The top selection of Swedish beef bulls are evaluated yearly by Svensk Köttrasprövning AB at Gismestad. The bulls are selected from six different breeds; Angus, Blonde d´Aquitaine, Charolais, Hereford, Limousin and Simmental, and are kept on straw bedding apart from a concrete alley in front of the feeding area during the six months of evaluation period. The bulls are evaluated according to their fertility scores, growth, exterior and temperament and the exterior, body posture and claw conformation reflect important qualities for their longevity. In spite of good values for fertility, it has been noticed in the last years that the fertility results and longevity have been unsatisfactory and claw and/or bone disorders have been suspected as a contributory cause. Persson et al. (2007) studied breeding bulls from Gismestad and other places, which had been slaughtered due to poor fertility (no pregnancies in the herd during their last year in service).

Purpose/Aim: This study is an analysis of the view on masculinity, male sexuality and creation of identity with the television series Queer as folk as a base. The analysis is partly based on a semiotic analysis of the representation of masculinity and male sexuality from an episode of the chosen television series Queer as folk, and partly based on a thematic analysis of focus group discussions with young men with different sexualities.Material/Method: This study is based on focus group interviews and a semiotic and thematic analysis. The focus groups consisted of three men in three different groups and were chosen on the criteria of gender and sexuality. All groups were presented with an episode of the television series Queer as folk to see how they perceived masculinity and male sexuality. Their discussions were analyzed with a thematic analysis and the television series Queer as folk with a semiotic analysis.Main results: The three analyzed characters in Queer as folk showed different representations of masculinity and male sexuality.

This is a study of some risk factors for Diabetes Mellitus (DM) in dogs. As a pilot study it is meant to give information to be used in a planned later, larger and better controlled study. The present study hypothesized that suboptimal feeding (high percentage of homemade and table foods), lack of activity and overweight contribute to the risk of DM. Twenty consecutive dogs diagnosed with DM at the Veterinary University Clinic in Uppsala between 2000 ? 2003 were chosen as the experimental group.

To reconstruct a building is a long-term investment for farmers and it is important that people with different qualifications are involved at an early stage for making the system adapted to the animals as well the animal keeper. Therefore, ethologists who can contribute with their expertise are needed to design the system and get it to function well for the animals.A Swedish farmer who planned to rebuild her stall for tied dairy cattle to a loose-housing system for recruitment heifers for milk production asked me as an ethologist to find a system which can be fit to her existing tie-stall barn for 30 dairy cows, considering the animal needs in terms of movement, social interactions and play behaviors, and to theoretically compare the system with other systems with respect to the behaviors mentioned.The theoretical comparison between different systems was made through a scientific literature review.In agreement with the animal keeper I set out to fit a system with feeding cubicles, a system with cubicles and a system with deep straw bedding to the barn. After measurements were taken and preliminary drawings were outlined it was found that only the feeding cubicle system was possible to fit to the barn.The space provided will limit the animals to perform some playing behaviors. To decrease aggressive interactions between animals even thought a limiting area it is possible to provide partitions between resources animals compete around to prevent that more than one animal can get success to the resource at a particular place at one time. To increase the animal movement in the system the water trays were moved to the outer wall instead of kept in contact with the stalls.Although this report provides guidelines for rebuilding, other competences regarding building construction and a pre-test of the suggested building solution according to Swedish legislation are needed before the rebuilding can start.The results are directed mainly to the owner of the barn, but the literature review can be used by other cattle farmers and might bring increased understanding of the possible effects of different building solution on the animals..

For the company to work well, it is necessary with a good economy, a high qualitative production and a well working system concerning the environment: the whole cycle on the farm needs to be working. At the same time, debaters about the environmental impacts are also requiring higher demands for the dairy farmers and therefore also the management programs. Management programs for feed evaluation calculations have been more developed over the years. Big amounts have been invested in the new feeding system with NorFor, but no one seems to have asked the dairy farmers what they themselves want to spend their money on, and what they need help with. For the dairy farmers it is necessary that the whole company is controlled in the right way, and much more than just feed evaluation is included in this.

The effect of methyl jasmonate on resistance against the large pine weevil (Hylobius abietis) in Scots pine and Norway spruce seedlings. A field experiment was conducted in order to determine the dose-response effects of methyl jasmonate (MJ) on growth and defence to pine weevils in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) and to compare the effect of MJ between pine and spruce. In addition a complementary greenhouse experiment was conducted with the same aims as above and to determine the amount of resin ducts and their correlation to the feeding of pine weevils. The field experiment was conducted on a fresh clear cutting in Garpenberg, southern Dalarna in central Sweden. The experiment consisted of 30 blocks with three kinds of containerized seedlings: 2-year old spruce, small pine (before shoot elongation) and 1-year old pine (already shoot elongated). They were all exposed to 4 treatments 14 days prior to the experiment: control, 25 mM/L MJ, 50 mM/L MJ and 100 mM/L MJ. Data on weevil damage and seedling growth were collected after the first and the second growing season. The seedlings in the greenhouse experiment were of the same kind and were exposed to the same treatment as the ones in the field experiment.

