The project was carried out in cooperation with the department of product development IOS at IKEA. The work included improvements of a new existing product that Ikea soon will release on the market, Observatör, a wall bracket for flat screens. The product is supposed to fulfil the needs within this market for IKEA. However, since Ikea was not satisfied with it, our work was to carry out the improvements that were specified in the beginning of the project. Another task in the project was to develop a side-product that is supposed to be used together with Obeservatör for storage of DVD/decoders.The project included labour as problem definition to final technical drawings and a prototype.

The Swedish alcohol market has for many years been in the hands of the government. The question of the monopoly, its being or not being, has for a long time engaged both Swedish citizens and politicians. Since joining the European Union it has also been on the European agenda, trying to adapt Sweden to the more liberal alcohol politic in Europe.The suppliers find themselves acting on a completely different market than a market based on free competition. The suppliers are faced with one retail channel to the stores which creates dependence and uneven power balance towards the retailer. In addition to this, their marketing activities are strictly limited due to the laws and claims.

In order to detect movements and vibrations on different appliance, especially robots and self-going devices are used different sensors. One of the most used movement sensors are accelerometers. They are three different types of accelerometers one-axes, two-axes and three-axes. They can be analogue or digital. Husqvarna AB uses an accelerometer to detect movements of their self-going lawnmower Automower.

The purpose of the thesis has been to explore the use of hedge fund styles when constructing portfolios of hedge funds (i.e. funds of hedge funds). The central question is if the use of hedge fund styles can significantly explain and improve risk adjusted returns (characterized by Sharpe ratios). The study has been done in collaboration with Optimized Portfolio Management AB who desire further knowledge and evaluation of hedge fund styles for their fund of hedge funds.To be able to create successful ex ante portfolios we have explored various prediction models for both risk and return. Our findings indicate that return prediction is problematic using simple models such as regression since the risk exposure of the indices appear to change significantly over time.

Issuing convertible bonds for financing purposes has never become widespread practice amongst Swedish companies, in spite of the instrument being common in international markets. Economic theory based on efficient markets suggests that companies should gain no financial benefits from using convertibles and the Swedish situation could be interpreted as in line with this reasoning. However, there are Swedish companies that have chosen to issue convertibles and the Swedish market therefore seems both supportive and contradictory to the existence of benefits of convertible bond financing. Little research concerning the Swedish market has been conducted and the purpose of this explorative thesis is thus to enhance the understanding of the Swedish market for convertibles. This is achieved by conducting in-depth interviews with six listed Swedish companies that have recently issued convertible bonds.

The purpose with this essay is to study how companies use the repositioning process and identify the risks involved from a business perspective. We have chosen to base our essay on the following research questions:What reasons are there for a company to initiate a repositioning?, What does it mean for companies to implement a repositioning?, What are the risks with a repositioning?We have used a qualitative research method and have chosen to interview six respondents which in various ways are actively working with brand repositioning. Our study has been implemented with and deductive character.The most important conclusion that we observed after implementing our study is that repositioning is a high-risk project. Instead of changing their entire brand image, companies should instead make small changes and revitalize the brand by developing the strength that already exist.

During the last decade, there has been an increase in the use of technology-based self-services within the retail sector. The increase is particularly noticeable within the grocery market. The reason behind the increased use of these systems is partially due to the fact that companies within highly competitive retail markets continually look for ways of decreasing costs while upholding efficiency. The problem is that it is difficult to understand the true economical implications of investments relating to these machines. The purpose of this study is to investigate and contribute with new insights regarding the cost-structures of the stationary self-checkout systems and traditional cashier desks, within the retail grocery market.

