Problem: Despite much attention from researchers and practitioners, the reason(s) for why M&A’s tend to fail remain a topic of investigation. Within this investigation there is reason to believe this problem is connected to not prioritizing communicating with multiple stakeholders a during post-M&A integration. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the specific context of communicating with multiple stakeholders during post-M&A integration. Method: A qualitative, abductive and exploratory study with semi-structured interviews providing primary data from stakeholders (respondents) with different experiences of communicating during in post-M&A integration. Results: The results of this study contribute with new insights within the scope of communicating with multiple stakeholders during post-M&A integration. These insights are analyzed and collected in a revised conceptual framework along with reflecting on theory and discussing practical implications. Recommendations for future studies are offered along with discussing the limitations of this study. / Problem: Trots mycket uppmärksamhet från forskare och praktiker så undersökts det fortfarande varför M&A brukar misslyckas. Inom denna undersökning finns det anledning att tro att problemet är kopplat till att inte priortiera kommunikation med flera intressenter under post-M&A integration. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka den specifika kontexten att kommunicera med flera intressenter under post-M&A integration. Metod: En kvalitativ, abduktiv och exploratoriv studie med semi-strukturerade intervjuer som bidrar med primärdata från intressenter (respondenter) med olika erfarenheter av kommunikation under post-M&A integration. Resultat: Studiens resultat bidrar med nya insikter inom ramen för att kommunicera med flera intressenter under post-M&A integration. Dessa insikter har analyserats och samlats i ett reviderat konceptuelt ramverk tillsammas med en reflektion över teory samt en disksussion av studiens praktiska implikationer. Rekomendationer fram framtida studier presenteras samt så diskuteras studiens begränsningar.

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Arbetet har genomförts med målet att skapa ett mervärde för Sony Ericssons produkter, utan att fokusera på telefoner. Vi har undersökt hur man kan öka användarens band till en teknologisk produkt som man alltid bär med sig. Vi har, genom att anordna en workshop, studerat användare och deras attityd gällande personalisering av mobiltelefoner. Vidare har vi besökt Milano och Berlin, och studerat hur mobiltelefoner kommuniceras hos återförsäljare och hur de används, för att få ett globalt perspektiv. Studierna har resulterat i att vi funnit en brist i hur personliga teknologier svarar mot människors känslor. Vi har baserat på detta skapat ett koncept vi kallar Selectíf som innebär en serie riktlinjer, eller kriterier för att skapa tillbehör till mobiltelefoner. Dessa tillbehör skall ta större hänsyn till emotionella aspekter och fokusera mindre på att vara funktions orienterade. Selectíf-produkter sätter känslorna i främsta rummet och skapar därmed ett mervärde baserat på emotionella band. / We have in this thesis studied the area of emotive design as a way to create a stronger user experience. Functionality and features are still important to break new grounds and develop artifacts that can make our life easier, but the value of the product must beconsidered in a new way and communicated on new level, an emotional level.We have within the thesis, in collaboration with Sony Ericsson,investigated how emotions can be evoked by personal technologies.The human computer interaction is today so advanced that we might not always reflect over the impact the technology has on us. Our personal technology is getting more sophisticated which could allow stronger emotional bonds between the user and a device. What we have created is a concept for designing what we call emotional triggers.To find out what triggers users’ emotions towards technologyin order to create an added value, we have studied the relationshipbetween users and their mobile phones. These studies included a workshop where we aimed to find out how users perceive their mobile phone and also how willing they are to personalize it.Furthermore we conducted trend research in Berlin and Milan to see international differences in mobile usage and also tocompare it to other industries such as the fashion industry.The result is a concept we call Selectíf. The concept is a set of design criteria for designing add-ons that are made to illustratemore emotional values of a technical device. The concept is based on the notion of a series of add-ons and we have also createda first prototype, called Selectíf no1 based on the criteria.The prototype focuses less on technology and more on a user’s emotional needs and illuminates how personal technologies canbe designed to be more emotive and thereby create a stronger user experience.

