Background: Exploring the ambidexterity literature in the context of agile software development organizations from the perspective of how the organizational characteristics that result from the application of agile methods affect the achievement of ambidexterity Aim: To gain insight into how agile software development organizations achieve ambidexterity. Methodology: How agile software development organizations achieve ambidexterity was studied through a multiple case study where the total of four case projects in two different organizations were examined. Findings: This study indicated how the characteristics of agile software development organizations have an essential role in how ambidexterity is achieved in these organizations.

Women's organizations in informal settlements located in peri-urban areas of Peruvian Amazon cities have been carrying out programs for solving nutrition, food, health, and income generation problems in their communities. This is a way of women's local action of self-help and self-reliance to transform their marginalized ways of living. This study focuses on two factors in the scope of women's organizations: (1) to examine what causes household participation in women's organizations. (2) To explore what type of women's empowerment leads to social development, assuming that women go through a process of empowerment as a result of their participation in women's organizations. The study data consists of a case study in one informal settlement in Pucallpa, 9 de Octubre, and key-informant interviews of women participating in women's organizations, and life histories of four women leaders. The quantitative analysis focuses on three hypotheses: (1) Single women-headed households participate more frequently in women's organizations than men-headed households. (2) Households with children under six years old are more likely to participate in women's organizations than households without. (3) Households in remote locations of the informal settlement are more likely to participate in women's organizations. The qualitative analysis focuses in three areas: (1) women's roles as community managers, (2) women's organizations as agents to produce structural change and (3) the relationship between women's organizations and women's empowerment. Findings cast doubt upon the first hypothesis by showing that single women-headed households were not economically vulnerable as it was expected and that their participation in women's organizations was not as frequent as the participation of men-headed households. Furthermore, men-headed households seem to benefit more from women's organizations than single women-headed households. The presence of children does not predict participation in women's organizations. Also, it is interesting that households in more remote and inaccessible locations seem to participate more in women's organizations. The study develops the argument that women's organizations, which bring in knowledge and more than partial problem-solving solutions, contribute to women's empowerment and household change that lead to social development. The study concludes that the types of empowerment that lead to social development are the cultural, and social because they are the ones that are more effective in bringing changes at the household and community levels. However, the economic empowerment should not be disregarded and should be considered in the formula because it provides one of the prime needs of urban poor women: income in their household. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

3 Abstract Diploma thesis "Key competencies of employees of democratic organizations and their development" is focused on the so-called free organizations and their requirments for potential employees. It follows the characteristics of this concept and its context from the perspective of managing organizations. In the research the required soft skills of these organizations have been compared with the requirments of other organizations, using the analysis of their recruitment ads. It also identifies those soft skills, which are required significantly more by free organizations. Following this, the thesis also deals with the development of competencies, for example in preparation for potencial employment in a free organization. Key words freedom at work, organizations, competencies, work, development

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Despite the growing number of organizations that classify themselves as youth development organizations in the country, we know very little about them, particularly as hosts of positive youth development (PYD) programming (Roholt, Baizerman, Rana & Korum, 2013). Absent from the literature is an understanding of how youth development organizations are responding to environmental shifts that have occurred over the past 20 years as the PYD movement has gained ground and legitimacy. Out of this movement has emerged an asset-based framework for working with young people. This framework is starkly different from the traditional view of youth, which historically has treated this age group as deficient and as passive recipients of services. PYD, on the other hand, sees youth as active contributors to society. PYD’s focus is on helping youth gain the skills and competencies necessary to transition successfully into adulthood. This study explored how PYD is influencing the work of community based youth development organizations. In addition, this study looked at how institutional pressures are influencing the way organizations are responding to PYD. The following research questions grounded the study: 1) How is PYD influencing community-based youth development organizations? 2) Are community-based youth development organizations responding similarly to the PYD logic? 3) How are isomorphic pressures influencing the adoption of PYD in community-based youth development organizations? 4) What is the relationship between the isomorphic pressures organizations face and the degree to which PYD strategies are implemented in daily practice? This study used a qualitative multiple case study method to examine three community-based youth organizations in a northeastern city of the United States. This study yielded three main findings: 1) PYD is influencing the work of community-based youth organizations; 2) implementation of PYD varies across organizations; and 3) institutional pressures explain some, but not entirely how PYD is being adopted in community-based youth development organizations. The findings from this study provide important insights on how PYD is influencing community-based organizations by describing how organizations are translating PYD into practice and how this relates to institutional pressures faced by these organizations.