SyfteSyftet med studien har varit att ta reda på hur ungdomars drogvanor när det gällercannabisanvändning ser ut, och ställa detta mot risk- och skyddsfaktorer som kan finnas i skolmiljön samt inom familjen för att utröna om det finns några samband mellan cannabisanvändning och ovan nämnda faktorer. Frågeställningarna är: Hur ser cannabis- användandet ut i förhållande till kön, årskurs och stadsdelsområde i Göteborg år 2010? Vilka samband kan vi se när det gäller cannabisanvändning i relation till de risk- och skyddsfaktorer kring skola (skolk, trivsel, betyg) och familj (positiv uppskattning, gränssättning, föräldra- relation), som vi kan finna i materialet?UrvalUrvalet grundar sig på enkätsvar från 7 602 elever i årskurs 9 och gymnasiets år 2 i Göteborgsstad.MetodUndersökningen som ligger till grund för studien är gjord av Göteborgs stad och baseras på en omfattande enkät innehållande 76 frågor kring alkohol, narkotika, tobak och spel, där vi förvår studie har plockat ut svaren som berör narkotika och cannabis. Studien är av kvantitativ art och har bearbetats i statistikprogrammet SPSS. Resultatet har analyserats med hjälp av det utvecklingsekologiska perspektivet, teorin om sociala band samt utifrån ett risk- och skyddsperspektiv.ResultatVår studie visar att det finns samband mellan ett cannabisbruk och de risk- och skyddsfaktorersom rör skolan och familjen.

Purpose: The study examines the risk a rising from the acquisition of shares, and its relation to the expected return. We would like to see how a high-risk portfolio is related to a low-risk portfolio. Although studying the portfolios annual performance.Theory: The theories that have been used in the study are, Capital asset pricing model, CAPM and portfolio theory.Method: The study is based on a quantitative method, the time interval is from 2008 to 2010.The annual reports, historical stock prices for companies and the index are used to perform calculations based on the essay theories.Conclusion: The beta value has positive liner correlation with the expected return. When there are bad times in the world, the companies are negatively affected regardless of industry. The Portfolios developed in the same direction during the time period..

The market value of forest properties can be assumed to consist of two components, a monetary factor and a non-monetary factor. The objective of this examination paper is to study the impact of non-monetary factors on the values of forest properties in Sweden. This study is based on a population of buyers of forest properties in the southern of Sweden. The results are based on interviews with 54 buyers. Of the purchases were 37 % new purchases.

This thesis describes how large Swedish companies finance their debt and identifies some factors that affect their decisions. The study is based on 10 well-known companies of which 9 are listed on Nasdaq OMX Nordic. The results show that the companies display several similarities concerning their debt structure and the factors which their choices are based upon. All companies in this study primarily use corporate bonds for their long-term borrowing, commercial papers for the short-term borrowing, and bank-facilities as back-up. There is a tendency that smaller companies in larger extent use bank-loans for long-term borrowing due to larger emissions costs when using market financing.

Work gets more seamless and the demand on workers increases because of changes in the labour market. Studies show benefits for workers and companies if the employee achieves a balance between work and family, a way to facilitate it is family-friendly policies. A study done by Unionen shows that three out of four white collar workers choose to vobba (working and caring for a sick child), which blurs the boundaries between work and family. Research on flexibility, organisational culture and gender structures shows how these aspects affect the balance between work and family. This is a study where seven white collar workers (three men) that vobbar and two managers (one man) were interviewed.

Denmark, Germany and Sweden are along with 24 other countries members of the European Union. Being part of the European Union also means being part of a European market. Within the union barriers for trade has been abolished in order to create more open market. This open market has also contributed towards a more globalized market for dairy products. What used to be a domestic market has become globalised with increasing trade among the members.

 Problem   Are there any abnormal changes in the parent company's share price at the news of a spin?off.ObjectiveThe main purpose of the study is to investigate how the news of a spin-off affects the parent company's share price. In other words if the news of the Spin-off gives an abnormal return on the Stockholm Stock Exchange during the specific period of 1998?2008. In addressing this, the paper will also investigate the following sub sections: are there any differences in the abnormal returns in various sectors and what the reasons to perform a spin?off in the Swedish market are.MethodAn event study in which market data is used to measure specific events? impact on the value of the company and on the effects on the stock market.

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.