Transportation represents 10-15 % of wood supply costs. It is therefore important to improve efficiency in the transport system to decrease these costs. The aim of this study is to map the timber vehicle routing processes used by a sample of timber hauling contractors and to identify possible links between the vehicle routing process and service and economic variables. The study was carried out at Södra Skog in autumn 2008. 15 timber hauling contractors were sampled and interviewed about their work with timber transports.

Traditionellt utvärderas effekter av kognitiv träning med objektiva prestationsmått. Syftet med uppsatsen var att undersöka självskattad exekutiv funktion som ett alternativt mått för att utvärdera effekter av kognitiv träning. Som utfallsmått valdes The behavior rating inventory of executive functioning - self report (BRIEF-SR). Vidare användes blandad design med för- och eftermätning samt tre oberoende grupper. Gymnasieelever (n = 63) delades in i; aktiv träningsgrupp, aktiv placebogrupp och passiv kontrollgrupp.

This degree project is based on identifying and allocation of costs in a packaging section at Electrolux Distriparts in Torsvik.The purpose of this thesis is to identify the costs that emerge when packaging different articles and show how the costs are allocated. The report also contains improvement suggestions about how the company can use the current computer system more efficient.The methods that have been used in order to approach the problem and the collection of information have mainly been literature study, interviews and observation.The work started with answering the questions; which expenditure cost and direct cost exist in the section, how can they be allocated, if improvement can be done and how the flow of information is supposed to happen.In order to answer the questions we used our former experience and the knowledge we achieved by reading literature, interview relevant persons in the company and observations carried out in the section.Through our studies, we came up with an Excel file, which is the groundwork for a template that can be used by the company in different occasions depending on the situation and need. It is important to remember to modify the template if the presumptions change. In the template, we have identified the different kind of costs that emerge when packaging different articles and we have also allocated the costs. In addition formulas and estimations that are necessary for the cost calculation are presented.The work consisted in making the groundwork for a template.

Cochleaimplantat (CI) är ett tekniskt hjälpmedel som ges till personer med dövhet eller grav hörselnedsättning. Ett CI kan hos barn ge en möjlighet till ökad utveckling av kognitiva och språkliga förmågor. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka utvecklingen av kognitiva och språkliga förmågor hos barn med CI. Studien är en del av en longitudinell studie som tidigare genomförts 2007 och 2008. Deltagarna var sju barn med CI mellan 8;8 och 14;5 år.

The aim of this study is to examine metaphors and what may be perceived as motif-circuits in Stig Dagerman?s play Den dödsdömde (The Man Condemned to Death) and the two short stories ?Den dödsdömde? (The Man Condemned to Death) and ?Mannen från Milesia? (The Man from Milesia). My intention is to discuss a single theme and identity-marks that unites all three works, using Paul Ricoeur?s The Rule of Metaphor (La mêtaphore vive) as well as the ?thematic critique? of Jean-Pierre Richard.What is metaphor for Ricoeur is for Richard themes (theme): an organizing principle, a sort of schedule around which a world is constituted. Hence, I find similarities between the motif-circuits, Ricoeur?s metaphor-theory and Richards?s themes.

The study investigates the use of collection and treatment wagon for piglets in relation to castration. The importance of good and ergonomically designed tools in pig stables can probably reduce the risk of suffering from musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). During the last 20 years the number of pig farms has decreased and at the same time the herd sizes and the number of pig keepers have increased (Statistic Sweden (SCB) 2007). As a consequence, the pig keepers have more pigs to take care of, treat and neuter and spend more of their daily work in these large confinements. This also means that the repetitive work e.g.

The study is based on a new approach on how Swedish healthcare is supposed to be controlled and organized. There is a renowned administration problem within Swedish healthcare, which seems to be an obstacle to exploit the resources to the fullest. The latest venture within the healthcare system is patient involvement, where the patients become co-producers of their own care, which aims to both improve and make healthcare more efficient. A few wards in Sweden have implemented this new approach whereupon the study intends to discuss the effectiveness and efficiency in some of these.The study is restricted to three wards, whereof two of these are inpatient wards and the other one is an outpatient ward, within the medical clinic in Jönköping County Council, which has implemented the patient involvement approach in their daily work. The methodology for this study is qualitative in its nature where a time study of personnel time allocation and supplementary interviews with managing nurses on the wards have been conducted.

The aim of this study is to examine metaphors and what may be perceived as motif-circuits in Stig Dagerman?s play Den dödsdömde (The Man Condemned to Death) and the two short stories ?Den dödsdömde? (The Man Condemned to Death) and ?Mannen från Milesia? (The Man from Milesia). My intention is to discuss a single theme and identity-marks that unites all three works, using Paul Ricoeur?s The Rule of Metaphor (La mêtaphore vive) as well as the ?thematic critique? of Jean-Pierre Richard.What is metaphor for Ricoeur is for Richard themes (theme): an organizing principle, a sort of schedule around which a world is constituted. Hence, I find similarities between the motif-circuits, Ricoeur?s metaphor-theory and Richards?s themes.

