Denna uppsats är en pilotstudie för Regionförbundet Östsam. Den syftar till att kritisera och testa en metod som behandlar serviceutbudet i tätorter inom Fjärde storstadsregionen. Denna metod bygger på att kartlägga utbudet, vikta detta enligt en poängmodell och sedan analysera resultatet och söka skapa en ortsklassificering. Metoden är tänkt vara ett verktyg i modern regionalplanering och kunna förbättra serviceutbudet i regionen. I studien har svensk regionalpolitiskt historia, centralorts- och nätverksteori använts för att visa på hur modern regionalplanering söker skapa samarbeten utifrån funktionella omland och inte genom administrativa områden.Det studien visar är att metoden står i förhållande till den politik som förs av dess användare.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the perception of value and risk in CSR as well as analyzing how financial institutions influence responsible behavior in business in order to create sustainable economic growth.Methodology: The study has a qualitative research method used by an abductive process. Data has been collected through semi-structured interviews with respondents from three venture capital companies and three banks. The sample of respondents was done through a convenience sample with respect to access and expertise in the research area.Conclusion: The most important meanings of the research results have shown that CSR holds an intrinsic value concerning contributing value as its conceptual meaning in terms of sustainable development. CSR can also be regarded as a dimension of risk management to reduce the risk of negative externalities on corporate activities. Investors and financiers contribute to sustainable companies through active ownership and improvements in the CSR dimensions.

AbstractOil rich states all over the world share a common feature. They are less likely than other states, depending on other resources, to be ruled democratically. In this essay Saudi Arabia has been studied with the purpose of trying to find which mechanisms that lie behind why oil rich states do not have institutions or institutional change that promotes democracy.Saudi Arabia has the world's largest known reservoir of oil. The oil brings huge revenue each year to the Saudi Arabian government. Why have Saudi Arabia not developed democratically when their economic growth suggests that to be a natural step? Under the framework of historical institutionalism and path dependency theory, I have used process tracing trying to track the mechanisms behind Saudi Arabia's authoritarian rule down.

The National Libraries task to save and preserve the national cultural heritage has turned to a new challenge in a digital world. The preservation of born-digital material for future use requires not only saving the digital object itself but also information about the object, preservation metadata. This is a relatively new issue and the library community has very little experience in this area. It has become evident that international cooperation is necessary to solve the task and that the development of international standards is of fundamental significance. This thesis investigates what has been done to meet the problems with the fast obsolescence of digital material with the focus on metadata.

This thesis seeks to explain the effect of private equity ownership on the amount of invest- ments made in a company. We use three capital expenditure based key ratios to determine if there is a tendency for private equity owned firms to invest more or less than comparable companies. Our dataset involve 27 Swedish buyout companies that were sold by a private equity fund between 2001 and 2009. Each buyout is assigned a peer group of two firms in similar size and in the same industry. Firstly, we compare the key ratios to determine potential differences in the level of investment.

Mussel meal is a potential source of protein, with a good composition of amino acids, for laying hens and broiler chickens, and may replace the use of fish meal in organic poultry production. Lead and cadmium are heavy metals which occur in the environment and can be accumulated in mussels. When poultry are exposed to heavy metals, the metals are absorbed in the small intestine and distributed in the body in the form of ions, complexes or bound to proteins. In poultry, lead accumulates in bone tissue, liver and kidneys, while cadmium accumulates in liver and kidneys. Generally very low concentrations of these heavy metals occur in muscles of broilers which have been exposed to feed contaminated with cadmium or lead.

Ökad efterfrågan på virke har lett till ett ökat intresse för och användande av olika produktionshöjande åtgärder. En sådan åtgärd är dikesrensning som innebär att befintliga diken eller dikessystem rensas för att de skall bibehålla eller återfå sin ursprungligt avvattnande och produktionshöjande funktion. Sveaskog avser att öka omfattningen av dikesrensning. Därför behövs en kartläggning av behovet på deras marker. På samma gång behöver produktionseffekterna och livslängden på dikena utrönas. Studien genomfördes via en studie av befintlig litteratur om skogsproduktionseffekter efter dikesrensning och dikning samt förfall och livslängd hos diken.

