A buyer of a new car is often offered a various selection of warranties. A warranty can e.g. exist in the form of an extended new car warranty. However, some manufacturers demand that the car has to be serviced by an authorised repairer for the validity of an extended warranty. In the thesis I analyse whether such a contractual term is incompatible with today?s legislation and I argue for when such a term is to be seen as unfair.

This master?s paper first presents some of the principal theories and concepts developed by the poverty researchers Rowntree, Titmuss, Townsend, Sen and Lister. These theoretical frameworks are then related to two documents from the EU and Sweden concerning combating poverty and social exclusion, Bearing on the establishment of the ?Year 2010 against Poverty?. Finally, I discuss the value in practice of these theories and policy documents, as regards reducing poverty in Europe.It has become clear in this investigation that the theories and concepts from earlier research are still relevant to the formulation of contemporary policy programmes, and that earlier research helps us to avoid old traps in fighting poverty.

Swedish energy policy aims to increase the use of energy from renewable sources and this should be done in a safe, environmentally and sustainable manner. According to the Energy Agency the use bio-fuel increased by 73% between 1990 - 2006. Stands with high share of slash are often located on areas with high productivity which often are located on soils with poor Bearing capacity. This will increase traffic on susceptible soil leading to increased ground damage. To reduce the risk of ground damage at slash-forwarding, ground protection is needed.

Swedish energy policy aims to increase the use of energy from renewable sources and this should be done in a safe, environmentally and sustainable manner. According to the Energy Agency the use bio-fuel increased by 73% between 1990 - 2006. Stands with high share of slash are often located on areas with high productivity which often are located on soils with poor Bearing capacity. This will increase traffic on susceptible soil leading to increased ground damage. To reduce the risk of ground damage at slash-forwarding, ground protection is needed.

Antifouling paint containing the biocide bisTributyltinoxide (TBTO) has been used since1960 to reduce the occurrence of fouling on hulls on boats/ships. January 1st, 2003 theantifouling paints containing TBTO were prohibited. This ban covered all use of paintcontaining the substance TBTO. The ban was introduced because of alarming observationssuch as development of imposex in aquatic non-target organisms. Imposex is the impositionof male sexual characteristics on mainly female marine snails and occurs due to exposure toTributyltin (TBT).

Gliding and sealing functions in Öhlins shock absorbing systems sets great demands onthe contacting surfaces. In this particular case, the bushings and the sealings on acylinder piston. The surface wanted is a surface with both low frictional forces and smallleakage. This study was done with the goals of investigating and determining existingsurfaces due to the frictional force and leakage. How can we in an easy mannerdescribe these?A number of ten front forks were part of a main study.

As the number of people owning a smartphone rapidly increases so too does the opportunity for various researchers to exploit this technology. The possibility to recruit people to participate in research studies improves and with it the chance to get more diversified target groups in terms of age, socio-economic status, geographical location, etc.In this essay, I argue that the opportunities smartphones offer in terms of collecting research material is vastly underestimated in several areas, Bearing in mind the advantages they present. In order to support my argument, I shall present a case study carried out in the research area of happiness ? an area where the use of smartphones has provided significant opportunities for research.In order to gather the advantages and disadvantages of this method of study from the participants? perspective, I have followed a happiness research study which is a collaboration between Umeå University and The University of Stockholm. I have interviewed the participants of this study in order to assess the advantages and opportunities that smartphones offer in research programs.Overall, the participants? opinion of this research method was generally positive and it was considered to be quite easy to participate in the study and respond to the questions asked.

When constructing a building, a number of aspects must be harmonized in order for it to fulfill requirements ? a building must fulfill requirements such a load-Bearing, conservation of energy and a good indoor environment by means of, among other things, moisture proofing .Moisture problems in buildings can affect health negatively. As we are increasingly staying in indoors, demands on a good indoor environment are higher.This work starts with examining moisture problems in slab-on-ground solutions, and then links the various scenarios to moisture problems in a concrete slab of a real building. The building with moisture problems is located in Årby by in Borlänge and moisture damage was found in the slab at an apartment adjoining wall.By reviewing literature written within the field of moisture problem, making hand calculations and modeling in the program Comsol Multiphysics, judgments are made to find explanations as to why the rise of moisture occurred in the building in Årby by.Generally, the following guidelines may be used to reduce the risk of moisture problems in slab-on-ground constructions:Drying of construction moisture before laying the floor material.Using draining layer beneath the slab, to prevent capillary suction.Using insulation under the slab, partly for comfort and to establish the temperature difference between the ground and the concrete slab.Avoid direct contact between the wood and concrete, due to degradation and fouling smells that normally occurs.If necessary, use additional vapor barrier.In addition to the above, there are various methods for moisture-proof and moisture-monitoring by design or by the method ByggaF suited for the entire construction process various events..

This master?s paper first presents some of the principal theories and concepts developed by the poverty researchers Rowntree, Titmuss, Townsend, Sen and Lister. These theoretical frameworks are then related to two documents from the EU and Sweden concerning combating poverty and social exclusion, Bearing on the establishment of the ?Year 2010 against Poverty?. Finally, I discuss the value in practice of these theories and policy documents, as regards reducing poverty in Europe.It has become clear in this investigation that the theories and concepts from earlier research are still relevant to the formulation of contemporary policy programmes, and that earlier research helps us to avoid old traps in fighting poverty.

