La gestion des buts, définie comme la capacité à se représenter les buts et à les maintenir activement en mémoire de travail, jouerait un rôle central dans l'efficience du contrôle exécutif. Cette thèse vise à étudier l'évolution de cette composante au cours de différents âges de la vie, ainsi que l'influence de verbalisations imposées sur ce développement. Quatre études ont été conduites et ont révélé 1) que l'amélioration de la capacité à gérer les buts lors de la période préscolaire s'accompagnait d'une évolution qualitative du contrôle; 2) que l'évolution des performances en flexibilité de l'enfance au grand âge était spécifiquement liée au développement de la gestion des buts ; et 3) que les verbalisations imposées modulaient le développement de la gestion des buts en produisant un bénéfice plus marqué chez les enfants et les adultes âgés. L'engagement d'un contrôle anticipé, proactif, lors de tâches d'alternance semble favorisé par l'emploi spontané de stratégies visant à orienter l'attention vers le but de la tâche, à la fois pour récupérer précocement la représentation du but, et pour la maintenir activement en mémoire lors des étapes de traitement de la tâche. L'effet bénéfique de verbalisations imposées chez les enfants et les adultes âgés suggère que ces populations présentent des difficultés à gérer les buts lorsqu'ils doivent effectuer la tâche en silence. Ces difficultés proviendraient d'une immaturité ou d'un déficit du langage interne, ou du fait qu'ils ne comprennent pas l'importance de s'engager dans une préparation anticipée de la tâche, ou encore qu'ils n'ont pas conscience que le recours au langage peut être bénéfique pour effectuer la tâche. / Goal-setting, defined as the ability to represent and maintain task goals in working memory, play a crucial role in executive control. The current work aims to study how this component develops across different age groups. It also examines whether required verbalizations have an impact on this development. To this end, four experimental studies were conducted, and revealed 1) that improvement in goal-setting ability during preschool years was associated with qualitative changes in the control used; 2) that flexibility abilities from childhood to old age was specifically linked to the development of goal-setting component; and 3) that requested verbalizations influenced the development of goal-setting ability by producing benefits in children and older adults. The use of proactive control in task-switching could be promoted by the spontaneous utilization of strategies which enable attention reorientation toward task goals to retrieve goal representation and to maintain it in memory during the processing steps of the task. The beneficial effect of requested verbalizations in children and older adults suggests that these age groups encounter goal-setting difficulties when asked to perform the task in silence. Such difficulties may stem from immaturity or deficits in inner speech, from the fact that these age groups do not understand the necessity to engage in an advance preparation of the task, or from their lack of awareness of the benefits induced by verbal strategies.

Rapporten utgår från en undersökning utförd av Sveriges Byggindustrier som visar att bristen på flexibla arbetstider är en anledning till att många kvinnor väljer att lämna byggproduktionen. Då branschen eftersträvar en större mångfald och det därtill råder arbetskraftsbrist krävs fortsatta studier angående hur byggarbetsplatserna kan moderniseras och bli mer inkluderande.      Denna undersökning utfördes med syftet att undersöka sambandet mellan flexibla arbetstider och mångfald samt för att ta reda på om flexibla arbetstider kan göra produktionsdelen av byggbranschen mer attraktiv. En nutidsanalys genomfördes i form av två enkätundersökningar där en riktades till tjänstemän på Skanska och en till studenter med byggteknisk inriktning, därutöver utfördes kompletterande intervjuer.       Resultatet visar att de som arbetar produktionsnära är mindre nöjda med sina arbetstider och det nuvarande arbetstidssystemet i jämförelse med de som arbetar på kontor. Det framkom att det både finns könsmässiga och generationsmässiga skillnader beträffande frågor kring flexibilitet i arbetslivet. De som främst ville kunna tillämpa flexibla arbetstider var kvinnor och de födda på 80- och 90-talet. De hinder som framkom vara kopplade till flexibla arbetstider handlade till stor del om kulturer i byggbranschen.     En klar majoritet vill kunna tillämpa flexibla arbetstider vilket pekar på att det skulle kunna vara lönsamt att testa arbetssättet i verksamheten. Då den nuvarande lösningen är att flytta de anställda som önskar en mer flexibel arbetsdag ifrån produktionen till mer kontorsbaserade tjänster pekar detta på att flexibla arbetstider inom byggproduktion skulle kunna bidra till ökad mångfald. / This report is based on a former study which illustrates that women in the construction industry are leaving their positions due to lack of flexible work arrangements. As the construction industry strives for increased diversity, and there is a shortage of labor in the engineering field, further study of modernization and new working methods is required.    