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.

The aim of the thesis is to highlight external factors to explain why the EMU was created. The external factor considered here is the monetary policy of the United States, which often conflicted with European interests. The statistical data in the thesis, as well as previous research, show that even though the EU economically in many ways had become an equal partner of the US during the second half of the 20th century, the union still faced US influence and dependence.The results of the thesis can be explained with neorealist theories on power measured as an actor's distribution of capabilities and balancing of power. An actor that is equipped with the world's leading currency is more independent from others. Other actors, on the other hand, become increasingly dependent on the major currency and the policy of its owner.

Bakgrund: Musikindustrins tillväxt under det senaste decenniet har varit starkt influerat av digitaliseringen över internet. Nedladdningen av musik, övergången från en konkret produkt till en immateriell tjänst och ständigt förändrade beteendemönster hos musikanvändare i den digitala miljön har resulterat i en hel del problematik för leverantörer och distributörer samt föranlett stora ekonomiska förluster. Men förändringarna har också gynnat och bidragit till nya affärsområden och möjligheter för musikindustrin. Internets genombrott och den snabba teknologiska utvecklingen har skapat en hårdare konkurrens inom branschen, och företagen måste därför hitta nya sätt att omfamna webben som en ny och kraftfull marknadskanal samt dra nytta av de möjligheter som det innebär för försäljning och distribution av digital musik.Forskningsfrågor: Hur arbetar musikindustrin med digital marknadsföring och vilka digitala plattformar används för att marknadsföra sig på?Hur har den digitala reformen inom musikbranschen påverkat marknadsföringen för de olika aktörerna i branschen och hur arbetar de idag för att nå ut till konsumenterna?Syfte: Syftet med studien är att beskriva och analysera hur den teknologiska utvecklingen har påverkat den digitala marknadsföringen i dagens musikindustri.Metod: Studien är genomförd i kombination av en flerfaldig forskningsmetod där ett kvantitativt betraktelsesätt har använts för att styrka kvalitativa resultat och tvärtom.

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a significant vector-borne zoonotic pathogen, causing devastating encephalitis in humans. Its geographical range includes a majority of Asian countries and has also been recognized in some western Pacific areas. The main vectors of JEV are mosquitoes belonging to the genus Culex. Birds and pigs function as hosts and virus amplifiers, whereas humans are accidental hosts. Japanese encephalitis is commonly regarded as a rural disease.

By reading earlier research on Generation Y, content marketing and on social media during the working process the problem has gradually changed, in accordance with an abductive research approach. The study focus has developed from examine marketing methods on marketing towards Generation Y to include on what social media platform Generation Y is most susceptible for content marketing.The purpose of this study is to help companies whose target market is Generation Y to aim their content marketing through the right distribution channels, to save time and money. To meet this objective and to answer the main question of this study, empirical data was collected through a web based, quantitative survey which was completed by a total of 301 respondents, all of them belonging to Generation Y. The collected quantitative data was contrasted with existing theory and was analysed.The study concluded that Facebook is the social media channel where Generation Y feel most susceptible for content marketing, followed by YouTube. .

The purpose of this essay is to study the film culture in South Africa in a national cinema-context, focusing on the relationship between anti-apartheid film from 1974-1994 and the film in South Africa today. By pitching the South Africa-specific works of Lucia Saks and Jacqueline Maingard against the over-arching debate on national cinema as formulated by, amongst others, Stephen Crofts and Andrew Higson, this study aims to find whether or not a specific South African national cinema have existed, and exists today, or not. The study finds that an underground culture of documentaries and short films made by and for the black population has been in place since the apartheid, and the distribution method on video and television is still being used to reach the black population today. By re-examining the concepts of both the national, and of national cinema to also include film on video and television, the study shows that South Africa has indeed a film culture that can be called a national cinema..

The purpose of this essay is to examine the origin of generalized trust. We compare existing theories on trust to determine what approach is more fruitful in explaining the prevalence, or absence, of trust. Our conviction is that trust should be viewed as an interaction, rather than a disposition or a rational choice. The sample is based on the countries of the OECD. In total, five different hypotheses are tested: i) that generalized trust is created by equal distribution of income, ii) that generalized trust is created through monitoring of the state, iii) that generalized trust is created through rule by law; iv) that generalized trust is created when the welfare apparatus is guided by principles of universalism; or iv) that generalized trust is created when the state integrates trust networks.

