The European Union is struggling to maintain democracy and tries to increase the participation among the citizens in Europe. The European Citizens? Initiative, ECI, is a platform established by the European Commission to allow citizens to propose new legislation. ?Water and sanitation are a human right! Water is a public good, not a commodity!? is the first ECI that has met the requirements.

People with certain types of disabilities have the legal right to ask for an individual plan. The idea is that the plan should be a tool for the disabled to get more power and influence over the planned actions that involves their lives. The aim of this thesis was to study the individual circumstances of interpersonal power and influence in the work of individual plans. The study was done with a qualitative approach, where three executing officers and three individuals were interviewed. The results show that the conditions for the individual?s influence are far more complicated than at first glance.

We have conducted a quantitative study investigating whether an Ingredient Branding collaboration between private label and national brands could be executed with success in the Swedish market. The objective was to measure the consumers? response to two products from different product categories, representing hedonic and utilitarian products. We have been able to establish that by adding a branded ingredient to a private label product, one obtains a more positive product attitude as well as a higher perceived product quality and taste. The study also shows that attitudes towards the ingredient brands were improved by the collaboration whereas the brand attitude towards the private label did not change significantly.

At the Division of Electricity at Uppsala University there is an experimental rig forhydroelectric generators. The experimental rig?s vital part is a 12-pole synchronousmachine, whose electrical characterizing parameters (resistances, inductances andtime constants) are unknown. The aim of this thesis is to characterize the machine inits current state by perform a Standstill Frequency Response (SSFR) test. From theanalysis of the measurement data, which is a part of the test, a set of basic parametershave been received.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of joint venture announcements on stock prices behavior and simultaneously to test the German stock market (Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse) for efficiency. We tried not only to analyze the general impacts of a JV-announcement but also to look for differences in the market response to announcements of different types of joint ventures, namely: domestic, international, horizontal and vertical. Our expectations of efficient market were confirmed during our paper, which employed the technique of the standard event study. The calculation of abnormal returns which are the signals for market efficiency or inefficiency respectively were based on the market model, establishing linear relationship between the return on the market and the return on an individual security. The parameters of the model were obtained through regression analysis..

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a complex, often lifelong allergic disease affecting around 10 % of both dogs and humans. The hallmark symptom is severe pruritus, causing a lowered quality of life. Mast cells (MCs) are known to play an important part of the immunopathogenesis, promoting a faulty T helper cell type 2 (Th-2) response which follows by a production of specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies towards environmental allergens (Ag). To further investigate the role of MCs and its mediators in the progression of AD, a low-calcemic vitamin D3 analog (MC903) was used to induce AD-like symptoms locally on the ears of two different knock-out (KO) mouse strains. The first strain was Wsh-/- mice deficient in MCs.

A new phenomenon on the Internet is the online audience response. Mentimeter is a web-based tool where you can create online polls. The users can then cast a vote and the result is shown in real time. We want to test the information visualization in Mentimeter and we base our hypothesis, that a better graph design is possible, on the work of Edward Tufte and Stephen Few. Edward Tufte is an emeritus at Yale University, where he held courses in statistical evidence and information design and has created theories about how visual information should be designed.

I en enkätundersökning har jag undersökt om det finns något samband mellan upplevelsen av kön hos den okönade autodiegetiska berättaren och författarens kön i två dikter av David Uppgren och Mariam Naraghi. Jag kom fram till att så inte var fallet utan att det fanns större bevis för att läsarna i huvudsak projicerade sitt eget kön på berättarrösten. Sedan analyserade jag även enkätsvaren för att undersöka vad i dikterna som avgjorde om berättarrösten upplevdes som man eller kvinna. Det framkom att stereotypa uppfattningar om kön låg till grunden för majoriteten av läsarnas upplevelse. Efter detta applicerade jag stereotyperna på dikten för att se om diktens innehåll påverkades av om berättarrösten upplevdes som man eller kvinna.

The aim of this study was to investigate which situations haemodialysis patients consider as the hardest for avoiding fluid intake. The data collection was performed with a questionnaire which was distributed to haemodialysis patients who fulfilled the inclusioncriteria. Of 158 haemodialysis patients 103 haemodialysis patients chose to participate in the study. The participants were chosen from different dialysis centres (n=12) in north and south of sweden, excluding the middle of Sweden. The questionnaire that was given out consisted of 32 situations, the response format included nine alternatives, that included different kind of difficultes.

On the 12:th of April 2011, the Swedish tabloid magazine Expressen publishes a story, claiming that Ola Lindholm, presenter of critically acclaimed TV-show ?Wild Kids? has been suspected and apprehended on cocaine allegations. The serious allegation called for Ola Lindholm to defend himself against the allegations. His only public response was a blog-post where he claimed his innocence, albeit with some reservations.  The purpose of this paper is to analyze Lindholm?s rhetorical defense.

Is culture accessible to all in Sweden or do challenges in accessibility begin in childhood? During the academic year of 2010/2011 the Schools for Music and Arts in Göteborg participated in a project entitled En kulturskola för alla (A School for Music and Arts for All). This thesis' objective is to describe the project as well as examine the method the Schools of Music and Arts use to include children with disabilities and what suggestions can be made to further develop the project. Through En kulturskolla för alla, approximately 200 children with disabilities now haave better teachers. The project included 18 music and arts teachers from eight schools.

Wind power in Sweden is expanding in response to the government's decision that 49% of Sweden's power should originate from renewable energy sources by the year 2020. Problems with noise and sound emissions related to wind turbines are a constant argument against the wind power expansion and this paper means to examine if vertical axis wind turbines might be a viable alternative to the conventional horizontal design for noise sensitive areas. In order to determine factors like difference in frequency, noise propagation and noise emission level, measurements of both horizontal and vertical axis wind turbines have been completed and the data analyzed with MATLAB. It is shown that there is a difference in how the noise from the two types of turbines propagates due to avariation in the frequency spectra of the emitted sound. It is also shown that vertical axis wind turbines generate a lower sound emission with less intensity inthe lower frequencies..

Semi-natural grasslands have a high biodiversity and host ecologically and economically valuable ecosystems and species. Restoration on these types of land is often done by removing trees and scrubs, mowing, grazing, changing the soil by removing nutrition or changing the structure of the ground. Another way of restoration is planting seeds of common grassland plants. By comparing 18 scientific publications I investigated if the restoration was affecting the plants in a positive way and if the effect was similar for insects. By comparing the publications, time seemed to have an important effect on insects. They needed time to recolonize restored areas.

The purpose of this paper was to look at the perception of self-determination for adults with intellectual disabilities from their perspective. We wanted to examine the experience of the space available for self-determination in some key areas of life, and how their own thoughts and ideas have been addressed by others. Through interviews with six people with intellectual disabilities, we have found that a single definition of self-determination is elusive. The key seems to be that you get the opportunity to do what you want, to have your voice heard and to receive and take responsibility. The space for self-determination is perceived by respondents as both large and small.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate if pulsed inhaled nitric oxide (PiNO) could be used as a treatment for hypoxemia during general anaesthesia in colic horses. Previous studies have shown a positive response in horses receiving PiNO in comparison to controls, but these studies have only included healthy individuals. A total of 30 horses were included in this present study, they all underwent abdominal surgery because of acute colic that could not be medically treated. Fifteen of the horses received PiNO and 15 horses served as a control group. Arterial oxygenation was improved in all horses receiving PiNO.