The association between social parameters (i.e. socio-economy and level of education) and voting behaviour has been reviewed and analysed based on data from municipal council elections in Stockholm and Gothenburg in 2002. Some social scientists argue that the class voting is in decline and that new social cleavages have emerged. However, by using regression analysis techniques, this study implies a strong dependence of voting behaviour on social parameters, such as socio-economic status (SES) and level of education. Socio-economy appears to be a dominant predictor in the analysis.

Today, Sweden has about forty companies owned by the government. These are active on markets with variable competition. Some have been given special areas of responsibility that in a practical notion make them monopolists. The period when most public companies where formed (and with that the following subjection to competition) during the nineties and early 2000's, forced the formerly protected businesses to act on the terms of the open market. Parallel to this development the brand has for the last twenty years evolved into something great strategic importance for the business, including the business-to-businesses (B2B).

This essay examines the using of consensus method for decision making within the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the process that led to the decision to adopt its usage. The main question of my essay is why the method was introduced to the WCC and what motives lay behind its introduction. Other questions are how the consensus method works; both in theory and in practice, and what the predecessors and prototypes for the method are.The consensus method belongs to a broad Christian tradition of spiritual discernment and spiritual decision making. The New Testament, in particular Acts, gives examples of decision making in the early church which show that discerning God's will was considered essential. However the most influential model for the consensus method have been the decision making process of the Religious Society of Friends or Quakers, and also the consensus model of the Uniting Church in Australia.

Kandidatprojektet Urban Building vid Hornsbruksgatan med undertiteln Hornsbruksgatan 2012 är ett arkitekturprojekt bestående av ett mindre antal sammanlänkade byggnationer i vilka bostäder, kontor samt kommersiell verksamhet inryms. Den övergripande volymen består av en tydligt långsmal kropp som är placerad längs med gatan. Stor vikt i projektet har lagts vid den arkitektoniska upplevelsen, materialval och beständighet. Gestaltningsmässigt har inga hinder funnits för eklektiska och anakronistiska influenser..

The climate issue is a significant question, and the problem is mainly caused by human activities. Everyone can help to counteract the enhanced Greenhouse effect by reducing the amounts of energy they use and by not consuming more products then they need.Schools are some of societies many consumers and therefore contribute to the Greenhouse effect. The School also has an important task; to teach and disseminate knowledge and information about the climate and the environment. According to the Swedish National Agency for Education, Skolverket, must all schools regularly consider the environment and sustainable development throughout the entire education process. Unfortunately, this is not the case for many schools in Sweden today.One of many tools that can be used to coordinate environmental work and initiatives, and also to make it more efficient, is environmental management systems.

Calculated and measured energy in residential buildings is going to differ. The reason to this may be due to many factors. In this study there is a study on how these factors affect the energy use in a building. To get an insight in what defines energy, there is first a description of energy supply both worldwide and used in Sweden, followed by a description of the energy balance. In this study energy will be studied in residential buildings only.

This thesis examines the environmental benefits resulting from the choice of environmental certification scheme, with focus on energy. This was carried out by studying the measures that were implemented as a result of the certification of Sweco's three largest office buildings in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. The office property in Stockholm has been certified with the Swedish Environmental Building, Gothenburg with the British BREEAM and Malmö with the U.S system LEED.The results from the study indicate that an environmental certification can reduce the energy consumption by up to 59 percent and the water consumption by 20 to 66 percent. However; the interviews, literature study and simulations in MATLAB indicate that the size and scope of these environmental benefits depend on several identified factors: the type of building and its conditions, system selection, grade level, the choice of indicators, the ambition of those involved and when in time the certification process begins. The comparison between Environmental Building, LEED and BREEAM showed that Environmental Building for the office property in Stockholm gave the largest environmental benefit in terms of reduced energy consumption thanks to several large measures.

In the year 2010 a transition will take place here in Sweden from the present rules how to dimension buildings in to the common rules with have been developed in Europe, the Eurocodes. Eurocode is the term for a collection standard that contains calculation rules in how to dimension constructions and buildings. They are developed by the European standardize committee.The purpose with this examination work is to get an insight of what changes this will contribute to, and how it will affect the dimensioning. Are there going to be any differences in the dimension you finally chose?To investigate these possible differences two constructions will be calculated first in the present Swedish rules, and then in the coming eurocodes.One of these two constructions will be build completely in steel, while the other will be build completely in concrete.

