Upprätthåll av en kultur för experimentation i en telekomorganisation

Experimentation has become a popular way for organizations to test out innovations and to learn about their customers in order to gain competitive advantage. Current research shows that the most common challenge in creating an experimentation culture is fitting it with the traditional development processes of an organization. This can be alleviated with certain organizational structures and management principles. However, academic research on this topic is lacking and focuses on how to create an experimentation culture and provides little guidance on how to maintain it. This study aims to research how experimentation culture can be maintained after its initial creation, and what enablers and hindrances different levels of the organization encounter in their daily work. This is done through a qualitative study in the case company Elisa Oyj, a telecom company who started their journey towards an experimenting organization in 2009. The study entailed interviewing three levels of the organization: strategic, business, and experimenting levels. Analysis was done as a comparative analysis via open coding. All levels noted different symptoms of the same core hindrances for experimentation: lack of vision and knowledge sharing. They also praised similar enablers such as autonomy and leadership commitment. While the enablers were similar to the ones found in literature for creating an experimentation culture, there were some differences due to experimentation being perceived as a standard way of operating, instead of a completely new activity. This study proposes action points for similar organizations to enhance their experimentation culture and to overcome the experienced challenges.Experimentation är ett populärt sätt för organisationer att testa innovationer och samla information om sina kunder och på så sätt nå konkurrensfördel. Nuvarande forskning om ämnet har identifierat att den största utmaningen med experimentation är att kombinera det med traditionella utvecklingsprocesser inom en organisation. Den här utmaningen kan lindras med vissa strukturer och ledningsprinciper. Nuvarande forskning ändå fokuserar sig på att skapa en kultur för experimentation, medan det finns lite information om hur man upprätthåller en sådän kultur efter dess skapande. Det här arbetets syfte är att redogöra hur en kultur för experimentation kan upprätthållas efter dess skapande och hurdana möjliggöranden och hinder olika nivåer av en organisation stöter på i deras dagliga jobb. Det här görs med en kvalitativ studie i arbetets fallorganisation Elisa Oyj, en telekomorganisation som skapade dess kultur för experimentation redan i 2009. Tre nivåer av organisationen intervjuades: strategisk, affärs, och experimenterande. Analysen gjordes via öppen kodning. Alla tre nivår hade upplevt olika symptomen av samma hinder för experimentation: brist på gemensam vision för experimentering och brist på kunskapsdelning. Nivåerna berömde samma möjliggörare för experimentation som autonomi och ledarskapets engagemang. Dessa hinder och möjliggörare är lika med dem som är identifierande i nuvarande forskning om skapandet av en kultur för experimentation, men vissa skillnader uppstod på grund av att experimentation ses som ett standard sätt att jobba i Elisa. Det här arbetet rekommenderar praktiska åtgärder för organisationer som försöker stärka sin kultur för eksperimentation, som t.ex. att bygga tekniska förmågor för experimentation tillsammans med kulturella förmågorna

The financial effects of climate change

Sweden's agriculture has historically been a cornerstone of Sweden's economy. By providing food security, rural employment and economic stability. Lantmännen was established in 1889. The cooperative is owned by approximately 18 000 farmers and functions as an organization encompassing sectors such as agriculture, food production, machinery and bioenergy. This organization has favorably contributed to the development of Swedish agriculture. However, in recent years, the agricultural production in Sweden has been affected by the intensified climate changes. The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute presents extreme and unpredictable weather due to Climate changes. These periods were significantly observed in agricultural production during the years 2018 and 2023. The drought in 2018 led to a lower harvest in quantity, whilst the drought followed by heavy precipitation 2023 led to a lower quality and quantity of the harvest. These trends are observed within the EU, and consequently, the Common agricultural Policy, as well as new directives are being formed to combat these new challenges. This research aims to contribute to an understanding of various sets of policy frameworks within the EU that are communicated to the Swedish agricultural production through Lantmännen. Furthermore, it is of interest to investigate the perception of climate change and how well adaptation strategies are being implemented for maintaining a financially stable production. To comprehend factors influencing the rate of implementation and adaptation to climate change, the reader additionally needs to comprehend market circumstances and the impact of attitudes on producers' decision-making. Furthermore, it is of significance to the reader to understand how institutions such as the EU promote and support producers, and how this is received by the member states, specifically Sweden. The theoretical framework in which this research is based includes Contingency theory, Institutional theory, and SWOT analysis. This research is conducted through a qualitative research method, including a narrative literature review. The author conducted interviews with five respondents from the organization Lanmännen. The respondents were asked to answer the questions found in Annex 1. The answers are further presented in Chapter 4. The research shows how different market conditions contribute to the attitudes of the producers. Furthermore, attitudes of producers are significantly linked to formal and informal institutions, which in turn affects various contingencies forming an organization. The created policy frameworks, in combination with Lantmännens communication to producers, constitutes how well adaptation strategies are implemented by producers

Social Acceptance of Forest-Based Bioeconomy-Swedish Consumers' Perspectives on a Low Carbon Transition

The concept of the bioeconomy is associated with sustainable development changes and involves transitions in both production and consumption within systems. Many of these transitions relate to using renewable resources, like forest biomass, to meet basic needs, such as food, energy and housing. However, consumers must become aware of the forest-based bioeconomy so that they can contribute to the transition. This study aims to contribute to an understanding of this matter that may lead to social acceptance of the forest-based bioeconomy and, in particular, to Swedish consumer awareness of the concept and of a particular product (wooden multi-story buildings) representing the forest-based bioeconomy. The results show consumer awareness of forest sequestration capacity but less awareness of the connection to the forest-based bioeconomy and the role of wooden multi-story buildings. The results indicate a slow transition that is hindered by path dependence and limited comprehension among consumers of the effects of their choices for a forest-based bioeconomy. This study provides valuable insights for future studies of how consumer awareness and social acceptance of the forest-based bioeconomy are interconnected

