This master thesis was performed at Scania Research & Development. The given mission was to see where the department Systems Development should focus to improve their development work. Thus the purpose was to map the product development processes in which the department works today and within them identify improvements. To fulfil the purpose a theoretical study of relevant terms, such as improvement work, product development and processes, initially was formed. The mapping method used is called "walk trough" and meant to let the people working in the processes be guides in their own process.

This bachelor thesis contains the findings of an investigation into the laying of wedge sawn wood flooring. The advantage of wedge sawn wood flooring is the usage of more material from each board reducing waste. The boards follow the natural profile of the tree where the root part of the board is wider, and the top part is narrower. The technique involves placing boards side by side with adjacent boards in opposite directions. The thick base of one board is neighbored by the narrow top of another, this creates a pattern of wedges in alternating directions, known as a ?root and top? system. Existing literature into this type of flooring is sparce.

Den heliga kungen och den saliga änkan is a comparative study of the saint legend of Erik and the saint legend of Elin as they are represented each saint?s officium. The base for these comparisons is the question of what general similarities, and differences, there are as well as an immerse investigation of how these legends portray halidom and finally how the issue of femininity and manliness are portrayed through these two legends. During the thesis apparent similarities appear in how the legends are structured; a template seems to have existed in which the content of what a legend should include is stated. Erik, as well as Elin, are of noble birth and are portrayed as godly people who live bountiful and ascetic lives.

This Master Thesis is a product development project that has been carried out in cooperation withSvea Teknik AB. The company has developed an apparatus for attachment of a keel to a hull base ofa boat. The purpose for this thesis has been to compare a new concept of keel attachment incomposite material to thetraditionaldesign solution. This new keel attachment minimizes thedamages that may arise on the keel and the hull of the boat in shape of stresses impacts at grounding.Today it is a problem, relating to keel attachment on sailing boats having a fin keel or a bulbous keel.The manufacture focus on developing larger draught and shorter keel blades. The overall purpose isto increase performance of the sailing boat.The task for this thesis was to develop a concept of keel blade in composite material and investigateattachment to a sheet-shaped element.

This examination paper concerns how a organization can reach right quality. In this case the focus is on the communication of the soft product quality within an organization to achieve right quality. To fulfill the aim of this study a case company has been used to be able to show the absence in the topic. The questions of the study are: How have the customer?s needs been communicated within the organization? What absences are there today concerning the communication of the customer?s needs within the organization? How can the communication of the customer?s needs within the organization improve?The aim of this study is to describe and analyse how the transmitting of the customer?s needs concerning soft product quality is made today in the case company and to reach any improving suggestions.

There is a common belief that the arts contain knowledge of creativity that can enrich the business world. Similarly, the arts are in need of additional support from the private sector and know-how of business practices. In short, there is a need for mutual understanding. With my background as a dancer paired with my studies at the Stockholm School of Economics I have taken the challenge of bringing the two worlds closer together. By changing a social system, like an organization, it is possible to get a better understanding of it.

A significant amount of a teacher?s work consists of evaluation and marking of the students, which involves a great responsibility. This essay put the teacher?s evaluation of the students in focus. Today?s course Idrott och hälsa A, at the upper secondary school level, consists of 100 points and all students take this course apart from students attending apprentice programs.

The purpose of the study is to illustrate the choices of sports profiled education amongst pupils in the upper secondary school. Special attention is brought to whether there exist any differences between team- and individual competitors in their view on sport and education. One hypothesis that constitutes the base of the study is that pupils from lower social class, in a higher extent, tend to be team competitors and choose sport activities prior education. The result has been interpreted against Bourdieu's cultural sociology, in which the central concepts are habitus and cultural- and economic capital. The method that has been used is quantitative in the form of a questionnaire study which 277 pupils have answered.                   The result shows that the sportsmen, regardless type of sport, are not influenced by social position regarding choice of education and in their view on education and studies.

