Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Routines'

Syfte och Frågeställning Syftet med studien är att undersöka motocrossförares förberedelse inför tävling och deras uppfattning av en topprestation under tävling. De frågor som jag sökt svar på är: Hur ser förarna på balansen mellan utmaning och skicklighet utifrån sin förmåga? Vilka mål har förarna inför en tävling och vilken feedback får förarna under tävling? samt hur förarna upplever sin topprestation? Metod Studien har en kvalitativ ansats med semistrukturerad intervju som metod (Bryman 2008 s. 206). I studien ligger tonvikten på att uppfatta och tolka förarens förklaringar. Intervjuerna spelades in, transkriberades och analyserades, till största del, utifrån flowteorin. Det gjordes ett medvetet urval av informanter. Deltagarna i studien är två aktiva elitförare i motocross med SM-guld och erfarenhet från internationella tävlingar på meritlistan. Analysen vilar på forskningsanknuten litteratur samt vetenskapliga artiklar inom aktuellt ämnesområde. Resultat Undersökningen visar att de faktorer som gör att förarna upplever sin topprestation är en kombination av flera olika faktorer som överensstämmer med flowteorin; tydliga mål, tydlig feedback, handling av medvetande bildar ett sammanhang, koncentration på uppgiften, känsla av kontroll, förlust av osäkerhet, tidsförskjutning samt en autotelisk upplevelse. Förarna i studien upplever flow på olika sätt. Den ena föraren upplever en känsla av "att vara ett med hojen" och ha fullständig kontroll över den. Den andra föraren uttrycker det som att hon "går in i en bubbla" och minns i stort sett ingenting av prestationen. Slutsats Båda förarna anser det avgörande att komma väl förberedd inför en tävling samt att allt runt omkring ska fungera för en topprestation skall uppnås. Hur förarna förbereder sig och vilka strategier de använder ser dock olika ut, men gemensamt är att de har den autoteliska upplevelsen, glädjen, som drivkraft för sitt idrottande.

Tränarprogrammet 1995-1998

This report is all about quality improvement work with focusing on nonconformities routines. The purpose is to improve the process of nonconformity routines and to identify the most important issues and causes behind nonconformity routines in order to have good quality of the products and satisfied customer to achieve continuous improvement. This project is conducted at a case study at the case company GMV Sweden AB producing lifts and their components. The problem in the case company is how the case company is handling nonconformity routines which consist currently of two streams one for problems in production which leads to internal nonconformities and another is handling customer complaints. The author visits the case company to collect essential information for this work and performs face-to-face user interviews, Q&A via email. The knowledge gained on different quality tools in author's education on Terotechnology department forms the basis of this research. The author plans to solve the problem by analyzing, mapping the existing processes and using different quality tools. The author analysis is based on theoretical and empirical facts, also different quality tools like process mapping, cause effect diagram, flowchart has been used to identify the problem and relevant suggestions have been proposed to improve their current situation. In the results and conclusions the author has explain the various improvement techniques and suggestions to handle internal nonconformities and customer complaints. The author believes by implementing the suggested improved model company can address their quality issues, which will improve the productivity to a greater extent and enable them to achieve their goal of continuous improvement.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2006.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-108).
This thesis describes a spatial language understanding system based on a lexicon of words defined in terms of spatial routines. A spatial routine is a script composed from a set of primitive operations on sensor data, analogous to Ullman's visual routines. By finding a set of primitives that underlie natural spatial language, the meaning of spatial terms can be succinctly expressed in a way that can be used to obey natural language commands. This hypothesis is tested by using spatial routines to build a natural language interface to a real time strategy game, in which a player controls an army of units in a battle. The system understands the meaning of context-dependent natural language commands such as "Run back!" and "Move the marines on top above the fiamethrowers on the bottom." In evaluation, the system successfully interpreted a range of spatial commands not seen during implementation, and exceeded the performance of a baseline system. Beyond real-time strategy games, spatial routines may provide the basis for interpreting spatial language in a broad range of physically situated language understanding systems, such as mobile robots or other computer game genres.
by Stefanie Tellex.
S.M.

La criticité des programmes dépasse constamment de nouvelles frontières car ils sont de plus en plus utilisés dans la prise de décision (voitures autonomes, robots chirurgiens, etc.). Le besoin de développer des programmes sûrs et de vérifier les programmes existants émerge donc naturellement.Pour prouver formellement la correction d'un programme, il faut faire face aux défis de la mise à l'échelle et de la décidabilité. Programmes composés de millions de lignes de code, complexité de l'algorithme, concurrence, et même de simples expressions polynomiales font partis des problèmes que la vérification formelle doit savoir gérer. Pour y arriver, les méthodes formelles travaillent sur des abstractions des états des programmes étudiés afin d'analyser des approximations de leur comportement. L'analyse des boucles est un axe entier de la vérification formelle car elles sont encore aujourd'hui peu comprises. Bien que certaines d'entre elles peuvent facilement être traitées, il existe des exemples apparemment très simples mais dont le comportement n'a encore aujourd'hui pas été résolu (par exemple, on ne sait toujours pas pourquoi la suite de Syracuse, simple boucle linéaire, converge toujours vers 1).L'approche la plus commune pour gérer les boucles est l'utilisation d'invariants de boucle, c'est à dire de relations sur les variables manipulées par une boucle qui sont vraies à chaque fois que la boucle recommence. En général, les invariants utilisent les mêmes expressions que celles utilisées dans la boucle : si elle manipule explicitement la mémoire par exemple, on s'attend à utiliser des invariants portant sur la mémoire. Cependant, il existe des boucles contenant uniquement des affectations linéaires qui n'admettent pas d'invariants linéaires, mais polynomiaux.Les boucles linéaires sont elles plus expressives que ce qu'il paraîtrait ?Cette thèse présente de nouvelles propriétés sur les boucles linéaires et polynomiales. Il est déjà connu que les boucles linéaires sont polynomialement expressives, au sens ou si plusieurs variables évoluent linéairement dans une boucle, alors n'importe quel monôme de ces variables évolue linéairement. La première contribution de cette thèse est la caractérisation d'une sous classe de boucles polynomiales exactement aussi expressives que des boucles linéaires, au sens où il existe une boucle linéaire avec le même comportement. Ensuite, deux nouvelles méthodes de génération d'invariants sont présentées.La première méthode est basée sur l'interprétation abstraite et s'intéresse aux filtres linéaires convergents. Ces filtres jouent un rôle important dans de nombreux systèmes embarqués (dans l'avionique par exemple) et requièrent l'utilisation de flottants, un type de valeurs qui peut mener à des erreurs d'imprécision s'ils sont mal utilisés. Aussi, la présence d'affectations aléatoires dans ces filtres rend leur analyse encore plus complexe.La seconde méthode traite d'une approche différente basée sur la génération d'invariants pour n'importe quel type de boucles linéaires. Elle part d'un nouveau théorème présenté dans cette thèse qui caractérise les invariants comme étant les vecteurs propres de la transformation linéaire traitée. Cette méthode est généralisée pour prendre en compte les conditions, les boucles imbriquées et le non déterminisme dans les affectations.La génération d'invariants n'est pas un but en soi, mais un moyen. Cette thèse s'intéresse au genre de problèmes que peut résoudre les invariants générés par la seconde méthode. Le premier problème traité est problème de l'orbite (Kannan-Lipton Orbit problem), dont il est possible de générer des certificats de non accessibilité en utilisant les vecteurs propres de la transformation considerée. En outre, les vecteurs propres sont mis à l'épreuve en pratique par leur utilisation dans le model-checker CaFE basé sur la verification de propriétés temporelles sur des programmes C
The criticality of programs constantly reaches new boundaries as they are relied on to take decisions in place of the user (autonomous cars, robot surgeon, etc.). This raised the need to develop safe programs and to verify the already existing ones.Anyone willing to formally prove the soundness of a program faces the two challenges of scalability and undecidability. Million of lines of code, complexity of the algorithm, concurrency, and even simple polynomial expressions are part of the issues formal verification have to deal with. In order to succeed, formal methods rely on state abstraction to analyze approximations of the behavior of the analyzed program.The analysis of loops is a full axis of formal verification, as this construction is still today not well understood. Though some of them can be easily handled when they perform simple operations, there still exist some seemingly basic loops whose behavior has not been solved yet (the Syracuse sequence for example is suspected to be undecidable).The most common approach for the treatment of loops is the use of loop invariants, i.e. relations on variables that are true at the beginning of the loop and after every step. In general, invariants are expected to use the same set of expressions used in the loop: if a loop manipulates the memory on a structure for example, invariants will naturally use expressions involving memory operations. However, there exist loops containing only linear instructions that admit only polynomial invariants (for example, the sum on integers $sumlimits_{i=0}^n i$ can be computed by a linear loop and is a degree 2 polynomial in n), hence using expressions that are syntacticallyabsent of the loop. Is the previous remark wrong then ?This thesis presents new insights on loops containing linear and polynomial instructions. It is already known that linear loops are polynomially expressive, in the sense that if a variable evolves linearly, then any monomial of this variable evolves linearly. The first contribution of this thesis is the extraction of a class of polynomial loops that is exactly as expressive as linear loops, in the sense that there exist a linear loop with the exact same behavior. Then, two new methods for generating invariants are presented.The first method is based on abstract interpretation and is focused on a specific kind of linear loops called linear filters. Linear filters play a role in many embedded systems (plane sensors for example) and require the use of floating point operations, that may be imprecise and lead to errors if they are badly handled. Also, the presence of non deterministic assignments makes their analysis even more complex.The second method treats of a more generic subject by finding a complete set of linear invariants of linear loops that is easily computable. This technique is based on the linear algebra concept of eigenspace. It is extended to deal with conditions, nested loops and non determinism in assignments.Generating invariants is an interesting topic, but it is not an end in itself, it must serve a purpose. This thesis investigates the expressivity of invariantsgenerated by the second method by generating counter examples for the Kannan-Lipton Orbit problem.It also presents the tool PILAT implementing this technique and compares its efficiency technique with other state-of-the-art invariant synthesizers. The effective usefulness of the invariants generated by PILAT is demonstrated by using the tool in concert with CaFE, a model-checker for C programs based on temporal logics

