Bakgrund och problematisering: Tjänsteföretag på konkurrensutsatta marknader motiveras att anpassa sina produkter utifrån kundernas efterfrågan där utvärdering och förbättring av en tjänsts kvalitet är ett tillvägagångsätt. Fallföretaget Vindsurfing.se studeras med en problembakgrund baserad på hur företag kan utvärdera kvalitet i sina tjänster och vilka positiva och negativa faktorer i produktionen av tjänsterna som går att identifiera utifrån kundernas uppfattningar. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka den av konsumenterna upplevda kvaliteten på de nybörjarkurser som företaget Vindsurfing.se erbjuder. Detta för att identifiera olika faktorer med påverkan på kvaliteten som kan ligga till grund för utredning av hur verksamheten kan utvecklas i framtiden. Teori och modell: Litteraturgenomgång med utgångspunkt i begreppet service quality, dess definition, tillämpningar och mätinstrument. Nyckelmodeller är bl.a. Grönroos (1984) ”Service-Quality Model” och Parasuraman et al., (1985) ”Service-Gap-model”. Genomgången leder till en egen modell föreställande studiens teoretiska ramverk anpassad för fallföretaget. Metod: Elektronisk enkätundersökning av fallföretagets befintliga kunder. Enkätundersökningen är kopplad till ett antal hypoteser formulerade med stöd av litteraturgenomgången. Frågor ställdes om kursupplevelsen och i vilken grad förväntningar motsvarats eller ej. Enkätsvaren ligger senare till grund för en analytisk hypotesprövning som därefter diskuteras genom att ställa resultaten i förhållande till teorin. Resultat och slutsatser: Resultaten presenterar upptäckter om hur olika faktorer med påverkan på tjänsternas kvalitet visat sig bidra på olika sätt till det totala omdömet av kvaliteten. Analys av externa faktorer och demografiska uppgifter från enkätrespondenter leder till slutsatser av dess påverkan. Slutsatserna från undersökningen bidrar till en möjlighet till utvärdering av framtida verksamhets-utformning för fallföretaget och en generaliserande slutdiskussion diskuterar det vetenskapliga bidraget av

The 21st century is a century that the information is popularized in full and the Internet resources are abundant, e-learning has gradually become a global phenomenon no only in formal education institutions but also in educational training organizations. Due to the rapid development of broadband Internet, online courses can now offer asynchronous learning activities as well as synchronous learning activities. Some literature have pointed out that online synchronous teaching is the key to engage online learners. How to evaluate the quality of online synchronous teaching becomes an important research topic. However, there is still very little research discussing this issue. Therefore, this study aims to develop a quality scale for evaluating online synchronous teaching from information system perspective. To achieve the research goal, we first identify some general quality indicators from literature survey; we then conduct a focus group interview to select those essential indicators. A questionnaire of the quality scale is then developed based on those essential indicators. A survey with 308 subjects has been conducted and data were collected to analyze the validity of the quality scale. The results showed that the discrimination, reliability and validity are all conformed to the standardization of scale development procedure. The result also showed that the developed quality scale has a good reliability and validity. The developed quality scale would be a good reference for administrators of educational organizations, teachers, and researchers. This quality scale will contribute to the planning and operation of the service of online synchronous teaching for administrators, and for teachers to better instructional designs for their online synchronous teaching. Researchers interested in synchronous teaching and learning can tackle the further research issues.

Compared to private car ownership, carsharing has emerged as one of the innovative ways of promoting sustainable and more environmentally friendly transportation. As a service thathas existed for decades, carsharing has evolved significantly, with the introduction of several business and service models to create value for users. Despite the popularity of carsharing, private car ownership continues to grow, even though these cars end up being parked most of the time, contributing to congestion in urban areas. Using an exploratory research approach with the aid of speculative design, this thesis investigated the key qualities of a potential digital carsharing service for private vehicle owners, who could share their vehicles with fleet operators during times when the vehicles are idle. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews of ten private vehicle owners wereconducted to investigate the qualities of the potential digital carsharing service. The potential key qualities were grouped under technical and functional qualities according to Grönroos’ Nordic service quality model. The results indicate the importance of designing services that leverage technical qualities such as reward, accessibility, appearance and safety, and security, and functional qualities such as assurance, flexibility, responsiveness, and personalized.

