This thesis investigates whether environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance impacts financial performance in the Swedish market. ESG performance is measured using the overall ESG score and the three individual pillar scores (environment, social, and governance). Financial performance is assessed using a market-based financial measure(Tobin's Q) and an accounting-based financial measure (Return on Assets, ROA). Further, we introduce a one-year lag between ESG performance and financial performance. We analyze a total of 858 firm-year observations from 266 firms listed on the NASDAQ Stockholm stock exchange over the five-year period from 2018 to 2022, with controls for firm size and leverage. Our findings reveal that none of the ESG performance measures have an impact on the financial performance measures (ROA or Tobin’s Q). This indicates a need for further research into the complexities of the ESG impact on firm financial performance within the Swedish context.

Tänk, en plats, ett palats för kunskap. En byggnad gjord för lärande, förståelse och insikt: Kunskapspalatset! Kunskapspalatset är först och främst ett vuxengymnasium där man läser in kurser från grundskolan eller gymnasiet. Parallellt är det en byggnad för konferenser, mässor, möten, föreläsningar och annan kunskapsspridning. Jag tog utgångspunkt i Rafaels Skolan i Aten som inspiration, där kunskapen finns som i luften. Kunskapspalatset är ett försök på att i nutiden skapa en realitet av den bilden. Byggnaden ger plats åt och släpper in parken utanför, och är inspirerad av en kombination av antik arkitektur och postmodernism. För att anknyta till det antika har jag också haft i åtanke Vitruvius grundelement för arkitektur: firmitas (kvalitet/hållbarhet), utilitas (användbarhet/funktion) och venustas (det vackra/skönhet), som tillsammans skapar en välfungerande helhet. Av olika arkitektoniska stilar är det den antika, med de klassiska kolonnerna, som kanske mest associeras med värdighet och stolthet, något som vuxenutbildning förtjänar mer av. Genom att leka med arkitektoniska traditioner med ett eftertänksamt förhållande till platsen skapas en byggnad som både sticker fram näsan och ger utrymme, och kombinationen av det antika och klassiska med det postmoderna och nyskapande blir en självklarhet. Folkflödet längs det centrala stråket genom parken mellan de två noderna Medborgarplatsen i öst och Södra Station i väst hälsas nu av Kunskapspalatsets front av vad jag har kallat för ”inverterade pelare”. Byggnaden är avlång, ren, helgjuten, utan utstickande delar. En byggnad som triggar tänkande. Vuxenutbildningen står där med stolthet och dignitet i hjärtat av Södermalm. Tänk om man kunde stiga in i Kunskapspalatset ... / Imagine, a place, a palace, made for knowledge. A building made for learning, understanding and insight. A Palace of Knowledge! The Palace of Knowledge is a building for adult education, for grown-ups taking up courses from ordinary school. It is at the same time a building for conferences, trade fairs, events, meetings, lectures and other means of the growth of knowledge. As an outset for the project I took inspiration from Rafael’s School of Athens, where knowledge is to be felt in the air. The Palace of Knowledge is an attempt to, in present time, make it a reality. The building lets the park outside in while at the same time giving it room. It is inspired by a combination of antique architecture and postmodernism. In order to link to the antique, I have had in mind Vitruvius’ elements of architecture: firmitas (strength) utilitas (utility) venustas (beauty), that together form a unified whole. Among the variety of architectural styles, it is the antique, with its classical columns, that perhaps is most readily associated with dignity and pride—something that adult education deserves more of. Through a playfulness with architectural traditions and a thoughtful relationship with its context, a building is formed that makes a bold mark while simultaneously giving room, and the combination of the antique and classical with the postmodern and original is thereby given. The constant flow of people along the central path through the park between the two nodes Medborgarplatsen in the east and Södra Station in the west is now greeted by the Palace of Knowledge and its front with what I have termed “inverted pillars”. The building is clean, as if cast in one piece, without protruding parts. A building that triggers thinking. Adult education is now standing with pride and dignity in the heart of Södermalm. If only one could step inside the Palace of Knowledge ...

Background: Since the 1960s, the notion of sustainability has gained worldwide significance, including environmental issues, and advocating for sustainable economic development. Businesses have a crucial role in reducing environmental effects, motivated by pressure from stakeholders such as governments and shareholders. While environmental and economic sustainability receive significant attention, the social aspect often receives less attention. Social sustainability involves creating equitable social systems and ensuring ethical practices, employee well-being, and diversity. Sustainability Consultancy Companies (SCCs) assist firms in integrating sustainability into their daily operations. Nevertheless, SCCs must comply with social sustainability principles, ensuring that they implement the same values they advocate for to maintain their reputation and establish industry benchmarks.   Purpose: The purpose of this research is to determine the extent to which Sustainability Consulting Companies (SCCs) are implementing sustainable practices within their daily operations.  We are investigating whether SCCs possess the necessary knowledge, expertise, and in-depth understanding of issues related to social sustainability practices. Our research aims to provide practitioners with knowledge and awareness of how SCCs perceive social sustainability and to what extent they implement social sustainability practices.    Method: This thesis employed a qualitative research approach, incorporating relevant literature, peer-reviewed articles, and semi-structured interviews. Through the semi-structured interviews conducted with various Sustainability Consultancy Companies (SCCs), employees, and a CEO, we were able to gather varying perspectives and professional insights on social sustainability issues.   Conclusion: The findings of this research indicate that although most SCCs had knowledge on social sustainability issues and practices, only a limited number of levels in Carroll’s CSR Pyramid were fulfilled. Furthermore, while the SCCs consider social sustainability as the missing pillar, there is a limited focus on implementing social sustainability in comparison to the other pillars of sustainability.

