The aim of this work is to investigate the possibility to implement a configurable NPU (Network Processing Unit) in the next generation of Ericsson’s EMCAs (Ericsson Multi Core Architecture). The NPU is constructed so that it can be configured for either Ethernet or xIO-s, as either a transmitter or a receiver. The motive for doing the work is that many protocols have similar functions and there could be possible advantages to have a configurable protocol choice in future hardware. A model of a NPU will be created in SystemC using the TLM 2.0 interface. The model will be analyzed to evaluate its complexity regarding a possible modification to also make it configurable for CPRI. The result that is presented is that it would be possible to implement a configurable NPU in the future EMCAs. The result is based on the conclusion that the protocols use many similar functions and most of the blocks could be made configurable for use with different protocols. Configurable blocks would benefit a configurable NPU as it would require fewer resources than separate blocks for each protocol.

Computational demands are continuously increasing, driven by the growing resource demands of applications. At the era of big-data, big-scale applications, and real-time applications, there is an enormous need for quick processing of big amounts of data. To meet these demands, computer systems have shifted towards multi-core solutions. Technology scaling has allowed the incorporation of even larger numbers of transistors and cores into chips. Nevertheless, area constrains, power consumption limitations, and thermal dissipation limit the ability to design and sustain ever increasing chips. To overpassthese limitations, system designers have turned towards the usage of hardware accelerators. These accelerators can take the form of modules attached to each core of a multi-core system, forming a network on chip of cores with attached accelerators. Another option of hardware accelerators are Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). GPUs can be connected through a host-device model with a general purpose system, and are used to off-load parts of a workload to them. Additionally, accelerators can be functionality dedicated units. They can be part of a chip and the main processor can offload specific workloads to the hardware accelerator unit.In this dissertation we present: (a) a microcoded synchronization mechanism for systems with hardware accelerators that provide distributed shared memory, (b) a Streaming Multiprocessor (SM) allocation policy for single application execution on GPUs, (c) an SM allocation policy for concurrent applications that execute on GPUs, and (d) a framework to map neural network (NN) weights to approximate multiplier accuracy levels. Theaforementioned mechanisms coexist in the resource management domain. Specifically, the methodologies introduce ways to boost system performance by using hardware accelerators. In tandem with improved performance, the methodologies explore and balance trade-offs that the use of hardware accelerators introduce.

This thesis compares the experiences of citizens who regularly participate in the planning and zoning processes of their respective local governments. Atlanta has had a highly structured system of neighborhood government in place for over 35 years, called Neighborhood Planning Units. Enacted by Atlanta’s first African-American Mayor, NPUs were meant to facilitate the civic engagement of all neighborhoods, regardless of socioeconomic status. The role and boundaries of NPUs are codified in the City Charter. Unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia is a large, urbanizing-but-still-suburban county north of the city. Cobb does not officially recognize community boundaries nor is there a codified neighborhood government structure in place. By comparing the two systems of governance, this thesis will examine which best facilitates participation and whether respondents feel efficacious as they engage with their local government. The findings matter because citizen participation is generally deemed a desirable and even necessary element of modern, representative democracy.

This thesis compares the experiences of citizens who regularly participate in the planning and zoning processes of their respective local governments. Atlanta has had a highly structured system of neighborhood government in place for over 35 years, called Neighborhood Planning Units. Enacted by Atlanta’s first African-American Mayor, NPUs were meant to facilitate the civic engagement of all neighborhoods, regardless of socioeconomic status. The role and boundaries of NPUs are codified in the City Charter. Unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia is a large, urbanizing-but-still-suburban county north of the city. Cobb does not officially recognize community boundaries nor is there a codified neighborhood government structure in place. By comparing the two systems of governance, this thesis will examine which best facilitates participation and whether respondents feel efficacious as they engage with their local government. The findings matter because citizen participation is generally deemed a desirable and even necessary element of modern, representative democracy.

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In todays increased globalized business world and with a firms’ ongoing need for higher quality and lower costs, outsourcing is a popular strategy for companies to use. This thesis intends to study outsourcing in the context of new product development (NPD). The aim of this research is to contribute to the field of operations management. This is achieved by improving the understanding of decision-making during outsourcing NPD by investigating what factors affect the outsourcing decision. This will be fulfilled by addressing the research question What affect the choice between make or buy in outsourcing New Product Development?  By conducting an exploratory single case study and performing semi-structured interviews, the factors that influence decision-making in outsourcing of NPD could be generated. The findings show that competence, time, service, costs, strategy, and ability to collaborate with supplier were important factors that influenced the decision. The factors were analyzed and compared with transaction cost economics and resource-based views, which are theoretical perspectives commonly used to understand the firm’s strategical decisions. The factors from the findings were also used to conduct a cost model and a decision model. This can help a firm’s decision-making and increase the understanding of how the decision in outsourcing of NPD is made.  The results lend support to the argument that outsourcing decisions are complex. With different factors creating different influences, and all of them need to be considered in order to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the decision. The findings also suggest that no theoretical perspective can alone completely explain the decision of outsourcing NPD, they need to be integrated with another demand-oriented perspective. A recommendation for further research should be to investigate how the cost model and decision model could be implemented in practical situations and in different contexts. / I dagens globala affärsvärld och företags konstanta strävande efter högre kvalité och lägre kostnader, så är utkontraktering en populär strategi att använda. Denna avhandling avser att studera utkontraktering i samband med ny produktutveckling (PU). Syftet med forskningen är att bidra till området för verksamhetsstyrning genom att förbättra förståelsen i beslutsfattande för utkontraktering av ny produktutveckling genom att undersöka vilka faktorer som påverkar beslutet av att utkontraktera. För att uppfylla detta ska forskningsfrågan Vad påverkar valet mellan att köpa eller göra i utkontraktering av ny produktutveckling? besvaras. Genom att genomföra en explorativ fallstudie och utföra semistrukturerade intervjuer så kan de påverkande faktorerna bakom utkontraktering av PU genereras. Resultatet visade att kompetens, tid, service, kostnad, strategi och förmågan att samarbeta med leverantör är viktiga faktorer att ta hänsyn till vid beslutet. Faktorerna analyserades och jämfördes med transaktionskostnad- och resursbaserad teori som är vanliga teoretiska teorier att applicera för att förstå ett företags strategiska beslut. De framtagna faktorerna användes också gör att konstruera en kostnad- och beslutsmodell som kan användas som stöd och hjälp för företags beslutsfattande och öka förståelsen för hur beslutet av att utkontraktera PU görs.  Resultatet ger stöd till tidigare forskning som menar på att beslutet av att utkontraktera är komplext vilket innebär att flera faktorer påverkar beslutet och alla faktorer behöver bli betraktade för att kunna få en heltäckande förståelse för beslutet. Resultatet visade också på att ingen av de teoretiska perspektiven kan ensamt förklara beslutet av att utkontraktera PU, utan de behöver bli integrerade med ett annat perspektiv för att fullt kunna förklara beslutet. En rekommendation till framtida forskning kan vara att undersöka praktisk tillämpning av kostnadsmodellen och beslutsmodellen och hur de kan användas i andra kontext.

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