The Scanian woodfences has been determined by two mainly elements: Scania's composition of tree species, with a large element of deciduous forest, and the local building tradition which has more in common with the European continent than the Swedish tradition. By examining responses from ethnological question lists deriving from the first half of the 1900s, combined with literature studies, I have been able to deepen and broaden the knowledge behind the various fencing design. In addition I ?ve constructed maps which could illustrate their historical geographic distribution.I have come to the conclusion that there was three main types of woodfences that was most common until the barbed wire was introduced in the early 1900s and later on replaced the elderly woodfences. Common for the three main types is that the base material was made out of Juniperus communis, this largely because of its durability against rot.

SCA är Europas största skogsindustrikoncern. Fem bruk är lokaliserade i norra Sverige medan marknaderna för dessa bruks produkter är i Skandinavien samt övriga Europa. För att kunna konkurrera med de europeiska bruken är det mycket viktigt med en effektiv och pålitlig distribution. Då orderstorlekarna blivit mindre, lastning av arkat papper sker på pall samt att krav på regularitet och kortare ledtider ökat ansågs det gamla distributionssystemet vara förlegat. Ett helt nytt distributionssystem utarbetades i samarbete med MoDo.

The emerging Swedish suburbs of the 1960- 1970s started out as a utopian vision: a new city for the modern people. Media presented a different view and emphasized the inhuman livingenvironment and the social problems of the suburbs. Nationwide there have been local attempts to avoid this negative publicity by adjusting identified suburban problems. Due to medial presentation the suburbs are still associated with segregation, criminality and social problems. The presentation of suburbs and immigrants affects not only the process of integration and the general public idea of integration processes, but also the individual perception of themselves and their living.

During the period 1905 to 1940 it was possible to get a loan from the state to buy land and build a small farm or a house in rural areas. This loan act and its effects have been studied earlier in different ways, but never as a total study for a geographic region. The region Malmöhus Län has been chosen. The purpose of this paper is to study in which parts of the area loans were taken and who sold the land that was used for these purposes. Earlier studies have looked at a larger geographical area for some specific years.

Syftet med studien var att studera vad för tankar personer iledningsfunktioner i olika elitidrottsklubbar har på strategier föratt utveckla sin personals kompetens bland styrelseledamöter,kanslipersonal, tränare och lagledare. Studien är av kvalitativmetod, åtta idrottsklubbar från fyra olika idrotter har medverkat.Elitklubbarna övergår alltmer från ideellverksamhet tillkommersiell verksamhet, vilket tvingar klubbarna till att ökakompetensen inom föreningen. Kompetensutveckling sker främstgenom utbildningar och via samarbete med andra klubbar.Kunskap som framkommit i studien; var att arbetet motkompetensutveckling på personalen var mycket brett inom detidrottsliga men desto mindre utvecklat inom marknadssidan.Förslag till fortsatt forskning är en studie med större urval frånfler idrotter och idrottsklubbar samt ett bredare geografisktområde såsom Skandinavien, Europa eller Amerika..

It is imperative to provide more information regarding changed conditions resulting landslide events in a future climate. The aim of this thesis is to assess landslide susceptibility in Huddinge Municipality in middle Sweden. The main purpose is to produce a map, to visualize landslide susceptible areas, and to integrate the result with changes in physical factors such as climate change. Also, the thesis aims to analyze anthropogenic factors such as changes in land use and an increasing population in Huddinge Municipality. Methods used are GIS-analyses, interviews with staff of Huddinge Municipality, and field observations.

Due to the climate change natural disasters expects to increase and in some areas the conditions for dissemination of hazardous pollutants from contaminated areas could be affected. Different inventories and mapping has been made to identify areas of risk for flood or avalanche around the country. At the same time inventory and treatment of potential polluted areas (MIFO objects) is progressing. In Ljungans run of area in Västernorrlands county is a exposed area due to the amount of clay and silt in the ground that are sensitive in the context avalanche. The area has also a lot of MIFO objects and risks of flood.This essay aims to investigate what data material that is available regarding MIFO objects, flood- and avalanche risks in Ljungans run of area in Västernorrlands county.

People in today?s society are becoming more and more aware of how important it is to use energy as efficiently as possible. This is clearly noticeable by an increase in home produced heat with e.g. solar panels or heat pumps heating systems. These changing customer demands forces district heating technology to be redesigned, which is why there is an ongoing research regarding the next generation of district heating - low temperature district heating (LTDH).