The purpose with this research is to increase the understanding of how important knowledge sharing is within companies. It is also important to examine the institutional environment within countries and how this can affect a small and medium sized enterprise. In order to research these aspects we formulated a research question that resulted in; How can the institutional environment in different markets affect the knowledge sharing within an SME?                                                                    In our literature review we define what knowledge is and how it can be shared within companies. To get the understanding of the institutional environment we used a model that defines the different aspects that can impact companies within the society. We also examine what categories small and medium sized enterprises (SME) compared to large firms. To gather our information for our research we used a qualitative method with an abductive approach. We conducted a case-study about Scandinavian Orthopedic Laboratory (SOL). In the empirical chapter the respondents answers were structured so that we in the analytic part could compare and analyze the answers compared to the theory.   The conclusion indicates that the institutional factors within the society do affect companies, some factors more than others. Being an SME has made the knowledge sharing easier but it also indicates that it is important that everyone is included in the decision-making. / Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att öka förståelsen om hur viktigt kunskapsöverföring är inom företag. Det är också viktigt att undersöka den institutionella miljön inom länder och hur den miljön kan påverka små till medelstora  företag. För att kunna undersöka dessa olika aspekter har vi formulerat en forskningsfråga; Hur kan den institutionella miljön inom olika marknader påverka kunskapsöverföring inom ett SME?   I vårt litteraturavsnitt definierar vi vad kunskap är och hur kunskap kan bli överfört inom företag. För att få en förståelse om den institutionella miljön använde vi oss av en modell som definierar olika aspekter som kan påverka företag inom samhället. Vi undersöker också vad som kategoriserar ett litet till medelstort företag (SME) jämfört med ett stort företag. För att få den informationen som vi behöver för vår undersökning har vi använt oss av en kvantitativ undersökningsmetod med en abduktiv ansats. Vi genomförde en fallstudie om Scandinavian Orthopedic Laboratory (SOL). I det empiriska kapitlet har intervjupersonerna svar blivit konstruerade så att vi i det analytiska kapitlet kunde jämföra och analysera svaren jämfört med teorin.   Slutsaten visar på att de institutionella faktorerna inom ett samhälle påverkar företag, vissa mer än andra. Att vara ett litet till medelstort företag har gjort kunskapsöverföringen enklare men det visar också på att alla inom företaget ska vara inkluderade i beslutsfattandet.

The internationalization of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) has become a major worldwide trend. Firms internationalize predominantly to in nearby countries due to the fact that these countries are closer culturally and geographically. However, SMEs has started to enter more cultural and geographical distant markets. Emerging markets has been the focus of attention of Swedish SMEs during the last decades. Of those emerging markets India is one example of a foreign market that has experienced, to a large extent, the establishment of foreign companies in the past half a century. In the last decades India has undergone a remarkable change that has strengthened the establishment of foreign companies in the country. However, SMEs face risk and uncertainties when entering a new market like India. Therefore, companies need to acquire enough relevant knowledge about the country in order to identify and manage to potential risks that the might encounter. Although knowledge and risk management have extensively been studied, scholars have primarily studied them separately. Little attention has been given to the fact that the combination of knowledge and risk management might be the better solution to identify and manage risks in foreign countries. By analyzing the implementation of knowledge and risk management, it was possible to answer if through their utilization SMEs get a better understanding and be competitive in the Indian market. In order to conduct the study a qualitative case study to four Swedish SMEs was conducted. The collected data and the most significant theories chosen in this study are the starting point of the analysis. The main conclusion that can be drawn from the analysis is that, although knowledge and risk management are not SMEs main focus of attention, the combined utilization of them is beneficial for firms in foreign markets. Firms that better understand the foreign market and its risks are in a better position to be more competitive in that foreign market.

