The choice of a corporation’s capital structure is a complex process determined by several factors. The academia and the business industry have both been enamored with finding the determinants of capital structure, as there has been evidence that the profitability of firms is influenced by financing decisions. Nevertheless, the determinants are so far inconclusive. Moreover, they are dependent on both internal and external factors. However, previous research has generally focused solely on internal or external factors. Therefore, this thesis aims to capture a combination of firm-specific factors and macroeconomic variables affecting capital structure decisions. We focus on Swedish firms listed on Nasdaq OMX. To investigate which internal and external factors affect the capital structure, an unbalanced fixed effects data multiple linear regression was performed. The regression tested several hypotheses derived from previous studies, where the trade-off theory and the pecking order theory were used as a base. Our results indicate that for internal factors, the pecking order theory is superior at explaining financial decisions in Swedish companies compared to the trade-off theory. When it comes to external factors, the pecking order theory provides a more accurate framework. However, it should be noted that the results are not unambiguous. The ambiguity of the results suggests one very important conclusion. Neither of these two theories have the capability to fully explain how firms decide their capital structure. Each model contributes with some pieces of the puzzle, but both contain limitations.

Den svenska hälso- och sjukvården har begränsade resurser vilket kräver att prioriteringar görsför att resurserna ska fördelas så effektivt och rättvist som möjligt. En reell prioriteringssituationdär avvägningen mellan effektivitet och rättvisa blir särskilt tydlig är vid beslut om subventionav förskrivningsläkemedel. När ett sådant prioriteringsbeslut fattas är det relevant att undersökavad resurserna som krävs för en prioriterad behandling i stället hade kunnat generera i form avannan vård, det vill säga att kvantifiera både vinster och förluster i termer av hälsa. I dennauppsats granskas därför beslut om subvention av läkemedel som fattats av Tandvårds- ochläkemedelsförmånsverket (TLV) mellan 2017 och 2022, för att kvantifiera hur avvägningenmellan effektivitet och rättvisa kan ha påverkat den totala hälsan i Sverige. Med hjälp av etttröskelvärde för marginalproduktiviteten i hälso- och sjukvården på 250 000 kronor beräknasnettohälsoeffekten av TLVs beslut. Resultaten visar att av totalt 49 granskade beslut omsubvention av läkemedel har det i 32 fall gjorts en avvägning mellan effektivitet och rättvisa.Endast åtta av besluten har en positiv nettohälsoeffekt, där hälso- och sjukvårdssystemetgenererar mer hälsa än det förlorar till följd av TLVs beslut. För de 17 läkemedel där antaletpatienter som berörs av ett beslut angetts kan en negativ nettohälsoeffekt på -24 060 år i fullhälsa (QALYs) konstateras. Cirka 84 % av de observerade besluten har en negativnettohälsoeffekt och har därmed också påverkat den totala hälsan i Sverige negativt. Resultatendiskuteras sedan med stöd av den svenska etiska plattformen och olika teorier om distributivrättvisa, vilka är möjliga anledningar till att resultatet ser ut som det gör. Att uttrycka kostnadoch effekt i termer av hälsa, som nettohälsoeffekten, tydliggör beslutsfattandet och är en starttill en mer transparent fördelning av samhällets begränsade resurser. Vårt förslag är att införaberäkning av nettohälsoeffekten som komplement till nuvarande metod i svenskahälsoekonomiska utvärderingar. / The Swedish healthcare system has limited resources which requires prioritization in order todistribute resources as efficiently and fairly as possible. A real prioritization situation where thetrade-off between efficiency and fairness becomes particularly clear is when deciding tosubsidize prescription drugs. When such prioritization decisions are made, it is relevant toexamine what the resources required for a prioritized treatment could instead have generated inthe form of other care, i.e., to quantify both gains and losses in terms of health. This thesistherefore examines decisions on subsidizing pharmaceuticals made by the Swedish Dental andPharmaceutical Benefits Agency (TLV) between 2017 and 2022, to quantify how the trade-offbetween efficiency and equity may have affected the overall health in Sweden. Using athreshold value for marginal productivity in health care of 250 000 SEK, calculations are madeto determine the Net Health Benefit. The results show that out of a total of 49 revieweddecisions on the subsidization of pharmaceuticals, a trade-off between efficiency and fairnesshas been made in 32 of these. Only eight of the decisions have a positive net health effect, wherethe healthcare system gains more health than it loses. For the 17 drugs where the number ofpatients affected by the decision could be quantified, a negative total Net Health Benefit of -24,060 years of full health (QALYs) was calculated. Approximately 84 % of the observeddecisions have a negative Net Health Benefit and have thus also had a negative impact onoverall health in Sweden. The results are then discussed with support of the Swedish ethicalplatform and various theories concerning distributive justice, which are possible reasons for theresults. Expressing cost and impact in terms of health, as the Net Health Benefit, clarifiesdecision-making and is a start towards a more transparent distribution of society's limitedresources. Our proposal is to introduce calculation of the Net Health Benefit as a complementto the current method in Swedish health economic evaluations.

