The purpose of this thesis is to examine the organizational buying behaviour in the purchase of travels abroad. We have conducted a case study of two companies, one medium sized and one larger. Our empirical studies have shown that the companies? buying process is divided into two types, the process of recruit a new travel supplier and the process of a straight rebuy of a regular travel service. In the recruiting process we found that the evaluation process of the purchase is an ongoing process that contradicts estab-lished theories.

Embedded Systems Lab at Umeå University is currently part of a research project with the purpose to examine the behavior of dairy cows inside a barn. Each cow needs to be tracked with a precision of 50 cm, and since GPS-technique has poor functionality at indoor environments, an indoor positioning system needs to be developed.Embedded Systems Lab has already developed an indoor positioning system using IR-light and radio, but since this system demands extensive infrastructure and is rather expensive, an alternate positioning system using ultrasonic pulses and radio is being examined.In this report the range, beam angle and current consumption of ultrasonic transmitters- and receivers are investigated. Three different driver stages for the transmitter is tested, and two amplifier solutions for the receiver. The report also describes how the length of the transmitted ultrasonic pulse affects the received signal, accessibility of a ?shadowed? signal, and the effect of different sound frequency..

Radio Frequency Identification, RFID, is a convenient way to enable contactless identification which does not require any physical nor optical contact. As with any radio-based communication the signal can be intercepted, thus making the technology vulnerable to several kinds of attacks. Interception of communication is not the only threat. Since RFID tags might contain personal information or information that will grant the owner access to secure areas, skimming and spoofing attacks are also major threats against this technology. In this thesis report,  the perspective of an adversary is portrayed in an RFID-enabled environment by presenting where RFID is used and how it could be abused.

Seventy-two working horses (they had been ridden with bit and bridle within the last two weeks) were examined in the oral cavity. Findings and status were noted. The horses were randomly chosen among individuals without clinical symptoms from the mouth and gastrointestinal system. The result showed that 93% of the horses had changes in the mucus membranes, 86% in the form of ulcerations. The P2 region was most commonly affected followed by wounds more caudally in the mouth (P3-M3 region).

Radio Frequency Identification, RFID, is a convenient way to enable contactless identification which does not require any physical nor optical contact. As with any radio-based communication the signal can be intercepted, thus making the technology vulnerable to several kinds of attacks. Interception of communication is not the only threat. Since RFID tags might contain personal information or information that will grant the owner access to secure areas, skimming and spoofing attacks are also major threats against this technology. In this thesis report,  the perspective of an adversary is portrayed in an RFID-enabled environment by presenting where RFID is used and how it could be abused.

The aim of these two studies was to investigate the possible physiological, behavioural and emotional changes that appear after human-horse interactions and also to find an explanation to why they occur. One aspect that is discussed is whether the wellbeing of humans can be coupled to interacting with horses and of how the animals respond to the interaction. The first study was performed on 9 horses and their owners, both parts being subjects to registrations during 4 different interaction treatments. The second study was performed on 6 horses with registrations only being performed on the horses during 2 different treatments. Nine horses underwent 3 different treatments all performed by their owners (H = stroking of the horses forehead, B = brushing and M = stimulation of the withers) in addition to a control round (K). Each treatment lasted for 4 minutes but observations were performed until after 45 minutes from start.

Background Research concerning footing and its contribution to injuries has been conducted primarily in racing Thoroughbreds. Studies in UK and Japan indicate that some specific factors could be responsible for an increase in performance-associated injuries. Researchers in Sweden have performed studies on Standardbred trotters. More research is needed to be done on equestrian sports since requirements on footing are not exactly the same in riding and trotting horses. The lack of scientific evidence on the construction of equestrian surfaces has lead to anecdotal validation of designs.

Radio Frequency Identification, RFID, is a convenient way to enable contactless identification which does not require any physical nor optical contact. As with any radio-based communication the signal can be intercepted, thus making the technology vulnerable to several kinds of attacks. Interception of communication is not the only threat. Since RFID tags might contain personal information or information that will grant the owner access to secure areas, skimming and spoofing attacks are also major threats against this technology. In this thesis report,  the perspective of an adversary is portrayed in an RFID-enabled environment by presenting where RFID is used and how it could be abused.

Cows are ruminants and they need fibers in their feed and sufficient eating time to function psychologically and physiologically. Many of our cows don?t get enough forage and too much concentrates, which given in the wrong way may cause health and behavior problems. Too much concentrates at once makes the pH in the rumen sink and this may cause decreased fiber utilization since the microbes in the rumen are negatively affected by this. The cow may also get serious problems such as laminitis and abomasal dislocation.

This master thesis was conducted in order to investigate the effects of the browsing species Yeheb on animal tissues in Swedish landrace goats and to make a literature review in order to increase the knowledge of the importance of this plant for livestock production in Somalia. The evergreen Yeheb bush is a very important feeding source for grazing and browsing animals in Somalia during the dry period. Yeheb contains cordeauxiaquinone that stains the bones of the animals red/pink, which has been an increasing problem when exporting meat to foreign countries. In an experiment, two goats were fed dry and fresh leaves from the Yeheb bush for one and two months, respectively. The goats did not feed the intended amount of dry leaves, since the supply and palatability was not as high as estimated.

As an increasingly rationalized forestry and agriculture have human interference in the form of tradition, grazing and use declined. There is a strong link between biodiversity and disturbance of the landscape. In sandy soils many insects and plants require exposed sand to survive while the disorder may contribute to seed dispersal in the woodlands. On behalf of O-Ringen Skåne 2014, a study of the interference from orienteering in sandy soil and the forest during competitions conducted. The aim is to clarify the interference of which orienteering runners contributes, through to inventory presence before and after the competitions in the bottom and field layer in three locations.

About 10 % of the adult women population in Sweden are treated annually for urinary tract infections. The increasing bacterial resistance towards antibiotics is classified by WHO (World Health Organization) and ECDC (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control) as one of the greatest treats for human health in a global perspective. To find alternatives scientists are studying the possibility to use probiotics to reduce the frequency of recurring urinary tract infections. This literature study examines five randomized double blinded placebo controlled studies where different strains of Lactobacillus have been used as a prophylactic to women suffering from recurrent urinary tract infections and bacterial vaginosis. Overall the studies do not display enough promising results to recommend the use of probiotics as a prophylax or cure..

There is a need for productivities data and data for different types of machines for comminution of logging residues. The lack of data and studies on GROT comminution makes it difficult to evaluate different chains for handling of residue fuels and make system analyses.Four types of machines with three different working principles were compared at six studies during winter conditions. Three to eleven trials during 9.5 to 30.7 minutes were made on each machine. Samples from the produced material at each study were sieved to determine the size distribution of the comminuted material. Samples were also taken from the studies for determination of moisture content.

The aim of this study was to describe the mental and social causes to obesity among children and adolescents, their consequences and what preventive interventions that are used. The method used by the authors was to search for scientific articles in the database Medline, using the keywords: obesity, overweight, child, body image, social, family, school, depression, nursing, quality of life, social support, prevention and support. The study was performed as a literature review, with a descriptive design, and the result contained 22 scientific articles. The main result of this study showed that obesity among children and adolescents is not only an individual problem, it affects the whole family. The main causes to obesity among children and adolescents are the socioeconomic status of the family, their lifestyle, and even gender to a certain degree.

Small pieces of plastic, termed ?micro plastic? in the oceans derive mainly from degradation of big plastics such as beach littering, but also from sources of direct emission from e.g. beauty scrubbers and synthetic sand-blasting. These micro plastics are ingested by marine animals ? mistaking them for plankton ? or via prey.