The Private Equity industry has over the past years been booming and major external environmental changes have made the industry transform rapidly. Increased competition between Private Equity firms is one of the reasons why the industry has been and is being forced to focus more on addition of value through increased operational management. Consequently, the focus of value addition is by some said to be transferred away from deal making and financial skills, and into active operative management. This case study investigates how the portfolio management, and more specifically the measuring and management of performance, is carried out in a number of leading Swedish Private Equity funds with investments in the biotech sector. The biotech sector is characterized by extensive research and development, and many biotech companies often lack income and other measurable financial parameters in the initial phase.

The tribo system ice-curling stone was investigated in order to understand the mechanisms behind the stones' behavior on the ice sheet. The problem with non-identical stones should also be addressed.The stone curls, that is, its sliding path deviates from a straight line to the right for a clock-wise rotation and to the left for a anti-clock-wise rotation. Several mechanisms to explain this behavior have been proposed over the years but none has been successful.By carrying out experiments at the local curling rink and studying silicon castings of ice- and stone-surfaces with scanning electron microscopy and vertical scanning interferometry, it has been decided that the curl is not due to dry friction, ice-debris or the difference in friction on the left and right side of the stone. The side force comes from the fact that the friction is higher at the back of the stone than at the front.The contact between stone and ice is never completely dry, nor in the hydrodynamic lubrication regime. It is probably a combination of hydrodynamic lubrication and a contribution from mechanical scratching of the ice.

Background: To be a parent to a child dying of cancer affect not just the parents themselves, but the whole family. Experiences of fear, powerlessness and anxiety surrounds them. Nurses need knowledge about parents? experiences to help and support these parents adequately. Aim: The aim of the study was to describe parents? experiences of losing a child to cancer, from diagnosis to the child?s death.

AbstractTo take the role of another is an important and a central part of human interaction. When we take the role of another we not only learn about them but also we learn about ourselves and how we interact with other people.  Social work in this form, working with directly with families in crises, is much about understanding other people?s perspective and feelings. It is important to know the strategy of one?s work and which perspective to work from.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to highlight what is perceived as- and what is not perceived as- supportive and comforting, by the sick child in palliative care, and by its family. Method: Systematic literature review in which only scientific articles from the years 2001-2010 have been included. Analysis: A method inspired by qualitative content analysis was used. Results: The analysis revealed five categories of what the sick child and its family experienced as supportive and comforting - and what was perceived negatively - in the context of palliative care for children. The results showed that it was very important to have competent, dedicated and compassionate staff that not only care for the child but also see to the whole family.

AbstractElisabeth Hellström: Hur lät Jenny Lind, Christina Nilsson och Signe Hebbe? En studie av sångskolor och röstideal under 1800-talet. Uppsala universitet: Institutionen för musikvetenskap, uppsats för 60 p, 2007.The aim of this essay is to, with starting point in the Garcia- and Lamperti-schools, describe the voice ideals of the 19th century, and how it may have sounded. To exemplify the last-mentioned I have studied the voices of the three singers Jenny Lind,  Christina Nilsson and Signe Hebbe (there are no recordings of any of them).The essay contains two major parts. In the first I describe the technique of the Garcia- and Lamperti-schools and their views on registers, vibrato and messa di voce, ending with a summarizing analysis of the 19th century vocal ideals.

The aim with this Essay is to examine the two most read magazines in Sweden covering the areas of exercising, fitness, bodybuilding, diets and ?wellness? ?Fitness and Body. Fitness?s target group is predominantly woman, while Body is almost exclusively read by men. The analysis is first done quantitatively, by systematically categorising the contents of the magazines.

There is an awareness of the importance of gender equality in most western societies, both at the political level and in everyday life. In academia, for instance, gender is nowadays a scientific field which indicates that there is a lot of knowledge about the subject. What we do not have much knowledge about is whether gender knowledge leads to changes in gender relations in practice. The aim of this study is to explore how gender scholars relate to using ? practicing ? gender knowledge.

The aim of this thesis in Archival Science was to explore the concept of electronic archives and the challenges that might be encountered when attempting to move archives into a new digital age, as well as having a closer look at the term e-archive itself. Another aim was to explore how the OAIS reference model works in practice.To explore these questions I decided to do a case study on E-Arkiv Stockholm, a functioning e-archive. I decided to do a study on several documents that were created throughout the project, these included documents related to the planning of the archive, as well as the final report. My reason for this method was that these docu-ments came straight from reality and would give a clear and unbiased view of the project and it?s many aspects.Examination of the documents showed that the OAIS reference model and its concepts had been the foun-dation of much of the planning.

