Asset management in insurance companies differs from conventional asset management to the extent that respect has to be taken to both assets and the commitments the insurance company has towards its customers. A model that has proven to fit well regarding the matching of assets and liabilities is the Asset Liability Management Model (ALM model). In addition to the matching in the balance sheet, the ALM model can be used in a company's work with strategic portfolio allocation by applying it as a basis for analyzing investment strategies with expected risk and return. From this, the ALM model also becomes relevant for calculating key figures according to the legal framework Solvens II which includes laws and regulations regarding the demands on economical strength (solvens) of insurance companies.Hence, the goal of this masters thesis has been to, on behalf of Bliwa Livförsäkring, create an ALM model to support the asset management department of Bliwa in their work with defining a credible way of analyzing the future risk and return of Bliwa's asset portfolio and insurance undertakings.The ALM model generally consist of four submodels, the scenario model, the liability model, the asset model and the company model, where the scenario model often is named as the core of the ALM model. The course of action has been to develop these submodels individually, with focus on the scenario model.

This final thesis consists of an investigation of how suitable it is to vertically integrate forest in Swedish forest companies. Different strategies to obtain raw materials have been evaluated and the advantages and disadvantages have been weighted against each other. The investigations contain a number of interviews with represents from companies with different strategies and persons that in different ways have faced the question of issue. An account study of SCA´s forest ownership has also been performed. The benefits for a forest company to vertical integrate forest consist mainly of safety in delivery, control over the supply chain and company image.

The purpose of this Bachelor?s thesis is to describe and analyze the implementation of Facebook in a public library. A case study consisting of qualitative interviews and studies of documents containing goals for the library has been conducted at a public library going through the process of implementing Facebook in their operations. The theoretical framework for this study consists of Everett M. Rogers?s stages of the innovation-decision process and his characteristics of innovations as perceived by individuals.

Enligt Allied Command Operations (ACO) Comprehensive Operations Planning Directive (COPD) utgör direktivet en gemensam stomme för planering av North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) bidrag till operationer inom ramen för ett Comprehensive approach. Direktivet är avsiktligen detaljrikt för att kunna nyttjas för utbildning. Samtidigt ska det utgöra ett verktyg för erfarna planerare att kunna värdera alla faktorer i komplexa operationer och därigenom ge högkvalitativa operationsplaner på både strategisk och operativ nivå. Framtagandet av ett koncept för ledning är en central del i framtagande av operationens plan. Men för att kunna ta fram ett koncept måste operationens ledningsbehov tas fram.

Plant Protection Products (PPP) used in the horticulture industry can be both chemical and biological. They are used for weeds (herbicides), insects (insecticides), and fungi (fungicides) and as growth retarders.Many horticulture workers get in touch with plants, treated with PPPs and many of these don?t use any protective equipment.The aim of this project is to illustrate the work environment hazards for staff working with greenhouse pot plants, after they have been sprayed.The method used was observations of the operations for packing plants. I studied the operations and took notes of how operations were performed and what protective equipment they used. I also took photos and asked questions.A literature study completed the observations.

In today's Sweden there are approximately 23 000 combination companies, and most of them have a connection with the agricultural sector. The most common type of additional operation is some form of contracting.The aim for this degree project is to answer the following question: which problems and key factors exists within combination operations? The main topic will be within coordination and management questions within agricultural companies with an additional operation.Litterateur written earlier within this subject will be used in this thesis. Mainly litterateur which contains information about combination companies and diversification of some sort. There are also other theories used in this thesis such as; resource based theory and decision making theory in order to understand the problems and key factors within combination companies.In order to investigate the aim of this thesis we have chosen to perform two qualitative interviews with the managers of two different combination companies.

A persistent problem in the construction industry is its low margins of profit. It is often difficult to earn money due to low efficiency and high costs. Logistics on the construction site answers for a large amount of these costs and it is therefore of interest to find new, more efficient logistic solutions. The purpose of this thesis is to compare two different logistic systems and further to evaluate which one that is the most efficient and profitable. A comparison is made between the traditional logistic systems used for years and a new logistic system developed by an industry association called BEAst.

This thesis aims to present the essential background on how to perform climate changeimpact assessments, and to present the results from a climate impact assessment on waterbalance and nitrate leaching for an arable Swedish soil. The soil is a sandy soil in southwesternSweden, grown with spring cereals. This study is meant to be a benchmark example,and cannot be seen as a regional or national assessment for Sweden, rather as an approachto present and analyze the most important parts of these kinds of assessments.A dynamical simulation model (COUP, Jansson and Karlberg, 2004) was used for thisstudy. The model was parameterized and calibrated against data from an experimental site,located in Mellby in Hallands county, south western Sweden. Measurements were carriedout between 1st of April 1988 and 1st of April 1991.