This study on parent involvement in Early Childhood Development in KwaZulu Natal investigates the experiences of educators and parents of the different types of parent and community involvement as set out in the Epstein typology. In order to investigate this phenomenon a thorough background of the theory and practice of the Epstein model has been provided. In addition the work of other researchers that support the Epstein typology of parent involvement forms an integral part of the discussions. As parent involvement is the key focus of the study, parent involvement in education before and after 1994 are discussed. In this regard relevant educational policy and legislation that are designed to increase the role of parents and the community in Early Childhood Development are highlighted. Parents' role in the provision of Early Childhood Development is explored. The provision of Early Childhood Development in KwaZulu Natal, which provides a backdrop for the investigation, is explained. In addition contextual factors that influence parent involvement in KwaZulu Natal are provided. The research methodology and the research design used in this study are described in detail. By means of a qualitative approach the experiences of a small sample of educators and parents in Early Childhood Development are explored using the six types of parent involvement that include parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home and collaborating with the community as set out in Epstein's comprehensive model. The experiences of educators and parents of Grade R learners of the six types of involvement have been included. Although all schools engage in some form of parent involvement, it is evident that not all schools involve parents in all types of parent involvement to the same extent. The study concludes with recommendations for developing strategies to involve parents more effectively in Early Childhood Development in KwaZulu Natal. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Comparative Education)

The discipline of component-based modeling and simulation offers promising gains including reduction in development cost, time, and system complexity. This paradigm is very profitable as it promotes the use and reuse of modular components and is auspicious for effective development of complex simulations. It however is confronted by a series of research challenges when it comes to actually practice this methodology. One of such important issue is Composability verification. In modeling and simulation (M&amp;S), composability is the capability to select and assemble components in various combinations to satisfy specific user requirements. Therefore to ensure the correctness of a composed model, it is verified with respect to its requirements specifications.There are different approaches and existing component modeling frameworks that support composability however in our observation most of the component modeling frameworks possess none or weak built-in support for the composability verification. One such framework is Base Object Model (BOM) which fundamentally poses a satisfactory potential for effective model composability and reuse. However it falls short of required semantics, necessary modeling characteristics and built-in evaluation techniques, which are essential for modeling complex system behavior and reasoning about the validity of the composability at different levels.In this thesis a comprehensive verification framework is proposed to contend with some important issues in composability verification and a verification process is suggested to verify composability of different kinds of systems models, such as reactive, real-time and probabilistic systems. With an assumption that all these systems are concurrent in nature in which different composed components interact with each other simultaneously, the requirements for the extensive techniques for the structural and behavioral analysis becomes increasingly challenging. The proposed verification framework provides methods, techniques and tool support for verifying composability at its different levels. These levels are defined as foundations of a consistent model composability. Each level is discussed in detail and an approach is presented to verify composability at that level. In particular we focus on theDynamic-Semantic Composability level due to its significance in the overallcomposability correctness and also due to the level of difficulty it poses in theprocess. In order to verify composability at this level we investigate the application ofthree different approaches namely (i) Petri Nets based Algebraic Analysis (ii) ColoredPetri Nets (CPN) based State-space Analysis and (iii) Communicating SequentialProcesses based Model Checking. All the three approaches attack