Since the financial crisis of 2007, the global financial market has been characterized by instability. At the same time the banks? lending rates and its link to the reporänta have been in the spotlight in various debates in the media. The government with Anders Borg leading the charge has criticized the banks for not lowering their lending rates when the reporänta has been lowered. The banks defend themselves by saying that the reporänta does not have a direct link to their lending rates anymore.

AbstractBachelor thesis G3 in Business Administration, Linnaeus University School of Businessand Economics, Financial Control, 2FE90E, Spring Semester 2010Authors: Kennerth Eriksson and Leo H KochAdvisor: Lars-Göran AidemarkTitle: Balanced Scorecard in governmental organizations ? About, how and its meaning.Background:  The Balanced Scorecard is a Control System that includes both financial andnon-financial measures which intend to link the short-term business management with the long term vision and strategy. Businesses in the public sectors are different fromthe private sector on several levels and they often seek to reach multiple targets.Therefore, their choice of Control System becomes interesting. According to the SwedishNational Financial Management Authority (Ekonomistyrningsverket) among others, thereis no clear knowledge of how widespread the Balanced Scorecard is in governmentalorganizations. The lack of that knowledge is one of the questions at issue with this thesis.Is it only a few organizations that are using the Balanced Scorecard or parts of the model?Another question at issue is about how the Balanced Scorecard is used in the point ofcontrolling in the organizations we chose to investigate further.Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is partly to investigate the existence and use of theBalanced Scorecard in governmental organizations and partly to describe the design ofthe Balanced Scorecard in the studied organizations and explain why they have chosen towork with the Balanced Scorecard and what impact it has on them.Demarcation: The first part of this study has been demarked to only look at the existenceof the Balanced Scorecard in governmental organizations.

During the past decade environmental challenges have been intensified and given increased attention. This implies that businesses in all sectors strategically need to manage these challenges. The service sector is often considered as a sector with a low environmental impact if the direct environmental aspects are assessed. Still, it has been argued that the environmental impact that the sector gives rise to can create severe indirect environmental impacts. The products and services that are produced by this sector have a relatively limited use of physical resources which may make the environmental impact challenging to visualize. Banks belong to the service sector and it is partly banks that make the development of societies possible.

The main purpose of this study was to determine the self-estimated levels of knowledge about doping for a group of strength training young adults, and also to get an idea of their attitudes regarding the subject. A part of the purpose was also to investigate the potential associations between knowledge and attitude. Method: To collect information a questionnaire was constructed that was inspired by a similar study and in consultation with the tutor. Questions regarding background, doping and training experiences together with self-esteemed attitudes and knowledge about doping were included. Questionnaires were handed out at gym facilities in central Sweden, and were answered by men and women ages 18 to 35 years.

Journalists´ role in society has traditionally been of representative nature with a task to distribute news and scrutinize those in power. But technological changes have created a new publishing world outside the traditional media institutions. In today?s redactional society anyone can become a publisher in a blog or through other channels on online. This process can be seen as contributing to increased democratization giving everyone the opportunity to publish.

Urban forests are important for people to get at break and be able to relax in a stressful world. Several studies show that we feel better through being out in the forest and historically this was the normal environment for us. As a result of population growth and urbanization we tend to spend less time in nature nowadays than before. Due to this development urban forests have become a central role in our society as a place where people can fulfill their needs and interests. The management of the urban forest is therefore important, especially for municipalities that own forest which is supposed to be of benefit to local residents.Falköpings municipality owns approximately 260 hectares of forest in the popular and most visited recreational area along Mösseberg?s southern slope.

AbstractFalu Copper Mine and Sustainable DevelopmentKarl-Markus AnsnaesFalu copper mine was Sweden?s oldest mine industry which lasted for almost a thousand years. Throughout the history its area has been vastly contaminated by sulfur oxide. The contaminations has created the mining area to an environmental risk zone which has the ability to spread out into the Falu River. The river has its connections to the Dal River which is discharging towards its mouth in the Baltic Sea.

