Supply chain management (SCM) has been discussed by researchers as well as business practitioners for more than two decades now, but still surprisingly little of this philosophy can be seen in today’s business practices. One important enabler for taking the SCM philosophy from theory into practice that is often mentioned, but not investigated in-depth, is top management support. The role top management plays in a company’s SCM practices could be an important piece of research that is not yet in place in the big SCM puzzle. The purpose of this dissertation is therefore to describe and explain the role of top management in a company’s supply chain management practices. The purpose is approached with the aid of two studies, where the second is partly built upon the findings from the first. The first study is an explorative, broad survey study aimed at investigating how companies’ SCM practices, here limited to include a focal company’s logistics collaboration with suppliers and customers, are performed. In the second study, which is an explanative, multiple case study, the role of top management is investigated more in detail. The empirical foundation for the survey study is a questionnaire that was constructed based on SCM literature. The questionnaire was sent in November 2004 to 482 logistics managers at Swedish manufacturing companies and a response rate of 177 usable questionnaires (37.8%) was achieved. Apart from purely descriptive statistics such as mean values, standard deviation and frequencies, other tests were used such as factor analysis, cluster analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and cross tabulations with χ-square tests. The results are summarised into five major findings, concluding that (1) existing collaborations are mainly performed at an operational level in the companies, (2) there are differences in the focal company’s attitude and behaviour depending on if the collaboration partner is situated downstream or upstream in the supply chain, (3) increased intensity in the collaboration results in more positive effects, (4) top management involvement is an important driver for increased intensity of the collaboration, and (5) top management involvement in a dyadic collaboration is an important driver for increased collaboration with supply chain members on the other side of the focal company. The empirical basis for the multiple case study is three companies considered to be best practice within SCM. In total 15 focused, open-ended interviews with members of the top management teams were conducted during winter 2006-2007. All interviews were typed and transcribed, and objective case descriptions with citations were thereafter written. The analysis includes separate analysis of each case as well as cross case analysis. The SCM framework that was used in the first study was complemented with a framework on business strategy theory in the second study. More specifically, the analysis incorporates the positioning perspective, the resource based view, and Mintzberg’s view on the strategy formation process. The theoretical contribution of this dissertation is mainly given to the SCM field. In short, the results include a more thorough explanation of top management’s role in a company’s SCM practices. Six archetypes of this role are presented; the supply chain thinker, the frame setter, the process designer, the relationship manager, the controller, and the organiser for the future. Other implications for SCM literature being discussed in the conclusions are that (1) a systems approach should be considered separate from collaborative thinking, (2) the interdependencies in the investigated supply chains are mainly serial, (3) a systems approach is not the same as having a pure process orientation, (4) the responsibility for logistics issues is shared among members of the