Sheep production is the only animal production in Sweden that is increasing. Therefore,increasing knowledge of the production is of great interest. In order to run a viable sheepproduction, producers needs to be successful in the breeding of the animals and achievean economic surplus in the end. Lambs that are born healthy and vital have greaterconditions to perform high lamb weight gains and thus a successful production. Thereare many factors affect the survival, birth weight and early weight gain of the new bornlamb.

24 years have passed since the Chernobyl accident when radionuclides were spread over largeareas of Europe, including the Scandinavian countries. Today, measurable activities of 137Csare still observed in many Swedish ecosystems.Ants (belonging to the order Hymenoptera) are social insects which collect organic materialfrom a large area around their nests. This study focuses on the 137Cs activity in ant nests andthe cesium accumulation in these nests. The aims were (1) to estimate the 137Cs fall-out in1986, (2) estimate the radiation exposure of ants and (3) find how 137Cs is distributed in an anthill. Seven ant hills (occupied by the species Formica polyctena) were studied near the villageof Hille, situated north of the city of Gävle in central Sweden.

The main purpose of the essay was to evaluate whether investments in index-linked bonds were suitable investments for smaller investors on the international finance market. To determine whether the index-linked bonds are good investments, the variables yield, cost and risk were used to measure the index-linked bonds against investments in stocks and funds. The reason for the interest in this subject is that investments in index-linked bonds have grown furiously the last few years. With the growth of the investments the criticism of index-linked bonds has also grown stronger. The critics? main point is the cost of the product, and they imply that investors can create their own index-linked bond and thereby avoid the bank fees.This study used a quantitative approach, because all the data of yield, cost and risk consist of numbers.

AbstractThe banking industry has during later years gone through several technological changes (Svenska Bankföreningen 2014). These big changes have led to several advantages seen both from a customer ? and corporate point of view. Advantages in easier usage, increased availability and more competition have made the banks more cost effective at the same time as the customer is being offered better prices. Even though the advantages seem to weigh over the disadvantages there are still those who thinks that things where ?better in the past?.

To be able to provide the growing human population with food, the productivity of the animals as well as land use needs to be improved and intensified. Hence, understanding the behavior of animals is crucial both for animal welfare and productivity as well as the management of the cattle. There are many factors affecting the grazing behavior of cattle in tropical conditions, such as human-animal interactions, herd management, breed, season and temperature. The purpose of this study was to investigate the grazing behavior of two tropical cattle breeds, Ankole and Boran cattle. Kenyan Boran belongs to a zebu type of cattle and is preferred to many other breeds due to the Higher productive and reproductive capacity and adaptability to tropical conditions.

Stora Enso Skog has a long term contract regarding felling rights and silvicultural activities on forest owned by Bergvik Skog. In the autumn 2006, Bergvik Skog proposed a new thinning program, ?Bergvikgallring?. The new program implied an increased focus on extraction of smaller trees compared to the present thinning program, Stora Enso Skog?s ?Kvalitetsgallring?.

Not much is today known about how epiphytic lichens are effected by fire. A considerable part of the fires in Sweden today are prescribed fires for the purpose of environmental conservation. How these fires affect lichens is largely unknown. The aim of this study is to find out how epiphytic fruticose and foliose lichens on Scots pine are affected by fire, and to elucidate the relationship between fire intensity and the survival of lichens and later re-colonization. The study was performed at three locations just outside Umeå in Västerbotten that were burned 5-7 years earlier. In all locations there were larger groups of surviving Scots pines with varying amount of fire-damage in the crown, which enabled a reconstruction of fire intensity.

Open ecosystems, such as grasslands and pastures, have naturally been shaped by disturbances like fire and grazing. These processes play a crucial role in creating habitats with high biological diversity, particularly favourable for a wide range of herbaceous plant species. In recent years, many of these disturbances have ceased, leading to encroachment, fragmentation and habitat loss. The aim of this study was to examine and compare the effects of fire, herbivory and a combination of fire and herbivory on the emergence of herbaceous plants. The study was conducted at the Ecopark at Nordens Ark.

