Workplace studies in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is a research field that has expanded in an explosive way during the recent years. Today there is a wide range of theoretical approaches and methods to choose from, which makes it problematic to make methodological choices both in research and system design. While there have been several studies that assess the different approaches to workplace studies, there seems to be a lack of studies that explore the theoretical and methodological differences between more structured methods within the research field. In this thesis, a comparative theoretical and empirical analysis of three methods for workplace studies is being conducted to deal with the following research problem: What level of theoretical depth and methodological structure is appropriate when conducting methods for workplace studies to inform design of complex socio-technical systems? When using the two criterions descriptive power and application power, to assess Contextual Design (CD), Determining Information Flow Breakdown (DIB), and Capturing Semi-Automated Decision-Making (CASADEMA), important lessons are learned about which methods are acceptable and useful when the purpose is to inform system design.

Potentially transformational ideas in several applications of human and computer interaction form the motivation for this work. It is targeted towards a systematic approach to the design of systems with complex, intelligent and interactive exchange of information between a system and the environment it is meant to monitor, and gather knowledge about. The Pahl and Beitz systematic design method is modified with the inclusion of generic sub-systems from Living Systems Theory, modeling and simulation tools and other adaptations within the context of the validation square to synthesize a design method for the design of systems with intelligent and interactive information flow. The validation of the proposed design method is carried out with the aid of an example wherein a motion capture system is designed based on the Nintendo Wii Remote(TM). Results include an evaluation of the performance of a prototype as well as the design method itself in the context of the requirements that the method must fulfill.

Network Coding is a technique which looks beyond traditional store-and-forward approach followed by routers and switches in communication networks, and as an extension introduces maps termed as ‘local encoding kernels’ and ‘global encoding kernels’ defined for each communication link in the network. The purpose of both these maps is to define rules as to how to combine the packets input on the node to form a packet going out on an edge. The paradigm of network coding was formally and for the first time introduced by Ahlswede et al. in [1], where they also demonstrated its use in case of single-source multiple-sink network multicast, although with use of much complex mathematical apparatus. In [1], examples of networks are also presented where it is shown that network coding can improve the overall throughput of the network which can not otherwise be realized by the conventional store-and-forward approach. The main result in [1], i.e. the capacity of single-source multiple-sinks information network is nothing but the minimum of the max-flows from source to each sink, was again proved by Li, Yeung, and Cai in [2] where they showed that only linear operations suffice to achieve the capacity of multicast network. The authors in [2] defined generalizations to the multicast problem, which they termed as linear broadcast, linear dispersion, and Generic LCM as strict generalizations of linear multicast, and showed how to build linear network codes for each of these cases. For the case of linear multicast, Koetter and Medard in [3] developed an algebraic framework using tools from algebraic geometry which also proved the multicast max-flow min-cut theorem proved in [1] and [2]. It was shown that if the size of the finite field is bigger than a certain threshold, then there always exists a solution to the linear multicast, provided it is solvable. In other words, a solvable linear multicast always has a solution in any finite field whose cardinality is greater than the threshold value. The framework in [3] also dealt with the general linear network coding problem involving multiple sources and multiple sinks with non-uniform demand functions at the sinks, but did not touched upon the key problem of finding the characteristic(s) of the field in which it may have solution. It was noted in [5] that a solvable network may not have a linear solution at all, and then introduced the notion of general linear network coding, where the authors conjectured that every solvable network must have a general linear solution. This was refuted by Dougherty, Freiling, Zeger in [6], where the authors explicitly constructed example of a solvable network which has no general linear solution, and also networks which have solution in a finite field of char 2, and not in any other finite field. But an algorithm to find the characteristic of the field in which a scalar or general linear solution(if at all) exists did not find any mention in [3] or [6]. It was a simultaneous discovery by us(as part of this thesis) as well as by Dougherty, Freiling, Zeger in [7] to determine the characteristics algorithmically. Applications of Network Coding techniques to wireless networks are seen in literature( [8], [9], [10]), where [8] provided a variant of max-flow min-cut theorem for wireless networks in the form of linear programming constraints. A new architecture termed as COPE was introduced in [10] which used opportunistic listening and opportunistic coding in wireless mesh networks.

