Title: Artists? identity and image ? a brand perspective The purpose of this study has been to create an understanding of how artists in the music business can be seen as brands and to see what stands out when having this approach. During the study we have focused on the two terms identity and image. We find this issue interesting and relevant since branding has been widely discussed in business economy, but not enough when it comes to artists in the music business. To answer our research question we have targeted three aims for this essay, which is to clarify and analyze:? Identity and image when people are viewed as brands? What specifically characterizes the image of the artists when they are seen as brands and what it might mean that artists are considered as brands? How artists identity and image can be highlighted, shaped, influenced and how it can changeIn this study we have used a qualitative approach to get the topic in depth and gain a greater understanding for the subject.

High technology companies in Sweden spend a huge amount of money on research and product development in proportion to what they get back in earnings from their inventions. Product development has traditionally been regarded as much more important than business development. This thesis aims to point out the critical factors behind successful business development processes for high technology companies. We have chosen to make a case study of Hexagon, a highly successful and innovative company within the measurement technology business. Internal and external actors that are important for business development have been identified and interviewed in order to understand how ideas are developed and executed.

Chemotherapy is one of the most important methods of treatment available today for the treatment of neoplastic diseases and gives many patients an increased quality of life and a prolonged survival time (McKnight, 2003). The object of this study was to find out more about owners? views on and experiences of chemotherapy of dogs when it comes to for example quality of life, side effects and if they would make the same decision and treats their dog again in the future. A questionnaire was in the spring of 2009 sent out to the owners of 100 dogs that had been treated with chemotherapy for neoplastic diseases at Universitetsdjursjukhuset, Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet (SLU) in Uppsala between 2002 and 2008. The response rate was 67 %.

In this study, the sea trout (Salmo trutta) spawning migration was studied in the river Själsöån, Gotland, to assess the main external factors determining upstream migration and seasonal changes in fish parameters. Additionally population trends were studied by examination of old data. The most important external factors for upstream migration were the air pressure, air temperature and wind direction. No significant difference was found between when males and females migrated upstream. Larger females in better condition started migration earlier than the smaller females in poorer condition.

Ever since Internet revolutionized the world, e-stores and e-commerce has grown into becoming a natural part of consumer's everyday life. Much thanks to it's facilitative and time saving characteristics. Online, consumers are provided with a huge assortment and the opportunity to shop any time they like. Yet, the absolute greatness of e-stores is the possibility to push prices below the physical store price, which seems to be most appreciated to a large extent by consumers worldwide. The fact that e-store sales in Sweden grew 14% last year verifies this.As more players step into the virtual world of e-commerce the competition gets tougher.

Chemotherapy is one of the most important methods of treatment available today for the treatment of neoplastic diseases and gives many patients an increased quality of life and a prolonged survival time (McKnight, 2003). The object of this study was to find out more about owners? views on and experiences of chemotherapy of dogs when it comes to for example quality of life, side effects and if they would make the same decision and treats their dog again in the future. A questionnaire was in the spring of 2009 sent out to the owners of 100 dogs that had been treated with chemotherapy for neoplastic diseases at Universitetsdjursjukhuset, Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet (SLU) in Uppsala between 2002 and 2008. The response rate was 67 %.

In the last decade, member states of the European Union have adopted a range of measures to decrease the dependency on fossil fuels. This has led to an increased use of biomass in heat and power production. In some countries, the lack of forest resource has led to large scale power producers importing their biomass needs. Due to high energy content and homogeneity, wood pellets have become an internationally traded commodity used for large scale power production. The Baltic States have emerged as one of the largest wood pellet exporting regions in Europe.

This paper?s objective is to investigate whether Modigliani and Miller (MM) I & II proposition from 1958 with regard to capital structure, is still valid among public Swedish firms.We have chosen the 63 firms on the Stockholm Stock Exchange (OMX) that Affärsvärlden magazine?s general index (AFGX) has categorized as industrial firms. We based this selection on the assumption that these firms are relatively capital intense and have a clear focus on production and, therefore, mainly uses capital structure as a mean to finance their production and not as a means in itself.To be able to fully evaluate these firms we have calculated the current key ratios based each firm?s annual report. To make the figures comparable across the entire population we adjusted them to each firm?s turnover.The results we have reached concur with MM?s proposition I regarding capital structures independence of the firm value.

