Reframing the relationship between service design and operations: a service engineering approach

The significance of services as business and human activities has increased dramatically throughout the world in the last three decades. Becoming a more and more competitive and efficient service provider while still being able to provide unique value opportunities for customers requires new knowledge and ideas. Part of this knowledge is created and utilized in daily activities in every service organization, but not all of it, and therefore an emerging phenomenon in the service context is information awareness. Terms like big data and Internet of things are not only modern buzz-words but they are also describing urgent requirements for a new type of competences and solutions. When the amount of information increases and the systems processing information become more efficient and intelligent, it is the human understanding and objectives that may get separated from the automated processes and technological innovations. This is an important challenge and the core driver for this dissertation: What kind of information is created, possessed and utilized in the service context, and even more importantly, what information exists but is not acknowledged or used? In this dissertation the focus is on the relationship between service design and service operations. Reframing this relationship refers to viewing the service system from the architectural perspective. The selected perspective allows analysing the relationship between design activities and operational activities as an information system while maintaining the tight connection to existing service research contributions and approaches. This type of an innovative approach is supported by research methodology that relies on design science theory. The methodological process supports the construction of a new design artifact based on existing theoretical knowledge, creation of new innovations and testing the design artifact components in real service contexts. The relationship between design and operations is analysed in the health care and social care service systems. The existing contributions in service research tend to abstract services and service systems as value creation, working or interactive systems. This dissertation adds an important information processing system perspective to the research. The main contribution focuses on the following argument: Only part of the service information system is automated and computerized, whereas a significant part of information processing is embedded in human activities, communication and ad-hoc reactions. The results indicate that the relationship between service design and service operations is more complex and dynamic than the existing scientific and managerial models tend to view it. Both activities create, utilize, mix and share information, making service information management a necessary but relatively unknown managerial task. On the architectural level, service system -specific elements seem to disappear, but access to more general information elements and processes can be found. While this dissertation focuses on conceptual-level design artifact construction, the results provide also very practical implications for service providers. Personal, visual and hidden activities of service, and more importantly all changes that take place in any service system have also an information dimension. Making this information dimension visual and prioritizing the processed information based on service dimensions is likely to provide new opportunities to increase activities and provide a new type of service potential for customers.

A field survey of crop management practices and distribution of ALS resistant Euphorbia heterophylla in two states in southern Brazil

Herbicide resistance was reported in Brazil almost ten years ago. One of the main weeds with herbicide resistance is wild poinsettia (Euphorbia heterophylla). This work evaluates the distribution of ALS-resistant E. heterophylla in two states in southern Brazil and determines the major contributing management causes for weed resistance selection in the area. E. heterophylla seeds from 148 sites located in Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul were sampled during 2001 and 2002. Farmers provided specific site data for weed control, tillage system, crop rotation and harvesting operations during previous years. ALS resistant E. heterophylla biotypes were found widely distributed in the survey area. Data analysis suggests seed dissemination is unlikely to explain the widespread distribution of resistance. The most probable factor for the selection of the resistant E. heterophylla is the persistent high use of ALS-inhibiting herbicides over time. Indirect evidence is presented demonstrating the need to educate legislators and farmers about the importance of herbicide mixtures as a strategy to prevent herbicide resistance.

Effect of dose and application site on quinclorac absorption by barnyardgrass biotypes

This work aimed to evaluate the uptake and translocation of quinclorac in function of application sites (shoot or roots) by Echinochloa crusgalli biotypes resistant and susceptible to this herbicide. The treatments consisted of quinclorac doses (0; 0.5; 1; 2; 4; 16 and 64 ppm), applied on the shoot or roots of seedlings of barnyardgrass biotypes. The experimental units consisted of plastic cups containing 250 cm³ of sand. The treatments were applied 10 days after emergence, when barnyardgrass plants reached a 2- to 3- leaf growth stage. The barnyardgrass biotypes were irrigated with nutritive solution weekly and maintained for 40 days after emergence, when length, fresh and dry matter of shoot and roots were evaluated. Variance analysis was carried out using the F test at 5% probability, and in case of significance, a non-linear regression analysis was also carried out using a three-parameter logistic model. In the susceptible biotype, quinclorac was more absorbed by the roots than by the shoot. Comparing dry mass production of the different plant parts of the susceptible biotype per application site, it was verified that quinclorac action is higher when applied to the plant roots. However, for the resistant biotype, it was not possible to determine the dose causing 50% reduction in dry mass accumulation (GR50) and in the resistance index (RI) between both biotypes, due to its high resistance to quinclorac (128 times the recommended dosage). The results showed that quinclorac resistance by the evaluated biotype is not due to differences in the absorption site, strongly suggesting that the resistance acquired by the biotype may result from alteration in the target site.

