Dans un environnement économique décrit comme turbulent, la flexibilité est perçue comme un facteur clé de succès que les entreprises devraient maximiser. Pourtant, la notion de flexibilité est souvent présentée comme un concept relatif au domaine étudié. Celle-ci reste par conséquent un concept difficile à appréhender de façon globale et est souvent limitée à une fonction analytique malgré les nombreux travaux dont elle a fait l’objet depuis le début du XXe siècle. La complexité provient essentiellement de la multiplicité des domaines d’application, en témoignent les travaux portants sur la classification des différents types de flexibilités et de l’absence d’approche homogène pour traiter ces problématiques. L’enjeu, pour développer une gestion de la flexibilité au sein des niveaux stratégique, tactique et opérationnel, est alors d’intégrer cette dimension au processus décisionnel. Aujourd’hui, seules certaines décisions ont pour objet la flexibilité alors que tout processus de décision, par le changement d’état qu’il opère, modifie la topologie de l’espace des situations atteignables et par conséquent la capacité du système à être flexible. En vue d’établir une véritable politique de couverture du risque efficiente en univers incertain pour les entreprises, notre recherche s’est attachée à proposer une unité de gestion commune pour la flexibilité que nous avons nommée « potentialité ». Nous avons ainsi défini un cadre conceptuel sur lequel repose une méthodologie permettant de concevoir un système à flexibilité souhaitée. Nos travaux ouvrent des perspectives de recherches importantes sur deux axes majeurs. Le premier consiste à formaliser l’expression du besoin en termes de flexibilité dans le cadre de la méthodologie proposée. Le second, concerne le développement d’une politique de flexibilité basée sur la gestion d’un portefeuille de potentialités à l’instar d’une gestion de stock. / In an economic environment described as turbulent, flexibility is perceived as a key success factor which firms should maximize. Nevertheless, notion of flexibility is often presented as a concept relative to field studies. Therefore, flexibility remains a difficult concept to take on board in a global manner. Despite the fact that there are many studies on the subject since the beginning of XXth century, flexibility is often limited to an analytical function. Complexity results essentially from fields applications’ multiplicity and on lack of homogeneous approach to handle these problems as shown in carrying works on different flexibility types classifications. The aim in developing a flexibility management within strategic, tactical and operational levels, is to integrate this dimension into decisionmaking process. In today’s business, only few decisions process have for object flexibility while every decision making process, by the change of state that it operates, modifies space typology to reachable situations and consequently, modifies as well system capacity to be flexible. To establish a real policy for efficient risk cover in uncertain universe for today’s bussinesses, our research attempted to propose a unit of common management for flexibility, which we named "potentiality". Therefore, we defined a conceptual framework in which a methodology allows designing a “wished flexibility” system. Our works open on perspectives researches based on two major axes. The first one consists in formalizing expression of need in terms of flexibility within the proposed methodology framework. The second axe concerns developing a flexibility policy based on a potentialities portfolio management following stock management example.

Since its creation in 1875, the Canadian Supreme Court has undergone several institutional transitions. These transitions have changed the role of the Court toward a more explicit and influential policy making role in the country. Despite this increasingly significant role, very limited attention has been given to the Court. With this perspective in mind, this study presents several analyses on the decision making process of the Canadian Supreme Court. At the institutional level, the study found that within the stable workload, the cases composition has shifted away from private law to public law cases. This shift is more significant when one concentrates on appeals involving constitutional and rights cases. The study found that this changing pattern of the Court's decision making was a result of the institutional changes shaping the Supreme Court. Statistically, the abolition of rights to appeal in civil cases in 1975 was found to be the most important source of the workload change.

