Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) is a tree species that have its natural distribution along the West Coast of North America, from Alaska in the north to northern California in the south. Sitka spruce is a typical coastal tree species that can reach heights up to 85 meters and occurs in single pure as well as in mixed stands. The main purposes of this study were to describe the Sitka spruce growing characteristics and the volume production in comparison to spruce (Picea abies). The possibility to predict future volume production by using prognosis tools designed to be used on spruce were also studied. The material that has been used in this study are permanent sitka trials established by the Faculty of Forestry fixed Sitka trials and also material gathered in this study. A literature study was also carried out in order to determine the Sitka spruce growing characteristics. Sitka spruce has a high adaptation and a high volume production on a broad scale of soil types. The tree species is a pioneer species that has a fast early growth and in combination with sharp needles it is less susceptible to animal browsing than spruce. The factor that is the single most limiting factor for where the Sitka spruce can be planted is frost. This factor can be limited by using plant material with a well-suited provenance. According to the literature, the Sitka spruce has an average total volume production that is between 20-40% higher than spruce.

Trade was assigned as a Community responsibility at the founding of the European Community in 1957. It was then recognized that Europe would achieve a greater international influence if it were to negotiate trade deals with one voice. Since then, the basic rule has been that the European Commission negotiates agreements on behalf of the EC, and presents the agreements negotiated for approval in the European Council. Today, the 25-member European Union is the largest trading power in the world, and most member states have decades of experience of coordinating their national trade interests into a common position. However, partly as a result of the complex nature of the trade decision-making processes it is sometimes problematic to identify who or what really influences EU trade policy.

The purpose of this thesis was to determine what materials should be used when creating a stimulating garden for intellectually handicapped people and whether there are materials that are better than others to use in this kind of environment. How the materials preferably can be used and how the environment should be designed to satisfy the need of each individual will also be discussed. Seriously intellectually handicapped people have the same level of intelligence as a normal 0-2 year old child. It is important to point out that these individuals can not be compared to a normal child in other aspects than the level of abstract thinking and perception of reality. As the grown up intellectually handicapped people have remained a lot longer on this stage of intelligence they have got more experience. (Kylén 1981) It is important with a lot of different experiences for the brain to develop normally, which implies the use of many different materials to achieve the best stimulation (Kylén 1981).

The quest to determine if non-human animals have emotional lives similar to man goes a long way back and is yet to result in a clear answer. The aim of this particular literature study is to determine whether or not the African elephant may host feelings of empathy and display altruistic behaviour. In search for an answer to this question, scientists have chosen to first evaluate the cognitive abilities of said species. They have done this through the testing of tool use, mirror self-recognition, memory and the ability to coordinate with another when performing a task etc. It is generally thought, that in order for complex emotion to exist within an individual, cognition, as an awareness of the self and others, must first be present.

There has always been global warming on earth and it is because of it that the earth is inhabitable. Without global warming the temperature on earth would be around -18 ° C instead of today's + 15 ° C. Global warming is generated by greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane which trap long wave radiation in the earth's atmosphere. The problem today is that the global concentration of green house gases has significantly increased since the 1750's as a result of human activity. Today's values widely exceed the preindustrial values.

SARS [Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome] penetrated China in spring of 2003, created havoc in the social society, exposed weaknesses within the political system and pushed the nation towards a crisis of confidence. At the same time the crisis revitalised the Party's position, brought people from different social stratum together and had a beneficial impact on the populace's knowledge on health related issues.What makes the SARS crisis in China interesting for further and deeper investigation is the method it chose to respond to its national crisis. They plan of response was indeed a retrogression back to "older" times, using methods and propaganda very much like those used during Mao Zedong and later Deng Xiaoping. The first step of response was denial and cover up of the real situation, which quickly turned to unprecedented transparency, as the magnitude of SARS became known. The Party and the government were quick to proclaim themselves as the bearer of the key knowledge and information on how to best fight the disease, this in sharp contrast to the political trend of more co-operation between the private and public sector and political transparency.