Trots att datorer har funnits en längre tid och används mer och mer kvarstår användningen av papper på kontor. En förklaring är att det inte finns tillräckligt bra digitala verktyg för att få bort papper från arbetet. I denna kvalitativa fallstudie undersöks kontorsavdelningen på ABB Components om hur implementeringsprocesser för pappersfria informationsflöden kan införas på ett sätt som genererar fördelar med att arbeta digitalt. Resultatet från denna studie har baserats på data som har blivit insamlad från intervjuer och observationer som har genomförts på kontoret. Genom att identifiera vilka processer som använder papper på kontoret har olika datorprogram tagits fram för att underlätta implementeringen. Resultatet i denna studie tyder även på att implementeringen av pappersfriainformationsflöden bör vara en väl planerad förändringsprocess där verktyg tas fram för att kompensera för den tidigare pappersanvändningen. Vid införandet av pappersfria informationsflöden kan användandet av förbrukningsinventarieratt minska och platsen det tar att lagra papper försvinner. Detta kan leda till ett mer kostnadseffektivt arbete och mindre slöseri rent pappersmässigt. För att detta ska leda tillfördelar med användandet av konceptet måste arbetsrutiner göras om för att införandet ska fungera. / Although computers have been around for a long time and are used more and more, the use of paper inoffices remains. One of the reasons is that there are not good enough digital tools to get rid of paper from work. In this qualitative case study, the office department of ABB Components is investigating on how the implementation processes for a paperless information flows can be introduced in ways that generate benefits of working digitally. The result of this study will be based on data collected from interviews and observations carriedout in the office. By identifying which processes using paper in the office, different tools have been developed to facilitate the implementation. The result of this study suggests that the implementation of a paperless information flows must be a well-planned change process where tools are developed to compensate for the earlier use of paper. With the introduction of paperless information flows, the use of consumables will decrease and the location it takes to store these papers will disappear. This leads to more cost-effective work and less waste paper. In order for this concept to lead to a more beneficial routine it needs to be redesigned for the implementation.

Till följd av ökande krav från kunder blir dagens konkurrenssituation på marknaden allt hårdare för företag. Dessa krav bidrar till att företagen måste satsa på ökad effektivitet och långsiktig lönsamhet. Lean är ett känt begrepp inom industrin som vid implementering syftar till att reducerar eller eliminera slöseri i informations- och materialflöden vilket leder till effektivisering. Denna studie bygger på ett problem som existerar i ett flertal informations- och materialflöden i en processindustri. Fallföretaget i denna studie är Iggesund Paperboard som önskar klarhet angående flödena samt minskade ledtider och lagernivåer. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur internt materialflöde samt beställning och prognostisering av material kan effektiviseras för att reducera ledtid och lagernivåer. Studien utfördes genom en fallstudie där datainsamling på fallföretaget samlades in genom intervjuer, observationer och dokumentstudier. Parallellt samlades information också in genom litteratur. Datainsamlingen utgjorde sedan underlag till analys och slutsatser för denna studie. Resultatet i form av kartläggningen av informations- och materialflöden visar på ett komplext flöde med många aktiviteter som bidrar till slöseri. Orsakerna till slöseri i flödena är varierande och bidrar till ökade ledtider och lagernivåer. Vid kartläggningen utformades två bilder med två värdeflöden i varje bild som tillsammans med förbättringsförslag kan skapa kontroll och minska ledtider och lagernivåer. Det vetenskapliga bidrag som denna studie frambringar är att utöka kunskapen inom dokumentering och analysering, samt tillämpning av lösningar baserade på filosofin inom Lean, för administrativa arbetsuppgifter. Bidraget är således att kombinera och utföra samma tillämpning på ett informations- och materialflöde i helhet och inte var för sig. Förslag till vidare forskning är att utföra undersökningen som gjort i studien under en längre tidsperiod samt i fler miljöer för att ge prov på ökad trovärdighet. / Companies meet tougher competition at the marketplace as a consequence of increasing customer demand. As a result they have to focus on increasing their efficiency and look for long-term profitability. Lean is a known concept within the world of industries that aims to reduces or eliminates waste in information- and material flows which will lead to effectiveness. The findings of his study are based on a problem within a process industry. The problem comprises information- and material flows where the company Iggesund Paper requests clarity in the flows, and reduced lead time and stock levels. The purpose with this study is to investigate how internal material flow, forecasting orders and ordering materials can be developed to be more efficient and reduce lead-time and stock levels. This study is carried out as a case-study where the data was collected through interviews, observations, document studies and literature review. The data collection gave a solid ground for further analysis and conclusions. The value stream mapping and the description of the information- and material flows indicates and identifies complexity and activities contributing to waste. This situation leads to increasing lead-times and stock levels. The cause of the situation is varied but with the maps of the flows and the improvement proposals improvements can be made and effectiveness can be achieved. The theoretical contribution of this study is to extend research and considering applying tools within the Lean philosophy on administrative work, and together with the same application on work with material flow this study combine the proposals of improvements for the entire process. Suggestions for further research are to extend the time of the field study and likewise apply the methods of the study in additional situations to extend the validity and reliability.

