Vårt intresse för verksamhets- och systemutveckling har växt fram under vår studietid, då vi fått kunskap om att en av utvecklingstyperna har en mer prioriterad roll vid ett utvecklingsarbete. Efter att ha läst en del artiklar blev vi även intresserade av att jämföra vilka faktorer samt vem som är beslutstagare vid utveckling av organisationer i den statliga och privata sektorn. Detta för att se vilka eventuella skillnader respektive likheter det finns mellan dem. Syftet med denna studie är att hitta de faktorer som är avgörande vid val att prioritera verksamhetsutveckling respektive systemutveckling. Samt att skapa en djupare förståelse för en organisations tänkande vid utveckling och hur utvecklingen skall genomföras. Vi valde i denna studie att genomföra en kvalitativ studie där vi började med att tillägna oss relevant teori som förklarar och fördjupar läsaren i vad verksamhets- och systemutveckling är. Vidare utformade vi intervjufrågor utifrån vår problemformulering. Intervjufrågorna skickade vi ut till olika organisationer inom både den statliga och privata sektorn i Jönköpings län. Utifrån den teori vi tillägnat oss och de svar vi fick in vid intervjuerna genomförde vi en analys som vi sedan kunde dra slutsatser från. Slutsatserna består av de faktorer som vi önskade få fram genom denna studie och presenteras i en matris. Detta för att det ska vara lättare för läsaren att få en överblick över våra slutsatser. Genom matrisens uppbyggnad besvarar den vår problemformulering väldigt bra. Matrisen är uppbyggd enligt följande, den delar upp organisationerna i de två förut nämnda kategorierna, privat och statlig. Den skiljer även på faktorer för verksamhets- och systemutveckling samt vem som är beslutstagare. / Our interest for organizational change and system development started to grow during our time of studying, at that moment knowledge that one of the two development types is more preferred throughout a development work arouse. After reading some articles we found an interest for comparing what factors and who the decision maker is at a development work for organization within the private sector and government-owned sector. This comparison is made to distinguish the possible differences respective resemblance that exists between them. The purpose of this study is to find conclusive factors when prioritizing organizational change and system development work respectively. Creating a deeper understanding for the way organization’s think when performing development work and how this should be accomplished. We choose to conduct a qualitative study for this thesis, where we started to take in appropriate theories, which will explain and give the reader a deeper understanding for what organizational change and system development work is. Further we formulated the interview questions from our research questions. The interview questions where send to different organisations within both the private sector and government-owned sector within Jönköping’s county. From the theory we took in and from the answers we received from the interviews we conducted an analysis and after that we draw conclusions. The conclusions consist of the factors that we did wish to obtain through this study and the conclusions are presented in a matrix. The matrix will make it easier for the reader to gain an overview over our conclusions. Through the matrix structure we will answer our research question in an excellent way. The structure of the matrix is as follows, it divides the organizations into the two categories mentioned previously, private and government-owned. It does also divide the factors by organizational change and system development work together with who the decision maker is.

Många projekt misslyckas och en av anledningarna är dålig styrning av projektet i allmänhet och inom IT branschen i synnerhet. Baserad på kritik av de traditionella metoderna under de senaste åren, så har det uppkommit flera lättrörliga metoder som kallas Agila metoder. Scrum är den mest kända Agila metoden som används idag. Metoden lovar goda resultat, men i en artikel ur tidningen Computer Sweden (feb 2009) står det ”siffror visar att nio av tio Scrumprojekt misslyckas”. Artikeln triggade vårt intresse av att ta reda på vilka problem specifika för Scrum som många har kritiserat och valde därför att rikta in vår studie mot detta. Uppsatsen syftar till att undersöka om lokala IT-företag i Borlänge, Headlight, Sogeti ochstatliga nätkapacitetleverantören Trafikverket ICT lider av det allmänna problem som de andra Scrumanvändarna upplever i samband med användningen av metoden. Denna uppsats har fokus på fyra problemområden: bristfällig dokumentation, sämre effektivitet i arbetsprocessen, sämre effektivitet i arbetsprocessen i stora projekt samt bristande stöd för utvärdering. För vår studie har litteraturstudier och intervjuer genomförts. Intervjuserier gjordes på elva personer hos våra fallföretag. Målgruppen för våra intervjuer är Product Owner (PO) ScrumMaster (SM) och utvecklare. Vi kan efter genomförd studie dra slutsatsen att de allmänna upplevda problem som de andra Scrumanvändaren upplever har vi även kunnat identifiera hos våra fallföretag. Resultaten har bekräftats med insamlade data och vår teoretiska ram. I diskussionen presenterar vi rekommendationer för att undvik relaterade problem med Scrum.