The globalization today has led to increased global competition. As companies seek out foreign markets in order to internationalize their operations, it is common that they encounter many cultural problems. Bribery and corruption is a common problem in international trade. Corruption is strongly linked to the national culture which means that corruption is accepted in differing degrees within different nations. This can be a problem when companies establish their operations in foreign markets.The purpose of this essay is to examine and analyze how companies act in a corrupt market without participating in corrupt activities.The authors have performed both a qualitative and a quantitative study.

In this report listed buildings, according to the Swedish Heritage Conservation Act, have been studied with a focus on cases where economical compensation has been given to the owner of the building and cases where the listing of the building has been appealed by the owner. In order for a building to become listed it needs to be particularly valuable from a cultural and historical standpoint. The listed buildings are protected through a list of regulations that determines which parts of the building can or cannot be changed, what methods and materials should be used for changes and repairs, and how the building should be maintained. These regulations should as far as possible be formulated in agreement with the owner, but a building can become listed against the owners will. To decrease the damage this causes the owner he can in some cases have the right to economical compensation. There is also a possibility for the owner to appeal the listing of the building.

This paper aim to present a model for evaluating what we choose to call HTML-frameworks, a framework that contains a set of CSS layouts and occasionally JavaScript support, based on the characteristics of the software quality standard ISO/IEC 9126-1. The methods used to produce this model is based on a field study that involved making a web portal with the help of a HTML-framework, some relevant literature and an analysis of the framework based on the characteristics of the ISO/IEC 9126-1 standard. The result was a model based on twelve different characteristics; functionality, web browser compatibility, collaborative skills, user-friendliness, documentation, visuals, graphic layout, performance, activity, professional support, replaceability and license. This model should be viewed upon as a suggestion to what a model for choosing HTML-framework could look like, because we haven?t had the time to test it in a real situation, so further studies are needed, and we believe there could be improvements made in the objectivity of the assessments of the characteristics..

The intrest and development of bioenergy and energy from renewable sources in Sweden has increased rapidly over the last few years. There are a whole lot of alternatives for those who would like to venture and invest in renewable energy production. Production of renewable energy opens up many opportunities for forestry and farming to venture a new branch of production, on basis of the primary production. Several of the new energy sources grows on farmland or in the forest. The opportunities exist in the primary products, as well as in refining and reselling, in the value chain of energy. The starting-point is the Farmer as an energyproducer. This master thesis studies the nature of farmer-own firms, who has invested in production of renewable energy.

In article 1.2 c) EC regulation 852/2004 it says that the regulation is not applicable to producers who directly supply small quantities of primary products to the final consumer or to the local retailers who in their turn directly supply the final consumer. An almost identical regulation can be found in article 1.3 c) EC regulation 853/2004. The supply by a primary producer of small quantities of primary products, of animal origin or not, are consequently excepted from these two hygiene regulations. In article 1.3 EC regulation 852/2004 and article 1.4 EC regulation 853/2004 it says that the member states are to establish national rules in their national legislation as to the regulation of exception for small quantities. The aim of this study was to investigate the handling of small quantities of primary products distributed locally in Sweden but also the handling of these products in other countries.

This report describes the building of a computer model that makes it possible to simulate the thermal climate in a greenhouse. The computer model is built on the physical theory of heat exchange that occur in a greenhouse, such as radiation and convective heat exchange. The model also includes the heat storage that is active in a greenhouse.The computer model is used to simulate the thermal climate in a greenhouse under three periods, winter, spring and summer. It also investigates which effect a concrete wall has on the thermal climate in a greenhouse. The purpose of putting a concrete wall in the greenhouse model is to investigate the possibility to store heat during the day and then use this heat when the temperature drops during the night.The result from the simulations shows that a concrete wall levels the big difference in temperature that normally occurs under a day in a greenhouse.

Att skapa fördelar med lean kräver en gedigen hängivenhet i tillämpningen av lean filosofin. Studier har påvisat svårigheter hos medelstora tillverkningsföretag vid tillämpning av lean att skapa synergier mellan hantering av efterfrågan och lagerstyrning. En efterfrågehantering som skapat ojämnt flöde utav produktionsorder som lett till problematik med voluminösa och inkuranta lagernivåer.Med den problematiken som grund har en fallstudie utförts på ett medelstort tillverkningsföretag. Studien har syftat till att undersöka brister i efterfrågehantering, produktionsplanering samt lagerstyrning hos fallföretaget utifrån ett lean perspektiv samt föreslå förbättringsåtgärder. Studien har antagit en hermeneutisk utgångspunkt med en deduktiv ansats där teori först studerats för att sedermera samla in empiri för jämförelse.Resultatet av studien blev förslag på förbättringsmöjligheter för fallföretaget som då besvarat frågeställningarna hur ett tillverkningsföretag kan förbättra både sitt interna och externa lagerflöde.