In today's society there is a significant focus on energy efficiency. Despite this, people leave lamps, televisions and computer screens etc. powered on unnecessarily. The goal of this project is to build a simple prototype for home automation where a user, via an application on a mobile phone, can switch on and off the power of an electrical products in the home and as well as being able to check whether such products are switched on or off. The prototype will also collect data on power consumption for these electrical products.

This thesis was performed as assignment from Fazer Food Services. The aim was to survey which food additives that were present in the products in the quotation list of one of their suppliers to the Education and Nursing segment. The aim also was to perform a theoretical analysis of these food additives and to make recommendations which food additives are acceptable and which should be excluded from the products in the future. The recommendations are not published in this report, for more information Fazer Food Services can be contacted. Food additives which have already been approved are regarded as safe according to the safety evaluation methods available at the time of approval.

This project was aimed to study the degradation of polystyrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer (SBS). SBS is used to modify bitumen, the binder in asphalt. From earlier studies it is known that SBS degrades in bitumen, but the degradation products have not been identified. To be able to determine the long term effects of SBS in the environment, degradation products need to be identified. Polystyrene forms rigid blocks with polybutadiene as a rubbery matrix between the ridgid blocks.

För att undersöka vad som motiverar människor att arbeta ideellt inom idrottsföreningar med Self-Determination theory och Functional approach som grund, samt om det råder någon skillnad beroende på ålder och antal timmar människor lägger på sitt ideella engagemang, skickades en enkät ut till ideellt engagerade i fyra olika idrottsföreningar. Av de 125 deltagarnas resultat visade det sig att de yngre deltagarna i högre grad motiverades av karriärfunktion i Functional approach. Kontrollerad motivation från Self-Determination theory var vanligare bland dem som spenderade över tre timmar på det ideella arbetet. Gemensamt för deltagarna var att de i störst grad drevs av autonom motivation från Self-Determination theory, det vill säga den inre viljan att göra något. Detta tyder på att det var självutvecklande, egenvinnande motiv som motiverade denna studies deltagare till ideellt arbete..

Clostridium difficile is a grampositive, anaerobe bacteria with a spore-forming ability. The bacteria is present in the environment, can be isolated from animals and is common in hospitals, where it is a known cause of severe diarrhoea in compromised patients. Lately scientists have been discussing whether Cl. difficile could be a new food-borne pathogen. The bacteria has been isolated from food-producing animals and from meat products. In this pilot study 82 meat products, bought from swedish shops during a periode of four months, were investigated.

Because of the large economic growth in China there are many companies who have economic interests in the Chinese market. Also in the forest market companies have started to invest in China and the interest for the market is growing. The question is how the Chinese forest market will develop in the years to come? How will China?s entry on the market of forest products affect the global forest market? The purposes of this study are to describe production, consumption and trade of forest products, and China?s possible competitive advantage in the forest industry. The purpose of this study is also to describe how China?s entry on the forest market affects the world market of forest products.

The purpose of this thesis is to study whether there is a demand for sawn wood products of large dimensions and planed goods among Wallnäs AB:s customers. The thesis consist of two main parts, one survey among Wallnäs present customers and another one which purpose is to increase Wallnäs customer base. Finally there is a chapter that describes what properties the raw material has to have in order to produce the demanded products. The survey to the present customers was conducted through a questioner. A sample of those who stated an interest for either sawn wood products of large dimensions or planed goods, were later contacted for a telephone interview. To reach out to new customers, relevant companies has been identified through the Swedish Trade Councils data base and through the member list of the Timber Trade Federation.

This project is an attempt at creating a bag that is both functionaland has an interesting and relevant visual appearance. I have found that a bag that is functional usually have adapted certain aesthetics which are appealing only to a very limited target group. At the same time many bags that are more focused on style can be downright disabling to the carrier. I wanted to create a functional bag, and to explore new functions doing this, while working with aesthetics that stayed relevant and interesting to my target group. The bag was designed for the company Åhléns and their label WERA Stockholm, and theircustomers was the target group.

The purpose with this research is to examine how the green marketing in retail trade can be developed in order to promote the eco-labeled products closer to the consumer.The method for the survey includes interviews with managers of a few retailers and their customers in the industrial sector. The purpose with the interviews was to produce the retailer and the customer?s perspective of products with eco-label on.The research is limited to the region of Västra Götaland.The results from this research indicate that there is a lack of communication between the retailer and the consumer. The consumers don?t think that the product is available.