<p><strong>Problem:        </strong>To be able to be successful in attracting international students it is necessary to understand why students choose to study abroad. Students engage in international education because they are looking for certain benefits, but which are these benefits? Does different students want different things and how well does Sweden deliver the sought after benefits? Does the introduction of a tuition fee influence the students’ decision?</p><p> </p><p><strong>Purpose:</strong>        The study, both theoretically and empirically, investigates what lays behind the decision to take part in an international education with focus on what benefits associated with an international education that are important for students.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Methodolgy:</strong>  A prestudy was conducted to create an understanding of the topic. The theoretical conclusions are tested with the help of questionnaires distributed at Hangzhou Dianzi University in China.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong>  A conclusive summary is set up which lists the most important benefits with international education. The empirical study shows that improved English, culture experience, the university’s reputation and that the country offers a safe environment are key benefits influencing Chinese students to study abroad.</p>

Problem:        To be able to be successful in attracting international students it is necessary to understand why students choose to study abroad. Students engage in international education because they are looking for certain benefits, but which are these benefits? Does different students want different things and how well does Sweden deliver the sought after benefits? Does the introduction of a tuition fee influence the students’ decision?   Purpose:        The study, both theoretically and empirically, investigates what lays behind the decision to take part in an international education with focus on what benefits associated with an international education that are important for students.   Methodolgy:  A prestudy was conducted to create an understanding of the topic. The theoretical conclusions are tested with the help of questionnaires distributed at Hangzhou Dianzi University in China.   Conclusions:  A conclusive summary is set up which lists the most important benefits with international education. The empirical study shows that improved English, culture experience, the university’s reputation and that the country offers a safe environment are key benefits influencing Chinese students to study abroad.

¡§Youtube¡¨ has been published for seven years, and along with the growth of Youtube, various types of online video have also been growing exponentially. Video marketing has become a popular propagation method in business. And also, video marketing is not only used in enterprises, but also used by lots of user to promote themselves successfully. Nowadays, video marketing is becoming one of the most influential propagation media. To make a good video in today¡¦s environment that emphasizing on innovation and speed, we need a systematic video making process. The concept of this research is based on the video toolbox method which includes ¡§tools¡¨, ¡§materials¡¨, and ¡§video making process¡¨. The research method used by this thesis is action research, by making and analyzing videos; we can explore and revise the content of the video toolbox. On the part of ¡§tools¡¨, suitable tools in the appropriate conditions should be organized. On the part of the ¡§materials¡¨, by the process of action research, the materials has been recreated and accumulated. These materials will be the basis of video making in the future. On the part of the¡¨ video making process¡¨, the processes have been improved after every video making, and apply appropriate process for different conditions. The efficiency of the video making is the focal point in this research, but we are also interested in the effect of video propagating. So after every attempt in video making, some tools have been used to analyze the effect of video propagating. The experience would be utilize in the next video making process, and also examine how the video toolbox help to improve the effect of video propagating.

The purpose of this study were to research the Decision-making Process of Oversea Chinese Students in College Applications , and hope to forward conclusions and suggestions according to the results. Based on the motivations , it can be categorized into three purpose : 1.to borrow from the theoretical framework and techniques from the education marketing, aims to enhance the marketing capacity of Taiwan¡¦s universities in recruiting oversea Chinese students. 2.to analysis the selection criteria of Oversea Chinese Students in College Applications, the main sources of foreign university information, and the most important person influencing the Decision-making Process of Oversea Chinese Students in College Applications. 3.according to the results, constructive suggestions to the administration, the universities and colleges, serving as a reference in the management of enrollment strategies. The achieve the aims mentioned above, the research starts from the exploring the theories of market segmentation and marketing strategies through related papers and articles, then collect empirical studies about the college-student recruitment. Based upon the result of literature review, a¡§Questionnaire of Influential Factors concerning the Decision-making Process of Oversea Chinese Students Seeking College Education¡¨ were developed. About eight hundred students in National Oversea Chinese Student University Preparatory School were surveyed using the questionnaire above. A series of statistics such as descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, cluster analysis, ANOVA, and MANOVA were conducted to analyze the data collected. The main discoveries are as follows : 1.Different background variable make a lot of difference in the Decision-making Process in College Applications. 2.Different background variable make a lot of difference within the four cluster Oversea Chinese Students. 3.Different cluster Oversea Chinese Students have their own inclination in the Decision-making Process in College Applications. 4.Different cluster Oversea Chinese Students have their own inclination in the university information sources. With the coming short of college students due to the sharp decrease of birth rate in Taiwan, recruitment officials of colleges and universities are anxious of the future and figuring out the strategies to admit oversea Chinese students from the Southeastern Asia. The conclusions of this study can provide a clear picture of future oversea Chinese students for international colleges and universities.

