This study presents a methodology that enables the annual average power of a wind turbine to be increased by automatically optimizing it?s airfoil, twist and chord dis- tribution. As a part of the study the software SiteOpt has been developed. This software connects the open source software XFOIL with the blade element momen- tum theory. XFOIL gives lift and drag coefficients which enable the blade element momentum theory to predict the power of a wind turbine at different wind and ro- tational speeds.

In two feeding experiments Bacillus induced priming of plant defense was tested for its effect against the generalist insect pest Spodoptera littoralis. The main hypothesis for the study was that Bacillus induced priming would enable the plant Arabidopsis thaliana to defend itself better against this insect herbivore since this priming seems to involve jasmonic acid, known to be important for plant defense to insects. A secondary objective of the study was to examine if any differences in a primed defense capability could be seen between different natural genetic variants (ecotypes) of A. thaliana reflecting habitat differences in pest pressure. The methods used for plant cultivation and Bacillus inoculation were aimed at reflecting conditions that can be expected in an agricultural cropping system. This meant that all plants were cultivated in soil, and the feeding experiments were conducted with the plants growing intact in the soil system.

Pigs in Swedish organic production systems have been shown to have more findings of arthritis at slaughter, compared to pigs in conventional pig production. With this in mind a study was performed, to primary, investigate variation in exterior, gait and weight gain between sire breeds and, secondly, to investigate variation between herds, season, gender, age and assessment occasion on these recordings. Swedish commercial hybrids, crosses between Norwegian Landrace and Swedish Yorkshire were inseminated with either Hampshire or Duroc as terminal sire. All the pigs had known pedigree as each semen dose contained sperms from one individual boar. All piglets were individually tagged closely after birth, and exterior and gait assessment were performed at two separate occasions, early and late during the fattening period.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and analyse factors that may have an influence and can affect a brand?s development and change over time. By doing this we want to clarify which factors it is important for a company to understand and gain control over.To find the answer to our thesis we have carried out six semi-structured interviews which all were of qualitative character. The reason why we chose to work with the qualitative methodology was mainly that we wanted to achieve a deeper knowledge about our choice of subject. The empiric data that we have gathered have been compared and combined with our theories and resulted in our analysis which made us gain a deeper understanding of our subject.

A survey was undertaken to understand sheep management, breeding practices and selection criteria for Red Maasai sheep in Maasai pastoralist communities in Kajiado District, Kenya. Differences between North and South Kajiado District were investigated to gain knowledge about farmers having different prerequisites and how it can affect the sheep production. The reason for keeping sheep and the specific breeds show the multiple objectives of the Maasai farmers. Adaptive traits, such as resistance to diseases and droughts, and productive traits, such as increased growth and carcass weight, were both ranked highly. In addition to this, the sheep has a social and traditional value in Maasai culture.

Gain IT Architecture & Solutions AB (refereras till som Gain IT) är ett litetHuskvarnabaserat IT-företag. De är verksamma inom de tre affärsområdenaprodukt, konsult och service. Inom produktområdet sker försäljning avprogramvaror och deras egenutvecklade webbapplikationer. På konsultsidanerbjuder Gain IT bl.a. utveckling av webbapplikationer.

The right usage of tacit and explicit knowledge is becoming increasingly important for businesses worldwide. This thesis searches the answer to how management consultants tackle the challenges originating from converting this type of knowledge into codified use. With the help of a case study analysis it was possible to gain special insight into the processes of knowledge collection, codification and re-usage at a major organization built upon knowledge utilization. In order to provide the reader with a wider picture, the main subject of the study has been analyzed from two perspectives: a practice based and an objective based perspective. Furthermore, two different types of knowledge, tacit and explicit have been differentiated and studied in relation to each other, to gain a better understanding of their origin and conversion process.

