This paper evaluates the effect of exchange rate risk on the sum of bilateral trade. To distinguish the effect between different types of countries, two groups are defined: advanced and developing economies. Economic theory on exchange rate risk and trade proposes ambiguous effects of increased volatility. However, the ex ante hypothesis is that developing economies are more sensitive to volatility. Contrarily to the hypothesis, the empirical results suggest that advanced economies would benefit up to twice as much from a removal of exchange rate risk.

Varje år ökar antalet äldre personer och i samband med den ökningen blir även antalet äldre personer med körkort allt fler. Med åldern är det vanligt att reaktionsförmåga, syn och hörsel försämras vilka alla är viktiga egenskaper för trafiksäkerheten. Läkare i Sverige är skyldiga att rapportera till Transportstyrelsen om en individ inte anses vara lämplig att köra bil. Att läkare över huvud taget tar upp körkortsfrågan med sina patienter sker endast i 60 procent av fallen och därmed fortsätter många olämpliga körkortsinnehavare att köra bil. Majoriteten av länder inom Europeiska Unionen (EU) har någon form av övre åldersbegränsning i körkorten där körkortsinnehavarna måste genomgå en kontroll för att få körkortet förnyat.

As a result of increased energy prices more and more energy-efficient homes are coveted. An energy-efficient alternative is passive houses, which is characterized by an extremely well insulated building envelope that recovers the heat without the use of radiators or under floor heating. But a passive house requires a higher investment cost than a conventional building project, since it will require more construction materials, training of construction workers, greater land area, and long construction period. But the lower operating cost expects to pay back the higher cost of investment. We therefore question how profitable a passive house is in relation to houses built according to modern conventional building techniques.The aim of our study is to investigate the viability of passive houses compared to convent­ional houses.

This essay discusses the import of cod (Gadus morhua) in Sweden during the Middle Ages through isotope analysis of cod vertebrae. The isotope analysis is used to trace the cods origin to either the Baltic Sea or the Atlantic Ocean. The bones were subjected to d13C, d15N and d34S analysis; 64 of  the analyzed bones met the quality criteria. The isotop data showed that import of Atlantic cod was significant in medeval Sweden. The analysis suggests that there is no specific time or event that the sites start to import cod but this varies from site to site. .

Hallstaviks papermill is an industry plant within Holmen Paper. Hallstavik is a mechanical mill and produce newspaper and journal paper. During year 2000, Hallstavik used approximate 1.200 m3f spruce, either as logs or chips from sawmills. Due to that the production is running continuously the mill also needs raw material at the same rate. At some periods the supply of raw material cannot keep up pace.

Land consolidation is a major problem in many countries in Europe. In Sweden, mainly the state of Dalarna, there is a strong consolidation of forestland, probably the strongest in all of Europe. The consolidation is a big obstacle for forest management and ownership questions due to the often long and narrow strips of land. One of the main reasons for land consolidation in Dalarna results from the heritage procedure, were land is divided between all of the inheritors. To improve the consolidation large surveys in the consolidated villages in Dalarna are carried out. Many laws have to be followed due to the survey.

The climate changes that are occuring in the world have resulted in that the EU callingfor a 20 % reduction in energy consumption to the year 2020, to reach that goal theEU want the public sector to go forth as a good example. Västfastigheter owns andmanage the hospital buildings in the Västra Götaland region. To be able to reducetheir energy usage Västfastigheter has hired several consulting firms to chart out theenergy consumption on each hospital building. The biggest energy savings potentialhave been calculated and what the cost will be to perform each action. The energyaudit have been completed and stand as the decision basis for Västfastigheter?s choiceon which action packages that should be implemented.

Summary Today energy prices are rising. As a result biomass fuel is getting more and more interesting. Wood chips is very popular, but also straw from grain production is on the table. Lunds Energi AB project a combined power and heating plant in Örtofta out of Lund. Wood chips is meant to be the main energy source, complemented by straw. In this thesis the transportation of straw for fuel is studied.

This paper focuses on traditional clothing enterprise IT strategies. The purpose was to investigate the correlation between traditional clothing companies IT strategies and their brand. In a market where the competition is high it has become more important that the company targets a customer segment. To reach their targeted customers the company builds their brand with different corporate strategies. This segmentation is necessary because of the high exposure to competition, and a well-established brand could be a prerequisite for profitability.  In today?s market, IT has a major impact on the clothing business.

