AbstractLarge states are not as interdependent as small countries are. Due to the extent of the home market, producers in large countries can sell the greater part of their products at home. Accordingly large countries become less dependent of other states. Large states are consequently in a better position to promote their self- interests internationally than smaller states are. Applying this reasoning on a large state such as France I come to conclude that she probably exerts this policy of self- interest in an area like free trade.

This essay is based on students' growing lack of interest in science at school. Both from a democratic and social perspective, this is a worrying factor for the future. Through observation, I investigated how five science teachers conduct their teaching. This is to get a better understanding of how teachers' behaviour in the classroom can affect students' interest in science. With a socio-cultural research approach, I have tried to highlight a few pieces of the puzzle that may explain students' declining interest in science.

The purpose of the present essay, as part of the project Self esteem and Life circumstances among teenagers, was to investigate the rate of both deliberate self-harm (DSH) and risk behaviour related to eating disorders in 14-year-old swedish adolescents, gender differences in DSH, and possible correlations between DSH and risk behaviours related to eating disorder. In addition, the effects of expressive writing (Pennebaker & Beall, 1986) on DSH and risk behaviours related to eating disorders were investigated. Data from two pilot studies are included. In total, 198 14-year-olds from four different schools in southern Sweden participated. For the purpose of measuring the rate of DSH, a simplified version of Gratz's (2001) Deliberate Self-Harm Inventory (DSHI) was used.

The milk production per cow has increased considerably during the last 50 years and due to the breeding for higher milk production also brings decreased reproduction efficiency. In a Swedish study 1996 it was shown that on average only half of all estruses were detected. Every time a farmer fails to detect oestrus it costs the farmer about 1200 Swedish crones and the need of means of detecting oestrus is therofore large. With this study we wanted to investigate if heart rate respectively crystallisation of vaginal mucus (arborisation) could be useful means of detecting oestrus. We monitored two oestrus cycles in four heifers.

Earlier quantitative entrepreneurial studies with a focus on poverty rate has centred their arguments and analyses entirely on income differences which has resulted in a high poverty rate among self-employed. Their results shows that variables such as age, gender, hours of labour and structure of the household significantly affect the poverty rate among self-employed. In this study we aim the focus on material living standards instead of income differences, thus using a more representative approach while studying entrepreneurial poverty. The purpose of the study was to examine how personality traits (big five) affect the material living standards among the self-employed in Sweden, using a group of employed as a control group. Variables earlier known to affect the poverty risk among self-employed where used as control variables together with education and household income.

Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone är geografiskt utmärkt placerad vid bedrivande av handel och utgör idag en internationell hub. Området har också tillgång till en god infrastruktur som ständigt förbättras. Waigaoqiao erbjuder sakkunniga konsulter och har ett starkt styrelsestöd. I framtiden då Free Trade Zones inte kommer att vara det enda valet för svenska företag som vill etablera sig i Kina, utan att behöva ingå joint ventures eller liknande avtal, kommer Waigaoqiaos handelsbefrämjande miljö att vara avgörande vid ett etableringsval i just det området. De skattefördelar och tullfördelar som idag existerar i Waigaoqiao kommer att försvinna när Kinas WTO-avtal i sin helhet träder i kraft.

There are over 100 banks in Sweden. Yet, most people tend to choose one of the top four banks and stay with them. Times are changing, however, and the growth of online-based self service solutions has increased the importance of attracting and retaining customers at an early age. SEB and Swedbank have addressed this issue by introducing bank bundles. Since most banks offer similar services, the packaging and framing of the bundles have become increasingly important.

During the past 20 years, the price of forest estates in Sweden has raised more than the price of timber. The purpose of this study is to investigate if it, despite this development, is possible to buy a forest estate based on economic grounds. Different forest parameters will also be studied to analyse their effect on the profitability. The study is done in cooperation with the company LRF Konsult. Purchase price of 34 forest estates near the coast of Norrbotten, Sweden, has been compared to yield valuation. For the valuation, guidelines from the Swedish author Lantmäteriet was used.