A Modified phosphate-carrier protein theory is proposed as a non-target site mechanism For glyphosate resistance in weeds

Glyphosate is an herbicide that inhibits the enzyme 5-enolpyruvyl-shikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPs) (EC 2.5.1.19). EPSPs is the sixth enzyme of the shikimate pathway, by which plants synthesize the aromatic amino acids phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan and many compounds used in secondary metabolism pathways. About fifteen years ago it was hypothesized that it was unlikely weeds would evolve resistance to this herbicide because of the limited degree of glyphosate metabolism observed in plants, the low resistance level attained to EPSPs gene overexpression, and because of the lower fitness in plants with an altered EPSPs enzyme. However, today 20 weed species have been described with glyphosate resistant biotypes that are found in all five continents of the world and exploit several different resistant mechanisms. The survival and adaptation of these glyphosate resistant weeds are related toresistance mechanisms that occur in plants selected through the intense selection pressure from repeated and exclusive use of glyphosate as the only control measure. In this paper the physiological, biochemical, and genetic basis of glyphosate resistance mechanisms in weed species are reviewed and a novel and innovative theory that integrates all the mechanisms of non-target site glyphosate resistance in plants is presented.

Resistance to ACCase inhibitors in Eleusine indica from Brazil involves a target site mutation

Eleusine indica (goosegrass) is a diploid grass weed which has developed resistance to ACCase inhibitors during the last ten years due to the intensive and frequent use of sethoxydim to control grass weeds in soybean crops in Brazil. Plant dose-response assays confirmed the resistant behaviour of one biotype obtaining high resistance factor values: 143 (fenoxaprop), 126 (haloxyfop), 84 (sethoxydim) to 58 (fluazifop). ACCase in vitro assays indicated a target site resistance as the main cause of reduced susceptibility to ACCase inhibitors. PCR-generated fragments of the ACCase CT domain of the resistant and sensitive reference biotype were sequenced and compared. A point mutation was detected within the triplet of aspartate at the amino acid position 2078 (referred to EMBL accession no. AJ310767) and resulted in the triplet of glycine. These results constitute the first report on a target site mutation for a Brazilian herbicide resistant grass weed.

Bio-ethanol valorization towards C4s including 1-butanol over metal modified alumina and zeolite catalysts

Bio-ethanol has been used as a fuel additive in modern society aimed at reducing CO2-emissions and dependence on oil. However, ethanol is unsuitable as fuel supplement in higher proportions due to its physico-chemical properties. One option to counteract the negative effects is to upgrade ethanol in a continuous fixed bed reactor to more valuable C4 products such as 1-butanol providing chemical similarity with traditional gasoline components. Bio-ethanol based valorization products also have other end-uses than just fuel additives. E.g. 1-butanol and ethyl acetate are well characterised industrial solvents and platform chemicals providing greener alternatives. The modern approach is to apply heterogeneous catalysts in the investigated reactions. The research was concentrated on aluminium oxide (Al2O3) and zeolites that were used as catalysts and catalyst supports. The metals supported (Cu, Ni, Co) gave very different product profiles and, thus, a profound view of different catalyst preparation methods and characterisation techniques was necessary. Additionally, acidity and basicity of the catalyst surface have an important role in determining the product profile. It was observed that ordinary determination of acid strength was not enough to explain all the phenomena e.g. the reaction mechanism. One of the main findings of the thesis is based on the catalytically active site which originates from crystallite structure. As a consequence, the overall evaluation of different by-products and intermediates was carried out by combining the information. Further kinetic analysis was carried out on metal (Cu, Ni, Co) supported self-prepared alumina catalysts. The thesis gives information for further catalyst developments aimed to scale-up towards industrially feasible operations.