We present an analysis of the properties of HI holes detected in 20 galaxies that are part of “The HI Nearby Galaxy Survey” (THINGS). We detected more than 1000 holes in total in the sampled galaxies. Where they can be measured, their sizes range from about 100 pc (our resolution limit) to about 2 kpc, their expansion velocities range from 4 to 36 km/s, and their ages are estimated to range between 3 and 150 Myr. The holes are found throughout the discs of the galaxies, out to the edge of the HI disc; 23% of the holes fall outside R25. We find that shear limits the age of holes in spirals; shear is less important in dwarf galaxies which explains why HI holes in dwarfs are rounder, on average than in spirals. Shear, which is particularly strong in the inner part of spiral galaxies, also explains why we find that holes outside R25 are larger and older. We derive the scale height of the HI disc as a function of galactocentric radius and find that the disc flares at large radii in all galaxies. We proceed to derive the surface and volume porosity (Q2D and Q3D) and find that this correlates with the type of the host galaxy: later Hubble types tend to be more porous. The size distribution of the holes in our sample follows a power law with a slope of a=−2.9. Assuming that the holes are the result of massive star formation, we derive values for the supernova rate (SNR) and star formation rate (SFR) which scales with the SFR derived based on other tracers. If we extrapolate the observed number of holes to include those that fall below our resolution limit, down to holes created by a single supernova, we find that our results are compatible with the hypothesis that HI holes result from star formation. We use HI data from THINGS, 8μm, 24μm, 70μm and HI maps from SINGS, CO(2–1) data from HERACLES and FUV data from NGS to present a visual comparison of these maps with respect to the locations of HI holes. We find that the vast majority of HI holes are also prominent in the 8μm map and to some extent in the 24μm map. There is a lack of molecular gas from the interior of nearly all the holes, which is consistent with the idea that the latter are filled with hot gas. About 60% of young holes have FUV emission detected in their interiors highlighting the presence of the parent OB association. In addition, FUV is detected on the rims of some of the older HI holes, presumably due to the dispersion of the OB association with respect to the gas. We describe the development of a 2–D cross-correlation method to compare multi-wavelength maps in a quantitative way (quantified by Ccoef ) and give some first results from the application of this method to the nearby galaxy NGC2403. We find that the all the dust tracers are well correlated (Ccoef > 0.7) with the 8μm–24μm correlation being the highest (Ccoef > 0.88). Similarly all the star formation tracers are well linked as expected (Ccoef > 0.6). With respect to the relations between star formation and dust tracers we found that most are well matched (Ccoef > 0.7) as dust grains are heated by radiation in star forming regions. At smaller scales (15") FUV correlates poorly (Ccoef ~ 0.3) with the dust tracers, a direct consequence of the absorption of FUV photons by dust. We find that the HI is reasonably well correlated with the 8μm emission (Ccoef ~ 0.6) illustrating the fact that HI is mixed with PAH’s. Interestingly, the HI map shows some correlation with the SF map (Ccoef ~ 0.4) even though FUV and HI emissions were found to be completely uncorrelated (Ccoef ~ 0).

The MIRI-MRS is a future space based Medium Resolution Spectrometer and one of four instruments to be integrated onto The James Webb Space Telescope. The Medium Resolution Spectrometer is designed to be diffraction limited across its entire passband of 5 - 28.3 microns. It achieves this through the spectral filtering of the passband into four channels with each one containing an integral field unit optimised for minimal diffraction losses. The integral field unit enables the simultaneous measurement of the spectral data across the entire field of view. The design of the Medium Resolution Spectrometer is outlined with particular reference to the choice of slice widths used for each channel to minimise the diffraction losses from the slicing mechanism. The slice widths are also used to derive the extent of the field of view and combined with the along slice plate scale at the detector the technique required for complete spatial sampling of the spectrometer is outlined. The operation of the Channel 1 image slicer component was tested cryogenically at 5 microns for diffraction losses due to the slicing of the point spread function. This was so that the actual diffraction losses could be measured and compared with the optical model. From the resulting analysis I concluded that the operation of the image slicers were well understood for diffraction losses. Performance tests were required on the instrument because of its novel design. This was the first implementation of an integral field unit operating between 5 - 28.3 microns and it was necessary to ensure that the operation of the image slicer did not induce unacceptable diffraction losses into the instrument. Tests were required on the assembled instrument to verify the optical design. A Verification Model of MIRI was built to enable test verification of the optical design. This testing was carried out in advance of the MIRI Flight Model assembly so that changes could be made to the Flight Model design if necessary. This testing phase was also designed to define the calibration process necessary to prepare the MIRI Flight Model for scientific operations. For the testing phase it was necessary to create an astronomical source simulator. This MIRI Telescope Simulator was constructed in Madrid where I spent two months ensuring the point source movement across the field of view would be sufficient to investigate the Medium Resolution Spectrometer. My contribution was to help assemble both the Verification and Flight Models. I also participated in the Verification Model testing phase from the test design phase to the test implementation and data analysis. My role in the analysis was to investigate the field of view of the Medium Resolution Spectrometer Verification Model and whether the field of view requirements for the spectrometer were met. During this analysis I also verified that the diffraction effects of the end-to-end instrument were well understood by the optical model. The Medium Resolution Spectrometer Verification Model field of view compromised the field of view requirement for the spectrometer. A similar analysis for the Flight Model showed that there would be a low probability that the field of view requirement would be met. As a result of the analysis I defined a new slit mask design that would align the field of view sampled by Channel 1 to increase the aligned field of view. As a result there is a high probability that the field of view requirement for the Flight Model will be exceeded. The test analysis discovered a magnification effect within the spectrometer which must be properly characterised to enable accurate field of view reconstruction. I designed a test necessary for the calibration phase of the Flight Model to enable full spatial alignment of the Medium Resolution Spectrometer. I also measured an excess flux level in the Channel 1 observations at the detector and there was a ghost detected in the Channel 1 images. Whilst the origin of either the excess flux or the ghost could not be completely determined I investigated the possibility that they will not be present in the Flight Model due to the slight design differences. If present however they will not increase the background level of an observation above the requirement outlined for Channel 1.