Inledning: Sedan i november 2010 är revision för småföretag inte längre ett tvångenligt lag i Sverige. Marknaden för redovisnings- och revisionstjänster har dessutomutvecklats så att funktioner som tidigare endast revision kunde bidra med till ettföretag numera även kan erhållas genom redovisningstjänster. Det är såledesintressant att undersöka vad som påverkar småföretagen till det val av tjänst de gör.Problemformulering: Vilka faktorer påverkar småföretagens val av externaredovisnings- och revisionstjänster?Syfte: Syftet med studien är att kartlägga faktorer som påverkar småföretags val avredovisnings- och revisionstjänster.Metod: Studien är genomförd med en kvantitativ undersökningsmetod där detempiriska materialet har genererats genom en internetbaserad enkätundersökning.Deltagarna i enkätundersökningen består av småföretag i Sverige som valts ut genomett slumpmässigt urval.Resultat och slutsats: Studien påvisar att regional placering, anställda, ägarstruktur,omsättning och företagarens ålder är samtliga faktorer som enligt vår studie påvisarett samband med valet av redovisnings- och revisionstjänster. Av studiens resultat kanvi således konstatera att kontroll och verifierbarhet, samt gamla vanor ochförväntningar är samtliga viktiga omständigheter när företagaren står inför sitt val avexterna tjänster..

The study evaluated the Mutant Prevention Concentration (MPC) of Pradofloxacin on three Escherichia coli (E.coli) strains, 2 wildtypes and one first-step gyrA resistant mutant. We also measured the value of AUC (Under the Concentration)/MPC that prevents growth of resistant mutants. It is of importance to reach a concentration above MPC that prevent E.coli from developing resistance against the antibiotic.We used an in vitro kinetic model where we added bacteria? and antibiotic. The culture flask was attached to a pump with an adjustable pump-speed.

Invasive alien plant species have historically caused major damage to ecosystems and are considered to be amongst the greatest threats to biodiversity globally. The lurking threat of harm to well functioning ecosystems has led to the development of global and regional goals and regulations which seek to stop the spread of invasive species. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a list of species that are specifically harmful to the Swedish flora and fauna, which includes (amongst others) garden lupin. The management of invasive species is however largely dependent on local actions, making municipal public servants key players. This qualitative study uses interviews to investigate how municipal public servants who are responsible for managing invasive alien species view this work.

In order to rescue a distressed submarine crew, the Swedish Navy is able to use a deep submergence rescue vehicle, DSRV. This mini submarine ascends, docks to the downed submarine and picks up the whole crew. The submarine rescue ship HMS Belos has a special crane located in the aft of the ship to lift the surfaced DSRV aboard, which then docks on to the on board pressure chambers located below deck. During inspections the aforementioned crane has shown to have problems with cracks in the structure, most of them located in the bolted joint between the top part of the crane and the two leg parts. A simulation of the forces acting on the structure in heavy sea condition was conducted; these values were then used as input values in a Finite Element Method, FEM, analysis of the joint.

The aim with this study was to investigate the effects a change of manufacturing process would have on the mechanical properties of drill bits made of a WC/Co composite used for stone cutting. The method used today is sintering, where the material is heated in a conventional sintering oven. The other method was microwave sintering, where the material is heated by radiation in the microwave region. Also an investigation of the manufacturing cost were made.The main difference between the two heating methods is that the conventional way is a rather slow process and the microwave method is very fast. The material is also heated homogeniously in the method with mirowaves, aposed to the case with the conventional sintering where the material is heated from the outside in.This makes the material harder and more wear resistent.

This essay is about Swedish government cultural policy.The premise is that cultural policy is a form of welfarepolicy. The welfare state has changed and this affects theconditions for the cultural policy. Welfare is funded andorganized in different parts of society, in three spheres thatcan be said to represent society as a whole. These spheresare the public sphere, the market and the civil society. Theaim is to analyze how the national cultural policy appearedin the 1970s, compared to how it appears today.

The aim of this study was to explore transsexuals? identity formation and experiences related to cross-sex hormone treatment, as well as to become absorbed in the narrative approach. To be able to participate in transsexuals? identity formation, life stories were well suited as a theoretical approach. Life stories can be seen as socially situated actions according to Mishler, where individuals? identity formation can be seen as both identity performances and identity claims.

The disintegration of the Soviet Union was a vast experience, not solely for the former members and inhabitants of the Soviet Union, but also for the rest of the world. This thesis examines Estonia and Uzbekistan's different experience with transition. By examining three different aspects of transition I seek to explain Estonia and Uzbekistan's different outcome of transition. Estonia has since their independence been fully aware of the process that started with their independence. They have reformed both the political and economic system, the industry is privatized, institutions democratic and Estonia is today a member of the European Union.