It is a common view that companies should focus on building brands to increase profitability and stabilize cash flows. However, building and keeping brands alive is costly. Many firms spend large sums on branding only because they are supposed to, without knowing if they will actually gain from it. Up to date, there is limited convincing evidence that branding actually contributes to shareholder value creation. This thesis aims to investigate the relationship between brand strength and profitability and shareholder value.

This essay examines the olfactory reading as a possible way to make sense of a fragmented novel, in this case Sara Stridsberg?s debut Happy Sally (2004). Through close reading, the essay identifies the source of the smells, who perceives it, and how this is portrayed in the text. The smell?s position in the text is understood in relation to Maurice Merleau-Ponty?s phenomenology, where the body, as created in the literary text, is considered as a source of knowledge.

Background: Research has shown that people with limited hand function , and above all osteoarthritis of the thumbs , a limited task ability in daily activities. At a disabilities can be the person's identity, well-being and ability to participate in society is changing. Purpose: The purpose is, through a literature review describing occupational therapy Conservative interventions for people with osteoarthritis of the CMC 1 joint and its consequences for the performance of activities of daily living . Procedure and Analysis: The method in this study, a systematic review of scientific literature used. Database search and manual search occurred during the period from March 2014 to May 2014 .

Background: During the last decade physical activity among Swedish adolescents has decreased. Changes regarding physical fitness can also be seen, for instance the cardio respiratory capacity has decreased mainly among young men while muscular capacity has decreased in both genders. Physical inactivity and impaired physical fitness are both important health related parameters. 18-year olds have fulfilled their physical development and are physically on top of their development, it makes this group interesting to examine. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate differences between physically active and inactive young men and women, concerning cardio-respiratory fitness, muscular fitness and balance.

Testosterone is a steroid and anabolic hormone found in all mammals. Previous research indicates that testosterone levels correlates with physical capacities related to physical performance. However, these studies refers only to men and boys. The aim of present study was therefore to investigate the potential relationship between body composition, strength, power and endurance capabilities in relation to blood levels of testosterone and DHEAS in young female football players. Seventeen female elite football (age: 15,4 ± 0,6, body mass: 57,2 ± 7,4kg, height 1,65 ±0,04m) players volunteered for the study.

 We have chosen to write our thesis within a transport company. The work was carried out at DHL activities in Uppsala. DHL is one of the leading transport companies worldwide. Our interest lies in more efficient and advanced transportation and terminals, as globalization and new trends require effective solutions.The aim of our work is to explain the need for information technology applications in road haulage and associated terminal operations. Furthermore, we analyses terminal and applied information technology.

The thesis presents an optimally designed kinematic structure for a new 6-DOF haptic devicebased on TAU configuration. The configuration of the TAU-2 proposed by Suleman Khan andKjell Andersson [1] was modified and its mobility was verified by using Grübler criterion tohave a 6 DOF. Analytical kinematic models for the inverse and forward kinematics weredeveloped for the haptic TAU configuration to determine a set of optimal design parameters.Kinematic performance indices such as volume of the workspace, kinematic isotropy and payload index, were defined based on the singular values of the Jacobian matrix. The Jacobianmatrix was scaled to homogenize the physical units. The Jacobian matrix dependent on theposition and orientation of the end-effector gives local isotropy and pay load index, so globaldesign indices were defined, which represent the performance of the mechanism in the wholeworkspace.

With the advance in computer and network technologies, multimedia systems and Internet applications are becoming more popular. As broadband network is prevailing, more clients are able to watch streaming videos or to play multimedia data over the Internet in real-time. Consequently, there is an increasing demand in the Internet for streaming video systems. As the run-time environment of such applications tends to be dynamic, it is imperative to handle transient overloads effectively. The goal of this work is to develop an algorithm that would provide a robust and controlled behavior of the video system so that important data is delivered on time to the video clients.

