Summary Today energy prices are rising. As a result biomass fuel is getting more and more interesting. Wood chips is very popular, but also straw from grain production is on the table. Lunds Energi AB project a combined power and heating plant in Örtofta out of Lund. Wood chips is meant to be the main energy source, complemented by straw. In this thesis the transportation of straw for fuel is studied.

Several studies have investigated the relationship between different measures of innovative activity, such as patent statistics and R&D expenditures and some have looked deeper into the differences between large and small firms regarding number of patents issued per employee or per R&D dollar. In this paper, the objective is to find out if there are any indications of a barrier to entry (due to economical factors, lack of knowledge etc) for small firms to get into the field of patent handling. The approach is to first set up a hypothesis based on some simple assumptions about how firms would make decisions about whether to apply for a patent or not and thereafter use econometric methods in an empirical investigation. The data used for this study are figures on number of employees, number of patents granted and R&D expenditures for the Swedish firms in the pulp and paper industry. The main conclusion is that, based on the analysis of the data from this rather limited group of firms, no such barrier can be seen..

AbstractTitle: Message sent ? SUDD AB:s internal communication in the digital age (Message sent ? SUDD AB:s interna kommunikation i den digitala tidsåldern)Number of pages: 40 (44 including enclosures)Author: Lea KaufmannTuthor: Göran SvenssonCourse: Media and Communication Studies CPeriod: HT 2006University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala UniversityPurpose/Aim: Analyze whether a small long distance company such as SUDD AB can obtain a well-functioned internal communication by using new communication technologies.Material/Method: The analysis is based on qualitative interviews with SUDD AB:s complete staff.Main results: Proven that internal communication is a complicated and very important process also within a small company. New communication channels do not necessarily guarantee an uncomplicated and efficient internal communication but the need to collaborate with old-fashioned channels persists.Keywords: communication, information, channels, effects, content, effectiveness.

In 2010 mandatory audit was revoked for small and medium sized companies in Sweden. At the same time the authorization for accounting consultants was established with the aim of raising the knowledge and status of the profession. Even though The Swedish Companies Registration Office has discovered more errors in the accounting after the mandatory audit was eliminated, it especially concerns those companies who does not have neither an auditor or an accounting consultant. One of the reasons often mentioned to be audited is the auditors role when it comes to lending decisions. Our empirical studie show that the auditors most important function, being unbiased, is not what is of greatest importance for the credit institutions.Instead it was professional skills, and for small and medium enterprises (SME) it was consulting they requested the most.

This is a final thesis in landscape planning, at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). The study examines the current phenomenon of amenity migration and the international discourse applicability of the a "Countryside dream" in a small neighborhood in Käglinge, part of the transit-oriented community Oxie just outside of Malmö in the southern part of Sweden. The critical starting point of the study is the how many planners idealize the dense city with its positive proximity qualities. However, since the late 1900s, many people have instead started to idealize living in more rural or naturally appealing landscapes, often just outside a bigger city, with good transit possibilities (both by car and bus as well as by train). The phenomenon of amenity migration ? the migration to a new, more appealing everyday environment considered to have more amenities, is very relevant today since many smaller communities are becoming more transit-oriented, allowing the inmigrants to work in some bigger, dense town while living in a small-scale, less dense semi-rural community. More dense transit-oriented communities are however also an ideal to planners in Sweden, but to what extent can Käglinge in Oxie ? a neither rural nor urban community - fulfill a possible countryside dream, and what role does the train station have in the in-migrants everyday life? The study has a theoretical starting point in literature regarding amenity migration, countryside ideals, representations of the countryside and the possible migrants themselves, giving a broad perspective on these related issues. The case study of Käglinge in Oxie is then presented, including interviews with Käglinges in-migrants.

The aim of this small thesis is to investigate if the probability of business failure is higher at the time of divestment than at the time of acquisition for portfolio companies that have been subject to private equity ownership. The background for this thesis is the widespread critique aimed at private equity firms, claiming that they increase the risk in their portfolio companies. We have performed a study of 53 buyout transactions, involving Swedish manufacturing companies, covering a time span of 13 years, from 1995 to 2007. We find evidence of an increased risk of business failure for the portfolio companies with a short forecasting horizon (within one year). The absolute increase in the sample is however small.

I have in my thesis, examined the possibilities in terms of energy for a condominium association.To have an effective and good energy is becoming increasingly important with today's rising electric and oil prices. In my thesis I have used the condominium association Kärralyckan, which is situated in Falkenberg. The buildings at Kärralyckan are built in the mid-1970s, and are heated by electric radiators. The tap water is heated by an electric boiler.Based on that calculation I can show the various energyststem. The different solutions have been developed by contact manufacturers and installers through phone calls and e-mail.According to the results shows that geothermal heating has been a great solution for Kärralyckan.

According to the Board of Forestry, in Västerbotten, many natural regenerations of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) carried out on privately owned forest in the middle of 1990 in Västerbotten have rendered a bad regeneration outcome and will provide a low future forest production. The Board of Forestry believes that the negative result can be explained by the fact that the regeneration has been carried out in wrong locations and that scarification failed to work as planned. In order for an accepted rate of regeneration the guidelines of the Forrest Act require, not less than 10 years after final cutting at natural regeneration, that there should be at least 1300 (site indices 16 m) - 1700 (site indices 20 m) main crop stems per hectare. Main crop stems are defined as stems according to the place of growth and appropriate tree type, in addition with regard to quality, stage of development and damage risk have a prospect of succeeding. In addition main crop stems should be separated by surface so that the proportion sample plots with 3 meters radius, and lack main crop stems, are not more than 10 % of site indices 14 meters or higher.

