In this master thesis a robot arm belonging to an automatic milking machine from DeLaval is investigated. The robot arm is controlled by a pneumatic cylinder and a valve. The goal of the master thesis is to investigate instability problems and to find out if it is possible to solve them by using gain scheduling. Gain scheduling is a type of controller where the parameters of the controller are changed during operation, for example depending on the working point. First a nonlinear mathematical model of the system was made.

The aim of this investigation was to assess if there was a correlation between touch avoidance and hierarchical position, perceived degradation, number of years spent in jail and age amongst men at a correctional institution. In addition, a possible correlation between hierarchical position and the amount of perceived degrading treatment was also explored. In the collection of the data a questionnaire containing 27 open and closed answer alternatives was utilized. A multiple regressional analysis was conducted to find possible correlations between touch avoidance and the other underlying variables. Also an independent t-test explored the possible effects of the control variables: place of birth and girlfriend.

Since 2005 all companies listed on a regulated stock exchange within the European Union are required to present their financial reports in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and International Accounting Standards (IAS). The purposes of these standards are to accomplish international harmonization of accounting rules to make financial reports more comparable. However, recent research has shown that some firms tend to use goodwill strategically in a business combination by manipulating the acquired assets and consciously allocate the intangible assets to goodwill to reduce the depreciation in the income and decrease costs. This phenomenon may reduce the comparability between financial reports and thus has an opposite effect on the purpose of IFRS and IAS.The aim of this study is to show how the companies involved in this study allocate goodwill strategically. Furthermore, the introduction of the new standards has contributed to that goodwill now is a subject for impairment test, therefore we want to show whether this affected the comparability of the companies in this study.An empirical study was conducted, based on interviews with four Swedish managers.

Hästen är ett stäppdjur som under en lång tid utvecklat sin flyktinstinkt samt specifika beteendemönster som spänd kroppshållning och fnysningar. Dessa beteendemönster visar sig vid rädsla och har som funktion att varna artfränder för möjlig fara. Utvecklingen av ovanstående beteenden har haft en stor betydelse för artens överlevnad. Att snabbt fly från saker som hastigt dyker upp i synfältet, är hästens främsta sätt att skydda sig mot fara. Flyktinstinkten har haft så stor betydelse för hästens överlevnad att den inte går att träna bort. Hästens flyktinstinkt ligger ofta bakom flertalet av alla hästrelaterade olyckor som sker.

Structural changes on the grocery market usually take place when the consumer is persuaded to take on the more labourintense parts of the distributionprocess. Internettrade changes this by causing competition between the unpaid work done by consumers and the labor performed by employees. In this master thesis grocery shopping on the internet is analyzed in a economic perspective with focus on distribution, changing marketstructures, driving forces and the future potential of internet as a saleschannel. The main conclusions are that consumerdemand and the belief in electronic commerceas a costreducing mechanism as well as a powerful new marketing tool were the driving forces behind the fast growth of grocery shopping on the internet. Electronic commerce introduces a new model of distribution with changing roles for consumers and grocerychains.

There are two species of potato cyst nematode (PCN), the yellow, Globodera rostochiensis, and the white, Globodera pallida. Each of them can appear in different pathotypes. These are separated by testing the nematode ability to multiply on a number of potato cultivars with different resistance properties. The aim of this project was to examine the virulence of Swedish and foreign PCN populations and to compare two test methods. Biotests are today the only available tests used to study virulence.

This thesis examines the underlying components that affect consumer behavior regarding organic food. The thesis theoretical framework is based on Ajzen and Fishbein?s The Theory of Reasoned Action combined with theories regarding involvement and routine purchases. The empirical material is based on a desk research with 19 research papers between the years 1994 till 2009 and sales statistics over organic food.  The thesis conclusion shows that the underlying components when looking at attitude towards conventional food are price, taste, expiration-date and healthfulness. While the components for involvement in organic food is the environment, personal health and supply.

