Neste trabalho foi desenvolvido um Espectrômetro de Correlação Angular Gama- Gama Perturbada Diferencial em Tempo (CAP) constituído por seis detectores cintiladores de BaF2, para realização de medidas de interações hiperfinas (campo hiperfino magnético e gradiente de campo elétrico) em diversos materiais e propiciar estudos na área da física da matéria condensada. O espectrômetro desenvolvido possui um sistema de aquisição não convencional em comparação aos demais equipamentos destinados a medidas de CAP. Ao invés do tradicional Analisador Multicanal (MCA), este espectrômetro utiliza um sistema de aquisição de dados constituído, basicamente, por um Conversor Analógico Digital (ADC) rápido, uma placa digital (I/O) convencional e um roteador construído no laboratório de Interações Hiperfinas (LIH) do IPEN. Este versátil e eficiente sistema, controlado por um software também criado no LIH em LabVIEW, permite a geração simultânea de 30 espectros de coincidências γ - γ atrasadas, número superior em comparação aos 12 espectros do antigo espectrômetro de quatro detectores. Além de medidas de linearidade, resolução em tempo e tempo morto, o funcionamento e o desempenho do espectrômetro foram comprovados através de medidas de CAP utilizando os núcleos de prova 111In -> 111Cd e 181Hf -> 181Ta, cujos resultados são bem conhecidos da literatura. Foram feitas medidas de interação quadrupolar do 181Ta em háfnio metálico e do 111Cd em cádmio metálico, e de campo hiperfino magnético do 111Cd e do 181Ta em níquel. Os resultados destas medidas se mostraram em concordância com a literatura. Adicionalmente foram realizadas medidas inéditas de interações hiperfinas magnéticas no composto intermetálico LaMnSi2 utilizando os núcleos de prova 111Cd e 140Ce. As medidas foram realizadas na faixa de temperatura de 10 K a 400K. No caso das medidas utilizando a sonda 111In -> 111Cd, os resultados mostram uma variação do campo magnético com a temperatura que segue a função de Brillouin. Já no caso das medidas com o núcleo de prova 140La -> 140Ce, o resultado apresentou um comportamento anômalo do campo hiperfino em função de temperatura. Os resultados evidenciam uma forte hibridização da banda 4f do Ce com a banda 3d do Mn, fato verificado e estudado em trabalhos anteriores com compostos semelhantes. / In this work a Perturbed gama-gama Angular Correlation (PAC) spectrometer was constructed consisting of six BaF2 scintillator detectors to perform measurements of hyperfine interactions (magnetic hyperfine field and electric field gradient) in different materials to study condensed matter physics. The spectrometer developed has an unconventional acquisition system compared to other equipment for PAC measurements. Instead of a traditional multichannel analyzer (MCA), the spectrometer utilizes a data acquisition system consisting of basically a fast analog to digital converter (ADC), a conventional digital card (I/O) and a router constructed in the hyperfine interactions laboratory (LIH) of IPEN. This versatile and efficient system, controlled by software, also developed in the LIH using LabVIEW, allows simultaneous generation of 30 delayed γ - γ coincidence spectra compared to 12 spectra in the old 4 detector spectrometer in our laboratory. In addition to the tests of system linearity, time resolution and dead time, the operational performance of this spectrometer was demonstrated by PAC measurements using 111In -> 111Cd and 181Hf -> 181Ta nuclear probes, for which the results are well known from the literature. The quadrupole interaction of 181Ta in metallic hafnium, and 111Cd in metallic cadmium, and magnetic hyperfine field of 111Cd in nickel, were measured and the results are in agreement with the literature. Additionally the measurements were carried out, with the new spectrometer, to study the hyperfine field in the intermetallic compound LaMnSi2 using 111Cd and 140Ce nuclear probes. The measurements were carried out in the temperature range from 10 K to 400 K. While the temperature dependence of hyperfine field measured with 111In -> 111Cd probe, follows the Brillouin function the behaviour of the hyperfine field measured with 140La -> 140Ce is anomalous. This behavior has been explained in terms of a strong hybridization of 4f band of Ce with the 3d band of Mn, a fact verified in previous studies with similar compounds.

