Companies are looking for ways to improve their business practices to work more efficiently.They are also looking for technology that can improve their workflows and customer service systems.  Here comes the need of enterprise software applications, theses softwares allows companies to cut costs and standardize the way they work, ensuring that everyone is working towards the same goal. The objective of this study is an assignment from Ericsson Business Support Solutions with the purpose of studying the effect of transitioning from the currently used process (CSV files) to an interactive web UI, when it comes to the process of handling offering of software capabilities.In this study, we aim to study the challenges and opportunities of developing an enterprise application software(EAS) and its impact on the productivity of end users.This research will also study the challenges and benefits of developing an enterprise software application (Digital marketplace) that will be used in a large (+500 employees) organization. In addition, the study will research security aspects that should be considered when developing enterprise softwares. Two sorts of studies have been conducted to answer the research questions. In order to understand and gain knowledge about the process of enterprise software development and to be able to point out which challenges and benefits there are and to get closer view of which security aspects should be in consideration when developing a software on this scale, a literature study was conducted. In order to observe and investigate whether web interfaces are a better solution / method than CSV files, and thus see the possibility of whether web interfaces can generally replace CSV files when it comes to CRUD, search and filtering information an empirical study was carried out through the development of a user interface and a usability test survey was conducted. The overall results of the study consistently show that UI is a more resourceful alternate to the  CSV files if the challenges posed by the enterprise software are sufficiently engaged and taken care of. A solid insight and expertise into information technology, pragmatic solutions to the security challenges, and careful consideration of the participants' complaints will be helpful in creating functional enterprise software.

This study aims to showcase how primary school teachers for ages 7-9, view qualities of outdoor areas and how they perceive obstacles and opportunities with teaching the subject of Biology outdoors. The aim is also to contribute with knowledge of how elementary schools can make outdoor education more accessible. The data was collected by semi-structured interviews and was conducted with nine primary school teachers from four municipalities in Sweden. The thematic analysis of the interview shows that the teachers are positive towards outdoor education and its influence on pupils’ knowledge acquisition in Biology. Despite this, teachers tend to avoid using outdoor education because of the different challenges that comes with it. The results show that the teachers’ perception of the quality of outdoor areas as well as their didactic and subject knowledge, influenced their use of outdoor teaching in biology. We can use the teachers’ views on the outdoor educations’ possibilities and challenges to contribute with recommendations as to how the schools can support the use of outdoor education. This includes having enough personnel, possibilities for teachers to improve their competence in the area, outdoor classrooms and preserving outdoor areas. / Denna studie syftade till att kartlägga hur undervisande lärare i biologi för årskurs 1–3 uppfattar vilka kvalitéer grönområden bör ha, samt möjligheter och utmaningar med utomhusundervisning. Syftet med studien är även att bidra med kunskaper om vilka insatser som skolansverksamhet kan vidta, för att utveckla utomhusundervisningen i biologiämnet på lågstadiet. För att ta reda på studiens frågeställningar genomfördes en semistrukturerad intervjustudie. Nio grundskolelärare i fyra olika kommuner i Mellansverige intervjuades. Sedan utfördes en tematisk analys av de inspelade intervjuerna. Resultatet indikerar att lärarna är positivt inställda till utomhusundervisning och anser att det är gynnsamt för elevers lärande. Utmaningarna gör dock att utomhusundervisningen undviks i stor utsträckning. Kartläggningen visar att lärarnas uppfattningar om bland annat personalbrist, grönområdens kvalitet samt deras didaktiska- och ämneskunskaper påverkade deras användning av utomhusundervisning i biologi. Till följd av lärarnas synpunkter kring möjligheter och utmaningar kan studien slutligen bidra med rekommendationer till skolverksamheten för att stötta utomhusundervisning. Det innefattar att ha tillräckligt med personal, ge möjlighet till kompetensutveckling, uteklassrum samt att bevara grönområden.

AbstractBackground: Among the biggest threats to mankind are various environmental problems which have been mainly triggered by human interference with the planet. There have been various ineffective efforts to mitigate these detrimental effects. Therefore, another solution might come in the form of social enterprises tackling the aforesaid environmental problems. However, to increase the impact, they need to scale up. It is therefore of paramount importance to understand their major scale-up challenges as well as proposed solutions to scale up successfully. Along with that, we also scrutinize further scale-up opportunities to uncover the hidden potential of scaling up. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between social enterprises and their power to tackle environmental problems. We further build on what social enterprises tackling environmental problems must do to mitigate identified scale-up challenges successfully and to be able to seize any scale-up opportunity that comes their way with the main aim of scaling up their positive environmental impact.Method: Ontology – Relativism; Epistemology – Social Constructionism; Strategy –Qualitative, Exploratory; Approach – Inductive; Design – Grounded theory; Data Collection –10 semi-structured interviews; Sampling – Purposive, snowball; Data Analysis – Grounded AnalysisConclusion: Several factors hinder scaling up and solutions to those lie mainly in four key concepts i.e. business idea, value proposition, competency and collaboration. That has been presented in our proposed model (The Hot Air Balloon Model of Scaling Up). We believe that if these four key concepts are well addressed by SEEPs, they are likelier to overcome challenges as well as are in a better position to attract opportunities. Successful scale-up leads to better financial performance along with the overall objective of scaling up the positive environmental impact.