This thesis explores the teaching and learning of English for Medical Purposes (EMP) in a Syrian Arab university (Tishreen University). It investigates the inherent contradictions in the position of EMP in an Arab-medium university by drawing on the socio-political and economic factors shaping English language education policy in Syria. It also critiques “mainstream” ESP through examining the “purpose” in English for Medical Purposes. Rather than viewing learning as an end product, this study suggests that learning English is part of a dynamic process of learning to become a doctor in Syria and as part of constructing the 21st Century Syrian “doctor” identity. I draw on aspects of poststructuralism and complexity theory to take the analysis of English for Specific Purposes beyond issues of needs analysis, content, and materials development. ESP, from its outset, has been proposed for decades as a commodity that meets students’ linguistic and communicative needs. However important these concerns are for the development of the discipline, as I argue in this thesis, ESP seems to adopt a “mechanistic” approach by predetermining “needs” and “purposes” which fails to account for the complexity of human beings’ behaviours and responses in educational contexts. The deterministic conceptualisation of ESP places rigid boundaries between ESP and the reality of the medicine profession, therefore, fails to meet students’ needs which transcend boundaries of classroom in aspiration for recognition by the medical community worldwide. English for Medical Purposes, in this study, goes beyond “specific purposes” to account for the role of English as a foreign language in constructing doctor identity and in the process of becoming a doctor. Data in this qualitative research were collected through focus groups with students of medicine in Tishreen University, semi-structured interviews with medical tutors and management officials in the Faculty of Medicine and the Higher Institute of Languages, as well as ESP teachers. Policy documents were analysed, and field notes were taken in classroom and hospital observations. Based on the analysis of these sources, a deeper understanding of EMP at Tishreen University is reached through the lens of poststructuralism and complexity theory. Finally, this thesis ends by drawing an ESP/Applied Linguistics relationship among the implications the findings have for policy makers, teachers and medical students, alongside recommendations for future ESP research directions.

This thesis focuses on a certain type of nonlinear parabolic partial differential equations, i.e. PME and FDE. Chapter 1 consists of a survey on results related to PME and FDE, and a short review on some works about deriving gradient estimates in probabilistic ways. In Chapter 2 we estimate gradient on space variables of solutions to the heat equation on Euclidean space. The main idea is to construct two semimartingales by letting the solution and its gradient running backward on the path space of a diffusion process. Estimates derived from decompositions of those two semimartingales are then combined to give rise to an upper bound on gradient that only involves the maximum of the initial data and time variable. In particular, it is independent of the dimension. In Chapter 3 we carry the idea in Chapter 2 onto the study of positive solutions to PME or FDE, and obtained a similar type of bound on |∇u| for local solutions to PME or FDE on Euclidean space. In existing literature there have always been constraints on m. By considering a more general form of transformation on u and introducing a family of equivalent measures on path space, we add more flexibility to our method. Thus our result is valid for a larger range of m. For global solutions, when m violates our constraint, we need two-sided bound on u to control |∇u|. In Chapter 4 we utilize maximum principle to derive Li-Yau type gradient estimate for PME on a compact Riemannian manifold with Ricci curvature bounded from below. Our result is able to yield a Harnack inequality possessing the right order in time variable when the lower bound of Ricci curvature is negative.