The question "what causes variety in organisational routines" is of considerable interest to organisational scholars, and one to which this thesis seeks to answer. To this end an evolutionary theory of change is advanced which holds that the dynamics of selection, adaptation and retention explain the creation of variety in organisational routines. A longitudinal, multi-level, multi-case analysis is undertaken in this thesis, using multiple data collection strategies. In each case, different types of variety were identified, according to a typology, together with how selection, adaptation and retention contribute to variety in a positive or negative sense. Methodologically, the thesis makes a contribution to our understanding of variety, as certain types of variety only become evident when examined by specific types of research design. The research also makes a theoretical contribution by explaining how selection, adaptation and retention individually and collectively contribute to variety in organisational routines. Moreover, showing that routines could be stable, diverse, adaptive and dynamic at the same time; is a significant, and novel, theoretical contribution.

PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO
COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIOR
PROGRAMA DE SUPORTE À PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO DE INSTS. DE ENSINO
PROGRAMA DE SUPORTE À PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO DE INSTITUIÇÕES COMUNITÁRIAS DE ENSINO PARTICULARES
Em um mundo caracterizado por volatilidade, incerteza, complexidade e ambiguidade (McCHRYSTAL, 2015), onde situações de desordem e indeterminação predominam (SCHON, 1983), o sucesso das organizações depende da aprendizagem (ARGYRIS, 1991). Nesse cenário, as empresas estão se apoiando na ideia de que o Design Thinking poderá ser uma forte ferramenta para levá-las a um patamar desejável de inovação. Com atenção a esse contexto, algumas pesquisas vêm apresentando como rotinas organizacionais dinâmicas, flexíveis e colaborativas, guiadas por uma lógica de aprendizagem, podem ajudar a estruturar a inovação em projetos complexos (EDMONDSON e ZUZUL, 2016). É nesse cenário que essa Tese está inserida. Trata-se de um estudo no campo da aprendizagem organizacional, na perspectiva da prática, que parte da premissa de que a abordagem do Design Thinking (DT) pode trazer a lógica da aprendizagem para as rotinas organizacionais, uma vez que pode-se dizer que o DT está alinhado aos fundamentos do Pragmatismo de Dewey (DALSGAARD, 2014), e da aprendizagem pragmática (BRANDI e ELKJAER, 2011). Pelas lentes da fenomenografia, abordagem teórico-metodológica, buscou-se entender e descrever a variação na forma de se experienciar e conceber a aprendizagem em práticas (rotinas) guiadas pela abordagem do DT, como base para a construção de um framework teórico original. Foram realizadas 21 entrevistas, com profissionais de diferentes empresas, formações e ocupações, o que possibilitou uma coleta de dados distribuídos, garantindo a variedade exigida pelo método. Como resultado, três categorias descritivas emergiram da interação entre os dados do campo e a pesquisadora: learning-based practice; learning-based thinking; e learning-based culture. Essas categorias representam três diferentes concepções acerca da aprendizagem situada nas rotinas organizacionais guiadas pela abordagem do Design Thinking. E, em conjunto, representam uma forma holística de se experienciar esse fenômeno. A variação entre as três concepções está evidenciada por meio de sete dimensões que a explicam. As dimensões explicativas representam um detalhamento de o quê e como se aprende, na percepção dos entrevistados e na situação delimitada no estudo. No âmbito do o quê se aprende, observaram-se cinco dimensões explicativas: (1) a propriedade da aprendizagem; (2) o objeto da aprendizagem; (3) o valor gerado pela aprendizagem; (4) o resultado da aprendizagem; e (5) o impacto da aprendizagem nas rotinas organizacionais. No âmbito do “como” se aprende, observaram-se duas dimensões explicativas: (6) a dinâmica e os recursos utilizados para aprender; e (7) o papel do DT na aprendizagem. A organização hierárquica das três categorias compôs o Espaço de Resultado, que serviu de fundamento para a elaboração de um framework teórico com proposições que apresentam caminhos para a construção de rotinas organizacionais guiadas por uma lógica de aprendizagem, ao invés de padrões, scripts e blueprints (EDMONDSON e ZUZUL, 2016), com o objetivo de contribuir para os processos de inovação nas organizações e para o avanço da teoria e da prática no campo da aprendizagem organizacional.
In a world characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (McChrystal, 2015), where situations of disorder and indeterminacy predominate (Schon, 1983), success in organizations depends on learning (Argyris, 1991). In this scenario, firms are betting on the idea that design thinking can be a strong tool for forging their way to a desirable level of innovation. Their attention focused on this context, some researchers have advanced the idea of how organizational routines - collaborative, flexible and dynamic - guided by a learning logic, can help to structure innovation in complex projects (Edmondson and Zuzul, 2016). It is in this scenario that this article is positioned. This is a study in the field of organizational learning from the practice perspective, which is based on the premise that the design thinking (DT) approach can bring the logic of learning to organizational routines, since we can say that DT is anchored in the fundamentals of Dewey s pragmatism (Dalsgaard, 2014) and of pragmatic learning (Brandi and Elkjaer, 2011). Through the lens of phenomenography, a theoretical-methodological approach, we sought to understand and describe the variation in the form of experiencing learning in practices (routines) based on the DT approach, in order to construct an original theoretical framework. Twenty-one interviews were conducted with professionals from different companies, professions and occupations, which enabled the collection of distributed data, guaranteeing the variety required by the method. As a result, three categories of description emerged from the interaction between the field data and the researcher: learning-based practice; learning-based thinking; and learning-based culture. These categories represent three different conceptions about learning in organizational routines guided by the Design Thinking approach. And together, they represent a holistic way of experiencing this phenomenon. The variation between the three conceptions is evidenced by means of seven dimensions that explain it. The explanatory dimensions represent a detail of what and how one learns, in the perception of the interviewees and in the situation delimited in the study. Within the what is learned, five explanatory dimensions were observed: (1) the property of learning; (2) the object of learning; (3) the value generated by learning; (4) the learning outcome; and (5) the impact of learning on organizational routines. Within the how one learns, two explanatory dimensions were observed: (6) the dynamics and resources used to learn; and (7) the role of DT in learning. The hierarchical organization of the three categories composed the Outcome Space, which served as the basis for the elaboration of a theoretical framework with propositions that present paths for the construction of organizational routines guided by a learning logic, instead of patterns, scripts and blueprints (Edmondson and Zuzul, 2016) - which intends to make an important contribution to the processes of innovation in organizations and to the advancement of theory and practice in the field of organizational learning.

PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO
COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIOR
PROGRAMA DE SUPORTE À PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO DE INSTS. DE ENSINO
Nas organizações industriais contemporâneas, a competição global e o avanço das tecnologias de informação tornam os produtos e processos cada vez mais semelhantes. O desempenho operacional passa, então, a ser um dos principais mecanismos de diferenciação. Nesse cenário, a área de planejamento e programação da produção ganha um inédito papel estratégico. O presente estudo se propôs a investigar esse novo papel com um olhar centrado nas rotinas organizacionais e nas pessoas que exercem a função. Mais especificamente, a partir de uma abordagem qualitativa e interpretativa, o trabalho utilizou o método fenomenográfico para compreender como os programadores concebem a competência nas suas rotinas organizacionais. A análise das entrevistas identificou três diferentes concepções. A primeira está associada à tarefa de alocação eficiente de recursos e materiais. A segunda vê a programação como um processo de mediação entre as diferentes áreas da empresa. E a terceira atribui ao programador de produção a reponsabilidade de fazer a gestão estratégica da operação. Além disso, foram identificadas seis dimensões do fenômeno que explicam e diferenciam as concepções, são elas: Raciocínio lógico, Conhecimento técnico (do processo produtivo), Conhecimento sistêmico (de outras áreas), Estratégia de negociação, Aspecto manifesto da rotina e Envolvimento com a estratégia corporativa. Os achados sugerem, por fim, que a dimensão estratégica da programação é verificável, em diferentes graus, nas suas rotinas. Além disso, ao revelar a concepção competência como sendo a mediação entre as diferentes áreas da empresa, o estudo traz as estratégias de negociação para o centro do debate sobre a realização competente das rotinas de programação da produção.
In contemporary industrial organizations, global competition and the advancement of information technologies make products and processes increasingly similar. Operational performance then becomes one of the main differentiation mechanisms. In this scenario, the area of production planning and scheduling gains an unprecedented strategic role. The present study aimed to investigate this new role with a focus on the organizational routines and the people who perform them. More specifically, from a qualitative and interpretative approach, this study used phenomenography method to understand how schedulers conceive competence in their organizational routines. The analysis of the interviews identified three different conceptions. The first is associated with the task of efficient allocation of resources and materials. The second sees scheduling as a process of mediation between the different areas of the company. And the third assigns to the production planner the responsibility to do the strategic management of the enterprise operations. In addition, six dimensions of the phenomenon that explain and differentiate the conceptions are identified: Logical reasoning, Technical knowledge (of the productive process), Systemic knowledge (of other areas), Negotiation strategy, Manifested aspect of the routine and Involvement with corporate strategy. The findings suggest that the strategic dimension of scheduling is verifiable, to different degrees, in production planning routines. In addition, by revealing the concept of competence as being the mediation between the different areas of the company, the study brings negotiation strategies to the center of the debate on the competent realization of production planning routines.

O cenário do Brasil hoje está permeado por escândalos de corrupção, lavagem de dinheiro, formação de quadrilha, dentre outros crimes que envolvem grandes empresas e o poder público. Nesse sentindo, as rotinas de controle interno, bem como os procedimentos que envolvem um sistema de Controles Internos, surgem como instrumentos fundamentais para lidar com esse cenário. Utilizando o conceito de accountability fornecido por Pinho e Sacramento (2008) e sob o olhar das rotinas organizacionais e as peculiaridades do controle interno, o presente estudo pretendeu investigar a forma como os profissionais entendem a accountability nas rotinas de controles internos. A partir de uma abordagem fenomenográfica foram entrevistados 20 profissionais nomeados de agentes de Controles Internos em uma seguradora, localizada na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, no período de 09/08/2017 a 09/10/2017. As análises retornaram três concepções: a primeira relaciona-se ao respeito aos artefatos, a segunda envolve qualificar as rotinas e a terceira diz respeito a proteger a organização. Ademais, as dimensões explicativas das concepções foram identificadas de acordo com seguintes categorias: deferência à transparência; intensidade da interação dos aspectos; o senso de responsabilidade e o respeito ao controle. Os achados sugerem que há uma construção de concepções que evolui do instrumental à percepção de valor. Além disso, as evidências indicam que os profissionais possuem uma percepção significativa de responsabilidade nas rotinas de controles internos e, por fim, traz à luz a relação entre a melhoria dos processos e a intensidade da interação entre os aspectos ostensivo e performativo da rotina organizacional.
Brazil s today scenario is full of corruption scandals, money laundering, racketeering, among other crimes involving large corporations and public power. Bearing this in mind, the internal control routines, as well as the procedures that involve an Internal Control system, appear as fundamental tools to deal with this scenario. Using Pinho and Sacramento s concept of accountability (2008) and under the watch of organizational routines and peculiarities of internal control, the present study was aimed to investigate how professionals understand accountability in internal control routines. From a phenomenological approach 20 professionals were interviewed, all of them working in Internal Control department of an insurance company located in Rio de Janeiro City, from 09/08/2017 to 09/10/2017. The analyzes returned three concepts: the first is related to the respect with the artifacts, the second involves qualifying routines, and the third concerns to the organization protection. In addition, the explanatory dimensions of the concepts were identified according to the following categories: deference to transparency; intensity of interaction aspects; the sense of responsibility and respect for control. The findings suggest that there is a construction of concepts that evolves from instrumental to perception of value. In addition, the evidence indicates that professionals have a significant perception of responsibility in the routines of internal controls. And finally, brings to light the relationship between process improvement and the interaction intensity between the ostensible and performative aspects of organizational routines.

The current theory posits that organizational defensive routines (ODRs) are one of the reasons to explain why organizations still fail to achieve their learning goals. However, this assumption lacks consistent empirical evidence. This study is one of very few attempts to refine the concept of ODRs and analyze empirically the role ODRs play with respect to organizational learning. The thesis is a collection of essays that addresses the challenges of understanding the effect of ODRs at organizational learning. Each essay has its own focused research objectives to respond the main research questions. The researcher first examines the characteristics of ODRs based on the concept of organizational routines, then the researcher addresses the theoretical debate of how ODRs can affect organizational learning. At organizations, not only organizational factors such as structure, size and age can affect organizational learning, but so does individual factors such as individuals’ personality. Hence, the model integrated both organizational factors and individual factors into the model. To empirically assess the relationships proposed in the framework, it requires a reliable scale to measure ODRs which is missing in previous research. Therefore, the first study focuses on developing a measurement of ODRs through psychometric assessment and validation procedures. This study results in a construct measuring ODRs at the organizational level with two factors with eight items, namely organizational cover-up and organizational pretense. Additionally, ODRs at an individual level are measured by a scale with two factors and six items, namely embarrassment avoidance and rigidity at work. Equipped with the newly developed measurement of ODRs, the researcher conducted another two studies to test theoretical relations between ODRs and organizational learning. The second study uses multiple regressions to analyze the sample of 358 working on organizations of various size, structure, and age. The study includes some important predictors such as age, size and structure of organizations. The researcher confirms that centralized and formalized structures are negatively associated with organizational learning, but age and size do not have statistical influence on learning. The researcher confirms that high ODRs worsen the negative relationship between formalization and organizational learning. The third study applies the ODRs scale at the individual level to test role of these routines on organizational learning. It employs multiple regressions to analyze a sample of 351 observations. All the participants have more than one year working experience in their current organizations. The study includes three important personality traits as predictors, namely conscientiousness, openness to experience and neuroticism. The researcher confirms that openness to experience and neuroticism affect organizational learning. However, the researcher fails to find support on the theoretical hypotheses which predict the level of ODRs has an effect on relationships between organizational learning and those three traits. Theoretically, this study clarifies the definition of ODRs and built a close link with the organizational routines. It also enriches current understanding on the characteristic of routines being stable at the lens of defensive routines. The newly developed scale provides an opportunity to empirically test their roles on organizational learning and other organizational variables. While findings of the empirical study targeting the organizational level lead to the conclusion that organizations should endeavor to reduce ODRs, findings of the other empirical study suggest that individual’s perception of ODRs could be beneficial for organizational learning. This work claims that there seem to be a collective/social effect that is not apparent at the individual level while it influences the organization. Results diverging from theoretical deductions stimulate interesting prospects for further research in the future which are also discussed. Finally, the study indicates that structure is the most effective factor of organizational learning in comparison with age and size. Hence, organizations should endeavor to reduce the level of formalization and centralization to create a learning environment. The study can benefits organizations at following three aspects. First, organizations can make use of the new scale to identify ODRs at any stages of their development. This would prevent organizations from suffering serious consequences of by-passing and covering up negative issues caused by ODRs. Second, the organizations regardless of age and size can learnt from this study about the importance to realize the contributions of ODRs at organizational level and individual level. In order to alleviate ODRs, organizations should consider changing organizational factors which encourage people at organizations collectively avoid open communication. Meanwhile, they also need to pay attention at educating individuals who tend to be more likely to avoid discussing embarrassing issues. Third, organizations should design an appropriate organizational structure to facilitate information sharing and empower employees at decision making.