This master thesis deals with steel girders subjected to patch loading caused by concentrated moments. There exist no good methods to calculate by hand the ultimate resistance for this load case. In ?tunnplåtshandboken?, (Handbook for sheet metal, which is published by SSAB), one calculation method is presented. It?s however fairly difficult to use, because of many calculation steps and many graphs.

Running water-pathways have played an important roll in Sweden and frequently been manipulated. One profound change was made during the period of logging when streams were cleared from obstacles as big boulders, sharp bends and side-streams. Dams and different constructions gave control of the stream water and the streams became channel-like with a homogen structure. This interference gave problems for many fish populations and resulted in a shortage of feeding habitat, over-wintering habitat, spawning habitat, unnatural flow regimes, sedimentation, unnatural temperature fluctuations. Many of these historical changes of the watersheds are now subjects for restoration, ie., bring back the streams to what we believed it was before the change. However, what once existed in terms of complexity is now gone and difficult toreplace.

White- and blue collar workers traditionally belong to different unions and, therefore, are covered by different collective agreements. Collective agreements for different employee categories create internal divisions, which mean that white collar workers are not obliged to do work that falls under a blue collar agreement and reversed. Historically the difference between white- and blue collar work has been fairly sharp and so has the difference between collective agreements. Due to the continuous development of technology white- and blue collar work within production has become less clear. This has resulted in an increasing amount of disagreements regarding what collective agreement should apply and whether the employee is obliged to perform different work tasks.

SAMMANFATTNINGÖvergödning har de senaste åren blivit en stor och omdebatterad fråga i många EU- länder.Även om problemen har minskat en del är detta inte tillräckligt, vi ser fortfarande fiskdöd,syrefria bottnar och giftiga algblomningar. Hur långt ska vi gå för att kunna övervinnaövergödningsproblemen? Genom olika sorters lagstiftning, ekonomiska styrmedel ochrådgivning har vi nått en bit på vägen, men fortfarande krävs det mycket arbete innan vi haruppnått målet. Jordbruket har pekats ut som en av de största källorna till övergödning pågrund av överskottet av kväve och fosfor som varje år urlakas ur våra jordbruksmarker.Inom EU finns sedan 1991 en gemensam lagstiftning; Nitratdirektivet. Syftet med direktivetär att minska nitratföroreningar och andra föroreningar från jordbruket, då dessa påverkarsåväl yt- och grundvatten som kust- och havsvatten.

The different material layers as part of a road construction fill all a function so theroad becomes durable, safe, comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. Recently, anew group of construction materials started to play an important role in roadconstruction ? geosynthetics.This thesis addresses the two most common types ofgeosynthetics used in modern road construction, namely geogrids and geotextiles.The most common use of geogrids is reinforcement of poor subgrade by usinggeogrid soil reinforcement, which occurs when road material particles wedge inthe geogrid?s mesh. Geotextiles act partly as a barrier that prevents the finermaterial in the below ground from being mixed with coarser upper material andalso act as a load spreader.Road contractors often face a choice of whether geogrids and/or geotextiles areappropriate in a particular road project and also how much profit the choice mightbring. This phase in the tender calculation process is the intended scope of thisthesis.The thesis deals with both the "hard" cost-function aspects and the "softer" values e.g.

Abstract The people of Colombia suffer from a deep spiral of internal conflicts and unstable social conditions. The aim of this study is to highlight inequality in Colombia by applying Charles Tilly?s theory of durable inequality through categorical pairs. A qualitative method is applied in order to gain deeper insight to inequality in Colombia. The essay examines the phenomenon by completing a content analysis.

Abstract The people of Colombia suffer from a deep spiral of internal conflicts and unstable social conditions. The aim of this study is to highlight inequality in Colombia by applying Charles Tilly?s theory of durable inequality through categorical pairs. A qualitative method is applied in order to gain deeper insight to inequality in Colombia. The essay examines the phenomenon by completing a content analysis.