Ces travaux de recherche s’inscrivent dans le cadre des études de faisabilité du stockage du dioxyde de carbone en couches géologiques profondes, et portent plus particulièrement sur l’évolution des propriétés de confinement de roches-couvertures de type argilite, soumises à des fluides enrichis en CO2. Pour ce faire, les argilites de Tournemire (Aveyron, France) ont été utilisées comme roches analogues, après avoir identifié leurs possible points de faiblesse vis-à-vis du stockage, à savoir leur minéralogie, la présence de fissures naturelles remplies de calcite et la présence d’interfaces ciment/argilite attendues au niveau des puits d’injection rebouchés. Le montage expérimental de type « diffusion à travers » a été adapté pour permettre d’estimer (i) la possible modification des paramètres de transport diffusif enregistrés, avant et après attaque acide, pour les différents traceurs radioactifs (tritium et chlore-36) et non-radioactifs (deutérium et bromure) utilisés pour caractériser les échantillons d’argilite de Tournemire et de pâte de ciment et (ii) l’évolution des compositions chimiques des solutions contenues dans les réservoirs amont et aval des cellules de diffusion au cours des attaques acides. Enfin, l’analyse des solides a été réalisée pour partie par MEB-EDS, µTomographie-X et DRX. Tout d’abord, pour l’ensemble des échantillons étudiés, les valeurs des paramètres de transport déterminées avant attaque acide (coefficient de diffusion effectif et porosité) sont cohérentes avec celles de la littérature. En outre, il apparaît que tous les matériaux ont fortement réagi aux attaques acides. Ainsi, les argilites ont vu leurs paramètres de diffusion augmenter jusqu’à un facteur deux, notamment pour les traceurs anioniques, et ce, quelque soit la proportion de minéraux carbonatées présents initialement dans les échantillons d’argilite. Les observations post-mortem ont permis l’identification d’une zone de dissolution des minéraux carbonatés en leur au sein, mais dont l’extension (400 µm au maximum) ne peut à elle seule expliquer cette importante dégradation des propriétés de confinement. Seuls des phénomènes non observables à l’échelle d’investigation, tels des effets de digitation au sein du réseau poreux pourraient en être à l’origine. Par ailleurs, les échantillons d’argilites recoupés par des fissures naturelles ont systématiquement développé des courts-circuits hydrauliques, qui s’expliquent par la mise en place d’un processus de chenalisation préférentielle au sein même de la fissure, observé au MEB-EDS et par µTomographie X. De plus, les matériaux cimentaires ont vu leurs propriétés de confinement améliorées, et ce, plus le fluide d’attaque était proche de la neutralité. Ceci est lié à l’apparition d‘une croûte de calcite d’environ 30 µm d’épaisseur, situé à l’avant d’une zone de dissolution, dont l’épaisseur est proportionnelle à la quantité d’acide en solution. Cette croûte imperméable, obstruant la porosité, serait responsable de la diminution des paramètres de diffusion, observée à l’échelle de l’échantillon, ainsi que le reproduisent les simulations numériques. Enfin, les interfaces ciment/argilites n’ont pas révélé de changement de leurs propriétés de confinement à l’échelle globale, la dégradation des argilites étant compensé par l’aggradation du ciment via la formation de cette croûte de calcite. / This research is part of the studies of feasibility of CO2 storage in deep geological strata, focusing more particularly on the evolution of the confinement properties of cap-rocks type argillite subjected to CO2 enriched fluids. The argillite of Tournemire (Aveyron, France) were used as analog rocks, having identified what their weak points could be face to storage, namely their mineralogy, natural fractures filled with calcite and the presence of interfaces cement / argillite expected in filled injection wells. The "through diffusion" experimental setup has been adapted to estimate (i) the possible modification of diffusive transport parameters recorded before and after acid attack for different radioactive tracers (tritium and chlorine-36) and non-radioactive tracers (deuterium and bromide) used to characterize samples of argillite of Tournemire and cement paste and (ii) the evolution of the chemical compositions of the solutions in the upstream and downstream reservoirs of diffusion cells during acid attacks. Finally, the analysis of solids was carried out in part by SEM-EDS, XRD and X-μTomographie. Firstly, for all the samples studied, the values of the transport parameters determined before acid attack (effective diffusion coefficient and porosity) are consistent with those of the literature. In addition, it appears that all materials have reacted strongly to acid attacks. Thus, argillites saw their diffusion parameters increase up to a factor of two, especially for anionic tracers, and, whatever the proportion of carbonate minerals initially present in samples of argillite. The post-mortem observations have led to the identification of a zone of dissolution of carbonate minerals in them, but whose extension (400 microns or less) can not alone explain the significant degradation of the containment properties. Only unobservable phenomena during investigation scale, such as wormhole effects in porous network could be the cause. In addition, the samples of argillite intruded by natural fractures have systematically developed hydraulic short circuits, which can be explained by the introduction of a process of preferential channeling within the fracture observed by SEM-EDS and X. μTomographie In addition, the more close to neutral was the fluid attack the more cementitious materials saw their confinement properties improved. This is related to the appearance of a crust of calcite about 30 microns thick on the front of a dissolution zone, the thickness of which is proportional to the amount of acid in solution. This waterproof crust, clogging the pores, would be responsible for the decrease in diffusion parameters observed across the sample, and as numerical simulations reproduce it. Finally, the interface cement / claystone showed no change in their confinement properties on a global scale, the degradation of clays being offset by aggradation cement via the formation of the crust of calcite.

