Division of labor in insect societies : genetic components and physiological regulation

The shift from solitary to social organisms constitutes one of the major transitions in evolution. The highest level of sociality is found in social insects (ants, termites and some species of bees and wasps). Division of labor is central to the organization of insect societies and is thought to be at the root of their ecological success. There are two main levels of division of labor in social insect colonies. The first relates to reproduction and involves the coexistence of queen and worker castes: while reproduction is usually monopolized by one or several queens, functionally sterile workers perform all the tasks to maintain the colony, such as nest building, foraging or brood care. The second level of division of labor, relating to such non-reproductive duties, is characterized by the performance of different tasks or roles by different groups of workers. This PhD aims to better understand the mechanisms underlying division of labor in insect societies, by investigating how genes and physiology influence caste determination and worker behavior in ants. In the first axis of this PhD, we studied the nature of genetic effects on division of labor. We used the Argentine ant Linepithema humile to conduct controlled crosses in the laboratory, which revealed the existence of non-additive genetic effects, such as parent-of-origin and genetic compatibility effects, on caste determination and worker behavior. In the second axis, we focused on the physiological regulation of division of labor. Using Pogonomyrmex seed- harvester ants, we performed experimental manipulation of hibernation, hormonal treatments, gene expression analyses and protein quantification to identify the physiological pathways regulating maternal effects on caste determination. Finally, comparing gene expression between nurses and foragers allowed us to reveal the association between vitellogenin and worker behavior in Pogonomyrmex ants. This PhD provides important insights into the role of genes and physiology in the regulation of division of labor in social insect colonies, helping to better understand the organization, evolution and ecological success of insect societies. - L'une des principales transitions évolutives est le passage de la vie solitaire à la vie sociale. La socialité atteint son paroxysme chez les insectes sociaux que sont les fourmis, les termites et certaines espèces d'abeilles et de guêpes. La division du travail est la clé de voûte de l'organisation de ces sociétés d'insectes et la raison principale de leur succès écologique. La division du travail s'effectue à deux niveaux dans les colonies d'insectes sociaux. Le premier niveau concerne la reproduction et implique la coexistence de deux castes : les reines et les ouvrières. Tandis que la reproduction est le plus souvent monopolisée par une ou plusieurs reines, les ouvrières stériles effectuent les tâches nécessaires au bon fonctionnement de la colonie, telles que la construction du nid, la recherche de nourriture ou le soin au couvain. Le second niveau de division du travail, qui concerne les tâches autres que la reproduction, implique la réalisation de différents travaux par différents groupes d'ouvrières. Le but de ce doctorat est de mieux comprendre les mécanismes sous-jacents de la division du travail dans les sociétés d'insectes en étudiant comment les gènes et la physiologie influencent la détermination de la caste et le comportement des ouvrières chez les fourmis. Dans le premier axe de ce doctorat, nous avons étudié la nature des influences génétiques sur la division du travail. Nous avons utilisé la fourmi d'Argentine, Linepithema humile, pour effectuer des croisements contrôlés en laboratoire. Cette méthode nous a permis de révéler l'existence d'influences génétiques non additives, telles que des influences dépendantes de l'origine parentale ou des effets de compatibilité génétique, sur la détermination de la caste et le comportement des ouvrières. Dans le second axe, nous nous sommes intéressés à la régulation physiologique de la division du travail. Nous avons utilisé des fourmis moissonneuses du genre Pogonomyrmex pour effectuer des hibernations artificieHes, des traitements hormonaux, des analyses d'expression de gènes et des mesures de vitellogénine, ce qui nous a permis d'identifier les mécanismes physiologiques régulant les effets maternels sur la détermination de la caste. Enfin, la comparaison d'expression de gènes entre nourrices et fourrageuses suggère un rôle de la vitellogénine dans la régulation du comportement des ouvrières chez les fourmis moissonneuses. En détaillant les influences des gènes et de la physiologie dans la régulation de la division du travail dans les colonies d'insectes sociaux, ce doctorat fournit d'importantes informations permettant de mieux comprendre l'organisation, l'évolution et le succès écologique des sociétés d'insectes.