the problem ofverifying dynamic-semantic composability in different ways however they all sharethe same aim i.e., to confirm the correctness of a composed model with respect to itsrequirement specifications. Beside the operative integration of these approaches inour framework, we also contributed in the improvement of each approach foreffective applicability in the composability verification. Such as applying algorithmsfor automating Petri Net algebraic computations, introducing a state-space reductiontechnique in CPN based state-space analysis, and introducing function libraries toperform verification tasks and help the molder with ease of use during thecomposability verification. We also provide detailed examples of using each approachwith different models to explain the verification process and their functionality.Lastly we provide a comparison of these approaches and suggest guidelines forchoosing the right one based on the nature of the model and the availableinformation. With a right choice of an approach and following the guidelines of ourcomponent-based M&amp;S life-cycle a modeler can easily construct and verify BOMbased composed models with respect to its requirement specifications. / <p>Overseas Scholarship for PHD in selected Studies Phase II Batch I</p><p>Higher Education Commision of Pakistan.</p><p>QC 20130224</p>

L'usage excessif de fertilisants azotés dans les pratiques agricoles modernes est préoccupant car il aboutit, entre autres, à la pollution des nappes phréatiques et à l’eutrophisation des eaux douces et marines. L’analyse du sol peut faciliter la mise en place de nouvelles pratiques agricoles qui tiennent davantage compte des variations temporelles et locales du sol et des plantes. Ces travaux visent donc le développement d’un système d’analyse in-situ, autonome et communicant pour le suivi en temps réel des teneurs en azote minéral du sol. Notre système est basé sur la technologie de microcapteur chimique en silicium lon-Sensitive Field Effect Transistor (ISFET). Une première phase de son développement a été dédiée à la fabrication de microcapteurs génériques pH-ISFET. La problématique de la détermination du pH du sol en insérant les pH-ISFET directement dans le sol a été considérée. Les résultats obtenus par cette méthode in-situ ont été comparés avec la méthode standard et nous avons examiné l’influence de paramètres propres au sol (humidité, texture, pH) et à l’ISFET (durée de vie, dérive temporelle). Dans un second temps, des puces pNH,-ISFET et pNO;-ISFET ont été obtenues en fonctionnalisant les puces génériques pH-ISFET grâce à l'intégration de membranes ionosensibles. La composition de ces membranes a été optimisée jusqu’à obtention de propriétés de détection (sensibilité, sélectivité, stabilité...) en adéquation avec les teneurs en ions ammonium et nitrates typiques des sols cultivés. Des premières caractérisations en conditions in-situ ont alors été effectuées. Finalement, les'capteurs ont été intégrés à un système permettant l’insertion des capteurs dans le sol, leur protection, l’alimentation électrique par batterie et la communication à distance des données de mesure. De premiers résultats, prometteurs, ont été obtenus. / Excessive use of nitrogen fertilizers in modern agricultural practices is a concern as it leads to groundwater pollution and eutrophication of fresh and marine waters. Soil testing can enable the introduction of new agricultural practices that take more into account temporal and local variations of soil and plants. This work therefore aims at the development of an in situ, autonomous and communicating analysis system for real-time monitoring of the mineral nitrogen contents of soils.Our system is based on the Ion-sensitive Field Effect Transistor (ISFET) microsensor technology. A first step of its development was dedicated to the fabrication of generic pH-ISFET microsensors. The problem of determining soil pH by inserting pH-ISFETs directly into the soil was considered. Results obtained by this in situ method were compared with the standard method and we examined the influence of soil ( moisture, texture, pH) and IFSET parameters (lifetime, time drift). In a second step, pNH4-ISFET and pNO3-ISFET chips were obtained by functionalizing the generic pH-ISFET chips with ionosensitive membrane. The composition of these membranes has been optimized until detection properties ( sensitivity, selectivity, stability, etc.) were in good accordance with the ammonium and nitrate ion contents of cultivated soils. Characterizations under in situ conditions were then carried out.Finally, the integration in the ground, the protection, the power supply and the remote communication of the sensors were made possible by the integration in a dedicated system. We obtained promising results.