Coronary atherosclerosis is by far the most frequent cause of ischemic heart disease. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) along with virtual histology (VH) is a useful tool for quantification of coronary plaque buildup and provides new insights into the diagnosis of coronary disease. Rupture of vulnerable plaque causing acute coronary syndromes, coronary remodeling maintaining lumen size and plaque phenotype revealing pathological severity are among the most important topics related to atherosclerosis. In this thesis, variations of IVUS-VH-derived thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) definitions are proposed to evaluate the plaque rupture, which is further analyzed in a layered manner; statins effects on coronary remodeling are comprehensively assessed with the implementation of automated IVUS segmentation and registration of IVUS pullbacks based on baseline and 1-year followup datasets; plaque phenotypes are determined and analyzed morphologically and compositionally on segmental basis using the same serial datasets. In addition, our research involves another important coronary disease — coronary allograft vasculopathy (CAV) which is a frequent complication of heart transplantation (HTx). Another intra-coronary imaging modality — intravascular optical coherence tomography (IVOCT) for quantifying CAV is involved. We present an optimal and automated 3-D graph search approach for the simultaneous IVOCT multi-layer segmentation by transforming the 3-D segmentation problem into finding a minimum-cost closed set in a weighted graph. Furthermore, a computer-aided just-enough-interaction refinement method is proposed to help achieve fully satisfactory 3-D segmentation of IVOCT images. We believe this is the first work that provides a fast, efficient and accurate solution for IVOCT multi-layer assessment in the context of CAV. The major contributions of this thesis are: (1) Proving that IVUS-VH-derived TCFA prevalence may be overestimated, and elucidating the potential loss of plaque material during rupture, (2) providing a comprehensive understanding of remodeling in the context of both changing the remodeling direction and changing the remodeling extent, and demonstrating the statin therapy effects on remodeling across patients, based on automated segmentation of IVUS images and registration of serial data, (3) showing that the pathological intimal thickening is the most active plaque phenotype in terms of plaque composition changes and plaque vulnerability progression, and (4) developing and validating a method for multi-layer 3-D segmentation of IVOCT images within a novel interactive environment.

Le but de cette thèse est d'étudier l'influence des conditions trophiques en milieu océanique profond sur la composition isotopique de foraminifères benthiques vivants, afin d'améliorer leur utilisation en tant que proxies potentiels de paléoproductivité. Nous avons étudié trois zones de l'Atlantique Nord-Est : la Marge du Portugal (milieu oligotrophe), le Golfe de Gascogne (milieu méso-oligotrophe), et la zone à upwelling au large de Cap Blanc (Mauritanie, milieu eutrophe). Nous avons établi le rôle majeur du flux et de la qualité de la matière organique sur la densité, la répartition bathymétrique et le microhabitat des espèces de foraminifères. Les faunes superficielles réagissent aux apports de matière organique labile, alors que les faunes endopéliques profondes dépendent de matière organique plus réfractaire. Par ailleurs, nous avons mis en évidence l'existence d'un seuil critique de flux total de matière organique d'environ 2gC/m²/an en dessous duquel le développement de l'endofaune est impossible. L'étude de la composition isotopique de certaines espèces clés a révélé que l'écart en δ13C entre une espèce au microhabitat endopélique superficiel (e.g. Uvigerina peregrina) et une espèce au microhabitat endopélique profond (e.g. Globulimina spp.) permet de différencier un milieu eutrophe (δ13C<0.5%) d'un milieu oligotrophe (δ13C>0.5%). De plus, dans les zones oligotrophes, nous avons observé une diminution graduelle de ce delta δ13C en fonction du flux croissant de matière organique, témoignant de l'influence directe de ce dernier sur la composition des eaux interstitielles du sédiment.