This thesis focuses on the study of TTL protein family in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana. It sums up available published data on this so far poorly studied genes and presents newly gained experimental data. Main emphasis is given to TTLs cellular localization in possible relationship to their physiological function. Presented thesis comprises of in silico analysis of TTL proteins, but also the creation and microscopy analysis of TTL-mRuby2 and TTL-GFP fusion proteins in transient and permanent transformants. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

In order to meet the expectations of today’s market and compete in the global world we live in, many companies are facing changes. A low cost production and high quality is not enough to be competitive. Companies must also satisfy the external customers’ claims, which to a great extent imply demands on an increased productivity. It is not enough to look to the external customers. The people working within the production system are the internal customers and the production system must be designed to suit their needs. Increased productivity can be stressful for operators, especially in the automotive industry, where heavy and frequent lifting is part of the daily work. The increased competition can thus in the long run lead to consequences for operator health as a result of heavy, and frequent, lifting. Due to this, more companies are looking over the possibilities to automate parts of their production process. The purpose of this thesis is to explore, using simulation tools, how automation of heavy lifting can affect productivity and work environment in processing or manufacturing processes. The research questions that will be answered are: o In what way does automation affect productivity in processing processes? o How can simulation tools act as an aid in designing automation? o What impact does automation have on the operator’s ergonomic work environment? To answer these questions, a literature study has been conducted in three main areas: production development, automation and simulation. A case study was carried out in a processing cell within the heavy vehicle industry, which currently does not have an approved ergonomic working environment. The company wanted to implement a robot and the purpose was to investigate how ergonomics and productivity was affected. The comparison was made using a simulation created in the ExtendSim software. The purpose of the simulation was to compare the current production system with a layout where a robot was implemented in the system. From this thesis, the conclusions were drawn that automation can affect a company’s productivity in a positive way provided that the preparatory planning is carried out thoroughly. The thesis shows that a simulation tool can be helpful from a number of aspects when automation is to be designed, and not least that it can undoubtedly be positive for the operator’s ergonomic work environment to automate parts of the production that includes heavy and frequent lifting.

This thesis deals with the domain of software product methodologies in the context of innovation. In the opening part of the thesis the field of innovation and creativity is analysed. In the next chapter the reasons justifying the necessity to create a methodology for innovative software product development are given. The main intention of this thesis was to create a new methodology of innovative software product development; so the next section focuses on this goal. The new methodology relies on current agile software development methodologies, best practices in innovation management and approaches to startup creation. Based on these principles, the requirements are set up and individual components selected that will form the new methodology. A model of the new methodology was created using tool Eclipse Process Framework. Consequently the methodology was validated by its prospective users.

Regulation of axon guidance and pruning of inappropriate synapses is key to development of neural circuits. Secreted semaphorins are integral part of both processes. Collapsin response mediator protein 2 (CRMP2) has been shown to regulate axon guidance by mediating Semaphorin 3A (Sema3A) signaling, however, nothing is known about its role in the synapse pruning. Similarly, it is also not known if CRMP2 mediates signals from other semaphorins. We herein studied CRMP2 protein and revealed its role in growth and pruning of selected axons and dendrites. In newly generated crmp2-/- and crmp2a-/- mice we demonstrate that CRMP2 has a moderate effect on Sema3A-dependent axon guidance in vivo, and its deficiency leads to a mild defect in axon guidance in peripheral nerves and corpus callosum. CRMP2A isoform is specifically involved in development of callosal axons. Surprisingly, we show that crmp2-/- mice display prominent defects in stereotyped axon pruning in hippocampus and visual cortex and altered dendritic spine remodeling, which are consistent with impaired Sema3F signaling and with models of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Indeed, we demonstrate that CRMP2 mediates Sema3F signaling in primary neurons and that crmp2-/- mice display ASD-related social behavior changes in early postnatal period as well...

In the pursuit of excellence industrial companies are increasingly employing production system development to rationalize their processes. One such approach that has been employed to great extend in the automotive industry is that of introducing modularity to the product design. This shift from integral products to modular ones, is associated with a higher level of standardization of parts and processes. However, researchers are still mapping out this correlation. As the connection between modularity and the recorded effects is still up for discussion, still fewer studies have been made on how to most effectively adopt modularisation. This thesis is therefore a research that explores the relationship between product design and production from a perspective of production system development. It is a collaborative study conducted with a manufacturer of industrial robots that is preparing to transition from an integral product design to a modular one. The case study utilizes discrete – event simulation to model the impact of such a changeover in the production system. Not resulting in a step-by-step how-to guide, the study nevertheless shows that discrete – event simulation can prove to be a valuable asset both when analysing what-if scenarios and when pinpointing pre-emptive measures in order to mitigate any negative disruption such a transition might initially bring.