The EU-project HEALTHGRAIN has suggested a new definition for whole grain which allows a small part of the grain to be removed during processing. By removing the outer part or the grain the hygienic quality will increase but it is not clear how the taste and colour is affected. So therefore in this study three different debranning methods, peeling, pearling and polishing, which remove the outer parts of the grains have been used on common and durum wheat. The dietary fibre and ash content, as well as germination was analysed in untreated, peeled, pearled and polished grains. The decrease in dietary fibre and ash was Higher in grains that had been pearled compared to those that had been peeled or polished.

This thesis is built on a field study that was carried out in two seed-tree stands near by Götbrunna in Uppland, Sweden. The aim was to examine if scarification carried out in spring time could generate a more dense seedling establishment when using natural generation, than scarification carried out in autumn. It was also investigated whether there were differences in mortality the first season between the two plot-types. Plots were established block-wise with 50 blocks (pairs) on each site. The spring scarification was made with a hoe during 22-23 of April.

This thesis is divided into two parts. Part one contains a general description of the flexographic printingtechnique. Part two contains a more detailed investigation in the areas substrate, inktransfer and trends, which are only briefly commented in part one, and conclusions and comments.The major problem concerning substrate is washboard. This phenomena can be limited if one can control and minimize the amount of glue applied in the single- and double facer, use high surface weight on liner, use low surfaceweight on fluting and control the humidity during the conditioning of the corrugated board. Corrugated board with a smooth surface radically increases the quality in print.

By using univariate analysis, tobit and logit regressions, this thesis investigates determinants of asset writedowns. After controlling for variables indicating reductions in asset values, the results show that changes in senior management are significant in explaining the writedown decision and magnitude, which is in line with previous research. The explanatory power of changes in senior management has not increased with the transition to IFRS in 2005. No evidence is found supporting the hypothesis that the explanatory power of management incentives is Higher for more discretionary types of asset writedowns..

AbstractTitle:Behovet av kundorientering i fastighetsföretag, finns det?Author:Joel Nilsson ErlemanTutor:Agneta SundströmPurpose:Thru a quality point of view, examine and analyze how Akelius AB customer orientatesthem self in an area such as Brandbergen, were the demand is larger then the supply.Method:Through a qualitative research approach with an inductive and a hermeneutic orientation thestudy approaches Akelius AB and the company?s costumer orientation thru several interviews and asurvey. The gathered data?s purpose is to answer research questions to investigate how costumerorientations function and to how to implement it in real estate companies.Theory:The theory explains the meaning of customer orientation and its use in real estate companies.The theoretical discussion is based on a five-gap model, which is used to analyze the service quality inAkelius AB and to analyze the relation to their costumers.Empire:The findings show how Akelius experience costumer orientation in Brandbergen and thecostumer?s perception of Akelius AB service quality.Analysis:Compares the theory and the empirical data to see the service quality thru using the GapModel.Conclusion:Akelius AB satisfy their customer?s need in what could be expected of them. In thesituation with increased demand and lower supply Akelius AB have the possibility to offer theircostumers a much lower quality than the costumers usually wants and expect.

In this thesis, the Swedish venture capital market and its profitability is analyzed. Venture capital is defined as capital that is invested in the early stages of a company's life cycle, in the two investment stages seed/start-up and expansion.A common view is that the profitability of Swedish venture capital has not been, is not and will probably not become high either. With this in mind, we try to answer to the following questions in this thesis:? What has the profitability of Swedish venture capital actually been historically?? Which reasons could be found in order to explain the historical returns for Swedish venture capital, and which factors has been identified in international comparative studies between venture capital markets?In order to answer these questions, data showing historical returns for the Swedish, European and American venture capital market has been gathered, an extensive literature study has been performed, and three interviews with participants from the Swedish venture capital market has been conducted.We conclude that the historical returns of Swedish venture capital is in line with the general view that they have been low. We also see a trend where Swedish venture capital funds that are not specialized in one investment stage generate lower returns than more specialized funds.

This thesis is divided into two parts. Part one contains a general description of the flexographic printingtechnique. Part two contains a more detailed investigation in the areas substrate, inktransfer and trends, which are only briefly commented in part one, and conclusions and comments.The major problem concerning substrate is washboard. This phenomena can be limited if one can control and minimize the amount of glue applied in the single- and double facer, use high surface weight on liner, use low surfaceweight on fluting and control the humidity during the conditioning of the corrugated board. Corrugated board with a smooth surface radically increases the quality in print.