Problem formulation: This paper will examine how the capital structure of firms affects their market valuation by applying the Modigliani-Miller theory on Swedish listed companies in a boom and a recession. The study will examine whether it is possible to draw any conclusions as to whether companies with high debt to equity ratios are valued lower in a recession, in comparison to companies with low debt to equity ratios.Purpose: To empirically test the Modigliani-Miller theory of capital structure in a boom and a recession in order to see if the companies? market value is affected differently depending on whether they have a high or a low debt to equity ratios.Methodology: The essay has a deductive and a quantitative methodological approach. Data analysis was done through a correlation analysis, a regression analysis and a hypothesis testing.Theory: The Modigliani-Miller theory of capital structure with taxes states that companies with a high debt to equity ratios has a higher value. One of the risks with a high level of debt could be that during a financial downturn companies have more difficulty realizing capital and are thus more likely to go bankrupt.Conclusions: The study shows results that are contrary to the Modigliani-Miller's theory; all the correlation analyses between debt to equity ratios and market value are negative.

The project, Flexible Snowboard System, has been carried out by the project group independently and is a module developed for snowboarders, ski rentals and ski schools. The problems of today?s solutions are that they cause the user an inconvenient standing position when riding the ski lift or skating the transportation slope, also mounting, adjustments and disassembling of the bindings are time consuming and brings undesired wear to the screws and screw holes. In addition any adjustments require that the user steps out of the bindings and have tools at hand. Flexible Snowboard System is a universal module which means that it can be assembled with all of today?s snowboards and bindings.

Information stored on unprotected computers that gets lost or stolen, and falls intothe wrong hands, can easily be accessed by moving the hard disk to a controlledcomputer, or by booting the computer from a removable medium, in order to getaround the operating system login. This is something that largely affects companieswhere customer information, trade secrets and other sensitive information can becompromised. A classic solution to the problem is encryption of individual files, but ithas some drawbacks as it puts a great responsibility on the users and unencryptedinformation can be left by mistake. A better solution to the problem is transparentencryption of the entire hard disk, i.e. that encryption and decryption of informationis performed automatically and without the user being affected.

Bakgrund: Smärta är för intensivvårdspatienten en unik, subjektiv, obehaglig och flerdimensionell upplevelse. Intensivvårdssjuksköterskan har ett moraliskt ansvar att lindra patienternas smärta. Verbalt icke-kommunicerandepatienter kan inte skatta sin smärta med hjälp av Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). På en neurointensivvårdsavdelning (NIVA) i Stockholm har det beteendebaserade smärtskattningsverktyget- the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT), implementerats. Intensivvårdssjuksköterskorna på NIVA använder CPOT dagligen i sitt arbete.

Webbaserade informationssystem är idag en vanlig metod för företag att effektivisera sin verksamhet. Genom att använda sig av webbapplikationer så som web-services, kan resurser och data enkelt delas inom företaget på lokal och även global nivå över internet, genom att dessa resurser och data hämtas via web-servicen från centrala databaser. Examensarbetet utfördes hos Syntronic Software Innovations (SSI) i Gävle och det är utifrån deras specifikationer och krav som systemet har utvecklats. Denna uppsats redogör för hur ett sådant webbsystem kan utvecklas, samt vilka tekniker och verktyg som finns tillgängliga idag lämpar sig bäst för ändamålet. För att kunna svara på dessa frågor kommer forskningsmetoden design science att användas.

Feedback tools support electricity users within the Swedish residential sector to increase their knowledge of electricity and the electricity market as well as to become more aware of their electricity consumption, which in turn encourages a reduction and an increased flexibility of electricity use. The primary aim of this study is to identify and analyse how existing feedback tools can be improved, to ensure that they contribute efficiently to the achievement of the EU objectives congruent with a more sustainable energy system in 2030, emphasizing: greenhouse gas reduction, increased energy efficiency and an increased share of renewable energy. In order to reach the primary aim of this study, existing feedback tools have been identified and mapped and interviews with feedback tools providers have been conducted. The study is limited to three research areas: the practical functions of feedback tools, available technology and the use of feedback tools.The use of more efficient feedback tools will provide an increased success rate for energy management, which includes both behavioural changes and energy efficiency. According to the results from the interviews conducted for this study, an increased use and user frequency is important to utilise the energy management potential.

Testing and analysis of measurement data is a major part of the workday for development engineers within the section Fluid and Emission Treatment to assure the quality of products developed by Scania CV. The ineluctable variation and therefore uncertainty of results can be quantified and discussed with the use of statistical methods.The overall objective of this study is to examine how the competence of development engineers can be improved within the area of statistics. This has been done by relating the concept of competence with the use of statistical methods to analyse experimental data and by investigating which factors that influence the competence of the engineers. Observations of the daily operations, interviews and a focus group with development engineers and a workshop with management personnel, has been used as research methods in this study.The results show that the desired competence, from the perspective of the individual, consists of knowledge, motivation and support. It is important that none of these parts are neglected when the competence of engineers is to be strengthened.