The project was carried out with SwedSafe AB, engaged in hearing and manufacture of earplugs. Since the company is a world leader in the sale of these products, it is important that they keep a higher level of quality of these products.Production of earplugs is currently a automated manufacturing process that is divided into four conveyor belts and one of the conveyor belts is what will be affected in the project. The belt affected during this process is exposed to various elements such as filling, closing, fermentation and extraction of products. Because the belt gets dirty, degraded products and the work environment is affected. To increase the quality of products and improve the working environment requires an automatic cleaning process, which collects dirt from the belt.The aim of the project is to design a machine that prevents the belt from becoming dirty, preserve molds clean and improve the working environment without disrupting production.

Master?s Thesis in Media and CommunicationTitle: See me, buy me ? A study of how women and men are exposed in commercial advertisements for beauty productsAuthor: Annelie EliassonUniversity: University of HalmstadCourse: Media and CommunicationTerm: Spring 2013Supervisor: Ebba SundinExaminer: Ingegerd RydinPurpose: This studys purpose is to examine how women and men are exposed in commercial advertisements for beauty products. To examine this purpose two main questions have been formulated:What differences and similarities are there in the representation of women and men in the commercial advertisements?Are there any differences in the representation regarding the target audience in the commercial advertisements?Method: Quantitative content analysisMaterial: 443 commercial advertisements for beauty products in the Swedish lifestyle magazines Plaza Kvinna and Café Magazine from 2008 to 2012Main results: The result of the study shows that women and men, presented in the commercial advertisements for beauty products, were very much alike in most aspects. For example there were only insignificant differences regarding how much of the person?s body that was included in the advertisement, the body position and the activeness of passiveness of the person in question.

Product sharing systems is recently starting to become a more common phenomenon. Carpools exist in more than 40 Swedish towns and both Stockholm and Gothenburg have established bicycle sharing systems. Other products for which sharing systems have been established throughout Sweden are clothing and tools. From the point of view of the consumer, product sharing systems is a form of consumption which can be placed somewhere in between renting and privately owning a product, where the consumers usually pay a membership fee or a monthly fee to have access to the products whenever they need them. The concept is relatively new, and there are many products for which product sharing systems do not exist.

Frågeställningar:- Hur arbetar Carpenter Powder Products och deras anställda med att upprätthålla relationerna till sina kunder?- Vilka faktorer ser Carpenter Powder Products anställda som de viktigaste i en affärsrelation?Syfte: Syftet är att kartlägga hur de anställda på Carpenter Powder Products arbetar med att upprätthålla relationerna till sina kunder samt vilka faktorer som är viktigast inom affärsrelationer. Detta för att skapa en djupare inblick i hur ett industriellt företag inom en B2B bransch arbetar med sina kundrelationer.Metod/teori: För att kunna se hur Carpenter Powder Products arbetar för att upprätthålla sina kundrelationer genomfördes kvalitativa intervjuer med sex respondenter. Studien utgår från Grönroos teorier då författarna anser det intressant att testa relationsmarknadsföringsteorier som är menade för ett tjänsteföretag, på ett industriellt B2B företag istället.Resultat: Resultatet av studien visar att Carpenter Powder Products arbetar aktivt med sina kundrelationer för att skapa långsikta relationer på olika sätt men att det i nuläget saknas ett strukturerat kundvårds-system som både kan förbättra och förenkla deras kundrelationer. Av de faktorer som anses viktigast i affärsrelationer var det förtroende som stack ut hos studiens respondenter.

Edsbyverken Office Furniture has over the past 100 years been producing delicate carpentry products, chairs and skiis, but more recently the focus has shifted to furniture for the modern office environment. With a wide selection of products and its characteristic neutral design, Edsbyverken has an extensive group of clients both in Sweden and internationally. The aim of my C level thesis project was to examine the materials Edsbyverken is currently using in order to develop new designs or product functions. Simultanesously, I also wanted to verify whether the method I developed for this project - to initially undertake a comprehensive study of the chosen materials and thereafter specialise on a certain product and target audience ? was effective and successful.

The majority of the Swedish population were self-provided within agriculture a hundred years ago. Times do change and today the situation is the other way around - most of us live within city boundaries and only few work with farming and related agricultural businesses. One thing that has not changed though, is the need of supplies from Swedish agriculture.What do we think of those products? Are we even aware of the connection between us and agriculture? The Federation of Swedish Farmers, LRF (Lantbrukarnas riksförbund), started their project to strengthen the link between consumers and producers in 2008.This paper is part of the project and its aim is to investigate consumers' views and values upon the effects and products from Swedish agriculture.Opinions and values have been studied through interviews influenced by phenomenology. The results show that the informants in general had a positive approach and thinking concerning the products and effects from Swedish agriculture.