The primary purpose of this study has been to investigate the Swedish timber industry?s perception of compression wood. A secondary aim has been to describe particular areas within the production process where compression wood is likely to cause problems. This study has mainly been carried out as a questionnaire. In order to connect the findings to current research, additional information has also been collected by means of a literature review. The questionnaire has been intended for sawmills and wood-manufacturing companies from various production classes and owner categories, as well as from different parts of the country.

Husqvarna AB operates two warehouses located in the area of Jönköping. The most important task is to manage the large volume fluctuations during the peak season. DHL Exel Supply Chain (DESC) run the warehouses and the domestic transportations is outsourced to DHL Express. A number of forwarder agents are responsible for distributing the export gods. In the present situation a bottleneck occurs at the warehouse loading section, and the consequence is fulfill the time of delivery for all customer orders.

The engine of JAS 39 Gripen, RM12, has recently been equipped with a new flameholder and a new engine inlet. This change has caused an increased noise level from the engine when the afterburner is in use. The noise level reaches its peak when the afterburner is partially used. The problem is thought to be unstable combustion in the regions around the flameholder. A solution to the problem has been proposed by Volvo Aero.

The Swedish cooperative Lantmännen Ekonomiska Förening has initiated a project labelled "Operation Blåljus" that includes an extensive program for closing down elevators. The number of elevators will be reduced from 92 to approximately 15 after harvest of 2007. The objective of Blåljus is to increase the price of grain with 10 öre/kg. A project has been initiated at the Lantmännen Grain division where the purpose is to provide the farmers with support in their decisions and practical advice how they can load a 35 ton grain truck on 30 minutes. The result from the project will serve as a support system to the farmer in his ambition to achieve cost efficient systems to load a truck with grain on the farm.

Today's high oil prices and more stringent environmental requirements have led to that manufacturers of mobile construction equipment try to make their products more energy efficient. With this in mind a project about hybridization of hydraulic systems has been formed. The purpose of this project was to analyze the savings that can be achieved by hybridization of hydraulic systems. A reach stacker truck (Kalmar DRD450-80S4XS) were simulated in some load cases with conventional hydraulic systems and with three types of hybridized hydraulic systems. Different parts of the hydraulic systems were also analyzed separately.

The objective with this project was to design a new lifting aid connected to toilet chair.A questionnaire distributed at three homes for aged people indicated that there was an interest in a mechatronic lifting device.Since existing products have limited tilting functionality, the new design was chosen to introduce lifting by motorised tilting of the sitting platform. The mechanical construction was analyzed based on a maximum load caused by a person with weight 160 kg. Two linear actuators were used to control the tilting/lifting of the sit ?place, making standing-up easer.Finally, 28 persons tested the new lifting device and gave their impressions. Many appreciated the safe, stable lifting speed.

Many buildings are now nearing the end of their service life. This applies to both the older houses from the 40's and 50's to the million project houses that did not prove to be as sustainable in the long run. Often there is a desire to extend the service lifetime, but to do that you need to make detailed inspections. The Folkets hus in Gävle is one of those buildings that is in need of renovation and to fulfill the new requirements that must be met in today's buildings. It is desired to make the buildings rentable space more attractive and to extend the building with two more floors.

The three post-communist states - Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine ? have gone different ways in terms of freedom and democracy since the breakdown of the Soviet Union 1991. During these years, the state and the civil society have been fundamental actors in the struggle against, and even for, authoritarianism.A strong state with great capacity in Belarus has undermined the chances for the civil society to fulfil its task as a watchdog of the state and link between the citizens and the government.Failed authoritarianism in Moldova has led to a situation where both the state and the civil society are weak. The major problem is lack of organization and cohesion; both the state and the civil society have often been divided by ethnical differences and are therefore not strong enough to promote democracy.In Ukraine, the dominance of a strong state ended in 2004 when the Orange Revolution took place, sometimes called a ?peak of democracy? where popular mobilization and protests succeeded in it's opposition against the state.

Is Försäkringskassan, one of Sweden?s largest organizations, an equal place to work in? Dosex, ethnical background or age matter when being treated by colleagues and managers?In this thesis I try to, through interviews with both the Human Resources-departement andsome administrators at Försäkringskassan, find the answers to how the organization?s internalwork regarding equality functions. To help me with the analysis I use both discourse theoryand gender theory. I find a discrepancy between the Human Resources-department?s and theadministrators? view of how the internal equality work is run.