Web Presence Building and Performance Measuring in Business-to-Business Markets

Tutkimuksen tavoite oli selvittää yrityksen web toiminnan rakentamisen vaiheita sekä menestyksen mittaamista. Rakennusprosessia tutkittiin viisiportaisen askelmallin avulla. Mallin askeleet ovat; arviointi, strategian muotoilu, suunnitelma, pohjapiirros ja toteutus. Arviointi- ja toteutusvaiheiden täydentämiseksi sekä erityisesti myös internet toiminnan onnistumisen mittaamisen avuksi internet toiminnan hyödyt (CRM,kommunikointi-, myynti-, ja jakelukanava hyödyt markkinoinnin kannalta) käsiteltiin. Toiminnan menestyksen arvioinnin avuksi esiteltiin myös porrasmalli internet toimintaan. Porrasmalli määrittelee kauppakulissi-, dynaaminen-, transaktio- ja e-businessportaat. Tutkimuksessa löydettiin menestystekijöitä internet toimintojen menestykselle. Nämä tekijät ovat laadukas sisältö, kiinnostavuus, viihdyttävyys, informatiivisuus, ajankohtaisuus, personoitavuus, luottamus, interaktiivisuus, käytettävyys, kätevyys, lojaalisuus, suoriutuminen, responssiivisuus ja käyttäjätiedon kerääminen. Mittarit jaettiin tutkimuksessa aktiivisuus-, käyttäytymis- ja muunnosmittareihin. Lisäksi muita mittareita ja menestysindikaattoreita esiteltiin. Nämä menestyksen elementit ja mittarit koottiin yhteen uudessa internet toimintojen menestyksenarviointimallissa. Tutkielman empiirisessä osuudessa,esitettyjä teorioita peilattiin ABB:n (ABB:n sisällä erityisesti ABB Stotz-Kontakt) web toimintaan. Apuna olivat dokumenttianalyysi sekä haastattelut. Empiirinen osa havainnollisti teoriat käytännössä ja toi ilmi mahdollisuuden teorioiden laajentamiseen. Internet toimintojen rakentamismallia voidaan käyttää myös web toimintojen kehittämiseen ja porrasmalli sopii myös nykyisten internet toimintojen arvioimiseen. Mittareiden soveltaminen käytännössä toi kuitenkin ilmi tarpeen niiden kehittämiseen ja aiheen lisätutkimukseen. Niiden tulisi olla myös aiempaatiiviimmin liitetty kokonaisvaltaisen liiketoiminnan menestyksen mittaamiseen.

Toimintolaskennan hyväksikäyttö talouspalvelukeskuksen kustannusten kohdentamisessa

Tässä tutkimuksessa tutkittiin kustannuslaskennan,erityisesti toimintolaskennan hyväksikäyttöä talouspalvelukeskuksen kustannusten jakamisessa asiakasyhtiöille. Tavoitteena oli saada aikaan mahdollisimman selkeä, mutta kuitenkin riittävän yksinkertainen järjestelmä, jolla talouspalvelukeskuksen kustannukset kohdistetaan asiakkaille. Toinen päätavoite oli selvittää, soveltuuko toimintolaskenta talouspalvelukeskuksen tai palveluyrityksen kustannuslaskenta järjestelmäksi. Teoriaosassa on useita eri teoreettisia lähtökohtia kustannusten jakamiseen. Teoriaa on perinteisestä kustannuslaskennasta, toimintolaskennasta, laatukustannuslaskennasta ja siirtohinnoittelusta. Pääpaino on toimintolaskennassa, erityisesti toimintolaskennan hyväksikäytöstä palveluyrityksissä. Empiriaosuudessa näistä teoreettisista raameista rakennetaan malli, jolla kohdeyrityksen, Finnair Financial Services yksikön kustannukset jaetaan konsernin yhtiöille, talouspalvelukeskuksen asiakkaille. Syntynyt malli on pääpiirteissään perinteistä kustannuslaskentaa, lisäyslaskentaa Vaikka toimintolaskenta teoreettisesti soveltuu yhtä hyvin niin palvelu kuin valmistusyrityksiinkin, se ei sovellu pienille yksiköille. Tämän tutkimuksen tuloksena voidaan todeta, että toimintolaskentajärjestelmä on liian raskas talouspalvelukeskuksille ja tilitoimistotyyppisille yksiköille ja yrityksille, mutta muuten soveltuu hyvin suurten yleiskustannusten jakamiseen. Kohdeyksikössä on noin 50 työtekijää ja toimintolaskennan rakentaminen tähän yksikköön ei ole taloudellisesti järkevää. Toimintolaskennan soveltuvuudesta tai soveltumattomuudesta palveluyrityksiin ei voi tämän tutkimuksen perusteella ottaa kantaa.

