The impact of knowledge on firm performance has been seen as one explanation of firm performance heterogeneity, which is a central question in the area of Strategic Management. However, there has been surprisingly limited research into the role of new knowledge internalization within firms. Further, the ubiquitous role of external knowledge providers, especially those that explicitly exist to provide knowledge to firms (Consulting Service Firms) has been negligibly studied. Specifically this dissertation looked at how firms first understand new knowledge and suggested that firms differ in their ability to discern the impact of this new knowledge based on the absorptive capacity that they already possess. I examine how firms internalize this new knowledge and suggest that they can either use existing internal resources or seek external assistance to achieve this internalization. This dissertation has empirically examined these linkages. A survey sent to the top management of 2015 Indian firms, yielded 277 usable responses, which have provided insights into the new knowledge internalization pathways in firms. I use structural equation modeling and hierarchical regressions to test my hypotheses. I find that firms do differ in their use of internal and external knowledge providers, while attempting to internalize new knowledge and that the quality of the relationship impacts the outcomes of any external engagement. I also find that firms with absorptive capacity benefit both by having better short term financial performance and also by being well situated to increase their stocks of knowledge assets, which can help long term performance. This dissertation contributes to several streams of literature in the field of strategic management. I add to the knowledge based view literature and more specifically to the absorptive capacity literature by partially opening the black box of organizational routines. This dissertation also contributes to the professional service literature by suggesting that consultants can help firms generate performance, although this is particularly beneficial to firms that already posses high absorptive capacity. Implications of the results from both practice and research perspectives are discussed and areas of future research are suggested.

<p> Weirs of the conventional shape are amenable to analysis based on an assumption of one-dimensional flow and a number of computational routines have been developed for this type of transition problem. When critical flow occurs in a highly non-uniform section, a more sophisticated approach is necessary. </p> <p> In conjunction with laboratory tests on a typical compound control, a mathematical mode was formulated for the development of the stage-discharge relation. It is felt that this model will allow an accurate prediction for water quantity from fluctuating sources. </p> / Thesis / Master of Engineering (MEngr)

This study examined organizational routines and teachers' experiences in two urban public elementary schools. The study advances the scholarship on teachers' work through a nuanced examination of instructional routines in order to illuminate teachers' experiences with accountability based-reforms. Using neoinstitutional theory, this study employed ethnographic methods to examine instructional routines in two schools of varying AYP-status: one high-performing school and one low-performing school. Observations and interviews were conducted with a total of 17 teachers over the course of two school years. Findings indicated that routines were a recoupling mechanism, used to more closely align teachers' tasks with the goals of accountability policy. The implementation and performance of routines was both similar and distinct between the two schools. There were distinct differences in the intensity and the pervasiveness of mandated instructional routines between schools. However, regardless of AYP-status, routines served to rationalize teachers' instructional tasks by reducing variation in the form and content of classroom instruction. Accordingly, the process of recoupling and the resulting rationalization of teachers' tasks resulted in teachers experiencing reduced professional discretion, depleted intrinsic rewards, and compromised relationships with students and with each other. Under these circumstances, accountability policy moved teaching away from professionalization and undermined efforts to sustain teachers over time. / Urban Education

This thesis is a series of projects that attempt to create a fully imagined and described world for a woodworker. Each project, titled A House and A Workshop, focuses on different ideas as the imagined world becomes clearer. A House and A Workshop 1.1 explores my own images of the two buildings and how that influences the world that I describe. It also focuses on how the building type can inform the physical shape of each. A House and A Workshop 1.2 begins to investigate the daily rituals and routines of the imagined inhabitant. The question is raised of how those things can and should influence the architecture. A House and A Workshop 1.3 explores the physical relationship of the two buildings and the movement that the relationship implies. The idea of a room within a room emerges as the imagined world of the woodworker comes into focus. A House and A Workshop 1.4 seeks to clarify the ideas that I had been working with during the year by describing a more idealized world than the other versions. The value of making things and choosing to live that kind of life is an important aspect of this project. Finally, there is a project titled, A Chair, that lies outside the series of houses and workshops. Itâ s a demonstration rather than a description of the ideas that were explored during the thesis year. / Master of Architecture