Upon marketing the system in Europe and the USA cost savings generated from reduced work force have been prevailing. Since the cost of labour is much lower in the Asia Pacific region other factors have to be stressed. The parameters of flexibility and quality assurance may however cover any initial investment in a production system. Our purpose is to value flexibility and quality in a manufacturing context, applied to DAS, in order to use it in investment calculations. In order to make an adequate estimation of different companies, due to problems associated with acquiring correct figures, the Key Success Factors needs to be examined so that the gathering of numbers can be conducted with more focus.

In this thesis we propose a conceptual plan for thedevelopment of an Agroforestry Training Centre (ATC)in Musoma, Tanzania. The aim is to make a proposalto support peasant education in agroforestry. How canan ATC in Musoma be developed into a stimulatingand educational park suitable for teaching agroforestrymethods to peasant farmers and other potential users?To answer that a field study was conducted to investigatehow our client Vi Agroforestry Programme (Vi) and thetarget groups of the client can benefit from the site.The thesis begins with a short explanation of thecontext, in which the ATC plays a part followed by amethodology chapter. Next are three chapters presentedwhich introduce the reader to the research conductedbefore starting the proposal, these include: results ofliterature studies, study of precedents, and results of fieldstudy.

Biodiversity is under threat in Sweden and many species are on the brink of extinction. This is mainly due to the large-scale drainage projects during the 19th and 20th century and the increasingly intensive land use in agriculture and forestry. The intensive land use with sharply defined boundaries between the production units has in many cases led to either overgrazing or overgrowing. As a result many species have been pushed back to "leftover" habitats like shooting ranges, power line corridors, roadsides, dumps, embankments and other similar areas. Therefore the question has been raised, wether or not it is needed to re-introduce large herbivores into the wild in order to maintain the biodiversity that is related to the extensive land use.This study has been conducted as a literature review and will focus on the European bison?s (Bison bonasus) impact on other species and biodiversity; conditions for reintroducing large herbivores in Sweden are also discussed.Free roaming populations of large herbivores have a positive impact on plants, insects and many other groups of organisms.

Sustainability issues have become increasingly high-profile and important in recent decades. In addition, quality issues have come to play a central role in corporate marketing, strategy and management. The word quality can be defined differently in different contexts. This paper focuses on the concept of quality, based on the Total Quality Management perspective, which in Swedish has come to be known as Offensiv kvalitetsutveckling. Offensiv kvalitetsutveckling has been described as a theoretical framework in which an organization continually strives to meet and preferably exceed customer needs and expectations at the lowest cost through continuous improvement, and in which all members of the organization are committed and focused on the organisation's processes. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, to clarify the applicability of the theoretical model Offensiv kvalitetsutveckling as a theoretical explanatory model. Second, to explore how Max Hamburgerrestauranger AB performs according to the values in Offensiv kvalitetsutveckling. A multiple case study was conducted in order to explore these topics. The results showed that Max Hamburgerrestauranger AB is working in a dedicated and value-driven manner, aligned with the values ??that form the basis for Offensiv kvalitetsutveckling. The results also showed that the model for Offensiv kvalitetsutveckling could serve well as a theoretical explanatory model, but that the model would benefit from being developed, enriched or integrated with other models.

This thesis of 15 hp has been implemented at Halmstad University, incollaboration with Saab Dynamics in Linköping. Saab Dynamics is a companyoperating in the defence industry where competition is tough. This necessitatesnew ways to increase efficiency in the company, which is the basis for this thesis.Saab Dynamics wants to introduce simulation driven design. Since SaabDynamics engineers have little experience of simulation, required a usermethodology with clear guidelines. Due to lack of time, they chose to assign thetask to students, which resulted in this thesis.The aim of the thesis is to develop a methodology in mechanical design, wherethe designer uses the FE analysis early in the design process to develop thestructures' mechanical properties.

Since the spring 2003 the tenant-owner home association the Terrace in Upplands Väsby municipality lies straight under the approach route to Arlanda Airport?s new third landing chute. Noise levels of over 70 dB have been measured in the area, which exceeds National Board of Housing?s, values for traffic noise at a terrace in connection to housing. By using the method of hedonisk pricing the essay tries to find out if there exists a willingness to pay to reduce the noise in the area.