Prosody is the melody and rhythm of speech and language. Prosodic ability is of great importance for communication, and has been shown to be affected in adults with acquired brain injury. Studies have shown that Swedish children with specific language impairment have prosodic  difficulties to a greater extent than e.g. English speaking peers. It is thereby possible that prosodic ability is more vulnerable also in Swedish speaking adults with acquired brain injury.The aim of the present study was to assess prosodic ability in adults with acquired brain injury, and to evaluate the prosodic assessment procedure that was used.

The aim of this essay was to study the nitrogen flow in two willowplantations, at different locations in the south of Sweden, that wereirrigated with sewage. The study was also performed to compare thedifferences in nitrogen flows between two years, 1998 and 1999. The studywas made in three parts. First, the denitrification activity was measuredusing the acetylen inhibition method. Second the nitrogen flow, as well asthe water- and heat flows, were modeled through the SOIL-SOILN-modelThird; the nitrogen flow was calculated to compare with the results fromthe model.The results from the measurements were then compared with the resultsfrom the SOILN-simulations to detect differences in the denitrificationrate.

This study has a double purpose. First, it explores and maps out the use of quantitative key indicators in social performance reporting within a microfinance portfolio. This was done on behalf of Storebrand Asset Management, who would like to aggregate and report the social results of their microfinance investments to their customers. The study concludes that the extent of social reporting and types of indicators used varies, meaning that it is hard to aggregate data for use in further reporting. Thus, the work towards the goal of social reporting has only just begun.

Bristly swan-neck moss (Campylopus atrovirens) is in Sweden a very rare moss that only grows on a few blocks and cliffs around Gothenburg. The species can globally only be found in areas with high precipitation. Rain fall in Gothenburg has increased with a stronger greenhouse effect. Air pollution in Gothenburg has also improved. Mosses generally benefit from these conditions and this papers hypothesis is that the population of the species has grown because of these more beneficial conditions.

 AbstractAttractiveness may be defined by a variety of factors but you should see it in the public planning as it is to have a positive population growth and economic growth, through working with communications, service, housing, to name a few. This is done primarily through direct projects both within the municipality and through various partnerships between local and regional level. The progress we have seen in recent years has gone more towards a clear shell level, particularly a regional level where these have had a much greater freedom with clear geographical boundaries in between each other. Within these regions there are also clear regional groupings that have common interests and competing between each other. In my thesis, we have been distinguished including three levels of scale levels.

Ystad har under lång tid varit en populär turistdestination för svenska och utländska besökare. Staden med dess omnejd har genom den fina miljön och dess historiska byggnader goda förutsättningar att attrahera turister till regionen. Efter filmatiseringarna av Henning Mankells romaner om kriminalkommissarie Kurt Wallander, som utspelas i Ystad, har antalet turister ökat än mer till regionen. Förhållandet mellan böcker och filmer är en väsentlig del av den turism som uppstår efter en berättelse om en fiktiv karaktär i en existerande miljö. Vi ville följaktligen undersöka film- litteraturturism och dess påverkan på en plats.

The purpose of this essay is to examine how Irish people on a rural location practice their faith in everyday life. The intention is also to find out what strategies my interviewees use to negotiate the abuse scandal and what their thoughts on the Catholic Church are. The material mainly consists of interviews with seven people part of a rural parish in Ireland. My research also entails smaller observations and conversations in the homes of the participants.The results indicate that they all consider themselves religious, however not all Catholic. All of the participants integrate their religion in everyday life.

Va?rdet hos konsumenter definieras och utva?rderas pa? ma?nga olika sa?tt. Denna uppsats a?mnar testa en modell fo?r att ma?ta varuma?rkesva?rde och se om den kan anva?ndas fo?r att ma?ta produktva?rdet fo?r en oka?nd produkt i dagligvaruhandeln. Detta genom att applicera modellen pa? produktens produktnamn.

Although previous research conclude that mergers and acquisitions do not always lead to improved profitability or increased shareholder return, the number and size of M&A?s is steadily increasing. In this thesis we examine why an acquirer pays a price higher than the market value. Can accounting data explain the size of the premium? 618 European transactions between 1997 and 2008 are examined and relationships between the targets? accounting data and the premium is analysed through statistical regressions.

Background: Enterprises often refer to their employees as ?Our most valuable assets? in annual reports and other written statements. In reality, employees are seen as an expense rather than an asset in annual reports and the voluntary disclosure is often insufficient. Human capital disclosure has been discussed through decades and the latest topic in voluntary disclosure is called integrated reporting. Knowledge firms should disclose more about their employees than industrial companies due to the fact that the employees are a considerably more important asset to these types of enterprises.Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to study the disclosure of human capital, compare the disclosures between knowledge firms and industrial companies, and study the development of the human capital disclosures between the years 2003-2013.

The DuPont formula is one of the most well known and basic tools used for financial statement analysis and is highly useful for understanding firms strategies and operating environment. Previous studies on American listed companies have also shown that analysis of the changes in the DuPont components is useful in forecasting contexts. In this thesis we test whether disaggregating the change in return on net operating assets provides incremental information about future performance for Swedish listed and not listed companies. We find that the change in asset turnover is a leading indicator of increased profitability for both listed and private companies, regardless of size. We also find evidence that the usefulness of the disaggregation for understanding future performance is greater in capital intense industries and lesser in service industries..

Background: Enterprises often refer to their employees as ?Our most valuable assets? in annual reports and other written statements. In reality, employees are seen as an expense rather than an asset in annual reports and the voluntary disclosure is often insufficient. Human capital disclosure has been discussed through decades and the latest topic in voluntary disclosure is called integrated reporting. Knowledge firms should disclose more about their employees than industrial companies due to the fact that the employees are a considerably more important asset to these types of enterprises.Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to study the disclosure of human capital, compare the disclosures between knowledge firms and industrial companies, and study the development of the human capital disclosures between the years 2003-2013.

Research concerning movement patterns of wild animals has been advancing since GPS technology arrived. But studying the snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is still difficult because of the harsh territory it inhabits in Central Asia. This study took place in south Gobi, Mongolia, and aimed to estimate the time spent at kills and the maximum distance away from kills between visits. Snow leopards were monitored with GPS collars that took a location every five or seven hours. Potential kill sites were established by identifying clusters of GPS-locations in ArcGIS and visited in the field for confirmation.

The purpose of this thesis is to ascertain the main determinable factors of Swedish SMEs capital structure decisions and to investigate whether existing capital structure theories are applicable on Swedish SME financing. We have used panel data to run regressions of various capital structure determinants on three measures of capital structure; short- term debt, long-term debt and total debt. We found that growth opportunities, profitability and age are the most important capitalstructures determinants for our sample. Firm size shows a small explanatory result but the effective tax rate and the asset tangibility do not seem to explain the capital structure at all. Thematurity matching principle is considered significant..

The purpose of the study is to highlight the issue of student loans securitization, and assure the importance and benefits that could be realized by performing such a transaction. The methodology is a case study for The National Board of Student Aid. It is a qualitative study, mainly using interviews, literature and scientific articles. By using this information we construct a securitization transaction structure ?CSN 2006-1?, and conduct a cost/benefit analysis.