During the past few years a vast amount of research has been done to increase the understanding of the complex ecosystem of the Baltic Sea. Modelling and simulations are important tools to increase knowledge of the system. A suitable model must be simple to use and the parameters and variables needed in the model must be easy to access.In this paper a dynamical mass-balance model, CoastMab, which is validated for smaller coastal areas, has been used to predict concentrations and transports of phosphorus in three large coastal areas - the Gulf of Finland, the Gulf of Gdansk and the Gulf of Riga. CoastMab uses ordinary differential equations to regulate inflow, outflow and internal flows. To reflect seasonal variations in temperature and different types of flows the model has a temporal resolution of a month.

The aim of this study was to evaluate different types of volume and taper equations that can be used to predict single-tree stem volume and stem diameter at any given height along the tree stem for plantation grown Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) and White spruce (Picea glauca (Mounch) Voss) in Iceland. A number of published tree volume equations were tested and modified to predict the total stem volumes over bark but three logarithmic equations were taken for more in-depth analysis. Three taper equations were tested. Two variable-exponent equations (Kozak 1997, Kozak 2004) and one exponential equation described by Biging (1984). Data from a total of 617 sample trees were used in this study, collected from stands in various parts of the country and present different types of stands growing in different soil types and cover most of the site conditions suitable for forestry in Iceland.

In this report a model was constructed in order to determine how a number of covariates influence the gross domestic product, GDP. The covariates were chosen depending on their expected influence on GDP, for example education and life expectancy. The data used in this report are collected from the World Bank. The model to describe GDP has been calculated using multiple line arregression. In order to reach a reliable final model the number of covariates has been gradually decreased to eliminate insignificant covariates.

This thesis shows the result from investigations of methods that use distance vectors when matching pictures. The distance vectors are available in a distance map made by the Euclidean Distance Transform. The investigated methods use the two characteristic features of the distance vector when matching pictures, length and direction. The length of the vector is used to calculate a value of how good a match is and the direction of the vector is used to predict a transformation to get a better match. The results shows that the number of calculation steps that are used during a search can be reduced compared to matching methods that only uses the distance during the matching..

This paper presents a study that evaluates the performance of stock recommendations issued on Swedish stocks during 2003. The selection of recommendations in this paper originates from banks, major brokerage firms and financial press located in Sweden. The total of 171 recommendations consisted of 99 buy recommendations and 72 sell recommendations. Forecast revisions presented in this paper suggest that Investment managers have no ability to predict performance winners, nor do their forecasts in general have any significant impact on stock prices. A mere 50 percent of the recommendations in this revision had a weak ability to outperform their benchmark indexes as in other similar revisions.

In industry applications, such as power supply plants, the issue of interaction between fluid and structure is always presented. More precisely, the fluid flow affects the structure by applying force(s) on it and vice versa. As a result, the structure can move (vibrate) or deform. A good understanding of this problem can help to design the system in term of safety, stability and efficiency.This project aims to optimize and test the Unicorn FSI solver from the FEniCS project [1] to simulate the interaction of fluid and structure in an experiment, which was carried out at Vattenfall Research and Development. The target is to improve the Unicorn FSI solver to cope with a real industrial problem.

This master thesis was a continuation of a previous study in the diesel exhaust characterization, which is part of the academical work embedded in the EMIR-1 project. The main objective of this thesis work was to finish the installation and make the proper modifications of the particulate mass measuring system located in one of the engine test cells at KTH, in order to be able to measure the mass of the particles from the exhaust of diesel engines.This experiment requires a diluted flow sample from the exhaust that should be sent to the device that makes possible the measurement of particle mass, called TEOM. In the first stage of this project, the objective was to study and make the proper modifications in the existing KTH diluter because there were several problems to obtain a constant dilution ratio from it during tests.This modifications were made and it resulted in a great improvement in the maximum inlet and outlet flow that this diluter can handle. Therefore another modification is proposed for controlling the inlet exhaust flow so it will be possible to regulate the dilution ratio and make it constant along a wide range of engine loads and speeds.The second and most important stage was to make particulate mass measurements possible by analyzing the frequency signal from the TEOM device. The idea was to obtain the frequency of oscillation from the tapered element in the TEOM, and therefore with the proper correlations, be able to predict the particulate mass concentration in the exhaust flow from the engine.An electrical problem in the TEOM circuit was detected and corrected, so the signal that carries the frequency from the TEOM can be analyzed properly.

