Shock absorber units play a key role in establishing the driving dynamics and performance of automobiles. Öhlins Racing has manufactured high-tech automotive shock absorbers for over 30 years. Öhlins Racing?s advanced technology has contributed to over 200 world championships in automobile racing. Öhlin?s manufacturing process has long utilized automated fluid filling equipment during the final shock absorber unit assembly stage. The filling process consists of vacuum pumping the shock absorber unit and subsequent transfer of fluid. Vacuum pumping is necessary to remove residual air from the shock absorber unit prior to initiating the liquid filling stage. The presence of undesirable gases drastically compromises the performance of a shock absorber. The filling degree, defined as the final ratio of air to oil, is determined by the specific filling protocol as well as the specific equipment utilized.The current investigation aims to develop a viable technique to accurately determine residual air content in shock absorber units. If the filling degree can be appropriately quantified for a specific manufacturing process, then the air/oil ratio may be quantitatively related to shock absorber performance. The utilized measurement method must be completely integrated into the manufacturing process to guarantee shock absorber performance specifications according to the manufacturer?s standards. By utilizing the measurement method developed in this work, the manufacturing process, manufacturing equipment and product specifications can all be tailored to provide improved filling conditions.The developed measurement method provides accurate quantification of the filling degree under a wide range of processing conditions. The method establishes the relative quantity of air in the shock absorber unit by performing in-situ compressibility tests. The fill ratio can be controlled and varied by manipulating the vacuum pressure exerted during the filling process. Performance tests, however, indicate no correlation between filling degree and unit performance..

The aim of this master thesis is to evaluate the performance of the content-based image retrieval system ImBrowse from a semantic point of view. Evaluation of retrieval performance is a problem in content-based image retrieval (CBIR). There are many different methods for measuring the performance of content-based image retrieval systems, but no common way for performing the evaluation. The main focus is on image retrieval regarding the extraction of the visual features in the image, from three semantic levels. The thesis tries to elucidate the semantic gap, which is the problem when the systems extraction of the visual features from the image and the user?s interpretation of that same information do not correspond.

In this master thesis we are trying to investigate whether the heads of the four major Swedish banks are receiving compensation because of their own performance. We have investigated a number of parameters in the reporting and compensation description of Handelsbanken, Nordea, SEB and Swedbank and compared it to macro data.We have used publicly available information from the banks as well as macro data from 1998 to 2009.We have come to the conclusion that the revenue and profits of the banks are heavily influenced by external factors and that there does not appear to be a clear link between a CEOs actions, the reported results for the bank, the shareholder gains and the compensation for the CEO. It appears as if the bonus payments to a CEO may depend more on parameters beyond the CEOs own control than the performance of the CEO..

The purpose of this paper is to study how Swedish CFOs perceive that the requirement for companies to issue quarterly reports affect business operations in the company. The fact that it is regulations on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, and not the law, that requires companies to issue quarterly reports makes Sweden unique in Europe. The paper is based on interviews with CFOs from 32 companies quoted on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The major finding in the study is that a majority of the CFOs perceive that the pressure for short term results, created by quarterly reports, affect their work and the investment decisions made in the company. Also CFOs feel that the market over interprets the information given in quarterly reports.

The following essay is a study of the theatre-play Min Arm, a translation and performance by Per Lasson for Fria Teatern in Stockholm 2009-2010. Actor, director and playwright Tim Crouch wrote the original script My Arm in English in 2003.With basis in intermedial theory, as defined by Jörgen Bruhn, as well as Hans-Thies Lehmann?s theory on post-dramatic theatre this study investigates the meaning-building processes in Min Arm as a theatrical performance. Concepts of the difference between stage play and performance text are borrowed from and inspired mainly by Eli Rozik?s Generating Theatre Meaning.

The purpose of this paper is to compare two different portfolio strategies consisting of insider transactions and stock recommendations and examine whether they posses any information advantage.  The portfolios are balanced once every three-, six- and twelve- months in the period of 2007-2009. Our results show a pattern for these investment strategies. The portfolio consisting of insider transactions generates a positive return in equity in a negative market environment and the opposite reaction in a positive environment. The result for the portfolio consisting of stock recommendations show a positive return of equity in positive environment and the opposite effect in negative environment. The pattern that has been observed can be classified as an anomaly.