Föreställ dig att du arbetar på en arbetsplats som har en brist på dokumenterad information. Information kommuniceras oftast genom dagliga informationsmöten, varav en del anställda inte kan delta på dessa möten på grund av att de är på tjänstgöring. Informationen dokumenteras inte heller och utfallet resulterar i att vissa anställda saknar information för att arbeta effektivt utifrån organisationens perspektiv. Den generella arbetsinsatsen på organisationen kan ses som effektivt för den enskilda medarbetaren. Informationen och rutinerna standardiseras inte inom alla distrikt i postkontoret. Vissa rutiner utförs inte som förväntat och skapar komplikationer för andra kollegor att göra en effektiv insats inom samma distrikt, det vill säga avdelning. Organisationen har ett internt begrepp med namnet hasare vilket innebär att anställda med denna position måste arbeta i flera distrikt istället för ett enda. Eftersom organisationernas informationsflöde är kritiskt och också påverkar standardiseringen negativt, skapar det svårigheter för hasare att arbeta effektivt. Syftet med rapporten är att definiera de grundläggande orsakerna till problemet och även de lösningar som är baserade på medarbetares önskemål. Utifrån intervjuer och observation visar det sig att problemet påverkar standardiseringen av arbetet och i förlängningen även motivationen negativt för de anställda. Lösningen är en implementering av informationsmappar med relevant information till varje distrikt och även en implementering av ett teamsystem för att säkerställa att alla dokument i mappen uppdateras. Implementeringen bygger på Lean Management och offensiv kvalitetsutveckling (TQM), med målet att bygga upp en organisation på långsiktiga grunder och en delaktighet i organisationens aktiviteter. Metoden som har använts utgår från att studenten, tillsammans med organisationens medarbetare, ska generera släktskapsdiagram innehållande problemorsaker och träddiagram innehållande lösningar till problemen. Lösningsförslagen ställs därefter emot problemorsakerna för att analysera effektiviteten i lösningsförslagen. Slutsaterna är att organisationen har kvalitetsbrister i det interna informationsflödet och behöver upprätta enkel, standardiserad och lättillgänglig dokumentation som även samlas på en definierad plats. Organisationen behöver även gå igenom och uppdatera den dokumenterade informationen. / Imagine yourself working in a workplace that have a lack of documented information. Information is usually communicated through daily information meetings, as some employees can not attend on these meetings. The employees that can not attend need to do their duty during the meetings. The information is also not documented and the outcome is that some employees miss out on information and work as what is effective for themself. The overall work effort of the organization can be seen as effective for the individual employee and less effective for the whole organisation. The information and routines are not standardized within every divisions of the post office. Some routines are not performed as expected and make it harder for other colleagues to make an effective effort at the same division. The organisation have an internal concept called ”hasare” which means that employees with this position need to work in several divisions instead of one single. Because the organizations information flow is critical and also affects standardization negatively, it creates difficulties for "hasare" to work efficiently. The purpose of this paper is to define the root causes to the problem and also the solutions based of the employees visions. Based on interviews and observation, it appears that the problem has a negative effect on the standardization of the work and the motivation for employees. The solution is an implementation of folders with information to every division and also an implementation of a team system to ensure that all documents in the folder are updated. The implementation is based on Lean management and Total Quality Management, aiming to build an organization on long-term basis and participation in the organization's activities. Based on the method, the student, together with the organization's employees, will generate interrelationship diagraphs containing problem issues and tree diagrams containing solutions to the problems. To analyze the effectiveness of the solution proposals, they are placed against the problems. The conclusion is that the organization has quality deficiencies in the internal information flow and needs to establish simple, standardized and easily accessible documentation that is also placed in a defined location. The organization also needs to review and update the documented information.

