life cycle assessment and co-creation with experts, where the conclusions are that a PSS Model Stroller should be used by 4-6 users which translate to about 15-20 years of usage for the steel layer. The way of refurbishing the strollers is done by contract workers that exist where the users exists, i.e. Ease Stroller Hub, who change the bio-based material in-between the use-phases and hands over the refurbished stroller to the next user. Add-on services of access to car pools and grocery delivery is included in the system to ease the stroller user’s everyday life and is a way to designing out the need of owning a car, to lower the overall environmental impact.