The thesis deals with pension reform in the Czech republic. The main objective of the thesis is to analyze czech pension system and reforms. The thesis is divided into an introduction, a conclusion and four chapters. The first chapter is concerned with social security system and its subsystems, the second one with the pension system, its history and reforms. The third chaper deals with the upcoming changes and the fourth one presents author's suggestions on possible changes to the system. Realization of a pension reform is a long and extremely dificult process. It has be implemented very carefully with an emphasis on preserving the principle of social justice and the principle of human dignity.

Ce travail porte sur l’étude de matériaux micro/nano structurés permettant l’ingénierie des structures de bande dans le domaine des ondes élastiques. Nous nous sommes intéressés en particulier à l’intégration de ces matériaux dans les dispositifs électro-acoustiques et l’étude de l’interaction avec les ondes acoustiques de surface.La démarche consiste à mener des simulations par la méthode des éléments finis, pour calculer les structures de bande et les spectres de transmission. Nous avons étudié l’effet des paramètres géométriques et élastiques des micro-plots sur les branches acoustiques représentant les modes de surface. Nous avons ensuite discuté l’effet de la symétrie de l’arrangement sur la polarisation des modes de surface. Nous avons également étudié l’effet de la symétrie sur la sensibilité des modes de surface à une variation de température.Sur le plan expérimental, Nous avons élaboré des transducteurs inter-digités sur un substrat piézoélectrique de LiNbO3. Nous avons intégré divers cristaux phononiques composés de micro-plots de Ni, obtenues par électrodéposition. Les spectres de transmission ont été mesurés à l’aide d’un analyseur de réseau et comparés aux résultats theoriques.En dehors des cristaux phononiques basés sur des plots du nickel, d’autres structures ont également été présentées dans ce travail, incluant des matériaux bidimensionnels à base de nanoparticules magnétiques auto-assemblées et des nanofils du nickel électrodéposés à travers des membranes nano-poreuses d’alumine. / This work concerns the study of micro/nano structured materials for the engineering of band structures in the field of elastic waves. We were interested in particular to the integration of these materials in electro-acoustic devices and the study of the interaction with the surface acoustic waves.The approach is to carry out the simulation using the finite element method to calculate the band structures and the transmission spectra. We studied the effect of geometrical and elastic parameters of micro-pillars on acoustic branches representing surface modes. Then we discussed the effect of the symmetry of the arrangement on the polarization of the surface modes. We also investigated the effect of the symmetry on the sensitivity of surface modes with the variation of temperature.Experimentally, we have developed interdigital transducers on a piezoelectric substrate of LiNbO3. We have fabricated various phononic crystals composed of nickel micro-pillars, obtained by electrodeposition. The transmission spectra were measured by a network analyzer and compared with the theoretical results.Besides the phononic crystals based on nickel pillars, some other periodic micro/nano structures were also involved in this work, such as two dimensional materials based on self-assembled magnetic nanoparticles and nickel nanowires electroplated through nano-porous alumina membranes.

Due to entrance of WTO and performance of cGMP, Taiwan¡¦s biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries has met with more challenge¡Bimpact and pressure that let enterprise must reflect the marketing concept rests on four pillars¡Gtarget market, customer needs, integrated marketing, and organizational objectives( profitability) that reflect completely and restructure the strategic marketing according to innovative rethinking and develop into vision and strategic target of enterprise. The high-performance of business competitive advantage is focused on delivering customer value and satisfaction. Given the importance of customer value and satisfaction, we need to discuss the concepts of a value chain and value-delivery systems. Every firm is a collection of activities that are performed to design¡Bproduce¡Bmarket¡Bdeliver¡Band support its product. The firm¡¦s task is to examine the value chain and look for ways to improve its cost and performance in each value-creating activity. The firm should estimate its competitor¡¦s cost and performance as benchmarks against which to compare its own cost and performance. To the extent that it can perform certain activities better than its competitors, it can achieve a business competitive advantage. Strong companies develop superior capabilities in managing these core competences. According to current healthy policy of Taiwan¡¦s government and promotional projects of developing biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, enterprise need to reflect and evaluate the core competence and focus on firm¡¦s resources. Enterprise need to find out and decide the strategic positioning and then fit with government¡¦s policy. How to combine about the low cost operation of business strategy and high profit of innovative strategy that develop and restructure the new business model that achieve the business competitive advantage. This study will explore meantime that Taiwan¡¦s biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms desire for reaching competitive advantage and occupying the market quickly, the firms should think that saving resources¡Brestructuring business model¡Bmanaging risk¡Banalyzing critical success factors¡Boperating the strategy of alliance and co-marketing are necessary.