<p>Abstract</p><p>The OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm requires all large companies to apply the Swedish Code of</p><p>Corporate Governance. A revised code will be applied from July 2008. The purpose of this paper is to</p><p>identify the accessibility of information on corporate governance and in particular how the compliance,</p><p>concerning the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance in the perspective of an internet active general</p><p>public.</p><p>This paper is a complete census of the companies at the OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm who</p><p>complies with the code. Each company website has been visited and a comparison between the sectors</p><p>at the OMX Exchange Stockholm has been performed.</p><p>Results: 96% of the companies present the members of the nomination committee. 94% presents the</p><p>nomination committees proposal of the company board members, though only 33% of the companies in</p><p>the Energy sector. 37% of the companies present all of the facts according to the code about the</p><p>proposed board members. The Materials- and Telecommunication Service sectors presents the facts in</p><p>the most extent (100%). 88% of the companies presents the process for deciding on remunerations to</p><p>members of the executive management, though only 33% of the companies in the Energy sector. 28% of</p><p>the companies presents all of the facts according to the code about the remunerations to members of the</p><p>executive management. 46% of the companies has a special section for corporate governance on the first</p><p>page of the company website. The companies in the Energy- and the Health Care sectors have corporate</p><p>governance on the first page more often then the other sectors. The Rezidor Hotel Group AB is the</p><p>company that, according to the paper, best comply with the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance</p><p>concerning accessibility for the internet active general public.</p><p>Conclusions: The companies comply well with the code concerning the publicity of documents, but are</p><p>being more careless when it comes to details. For an internet active general public who lacks knowledge</p><p>about terms of corporate governance it can be complicated to get accessibility to information concerning</p><p>corporate governance. The Energy sector more rarely presented facts according to the code but more</p><p>often had a special section for corporate governance at the first page of the company website.</p> / <p>Svensk kod för bolagsstyrning är ett av noteringskraven på OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm för de stora bolagen. Nu presenteras en ny reviderad kod som ska gälla fler bolag. Syftet med uppsatsen är att se hur tillgängligheten av bolagsstyrning och i synnerhet efterföljandet av svensk kod för bolagsstyrning ser ut ur perspektivet från den internetanvändande allmänheten. En totalundersökning av bolagen som följer koden på OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm har genomförts. Studien har en kvantitativ ansats. Samtliga av bolagens hemsidor har besökts för att se hur de följer koden avseende vad koden föreskriver ska publiceras på bolagens hemsidor, därefter har en jämförelse gjort för att se om skillnader finns mellan de olika branscherna.</p><p>Resultat: 96% av bolagen presenterar vilka ledamöter som ingår i valberedningen, 94% presenterar valberedningens förslag till styrelse, dock endast 33% av bolagen i energibranschen. 37% av bolagen presenterar samtliga av de uppgifter som koden föreskriver om de föreslagna ledamöterna. I störst utsträckning är det material- telekombranscherna som gör det (100%). 88% av bolagen presenterar principer för ersättning till ledande befattningshavare, dock endast 33% av bolagen i energibranschen. 28% av bolagen presenterar samtliga av kodens kriterier om ersättning till ledande befattningshavare. 46% av bolagen har en särskilt avdelning för bolagsstyrning på sin hemsidas förstasida. I störst utsträckning har energi- och hälsovårdsbranschen en sådan på förstasidan. Rezidor Hotel Group AB är det bolag som, utifrån hur undersökningen är utformad, bäst uppfyller kodens kriterier avseende tillgänglighet för den internetanvändande allmänheten.</p><p>Slutsats: Bolagen uppfyller i stor utsträckning kodens regler om publicering av dokument, men slarvar med detaljerna. Som internetanvändande allmänhet som saknar förkunskaper kan det vara svårt att hitta information om bolagsstyrning. I branschjämförelsen märkte energibranschen ut sig för att de i lägre utsträckning än andra branscher publicerade uppgifter, men var samtidigt den bransch som i störst utsträckning hade en lättillkomlig avdelning för bolagsstyrning.</p>

