The objectives of this research were to determine whether the natural rattan resources in Sulawesi, Indonesia can cope with the strongly increased harvesting pressure that has occurred over the last centuries. I was furthermore looking for patterns in the rattan population dynamics that might give a hint on how the harvesting system could be improved to ensure a maximum sustainable yield. To answer these questions, I developed an individual-based model to analyse the dynamics of rattan growth in connection with rattan harvests by locals to identify sustainable levels of rattan harvests around villages in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Scenarios with different harvesting intensities were run to compare the change in harvest amount. For a given harvesting pressure, scenarios with a high number of harvesters and a low harvesting frequency had the same effect as scenarios with high harvesting frequencies and a low number of harvesters.

There are two groups of haulage contractors in roundwood transport , those who are contracted direct by the transport buyer and those who are connected to a freight company which in its turn is contracted by the transport buyer. Today the roundwood haulage is dominated by contractors with one to two lorries. The effort of coordinating transportation for a transport buyer is dependent on how many communication contacts that must be managed (how many individual haulage contractors the transport buyer has to work with). A structural change in the sector that leads to a decrease in the number of haulage contractors but an increase in the capacity of each contractor, makes it possible for a transport buyer to coordinate transports with fewer communication contacts. The reason why a company reaches a certain size can be explained by the number of contracts it makes and manages.

SammanfattningMed tanke på dagens marknad där allt större konkurrens finns gäller det att som företag ha en flexibilitet och lyhördhet som tillfredsställer kunden med rätt produkter, kvalitet och kvantitet. En låg leveransprecision kan orsaka problem i en verksamhets produktion, vilket innebär att företag bör kontinuerligt förbättra de interna processerna.Aros Quality Enclosure Systems AB (AQ AB), där projektet utfördes, är en del av koncernen Aros Quality Group. Företaget bearbetar plåtdetaljer och färdigställer produkter inom till exempel telekommunikation, bensinpumpar, kaffemaskiner och bankomater.Syftet med denna rapport är att presentera förbättringsförslag och rekommendationer som AQ AB kan genomföra för att förbättra den interna leveransprecisionen på den produkt som har studerats, den så kallade Ericsson-ram. För att uppnå syftet behövdes två frågeställningar besvaras, nämligen ?Vilka förbättringsområden i produktionen för Ericsson-ramar kan identifieras?? samt ?Vilka förbättringsförslag, utifrån de identifierade förbättringsområden, kan presenteras för företaget??.För att uppfylla detta syfte och svara på frågeställningarna har 14 besök på AQ AB i Vaggeryd gjorts.

Syftet med denna litteraturöversikt var att beskriva den hälsorelaterade livskvaliteten hos patienter med en implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).  Studien genomfördes som en litteraturöversikt, där tolv vetenskapliga artiklar av kvantitativ karaktär analyserades och användes i studiens resultatdel.  Sökorden som användes var Defibrillators, Implantable, Quality of Life och health related. Inklusionskriterier var artiklar skrivna på engelska, peer-reviewed, publicerade från år 2000 och framåt samt deltagarna i dessa studier skulle vara 19 år eller äldre. I studien framkom det att ICD-patienter undvek specifika platser, objekt och fysiska aktiviteter relaterade till ICD:n. Också en oro över bilkörning framkom.  ICD-patienter utsätts för en förändring i livssituation och är i behov av stöd och individuell informationsgivning gällande deras medicintekniska anordning.

Large amounts of birch-timber are imported to Sweden, from particularly the Baltic States, since the domestic production can?t support the pulp industry. The goal of this study was to show the potential of birch and the area?s most suitable for birch production. The study was limited to Gävleborg County. Using site characteristics, site index (SI) for birch was estimated on all National Forest Inventory plots in Gävleborg County.

The resting area is the most important place in the barn for the dairy cow, sometimes called the heart of the free stall system. Inadequate design of the lying area, and lack of or poor quality of bedding materials may reduce the hygiene of the stall. Poor management regarding the cleanliness of the resting area may lead to poor animal hygiene and increased bacterial growth. This in turn will lead to increased risk for environmental mastitis as well as impairing milk quality through contamination with spores. In this literature study the most commonly used bedding materials; straw, sawdust, wood shavings, clean sand, recycled sand, peat and recycled manure solids, are compared to one another with regards to their ability to resist bacterial growth. Effects of adding hydrated lime to bedding materials have also been studied. Most bacteria need humidity and prefer a quite high water activity to be able to grow.

This report was written by Lisa Bengtson and Hanna Paradis and describes the degree thesis "Environmental impacts of solid waste treatment in the Metropolitan Region, Santiago, Chile ? a comparison between current system and incineration with energy recovery". The purpose of this thesis was to investigate if incineration with energy recovery could be motivated through an environmental perspective as an alternative to landfilling of solid waste in Santiago, Chile. The study was performed with Life Cycle Analysis as a theoretical base. In Santiago, situated in the thirteenth region of Chile, Región Metropolitana, lives 6,5 million inhabitants. The major part of the solid waste produced in the region is landfilled on three different sanitary controlled landfills situated outside the city center.

