This thesis examines the tendering process from the point of view of Swedish building contractors. The purpose with the study is to chart the decision process for the contractors during the tendering process. The study is designed as a survey study. This made it possible to reach a wide base of respondents, not letting such factors as geography being an issue. The survey itself was characterised by a very high response rate compared to other similar studies. The result from this study shows that former experience from similar projects, current workload and the clients economic condition are very important factors for both whether or not the contractor will bid for a project as well as the cost estimation and tendering price. Former experience from similar projects is also an important factor for the determination of the indirect costs.

The situation that one can discern on the Swedish real estate market is that while there are several offices vacant, the need for apartments is high ? the vacancy rate for apartments is non-existent. According to the rebuilding of Skatteskrapan one will realise that the project requires a lot of money, even though it promotes the residential situation. The real estate owner experiences a risk in rebuilding real estates ? whether it will generate good yield or not.

This bachelor thesis aims to analyse the effects of changes in management control systems following acquisitions, and deduce whether or not these effects are in line with the acquiring firm's objectives of the acquisition. Through a case study of technician consultant firm Energo, acquired in 2010 by ÅF, the study assumes the perspective of the acquired firm. Data has been collected through in-depth interviews at Energo and ÅF and complemented by internal documents to enrich and validate specific facts and statements. Data was then arranged and analysed through Otley and Fierriera's (2009) framework Performance Management Systems to understand how management control systems were constituted before the acquisition, what changes were made following the acquisition, how this process was accomplished and how it was experienced, in order to come to conclusions about the effects of these changes. The study concludes that the changes in Energo's management control system following the integration with ÅF, had significant effects on the outcome of the acquisition, primarily as it led to a high rate of Energo's employees resigning.

This paper describes and develops a trade off model of optimal capital structure by Bradley et al. (1984). The model is then tested to examine how changes in corporate tax rates affect the optimal capital structure of firms. Based on theoretical implications of the model, four hypotheses are derived stating that firms? optimal debt-to-value ratio is (1) negatively related to financial distress costs, (2) negatively related to non-debt tax shields, (3) negatively related to firm volatility and (4) positively related to the corporate tax rate.

Algal bloom is a naturally occurring phenomenon and occurs in all waters around the world but in recent years, algal bloom in the Baltic Sea has become more massive and more widely spread. When an algal bloom negative effects on the seawater quality, it may have an impact on tourism in the Baltic Sea. The aim of this thesis is to study, through a survey based on a production function approach, whether an environmental change as algal blooms, influenced the Gotland tourist accommodation industry and their "production of attractive overnight? in the summer of 2005. The results show that algal blooms did not have a great impact on companies ?production of attractive accommodations".

Shell companies are characterized by containing liquid assets such as cash, securities or other similar assets. Transactions of shell companies constitutes a severe problem since the purchaser often has the aim of obtaining undue tax advantages by not paying the tax debt of the company.Historically it has been complicated for the legislator to stop the set-up in an efficient way since the transactions as such are not illegal, instead rather commonly used for example to restructure companies or for the transfer of companies to the younger generation. The purpose of the current legislation is to prevent individuals and corporations to involve in shell company trade. Aiming for an efficient legislation, the tax rate is at a very high level.The issue with the rules is that also honest buyers are at risk of being covered. This calls for high demands in complying with the principle of legal certainty and the possibility to forecast the tax consequences.The purpose of the thesis is to identify and analyze eventual problems when applying the legislation.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the companies on Nasdaq OMXS Large and Mid Cap to see if there are interesting patterns regarding their WACC assumptions, used when performing impairment tests on goodwill, during 2007-2009. If so, can we explain these patterns? MethodWe have gathered information about the WACC assumptions presented in the annual reports of the 133 companies that were listed on OMXS Large and Mid Cap during the spring of 2011. To complement this quantitative information we have also conducted an interview with Peter Malmqvist and contacted eight of the companies that were in the study.ConclusionWe can conclude that not all companies present their WACC assumptions in the annual report, even though IAS 36 states that this should be done. Of the 45 companies that were included in our study, eight had lowered their WACC during 2008 and increased it in 2009.

Researchers at Karlstad University have developed a method for making paper ion conducting. The reasearchers want to test this technique in various applications and produce products that make use of the ion-conducting paper. Hopefully this will drive the development forward and result in new applications for the ion-conducting paper.This study was to test the possibility of manufacturing a gas sensor of conducting paper along with electrodes of conductive polymers printed on the paper. By comparing the paper sensor with an electrochemical cell in which the electrodes of conductive polymer replaces electrodes of metal and ion-conductive paper replaces the liquid electrolyte in the electrochemical cell, it was hoped that it would be possible to measure the oxidation and reduction reactions that a gas could introduce at the electrodes.It was shown that it is possible to measure a potential difference in the range of 0.3 V to 0.5 V between the electrodes when exposing an electrode to 100% oxygen. The reaction that takes place is relatively slow and the reaction rate is partly due to the distance between the electrodes.Since the sensor can measure oxidation and reduction reactions it is possible that, in further development of a sensor, the sensor can be made ??into a versatile sensor with more applications than gas measurement as there are many more ways to oxidize or reduce the electrodes than by exposure to oxygen.During the study there have been discussions and meetings held with various companies in the sensor industry to be able to specify what the market demands of a sensor made ??of paper and the requirements that must be placed on the sensor for it to be interesting for the companies..