Background: The public sector in South Africa has long been concerned with poor performance in financial management in municipalities. The Auditor-General who has a constitutional mandate to audit government departments highlighted challenges in financial management facing the municipalities. The challenges include lack of compliance with the legislation of municipal financial management, weak audit outcomes, financially unqualified financial statements, mismatch in produced financial statements, missing reports regarding performance, incomplete disclosure in financial authorisation and unauthorised and waste expenditure. To overcome these challenges, the government introduced the Financial Management Information Systems (FMIS) to municipalities in South Africa to support budget preparation and implementation, accounting and reporting, performance monitoring and auditing and evaluation. However, FMIS have not reached widespread use and in the majority of municipalities required re-implementation. Employees are concerned that FMIS are not aligned with their work processes. Lack of sense of ownership towards FMIS is the contributing factor to end-users being reluctant to use FMIS. It was noted that end-users of FMIS were not given a chance to take control and contribute to the development of FMIS for their municipalities. Objective: Previous research posits that the degree of end-user's sense of ownership towards a system that they use in the workplace positively correlates to their level of involvement in the development process of the system. Employees in government departments such as municipalities are not usually involved or participate in the system development process. Sense of ownership towards the system is expected to arise when end-users participate in the system development process of the system. End-users may perceive that they have influence and control during the development of the system and thereby develop a sense of ownership about the system when it is ready for use. The study, therefore, investigated how end-user participation in system development engenders a sense of ownership among end-users of FMIS in municipalities. Method: The study was qualitative, deductive, followed the interpretive research epistemology and drew on a theory of psychological ownership as a theoretical lens, to analyse how end-user participation in FMIS development engenders a sense of ownership. A case study of the Western Cape Province focusing on two local and two district municipalities was considered as a representation of a South African context. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, observations of end-users during co-design sessions of FMIS development and document analysis. Thematic data analysis was appropriate for the study. Findings: Findings showed that end-users were excluded through the waterfall system development model used for FMIS development. The FMIS development was a top-down approach in which strategic decisions regarding the implementation of FMIS were made from the executive top management of the National and Provincial Treasury departments. The communication about the development was between National Treasury, Provincial Treasury and the system development team. Although end-users were provided training before using the system, they were concerned that the systems were not aligned with their work processes. It was evident that end-user participation in project initiation, system requirements specifications and system design specifications phases could enable end-users to gain a sense of ownership in the form of a sense of responsibility through problem-solving and decision-making, meaningfulness through collective learning during participation and locus of control through shared leadership. End-users revealed that the more they contribute to the development, they learn new skills, feel psychologically empowered and boost their confidence towards FMIS. End-users emphasised that shared leadership during end-user participation is likely to have an influence on how the system is developed to suit work processes. However, findings showed that end-user participation in organisations with complex structures such as municipalities could be hindered by a myriad of factors. Standardisation and lack of stakeholder collaboration, complex job-design and leadership-style approach across tiers of government have been stated by end-users as factors that may hinder the effectiveness of end-user participation in system development in municipalities. Originality/contribution: The theoretical contribution of the research emerges from the use of the theory of psychological ownership to investigate end-user participation to engender an end-user's sense of ownership towards FMIS. There is a lack of evidence-based studies in developing countries focusing on the end-user perspectives regarding factors affecting poor uptake of information systems in the public sector. To address this gap, this study made a descriptive contribution to the concept of a sense of ownership. There is a dearth of studies examining how end users of information systems in government departments in developing countries can be empowered through a sense of ownership to enhance the use and acceptance. In response to this research gap, this study focuses on the concept of end-user participation and contributes to the body of IS knowledge by examining the end-user participation approach as a systems development strategy to engender a sense of ownership to end-users of information systems in government departments.

Drosophila melanogaster is an attractive model organism for the study of numerous fundamental processes including nervous system development and function. This is due to the power of Drosophila genetics combined with the high degree of similarity between this organism and vertebrate systems, not only at the molecular level but also at the cellular and behavioural levels. The first part of my thesis focused on trophic interactions occurring in Drosophila larval central nervous system. Specifically, it describes the interaction of serotonin (5HT)-producing neurons with other three groups of neurons: the larval photoreceptors expressing Rhodopsin 5 (Rh5), the photoreceptor subset expressing Rhodopsin 6 (Rh6), and the larval circadian pacemakers (LNv). I found that both Rh5-and Rh6-expressing fibers contact a 5-HT arborization in the larval optic neuropil, where the 5-HT processes also overlaps with the dendrites of the LNv. The results of my experiments also indicate that the Rh6-expressing terminus is the neural process providing the signal required for the outgrowth of the serotonergic arborization. Furthermore, proper branching of this arborization requires normal Rae function. These findings further support the importance of extrinsic and intrinsic signalling for the assembly ofthe nervous system. The remainder of my studies attempted to investigate candidate neurons modulating Drosophila larval photobehaviour. Using the larval response to light as a behavioural paradigm and neuronal silencing experiments, my results demonstrate that 5HT neurons located in the brain regulate the larval photoresponse during development. In addition, my findings suggest that this modulation occurs at a central level and that is mediated by 5-HT1A(Dro) receptors. These observations provide new insights into the functions of serotonergic neurons in Drosophila as well as how neuromodulators shape neuronal circuit function and ultimately behaviour. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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