The interest in businesses active on the countryside and their funding situation has increased in recent years. In a survey, conducted by Leif Berndtsson (2003), it was reported that there is a lack of external capital in rural areas. According to Berndtsson (2003) the lack of external capital inhibits the rural firm?s growth. The essay attempts to answer whether the shortage of external capital is a factor that inhibits development for rural businesses.

Sweden's aging population makes the need for a viable health care urgent and telemedicine can be a solution to enable older people to receive or give themselves care in their homes. Furthermore, implementation of telemedicine has the potential to realise profits in society by increasing the accessibility of health care and minimizing travel costs. Sweden?s low population density and geographical configuration makes the advantages of telemedicine even more appealing. To illustrate the differences between the county councils? use of telemedicine and thus increasing the possibility for coordinated care between them, the authors have on behalf of the Innovation Centre at the Karolinska University hospital mapped the amount of telemedicine technologies that are available in the Swedish county councils? today. To collect information an electronic survey and video or telephone interviews were used.

This paper examined if childrens wellbeing affected their social and academic competence. The data was collected through an anonymous study using questionnaires, where the measuring instruments GHQ12 and EQ was used, and also a number of questions concerning academic competence. The population concisted twentytwo eight grade students, both girls and boys. The population had both Swedish and foreign ancestry. The result showed that wellbeing and the academic competence had a positive correlation.

Abstract During the last 15 years, the former ?really existing socialist? economies have undertaken an extensive transition process. In this paper the development, measured as GDP growth, is analyzed using variables for economic policy. The analysis is both theoretical, taking as starting point current positions in academia, and econometrical with the linear regression model. We show that while economic policy variables of inflation, economic freedom and institutional quality affect economic growth, the results are not only the ones predicted by the theory.

The boiling properties are an important quality issue of the potato. In order to obtain adequate boiling properties the growth of the potato needs to be controlled and interrupted at the right time. However, it is difficult to determine when to stop the growth. Specific gravity can easily be measured and can sometimes be used as a tool for estimating the boiling properties. This report discusses different aspects of the specific gravity of the potato and how it can be used as a tool to determine the appropriate time for vine killing.

The boiling properties are an important quality issue of the potato. In order to obtain adequate boiling properties the growth of the potato needs to be controlled and interrupted at the right time. However, it is difficult to determine when to stop the growth. Specific gravity can easily be measured and can sometimes be used as a tool for estimating the boiling properties. This report discusses different aspects of the specific gravity of the potato and how it can be used as a tool to determine the appropriate time for vine killing.

Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur grupper inom en industri skiljer sig från andra typer av arbetsgrupper från en större population. I den här studien användes Team Diagnostic Survey (TDS). TDS instrumentet används för att mäta faktorer som anses vara avgörande för gruppens effektivitet enligt en modell av Hackman (2002). Den statistiska bearbetningen visade på 12 signifikanta skillnader. Skillnader visade sig inom följande områden: compelling direction, enabling direction, supportive organizational context och available coaching.

The way we design our cities today will affect the living conditions for future generations. Planning as a discipline can become crucial to attain a sustainable urban development with an increased quality of life among the urban population and an improved environment. Urban Agriculture in the Sustainable City -a case study in Managua is a Diploma Work that deal with poverty issues, aspects of sustainability and development work. We have had a theoretical starting-point, but our focus has been on the case study i.e. the practical part, that we carried out in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. Today about half of the worlds 6,3 billion people live in cities. The demographic growth of the countryside has declined, while the population in the cities is considerably increasing.

Pharmaceuticals are environmental pollutants that are a major threat to aquatic ecosystems and very little is known about their ecological consequences. In this study growth, survival and behaviour (sociability, activity and boldness) of perch fry (Perca fluviatilis) were examined in order to study the possible effects of exposure to a benzodiazepine anxiolytic drug, Oxazepam, during embryonic development. The study tested following hypotheses: (1) perch growth is affected positively by exposure during embryonic development; (2) early perch survival is affected positively by exposure during embryonic development; and (3) boldness and activity increases while sociability decreases in perch fry exposed during embryonic development. Embryos of naturally spawned perch were exposed to water with two different concentrations of Oxazepam. The embryos were exposed during different parts (24-hour periods) of the embryonic development, because embryos may be more vulnerable at certain times during embryonic development and/or because the exposure at different times can produce different effects.

The pig is unique in the way that it gives birth to a large number of newborns in each litter. Because of this the sow has developed a special behaviour during suckling to ensure that not only a part of the litter gets all the milk. Milk is only available during milk letdown. The piglets have to massage the udder for a long time before letdown and the more piglets at the udder the sooner the milk comes. The sow has developed a special grunting pattern to let the piglets know when she is ready for suckling and to signal milk letdown. Our aim with this study was to investigate if sows have individual grunting patterns repeated over time. We also wanted to know if sows with a more distinct grunting pattern have better growth in their litters.

Due to the growing wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) population in Sweden there has been an increase in wild boar related traffic accidents, damage on cropland, and conflicts regarding the management of the wild boar. Knowing what makes the wild boar reproduce and survive more or less successfully in different geographic areas is an important part of managing the population. According to previous studies the wild boars rate of increase varies from county to county. The aim of this study was to test, on the county scale level, if landscape composition and diversity as well as people and hunter densities might be the reason for this variation. The first hypothesis was that a big proportion of forests and cropland would increase the rate of increase.

In this paper I argue that the development of innovation ideas within the financial system of scientific research might have a counterpart within the financial system of the social sciences and the arts. The ideas of innovation share a common way to evaluate science in terms of how well it can contribute to economic growth. In the past two decades a similar development can be observed within Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ), one of the largest external financiers of the social sciences and the arts in Sweden. The idea of evaluating research used by the innovation ideas has grown popular within RJ, only it seems they evaluate research in terms of how well it fits into an international research community rather than how much it can contribute to economic growth as is the case within the innovation ideas. By examining the different ways of financing research that RJ has used during the last 2 decades, this paper aims to introduce a new perspective in which it is possible to understand the development within this type research funding as a part of a bigger system of development..

What role does the state play in economic development? This thesis seeks to investigate the relationship between a strong state and economic development. To define the concept of a strong state I focus on the relationship between the scope of state functions and the efficiency of which these functions are implemented. The concept of a strong state is in this thesis defined as the efficiency of the state functions. By using a database constructed by three economists; David Kaufman, Aart Kraay and Massimo Mastruzzi as a measurement of a strong state I test the relationship with economic development empirically.

In this study, the sea trout (Salmo trutta) spawning migration was studied in the river Själsöån, Gotland, to assess the main external factors determining upstream migration and seasonal changes in fish parameters. Additionally population trends were studied by examination of old data. The most important external factors for upstream migration were the air pressure, air temperature and wind direction. No significant difference was found between when males and females migrated upstream. Larger females in better condition started migration earlier than the smaller females in poorer condition.

This thesis has been made on behalf of SCA Skog AB to assess the need of boron in Swedishforest fertilization. Boron has been added to Swedish forest fertilizers since the beginning of the1980s. This makes the fertilizers more expensive and therefore has the necessity of boron inSwedish forest fertilization been raised.The Swedish bedrock generally contains small amounts of boron. The boron in the bedrock istightly bound to the mineral tourmaline and mostly unavailable for plants. This leads to that thecontribution of boron to the soil from weathering is very low besides soils with marinesediments.