This thesis? objective is to evaluate the recently proposed Shy (2002) approach of estimating consumer switching costs. We apply Shy?s method for estimating switching costs on the Swedish markets for bank deposits and telecommunications. The evaluation has been achieved by comparing estimated results to economic theories, related empirical studies, and our expectations.

SMC is in the process of developing a micro simulation model. The existing micro simulation model developed at Cornell University for US data, CorSim, is one of the fundamental parts for the new micro simulation at SMC. To develop the Swedish model, Swedish data on all individuals in Sweden during 11 years are also available. These data are organized in a database. This paper describes the process of rebuilding the database to a more useful structure.

Rådet för kommunal redovisning utkom 2006 och 2009 med nya rekommendationer för hur kommuner ska värdera sina anläggningstillgångars nyttjandetider. Syftet med detta arbete är att öka förståelsen för hur kommuner värderar och fastställer materiella tillgångars nyttjandetider. Arbetet syftar till att identifiera och beskriva kommuners värderingsmetoder, arbetsprocesser samt att utveckla en modell för fastställande av tillgångars nyttjandetider. Arbetets data är insamlad genom två delstudier där semistrukturerade intervjuer användes som datainsamlingsmetod. Insamlad data analyserades med hjälp av teorin om ansvarsskyldighet, agentteorin, teorin om förvaltarskap, institutionell teori samt Life cycle costing teorin.

AbstractThe aim of the thesis was to examine some older people's experiences of everyday life and how it is to grow old in Namibia today. Because everyday life is a broad concept, we chose to focus on some specific parts of everyday life. These are chores, family, work/education, elderly past and present and the government/society. Furthermore we chose to look at the similarities and differences between the experiences on the basis of gender, race/ethnic groups and class.We chose to use a qualitative research method and to be inspired by life stories. We used a semi-structured interview guide and interviewed six people between 70 and 89 years.

The way towards an equal society, where both women and men has the same possibilities both private and in professional life, has been a long and still ongoing process. During my practical studies to become a recreation instructor I have noticed a difference between the children I have met in my workplace. What I saw was that girls and boys had a different approach towards their future, plus that the pedagogues at the school had different roles depending if they were men or women.In this study I have investigated which dreams and visions a group of after-school children has, plus how these distinguish between the genders. I have through group interviews, first three boys and then three girls, investigated how children look at their future focusing on career, spare time and familysituation. The questions have also focused on how children look at the schools pedagogues with gender as a premiss.My result shows that the children's vision on their future tends to look different between the genders.

This thesis evaluates the user board of the elememtary school in Veberöd, Sweden. In this process an evaluation model is developed. The model itself gets evaluated in a meta-evaluation to improve the model for future use.The starting point of the evaluation is the deliberative democracy theory. Although Sweden is a representative democracy an official desire exists to have a democracy with deliberative qualities. The evaluation model is constructed to fit this context and is therefore, not only, set out from classical goal-based evaluation but also from deliberative democratic evaluation.

AbstractThe importance of good construction planning affects the final costs of the production and the timing of the project. Planning for building projects has been studied with the aim of identifying how three week planning appears in the construction industry today.A case study has been conducted in Navisworks Simulate to assess whether the software is suitable to connect the task schedule with the BIM model to create a 4D model. 4D models are used for performing 4D construction simulation to visualize the project. In order to use the benefits of the model, investment in equipment and software is required. This means higher costs for the companies.

The climate changes that are occuring in the world have resulted in that the EU callingfor a 20 % reduction in energy consumption to the year 2020, to reach that goal theEU want the public sector to go forth as a good example. Västfastigheter owns andmanage the hospital buildings in the Västra Götaland region. To be able to reducetheir energy usage Västfastigheter has hired several consulting firms to chart out theenergy consumption on each hospital building. The biggest energy savings potentialhave been calculated and what the cost will be to perform each action. The energyaudit have been completed and stand as the decision basis for Västfastigheter?s choiceon which action packages that should be implemented.

The conversion in the Viking Age and the High Middle Agea in Scandinavia and how this affected women is discussed. Did women get a better life when the people had converted to Christianity or not. Our written sources are later than the conversion to Christianity. Instead the material culture, graves, grave goods and runic stones, can help us understand the life of women. Nordic mythology presents a contrast between faith in the Viking Age and Christianity..

The credit rating industry is a complex and fascinating industry. Its history stretches back more than 150 years and has gradually increased in importance. During its history the dynamics of the industry have changed. The extended-principal-agent model was developed by synthesizing different principal-agent-relationships into one model. This model provides a holistic understanding of the credit rating industry and illustrates the interdependence between the different relationships.

After emergencies involving chemical spills it is of great importance that correct measures are taken with short notice, both for the security of people and in order to minimize future environmental consequences. The RIB-unit at the Swedish Rescue Services Agency initiated this study, the aim of which is to propose changes to the existing chemical transport calculation tool: Chemical Spill 3.4, included in RIB - Integrated Decision Support for Civil Protection, so that it can be used for decision support as well as in preventive work. A rough estimation of chemical transport in the subsurface is considered being of great importance when making decisions during emergency response operations.The proposition presented in this report is a non site specific chemical transport model which is designed to give a rough estimation of NAPL flow in homogenous isotropic soil shortly after an instantaneous release. The model can be used at two levels; both in situations without access to information on subsurface properties, and with more accuracy in situations with knowledge of the included parameters. For that reason the user can choose among predefined alternatives or assign the parameters a numeric value to increase the quality of the model output.

The aim of this study was to investigate factors that ex-criminals believe have been of importance to them when they decided to leave a lifestyle of criminality behind. The study was based on eight semi-structured interviews with informants who had committed various forms of crime. Common to all informants is that they are now members in the Swedish association KRIS (In English: CRIS, Criminals Return Into Society), living a life without crime. The stories of the informants have been analyzed on the theoretical basis of social ties, the exit process, role loss, motivation and the life course perspective. Our study showed that the informants have been affected and motivated by various life events that could be identified and pin-pointed during the interviews.

Holmen Paper is one of Sweden?s leading manufacturer of paper, with two Swedish production facilities located in Norrköping and Hallstavik. The European continent constitutes the company?s largest customer base which makes the company?s distribution system an integral part of the business. Historically, much of the produced paper has been transported by vessels, as vessels allow large volumes of goods and deliveries to markets which are difficult to reach with other modes of transportation.

There is a lack of consensus within politics on how to deal with the so-called youth problem that exists in vulnerable areas. The politicians' positions are communicated in speech and writing and influence the majority society's attitude to children in vulnerable areas. Children are at the same time a vulnerable group in society. They are dependent on adults and need their guidance and support throughout their upbringing. In vulnerable areas live children whose health is affected by social and economic vulnerability and discrimination from the outside world. By looking into how hegemonic masculinity as norms are formulated in Swedish political documents, in relation to experiences of stigmatization and violence among children from vulnerable areas, this study wishes to examine if children?s right to a life without violence is being respected in vulnerable areas.

AimThe purpose of this study has been to help Åtvidabergs FF to find development opportunities by reviewing the internal communication and decision making process within the organization. In this study we have used two models, Johari window and Administrative man.Our study has two main questions. The questions at issues are:? Can Åtvidabergs FF with help of the communication model Johari window identify how the internal communication can improve?? Can Åtvidabergs FF use the Administrative man as a decision model?o Will the use of the model Administrative man lead to better decisions will be made?MethodWe have made a qualitative case study in a positivistic spirit. Data has been collected through half structured interviews.