The overall aim is to examine how the European Union Water Framework Directive has affected the local water management in the catchment Märstaån situated in the eastern part of the lake Mälaren river basin, Sweden. The first part of the study gives an historical overview of the area with focus on how the old agricultural landscape was handling the nutrient load from farming activities by means of different kinds of wetlands. By using the concept of the procedural landscape, introduced by Torsten Hägerstrand , together with historical maps with dates starting from the 17th century, the pre-modern landscape is analyzed.  The second part is an investigation, based on qualitative data, on how the different actors in the catchment area work together to secure the water quality for the Märstaån river. The analysis shows that the Märstaån catchment river systems are mostly unchanged in the rural areas.  The exception is the mainstream section of the Märstaån river running partly underground today and the Halmsjöbäcken river that is heavily affected by the Arlanda airport situated within the catchment area.

In the current situation a big part ofthe settlements that exist in Sweden isin need of renovation and energyefficiency in order to survive.Therefore, also many of the older houseswith a wooden structure are in a need ofenergy efficiency, which can be done ina variety of ways, including addinginsulation.This project deals with whether the useof a diffusion barrier or a vaporbarrier affects a wall structure byadding insulation to an older house witha timber frame. The insulation materialswhich are concidered in thisinvestigation are mineral wool and woodfiber insulation. Efforts are focused onthe effects of moisture on theseinsulation materials.To demonstrate the differences thatarise the moisture measurement programWUFI have been used to simulate avariety of wall designs. These designsare developed in consultation with theconstruction carers who are active inthe industry.Using WUFI graphs illustrating themoisture levels of the wall structureswere obtained and from these conclusionsvould be drawn. The work demonstratesthe differences that arise when using adiffusion barrier or vapor barrier inwall construction.

The governance and control of healthcare organizations has traditionally been run byprofessions inside the organization (Fölster et al., 2003). During the last decades Swedishhealthcare has undergone an institutional transformation where the governance has changedfrom professional governance to a more market like one (Sahlin-Andersson, 2006). Governingof healthcare can however be problematic as professional work is characterized by a highlevel of autonomy and tacit knowledge (cf. Tsoukas, 1997, Freidson, 2001). An expression ofthe new kind of governance is the annually published report ?Öppna jämförelser av hälso- ochsjukvårdens kvalitet och effektivitet?.

The aim of the thesis is to analyse and understand resolution, repeatability and reproducibility of the measurement system for package distance. The measurement system for package distance is already in use, no Gage R&R has been performed on the system and before spreading use of the system the quality of the system has to be understood and approved.

The purpose of this thesis was to describe what factors influence consumers? choice when buying probiotic products. Functional Foods have been predicted a bright future on the food market but so far the concept have not been embraced by the consumers. The reasons for this are many and not clearly understood. Positive health effects are what set a functional food product apart from traditional food stuffs of the same type.

Data warehouse system är något som har växt fram under 1990-talet och det har implementeras hos flera verksamheter. De källsystem som en verksamhet har kan integreras ihop med ett data warehouse system för att skapa en version av verkligheten och ta fram rapporter för beslutsunderlag. Med en version av verkligheten menas att det skapas en gemensam bild som visar hur verksamhetens dagliga arbete sker och utgör grundinformation för de framtagna analyserna från data warehouse systemet. Det blir därför väsenligt för verksamheten att de framtagna rapporterna håller en, enligt verksamheten, tillfredställande god datakvalitet. Detta leder till att datakvaliteten hos data warehouse systemet behöver hålla en tillräckligt hög kvalitetsnivå.

Background: The relationship between advanced age, presence of illness and impaired functioning is well known. A large proportion of the elderly population has an extensive need of care and service and therefore need help from municipal care. Aging is a transition in life and also affects the person's identity and self image, making the person particularly vulnerable and challenging everyday safety. It is therefore of importance to gain knowledge about which factors at individual and organizational level that support a person-centered nursing care for the elderly so that caring responsibilities and staffing of nursing personnel may be scheduled based on need. Aim: This study aimed at describing dependency and care needs of elderly persons living in ordinary housing, sheltered housing and nursing homes. Furthermore the study aimed at describing how the dependency was related to the staffing of non-licensed and licensed nursing staff in nursing homes. Method: A descriptive and analytical quantitative method was used in the study.

Sexual function in men with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is usually affected to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the type of injury and physiological prerequisites. Social contexts and psychological factors are other aspects that affect sexual function. Sexual dysfunction can lead to an impaired quality of life, depression and other illnesses. Aim: To study reported experiences of sexual function in men with SCI who have participated in The Nordic Spinal Injury Registry (NSCIR) five years follow-up. Design: Quantitative method consisting of a register study based on secondary data.