The present study was conducted with the purpose of researching the relationship between flexible working hours and diversity, and to examine if flexible working hours can make the construction industry more attractive as a workplace. This was achieved by carrying out a survey in the form of two questionnaires, one of which was addressed to officials at Skanska and the other to students with a building orientation. In addition, supplementary interviews were conducted.     The results show that those who work at the construction sites are less satisfied with their working hours and the current time system compared to those who have more administrative work roles, differences both tied to gender and age where noted: Those who primarily would prefer flexible work hours were women and those born in the 80's and 90's. Difficulties related to flexible work were mainly based on current cultures in the industry.   The majority of responders were positive to flexible work, which indicates that a trial of this work arrangement could be worthwhile. The current solution in the company is to transfer employees who need more flexible work from the construction sites to more office-based services. This suggests that successfully implementing flexible work in the construction sector would lead to increased diversity, which subsequently would make this a more attractive work place for diverse groups.

Cette thèse se propose de spécifier la relation entre les structures motrices et celles du langage en tant que systèmes coopératifs dans la construction du sens. Bien qu'un grand nombre d'études aient mis en évidence que les structures motrices sont impliquées dans le traitement du langage, il est encore difficile de déterminer le rôle de ces structures dans la compréhension. Les théories dites «incarnées» et «désincarnées» débattent de la nature de la représentation du sens des mots en termes de la nécessité des structures motrices pour le langage, en négligeant le fait que les conditions de leur activation n’ont pas été décrites. Des recherches récentes soulignent l’importance de la prise en compte des contextes dans lesquels le langage recrute l'activité motrice. Néanmoins, cette tendance est en contradiction avec les présomptions implicites dans la recherche sur l’interaction langage-motricité, qui se basent sur le modèle «deux-étapes» du traitement sémantique et sur la perspective du «dictionnaire» de la représentation du sens lexical. Dans ce cadre, le traitement du sens des mots est pris comme un processus modulaire. Ce n'est qu'une fois ce processus accompli que le contexte peut influencer la signification. Ces présomptions ont biaisé le débat sur le rôle de l'activité motrice induite par le langage, qui se réduirait à la question de savoir si l'activation motrice doit être considérée comme faisant partie de l'accès lexico-sémantique ou comme résultat de la construction d’un modèle de situation. Or, un grand nombre de travaux ont mis en évidence que le traitement lexico-sémantique et le contexte sont interdépendants. Cette connaissance provenant de la psycholinguistique doit être explicitement intégrée à la recherche sur le rôle de l'activité motrice induite par le langage. Dans un effort pour porter le débat hors de la discussion «lexical vs. post-lexical», cette thèse vise à déterminer les conditions sous lesquelles les contextes linguistiques déclenchent l'activité motrice. Pour ce faire, nous avons testé un nouvel outil qui analyse en ligne les modulations de la force de préhension pendant que les participants écoutaient des mots cibles intégrés dans différents contextes. Nos résultats montrent que quand le mot cible était un verbe d'action de la main et que la phrase focalisait l'action (« John signe le contrat»), une augmentation de la force de préhension était observée dans la fenêtre temporelle associée à la récupération lexico-sémantique. Aucune augmentation de la force de préhension comparable n’a été détectée lorsque le même mot d'action était intégré dans des phrases négatives («John ne signe pas le contrat») ou dans des phrases dont le focus avait été déplacé vers l'état mental de l'agent («John veut signer le contrat») ... / The present dissertation was conducted in order to specify the relationship between motor and language structures as cooperative systems in lexical meaning construction. Specifically, this thesis aimed at deepening our understanding of how the linguistic context coordinates the recruitment of motor structures during lexical semantic processing. Although the involvement of motor activity in action-related language comprehension is now sufficiently documented, the specific role that motor structures play in action language processing is still unclear. “Embodied” and “disembodied” theories debate the nature of meaning representation in terms of the necessity