There are records of lowering of the water level in a lot of the Swedish lakes from the middleof the 1700th century. The aim was gaining more areable land to meet the needs of more foodto support the expanding population. In areas with top soil which contents of clay or loam asin the southwest of Scania in southern Sweden this was proven to be a successful wayexpanding the total outcome of the harvest.The studied area in the northeast of Scania, though, consists of morain with a lot of mires -much less nutritious conditions. When the water level is lowered the atmosphere gets accessto the peat. The dissolving of the organic matter that has been suppressed by the lack ofoxygene below water level continues.

This report investigates the possibility to use non-petroleum based adhesive (biobitumen) in asphalt. The main reasons for replacing bitumen are the fact that oil prices are rising, the threat of peak oil and the fact that the asphalt industry is becoming more environmentally friendly.The main purpose of this report is to investigate whether there are any non-petroleum based adhesives on the market. If so, how can they be used? The questions covered are:? Are there any other alternative asphalt coatings available?? Can bio-oils be used in asphalt?? If the bio-oils can be used, what are the details their properties?? How does a cold climate affect the bio binders?? What is the Swedish asphalt industry?s opinion about bio asphalt?The project was concluded through literature studies, consultations with people in the asphalt industry and through several interviews.The conclusion of this report is that there are some existing non-petroleum based adhesives on the market. They are mainly used for bike paths, sidewalks and parkareas.

Several scenarios point toward a future where we are far more people on Earth than today, where most of those people will live in cities and where oil no longer dominates in the transport systems and in agriculture as an energy source and where less energy will be available to us. The report investigates what areas in traditional ecological knowledge that can contribute to the transition that follows a future with less energy and establishes three areas with the potential of becoming important: areaspecific biological knowledge in societies that are more dependent upon its surrounding environment and its natural prerequisitesthe local management of these biological resources, which often means a fair sharing and sustainable handling of the resources and which has been observed in Nobel price awarded Elinor Ostrom?s researchthe world views that lie behind how the environment is considered and managed, world views that can inspire and point toward how we in the future should formulate world views that do not give the destructive modern management of the environment It is also noted that the magnitude of the city living in the future is a historical news and that very little research has been done in how traditional knowledge can be transferred into this kind of living..

Käppala wastewater treatment plant situated on the island of Lidingö northeast of Stockholm is running a project during 2004 and 2005 with the purpose to map out the capacity of anaerobic digestion in the digesters that treat primary and excess sludge. The purpose of this thesis work, which is part of that project, was to characterize the present anaerobic digestion process and to investigate its capacity to treat other organic wastes such as restaurant waste and waste from water works. To decide the potential of both methane and biogas production from different substrates batch laboratory tests were carried out. To imitate the anaerobic digestion process at Käppala continuous tests with small scale reactors were carried out. These reactors were later fed with restaurant waste.The batch laboratory tests showed that primary sludge had a potential biogas and methane production of 0,62 and 0,35 Ndm3/g VS respectively after 40 days of digestion.

The results from 13 interviews and one opinion poll answered by resident physicians were interpreted as stories about identity as primary material for this thesis. The resident physicians stress the importance of considering whether their work primarily concerns curing people from diseases or if the process of working with sick people also includes how to handle the pressure of work, either by adapting to it or changing it, and the search for balance between work and private life. Residents separate themselves from older physicians by saying that younger physicians accentuate empathy to a greater extent while older physicians emphasise a high work load. Identity seems to effect how the residents perceive and relate to their work, themselves as residents and different types of patients..

Östby waterworks in the community of Kramfors has since 2003 had problems of fast clogging of the slow sand filters. As the clogging appears more often, they must be cleaned more frequently which has made the drinking water preparation difficult. Wintertime it has sometimes been impossible to clean the filters which has led to their closing and this has influenced the water quality negatively.The waterworks is a surface waterworks which takes its raw water from the lake Sjöbysjön. The water is flocculated and filtered in a contact filter with the flocculent EKOFLOCK 91. Thereafter it is alkalinized before it reaches the outdoors placed slow sand filters.