A Queer Reading of Charles Bukowski?s Women and Love is a dog from hellThis thesis aims to examine how the representation of gender is portrayed in relation to sex and power in Charles Bukowski?s novel Women and poetry collection Love is a dog from hell.The theoretical frame of the analysis is based on Judith Butler?s queer theory regarding the heterosexual matrix and gender performativity. The analysis consists of a textual comparison where a specific selection of poems is analysed parallel to the novel to see how they interact and how they oppose each other, through a queer reading.The analysis is divided in three parts where the first one discusses the construction of masculinity in Charles Bukowski?s protagonist Henry Chinaski and how this is presented differently in the two literary genres. The second part reveals how sex is presented in relation to power and how active and passive women are considered as sexually acceptable.

Background: The global capital markets have enlarged investment opportunities and thus also the sources of funds for companies which increasingly face global markets for their services and products. Huge capital movements show that investors are constantly searching ways to minimise risk and maximise returns. In the light of the substantial growth of assets in institutional funds, an important question for international finance is the degree to which institutional investors have diversified their portfolios internationally. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the international diversification of portfolio investments of institutional investors in Japan, the US and the UK and deepen into international diversification in portfolios of Japanese institutional investors. Demarcations: Institutional investors can use their power directly in companies or indirectly through capital markets.

Efter ett 10 årigt arbete mot att harmonisera direkt beskattning inom EU har Kommissionen lagt fram ett förslag till direktiv avseende en gemensam konsoliderad bolagsskattebas (CCCTB). Syftet med förslaget är att företag som bedriver gränsöverskridande verksamhet endast ska behöva följa en regeluppsättning samt arbeta gentemot en skattemyndighet. Tanken är att resultaten från alla koncernens bolag inom EU slås samman och sedan portioneras ut till koncernföretagen genom en fördelningsnyckel.Kommissionen har angivit att konsolideringen ska medföra att medlemsstaterna kan konkurrera på lika villkor och att fördelningen av skattebasen ska ske rättvist mellan medlemsstaterna. Det finns medlemsstater som är osäkra på förslagets konsekvenser och medlemsstaternas konkurrensmöjligheter efter förslagets antagande. Därav, är syftet med uppsatsen att utreda om fördelningsnyckeln i förslaget medför att skattebasen fördelas rättvist mellan medlemsstaterna genom att medlemsstaterna har möjlighet att konkurrera på lika villkor på den inre marknaden.Fördelningsnyckeln består av tre komponenter; arbetskraft, tillgångar och försäljning.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how power structures concerning gender and sexuality emerge through the use of language in the Swedish reality show Paradise Hotel. Of particular interest is the representation of heterosexual relations in the show. Because of its interest in the relationship between power, gender and sexuality, the thesis is based on theories from gender and discourse studies. The specific theories referred to are Michel Foucault?s understanding of power, stereotypes according to Stuart Hall, Yvonne Hirdman?s gender system and contract theory, Judith Butler?s heterosexual matrix and R.W.

This report covers the product development of a new type of extendable table for the company Karl Andersson och Söner. The company wants to expand their product collection with a new product. Karl Andersson och Söner is a well-known family company that has been located in Huskvarna since 1898, and they are producing furniture for private- and the public environment.The aim with this project is that the product should lead to increased sales, as well as expand their collection to appeal a wider audience. The work is permeated by two issues, to achieve as good results as possible. The issues will bring up how to make a table better, in terms of the competitor?s options, and how to apply a design process to develop a table that meets the markets needs and requirements.The design process of the work consists of strategically picked parts from three separate design processes.

This graduate thesis takes its hold in an idea that many values, in cultural heritage environments, other than the onesthat can be seen with the eyes are as important for the experience of the environment as the visual ones; however theenvironments are usually defined by values that can be experienced visually!Interviews were held with four visually impaired persons. This to get a better understanding for how big part othersense modalities play in the experience of the cultural heritage environments. Questions were asked about what thevisually impaired especially value in cultural heritage environments and what is of value for preservation. Also whatcan be done to make the environments more impressive for them, how they experience the material part of theheritage, architecture, shape and color and with what senses they primarily remember. Furthermore the thesis aims todraw attention to how value definitions made by the conservation field affects the experience of the environmentsand therefore the accessibility for visually impaired.

Due to recent legal enactments regarding carbon dioxide emissions, the car industry is facing higher demands. An effective way of reducing these emissions is to minimize the weight of the vehicle. This thesis constitutes a feasibility study on whether or not it is applicable for the car industry to utilize an inner floor structure comprising composite materials. The principal was the projectSåNätt, in which the main participant was Volvo Cars Corp. In consultation with a reference group, consisting of delegates from the industry and KTH, a specification of requirements was produced.