This report describes the design and implementation of a multi-master, packet based protocol for small and tiny microcontrollers where resources are limited. The protocol was named "Tiny Controller Network" or TCN for short. The protocol is meant mainly as a control bus for automation and sensor acquisition applications but due to its flexibility can also be used for other purposes as well. It borrows some of its functionality and design ideas from the well known CAN bus and Modbus but also has a number of major differences like the use of standard hardware and time synchronisation. One of the key aspects during the design was the use of very little system resources and common on-chip hardware peripherals like a UART.

The need to attract and retain individuals who add value to the organization constitutes an increasing challenge facing human resource professionals. In this context it is essential to establish stronger links between the individuals and the organization they work for. The aim of this study is to explore and discuss the role of ethical core values such as trust, respect, fairness, and honesty as a critical antecedent to employee commitment. From the perspective of employees, a comparative case study is conducted in two organizations with two different reasons to exist - a profit organization and a non-profit organization. The study concludes that organizations should have a high focus on people's core values when they recruit new employees as well as for educating and training their existing employees and managers.

Syftet med vår studie är att öka förståelsen för hur personer inom HR arbetar strategiskt med Employer Branding för att attrahera och säkerställa behovet av ingenjörer samt hur arbetet påverkar organisationens utveckling.Vi har genomfört en kvalitativ studie med hermeneutisk ansats och har intervjuat sammanlagt sju respondenter från tre olika ingenjörsföretag. Utifrån intervjuerna kunde vi genom hermeneutisk analysmetod kombinerat med tematisk analysmetod utvinna fyra huvudteman med tillhörande subteman.Resultatet visar på att företagen arbetar proaktivt med att attrahera och skapa intresse för ingenjörsyrket. Det har framkommit att värderingarna utgör en viktig del för att differentiera företag på arbetsmarknaden och att dessa bör integreras i företagens Employer Branding arbete.Vidare visar studien att arbetet med Employer Branding ska gå i linje med företagets affärsstrategi och mål och att det ska genomsyra hela organisationen. .

Uppsatsens syfte var att nå en större teoretisk förståelse av samkönat partnervåld, genom att analysera olika forskningsartiklars narrativa konstruktioner av våldet. De två frågeställningarna var: 1. Hur diskuterar forskningslitteraturen samkönat partnervåld med fokus på temana relationsdynamik, karaktär hos parterna, kön, genus och sexualitet samt betydelsen av social kontext? 2. Hur diskuterar forskningslitteraturen det professionella bemötandet av samkönat partnervåld? De 21 valda primärdokumenten som analyserats är artiklar som granskats vetenskapligt via peer-review och författats av forskare och professionella terapeuter och behandlare.

Corporate Social Responsibility has been defined as the responsibility towards stakeholders and the society in whole and the expression was founded in the 1950´s. Reporting in corporate social responsibility has been termed corporate social disclosure and has been divided into three areas: environment, ethics and human resources. The aim of this study is to explain variations in corporate social disclosure and the different media used by corporations to communicate these disclosures. A survey was conducted, which included all Swedish corporations listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, and all public-owned corporations. The results show that corporate characteristics such as size, industry and profitability can explain some of the variation in social disclosures and also have an effect on the extent and variation of the media used.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att beskriva hur företag i logistikkedjan, rederi ? hamn ? åkeri, förberett sig inför de nya länderna, Lettland, Litauen och Polens inträde i den Europeiska Unionen den 1 maj 2004. Vi har även valt att undersöka vilka omvärldsanalysmetoder företagen använder sig utav, hur de i så fall tillämpar dessa och ge eventuella förslag på omvärldsanalysmetoder..

High technology companies in Sweden spend a huge amount of money on research and product development in proportion to what they get back in earnings from their inventions. Product development has traditionally been regarded as much more important than business development. This thesis aims to point out the critical factors behind successful business development processes for high technology companies. We have chosen to make a case study of Hexagon, a highly successful and innovative company within the measurement technology business. Internal and external actors that are important for business development have been identified and interviewed in order to understand how ideas are developed and executed.

