Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att studera hur små- och medelstora företags kapitalstruktur påverkas av företagets lönsamhet, ålder, tillväxt, materiella anläggningstillgångar, storlek och bransch. Metod: Studien genomför en kvantitativ undersökning med en deduktiv ansats. Med utgångspunkt i tidigare forskning utformas sex oberoende variabler för att sedan testa dess påverkan på kapitalstrukturen. Data samlas in från företagens årsredovisningar med hjälp av databasen Retriever och behandlas i Microsoft Excel. Data analyseras sedan med hjälp av korrelationsanalyserna Pearson´s r och Spearmans rho samt en multipel regressionsanalys i statistikprogrammet SPSS för att utröna eventuella samband. Resultat & slutsats: Studien erhåller en förklaringsgrad på 7,1 procent samt konstaterar att variablerna lönsamhet och ålder har ett positivt samband med soliditet, och därmed en negativ koppling till belåning. Den oberoende variabeln materiella anläggningstillgångar uppvisar en positiv korrelation med skuldsättningsgraden. Resultaten som studien kommer fram till finner stöd i tidigare forskning med undantag för den oberoende variabeln tillväxt och till viss del bransch. Slutligen fastställer studien att ålder är den oberoende variabel med störst inverkan på kapitalstrukturen. Förslag till vidare forskning: Det skulle vara intressant att undersöka fler faktorer än vad denna studie behandlar, för att se dess påverkan på kapitalstrukturen. Ett ytterligare förslag till fortsatt forskning är att genomföra en mer djupgående analys av branscherna, då dessa genererade varierande samband. Uppsatsens bidrag: Studiens resultat bidrar till ökad förståelse för kapitalstruktur i svenska SME samt verkar som indikator för vilka faktorer som har betydelse för soliditeten. Därmed bidrar arbetet till teoribildningen gällande svensk kapitalstruktur. Uppsatsen kan fungera som en vägledning för befattningshavare vad det gäller företagets finansiella struktur och utgör därför också ett praktiskt bidrag. / Aim: The purpose of this study is to examine how Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise’s capital structure is influenced by the company's profitability, age, growth, tangible assets, size and sector. Method: The study carries out a quantitative survey with a deductive approach. Based on previous research six independent variables is designed with the purpose to test their  impact on capital structure. The data is collected from annual reports using the database Retriever and processed in Microsoft Excel. The data is analyzed by using the two correlation analysis Pearson’s r and Spearman’s rho and a multiple regression analysis in the statistic program SPSS to determine any correlation. Result & Conclusions: The study receive an explanation rate of 7.1 percent and concludes that the variables profitability and age show a negative correlation with debt ratio, and thus a negative connection to borrowing. The independent variable tangible assets show a positive correlation with debt. The results of the study obtain support in previous research, with reservation for the independent variable growth and, to some extent, a few sector categories. Finally, the study shows that age is the independent variable with the greatest impact on capital structure. Suggestions for future research: It would be interesting to examine more factors than this study addresses, to see its impact on capital structure. A further proposal for future research is to conduct a more in-depth analysis of the variable sector, as it generates varying connection. Contribution of the thesis: The study results contribute to greater understanding of the capital structure in the Swedish SME and acts as an indicator of the factors that are important for the equity ratio. Thereby contributing to the theory regarding Swedish capital structure. The paper can serve as a guide for management in terms of its financial structure and is therefore also a practical contribution.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine whether the awareness of social- and environmental factors could be beneficial within M&A transactions in such that companies tend to obtain a higher success in such transactions if they are aware of these factors. The study also examines whether the actual return by the event date strikes higher for the social- and environmental aware companies than the unaware companies, where the event date is when the M&A transaction was due. Method: The authors have chosen to use two different methods; the Event Study- and Panel Study methods. The event window consists of five days before- and five days after the due date of the M&A, which makes it a total of 11 days. The estimation window is based on the 30 days before the event window and is examined in order to obtain an expected return of which is not affected by the event. The sample is based on international, Swedish companies which has undergone a M&A with a non- Swedish company, and is connected to the UN’s initiative Global Compact. Theory: The authors have chosen to apply the Efficient Market Hypothesis and besides that, a developed model based on a current one, the Merger Management Model. The difference between the models is that the Merger Management Model is based on tangible factors whereas the developed model, Social and Environmental Merger Management Model, is based on intangible factors. The chapter starts with the Efficient Market Hypothesis and then continues with the Merger Management Model and an explanation of the social- and environmental factors. The chapter ends with an explanation of the factors’ impact on companies and culminates onto the developed model. Conclusion: The outcome shows that companies of which are aware of social- and environmental risks, have incentives to a higher success rate in M&A transactions than companies that are unaware of these risks. The results of the hypothesis test made in this study strengthens the conclusion since the outcome of the p-value almost reached 64 percent, which means that there most likely is a correlation between the companies’ awareness of the social- and environmental factors and their success in M&A transactions.