Ett nytt badhus i Västertorp, beläget i den bortglömda, av E4:an dammiga, Mellanbergsparken dit folk kan gå för att bada. Det behövs inga fler simhallar i Stockholm, men ett nytt sorts badhus dit alla olika människor av alla åldrar kan komma och bada i en starkt arkitektonisk miljö - det fattas idag. Därför har jag fokuserat på att gestalta starka rumsligheter där vattnet får stå i fokus och förstärka upplevelsen av rummet. Genom badhuset finns tre olika steg på skalan i material och badupplevelser som går från asfalt till skog, från slutet till öppet. Längst ut mot skogen finns en badsal på 24 x 84 meter där en pelarskog av tegelpelare möter vattenytan.

When constructing a building, a number of aspects must be harmonized in order for it to fulfill requirements ? a building must fulfill requirements such a load-Bearing, conservation of energy and a good indoor environment by means of, among other things, moisture proofing .Moisture problems in buildings can affect health negatively. As we are increasingly staying in indoors, demands on a good indoor environment are higher.This work starts with examining moisture problems in slab-on-ground solutions, and then links the various scenarios to moisture problems in a concrete slab of a real building. The building with moisture problems is located in Årby by in Borlänge and moisture damage was found in the slab at an apartment adjoining wall.By reviewing literature written within the field of moisture problem, making hand calculations and modeling in the program Comsol Multiphysics, judgments are made to find explanations as to why the rise of moisture occurred in the building in Årby by.Generally, the following guidelines may be used to reduce the risk of moisture problems in slab-on-ground constructions:Drying of construction moisture before laying the floor material.Using draining layer beneath the slab, to prevent capillary suction.Using insulation under the slab, partly for comfort and to establish the temperature difference between the ground and the concrete slab.Avoid direct contact between the wood and concrete, due to degradation and fouling smells that normally occurs.If necessary, use additional vapor barrier.In addition to the above, there are various methods for moisture-proof and moisture-monitoring by design or by the method ByggaF suited for the entire construction process various events..

By using industrialized building, pre-installed modules can be delivered to the construction site where they are easily mounted. This method has many advantages compared to on-site manufacturing, for example, the precision during the production process should be much higher than building each wall and floor on site. Furthermore, the quick erection procedure when using prefabricated elements and the possibility to use weather protection has the advantage of not being dependent on weather conditions, and many other factors.Masonite Beams AB is a Swedish company (a member of the Norwegian company, Byggma ASA) with a relatively new technology using light weight beams as Bearing elements in the walls and a certain stiff board lamella slap which is mounted on the top of the floor structure creating an integrated stiff beam / board floor structure. The elements are flat which make it much easier to transport the elements from the factory to the building site where the building parts are easily mounted with special mounting stud.One of the main drawbacks of lightweight structure is the sound transmission. The main topic is low frequency annoyance, however the complex structural elements and their mutual sensitive connections other acoustical problems might appear.

Due to soft grounds in combination with seasonal variation in soil humidity, there is a lack of stands that are possible to cut during spring and autumn in some geographical regions. For Holmen Skog this sometimes means that a large proportion of the contracted private forest is cut during the winter when the ground is frozen. One consequence of this is that the proportion of winter stands in the stand bank of own forest increases while spring and autumn stands becomes a scarcity. This in combination with milder winters, especially when there is a long period of reduced Bearing capacity in spring or autumn, means that the situation rapidly can become critical. The overall goal with this study was to generate basic data for decision support in the work to achieve a sustainable distribution between own forest and contracted private forest in the stand bank. The study took place at Holmen Skog, district of Umeå, during autumn 2007 and was based on interviews and an analysis of harvest planning and delivery data. The study showed that there is a problem with how the cutting is distributed between own and contracted private forest during the year and that it foremost is the proportion of winter thinning of own forest that has increased in the stand bank.

The purpose of this study was to examine and try to understand the physical environment focusing on the fenomena of scribble and damage at a high school. More specifically its aim was to find out how the pupils themselves discribe their physical environment, the reasons why there are scribble and damage at their school and how they are treated by the adults at the school Bearing in mind the scribble and damage that occur. The study took place at one high-school in the southern of Sweden and the methods used were six qualitative interviewes, a minor inquiry in six classes, fotographing the physical environment and putting up scribble boards on the pupils' toilets. The physcial environment was quite bare and monoton and the pupils often felt bored by it. There were few places where the pupils liked being at.

This thesis is the result of the investigation and solution of a mechanicalproblem regarding flywheel malfunctions. A flywheel is, in short, a devicethat relies on a rotating object?s moment of inertia to store energy overshort time spans. This project is part of the development of a fourthflywheel prototype at the division for electricity at Uppsala university,which uses magnetic levitation to keep a hollow cylinder rotating at veryhigh speeds inside a vacuum chamber. Should the magnets fail however, orsome other error occur that leads to an uncontrolled state of rotation, thecylinder needs to be stabilized mechanically by a device usually referredto as ?back-up Bearing?.