of motor structures, neglecting the fact that the conditions of their activation during language processing are not well-described. Very recent research has begun to note the necessity of exploring the context under which words trigger modality-specific cortical activity. However, this trend is at odds with implicit theoretical assumptions that have been made in research on motor-language crosstalk, which are based on the “two-step” model of semantic processing and the “dictionary-like” view of lexical meaning representation. Within such framework, word meaning recognition is taken to proceed in a modular fashion. Only after this process has concluded is the context thought to exert its effects. These assumptions have biased the debate on the role of language induced motor activity. The discussion has been centered on whether motor activation should be considered an integral part of the lexical access process or taken as the result of an ensuing “higher order” operation (i.e., situation model construction). A large body of work evidences that lexical semantic processing and semantic context are far more integrated and interdependent. It seems crucial to integrate this knowledge gained from psycholinguistics into the research on the role of language induced motor activity. In an effort to liberate the debate from the “lexical vs. post-lexical” discussion, this thesis aimed at determining the conditions under which language triggers motor activity. To accomplish these objectives, we introduced a novel tool that analyzes on-line modulations of grip-force while participants listened to specific target words embedded within different types of contexts. Our results show that when the target word was a hand action verb and the sentence focus centered on that action (“John signs the contract”), an increase of grip force was observed in the temporal window classically associated with lexical semantic processing. No comparable increase in grip force was detected when the same action word was embedded in negative sentences (“John doesn’t sign the contract”) or in sentences which focus was shifted towards the agent’s mental state (“John wants to sign the contract”). Our results suggest that the presence of an action word in an ...

Arbetsbelastningen är idag en betydande stressfaktor inom revisionsyrket som resulterar i att många anställda avslutar sin anställning i tidigt skede. Detta på grund av det tids- och prestationskrävande yrket som innebär långa arbetsdagar och stort ansvarstagande för revisorerna. Tidigare forskning har visat på olika faktorer till att många revisorer inte stannar kvar inom yrket eftersom den påtagliga stressen i många fall har lett till utbrändhet. Det har enbart studerats vad som påverkar revisorernas val att avsluta sin anställning. Denna studie visar på vilka motivationsfaktorer som överväger nackdelarna med yrkesvalet och därmed varför revisorer väljer att stanna kvar inom branschen trots den höga arbetsbelastningen. Studien lyfter fram orsaker som gör att revisorer kan känna sig stressade, men även faktorer som gör att de känner sig motiverade. Detta undersöks i nio kvalitativa intervjuer med revisorer födda under 80- och 90-talet, för att få explorativa svar om hur de uppfattar branschens arbetsbelastning och vad de anser motiverar dem att stanna kvar i yrket. Det som framkom ur den empiriska undersökningen var att de tillfrågade revisorerna har liknande egenskaper såsom att de är drivna, sociala, ansvarstagande och anpassningsbara. Det som motiverar dem mest är att yrket är flexibelt, men även kollegorna, ledarskapet och kunderna har en stor betydelse för revisorerna. / Today, workload is a significant stress-factor in the auditing profession which results in that many employees quit their employment at an early stage. This depends on the time- and performance consuming work which means long days at work and high responsibility for the auditors. Previous research has presented different factors that explain why many auditors do not stay in the profession because they cannot handle the stress which might lead to burnout. It has only been researched about what affects auditors to quit their employment. Therefore, this study aims to show which motivational factors that overweigh the disadvantages with the profession and why auditors choose to remain within the profession despite the high workload. This study highlights the reasons why auditors feel stressed but also factors that make them feel motivated. This is examined by conducting nine qualitative interviews with auditors born during the 80s and 90s to get exploratory answers on how they perceive the workload in the profession and what motivates them to remain in the profession. What emerged from this empirical study was that the auditors in the study have similar characteristics such as that they are driven, social, accountable and adaptable. What mostly motivates them is that the profession is flexible, but the colleagues, leadership and clients are also important factors for the auditors.