This thesis focuses on the effect of nursing staff's redundant work routines on error and quality of care in one Critical Access Hospital in rural Wisconsin, USA. Methods were based on participatory design and an ethnographic approach, and included individual interviews and observation-based interviews. Introduction of a computerized information system was scheduled for the case study site and this thesis makes pre-implementation suggestions regarding staff training, interface features desired by the future users, and removal or restructuring of certain redundancies. The contribution of this thesis to information systems research is a classification system for determining the degree of redundancy (productive, gray-zone, and unproductive) present in the task chains of specific work routines, and a second classification system for determining to what extent modifying or removing an unproductive redundancy returns value. The degree to which an unproductive redundancy may be modified or removed is weighted against the difficulty of changing the work routines associated with that redundancy as well as the expected impact on other routines.

In today’s knowledge oriented economy, the ability of an organisation to engage its employees to create, capture, share and apply their knowledge determines its prosperity. The research presented in this thesis focused on a case study of a multinational automobile supplier challenged with incorporating knowledge management into its organisational routines. The research implements Feldman and Pentland’s concept in which a routine has two sides. The ostensive side of a routine represents the structural artefacts that sets a frame for action while the performative side represents the final actions carried out by the employees that use the routine. The implementation of knowledge management into organisational routines is challenging and best planned and managed as a change process. However mechanisms and factors that drive change in organisational routines are not well understood. This gap results in a lack of implementation frameworks supporting practitioners during the implementation of knowledge management into organisational routines. This thesis reports on the implementation of knowledge management into three organisational routines. Observations and interviews were used to identify mechanisms and factors that drove changes in routines. The core contribution of the research is an framework supporting practitioners to implement knowledge management into organisational routines. This framework is based on new knowledge about change in routines. The concept of routines provides a new perspective on the implementation of knowledge management at the operational level. This perspective complements previous frameworks that aim for organisation-wide implementation. The theory of organisational routines recognises the importance of stakeholders, the organisation and the business environment in which the stakeholders operate. Ttwo stakeholder were found to be especially important. Middle management played an important role as they helped to link knowledge management, which was to be implemented, to the ostensive and performative sides of the organisational routines. Knowledge management facilitators were critical because they improved the abilities of the stakeholders leading the implementation of knowledge management into the routines by providing subject matter knowledge on knowledge management, its implementation and changing organisational routines.

This thesis in the field of microdata analysis aims to introduce dose optimizing algorithms for the pharmacological management of Parkinson’s disease (PD). PD is a neurodegenerative disease that mostly affects the motor functions of the patients and it is characterized as a movement disorder. The core symptoms of PD are: bradykinesia, postural instability, rigidity, and tremor. There is no cure for PD and the use of levodopa to manage the core symptoms is considered the gold standard. However, long term use of levodopa causes reduced medication efficacy, and side effects, such as dyskinesia, which can also be attributed to overmedication. When that happens precise individualized dosing schedules are required. The goal of this thesis is to examine if algorithmic methods can be used to find dosing schedules that treat PD symptoms and minimize manifestation of side effects. Data from three different sources were used for that purpose: data from a clinical study in Uppsala University hospital in 2015, patient admission chart data from Uppsala University hospital during 2011-2015, and data from a clinical study in Gothenburg University during 2016-2017. The data were used to develop the methods and evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms.The first algorithm that was developed was a sensor-based method that derives objective measurements (ratings) of PD motor states. The construction of the sensor index was based on subjective ratings of patients’ motor functions made by three movement disorder experts. This sensor-based method was used when deriving algorithmic dosing schedules. Afterwards, a method that uses medication information and ratings of the patients’ motor states to fit individual patient models was developed. This method uses mathematical optimization to individualize specific parameters of dose-effects models for levodopa intake, through minimizing the distance between motor state ratings and dose-effect curves. Finally, two different dose optimization algorithms were developed and evaluated, that had as input the individual patient models. The first algorithm was specific to continuous infusion of levodopa treatment, where the patient’s state was set to a specific target value and the algorithm made dosing adjustments to keep that patients motor functions on that state. The second algorithm concerned oral administration of microtables of levodopa. The ambition with this algorithm was that the suggested doses would find the right balance between treating the core symptoms of PD and, at the same time, minimizing the side effects of long term levodopa use, mainly dyskinesia. Motor state ratings for this study were obtained through the sensor index. Both algorithms followed a principle of deriving a morning dose and a maintenance dose for the patients, with maintenance dose being an infusion rate for the first algorithm, and oral administration doses at specific time points for the second algorithm.The results showed that the sensor-based index had good test-retest reliability, sensitivity to levodopa treatment, and ability to make predictions in unseen parts of the dataset. The dosing algorithm for continuous infusion of levodopa had a good ability to suggest an optimal infusion rating for the patients, but consistently suggested lower morning dose than what the treating personnel prescribed. The dosing algorithm for oral administration of levodopa showed great agreement with the treating personnel’s prescriptions, both in terms of morning and maintenance dose. Moreover, when evaluating the oral medication algorithm, it was clear that the sensor index ratings could be used for building patient specific models.

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption to organizational operations globally. It has revealed how we live in an uncertain reality. While organizations seek social order through well-rehearsed organizational routines and standard practices, they also need to cope with the unexpected ways in which contexts shift and activities unfold, especially in the extreme and persisting uncertainty of an ongoing crisis. As organizations turn to improvisation to cope with uncertain contexts, it is important to demystify the black box of improvisation as a process. In consideration of this, this thesis has produced three articles that explore the role of organizational improvisation in uncertainty, and the influence on routines. Through one theory article and two empirical articles based on a longitudinal case study at an Australian university before and during the Covid-19 crisis, this body of work makes three contributions: theorizing how improvisation informs routine dynamics theory in contexts of uncertainty through the improvisational dimensions of temporality, capability and consequentiality; empirically uncovering how improvisation impacts routine paths, patterning and cumulative organizational change; and empirically revealing the practices of risking, resourcing and approving, which enable and constrain improvisations morphing into different forms within a learning sequence. Overall, the research provides a deeper understanding of the practices and process of organizational improvisation which aids in disentangling the monolithic concept of improvisation as a process.

Thesis (M.S. in Computer Science)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2004.
Thesis Advisor(s): Cynthia E. Irvine, Thuy D. Nguyen. Includes bibliographical references (p. 107-109) Also available online.

Cooperation and joint actions are often investigated in terms of how individuals explicitly coordinate their plans and intentions to achieve a shared goal. However, goals may also be achieved without prior arrangements, when, for instance, an individual takes part in someone else’s action without an explicit agreement, helping that action to be performed. Participating in social interaction may be considered as a basic form of cooperation that does not always require verbal communication or the ability to predict the other’s intentions. Rather, it is based on daily experiences of interacting and coordinating with others in many, different situations. Framed in this way, cooperative participation can be explored even in those who do not possess high mental abilities, such as infants. Indeed, infants seem to have a natural motive to engage in social interactions (Trevarthen, 1979). How does this participation develop from early forms of social interactions in infancy, to more complex types of interactions later on? Are there early forms of interactive participation in infancy that can be described as supportive for the caregivers’ action? The aim of the present Ph.D. work is to explore the way in which infants participate in daily routines, through the observation of 3-months-old infants’ behaviour in familiar interactions and their response to violations of these routines. Chapter two presents a critical reflection, developed with Hanne de Jaegher, on inferential, representational accounts of cooperation by analytical philosophy and experimental psychology. A theoretical reconceptualization of cooperative interactions as social encounters is proposed, framed within the theoretical tenets of enactivism. Chapter three investigates the structure and function of early social games, considered as early contexts for participation in distributed actions. Through behavioural observations, this study suggested that changes in the multimodal format of the play routines affected the infant’s behaviour and participation in the play interaction. Chapter four extends the exploration of infants’ cooperative participation in joint routines, observing infants’ behaviour when being picked up. Infants showed specific cooperative adjustments of the body to complement the mother’s action when being picked up, as opposed to un-supportive loss of bodily tension and head strength when the pick-up action was delayed. Participation in this joint routine thus appeared to be conditional to aspects of timing and recognition of the mothers’ movements in the sequence, without relying on inferential knowledge. Chapter five focuses on intrusiveness, a maternal behaviour that has been described as strongly affecting the infant’s participation in early interactions. In a joint work with Laura Galbusera, a qualitative microanalysis was applied to explore the sequential organisation of mother-infant exchanges to investigate 1) the consistency of current behavioural descriptions of intrusiveness and 2) their efficacy in analysing the interactional dynamics which may restrict the infant’s participation in interaction. A microanalysis inspired by Conversation Analysis methods revealed that interactional dimensions such as persistency, alignment, sequential structuring and timing appeared to be essential elements for the interactional organisation and the shaping the possibility for the infant’s participation. The sixth and final chapter summarises the findings emerged throughout the thesis and discusses some key features of infants’ cooperative participation. By integrating different approaches investigating intersubjective encounters, such as Enactivism, Conversation Analysis and Infant Research, this dissertation has explored cooperation as an aspect of social participation that evolves within human interactions, but is also already grounded in infants’ interactional competencies. This comprehensive approach has provided much needed insight into the importance of widening the concept of cooperation and its development, considering joint routines as multimodal contexts in everyday life where infants (but also adults) learn to understand, make sense of, and align with the other’s actions and affects, without relying on inferential processes.

PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO
O campo da Gestão da Inovação tem buscado entender e descrever como ocorre o processo de geração de propostas de soluções evolutivas, de melhoria ou inovadoras dentro das organizações. Este trabalho busca entender como a dinâmica de trabalho de grupos de indivíduos ocorre, através das atividades formais ou informais ligadas à busca de solução inovadora de problemas, nas perspectivas do compartilhamento de competências individuais e da construção da competência coletiva. A pesquisa fenomenográfica foi realizada entre 01 de setembro e 22 de outubro de 2014 por meio de 20 entrevistas presenciais, semiestruturadas, com gestores e profissionais sêniores de 10 organizações. A análise dos conceitos das vivências e percepções destes indivíduos acerca do fenômeno de compartilhar competência no âmbito das rotinas de inovação gerou a identificação de três categorias de descrição (Tabela 2): Criação de Competência Coletiva, Transformação do Fazer e Construção de Padrão de Pensamento, que foram descritas em cinco dimensões explicativas: Conceito de Compartilhamento de Competência, Perspectiva de Competência Individual, Perspectiva de Competência Coletiva, Dinâmica das Rotinas Organizacionais e Contexto de Processos Inovadores. Estas categorias emergiram das experiências relatadas pelos entrevistados em grau de abrangência crescente e de acordo com os respectivos entendimentos sobre o processo de trabalho de uma equipe que busca soluções inovadoras: uma dinâmica de construção conjunta que é realizada por um grupo de indivíduos resultado de um pensamento coletivo e continuado.
The field of Innovation Management has sought to understand and describe how the process of evolutive, improvement and innovative solutions proposals occur inside organizations. This works seeks to understand how the work dynamic of groups of individuals occur through formal or informal activities linked to the search of innovative problem solving, in both sharing individual competencies and constructing collective competencies perspectives. The phenomenographic research was done between September 1st, 2014 and October 22nd, 2014 having 20 interviews, semistructured, with managers and senior professionals of 10 organizations. The analysis of the experience concept and the perceptions of these individuals about the competence sharing phenomenon in the innovation routine scope identified three description categories (Table 2): Collective Competence Creation, Transformation of Doing and Thought Pattern Creation, which were described into five explicative dimensions: Competence Sharing Concept, Individual Competence Perspective, Collective Competence Perspective, Dynamic of Organizational Routines, Innovative Processes Context. These categories emerged from experiences reported by the interviewees in increasing degrees of coverage and also according with respective understandings about work processes in a team looking for innovative solutions: a joint construction dynamic performed by a group of individuals resulted from collective and continuous thought.

Approved for public release; distribution in unlimited.
While a necessity of all operating systems, the code that initializes a system can be notoriously difficult to understand. This thesis explores the most common architectures used for bringing an operating system to its initial state, once the operating system gains control from the boot loader. Specifically, the ways in which the OpenBSD and Linux operating systems handle initialization are dissected. With this understanding, a set of threats relevant to the initialization sequence was developed. A thorough study was also made to determine the degree to which initialization code adheres to widely accepted software engineering principles. Based upon this threat analysis and the observed strengths and weaknesses of existing systems, a set of recommendations for initialization sequence architecture and implementation have been developed. These recommendations can serve as a guide for future operating system development.
Civilian, Naval Postgraduate School

This study examines the role of the reporter in the newsroom amid economic challenges and changes to technology over the past 10 years and how reporter routines have changed in response to those challenges and changes. The past 10 years are significant from a technological standpoint because of the rise of social media and the growth of video and use of smartphones. During that same time period, the recession of 2007 hit and caused a large number of layoffs and the need to restructure the newsroom due to smaller staffs—all of which affect reporter routines. This study employed in-depth interviews conducted at three newspapers across the country with business, features, news, and sports reporters. In addition, the managing editor and executive editor at each newspaper were interviewed because they, too, influence reporter routines. This study finds that reporters are working increasingly longer hours to address new duties created by technologies and social media. Sports, which was first to adopt new technology, was also the one to most harness the power of technology and enthusiastically use it in a variety of ways, from tweeting to blogging to creating video. Features came in second for embracing technology, while the news section adapted to it to a lesser degree, and business not at all. This finding was true at all three newspapers. On the economic side, staffing cutbacks have resulted in the elimination of investigative teams, as those reporters are needed for daily work. In addition, the cutbacks to copy editors, as well as the need for speed, have resulted in “community editing,” the reliance on readers to help edit materials once they have been posted. As surprising was the widespread shift to immediacy first, in that reporters are encouraged to write short stories for online posting, if necessary, followed with continual updates throughout the day until the story for the print edition was ready to be filed. All this results in a change of routines for reporters.

This paper provides an overview on the evolutionary theory of the firm. The specific feature of the evolutionary approach is that it explains the adaptive behaviors of firms through the tension between innovation and selection. It is suggested that the evolutionary theory can provide a useful basis for a theory of the firm which is concerned with change over time and development. (author's abstract)
Series: Working Papers Series "Growth and Employment in Europe: Sustainability and Competitiveness"

Contemporary high-technology companies are under pressure to deliver short-term profits and to serve the market demands for future innovative solutions. An increased interest for alternative innovations such as new services or business models to be recognized in parallel to new technologies results in that companies are increasingly attempting to engage all their employees in innovation. This requires attention to what ways of working need to be changed in order to better support employees in pursuing both induced and autonomous initiatives i.e. to realize ideas that are aligned to and those that deviate from a company´s existing strategy and operational models. A key challenge is related to understanding how to develop organizational routines; how to make use of management controls to support both types of initiatives despite their different needs and, make the changes in routines and controls become accepted throughout the organization. Surprisingly few studies deal with understanding how managers or assigned employees in companies go about to address these issues. The overall purpose of this thesis is to increase knowledge on how innovation capabilities are built when involving a broad base of employees in innovation in large and mature organizations. More specifically, this thesis seeks to understand what characterizes organizational routines and what are the consequences from using different types of management controls supporting employees in pursuing both induced and autonomous initiatives. The thesis is made up of four qualitative studies that explore how a planned effort to deliberately involve a broad base of employees in innovation is performed and experienced by actors representing different hierarchical levels and functions in two large and world-leading high-technology companies. The research shows how involving employees in innovation can be made possible through a conscious and creative design and usage of routines and controls. The thesis shows that an upper management call for an increased number of induced and autonomous initiatives results in the use of diverse approaches to achieve this goal even within the same organization due to personal beliefs and experiences of what innovation needs and due to a bias towards either personnel or action management controls. Further, a strong focus on developing organizational routines to initiate innovation was observed at the expense of routines for selection and development of new initiatives. The studies show also that the outcome is dominated by incremental process improvements and the underlying reason to this result is discussed in this thesis. Four characteristics were identified that distinguish organizational routines used in settings successfully supporting employees in pursuing both induced and autonomous initiatives : i) routines targeting selection, development and retention in an innovation process, ii) routines were frequently used and were somewhat linked to other routines, iii) routines to support resource owners and/or customers to come in direct contact with innovators to evaluate and develop new ideas in an atmosphere characterized by a mix of playfulness and seriousness were developed and finally iv) a combination of personnel and actions controls were used. Implications for innovation management, organizational routine and management control research are discussed. Finally, a re-thinking and re-design of the performance management is suggested, taking into consideration the potential in using measurement and goal setting to provide effective means to support both induced and autonomous initiatives. The studies showed that the use of performance measurement can act as a trigger for managers to take actions. In addition, the thesis identified the value in improving the understanding of how result controls, specifically goals, can be formulated and used to stimulate different types of innovative behaviors.