top management team, and (5) top management is not directly involved in the company’s distinctive logistics capabilities. / Supply chain management (SCM) har flitigt diskuterats av forskare och näringsliv i över två decennier nu, men fortfarande kan mycket lite av denna filosofi ses ute i verkligheten. Stöd från företagsledningen (top management) är en av de mest omtalade faktorerna som kan möjliggöra att steget från teori till praktik kan tas. Trots detta har inte företagsledningens roll beforskats mer ingående, och syftet med denna avhandling är därför att beskriva och förklara företagsledningens roll i ett företags praktiserande av SCM. Syftet besvaras med två studier, där den andra delvis är baserad på resultaten från den första. Första studien kan karaktäriseras som en bred enkätstudie som syftar till att undersöka hur företag praktiserar SCM. Mer specifikt behandlas ett fokalt företags logistiksamarbeten med dess kunder och leverantörer. I den andra studien, som är en explanativ, multipel case-studie, undersöks företagsledningens roll mer i detalj. Den empiriska basen för den första studien är en enkät som är baserad på SCM-teori. Den skickades i november 2004 ut till 482 logistikchefer på svenska, tillverkande företag med mer än 100 anställda och 100 miljoner SEK i årlig omsättning. Med en svarsfrekvens på 177 (37,8%) användbara svar gjordes förutom rena deskriptiva analyser (medelvärden, standardavvikelser och frekvenser) också analyser med hjälp av faktoranalys, klusteranalys, ANOVA (Analysis of Variance), samt korstabeller med χ-tester. Studien kan summeras i fem huvudresultat: (1) Existerande logistiksamarbeten sker på en operativ nivå inom företagen, (2) Företagets attityd och uppförande gentemot sin samarbetspartner skiljer sig beroende på om denna är en leverantör eller kund, (3) Ökad intensitet i samarbetet leder till mer positiva upplevda effekter, (4) Involvering från företagsledningen är en viktig drivkraft för ökad intensitet i samarbetet, samt (5) Involvering från företagsledningen i ett pågående samarbete på antingen kund- eller leverantörssidan är en viktig drivkraft för att öka intensiteten i samarbeten på företagets andra sida. Den empiriska basen för den multipla case-studien är tre företag som anses vara ”best practice” inom SCM. Under vintern 2006-2007 gjordes totalt 15 semistrukturerade intervjuer med personer från företagsledningarna. Alla intervjuer blev inspelade och transkriberade, för att sedan forma basen i objektiva case-beskrivningar med citat. Analysen innehåller både separat analys av varje case, såväl som en korsanalys (cross case analysis). Den teoretiska referensramen om SCM som användes i första studien är här kompletterad med en referensram om strategiteori. Mer specifikt grundar sig analysen på ett positioneringsperspektiv, resursbaserade teorier, samt Mintzberg’s arbete om strategiformeringsprocesser. Det teoretiska bidraget från avhandlingen ges först och främst till SCM-litteraturen. I korthet innehåller resultaten en mer noggrann beskrivning av företagsledningens roll i ett företags SCMpraktiserande. Sex arketyper för denna roll presenteras; ”the supply chain thinker”, “the frame setter”, “the process designer”, “the relationship manager”, “the controller”, samt “the organiser for the future”. Andra implikationer som diskuteras i slutsatskapitlet är att (1) en systemsyn ska ses som helt separat från att idén att ha samarbete, (2) den typ av beroende som undersöks i försörjningskedjan är framförallt seriell, (3) en systemsyn är inte samma sak som att ha en ren processorientering, (4) ansvaret för logistikfrågor delas mellan olika personer i företagsledningen, samt (5) företagsledningen är inte direkt involverade i de logistikrelaterade förmågor (distinctive capabilities) som ger företaget dess konkurrensfördelar (sustainable competitive advantage).