Introdução - O aconselhamento é a estratégia escolhida pela Organização Mundial da Saúde para o combate à epidemia de aids por ser um método de ajuda, apoio e prevenção. Objetivo - Analisar as características das interações aconselhador-cliente no processo da revelação do diagnóstico positivo para HIV em dois Centros de Testagem e Aconselhamento em DST e Aids do Município de São Paulo, com base na versão dos clientes e tomando por referência suas repercussões sobre os procedimentos e resultados da atividade. Métodos - Como técnica de coleta para o levantamento de dados, foi utilizada a entrevista em momento posterior ao aconselhamento pós-teste. No total, foram realizadas 20 entrevistas, sendo 14 os sujeitos de pesquisa. Todos os entrevistados eram do sexo masculino. Os critérios escolhidos para inclusão no estudo foram: ter 18 anos ou mais; ter resultado positivo no teste anti-HIV; e ter participado do processo de revelação do diagnóstico de infecção pelo HIV nos serviços pesquisados. Para organizar os dados, a autora utilizou a técnica de análise de conteúdo por entrevista e por tema, construindo categorias analíticas segundo os objetivos do estudo. Os dados foram analisados e interpretados por meio da utilização de conceitos da teoria psicanalítica de D.W.Winnicott. Resultados - Com base nos relatos, considera-se que os profissionais seguem bem o protocolo do aconselhamento, atingindo seus objetivos de: a) lidar com os sentimentos provocados pelo diagnóstico positivo para o HIV; b) dar ao cliente a oportunidade de expressar seu sofrimento e angústia; c) sustentar as dificuldades de compartilhar a notícia com familiares e parceiros; e d) tirar dúvidas sobre prevenção de DST/HIV e sobre a terapia antiretroviral. Os contextos de aconselhamento investigados caracterizaram-se pelas interações de ajuda e suporte para a maioria dos entrevistados, funcionando como realidade compartilhada e dando sustentação para seus sentimentos e preocupações. Entretanto, alguns clientes sentiram falta de espaço para discussão e de mais tempo para abordarem questões pessoais, além daquelas relacionadas à sua nova condição de portadores do HIV. Conclusões - Na versão dos clientes, os aconselhadores os acolhem, informam e apóiam em suas necessidades. A análise revelou os processos psicológicos que operaram no momento do aconselhamento pós-teste entre o sujeito de pesquisa e o aconselhador. A escuta do cliente é a condição primordial para que o ambiente de compartilhamento se instale. O estudo fornece subsídios para melhorar a qualidade deste serviço prestado à população. / Introduction - Counseling is the strategy chosen by the World Health Organization against the aids epidemic since it is a method for help, support and prevention. Objective - To analyze the characteristics of counselor-subject interactions within the process of disclosing the positive diagnosis for HIV in two STD and Aids Counseling and Testing Centers in the city of São Paulo, according to the subjects’ version and based on their repercussions of the activity's procedures and results. Methods - The technique used to gather data was the interview, performed after the counseling moment when test result was communicated. In total, 20 interviews were carried with 14 research subjects. All interviewed were men. The criteria chosen to include a subject in the research were: greater than 18 years of age; positive for HIV; and having received the positive diagnosis for HIV at the researched CTC. In order to organize the data, the author used the technique of analysis of content by interview and by theme, elaborating analytical categories based on the study objectives. The data was interpreted using the concepts of the psychoanalytical theory of D. W. Winnicott. Results - Based on the subjects’ reports, it is considered that professionals follow the protocol for counseling, reaching its objectives, which are: a) dealing with feelings caused by the diagnosis; b) providing the opportunity to the subjects to express their suffering and anxiety; c) surpassing difficulties sharing the diagnosis with their family and partners; and d) clarifying questions about STD/HIV prevention and therapy. In the investigated counseling the interactions were characterized by the support and assistance for most of the subjects, acting as a shared reality and providing support to their feelings and concerns. However, some subjects felt the need for more time to discuss their feelings and personal issues, besides the ones related to their new HIV carrier condition. Conclusions - In the subjects’ version, the counselors welcome them, provide information and support for their needs. The study revealed the psychological processes occurred during the post-test counseling between the subject and the counselor. Listening to the subject is the primary condition to establish a sharing environment. The study provides data to improve the service currently available to the population.