The dissertation thesis works out the problematic of increasing quality in information flow in road haulage. The thesis highlights logistic chains of road haulage of both carload freight and colli deliveries. Research project took place in two divisions of the biggest south bohemian transport company ČSAD JIHOTRANS a.s. The specified quality improvement of information flows comes out from implementation of new information technologies. The dissertation thesis is not only the description of new functions of implemented technologies, but it mainly describes consequential changes, which are necessary to perform in order to reach requested improvements.

Characteristics such as speed of reaction, order accuracy, operational flexibility and sustained quality have become fundamental in successful business today. The success of aligning a supply chain to attain these characteristics depends largely on the use of efficient communication and information technology. Communication between supply chain members requires that relevant information is transferred from its point of inception to the next point(s) of use. The transfer of information entails an efficient flow of information between systems, between systems and humans and between humans, which is directly associated with the effective interoperability between the various entities handling the relevant information. Accordingly, the realisation of interoperability will mean a faster information flow and, thus, an effective decision-making process. This research, therefore, will propose indicators and metrics for the assessment of the information flow efficiency of a business and, in particular, of a supply chain, examine the existing techniques of information flow measurement, and identify inherent weaknesses. New information flow efficiency metrics are developed and categorised into different indicators, which are based on the quality of the information as it is applied in finance, information technology and the principles of business performance measurements. This research will illustrate that these quality characteristics drive an effective and efficient information flow which, in turn, enables them to be used both as indicators and as associated metrics of information flow efficiency. Explorative analysis and statistical cluster analysis identified the most important indicators and associated metrics based on the results of a survey instrument designed specifically for this purpose. Scales were developed to facilitate the numeric assessment of the metrics and indicators. In order to prove the ability of the new indicators and associated metrics to differentiate between different levels of information flow efficiency, the new metrics were applied in sample organisations and the responses evaluated. This research lays an important foundation in terms of the ability to assess information flow efficiency which is, in turn, necessary in order to gain a better understanding of the performance of supply chains in a time where real-time information flow and electronic integration are becoming strategic business success factors. / Business Management / D. Com. (Business Management)

Dans cette thèse, nous présentons les risques posés par les Menaces Persistentes Avancées (APTs) et proposons une approche en deux temps pour distinguer les attaques qui en font partie. Ce travail fait partie d'Akheros, un Système de Détection d'Intrusion (IDS) autonome développé par trois doctorants. L'idée est d'utiliser l'apprentissage machine pour détecté des évènements inattendus et vérifier s'ils posent un risque de sécurité. La dernière étape, et le sujet de cette thèse, est de mettre en évidence les APT. Les campagnes d'APT sont particulièrement dangereuses car les attaquants sont compétents et ont un but précis ainsi que du temps et de l'argent. Nous partons des résultats des parties précédentes d'Akheros: une liste d'évènements traduisible en flux d'information et qui indique quand des attaques sont détectées. Nous faisons ressortir les liens entre attaques en utilisant le Suivi de Flux d'Information: nous ajoutons une nouvelle teinte pour chaque attaque. Lors de la propagation, si une teinte se trouve en amont d'un flux qui fait partie d'une attaque, alors les deux attaques sont liés. Certaines attaques se trouvent liées par erreur car les évènements que nous utilisons ne sont pas assez précis, d'où l'approche en deux temps. Dans le cas où certaines attaques ne sont pas détectées, la teinte de cette attaque n'est pas créée, cependant, les autres teintes sont propagées normalement, et l'attaque précédent l'attaque non détectée sera liée à l'attaque lui faisant suite. Le deuxième temps de l'approche est de retirer les liens erronés. Nous utilisons un Modèle de Markov Caché pour représenter les APTs et retirons les campagnes qui ne suivent pas le modèle. Ceci fonctionne car les APTs, quoique toutes différentes, passent par les mêmes phases. Ces phases sont les états cachés du modèle. Les observations sont les types d'attaques effectuées pendant ces phases. De plus, les actions futures des attaquants dépendent des résultats de l'action en cours, ce qui satisfait l'hypothèse de Markov. Le score utilisé pour classer les campagnes potentielles de la plus proche d'une APT à la plus éloigné est basé sur un algorithme de Viterbi modifié pour prendre en compte les attaques non détectées potentielles. / In this thesis, we present the risks posed by Advanced Persitent Threats (APTs) and propose a two-step approach for recognising when detected attacks are part of one. This is part of the Akheros solution, a fully autonomous Intrusion Detection System (IDS) being developed in collaboration by three PhD students. The idea is to use machine learning to detect unexpected events and check if they present a security risk. The last part, and the subject of this thesis, is the highlighting of APT. APTs campaigns are particularly dangerous because they are performed by skilled attackers with a precise goal and time and money on their side.We start with the results from the previous part of the Akheros IDS: a list of events, which can be translated to flows of information, with an indication for events found to be attacks. We find links between attacks using Information Flow Tracking. To do so, we create a new taint for each detected attack and propagate it. Whenever a taint is on the input of an event that is part of another attack, then the two attacks are linked. However, the links are only potential because the events used are not precise enough, which leads to erroneously propagated taints. In the case of an undetected attack, no taint is created for that attack, but the other taints are still propagated as normal so that previous attack is still linked to the next attack, only skipping the undetected one. The second step of the approach is to filter out the erroneous links. To do so, we use a Hidden Markov Model to represent APTs and remove potential attack campaign that do not fit the model. This is possible because, while each APT is different, they all go through the same phases, which form the hidden states of our model. The visible observations are the kind of attacks performed during these phases. In addition, the results in one phase dictate what the attackers do next, which fits the Markov hypothesis. The score used to rank potential attack campaign from most likely an APT to least likely so is based on a customised Viterbi algorithm in order to take into account potentially undetected attacks.