QC 20150504

This research explores the existence and evolution of organizational routines in small firm Project-Based Organisations (PBOs). To reach this aim, it investigates the interplay between the two aspects making up a routine: ostensive – i.e. the abstract representation – and performative – i.e. actual implementation. PBOs represent an interesting context, because project differences and discontinuities challenge the emergence, development and evolution of routines, yet the requirements of efficiency and co-ordination through repeated, similar actions would suggest the need for routines even in small firm PBOs. I have adopted an inductive case study research. The empirical setting is a Public Relation and Communication agency, where small firm PBOs are a typical form of organisation. The process nature of the subject of inquiry required a combination of bottom up and top down approaches that enabled me to identify and analyse routines in depth. As per the topdown approach, relying on extant theory, I developed a list of concepts discussed in the literature on organisational routines that in turn provided the basis for a framework within which analyse the empirical evidence. The bottom up approach draws on descriptive narratives, visual mapping, and grounded theory. The research provides both theoretical and empirical contributions towards a better understanding of the characteristics and evolution of organisational routines in small firm PBOs. Routines exist and are important for coordination and efficiency even in small firm PBOs. They are project procedures not necessarily embedded in any artefact, but perceived as regular processes by project participants. Across projects routines evolve by adapting to the context where they take place. Contexts are in turn shaped by contingencies pertaining to the actors, the project, organisational departments, and the specificities of the customer and the markets they serve. These contingencies define problems and issues that actors involved in the routine face. Facing problems and issues causes the routine to adapt, making the sequence and the content of the actions forming it different across projects. Predictability and recurrence of contingencies and related issues determine how routines adaptation occurs. When contingencies and issues are expected and recur across several projects, adaptation is planned in advance and is supposed to concern both ostensive and performative aspects of the routine. When contingencies and issues are less predictable or occur in just a single project, adaptation concerns only the performative aspect, keeping unchanged the ostensive one. In line with the low level of codification that informs small firm PBO activities, routines' adaptation is not necessarily embedded in any artefact. However, when adaptation is imposed by the owner or senior management, it can be communicated clearly to the interested actors. For small firm PBOs, the research suggests that adaptation of the routines they implement is fundamental to carrying out project activities effectively. It also implies that when aiming to change the way the organisation operates, entrepreneurs and managers should pay attention to both to the design of the routines themselves and the way actors perceive and implement changes to the routines. In addition, the study suggests that further investigation on how firm size and sector shapes the characteristics and dynamics of routines would be invaluable to the field. Regarding theory, the thesis contributes an articulation of the relationship between the two aspects of routines, performative and ostensive. Further research on the nature and functioning of routines in other types of organisation and sector would address the limitations of extant literature and achieve a more comprehensive understanding of routines.

Intuitivement, un système capable d'exploiter son expérience devrait être capable d'atteindre de meilleures performances. Une façon de tirer parti des expériences passées est d'apprendre des macros (c.-à-d. des routines), elle peuvent être ensuite utilisés pour améliorer la performance du processus de résolution de nouveaux problèmes. Le défi de la planification automatique est de développer des techniques de planification capables d'explorer efficacement l'espace de recherche qui croît exponentiellement. L'apprentissage de macros à partir de connaissances précédemment acquises s'avère bénéfique pour l'amélioration de la performance d'un planificateur.Cette thèse contribue principalement au domaine de la planification automatique, et plus spécifiquement à l’apprentissage de macros pour la planification classique. Nous nous sommes concentrés sur le développement d'un modèle d'apprentissage indépendant du domaine qui identifie des séquences d'actions (même non adjacentes) à partir de plans solutions connus. Ce dernier sélectionne les routines les plus utiles (c'est-à-dire les macros), grâce à une évaluation a priori, pour améliorer le domaine de planification.Tout d'abord, nous avons étudié la possibilité d'utiliser la fouille de motifs séquentiels pour extraire des séquences fréquentes d'actions à partir de plans de solutions connus, et le lien entre la fréquence d'une macro et son utilité. Nous avons découvert que la fréquence seule peut ne pas fournir une sélection cohérente de macro-actions utiles (c.-à-d. des séquences d'actions avec des objets constants).Ensuite, nous avons discuté du problème de l'apprentissage des macro-opérateurs (c'est-à-dire des séquences d'actions avec des objets variables) en utilisant des algorithmes classiques de fouille de motifs dans la planification. Malgré les efforts, nous nous sommes trouvés dans une impasse dans le processus de sélection car les structures de filtrage de la fouille de motifs ne sont pas adaptées à la planification.Finalement, nous avons proposé une nouvelle approche appelée METEOR, qui permet de trouver les séquences fréquentes d'opérateurs d'un ensemble de plans sans perte d'information sur leurs caractéristiques. Cette approche a été conçue pour l'extraction des macro-opérateurs à partir de plans solutions connus, et pour la sélection d'un ensemble optimal de macro-opérateurs maximisant le gain en nœuds. Il s'est avéré efficace pour extraire avec succès des macro-opérateurs de différentes longueurs pour quatre domaines de référence différents. De plus, grâce à la phase de sélection l'approche a montré un impact positif sur le temps de recherche sans réduire drastiquement la qualité des plans
Intuitively, a system capable of exploiting its past experiences should be able to achieve better performance. One way to build on past experiences is to learn macros (i.e. routines). They can then be used to improve the performance of the solving process of new problems. In automated planning, the challenge remains on developing powerful planning techniques capable of effectively explore the search space that grows exponentially. Learning macros from previously acquired knowledge has proven to be beneficial for improving a planner's performance. This thesis contributes mainly to the field of automated planning, and it is more specifically related to learning macros for classical planning. We focused on developing a domain-independent learning framework that identifies sequences of actions (even non-adjacent) from past solution plans and selects the most useful routines (i.e. macros), based on a priori evaluation, to enhance the planning domain.First, we studied the possibility of using sequential pattern mining for extracting frequent sequences of actions from past solution plans, and the link between the frequency of a macro and its utility. We found out that the frequency alone may not provide a consistent selection of useful macro-actions (i.e. sequences of actions with constant objects).Second, we discussed the problem of learning macro-operators (i.e. sequences of actions with variable objects) by using classic pattern mining algorithms in planning. Despite the efforts, we find ourselves in a dead-end with the selection process because the pattern mining filtering structures are not adapted to planning.Finally, we provided a novel approach called METEOR, which ensures to find the frequent sequences of operators from a set of plans without a loss of information about their characteristics. This framework was conceived for mining macro-operators from past solution plans, and for selecting the optimal set of macro-operators that maximises the node gain. It has proven to successfully mine macro-operators of different lengths for four different benchmarks domains and thanks to the selection phase, be able to deliver a positive impact on the search time without drastically decreasing the quality of the plans

The participant is a 61-year-old woman, diagnosed with a generalized anxiety disorder and profound intellectual disability who was referred to a behavior-disorders clinic, to increase cooperation with routine dental procedures. I used a behavioral treatment package consisting of stimulus fading, differential reinforcement, and extinction to establish tolerance of, and cooperation with, routine dental procedures. Results showed that cooperative responding varied throughout the progression of teaching the prerequisite steps (sitting in a chair, sitting in a variety of chairs, then working on sitting in the dental chair). However, by the end of the study, the participant engaged in the behavior of open mouth for 30 s and tolerated/cooperated with the experimenter using a plastic visual inspection tool for 30 s. Further research should evaluate the effectiveness of a similar treatment package to develop a more streamlined and systematic framework to improve compliance and tolerance.

