This thesis describes new methods for automatic crack detection in pavements. Cracks in pavements can be used as an early indication for the need of reparation.Automatic crack detection is preferable compared to manual inventory; the repeatability can be better, the inventory can be done at a higher speed and can be done without interruption of the traffic.The automatic and semi-automatic crack detection systems that exist today use Image Analysis methods. There are today powerful methods available in the area of Computer Vision. These methods work in higher dimensions with greater complexity and generate measures of local signal properties, while Image Analyses methods for crack detection use morphological operations on binary images.Methods for digitalizing video data on VHS-cassettes and stitching images from nearby frames have been developed.Four methods for crack detection have been evaluated, and two of them have been used to form a crack detection and classification program implemented in the calculation program Matlab.One image set was used during the implementation and another image set was used for validation. The crack detection system did perform correct detection on 99.2 percent when analysing the images which were used during implementation.

This study is an examination of the stadium fever prevailing in Sweden. It is built stadiums in Sweden as never before. The high cost of these constructions end up in the end at the Swedish taxpayers. The study examines through the hedonic pricing of real estate how local residents value the new stadiums. The result indicates that local residents put a positive value in the costly and sumptuous buildings.

One must consider cost effectiveness when deciding how resources within the health sector should be distributed. Quality adjusted life years (QALYs) are used to measure the value of different medical treatments. QALY is based on utility maximization theory, which suggests that a QALY is always a QALY regardless of who receives it. Therefore, a produced QALY is worth the same regardless of the age or the initial health of the patient. Previous research has shown that these assumptions do not seem to fit the real preferences of individuals.

To fence in pastures for sheep today is a major cost, especially because of the time required when using current methods. What takes most time is starting to fence off a new area, but to maintain a fence is also a continuous effort. The main function is to keep the sheep at the field.! !By interviewing and observing sheep farmers on how they work with fence today and what their problems was, I got a better understanding of the problem. Also looking at a number of other things like the context, statistics on sheep farming, laws and competition mapping gave a wider image. But the most important part in my research occurred when I talked to experts about sheep behavior.

In today?s IT-community, consumers use the internet in a increasing rate to find information or to purchase products and services. This has led to a growth in the market, but also a greater competition between e-stores and web shops. To separate yourself from the masses has become more important, the question is; what strategy should the IT-salesman use? The meaning of this scientific study is to find and focus on witch the primary factors/aspects are, that controls and is the very foundation for the consumer making a purchase, by using the internet. The purpose is to give companies a clear view of what it is that influence the consumer into buying theirs products, and how this group responds to different strategies and factors.

Problems:How would a decision model that takes into account more aspects and dimensions than just the financial aspect look for smaller service compa-nies? What aspects are important to consider in such a decision model?Purpose:The purpose of this master thesis is to develop a decision model based on previous research, to improve decision making in smaller service com-panies ? by considering perspectives that traditional investment calcula-tions ignore.Method:The study was qualitative and was based on both primary and secondary data. As data collection method for the development of the model we used literature search on previous research. The study?s primary data consisted of responses from five smaller service companies.

VAV (Variable Air Volume) system has been studied in a newly constructed office-building. The goal for the study has been to evaluate how the ventilations system work in practice, if adjustments can be made to achieve an more energy efficient system and to evaluate if other alternative ventilation systems is to be preferred in the further.The degree project has been executed at Helenius Engineering Firm who is working with the environment, media systems, HVAC and energy in buildings. The building that has been studied is owned and operated by Akademiska hus.Literature studies, visits at site, inventory, review of system documentation, energy analyses, interviews, key figures, LCC, sand energy- and indoor climate simulations has been made to study the building. Where appropriate some tools from Six Sigma have also been used.How to achieve an energy efficient system and a pleasant indoor climate is studied with human health and well-being as base for the indoor climate requirements. Technical support systems such as ventilation systems have to be designed so that an acceptable indoor climate can be achieved.

Background: Pressure ulcers are a common problem and cause great suffering for those who develop it, and are also an expensive cost to the society. Aim: To describe nursing measures for prevention of pressure ulcers among elderly people in ordinary and nursing homes. Method: A literature review by structured analyze of scientific articles. Result: The analyze resulted in six subjects for prevention of pressure ulcers. These subjects were; risk assesment, nutrition, repositioning, skin/hygiene, nurse knowledge and documentation.