ABSTRACT Drawing on the upper-echelons (UE) theory and strategic human resources management (SHRM) framework, this study aims to study the effects of top management team (TMT) characteristics on business strategy, strategic HR system relationship, and TMT behavioral integration as a moderating variable among the relationships. This research used both a survey and company data of 122 publicly listed firms in Taiwan to tested an integrated theoretical model relating to TMT characteristics (i.e., TMT demographic heterogeneity and TMT perception towards HR value), business strategies (i.e., differentiation strategy), strategic HR system (i.e., high performance work system ¡VHPWS) and TMT behavioral integration. The findings of this study included: (1) the direct positive relationship between the differentiation strategy and HPWS; (2) the significant relationship between the TMT demographic heterogeneity (i.e. TMT functionality heterogeneity and TMT educational background heterogeneity) and TMT perception towards HR value, and differentiation strategy; (3) the significant relationships between TMT perception towards HR value and differentiation strategy as well as its relationship with HPWS; and (4) a full moderation effect of TMT behavioral integration in the relationship between TMT perception towards HR value and HPWS. This study demonstrates significant associations between TMT, business strategy and HPWS. Reported results support some of the previously established relationships. Implications for future research are discussed.

The aim of this thesis work is to increase the knowledge of phenomena taking place during the initial stage in a top blown converter. The work has been done in a few steps resulting in four different supplements. Water model experiments have been carried out using particle image velocimetry (PIV) technology. The system investigated was a fundamental top blown converter where an air jet was set to impinge on a water surface. The flow field of the combined blown case, where an air jet was introduced through a bottom nozzle, was also captured by the PIV. The work clearly showed that the flow field caused by an impinging top blown jet alone could not match that of the bottom blown case. The main re-circulation loop (or vortex) was investigated with respect to position and it was found that an increased flow rate pushes the center of the re-circulation loop downwards into the bath. However, for the top-blown case there is a point when the flow rate is too large to cause a distinguishable re-circulation loop since the jet becomes more plunging (i.e. penetrates deep into the bath) than impinging, with large surface agitation and splashing as a result.A numerical model with the same dimensions as the experimental system was then created. Three different turbulence models from the same family were tested: standard-, realizable- and a modified-(slight modification of one of the coefficients in order to produce less spreading of the air jet) k-ε turbulence model. It could be shown that for the family of k-ε turbulence models the difference in penetration depth was small and that the values corresponded well to literature data. However, when it comes to the position of the re-circulation loop it was shown that the realizable k-ε model produced better results when comparing the results to the experimental data produced from the PIV measurements, mentioned earlier.It was then shown how the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model could be coupled to thermodynamics databases in order to solve for both reactions and transport in the system. Instead of an air-water system, a gas-steel-slag system was created using the knowledge obtained in the previous simulation step described above. Reactions between gas-steel, gas-slag, steel-slag and gas-steel-slag were considered. Extrapolation of data from a few seconds of simulation was used for comparison to experimental data from the literature and showed reasonable agreement. The overall conclusion was that it is possible to make a coupling of the Thermo-Calc databases and a CFD software to make dynamic simulations of metallurgical processes such as a top-blown converter.A parametric study was then undertaken where two different steel grades were tested; one with high initial carbon content (3.85 mass-%) and one with lower carbon content (0.5 mass-%). The initial silicon content was held constant at 0.84 mass-%. Different initial temperatures were tested and also some variation in initial dissolved oxygen content was tried. It was found that the rate of decarburization/desiliconization was influenced by the temperature and carbon concentration in the melt, where a high temperature as well as a high carbon concentration favors decarburization over desiliconization. It was also seen that the region affected by a lower concentration of alloys (or impurities) was quite small close to the axis where the impinging jet hits the bath. Add the oscillating nature of the cavity and it was realized that sampling from this region during an experiment might be quite difficult. / QC 20100720

Although consciousness has been studied since ancient time, how the brain implements consciousness is still considered a great mystery by most. This thesis investigates the neural correlates of consciousness by measuring brain activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while specific contents of consciousness are defined and maintained in various experimental settings. Study 1 showed that the brain works differently when creating a new conscious percept compared to when maintaining the same percept over time. Specifically, sensory and fronto-parietal regions were activated for both conditions but with different activation patterns within these regions. This distinction between creating and maintaining a conscious percept was further supported by Study 2, which in addition showed that there are both differences and similarities in how the brain works when defining a visual compared to an auditory percept. In particular, frontal cortex was commonly activated while posterior cortical activity was modality specific. Study 3 showed that task difficulty influenced the degree of frontal and parietal cortex involvement, such that fronto-parietal activity decreased as a function of ease of identification. This is interpreted as evidence of the non-necessity of these regions for conscious perception in situations where the stimuli are distinct and apparent. Based on these results a model is proposed where sensory regions interact with controlling regions to enable conscious perception. The amount and type of required interaction depend on stimuli and task characteristics, to the extent that higher-order cortical involvement may not be required at all for easily recognizable stimuli.