Entrepremeurship and what impact entrepreneurs have on the development of a country's society is a well-discussed subject today. During the recent years, entrepreneurs have been characterized as a country's futrue growth since ther are of utmost importance in terms of both innovation, employment and competition. However, one of the main constraints for entrepreneurs today is to gain access to external capital in the initial phase of their business.Therefore, our thesis will highlight the various financing options the entrepreneurs have in the start-up phase and why they choose a particular funding method for their start-up in the first financing round. The focus will be on entrepreneurs within the technological industry and the Swedish market. Moreover, our thesis is based on a qualitative study which includes interviews with six different start-ups in order to analyse how they have financed the start-up of their business and which funding method they prefer and why. A conclusion has been drawn from our study that internal financing is preferred over external which is in line with one of our financing principles that we have used for this study. Our thesis is expected to contribute with a deeper understanding of the entrepreneur's perspective in matters of financing with focus on the tech industry, which we consider as an extra important industry for global development. / Entreprenörskap och vilken inverkan entreprenörer har på utvecklingen av ett lands samhälle är ett väl diskuterat ämne idag. Under de senaste åren har entreprenörer karakteriserats som ett lands framtida tillväxt eftersom de är av yttersta vikt för både innovation, sysselsättning och konkurrens. En av de största begränsningarna för entreprenörer idag är dock att få tillgång till externt kapital i den inledande fasen av dess verksamhet. Vår avhandling kommer därför att lyfta fram de olika finansieringsalternativ som entreprenörerna har i deras uppstartsfas och varför de väljer en särskild finansieringsmetod för deras verksamhet. Fokus kommer vara på den första finansieringsrundan samt på entreprenörer inom den tekniska industrin och inom den svenska marknaden. Vår uppsats kommer även att vara baserad på en kvalitativ studie som innehåller intervjuer med sex olika nystartade företag för att kunna analysera hur de har finansierat sin verksamhet i uppstartsfasen samt vilken finansieringsmetod de föredrag och varför. Från vår studie har vi dragit slutsatsen att intern finansiering är något som respondenterna föredrar överextern finansiering. Detta ligger i linje med en av åra finansieringsprinciper som vi har använt för denna studie. Vår avhandling förväntas bidra med en djupare förståelse av entreprenörens perspektiv rörande finansieringsfrågor med fokus på teknikindustrin, vilket vi anser vara en extra viktig industri för den globala utvecklingen.

Background: Industry 4.0 brings new technologies said to improve organizations’ supply chain performance. Additive manufacturing (AM) and information and communication technologies have received much attention in recent years. A combination of the two has recently surfaced in literature and captured the interest of large manufacturing organizations such as Siemens Energy. Namely, AM-enabled Digital Inventory (DI). Problem: AM is considered a new manufacturing method and is still under development, thus, industries have yet to realize AM’s full potential. DI has been presented as a suggested tool to maximize AM’s potential. However, existing research on DI is scarce. For manufacturers to properly evaluate DI and decide on implementation more information is needed. Purpose: To aid decision-makers in the navigation of DI implementation, we have conceptually explored practitioners' perceptions of the DI concept and related benefits and challenges. To ultimately allow organizations to obtain the full potential of AM, and thereby increase supply chain performance and remain competitive in the transition to Industry 4.0. Method: Ontology – Relativism, Epistemology – Constructivism, Qualitative, Inductive, Exploratory, Single-case study, 8 semi-structured interviews, 10 semi-structured group interviews, Snowball sampling, Purposive sampling, Thematic analysis. Conclusion: With this research, we were able to establish that the DI concept should function as a system that allows for easier sharing and access of information. Benefits found: Process optimization, reduced risk, and cost, further development, and increased competitiveness. Challenges found: rules and regulations, change management, operations issues, strategy, profitability, system issues, and post-processing. Ultimately, to obtain the benefits, trade-offs in lead time, capacity cost, and inventory costs need to be considered. Before calculations can commence components suitable to include in a DI needs to be established.

The U.S. Navy has been confronted with budget cuts and constraints during recent years. This reduction in budget compels the U.S. Navy to limit the number of manpower and personnel to control costs. Reducing the total ownership cost (TOC) has become a major topic of interest for the Navy as plans are made for current and future fleets. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO, 2003), manpower is the most influential component of determining the life cycle cost of a ship. The vast majority of the TOC is comprised of operating and support (O&S) costs which account for approximately 65 percent of the TOC. Manpower and personnel costs account for approximately 50 percent of O&S costs. This research focused on tradeoff analysis and cost estimation between manpower and new technology implementation. Utilizing concepts from System Dynamics Modeling (SDM), System Dynamics Causal Loop diagrams (CLD) were built to identify major factors when implementing new technology, and then stocks and flows diagrams were developed to estimate manpower cost associated with new technology implementation. The SDM base model reflected an 18 months period for technology implementation, and then compared different technology implementation for different scenarios. This model had been tested by the public data from Department of the Navy (DoN) Budget estimates. The objective of this research was to develop a SDM to estimate manpower cost and technology tradeoff analysis associated with different technology implementations. This research will assist Navy decision makers and program managers when objectively considering the impacts of iii technology selection on manpower and associated TOC, and will provide managers with a better understanding of hidden costs associated with new technology adoption. Recommendations were made for future study in manpower cost estimation of ship systems. In future studies, one particular type of data should be located to test the model for a specific manpower configuration.

