During the last decades, brand equity has been a priority topic for both practitioners and academics. In accordance with the structural changes in the economic settings caused by the so-called "new economy", corporations being confronted with a shift on perceived business value structure from tangible assets to intangibles. On the other hand firms increasingly are adopting more responsible behaviour towards their societies. In this context, one critical question is to understand how corporate conduct may affect brand equity. The purpose of this study was to find how brand equity (BE) measurement methods embrace corporate responsibility (CR), based on a literature review.

AbstractConsider a ?uid being heated from below. The heating leads to an upward convectiveforce that is counteracted by the viscous forces of the ?uid. If the convectiveforce is large enough in comparison to the viscous forces the ?uid will be put in anunstable state.

To curb greenhouse gases and mitigate climate change is one of the biggest challenges human society face today. Carbon dioxide (CO2) has accumulated rapidly in the atmosphere as a consequence of burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. The aim of this study is to explore two methods to store carbon dioxide in geological formations and biological sinks. The aim is also to discuss the two mitigation options from a sustainable perspective and whether it can lead to a better environment and benefits for local and global societies. The research questions are: Which method to store carbon dioxide, geological or biological, is the most effective? Which method to store carbon dioxide, geological or biological, has the greatest potential to promote sustainable development for local communities?The method used is a comparative case study and presents four case studies that explore the potential for CO2 storage offshore in Norway and Brazil; and in tropical forests in Mexico and Brazil.

Mitt syfte med denna uppsats är att belysa effekterna av tvåspråkighet hos vuxna. Mina frågeställningar är om tvåspråkigheten ökat den lingvistiska medvetenheten och om informanterna ofta växlar mellan språken. Jag har även frågat om intervjupersonerna känner sig bikulturella lika mycket som de är tvåspråkiga samt om de upplevt positiva eller negativa attityder till tvåspråkighet. Som metod har jag valt att genomföra intervjuer med informanterna. Jag har intervjuat sex personer.Resultatet visar att tvåspråkigheten medför ett språkintresse och en ökad språklig medvetenhet.

På Sveriges fastighetsmarknad har man de senaste åren kunnat urskilja ett allt högre fokus påmiljön från dess aktörer. Miljödebatten i Sverige har snabbt fått fäste och allt fler företag förstårvärdet av att fokusera på sådana frågor.Att utvecklingen fortsätter att gå framåt är viktigt då fastigheter och dess tillhörande byggnaderstår för nästan en tredjedel av världens utsläpp av växthusgaser och bara byggandet och driftenstår för cirka fyrtio procent av den globala förbrukningen av råvaror och energi. Prioritering avmiljöfrågor blir således viktiga vid fastighetsförvaltande och nyproduktion.Tidigare forskning visar att det finns en mängd incitament för att bygga och förvalta grönt. Ävenhyresgästerna har incitament för att hyra gröna lokaler. Vidare visar internationella studier att detinte alltid krävs stora åtgärder för att uppnå bra resultat vad gäller fastigheters energiförbrukningoch hållbarhet över tid.

Climate and environmental issues is now high on the agenda. We live in a generation that must try to solve some major environmental problems. Buildings and habitations account for approximately 40 % of Sweden's total energy today. To reduce this figure, as needed, more research in the field of energy efficiency is required.This thesis concerns the heating of buildings. The load on district heating is heavy during certain times of the day.

Pets like dogs and cats have a considerable importance for humans and research demonstrate a variety of positive economic and social effects in society due to our pet companions. The presences of pets are increasing on a global scale with correlation to economic development in low- and middle income countries. For example dogs have doubled in India over a five year period. The feed industry for dogs and cats is also the fastest growing sector in the food industry and certain pets have a significant animal protein intake which, depending on the choice of resources may provide a high ecological footprint. Examples of environmental effects with distribution and manufacturing of pet food are increased greenhouse gas emissions, waste, use of water and energy.

AimThe aim of this study is to examine the long term effects of e12 and how they have influenced the lifestyle and perceived awareness about nutrition and exercise in relation to factors from Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) that e12 took in consideration. The questions asked were; How has e12 affected the attitudes, skills, self-efficacy and knowledge relative to exercise? How has e12 influenced the individual?s habits of exercise? How has e12 affected the perceived awareness regarding the impact of nutrition and exercise on the body weight?MethodThe study is pursued by a qualitative method using semi structured interviews on six individuals between the ages of 16-18 years old that completed the project 4-5 years ago. A questionnaire regarding nutrition and exercise habits was also used as part of the study. All individuals from the year of interest were first contacted by the senior physician connected to the project.