Taiwan¡¦s monopoly system, originating from the Military Governor Ming-chuan Liu of Qing Dynasty and applied by the Japanese, was a major financial source in Japan-colonized Taiwan. Chen Yi, the first ROC Chief Executive and Garrison Commander of Taiwan, renamed the Monopoly Bureau of Government-General as the Monopoly Bureau of Taiwan and then continued its monopolistic business. He stipulated five items -- tobacco, alcohol, camphor, matches, and measurement gadgets-- be monopolized by government whereas private manufacturing and sales be barred under the supervision of the Monopoly Bureau. Also banned from private transactions are certain necessities, such as salt, lime, cane sugar, gasoline, and electricity, which were distributed by some authorities other than the Monopoly Bureau. It was thought that such measures could restrict individual capital, and reinforce national capital in the hopes of realizing the idea of the nation founding, based on the doctrines of the Three People¡¦s Principles. Dr. Sun Yat-sen, though asserting capital restrictions in some degree, was not opposed to private capital, but, rather, was keen to encourage private enterprises. He had the national industries developed by a dual action via both private enterprises and national organizations. His philosophy argued that those productions not so proper to be commissioned to a state-run organization as to a private one should, along with incentives from the state and protection by the law, be rendered to the latter for operations. Based on this, it appeared obvious that people¡¦s livelihood didn¡¦t connote nationalization. And by no means did livelihood denote that the government could confiscate the industries already operated by civilians. After a further study, a distinction could be found in the argument between the economic centralization implemented by the authorities of Taiwan¡¦s administrative officers and the capital restriction elaborated in the Principles of People¡¦s Livelihood. The colossal assets taken over from Japanese-owned industries didn¡¦t mean any opportunities to reinforce national capital. Instead, monopolistic business was designed to operate by the government and afterwards turned up being outstanding samples of state-owned businesses among the industries in post-war Taiwan. The key factor consisted in the fact that state-owned industries were run under the supervision of the Taiwan Provincial Assembly, which boosted the managerial performance. The revenues from monopolistic sales of tobacco and spirits were crucial to the finances of our country and were helpful to the development of its economic constructions. The monopoly featured two functions. One function was to revive the production of the state-owned industries, which laid a foundation to carry out a six-term Four-year Economic Program, beginning in 1953; to make a substitute for imports; to spur export expansion; and to help kick-start our country¡¦s economic boom. The other function was to improve village constructions with land reforms of Three-seven-five Rent Deduction (a program limiting the rent of a land to a maximum of 37.5 percent of its total product), Release of State Lands, and Land-to-the-tillers Movements. The monopoly system was an indispensable support of finances, and it also ensured that the capital from the agricultural sector could be transferred to the industrial sector, which proved that provincial constructions were closely related to national economic development.