During the 19-century a global warming has been observed, which includes increases in global air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of ice and snow, and rising global sea level. There is a clear connection between emissions of greenhouse gases caused by the human and the increase in temperature. Climatic changes caused by global warming can be stopped trough decreased emission of fossil fuels, for example by an increased use of biogas. Biogas is a renewable energy source which is produced through anaerobic (oxygen free) digestion of organic material. The gas is a mixture of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) and can be among others used as fuel in vehicles.

How does the recent wave of preferential trading arrangements affect, the incentives for further trade liberalization of member states, and the possibility of obtaining global free trade? And are there any differences in this aspect between custom unions and other forms of preferential trading arrangements? These questions are well debated and have divided international trade researchers into two camps, one in favour for preferential trading arrangements and the other side against them. I have used well acknowledged researchers in the area of international trade theory to make a literature study of the above mentioned key elements in the debate. When comparing the two sides I have focused mainly on their differences, assumptions and results. I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing to be alarmed by of the wave of regionalism that?s occurring in the world today, but caution should be applied and more research in this area is necessary before any certain conclusions can be drawn.

Hedge funds have the past few years become an increasingly popular investment alternative and in the last decade hedge fund assets managed have quadrupled to USD 2000 billion, a growth rate of around 25-30% per year. One explanation for this substantial increase is that hedge funds' minimum limits on capital invested has declined, which have made ??them available to retail investors. The recent turmoil in financial markets has also contributed to investors finding their way to hedge funds, whose goal is to generate stable returns regardless of how the market develops.Using Sharpe?s, Treynor?s and Jensen's performance measures, I have investigated whether hedge funds manage to generate higher risk-adjusted returns than traditional managed funds.

To understand the motives, and perhaps more importantly the barriers, for farmers to convert from conventional to organic farming is of great interest for policy makers as well as for academics. In Sweden and in other EU countries, proposed targets of the area in organic farmland have failed to be reached in spite of different kinds of policy measures. Most studies agree that the average profitability seems to be comparable to or better in organic than in conventional farming. This would indicate that there must be other factors of importance which can explain the low particiapation rate. A higher perceived risk in organic farming with respect to yield and price is frequently brought up as a potential explanation within a qualitative framework.

The commercial real estate market makes up a large part of Sweden's property portfolio, as well as other open, free markets in the real estate market it is regulated by supply and demand. There are several factors that affect the supply and demand in the commercial real estate market, for instance the price, type of real estate and the condition of the real estate. In order to achieve success in the commercial real estate market it requires that real estate agents have a certain expertise and flexibility in their thinking to adapt commercial real estates to supply and demand. Active investors on the commercial real estate market are for instance private real estate agents, their knowledge and experience will help increase the value of commercial real estate in the long run. In order to provide the market flexibility in its real estate portfolio, vacancy is a factor that can be used.

This diploma work was performed at the department for radiation physics at the Health University in Linköping. Its aim was to develop a method to retrospectively quantify the absorbed dose in coral. Coral is a material which suites well as a retrospective dosimeter because when exposed to radioactivity its induced free radicals are stable in time. The number of radicals is proportional to the accumulated dose so the dose can be calculated by quantifying the radicals. Therefore, coral can tell us something about the past environment and also be used in dating purposes.A young, modern coral from the Red Sea was studied and also a fossil one which I was given from the Natural History Museum in Stockholm.

The purpose of this study was to examine some teachers thought about the educational indoor environment in free preschool. With free preschool this study means a Swedish specially adapted to parents/adults and their children and for a typical type of children who are 0-5 years old. Questions to the study were:? How do some teachers in free preschool perceive that they are adapting the preschool indoors environment to children and learning?? How do some teachers in free preschool perceive that they are adapting the preschool indoors environment to children and learning to attract children to the pedagogical environment?In this study I used qualitative methods and interviewed five teachers and preschool indoor environment is observed. I applied the socio cultural perspective to my study.