A trade-off between seed size and seed number is central in seed ecology, and has been suggested to be related to a trade-off between competition and colonization, as well as to a trade-off between stress tolerance and fecundity. Large seeds endure hazards during establishment, such as shading, drought, litter coverage and competition from other plants, better than do small seeds, due to a larger amount of stored resources in the seed. Small seeds, however, are numerous and small-seeded species are therefore more fecund. Moreover, a pattern with small-seeded species being associated with open habitats and large-seeded species being associated with closed habitats has been reported in the literature. In this thesis I assess effects of seed size on recruitment, and how relationships between seed size and recruitment may relate to habitat conditions. Seed sowing experiments were performed in the field to assess inter- and intra-specific relationships between seed size and recruitment in open and closed habitats (Paper I and II). Seed removal experiments were performed in the field to assess what effects seed predation may have on a relationship between seed size and recruitment (Paper III). A garden experiment was performed based on contests between larger-seeded and smaller-seeded species, in order to examine different models on co-existence of multiple seed size strategies. The results showed that there was a weak positive relationship between seed size and recruitment in the field, and that this relationship was only weakly and inconclusively related to habitat (Paper I and II). Seed removal was negatively related to seed size in closed habitats and unrelated to seed size in open habitats (Paper III). This indicates that any positive relationship between seed size and recruitment may be an effect of higher seed removal in small-seeded species. However, when grown under controlled conditions in a garden experiment, there was a clear advantage of larger-seeded species over smaller-seeded species (Paper IV). This advantage was unaffected by seed density, indicating that there was no competitive advantage of the larger-seeded species. Instead, indirect evidence suggests that larger-seeded species exhibit higher tolerance to stress. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Accepted.</p><p> </p>

Seasonal changes in reproduction, recruitment, occurrence and growth of marine plant and animal species is a common phenomenon world-wide. This thesis investigates whether such seasonal changes could determine the succession in subtidal phytobenthic communities on free space in the Baltic Sea. My results showed circular seasonal patterns both in the settlement of species and in the annual appearance of communities. The circular seasonal pattern was also observed in the succession. Initial species assemblages were determined by the time space became available for colonisation. Although the succession seemed to be directed towards one site-specific final community structure determined by physical factors, the time of the year when space became available influenced the rate of the succession through species interactions. Rapid growth and timing of settlement and free space occurrence allowed early species to occupy all available space and prevent further colonisation, thereby slowing the succession. My results also showed that both settlement and community structure are influenced by substrate characteristics. Studying community development on vertical artificial structures revealed communities with few species and different composition compared to communities on vertical natural substrates. A field study showed that settlement and community structure changed significantly between 60º and 90º substrate slopes. This thesis shows that some differences in the final community structure are determined already at the settlement stage and that the succession pattern varies depending on when free space occurs. However, small inter-annual and site-specific differences in seasonal settlement periods and site-specific final communities mainly determined by physical factors, suggest that succession patterns are relatively predictable. Seasonal changes seem to cause a spiralling succession towards a final, seasonally undulating, state.

The number of species extinctions is increasing at an alarming rate. Long-lived freshwater mussels of the order Unionoida, which include a parasitic stage on a host fish, are highly threatened. Habitat degradation by turbidity and sedimentation is thought to be one major reason for their decline. The objective of this thesis was to examine recruitment patterns and identify the causes of the lack of recruitment in the threatened unionoid freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera). In addition, I investigated the effects of turbidity on non-endangered dreissenid mussels, where turbidity was manipulated through use of bioturbating mayflies. In a survey of 107 Swedish streams, mussel population size and trout density were both positively correlated to recruitment probability of M. margaritifera. A more in-depth study of the age-structure of nine populations revealed that four of these populations showed no signs of recruitment over the last ten years. Within-stream variation in recruitment was high as both mussels and trout had patchy distribution, and may be important for population regulation. Moreover, examination of different life stages revealed no differences in the gravid mussel stage or the stage when mussels infect salmonid fish. Instead, differences were observed for the juvenile, benthic stage, presumably related to differences in turbidity and sedimentation. High turbidity may affect filter-feeding efficiency of mussels and high sedimentation may reduce survival by clogging sediments, thereby altering, for example, oxygen and food conditions. In the study of the effects of turbidity, bioturbating mayflies increased turbidity and filter-feeding dreissenid mussels reduced turbidity. Mussel growth both decreased and increased with increasing turbidity, depending on sediment type. Turbidity and sedimentation often impact entire stream systems, and a holistic, catchment-based management strategy may be needed to reduce the effects of sedimentation on freshwater pearl mussels. The effects of restoration take a long time and must start soon if recruitment of mussels is to be re-established. Restoration may also be more urgent in some streams than in others, as the maximum age of M. margaritifera populations in my study differed by as much as 60 years. As mussel and trout densities seem to be important for recruitment success, one conservation method may be to concentrate mussels into sites where trout density is high.

