A Study of the Sales Process of ERP Systems: Wasteful Management or Managing the Wasteful?

A description and analysis of the sales process of ERP systems is presented; also the consequences for the parties involved are discussed. The chosen methodological basis is an inductive research design consisting of a case study based on interviews. The analysis of the empirical data is done with a proposed analytical framework. Based on the agency theory, the analysis is tightly knitted together with opportunism. There are three controlling factors: relationships (relationship marketing), contracts (principal-agent theory), and competition. Three results are proposed: First, two factors forms opportunism-safeguarding and fringe selling. Second, two possibilities of minimizing opportunism exist, the contract and the relationship, the former largely being overlooked, and the latter not being what it is thought to be. Third, there is a need for a feedback loop to correctly address opportunism

Global health governance : framework convention on tobacco control (FCTC), the Doha Declaration, and democratisation

Global public health agreements are heralded as a success for the affirmation of the right to health within a complex and contested political landscape. However, the practical implementation of such agreements at the national level is often overlooked. This article outlines two radically different global health agreements: The Doha Declaration on the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement and Public Health; and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). We identify significant challenges in their implementation, particularly for low and middle income countries. Shifts in the policy network constellations around these two agreements have allowed for some positive influence by civil society. Yet industry influence at the national level constrains effective implementation and those affected by these policies have largely been left on the periphery. The broader provisions of these two agreements have been watered down by vested interests and donor conditions. We advocate for both activist and academic actors to play a significant role in highlighting the consequences of these power asymmetries. Deliberative democracy may be the key to addressing these challenges in a way that empowers those presently excluded from effective participation in the policy process.<br /

Veneiden käymäläjätteiden tyhjennysverkoston kehittäminen / Utveckling av tömningsnätet för båtars toalettavfall

Vesikäymälöin varustettujen veneiden on vuonna 2005 oltava varustettu jätevesisäiliöllä, jotka on voitava tyhjentää maihin. Projektin tarkoituksena on esittää miten kattava tyhjennysasemaverkko olisi toteutettava lähinnä matkaveneilyn tarpeisiin. Olemassa olevat laitteet ja uusien tyhjennyspisteiden sijainti on esitetty

Health problems and disability in long-term sickness absence: ICF coding of medical certificates

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and to explore the distribution, including gender differences, of health problems and disabilities as reflected in long-term sickness absence certificates.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 433 patients with long sick-listing periods, 267 women and 166 men, were included in the study. All certificates exceeding 28 days of sick-listing sent to the local office of the Swedish Social Insurance Administration of a municipality in the Stockholm area were collected during four weeks in 2004-2005. ICD-10 medical diagnosis codes in the certificates were retrieved and free text information on disabilities in body function, body structure or activity and participation were coded according to ICF short version.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In 89.8% of the certificates there were descriptions of disabilities that readily could be classified according to ICF. In a reliability test 123/131 (94%) items of randomly chosen free text information were identically classified by two of the authors. On average 2.4 disability categories (range 0-9) were found per patient; the most frequent were 'Sensation of pain' (35.1% of the patients), 'Emotional functions' (34.1%), 'Energy and drive functions' (22.4%), and 'Sleep functions' (16.9%). The dominating ICD-10 diagnostic groups were 'Mental and behavioural disorders' (34.4%) and 'Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue' (32.8%). 'Reaction to severe stress and adjustment disorders' (14.7%), and 'Depressive episode' (11.5%) were the most frequent diagnostic codes. Disabilities in mental functions and activity/participation were more commonly described among women, while disabilities related to the musculoskeletal system were more frequent among men.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Both ICD-10 diagnoses and ICF categories were dominated by mental and musculoskeletal health problems, but there seems to be gender differences, and ICF classification as a complement to ICD-10 could provide a better understanding of the consequences of diseases and how individual patients can cope with their health problems. ICF is feasible for secondary classifying of free text descriptions of disabilities stated in sick-leave certificates and seems to be useful as a complement to ICD-10 for sick-listing management and research.</p