Le cerveau humain est un organe très métaboliquement actif. Cet énorme besoin énergétique l’expose à un risque accru de détérioration causée par un dérèglement de ce métabolisme. Dans la phase précoce de la maladie d’Alzheimer, un hypométabolisme cérébral du glucose est observé. Cette carence énergétique serait à l’origine des détériorations observée lors du développement de cette maladie. Le cerveau a accès à une autre source endogène d’énergie : les cétones. Les cétones sont particulièrement importantes pour le cerveau puisqu’il ne possède pas la capacité d’utiliser les acides gras comme source énergétique à l’instar des autres organes. Les cétones sont issues de la β-oxydation hépatique des acides gras. Ils sont produits en situation de jeûne lorsque les niveaux circulants de glucose et d’insuline sont bas. Les cétones se sont déjà montré efficaces dans le traitement de divers troubles neurologiques comme l’épilepsie. Par contre, outre les diètes cétogènes et le jeûne prolongé, il n’existe pas de traitement efficace pour maintenir une cétonémie modérée chez l’adulte. Le métabolisme énergétique cérébral en situation de cétose modérée reste encore mal compris dans cette population. Les travaux de cette thèse se sont donc concentrés à étudier la possibilité d’une combinaison d’approche nutritionnelle et pharmacologique afin de stimuler la cétogenèse chez l’adulte. Ils ont aussi exploré les changements de métabolisme cérébral chez l’adulte durant une cétose modérée. L’objectif de la première étude était d’étudier le potentiel du bezafibrate à stimuler la cétogenèse induite par une supplémentation en triglycérides de moyennes chaînes (MCT). Cette première étude a démontré que le bezafibrate avait peu d’effet sur la stimulation de la cétogenèse induite par les MCT et que le facteur limitant dans cette stimulation était donc la disponibilité des substrats et non la capacité cétogène des cellules hépatiques. L’objectif de la seconde étude était d’étudier les changements de capture des cétones et du glucose au cerveau durant un état de cétose modérée chez l’adulte. Les résultats de cette deuxième étude ont montré que la capture des cétones au cerveau est directement proportionnelle à leur concentration plasmatique. Cette étude a aussi démontré que la capture cérébrale des cétones était directement reliée à leur concentration plasmatique alors que la capture cérébrale du glucose est modulée par les besoins énergétiques du cerveau. Une stimulation cétogénique chez des personnes atteintes de déclin cognitif pourrait donc aider à rétablir la balance énergétique et ralentir l’apparition des symptômes chez ces personnes mais cet effet devra être étudié dans une étude ultérieure. / Abstract : The human brain is the most metabolically active organ of the body. This high need for energy exposes it to an increase risk in case of hypometabolism. Such a glucose hypometabolism is seen during the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. This factor is believed to be one of the cause of the disease. Ketones are the main alternate substrate for the human brain. Ketones are particularly important since, unlike other organs, the brain can not use fatty acids as alternative fuel. Ketones are mainly produce through β-oxidation of fatty acid by the liver. This happens mainly during fasting when circulating levels of glucose and insulin are low. Studies have shown that ketones can have a therapeutic effect in a variety of neurological diseases, mainly epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease. Nevertheless, apart from ketogenic diet and prolonged fasting, there is currently no effective ways to induce and maintain moderate ketosis in adults. Brain energy metabolism under moderate ketosis remains also misunderstood in this population. This thesis aimed look at the effect of a combination of a pharmacological treatment and a nutritional supplementation to induce moderate sustain ketosis in adults. It also studied the effect of a moderate ketosis on brain energy metabolism in adults. The aim of the first study was to study the effect of a pharmacological treatment, bezafibrate, on the potentiation of the ketogenic effect induced by a medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) supplementation. The results of this study that bezafibrate had little effect on the ketosis induced by a MCT supplementation and, therefore, that the limiting factor in human ketosis was not the liver cells capacity to produce ketones but the availability of substrates for ketogenesis. The aim of the second study was to study the impact of a nutritional moderate ketosis on brain glucose and ketone uptake. The results of this study showed a direct correlation between brain ketone uptake and plasma ketone concentrations. This study also showed that brain ketone uptake is regulated by blood ketone concentration whereas brain glucose uptake is regulated by the brain energy needs. Further studies should then look if such a moderate ketosis induced in cognitively impaired patients could re-equilibrate the energy balance in the brain and then slow the apparition of clinical symptoms in this population.

