Syfte – Studien syftade till att undersöka den interna interaktionen i en liten, tillverkande ETO-verksamhets kundorderprocess samt hur boundary object underlättar dess gränsöverskridande interaktion. För att uppfylla studiens syfte kommer följande frågeställningar att besvaras: Vad kännetecknar den gränsöverskridande interaktionen i en liten, tillverkande ETO-verksamhets kundorderprocess? Hur kan boundary object underlätta den gränsöverskridande interaktionen i en liten, tillverkande ETO-verksamhet? Metod – För att uppfylla studiens syfte har en fallstudie genomförts hos Premould AB. Via intervjuer och dokumentstudier har deras kundorderprocess undersökts och interaktionsobjekt i processen identifierats. Insamlad data låg sedan till grund för hur det teoretiska ramverket upprättades. Med hjälp av den empiriska insamlingen och det teoretiska ramverket har en analys genomförts som i sin tur genererat studiens resultat. Resultat – Genom att undersöka kundorderprocessen, i en ETO-verksamhet, har olika kännetecken för den gränsöverskridande interaktionen kunnat urskiljas. Interaktionsobjekt, som belyses som boundary object, har identifierats i processen. Boundary object kan underlätta den interna interaktionen om de används utefter den nivå av komplexitet av kunskapsridning som finns i gränssnitten mellan funktioner. Implikationer – Resultatet att boundary object underlättar den gränsöverskridande interaktionen ger ett praktiskt bidrag till små, tillverkande ETO-verksamheter. Genom valet av boundary object ska det gå att förenkla kunskapsspridning och genom det effektivisera arbetsprocesser. Det ges även ett teoretiskt bidrag till vidare forskning om boundary object i ETO-kontexter. Begränsningar – En av begränsningarna i studien är att det kan vara svårt att generalisera utifrån resultatet eftersom studien var av enfallsdesign. Gränsöverskridande interaktion är dessutom komplext att undersöka med strukturella metoder och det saknades därför möjlighet att djupt undersöka de identifierade interaktionsobjekten. Nyckelord – Engineer to order (ETO), gränsöverskridande interaktion, kunskapsgränser, kunskapsspridning, boundary object. / Purpose – The purpose of the study was to investigate the internal interaction of a small, manufacturing ETO-business's customer order process, as well as how boundary objects facilitate its boundary-crossing interaction. In order to fulfill the purpose of the study the following questions will be answered: What characterizes boundary-crossing interaction in a small, manufacturing ETO-business's customer ordering process? How can boundary objects facilitate boundary-crossing interaction in a small, manufacturing ETO-business? Method – To fulfil the purpose of the study, a case study has been conducted at Premould AB. Through interviews and document studies, their customer order process has been investigated and interaction objects in the process been identified. The collected data then formed a base for the establishment of the theoretical framework. With the empirical collection and the theoretical framework, an analysis has been conducted which, in turn, generated the results of the study. Findings – By examining the customer ordering process, in an ETO-business, different characteristics of boundary-crossing interaction has been identified. Interaction objects, which are used according to the principles of boundary objects, have been identified in the process. Boundary objects can facilitate internal interaction if used at the proper level of complexity of knowledge sharing found in the interfaces. Implications – The result that boundary objects facilitate boundary-crossing interaction provides a practical contribution to small, manufacturing ETO-business. Through the choice of boundary object used, it is possible to simplify knowledge sharing and make more effective work processes. There is also a theoretical contribution to further research on boundary objects in ETO-contexts. Limitations – One of the limitations of the study is that it can be difficult to generalize from the result, due to the use of a single-case design. Moreover, boundary-crossing interaction is complex to investigate with structural methods, and it was therefore difficult to closely investigate the identified objects. Keywords – Engineer to order (ETO), boundary-crossing interaction, knowledge boundaries, boundary object.

