The Swedish business cycle is in a strong position at the moment, leading to great results and larger profits. This strong business posture has encouraged companies to increase both their liquidity and revenue. Now there is a dilemma, what actions should or could a respectable business take on these newfound liquid assets.The purpose of this paper is to deliver a clear picture of what options there are for such companies listed on the Swedish stock-market, and how the market wants them to act. To these means we have studied the basic theories linked to this subject and reviewed the cause and effects that motivates them. We have also conducted interviews with the people representing the market through their line of business.In the theory we found several options on what companies in similar situations tend to do.

Sweden is known to be one of the world?s most equal countries. Nevertheless, out  of  Sweden?s 262 listed companies, only seven  of  them  has  a  female  president, which  is  equal  to  3,4  percent. To  counteract  these  numbers  there  are  several  possibilities.  One  arrangement  that  is  highly  controversial     is  affirmative  actions.  But  there  are  other  options,  for  instance  more  and  more female  networks  are  starting  to  rise  and  many  of  them  also  offers  a  mentoring  program  where  the  mentee  gets  the  opportunity  to  learn  from  someone  with  more  experience.The  purpose  of  this  study  is  to  examine  what  difference  the  female  network  Q80,  with  focus  on  its  mentoring  program,  is  doing  for  the  mentee.  As  an  underlying  purpose  the  study  is  also  examining  what  visions  and  attitudes  the  management  and  the  mentors  is  communicating  within  Q80.  The  focus  is  mainly  on  the  visions  of  Q80,  menas  mentors  and  business  exceeding mentorship.  A  survey  has  been  carried  out  among  mentees  from  three  different  seats of mentoring  programs  where  they  have  answered  19  different  questions  regarding  their  time  as  a  mentee.  Furthermore  interviews  have  taken  place  with the management  of Q80  and  two  mentors.  The  results  are  analyzed  based  on  theories  about  gender,  women  in   management,  leadership,  mentoring  program  and  organizational structure.  The  result  shows  that  Q80i  as  a  source  of  inspiration  and  a  support  for  the  category  of  "career  women"  with  its  core  mission  to  strengthen  the  participation of  individuals  on  a  personal  level  more than  to  work  to  even  out  the  gap  in  the  Swedish  labor market.

The giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is listed as an endangered species and scientific litterature concerning its biology and behaviour is scarce. The current study observed a group of three giant otters in a Swedish zoo. First the otters normal behaviour was recorded. Then the aim of the study was to see if the otters behaviour changed when given blue mussels (Mytilus edulis). Furthermore the aim was to see if the otters displayed any tool-using behaviour when given mussels.

This study investigates whether the permanent measurement bias (PMB) has changed over time for Swedish companies listed on the Stockholm Stock exchange at least one year during 1996-2000 or 2005-2010. By using the Residual Income Valuation-model the markets' implicit value on PMB is generated through reversed engineering, as values for all variables except PMB are entered such as the market perceived them at the specific valuation date each year. This implicit value is classified into industries and then sorted by their median. Statistical tests are performed to see if there is a difference between the industry median and the accounting-based values on PMB. The difference from period one to period two is also statistically tested for.The study finds that the implicit values on PMB have changed somewhat between the periods; however the fluctuations are not statistically significant.

FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) is the major form of certification system in Swedish forestry today and its more than 11 million hectares are covering almost half of the total productive forest area in the country. Its regulations prescribe that at least 10 wind firm trees should be left behind after every clear cutting operation. This study have taken place on 30 recently clearcut objects in Bergslagen, Sweden, were an inventory of the standing stock have been made. The research shows that, with 90 % security, the retained trees together contain 9-13 m3sk per hectare. Pine is the dominant tree and it covers more than half the numbers of retained trees and its volume cover 65 % of the retained trees total volume. Spruce is on second place with 30 % of the retained trees, but only 21 % of the standing stock.

The sun is a huge energy source with great potential of providing energy to the heating of homes and other buildings in an environmentally sustainable manner. In order to provide buildings with energy from the sun it is necessary to transfer the energy supply over time to when the demand arises. By storing the heat in a seasonal storage, solar energy from the summer can be used in the winter when the demand for heating is greatest.Today's existing plants are mainly in Europe and particularly in Germany. These facilities are designed to supply heat demands greater than 400 MWh and covers about 40-50 % of this need which consists of energy for space heating and domestic hot water. How much of the heat demand that is covered, the solar fraction, is partly due to losses from the storage which in turn is connected to the surface area of the storage.