Personer som arbetar med Human Resources (HR) hanterar processer av olika slag och agerar som stöd för chefer och medarbetare. HR-personer kan i sin tur också behöva stöd i sitt arbete. Arbetet är brett och ett sätt att utbyta erfarenhet är att använda sig av sina nätverk. Denna studie är en beskrivning av hur HR-personer upplever nätverk samt tunga arbetssituationer. Resultatet baserades på sex semistrukturerade djupintervjuer med fem personer.

Many sources point to the same conclusion; throughout the history the research sphere, mass media, governmental industry policies and public life in common have not paid the same attention to medium-sized companies as to small, new or large companies in Sweden. Yet, there are some researchers claiming the need for the medium-sized companies to grow, becoming tomorrow?s Swedish new large companies. Hence, the need for understanding the specific growth conditions of the medium-sized companies are definitely clear. This study aims firstly to identify whether there are specific requirements and obstacles for growth in connection to being a medium-sized company.

Piglet survival is of importance because it affects the farmer?s economy and the welfare of the pigs. There are several factors affecting piglet survival and they are often linked to each other. This paper will focus on how the behaviour of the sow can affect the growth and survival of the piglets and also possible causations of differences in maternal behaviour. Sows in intensive production systems have different possibilities to express their maternal behaviour than free ranging sows.

This study examines whether there is an association between the length of the client-auditor relationship and audit quality, using absolute unexpected accruals estimated by industry as a measure of audit quality based on a modified Jones model. The study is motivated by the proposal on mandatory audit firm rotation for publicly traded companies from the European Commission, which is based on the notion that longer auditor firm tenure creates a familiarity threat which reduces the audit quality. Both the relation between audit quality and auditor partner tenure and audit firm tenure is examined in this study, using multivariate regression controlling for auditor type (Big 4 versus non-Big 4), signing auditors (one versus two auditors), firm size, profitability, leverage and age. There is a significant negative relationship between audit quality and audit partner tenure when only companies employing Big 4 is tested, which indicate that auditors constrain managements extreme accounting measures with longer tenure. The results provide no significant evidence of an increase in the absolute unexpected accruals with audit firm tenure, when only Big 4 companies are tested.

Addressing increasing global environmental problems requires greater resource efficiency, and one way of working towards this is through industrial symbiosis. Industrial symbiosis means that companies collaborate through sharing of resources for collective benefits. The documented benefits of working with industrial symbiosis indicate that there is potential for companies to operate commercially with facilitation of industrial symbiosis. An interesting company to study within this context is Econova. Econova operates within the recycling and gardening industry and has been identified as a possible catalyst for industrial symbiosis.

During the last decade working with competence has emerged as a more strategically important area. Today the human resources in a company are considered a competitive advance and the HR-units play a significant role when it comes to HR-management. Different motives for investing in strategies that promote competence development and learning also exist. The purpose of this paper was to examine how the process of competence development was managed at a large global company. The empirical material consisted of four persons who were interviewed and the analysis of the material was inspired by grounded theory.From the analysis four major themes or core factors emerged as central to the interviewed persons' understanding of the competence development process; solid preparatory work in relation to competence development, communication, awareness of responsibilities and finally the taking action and evaluation of the action.

This study examines how and why organizations evaluate training and development within the organizations. The study has a qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews, with office and organization development managers. The purpose of the study is to contribute with knowledge about how three large Swedish organizations evaluates training and development programs for staff members. Another purpose is to describe why the organizations evaluate training and development programs and to research if there is a further need to develop the organization evaluation methods. Therefore the research questions are Why and how do organizations evaluate training programs? What further need is there to develop organizations evaluation methods?The conclusion of this study shows that evaluation of the training and development programs are not a high priority among the selected organizations.

Detta är en kvalitativ studie som behandlar relationen mellan sociala medier och rekrytering, så kallad social rekrytering. Vi har genomfört intervjuer med personer från företag och offentliga organisationer kring deras användande av social rekrytering. Vi har även intervjuat fyra professionella aktörer som arbetar med sociala medier, kommunikation och human resources, med avsikten att få en djupare inblick i hur sociala medier bör och kan användas i rekryteringssammanhang. Vi kopplade våra intervjuresultat till teorier kring bland annat rekrytering, sociala medier och employer branding.Studiens frågeställningar berörde hur företagen och de offentliga organisationerna möter social rekrytering samt hur de använder social rekrytering idag. De professionella aktörerna besvarade frågor kring hur de ser på samspelet mellan rekrytering och sociala medier.