Aim: The aim of this thesis was to obtain an overview over the options of Nordic infertile couples regarding assisted reproduction treatment, and to follow couples’ arguments and decision-making process to make relevant decisions about these options. Methods: Quantitative and qualitative methods were used. The study design was inspired by Ecological systems theory, where data was gathered from laws and regulations (macro-level), fertility clinics (meso-level) and the couples using these options (micro-level). Study I consists of results from a review of the legislations in the five Nordic countries and results from a questionnaire that was sent to all fertility clinics to gather information about available options. Papers II and III present the findings of the interviews with 22 Nordic couples, after their first appointment with a specialist at the fertility clinic. The couples came from Denmark (3), Finland (6), Iceland (3), Norway (4) and Sweden (6). Study IV presents the findings of follow-up interviews with the same couples approximately three years later. For the qualitative study the tools of Grounded Theory were used. Findings: In Study I it was found that Nordic couples generally have good access to assisted reproductive technology treatments (ART), although it is not evenly distributed and there are restrictions related to certain criteria, such as age. There are national differences in the legislations, especially regarding gamete donation. These differences open up for cross-border reproductive care, andmore than one third of the fertility clinics offered treatment to people from other countries. Study II describes the decision-making process of the couples when determining the “right time” to try for a child. The couples mention the need to feel prepared for parenthood; such as a stable social situation, and once they felt prepared they became more susceptible to decision-making catalysts, such as influence from friends and family. Fear of infertility made the couple accelerate their decision regardless of preparation. In Study III the decision-making process of seeking medical help is illustrated. The core category was “negotiation and re-negotiation”. The process of decision-making is first to accept that they have a problem in common, secondly that they need knowledge and finally to take action and get help. Study IV deals with the decision-making process during treatments. Of 22 couples, 17 had succeeded at becoming parents after approximately three years, three couples were still trying and two had not decided how to continue. The core category was “maintaining control in an uncertain situation”. The couples tried to keep focus on the goal and to learn to deal with the new world with various methods. Conclusions:The structure of and the access to service for infertile couples differ between the Nordic countries. Some of the differences, e.g. regarding subsidy systems and waiting time, affected the decision making process since they could mean a delay in the treatment process or whether a private or public clinic was chosen. Additionally, a couple consists of two individuals with independent decision-making processes, which makes joint decision-making difficult and time-consuming. The couples have to negotiate their way to a consensus and are constantly confronted with new choices they need to re-negotiate on. The decision-making process, when dealing with infertility, is not a straight line, but rather a chain of small decisions affected by feelings, context and situation / Markmið: Markmið rannsóknarinnarvar að ná yfirsýn yfir þeim tæknifrjóvgunarmöguleikum sem norrænum pörum sem kljást við ófrjósemi stendur til boða, og að fylgja rökleiðslu þeirra og ákvarðanatökuferli sem tengist þessum möguleikum. Aðferð: Megindlegum og eigindlegum aðferðum var beitt.Hönnun rannsóknarinnarsótti innblástur til Ecological systems theory, með söfnun gagna frálögum og reglugerðum (macro-stig), tæknifrjóvgunarstofum (meso-stig) og frá pörunum sem nýttu sérþessa möguleika (micro-stig). Grein Iinniheldur niðurstöður rýni á reglugerðum Norðurlandanna fimm, ásamt niðurstöðum spurningalista sem sendur var öllum tæknifrjóvgunarstofum til að fá upplýsingar um þá möguleika sem stóðu til boða. GreinarII og III kynna niðurstöður úr viðtölum við 22 norræn pör sem fórufram eftir fyrsta tíma þeirra hjá sérfræðingi á tæknifrjóvgunarstofu. Pörin komu frá Danmörku (3), Finnlandi (6), Íslandi (3), Noregi (4) og Svíþjóð (6). Grein IV kynnir niðurstöður framhaldsviðtala við sömu pör sem fóru fram u.þ.b. þremur árum síðar. Fyrir eigindlega hluta rannsóknarinnar var aðferðum úr Grounded theory beitt. Niðurstöður: Grein Isýndi fram á að aðgengi norrænna para að tæknifrjóvgunarmeðferðum er alla jafna gott. Þó er aðgengið er ekki jafndreift og það eru hömlur sem tengjast tilteknum skilyrðum, svo sem aldri. Það er munur á reglugerðum landanna, sérstaklega hvað snýr að kynfrumugjöf. Þessi mismunur opnar fyrir tæknifrjóvgunarþjónustu yfir landamæri, en meira en þriðjungur tæknifrjóvgunarstofa buðu þjónustu sína fólki frá öðrum löndum. Grein II lýsir ákvarðanatökuferli paranna þegar þau ákvarða hvenær sé „réttur tími“ til að reyna að eignast barn. Pörin nefndu þörfina fyrir að finnast þau vera undirbúin fyrir foreldrahlutverkið, svo sem að hafa trygga félagslega stöðu, en að því búnu urðu þau móttækilegri fyrir ákvarðanatökuhvötum, svo sem áhrifum frá vinum og fjölskyldu. Óttivið ófrjósemi olli því að pörin flýttu ákvörðun sinni, óháð öðrum þáttum. Grein III varpar ljósi á ákvarðanatökuferlið sem leiðir til þess að leitað er aðstoðar sérfræðinga. Kjarnaflokkurinn (e. core category) var „að semja og endursemja“. Ferli ákvarðanatökunnar hefst með því að parið þarf að sætta sig viðað þau eigi við sameiginlegt vandamál að stríða, því næst þurfa þau að afla sér vitneskju, og loks að bregðast við ogleita hjálpar. Grein IV fjallar um ákvarðanatökuferlið meðan á meðferð stendur. Af 22 pörum, þá hafði 17 tekist að verða foreldrar eftir þrjú ár, þrjú pör voru enn að reyna og tvö pör höfðu ekki tekið ákvörðun um framhaldið. Kjarnaflokkurinn var „ að halda stjórn í ótryggum aðstæðum“. Pörin reyndu að einblína á markmiðið og að nota ýmsar aðferðir til þess að höndla nýjar aðstæður. Samantekt: Það er munur á uppbyggingu og aðgengi að þjónustu fyrir ófrjó pör milli Norðurlandanna. Sumir þessara mismunandi þátta, t.d. niðurgreiðslur og biðtími, höfðu áhrif á ákvarðanatökuferlið þar sem þeir gátu tafið meðferðina eða ráðið því hvort parið leitaði til einkastofu eða opinberrar stofnunar. Par samanstendur af tveimur einstaklingumhvor um sig með eigiðákvarðanatökuferli, en það gerir sameiginlega ákvarðanatöku erfiða og tímafreka. Parið verður að semja til að komast að sameiginlegri niðurstöðu, en þarf síðan í sífellu að endursemja um nýja möguleika sem koma fram. Ákvarðanatökuferlið eins og það snýr að ófrjósemi er ekki bein lína,heldur er það keðja af litlum ákvörðunum sem mótast af tilfinningum, samhengi og aðstæðum.