Nouveau dictionnaire universel. Tome second / par Maurice La Châtre

Collection : Archives de la linguistique française ; 205

Building Strong Brands with Sponsorship: Case Battery Energy Drink

Tutkimuksen päätavoitteena oli ymmärtää vahvojen brändien ja brändipääoman rakentamisprosessia, painottaen erityisesti sponsoroinnin roolia tässä prosessissa. Tutkimus suoritettiin laadullisena tutkimuksena, jossa käytettiintapaustutkimusmenetelmää. Tutkimuksen aineisto kerättiin suurimmista online artikkelitietokannoista sekä kolmesta henkilökohtaisesta haastattelusta case-yrityksen edustajien kanssa. Tutkimuksen teoreettisen perustan muodosti brändipääoma-käsite ja sen osa-alueet, näiden liittyminen vahvoihin brändeihin ja brändien rakentamiseen, sekä sponsoroinnin strateginen käyttö brändien rakentamisessa. Lisäksi tutkimuksen empiirinen perusta arvio ja testasi näitä oletuksia ja aikaisemmin käsiteltyjä teorioita case-brändi Battery energiajuoman valossa. Tutkimus osoitti, että nykypäivänä kovan kilpailun markkinointiympäristössä, sponsorointi edustaa vaihtoehtoista tapaa rakentaa vahvoja, omalaatuisia ja suotuisia brändejä, joilla on korkea brändipääoma. Sponsoroinnista on tullut yhä tärkeämpi kommunikointiväline brändien rakentamisessa ja erityisesti siellä missä perinteiset menetelmät ovat muuttumassa tehottomiksi. Empiirisessä osassa selvisi, että sponsorointia on käytetty menestyksekkäästi strategisena keinona vahvan ja omalaatuisen Battery brändin ja sen korkean brändipääoman rakentamisessa.

Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Tome second, Azyme-Cezimbra / par une société de gens de lettres ; mis en ordre et publié par M. [Denis] Diderot,... et quant à la partie mathématique, par M. [Jean Le Rond] d'Alembert,..

Collection : Archives de la linguistique française ; 118

Structural connectomics in brain diseases.

Imaging the connectome in vivo has become feasible through the integration of several rapidly developing fields of science and engineering, namely magnetic resonance imaging and in particular diffusion MRI on one side, image processing and network theory on the other side. This framework brings in vivo brain imaging closer to the real topology of the brain, contributing to narrow the existing gap between our understanding of brain structural organization on one side and of human behavior and cognition on the other side. Given the seminal technical progresses achieved in the last few years, it may be ready to tackle even greater challenges, namely exploring disease mechanisms. In this review we analyze the current situation from the technical and biological perspectives. First, we critically review the technical solutions proposed in the literature to perform clinical studies. We analyze for each step (i.e. MRI acquisition, network building and network statistical analysis) the advantages and potential limitations. In the second part we review the current literature available on a selected subset of diseases, namely, dementia, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis and others, and try to extract for each disease the common findings and main differences between reports.

Three essays in dynamic corporate finance

The three essays constituting this thesis focus on financing and cash management policy. The first essay aims to shed light on why firms issue debt so conservatively. In particular, it examines the effects of shareholder and creditor protection on capital structure choices. It starts by building a contingent claims model where financing policy results from a trade-off between tax benefits, contracting costs and agency costs. In this setup, controlling shareholders can divert part of the firms' cash ows as private benefits at the expense of minority share- holders. In addition, shareholders as a class can behave strategically at the time of default leading to deviations from the absolute priority rule. The analysis demonstrates that investor protection is a first order determinant of firms' financing choices and that conflicts of interests between firm claimholders may help explain the level and cross-sectional variation of observed leverage ratios. The second essay focuses on the practical relevance of agency conflicts. De- spite the theoretical development of the literature on agency conflicts and firm policy choices, the magnitude of manager-shareholder conflicts is still an open question. This essay proposes a methodology for quantifying these agency conflicts. To do so, it examines the impact of managerial entrenchment on corporate financing decisions. It builds a dynamic contingent claims model in which managers do not act in the best interest of shareholders, but rather pursue private benefits at the expense of shareholders. Managers have discretion over financing and dividend policies. However, shareholders can remove the manager at a cost. The analysis demonstrates that entrenched managers restructure less frequently and issue less debt than optimal for shareholders. I take the model to the data and use observed financing choices to provide firm-specific estimates of the degree of managerial entrenchment. Using structural econometrics, I find costs of control challenges of 2-7% on average (.8-5% at median). The estimates of the agency costs vary with variables that one expects to determine managerial incentives. In addition, these costs are sufficient to resolve the low- and zero-leverage puzzles and explain the time series of observed leverage ratios. Finally, the analysis shows that governance mechanisms significantly affect the value of control and firms' financing decisions. The third essay is concerned with the documented time trend in corporate cash holdings by Bates, Kahle and Stulz (BKS,2003). BKS find that firms' cash holdings double from 10% to 20% over the 1980 to 2005 period. This essay provides an explanation of this phenomenon by examining the effects of product market competition on firms' cash holdings in the presence of financial constraints. It develops a real options model in which cash holdings may be used to cover unexpected operating losses and avoid inefficient closure. The model generates new predictions relating cash holdings to firm and industry characteristics such as the intensity of competition, cash flow volatility, or financing constraints. The empirical examination of the model shows strong support of model's predictions. In addition, it shows that the time trend in cash holdings documented by BKS can be at least partly attributed to a competition effect.