AbstractWhy do Political Parties emerge? ? A Study of "Sjukvårdspartiet i Värmland"Political Science, Johan UtterThe political parties have important roles to play in contemporary society. They act as bearers of power and presents the voters with finished packages of ideas on how society should grow, develop and change. Political parties are essential to the survival and wellbeing of representative democracy. Many theories have been developed over the years concerning matters related to political parties, but one area of research remains largely unexplored, namely the topic on why political parties do emerge in the first place.

Rapid Granulator is one of the world's largest producers of granulators, which is a kind of grinderwho grinds discarded plastics to granules which later can be reused when pressure molding plastics.The company wanted help in developing a new, or alternatively extending their previous,measurement equipment. The old equipment was hard to use, required changes in the code fordifferent measurement scenarios and had a limited array of measuring quantities. Rapid had an ideaof a similar concept only with a greater number of input ports, better range of applicable sensors andan advanced yet easy to use interface. The system is supposed to be placed at Rapid's test departmentwhere it will be used as a tool for finding faults and provide data which can be used for furtherdevelopment of the granulators.The project's members accepted the task and immediately began searching for suitable componentsfor the system. After the search was completed a list of costs, limitations, sensors, I/O's anddevelopment environment was presented to Rapid's staff.

In view of the difficulty of recruiting staff to care profession and in terms of the increasing need to find ways of ensuring a good language level in the profession, have an interest in language tests been revealed. The purpose of this paper is therefore to highlight the use of language tests for admission to the care courses for adults in Värmland. What provided This is a survey of the prevalence and an examination of the validity of the test. The issue that this study assumed is: How is language test in connection with admission to the certified health and social care courses for adults in Värmland? How well correlates intent of the use of the language test with the test's validity and reliability?The methods used to seek answers to these questions has been a combination of questionnaires and experiments.

Allt fler blir allt äldre i Sverige och äldreomsorgen står inför en stor utmaning när resurser i form av ekonomiska medel och rätt personal blir allt svårare att konkurrera om. I eHälsans tidsålder utvecklas det på många håll smarta tekniska lösningar för att effektivisera och kvalitetshöja omsorgsinsatser, något som allt fler aktörer får upp ögonen för. Denna uppsats utreder behovsbilden för att kunna skapa en ny kontaktyta mellan omsorgstagare, närstående och utförare inom äldreomsorg. Uppsatsens resultat är en del av det Vinnova-finansierade projektet BoNUS VO som undersöker förutsättningarna för en sådan kontaktyta. IKT-stödet ska underlätta delaktighet i den egna omsorgen såväl som stödja yrkesutövare i arbetsuppgifter.

The main objective of this thesis was to develop appropriate strategies and find factors that affect the usability of parameterized designs. This was accomplished by investigate the user-interface and how it is designed to meet the user's information needs. The thesis also embraces the basic theories in terms of investigation, cognitive design principles and human behavior patterns in the interaction with the machine. The approach has led to an explorative investigation in this subject area.The thesis also had the purpose to achieve more efficient ways for development of motor chainsaws at Husqvarna AB's department Global Cutting Equipment. That can be achieved through reduce costs of development per sold unit.

In the debate on laying hen welfare, and specifically housing conditions, the main focushas been on physiological and behavioural measures. What is lacking is knowledge of howthe hen experiences the situation ? her state of mind.This study is an attempt to gain insight into the private mental states of former batteryhens. It uses a cognitive bias method based on spatial judgement, i.e. judgement of aambiguous stimulus placed spatially in between a reinforced and an unreinforced stimulus.This method has previously shown differences in judgement by animals in enriched versuspoor housing.

In this report a study is carried out with the aim to identify added values of EPC projects implemented in schools in order to increase the interest of EPC projects on the market. The report examines how the planned maintenance, supervision, maintenance and corrective maintenance is affected, how insurance premiums and terms are affected, the indoor environment and how the tasks of the operating staff is changing. A literature study of energy savings, energy use in schools, maintenance and insurance as well as how energy efficiency improvements are related to the Swedish environmental objectives has been made. Visits were carried out in Ludvika, interviews were also carried out with operation technicians and local strategists in Ludvika as well as employees of insurance companies.Schools often have neglected maintenance and problems with ventilation and indoor environment. Schools also have a large energy saving potential due to their low utilization, mainly because they are empty parts of the year.

The occurrence of small amounts of albumin in urine, microalbuminuria (MA), is used both in human- and veterinary medicine as an indicator for patients who have developing proteinuria. Proteinuria can be prerenal, renal or postrenal which is important to establish during an investigation. With conventional methods decreased renal function is not detected until 70 % of renal function is lost. The ability to detect and start a treatment earlier might reverse or slow the progression of disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability of Heska® E.R.D.-Health Screen?, a test for microalbuminuria in dogs, to detect albuminuria.