Ett av de främsta nyckeltalen som speglar om företaget är framgångsrikt eller inte är lönsamhet. Då lönsamheten för företag generellt tenderar att vara hög då den ekonomiska marknaden där företaget verkar är gynsam, kan man säga att företagets lönsamhet borde vara hög i högkonjunktur och låg i lågkonjunktur (Yeh & Roca, 2012). Med detta resonemang borde det kunna finnas en koppling mellan ett företags skuldsättningsgrad, konjunkturen och lönsamheten.I den här studien har fyra olika skuldsättningmått undersökts där det huvudsakliga skuldsättningmåttet är totala skulder genom totala tillgångar (TD/TA). Studien har valt att undersöka företag i branscherna industriteknik, medicin och material. Syftet med studien är att försöka bredda och styrka det spektrum av teorier som finns tillgängliga genom att besvara studiens forskningsfrågor om ekonomisk tillväxt och lönsamhet kopplat till skuldsättningsgraden.

The aim of this bachelor thesis is to examine the current situation as regarding the political equality in Iran. The method of this reaserch is based on a single-case studie wich grounds in secondary sources. The analysis of this paper is based on fields that concern political equality which in this study will focus on the right to vote, candidacies in the parliament election 2004 and the presidential election 2005. A democracy theory by Jack Lively is used to analyze the political equality in Iran´s political system.The Iranian regim is strongly criticized by the goverments in the Western world and NGO´s for the situation of the democracy and the human rights in the country. Despite the criticism, Iran still continues in the same political direction, although the democracy has gained a stronger role in the political sphere.

Abstract1994 trädde NAFTA i kraft, ett frihandelsavtal mellan Kanada, USA och Mexikosom varit föremål för en intensiv debatt mellan dess förespråkare ochmotståndare. Vi har i vår studie valt att uppmärksamma två sfärer i detmexikanska civilsamhället, som på olika sätt uttryckt kritik mot NAFTA. Dessa ärdelar av zapatiströrelsen samt nätverket RMALC (Mexican Network On FreeTrade). De aktuella delarna av zapatiströrelsen är EZLN (Ejército Zapatista deLiberación Nacional) och den civila FZLN (Frente Zapatista de LiberaciónNacional). Genom att använda oss av begrepp från framför allt neogramscianskteoribildning har vi diskuterat hur motstånd mot neoliberal globalisering kanuppstå och artikuleras.

This study aims to theoretically investigate the concepts of the interpersonal actions 'to motivate' and 'to manipulate' and also to examine possible differences and similarities between the two. The method used is a conceptual review based on the Self-Determination Theory, related to the concept of motivation, and Machiavellianism, related to the concept of manipu-lation. The results show that 'to motivate', according to Self-Determination Theory, concerns influencing the intrinsic or extrinsic motivation, where intrinsic motivation is related to the feeling of self-determination, inner locus of causality, being or feeling competent and exercise activities for the pleasure of it, whilst extrinsic motivation is related to external locus of cau-sality, external pressure and engaging in activities for the purpose of reaching a goal or re-ward. 'To manipulate' is according to Machiavellianism based on the manipulator doing whatever it takes to reach a certain goal and gain something for himself with no regard of what methods being used. The comparative analysis showed that the crucial difference in how an behaviour is interpreted as either, or both, motivating and manipulative is based on who is doing the interpretation, what information she has and which aspects that are focused on..

Researchers today anticipate that in the near future, the majority of the owners of a smartphone will use it as a wallet, i.e. for contactless payment. The technology that enables contactless payment today is ?Near Field Communication? (NFC), which is increasingly embedded in smartphones. Applications like mobile payment between a phone and a terminal use NFC.

I denna uppsats prövas orsakssambandet mellan USA:s militärstrategiska kultur och dess armédoktrin FM 1 (Field Manual 1). Syftet är att påvisa i vilken grad som den militärstrategiska kulturen påverkat utformningen av doktrinen och om detta element kan sägas utgöra en självklar grund till doktrinens kontext. I uppsatsen förklaras den strategiska kulturens innebörd, bland annat utifrån Colin S. Grays tes. Denna tes utgör sedermera uppsatsens teoriansats.

Denna uppsats analyserar utvecklingen av principen Special and Differential Treatment (SDT) i den internationella handelsregimen. Fokus är på förändringen i tillämpningen av denna princip. Uppsatsen identifierar hur principen har tillämpats sen dess uppkomst samt hur ett skifte i det ekonomiska utvecklingstänkandet kom att utgöra en avgörande faktor för den nedgång i tillämpning som observerats. Vidare identifierar uppsatsen också hur nya dimensioner av världshandeln har skapat nya problem för utvecklingsländerna, vilket i sin tur har skapat ett behov av en fortsatt, men i många avseenden annorlunda, tillämpning av SDT-principen.Uppsatsen kommer till slutsatsen att det nya ekonomiska utvecklingstänkandet har suddat ut rationaliteten bakom det forna tillämpandet av SDT-principen. Samma utvecklingstänkande har dock lagt grunden för en ny tillämning.