This thesis aims to quantify the human impact on the natural resource water at the landscape scale. The drivers in the federal state of Brandenburg (Germany), the area under investigation, are land-use changes induced by policy decisions at European and federal state level. The water resources of the federal state are particularly sensitive to changes in land-use due to low precipitation rates in the summer combined with sandy soils and high evapotranspiration rates. Key elements in landscape hydrology are forests because of their unique capacity to transport water from the soil to the atmosphere. Given these circumstances, decisions made at any level of administration that may have effects on the forest sector in the state are critical in relation to the water cycle. It is therefore essential to evaluate any decision that may change forest area and structure in such a sensitive region. Thus, as a first step, it was necessary to develop and implement a model able to simulate possible interactions and feedbacks between forested surfaces and the hydrological cycle at the landscape scale. The result is a model for simulating the hydrological properties of forest stands based on a robust computation of the temporal and spatial LAI (leaf area index) dynamics. The approach allows the simulation of all relevant hydrological processes with a low parameter demand. It includes the interception of precipitation and transpiration of forest stands with and without groundwater in the rooting zone. The model also considers phenology, biomass allocation, as well as mortality and simple management practices. It has been implemented as a module in the eco-hydrological model SWIM (Soil and Water Integrated Model). This model has been tested in two pre-studies to verify the applicability of its hydrological process description for the hydrological conditions typical for the state. The newly implemented forest module has been tested for Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) and in parts for Common Oak (Quercus robur and Q. petraea) in Brandenburg. For Scots Pine the results demonstrate a good simulation of annual biomass increase and LAI in addition to the satisfactory simulation of litter production. A comparison of the simulated and measured data of the May sprout for Scots pine and leaf unfolding for Oak, as well as the evaluation against daily transpiration measurements for Scots Pine, does support the applicability of the approach. The interception of precipitation has also been simulated and compared with weekly observed data for a Scots Pine stand which displays satisfactory results in both the vegetation periods and annual sums. After the development and testing phase, the model is used to analyse the effects of two scenarios. The first scenario is an increase in forest area on abandoned agricultural land that is triggered by a decrease in European agricultural production support. The second one is a shift in species composition from predominant Scots Pine to Common Oak that is based on decisions of the regional forestry authority to support a more natural species composition. The scenario effects are modelled for the federal state of Brandenburg on a 50m grid utilising spatially explicit land-use patterns. The results, for the first scenario, suggest a negative impact of an increase in forest area (9.4% total state area) on the regional water balance, causing an increase in mean long-term annual evapotranspiration of 3.7% at 100% afforestation when compared to no afforestation. The relatively small annual change conceals a much more pronounced seasonal effect of a mean long-term evapotranspiration increase by 25.1% in the spring causing a pronounced reduction in groundwater recharge and runoff. The reduction causes a lag effect that aggravates the scarcity of water resources in the summer. In contrast, in the second scenario, a change in species composition in existing forests (29.2% total state area) from predominantly Scots Pine to Common Oak decreases the long-term annual mean evapotranspiration by 3.4%, accompanied by a much weaker, but apparent, seasonal pattern. Both scenarios exhibit a high spatial heterogeneity because of the distinct natural conditions in the different regions of the state. Areas with groundwater levels near the surface are particularly sensitive to changes in forest area and regions with relatively high proportion of forest respond strongly to the change in species composition. In both cases this regional response is masked by a smaller linear mean effect for the total state area. Two critical sources of uncertainty in the model results have been investigated. The first one originates from the model calibration parameters estimated in the pre-study for lowland regions, such as the federal state. The combined effect of the parameters, when changed within their physical meaningful limits, unveils an overestimation of the mean water balance by 1.6%. However, the distribution has a wide spread with 14.7% for the 90th percentile and -9.9% for the 10th percentile. The second source of uncertainty emerges from the parameterisation of the forest module. The analysis exhibits a standard deviation of 0.6 % over a ten year period in the mean of the simulated evapotranspiration as a result of variance in the key forest parameters. The analysis suggests that the combined uncertainty in the model results is dominated by the uncertainties of calibration parameters. Therefore, the effect of the first scenario might be underestimated because the calculated increase in evapotranspiration is too small. This may lead to an overestimation of the water balance towards runoff and groundwater recharge. The opposite can be assumed for the second scenario in which the decrease in evapotranspiration might be overestimated. / Das