Complex Vertebral Malformation (CVM) is an autosomal recessive inherited defect in the Holstein breed. The defect has lead to structurally malformed calves and losses of pregnancies. To determine the effect of CVM on fertility in the Swedish Holstein Breed 375 Holstein bulls used in breeding by Svensk Avel and Skånesemin were assigned to this study. 228 bulls matched the criteria of birth year, 1995-1999, > 75 inseminations and a known CVM-status. Of the total 228 bulls 53 of them were CVM-carriers and 175 were non-carriers. The SAS-programme was used to determine the effects of CVM-status, the bull?s father and birth year on Non-return rates (NRR) for 28, 56 and 168 days.

In a time of economic turmoil and financial crisis profitability matters rise higher and higher on company agendas. Many companies are pressured to find profitability to avoid layoffs or even bankruptcy. Profitability essentially depends on the margin on the product or service sold and the costs associated with selling these products or services and hence these areas are of vital importance if companies are to improve profitability. Previous research has focused, for the most part, on product profitability while customer profitability has received less attention. This study is based on a case study of a Swedish publishing house and aims to investigate how the company?s Cost-to-Serve varies between its distribution channels.

Den nya rehabiliteringskedjan med sina fasta tidsgränser för långtidssjukskrivna har fått stor uppmärksamhet i svensk media under senare tid. De nya reglerna fokuserar framförallt på tidiga insatser för långtidssjukskrivna med målet återgång i arbete. Intervjuerna i föreliggande studie utfördes med sju försäkrings-kassahandläggare på olika försäkringskontor. Syftet var att undersöka vilka erfarenheter och upplevelser handläggarna på Försäkringskassan har av den nya rehabiliteringskedjan och arbetslivsinriktad rehabilitering. Resultatet visade att det är en mängd olika faktorer som påverkar handläggarnas arbete.

 Problem   Are there any abnormal changes in the parent company's share price at the news of a spin?off.ObjectiveThe main purpose of the study is to investigate how the news of a spin-off affects the parent company's share price. In other words if the news of the Spin-off gives an abnormal return on the Stockholm Stock Exchange during the specific period of 1998?2008. In addressing this, the paper will also investigate the following sub sections: are there any differences in the abnormal returns in various sectors and what the reasons to perform a spin?off in the Swedish market are.MethodAn event study in which market data is used to measure specific events? impact on the value of the company and on the effects on the stock market.

During the last years the number of Swedish detective stories which take place in the province outside the big cities has increased enormously. In this study I have analysed the novels by the three authors Viveca Sten, Åsa Larsson and Johan Theorin to investigate the connection between the milieu and the story and in what way it is involved in the crime riddle.They all keep to the formula of the classical detective story but represent different variations within this formula. In spite of the differences in their stories the basic pattern is the same. As their protagonists the authors are emotionally connected to the place in the novels. This connection it strengthen by the authors themselves as well as the publishing companies when introducing them on the market.

How the United States anti-terrorist strategy is affecting the view of democracy is the main analysis of this paper. The mechanisms that affect the idea of democracy have been studied on the basis of the philosopher Michael Foucault?s thoughts and the main direction in French discourse analysis. The study is restricted to the period between the 11th of September 2001 and today. Information has been collected entirely from the White House?s website http://www.whitehouse.gov, including speeches, conferences and reports.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the innovation process of companies, and to analyse how important success factors and obstacles are in their innovation process.Method: The investigation strategy used for this essay was to interview companies that work with innovations. The essay has a qualitative approach. Both primary ? in the form of interviews - and secondary data ? literature found in books, scientific articles and internet - have been used to achieve our results.Results: The result of this essay is: there is not just one inovation process that is applicable to all companies. On the other hand, there are some guidelines that could be followed in the process.

This Master Thesis covers the concept of Green Cars. The background to the research area is the high and rapidly growing number of cars, which together with other factors ad to the pollution of the environment. Under the Kyoto agreement the signing members agreed to lower the emissions of green house gases, further on the EU has a 3-pillar strategy on carbon dioxide and cars. Included in the EU strategy is a voluntary commitment from the car industry to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from new cars. The easiest way of lowering the emissions is by using alternative fuels and engines.