The aim of this thesis is to analyse the most common economic effects of countries pursuing trade facilitation. Trade flows are constrained by non-tariff barriers and through trade facilitation these barriers can be decreased. We will study the effects of trade facilitation from a theoretical perspective and evaluate a number of empirical studies. Several different trade barriers will be identified as well as those regions and countries that will gain the most from trade facilitation. We draw the conclusion thatlarge gains would prevail for all countries and that the consumers, businesses and the state all benefit from trade facilitation.

ABSTRACTOverweight and obesity is an increasing problem worldwide although high-income countries take a leed. High BMI during pregnancy and delivery constitute to many risks for both the mother and her outcome. Intervention programmes with the purpose to get the pregnant women to eat healthier and to excercise more are now working out in many different shapes. The effect of these activities varies. The aim of this study was to investigate if interventions during pregnancy, with women who?s BMI are 25 or more, affects health of the mother and her expected child, delivery outcome and self estimated health.

The purpose of this thesis was to gain an understanding of how Swedish political parties gain knowledge of their voters. The assumptions taken in the thesis were that political parties are using same methods as businesses do to find interesting segments. To attain insight into the purpose of the thesis, two research questions were formulated: how are Swedish political parties obtaining insights in who their potential voters are? With the second question, an attempt is made to answer how the very same parties are using their knowledge about their voter segments. To find answers to those questions, personal interviews were performed with seven political parties.

Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency is a hereditary disease that in Sweden is especially common in German shepherds. The Swedish German shepherd club has currently no plan of action for decreasing disease prevalence in the breed. The purpose of this study was to review existing literature about the disease and also to perform an inventory of the disease in the Swedish dog population. Special focus was laid on the German shepherd breed. The inventory was later compared to an unpublished inventory of the disease with data from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences from 1997. During the period 2002-06-01 to 2007-09-26 (ca 64 months) 2961 blood samples were analyzed for cTLI. 274 samples were positive (cTLI .

???This study has been made with the purpose of gaining an understanding of how a Swedish company may think and act concerning their internal control. An American body, COSO, have for some time published documents containing guidelines for how companies should go about this process, however, when conducting this study we were not aware of the extent to which companies in Europe and mainly Sweden used them. In order to learn about this, and also to gain an understanding of when these guidelines are appropriate, we conducted a case study with a large-sized, multinational Swedish company. We also conducted an interview with an expert in internal control monitoring, Anna-Clara af Ekenstam of Pricewaterhouse Coopers, in order to get the perspective of the evaluators in this process and to gain some insight as to whether our case is typical in Sweden or not. We found that our company disregards certain aspects of internal control condoned by COSO, while performing better on other dimensions.

The canine population has during it?s time with humans gone through at least 2 major genetic bottlenecks, the first when it was separated from the wolf, and the second when it was divided into different breeds. Among other things, this has lead to the accumulation of unwanted genes, such as genes causing disease in dogs. One such inherited disease is syringomyelia, which has proven to be more common than expected, especially in certain smaller breeds such as the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Syringomyelia in dogs is often a secondary condition caused by the malformation called occipital hypoplasia.

Active immunization against gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is an alternative to surgical castration of male pigs to avoid boar taint. The aim of this study, including 128 pigs, was to evaluate the effect of a GnRH-vaccine Improvac® on performance and on social and sexual behaviour. Male pigs were assigned to three treatments; surgical castration at four days of age, immunization against GnRH and no castration. Vaccination was performed eight and four weeks before slaughter. Surgically castrated male pigs had significantly lower daily weight gain during the suckling period than entire male pigs (235 vs.

Barren rearing environment and early weaning of piglets can lead to a high level of distress, behavioural disturbances and reduction in weight gain. The main aim of this thesis was to study the effects of potential enrichment objects on piglet?s behaviour and weight gain during the pre- and post-weaning period. The second aim was to examine what type of object stimulated the highest frequency of interaction. The study was carried out at the Swedish Livestock Research Centre in Lövsta where a batch of litters from 10 first-parity Yorkshire sows were used.