[pt] As grandes redes varejistas brasileiras vêm passando por um momento de forte expansão geográfica, que tem por objetivo aumentar o valor das empresas através de ganhos de escala e aumento do poder de negociação frente aos fornecedores. A entrada em um novo mercado geográfico, no entanto, apresenta inúmeras incertezas que podem afetar a rentabilidade destas novas lojas. O método tradicional de avaliação pelo fluxo de caixa descontado usualmente utilizado para a abertura de novas lojas, não considera que a abertura de uma primeira loja traz novas informações de mercado que permitem ao investidor otimizar a sua estratégia de penetração neste mercado. Essa dissertação propõe a utilização da Teoria de Opções Reais para avaliar o projeto de expansão de uma rede de varejo para uma nova cidade, através da valoração das flexibilidades gerenciais de expansão e abandono disponíveis para a empresa. O modelo proposto, ao incorporar o valor da operação de uma segunda loja no caso de exercício da opção de expansão, aumenta o valor total do projeto quando comparado ao valor presente líquido calculado pelo método do Fluxo de Caixa Descontado, onde a decisão definitiva seria abrir apenas uma loja. A Teoria de Opções Reais mostrou-se superior na avaliação do projeto, pois o valor do projeto calculado pelo método do Fluxo de Caixa Descontado está subestimado ao não considerar as flexibilidades existentes no projeto. / [en] The large Brazilian retail companies are undergoing strong geographical expansion in order to enhance shareholders value by gains of scale and greater negotiation power with suppliers. The entrance into a new geographical market, however, presents many uncertainties that can affect the return of these new stores. The traditional approach of discounted cash flow method, does not take into account that the opening of the first new store reveals new market information that allows the investor to optimize his penetration strategy in this market. This dissertation proposes the use of the Real Options Theory to value the project to expand a retail company to a new market, by valuing the managerial flexibility of expansion and abandonment available to the company. By incorporating the value of the operation of a second store in case of the exercise of the expansion option , the proposed model increases the total value of the project when compared to the net present value calculated by the discounted cash flow analysis. The Real Options Theory was superior in the project valuation as the value of the project calculated by the discounted cash flow analysis is underestimated by not considering the existing flexibility in the project.

The purpose of this study was to find a method for exploring the potential of increasing the efficiency of a manual manufacturing process while simultaneously maintaining the flexibility and the ability to adjust to changes in demand. The study has been conducted in cooperation with Scania CV AB Engine Assembly in Södertälje, Sweden. This explorative study has been conducted using a framework mixing traditional Quality and Process Management literature, with theories of Innovation Management and ways of designing a production process. The framework was designed by focusing on perspectives to help explain and optimize the dynamics of a manual assembly process characterized by high variation. Increasing the efficiency has included the elimination of waste and disturbances while creating opportunities for continuous improvement. Improving the ability to adjust to changes in demand and volume has included reorganization of the information flow. Activities aimed at increasing the efficiency and improving flexibility requires a base of information which is sufficient and enables fact-based decision-making. An analysis of the current state was conducted using triangulation of data collection methods. Interviews, observations, focus groups, surveys, and numeric data was analyzed. Tools of Quality Management, Lean Management, and the Productivity Potential Assessment method were used to develop a framework for evaluating a manual production process and aim to collect, process, compile, weigh, prioritize, and visualize the processes and the identified challenges. Identification of improvement activities and the design of a future state was conducted through extensive interviews and focus groups and by interpreting relevant literature. Mapping of the current state generated five primary challenges which are complicating the daily work in different ways. The challenge estimated to have the highest overall impact on the studied process is Time Data Management. This challenge refers to the lack of valid and correct data on which to accurately plan and control the process.

