We have by Statistics Sweden (SCB) been given the task of using different dynamic regression models in order to forecast service price index for sea transport. The aim is to see whether these models provide better forecasts than those previously used. This essay aim to identify, estimate and evaluate the selected prediction models. Through our data material we were given access to 28 sightings of sea transport index during the period of 2004 q1 to 2010 q4. We have chosen to evaluate three different transfer function models, one ARIMA model and one naive forecasting model. The input variables we decided to test in our transfer function models were the price of petroleum products, the port activity in Swedish ports and the lending rate of Swedish Central bank. The results of our study suggest that transfer function models generally provide better models than the ARIMA model and the naive forecast model.

The aim of my study is to get an idea of how some teachers use homework, what they consider a good homework is, and what considerations they take to the students' home circumstances. I have made a qualitative interview study with four middle school teachers. The results of my study show that teachers can flip the classroom and use so-called preparatory tasks. The time saving aspect is a strong reason they choose that model. That students are able to practice their own responsibility and perform meaningful homework seems to also be in focus, but the biggest reason they use flipped classrooms seems to be because it is a more equivalent homework then traditional homework, and that students and their guardians also appreciate the flipped classroom model as they become more involved in their children's schoolwork..

The study proceeds from a phenomenom called co-creation. If value can be created, it is logic to asume that it also can be destroyed. This phenomenom has earlier not been applied to long-term relationships such as business to business. In a business relationship it is important to identify factors, that leads to co-destruction, to be able to prevent them from appering. The purpose of this study is to identify which factors leads towards co-destruction.The study have used theories from Echeverri & Skålén (2011) which has designed a model explaning the outcome of co-creation and co-destruction.

The purpose of this thesis has been to build a parameterized model of a prototype motor in the program Solidworks, to use in future optimization of aspects of effectiveness and weight. The result were two models. The first model were one minor part of the whole design in 2D, to be able to optimize and study the minor part with a faster loss simulation. The second model was the whole design in 3D. The whole model were done with the three programs Solidworks, Comsol and Matlab.

This thesis explores some issues regarding estimations of the cost of capital on the Stockholm Stock Exchange through reverse engineering of the Residual Income Valuation model and through usage of the Capital Asset Pricing Model. Previous studies are in conflict of whether the risk premium changes considerably over time or not. Furthermore, the risk premium estimated by CAPM tends to be fairly stable. In this study, reverse engineering of the cost of capital implied by analysts? forecasts shows a significant difference in the risk premium over time.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate potential associations between usage of the cash flow statement report and time perspective in which companies? acts and set goals. Method: Our approach is quantitative, using empirical data summarized in a statistical procedure. The result is thereafter analysed through the developed analysis model from which conclusion is drawn. Results: We have in the investigation stated that the usage of the cash flow statement report varies depending on the time perspective in which companies? acts.

In companies today, it is becoming more and more common for employees to work in a project based environment, as a result many companies have developed their own project models. Companies with a well developed product culture are striving to improve their existing models, and businesses relatively new in the marketplace are aiming to reach a high level of maturity as well as reach high levels of efficiency in the shortest time possible. As the number of mature and efficient companies with well developed project model increase, so does the level of competition in the market. Since a well developed project model often leads to a more efficient and accurate way of carrying out the project, which in turn leads to shorter delivery time towards the client. This is crucial as time is one of the most valuable parameters of competition in today?s business environment.

Background: In 1998 it was stated that Swedish municipalities would report the pension liabilities according to the mixed model where the pension liabilities before 1998 was moved from the balance sheet. The mixed model has been criticized by economists for not showing the total pension liabilities. To remove some of the liabilities in the municipalities balance sheets means that the solvency improves. Some municipalities have decided to go against the municipal accounting law and recognize all of the pension liability as a liability according to the full funding model. When two accounting models are being used the comparison of the municipalities' financial statements is much harder.Purpose: The main purpose of this study was to study the reason why some municipalities apply full funding model rather than the mixed model.