The research study investigated how organizational routines influenced classroom and intervention instruction in a primary school. Educators have used student data for decades but they continue to struggle with the best way to use data to influence instruction. The historical overview of the research highlighted the context of data use from the Effective Schools movement through the No Child Left Behind Act noting the progression of emphasis placed on student data results. While numerous research studies have focused on the use of data, the National Center for Educational Evaluation and Regional Assistance (2009) reported that existing research on the use of data to make instructional decisions does not yet provide conclusive evidence of what practices work to improve student achievement. A descriptive case study methodology was employed to investigate the educational phenomenon of organizational routines implemented for data-driven decision making to influence classroom and intervention instruction. The case study examined a school that faced the macrolevel pressures of school improvement. The study triangulated data from surveys, interviews, and document analysis in an effort to reveal common themes about organizational routines for data-driven decision making. The study participants identified 14 organizational routines as influencing instruction. The interview questions focused on the common themes of (a) curriculum alignment, (b) common assessments, (c) guided reading levels, (d) professional learning communities, and (e) acceleration plans. The survey respondents and interview participants explained how the organizational routines facilitated the use of data by providing (a) focus and direction, (b) student centered instruction, (c) focus on student growth, (d) collaboration and teamwork, (e), flexible grouping of students, and (f) teacher reflection and ownership of all students. Challenges and unexpected outcomes of the organizational routines for data-driven decision making were also discussed. The challenges with the most references included (a) time, (b) too much data (c) data with conflicting information, (d) the pacing guide, and (e) changing teacher attitudes and practices. Ultimately, a data-driven culture was cultivated within the school that facilitated instructional adjustments resulting in increased academic achievement. / Ed. D.

La Dépression Post-AVC (DPAVC) constitue une des complications psychiatriques les plus fréquentes dans les suites d’un Accident Vasculaire Cérébral (AVC) avec des conséquences majeures en termes de récupération fonctionnelle et de qualité de vie. Il est nécessaire de disposer de critères permettant une identification précoce des patients à risque afin de leur proposer des aides adaptées. L’objectif de ce travail de thèse est d’étudier certains facteurs de risque et de protection de la DPAVC avec une approche en vie quotidienne chez des patients présentant un AVC peu invalidant. Dans une première partie, nous présentons l’étude du rôle exercé par le soutien social et la routinisation sur la sévérité des symptômes dépressifs trois mois après l’AVC par la méthode « Ecological Momentary Assessment ». Dans une seconde partie, nous explorons le rôle de la voix comme marqueur précoce de la DPAVC. Nous avons mis en évidence que la perception du soutien social initial influence l’intensité des symptômes dépressifs et les activités trois mois après. D’autre part, nous avons observé une dynamique temporelle unidirectionnelle entre l’augmentation des routines et la survenue de symptômes dépressifs plus intenses. Enfin, les analyses vocales nous ont permis d’identifier des marqueurs de DPAVC avec des modifications longitudinales de la fréquence fondamentale ainsi que des marqueurs précoces (shimmer et ruptures de voisement). Au-delà des facteurs cliniques traditionnellement reconnus, ce travail a mis en évidence de façon écologique de nouveaux marqueurs de risque de DPAVC dont la détection pourrait permettre d’élaborer de nouvelles stratégies de prévention et de prise en charge / Post-stroke depression (PSD) is one of the most common psychiatric complications following stroke with detrimental consequences in terms of functional recovery and quality of life. Its identification and treatment at the earliest stages of care remains a clinical challenge. The aim of this thesis is to study risk and protective factors for PSD based on data collected in the contexts of daily life. In the first section, we present a study of the role played by social support and routinization on the severity of depressive symptoms three months after stroke by Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA). In the second section, we examine the voice as an early marker of PSD. We observed that patient perceptions of better support quality, and not quantity, immediately following mild stroke, are associated with better behavioral and emotional outcomes three months later. In addition, we observed a unidirectional pattern of association between mood and routines, whereby the occurrence of routines was associated with a higher level of depressive symptomatology over subsequent hours. Finally, voice analysis allowed us to identify PSD markers with longitudinal changes in fundamental voice frequency and discriminant analysis demonstrated that initial voice breaks coupled with shimmer are strongly predictive of subsequent PSD. Beyond commonly-recognized clinical risk factors such as stroke severity, these ecological investigations identified new markers for PSD whose detection could lead to new strategies for prevention and care

Wise investments in Information Technology have become increasingly important in staying competitive in today's environment. Massive amounts of people and IT-systems are involved in the process of input becoming output. As these employees and IT-systems must be harmonized, it becomes relevant to study how employees’ routines and habits are related to the usage and embeddedness of these systems. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how embedded IT can lead to improved business processes. This is done through exploring how embedded IT is used in workflows as well as to examine what support and hindrance IT can offer. Therefore, extensive theoretical research was conducted within the fields of habits and routines, business processes and embedded IT, developing a framework for analysis. Then, a case study was conducted where a specific process within insurance claims was thoroughly analyzed through interviews and work shadowing. This facilitated a within-case analysis. The results of the study showed the interdependency between the pillars of this study. Workflow habits and routines influences IT usage, whereas IT aims to support through automatization and informatization. However, to enable this and achieve a significant improvement, the processes it aims to support needs to be fully known.

