In early January 2010 the authors participated in a meeting with the chief engineer for a company in which a central part is manufacturing of printed circuit boards (PCB). At this meeting it emerged that the machinery and production methods have changed substantially since the early 1990's. The spreadsheet for preliminary production time calculations by the company is today based on conditions from almost 20 years ago. The company has over the years been trying to adjust the spreadsheet template. The result of these adjustments has filled it with historical residue, something which makes the template difficult and time consuming when the primary user tries to handle it.The purpose of this study was to help the company increase its accuracy in the representation of the production times for the different PCB-based products by developing a new costing model based on an already existing but inadequate spreadsheet template. The company also expressed the wish that the new costing model would be less time consuming to work with.The methods used to achieve the goal are interviewing, participatory observations and meetings with relevant persons. The data obtained were analyzed using the theory on PCB production and visualization of data.

AbstractAccording to several researchers finance is scarce, scarcer for small businesses than for big enterprises. Small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, that want to start exporting and sales or manufacturing abroad need capital to get ready. Which capital structure and financial costs do they have, and which forms of finance do they actually use for that purpose. New american research by Mansi, Reeb (2002) has suggested, that there is a positive connection between leverage and a negative one between financial costs and internationalization, and that a non-linear model better describes this connection.This study has gathered data in two ways: Through a questionnaire from 37 SMEs and balance sheet figures from totally 166 manufacturing SMEs. In order to examine, whether the company was active on the international market, 200 SMEs in south Sweden were asked, if they exported to, produced or sold on any other market than their home market.

Executive SummaryThis final thesis has examined the effects of an increased centralization and better coord­in­ation of the distribution logistics at ABB in Västerås. The company is today strongly decent­ralized and there is a minimum of collaboration between the 20 business units. This is why the questions were raised; how could the business units coordinate outbound logistic activities and what effects would that provide. The obj­ect­ive of this final thesis is to provide basic data for a future decision-making which desc­r­ibe these effects.The report has mapped out the factors that are important to ABB in an evaluation of their logistic activities and how the outbound logistics work today. The four factors are cost efficiency, delivery service, environmental impact and logistics capability.

The structural rationalization of the agricultural sector in Sweden has led to many expansive, professional companies orientated towards growth. The agricultural sector is a very capital-intense sector and is characterized by the need for large sums of capital in form of buildings, inventory and arable land. The capital need is especially large for companies who have an ambition of growth and development of the company in the near future. The study is built upon six cases that all can be categorized as large agricultural farms with a turnover exceeding 20 million Swedish crowns. The companies are located in the middle and in the south of Sweden and are in the sector of primary production with focus on dairy-, pork-, egg-, chicken-, beef-, vegetables- and grain production as well as in the business of refining milk towards consumers. The study aims to identify the motives and driving forces that lies behind the growth of a farm-based company. The agricultural companies' motive for growth is studied based on which factors that influence the ambition to grow and to what extent these factors accord to the picture given by earlier research of small companies outside the agricultural sector.

In present time, more and more people move into cities. Densification of cities as planning policy together with an intensive urbanization, makes urban planners face with the contradictory task of creating a city that is both dense and green. Façade vegetation has been used for centuries, mainly in the form of various climbing plants that with or without supportive structures have spread over facades to give a green impression to the environment. The development of new technology today allows urban planners to use greenery integrated with façades. Vertical gardens offer a larger variety of plants, and at the same time takes advantage of the technological benefits of vegetation in city planning.

During Spring semester 2011, Linda Engstrom and Malin Heder performed ?Golden Ratio?, a thesis which included 22.5 hp. The thesis followed the syllabus for the Degree Project for degree of Bachelor of Science in Innovation and Design Engineering (MSGC12) which was a unit in the Innovation and Design Engineering program within the Faculty of Technology and Science at Karlstad University.The client was Crem International AB, a company located in Åmotfors that develops the design, manufactures and markets coffee machines. The supervisor at the company has been Peter Larsson and supervisor at Karlstad University has been Monica Jakobsson. Examiner for the thesis has been Professor Fredrik Thuvander at the Faculty of Technology and Science at Karlstad University.Crem International AB controls a patent, representing a new technology to streamline and minimize use of energy during the coffee preparation and results in a good coffee quality.

In early January 2010 the authors participated in a meeting with the chief engineer for a company in which a central part is manufacturing of printed circuit boards (PCB). At this meeting it emerged that the machinery and production methods have changed substantially since the early 1990's. The spreadsheet for preliminary production time calculations by the company is today based on conditions from almost 20 years ago. The company has over the years been trying to adjust the spreadsheet template. The result of these adjustments has filled it with historical residue, something which makes the template difficult and time consuming when the primary user tries to handle it.The purpose of this study was to help the company increase its accuracy in the representation of the production times for the different PCB-based products by developing a new costing model based on an already existing but inadequate spreadsheet template. The company also expressed the wish that the new costing model would be less time consuming to work with.The methods used to achieve the goal are interviewing, participatory observations and meetings with relevant persons. The data obtained were analyzed using the theory on PCB production and visualization of data.