Studies on coordination of systems development process

This thesis examines coordination of systems development process in a contemporary software producing organization. The thesis consists of a series of empirical studies in which the actions, conceptions and artifacts of practitioners are analyzed using a theory-building case study research approach. The three phases of the thesis provide empirical observations on different aspects of systemsdevelopment. In the first phase is examined the role of architecture in coordination and cost estimation in multi-site environment. The second phase involves two studies on the evolving requirement understanding process and how to measure this process. The third phase summarizes the first two phases and concentrates on the role of methods and how practitioners work with them. All the phases provide evidence that current systems development method approaches are too naïve in looking at the complexity of the real world. In practice, development is influenced by opportunity and other contingent factors. The systems development processis not coordinated using phases and tasks defined in methods providing universal mechanism for managing this process like most of the method approaches assume.Instead, the studies suggest that managing systems development process happens through coordinating development activities using methods as tools. These studies contribute to the systems development methods by emphasizing the support of communication and collaboration between systems development participants. Methods should not describe the development activities and phases in a detail level, butshould include the higher level guidance for practitioners on how to act in different systems development environments.

Dynamics of Appropriability - Finding a Balance between Efficiency and Strength in the Appropriability Regime

Building and sustaining competitive advantage through the creation of market imperfections is challenging in a constantly changing business environment - particularly since the sources of such advantages are increasingly knowledge-based. Facilitated by improved networks and communication, knowledge spills over to competitors more easily than before,thus creating an appropriability problem: the inability of an innovating firm to utilize its innovations commercially. Consequently, as the importance of intellectual assets increases, their protection also calls for new approaches. Companies have various means of protection at their disposal, and by taking advantage of them they can make intangibles more non-transferable and prevent, or at leastdelay, imitation of their most crucial intellectual assets. However, creating barriers against imitation has another side to it, and the transfer of knowledge in situations requiring knowledge sharing may be unintentionally obstructed. Theaim of this thesis is to increase understanding of how firms can balance knowledge protection and sharing so as to benefit most from their knowledge assets. Thus, knowledge protection is approached through an examination of the appropriability regime of a firm, i.e., the combination of available and effective means ofprotecting innovations, their profitability, and the increased rents due to R&D. A further aim is to provide a broader understanding of the formation and structure of the appropriability regime. The study consists of two parts. The first part introduces the research topic and the overall results of the study, and the second part consists of six complementary research publications covering various appropriability issues. The thesis contributes to the existing literature in several ways. Although there is a wide range of prior research on appropriability issues, a lot of it is restricted either to the study of individual appropriability mechanisms, or to comparing certain features of them. These approaches are combined, and the relevant theoretical concepts are clarified and developed. In addition, the thesis provides empirical evidence of the formation of the appropriability regime, which is consequently presented as an adaptive process. Thus, a framework is provided that better corresponds to the complex reality of the current business environment.

Building a usable and accessible semantic web interaction platform

Semantic Web applications take off is being slower than expected, at least with respect to “real-world” applications and users. One of the main reasons for this lack of adoption is that most Semantic Web user interfaces are still immature from the usability and accessibility points of view. This is due to the novelty of these technologies, but this also motivates the exploration of alternative interaction paradigms, different from the “traditional” Web or Desktop applications ones. Our proposal is realized in the Rhizomer platform, which explores the possibilities of the object–action interaction paradigm at the Web scale. This paradigm is well suited for heterogeneous resource spaces such as those common in the Semantic Web. Resources, described by metadata, correspond to the objects in the paradigm. Semantic web services, which are dynamically associated to these objects, correspond to the actions. The platform is being put into practice in the context of a research project in order to build an open application for media distribution based on Semantic Web technologies. Moreover, its usability and accessibility have been evaluated in this real setting and compared to similar systems.