übergreifende Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es, die Interaktion zwischen Landnutzungsänderung und dem Landschaftswasserhaushalt zu quantifizieren. Das Untersuchungsgebiet für die Analyse ist das Land Brandenburg. Bedingt durch seine Kombination geringer Sommerniederschläge mit der Dominanz sandiger Böden und hoher Verdunstungsraten, insbesondere von den großflächigen Wäldern und Forsten, ist es besonders empfindlich gegenüber Landnutzungsänderung. Waldflächen sind Schlüsselelemente im Landschaftswasserhaushalt, da sie den Bodenwasserspeicher effizienter mit der Atmosphäre koppeln als die meisten anderen Vegetationsformen. Im ersten Teil der Arbeit war es daher notwendig, ein geeignetes Modellkonzept zu finden. Der Ansatz sollte in der Lage sein, die hydrologischen Effekte auf Landschaftsebene zu modellieren, ohne dabei die Datenverfügbarkeit in diesem Anwendungsbereich zu überschreiten. Das entwickelte Modellkonzept wurde in das ökohydrologische Einzugsgebietsmodell SWIM (Soil Water Integrated Model) integriert. Nach einer Test- und Entwicklungsphase konnte das Modell für die integrierte Analyse der Wirkung von zwei Szenarien auf den Landeswasserhaushalt verwendet werden. Das erste Szenario beschäftigt sich mit der möglichen Zunahme der Waldfläche als Folge der Neuausrichtung der Agrarsubventionspolitik der Europäischen Union. Die Waldflächenzunahme führt zu einer Steigerung der Evapotranspiration im langjährigen Mittel. Das zweite Szenario behandelt die Auswirkung des Brandenburger Waldumbauprogramms und hat eine vergleichsweise geringe Abnahme der langjährigen mittleren Verdunstung zur Folge. Der lineare mittlere Verlauf überdeckt ein ausgeprägtes räumliches und saisonales Muster der Veränderung. Die Zonen starker Effekte der beider Szenarien überlappen sich nur in einigen Fällen, so ist es möglich, dass die positiven Wirkungen des Waldumbauprogramms in einigen Regionen durch eine mögliche Ausweitung der Waldfläche aufgehoben werden. Die vorgestellten Ergebnisse zeigen deutlich, dass Landnutzungsänderungen, die durch politische oder administrative Entscheidungen ausgelöst werden, Auswirkungen auf elementare Landschaftsfunktionen wie den Wasserhaushalt haben. Es wird deutlich, dass ein integrativer Modellierungsansatz, der die wahrscheinlichen Wirkungen administrativer Entscheidungen in Betracht zieht, Grundlagen für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung liefern kann. Diese Ergebnisse werden umso relevanter, je stärker die betroffene Ressource bereits eingeschränkt ist. In Bezug auf die Wasserressourcen im Land Brandenburg ist das der Fall und aktuelle Studien zum Globalen Wandel in der Region prognostizieren eine Verschärfung dieser Situation.

In society today large corporations are striving to regain the trust, which has been lost dur-ing the many accounting scandals that occurred lately. As a response to minimize the con-flicts countries have introduced codes of corporate governance. It is common knowledge that a company’s stakeholders and shareholders have different knowledge and interest in the company and the annual report is the agent’s main communication channel towards the principals. The Swedish code of corporate governance was implemented in July 2005 in an attempt to reduce the information gap between the managers of the company and the own-ers. The purpose of this thesis is to examine if and how the Swedish code of corporate govern-ance has affected the content in annual reports in Sweden. We will evaluate and explain why listed companies have changed the information provided in their annual reports from the year 2001 prior to the codes existence, during the code’s implementation in year 2005, and after the implementation in 2006. A deductive method created our research model, which was used as a tool to gather the empirical findings. Agency Theory, Institutional Theory and the Swedish code constitute the foundation for our evaluation of 65 companies’ annual reports from three individual years. Once our research model was created, an explorative and inductive method was used analyse and interpret the empirical findings. Our conclusion is that corporate governance information in annual reports has increased, and the implementation of the Swedish code of corporate governance has affected the in-formation provided to the shareholders. Between 2001 and 2005 a rapid growth in infor-mation can be view, while only minor improvement can be found between 2005 and 2006. The Swedish code has been successful in its implementation as stakeholders and share-holders have received more information from the annual reports. However, we are ques-tioning the Swedish code for its extensive dimensions. Some areas of the Swedish code are provided with sufficient guidelines, while others would bring with it improved information to the shareholders by more detailed instructions. Many of the investigated companies have had their corporate governance information reviewed by an external auditor in 2005 and it is unexpected to see that this has been excluded in 2006. The examined companies provide information regarding many of the Swedish code’s rules, but we found the information re-lated to internal control, managing director and attendance at the general meeting insuffi-cient.

