Evaluations of open Ditch status and function, with an assessment of suitability of a conversion to a two stage ditch as a low maintenance alternative. To illustrate Swedish drainage problems this work focused on two agricultural drainage associations assessed in detail with a new method called MADRAS (Minnesota Agricultural Ditch Reach Assessment for Stability). With the assessment of the MADRAS method estimates were made to conclude the ditches operating problems. This was made through measurements of sediment depths, mass bank failures etc. in order to quantify ditch problems and propose practical actions for improved ditch stability and water quality. The MADRAS surveys were conducted in two main ditches that drains 2900 hectares of land on the northern shores of Mälaren. In the study measurements of the ditch cross-sections were also conducted to compare actual profiles with the original map profiles. The evaluation showed that parts of the studied ditch sections were operatively poor; main reason was mass bank failure, undercut channel banks, sediment aggregations and narrowed ditches. The profile survey shows that a majority of the profiles 80 % has sediment accumulations there remains only 64 % of the original profile from the map.

AbstractComing to new job is not that easy, sometimes the feeling of insecurity appears. Working for recruitment agencies includes constant changes of colleagues and places of work and at the same time one has two different managers. Who does the individual turn to when problems occur and who do the employed see as his/her manager? Why do people search for work in recruitment agencies? How does it feel not having a fixed place of work or colleagues and how do the aspects of this affect the employed psychosocial work environment? This is a few questions asked when we tried to find answers on the employed feelings about his/hers psychosocial work environment in a recruitment agency. The purpose of this study was to find a deeper understanding on employees working in a recruitment agency experiences their psychosocial work environment on the basis of social support, demands and control.

Some theorist, like George Ritzer and Max Weber, claim that everything has its optimal process and that all companies therefore will strive towards standardization. Researchers like Paco Underhill and Pine & Gilmore on the other hand, claim that an increasingly global competition forces businesses to focus more on consumer demands, experiences and differentiation. This thesis challenges these statements with empirical data by looking at shopping malls and their strategies as well as consumer preferences. It arrives at the conclusion that output is primarily driven by customer demand, and that consumers value a certain part of predictability..

In our globalized society massconsumption is widespread. However there is a trend showingthat people are starting to re-use clothes instead of buying newly produced garments. Reasonsfor buying secondhand clothing are many. During the 1950s people strived to look likeeveryone else but in the 1960s this changed. Subcultures grew stronger.

The report is part of the university´engineer program within Industrial Organization and Economics with specialization in Logistics and Managment at Jönköping´s university.Skoghall´s mill underlies a large supply chain, which means there should be a lot of areas in need of small improvement measures. This report illustrates a small part of one of these areas and is focused on the loading distribution services in the terminal Vänern.At the moment there´s a very unequal load of the load carriers SECU box and Container at the terminal. Skoghall´s mill has the desire to equalize the high and low load levels of the 2 loading carriers named previously. One of the options to solve the problem is to set a limit of how much the carriers can load per week or per day. The mill also wants it to be investigated if the proposition would influence the customers in any way and if both the company and its customers could handle a lower level of delivery services in case the proposition was to be applied.The goal to be achieved with this thesis is to provide balance to the unequall loading of the 2 load carriers, SECU and Container, and investigate whether or not the Skoghall´s mill´s customers, could manage the lower degree of delivery service that the proposition would imply.For this goal to be achieved, random sample investigations were taken from orders of a customer that is provided with SECU load carriers and the same was made with a Container´s customer.

The aim with this independent degree project of master thesis is to find what the user opinions of the intranet in a county council is. The paper seeks how the question about how the culture in the organisation was affected by the use of the intranet. An important part is to explore the expectations and acceptance of the intranet and get a picture of which functions and services support day-to-day work with good quality. One goal is to find out how the intranet users feel that the communication, information and usability can be developed.The focus group interview is a qualitative method that has been applied for gathering data from the respondents, who participate in the investigation from the county council. The used method is unstructured focus groups containing the three dominating categories of staff in the county council.