Accomplishing desired benefits from investments in planned change is problematical for organizations, their leaders and the change agents charged with delivery. This is despite a well-developed literature, replete with advice on how change should be achieved. Examination of this literature shows the primary focus on change agents and their practices. This research widens the focus by observing the influence of change agents, change recipients and line managers on organizational routines undergoing planned change. It examines the interplay between stability and change in organizational routines, adopting a social practice perspective, and the routine intended to change as the unit of analysis (Feldman and Pentland, 2003, 2005). The research builds on claims that to understand the patterns of action within routines requires the internal dynamics – the claimed duality between ostensive (in principle) and performative (in practice) aspects - to be examined. A research method to operationalize the study of this claimed duality was devised following the principles of Strong Structuration (Stones, 2005). This method enabled a unique conceptualization of the study of routine dynamics, focused on planned change from the perspective of multiple, interdependent actors. Two cases of change agents following the advice in the planned change literature were explored. In one case, stability of the routine persisted when change was intended. In the other, change was relatively easy to achieve irrespective of change agent actions. The primary contribution is the demonstration of how the attitudes to change of change recipients, line managers and change agents influence the internal dynamics of routines undergoing planned change. Other contributions pertain to the method of ‘unpacking’ organizational routines and its potential for shaping future practice. This research does not offer new ‘normative’ advice but instead sensitizes planned change practitioners to the level of analysis they need to carry out to ensure that their interventions are suitably designed.

Bakgrund: Ortodontisk behandling utförs vanligtvis på ungdomar och kan innebära en risk för den orala hälsan. Studier har visat att patienter med fast apparatur löper större risk att utveckla svullen gingiva och karies. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka tandvårdspersonalens rutiner kring munhygien hos patienter med fast apparatur på ortodontikliniker. Metod: Studien är en kvantitativ tvärsnittsstudie i form av en enkät med 11 frågor. Enkäten skickades till fyra ortodontikliniker i fyra olika län i södra Sverige. Enkäten innehöll frågor gällande munhygien-rutiner och tandhygienistprofessionen. Sammanlagt 59 personer tillfrågades delta i studien. Resultat: Enkäten besvarades av 38 personer. Resultatet visade att majoriteten av deltagarna in-struerade munhygieninstruktion vid insättning av fast apparatur och vid uppvisad dålig munhy-gien. Samtliga deltagare instruerade munhygien på patienten och större delen gav även samtal och uppföljning. Gällande tandhygienistprofessionen har majoriteten av klinikerna inte någon tandhygienist anställd. Av samtliga deltagare ansåg 29% (n=11) att det skulle vara bra att ha en tandhygienist anställd på ortodontikliniker och 45% (n=17) såg behov av kontakt. Slutsats: Det fanns inte några större skillnader mellan professionerna och klinikerna gällande munhygienru-tiner och hur de utförs. Nästan hälften av deltagarna såg behov av kontakt med tandhygienist vid insättning av fast apparatur och vid munhygieninstruktion. / Background: Orthodontic treatment is usually performed on adolescents and increase risks for the oral health. Studies have shown that patients with fixed appliances more likely develop gingival enlargement and caries. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the dental pro-fessional’s routines including oral hygiene in patients with fixed appliances on orthodontic clin-ics. Method: The study was a quantitative cross-sectional study with questionnaire regarding 11 questions. The questionnaire was sent to four orthodontic clinics in four counties in southern Sweden and contained questions regarding oral hygiene routines and dental hygienists. Alto-gether 59 individuals were asked to participate. Results: The questionnaire was answered by 38 individuals. The result showed that the majority gave oral hygiene instructions at insertion of fixed appliances and when oral hygiene was poor. All participants practice oral hygiene in-structions on patients and almost everyone had conversations and follow-up visits. The majority of clinics didn´t have dental hygienists employed. Of all participants 29% (n=11) thought it would be good to have dental hygienists employed and 45% (n=17) saw need of contact. Conclusion: No major differences between professions and clinics were shown regarding oral hy-giene routines and performance. Almost half of the participants saw need of contact with dental hygienists.

In line with the Swedish government's initiative and the national potential for expansion ofsolar electricity, many things will happen over the forthcoming years. Like all operationsrelated to the energy sector, there are many sub-processes that can go wrong. One in everyeighth major electrical accident in general occurs due to technical failures that emerged during commissioning. For photovoltaic systems there are both Swedish and international standards related to manufacture, testing and maintenance. For this project we have chosen to immerse ourselvesin the IEC 62446 - Grid connection photovoltaic system. IEC 62446-1 is specially designedfor grid-connected photovoltaic systems. The standard is an important part in the assurance ofreliability and includes commissioning, monitoring and documentation. This report has been completed together with Solect Power with the purpose of designing aroutine check for commissioning, as well as to compliment Solect Power’s currentdocumentation. The composed documents meets the requirements of IEC 62446 Gridconnected photovoltaic systems - Minimum Requirement, regarding system documentation,commissioning tests and inspection. The report will hopefully facilitate the work of SolectPower so that a smoother workflow can be achieved and mistakes avoided. Compiled documents are presented in the report's appendix.