Syftet med studien är att bidra till ökad förståelse av och fördjupad kunskap om taluppfattningens och skriftliga räknemetoders betydelse för hinder i elevers matematikutveckling, särskilt avseende addition och subtraktion, samt undersöka hur lärare arbetar med dessa områden för att förebygga och möta hinder för matematikutveckling.Elevers matematikkunskaper sjunker och på senare år har brister i taluppfattning uppmärksammats som en möjlig orsak. Denna studie med kvalitativ ansats har intervjuer och skriftliga dokument som datainsamlingsmetod. Hur uppfattar nio lärare som undervisar i år 1-6 nödvändiga kunskaper i taluppfattning för att hantera skriftliga räknemetoder i addition och subtraktion och vilka förklaringar till brister lyfter de. Vilka verktyg används för att få kännedom om elevers kunskaper i matematik vad gäller taluppfattning och skriftliga räknemetoder?Av resultatet av studien framkommer att det finns variationer i uppfattningar om nödvändiga kunskaper och undervisning om taluppfattning och skriftliga räknemetoder.

As the companies of today are good at protecting themselves against external threats, but are having problems with internal threats, we focused on how information can be protected from ending up in the wrong hands. First and foremost to protect information from employees who might steal it and sell it to another company. Since the security investments needed are connected to the financial costs of implementing them we have tried to create a balance between the investments needed and the cost of implementing them. The different kinds of protection needed are first and foremost protection to make data less accessable, passwords and traceability. While it is hard for us to estimate the amount of money a company lose by the hour when the production stands still, we have not been able to use any of the excising models to calculate the profit of installing countermeasures.

This master thesis work was done by two students at Machine Design at KTH for Lesjöfors Stockholmsfjäder AB. The task was to develop a calculation program for gas springs. The program is going to ease the selection of gas springs for a given case of a lid that should be opened. The program is going to be used internal by sales people at Lesjöfors AB in Sweden and internationally. The program is therefore written in English.The program was developed in Microsoft Visual C# 2008 Express Edition.

Sweden is usually seen as a role model when it comes to integration and diversity, but at the top of the pyramid there is little ethnical diversity to be found. This paper investigates how existing economical and sociological theory explain the lack of swedes with foreign background in leading positions in large Swedish companies. Our findings show that none of the theories applied in this paper can explain the phenomenon in isolation. Thus it is not only taken for granted norms, contacts in one's network or cost minimizing under asymmetric information that lie behind the phenomenon, but an interaction of these aspects. Conflicting demands lead the recruiters to separate talk from decision, the search frame is narrow and no or small efforts are made to increase the diversity.

The residential and service sector in Sweden accounts for approximately 38% of the total energy usage and Sweden has an aim to reduce the total energy use by 20% by 2020 compared to 2008, which means residential sector will have to improve energy efficiency. As part of that a law was instituted by the Swedish parliament that all properties must have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) to thereby give the property owners a greater insight into energy use in their buildings and propose recommendations for energy-efficiency measures. On the EPC, a value on the building's energy performance in terms of energy use in kWh / m2 per year is declared, of which electricity is a share of it. Instructions on what to include in the amount facility electricity for running the facilities is regulated by the authority for building, Boverket while SVEBY has made an interpretation of the regulations in their report "Brukarindata bostäder" where they have a table on what should be included in the amount and what not to include.This report is a study of two similar apartment buildings, where one of the buildings recently underwent renovation, to see if the declared amount of energy for electricity, in the EPC, is consistent with the measured value, and whether there has been any reduction in facility electricity in the renovated building after the renovation.The result shows that the measured value of the building electricity was 2.6 kWh / m2 per year, 28,8 %, lower than the declared value in the building that have not undergone a renovation. Calculation of values from previous years (2011) by the same percentage of facility electricity as in the results of the measurements, 56.7%, it becomes clear that the declared value for facility electricity in the EPC of the renovated building do not correspond with reality and that there has been an increase in use of facility electricity after the renovation..

Marketing communications have earlier been conducted via traditional channels. Today companies have discovered the possibility of doing much of their marketing communication in cooperation with the web at relatively low cost. This development has led to the ability for small businesses to compete with large companies independent of geographic location. The purpose with this thesis was to examine how small businesses use their website in marketing communications with their customers in the consumer market. In order to reach this purpose we have conducted interviews with five small businesses in different business trade with varying degrees of website usage, located in Piteå and Luleå.

With a shifting world market and periodically profitability issues, Swedish farmers seekalternative ways to enhance their profitability. One interesting alternative to get a highervalue and enhance products is biodiesel, a way to improve the profitability on a farmscale.The diesel that is produced and sold, already have a mixture of 5% biodiesel, andthere is a possibility to add more biodiesel to it. By developing new engines severalengine-manufacturers now allow a mixture up to 100% biodiesel in their engines. Hencethere is a market for an increased production of biodiesel. The aim of this study were toinvestigate the possibilities and the problems related to farm-scale production ofbiodiesel, and to study the profit margin in the production.