The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect on growth of foals on two different diets, either a forage-based diet or a diet containing approx. 40 % concentrate. The report also includes a review of the pertinent literature on the effects of diet on mares? milk and growth of horses. The hypothesis of the study was that a forage based diet will result in a similar growth pattern as a diet including more concentrates if the diets contain the same amount of energy, crude protein, lysine, calcium and phosphorous.

With an IT outsourcing project there are many factors affecting how efficiency andquality develop in the outsourced activity. The Purpose of this study is to identifythese factors through a case study in a global company that is dissatisfied with theefficiency and quality of their outsourced helpdesk. For data collection methodsinterviews and observations were used. Interviews were conducted with people fromdifferent parts of the company in three different countries, all somehow involved inthe outsourced system. The observations were made with the outsourced company tosee how the employees work and fill information gaps that the interviews could notcover.

This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using different benchmarking models to measure and compare the efficiency of Swedish gas distributors. It also discusses to which extent the results of a benchmarking study should influence the revenue-cap which will be implemented in the gas distribution sector in Sweden from year 2011. The discussion is based on arguments from both theory and practical applications of benchmarking. The results suggest that benchmarking Swedish gas distributors against distributors in another country using a parametric model is most favorable, but the reliability will be increased if non-parametric models are used also. Partial and total productivity measures could be used to confirm results of other benchmarking analyses.

Detta arbete behandlar mätteknik vid kontroll av dubbskadedjup på sågtimmer. Mätmetoder och mätverktyg har sammanställts och bedömts som lämpliga för olika mätsyften. Data rörande skadedjup från olika dubbtyper har sammanställts ifrån tidigare publicerade studier. Resultat från en egen kartläggning av dubbskadedjup på gran- och talltimmerstockar styrker en allmänt rådande uppfattning: Att de djupaste dubbskadorna uppstår närmast centrum av matarhjulens anliggningsyta mot timret om matarhjulen inte konstruerats med hänsyn till att utjämna matningskraften runt en så stor andel av stockens yta som möjligt. Eftersom heltäckande mätning av dubbskadedjup är tidsödande finns behov av att rationalisera mätproceduren.

This study examined the factors influencing dairy farmers´ decisions to invest in automated milking systems (AMS). The problem studied involves uncertainty, information and complexity for dairy farmers in specific decision contexts. The frame of reference in the thesis combines contingency theory and decision theory and is used in a qualitative analysis of a set interview with dairy farmers who have recently bought an AMS and salespersons from Delaval, one of the AMS suppliers.The aim of this study is to develop an understanding of the decision making processes of dairy farmers, and in particular to identify which types of factors influence the outcome of an investment decision in the technological development of a farm.The study uses Thompsons` (1967) theory about the structure that organizations develop to handle the input of information. Thus, interest is focused on how a farm business structure handles information in the AMS decision, investigating the differences in information with Delaval?s "feed first principle" system and Lely?s "free cow traffic" system.The results of the qualitative interviews with the dairy farmers who bought an AMS show that there are three important factors that influence the outcome: employees, suppliers and the owner.

The goal of this paper is to find out how solar cells can improve energy efficiency on-board M/S Sydfart. The paper is based on a number of energy measurements on board the M/S Sydfart. The solar surface is calculated by measuring the available space for installing solar panels. Global radiation data is taken from STRÅNG's database, the data is then used to calculate the theoretical power produced by the solar cells. Energy efficiency is analysed in two ways.

In today?s computerized society more and more companies choose to utilize new applications that can ease the way of handling the information. For many of us is imperative that the process as efficient as possible if one takes in consideration the size of savings that this new application can bring.The developer of the evaluated system is SYSteam AB Huskvarna and they are the ones that gave us this assignment. The application that we evaluate is SCM (Secure Connection Manager). It is already used today by big companies such as Telia and Ericsson to search for errors in telephone servers placed all over the country.

With the globalization, companies in the West chose to shift production to developing countries to cut down costs. This had a major impact when child labor and very poor working conditions in these factories were discovered and led many companies to take responsibility for their suppliers and the employees by adopting voluntary so-called Codes of Conduct.There is a subtle balance to enforce improvement of working conditions for employees at suppliers´ factories and to keep costs down. On the one hand, companies would like to conduct extensive audits at their suppliers to ensure code of conduct compliance and thus protect their legitimacy. On the other hand, audits are expensive so companies would like to minimize audits to keep costs down. Companies thus have to strike a delicate balance in relation to how many and what suppliers they choose to audit.