Diploma paper deals with questions of the tangible assets. The first chapter contains determination of the tangible assets and its measurement in term of generally accepted acccounting principles and analyses the depreciation policies. The second chapter focus on the tangible assets in term of International financial reporting standards (IAS/IFRS) especially according to IAS 16 Property, plants and equipment and IFRS 5 Non-current assets held for sale and discontinued operations. The third chapter defines the tangible assets according to Czech legislation. Part of my paper consists of a questionnaire focused on depreciation intangible and tangible assets in Czech Republic and using taxes depreciation in the accounting.

This diploma thesis deals with the possibilities of transferring the cost of acquisition of depreciable tangible assets acquired by purchase or finance lease in the corporate income tax base, and analyzes the conditions of deductibility of depreciation and rent in the tax base. The diploma thesis identifies the factors affecting the amount of the tax base for both variants of the acquisition of depreciable tangible assets and the elements of the tax optimization.

[pt] Com a incorporação de recursos computacionais aos elementos físicos, a computação evolui para a ubiquidade e está presente nos elementos do ambiente físico. Casas, móveis e objetos do dia-a-dia, isto é, o ambiente que nos cerca, são as novas interfaces com as quais as pessoas interagem para colaborar e se informar. Essas novas interfaces implicam em um novo paradigma de interação, ainda pouco conhecido e explorado, como é o caso das Interfaces Tangíveis (Tangible User Interfaces - TUIs), que usam artefatos físicos para representação e controle de informações digitais. Desenvolver Interfaces Tangíveis requer combinar o trabalho voltado para o concreto (forma) com a abstração característica do desenvolvimento de software (comportamento). Este trabalho propõe um método denominado Prototipação Colaborativa de Tangíveis Baseada na Engenharia Semiótica, que combina as abordagens de prototipação e da Engenharia Semiótica no projeto de interfaces tangíveis. Ao combinar estas abordagens, o método agrega os benefícios da experimentação continuada de forma estruturada proporcionada pela prototipação com as vantagens do foco na comunicabilidade da Engenharia Semiótica no projeto de tangíveis. Um estudo de caso é conduzido a fim de investigar a contribuição do método proposto para incorporação da perspectiva da Engenharia Semiótica ao projeto de interfaces tangíveis. / [en] With the embedding of computing resources into physical elements, computing is moving toward ubiquity (or pervasiveness) and is present throughout the physical environment. Homes, furniture, and everyday life objects are the interfaces with which people now interact. Such new interfaces harbinger a new interaction paradigm that is little known and exploited to date, such as Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) that use physical artefacts for representing and manipulating digital information. Developing TUIs means acknowledging both concrete (form) and abstract (behavior) aspects of an interface. This work proposes a method called Collaborative Tangible Prototyping Based on Semiotics Engineering that combines prototyping and Semiotic Engineering approaches to tangible interfaces design. By combining these approaches, the method brings together the benefits of continued structured experimentation provided by prototyping with the advantages of a focus on communicability from Semiotic Engineering for designing tangibles. A case study is conducted to investigate whether the proposed method contributes to incorporate the Semiotic Engineering perspective in the design of tangible user interfaces.

Les parties prenantes demandent aux entreprises d'inclure dans leurs processus de gestion des critères de responsabilité sociale tels que la santé et la sécurité au travail et la lutte contre les discriminations etc. Les normes (ISO 26000, 14001, OHSAS 18001, AA 1000…) sont nombreuses en matière de R.S.E ou de développement durable et témoignent des questions et des difficultés de son opérationnalisation. Les critiques des O.N.G révèlent, entre autre, l'insuffisance de l'engagement des salariés qui sont pourtant au coeur des actions de l'entreprise. Ce travail doctoral s'inscrit dans la recherche des causes expliquant les comportements socialement responsables des salariés. Nous abordons notre recherche sous l'angle de l'Employment-Organisation-Relationship (E-O-R) et inscrivons notre travail dans le concept des contrats psychologiques (Rousseau, 1995). Notre recherche vise à mieux comprendre un phénomène social dont les recherches sont aujourd'hui sous-détaillées et sous-exploitées. Nous avons choisi une entreprise du secteur du travail temporaire et focalisé notre recherche sur les comportements en GRH. Notre recherche est qualitative, ethnologique et à visée compréhensive ; nous montrons que les croyances partagées, les normes comportementales et plus largement les ressources tangibles ou intangibles façonnent les comportements socialement responsables des salariés. A notre connaissance aucune recherche ne s'est appuyée sur notre méthodologie pour répondre à ce problème managérial concret. / Stakeholders require companies to include in their management process social responsibility criteria such as health and safety and the fight against discrimination etc. Standards of CSR or sustainable development (ISO 26000, 14001, OHSAS 18001, 1000 AA ...) are many and reflect the issues and difficulties in its operationalization. NGO‟s criticisms reveal, among other things, the lack of commitment of employees who are at the very heart of the company's shares. This work is part of doctoral research determining causes of socially responsible behavior of employees. We discuss our research in terms of the Employment Relationship-Organization-and inscribe our work in the concept of psychological contracts in organizations (Rousseau, 1995). Our research aims to better understand a social phenomenon whose research is currently under- detailed and underutilized. We chose a company in the temporary work sector and focused our research on behavior in HRM. Our research is qualitative, ethnographic and explanatory; we show that shared beliefs, behavioral norms and broader tangible or intangible resources shape the socially responsible behavior of employees. To our knowledge no research has been based on our methodology to meet this specific managerial problem.