Displacement Green's function is the building block for some semi-analytical methods like Boundary Element Method (BEM), Distributed Point Source Method (DPCM), etc. In this thesis, the displacement Green`s function in anisotropic media due to a time harmonic point force is studied. Unlike the isotropic media, the Green's function in anisotropic media does not have a closed form solution. The dynamic Green's function for an anisotropic medium can be written as a summation of singular and non-singular or regular parts. The singular part, being similar to the result of static Green's function, is in the form of an integral over an oblique circular path in 3D. This integral can be evaluated either by a numerical integration technique or can be converted to a summation of algebraic terms via the calculus of residue. The other part, which is the regular part, is in the form of an integral over the surface of a unit sphere. This integral needs to be evaluated numerically and its evaluation is considerably more time consuming than the singular part. Obtaining dynamic Green's function and its spatial derivatives involves calculation of these two types of integrals. The spatial derivatives of Green's function are important in calculating quantities like stress and stain tensors. The contribution of this thesis can be divided into two parts. In the first part, different integration techniques including Gauss Quadrature, Simpson's, Chebyshev, and Lebedev integration techniques are tried out and compared for evaluation of dynamic Green’s function. In addition the solution from the residue theorem is included for the singular part. The accuracy and performance of numerical implementation is studied in detail via different numerical examples. Convergence plots are used to analyze the numerical error for both Green's function and its derivatives. The second part of contribution of this thesis relates to the mathematical derivations. As mentioned above, the regular part of dynamic Green's function, being an integral over the surface of a unit sphere, is responsible for the majority of computational time. From symmetry properties, this integration domain can be reduced to a hemisphere, but no more simplification seems to be possible for a general anisotropic medium. In this thesis, the integration domain for regular part is further reduced to a quarter of a sphere for the particular case of transversely isotropic material. This reduction proposed for the first time in this thesis nearly halves the number of integration points for the evaluation of regular part of dynamic Green's function. It significantly reduces the computational time.

Using Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Origins Spectrograph observations of 89 QSO sightlines through the Sloan Digital Sky Survey footprint, we study the relationships between C IV absorption systems and the properties of nearby galaxies, as well as the large-scale environment. To maintain sensitivity to very faint galaxies, we restrict our sample to 0.0015 < z < 0.015, which defines a complete galaxy survey to L (SIC) 0.01 L-* or stellar mass M-* (SIC) 10(8) M-circle dot. We report two principal findings. First, for galaxies with impact parameter rho < 1 r(vir), C IV detection strongly depends on the luminosity/stellar mass of the nearby galaxy. C IV is preferentially associated with galaxies with M-* > 10(9.5) M-circle dot; lower-mass galaxies rarely exhibit significant C IV absorption (covering fraction f(C) = 9(-6)(+12)% for 11 galaxies with M-* < 10(9.5) M-circle dot.). Second, C IV detection within the M-* > 10(9.5) M-circle dot. population depends on environment. Using a fixed-aperture environmental density metric for galaxies with rho < 160 kpc at z < 0.055, we find that 57(-13)(+12)% (8/14) of galaxies in low-density regions (regions with fewer than seven L > 0.15 L* galaxies within 1.5 Mpc) have affiliated C IV absorption; however, none (0/7) of the galaxies in denser regions show C IV. Similarly, the C IV detection rate is lower for galaxies residing in groups with dark matter halo masses of M-halo > 10(12.5) M-circle dot. In contrast to C IV, H. I is pervasive in the circumgalactic medium without regard to mass or environment. These results indicate that C IV absorbers with log N(C IV). (SIC) 13.5 cm(-2) trace the halos of M-* > 10(9.5) M-circle dot galaxies but also reflect larger-scale environmental conditions.

Measurement of the gas velocity distribution in galaxy clusters provides insight into the physics of mergers, through which large scale structures form in the Universe. Velocity estimates within the intracluster medium (ICM) can be obtained via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect, but its observation is challenging both in term of sensitivity requirement and control of systematic effects, including the removal of contaminants. In this paper we report resolved observations, at 150 and 260 GHz, of the SZ effect toward the triple merger MACS J0717.5 + 3745 (z = 0.55), using data obtained with the NIKA camera at the IRAM 30 m telescope. Assuming that the SZ signal is the sum of a thermal (tSZ) and a kinetic (kSZ) component and by combining the two NIKA bands, we extract for the first time a resolved map of the kSZ signal in a cluster. The kSZ signal is dominated by a dipolar structure that peaks at -5.1 and + 3.4 sigma, corresponding to two subclusters moving respectively away and toward us and coincident with the cold dense X-ray core and a hot region undergoing a major merging event. We model the gas electron density and line-of-sight velocity of MACS J0717.5 + 3745 as four subclusters. Combining NIKA data with X-ray observations from XMM-Newton and Chandra, we fit this model to constrain the gas line-of-sight velocity of each component, and we also derive, for the first time, a velocity map from kSZ data (i. e. that is model-dependent). Our results are consistent with previous constraints on the merger velocities, and thanks to the high angular resolution of our data, we are able to resolve the structure of the gas velocity. Finally, we investigate possible contamination and systematic effects with a special care given to radio and submillimeter galaxies. Among the sources that we detect with NIKA, we find one which is likely to be a high redshift lensed submillimeter galaxy.