The Net Promoter Score (NPS) has been claimed to be the single most reliable indicator of firm growth and has gained wide adoption among companies in a broad range of industries. This is despite a lack of rigorous scientific testing. The purpose of this study is to examine the predictive strength of the question "How likely are you to recommend [.] to your friends and colleagues " that the metric is based on: how well does it actually predict future consumer behavior Furthermore, the report aims to create a greater understanding of the factors that explain a person's word of mouth (WOM) intention and which behaviours cause that intention to change. A longitudinal study was conducted of 304 consumers' WOM intention regarding two non-carbonated drinks and their subsequent WOM and purchase behavior. The analyses show that the behaviors are captured by the metric to some extent.

The purpose of this essay is on the one hand to study Sub-Saharan Africa from a comparative perspective to analyze different explanations to democratization and on the other hand to compare the democratization of the most interesting cases found. To fulfil the purpose, the essay is divided into a quantitative and a qualitative part. The quantitative part starts from four different theories of democratization and thus has a deductive theory testing approach. We intend to use four theories: the modernization theory, the theory of stable institutions as a prerequisite for democratization, political culture and ethnic diversity as an obstacle for democratization, to test how they correspond with the democratic situation in Africa, and at the same time find deviant cases. The second part of the study takes its start from an inductive perspective and examines institutions and citizens of the deviant cases.

Research shows that people with burnout experience a high degree of impairments in a range of cognitive functions including memory, attention and concentration. The overall aim of the present study is to investigate whether there is a correlation between subjective estimates of cognition and cognitive performance with objective tests in people with burnout with a focus on working memory and executive functions. Three specific questions were addressed; First, what cognitive problems are described and to what degree? Second, is the performance of executive and working memory tests related to self-reported cognitive problems? Third, are the self-reported cognitive problems related to measures of psychological distress? The study included 77 patients, 65 women and 12 men, with a mean age of 43.48 years. The results show that patients with burnout perceive themselves as having significantly impaired cognition in everyday life, which is clearly evident on the basis of the self-assessment forms PRMQ and CFQ.

Den textila industrin, en egen värld, är nu under rampljuset som en av de största miljöpåverkande industrierna. Precis som i fallet med många andra industrier så måste textilbranschen intensivt arbeta med att minska sin negativa påverkan på miljön. Slutmålet måste vara att helt balansera uttagen och insättningarna så att man skapar en bransch som blir klimat- och miljöneutral. I denna rapport har en livscykelanalys gjorts på en underställströja från Helly Hansen tillverkad av 99 % polypropylene. Inom denna livscykelanalys har vi noggrant studerat och undersökt fakta för att hitta de processer som har den största påverkan på miljön.

Nordic Marine Sauna AB has, since 2005, designed, manufactured and sold floating saunas. Theproduct are characterised by a well thought thru and appealing design and its high quality. Thecompany is now intending to open a new business area by starting a subsidiary, NordicSubmarine Sauna AB, which will design submerged saunas. The expected customers are leisureand conference centres as well as customers that seek an experience out of the ordinary.Due to the products technical complexity a master thesis was adverted. The task was to do aninvestigation whether such a product is technically viable.The job involved research of existing products and constructions material as well as designingthe product with CAD and FEM-programs.

Mastitis in dairy cows is an emerging and challenging disease in the tropics, including India. Nation-wide reports suggest that the incidence of clinical mastitis varies from 3.94% to 23.25%, and for subclinical mastitis from 15.78% to 81.60%. In Assam, a northeastern province of India, dairy is an essential part of the mixed farming system that exists in the state, but the milk yield is far below domestic standards. In 2009-2010, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and local associates started to develop a training program for local farmers in Assam, in order to enhance the informal bovine dairy sector in and around Guwahati, India. The project continued until mid-2013.

The energy that the earth receives from the sun hourly has potential to cover a year?s energy demand in the world. Further, this type of energy is environmentally friendly, natural and free of cost. This report covers solar energy in an urban environment and consists of a case study of installations of photovoltaic cells in a part of the city of Stockholm. It is mainly the economic aspects that are covered but there is also a discussion about the practical consequences and the sustainability as a result of integration of solar energy in an urban environment. The aim of the study is to present results from economic calculations for utilization of solar energy in chosen buildings in Kungsholmen in Stockholm.