Landscape effects on species performance currently receives much attention. Habitat loss and fragmentation are considered major threats to species diversity. Deciduous forests in southern Sweden are previous wooded pastures that have become species-rich communities appearing as islands in agricultural landscapes, varying in species composition. Actaea spicata is a long-lived plant occurring in these forests. In 150 populations in a 10-km2 area, I studied pre-dispersal seed predation, seed dispersal and pollination. I investigated spatio-temporal dynamics of a tritrophic system including Actaea, a specialist seed predator, Eupithecia immundata, and its parasitoids. In addition, effects of biotic context on rodent fruit dispersal and effects of flowering time and flower number on seed set, seed predation and parasitization were studied. Insect incidences of both trophic levels were related to resource population size and small Eupithecia populations were maintained by the rescue effect. There was a unimodal relationship between seed predation and plant population size. Seed predator populations frequently went extinct in small plant populations, resulting in low average seed predation. Parasitoids were present in large plant populations but did not affect seed predator density. Seed predators aggregated at edges, relaxing seed predation in patch interiors. Flowering phenology was unrelated to seed set and insect incidence. A higher flower number did not influence seed predation but was associated with higher seed set and a tendency for a higher parasitization rate. In the study on fruit dispersal more fruits were removed inside than outside populations. Within plant populations more fruits were removed from large aggregations. Overall, this thesis underlines the importance of plant-animal interactions during different phases of the life cycle. The spatial configuration of host plants plays an important role for the outcome of plant-animal interactions and trophic cascades.

The recognition that supportive mechanical ventilation can also damage the lung, the so called ventilation induced lung injury (VILI), has revived the more than 40 year long debate on the optimal level of PEEP to be used. It is established that the prevention of VILI improves patient outcome and that PEEP exerts protective effects by preventing unstable diseased alveoli from collapsing. Therefore, the term “open lung PEEP” (OL-PEEP) has been introduced as the end-expiratory pressure that keeps the lung open after its collapse has been eliminated by an active lung recruitment manoeuvre. The determination of such an optimal level of PEEP under clinical circumstances is difficult and remains to be investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the usefulness of breath by breath monitoring of dynamic compliance (Cdyn) as a clinical means to identify OL-PEEP at the bedside and to demonstrate the improvement in lung function resulting from its application. In a porcine lung lavage model of acute lung injury PEEP at maximum Cdyn during a decremental PEEP trial after full lung recruitment was related to the onset of lung collapse and OL-PEEP could be found 2 cmH2O above this level Ventilation at OL-PEEP was associated with improved gas exchange, efficiency of ventilation, lung mechanics and less than 5% collapse on CT scans. In addition, dead space, especially its portion related to alveolar gas changed characteristically during recruitment, PEEP titration and collapse thereby helping to identify OL-PEEP. The beneficial effects of OL-PEEP on lung function and mechanics was demonstrated in a porcine model of VILI. OL-PEEP improved lung function and mechanics when compared to lower or higher levels prior to or after lung recruitment. By using electrical impedance tomography it could be shown that PEEPs within the range of 14 to 22 cmH2O resulted in a similar redistribution of both ventilation and perfusion to the dorsal regions of the lung. OL-PEEP resulted in the best regional and global matching of ventilation and perfusion explaining the drastic improvements in gas exchange. Also regional compliance was greatly improved in the lower half of the lung as compared to all other situations. In ARDS patients OL-PEEP could be identified applying the same protocol. The physiological changes described could now be reproduced and maintained during a four hours study ventilation period in real patients at four study centres. In conclusion, the usefulness of dynamic compliance for identifying open lung PEEP during a decremental PEEP trial was demonstrated under experimental and clinical conditions. This PEEP should then be used as an essential part of any lung protective ventilation strategy. The impact of ventilating ARDS patients according to the principles described in these studies on outcome are currently being evaluated in an international randomized controlled trial.