Abstract The OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm requires all large companies to apply the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance. A revised code will be applied from July 2008. The purpose of this paper is to identify the accessibility of information on corporate governance and in particular how the compliance, concerning the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance in the perspective of an internet active general public. This paper is a complete census of the companies at the OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm who complies with the code. Each company website has been visited and a comparison between the sectors at the OMX Exchange Stockholm has been performed. Results: 96% of the companies present the members of the nomination committee. 94% presents the nomination committees proposal of the company board members, though only 33% of the companies in the Energy sector. 37% of the companies present all of the facts according to the code about the proposed board members. The Materials- and Telecommunication Service sectors presents the facts in the most extent (100%). 88% of the companies presents the process for deciding on remunerations to members of the executive management, though only 33% of the companies in the Energy sector. 28% of the companies presents all of the facts according to the code about the remunerations to members of the executive management. 46% of the companies has a special section for corporate governance on the first page of the company website. The companies in the Energy- and the Health Care sectors have corporate governance on the first page more often then the other sectors. The Rezidor Hotel Group AB is the company that, according to the paper, best comply with the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance concerning accessibility for the internet active general public. Conclusions: The companies comply well with the code concerning the publicity of documents, but are being more careless when it comes to details. For an internet active general public who lacks knowledge about terms of corporate governance it can be complicated to get accessibility to information concerning corporate governance. The Energy sector more rarely presented facts according to the code but more often had a special section for corporate governance at the first page of the company website. / Svensk kod för bolagsstyrning är ett av noteringskraven på OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm för de stora bolagen. Nu presenteras en ny reviderad kod som ska gälla fler bolag. Syftet med uppsatsen är att se hur tillgängligheten av bolagsstyrning och i synnerhet efterföljandet av svensk kod för bolagsstyrning ser ut ur perspektivet från den internetanvändande allmänheten. En totalundersökning av bolagen som följer koden på OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm har genomförts. Studien har en kvantitativ ansats. Samtliga av bolagens hemsidor har besökts för att se hur de följer koden avseende vad koden föreskriver ska publiceras på bolagens hemsidor, därefter har en jämförelse gjort för att se om skillnader finns mellan de olika branscherna. Resultat: 96% av bolagen presenterar vilka ledamöter som ingår i valberedningen, 94% presenterar valberedningens förslag till styrelse, dock endast 33% av bolagen i energibranschen. 37% av bolagen presenterar samtliga av de uppgifter som koden föreskriver om de föreslagna ledamöterna. I störst utsträckning är det material- telekombranscherna som gör det (100%). 88% av bolagen presenterar principer för ersättning till ledande befattningshavare, dock endast 33% av bolagen i energibranschen. 28% av bolagen presenterar samtliga av kodens kriterier om ersättning till ledande befattningshavare. 46% av bolagen har en särskilt avdelning för bolagsstyrning på sin hemsidas förstasida. I störst utsträckning har energi- och hälsovårdsbranschen en sådan på förstasidan. Rezidor Hotel Group AB är det bolag som, utifrån hur undersökningen är utformad, bäst uppfyller kodens kriterier avseende tillgänglighet för den internetanvändande allmänheten. Slutsats: Bolagen uppfyller i stor utsträckning kodens regler om publicering av dokument, men slarvar med detaljerna. Som internetanvändande allmänhet som saknar förkunskaper kan det vara svårt att hitta information om bolagsstyrning. I branschjämförelsen märkte energibranschen ut sig för att de i lägre utsträckning än andra branscher publicerade uppgifter, men var samtidigt den bransch som i störst utsträckning hade en lättillkomlig avdelning för bolagsstyrning.

Este trabajo pretende ofrecer una visión del actual Sistema Financiero de Angola, con la finalidad de presentar políticas y alternativas de mejora del mismo. Además, se realiza un estudio comparativo con los sistemas financieros de España en la década de los ochenta y el actual de Cabo Verde.El presente estudio tiene por objetivos:- La recopilación y ordenación del material referente a los sistemas financieros de los tres países estudiados con la finalidad de contribuir a enriquecer la muy escasa base bibliográfica de Angola, sobre los intermediarios financieros, los mercados y los medios, referidos estos últimos tanto a los activos financieros como a las medidas de política monetaria y financiera de las autoridades, dirigidas a hacer posible alcanzar los grandes objetivos de la política económica nacional y a la consecución de los fines específicos de cada uno de los sistemas financieros;- Contrastar el sistema financiero actual de Angola con los sistemas financieros de España y Cabo Verde, destacando las características comunes y diferenciadoras de los tres sistemas, sus analogías y diferencias, sus interrelaciones, sus mayores o menores niveles de desarrollo, sus puntos fuertes y débiles, sus oportunidades y amenazas, etc.;- Proponer recomendaciones, políticas o reformas para la mejora y desarrollo del Sistema Financiero de Angola.La presente tesis está dividida en cuatro partes.La primera, compuesta por seis capítulos, estudia las generalidades de un Sistema Financiero. La segunda presenta el Sistema Financiero de Angola y está constituida por doce capítulos. Iniciaremos el estudio con la exposición de la evolución, características generales y estructura del sistema financiero, haciendo referencia a