Ce mémoire de maîtrise est une étude d’un phénomène émergent, le biohacking. Depuis 2008 et la création du groupe Boslab à Boston, le biohacking se pratique dans différents groupes autour du monde. Les biohackers se réunissent autour d’un vivant que l’on ne découvre plus mais que l’on fabrique. Ils hackent, bricolent le vivant et son code génétique, comme l’on hackerait un programme informatique. À travers une ethnographie qui suit la création du groupe de biohacking de Montréal, mais aussi à travers une ethnographie en passant dans différents groupes d’Europe et d’Amérique du Nord, je propose de comprendre le phénomène du biohacking à travers une étude médiatique du vivant. Ainsi, je propose de penser le vivant comme un medium, entendu comme un intermédiaire, un moyen, mais surtout un milieu. Un milieu qui permet de placer la notion de relation au centre de la réflexion, plutôt que sur l’objet en lui même. Un milieu dans lequel des groupes se développent, vivent et cohabitent à l’intérieur d’une communauté plus grande. Des groupes qui échangent des matériaux, des connaissances et des pratiques, entres eux, mais aussi avec les grandes institutions. Cette recherche propose de repenser notre rapport au vivant pour comprendre un phénomène à la base d’une révolution scientifique et sociale. / This thesis is a study of an emerging phenomenon, biohacking. Since 2008, and the creation of the Boslab in Boston, biohacking is practiced in different groups around the world. Biohackers meet around the idea that the living is no longer discovered but made. They hack, tinker the living and its genetic code, like one would hack a computer program. Through an ethnography that follows the creation of the biohacking group of Montreal, but also through an ethnography in different groups in Europe and North America, I propose to understand the phenomenon of biohacking through a media study of the living. I propose to think of the living as a medium, understood as an intermediary, a support, but above all an environment. A medium which places the notion of relation at the center of the reflection. An environment in which groups develop, live and cohabit in a larger community. These groups exchange materials, knowledge and practices, among themselves, but also with major institutions. This research proposes to rethink our relationship with the living to understand a phenomenon which could very well be the basis of a scientific and social revolution, biohacking.

It has been argued that for the management of complex issues such as sustainability, which transcend traditional policy sectors and require coordination between several different interests and actors, policymaking depends upon collaboration and integration processes between different sectors and tiers of government. The overall aim of this thesis is therefore to study how and why (or why not) policy integration processes are being developed in regional policymaking and what this means for the achievement of sustainable transport. The thesis consists of two separate qualitative case studies of policymaking in two Swedish regions, one representing a least likely case and the other a most likely case of policy integration. The focus has been on the organizational actors involved in policymaking processes for the regional transport system. For the general discussion the theoretical framework of policy integration, complemented by the analytical concepts of policy logics, organizational identities and boundary object are used. The findings are presented in four articles. An overall conclusion is that policy integration processes do not necessarily result in policy for sustainable transport. If policy integration becomes a goal in itself and the same as joint policy, it risks neglecting sustainable values and becoming the smallest common denominator that a number of actors can agree on. For developing sustainable transport solutions, collaboration for the coordination of policy may be beneficial, but the aim of such processes should not be joint policy. / För att beslut och riktlinjer ska kunna utformas så att de leder till lösningar av komplexa frågor, såsom hållbar utveckling, anses de behöva hanteras i samverkan mellan flertalet berörda sektorer och beslutsfattande nivåer. Det är dessa samverkansprocesser, beskrivna som integration under policy processer, som den här avhandlingen analyserar. Syftet är att studera om och hur integrerade regionala policyprocesser förekommer, hur de utvecklas samt deras betydelse för att åstadkomma ett hållbarare transportsystem. Detta undersöks genom kvalitativa fallstudier av två olika svenska regioner som representerar ett minst och ett mest troligt fall av integration av policy. Fallstudierna görs i regionerna Stockholms län och Västra Götalands län. Dessa två fall representerar dessutom två helt olika typer av regionala organisationer, vilket gör att de utgör underlag till, inte bara en diskussion om hållbara transporter, utan också om utvecklingen av den svenska regionala förvaltningsnivån. För analys används teori kring integration av policy och tre huvudsakliga analytiska begreppsansatser: policylogiker, organisationsidentiteter och gränsobjekt. Resultaten presenteras i fyra separata artiklar och dessa diskuteras tillsammans i den inledande kappan. I studien konstateras att integration av policysektorer och förvaltningsnivåer inte nödvändigtvis leder till transportlösningar som är mer hållbara. Beslut om en gemensam policy över sektorer och nivåer riskerar bli urvattnad eftersom det är många aktörer som ska komma överens. Samverkan för att samordna olika mål och intressen visar sig i huvudsak vara viktigt för att styra mot ett hållbart transportsystem, men det innebär inte att gemensam policy bör vara målet. Därutöver belyser studien hur olika organisationsformer på regional nivå påverkar regionala beslutsprocesser och hanteringen av hållbar transportutveckling.