This research is in the management discipline, more specifically in human resource management concerned with staffing. It examines a relatively new phenomenon: career changes by a special cadre of individuals who have advanced education and training, perhaps a doctoral degree in sciences, humanities, or engineering, and who, at the dusk of their careers, became entrepreneurial and strive to switch from an executive position in business to an academic post or vice versa. In the light of recent societal and environmental developments, and the fact that people more often change careers, there is a growing need for systematic assessment processes. For people who want to change careers at an older age, there are no assessment models available and consulting agencies have not specialized in these areas. By using the assessment methodology developed in this research, it is possible to assess a person’s lifelong careers and to use these assessments in recruitment situations. The models explain how to select shortlisted candidates. The models are based on learning theory, especially experiential learning theory which is particularly important for candidates with lifelong careers and older exam certificates. The models give special attention to the learning that has taken place in practice for people aspiring to change careers. The respondents of the empirical study were of this type. Ten people with lifelong careers were interviewed through a narrative method but guided through a learning model of content, incentive, and interaction. Their cases have been related to experiential learning theory to give a foundation for developing an assessment methodology of lifelong careers. The concepts of competence and employability are central, as assessment has to be towards an object and purpose: a candidate for a job in a recruitment situation. The special characteristic of this study is that it deals with people who show entrepreneurial behavior by shifting to business after a long career in academia, or vice versa. For them a lifewide career can be described by the occupation they have had in the two professions, academia and business. Lifelong careers give candidates possibilities to see their lives’ courses in retrospect and to assess their careers. Based on recruitment criteria set up by the employer, candidates have the opportunity to deliver information and evidence for employability through describing their competences to assessors. Special weight should be put on describing the life courses through eras of their professional lives and what has motivated them in specific eras – and especially what has motivated them to change careers. The portfolio is a tool suitable for lifelong career reporting – especially on the candidate side as this gives him a “database” from which he can tailor job applications and address employer requirements. On the employer side, there is a need for assessment methods to select the best candidates. With the assessment methodology developed in this research, employers have models and tools for more objective recruitment of candidates. This research provides concrete methods for assessing candidates and models for quantitatively prioritizing shortlisted candidates. The aim of the study is to make assessment methodology and tools for recruiting purposes, especially for entrepreneurial people with a lifelong career.

Taking into account the rapidly changing of the environment nowadays and the necessity of being different between organizations, this paper tries to show how to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage in companies, through talented people using talent management strategies. Here is included all theoretical framework where we will explain our understanding of talent management, talented people and the creativity as a talent. This framework gives us the tools needed to be able to analyse a real talent management strategy. During the analysis we will discover that a talent management strategy has to be fitted with the corporate strategy and with the corporate culture and also, that there are infinite ways to develop the talent management activities, it depends on the organization which develops it. For instance we are going to study two companies, Zerogrey and Google, which are very different between them but both of them have a talent management strategy.

Outsourcing has been around for over twenty years and is still growing, while outsourcing of recruitment is a relatively new phenomenon. Organisations outsource primarily because of the cost benefit and time saving, since there are also several reasons to outsource, there are also several types of outsourcing. Business process outsourcing is when an organisation outsources a whole business process such as Human Resources, which Recruitment Process Outsourcing is a part of. Recruitment Process Outsourcing is a process used to increase organisation‟s efficiency through managerial time saving, moving the recruitment process to external recruiting agencies providing trust and the proper competitive expertise needed. The purpose of this study is to see how organisational culture is affected by Recruitment Process Outsourcing. This study examined how RPO affects organisational culture, more precisely three factors were examined, motivation, performance orientation and effective orientation. Five international banks in Sweden were investigated and the results showed that motivation was not affected at all by RPO, effective orientation was affected by the most of the companies studied and the performance orientation was affected by circum one third of the companies by RPO. Human Resource study field has a lack of research in RPO and this study is a contribution to that field, regarding the outsourcing of recruitment in the Swedish bank industry.

Varje år tar 5000 studenter i Sverige examen i företagsekonomi och så många som 650 studenter läser idag civilekonomprogrammet vid Högskolan i Gävle (HiG). Vi är själva ekonomstudenter vid HiG och snart redo att ta steget ut i arbetslivet, vilket innebär blandade känslor av både förväntan och oro. Orsaken till denna osäkerhet är till stor del det faktum att vi inte vet vad som förväntas av oss den dag vi tar examen. Vad har vi egentligen lärt oss under vår utbildning och vad förväntar sig arbetsgivarna att vi kan? För att besvara denna fråga har vi intervjuat före detta studenter från HiG, varav en man och en kvinna från den privata sektorn samt en man och en kvinna från den offentliga sektorn. Vi intervjuade även en näringslivsutvecklare på Gävle kommun och olika arbetsgivare. Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att undersöka hur väl ekonomutbildningen vid HiG svarar mot arbetsgivarnas kompetenskrav. Genom intervjuerna uppkom förslag på förbättringar av ekonomutbildning, såsom att praktik och beteendevetenskap bör vara en del av utbildningen. Utifrån intervjuerna med arbetsgivarna fann vi, till vår förvåning, att de allra flesta rekryterare lägger störst fokus på de personliga egenskaperna. De före detta studenterna förstärkte detta budskap då de förde fram liknande åsikter, samtidigt som utbildningen utgör en viktig teoretisk grund så är det personligheten som avgör huruvida en person blir anställd. Detta medför att det borde vara mer eller mindre självklart att HiG utökade antalet personlighetsutvecklande moment i ekonomutbildningen. Med utgångspunkt i empirin sökte vi efter lämpliga teorier för att kunna styrka eller dementera de argument och åsikter som framkom under intervjuerna, där bland teorier som berör rekrytering och praktik. Vi fann att de flesta teorierna stämde bra överrens med resultatet från vår empiridel, som exempel kan nämnas att även teorin visade att de personliga egenskaperna har en viktig del vid rekrytering. Vid genomförande av förbättringar såsom praktik, fler personlighetsutvecklande moment i kurserna och beteendevetenskap, så anser vi att ekonomstudenter vid HiG skulle vara bättre föreberedda för arbetslivet, men att det även skulle ge en viktig konkurrensfördel gentemot andra ekonomstudenter i Sverige. / Every year 5000 students in Sweden take their bachelor degree in business administration and as many as 650 students attend to the economic education at the University of Gävle. We ourselves study economics at the University of Gävle and are soon ready to take part in the labour market, for us this means mixed feelings of both anticipation and concern. The cause of this concern is partly the fact that we don’t know what is expected of us when we graduate. What have we really learned during our education and what does the employers expect of us? To answer this question we have interviewed former students from the University of Gävle, one man and one woman from the private sector as well as one man and one woman from the public sector. We also interviewed a developer of the labour market in Gävle and different employers. The purpose with the essay has been to examine how well the economic education at the University of Gävle answers to the qualification set by the employers. Suggestions to improve the economic education appeared during the interviews, such as practical training and behavioural science. From the interviews with employers we learned, to our surprise, that most recruiters pay most attention to the personality. The former students had similar opinions; while the education serves as an essential foundation, it is more or less the personality that the recruiter focuses on when he/she decide whether or not to hire the person. Due to this, it is obvious that the University of Gävle should increase elements of personal development in their economic education. We tried to find suitable theories to strengthen or contradict the arguments that appeared to us during the interviews. What we found was theories which included for example recruitment and practical training. Most of these theories matched our empirical results, for example both showed that the personality played an important part for recruiters. Improvement such as practical training, more elements of personal development in the courses and behavioural science would prepare students of economics at the University of Gävle better for the labour market. We also think that it would give an important competition advantage against other students of economics in Sweden.

The increase in white-collar crimes has become a common feature around the globe and its impact has left many conglomerates despaired affecting businesses, economies, employees and families that are somehow related to these organizations. The famous money laundering and accounting scandals such as; Parmalat, Adelphia, Yukos Oil Company, Qwest Communications International, Tyco, and WorldCom, are true bitter realities of the corporate world. The dilemma is costing enterprises great amounts of money to set the image right that keeps on getting wrong. People are hired on loads of relevant work experience with excellent academic backgrounds, yet the strain of dishonesty lurks within the individual worker of an organization. The purpose of the research is to investigate the dismal realities that occur within the recruiters’ conscious or subconscious mind during a recruitment and selection process (the gateway to an organization). Our objective is to identify the dimensions of enterprise hypocrisy and to understand and explain the scenarios and the ways professionals are trying to cope with the matter. The recruiters see the white collar crimes as a potential rising concern and are using personality test such as the OPQ 32 (Occupational Personality Questionnaire) together with other methods (interviews, references, intuition, education, etc.) in hiring the right candidate for the job, which hopefully would be potentially harmless to the organization. The findings are not based on a systematic comparative study and can therefore only be interpreted as indicative.