The aim of this thesis is to examine the properties of the municipalities in Sweden that influence the choice of being a certified Fairtrade city. The independent variables which are used in the statistical analysis are municipal governance, local tax rate, whether there is an university and/or university college in the municipality, average income and higher education in the municipality. The variables are examined by logistic regression. Since there are no statistical data on ethical procurement, this exogenous variable isn?t included in the regression.

Sustainability is today a current topic and companies are more or less forced to work with it even though it contradicts the historical role of companies, which is to generate a profit for shareholders. In recent years there has been a rising interest from banks to work with sustainability but research has shown a growing dissatisfaction among customers even though banks are spending a lot of money and time working with sustainability. This shows that there is an asymmetry between how the banks act and what their customers demand. The purpose of this paper is to create an understanding of how business customers perceive banks´ CSR-reports by investigating customers? interest in these reports.

The aim of our thesis is to study and analyze the components and features a brand should have to provide a solid foundation for brand building. Furthermore, we show how brands can make use of trends in a brand establishment.This paper is written from a qualitative approach. Through both structured and semi structured interviews, we obtained valuable information from our respondents. Our frame of reference and empirical foundation are linked together through an abductive approach which has resulted in our analysis and conclusions.A trend brings with a set of emotional characteristics, which companies can?t influence but must adapt to.

The objective of this diploma work is to investigate a set of Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) channel models compatible with the emerging IEEE 802.11n standard. This diploma work validates also advanced, innovative tools and wireless technologies that are necessary to facilitate wireless applications while maximizing spectral efficiency and throughput. MIMO channel models can be used to evaluate new Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) proposals based on multiple antenna technologies. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate means of channel models and their implementation in different environments such as: Matlab, C++ and Advanced Design Systems (ADS). The investigation considers also a comparison between the channel models based on theoretical data and parameter setup to the channel models based on statistical characteristics obtained from measured data.

In my work I have received a lot of concrete advice about improving the cooperation between landscape architects and contractors. Here is a list of suggestions from both cathegories: Landscape architect's advice: ? Be humble, show respect. ? A practical approach makes cooperation easier. ? Call together a startup meeting with all the consultants and builders. ? Establish a network of contacts with serious contractors whom you can recommend to customers. ? Don't hesitate to ask the contractor for advice; they often have lots of useful knowledge. ? It is important to have clearly written and thoroughly worked out documentation. ? Never let a newly graduated landscape architect visit the buiding site without the company of an experienced colleague.

This is a diploma thesis executed as a part of the examination of the educationalprogram Building engineer ? Construction management at Halmstad University. The aim of the thesis is to compare and evaluate conventional open-cut pipe-laying withhorizontal directional drilling. The thesis includes a comparison of the economic,environmental and time-based aspects of both methods and discusses which factorsthat determine the optimal choice of method.The study is mainly based on previous studies regarding the subject and oninterviews with professionals from the industry.A fictional project with five realistic cases of pipe-laying scenarios was compiled,sent to different companies for calculation, evaluated and compared. Our conclusionregarding when it?s suitable to use which method is entirely dependent on thespecific project.

This report examines the prerequisites for LEDs to replace other technologies indifferent applications. How does the different technologies for light generationwork and what are the advantages and disadvantages? The various technologieslimitations and characteristics provides the opportunities for the LEDs.This report describes a test-construction built to examine what practical arrangementscan be built with modern light emitting diodes, in order to showsome of the possibilities. The construction consists of three different applications,a high power lamp based on cold white LEDs, one based on warm whiteLEDs for the evaluation of the light characteristics and a RGB-LED based lampable to mix any colors quickly and seamlessly. The test construction also containsthe essential peripherals including control-electronics, optics and a custombuilt watercooling solution.The potential for LEDs is huge but it is complicated to build LED based applicationsdue to the limitations which mainly includes the electronics and theneccesary cooling.

With this paper the aim is to find out whether there are any differences in how five students from the north part of Africa structures their tales in comparison with the Nordic tale "The emperor?s new clothes". The purpose is to look at how the genre pedagogy can be said to relate to these differences. What happens to the "deviant" structures?Based on literature and research on the subject, I have concluded that there are certain patterns of how a tale "should" be structured based on Western standards.