Leadership is essential for every company. Its strength or weakness of direction, clarity, and evaluation affects success or failure of its organization. With the complex structure of the big and global companies today leadership is more challenging. The traditional view of leadership, with the single individual possessing all the competences and skills, is therefore being challenged by an alternative way of leadership, a shared leadership. Existing research on the subject is still scarce, which makes further studies in this field important.

Cause-Related Marketing (CRM) is not a completely new phenomenon, yet an idea whose time has truly come. To have commercial organizations cooperate with charity organizations for mutual profit is a "win-win-win" situation. The company gets added value to its brand, the charity organization gets to collect more money that it otherwise wouldn't and the customer gains a feeling that he or she has contributed to the society.The purpose of this thesis is to study how a company, in practice, works with CRM marketing. How do they choose which charity organization to work with,what type of product is most appropriate to market with CRM and how is the CRM campaign designed? A theoretical model is then formed to answer these questions, after a thorough research of relevant theory on the subject.

Companies acquiring ERP systems are often dissatisfied with the project and therefore consultancy firms wish to make use of project models in order to achieve success in implementations. Since research on ERP implementations in service companies is limited, there is a need for mapping of critical activities in implementation projects in this line of business. Under these premises, the purpose of our master thesis is to develop a model for implementation of ERP systems, specified in activities, which can be used by mid-sized consultancy firms with mid-sized qualified service companies as customers.A literature study including project models, modern models and methodologies for ERP implementation, commonly existent activities, success factors and system development methods was carried out. Starting out with this, a theoretical model for ERP implementation was generated. In excess of this, a case study was conducted, where the implementation of the ERP system Microsoft Dynamics AX at the service company Eurostep, performed by the consultancy firm Medius, was studied.

Long time-series of pressure measurements often have high quality because the early instrumentsare more or less the same as the modern ones. A time-series from Lund consisting of three dailymeasurements from 1780-1997 has been homogenised and is therefore suitable for analysingpossible influences of the enhanced greenhouse effect. According to a two-layer model of theatmosphere one finds a shift in the frequency of baroclinic instability due to an increasedtemperature gradient caused by the increasing CO2. Baroclinic instability over the Atlantic Oceanis the main cause for frontal zone production, causing cyclonic activity over the southern part ofScandinavia. Changes to the baroclinic instability would therefore be traceable in the time seriesfrom Lund.

The price of farmland has risen sharply in the last 20 years. This has led to discussions about what creates the value of farmland. The aim in this study was to try and find what factors are affecting the price on farmland. The area that is studied is the counties around Mälardalen during the period 2005 to 2009.The method chosen to achieve the objective is the hedonic price model. The variables are chosen after a preliminary study where a literature search has been made and a number of interviews with people in the industry.

This master thesis project at KTH is performed in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineeringdepartment at University of Florida (UF). The thesis is a small part of a gas turbine researchproject where a vapour absorption refrigeration system (VARS) and a high pressure regenerativeturbine engine (HPRTE) are integrated together. The main objective is to build a computermodel of the VARS. The computer model is supposed to be used to analyse the off-designperformance of the VARS and should also be easy to integrate as a subroutine in a more complexsystem model. To model the VARS some knowledge of the absorbent/refrigerant mixture had tobe well known, in this case a mixture of ammonia and water.

The characteristic of services as an effort carried out in a "moment of truth" implies a risk for failures. This study sheds new light on how alternative offerings that customers are initially exposed to can affect satisfaction and loyalty in the service failure and recovery context. More specifically, two aspects of the initial offering are studied: promised general service quality and the presence of a promise about a specific product attribute. Based on a presentation of the main theoretical perspectives, hypotheses are formulated and a scenario-based experiment in a hotel setting is designed to explore these. The results indicate that a higher level of promised service quality can result in more positive evaluations of satisfaction and stronger word-of-mouth intentions than for a lower level of promised service quality.