Thesis 'Analysis of non-current tangible assets in selected entities ' deals with the non-current tangible assets from the point of view of the Czech legislation and IFRS. The theoretical part of the thesis characterises non-current tangible assets in terms of IFRS, which together with examples concern with the issues of definition and evaluation. The Czech legislation is compared with IFRS and the main differences are marked out that prevent a unified view of non-current tangible assets adjusted according to IFRS and the Czech accounting standards. The practical aspect is reflected in an empirical research that analyses non-current tangible assets in entities operating in the area of power and food industries.

In current practice, business processes modeling is done by trained method experts. Domain experts are interviewed to elicit their process information but not involved in modeling. We created a haptic toolkit for process modeling that can be used in process elicitation sessions with domain experts. We hypothesize that this leads to more effective process elicitation. This paper brakes down "effective elicitation" to 14 operationalized hypotheses. They are assessed in a controlled experiment using questionnaires, process model feedback tests and video analysis. The experiment compares our approach to structured interviews in a repeated measurement design. We executed the experiment with 17 student clerks from a trade school. They represent potential users of the tool. Six out of fourteen hypotheses showed significant difference due to the method applied. Subjects reported more fun and more insights into process modeling with tangible media. Video analysis showed significantly more reviews and corrections applied during process elicitation. Moreover, people take more time to talk and think about their processes. We conclude that tangible media creates a different working mode for people in process elicitation with fun, new insights and instant feedback on preliminary results. / Heute, werden Geschäftsprozesse durch speziell ausgebildete Modellierungsexperten erstellt. Wissensträger der Domäne werden befragt, aber sie werden nicht in die Modellierung einbezogen. Wir haben ein haptisches Werkzeug zur Prozessmodellierung entwickelt welches bei der Prozesserhebung zusammen mit den Domänenexperten eingesetzt wird. Wir vertreten die Hypothese, dass dies zur effizienteren Prozesserhebung beiträgt. In diesem Artikel schlüsseln wir "effiziente Prozesserhebung" in 14 operationalisierte Hypothesen auf. Diese werden in einem kontrollierten Experiment mit Hilfe von Fragebögen, Tests und Videoanalyse untersucht. In dem Experiment vergleichen wir unseren Ansatz mit strukturierten Interviews in einem Messwiederholungsdesign. Das Experiment wurde mit 17 Schülern kaufmännischer Berufe in einem Oberstufenzentrum durchgeführt. Sie repräsentieren potentielle Anwender unseres Ansatzes zu Prozesserhebung. Sechs der vierzehn Hypothesen zeigten einen signifikanten Unterschied zwischen den beiden Ansätzen. Teilnehmer berichteten mehr Spass an und mehr Erkenntnisse durch greifbare Prozessmodellierung zu haben. In der Videoanalyse beobachteten wir, dass Teilnehmer häufiger Ihre Aussagen prüfen und korrigieren. Außerdem wurde mehr Zeit für das Reden und Nachdenken über die Prozesse verwendet. Wir schlussfolgern, dass greifbare Medien ein anderes Arbeitsumfeld begünstigen mit mehr Spaß, neuen Erkenntnissen und direktem Feedback auf vorläufige Ergebnisse.

Seating is an integral part of work environment. When people are at work, they often sit in chairs for long periods of time without changing postures. This results in reduced blood circulation in the body, especially in the buttock-thigh area causing muscle fatigue, pain and discomfort. Ergonomically designed task chairs adopt a passive approach to guiding people into better postures by providing adjustability inside the chair. However most people do not adjust their chairs because they fail to sense the need for changing posture. They are left to sensing the need to change posture through guesswork or extreme discomfort. This thesis proposes a new system to address this problem by sensing static posture in a seated person with the use of electronic sensors embedded in the seat, and by providing interactive feedback to static posture via sound, light and tactile channels. The new technology is an sensing-feedback mechanism embedded in a chair, that allows people to receive postural information and make body adjustments periodically to avoid pain and discomfort caused by prolonged seating.The feedback mechanism was tested with four subjects to determine its efficacy in generating posture change through pressure relief and user feedback was gathered in order to design the final prototype.

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