High demands are set on all equipment used in emergency service work, where small margins can be the distinguishing factor between life and death during a rescue operation. It is important that tools such as ladders quickly and easily can be dismounted from a vehicle and still satisfy the regulatory requirements for securing loads during transport. The existing solution for getting ladders down from the roof of a fire engine requires a large manual effort from the user in an ergonomically unsound posture.In this degree project a new ladder holder is developed with focus on the user to solve the ergonomic problems and at the same time create a more compact design that can be adapted to several different types of ladders. After an initial pre-study with user-interviews and measurement of forces and distances a set of requirements was formulated that came to govern the project's direction. Creative methods were used to generate concepts that improved the function and through design solutions, calculations and testing in CAD a base for manufacturing of a new product was created.The result is a completely new type of ladder holder that minimizes the user's manual effort and simplifies the securing of ladders in the holder.

The primary purpose of this paper is to find the determinants of first-day returns on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Our research will cover the 1996 ? 2004 periods. Our secondary purpose is intended to find a profitable trading strategy with regard to future IPOs on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. By using regression analysis, focusing on company specific factors and the IPO process, we hope to find a function exhibiting statistical significance, determining future first-day returns from which construction of a profitable trading strategy will be possible.

'Hir in the box' is a study about the gender perspective in packaging design and how it is today. The study deals with the product category razors, for both women and men, to examine and compare products with the same function but with different designs. Based on an analysis of how packages are designed for different sexes, information should be given on how gender-neutral packaging can be designed and used in the future to reach the market. The purpose of the study is also to contribute to future research on the subject. To fulfill the purpose of this study, nuanced and in-depth data is collected by means of a small-N-study and a qualitative study in the form of open group interviews where the survey units are reviewed and discussed.

This thesis aims to explain the emergence of the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, and its institutional shaping, by using elements of Neofunctionalism and Liberal Intergovernmentalism.Using Neofunctionalism, the Common Foreign and Security Policy can be explained both as a side-effect of Europe's economic integration, and as a way to maintain the former and the European Union's position as an economic superpower. The institutional shaping is a result of lack of convergence between important national interests. Therefore it rests on a firm intergovernmental base, with rigorously limited use of supranational decision-making.For Liberal Intergovernmentalism, geopolitics and ideology, and to a certain level log-rolling, have played important roles. The reunification of Germany convinced France to form an alliance between the two countries. France, determined to achieve an economic and monetary union, thus offered Germany a political union, including a Common Foreign and Security Policy on intergovernmental terms.

Mek Stans 07 is a machine developed for Tetra Pak in Lund as a 10p candidate theses project at Halmstad University. The commission behind the project involved development of a machine that punches holes in packages for the inspection division at Tetra Pak. The task for the machine was to facilitate the process of making openings for testing in the company?s other equipment. Researches on different methods of cutting, types of automatization and possible designs were made. To implement the project a design and construction from the base where chosen.

Kroniskt obstruktiv lungsjukdom (KOL) och Kronisk hjärtsvikt (KHS) tillhör de vanligaste folksjukdomarna i Sverige. Samsjukligheten av dessa två sjukdomar är stor och patienterna har en liknande symtombild som exempelvis andfåddhet och trötthet. Fysisk aktivitet är en viktig faktor vid hantering och behandling av dessa sjukdomstillstånd. Tilltro till den egna förmågan (self-efficacy) har kommit att framstå som en påverkansfaktor för livsstilsförändring gällande fysisk aktivitet.Syftet var att jämföra utövad fysisk aktivitet och self-efficacy till fysisk aktivitet bland patienter med KOL och KHS i primärvården. Vidare var syftet att jämföra män och kvinnor med KOL respektive män och kvinnor med KHS.

SIDA?s relief work in Bosnia aims at making the country ready for a membership in the EU where the main focus lies in the creation of a sustainable state as well as liberalizing the market to create an increased economic cooperation between Bosnia and the rest of Europe. These ambitions are closely related to the neo-liberal theory of state building which aims at creating democratic societies in line with the western democracy model, with a liberal economy constituting its base. Despite generous financial aid, the democratic and economic development in Bosnia is moving very slowly and the ethnical tensions seem to grow despite international involvement in the country. The purpose of this study is to evaluate SIDA?s present relief work in Bosnia out of a peace perspective.