Roughly 130 000 dwellings have been officially registered since Norway as of summer 2009 passed their bill ?Energimerkeforskriften? on energy performance certificates in buildings. The main objective is to decrease the total amount of national energy consumption by producing a methodology of calculation of the integrated energy performance of buildings as well as proposing cost effective measures to lower each building?s energy consumption. As the measures should not contravene nor be incompatible with the intended quality and character of the building, the ?Energimerkeforskriften? exempts buildings that due to their historical and cultural values are protected cultural heritage legislation. The current system offers a couple of professional certification alternatives, but when two online semi-automatic methods developed specifically for non-professionals are by far the most used, and since the methods of calculation primarily have focused on modern building materials and construction, the rest of the historical building stock stands literally unprotected by incorrect performance certificates and high-risk energy efficient measures. The objective of this thesis is to identify if the current Norwegian energy certificate system poses a threat to older buildings.

When anyone acquires control over a listed company the mandatory bid rule is triggered. This means that the person who acquires the control has to make an offer to buy the remaining shares in the company. The purpose of the rule is to protect the minority shareholders from the buyers. This rule has been considered to be burdensome and thus it is followed by an exemption rule which under some special circumstances may make the mandatory bid rule void. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze if the exemptions given by the Swedish securities council (in Swedish Aktiemarknadsnämnden) are in accordance with the purpose of the mandatory bid rule and if a review of these rules are needed.To answer the purpose, the Swedish securities councils statements has been analyzed, to determinate if the exemptions are in accordance with the purpose of the mandatory bid rule.

All new households were to be constructed with "near zero energy house standards" (NZE-house) by the year of 2020. The ambition to construct energy-efficient buildings had to increase rapidly in the spring of 2013.The purpose of this report was to increase the interest for building contractors to construct apartment buildings with passive house standards. By locating and evaluating experiences from an existing passive house a case study including interviews, field visits and document analysis was made. Research of literature regarding other passive houses in Sweden also helped to answer the following questions:- What positive and negative experiences have the study of the passive house meant to the involved stakeholders and residents?- What improvements can be made based on identified experiences?- How can an apartment building be designed as a passive house based on possible improvements?By collecting good and bad experiences, as well as improvements and potential design proposals, a diagram was created designed as a tool for developers when constructing apartment buildings with passive house standards.

 AimThe purpose of this study is to compare and highlight the scope for research into outdoor recreational pursuits in Sweden and Norway. - What are the similarities and differences in the financing of research into outdoor recreational pursuits in Sweden and Norway?- What are the similarities and differences in forums for research into outdoor recreational pursuits in the two countries?  Method The method that has been used in this study consists of qualitative interviews in conjunction with an examination of the published material on the subject. The qualitative interviews have been conducted with six key figures in the field of research into outdoor recreational pursuits in Sweden and Norway where the aim was to obtain a comprehensive overview of the research undertaken in both countries. The examination of the published material has been used to complement the interviews, primarily with information from propositions and reports from relevant organisations and authorities.  Results  Financing in Sweden is spread over several different research councils and authorities where no one organisation has an express responsibility for research into outdoor recreational pursuits. In Norway, however, The Research Council of Norway is the prime source of research funding.

An increasing number of peole are resisting the attraction of living around nature and opting instead to spend their lives in cities. Parks and green areas play an important part in our well-being and we become fascinated with the diversity of nature, in which we find a peacefulness that is unique. Amongst other things, being surrounded by nature can reduce high blood presure, lower the production of stress hormones and stimulate the mind and our ability to concentrate. It is therefore vitally important to entice city residents to parks and green areas to improve their physical and mental well-being. Previous research has shown that humans are seeking for certain characteristics in the parks and green areas which they are visiting.

This diploma work was performed because the company Sveriges BostadsrättsCentrum, with the abbreviation SBC, had a need to gain insight into how changes in the Work Environment Act and related regulations which took effect January 1, 2009 affecting their work with the work environment. The changes mean that the client may hand over his work environment responsibilities to a contractor and that he has to select so-called building work environment co-ordinators. At SBC they are working as representatives for tenant-owner's association when a construction is about to be carried out. The purpose was to ascertain how changes may affect the work at SBC. The diploma work intends to educate the staff at SBC how work with the work environment would look like if they met the regulatory requirements.

This thesis explores the narrow spaces between closely built houses in the over 300-year-old wooden town center of Mariestad, Sweden, and their potential as time capsules and sources of knowledge in cultural-historical building investigations. By interpreting well-preserved carpentry work on a facade in one of these spaces, the study aims to provide an example of how these preserved spaces can serve as a source of knowledge and understanding of craftsmanship and the history of the place. The thesis also addresses the municipality of Mariestad's work with cultural heritage, as well as maps out more of these potentially interesting interstitial spaces. Old Swedish wooden towns possess a high degree of uniqueness both nationally and internationally; nevertheless, they are subjected to relatively significant threats of demolitions and substantial changes, often in the form of many smaller restorations or changes over a long period of time. The focus of the case study is a window from the 16th or 17th century and the facade's old, hand planed wooden cladding.