Virtual Communities is an increasingly common phenomenon on the Internet. Most of the Virtual Communities are operated and maintained on a non-profit basis with a direction towards entertainment. However, as more state administrated and commercial services become web-based, we believe that the number of Virtual Communities with a community-based or commercial direction will increase in a near future. In this thesis, we describe our participation in, and studies of, a number of Virtual Communities with focus on the IRC-channel ?3dfxsweden?.

AbstractAim: The aim of this essay has been to study how the Swedish church has created the image of their religious activity through media. This has been by studying the three commercial campaigns launched by the Swedish church during the years 2000, 2001 and 2003. Questions asked are: How has the Swedish church chosen to profile it self? Which discourses can be recognized in the campaigns? Which messages has been communicated through the campaigns? How has these discourses created the image of the Swedish church?Method: The methodological framework is critical discourse analysis inspired by Norman Faircloughs? three-dimensional model. Thirteen images all part of the campaigns are analysed using a semiotic method.

Augmented reality is a technology thatcombines the perception and interaction ofvirtual objects with the real world. Itcan allow a user to visually see computergenerated models and informationinteracting with the real world through ahand held device such as a tabletcomputer. This opens up a range ofpossibilities, especially in theconstruction sector. A construction siteis permanently changing and the need forprecise and updated information iscrucial. The ability to enhance the realworld with virtual objects and informationmay make many plans printed on paperabsolete.This report describes how workers in theconstruction sector would benefit fromusing augmented reality on a tablet innumerous situations and the technologyneeded to achieve AR on a tablet.

This paper goes through solar energy and what uses it has. It is also a guide in the choice of solar collectors forthe real estate that I have drawn for the thesis work.Solar energy is a renewable source of energy from the Sun's light. Energy can be used to produce both heat andelectricity through solar collectors and solar cells. Some of the benefits of solar energy is that it is completely freeto extract, environmentally friendly and virtually maintenance-free. Disadvantages are that the technology isexpensive, does not cover the entire energy needs and takes a long time until it pays.

This essay aims to explore the philosophical meaning of the expression ?present and real? in Clara ? or, On Nature?s Connection to the Spirit World by F. W. J. Schelling.

There are some key elements which distinguish a general operating system, such as Linux, from a Real Time operating system, such as OSE. The later belongs to the category of soft Real Time systems while Linux is a general operating system, with significantly improved real time properties after version 2.6. These improvements make it interesting to compare the two systems.When comparing two operating systems, there are a number of issues which have to be considered. One way to measure the performance of the systems is by studying the time consumption for the same functionality and hardware.During the study, the items that appeared as the most important for the performance of the systems, were: process primitives, system primitives, interprocess communication, context switches and interrupt latency.This work demonstrates that it is possible and reasonable to do performance testing on two different operating systems. The implemented tests cover a number of basic functionalities, which appeared to be the most crucial ones for the performance of the systems..

Att mäkla på Franska Rivieran som svensk till svenska kunder skiljer sig från att mäkla i Sverige. Exempel på det är att man använder sig av ett juridiskt ombud, en notarie vid kontraktsskrivning i Frankrike. Där förekommer heller inte budgivning då detta är olagligt. Istället förekommer ofta prutning mellan köpare och säljare. Mäklaren arbetar även ofta närmare köparen än i Sverige, då man hjälper denne med kringtjänster som t.ex.

Att mäkla på Franska Rivieran som svensk till svenska kunder skiljer sig från att mäkla i Sverige. Exempel på det är att man använder sig av ett juridiskt ombud, en notarie vid kontraktsskrivning i Frankrike. Där förekommer heller inte budgivning då detta är olagligt. Istället förekommer ofta prutning mellan köpare och säljare. Mäklaren arbetar även ofta närmare köparen än i Sverige, då man hjälper denne med kringtjänster som t.ex.

The work is conducted in cooperation with LRF Konsult. The data has been collected thru a survey involving 145 landowners in Östergötland. The study is aimed at landowners how owns at least 400 ha of land. The purpose of this study is to find out how large landowners choose brokers when they are looking to sell their property. The purpose of this work is to find "larger landowners' needs / choices of Realtors. The questionnaire consisted of 16 questions, and asked to investigate the seller's most important factors when they select brokers.