Knowledge management is seen as a hot topic in order for organizations to become effective and utilize the knowledge residing within the organization. The most important factor in knowledge management is believed to be the knowledge transfer, which is the process of transferring knowledge between two parties. A context in which knowledge and knowledge transfer are especially important is within the best practice framework ‘ITIL’ and IT-service organizations. Therefore, the purpose with this study is to analyze how knowledge is transferred through information systems in an ITIL organization, and how the transfer process can be further understood by incorporating individual perspectives on knowledge. Besides that, our purpose is to identify factors influencing the knowledge transfer from both the organizations and the ITIL framework. The reason for this is that knowledge transfer through information systems in an ITIL context is rather underexplored, previous research regarding this is mainly focusing on putting knowledge in repositories and make it available, which is believed to create certain implications regarding the individual perspective in the creation and transfer of knowledge through information systems. These implications are something that has not been explored, which is a knowledge gap we intend to fill with this thesis. That is why we have constructed three research questions regarding how the organizations understand what valuable knowledge is, what factors that is influencing their knowledge transfer, and how these previously individual aspects can be further understood by applying the boundary object theory on knowledge transfer through information systems. From a multi case study with semi structured interviews we could collect a valuable collection of empirical data, that was collected from six respondents representing three organizations. By applying the interpretive and social constructivist research philosophy with an abductive methodological approach, previous research and the boundary object theory in combination with the theory of knowledge creation we could analyze our empirical data. Our study shows that the perspective on valuable knowledge is something with direct relation to ITIL, and highly connected to what its contribution is to the core business that the IT-service organization is helping. Valuable knowledge is also seen as stored knowledge. We can from our study also see that there are four predominant forces influencing the knowledge transfer process. We identified that the overall perspective on what knowledge is in the organization, how and what the organization values as knowledge, the ITIL framework and their knowledge management strategy directly influenced knowledge transfer. Our main finding in this study is that when organizations are transferring knowledge through information systems the individual perspective on both knowledge, knowledge creation and the knowledge transfer is one of the most important to keep in mind. The knowledge in the information systems is a way to communicate among individuals, and a way to translate one individual’s knowledge to another, hence is the individual creating the knowledge an important factor to acknowledge. We can see that aspects such as experiences, skills, insights, purposes, perspectives and contextual understandings highly influence the knowledge being created, hence the possibility to create rich knowledge at the receiver of knowledge. These aspects also influence whether the stored knowledge has any tacit elements, which seems to facilitate learning more for the receiving individual.

This thesis examines the Swedish political response to the challenges posed by gene technology, seen through the prism of governmental commissions. It discerns and analyses continuities and changes in the Swedish political conception of gene technology, over the course of two decades, 1980–2000. This is done by thematically following ideas of “risks” and “ethics” as they are represented in the inner workings and reception of three governmental commissions. The Gene-Ethics Commission (1981–1984), the Gene Technology Commission (1990–1992) and the Biotechnology Commission (1997–2000) form the empirical focal points of this analysis. The first two provided preparatory policy proposals that preceded the implementation of the Swedish gene technology laws of 1991 and 1994. The last one aimed at presenting a comprehensive Swedish biotechnology policy for the new millennium. The study takes into account the role of governmental commissions as arenas where science and politics intersect in Swedish political life, and illuminates how this type of “boundary organisation”, placed on the border of science and politics, impinges on the understanding of the gene technology issue. The commissions have looked into the limits, dangers, possibilities and future applications of gene technology. They have been appointed to deal with the problematic task of distinguishing between what is routine and untested practices, realistic prediction and “science fiction”, what are unique problems and what are problems substantially similar to older ones, what constitutes a responsible approach as opposed to misconduct and what it means to let things “get out of hand” in contrast to being “in control”. Throughout a period of twenty years, media reports have continued to frame the challenges posed by gene technology as a task of balancing risks and benefits, walking the fine line between “frankenfoods” and “miracle drugs”. One salient problem for the commissions to solve was that science and industry seemed to promote a technology the public opposed and resisted, at least in parts. For both politics and science to gain, or regain, public trust it needed to demonstrate that risks – be it environmental, ethical or health related ones – were under control. Under the surface, it was much more complicated than “science helping politics” to make informed and rational decisions on how to formulate a regulatory policy. Could experts be trusted to participate in policy-making in a neutral way and was it not important, in accordance with democratic norms, to involve the public?