Title: Relationship building and management ? Aligning the Advertising Agency-Client Relationship Seminar date: 2006-01-13 Course: Bachelor thesis in Business Administration 10 Swedish credits. Authors: Ryan Eriksson, Louise Hagströmer, Peter Irinarchos. Advisors: Christer Kedström, Catharina Norén. Keywords: Relationship building and management, Transaction cost, Network theory, Resource based theory and Advertising agency.

This report focuses on work schedules in the retail sector, where work schedules are dynamic and change according to the needs and work schedule is a requirement for an effective structure of the work. This structure is important for maintaining a good order and all this is a requirement for a profitable business for both long and short term future. Work schedule also contributes to safety at the workplace. The purpose of this study was to investigate the transfer of knowledge by work schedules. The HRM employee we interviewed worked in Reitan Servicehandel Sverige AB which includes 7-Eleven, Pressbyrån and Shell.

Breakdowns of welded structures are usually a consequence of fatigue loading. Fatigue fractures are commonly initiated in the region close to the weld toe but can also initiate from the weld root and from discontinuities inside the weld. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the weld quality of welded joints produced at Volvo Wheel Loaders factory in Arvika. The goal of the investigation is to give a clearer insight regarding factors influencing the fatigue strength of the welded joints and thereby give a better foundation for fatigue strength calculations.The investigation is including examination of the weld geometry, weld discontinuities and the effects of shot peening. Mainly three different methods for collecting test data have been used: Plastic replicas cast on the weld profile, weld specimens from a rear frame belonging to a wheel loader of model L110E/120E and Almen testing of the shot peening.The results showed that it is not possible to control even transition between the weld material and the base material without after treatment.

The need for snow-free surfaces at squares, bus stops, platforms, car parks and sports facilities increases and at the same time energy price rise and the environment is becoming a hotter issue. The construction of the ground heating systems often lack thermal insulation under the heating pipes, which means that the heat from the pipes not only warm up the soil surface but also heats the surrounding soil. The insulation also has more features, by insulating the risk of frost damage is minimized. The goal of this report is to demonstrate the large heat loss and energy costs in the absence of insulation under the heating system.The report begins with a scientific way to study and treating the soil heating system uses, and the theory involved. Furthermore it also deals with different routing principles of heat pipes depending on the facility.All calculations are made with so called finite element method (FEM), in COMSOL Multiphysics 3,5a, where models are created with different conditions.

Background: Research has shown that people with limited hand function , and above all osteoarthritis of the thumbs , a limited task ability in daily activities. At a disabilities can be the person's identity, well-being and ability to participate in society is changing. Purpose: The purpose is, through a literature review describing occupational therapy Conservative interventions for people with osteoarthritis of the CMC 1 joint and its consequences for the performance of activities of daily living . Procedure and Analysis: The method in this study, a systematic review of scientific literature used. Database search and manual search occurred during the period from March 2014 to May 2014 .

Populism has been an integral part of the Finnish political system since the late 1950's. At that time the Agrarian Populist Party, better known as The Rural Party, emerged and thrived for decades until the party financially broke down in the 1990's. Reemerging on the political scene as the True Finns, the party is more radical and more influential than ever, gaining enough support to be the third largest party of the 2011 parliamentary election. Sweden, Finland?s neighbor, in contrast has a history with very little populist presence or radical right populist parties (RRP-parties).

Knowledge organization is perceived as a central, constituting activity defining the notion of libraries. Critique calling for a new theoretical foundation voiced by active researchers within library and information science concerning the current knowledge organization has been utilized as a point of departure. Specifications concerning a new theoretical foundation implied by these critiques are considered within this thesis and theory found in The Order of Things by Michel Foucault proposed as an alternative theory for understanding knowledge organization as a human science where meaning, value and representation, by which the ordering of things is possible, is acknowledged as a result of human activity and history. Thus meaning, value and representation must be perceived as dynamic. An example of implementation of the proposed theory has been achieved by the use of bibliometrics.