This thesis is the result of the class Examensarbete, 15 credits of the mechanical engineering program at Halmstad University. The class represents the final part of the program with the aim to attain a Bachelor of Science. It´s a project made during the spring 2014 in collaboration with Alutrade AB and ScanBox Thermo Products AB.The assignment is to develop a new transportation trolley for ScanBox. The aim is to complement their range with a product that opens up to new markets. That set new demands for materials and also manufacturing- and assembly methods.

In this essay I have looked more closely at different means of grinding wood prior to the mass production and total dominance of the sandpaper in recent times as there is virtually no information to be found about this. I have also done a few replicas of how early sandpapers might have looked and as a part of creating these replicas I have also tested diffrent types of early glues. The conclusion of it all is that all the alternative grinding materials tested workd virtually as well as modern sandpaper, with some reservations. And the replicas, although rough, worked mostly well despite being constructed with simplicity in mind. This indicates that an artisan could easily construct sandpapers if he so wished..

AbstractThe project "Sound and Play" have been implemented in collaboration with the toy company BRIO in Malmo. The purpose of the project was to examine whether and how BRIO in the future could develop toys around sound for Toddlers.The problem formulations that would be answered after completion of the project was "How could BRIO broaden its product range with the help of audio toys?", "How can you combine toys and sounds in an interesting way for children?", "How do you create a toy with sound that is fun for the child, but not annoying for parents?". Currently BRIO only has two toys with sound in this age group.The expression of the toy was going to be a mix of classic and cool and the overall feeling of the toy was going to be explorative and arouse curiosity in the child. This feeling would be communicated through simplicity and joy.

This report aims to describing the work behind the development of a masonry heater.The masonry heater is developed in collaboration with the company Transient Design KB that is a product development company located in Alingsås. The company sees a possibility to cover a market segment where modern technology and design are missing.The report presents those methods and approaches that have been used and gives an overview to how the project has been carried out. It describes how the ideas behind the final results have produced and how they have been developed during the project's time. In the report you can also read about the final concept with its choices of construction and materials.The report is completed with a presentation of a final concept and a ground for possible future production..

The main purpose of this essay is to investigate professional artists experience of the need and use of information in their creative work. I have collected the material through qualitative interviews with four professional artist working with different materials and techniques. One of the results of the study is that the artists first of all used information as a source of inspiration in their creative work. They gathered their information from various scources, for example; pictures, exhibitions, visual arts, books and novells, depending on what project they are working with. Other important information scources were colleges, especially for the technical information need.

Gender balance within the business administration field at university level is an area that has gained increased attention in the last decade. As gender balance contributes positively to the scientific and educational achievements within all disciplines, many studies have tried to understand the decision-making processes of students when selecting a business specialisation. However, little attention has been devoted to the finance discipline although there is a remaining gender imbalance within the field at higher-level economic studies. This thesis was performed as a qualitative case study and is based on interviews with second-year bachelor students facing their choice of specialisation at the Stockholm School of Economics. Through an application of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), this study aims to examine factors that influence female business students' intentions to choose a specialisation.

This thesis project focuses on the need for better tools for analyzing competition for forest fuels in Sweden, in particular how policy measures may influence the market and involved actors in different regions of Sweden. Raw materials from the forest have for long constituted important inputs in the Swedish forest industry. Today some of these raw materials are increasingly used as inputs also in bioenergy production, largely driven by bioenergy promoting policies, and there are signs of increased competition for forest fuels which may have various and uncertain effects on the industries in question. The thesis project explores the possibilities to adapt previously used forest sector equilibrium models into a new model suitable for analysis of Swedish forest fuel markets, called the Swedish Forest Sector Trade Model (SFSTM). The approach takes into account regional differences in supply and demand for 23 types of products produced and/or used by eight types of producers, plus consumers, in five different regions (four Swedish and one international).

AimThe purpose with this study is to evaluate the selectationprocess and what happened with Swedish basketball players born 1986-89, that were selected to participate in Miki Herkel Cup (MHC), which is a camp for the 60 most talented players in Sweden.Metod  Together with the Swedish basketball federation, we decided to survey those who attended MHC as well as the players playing in the senior national team 2009.  The data collection has been made through a survey, with multiple choice questions in order to get as good as possible view of what factors that had influenced their development as basketball players. The survey was sent out to all players born 1986-89 that attended MHC and the senior national team of 2009. We used an electronic survey tool called questback which is an internetsurvey and sent out the survey to 320 players. To collect information we´ve searched within literature and databases.Result  18 % of the players answered the survey, which decreases the research validity.