The site of self-incompatibility action in cupuassu (Theobroma grandiflorum)

Cupuassu (Theobroma grandiflorum (Willd. ex Spreng.) Schumann) is a fruit tree that is attracting attention in Brazil and also in other tropical countries. Its pulp is used to prepare ice-cream, juices, jellies and many other home-made sweets. This species has a very low fecundity, attributed to problems with pollination and self-incompatibility, noted as being restrictive to the agronomic productivity of the species. Controlled pollinations between compatible and incompatible parents were made and flowers were collected at three times: 24, 48 and 72 h after pollinations, during the floral seasons of 1995 and 1998. In flowers collected 24 h after pollination, in both compatible and incompatible crosses, around 70% of ovules showed egg apparatus without evidences of sperm cell delivery; nevertheless some pollen tubes had been observed. Ovaries collected at 48 h showed different behaviors according to the type of cross. In the compatibles, 35% of ovules did not show evidences of gamete fusion. In incompatible crosses this number rose to 50%. Collected ovaries with 72 h, from compatible and incompatible crosses, showed respectively 1.2% and 14.2% of the ovules with the egg apparatus and polar nuclei only. In these ovaries, for the two types of crosses, the presence of sperm nuclei was common and the zygote was still undivided. The incompatibility action is occurring after fertilization, in a late self-incompatibility action.

Management of Soft Information in Sales and Operations Planning

With a Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process, a company aims to manage the demand and supply by planning and forecasting. The studied company uses an integrated S&OP process to improve the company's operations. The aim of this thesis is to develop this business process by finding the best possible way to manage the soft information in S&OP, whilst also understanding the importance and types (assumptions, risks and opportunities) of soft information in S&OP. The soft information in S&OP helps to refine future S&OP planning, taking into account the uncertainties that affect the balance of the long-term demand and supply (typically 12-18 months). The literature review was used to create a framework for soft information management process in S&OP. There were not found a concrete way how to manage soft information in the existing literature. In consequence of the poor literature available the Knowledge Management literature was used as the base for the framework creation, which was seen in the very same type of information management like the soft information management is. The framework created a four-stage process to manage soft information in S&OP that included also the required support systems. First phase is collecting and acquiring soft information in S&OP, which include also categorization. The categorization was the cornerstone to identify different requirements that needs to be taken into consideration when managing soft information in S&OP process. The next phase focus on storing data, which purpose is to ensure the soft information is managed in a common system (support system) in a way that the following phase makes it available to users in S&OP who need by help of sharing and applications process. The last phase target is to use the soft information to understand assumptions and thoughts of users behind the numbers in S&OP plans. With this soft management process the support system will have a key role. The support system, like S&OP tool, ensures that soft information is stored in the right places, kept up-to-date and relevancy. The soft information management process in S&OP strives to improve the relevant soft information documenting behind the S&OP plans into the S&OP support system. The process offers an opportunity to individuals to review, comment and evaluate soft information in S&OP made by their own or others. In the case company it was noticed that without a properly documented and distributed soft information in S&OP it was seen to cause mistrust towards the planning.

Operations management in courts of justice - outlining functions, challenges and development possibilities

Professional services are an increasingly important group of economy and related to them there has been identified a fairly new concept called professional service operations management. However professional service operations management is still quite under-researched area which needs further research especially in specific contexts. This study aims to respond to that need by examining courts as an environment for operations management. As a result there is a preliminary structured description of what operations management is and could be in courts. The study also aims to inspire and tentatively classify possible areas for future research. Courts are examined based on three common perspectives for typical characteristics of professional services which can be identified in literature: the nature of customer role, the nature of professional work and the nature of process and product. The examination is based on research data from several research projects conducted in Finland and other European countries. Based on the examination it can be said that the operational environment of courts is highly complex and demanding because the case as an object of operations management tasks is challenging, the process sets strict requirements to the handling of the cases and the workforce is hard to direct.