Aim: This thesis aims to investigate the varying needs and perceptions of employees in different positions within a single organization in Brazil with regard to flexiblework arrangements. Methodology: The study selected eight employees from diverse positions within the organization through purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The datacollection process employed a semi-structured interview approach, using an interview guide exploring the perception and needs of the employees regarding flexible work arrangements. The primary objective of the interviews was to offer valuable insights into employees' experiences and viewpoints, which aids in understanding the workforce's needs and requirements. Findings: The analysis found that employees across the different hierarchies in the organization exhibited a shared inclination towards remote work due to its advantages. However, the choices made by the employees were influenced by the team and managerial dynamics, client demands, and peak periods of activity. The findings disclosed that the advantages of flexible working arrangements are multifaceted encompassing work-life balance, quality of life, and cost savings. Conversely, challenges in the form of limited communication and relationship building opportunities, hierarchical complexities, and the high commuting costs incurred by hybrid workers were identified. The findings, therefore, emphasized the importance of fostering support, collaboration, and a positive work environment. Conclusion: Overall, the organization actively promotes adaptability to remote work, offering incentives and the necessary equipment to facilitate work-from-home arrangements. This research, therefore, underscores the need to embrace remote work and advocate for an enabling environment that addresses the diverse needs and challenges encountered by employees engaging in flexible work practices.

Trender är ett fenomen som innebär en tydlig och stabil förändring av något på marknaden. Inom sportens värld finns det en trend som varit speciellt uppmärksammad och aktuell de senaste åren. Sporten det handlar om är padel, vilket för många var ett okänt område för bara 5 år sedan, men som nu växt fram till att vara en uppskattad sport eller motionsform i Sverige. Förmågan att snappa upp och utnyttja en affärsmöjlighet eller en trend är en väsentlig egenskap för att kunna starta och driva en lönsam verksamhet och det är vanligt att det är just de som kallas entreprenörer som besitter denna förmåga. Syftet med denna studie är att skapa medvetenhet kring hur entreprenörer identifierat och värderat trenden padel och dess affärsmässiga potential. Studien har genomförts med en kvalitativ metod, varvid fem semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med fem olika entreprenörer inom padelbranschen. Forskarna har använt sig av en abduktiv ansats, där teori och empiri har samlats in växelvis. Litteraturgenomgången presenterar teorier kring vad en trend och affärsmöjlighet är samt hur en trend kan urskiljas. Även teorier kring en entreprenörs personlighet samt hur man identifierar och värderar en trend behandlas. Resultatet av studien grundar sig i att tillvägagångssättet för entreprenörer som startat verksamhet inom padel skildrar sig från hur det vanligtvis går till vid ett företags framväxt. Där entreprenörens affärsnätverk, identifiering och värdering av affärsmöjligheten tillsammans med dennes personlighet har legat till grund för bedömningen av padelns affärsmässiga potential.

Last mile transportation is the most problematic phase of transportation needing additional research and effort. Longer waits or search times, lack of navigational directions and real-time information are some of the common problems associated with last mile transportation. Inefficient last mile transportation has an impact on the environment, fuel consumption, user satisfaction and business opportunities. Last mile problems exist in several transportation domains, such as: the landing of airplanes, docking of ships, parking of vehicles, attended home deliveries, etc. While there are dedicated inter-connected decision support systems available for ships and aircraft, similar systems are not widely utilized in parking or attended handover domains. Therefore, the scope of this thesis covers last mile transportation problems in parking and attended handover domains. One problem area for parking and attended handovers is due to lack of real-time information to the driver or consumer. The second problem area is dynamic scheduling where the handover vehicle must traverse additional distance to multiple handover locations due to lack of optimized routes. Similarly, during parking, lack of navigational directions to an empty parking space can lead to increased fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Therefore, aim of this thesis is to design and develop decision support systems for last mile transportation problems by holistically addressing real time customer communication and dynamic scheduling problem areas. The problem areas discussed in this thesis consists of persistent issues even though they were widely discussed in the literature. In order to investigate the problem areas, microdata analysis approach was implemented in the thesis. The phases involved in Microdata analysis are: data collection, data processing, data storage, data analysis and decision-making. Other similar research domains, such as: computer science or statistics also involve phases such as data collection, processing, storage and analysis. These research domains also work in the fields of decision support systems or knowledge creation. However, knowledge creation or decision support systems is not a mandatory phase in these research domains, unlike Microdata analysis. Three papers are presented in this thesis, with two papers focusing on parking domains, while the third paper focuses on attended handover domains. The first paper identifies available smart parking tools, applications and discusses their uses and drawbacks in relation to open parking lots. The usage of cameras in identifying parking occupancy was recognized as one of the suitable tools in this paper. The second paper uses a thermal camera to collect the parking lot data, while deep learning methodologies were used to identify parking occupancy detection. Multiple deep learning networks were evaluated for identifying parking spaces and one method was considered suitable for acquiring real time parking occupancy. The acquired parking occupancy information can be communicated to the user to address real-time customer communication problems. However, the decision support system (DSS) to communicate parking occupancy information still needs to be developed. The third paper focuses on the attended handovers domain where a decision support system was reported which addresses real-time customer communication and dynamic scheduling problems holistically. Based on a survey, customers accepted the use of mobile devices for enabling a real-time information flow for improving customer satisfaction. A pilot test on vehicle routing was performed where the decision support system reduced the vehicle routing distance compared to the route taken by the driver. The three papers work in developing decision support systems for addressing major last mile transportation problems in parking and attended handover domains, thus improving customer satisfaction, and business opportunities, and reducing fuel costs, and pollution.

