Asset management in insurance companies differs from conventional asset management to the extent that respect has to be taken to both assets and the commitments the insurance company has towards its customers. A model that has proven to fit well regarding the matching of assets and liabilities is the Asset Liability Management Model (ALM model). In addition to the matching in the balance sheet, the ALM model can be used in a company's work with strategic portfolio allocation by applying it as a basis for analyzing investment strategies with expected risk and return. From this, the ALM model also becomes relevant for calculating key figures according to the legal framework Solvens II which includes laws and regulations regarding the demands on economical strength (solvens) of insurance companies.Hence, the goal of this masters thesis has been to, on behalf of Bliwa Livförsäkring, create an ALM model to support the asset management department of Bliwa in their work with defining a credible way of analyzing the future risk and return of Bliwa's asset portfolio and insurance undertakings.The ALM model generally consist of four submodels, the scenario model, the liability model, the asset model and the company model, where the scenario model often is named as the core of the ALM model. The course of action has been to develop these submodels individually, with focus on the scenario model.

BakgrundSvensk sjukvård har idag bland de bästa behandlingsresultaten i Europa, men trots det förs diskussionen om sjukvården ofta i negativa ordalag. I ett försök att förbättra synen på verksamheten och bli mer effektiva har sjukvården i Sverige ofta använt sig av kommersiellamodeller, modellerna har dock behövt anpassas för att fungera i sjukvårdens miljö. En av de senaste kommersiella modellerna som nu införs i den svenska sjukvården är Lean Healthcare,som är sjukvårdens version av Toyotas produktionsfilosofi Lean Production. En stor del avtidigare forskning på området har behandlat Lean Production men lite finns att tillgå som handlar om Lean Healthcare. Den här studien är ett bidrag till att utöka kunskapen om Lean Healthcare i Sverige.SyfteSyftet med den här studien är att beskriva hur Lean-filosofin fungerar i den svenska sjukvården samt att göra en jämförelse mellan Lean Production och andra kommersiella modeller som tidigare har införts i den svenska sjukvården.GenomförandeMed hjälp av intervjuer på tre svenska sjukvårdsenheter har en fallstudie med fokus på Lean Production och Lean Healthcare genomförts.ResultatResultatet av studien visar att Lean Healthcare, i likhet med tidigare modeller, har krävt anpassningar för att fungera i sjukvårdens kontext.

Working horses in developing countries are mostly used for transportation. They are often owned by people with limited economical resources and lack of knowledge about how to take care of the horses and due to this the horses often suffer from problems such as dehydration, poor body condition, lesions and parasitic infections. The aim of this master thesis was to investigate if free veterinary care improved the health and hydration status of working horses in Nicaragua and it was performed as a part of a project called ?Free veterinary assistance for working horses and training of their owners as veterinary promoters in the Pacific coast of Nicaragua?. Five parameters were used to investigate whether free care improved the health of working horses in six towns along the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua.

The purpose of this thesis is to explain why states obtain nuclear weapons and the role variousactors and interests play in the making of states´ nuclear policies. The main questions are asfollows: (1) What big theories exist concerning states obtaining nuclear weapon and nucleararmament in International Relations and what relevance do they have of the post cold-war period?,(2) What is the meaning of the perspective of the Military-Industrial Complex (MIC)?, and (3)Arethere empirical studies which supports the existence of a MIC in the United States?The focus lies on actors and driving forces that are internal to states and it is also important toinvestigate if the theories have relevance for the post 9/11-era. The study uses the method ofqualitative literature-study with some quantitative segments. It is claimed that states might beinterested in justifying their behaviour in a morally appealing way and that real reasons may behidden.

The aim of this thesis is to examine Sven Almqvist?s research on the 17th century book printer Johann Kankel who was employed by count Per Brahe the younger on the island of Visingsö. A model to describe the communications circuit, constructed by book historians Thomas R. Adams and Nicolas Barker are used as well as the historical source criticism method. This model consists of the five phases: publication, manufacture, distribution, reception and survival.

The aim of this two years master´s thesis is to examine discourses about electronic books in relation to libraries that occur in the Swedish library journal Biblioteksbladet by using critical discourse analysis (CDA). The thesis also aims to discuss changes in the discourse practice, and discuss the relationship between discourse practice and social practice in the field of library and information science (LIS). A main point of CDA is that language is a form of social practice that helps shape social reality. Furthermore the concept of ideology, as understood with-in CDA, brings understanding to the way discursive events help reproduce and transform social relations of pow-er. The text samples span from 2005 up to and including 2011 and were examined by using Norman Fairclough´s three-dimensional conception of discourse, which allows for interpretation of text on a linguistic, discursive and social level.The result of the analysis showed that there are several different discourses about electronic books and li-braries, none of which can be said to be particularly representative.

