A positive aspect of globalization, from a western viewpoint, is the growing demand of advanced products in China and other developing countries. The construction industry is thriving in China and Swedish companies have taken part in various projects. However the situation have been difficult for some of the companies. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate how strategic and cultural factors affect the potential for Swedish companies to operate on the Chinese construction market. The theoretical framework of the study consists of Porter?s and Kotler?s theories about strategy, and Hofstede?s, Bjerke?s, and Daun?s research about different cultures.

Everyone has to take a greater responsibility in energy issues, both individuals and companies. There have been some major developments in the construction industry but there is still a lot to be done. This diploma work thesis presents different methods of making existing construction shed establishments to use less energy. What is possible to do and how much energy is there to be saved? A shed establishment consisting of 8 shed units were studied in this project and the building simulation tool VIP-Energy was used to simulate different types of material in the sheds. An infrared camera was used to locate thermal bridges. There are several factors that can be improved to make a construction shed establishment to use less energy.

This thesis researches the construction of the Swedish masonry heater called r?rspis. A r?rspis has an inner smoke channel system that stores heat and it was developed in the early 19th century alongside the Swedish kakelugn (tiled stove). Unlike the tiled stove, the R?rspis was commonly found in simpler environments and is part of the cultural her itage of the rural population.

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.

In this thesis the construction of identity within the EU is discussed. A thesis problem in three dimensions is used to explain the purpose of the construction, its realization and the consequences of such identity. These aspects show the complexity of the problems related to identity construction on a structural level.By using a post-modern and a social constructivist theoretical approach identity is presented as socially constructed by discourse. The theory of discourse makes it possible to analyze the development of an identity forming discourse within the EU and its status today.With an approach inspired by critical theory, we use discourse analysis as a methodological tool to illustrate the ideas that govern discourse, and in what way it is related to the social reality.The analysis states that the purpose of identity constructing is the striving for legitimacy. Without identification, the legitimacy is threatened.

In todays society the demand on companies to deliver better project management is crucial for them to survive. The higher demands from clients make older project management weak and unreliable. In the constructions sector more and more companies are created and the competition is higher than ever. The clients are aware of the higher competition in the construction sector. This has resulted that construction companies must now make their project management more efficient to create better projects and better relationship with clients. The purpose of this thesis arose from this problem in the construction sector.

AbstractThe project "Sound and Play" have been implemented in collaboration with the toy company BRIO in Malmo. The purpose of the project was to examine whether and how BRIO in the future could develop toys around sound for Toddlers.The problem formulations that would be answered after completion of the project was "How could BRIO broaden its product range with the help of audio toys?", "How can you combine toys and sounds in an interesting way for children?", "How do you create a toy with sound that is fun for the child, but not annoying for parents?". Currently BRIO only has two toys with sound in this age group.The expression of the toy was going to be a mix of classic and cool and the overall feeling of the toy was going to be explorative and arouse curiosity in the child. This feeling would be communicated through simplicity and joy.

As a newly graduated student in construction you rarely have as much knowledge as you wish you had. It is a complicated line of business that requires knowledge and understanding of both technical solutions and interaction between actors. It is impossible to be fully learned and with that much unknown it can be hard to know where to start. This report is one step in the right direction. It contains a planning that contains construction and installations for a one level house in Kiruna with its different choices motivated.

Yahtzee is a popular dice game around the world. The complexity makes the game interesting to play and analyze. This report compares the effectiveness of the mathematically optimal strategy with a strategy that can be used for casual play. The rules used are those of the Nordic variant Yatzy, in which a few but important rules are different from the American Yahtzee. To evaluate the everyday strategy 100,000 games was simulated in a java program written specifically for this purpose.

The purpose of this study is to examine how well the teaching of physical education meets the needs of a future life in the building and construction industry. In order to answer the survey's purpose, we have carried interviews with teachers for the subject Physical education and health as well as with teachers for the Building- and construction program in order to through their experience gain understanding of common health problems in the profession, but also to gain a deeper understanding of the importance of the subject Physical education and health for this profession. We have reported and described previous research and then analyzed it during our processing of collected data material. The result of the interviews showed that the teachers as far as possible are trying to adjust the lessons to suit this practical program. They also indicate several aspects to consider in order to further customize the education for students in the Building- and construction program.

A degree thesis about quality control and assurance in construction. Made in cooperation with Wästbygg. An analysis was made of the self-monitoring control that is conducted during the construction. The data was collected from interviews from personnel employed by Wäsbygg as either work-leader, project-manager or quality- and environmental-coordinator. During the study there was also a review of the literature in the subject.

In this study I have explored five parents reasoning about toys, from a gender perspective. During the interviews, we have reasoned about toys that are made for girls and for boys, what the differences are, and what advantages and disadvantages there might be for children to play with a variation of toys, made for both genders. The results of the study show that most of the participants are more accepting for girls playing with toys made for boys than the other way around, which indicates that boys? experience of the world might be somewhat limited, while girls have easier access to toys made for both genders..

This research paper is a thesaurus construction for the interdisciplinary subject of landscape planning. The personnel doing the indexing of documents at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences had earlier expressed a need for such a work within the fields of Landscape Architecture and Landscape Engineering. However our objective was not to create a complete thesaurus, but instead a basic construction which the personnel at the Agricultural University could expand upon. The actual construction is based upon ISO 2788-1986, Documentation Ð Guidelines for the establishment and development of monolingual thesauri, and Aitchison, Gilchrist and BawdenÕs Thesaurus Construction (1997). The line of enquiry taken has dealt with the problems relating to the collection, selection and control of indexing terms.

Glulam?s position at the Swedish market for building constructions has been established over the past decades. Factors affecting glulam demand are found both in global and national contexts as well in customer attitudes and knowledge of the material. Arguments for environmentally friendly and sustainable construction processes and energy-efficient designs are nowadays common, which is something that should motivate increased usage of wood as a renewable material. For the glulam industry to increase its sales, improve profitability and thereby gain market share in present competitive climate, reliable market information and updated market intelligence is required.

Background: The construction industry is Sweden?s single most important industry branch with a significant influence on Sweden?s wealth. The political restrictions that once controlled the industry are today almost gone. This combined with an unbalanced supply and demand situation on the Swedish constructions market, caused by urbanisation, has led to increased pressure on the Swedish construction companies who now are forced to find new methods in their struggle to contain or increase their competitive advantage. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to survey: which strategic variables are of great importance in today?s Swedish construction industry with focus on the four main actors, JM, NCC, PEAB and Skanska.