This is my final thesis in landscapeplaning at the Swedish University ofAgricultural Sciences (SLU). I discuss howthe countryside should be planned, witha sustainable perspective. In the study Iexamine four important conditions forplanning.The countryside is often defined bywhat it is not which makes it difficult todescribe in general terms. The definition ofthe term countryside in this study is takenfrom the National Rural DevelopmentAgency (Glesbygdsverket). The conclusionis: Planners and scientists should have anunderstanding for the complexity of thecountryside; otherwise there is a risk oflosing the characteristics of the country.The legislation, goals and conventionswhich have an impact on the Swedishcountryside are both national and international.To find out how the settlementdevelopment is dealt with, I havestudied the Swedish building legislations(among others, plan- och bygglagen andmiljöbalken).Similar to the difficulties on finding asuitable definition for the term countryside,it is complex to define the term sustainabledevelopment.

This study investigated potato growing in beds as an alternative to conventional ridges.It was based on results from field trials on bed-grown potatoes carried out by Halland Rural Economy and Agricultural Society in 2007, studies of literature and interviews with farmers with experience of bed growing of potatoes. Due to their shallow root system, potatoes are one of the most drought-sensitive crops. Potatoes are often grown on sandy soils with poor water-holding capacity. Factors such as total yield, tuber size distribution and quality defects are negatively affected when water becomes insufficient. Wide beds have a more flat top which leads to more uniform water infiltration. Further on, beds have lower soil surface area due to its shape, and therefore, retain water more efficient. In the field trials, which were carried out at the Stjärnarp Estate near Halmstad, potatoes were grown in beds alongside a conventional ridge-grown crop.

One special feature in the Swedish nature, mainly in the county of Uppland is one distinctive kind of dip, which can be distinguished from its fast and unaccounted drainage. These dips are called ?glupar? and can mainly be found in coarse-grained pebbled moraine under the highest shoreline (HK). During spring, and particularly when snowmelting occur, the wateramliptude fluctuates a lot until late summer or the beginning of fall comes; these dips are then often almost fully drained. During winter however, the waterlevel stands high.

There is an irregularity in the interregional migration in Sweden. An increasing proportion ofthe population is drawn to the metropolitan areas, which creates problems for the smallermunicipalities and towns when their population declines. At the same time, our whole societyis faced with a great challenge: we need to redirect towards a sustainable development, wherethe environmental issues are discussed and dealt with to secure that all present and futuregenerations are given equal opportunities to live a good life.The aim of this study is to, focusing mainly on the environmental dimension of thesustainability concept, examine the attractivity of housing with sustainability claims. Toanswer this, three research questions were used:? Was the migration motive to reduce their environmental impact a part of the decision tomove, among migrants who had moved to housing with sustainability claims?? If the motive was a part of the decision, how much impact did it have compared to othermigration motives?? Which factors in housing aiming at sustainability are considered important by peopleliving in housing with sustainability claims?The research questions have been answered using quantitative data, gained in the form of selfadministeredquestionnaires which were distributed in four different residential areas withsustainability claims in the county of Västra Götaland, Sweden.

High quality within a Lean production system begins with standardised work, which creates stable processes able to generate predictable output. If nonconformity from the standard procedures occurs, routines are needed to analyse, correct and prevent the nonconformity from occurring again. In that way, the nonconformity can be a trigger for continuous improvements toward more stable processes. In takted production lines, where the operator follows a standard sequence with tasks set to be completed within the takt time, a nonconformity leads to downtime in the operator?s sequence, and no value is added.

Species that have a high degree of specialization and poor dispersal ability can be more prone to extinction than more generalist species and good dispersers. How these species traits affect the viability of populations is dependent on landscape factors,such as isolation and connectivity. Additionally, interactions between species (e.g. symbiosis), and how these interactions vary spatially and temporally can have a large impact on populations. When the range and habitat areas of a species continuously decrease, management strategies are often needed if the species shall be able to survive.

Gotland is an island in the Baltic Sea where man has introduced roe deer. The last successful reintroduction was in the 1980s and is the base of the viable roe deer population of today.The aim of this study was to estimate the roe deer population density in 2012 and the species population dynamic since the time when studies on the population started. The result indicates a population size of 850 roe deer in 2012. There was no significant population dynamic, which may be due to insufficient data. The population occurs basically over the whole island but have not yet been established in all suitable areas.