Title: Management control of facility efficiency in municipalities - A case study of Halmstad municipalityLevel: BachelorSeminar date: 2012-05-31Authors: Markus Nilsson & Sara MattssonAdvisor: Sven-Ola CarlssonKey words: Control management in municipality, facility efficiency, management by objectives, internal rents and incentivesBackground: The public sector owns and manages a large property portfolio and in the municipalities, the properties are always a big cost item. Because of the outside world changes and the public interest, the properties should be used as efficiently as possible.Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe how control management of facilities looks like a municipality. The paper also seeks to explain how employees work to make the facilities more efficient in a municipality.Methodology: The authors use a qualitative method with open interviews.Theoretical perspectives: The choice of theory was made with the field of management control and facility efficiency in mind. The theory therefore includes management by objectives, internal rents and reward systems, motivation and communication within organizations.Empirical foundation: The organization has undergone a reorganization 2010/2011. There are no clear incentives to reduce facility costs.

The purpose of this project is to study Partab's material distribution process, furthermore identify critical problem areas within the company. Further the aim is to provide suggestions to new work procedures regarding material distribution and related processes. Appropriate literature has been used as a support in this process. The main goal of a commercial company is to generate cash flow, and maximize the return on investment. Streamlining material supply and the use of material is a part of this process. Virum and Persson define logistics as: "Logistics is the approach and principles founding the process of planning, development, coordination, organisation, management, and control of material distribution from supplier to user".

Information regarding cows grazing behaviour and time spent grazing can be of great interest to dairy farmers, since this information can indicate how well suited the pasture is to the cows. Feed intake at pasture is however challenging to measure. Automated systems for monitoring the behaviour of cows within dairy production have become increasingly important and relatively common. The aim of this study was to validate an activity measuring device (HOBO® G Logger Pendant Data Logger, USA), a triaxial accelerometer that registers the cow?s head positions during grazing, in order to see if cows? grazing behaviour on pasture could be distinguished from their non grazing behaviour.

Energy efficiency has become a very topical issue that has been discussed throughout the European Union for preventing negative environmental impacts that have been associated with the consumption of energy. In the residential sector have mainly municipalities set strict requirements for the reduction of energy consumption while the renewable energy has been asked. Different concepts of low-energy buildings have been developed to reduce the cost of operation and maintenance in existing buildings such as in new ones.This thesis has aimed to minimize the energy cost of a large building which has had low energy consumption features originally. Energy reviews has been initiated in order to be able for showing how the house electricity could be carried out even more efficiently.The work was initiated through a literature study to clearly increase the reliability on the energy subject. Different concepts of low-energy buildings have been treated in connection with its specifications, afterward those have been compared with the obtained results.

Title: Management control of facility efficiency in municipalities - A case study of Halmstad municipalityLevel: BachelorSeminar date: 2012-05-31Authors: Markus Nilsson & Sara MattssonAdvisor: Sven-Ola CarlssonKey words: Control management in municipality, facility efficiency, management by objectives, internal rents and incentivesBackground: The public sector owns and manages a large property portfolio and in the municipalities, the properties are always a big cost item. Because of the outside world changes and the public interest, the properties should be used as efficiently as possible.Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe how control management of facilities looks like a municipality. The paper also seeks to explain how employees work to make the facilities more efficient in a municipality.Methodology: The authors use a qualitative method with open interviews.Theoretical perspectives: The choice of theory was made with the field of management control and facility efficiency in mind. The theory therefore includes management by objectives, internal rents and reward systems, motivation and communication within organizations.Empirical foundation: The organization has undergone a reorganization 2010/2011. There are no clear incentives to reduce facility costs.

In 2003 the recommended phosphorus allowance for dairy cows in Sweden was lowered approximately 10 %. For a cow at a production level of 35 kg ECM it decreased from 0,40 to 0,36 % of dry matter. To investigate if the decrease has been implemented at farm level, analysis of following minerals; P, Ca, Mg, K, Na, S, Se, Cu, Mn and Zn was performed on the TMR at 20 farms in Sweden in the summer of 2004. The purpose was to describe the actual allowance of different minerals as compared to the new recommendations. One hypothesis was that the decrease in recommended allowance of phosphorus would lead to the need of new mineral feeds on the market.

Glycogen is the storage form of glucose and is used by the skeletal musculature as energy both for intense and endurance events. The glycogen content in the horse?s middle gluteal muscle is more than 600 mmol/kg dry weight, and almost 400 mmol/kg dry weight in the human?s Vastus lateralis. In some special occasions, for example in competitions with several moments on following days, there is a need of a fast muscle glycogen resynthesis. The feed intake is of importance for the velocity of the resynthesis.