Keywords¡GBiotechnology, Business Competitive Advantage, Innovation Business Model, Strategic Marketing, Marketing Concept Rests on Four Pillars, Porter¡¦s Competitive Forces Model, Value-chain Model, Resources Advantage Orientation, Resources-Based Theory( view) , Core Competence, Customer Relation Management, Strategy Game Due to entrance of WTO and performance of cGMP, Taiwan¡¦s biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries has met with more challenge¡Bimpact and pressure that let enterprise must reflect the marketing concept rests on four pillars¡Gtarget market, customer needs, integrated marketing, and organizational objectives( profitability) that reflect completely and restructure the strategic marketing according to innovative rethinking and develop into vision and strategic target of enterprise. The high-performance of business competitive advantage is focused on delivering customer value and satisfaction. Given the importance of customer value and satisfaction, we need to discuss the concepts of a value chain and value-delivery systems. Every firm is a collection of activities that are performed to design¡Bproduce¡Bmarket¡Bdeliver¡Band support its product. The firm¡¦s task is to examine the value chain and look for ways to improve its cost and performance in each value-creating activity. The firm should estimate its competitor¡¦s cost and performance as benchmarks against which to compare its own cost and performance. To the extent that it can perform certain activities better than its competitors, it can achieve a business competitive advantage. Strong companies develop superior capabilities in managing these core competences. According to current healthy policy of Taiwan¡¦s government and promotional projects of developing biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, enterprise need to reflect and evaluate the core competence and focus on firm¡¦s resources. Enterprise need to find out and decide the strategic positioning and then fit with government¡¦s policy. How to combine about the low cost operation of business strategy and high profit of innovative strategy that develop and restructure the new business model that achieve the business competitive advantage. This study will explore meantime that Taiwan¡¦s biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms desire for reaching competitive advantage and occupying the market quickly, the firms should think that saving resources¡Brestructuring business model¡Bmanaging risk¡Banalyzing critical success factors¡Boperating the strategy of alliance and co-marketing are necessary.

Trend towards downsizing the product size and at the same time to bring more functionality in electronic products, demands electrically interconnecting several miniaturized electronic components with high counts of I\Os (Input/Out put) on smaller and smaller size printed wiring boards [PWB]. These miniature components occupy lower foot print area but require higher routing interconnection densities. However, the conventional multilayer board technologies exhibit limitations when there is need to connect very high I\O components such as ball grid arrays, which require blind and buried interconnections within the multilayer mono-block. This limitation has given raise to newer methods of multi layer construction. Build–up multilayer PWB is now the technology of choice for enhanced routing capability including blind and buried interlayer connections. Build up methods are based on making very small vias within dielectric layers followed by metalisation. Typically blind and buried vias are very small, and hence called “micro vias” connecting the layers selectively within the multilayer mono-block. Buried vias make the interconnection between the consecutive layers, and blind vias connect the surface layers to any one of the interior layers in the build up multilayer board. If the blind vias are filled with a dielectric, the entire top and bottom surface area becomes available for high -density component mounting. The crux in build up board technologies is the method of creating micro-holes; a micro hole is a hole, which is less than 150 micro meter in diameter. Efforts are made to replace existing metalising techniques with “paste filling” methodologies, which would result in “SOLID CONDUCTING VIAS” CALLED AS “MICRO -INTERCONNECTS” The work reported in this thesis aims at demonstrating one such innovative ‘solid conducting via’ formation without using any of the known micro-hole formation techniques. Based on the results obtained some useful conclusions have been drawn which will perhaps go a long way in the name of “PRINTED PILLAR TECHNOLOGY” a novel methodology for building multilayer suitable for very high I\O components such as “ball grid arrays.”

Zedníčková, G. The Impacts of Age Management for a Company. Diploma Thesis . Brno: Brno University of Technology, 2015. Diploma Thesis evaluates levels of management in the OHL ZS, a.s. company with respect to their employees´ age and abilities. It analyzes the current state of the organization and its environment in relation to a selected group of workers (50+). External and internal environment of the construction company and access of its strategy is evaluated in the area of Age Management. Research is performed through a questionnaire survey among employees. On the basis of learned and analyzed information the overall evaluation of the state of AM in the organization is brought to effect and then a solution is suggested and some possible changes are recommended. The aim is to propose possible measures to strengthen the level of Age Management in this company.

The diploma thesis deals with the pension reform and the pension system in the Czech Republic. The paper explains fundamental terms in the field and explains their function. The main aim of the thesis is a definition and risk analysis of individual parts of the pension system. The secondary aim is guidance how to use each of the parts of the system.