In this essay, the phenomenon and the concept "meditation" are treated. Meditation is a mental training technique where one develops the ability to choose where to put attention and ability to focus. Techniques for meditation is used individually of people who wants to develop themselves as persons and in therapeutic aims of professional within the field of psychology in order to help people to find solutions of problems within themselves. The aim with this essay were to do a qualitative study in order to see how possible effects of meditation influences daily life of contributory practisian's. Issue has been as follows; which effects have one regularly conducting of meditation on people and their lives? Interviews with four experienced meditators were done in India and the material were analyzed afterwards with the aid of thematic analysis, furthermore in order to link the results with clinical research and established theories about meditation.

The use of mindfulness in healthcare is increasing in Sweden. A so-called secular form of mindfulness is also increasing within mediated contemporary psychology and is used in many areas such as schools, workplaces and when giving birth. The method originates from Buddhism and is much more complex than the form of mindfulness marketed in Sweden today. The religious heritage of mindfulness is interesting to study in such a secular society as Sweden, where the material for this study is found. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate whether mindfulness still is a form of religious coping or if it has become completely secularized, and thus free of its religious origin.

This study looks into the possibility, and profitability, of expanding a pilot project that has been put into action at GGP Sweden AB in Tranås, a manufacturing company that produces front mowers. The pilot project is meant to give GGP Sweden AB a more precise control of the flow of goods from their suppliers, and its essence has proven to be quite similar to the Japanese Just-in-Time philosophy.The study has been divided into four separate areas; mapping, supplier selection, supplier evaluation and cost analysis. These areas represent a holistic perspective on the expansion of the pilot project and cover topics varying from methods of finding suitable JIT-suppliers, constructing Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to reviewing costs and assessing profitabilities.In this report, the reader will initially take part in the works of mapping GGP?s manufacturing unit, pilot project and supplier base, which results in a list containing the most suitable suppliers for a Just-in-Time based collaboration. Afterwards, the reader will be led into the area of supplier evaluation, where five KPI?s are created with the purpose of ensuring that GGP will be able to evaluate their suppliers and pilot project in an effective way.

Background: Since the coining of the phrase lean production by Womack, Jones and Roos in 1990, this mass production system of Japanese origin has been implemented in a multitude of organizations throughout the world, the results being predominantly positive from a financial point of view. The possibly negative effects of mass production on worker motivation have been discussed since quality of work life became an important political issue in Sweden in the 1970?s. As the popularity of lean service is now increasing, there are still unresolved issues regarding the transferability of a mass production system to the service industry, particularly with regards to the motivation of service employees.Purpose: The purpose of our thesis is to study the lean system of a Swedish bank, SEB Way, from a management- as well as an employee perspective in order to describe how lean may affect the work motivation of service employees.Research procedure: The study is empirically based on observations and interviews on multiple hierarchical levels at SEB. We have conducted a total of 13 interviews with front line employees at SEB, with the central SEB Way team as well as two external lean specialists.Results: The study indicates that SEB Way has little direct influence on the intrinsic work motivation of the SEB front line employees, as work motivation was present prior to the implementation of lean.

This essay deals with the political upheavals which occurred in Japan with the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and its impact on the Samurai Class. This transitional period in Japanese history is portrayed in the film The Last Samurai from 2003, and it's the comparison between this Hollywood production and the current research on the subject on which this essay focuses. Two key figures who are portrayed in the film are Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), an American soldier from the Indian Wars of the 1860/70s who travels to Japan to quell the Samurai rebellion but ends up in captivity; only to learn their codex of honor and way of life and eventually become a Samurai himself. The other character calls himself Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe) and becomes the representative of the Samurai's struggle for their existence. Their friendship and cultural exchanges will remain a cornerstone throughout the film.

In the 1940s, 50s and 60s the two youth movements of the beats and the hippies emerged in the United States. Disagreeing with the progressive positivism of the previous generations these youths were part of a counter culture that adhered to an ideal of living in the present.Alan Wilson Watts (1915?1973), most known for his popularization of eastern philosophy and religion in general and Zen-Buddhism in particular, became one of the most influential and well-read advocates of the new movements. Drawing upon eastern philosophy and religion as well as modern psychology, Watts challenged the western world view by rejecting the dualism of self and environment, arguing that man is one with God and nature and claiming that nothing exists but the present experience here and now.Based on Watts? view of man and reality, and in the context of the emerging youth movements, this study examines Watts? criticism of western culture and society as well as his view on happiness and the possibility of a better life for the individual living in the west.The study shows that, according to Watts, the root of the problem facing western society lies in man?s incapability of distinguishing concept from reality, preferring abstract ideas and symbols to the experience present in everyday life.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att se om val och frekvens av läsning påverkar tio 15-åriga pojkars läsförståelse. För att få fram mitt resultat använde jag kvalitativ metod i form av enkäter där pojkarna redogjorde för sitt val och sin frekvens av läsning. Dessa enkäter användes även som ett urvalsverktyg för att få fram pojkar med skilda läsvanor och läsfrekvens, för att få en bredd i studien. Senare i undersökningen gjorde jag samtalsintervjuer och lästester enligt LUS-modellen med pojkarna för att granska deras läsförståelse. Jag tog även del av tidigare forskning och jämförde denna med de resultat jag fått fram.

Printed and painted wallpaper on a weaved fabric backing was a common way to decorate homes in Sweden during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Not much is written about the craftsmanship in relation to the hanging of these wallpapers and even less about the conservation of the objects. Even so, many wall segments remain in situ and in museums and are more often than not in dire need of conservation such as deacidification and consolidation. These are composite objects, consisting of cellulose materials with different properties along with adhesives and paints. Analysis of the materials is required to ensure safe handling and choice of conservation materials, and to establish a treatment plan which will be executed in several steps. This thesis aims to identify these steps and develop a method for conserving the wall segments with suitable materials, preferably without altering the source material to any significant degree.