AbstractMany pupils struggleto read. Teachers must therefore know how to motivate these pupils. In this qualitative study the aim is to investigate what some teachers do to motivate pupils to read. Data were collected through interviews with four teachers from two schools. The teachers said that the choice of book was extremely important for making pupils interested in reading, and that reading aloud and cooperation with parents and libraries are of great importance.

The purpose of this thesis was to find out how travel agencies work with relationships to their customers on the Internet. A case study with two companies was conducted, Ticket and Resia. In all four interviews were done, two in every company that served as basis for our conclusions. The study showed that it is important for travel agencies and other types of companies to create awareness of their web site in as many ways as possible and make it easy for the customer to find the web site. The contents on the web site have to be of current interest, it should be well structured and the usage of the web site should be easy.

This thesis aims to examine problems that occur when determining the fair value of investment properties. It also takes into consideration the reliability and relevance of the reported fair values on behalf of the key stakeholders. The study has been conducted by interviewing representatives at real estate and external valuation companies. The study shows that there is a need for assessments in the valuation process and that real estate companies have room for their own interpretations. The conclusion is that determining fair value is an estimate, not a fact.

Denna studie rör debatten som kulminerade efter publicerandet av romanen Myggor och tigrar, av Maja Lundgren. Studiens fokus ligger i att finna debattens essens, utifrån tidningsartiklar och artikelförfattares positionering gentemot romanen och debattens huvudfrågor, detta är vidare undersökningens huvudsakliga syfte. Huruvida genus har betydelse för debattens utgång och om artikelförfattarnas förhållningssätt påverkas är en central fråga..

Femsjö is a small parish situated in Hylte municipality, Växjö diocese. The parish has a total area of 8230 ha of which 5000 ha are covered with forest. There have not been any large industries in the parish offering work opportunities for the inhabitants, so they have had to generate income from their land and the forest. Instead of going to the bank to get a bank loan the people of Femsjö parish went out in to the forest and harvested trees for timber and extra cash revenue. Production of pine tar and potash were two other ways that the residents of Femsjö parish could earn extra money for the household in order to keep starvation away.

This thesis has aimed to study steering process and institutionalization in the context of educational policy work. This has been conducted by using empirical material from the political decision-making process that preceded the implementation of a new national program on how principals should be educated and certified. By using an aggregated theoretical point of view containing new institutionalism and traditional Swedish curriculum theory, the process was analyzed from different perspectives. The results depict a process that contained several actors who tried to shape the principal education program differently. From the theoretical perspectives, the decision-making process could be understood as an act of both self-interest as well as trust in their own beliefs and cultural values.

Abstract  Titel: Det förvärvade innanförskapets tecken på utanförskap. En diskursanalytisk studie av Dagens Nyheters rapportering kring Ludmila Engquist. Författare: Ulrika Apell Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är främst att undersöka om, och i sådana fall hur, konstruktionen av Ludmila Engquist har skiftat vid olika tillfällen i hennes karriär. Detta görs utifrån ett intersektionellt perspektiv, där hänsyn tas till aspekterna genus, nationalism, etnicitet och utanförskap. Ett annat syfte är att, utifrån teorin om ?the human interest story?, undersöka hur den mediala berättelsen om Engquist konstrueras i Dagens Nyheter. Metod/Material: Undersökningen utgörs av en reflexiv diskursanalys i tre steg av de artiklar om Engquist som publicerats i Dagens Nyheter från december 1995 till december 2001.

ABSTRACT: Commercial swab transport systems are used for collection and transporting of fecal and other microbiological samples. This system must maintain viability and contribute to survival of microorganisms during transport to the laboratory. Four swab transport systems have been compared, eSwab, ?- Transwab and fecalSwab, all three with flocked swabs, and Copan Venturi Transystem with rayon swabs. The study followed the recommendations from the Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute; document M40-A for recovery of Samonella, Shigella, Yersinia and Neisseria gonorrhoeae after storage for 0, 6, 24, 48 and 72 h at room- (22-25°C) and refrigerated (2-8ºC) temperature.

The purpose of this thesis is through a case study and a survey; to examine the most appropriate communication channels between a sender and a receiver. It also aims to make this relationship more effective.The following questions are to be answered:1. Which communication channels ought to be used to optimize the message from Skara Näringslivsoffensiv to its target group?2. Which communication channels is Skara Näringslivsoffensiv planning to use?3.