Purpose/Aim: To create a communication strategy for PADI Nordic with the intention of getting Swedish divers, who have been certified abroad, to Swedish dive centers.Material/Method: The study is based on a number of personal interviews conducted with a) divers who are active in Sweden, b) divers who are not active in Sweden and c) representatives from PADI and PADI affiliated dive centers.Main results: The main reason that people who have been certified abroad do not dive in Sweden is that they regard it as being too complicated, too cold, too expensive and with nothing interesting to see. These might partly be misconceptions that can be corrected through a communication strategic effort. The best way to change this perception is by two different forms of communication. One will go from PADI Nordic straight to the divers through an email. This will have the purpose of getting their attention, making diving sound interesting and raise their awareness in preparation for the other part of the process.

This qualitative study involves the implementation of Lean and Kaizen methods in a Swedish service industry. Lean philosophy is based on a method to achieve more with less. In practical terms this means that the use of an organization's resources is improved. The origin of Lean is the Toyota Production System. Now, Kaizen methods give managers and employees a better more efficient system to reach their goals within the organization or company.

This qualitative study involves the implementation of Lean and Kaizen methods in a Swedish service industry. Lean philosophy is based on a method to achieve more with less. In practical terms this means that the use of an organization's resources is improved. The origin of Lean is the Toyota Production System. Now, Kaizen methods give managers and employees a better more efficient system to reach their goals within the organization or company.

The aim of my study is to investigate how last year students in upper secondary schoolunderstand certain mathematical concepts, in particular the unit circle and its trigonometry.I have used intentional analysis to interpret student?s actions when they solve certain tasks onthe basis of a cognitive, situated and cultural context.Interviews with four university teachers in mathematics about the unit circle, trigonometry,and mathematical understanding, serve both as background for the study and as basis for adiscussion, where I relate students understanding to what the teachers want new students toknow about these concepts when they begin university studies in mathematics.The students were arranged in three groups with three students in each group. Each group waspresented with two tasks, one in which they were asked to calculate the cosine values for onepointed, one blunt and one straight angle, each located in a separate triangle. They were alsoasked to decide whether the points (0,71; 0,71) and d (1 2 , 3 2 ) are located on the unit circleor not.My conclusion is that students mainly have an operational conception of the unit circle andtrigonometry. The lack of structural conceptions result in difficulties in seeing connectionsbetween the concepts in unfamiliar situations.

The aim of my study is to investigate how last year students in upper secondary schoolunderstand certain mathematical concepts, in particular the unit circle and its trigonometry.I have used intentional analysis to interpret student?s actions when they solve certain tasks onthe basis of a cognitive, situated and cultural context.Interviews with four university teachers in mathematics about the unit circle, trigonometry,and mathematical understanding, serve both as background for the study and as basis for adiscussion, where I relate students understanding to what the teachers want new students toknow about these concepts when they begin university studies in mathematics.The students were arranged in three groups with three students in each group. Each group waspresented with two tasks, one in which they were asked to calculate the cosine values for onepointed, one blunt and one straight angle, each located in a separate triangle. They were alsoasked to decide whether the points (0,71; 0,71) and d (1 2 , 3 2 ) are located on the unit circleor not.My conclusion is that students mainly have an operational conception of the unit circle andtrigonometry. The lack of structural conceptions result in difficulties in seeing connectionsbetween the concepts in unfamiliar situations.

The aim of my study is to investigate how last year students in upper secondary schoolunderstand certain mathematical concepts, in particular the unit circle and its trigonometry.I have used intentional analysis to interpret student?s actions when they solve certain tasks onthe basis of a cognitive, situated and cultural context.Interviews with four university teachers in mathematics about the unit circle, trigonometry,and mathematical understanding, serve both as background for the study and as basis for adiscussion, where I relate students understanding to what the teachers want new students toknow about these concepts when they begin university studies in mathematics.The students were arranged in three groups with three students in each group. Each group waspresented with two tasks, one in which they were asked to calculate the cosine values for onepointed, one blunt and one straight angle, each located in a separate triangle. They were alsoasked to decide whether the points (0,71; 0,71) and d (1 2 , 3 2 ) are located on the unit circleor not.My conclusion is that students mainly have an operational conception of the unit circle andtrigonometry. The lack of structural conceptions result in difficulties in seeing connectionsbetween the concepts in unfamiliar situations.