As demand for renewable energy is increasing rapidly, the market for biomass pellets is expected to continue to grow in the near future. Most of the new raw materials that are discussed for pellet production have one thing in common; the production costs will increase compared to using traditional raw materials such as sawdust and planer shavings. The aim of this thesis is to investigate to what degree increased use of new raw materials for pellet production will affect the general pellet prices in Sweden and to survey what plans Swedish pellet producers have concerning new raw materials. To investigate the raw material situation of the Swedish pellet producers an industry survey was performed. Literature studies were also made on previous research in the subject field. Calculations of the production costs for pellets were done for the raw materials sawdust, wet sawmill chips and energy wood respectively. New raw materials are already used by the large-scale pellet producers in Sweden.

This master thesis is a study of the Swedish hydropower capacity to balance wind power. The Swedish government has decided that it should be possible to produce 30 TWh from wind power in the year 2020. The Swedish municipalities have to have plans for wind power plants with total yearly generation of 30 TWh. Wind power is an variable energy source that needs to be balanced by other energy sources. In Sweden the Swedish hydropower can be used for balancing a large scale introduction of wind power.

Denna studie behandlar nedskrivning av goodwill i svenska börsnoterade företag, och beaktar fyra möjliga förklaringar till detta. Relevant regelverk för den finansiella rapporteringen är IFRS. Genom en kvantitativ metod och ett deduktivt angreppssätt uppmärksammar vi problematiken kring att forskningen genererat olika förklaringar till att en nedskrivning äger rum. Studien omfattar 1260 observationer i form av räkenskapsår, som sträcker sig mellan åren 2006 till 2013. Vårt empiriska material är inhämtat via databaser och omfattar finansiell information för vart och ett av företagen, fördelat på de olika åren. Nedskrivningskostnaden för goodwill är manuellt insamlat från de företag där goodwill som tillgångspost minskat från år t-1 till år t. Från vårt teoretiska ramverk deduceras hypoteser som tillhandahåller eventuella orsaker till varför en nedskrivning kan ha ägt rum.

In recent years e-commerce has experienced a big increase in usage. Internet however, cannot offer the same level of personal contact as traditional shops can.E-commerce is characterized by impersonal and standardized web shops that do not stimulate any emotional connection between the customer and the company. Without this personal contact with the customer the possibilities for the company to stimulate loyalty decreases. Loyalty however, is as important in e-commerce as it is in traditional commerce. The authors of this paper chose the following problem for the study:What marketing strategies are fortunate for e-commerce companies to use to create loyal customers?To research this subject the authors saw it fit to combine qualitative and quantitative research methods.

År 2005 implementerades IFRS 3 och IAS 36 inom EU. Införandet innebär att företag årligen ska nedskrivningspröva goodwillvärdet istället för att linjärt skriva av posten under dess beräknade nyttjandeperiod. Nedskrivningsprövningen baseras på företagsledningens bedömningar om framtiden och flertalet studier har belyst att det nya regelverket lett till att goodwillposten utnyttjas opportunistiskt för att manipulera det rapporterade resultatet. I denna uppsats undersöks om det i en svensk kontext finns indikationer på att goodwillposten utnyttjas för artificial smoothing. Vi gör det genom att undersöka sambandet mellan goodwillintensitet och resultatvolatilitet och sambandet mellan onormalt stora vinster och goodwillnedskrivningar.Undersökningen visar att det föreligger ett signifikant negativt samband mellan goodwillintensitet och resultatvolatilitet och att det därmed finns indikationer på att goodwillposten utnyttjas för artificial smoothing.

The project explores the possibilities of using additive manufacturing (3d-printing) to build architecture. Through a combination of theoretical research and practical experiments a building system has been developed which has the capabilities to create houses with great geometric flexibilities to a affordable price today. The construction system Perimeter is demonstrated in a pavilion situated at Norra Djurgården in Stockholm. .

The purpose of this thesis is to describe the work process and the results of our work with developing a web based auction system for students at Linköpings University. The present options open for students to sell objects within the University is limited to a billboard that doesn?t support bidding. Because of that a system was developed to offer an environment where they could present there objects and let demand set the final price level. A new function in this process is the option of alternate ways to end an auction with the intention of eliminating some of the problems that exists within the currently available web based auction systems with last second biding..