Companies today face more and more demands from society and stakeholders. It is no longer about just satisfying shareholders, sales and making a profit. Consumers are becoming more aware of products effects and the consequences it has on humans, our environment and the generation ahead of us. NGO:s and society request that companies take responsibility and actions toward a more sustainable business. Many investors analyze companies? sustainability regarding social and environmental issues when it comes to choosing a company to invest in.

A pilot-study was used to investigate, types of assistance, assessed needs, outcomes and effects of special-needs assistance given to a subsample of compulsory school pupils in an effort to develop an evaluation strategy for identifying educational impacts of specific special-needs inputs.  Preliminary results indicate a tendency for postive outcomes for most pupils in the pilot group (n = 11) but also that many pupils have residual difficulties.  Pupils with residual difficulties mostly required special education asssitance with Maths, English or Swedish.  More pupils also needed support with behavioral difficulties.  More research and an expanding knowledge base is required in order to effectively evaluate outcomes of teacher support.  Schools need help in devising different methods of assistance and particularly for pupils with behavioral difficulties..

The purpose of this thesis was to illuminate how companies work with their brand identity and particularly how it is applied in their positioning. The empirical data has been collected through interviews with two companies in Sweden working with brand identity as a stated strategy. The study shows that companies discover, develop and build their brand identity based on their core identity and core values. The core value can be strengthened through customer satisfaction surveys. In order to develop the brand identity in companies, management has to be aware of their brand person- ality, as an essentiality for survival.

Stressrelaterad ohälsa är idag vanligt förekommande och forskning kring arbetsrelaterad stress och utmattning är omfattande. Däremot är forskning om medarbetares och chefers upplevelser tämligen begränsad. Det sociala stödet från omgivningen har visat sig vara av stor vikt när den drabbade ska återgå i arbete och chefen har en viktig roll i detta skede. I Studien undersöktes på uppdrag av ett företag vilket stödbehov chefer har i denna process. Tio personer deltog och genom en halvstrukturerad intervju studerades deras upplevelser samt vilket stödbehov som fanns.

AbstractTitle:The Impact of Management Control Systems on the Purchaser Function - A study of Scania and Sandvik Authors: Mohammad Reza Akhbari and Johanna Sullivan Svensson Published: 2011 Keywords: Management control, purchasing function, impact, control, control instruments, Key Performance Indicators, measurement, communication and organizational structure. Background and problem formulation: In order for a company?s business idea or vision to be fulfilled, the management of a company needs assistance from various means to intentionally affect the operation in the desired direction. Management control concerns activities of both financial and non-financial character in order to implement the strategy of a company and to reach profitability. Since the purchaser function is responsible of spending 50 percent of a company?s total revenue, the function has an optimal starting point to be a key actor in the shaping and execution of a company?s strategic plan.

Hedgefonder är ett relativt nytt investeringsalternativ vars målsättning är att leverera positiv avkastning, i de flesta fall till låg risk, oberoende av marknadens utveckling. Med ledning av portföljvalsteorin och CAPM, som är en modell för att utvärdera kapitaltillgångar, ska uppsatsen besvara om hedgefonder lyckas med sitt mål. Vi fokuserar på perioden mars 2000 till april 2006, som inkluderar både börsnedgång och uppgång, för att kunna studera om hedgefonderna lyckas med målsättningen att generera positiv avkastning oavsett börsklimat.Till skillnad från de flesta andra studier som syftar till att utvärdera hedgefonders prestationer i jämförelse med traditionella fonder kommer jämförelsen göras i förhållande till SIX Return Index, SIXRX. SIXRX är ett marknadsindex som speglar kursutvecklingen för bolag på börsens gamla A- samt O-lista och som inkluderar återinvesterad utdelning. I uppsatsen har vi kommit fram till att de valda hedgefonderna lyckas med målsättningen att alstra en positiv avkastning oavsett börsens utveckling..

Syfte/Purpose Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka sambandet mellan aktiens omsättningsvolym och dess avkastning under olika marknadsförutsättningar./The purpose with this essay is to observe the correlation between the stock turnover volume and the return under different situations on the market. Metod/Method Den metod som jag har använt mig av är en kvantitativ undersökning. Genom att utföra en kvantitativ undersökning har jag gjort det möjligt att undersöka ett stort antal aktier. Jag har jämfört utvecklingen av 60 stycken, slumpmässigt utvalda, aktier vid både en positiv samt negativ trend av index./The method that I have used is a quantitative study. By execute a quantitative investigation I have been able to study a large amount of different stocks.