Att införa ett nytt produktionssystem är ett stort projekt som påverkar arbetssättet för en stor del av de anställda i ett företag. Detta gör att det finns många ytor där problem kan uppstå och viljor kollidera. Stora förändringar kan riva upp invanda mönster och bryta mot den nuvarande kulturen i organisationen och därigenom skapa osäkerhet och ovilja gentemot förändringen.Denna rapport är tänkt att fungera som ett stöd för BT och Siemens i deras arbete med att införa nya, lean-baserade produktionssystem genom att försöka finna de kulturella hänsynstaganden som måste tas för att implementeringen av dessa ska bli framgångsrik. Specifikt syftar rapporten till att undersöka varför vissa människor är positiva till lean och varför vissa är kritiska. Vilka aspekter är det som folk finner attraktiva respektive mindre attraktiva?Resultaten av undersökningen visar på att medarbetarna finner grundläggande drag inom lean, såsom ständiga förbättringar samt medarbetarnas möjlighet att själva vara med och påverka, som positiva.

Manzai (??) is a Japanese comedy style similar to stand-up comedy but done by two people in the form of a dialogue. One is the Boke ?Funny man? and the other the Tsukkomi ?Straight man?. This work examines how manzai discourse is structured to create comedy by using the framework postulated by Abe (2006).

Future climate changes may lead to an interest of alternative and foreign forest tree species in order to spread the risks in forestry. Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, Freemont cottonwood and hybrid aspen are examples of popular foreign tree species that along with western red cedar could have a future in the Swedish forests.Södra Skogsägarna and SLU have collaboration in establishment of foreign species in Swedish forests.The purpose of this study was to analyze and present the establishment of western red cedar, and to survey and illustrate injuries of freeze drying and other damages like deer browsing, vegetation and insect attacks. The study included four different provenances, and spruce as a reference, planted in two locations ? Asa and Släne.Western red cedar is despite its name a conifer of the cupressaceae family with defined secondary characteristic and gets along well with an overstory. Western red cedar grows often in mixed stands with similar conifers and its natural habitat is within and in the area near to British Columbia.The study included two series of field inventories, one made in the summer and one in the autumn 2013, three growing seasons after plantation.

The Transport division is responsible for the internal transports on Sandvik MaterialTechnology AB. At the moment there is no clear picture of how the straddle carriers aremoving at the division Primary Products and if it is working in a satisfying way. It isimportant to see the whole picture of the transportation flow so improvements can be made.The purpose of this essay is to survey and analyse the truck flow in a Lean Productionperspective. The essay is delimited to only include straddle carriers transportation ways in thePrimary Products division. To survey the truck flow we have used a method called Walkthrough.This means that we have walked thorough the whole production flow andinterviewed some of the employed on the way to get the necessary information.

Theability to beat the market is one of the most discussed topics in finance. Thereare very few investors that manage to accomplish this over longer periods oftime. Most of the financial research claims that this is impossible unless theinvestor increase the risk in the portfolio. However numerous of researchershave shown that it exist anomalies on the stock market which either indicatesthat the Capital Asset Pricing Modell (CAPM) or Fama and French three-factormodel fails to explain stock returns or that the market is not fully efficient.One investor that has claimed that the stock market is not fully efficient andthat it is possible to generate abnormal return is Benjamin Graham. Graham isone of the legends on Wall Street and he has shown that by using few variablesbased on public information, one can manage to beat the market over longer timeperiods.There arejust a few studies that have tested Graham?s criteria?s, however all of themindicates that they work but that the standard deviation might be higher forthe portfolios.

Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka likheter och skillnader mellan den nuvarande kursplanen i religionskunskap för grundskolan och den framtida kursplanen för religionskunskap i LGR 11. Kursplanerna har jämförts utifrån tre frågeställningar. Uppsatsen undersöker hur de både kursplanerna motiverar ämnets existens och vilka likheter och skillnader som finns mellan kursplanerna. Uppsatsen behandlar också hur beskrivningen av det centrala kunskapsinnehållet har förändrats. Den sista frågeställningen behandlar huruvida den uttryckta kunskapsfilosofin har förändrats eller ej och i så fall på vilket sätt.Undersökningen är en komparativ textanalys utifrån Gadamers teorier om förförståelsens betydelse vid tolkning av texter.Uppsatsens viktigaste resultat vad gäller komparationen av kursplanernas motiveringar till ämnets existens är att det skett en förskjutning ifrån att ämnet ska skapa förutsättningar och redskap för elevens existentiella utveckling till att ämnet istället motiveras genom att eleven exempelvis ska förstå sammanhang omkring sig.Kursplanens centrala kunskapsinnehåll har förändrats inom en del områden.

To maintain production in high salaries countries and strength in competition against other companies, it is today more important than ever to maximize production, offer a wide spectra of products and be able to deliver on the customers desire of shorter and shorter delivery time. Flexible production and short time spent on die changes is vital to achieve these desires. The interest for die changeover time reduction grew in the same pace as the demand for increased product variety grew. SMED as a method of reducing time spent on die changeovers were developed in between 1950-1970, by the Japanese Shigeo Shingo.The purpose of this thesis work has been to investigate the result of SMED in a die casting facility, and compare the result from it with the result considering time spent on die changeovers when investing in new equipment. The goal is to implement a thorough investigation by using the SMED method at Tenhults Pressgjuteri AB and make a brochure that have to be simple to understand, in purpose to draw interest to the advantages of using SMED as a method.Commissioned by the Swedish foundry association Swecast, the work has been carried out by studying die changeovers at Tenhults Pressgjuteri AB, where filming and interviews with the operators have been included in the analysis.