As a part of Göteborg Energi?s work towards a smarter electric grid, the company has chosen to investigate the possibilities of automation in their middle voltage grid. In Europe, there are example cases where these technologies already are installed which many articles on the CIRED conference 2011 proved. Netcontrol Oy in Finland has, together with Tekla, created an automated SCADA system that Vattenfall in Finland today uses. The grid mainly consists of 10 kV open loop fed city grid and this automation is mainly designed for this type of grid.

The mistakes and failures on the roof are noticed during inspection of the construction, many of the commentaries are recurring. A contractor should only need to get a commentary once and then learn from the mistake. It has in this study been brought to light that the solution is not to tell the contractors to "stop slattern", it is more complicated than that. Today, the biggest problems are found in leadership, communication, feedback of experience and that the entrepreneurs take too little responsibility.To minimize the amount of commentaries all contractors need to work with a clearer leadership where the leader is both respected and appreciated. The leader must in an effective way be able to convey all the information to all employees.

The purpose of this thesis was to make an energy survey and quantify energy flows of individual unit operations associated with the biogas production in Uppsala Vatten och Avfall AB:s biogas plant, located at Kungsängens gård. Moreover, large consumers of energy would be identified and analyzed. The objective of this energy survey was to obtain a detailed understanding of the energy use in the biogas production.The energy survey was divided into two parts: electricity and heat. Each part was treated separately and with somewhat different approach. To estimate the electricity usage during the projcet the rated power of each selected unit operation was noted and multplied with thenmeasured time of usage.

The purpose of this thesis was to make an energy survey and quantify energy flows of individual unit operations associated with the biogas production in Uppsala Vatten och Avfall AB:s biogas plant, located at Kungsängens gård. Moreover, large consumers of energy would be identified and analyzed. The objective of this energy survey was to obtain a detailed understanding of the energy use in the biogas production. The energy survey was divided into two parts: electricity and heat. Each part was treated separately and with somewhat different approach. To estimate the electricity usage during the projcet the rated power of each selected unit operation was noted and multplied with the measured time of usage.

Value stream mapping is a tool that is frequently used by many different companies. It is a great tool used to achieve the work that follows the theories of lean production. The tool is used, however, only frequent on the factory floor and the method is also designed based on this type of use.An interest of applying the method on administrative parts of the company has occurred lately. Administrative parts of the company refers to the part that does all the planning such as purchasing, receiving orders, customer contact, contact with factory floor and other work that is made around the actual manufacturing. But the knowledge about applying value stream mapping on the planning part of the company is lacking because the method is relatively new.In this work, a comparison is made between the introduction of value stream analysis on production and planning.

Flow measurement is one of the greatest challenges in order to calculate efficiency in hydropower. Most hydropower plants in Sweden use differential pressure methods for flow measurement. These methods are dependent on constant conditions in the waterways. A change in these conditions, like turbine improvements, prevents differential pressure methods to verify efficiency improvements. Since efficiency improvements can?t be verified by one measurement system, another method, which isn?t affected by changing conditions, can be used.

It is a common view that companies should focus on building brands to increase profitability and stabilize cash flows. However, building and keeping brands alive is costly. Many firms spend large sums on branding only because they are supposed to, without knowing if they will actually gain from it. Up to date, there is limited convincing evidence that branding actually contributes to shareholder value creation. This thesis aims to investigate the relationship between brand strength and profitability and shareholder value.

This report examines the possibility of developing a modular system for concrete homes that cancontribute to greater diversity of today's market. The issue was whether it ? from a competitive pointof view ? is possible to produce smart prefab modules that customers themselves can combine to avilla. The report addresses the question how the modules and wall panels should be designed for thegreatest variety of floor plans.With regard to what is asked of the customer interviews where held for the purpose ofunderstanding concrete's popularity and elements of high value in their homes today. The answersfrom the interviews laid ground for four prototype homes which were made to demonstrate how theelements can be combined to achieve different types of houses..

Sweden has a great tradition of pattern in both wallpapers and fabric, where colours and shape matters a lot for the customer. I have through my examination project tried to expand the views and find new alternatives and shapes for the obvious pattern traditions. I have therefore worked with what could be on the verge of attractive or repelling. To create a curiosity of what is considered to be commercial. From the prospective of the body organs I have created physical patterns for fabric and wallpapers.