Frågeställning: Under vilka omständigheter väljer organisationer intern respektive extern rekrytering när chefer ska tillsättas? Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka under varför och under vilka omständigheter organisationer väljer intern respektive extern chefsrekrytering.  Metod: Kvalitativ ansats, Intervjuer, Tematisk analys Slutsats: Utifrån den tidigare litteraturen samt studiens insamlade empiriska material tycks organisationer föredra att rekrytera chefer internt om rätt kompetens finns inom organisationen. Det huvudsakliga argumentet för internrekrytering är att skapa motivation hos anställda samt bibehålla långsiktig kompetens genom att utveckla medarbetare. Interna kandidater har även kunskap om organisationens kultur och arbetsprocesser, vilket minskar tid och kostnader för introduktion. Under vissa omständigheter tycks organisationer föredra extern rekrytering, exempelvis när en omorganisering ska ske, eller vid andra situationer som kräver nya perspektiv och infallsvinklar. En annan vanlig orsak till att rekrytera chefer externt är när intern kompetens saknas inom organisationen. Intern utveckling är en del av ett långsiktigt arbete att säkerställa att organisationen har rätt kompetens och rätt ledarskap i framtida situationer. / Research questions: Under what circumstances do organizations choose internal or external recruitment when hiring managers? Purpose: The Purpose is to investigate why and under what circumstances organizations choose internal or external managerial recruitment. Method: Qualitative method, Interviews, Thematic analysis Conclusion: Based on the previous literature and the study's collected empirical material, it seems that organizations prefer to recruit managers internally if the right skills are available within the organization. The main argument for internal recruitment is to create motivation in employees as well as maintain long-term competence through employee development. Internal candidates also have knowledge of the organization's culture and work processes, which reduces the time and costs of introduction. Under certain circumstances, organizations seem to prefer external recruitment, for example when a reorganization is to take place, or in other situations that require new perspectives and approaches. Another common reason for recruiting managers externally is when there is a lack of internal competence within the organization. Internal development is part of a long-term effort to ensure that the organization has the right skills and leadership in future situations.

As previous research has suggested, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought implications for different fields, in which higher education is not an exception (Blankenberger & Williams, 2020; Bidwell et al., 2020; Dhawan, 2020). The social distancing restrictions adopted by several governments including the Swedish one to contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have implied that most higher education institutions temporarily closed and/or transitioned face-to-face designed courses into online environments in a matter of weeks, or even days, forcing the teaching staff to increasingly adopt digital technologies to continue the course delivery (Rad et al., 2021; Bidwell et al., 2020; Hodges et al., 2020; Dhawan, 2020). Through collecting data at a Swedish university, this inductive and pragmatic study utilized a convergent mixed methods approach to study teachers ́ lived experiences during the COVID- 19 period, and explore the implications of change brought on by the pandemic to the design of courses at the higher education level, with the aim of contributing to future action in the field.  The temporal component (Sweeting, 2014) was utilized as a unit of comparison for analyzing the results of the interview and questionnaire data to deepen the understanding of the COVID-19 implications of change on course design through time, especially looking towards the future. The study’s findings suggest that the main changes brought on by the pandemic to higher education course design relate to the alteration of teaching format, the increased presence of course design as a topic in the teaching agenda, and the increased digitalization of course design, with associated challenges such as the technical and the communication, interaction, and engagement aspects of course design, and opportunities such as the highlighted digital possibilities for course design. Furthermore, the main implication brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic to the future of course design is expected to be associated with the advanced digitalization of higher education course design. This future implication has been problematized by the study through utilizing the conceptual framework provided by Selwyn’s (2011) understanding of the relationship between education and digital technologies, inviting higher education teachers and institutions to question the role of digital technologies in the present and future moments of higher education course design, and learn from the present for improving the future.

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