In this thesis a possible cost effective runner change of some of the units in the hydroelectric power station Olidan is investigated. The possibility to drive a unit at the same efficiency point through a change of the turbine shaft speed and the rate of discharge is tested. Furthermore the theories behind model testing, determination of efficiency increase from model to prototype and efficiency measurements shall be discussed and analyzed with Olidan as a starting point.A predicted curve has been built on information from model tests and field measurements on the existing runners and runner data from the test of the new model. The predicted curve shows the difference in efficiency between an existing runner and a modern one. It is the difference in efficiency that is used in the calculations that are to show whether changing to a pair of new runners will be cost effective or not.

Uppsatsens syfte är att analysera den nominella växelkursens påverkan på utrikeshandel och göra en jämförande studie mellan ett EU-land (Sverige) och ett EMU-land (Tyskland). Fokus för denna undersökning kommer att ligga på vad som skedde med utrikeshandeln under de två ekonomiska kriserna på 2000-talet, men även ge en generell bild för utrikeshandeln under hela perioden 2000-2010. Uppsatsen avser att besvara om det finns några skillnader i hur ländernas handel påverkades under kriserna med avseende på växelkursen, samt om handelssammansättningen av handelspartners förändrats. Detta kommer undersökas för att se hur Sveriges utrikeshandel påverkats av att stå utanför EMU.Resultaten visar på att den nominella växelkursen inte haft stor betydelse för utrikeshandeln under den undersökta tidsperioden. Både export och import har ökat under perioden, men det går inte att finna någon direkt koppling till växelkursförändringar.

Handling of animals during anaesthesia is an important field in the profession as a veterinary nurse and in which intubation is an essential part. Hence, adequate knowledge is necessary for the welfare of the animal. The objective of this literature study was to make it useful and trustworthy for veterinary nurses. It is intended to describe and summarize existing scientificity with its benefits and disadvantages within the different areas of intubation techniques and alternative methods of inhalation anaesthetic supplementation for general anaesthesia in rabbits. Endotracheal intubation in rabbits can be complicated and technically demanding due to the anatomy of the oropharynx including the narrowness of this structure, a relatively large tongue, large incisors and a limited mobility of the temperomandibular joint. The obstructed visualization of larynx and the rabbit?s tendency to develop laryngospasm contributes to the difficulty of intubation. Rabbits are susceptible to tracheal injury and multiple intubation attempts can cause tracheal lesions due to repeated damage to the tracheal mucous membrane, although damage can occur after a single intubation attempt as well. An ETT (endotracheal tube) with or without a cuff can be used during orotracheal intubation in rabbits.

During whole-tree harvesting, there is a risk that the soil will become impoverished of nutrients. To prevent this, nutrients are returned to the harvested site as wood ash. This action also reduces the risk of soil acidification. Nevertheless, the ash does not result in any increase of tree growth if it is added on mineral soils, which is where the measure is most commonly used in Sweden. Due to the lack of growth response, the interest from landowners is small, which is why ash amendment today is not done enough to compensate for the need.

The horse is a homeothermic animal and to keep a constant body temperature in winter season is important. Acclimatisation is to provide means for a good thermal insulation consisting of skin, hair, and an outer air layer. The skin covers the horses body and it is composed of three main layers where the top layer of the epidermis consists of dead keratinized cells that are constantly being sheed. The dermis is composed of collagen connective tissue that give the skin its strength. The bottom layer with subcutaneous fat provides a thermal insulation and can be used as an energy reserve in cold weather.

Partner in a close company is taxed under special rules for private companies. This is to avoid a fiscal revenue conversion. Partner as having a major influence in the company and take out what is really earned income as dividends and thus be taxed at a significantly lower rate. The purpose of the close company rules is that a partner in labor income is taxed in the same way that an employee?s income.The problem that arises when one partner in a closely held company leave a shareholders contribution to the company which aims to raise the threshold for the shares discussed in this paper.

Preservation of cells and tissues by freezing at temperatures below 70°C has led to new possibilities for the storage of germ cells for fertility preservation. During the freezing process problems might occur, the greatest being ice crystallization which can cause membrane destruction and thus cell death. To minimize this risk, solutions that reduce the freezing point can be added to reduce crystallization and increase survival rates. These solutions are called cryoprotectants. The best method for freezing is still not known.The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of various parameters on the survival rate of human semen frozen with liquid nitrogen.