A well-functioning transport system that can ensure efficient distribution is an important part of a mass-producing company. This is also the case for Holmen Paper Braviken, a paper mill with a widespread market base. Both today and historically, a large market share has been found in Europe, where a large proportion of the paper produced has been transported by truck and boat. In recent times, the demand for container transports has become higher as a result of sales in increasingly widespread markets. It is a trend that is forecasted to continue and to ensure that increased volumes henceforth still can be transported, Holmen Paper Braviken's current container transport solution has become interesting to investigate. In this study, the current process for container transports is examined as an outset and basis for identifying a possible solution that in the long term can facilitate a suitable development. It is clear that the current process for container transport is standardized with few adaptable possibilities but is well-functioning under the present conditions. However, hard endeavors are needed in specific periods due to high variations in volumes, which suggests a need to be flexible in adjustments. Furthermore, a container warehouse was identified as a possible development for the existing process. A container warehouse can lead to higher flexibility in transport activities by enabling the possibility to allocate and plan transports and resources to a greater extent. Since loading of containers is made possible when the undertakings are low, which can ease coming periods where there is a spike in demand. Therefore, loading operations can be spread out better over time and resources can more easily be redistributed based on the existing conditions of demand.   However, the introduction of a container warehouse is currently not seen as a feasible change since it involves significant investments and risks. If, on the other hand, the development on the market continues according to the current pattern, said investment will become a more and more reasonable solution. Since increasingly higher demands will be placed on flexible container transports, which would warrant a container warehouse to a higher degree. / Ett välfungerande transportsystem som kan säkerställa en effektiv distribution är en viktig del i ett massproducerande företag. Så är även fallet för Holmen Paper Braviken, ett pappersbruk med en spridd marknadsbas. Både idag och historiskt har en stor marknadsandel befunnit sig inom Europa där en stor andel av det producerade pappret transporterats med lastbil och båt. Under senare tid har dock efterfrågan på containertransporter blivit högre till följd av försäljning på allt mer spridda marknader. Det är en trend som prognostiserats fortsätta och för att säkerställa att ökande volymer fortsatt kan hanteras har Holmen Paper Bravikens nuvarande transportlösning för container blivit intressant att undersöka. Som utgångsläge i den här studien undersöktes den nuvarande processen för containertransporter för att identifiera en eventuell lösning som på sikt kan underlätta för den aktuella händelseutvecklingen. Det framgår att nuvarande process för containertransporter är standardiserad och väl fungerande under dagens förutsättningar men med få anpassningsmöjligheter. I perioder förekommer det ansträngningar på nuvarande system, främst baserat på höga variationer i volymer, vilket ställer krav på en flexibel anpassningsförmåga. Vidare identifierades ett containerlager som en tänkbar utveckling till den befintliga processen. Ett containerlager kan leda till en högre flexibilitet i transportaktiviteter genom att fördela om resurser och i högre utsträckning möjliggöra långsiktig planering av transporter. Eftersom förlastning av containrar är möjligt vid låg beläggning kan man underlätta för kommande tidsperioder med hög beläggning. Det innebär att beläggningen kan jämnas ut och resurser kan i perioder enklare fördelas om efter givet tillstånd i beläggning. Införandet av ett containerlager ses i dagsläget däremot inte som en genomförbar förändring eftersom det innebär betydande investeringar och risker. Om utvecklingen på marknaden däremot fortsätter enligt nuvarande mönster kommer sagda investering bli mer och mer aktuell. Då kommer allt högre krav ställas på flexibla containertransporter där ett införande av ett containerlager skulle kunna bli berättigat.