Främsta anledningen till en tilläggsisolering är att det önskas bättre energihushållning i en byggnad. Detta kan göras med olika material och olika tekniker. Inom byggnadsvårdssammanhang förs det en diskussion om de fuktbuffrande materialen är bättre vid tilläggsisolering då de är hygroskopiska än de icke hygroskopiska som är mest frekvent använda i det konventionella byggandet. Denna rapport utvärderar om det finns några dokumenterade fakta som styrker att de hygroskopiska och ekologiska materialen fungerar bättre i byggnadsvårdssammanhang än de icke hygroskopiska. Olika isolermaterial från de två nämnda grupperna jämförs utifrån olika parametrar..

The thesis concerns itself with studying the effects private brands has on the consumer?s impulse buying in the grocery industry, as in degree of unplanned spending and the selection process between manufacturer brands and private brands when such a purchase is performed. The study?s methodology is characterised by a qualitative approach, whereby the study acknowledges the inductive approach towards the empirical setting even though the Mehrabian-Russell model along with motivational theories serve as highlighters of relevant aspects in the empirical field. The study concludes that both the utilitarian and the hedonic consumer decide what to buy before entering the store, whereby a low degree of needs arise in the store.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att belysa forskning och litteratur kring Lean Production utifrån två vetenskapliga synsätt. Studien syftar även till att undersöka en organisations införande av och arbete med Lean Production, för att kunna ge praktiska bidrag om hur detta arbete kan fortskrida.Metod: Studien har genomförts med en kvalitativ och öppen ansats inom ramen för en fallstudie i samarbete med Sandvik Materials Technology. Empiriskt material har samlats in genom intervjuer och observationer med och av operatörer, produktionsledning och stabspersonal. En omfattande analys av litteratur och forskning kring Lean Production har legat till grund för en teoretisk referensram.Resultat & slutsats: Belysningen av Lean Production visar att systemsynsättet beskriver konceptet som ett säkert recept för framgång, trots sin förenklade syn på organisationers påverkan av omvärldsförändringar. Det socialkonstruktivistiska synsättet visar att Lean Production har en legitimerande funktion i organisationer, men ger liten kunskap om de förändringar som sker i organisationer.

This thesis is dealing with how students living in a student corridor experience the circumstances in their corridor. The aim is through interviews with students living in the corridors get a inside look at their situations. I want to examine how changed conditions of life, new meetings and new experiences will influence their personalities. How are the students living in the corridors affected by conflicts and how do they protect themselves from the influence of the rest of the group living there? In addition to that I want to know what they think is important prioritises throughout their student time, like if there are anything important that a student should take time to do beside the studies.

This project is implemented as a thesis at the Royal Institute of Technology in the master?s degree program Integrated Product Design and Industrial Design Engineering. The project has involved development and efficiency of a free starter package for expectant parents with useful content consisting of useful products for both before and after childbirth. Areas that have been investigated include packaging development, service design and appropriate content for the package.During the work, theory about packaging design, materials, manufacturing techniques and logistics have been processed to base the further work on. The project process has involved competitor analysis and interviews with store owners and customer surveys, that have been conducted to identify areas for improvement of the current solution.

This thesis was performed at Scania?s purchasing department of non-automotive products inSödertälje, Sweden during spring 2007. The management of the purchasing department ofnon-automotive products believe that their internal customers might not have fullunderstanding of what the purchasing department does. This is a problem because the internalcustomers might not use the contracts negotiated by the purchasing department or they mightnot involve the purchasing department when making purchases.The purpose of this thesis is to examine if and how the internal customers? perception deviatesfrom the purchasing department?s perception regarding the task of the purchasing department.And also to create a communication package with the purpose of increasing the internalcustomers understanding of what the purchasing department does.

The aim of this study was to explore and describe how four teachers work with literacy in preschool and grade one, ages 6 and 7. The aim was also to explore the progression of reading and writing as well as the collaboration between teachers in preschool and grade one. The study has a qualitative approach and data was collected through observations and interviews. The findings indicate that teachers in preschool have similar activities and approach to what guides the work. Regarding teachers in grade one it shows that they both are working with reading and writing in a varied way.