The comparative effectiveness of 7 different combinations of cooling techniques were tested in the summer of 1986 of Tucson, Arizona. Cooling techniques include premilking holding pen fanned-sprinkling, evaporative cooled milking parlors, exit water spray, as well as shade access in postmilking area. Ten Holstein cows were selected by different hair color predominately. Mean body temperature drops due to 7 different combinations of cooling techniques are presented. Twenty one planned comparisons between any 2 of the 7 different combinations are made. Sixteen comparisons showed significant (0.05) differences. Hair colors are of null effects on either body temperature drops or the stressed body temperatures. Body temperature patterns of the 7 different combinations during the milking time are graphically presented.

xiii, 80 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number.
Procedures for direct observation as part of functional behavior assessment (FBA) in natural settings continue to be an important area of inquiry and evaluation in the field of education. Spread across a continuum of control and rigor, various direct FBA methods involve a variety of strengths and limitations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the treatment utility of routines analysis when applied to direct observation as part of the function-based assessment and intervention process in general education classrooms. Central to this procedure is the use of routines analysis during the FBA interview to inform and develop direct observation conditions. This procedure was evaluated across 3 students in grades K-6. Data collected via this procedure showed utility when compared to traditional ABC observation methods such that clearer indications of a hypothesized function of behavior were obtained. Interventions developed from the assessment data resulted in an observed decrease in problem behavior for each participant. Results of this study suggest the importance of routines analysis as a possible way to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the FBA process.
Committee in charge: Cynthia Anderson, Chairperson, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Robert Horner, Member, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Richard Albin, Member, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Jean Stockard, Outside Member, Planning Public Policy & Mgmt

Gamification, the use of game elements in non-game contexts, is an increasingly popular way to incentivize self-management procedures. Despite the growing popularity of such programs, little objective research has been done in the area. This study evaluated the use of a web-based gamification program called HabitRPG through a multiple-baseline across participants design. HabitRPG is designed to increase the productivity of its users. Baseline procedures included parental scoring of task completion. Intervention consisted of training on using HabitRPG. Target behaviors were scored with data sheets provided to parents of the participants. The intervention increased the percentage of compliance for all participants.

This case study wants to capture the recurring features happening in the organization among different actors before and after the process of organizational change to understand which are the characteristics of organizational routines that contributes the most to a successful process of change. Is the process going to influence the performances of the organization? How are the ostensive, performative aspects and artifacts affected by such change? Is this limited to a singular routine or it will affect more? My desire is to shed a light on how the study and analysis of organizational routines by the top management can be useful when facing change, allowing an understanding of which aspects allow to keep results high when facing change or innovation.

Nell'epoca attuale, molti settori stanno vivendo una sostanziale rivoluzione a causa dell'adozione sempre più diffusa di innovazioni tecnologiche. L'implementazione di tali innovazioni porta necessariamente allo sviluppo di nuove conoscenze, risorse e capacità le quali vanno inevitabilmente a stravolgere alcuni processi, come le routine organizzative. Queste routine sono cambiate, evolvendosi progressivamente nel corso del tempo, andando a formare quelle nuove competenze necessarie per poter continuare a rispondere alle esigenze del mercato. Nell'elaborato, una prima parte teorica verterà sull’analisi del concetto di competenza, prendendo in analisi la letteratura presente in materia. Successivamente, si studieranno le routine organizzative, dove verranno analizzate le definizioni e le caratteristiche. Particolare attenzione verrà data alla concezione delle routine organizzative come fonte di cambiamento all’interno dell’azienda. Lo scopo è di offrire al lettore gli strumenti necessari per poter interpretare correttamente la seconda parte, più empirica. Questa parte, prende in esame il caso studio di Upooling, andando a studiare il processo di rinnovamento delle routine organizzative già presenti nell'azienda. Inoltre, si esaminerà come queste rinnovate routine organizzative abbiano consentito a Upooling di sviluppare nuove conoscenze e competenze di tipo tecnico e organizzativo, permettendo quindi all'azienda di migliorare le proprie performance.

Emergency call takers listen to callers expressing mundane errands, but also to callers who describe severe accidents, agony and deaths. The emergency setting is further complicated by having to perform triage under time-pressure, but without possibilities of seeing the patient. The setting rests on an imperative of speedy management—there are few or no possibilities to postpone or reconsider decisions. At the same time, the mode of communication (telephone) may cause overflow or insufficient information, resulting in an uncertain and ambiguous decision setting. A focal point for the organization is therefore the individual capability of conducting triage. However, call takers are also helped by organizational routines, which are manifested in decision support systems, in order to navigate this uncertain and ambiguous setting. Taken together, the emergency setting brings a tension to the fore—how does this emotional setting, with features of vivid and interruptive experiences that possibly detour normative decisions, interact with routines that are supposed to provide for both stability and that recurrent decisions can be made under similar conditions? Drawing on the fields of psychology, decision making, organization theory and communication theory the tension is investigated by a series of four studies. The first study is a field study of the emotional landscape of emergency call taking. Emergency call takers rated callers’ emotional expressions in authentic emergency calls, the level of intensity and expressed need for help. The second study is an experiment, using a speech sample from authentic emergency calls in order to find out whether expressed emotion and intensity contribute to perceived need for help. The third study focuses on management strategies of call takers. More specifically, how do emergency call takers manage double-faced emotional management—i.e., their own and the caller’s emotions—simultaneously? The fourth study focuses on how call takers make decisions, more specifically how call takers use intuitive and emotional capabilities to complement or challenge rational aspects of the decision support systems. The studies reveal that certain emotions occur more often than others and that the level of intensity of expression contributes to perceived help need. Call takers have also developed specific emotional management strategies in order to cope with both callers’ and their own emotions. Finally, call takers were found to use rational and formal routines as well as non-formal, intuitive and emotionally based individual routines in order to derive their decisions. These findings are put into organizational context in terms of implications for emergency call taking. Limitations to the development of situation-specific expertise and obstacles for organizational learning are identified. Also, emergency call taking would benefit from drawing on knowledge found outside of the medical domain. However, the most important finding is that interpretation of emotional expressions in callers’ voices can trigger modifications of the triage routine in use.

Disp. June 12

The ability to develop operating routines through the support of information and communication technology (ICT) is being valued by the business community as a source of competitive advantage in the information economy; and research concerning the facilitating role of such technology in relation to organizational learning and development of routines is therefore required. In this thesis the focus is directed at the relationship between communication technology and the development of routines in an industrial organization leading to enhanced value creation. The impact computer-supported knowledge representation has on an organization’s ability to change through development of operating routines are addressed, and propositions concerning the effects on different aspects of communication technology (e.g. system structure and functionality) and organizational environment (e.g. organizational learning, empowerment, systemic innovation, and absorptive capacity) are developed. The moderating role (i.e. the learning mechanisms) of an organization’s ability to learn from, and share, experience within a multilevel nested organizational structure is also discussed and evaluated.

The main goal of this study has been to reveal and explain how operating routines are developed and learned through ICT-supported knowledge representation, and on this basis build concepts and methods that can be used to improve the development of operating routines in business organizations. In this context we have developed a deliberate organizational learning model (DOLM). The main contributions of this work are the following:

• Development of operating routines may be enhanced through computercommunication given a multilevel nested iterative organization structure applying an ICT-supported deliberate organizational learning model.

• Empowered employees are willing to participate in the development of routines through such communication by sharing experience that may impact on operative and strategic activities, resulting in enhance productivity.

• Employees participating directly, or indirectly, in the design of ICT systems are positive to applying computers for the purpose of organizational learning and development of routines.

• Because of their capacity to absorb new knowledge within a context specific domain, experienced operational personnel understand new routines presented through ICTsupported deliberate organizational learning structure.

Many people take it for granted that computers support organizational learning, yet to the best of our knowledge little empirical proof has been forthcoming through the literature. We will argue that the development of operating routines can be enhanced through the application of a computer-based deliberate organizational learning model. Furthermore, our case identifies a multilevel nested iterative organization structure as a contributing mechanism for such a model to succeed. The current theory on empowerment does not say anything about employees’ willingness to apply ICT, nor does it suggest that employees are willing to share experience through the application of ICT. Our findings clearly indicate that empowered employees are applying ICT in the pursuit of developing routines and are willing to share experience through computers. Furthermore, our findings suggest systemic innovation theory to include employees that are indirectly participating in the design of systems as being positive to using computers. Such indirect participation includes employees knowing of colleagues participating in system design. While some theories argue that employees learn new routines through story-telling within a community-of-practice (COP), our data indicate that new operating routines transferred to experienced operators through ICT can be learned. Experienced operators learn new routines through having an absorptive capacity because knowledge will diffuse more rapidly among employees who have prior experience.

Our case study shows that organizations can develop operating routines supported by knowledge represented in ICT. This research contributes to the understanding that development of routines can take place through an ICT-supported deliberate organizational learning model applied within an employee-empowered multilevel nested iterative organization structure.