Genom digitaliseringen har fler och fler arbetsplatser implementerat någon form av arbetsflexibilitet, dels för att till exempel effektivisera verksamheten och dels för att många människor önskar en större flexibilitet i sitt arbete. Men vad händer egentligen med medarbetarskapet, alltså relationen individen har till sig själv, sitt arbete och sina medarbetare, när en arbetsplats har stor flexibilitet och många kollegor till exempel arbetar hemifrån. En individs balans mellan arbete och fritid påverkas även av möjligheterna att arbeta vart som helst, när som helst. Denna kvalitativa studie har undersökt och studerat två olika enheter i samma organisation. För att få en förståelse för hur arbetsflexibiliteten påverkar medarbetarnas upplevelse av medarbetarskapet har en enhet med flexibilitet och en enhet utan flexibilitet studerats. Vidare syftar studien även till att bidra till en större förståelse för hur dessa medarbetare upplever balans mellan arbete och privatliv. Studiens datainsamling bygger på semistrukturerade intervjuer med två enhetschefer och fem medarbetare. Fortsättningsvis har empirin analyserats och huvudsakligen har tre teman identifierats; engagemang och meningsfullhet, samarbete och gemenskap samt balans mellan arbete och fritid. Några av de främsta slutsatserna som framkommit genom studien var att enheten med mindre flexibilitet har ett betydligt starkare medarbetarskap än den enhet med hög arbetsflexibilitet. Slutsatsen visar även att skapas det en obalans av att ständigt vara tillgänglig för att svara på arbetsrelaterade frågor, vilket i sin tur påverkar privatlivet negativt. Studien framför även de vetenskapliga bidraget som gjorts och förslagen som finns till framtida studier. / Through digitization, more and more workplaces have implemented some form of work flexibility, partly to make the organization more efficient and partly because many people want a better flexibility in their work. But what really happens to the employeeship, the relationship the individual has to himself, his work and his employees, when a workplace has great flexibility and many colleagues, for example, work from home. An individual's balance between work and private life is also affected by the opportunities to work anywhere, anytime. This qualitative study has examined and studied two different units in the same organization. In order to gain an understanding of how work flexibility affects the employee’s experience of employeeship, a unit with flexibility and a unit without flexibility has been studied. Furthermore, the study aims to contribute to a greater understanding of these employees experience balance between work and private life. The study’s data collection is based on semi-structured interviews with two unit managers and five employees. The empirics have been analyzed and three themes have been identified; commitment and meaningfulness, cooperation and community and balance between work and private life. Some of the main conclusions that emerged from the study were that the unit with less flexibility has a significantly stronger employeeship than the unit with high work flexibility. The conclusion also shows that creating an imbalance of being constantly available to respond to work-related issues, which in turn negatively affects private life. The study also includes the scientific contributions that have been made and the proposals for future studies.