Challenges in top-down and bottom-up soft-linking: Lessons from linking a Swedish energy system model with a CGE model

This paper proposes and discusses a soft-linking procedure between a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model and an energy system model with the aim to improve national energy policy decision-making. Significant positive and negative experiences are communicated. Specifically, the process of soft-linking the EMEC and TIMES-Sweden models is presented, and unlike previous work we rely on the use of multiple direction-specific connection points. Moreover, the proposed soft-linking methodology is applied in the context of a climate policy scenario for Sweden. The results display a partly new description of the Swedish economy, which when soft-linking, generates lower CO2-emissions in the reference scenario due to a decline in industrial energy demand. These findings point at the importance of linking bottom-up and top-down models when assessing national energy and climate policies

Inhibition of mitochondrial fission by Drp-1 blockade by short-term leptin and Mdivi-1 treatment improves white adipose tissue abnormalities in obesity and diabetes

Background: Obesity and type 2 diabetes are chronic diseases characterized by insulin resistance, mitochondrial dysfunction and morphological abnormalities. Objective: We have investigated if dysregulation of mitochondrial dynamics and biogenesis is involved in an animal model of obesity and diabetes. Methods: The effect of short-term leptin and mdivi-1 – a selective inhibitor of Drp-1 fission-protein – treatment on mitochondrial dynamics and biogenesis was evaluated in epididymal white adipose tissue (WAT) from male ob/ob mice. Results: An increase in Drp-1 protein levels and a decrease in Mfn2 and OPA-1 protein expression were observed with enhanced and sustained mitochondrial fragmentation in ob/ob mice compared to wt C57BL/6 animals (p < 0.05). The content of mitochondrial DNA and PGC-1α mRNA expression –both parameters of mitochondrial biogenesis– were reduced in ob/ob mice (p < 0.05). Treatment with leptin and mdivi-1 significantly increased mitochondrial biogenesis, improved fusion-to-fission balance and attenuated mitochondrial dysfunction, thus inducing white-to-beige adipocyte transdifferentiation. Measurements of glucose and lipid oxidation in adipocytes revealed that both leptin and mdivi-1 increase substrates oxidation while in vivo determination of blood glucose concentration showed decreased levels by 50% in ob/ob mice, almost to the wt level. Conclusions: Pharmacological targeting of Drp-1 fission protein may be a potential novel therapeutic tool for obesity and type 2 diabetes.Fil: Finocchietto, Paola Vanesa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo; ArgentinaFil: Perez, Hernán. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo; ArgentinaFil: Blanco, Guillermo Armando C.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; ArgentinaFil: Miksztowicz, Verónica Julieta. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Fisiopatología y Bioquímica Clínica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; ArgentinaFil: Marotte, Clarisa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo; ArgentinaFil: Morales, C.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Departamento de Patología; ArgentinaFil: Peralta, Jorge Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo; ArgentinaFil: Berg, G.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquimica. Instituto de Fisiopatologia y Bioquimica Clinica.; ArgentinaFil: Poderoso, Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; ArgentinaFil: Poderoso, Juan José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo; ArgentinaFil: Carreras, Maria Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo; Argentin

Two for One: Diffusion Models and Force Fields for Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics

Coarse-grained (CG) molecular dynamics enables the study of biological processes at temporal and spatial scales that would be intractable at an atomistic resolution. However, accurately learning a CG force field remains a challenge. In this work, we leverage connections between score-based generative models, force fields and molecular dynamics to learn a CG force field without requiring any force inputs during training. Specifically, we train a diffusion generative model on protein structures from molecular dynamics simulations, and we show that its score function approximates a force field that can directly be used to simulate CG molecular dynamics. While having a vastly simplified training setup compared to previous work, we demonstrate that our approach leads to improved performance across several small- to medium-sized protein simulations, reproducing the CG equilibrium distribution, and preserving dynamics of all-atom simulations such as protein folding events

Roya común del maíz

Desde Patología Vegetal, les presentamos información útil sobre la Roya común del maíz, enfermedad que ha tomado especial protagonismo en la campaña 2019-2020 del cultivo. Qué se sabe del patógeno y de la enfermedad, qué herramientas tenemos para su manejo, cómo podremos manejarla a futuro.EEA BalcarceFil: Crespo, Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Rodríguez, María Pía. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina.Fil: Rodríguez, María Pía. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Rodríguez, María Pía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Cuervo, Matías. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Berg, Germán. Asociación Argentina de Productores en Siembra Directa; Argentina.Fil: Barbieri, Pablo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina

¿Existe residualidad de nitrógeno en rotaciones con Vicia como cultivo de cobertura?

En la campaña 2018/2019 se realizó una experiencia en la cual se utilizó vicia como cultivo de cobertura, evaluando sus efectos sobre la disponibilidad de nitrógeno (N) en una rotación con soja y trigo.EEA BalcarceFil: Crespo, Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Rodríguez, María Pía. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina.Fil: Rodríguez, María Pía. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Rodríguez, María Pía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Cuervo, Matías. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Berg, Germán. Asociación Argentina de Productores en Siembra Directa; Argentina.Fil: Barbieri, Pablo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina