Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Agronomy / Phillip W. Stahlman / Saflufenacil is an experimental herbicide for control of broadleaf weeds in various crops including several herbicide resistant weed biotypes. Wheat is highly tolerant to preplant and preemergence applications of saflufenacil, but winter wheat growers prefer to apply herbicides postemergence (POST) in early spring. Objectives of this research were to (1) evaluate winter wheat and four common broadleaf weed species response to POST treatments of saflufenacil applied alone and in combination with bentazon or auxin herbicides at various rates both with and without adjuvants, and to (2) determine the possible mechanism(s) responsible for crop safening observed when saflufenacil is applied with 2,4-D amine or bentazon in winter wheat. Growth chamber, greenhouse, and field studies showed saflufenacil at a minimum rate of 25 g/ha controlled blue mustard and flixweed >85% when saflufenacil was applied alone or mixed with dicamba, 2,4-D amine, 2,4-D ester, or MCPA ester. Also, mixtures of bentazon with 13 g/ha of saflufenacil resulted in death of kochia, but increasingly higher rates of 2,4-D amine were needed to achieve 90% growth reduction when saflufenacil rates were decreased from 50 to 25 to 13 g/ha. In general, most of the saflufenacil combinations tested controlled henbit <85%. Leaf necrosis and stunting of winter wheat were reduced by tank mixing saflufenacil with dicamba, 2,4-D amine, or bentazon, but not with MCPA ester or 2,4-D ester. Including nonionic surfactant (NIS) in mixtures of saflufenacil plus 2,4-D amine resulted in significant wheat injury similar or greater than injury caused by saflufenacil plus NIS. Finally, 2,4-D amine enhanced saflufenacil absorption into winter wheat plants, whereas bentazon reduced absorption of saflufenacil. No more than 11% of applied saflufenacil translocated out of treated leaves to other plant parts when applied alone or when saflufenacil was mixed with 2,4-D amine or bentazon. Metabolism of saflufenacil by wheat plants was not affected by tank mixing with bentazon, but saflufenacil metabolism was slowed by mixing with 2,4-D amine. Overall, these studies indicate saflufenacil can potentially be used POST in wheat at an optimum rate of 25 g/ha plus 2,4-D amine or dicamba to effectively control blue mustard and flixweed.

Syfte: Narrativ kompletterande information är ett hjälpmedel för att öka förståelsen för vad som presenteras i årsredovisningars finansiella rapporter. Mängden information kan variera stort mellan olika företag då det saknas tydlig lagstiftning kring detta. Styrelsen ansvarar för att årsredovisningen stämmer med verkligheten. Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka sambandet mellan omfattningen narrativ kompletterande information till poster rapporterade i årsredovisningarnas finansiella rapporter och företagens styrelsesammansättning och storlek.  Metod: Studien är genomförd med en kvantitativ metod. Vi har utifrån tidigare forskning och teorier formulerat ett antal hypoteser som testats för att kunna bekräftas eller förkastas. Data har samlats in genom innehållsanalys då vi undersökt årsredovisningar från 75 företag noterade på Nasdaq OMSX inom segmentet Large Cap.  Resultat &amp; slutsats: Resultaten i denna studie visar endast ett par svaga samband, vi ser att både kvinnliga ledamöter och ledamöter oberoende mot större aktieägare har ett svagt positivt samband med narrativ kompletterande information. Gällande styrelsestorlek samt utbildning hittar vi inga samband alls mellan dessa faktorer och narrativ kompletterande information.  Förslag till fortsatt forskning: För fortsatt forskning föreslår vi att ett större urval tas med, samt eventuellt fler faktorer för styrelsesammansättningen. Vi tror att ett större urval skulle kunna visa på starkare samband än vad vi fått fram i vårt resultat. Ytterligare studier vore att undersöka relationen mellan ägare och ledning och hur denna relation påverkar omfattningen av den narrativa kompletterande informationen. En annan aspekt som kan vara intressant att undersöka är revisorns påverkan på narrativ kompletterande information. Till sist föreslår vi en studie där varje post i resultat- och balansräkningen jämförs för att undersöka förekomsten utav impression management och hur detta påverkas utav styrelsesammansättningen.  Uppsatsens bidrag: Studien tar upp omfattningen av narrativ kompletterande information i årsredovisningar samt hur denna påverkas av styrelsesammansättningen. Tidigare studier har genomförts utomlands men inte på den svenska marknaden. Vårt bidrag är att vi studerar denna relation hos företag registrerade på Nasdaq OMXS inom segmentet Large Cap. Vi undersöker även arbetstagarrepresentanternas påverkan på narrativ kompletterande information, en aspekt som inte undersökts tidigare / Aim: Narrative complementary information is a tool to increase understanding of what is presented in the financial statements of annual reports. In the absence of clear legislation the amount of information between different companies may vary greatly. The Board is responsible for the annual report to reflect reality. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the scope of the narrative additional information to items reported in the annual reports financial statements and how it is influenced by corporate board composition and size  Method: The study was conducted with a quantitative approach. Based on previous research and theories we have formulated a number of hypotheses to be tested and confirmed or rejected. Data were collected through content analysis as we examined the annual reports of 75 companies listed on the Nasdaq OMXS in the Large Cap-segment.  Result &amp; conclusions: The results of this study show only a few weak associations. We find that both female members and members independent of the major shareholders have a weak positive relationship with the narrative complementary information. There are no correlation at all to be found between board size and education and narrative complementary information.  Suggestions for future research: For further research we propose that a larger sample is taken and perhaps other factors for the board structure. We believe that a larger sample would show a stronger relationship than we have produced in our results. Another study could be to examine the relationship between owners and management and how it affects the scope of the narrative complementary information. Another interesting aspect to investigate could be the impact of auditors on narrative complementary information Finally, we propose a study where every item in the income statement and balance sheet are compared to determine whether impression management are applied and how this is affected out of board structure.  Contribution of the thesis: The study brings up the scope of narrative complementary information in annual reports and how this is affected by the board structure. Previous studies have been performed abroad but not in the Swedish market. Our contribution is that we study this relationship on companies listed on Nasdaq OMXS in the Large Cap segment. We also investigate the impact of employee representatives on narrative complementary information, an aspect not examined before.

Årsrapporter producerade av bolag anses vara det traditionella sättet att kommunicera mellan publika aktiebolag och dess intressenter. Enligt tidigare forskning i andra länder har dock årsrapporters storlek och struktur förändrats. Uppsatsen syftar till att undersöka hur årsrapporters storlek och struktur har förändrats över en 11-årsperiod (2004-2014) i svenska noterade bolag, samt hitta motiven till varför årsrapporterna har förändrats. Väsentliga teorier valdes för att få en bättre förståelse avseende området, men även som möjliga motiv för förändrade årsrapporter. En innehållsanalys på de största noterade svenska bolagen mätt i omsättning år 2015 gjordes för att skapa en kartläggning av deras årsrapporter. Vi utgick från flera parametrar för att få en bild av förändringen, t.ex. sidantal, bilder och ord. Delar som vanligtvis ingår i årsrapporter kartlagdes även för att få en inblick i hur delarna har förändrats över tidsperioden. Studien visar på att årsrapporter i svenska noterade bolag generellt har ökat i storlek och att strukturen har förändrats från 2004 till 2014. Hållbarhetsredovisningen är den del i årsrapporter som procentuellt har ökat mest av alla delar. Vidare finner vi motiv och orsaker som kan vara påverkande faktorer för varför förändringen har sett ut som den gör. Införandet av IFRS 2005, Finanskrisen 2007-2008 samt teorierna information overload, impression management och legitimitetsteorin används för att nå resultatet. / Annual reports produced by companies are considered to be the traditional medium between limited companies and its stakeholders. However, according to previous research made in other countries, annual report size and structure has changed during the last decades. This essay aims to examine how annual reports size and structure has changed over an eleven year period (2004-2014) in Swedish listed companies, and to find the causes/reasons to why the annual reports has changed. Essential theories were mainly chosen to better understand the area, but also as possible motives for changed annual reports. A content analysis on the 25 biggest listed Swedish companies measured in revenue year 2015 was made to map how the change have looked for the companies. We started from several parameters to get a picture of the change, for example from number of pages, pictures and words. Parts that is usually included (e.g. management report, sustainable report, CEO/Chairman’s letter) in annual reports was mapped so that we could get an insight in how the parts had changed over the time period. The study shows that annual reports of Swedish listed companies generally have increased in size and that the structure has changed from 2004 to 2014. The sustainable reporting is the part of the annual reports that increased the most in percent of all the parts. Furthermore, we find motives and causes that can be seen as affecting factors to why the changes looks the way it does. The introduction of IFRS 2005, the financial crisis 2007-2008 and the theories information overload, impression management and legitimacy theory are used to reach the result of the study.