A população idosa cresce no Brasil e cada vez mais se faz necessário desenvolver tecnologias de informação e comunicação adequadas a esse público. Com o barateamento dos telefones celulares, muitas famílias gostariam que seus idosos fossem usuários desses dispositivos visando ter contato com os mesmos quando esses estão fora de suas casas. No entanto, o design atual de celulares privilegia o público jovem, não levando em consideração as diferentes necessidades da população idosa. No mais, mesmo na população idosa, há diferenças com relação à escolaridade, experiência com tecnologias, habilidades cognitivas e destreza física. Este trabalho argumenta a favor do design, da implementação e da avaliação de interfaces que sejam flexíveis para atender à diversidade de requisitos dos idosos na interação com celulares. Uma abordagem para o design de interfaces de usuário flexíveis foi aplicada em um experimento exploratório e, considerando-se resultados de uma atividade estudo empírico com usuários idosos, um conjunto de normas que definem o design do comportamento flexível do sistema foi especificado. Esta dissertação propõe e apresenta um framework que propicia a reconfiguração de interfaces em tempo de interação, denominado de FlexInterface. Esse framework aborda o conceito de elementos da interface sendo, componentes que são carregados, instanciados e destruídos quando solicitados. Além disso, esta dissertação apresenta também uma abordagem que apoia a avaliação de interfaces flexíveis para idosos em telefones celulares. A abordagem analítica proposta, apresenta heurísticas específicas para esse contexto de uso. Por fim, uma avaliação com idosos foi realizada para verificar a viabilidade da proposta. Esse estudo constatou que houve uma redução no tempo de interação com o uso da interface flexível e um aumento na satisfação do usuário / The elderly population grows in Brazil and this fact increases the need to develop appropriate information and communication technologies to the public. As cell phones are getting cheaper, many families would like their elderly to be users of these devices aiming to have contact with them when they are out of their homes. However, the current cell phones design favors the younger people, not considering the different needs of the elderly population. At the most, even in the elderly population, there are differences regarding education, experience with technology, cognitive abilities and physical prowess. This dissertation argues for the design, implementation and evaluation of interfaces that are flexible to meet the diverse requirements of the elderly in the interaction with cell phones. One approach to the design of flexible user interfaces was applied in a case study and, considering the results of a practice with elderly users, a set of norms which define the design of the system flexible behavior was specified. This dissertation proposes and presents a framework that provides the interface reconfiguration during the interaction time, named FlexInterface. This framework addresses the concept of interface elements as components that are loaded, instantiated and destroyed when requested. Furthermore, this dissertation also brings an approachthat supports the evaluation of flexible interfaces for the elderly in mobile phones. The proposed analytical approach presents heuristics for this specific context of use. Finally, an assessment with elderly people was performed to verify the feasibility of the proposal. This study found that there was a reduction in the interaction time with the use of flexible interface and an increase in the users satisfaction

Dans la plupart des pays industrialisés, le cancer du sein est la principale cause de décès chez les femmes. Le microenvironnement tumoral (TME) joue un rôle important dans la progression du cancer du sein. Le TME est un tissu complexe composé d’une matrice extracellulaire remaniée, de fibroblastes, de cellules inflammatoires et endothéliales. Récemment un nouveau composant cellulaire du TMA a été identifié. Il est formé par des adipocytes modifiés situés en regard de cellules cancéreuses appelées "adipocytes associés au cancer" (CAA). Ces constituants ajoutent à la complexité du TME. La protéase matricielle Matrix Metalloproteinase-11 (MMP-11) est une protéine du TME, elle est sécrétée par les «fibroblastes associés au cancer» (CAF) au centre de la tumeur et par les CAA à la périphérie de la tumeur (le front d’invasion). Soutenant l'idée que la MMP11 contribue à la progression tumorale, des études antérieures ont montré qu’une expression élevée était associée à une survie sans récidive plus courte des patientes atteintes d'un cancer du sein. Cependant, le mécanisme d'action spécifique de cette protéase est resté mal compris. Des études plus récentes ont montré que la MMP-11 est un régulateur négatif du développement du tissu adipeux et