O presente trabalho foi desenvolvido a campo, conduzido no período de novembro de 2011 a julho de 2012, em canavial comercial da região de Pirassununga - SP, cultivado com a variedade de cana-de-açúcar RB-867515, em uma soqueira de terceiro ano manejada sem queima, com colheita mecanizada. O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar o efeito da aplicação de inoculante composto por bactérias diazotróficas, associado a doses de N-fertilizante (Ajifer) sobre os aspectos quantitativos e qualitativos da produção de cana-de-açúcar, e os teores de macronutrientes e micronutrientes foliares. As doses de nitrogênio utilizadas foram de 0, 60, 90 e 120 kg de N ha-1. Utilizou-se o delineamento experimental em blocos casualizado com os tratamentos dispostos em esquema fatorial 3X4 (três níveis para tipo de aplicação de inoculante, e quatro níveis para o N-fertilizante), com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos foram: T1- Controle, T2- Inoculante com pulverização foliar com jato dirigido sobre a linha de cana-de-açúcar (aplicação foliar), T3- Inoculante com pulverização na linha de cana após o corte com disco de aplicação de inseticida (aplicação injetada), T4- 60 Kg de N/ha, T5- Inoculante com aplicação foliar + 60 Kg de N/ha, T6- Inoculante com aplicação injetada + 60 Kg de N/ha, T7- 90 Kg de N/ha, T8- Inoculante com aplicação foliar + 90 Kg de N/ha, T9- Inoculante aplicação injetada + 90 Kg de N/ha, T10- 120 Kg de N/ha, T11- Inoculante com aplicação foliar + 120 Kg de N/ha e T12- Inoculante com aplicação injetada + 120 Kg de N/ha. Os dados foram analisados utilizando pacote estatístico SAS 9.3, aplicando teste Tukey e regressão múltipla. A aplicação de inoculante em soqueira implicou em aumento do teor foliar de N com incremento em produção de colmos e stand, a fonte nitrogenada Ajifer conduziu a respostas lineares crescentes para a produção de colmos e stand, não refletindo significativamente nos teores de fibra, pol e ATR da matéria prima, e o uso de níveis crescentes de fornecimento de N implicou em redução nos teores foliares de Fe, Mn e Zn. / This work was developed in the field from November 2011 to July 2012 in a commercial sugarcane field in the region of Pirassununga - SP, which was cultivated with the sugarcane variety RB-867515 in a third year ratoon handled with no burning and mechanical harvesting. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of inoculant application composed of diazotrophic bacteria associated with N-fertilizer (Ajifer) on quantitative and qualitative aspects of sugarcane production, and the foliar macronutrient and micronutrient content. Nitrogen rates were 0, 60, 90 and 120 kg N ha-1. We used a randomized experimental design with treatments arranged in a factorial 3x4 (three levels for inoculant application type and four levels for N-fertilizer), with four replications. The treatments were: T1-Control, T2-Inoculant with foliar spray over the sugarcane line (foliar application), T3- Inoculant with spraying on sugarcane line after cutting with insecticide application disc (injected application), T4-60 kg N/ha, T5-Inoculant with foliar application + 60 kg N/ha, T6-Inoculant with injected application + 60 kg N/ha, T7- 90 kg N/ha, T8- Inoculant with foliar application + 90 kg N/ha, T9- Inoculant with injected application + 90 kg N/ha, T10-120 kg N/ha, T11 - Inoculant with foliar application + 120 kg N/ha and T12- Inoculant with injected application + 120 kg N/ha. Data were analyzed using SAS 9.3 statistical package, Tukey\'s test and multiple regression. The inoculant application on ratoon resulted in increased foliar N concentration with an increase in stems and stand yield. The nitrogen source Ajifer led to growing linear responses for stems and stand yield, not significantly reflecting in fiber content, pol and ATR of raw material. Finally, the use of increasing N supply levels resulted in a reduction in foliar Fe, Mn and Zn content.