During the year of 2008, a powerful earthquake hit the southern part of Iceland, which changed the geothermal conditions in the area around the city of Hveragerdi. Elevated soil temperatures in a nearby forest plantation have contributed to a unique opportunity for researchers to study how an increased soil temperature affects the boreal forest ecosystem, something that partly can be connected to the climate changes which are happening today. The boreal forest is representing a carbon sink and a buffert for the emissions that occurs. Changes in this ecosystem will for that reason contribute to major impact for the global carbon cycle. To study the impact of how elevated soil temperatures affects different processes in a plantation of Sitka spruce, studies were made on the photosynthesis of the trees and the respiration from the soil.

Background: Previous studies have shown that intuition occurs in decision making in small enterprises. However, these studies have not illuminated which decision attributes leads to intuitive decision making.Purpose:The purpose with this study is to contribute with an increased understanding of which decision attributes leads managers in small enterprises to use intuition in decision making and why these decisions attributes have an impact on the role of intuition. The follow-ing research question will be answered in our study: Which decision attributes leads to intui-tive decision making in small enterprises, and why?Method: To answer the research question we have conducted semi structural interviews with managers in small enterprises to achieve a deeper understanding of the role of intuition. We have also used a method called Visual Card Sorting as a complement to the semi structural interviews.Result/conclusion: The result of our study indicates that the relevance and the uncertainty of a decision have the greatest significance in the use of intuition in decision making in small enterprises.

Cache simulator is a tool to increase the understanding of a cache memory. Therefore cache memory simulation is included in the course Computer Engineering IS1200 at the Royal Institution of Technology. The purpose of this project is to develop a cache memory simulator for education. The existing MipsIt and Mips Simulator which is currently used in IS1200 has been the main source of inspiration. This resulted in the development of the cache memory simulator LMSim.

The last decade has created an increasing pressure on companies to decrease their impact on the environment and to increase their effectiveness of recycling the company?s resources, especially for the steel industry. Companies have also started to realize the economic aspects of an effective internal reverse logistics. In the past the value of an effective internal reverse logistic was something that companies tend to underestimate and there are few academic studies done in this area. The purpose of this essay has been to identify key factors to create an effective in plant storage, transport, sorting and handling of returned steel. From these factors a generalized model for creating an effective return steel flow will be developed.

We are in an emerging digital society where we are increasingly dependent on the mastery of IT and digital technologies to better carry out our everyday tasks. They cover everything from keeping in touch with family and friends to pay bills and declare. At the same time there are those who have not learned how to use the new technology and live their lives outside of the digital society. What happens to these people, in a society that is becoming increasingly digitized? Do they take harm by being in digital exclusion? It looks like this are issues that will not become less important as digital technology constantly changes.

During the years 2005-2007 several cases of abnormal bleeding were seen after surgery in Bengal cats on veterinary clinics and animal hospitals in Sweden. In this study we have examined if the observed bleedings are due to an inherited defect of the coagulation cascade. Ten Bengal cats were tested for activated partial thromboplastin time (P-APT-time) and one-stage protrombin time (P-PK), and nine of these cats were tested for fibrinogen quantity (P-fibrinogen). Four of the tested cats had shown signs of an abnormal bleeding after surgery, and five of the cats were genetically related to these cats. One cat had a small bleeding wound at the internal base of the right auricle.

Stormwater is surface runoff water that originates from precipitation or snowmelt and that on hardened surfaces prevents to infiltrate the ground. In city areas stormwater can consists of major amounts pollutants and when reaching a lake or watercourse it can cause damages on vegetation and animals. Therefore it is important to treat polluted stormwater before it reaches the recipient. The municipality of Örebro have since the 90ies an extensive work with treatment of stormwater in sedimentation ponds. A new stormwater treatment project is planned in an industrial estate in Skebäck, Örebro.

The report describes an ecodesign thesis performed by the author at the ÅF EcoDesign Center. The basic idea of ecodesign is to develop products with a minimized environmental load, without neglecting other significant product aspects such as function and price. During the last couple of years the public interest in environmental friendly products has increased, which has made it possible for companies to make a profit from their investments in ecodesign. To meet the increasing market for ecodesign services ÅF started the ÅF EcoDesign Center, where the company has gathered all of their competence in ecodesign in order to help companies to become greener. The task was to develop a tool for an Eco Screening.