En studie av offentlig upphandling och dess elektroniska framtid

Abstrakt Denna uppsats vill undersöka hur elektronisk offentlig upphandling fungerar i teori och verklighet. Ett försök har gjorts att koppla det till befintliga beslutsstödjande system. Utredningen baseras på en litteraturstudie samt en enkätundersökning till tre respondent grupper; leverantörer, upphandlingsenheter och systemutvecklare. Undersökningen visar bland annat följande: - Stora fördelar kan uppnås med elektronisk upphandling om säkerhetsproblemen överkommes samt att standarder för hur dokument och meddelande skall gå till. - Den papperstunga administrativa verksamheten som en upphandling innebär kan minskas avsevärt med hjälp av elektronisk upphandling. - Med hjälp av XML:s kraftfulla funktioner för strukturering av information kan en lyckad större implementering av elektronisk upphandling genomföras. - Det befintliga systemet Leverantor, som används av Göteborgs universitet för leverantörsprövning, skall inte utvecklas till ett fullskaligt upphandlingssystem i sin nuvarande form, dock kan stödjande funktioner utvecklas

Critical biomass harvesting indicator for whole-tree extraction does not reflect the sensitivity of Swedish forest soils

There is a growing societal demand to increase the use of forest biomass for substitution of fossil fuels. The production of this biomass must be sustainable and an indicator for critical biomass harvesting (CBH) has been suggested in order to sustain forest soil fertility and mitigate soil acidification at whole-tree harvesting. The CBH indicator is based on an acidity mass balance approach in line with the critical load of acid deposition (CL) concept. Countries like Sweden, the Netherlands and the state of Quebec, Canada apply such mass balance approaches for developing forest biomass harvesting guidelines. The implementation of this type of policy instrument may restrict the use of harvest residues for bioenergy and thereby the substitution of fossil fuels. It may as well affect the forestry sector revenue negatively. To maintain credibility for enforced limitations, it is important that the risk assessment and suggested policy implications are based on solid scientific methods and assumptions. The mass balance approach have been criticized for being too uncertain and not sufficiently validated for being used to guide ecosystem management. In this paper we use published Swedish data on soils, acid deposition, forest production and information from international scientific literature to critically examine the CBH indicator. We conclude that the CBH indicator 1) does not account for all relevant processes 2) it exaggerates the sensitivity and correlates poorly to actual forest soil acid-base status and edaphic conditions and 3) data availability does not allow the indicator to be calculated at a high enough spatial resolution for advice on management for forest owners. The concerns for the mass-balance approach and CBH indicator are discussed in an international perspective

Matematikkurs A under fyra år? : Elevers uppfattningar kring övergången mellan grundskolan och gymnasiet

Elever som efter avslutad grundskola börjar studera på gymnasial nivå, har i sitt slutbetyg med sig åtminstone betyget G i matematik. Trots detta får många elever svårigheter med att klara av den inledande matematikundervisningen på gymnasiet. Syftet med denna studie har varit att genom ett elevperspektiv, beskriva och lyfta fram de likheter och skillnader som en grupp elever upplever mellan matematikundervisningen på grundskolans senare år och på gymnasiet. Frågeställningen har varit: - Vilka likheter/skillnader upplever eleverna mellan gymnasieskolans obligatoriska A-kurs i matematik och grundskolans matematikundervisning? Studien har genomförts med en fenomenografisk utgångspunkt där kvalitativt halvstrukturerade intervjuer har använts. I studien har åtta elever intervjuats. Resultatet av studien presenters i fem kategorier. Kategorierna är undervisningens variation, bedömning, lärarens roll, gruppstorlek samt matematikens struktur och innehåll. Kategorierna har vuxit fram utifrån analys av elevernas utsagor där likheter och skillnader lyfts fram. I elevernas utsagor framträder en bild där undervisningen på grundskolans senare år i större utsträckning än på gymnasiet, skapar variation i arbetssättet under lektionerna. Där har praktiska moment och grupparbeten förekommit som komplement till de lärarstyrda genomgångarna. Eleverna uttrycker också tydliga skillnader i hur de anser sig bli bedömda på de olika utbildningsnivåerna. På grundskolan framträder en bild, där lärarnas bedömning grundas på elevernas arbetsinsats under lektionerna, att eleverna kämpar på med matematiken, medan lärarnas bedömning på gymnasiet i stor utsträckning fokuserar på provresultat, där det nationella provet utgör en betydande del. Eleverna upplever också att de hade en närmare relation till sina lärare på grundskolan jämfört med på gymnasiet. Det matematiska innehållet upplevs också som svårare på gymnasiet. Eleverna beskriver bland annat att gymnasiets högre tempo samt strukturen på det matematiska innehållet bidrar till detta