Attityder gentemot kvinnors i företagsledningar har under de senaste åren haft en positiv förändring. Trots det har människan länge förutsatt att högt positionerade ledare är män. Detta tyder på att kvinnor som strävar efter toppositioner möter hinder som försvårar deras väg upp för karriärstegen. Med detta i åtanke är syftet med denna uppsats att skapa en förståelse för viktiga dimensioner som påverkar kvinnors strävan mot toppositioner. Som hermeneutiker var teorin utgångspunkten i vår forskningsansats. Efter genomförda interjuver, som berikade oss med en djupare förståelse inom ämnet, återgick vi och utvecklade teorierna. Vi önskade att värdera attityder bland de intervjuade kvinnorna och valde därför en kvalitativ vetenskaplig forskning. Vi erhöll en djupare förståelse för hur kvinnor når toppositioner, eftersom vår forskningsansats tillät oss att komma nära de studerade kvinnorna. Den empiriska informationen insamlades genom djupgående intervjuer med sex högt positionerade kvinnliga ledare. De utvalda respondenterna är i alfabetisk ordning: Amelia Adamo, Eivor Andersson, Gunilla Forsmark-Karlsson, Lena Herrmann, Anitra Steen, and Meg Tivéus. De främsta teoretiska områdena, bidragande till att kvinnor når toppositioner är; självmedvetenhet, motivation, mentorskap, nätverk samt att ha en balans i livet. Hinder kvinnor möter längs vägen måste också övervägas för att få en helhetsförståelse för fenomenet; hur kvinnor når toppositioner. Den empiriska studien, framtagen via djupgående intervjuer med högt positionerade kvinnliga ledare, analyserades med hjälp av existerande teorier. Det är inte en enkel uppgift att förstå faktorerna bakom underrepresentationen av högt positionerade kvinnor i företagsledningarna. Vårt samhälle idag är väl utvecklat och gör det därför svårt att förstå svårigheterna för kvinnor att nå toppositioner. För att skapa en förståelse måste vi kanske se bort från detaljerna och hindren och istället fokusera på kvinnorna som faktiskt har tagit sig den långa vägen till toppen. Detta leder oss till frågan; kvinna, hur kom du så här långt? Resultaten gjorde det möjligt att dra slutsatsen att de största hindren, när kvinnor strävar mot toppositioner, är interna faktorer inom kvinnorna själva. Kvinnorna måste våga tro på sig själva och utnyttja sina kunskaper och erfarenheter. Trots detta är kvinnorna inte isolerade individer. På grund av detta är inte personliga egenskaper tillräckligt för att förklara fenomenet om kvinnors strävan mot toppositioner. Det sker även en stor inverkan på de potentiella kvinnorna genom exempelvis nätverk samt mentorer. / Social attitudes towards women’s role in management have during the last decades had a positive change. However, people have for long assumed that a top executive is a man. This indicates that women striving for top positions often come across barriers that are blocking their attempts to climb the career ladder. With this in mind, the purpose of the thesis was to provide an understanding of important dimensions for women who strive for top positions. As hermeneutic researcher, we used theory as a starting point. After the interviews, which enabled us to get deeper into the subject, we were able to move back to the theory again. We wanted to rate attitudes, beliefs and motivations among the interviewed women, and therefore a qualitative research choice was made. We were then able to get a deeper understanding of how women reach top positions, since the method permits us to come close to the research subject. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with six top positioned female leaders. The respondents selected for this study were, in alphabetical order: Amelia Adamo, Eivor Andersson, Gunilla Forsmark-Karlsson, Lena Herrmann, Anitra Steen, and Meg Tivéus. The major theoretical areas, which are touched upon, are factors contributing to women’s strive for top positions within organizations. Important topics are self-confidence, motivation, mentoring, networking, and balance in life. Barriers must also be considered as obstacles coming across women’s way to top positions. The empirical data, received through the in-dept interviews with top positioned women, was analyzed with assistance of the theories. It is not a simple task to understand the underrepresented part of women on top positions in the business life. The society today is very well developed and it is hard to realize the difficulties for women to get to the top. To understand we might have to look away from the details and barriers and start looking at the how women who actually are in the top made it so far. This guides us to the question; woman, how did you come this far? The findings enabled us to conclude that the major barriers, when striving for top positions, are internal factors within the women themselves and if they want to become top executives. However, the women are not isolated individuals. Therefore, not only the personal characteristics are enough when striving for top positions. There are still huge influences from people around the potential women, like networks and mentors.