Study objects: Three different productions companies which the authors have chosen to be anonymous. Purpose: The purpose with this study is to examine why production companies choose to use 3D-animations in television commercials, and what different kind of aspects affects their decisions. Theoretical: The theoretical chapter reviews the history of 3D-animation andtelevision commercials and other fields that will be relevant laterin the analysis and discussion. Method: A case study has been made on three different companies, two of the companies are active in post-production and the other one is active in the consulting area. Data was collected through semistructured interviews with two of the companies.

The web is getting more and more characterized by personalization. Big socialnetworks like Facebook as well as the leading search engine Google increasingly usepersonalization algorithms to tailor the information that they present to users. All inorder to make the information more relevant and engaging for the end consumer. Howdoes this personalization affect journalists who increasingly search the web as a partof their journalistic research? In this essay we have looked at the effects thatpersonalization has on the journalists of tomorrow by conducting a survey amongstudents of journalism.

AbstractAim: The aim of this study was to investigate if treatment with ?dry needling? in myofascial triggerpoints (MTrPs) in the rotatorcuff muscles may affect impingement symptoms such as pain during provocative tests, shoulder mobility, and function. The research questions were: Does the value of pain change on the Visual Analog Pain Scale (VAS) between before and after treatment? Do the positive provocative tests for impingement change between before and after treatment? Does the active shoulder mobility change between before and after treatment? Does the self-rated function change between before and after treatment?Method: The study was a prospective randomized intervention study and 19 persons with impingement symptoms (mean ± standard deviation; 58 ± 18 years, and shoulder pain duration 3.9 ± 1.6 months) were randomized into two groups. The groups were tested before, directly after and 3 weeks after treatment.

New technologies and new consumer behaviors are having a large impact on mediacompanies. The biggest change is in the behavior of the younger demographic whereold platforms like television are abandoned for new online platforms. In this newworld, media companies and organizations need new tools and business models tostay competitive. One such tool is Design Thinking, a term used to describe a cognitivedesign-specific set of activities used during a design process. It has been popularizedin commercial areas and there the term is used to describe an applicable workflowused to promote the skills required to use Design Thinking.

This study aimed to investigate whether there was a correlation between an individual?s selfesteem and search for confirmation on social media. The study also sought to answer whether there were differences in self-esteem and search for confirmation from a gender perspective. In this study social media was defined as Instagram. The choice was founded on the basis that Instagram in the current situation is one of the world's largest social media that allows users to share their everydaylife in pictures, which are commented and ?liked? by other users.

We examined why file sharing is such a widespread phenomenon and what drives the persons that using file sharing, and what consequences it has on their consuming and ownership. We reached our goal by interviewing ten people who download files, using a qualitative method. We present the internet community where sharing files, copyright and the IPRED law are important ingredients for how the new generation consumer?s patterns look like. Today you can travel all over the world with a push on a button in just a few seconds.

This thesis has been carried out in cooperation with a company which develops mobile sensor platforms. The sensors measure different types of data such as temperature, pressure etc.. They will communicate through the internet with a server that stores data in a database. This system will be controlled and monitored through a web page. The project's aim has been to develop this system and to implement a server, a database, a website and a client application that simulates sensor signals.

Titel: Hur står sig de billigare substituten emot premium produkter?Nivå: C-uppsats i ämnet företagsekonomiFörfattare: Giancarlo Mancuso & John GustafssonHandledare: Jonas KågströmDatum: 2012 ? MajSyfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att vi vill undersöka hur de billigare substituten står sig emot premium produkter genom att ställa de emot varandra i ett blindtest föreslagits av tidigare forskning Ogenyi Ejye (1994). Vi vill veta om det finns en stor skillnad mellan de billigare varianterna och de premier produkterna enligt tidigare gjord forskning.Metod: Vi har utfört ett experiment i form av ett blindtest där vi sätter fyra olika Cola sorter emot varandra. Under genomförandet av experimentet har vi använt oss utav enkäter för att samla in data. Detsamma gäller för vår webb undersökning.Resultat & slutsats: Det vi kom fram till i vår undersökning är att varumärken påverkar oss konsumenter både positivt och negativt.