BACKGROUND Quality improvement literature usually conceptualises two principal dimensions of quality, technical and service. Technical quality is what the customers receive relative to what is known to be effective and largely reflects issues related to the health care providers. Service quality is how the customers receive the services and reflects the way and the environment in which health services are provided. This thesis proposes and tests a third principal dimension, Customer Quality, which is the characteristics that customers need for effective involvement in health care processes, decision making and action to improve the quality of care delivered and received. This model is applied in the context of care for people with Type 2 diabetes as an example of the high priority common chronic diseases and one of the most important public health problems in Australia and worldwide. The study also examines the feasibility of using patient reports of received care as a way of measuring service and technical quality on a population basis. OBJECTIVE The present study aims to assess the quality of delivered care as perceived by people with Type 2 diabetes. Specifically it aims to measure service quality, technical quality, customer quality; and finally an overall quality index by combining all three dimensions. METHODS A community based cross-sectional survey of 603 people with Type 2 diabetes was carried out in Queensland, Australia in 2005/06 using a self-administered questionnaire. The eligible participants were Diabetes Australia-Queensland members over 25 years old with diagnosed Type 2 diabetes at least one year prior to the study. Adherence to the eleven clinical, lifestyle and management indicators, derived from standard Diabetes Australia Guidelines, were measured from the patients’ reports as a representative of technical quality to explore the likely gap between received services and what should have been received in the 12-month period. Focus Group Discussions were used to determine the elements of service quality that were important from the patients’ perspective. Twelve service quality indicators, derived from the review of the literature and the focus groups, were assessed to calculate service quality as perceived by people with Type 2 diabetes. The validated, reliable and practical 13- item Patient Activation Measure was used to evaluate customer quality in terms of customers’ knowledge, skills and confidence. Demographic and disease related information was obtained using a self-reported questionnaire. Two types of outcome variables were used in this study: participantreported binary variables (having complications, continuity of care and diabetes control status) and calculated continuous variables (technical quality rating, service quality and customer quality scores and, finally, the overall quality index). RESULTS The response rate from the 1500 mailed out questionnaires was 40%. Nonrespondents were a little younger (P<0.001) than study participants and matched on gender (P> 0.05). Participants were mostly over 65 years old, over 50% were male, almost half of them were obese and a quarter were studying or had completed tertiary level of education. Almost two-thirds reported well controlled diabetes and 60% had diabetes for more than five years. Most of them were not treated by specialists and maintained continuity of care for their diabetes management. The majority of participants were treated with insulin or oral agents (72%) and 37% reported diabetes complications. Overall adherence rate for top 5 clinical and top 3 management and lifestyle indicators were 49.7% and 18.8% respectively. Over 90% of participants reported an appropriate level of checks of HbA1c, blood pressure and serum cholesterol. For lifestyle and management indicators, reported adherence rates to guidelines were lower than for clinical indicators. Participants who reported care as recommended for blood pressure measurements; feet examinations; self-management, diabetes knowledge and nutritional consultation reviews were more likely to report their diabetes as being well controlled. Participants maintaining continuity of care also reported fewer complications and well controlled diabetes. Of the twelve service quality indicators, the highest service quality score were for support group, basic amenities, dignity and confidentiality. Inadequate quality was identified for overall service quality (86.2), choice of care provider, continuity, timeliness, safety, prevention and accessibility. Younger participants reported lower service quality scores (P=0.001) and participants with good control