This thesis describes corporate greening in general, and specifically the environmental technology (ET) sector as a green sector. The thesis has also particular focus on production and products related aspects and the influence of the environmental profile of the ET sector on the environmental engagement of companies in the sector. The study is based on a questionnaire-based survey, online surveys and on semi-structured open-ended interviews. The organizations within the ET sector were identified using existing platforms within this sector: Sustainability Sweden and Swentec. The results show that not all companies and industry associations in the ET sector clearly distinguish between product and production related environmental aspects. Furthermore, the product related environmental profile, which constitutes the legitimacy for the sector, can influence companies’ environmental strategy, not only positively but also negatively. The results from the survey on Global Supersector Leaders 2009/2010 in Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) show that all companies are aware of production and product related environmental issues. Based on results from this survey a model of corporate environmental profile consisting of product and production oriented activities as well as initiatives that go beyond the core business operations is proposed. These initiatives can be divided into two groups: environmental education and environmental projects and sponsorship. This thesis proposes products and production related impacts and environmental activities as bases for defining corporate environmental profiles, corporate greening, and for defining ‘green’ and ‘green-green’ business as well as environmental leaders. The distinction between product and production related environmental initiatives as well as the other dimensions of the proposed model in this thesis can support companies in their communication of environmental performance and environmental activities.  Furthermore, ‘competitive advantage’, ‘environmental responsibility’ and ‘environmental leadership’ should motivate companies within the ET sector to be ‘vocal’ green-green firms.

台灣金融業競爭日益激烈，在產品同質性高的情況之下，各家金融機構轉而透過服務來創造差異化利基並且盡力與顧客維持長久且深厚的關係，厚植競爭力。對於金融機構行銷人員來說，其透過提供符合期望之產品服務來使既有顧客重複購買使用，並選擇正確的溝通管道與顧客溝通，藉此增加顧客對該行的忠誠度，達到極大化顧客終身價值的顧客關係管理目標。 金融機構與顧客接觸的管道相當多元，從實體分行之臨櫃人員、理財專員、客服中心到虛擬之電子郵件、網路銀行與手機APP等。然而，過去卻少有研究探討金融機構在執行顧客關係管理活動時透過不同「溝通管道」與「溝通內容」對於顧客溝通訊息之說服效果差異。因此，本研究目的在於了解金融機構在執行顧客關係管理活動的訊息傳遞時，透過何種管道以及傳遞何種內容之訊息對於顧客會有最佳之說服效果，進而提升顧客關係管理之成效。本研究主要透過實驗設計與問卷發放來蒐集資訊。 研究結果有以下幾點；首先，顧客對於來自不同管道的「非個人化訊息」所認知之說服效果有差異，又以網路銀行的說服效果最佳。然而「個人化訊息」透過不同溝通管道傳遞，對於顧客卻沒有顯著差異的說服效果。其次，透過「電話」與「電子郵件」傳遞訊息時，搭配「個人化訊息」有顯著較佳的說服效果，其中電話的差異性較大。至於「網路銀行」不論搭配何種內容的訊息，對於說服效果無顯著差異，不過整體來說，使用網路銀行與顧客溝通時，說服效果皆大於其他溝通管道。 / As the competiton among financial industry in Taiwan is getting increasingly fierce, under the high product homogeneity, each financial instutution turns to create differentiation through service and tries hard to maintain a life-long relationship with cistomers. For financial marketers, they make customers purchase the product or use the service again and again not only by providing proucts and services which meets their expectations, but also choosing the right channel to communicate with customers. All the efforts are meant to increase cusomers’ loyalty and attain the goal of customer relationship management – maximize customers’ life-time value. There are multi channels for financial institutions to contact their customers, from physical channels including counter personnels, financial consultants and call center to virtual channels such as email, online bank and APP on mobile phones. However, few studies had discussed the difference of persuasive effects of messages delivered through “different channels” and “different contents” within when financial institutions implementing CRM activities. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to compare and understand by what channel and with what contents may have the best persuasive effects when sending messages to customers, in order to enhance the result of CRM.The main research method is experimental design and collecting data by questionnaires. The study result are shown below. First, the persuasive effect of “non-pesonalized” message delivered through different channels is significantly different, especially through “online bank” has the best persuasive effect. However, the persuasive effect of “pesonalized” message delivered through different channels has no differences. Second, delivering “pesonalized” message by “phone” and “email” has significantly better persuasive effect. Besides, using “online bank” to deliver messages, there is no difference of persuasive effect no matter what content within. But generally speaking, using online bank to communicate with customers, compared to other two channel, it has better persuasive effects.