The Internet has become a communication system that includes a direct and personal communication as well as traditional mass communication. For example, the Internet has become a channel for self-publishing. It provides opportunities for discussion and blogs can be woven together into a dialogue between network users. The conversation is both personalised and addressed to the wider community. Our study is based on how fashion bloggers perceive their role as a fashion blogger, and how young women, 18 to 30 years old, in Sundsvall, perceive fashion blogs.We chose to conduct qualitative research and held qualitative interviews and focus groups. Since fashion blogs are a relatively new phenomenon, we chose to do interviews with the active fashion bloggers, Nina Johansson and Karolina Skande, to use them as informants.

In the present thesis, we have studied the management control system in Enskede-Årsta-Vantör, one of Stockholm?s municipal districts, with focus on theories about New Public Management (NPM). When NPM was introduced, a number of complications arose. Some of these, along with the district?s solutions of the complications, are described and analyzed using e.g.

There is two dairy farms in Sweden with ability to be opened on both long sides, one outside Hjo and the other one, Brandstadholm, north of Sjöbo. When there is no measures and results or not enough literature about natural ventilation and especially on this kind of air inlet, makes my tests very interesting not only on Alnarp, but among other companies. I would like to find out if there is any air movements direct on the cows, how high/low temperature, air humidity, light intensity and noise standard inside the barn. Does Brandstadholm fulfil the rules and regulations when it comes to climate inside the barn? Could this system become the new dairy barn instead of the conventional barns in Sweden? I am going to focus on the animals environment, after all they are the one who is going to spend the most of the time in the barn. I used five electrical loggers distributed inside the barn to measure the temperature and one of the loggers measured the air humidity, every 15th minute. One logger were placed on the outside which measured both temperature and air humidity.

Today we keep our horses in a way that is easy for us humans but may not always be the most optimal way for the horse. Often the housing of the horse prevents the horse from performing behaviours that they have natural needs to perform. It is not unusual that animals that can not adapt to their environment develop abnormal behaviours. Many of our stabled horses therefore develop some kind of stereotypic behaviour. This study was made in purpose of comparing the behaviour of a weaving horse to two non-weaving horses under similar conditions, where one of the horses was stabled next to the weaving horse and the other horse was stabled further away in the same stable. Seven weaving horses were included in the study.

The Promised land ? A letter analysis of America letters from 1850-1870 This essay is about the Swedish emigration to America. This essay will focus on the period 1840-1870, where the main focus will be the american civil war, and what the immigrants wrote back to their relatives in Sweden. This study will also focus on the integration of Swedish immigrants.My main question are what did the swedes write back to Sweden during the war? And how did it differ from the period before and after the war?But also can a war assimilate a immigrant faster than it would be done without the war?The conclusion that has been made is that the war did help the swedish immigrants to integrate much faster than usually.

Overweight and obesity is currently a major health problem in our dogs all around the world and it is becoming more common each year. There are few studies on the proportion of overweight dogs in Sweden, but it was estimated to be 33% in 2005. Studies in other countries report that between 25-40% of all dogs are overweight. The aim of this study was to survey the animal care for an overweight dog. It was also important to develop a scientifically based advice.

Today, our cows experience a harder pressure to achieve higher milk yield. To manage this challenge the animal needs first class feeding and treatment. An important aspect of the feeding is to fulfil the need from the cows of especially fiber; and fiber with a sufficient proportion of long particles. Both too much and too little fiber is bad for the wellbeing of the cow, and she might get diseases like acidosis. Many models for feed management have been developed to secure that the animal gets enough of e.g. fiber with a sufficient proportion of long particles.

The aim of this essay is to study how cultures are presented in English textbooks for A-level students in Sweden. The aim is divided into three research questions, what does culture in English teaching mean, how is the English-speaking world presented in the textbooks and is the image that is presented stereotyped or does it try to challenge it? The study comprises of four textbooks from 1998-2008. The theoretical frame used in the essay is Edward Said?s Orientalism.

People?s perceptions about health are very complex. In today?s society there is a moral value in being healthy, and a healthy person is seen as a person with strong willpower and self-discipline. But people also tend to go against the norm in the society to experience autonomy and therefore choses to live unhealthy.