of their diabetes had higher scores (P<0.001). Overall reported Customer Quality score was 64.5. Ten percent of participants did not achieve the Customer Quality score for the confidence stage and 26% did not reach the actual action stage. Nearly three quarters of respondent reported the capacity to take action for self-management but only 38% reported the highest Customer Quality score equating to perceived ability to change the action by changing health and environment. Participants with a higher level of education and those who maintain continuity of care reported a higher Customer Quality score. Participants with a higher Customer Quality score were also more likely to report well controlled diabetes status. An overall imperfect Quality Index score (70) reflects significant room for overall quality improvement of diabetes care services. The younger participants reported lower Quality Index scores than older ones. Higher Quality Index scores were highly significantly associated with reporting better diabetes control status and continuity of care. There were no significant differences in the Quality Index scores in terms of gender, participants’ education level and diabetes complications. CONCLUSION Customer quality appears to be a useful third dimension in conceptualising quality in health care, particularly in the context of chronic disease where good selfmanagement can improve the outcomes of care. A substantial proportion of Queensland adults with Type 2 diabetes reported receiving suboptimal care. From the perspective of people with Type 2 diabetes there is a notable gap between their expectations and what they have actually received in most aspects of provided care. The overall service quality and choice of care provider, accessibility, prevention, continuity, timeliness and safety were identified to be of inadequate quality. Participants also reported relatively low customer quality scores based on the personal knowledge, skills and confidence as well as low overall quality score for delivered diabetes care. Thus, there was a significant opportunity to improve the quality of diabetes care on all three dimensions. The study demonstrated that a patient selfadministered survey is a potentially useful way of measuring all three dimensions of quality of care for diabetes.

xi, 59 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Presenting science fair projects gave students an opportunity to complete a performance assessment that comprised a meaningful task focused on process and subject to standards-based assessment. Students presented science inquiry and engineering design projects to judges at a regional science fair. The judges used the domains of the Potter Rubrics to assess the students' work and assigned a Quality score to each project. Using multiple regression, this study found that the mean scores on the Methods and Analysis domains predicted the mean Quality scores. Analyzing the technical quality of the Potter Rubrics addressed some of the measurement and generalizability concerns about performance assessments. Recommendations for future research and implications for practice were examined. / Committee in charge: Gerald Tindal, Chairperson, Educational Leadership; Paul Yovanoff, Member, Educational Leadership; Leanne Ketterlin Geller, Member, Educational Leadership; David Johnson, Outside Member, Chemistry

O presente trabalho foi desenvolvido a campo, conduzido no período de novembro de 2011 a julho de 2012, em canavial comercial da região de Pirassununga - SP, cultivado com a variedade de cana-de-açúcar RB-867515, em uma soqueira de terceiro ano manejada sem queima, com colheita mecanizada. O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar o efeito da aplicação de inoculante composto por bactérias diazotróficas, associado a doses de N-fertilizante (Ajifer) sobre os aspectos quantitativos e qualitativos da produção de cana-de-açúcar, e os teores de macronutrientes e micronutrientes foliares. As doses de nitrogênio utilizadas foram de 0, 60, 90 e 120 kg de N ha-1. Utilizou-se o delineamento experimental em blocos casualizado com os tratamentos dispostos em esquema fatorial 3X4 (três níveis para tipo de aplicação de inoculante, e quatro níveis para o N-fertilizante), com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos foram: T1- Controle, T2- Inoculante com pulverização foliar com jato dirigido sobre a linha de cana-de-açúcar (aplicação foliar), T3- Inoculante com pulverização na linha de cana após o corte com disco de aplicação de inseticida (aplicação injetada), T4- 60 Kg de N/ha, T5- Inoculante com aplicação foliar + 60 Kg de