This study examines the intellectual capital (IC) disclosure practices in the annual reports of 100 listed UK firms selected from sectors considered to be IC-intensive. It also investigates the possible determinants of such disclosure practices from the three perspectives of corporate governance structure, company characteristics and market factors. IC disclosures were captured using content analysis, and were measured by a disclosure index, supported by word count and percentage of word count metrics to assess the variety, volume and focus of IC disclosure respectively, at both overall and subcategory levels. The presentational formats and locations of IC disclosures were also recorded. The results indicate that the UK firms sampled provide considerable IC information in their annual reports, mainly in text form, with popular use of numerical information, while the use of graphs and pictures for many IC elements remains low. The distribution of IC disclosures, captured in three categories, varies by the three measures of disclosure applied. IC information was found in virtually all sections of the annual report and was most concentrated in the Operating and Financial Review section. IC terms typically used in the academic literature do not feature in the sampled annual reports. The results of the statistical analyses based on the three measures of IC disclosure indicate significant associations with a number of corporate governance factors (i.e. board composition, share concentration, audit committee size and frequency of meeting, board directors' shareholding, audit committee directors' shareholding, and board directors with cross-directorships), company characteristics (i.e. firm size, profitability, and listing age), and market factors (i.e. 'hidden value', share price volatility, share turnover, and multiple listing). These findings offer support for a number of theories, such as information asymmetry, agency and signalling theory. The influence of these explanatory factors on human, structural and relational capital disclosures, based on all three disclosure measure metrics, as well as on the format of IC disclosure, was also explored. The study also finds that its IC framework is more effective than a less detailed framework used in prior studies for the purpose of examining IC disclosure practice and its determinants. The study contributes to the further advancement of the state of knowledge in relation to IC disclosure both empirically and methodologically. It provides information users, preparers, regulatory bodies and academics with a state-of-the-art understanding of IC disclosure practices in the annual report. The transparent content analysis process enables future replication and comparison of results. The rigorous measurements of IC disclosure, the greater specificity of disclosure about the location and presentational format, and the more detailed IC research framework can be usefully applied by other studies. By examining the relationship between explanatory factors and IC disclosure, it helps shareholders and other groups of information users as well as the regulatory bodies to identify factors that may encourage IC disclosure in the annual report.

Bakgrund: CSR är ett koncept under ständig förändring med spridda definitioner. Då det är ett frivilligt ansvarstagande skiljer sig rapporteringen åt mellan olika aktörer. Kunskap om rapporten för CSR är bristfällig och behöver fördjupas genom studier av karaktäristika vilka kan påverka graden av rapportering. En uppdaterad jämförelse- och kunskapsbas för företag att utgå från vid CSR-engagemang och upprättandet av rapporter vilket underlättar enhetlig rapportering saknas i dagsläget. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att kartlägga rapportering av de tre CSR-dimensionerna miljö, ekonomi samt socialt ansvar i årsredovisningar från svenska börsnoterade företag. Vidare är syftet att testa och analysera variablerna nettoomsättning, branschtillhörighet, medelålder, könsfördelning samt ägarstruktur och därigenom förklara deras påverkan på graden av CSR-rapportering. Metod: I studien har författarna tillämpat en kvantitativ ansats med en innehållsanalytisk forskningsmetod. Insamling av data skedde genom granskning av årsredovisningar för 80 bolag noterade på Stockholmsbörsen. Data sammanställdes med hjälp av en framtagen ordlista samt graderingstabell och bearbetades vidare genom hypotestester med statistikprogrammen SPSS samt Stata som analysverktyg. Reslultat: Studien visar på att socialt ansvar är den dimension med högst rapporteringsgrad. Mest fokus av rapporteringen låg på anställda, utveckling samt utsläpp. Studien har vidare påvisat ett säkerställt samband mellan graden av CSR-rapportering och variablerna nettoomsättning, branschtillhörighet, medelålder i styrelse samt ledning och ägarstruktur. För variabeln könsfördelning kunde inte ett statistiskt samband säkerställas. / Problem: CSR is a concept under constant change with widespread definitions. As it is an optional responsibility the reporting varies between actors. Knowledge about the report on CSR is deficient and needs deepening through studies of characteristics that can affect the level of reporting. An updated comparison and knowledge base for companies to rely on when working with CSR activities and creating reports that further build uniform reporting is currently missing. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to survey the reporting of the three dimensions of CSR, environment, economic and social, in annual reports of Swedish listed companies. The purpose is further to test and analyse the variables net sales, branch of business, mean age, gender balance and ownership structure to explain their impact on the level of CSR reporting. Method: In this study the authors applied a quantitative method with a content analysis research method. Collection of data was conducted through a review of annual reports for 80 listed companies at the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Data was compiled through a created list of words and a grading table and was further processed with hypothesis tests analysed in the statistic data programs SPSS and Stata. Results: This study shows that the social dimension of CSR has the highest level of reporting. The main focus was on employees, development and emission. The study has proven a statistically assured relation between the level of CSR reporting and net sales, branch of business, mean age of people in leading positions and ownership structure. For the variable gender balance no statistically assured relation could be found.