A best practice knowledge management (KM) system representing the firm’s operating routines is studied over time as it is being implemented in the business units within a corporation. Our focus is on change processes through development of operating routines by studying how the organization can learn from its experience, share such experience and from accumulated experience develop new routines. This thesis is a longitudinal explorative case study, basing its findings on in-dept interviews at operator, middle and senior management levels. We are basing our observations primarily on the cognitive/behavioural organisational learning theory. Based on our observations we mapped and analyzed if, how and under which circumstances an organization, supported by ICT-represented knowledge, is able to develop operating routines and thus enhance the value creation in the company. On this basis we have developed a set of “within-case” propositions. These propositions predict how and under which circumstances organizations may learn through the support of ICT, leading to development of operating processes and routines for the purpose of enhancing value creation in business organizations.

Some literature argues that knowledge is tacit and organizations learn only through practice. Our findings cannot confirm this. We have through the application of the cognitive/behavioural theory tested out organizational learning. Our research indicates that in context specific situations experienced employees can learn new routines through computer systems support. However, in order for organizations to learn, it is not enough to just implement a computer system. Our findings suggest a need for the implementation of a strategic process where the development of an integrated DOLM is the objective. Furthermore, certain organizational structures need to be in place for such a system to be applied resulting in capturing and sharing accumulated experience. In this sense strategy, change processes, and KM systems are intrinsically linked.

This research is based on a case study of Hydro Aluminium’s BestPracticeSystem (BPS), a successful in-house developed enterprise KM system implemented in the period 2003/4. The case study demonstrates the usefulness of the model to support change processes through development of operating routines, and the improvement in productivity that can be achieved by implementing a deliberate organizational learning model in conjunction with a process oriented manufacturing practice. Knowledge represented through ICT can drive value creation.

The current study had two purposes. The first purpose was to examine the association between family rules and routines and first grade children's teacher-rated and peer-rated behavioral competencies (e.g., emotional symptoms, conduct problems, peer problems, hyperactivity, and prosocial behavior) after controlling for both family stressors (i.e., single parent home, mobility, socioeconomic status, property ownership) and child ethnicity (African American, Caucasian, Hispanic). The second purpose was to determine if child regulatory control abilities mediates the effects of family rules and routines and children's behavioral competencies. The parents of 215 ethnically diverse children (38%, Caucasian, 22% African American, 33% Hispanic, 7% Other) were interviewed in their homes with a modified and shortened version of Family Routines Inventory (FRI; Jensen, James, Boyce, & Hartnett, 1983). Teachers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997), and peers completed a modified version of the Class Play (Masten, Morison & Pelligrini, 1985). Scores from the SDQ were standardized and combined with the standardized scores obtained from the peer nominations to create composites of the behavioral competencies. Additionally, teachers completed a modified version of the California Child Q-set (CCQ) (Block & Block, 1980) as a measure of these children's regulatory control abilities. African American parents' ratings of their family's rules and routines were higher than those of Hispanic and Caucasian parents' ratings. Additionally, family stressors were positively associated with higher teacher and peer ratings of conduct problems and lower ratings of prosocial behavior. Neither ethnicity nor family rules and routines predicted child competencies. A statistically significant curvilinear relationship was found between family rules and routines and conduct problems such that children of parents reporting the highest and lowest levels of family rules and routines have more conduct problems. No associations were found between family rules and routines and child competencies or children's regulatory control abilities. Limitations of the study are discussed in terms of inadequate measurement of family rules and routines, a defensive response set, self-selection on the part of the parents to participate in the interview, and a sample that is not representative of the community of parents and children in the participating schools.

Young children who learn a second language (L2) are able to attain native pronunciation norms. However, L2 learners beyond childhood rarely rid themselves of foreign accent. Various hypotheses and models have been offered to explain such age-related differences. Few of these explanations have addressed the issue of perception/production asymmetries. Neufeld's research has demonstrated that some older learners evidence native-like knowledge of phonological distinctions at the perceptual level, while unable to reproduce these distinctions in output. This asymmetry led him to propose his performance-based Pre- and Post-articulatory Verification model. This model assumes that, although native-like phonological representations may exist in the learner's L2 system, last-second morphophonological and phonetic adjustment may not take place because of a developmentally induced shift in focus from low- to high-level linguistic processing, i.e. to content and form. This thesis elaborates upon Neufeld's ideas by centering on articulatory realization of phonetic specifications derived in the ultimate stage of sentence planning. It is suggested that, in order to meet real-time constraints, frequent and well-practiced articulatory sequences are eventually encoded as rapidly accessible routines. These routines are packaged instructions which translate phonetic representations into articulatory goals. This extension of Neufeld's model seeks to explain much of foreign accent in adolescent and adult L2 learners as the result of entrenched erroneous motor routines.

Mobile devices have become a massively prevalent part of everyday life, as their capabilities and functionality have expanded into new domains. One form factor that has attracted recent renewed interest is the smartwatch.  This paper looks at how devices can be used to track the time, and in particular how we can invent new visualisations for timekeeping. It draws on different psychological theories of time to sketch out six new time visualisations, drawing on both old and new timekeeping devices as inspiration. These visualisations address linear time visualisations and cyclical time visualisations. The designs are contrasted with each other, with a final design selected and prototyped on the Apple Watch. The prototype is briefly evaluated through a 48 hour user test with one user. The design is then reiterated upon based on the feedback from this user test.
Mobila enheter har blivit en allt större del av våra vardagliga liv i samma takt som deras kapacitet och funktionalitet har ökat och spridit sig till nya områden. Ett av dessa områden som nyligen fått ett nyfunnet intresse är smarta klockor. Den här uppsatsen tittar på hur mobila enheter och framför allt smarta klockor kan användas för att hålla reda på tiden. Den undersöker framför allt på hur vi kan ta fram nya sätt att visualisera tid. Arbetet bygger på olika psykologiska teorier om tid för att skissa sex stycken olika tidsvisualiseringar, de olika visualiseringarna använder också historiska tidmätningsinstrument som inspiration. Dessa visualiseringar bygger också på ett framtaget koncept om att tid kan ses som konstant eller cyklisk. Designförslagen jämförs sedan med varandra och en slutgiltig design väljs ut. En prototyp för Apple Watch skapas, baserat på den slutgiltiga designen. Prototypen utvärderas genom att en användare bär klockan under 48 timmar. Därefter förbättras och förändras designen baserat på återkopplingen från testet.

Com o surgimento da gestão por processos, muitas empresas têm alterado suas rotinas organizacionais para seguirem um modelo de negócio gerenciado por processos e indicadores de desempenho que possam ser automatizados, aumentando, assim, a agilidade e o controle de atividades e reduzindo custos. Nesse contexto, softwares com o objetivo de automatizar processos, tais como ERPs surgiram para suportar esse tipo de modelo, facilitando a execução e o controle dos processos de negócio das empresas. Este trabalho utilizou o método qualitativo para avaliar, como empresas têm utilizado softwares de automação de processos e os impactos desse uso para as rotinas organizacionais. Para esse fim, foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com 14 usuários de softwares de automação no Rio de Janeiro, no período de 05 de outubro a 20 de dezembro de 2015. A análise da transcrição das entrevistas resultou na identificação de 7 categorias (avaliação do tipo de solução, motivação para adoção, integração da tecnologia, efetivação na prática, facilitação para implantação, impacto nas rotinas organizacionais e integralização da automação) e que serviram de base para a análise de conteúdo. Como conclusão, esta pesquisa sugere, com base na percepção dos entrevistados, que a implantação de softwares de automação pode trazer benefícios às rotinas organizacionais, tais como agilidade de processos e integração sistêmica. Além disso, existem oportunidades de melhoria em temas como workflow e interdependência de processos.
With the creation of the concept called business process management, many organizations have been changing their routines to a new model of management, based in process and KPIs, achieving more control and agility in activities and reducing costs. In this context, softwares like ERPs appeared to support process automation, allowing the execution and control of business process. This qualitative study evaluated how enterprises use softwares for automation process and their impacts for organizational routines. It was based on semi structured interviews with 14 automation software users in Rio de Janeiro, from October 05th, 2015 until December 20th, 2015 The analysis of interviews transcripted resulted in identification of 7 categories (type of solution, motivation for adoption, technology integration, practice use, facilities for deployment, impacts in organizational routines and integralization of automation) that were the base for analyzing the content. The results showed that the deployment of softwares can bring benefits for organizational routines, such as agility for process and system integration. Additionally, there are opportunities for improving workflows and process interdependence.