As an object at the boundary between virtual and physical reality, the screen exists both as a displayer and as a thing displayed, thus functioning as a mediator. The screen's virtual imagery produces a sense of immersion in its viewer, yet at the same time the materiality of the screen produces a sense of rejection from the viewer's complete involvement in the virtual world. The experience of the screen is thus an oscillation between these two states of immersion and rejection. Nowadays, as interactivity becomes a central component of the relationship between viewers and many artworks, the viewer experience of the screen is changing. Unlike the screen experience in non-interactive artworks, such as the traditional static screen of painting or the moving screen of video art in the 1970s, interactive media screen experiences can provide viewers with a more immersive, immediate, and therefore, more intense experience. For example, many digital media artworks provide an interactive experience for viewers by capturing their face or body though real-time computer vision techniques. In this situation, as the camera and the monitor in the artwork encapsulate the interactor's body in an instant feedback loop, the interactor becomes a part of the interface mechanism and responds to the artwork as the system leads or even provokes them. This thesis claims that this kind of direct mirroring in interactive screen-based media artworks does not allow the viewer the critical distance or time needed for self-reflection. The thesis examines the previous aesthetics of spatial and temporal perception, such as presentness and instantaneousness, and the notions of passage and of psychological perception such as reflection, reflexiveness and auratic experience, looking at how these aesthetics can be integrated into new media screen experiences. Based on this theoretical research, the thesis claims that interactive screen spaces can act as a site for expression and representation, both through a doubling effect between the physical and virtual worlds, and through manifold spatial and temporal mappings with the screen experience. These claims are further supported through exploration of screen-based media installations created by the author since 2003.

Never before have humans wielded a greater ability to alter and disrupt planetary processes. Our impact is becoming so noticeable that a new geological epoch has been proposed – the Anthropocene – in which Earth systems might no longer maintain the stable and predictable conditions of the past 12 millennia. This is particularly evident in the rapid expansion of urban areas, where a majority of humans now live and where environmental changes such as rising temperatures and habitat loss are happening faster than elsewhere.  In light of this, questions have been raised about what a more responsible relationship between humans and the rest of the planet might look like. Scholars in sustainability science employ the concept of ‘stewardship’ in searching for an answer; however, with multiple different applications and definitions, there is a need to better understand what stewardship is or what novelty it might add to sustainability research. This thesis investigates stewardship empirically through two case studies of civic engagement for protecting nature in cities – Bengaluru, India and New York City, USA. Further, the thesis also proposes a conceptual framework for how to understand stewardship as a relation between humans and the rest of nature, based on three dimensions: care, knowledge and agency. This investigation into stewardship in the urban context uses a social–ecological systems approach to guide the use of mixed theory and methods from social and natural sciences. The thesis is organized in five papers. Paper I reviews defining challenges in managing urban social–ecological systems and proposes that these can more effectively be addressed by collaborative networks where public, civic, other actors contribute unique skills and abilities. Paper II and Paper III study water resource governance in Bengaluru, a city that has become dependent on external sources while its own water bodies become degraded and depleted.Paper II analyzes how locally based ‘lake groups’ are able to affect change through co-management arrangements, reversing decades of centralization and neglect of lakes’ role in Bengaluru’s water supply.Paper III uses social–ecological network analysis to analyze how patterns in lake groups’ engagements and collaborations show better fit with ecological connectivity of lakes.Paper IV employs sense of place methods to explore how personal bonds to a site shapes motivation and goals in waterfront stewardship in New York City. Finally,Paper V reviews literature on stewardship and proposes a conceptual framework to understand and relate different uses and underlying epistemological approaches in the field. In summary, this thesis presents an empirically grounded contribution to how stewardship can be understood as a human–nature relation emergent from a deep sense ofcare and responsibility, knowledge and learning about how to understand social–ecological dynamics, and theagency and skills needed to influence these dynamics in a way that benefits a greater community of humans as others. Here, the care dimension is particularly important as an underappreciated aspect of social–ecological relations, and asset for addressing spatial and temporal misalignment between management institutions and ecosystem. This thesis shows that care for nature does not erode just because green spaces are degraded by human activities – which may be crucial for promoting stewardship in the Anthropocene. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript. Paper 5: Manuscript.</p>