N/ha, T6- Inoculante com aplicação injetada + 60 Kg de N/ha, T7- 90 Kg de N/ha, T8- Inoculante com aplicação foliar + 90 Kg de N/ha, T9- Inoculante aplicação injetada + 90 Kg de N/ha, T10- 120 Kg de N/ha, T11- Inoculante com aplicação foliar + 120 Kg de N/ha e T12- Inoculante com aplicação injetada + 120 Kg de N/ha. Os dados foram analisados utilizando pacote estatístico SAS 9.3, aplicando teste Tukey e regressão múltipla. A aplicação de inoculante em soqueira implicou em aumento do teor foliar de N com incremento em produção de colmos e stand, a fonte nitrogenada Ajifer conduziu a respostas lineares crescentes para a produção de colmos e stand, não refletindo significativamente nos teores de fibra, pol e ATR da matéria prima, e o uso de níveis crescentes de fornecimento de N implicou em redução nos teores foliares de Fe, Mn e Zn. / This work was developed in the field from November 2011 to July 2012 in a commercial sugarcane field in the region of Pirassununga - SP, which was cultivated with the sugarcane variety RB-867515 in a third year ratoon handled with no burning and mechanical harvesting. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of inoculant application composed of diazotrophic bacteria associated with N-fertilizer (Ajifer) on quantitative and qualitative aspects of sugarcane production, and the foliar macronutrient and micronutrient content. Nitrogen rates were 0, 60, 90 and 120 kg N ha-1. We used a randomized experimental design with treatments arranged in a factorial 3x4 (three levels for inoculant application type and four levels for N-fertilizer), with four replications. The treatments were: T1-Control, T2-Inoculant with foliar spray over the sugarcane line (foliar application), T3- Inoculant with spraying on sugarcane line after cutting with insecticide application disc (injected application), T4-60 kg N/ha, T5-Inoculant with foliar application + 60 kg N/ha, T6-Inoculant with injected application + 60 kg N/ha, T7- 90 kg N/ha, T8- Inoculant with foliar application + 90 kg N/ha, T9- Inoculant with injected application + 90 kg N/ha, T10-120 kg N/ha, T11 - Inoculant with foliar application + 120 kg N/ha and T12- Inoculant with injected application + 120 kg N/ha. Data were analyzed using SAS 9.3 statistical package, Tukey\'s test and multiple regression. The inoculant application on ratoon resulted in increased foliar N concentration with an increase in stems and stand yield. The nitrogen source Ajifer led to growing linear responses for stems and stand yield, not significantly reflecting in fiber content, pol and ATR of raw material. Finally, the use of increasing N supply levels resulted in a reduction in foliar Fe, Mn and Zn content.

L’écran est une interface omniprésente utilisée quotidiennement. Sur-sollicité par les écrans, l’individu ne peut pas percevoir l’intégralité des informations. La compréhension de l’attention portée aux contenus médiatisés est un enjeu crucial dans la stratégie marketing. Un paramètre n’a pas été pris en compte dans les précédentes études: la qualité technique de l’image médiatisée. Elle peut être définie comme l’ensemble des paramètres suivants : la définition, la fréquence image, la luminosité et la couleur. Pour mesurer la perception de l’amélioration de ces paramètres, une phase exploratoire a été menée comprenant un test de qualité perçue, un focus group et des entretiens. Une phase empirique confirmatoire a suivi pour étudier l’attention visuelle et la mémorisation de l’information médiatisée grâce à deux expérimentations. Une série d’entretien et un focus group ont permis d’étudier l’hyperréalité dans l’image médiatisée et son impact sur l’immersion et la qualité d’expérience. / The screen is a ubiquitous interface daily used. Overextended by screens, the individual cannot perceive all the information. Understanding the visual attention to media content is a crucial issue in the marketing strategy. A parameter of the mediated image has not been taken into account in the studies conducted so far: the technical quality of the image. It can be defined as the set of parameters that objectively compose an image: the definition, the image frequency, the brightness dynamics and the color. To measure the perception of the improvement of these parameters, an exploratory phase was conducted including a perceived quality test, a focus group and interviews. A confirmatory empirical phase followed to study the visual attention and memorization of mediated information through two experiments. A series of interviews and a focus group explored hyperreality in the mediated image and its impact on immersion and quality of experience.