In this thesis, novel progressive scalable region-of-interest (ROI) image coding schemes with rate-distortion-complexity trade-off based on residual vector quantization (RVQ) and matching pursuit (MP) are developed. RVQ and MP provide the encoder with multi-resolution signal analysis tools, which are useful for rate-distortion trade-off and can be used to render a selected region of an image with a specific quality. An image quality refinement strategy is presented in this thesis, which improves the quality of the ROI in a progressive manner. The reconstructed image can mimic foveated images in perceptual image coding context. The systems are unbalanced in the sense that the decoders have less computational requirements than the encoders. The methods also provide interactive way of information refinement for regions of image with receiver 's higher priority. The receiver is free to select multiple regions of interest and change his/her mind and choose alternative regions in the middle of signal transmission. The proposed RVQ and MP based image coding methods in this thesis raise a couple of issues and reveal some capabilities in image coding and communication. In RVQ based image coding, the effects of dictionary size, number of RVQ stages and the size of image blocks on the reconstructed image quality, the resulting bit rate, and the computational complexity are investigated. The progressive nature of the resulting bit-stream makes RVQ and MP based image coding methods suitable platforms for unequal error protection. Researchers have paid lots of attention to joint source-channel ( JSC) coding in recent years. In this popular framework, JSC decoding based on residual redundancy exploitation of a source coder output bit-stream is an interesting bandwidth efficient approach for signal reconstruction. In this thesis, we also addressed JSC decoding and error concealment problem for matching pursuit based coded images transmitted over a noisy memoryless channel. The problem is solved on minimum mean squared error (MMSE) estimation foundation and a suboptimal solution is devised, which yields high quality error concealment with different levels of computational complexity. The proposed decoding and error concealment solution takes advantage of the residual redundancy, which exists in neighboring image blocks as well as neighboring MP analysis stages, to improve the quality of the images with no increase in the required bandwidth. The effects of different parameters such as MP dictionary size and number of analysis stages on the performance of the proposed soft decoding method have also been investigated. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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Forskningsområdet kring kapitalstruktur är i stort inte enhetlig kring förklarandepåverkningsfaktorer. Fastighetssektorn är av stor vikt för Sveriges finansiella system, dock är området kring fastighetsbolags kapitalstruktur mindre utforskat, särskilt i Sverige. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur de företagsspecifika karaktäristiska variablerna lönsamhet, tillväxt, storlek och materiella tillgångar påverkar fastighetsbolagens kapitalstruktur mellanräkenskapsåren 2016 och 2020. För att analysera faktorernas påverkan på företagens skuldsättning används multipel regressionsanalys med data från 25 fastighetsbolag noterade på stockholmsbörsen. Regressionsanalysen finner ett signifikant positivt samband mellanlönsamhet och soliditet, vilket är i linje med tidigare forskning och stödjer pecking order theory. Analysen visar vidare ett svagt negativt signifikant samband mellan materiella tillgångar och soliditet, som är i linje med viss tidigare forskning och stödjer trade-off theory.

Current design methods in transportation engineering do not simultaneously address the levels of risk and service associated with the design and use of various highway geometric elements. Passing sight distance (PSD) is an example of a geometric element designed with no risk measures. PSD is provided to ensure the safety of passing maneuvers on two-lane roads. Many variables decide the minimum length required for a safe passing maneuver. These are random variables and represent a wide range of human and vehicle characteristics. Also, current PSD design practices replace these random variables by single-value means in the calculation process, disregarding their inherent variations. The research focuses on three main objectives. The first goal is to derive a PSD distribution that accounts for the variations in the contributing parameters. Two models are devised for this purpose, a Monte-Carlo simulation model and a closed form analytical estimation model. The results of both models verify each other and differ by less than 5 percent. Using the PSD distribution, the reliability index of the current PSD criteria are assessed. The second goal is to attach risk indices to the various PSD lengths of the obtained distribution. A unique microscopic simulation is devised to replicate passing maneuvers on two-lane roads. Using the simulation results, the author is able to assess the risk of various PSD lengths for a specific design speed. The risk index of the AASHTO Green Book and the MUTCD PSD standards are also obtained using simulation. With risk measures attached to the PSD lengths, a trade-off analysis between the level of service and risk is feasible to accomplish. The last task is concerned with applying the Highway Capacity Manual concepts to assessing the service measures of the different PSD lengths. The results of the final trade-off analysis show that for a design speed of 50 mph, the AASHTO Green Book and the MUTCD standards overestimate the PSD requirements. The criteria can be reduced to 725 ft and still be within an acceptable risk level. / Ph. D.