For the last decade the IT industry has been transitioning to Agile software development due to the impending need for a more flexible development process. China’s IT industry is growing drastically, but to stay competitive in the global market the Chinese organizations have to constantly adapt and reorient to today’s market needs. The purpose of this study is to determine if Agile methodologies and practices are suitable for the software industry in China. The study describes the fundamentals of Agile software development and analyzes the success factors of Agile adoption. Further analysis of Agile and its relation to culture is conducted, as well as an analysis of China, its national and organizational culture, and its software industry. Several hypothesis regarding potential barriers of Agile adoption in China were constructed to guide the design of the survey questionnaire. In the analysis of the survey data it was concluded that the communication aspect does pose as a barrier for Agile adoption in China, whereas the cognitive, social, organizational culture, competence and recruitment and managerial aspects all are concluded to not be barriers for Agile adoption. The overall result indicates that Agile methodologies are suitable, and should be favorable for the software development organizations in China. / IT-branschen har under det senaste decenniet anammat Agila metoder för att fylla ett behov av en mer flexibel utvecklingsprocess. Kinas IT-industri växer kraftigt, men för att öka sin globala konkurrenskraft måste den utvecklas och ständigt kunna anpassa sig efter marknadens behov. Syftet med denna studie är att avgöra om Agila metoder och arbetssätt är lämpliga för den Kinesiska mjukvaruindustrin. Studien beskriver grunderna i Agil mjukvaruutveckling och analyserar viktiga faktorer vid införandet av Agila metoder. Vidare undersöker den Kinas kultur, organisationskultur samt dess mjukvaruindustri. I studien utformades några hypoteser om möjliga hinder vid anammandet av Agila metoder, som vidare användes för utformandet av en enkätundersökning. I analysen av enkätdata konstaterades det att kommunikationsaspekten är ett hinder, medan de kognitiva, sociala och organisationskulturella aspekterna samt kompetens- och rekryteringsaspekten och organisationsledningsaspekten samtliga ej anses som hinder för införandet av Agila metoder. Slutsatsen är att Agila metoder är lämpliga, och bör adopteras av kinesiska mjukvaruföretag.

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Social media have become one of the most important tools for international development organizations when it comes to spreading their message and reach a greater number of followers around the world. However, the connection between the users and the organization is mainly based on one-click basic interactions which does not guarantee a strong commitment. The goal of this study is to check whether initiating a dialogue with users increases participation. We want to observe if there are noticeable improvements in the engagement that justifies a more frequent use of the conversation with the subscribers within the social media channels of the organization. We will analyse the work of UNESCO, the United Nations' specialized agency for education, science and culture. We have worked from within on the social media campaigns analysed.This research uses a mixed method combining quantitative results, such as statistical analysis, and qualitative results through content analysis and interviews with six experts in the management of social media. The Social Media Engagement Theory by Di Gangi and Wasko will provide the theoretical framework for this work.

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The thesis examines how the social construction of African women in development discourse transformed from the 1970s to the 2000s, focusing in particular on the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). From the 1970s to the 1990s representations of African women were based on women’s economic potential. The mainstreaming of gender in the 1990s resulted in women being represented as agents of change. This approach gave women an opportunity to play roles in decision-making but led to policies that failed to challenge the established institutions. The emphasis on women as agents of change opened doors to some African women but with implications for the women’s movement. Only some middle-class women appear to benefit but their gains have been marginal in comparison to the gender inequalities that persist. The thesis uses secondary sources and interviews with development practitioners in Ottawa to understand the representation of African women as agents of change.