NMD 100 is a notes and media dispensing machine, manufactured by De La Rue Ltd, located in Flen, Sweden. The customers, mainly bank offices, have expressed a need for a more comprehensive description of errors occurring from time to time in their machines. In order to acquire a BSc-degree in Computer and Electronics Technology at the University of Linköping I have carried out a diploma work, regarding new computer programs to fulfil the customers? wishes. The machine NMD 100 is connected to its PC through handshaking.

In October 2010 it was discovered that leach water had been released from a waste deposit directly into a ditch during a period from March until October 2010. The river Dalhemsån runs close to the waste deposit, just about 10 meters from the ditch. By studying the benthic fauna it was discovered that the environmental status of Dalhemsån is bad in this part of the river, but the discharges of leachate from the waste deposit does not seem to have deteriorated the water further since May 2010..

The aim of the study is to investigate how social workers relate to the self-determination in cases that involve people who have dementia. To investigate this we have chosen to build a qualitative study. The study is based on four interviews with social workers in elderly care in Sweden. To analyze our material we chose the concept autonomy, and legal texts from the Social Services Act (SFS 2001: 453) and Parental code (SFS 1949: 381). Our results show that social workers are often forced to deviate from the law and guidelines to ensure the best for the person with dementia.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the networks of interlocking directors in the 50 largestSwedish companies on the Stockholm Stock Exchange during the years 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005and 2010 and seek explanations for the observed developments.Our findings indicate that the density and concentration of the network has decreased during thefirst ten-year period and stayed constant during the second period. The development of theoverall network is not consistent throughout all corporate groups. Most notablyHandelsbankssfären seems to experience increased density and connectivity whileWallenbergsfären is experiencing the reverse.The changes during the first ten-year period is deemed to come mainly from changes inregulations pertaining to both the opening for international capital investments as well as looserrestrictions on domestic capital investments. These changes have caused decreased concentrationof ownership, as well as the emergence of new owners, which is reflected in the board ofdirectors.During the second ten-year period the changes are more pertaining to the individual boards andboard members, without flowing through into the overall network. Our findings indicate thatthese changes are caused by the increased professionalization of boards and board work, whichhas gained momentum through the creation of the Swedish Corporate Governance Code..

Som världens snabbast växande ekonomi står Kina idag inför en rad utmaningar, framförallt att lyckas förena ekonomisk tillväxt med hållbar utveckling. Samtidigt som miljontals människor har lyfts ur extrem fattigdom genom Kinas offensiva tillväxtpolitik har också miljön utsatts för stora påfrestningar till följd av den explosionsartade industrialiseringen som påbörjades för drygt tre decennier sedan. Länge överskuggade ekonomisk tillväxt alla andra intressen. Först på senare år har politiken i Kina svängt; statsmakten har i allt större utsträckning insett miljöproblemens allvar och företagit en rad viktiga juridiska reformer, till exempel genom införandet av Tort Law (2010) och grupptaleinstrumentet environmental public interest litigation (EPIL).Ett sätt att angripa Kinas växande miljöproblem är att främja civilsamhällets möjligheter att föra talan i domstol: där myndigheter brister, kan civilsamhället gripa in och kompensera för bristande tillsyn. För att gå till botten med Kinas miljöproblem måste dock den offentligrättsliga kontrollen bli starkare, men sådana politiska beslut och institutionella förändringar sker sällan över en natt.

The recent development in several countries? legislation and best practice recommendations in relation to corporate governance in general and audit committees in particular have affected Swedish listed corporations in the form of the Swedish Corporate Governance Code and the coming EU-directive. This paper aims to discover what factors affected Swedish listed companies to form audit committees when this was entirely voluntary. We collected data from the annual reports of 121 Swedish listed companies and formed eleven hypotheses as to what factors we believed affected the voluntary formation of audit committees based on Agency Theory, economies of scale and circumstances specific to the Swedish environment. We then analyzed the data through the use of a multivariate logistic regression model.

This report is commissioned by the Water and Sewage Agency in The City of Mariehamn, Åland. The basic aim is to investigate positive or negative effects of a relocation of the sewage pipe from a wastewater treatment plant, Lotsbroverket. The environmental licence of Lotsbroverket is to be revised and The Environmental Appeal Board at Åland?s Government and Administrative Board has made demands that several possible locations in an outer water area should be examined. The present location of the sewage pipe is in Svibyviken, which has been classified as an ?inner water area?.The objective of this work is to study to which extent the nutrient loading from Lotsbroverket influence the environmental conditions in Svibyviken, and to investigate the suitability of different locations of the wastewater pipe from Lotsbroverket.The way a coastal area looks, i.e., its morphometry, determines to a large extent its ecological characteristics.