I denna empiriska studie undersöker vi den reala växelkursens och reala BNP:s påverkan på Sveriges bilaterala handelsbalans med 11 länder mellan år 1995-2011. Med en felkorrigeringsmodell i ARDL-format testar vi för långsiktig kointegration. Därefter estimeras den reala växelkursens och reala BNP:s påverkan på den bilaterala handelsbalansen. Vi finner endast stöd för J-kurvsfenomenet och uppfyllt Marshall-Lerner villkor i 2 av 11 handelsförbindelser. Istället observerar vi ett starkare samband mellan real BNP och handelsbalansen.

The interest in building low energy houses has increased along with the rising engagement inthe climate questions. With the advancing energy prices it is highly suitably for those whobuild and administer their buildings in long-term to build energy-saving houses. 40 % ofSweden?s total energy consumption constitutes of the energy in residences, therefore it iscrucial to take advantage of all the free energy as we possibly can. With crucial questions likequality of living and profit low energy building is a subject that concerns us all.Three proposals for apartment blocks are presented in this work on a real estate in Stockholm.Each proposal is developed through unique processes of design with the purpose to displaypossibilities to deal with the energy requirements of today and tomorrow through energybased architecture.The first proposal is an apartment block based on a traditional design process, the demands ofthe property owner and it?s affected by opinions from architects.

As a forest owner you always have to consider hazards and uncertainty when planning your forestry actions. The aim with this report is to test my hypothesis that there is an overall difference between men and women when it comes to perception, estimation and management of hazards/risks in forestry. I will look into if there are differences in how men and women estimate risks in production forestry from an economical point of view. The aim is also to look into if there are differences between male and female private forest owners, in how they perceive and manage hazards in connection with a possible climate change. To fulfil this aim, an inquiry survey was undertaken in three different areas of Sweden, two areas in the south and one in the north. But in this report I have evaluated the three areas as a whole.

In today's fast-paced, intense and complex media environment, it is hard for non-profit charity organizations to reach out and get their messages heard.In this study we examine whether the theories of advertising signaling also applies for charities. Past studies of the signaling theories indicates that higher perceived advertising expense leads to more positive effects on purchase behavior and brand perceptions. However, we believe that this does not apply for a charity organization. We argue that since charitable organizations have a fundamentally different mission than commercial companies, they will need different ways to signal quality and credibility, and therefore the common signal-theories will not hold for these organizations.To test our hypotheses, we conducted two surveys where the respondents saw one of five versions of the same ad for a well-known Swedish charity organization, or one of two ads for a commercial corporation. The ads had been manipulated to simulate different levels of perceived cost.Our results shows that perceived ad cost only affects attitude towards the ad if a charity was the sender, whereas perceived ad cost affects intentions, attitudes and credibility if a commercial corporation was the sender.

Utgångspunkten i denna uppsats är att konsumenters val av fastighetsmäklare är beroende av fyra faktorer. Dessa är enligt mig följande: fastighetsmäklaren, kundbeteende, objektet och fastighetsmarknaden. Fokus har alltså legat på dessa fyra faktorer vid framtagning av teori för denna uppsats. 33 stycken kvalitativa undersökningar har genomförts med respondenter över telefon och sju stycken med respondenter som träffades personligen och ombads att fylla i enkätundersökningar. Sammanlagt utfördes 40 stycken undersökningar.

It is sixty years since Sweden's first star-shaped housing estate was built in Gröndal, a suburb of Stockholm. Olle Engkvist, the building contractor, was the driving force behind the residential area and it was designed by architects Sven Backström and Leif Reinius. The estate comprises detached star-shaped houses suited to a more hilly terrain and terraced star-shaped houses on the flat land. The eight gardens of the terraced houses form the shape of a hexagon. It is these gardens, designed by Sven Hermelin and Per Friberg, which are the main focus of this thesis. The buildings on the estate have recently been renovated and it is now time for the gardens to be restored.