Elections are a core element in democracy, and a number of analysts have identified electoral participation of eligible voters as an important indicator of how well democracy is functioning at a particular time in a particular place (see, for example, Burnham, Elections as Democratic Institutions, 1987). In such studies, a major lament about U.S. democracy has been the decline in citizens’ participation in elections. In 2010, California voters passed Proposition 14. Proposition 14 enforces an open primary in which the top two candidates who garner the highest vote totals proceed to the general election, regardless of party. Supporters of Proposition 14 believe that a Top-Two primary will create more moderate candidates, which will appeal to a larger cross section of the electorate and increase competition and voter turnout. Opponents of Proposition 14 claimed the opposite, and believe that the constitutional amendment will decrease voter turnout due to lack of plurality, as write-ins will be eliminated and only two candidates will contend in the general election.

La production de paires de quarks top se désintégrant en deux leptons dont au moins un lepton tau est étudiée dans le cadre de l'expérience CDF auprès du collisionneur proton-antiproton, Tevatron, a FNAL aux USA. La sélection exige un électron ou un muon produit par désintégration du lepton tau ou par désintégration d'un W. L'analyse utilise toutes les données enregistrées, 9 fb-1, avec un déclenchement basé sur un électron ou muon à faible moment transverse et une trace chargée isolée. La section efficace de production de paires de top a cette énergie obtenue est de 8,2+-1.7(+1.2-1.1)+-0,5 pb, et le rapport de branchement en leptons tau est de 0,120+-0,027(+0,022-0,019)+-0,007 avec erreur statistique, systématique et sur la luminosité respectivement. Ce sont à jour les résultats les plus précis dans ce canal de désintégration du top, en bon accord avec les résultats obtenus au Tevatron avec tous les autres canaux de désintégration du top. Le rapport de branchement est aussi mesuré en séparant les événements tau plus lepton et avec deux leptons tau avec une méthode de maximum de vraisemblance. C'est la première fois que ces modes de désintégration sont identifiés séparément. Par une méthode de maximum de vraisemblance appliquée pour séparer ces deux canaux une mesure alternative du rapport de branchement du top en lepton tau de 0,098+-0,022(stat.)+-0,014(syst.) est obtenue, en bon accord avec les prédictions du Modèle Standard. Une limite supérieure de 0,159 pour ce rapport de branchement, avec 95% de niveau de confiance est extraite donnant un indice de Physique au delà du Modèle Standard en particulier un possible boson de Higgs chargé.

In case of the PDE's the concept of solving by separation of variables has a well defined meaning. One seeks a solution in a form of a product or sum and tries to build the general solution out of these particular solutions. There are also known systems of second order ODE's describing potential motions and certain rigid bodies that are considered to be separable. However, in those cases, the concept of separation of variables is more elusive; no general definition is given. In this thesis we study how these systems of equations separate and find that their separation usually can be reduced to sequential separation of single first order ODE´s. However, it appears that other mechanisms of separability are possible.

This paper examines the relationship between female participation in top management and firm performance and capital structure. Additionally, we assess whether this relationship differs at Female Friendly versus Non-Female Friendly firms. Today, women account for nearly half of the total labor force, but constitute less than one tenth of Fortune 500 Top Earners. This warrants further exploration, and thus, we hope to understand the impact gender has on firm value. After controlling for industry, size, age, leverage, and other firm specific measures, we find that female participation in top management is associated with a higher interest coverage ratio. We then investigate the difference between firm classifications and find that Female Friendly firms tend to outperform their Non-Female Friendly counterparts on the basis of operating profit margin and tend to carry a more levered capital structure. This exploration offers foundational evidence to fuel a new direction for this conversation—enacting corporate policies that better accommodate the female talent pool may allow firms to access a source of competitive advantage.

Dans ce mémoire, nous présentons nos travaux de recherche que nous avons menés au sein de la collaboration ATLAS au LHC dans la période 2005-2012. Ces travaux inclus la préparation de deux des sous-détecteurs composant le système de détecteurs internes, l'étude et l'optimisation des algorithmes de reconstruction des jets afin d'en améliorer les performances et enfin l'utilisation des données collectées à partir des collisions proton-proton pour une énergie de collision de 7 TeV dans le centre de masse pour en extraire la mesure de la section efficace de production du quark top dans le mode de désintégration tout-hadronique.