This master?s degree project concerns the combination of a multi dwelling passive house with solar energy for the generation of electricity and domestic hot water (DHW). Different alternatives with either solar thermal systems or photovoltaic (PV) systems are compared with two reference alternatives producing DHW from electricity or district heating. The economical comparison uses a life cycle cost (LCC) perspective based on the present value of expenditures for investment, energy and annual operating and maintenance.The energy yields from the solar energy systems were calculated by hand and with simulation software. Calculation and dimensioning of PV systems were carried out with a software called PVSYST.

This paper examines the power producing dams along the Ume-river as an integral part of and a result from the urbanization process in Sweden during industrial capitalism. The aim of the paper is to contribute to the knowledge of the urbanization process in Sweden in general and of its traces along the Ume river in the county of Västerbotten in particular. The paper applies the theory of concentrated urbanization and extended urbanization put forward by Neil Brenner and Christian Schmid (2015) and argues that the building of power producing dams along the Ume-river is part of an extended urbanization process. This becomes particularly evident when examining the vast physical structures that is the dams, situated in an otherwise remote and sparsely populated area. These vast physical structures are also very well connected to a nation wide electric grid that has connections to bordering countries as well.

Efficiency has become an important objective for many providers of welfare services. Among Swedish schools, both private and public, increased administrative demands seemingly influence operations, and affect teachers negatively through perceived stress. Simultaneously, Swedish students scored an all-time low in the latest PISA survey, and are now performing below the OECD-average in science, mathematics and reading. A central administrative task in the Swedish elementary school is the parent-teacher conference, which is an important activity in supporting the development of the student's knowledge and social skills. Lean is a well-established operations framework, which has proven successful in order to improve process efficiency.

This thesis investigates how web agencys in Stockholm use, value and incoroprate the terms usability, user experience and interaction design in their work process. The purpose of this study is to investigate how creative professionals works with the notions of usability, user experience and interaction design with focus on the end user. Our definition of creative professionals is every employee at a web agency involved in the work process of developing digital artefacts in any capacity. We wanted to investigate how these notions are considered, consciously or unconsciously, during the workprocess. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at three different web agencys with eight different employees.

A clean and affordable energy source for cooking is deficient in developing countries. People rely on fuels that contribute to environmental, social and health problems.Biogas is an alternative energy source and an increased investment in small-scale biogas production can in several developing countries be found. Several projects have started to use the technology in developing countries because of the benefits with biogas. Some cases in the establishment of biogas plants have succeeded and some have not. The study is a literature review supplemented by two field studies.

The aim of the study is to show how a selected part of the European Language Portfolio, ELP, can support the assessment process for teachers. All the checklists at level A1 and My Language Goals from the Language Biography, a part of the ELP, are implemented and communicated in teaching in a 4th grade class of students. Two teachers are interviewed and both of their classes are compared in the study. One group worked for two weeks with the selected part of the Language Portfolio and the second group followed the regular curriculum for the same period of time. The teachers are interviewed before and after the ELP through support of mind maps.Results show that by using checklists at level A1 and My Language Goals students become aware of their own learning process.

The aim of this essay was to investigate how social workers, within chosen Social services districts in the northwest of Skåne, work with children placed in foster care. Our purpose was to investigate the interaction between the child and the foster home from the perspective of the Ecology of Human Development. Our questions were:* How do the social worker prepare the child and the foster home before a placement?* What kind of support is offered to the foster home with the purpose of supporting the child?* How do the social worker make the childs contact with the biological parents easier?* To what degree does the social worker work on strengthening the child's network?* Which factors do the social worker decide the allocation of support?* What do the social worker think affects the work with the foster home from a society level?To answer our question we have interviewed nine social workers. We found that the social workers were generally good at perceiving how the micro- and meso-systems, and to a certain extent the exo-system, influenced the foster child.

Today equal representation between the genders in parliament is something to be desired. One way to reach the goal of equal representation is by using quotas. The purpose of the study is to research the lack of equality in elected institutions by using a perspective on qoutas.  The study also seeks to find answers to if using quotas is a good method according to gender studies. A text analysis is being used to find reasonable solutions to the study´s presented complivations.  By analyzing different texts about quotas some of the more common arguments in the discussion about using quotas in parliaments were highlighted. Some of the more frequent arguments to implement quotas are that it would be more just but also that women and men may have different interests, experiences and therefore equal representation would be a question of resources.

This paper aims to derive the Black-Scholes equation for readers without advanced knowledge in finance and mathematics. To succeed, this paper contains a theoretical chapter in which concepts such as options, interest rate, differential equations and stochastic variable are explained. This paper also presents the theory of stochastic processes such as the Wiener process and Ito process. In the chapter on the Black-Scholes model the Ito process is used to describe price of shares and with the help of Ito's lemma Black-Scholes equation can be derived. In the paper, assumptions are listed that apply to the Black-Scholes model and then uses the Black-Scholes equation to calculate the price of a European call option.

Mergers and Acuisitions are becoming increasingly common. This can be explained with the fact that the competition is increasing. Therefore many companies are forced to join other markets. This thesis inquires into the process of Mergers and Acqusitions when one company buys another company. The main focus is set on how three different banks handle the process of Mergers and Acqusitions and what results this leads to. These are: Kaupthing Bank, Nordea and Citibank.

During year 2004 Ålö AB made significant change in their production process. The production of front loaders is nowadays highly automated with short operation times. To be able to control their process in a better way Ålö recently decided that they needed a tool for simulation of their production and to shift patterns. This final thesis started with a pilot study in Ålö?s factory in Brännland.

The most common preventive and treatment service for children in child welfare services in Sweden is the contact family program. The number of children who are involved in the program has steadily increased. Usually it is a single mother who apply for or is offered this service. The aim with a contact family is that the parent should get respite and that the child should have its network enlarged and sometimes get a male role model.The purpose of this study was to look into how children´s perspective was considered in the contact family process. I have studied the process in order to see how it works and to see to what extent children is participating.

Companies that invest in e-learning have different expectations regarding the outcome of the investment. According to literature and articles it is common that companies see reduction of costs as the primary benefit with e-learning. Therefore we ask ourselves the question if companies have attained the expected benefit of the investment in e-learning and to what extent cost reduction have been a determining factor in the investments? The purpose of the thesis is to examine if companies that invest in e-learning have attained the expected benefits. We also want to examine what the reason for investing in e-learning is and if cost reduction is the primary reason for investing.

A clean and affordable energy source for cooking is deficient in developing countries. People rely on fuels that contribute to environmental, social and health problems.Biogas is an alternative energy source and an increased investment in small-scale biogas production can in several developing countries be found. Several projects have started to use the technology in developing countries because of the benefits with biogas. Some cases in the establishment of biogas plants have succeeded and some have not. The study is a literature review supplemented by two field studies.

Preservation of cells and tissues by freezing at temperatures below 70°C has led to new possibilities for the storage of germ cells for fertility preservation. During the freezing process problems might occur, the greatest being ice crystallization which can cause membrane destruction and thus cell death. To minimize this risk, solutions that reduce the freezing point can be added to reduce crystallization and increase survival rates. These solutions are called cryoprotectants. The best method for freezing is still not known.The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of various parameters on the survival rate of human semen frozen with liquid nitrogen.