Purpose: To examine how IR-related press releases affect share price for stock companies, and to explore how said companies practice Investor Relations.Methods: The study was conducted using an event study as well as e-interviews. The event study has a quantitative deductive research approach where the market model is used for calculating the abnormal return based on press releases. The e-interviews have a qualitative research approach and follow a semi structured interview guide. The study includes all listed stock companies within the Swedish construction industry and includes press releases from the last decade.Theory: The study is based on the efficient market hypothesis and its semi strong form, theories within Investor Relations and previous research.Results: The event study shows a significant negative abnormal return during a four day period starting the day after the press release event. The negative abnormal return could derive from investor relations being used by companies as damage control, or that the investors? expectations are too high as a result of IR.

The primary purpose of this paper is to find the determinants of first-day returns on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Our research will cover the 1996 ? 2004 periods. Our secondary purpose is intended to find a profitable trading strategy with regard to future IPOs on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. By using regression analysis, focusing on company specific factors and the IPO process, we hope to find a function exhibiting statistical significance, determining future first-day returns from which construction of a profitable trading strategy will be possible.

The aim of this study is to enhance the knowledge of target and performance management?s effects on the judiciary. In the past decades there have been a number of reforms in the general public sector of many countries. The management philosophy often used to describe these public sector reforms is called New Public Management (NPM). One main theme has been an increased focus on the management control systems, for example a greater emphasis on target and performance management.

Theability to beat the market is one of the most discussed topics in finance. Thereare very few investors that manage to accomplish this over longer periods oftime. Most of the financial research claims that this is impossible unless theinvestor increase the risk in the portfolio. However numerous of researchershave shown that it exist anomalies on the stock market which either indicatesthat the Capital Asset Pricing Modell (CAPM) or Fama and French three-factormodel fails to explain stock returns or that the market is not fully efficient.One investor that has claimed that the stock market is not fully efficient andthat it is possible to generate abnormal return is Benjamin Graham. Graham isone of the legends on Wall Street and he has shown that by using few variablesbased on public information, one can manage to beat the market over longer timeperiods.There arejust a few studies that have tested Graham?s criteria?s, however all of themindicates that they work but that the standard deviation might be higher forthe portfolios.

The following essay is a study of the theatre-play Min Arm, a translation and performance by Per Lasson for Fria Teatern in Stockholm 2009-2010. Actor, director and playwright Tim Crouch wrote the original script My Arm in English in 2003.With basis in intermedial theory, as defined by Jörgen Bruhn, as well as Hans-Thies Lehmann?s theory on post-dramatic theatre this study investigates the meaning-building processes in Min Arm as a theatrical performance. Concepts of the difference between stage play and performance text are borrowed from and inspired mainly by Eli Rozik?s Generating Theatre Meaning.

This thesis has been carried out in cooperation with a company which develops mobile sensor platforms. The sensors measure different types of data such as temperature, pressure etc.. They will communicate through the internet with a server that stores data in a database. This system will be controlled and monitored through a web page. The project's aim has been to develop this system and to implement a server, a database, a website and a client application that simulates sensor signals.

In today?s society computers are getting a much more important role. To get a computer to work as intended it has to be programmed. A computer program is written with programming languages. There is an abundance of programming languages available today and there are many differences and similarities between them. The different languages have their advantages and their disadvantages where some of them are intended for fast performance, some to be cheap on memory usage, and some are developed to be easy to program on. In our thesis we have chosen to compare four of todays most common languages, C, C++, Java and Python.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the underlying motifs leading to the decision to appoint a supplemental liquidity provider and how they vary between companies. As the first study of its kind to take on an internal company perspective, the goal was to broaden the knowledge base of the field and lay ground for further studies. The study has been conducted by interviewing companies providing the service, their customers and the stock exchanges which they are traded on. The results show that there are two main motifs for appointing a liquidity provider, 1) Creating conditions for increased trade and 2) Improving the pricing of the stock. There was also a supplemental group 3) Other motifs consisting of the observations that would not fit in any of the main categories.

The purpose of this master thesis is to evaluate how internal vehicle information inScania buses and trucks can be used for evaluation of driver performance regardingfuel economy, vehicle wear, traffic safety, emissions and cargo damage. To someextent it was examined whether this information could be used for training the driverto a better driving style. In addition, a prototype for such a system was developed.By first defining what distinguishes a talented driver and how he/she differs from apoor driver, followed by a study of the internal vehicle communication, a system thatin real-time gathers and interprets vehicle data could be developed.The resulting system can with reasonably high reliability detect a number of trafficevents (such as braking, lane changing or hilltops). At each such event, the driver?sbehaviour can be evaluated.