This bachelor's degree thesis aims to increase the understanding of how chatbots affect the digital customer experience within Swedish banks. Furthermore, this study examines how bank chatbot's technical quality affects the digital customer experience. In this thesis, the authors have chosen to use a deductive approach and a quantitative research strategy. Moreover, the authors used the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program to process the collected quantitative data from the questionnaires. The thesis empirical findings were analyzed and discussed in correlation to previous research to strengthen the research results. The thesis empirical findings demonstrate that 42.9% of the respondents agreed with the statement; My bank's chatbot technology quality improved my customer satisfaction. Moreover, the correlation analysis showed that customer satisfaction and customer satisfaction linked to technical quality had a strong positive correlation between the concepts. Swedish banks could use the information to develop further their chatbots' technical quality, which would reduce customer service costs and influence how customers visit the bank. The thesis research results can also be applied and used by other industries that want to improve or implement chatbots in their digital business.

Nous étudions le rôle du progiciel de gestion intégré (l’ERP), comme outil de gestion des firmes multinationales, dans le suivi de la performance de la filiale par le siège. Nous avons opté pour un raisonnement hypothético-déductif exploitant les constats théoriques pour sortir des hypothèses que nous avons testées auprès de filiales installées au Maroc et dotées de solutions ERP. Nous avons observé les apports des ERP pour le suivi des types de performances des filiales dans le cadre d’une posture positiviste. Afin de mieux contextualiser et opérationnaliser les concepts de notre étude, nous nous sommes basés sur la complémentarité des approches qualitative/quantitative. Les résultats qualitatifs, générés de six entretiens semi-directifs auprès de responsables des filiales, nous ont permis de confirmer les items composant le questionnaire d’enquête, que nous avons soumis à 104 filiales, dans le cadre d’une étude quantitative. Bien que les filiales peuvent bénéficier d’une autonomie de gestion, les sièges appliquent leur pouvoir et imposent leur vision stratégique en intervenant dans l’exploitation de l’ERP. L’ERP agit sur la gestion de la relation siège-filiale en unifiant les données, en fluidifiant la coordination et la collaboration, en facilitant le contrôle du budget et le suivi des objectifs. Gain de temps, facilité d’utilisation, traçabilité, disponibilité et échange facile de données sont des qualités de l’ERP mises en avant. La qualité technique de l’ERP n’est pas totalement exploitée, vu l’adaptation difficile aux fonctionnalités de l’outil. Pour autant, afin de suivre la performance de leurs filiales, les sièges utilisent de manière assez importante les indicateurs financiers provenant de leur ERP pour le reporting concernant les fonctions vente, gestion des stocks et achat. En revanche, le suivi de la performance non financière est assez peu présent. / This study seeks to shed the light on the role of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) as a management tool adopted by multinational corporations in their monitoring of the headquarters/ subsidiary performance. We have opted for a deductive approach, focusing on multinational corporations whose subsidiaries are based in Morocco and which are endowed with the ERP tool. To meet this end, we have carried out both a qualitative and a quantitative study. Qualitatively, the six semi directive interviews conducted with the subsidiaries management fit in harmoniously with the items that figure in our questionnaire, submitted to 104 subsidiaries in the framework of a quantitative study. We have found out that even if subsidiaries benefit from autonomy as far as management is concerned, the headquarters still impose the strategic vision and intervene at how ERP must be implemented. Indeed, ERP acts positively on the headquarters/subsidiary relationship by rendering data even, making coordination fluid and facilitating budget control and goals follow- up. Other merits that the ERP tool offers include: time saving, ease of use, tracking, availability and easy data exchange. Nevertheless, ERP has not been fully utilized due to the difficulty of matching its features. Basically, head offices make use of ERP in evaluating financial performance, namely reporting sales and inventory management. Otherwise, it remains less operational.