 The purpose of my study is to illumine the aesthetic learning process significant in the preschool. Focus has been on allowing educators in different preschools to answer questions valid the use of aesthetic learning processes. I chose to do my study using an opinion poll and a literature review. The result shows that the preschools use aesthetic learning processes and according to the educator?s aesthetic learning process is a very important tool for education in the preschool.  The notable in this study is that the educators have different views of what aesthetic means. The first view is that you only work with aesthetic subjects.

How capital structure influences corporate performance and value has been in the interest of researchers and scholars for more than half a century, but an answer is yet to be found. The main objective of the present paper is to contribute with data for this cause and hopefully help to clarify this mystery. The method that was used was by analyzing the impact of debt on profitability and market valuation through linear regression. The study examined 17 Swedish property companies listed on Nasdaq OMX Large Mid and Small Cap over a 6 year period (2007-2012). The authors found a slightly negative relationship between debt-to-equity and profitability measured by return on equity (ROE) as well as by return on assets (ROA).

The purpose of this thesis was to examine how locally produced bioenergy may contribute to meet the climate target year 2050 in the municipality of Uppsala. The goal of reduced GHG-emissions from current 6,8 ton CO2-equivalents to 0,5 ton CO2-equivalents per capita and year, year 2050 is based on avoiding harmful penalties of an increased level of GHG in the atmosphere. By estimating available biomass in the county together with examining future technologies and emission factors for the substrates used, four possible future scenarios has been developed focusing either on electricity generation or production of biofuels. GHG-emissions of year 2050 have been calculated using the software LEAP. The conclusion is that bioenergy, depending on how it is integrated in the energy system, may reduce greenhouse gas emissions between 0.6 ton CO2-equivalents and 1.4 ton CO2-equivalents per capita or 12% to 25% compared to 5.5 ton CO2-equivalents in the reference scenario 2050. The greatest reduction is obtained if biofuels are produced in combination with energy efficient heat requirements in buildings..

The purpose of this study was to examine and illustrate how people look at themselves and their happiness in relation to their economic situation. This study was based on interviews with eight adults divided in two groups, four were big-income earners and four were unemployed/sick-listed. I identified factors that affected the feeling of happiness such as family, friends and economy. During the process four themes were identified, happiness, work, economic strain and the importence of money versus happiness. The analysis was based on the concept of aspiration levels and an economic perspective.The conclusion of the analysis was a surprise to me, showing that economic strain could be detected in both groups but by different means.

The purpose of this study is to examine the expiration day effect on a stocks volatility due to stock option expiration, which is every third Friday in the month on Stockholm stock exchange. Volatility is the standard deviation of a stock. It measures the uncertainty about a stocks future movement. When volatility increases, the chance or probability of a stock going up or down increases. It?s a common rumor among stock traders that stock volatility tends to increase nearby expiration day.

There are many elderly buildings, particularly those constructed during the million program, in need of renovations and plumbing replacement. An alternative to the traditional plumbing replacement is the relatively new and untested technique called relining. The purpose of the study is to thoroughly investigate the different types of relining that are currently available on the market to help enhance Peab?s knowledge before purchasing relining services. The theoretical part of this report is based on relevant information provided from companies, previous studies, investigations and reports within the area.

The executives of a firm possess considerable influence over a company's financial reports. The numbers can be adjusted in a favorable direction by engaging in Earnings Management, which harms the reliability of the financial reporting. Previous research suggests that Earnings Management can differ between genders. In recent years the debate about a woman's role in the business world has received generous attention in media. Moreover, the presence of women in leading positions has become a relevant issue for firms.

The interest in building low energy houses has increased along with the rising engagement inthe climate questions. With the advancing energy prices it is highly suitably for those whobuild and administer their buildings in long-term to build energy-saving houses. 40 % ofSweden?s total energy consumption constitutes of the energy in residences, therefore it iscrucial to take advantage of all the free energy as we possibly can. With crucial questions likequality of living and profit low energy building is a subject that concerns us all.Three proposals for apartment blocks are presented in this work on a real estate in Stockholm.Each proposal is developed through unique processes of design with the purpose to displaypossibilities to deal with the energy requirements of today and tomorrow through energybased architecture.The first proposal is an apartment block based on a traditional design process, the demands ofthe property owner and it?s affected by opinions from architects.

The ability for companies to anticipate the future and stay in the forefront of the competition is essential for successful business. The tool of Environmental Scanning is basics in the process of developing prescriptive strategies as well as vital in evolving emergent strategies. The complexity lies in gathering relevant information and transforming the information into adequate data, which can be utilised by management to optimise strategies. The purpose of this study is to scrutinise how successfully operating Swedish manufacturing companies, listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange?s ?Large Cap?-list, organise their Environmental Scanning actions and how this affects the development of strategies. Prior research on the subject has been used as foundation to presenting relevant theories.