The purpose of this study is to investigate a group of female converters and their subsequent experiences when transitioning to islam by bearing hijab. The study analyzes how this religious conversion has shaped and influenced the identity of mentioned women, as well as their attitude and relationship to the social environment prior to and after converting. This means that in accordance with the purpose of this study, an attempt to reveal the everyday life of these women will be performed. In order to make this study possible, three different methods will be put to use. A narrative method that touches upon the time leading up to and after the final converting and the impact of the conversion.

The amount of television entertainment of the character ?reality program series? has increased on Swedish television, because of this it could be generally considered that television entertainment is in a ?reality series era?. In recent years so called ?work soaps? have become very popular. This is a television series, where through the TV screen; we have the possibility to view ordinary people in their daily lives and often dramatic work.

During Spring semester 2011, Linda Engstrom and Malin Heder performed ?Golden Ratio?, a thesis which included 22.5 hp. The thesis followed the syllabus for the Degree Project for degree of Bachelor of Science in Innovation and Design Engineering (MSGC12) which was a unit in the Innovation and Design Engineering program within the Faculty of Technology and Science at Karlstad University.The client was Crem International AB, a company located in Åmotfors that develops the design, manufactures and markets coffee machines. The supervisor at the company has been Peter Larsson and supervisor at Karlstad University has been Monica Jakobsson. Examiner for the thesis has been Professor Fredrik Thuvander at the Faculty of Technology and Science at Karlstad University.Crem International AB controls a patent, representing a new technology to streamline and minimize use of energy during the coffee preparation and results in a good coffee quality.

During Spring semester 2011, Linda Engstrom and Malin Heder performed ?Golden Ratio?, a thesis which included 22.5 hp. The thesis followed the syllabus for the Degree Project for degree of Bachelor of Science in Innovation and Design Engineering (MSGC12) which was a unit in the Innovation and Design Engineering program within the Faculty of Technology and Science at Karlstad University.The client was Crem International AB, a company located in Åmotfors that develops the design, manufactures and markets coffee machines. The supervisor at the company has been Peter Larsson and supervisor at Karlstad University has been Monica Jakobsson. Examiner for the thesis has been Professor Fredrik Thuvander at the Faculty of Technology and Science at Karlstad University.Crem International AB controls a patent, representing a new technology to streamline and minimize use of energy during the coffee preparation and results in a good coffee quality.

During Spring semester 2011, Linda Engstrom and Malin Heder performed ?Golden Ratio?, a thesis which included 22.5 hp. The thesis followed the syllabus for the Degree Project for degree of Bachelor of Science in Innovation and Design Engineering (MSGC12) which was a unit in the Innovation and Design Engineering program within the Faculty of Technology and Science at Karlstad University.The client was Crem International AB, a company located in Åmotfors that develops the design, manufactures and markets coffee machines. The supervisor at the company has been Peter Larsson and supervisor at Karlstad University has been Monica Jakobsson. Examiner for the thesis has been Professor Fredrik Thuvander at the Faculty of Technology and Science at Karlstad University.Crem International AB controls a patent, representing a new technology to streamline and minimize use of energy during the coffee preparation and results in a good coffee quality.

Problem: Today Frigoscandia Equipment Europe, FSEE, is not sure how their CRM-system, MSMS, is used along with other solutions at the different regions throughout Europe. The company is interested in a usage evaluation describing by who and how the system is used. FSEE is also concerned about the users opinions of future development and improvements.Management is also concerned about how MSMS would support the After Market and gain full leverage of the IT investments. MSMS is today only used to a limited extent in a few of the After Market departments, and FSEE is interested in what an overall usage would mean in terms of improved internal communication, customer focus and information management. The following questions will therefore be investigated in this study:· How, by whom and where is MSMS used within FSEE?s After Market and Sales divisions today?· What does the After Market division at FSEE gain from using MSMS?· What has to be done to improve the usage of MSMS at FSEE? Purpose: The purpose of this Master Thesis is partly to examine the current usage of the Sales and Marketing System within FSEE?s After Market and Sales divisions.

Which expectations did leading debaters place on fiction as an instrument in achieving societal changes hoped for by introducing the Public library? How can the value of fiction be described in relation to the mission of the Public library, according to these moulders of public opinion? Place and timeframe for this thesis is Sweden around the years 1905-1912 (period of formation of the Public library here according to the Anglo-American model). Starting point is the assumption that the Public library as a political institution is characterized by an ideological function. It produces meaning and norms, it sets standards of value. Method used is based on close reading and comparison.

Executive SummaryThis final thesis has examined the effects of an increased centralization and better coord­in­ation of the distribution logistics at ABB in Västerås. The company is today strongly decent­ralized and there is a minimum of collaboration between the 20 business units. This is why the questions were raised; how could the business units coordinate outbound logistic activities and what effects would that provide. The obj­ect­ive of this final thesis is to provide basic data for a future decision-making which desc­r­ibe these effects.The report has mapped out the factors that are important to ABB in an evaluation of their logistic activities and how the outbound logistics work today. The four factors are cost efficiency, delivery service, environmental impact and logistics capability.