The aim of this work is to analyze if a change in the benthic community can be detected two years after a restoration of a small stream. The samples were taken in a small stream at Tinnerö Eklandskap just south of Linköping. In addition to the restored area, two reference sites upstream and downstream of the restored area were sampled to compare to the restored site. The method used for sampling of benthic fauna in the stream was kick sampling. ASPT, Berger-Parker and Renkonen-indices were used to find out if there was any difference between the reference areas and the restored area.

TitleEnergy-efficiency ? of slab blocks built in the sixtiesAuthorsRichard Sandahl and Kim SöderbergEducationHalmstad University, Section for economy and technique Construction Engineering 180 ECTSSupervisorMargaretha Borgström, Universitylector construction physics, Halmstad UniversityContact person at HFABUlf Johansson Heating, sanitation and energy co-ordinatorReportExamination paper at the construction engineering program is performed in cooperation with HFAB (Halmstad real estate concern Inc.)AimThis examinations work is done in cooperation with HFAB and there project on the block around the street Maratonvägen. HFAB:s dwelling stock on this area are going through a bigger renovation and in relation to this they are looking on the possibilities to make this building more energy efficient. That is why this examination paper has as purpose to answer the question if it is possible to make slab blocks built in the sixties more energy efficient. This is done by calculate energy efficient measures on a chosen apartment block at Maratonvägen in Halmstad, in an energy and expense perspective.MethodThe examination paper is based on different methods, mainly calculation but also qualitative conversation studies, economic calculations and literature studies.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka fallrelaterad self-efficacy mätt med Falls Efficacy Scale (Swedish version) (FES(S)) samt att beräkna rekommenderade referensvärden för totalpoängen på FES(S) hos friska äldre män och kvinnor indelade i åldersgrupperna 65-75 år samt > 75 år. Vidare syftade studien till att undersöka om det fanns några skillnader i resultatet mellan åldersgrupperna samt mellan män och kvinnor.Undersökningsgruppen bestod av totalt 70 individer över 65 års ålder, varav 45 var kvinnor och 25 var män. Testdeltagarna kontaktades via PRO i Uppsala. Även vänner och bekanta till författarna deltog i studien. Testdeltagarnas fallrelaterade self-efficacy undersöktes med hjälp av instrumentet FES(S), där testdeltagarna fick skatta hur säkra de känner sig på att utföra 13 olika vardagsaktiviteter utan att falla, maximal poäng 130.Resultatet visade att det rekommenderade referensvärdet för totalpoängen på FES(S) blev 124 poäng för kvinnor i åldern 65-75 år och 126 poäng för män i samma ålder.

Decision-making and valuation when buying small caps is a poorly explored area. Likewise, since disputes about deficiencies in the company?s financial and legal standing are, almost without exception, resolved in arbitration with confidentiality requirements for both sides, there is very little empirical knowledge about such disputes. This paper hopes to add empiric experience by describing such a take-over ? the purchase of the Jon Blund companies.

Räddningstjänsten är ett yrke där risktagande är en del av vardagen för personalen, det finns många olika faktorer som påverkar hur och varför ett beslut tas före och under en räddningsinsats. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka skillnader i risktagande mellan befattningar inom räddningstjänsten, baserat på faktorer som sensationssökning och synen på den egna kontrollen av handlingar och dess konsekvenser. Metoden som användes var en webenkät baserad på två validerade tester för att undersöka dessa faktorer; Sensation Seeking Scale samt Locus of Control-test. Sammanlagt deltog 17 stycken respondenter och alla var män, befattningarna varierade mellan brandman, styrkeledare, insatsledare, ställföreträdande räddningschef samt räddningschef. Resultatet visade en signifikant skillnad i sensationssökning mellan befattningarna där de lägre befattningarna hade störst sensationssökning.

A study to optimize insulation thickness for stock-, industrial- and office-buildings for external walls and roof in an economical perspective has been conducted on behalf of DynaMate. DynaMate?s role is to maintain all Scania?s buildings. Analysis has also included other parts of the building envelope, such as windows, exterior doors and industrial doors. In this thesis, three different types of exterior wall constructions has been investigated, these are a sandwich design consisting of sheet metal and a another one consisting of concrete, as well as a wall of concrete with a coating of plasters.

Latent heat storage is a way to store thermal energy when a phase change material undergoes a phase change. The advantage of latent heat storage is the capability to store more energy per mass unit than other heat storage methods. The most commonly used phase change in latent heat storage is the transition between solid and liquid. Phase change materials can be divided into organics, inorganics and eutectics.In the Nordic electricity market the price of electricity is set every hour by Nordpool spot, which leads to price fluctuations because of changes in demand. The main goal of this report is to create a latent heat storage system in a single-family home and investigate the possibility to save money by charging the latent heat storage system when the price of electricity is low, and discharge when the price is high.The thermodynamic model consisted of a ?tube-in-tube? heat exchanger with phase change material in the outer tube and water as the heat transfer fluid in the inner tube.