This thesis aims at investigating the challenges and barriers of reducing car dependency culture to achieve urban sustainability in Egypt. This is operationalised by identifying different policy options and theoretically examining a nested-case study empirically. A more important purpose behind this academic enterprise was to find more robust and nuanced explanations of the constant failure of the transport planning system in Egyptian cities. The adoption of a cultural-oriented analytical framework to examine decision-making processes demonstrated a way forward in the re-evaluation of current transport policy directions in Egypt. The research applies qualitative methods to a nested case study in Alexandria through the Sustainable Urban Transport Project, 2032. The rigorous data-collection methods included extensive documentary analysis, elite interviews, semi-structured interviews and non-participant observations. The results obtained from applying these unconventional methods of social and political sciences in transport planning studies show the richness of these research methods in providing comprehensive explanations. This research illustrates the value of placing policy and transport-planning-related studies into the centre of different research positions. The main contributions of this research are grounded on a number of key research findings. First, the development of a cultural-oriented analytical framework based on the central thesis of polyrationality. Second, the research pioneers the approach of identifying the relevant stakeholders and contexts in transport decision-making processes in Egypt which serves as a basis for other future transport-related research for Egypt. This research builds the foundation for conducting multidisciplinary research for transport planning studies. The final contribution of this research suggests the need for mediators or policy analysts who have relevant education and knowledge in the transport planning sector to influence the decision-making processes.

The landscape of the Internet is continually evolving. This creates huge opportunities for different industries to optimize vital channels online, resulting in various-forms of new Internet services. As a result, digital users are interacting with many digital systems and they are exhibiting dynamic behaviors. Their shopping behaviors are drastically different today than it used to be, with offline and online shopping interacting with each other. They have many channels to access online media but their consumption patterns on different channels are quite different. They do philanthropy online to help others but their heterogeneous motivations and different fundraising campaigns leads to distinct path-to-contribution. Understanding the digital user’s decision making process behind their dynamic behaviors is critical as they interact with various digital systems for the firms to improve user experience and improve their bottom line. In this thesis, I study digital users’ decision journeys and the corresponding digital technology firms’ strategies using inter-disciplinary approaches that combine econometrics, economic structural modeling and machine learning. The uncovered decision journey not only offer empirical managerial insights but also provide guideline for introducing intervention to better serve digital users.