Map illustrating the site of the harbours for the proposed Obi-railway : the soundings are all calculated in feet and are based upon the data of the Russian Marine Ministry : the underlined figures are soundings taken by the scooner Bakan, 1887

Kartta kuuluu A. E. Nordenskiöldin kokoelmaan

Restriction site heteroplasmy in the mitochondrial DNA of Brycon opalinus (Cuvier, 1819) (Characiformes, Characidae, Bryconiae)

Homoplasmy is a feature usually found in the mtDNA of higher animal taxa. On the other hand, the presence of two classes of mtDNA in the same cell or organism is rare and may appear in length or site variation. Data from mtDNA RFLP analysis of Brycon opalinus populations (Cuvier, 1819; Characiformes, Characidae, Bryconinae) revealed site heteroplasmy from endonuclease NheI digestion. Southern blotting hybridization was used to survey a total of 257 specimens with 24 restriction enzymes. Three different restriction fragment patterns of mtDNA were obtained from NheI digestion. Two individuals from hatchery broodstock were found to have two of them. NheI digests of heteroplasmic individuals yielded two fragments of approximately 1180 and 1260 bp. Despite the low frequency of this type of heteroplasmy in the whole B. opalinus population, the presence of site heteroplasmy in this species supports the evidence of this phenomenon in lower vertebrate groups.

The importance of the Thr17 residue of phospholamban as a phosphorylation site under physiological and pathological conditions

The sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA2a) is under the control of an SR protein named phospholamban (PLN). Dephosphorylated PLN inhibits SERCA2a, whereas phosphorylation of PLN at either the Ser16 site by PKA or the Thr17 site by CaMKII reverses this inhibition, thus increasing SERCA2a activity and the rate of Ca2+ uptake by the SR. This leads to an increase in the velocity of relaxation, SR Ca2+ load and myocardial contractility. In the intact heart, ß-adrenoceptor stimulation results in phosphorylation of PLN at both Ser16 and Thr17 residues. Phosphorylation of the Thr17 residue requires both stimulation of the CaMKII signaling pathways and inhibition of PP1, the major phosphatase that dephosphorylates PLN. These two prerequisites appear to be fulfilled by ß-adrenoceptor stimulation, which as a result of PKA activation, triggers the activation of CaMKII by increasing intracellular Ca2+, and inhibits PP1. Several pathological situations such as ischemia-reperfusion injury or hypercapnic acidosis provide the required conditions for the phosphorylation of the Thr17 residue of PLN, independently of the increase in PKA activity, i.e., increased intracellular Ca2+ and acidosis-induced phosphatase inhibition. Our results indicated that PLN was phosphorylated at Thr17 at the onset of reflow and immediately after hypercapnia was established, and that this phosphorylation contributes to the mechanical recovery after both the ischemic and acidic insults. Studies on transgenic mice with Thr17 mutated to Ala (PLN-T17A) are consistent with these results. Thus, phosphorylation of the Thr17 residue of PLN probably participates in a protective mechanism that favors Ca2+ handling and limits intracellular Ca2+ overload in pathological situations.

Analysis of polymorphism at site -174 G/C of interleukin-6 promoter region in multiple myeloma

It is well established that interleukin-6 (IL-6) is an essential growth factor for multiple myeloma (MM) and patients with increased IL-6 levels have a poor prognosis. In healthy subjects, the presence of the C allele at a polymorphic site (-174 G/C) of the IL-6 gene is related to low IL-6 levels. In view of the potential association of this particular polymorphism with IL-6 concentration, and the relevance of IL-6 in MM pathogenesis, the objective of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of IL-6 (-174 G/C) promoter polymorphism and its association with development of MM in Brazilian individuals. We investigated the prevalence of these alleles in 52 patients and 60 healthy subjects (matched by age, sex, and race) of a Brazilian population. Thirty patients were male (42.4%), 24 (46.2%) were white and the median age at diagnosis was 58.5 years (range: 28 to 84 years). To determine the IL-6 (-174 G/C) polymorphism, molecular analysis was performed by polymerase chain reaction followed by endonuclease restriction digestion. The genotype distributions observed in the group of patients were 4% CC, 42% GC and 54% GG. The C allele frequency was 0.25. These results were similar to the control group, suggesting no impact of this polymorphism on the susceptibility to MM.