Les recherches en Sciences de Gestion et Sciences des Systèmes d'Information ont proposé diverses analyses des bénéfices des réseaux sociaux et de leurs processus d’adoption. Toutefois, les usages des réseaux sociaux sont multiples et chacun mériterait d’être approfondi. En particulier, la curation digitale est une pratique qui s’impose comme un objet de recherche particulièrement pertinent. Il propose une nouvelle utilisation des réseaux sociaux numériques, potentiellement bénéfique à l’entreprise. Ainsi, il est proposé de rapprocher les notions de curation, réseaux sociaux numériques et connaissance organisationnelle au travers de la problématique suivante : en quoi l’usage professionnel de la curation sur les réseaux sociaux permet-il d’améliorer les connaissances organisationnelles ? Pour y répondre, cette question a été articulée en trois sous-problématiques, permettant trois différents niveaux d’analyse. La première aborde les facteurs influençant l’adoption de la pratique de curation par l’individu ; la deuxième propose d’analyser l’intérêt des réseaux sociaux en tant qu’outil de support pour effectuer la curation de contenu ; la dernière associe les deux notions de curation et réseaux sociaux dans le cadre organisationnel, afin d’en comprendre ses bénéfices. Les cadres théoriques de la richesse des médias, la présence sociale, l'UTAUT et le model SLAM de l'apprentissage organisationnel ont été mobilisés à cet effet. Un questionnaire récoltant 841 réponses et 14 entretiens semi-directifs ont permis de confirmer la présence d'un lien positif entre l'adoption de l'usage de la curation sur les réseaux sociaux et l'amélioration des connaissances individuelles et collectives. Afin qu’elles puissent être converties en connaissances organisationnelles, il a été prouvé que les flux informationnels de l'entreprise doivent être alignés avec les différents niveaux de stock de connaissances. / Research in Management Science and Information Systems has proposed a series of work centered around the benefits of social networks for individuals and the adoption process that it entails. However, social network uses are numerous and each of them deserve in-depth studies. Specifically, the practice of content curation becomes truly relevant in a context of digital transformation. It proposes a new social network use that can benefit the organization. Thereby, the research opts to gather the concept of social network, curation and organizational knowledge through the following question: how does profesionnal content curation on social network participate to organizational knowledge ? This question has been sub-divided into three questions, allowing different multi-level analysis. The first one questions the influencing factors of social network curation for individuals ; the second one interrogates the benefit of using social network tool to operate content curation ; the third one combines both concepts in an organizational context with the aim of clarifying its benefits. Media Richess Theory, Social Presence Theory, UTAUT and SLAM Framework has been used to bring an answer to them. 841 questionary respondants along with 14 semi-directional interviews sufficed to confirm positive link betwen the adoption of social network curation and improvement of individual and collective knowledge. To reach organizational knowledge, the research demonstrates that informatio flows and the different stocks of knowledge need to be aligned.