This study makes a unique contribution to applied game theory and to the studies of Shiji (Records of Grand Historian) and the Warring States Period of ancient China (453-221B.C.) by constructing and analyzing the annual series of alliance structures or partitions of the seven states during the period of two hundred thirty three years. It shows that twenty six of the eight hundred seventy seven possible partitions were observed, and that the three most frequent partitions were the finest partition (146 years), partitions with four singletons and one three-member coalition (63 years), and partitions with five singletons and one two-member coalition (33 years). Such quantitative results have future applications in alliance studies, game theory, and international economics. They also provide a list of future research topics such as the unknown statistical properties of a series of partition of seven elements with 233 observations.

Community college students are being forced to delay future educational goals, due to the lack of financial support. Grants, student loans and financial aid support from government sources are in short supply. While past resources from state legislative bodies are being restricted and have been reduced to historic levels; educational organizations –community college foundations - have had to associate themselves with numerous outside sources. Collaborative partnerships with business, government, and industry have helped to relieve financial short- falls and student scholarship pressures while building long term and sustaining relationships. The purpose of this study was to investigate the process of annual giving within Texas Gulf Coast Community Colleges. A framework for the study was structured inside of five different institutions in the Gulf Coast region. Additionally, this study set out to examine the overall context of annual giving and whether college foundations were utilizing annual giving as a relationship tool for development and fundraising purposes. The research design followed an interview, case study format utilizing qualitative data. The study had several major findings. First, all colleges adhere to inputs, processes, and outputs. Second, by analyzing each of the inputs and processes, a set of output relationships- were discovered. Third, all institutions have a set of functions – financial, organizational, operational, and structural – which are in alignment with inputs, process and outputs. Fourth, brand identity helps to integrate donors and thereby, builds sustained and long-term support. Annual giving within Texas Gulf Coast community colleges has become a major fixture as a fundraising practice. Foundations are making the most of this tool by positioning themselves with their community and thus, reaping the benefits of donor relationships. / text

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This item contains the agenda, minutes, and attachments for the Faculty Senate meeting on this date. There may be additional materials from the meeting available at the Faculty Center.

Positive frequency-dependent predation (FDP) has been proposed as a species coexistence mechanism and theoretical models have shown how it may function. In positive FDP a rare species receives a temporary reprieve from predation pressure allowing an increase to its population growth rate and a chance for it to recover from rarity. This study tests for frequency-dependent foraging by granivorous desert rodents on the seeds of three species of winter annual plants that grow in the Sonoran Desert. While the preference for one species is much higher than the other two, preferences for each species are higher when common than when rare showing an asymmetric form of positive FDP. This study is the first empirical test for positive FDP on winter annual plants and by granivorous desert rodents and one of few to use more than two prey species, native prey species, or asymmetrically preferred prey species.