qu’elle module le métabolisme énergétique. Ces observations suggéraient que l'expression de MMP-11 dans le TME pourrait participer directement à la progression de la tumeur en modulant le métabolisme du tissu adipeux au profit des cellules cancéreuses. Cependant, la façon dont la MMP-11 agit, notamment à l'interface entre les cellules cancéreuses du sein et les CAAs, reste largement inconnue. Pour l’étudier, nous avons développé des modèles précliniques de cancer de la glande mammaire chez la souris par génie génétique. Tout d'abord, des souris déficientes (perte de fonction-LOF) ou surexprimant MMP-11 (Gain de Fonction-GOF) ont été croisées avec un modèle génétique de tumeurs mammaires (MMTV-PyMT). Des résultats cohérents ont été obtenus en utilisant les deux modèles. La MMP11 favorise la progression tumorale précoce, en augmentant la prolifération et en réduisant l'apoptose des cellules cancéreuses. De plus, l’expression de la MMP-11 a été associée à un changement métabolique dans la tumeur et à une altération significative de l’Unfolded Protein Response mitochondriale (UPRmt) et à une activation du stress du réticulum endoplasmique (UPRER). Ces données confortent l'idée selon laquelle la MMP-11 contribue à une réponse métabolique adaptative favorisant la croissance du cancer. Deuxièmement, pour aborder directement la fonction de la MMP-11 produite par le tissu adipeux sur la progression du cancer, nous avons généré une lignée de souris transgénique (appelée aP2-MMP11-IRES-GFP) dans laquelle l'expression de MMP-11 est contrôlée par un promoteur spécifique du tissu adipeux. L’implantation directe de cellules cancéreuses syngéniques dans le coussinet mammaire de ces souris a montré que l'expression de la MMP11 favorisait la croissance tumorale. Finalement, nos données soutiennent le concept selon lequel l'expression de MMP-11 par les adipocytes associés au cancer (CAA) contribuerait à une réponse métabolique adaptative favorisant la croissance du cancer. Ils renforcent aussi l’intérêt que représente la MMP-11 comme cible pour le traitement du cancer. / Breast cancer is the most common leading cause of death in women. The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays an important role in breast cancer progression. The TME is a complex tissue composed of extracellular matrix proteins, fibroblasts, inflammatory and endothelial cells. Recently modified adipocytes called “Cancer-Associated Adipocytes” (CAAs) were identified as emerging components of the TME adding into the complexity of this tumor component. Matrix Metalloproteinase-11 (MMP-11) is a protein from the TME, it is secreted by "Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts" (CAFs) in the center of the tumor and by CAAs in the tumor periphery also qualified as the “invasive front”. Previous studies showed that elevated MMP11 expression is associated with a poorer outcome in breast cancer patients supporting the idea that MMP11 contributes to tumor progression but the mechanism of action remained unclear. Recent studies showed that MMP-11 is a negative regulator of adipose tissue development and controls energy metabolism. These observations suggested that MMP-11 expression in the TME may directly participate in breast tumor progression by modulating the adipose tissue metabolism at the benefit of cancer cells. However, how MMP-11 acts in the TME notably at the interface of breast cancer cells and CAAs remains largely unknown. To study the role of MMP-11 on breast cancer progression, we developed a series of preclinical mouse mammary gland tumour models by genetic engineering. First, mice either deficient- (Loss of Function-LOF) or overexpressing- MMP-11 were crossed with a genetic model of spontaneous mammary tumors (MMTV-PyMT). Consistent results were obtained using GOF and LOF, showing that MMP11 favored early tumor progression, by increasing proliferation and reducing apoptosis of cancer cells. Of interest, MMP-11 was associated with a metabolic switch in the tumor and the activation of the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt) and endoplasmic reticulum stress (UPRER). These data support the idea that MMP-11 contributes to an adaptive metabolic response favoring cancer growth. Second, to directly address the function of MMP-11 produced by the adipose tissue on cancer progression, we generated a transgenic mouse line (named aP2-MMP11-IRES-GFP) in which MMP-11 expression is controlled by an adipose tissue-specific promoter. Direct grafting of syngeneic cancer cells in the mammary fad-pad of these mice showed that MMP11 expression favored tumor growth. Altogether our data support the idea that MMP-11 expression by cancer associated adipocytes contributes to an adaptive metabolic response, named metabolic flexibility, favoring cancer growth. They further substantiate the potential of MMP-11 as a target for cancer therapy.