los rasgos fundamentales de la economía de Angola; profundizaremos en el estudio de las autoridades monetarias y financieras, con énfasis en la de carácter ejecutivo más relevante, el banco central de Angola y su aplicación de la política monetaria nacional; a continuación analizaremos las principales medidas de control y supervisión en vigor, que afectan a las entidades de crédito, pasando después al estudio de dichas instituciones, comenzando por las bancarias, terminando con las instituciones no bancarias y, en general, con todos los intermediarios financieros: compañías de seguros, casas de cambio, fondos de pensiones, etc., procurando siempre alguna información estadística sobre ellos.La tercera parte está compuesta por dos capítulos: el referente al sistema financiero de España, su evolución hasta los años ochenta y el capítulo que estudia el sistema financiero de Cabo Verde, su evolución hasta la actualidad.Para el análisis de los tres sistemas financieros de Angola, Cabo Verde y España hemos intentado seguir una línea argumental común, lo que nos facilitará el estudio, la comprensión y la comparación de los mismos.Por eso, para el caso de España y Cabo Verde, vamos seguir la ordenación que utilizamos para Angola.La cuarta parte está formada por dos capítulos: el capítulo vigésimo primero que refleja el estudio comparativo de los sistemas financieros estudiados, especialmente desde la perspectiva del sistema financiero angoleño y a modo de conclusiones generales, comparándose también los tres países estudiados con otros países a la escala de África y mundial. En segundo lugar, presentamos un análisis interno y externo del entorno competitivo de cada uno de los sistemas financieros estudiados aplicando la Matriz DAFO o SWOT. Por último, el capítulo vigésimo segundo, que contiene las posibles propuestas para el Sistema Financiero Angoleño frente al futuro.Presentamos las conclusiones y recomendaciones del trabajo y, para finalizar, indicamos la bibliografía consultada y un Anexo que contiene los cuestionarios realizados y la explicación de los resultados de algunos cuadros elaborados en la comparación de los tres sistemas financieros estudiados. / This paper aims to provide an overview of the current financial system in Angola, with the aim of presenting policy alternatives and improvement. Moreover, conducting a comparative study with the financial systems in Spain in the eighties and the current of Cape Verde.The present study has for aims:- The summary and arrangement (ordination) of the material relating to the financial systems of three countries studied with the purpose of helping to enrich the very scanty bibliographical base of Angola, on the financial intermediaries, the markets and the means (ways), recounted the above mentioned both to the financial assets and to the measures of monetary and financial politics (policy) of the authorities, directed to making possible to reach the big aims of the economic national politics(policy) and to the attainment of the specific ends (purposes) of each one of the financial systems;- To confirm the financial current system of Angola with the financial systems of Spain and Cape Verde, emphasizing the common and not common characteristics of three systems;- To propose recommendations, policies or reforms for the improvement and development of the Financial System of Angola.The present thesis is divided in four parts (reports).The first one composed by six chapters, studies the generalities of a Financial System.The second one presents the Financial System of Angola.The third part (report) is composed by two chapters: the modal to the financial system of Spain and the chapter that studies the financial system of Cape Verde.For the analysis of three financial systems we have tried to follow (continue) a plot common line, which will facilitate to us the study, the comprehension and the comparison of the same ones.The fourth part (report) is formed(trained) by two chapters: the first that reflects the comparative study of the financial studied systems and an internal and external analysis of the competitive environment of each one of the financial studied systems applying the Matrix DAFO or SWOT; the second Angolan presents the possible offers of future for the Financial System.They present the conclusions and recommendations of the work.

The core of biotechnological industry is biomedical products which are related to health and life and need clinical trial. Laboratory data are collected during different stages of clinical trial. Laboratory data are provided by laboratories which are accreditated internationally. Most of medical laboratories in Taiwan are not accreditated. This exploratory research is to understand the change of healthcare envirovement and the stratege of accreditation to be taken when we develop the biotechnological industry which needs to be accreditated. We used questionare as a tool and mailed 616 and received 152. The statistical methods are descriptive and nonparametrical statistics. The results show as following: 94.7% of the responders agreed to have Taiwanese own medical laboratory accreditation system which should be approved by the Department of Health. The surveyors of hospital accreditation are appraised. Most of the responders (89.5%) did not agree the replacement of professional peer review by physicians without clinical laboratory training. The quality and quantity of CNLA surveyors need to be improved. Continous quality improvement gets concensus of the responders. The certification of accreditation shall connect to the payment system of national health insurance but does not equal to good clinical laboratory. Most of the responders (88.8%) recognized that implementing medical laboratory accreditation system is a part of organization learning. ISO 15189 medical laboratory accreditation is the first choice of the responders (50.7%) and CAP-LAP is the second (28.3%). The reasons for implementing and not implementing medical laboratory accreditation system are improving quality and the change of hospital accreditation, and just applying hospital accreditation and not required by law. Key words¡Ghospital accreditation, ISO 15189:2003, CAP-LAP, program for improving biotechnology industries, contract research organization, business strategy, organization learning.