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) detection of heavy metals is a cost- and time-effective method for investigation of polluted areas. Compared to laboratory analysis, XRF analysis is limited by high detection limits and uncertainties in some situations. Preparation of samples is known to affect the results of measurements.The purpose of this thesis is to bring a deeper understanding of how different factors affect the results of XRF-analysis. A large number of measurements have been made with the instruments Niton XLt 700 and Niton Xli 700. Results from measurements of lead, zinc and copper have been analysed.This study has shown that a greater moisture content will give a lower measured concentration for the same sample.

How can we plan so that smallscale industry and businesses can become an integrated part of the city? The densifying process in search of new housing areas that is going on in most swedish cities threatens to undermine the diversity and complex make up of central parts of many cities. To sustain industrial activities in central locations is critical to this diversity. This thesis discusses how to reach a sustainable city planning with Bellevue, a small industry and business area in central Gothenburg, as an example..

This paper investigates narrative and thematic structures in Damien Echols? autobiography Life After Death (2012) and Stephen King?s horror novel ?Salem?s Lot (1975). In Life After Death Echols tells the tale of his eighteen-year incarceration on Death Row in Arkansas/USA. He also uses his childhood memories to overcome hardships in the prison system. ?Salem?s Lot by Stephen King deals with the invasion of vampires in a small town in rural Maine in the North East corner of the United States.  The author of this study discusses if and how Damien Echols was inspired in his writing by the writings of Stephen King.

Över hela världen pågår en kraftig urbanisering och idag lever mer än hälften av alla människor i städer. Många utvecklingsländer hinner inte med att generera hållbara och alternativa försörjningsmetoder till den allt större urbana befolkningen. Allt fler lever i en tillvaro som präglas av fattigdom. Kraftfulla planeringsstrategier krävs för att förbättra dessa människors levnadsförhållanden och därmed också verka för en hållbar utveckling. Uppsatsen presenterar det urbana jordbruket som en i dessa avseenden möjlig strategi. Urbant jordbruk finns i alla städer och har gjort det i alla tider.

Today the competition in the automobile industry is getting all tougher. The technology behind cars becomes more advanced. To get ahead of competitors car companies has to look into new areas of innovation.One important area is vehicle safety. Bigger companies have come so far in vehicle safety that difference between cars more depends on the car type (size) than the technology behind it.There is one area where vehicle safety that still has great opportunities for improvement, which is in active safety. The term active safety states that the car has the ability to identify treats and automatically respond to the treats.

The competition between the Swedish municipalities has increased as the world has become more globalized, which means that they need to become more attractive for sustaining sound finances and not to find themselves to have a downward trend. One possibility to show the attractiveness of a place is by using place marketing and therewith attaining a stronger brand position. There are 20 suburban municipalities in the county of Stockholm, of which six are multicultural or are having a minimum of 20 percent immigrants among the residents. These immigrant areas are segregated based on class, income and culture. Problems associated with these areas have historical aspects that dates further back than modern immigration does.

This essay is about two areas called Hackås and Myrviken, situated in the middle of Sweden around the lake Storsjön. In Hackås we can see traces after an early agrarian settlement, and in Myrviken we find Jämtlands largest concentration of ironmaking sites from around 400 AD. There are no clear evidence of the agrarian settlement in Myrviken, and only two ironmaking sites in Hackås. These two economies functioned at the same time, but were clearly separated. My purpose is to discuss if it was the farmers of Hackås who made iron in Myrviken, or if it was somebody else..

There are several energy systems in the Swedish society and to ensure the comfort and health of the citizens it is of importance that the different energy systems are functioning properly. District heating is one of these energy systems and many household depend only on district heating to warm up their homes. District heating is dependent on several processes where every step needs to function in order to deliver the produced heat to the end consumer. Previous studies have investigated the distribution of district heating and how to make customers choose district heating as their heating method. The supply of fuel to the district heating plant has not been studied as much, even though it is an important part of the whole system. This thesis is a part of the project NORD-STAR (Nordic Strategic Adaption Research), which has focused on climate adaption in the Nordic countries.