What kind of international actor is the European Union and how shall we define it? These are questions that many have tried to answer often by addressing the apparent uniqueness of the EU itself. One of these theories is Normative power Europe. A theory whose main argument is that the EU is best perceived as a changer of norms. My aim with this thesis is to test this claim and to see if the Union should be regarded as a normative power.

The purpose of this essay is to analyze marketing in the sector of banking. The following purpose is also to make an attempt to predict how marketing of banks will be structured in the future. Banks have a central role in today?s society which is constantly changing and that is why we are curious in how banks use different marketing channels today and how and if it will change in the future. The essay is based on a qualitative method.

Surrogate boycotts are highly threatening for corporations in terms of both economical cost and image damage. All corporations are due to our globalized environment and increased stakeholder fragmentation gradually more risking to become victims of surrogate boycotts, which of nature is hard if not impossible to predict and prevent. Corporations are generally recommended to build clear and strong corporate identities, which should be reflected in their most important stakeholders, as this will secure minimum damage on the corporate image. Even a surrogate boycott situation can have positive effects on corporations, especially in terms of image, as such situation increases the brand involvement and thereby make it possible for corporations to connect with important stakeholders on an emotional level. .

The present study investigates the relationship between narcissism, using identified facets in the five-factor model for the grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic personality, and job performance. The results, based on analyses of correlations from previous studies, meta-analyses and norm-data, show general differences regarding the grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic facet profile and their respective relationship to job performance. The results confirm previous study implications of the facet level data?s ability to capture aspects of the personality that a broader measure misses. Similarly, the results demonstrated that facets could differentially predict job performance in both a negative and positive direction.

Calculations are an important part of planning around a construction project. From concept to completion of the project calculation is a tool to try to predict the actual cost. During the production stage in particular, deviations occur which makes the actual cost different from the calculations.This thesis is done in collaboration with JM Residential Stockholm. The study includes a cost follow-up in which a comparison was made between the calculated production cost and actual cost for the five projects. The aim of the study was to observe the most common reasons that a project deviates from the calculated production cost and then summing these causes in a number of categories.

In this study, the pre-tension force in an insert screw connection are examined in order to establish a greater understanding of the system and to facilitate the process of making new metal cutting tools. Certain especially significant design variables such as the offset, the length of the contact thread and the shank length above the threaded hole, are selected to be closely examined. A comparison of the influence on the pre-tension force between threaded holes made with a worn, versus new, threading tool is also involved in the experiment. The study is limited to handling the screw sizes M2,5 and M3,5. The results show that a regression model, with good approximation, can be fitted to the measured values.

A computer model based on minimization of the free energy, capable to predict contact angles and spreading transitions between Wenzel and Cassie mode for drops placed on surfaces with different topography were implemented in matlab. Simulations were compared with experiments documented in the literature. These showed that reported transitions between Cassie and Wenzel mode can be explained by minimization of the free energy. In this report, a study on the possibility of constructing water repellent paper surfaces with a combination of treatment with octadecyltrichlorosilane and topography changes, is included..

Surrogate boycotts are highly threatening for corporations in terms of both economical cost and image damage. All corporations are due to our globalized environment and increased stakeholder fragmentation gradually more risking to become victims of surrogate boycotts, which of nature is hard if not impossible to predict and prevent. Corporations are generally recommended to build clear and strong corporate identities, which should be reflected in their most important stakeholders, as this will secure minimum damage on the corporate image.Even a surrogate boycott situation can have positive effects on corporations, especially in terms of image, as such situation increases the brand involvement and thereby make it possible for corporations to connect with important stakeholders on an emotional level..