Subclinical mastitis (SCM) is a well-known problem in the dairy sector, where it causes severe economic losses mainly due to reduced milk production. This is a problem not only in the western world but also in developing countries. Surveys from different developing countries have shown a SCM prevalence of 52.4 ? 88.6 % at cow level and 26.7 ? 63.2 % at quarter-level. To combat mastitis is important to optimize the milk production of the cow.

The top selection of Swedish beef bulls are evaluated yearly by Svensk Köttrasprövning AB at Gismestad. The bulls are selected from six different breeds; Angus, Blonde d´Aquitaine, Charolais, Hereford, Limousin and Simmental, and are kept on straw bedding apart from a concrete alley in front of the feeding area during the six months of evaluation period. The bulls are evaluated according to their fertility scores, growth, exterior and temperament and the exterior, body posture and claw conformation reflect important qualities for their longevity. In spite of good values for fertility, it has been noticed in the last years that the fertility results and longevity have been unsatisfactory and claw and/or bone disorders have been suspected as a contributory cause. Persson et al. (2007) studied breeding bulls from Gismestad and other places, which had been slaughtered due to poor fertility (no pregnancies in the herd during their last year in service).

China is a unique market that differs from the Western market in many ways. Companies are not required to publicize financial reports, and furthermore a heavy focus on business relationship building can make it hard for companies to have high quality streams of data to get insights about their markets. For a consultant company to successfully enter the Chinese market and helping producing and technological global firms improving their insights on the Chinese market, the consultant company needs to understand which the important factors are and how those factors can help in creating value for their potential customers. To help the analyzing and consultant firm called Kairos Future, a qualitative case study was conducted on 16 different global companies with focus on industrial production. The case study was mainly conducted through face to face interviews with decision makers who had a broad understanding of their respective companies.

Background: Climate changes are a growing concern all over the world today. In June year 2006 the European Union accepted a new strategy for the Unions work against a sustainable development. The concept of taking consideration to all the aspects of an organisations/a company's activity is something that have been in focus during later years. Social and ethical aspects are in focus and questions regarding these aspects are more commonly included in the companies yearly reporting. A sustainability report is characterised by that it takes into account not only environmental aspects, like ordinary environmental reports, but also social and ethical aspects of a company's activity with it's surroundings.

It today's global world we live in the media have started to examine businesses more and more. In addition consumers are expecting more from products, because they are well informed. This means that companies need to market themselves effectively, to convince and get across their message to their customers. Marketing is an extensive process in which different factors must be taken into account. A company must know what the coustomer needs in order to get through to them.

Grief research generally demonstrates that children and teenagers who have lost a parent in suiciderisk developing severe psychological and physical morbidity, as well as social disabilities, in adultlife as a result of traumatic aspects of the death and complicated grief reactions. The youngbereaved also run a highly increased risk of developing suicidal behaviour or to commit suicidethemselves. Despite these alarming reports, the research field is poorly explored and studies thattake an interest in the long-term consequences and the subjective experiences of the bereavedyoungsters are lacking. A qualitative study using narrative methods has been carried out toexamine the experiences of four young women, who during adolescence lost a father in suicide.The study specifically focuses on the grief process, the short- and long-term consequences, and theneed for social support in relation to family, extended network and society. The study reveals thatthe women?s traumatic loss has shattered their basic assumptions about the world as a safe andmeaningful place.

This report is the result of a thesis performed at Westermo Industrial Ltd with its headquarters in Stora Sundby and it sums up the author's studies for University Engineering in Innovation, Production and Logistics at Mälardalen University.The main goal of the thesis was to identify problems and suggest actions that lead to the reduction of the repair time from 3 weeks to 2 weeks. The key questions that were answered in order to achieve the thesis objectives are: What are the biggest challenges that make the repair process time last for 3 weeks? What are the necessary means and measures in order to reduce the repair length to 2 weeks? The author adjusted the work to the Swedish repairs, repair issues that arise from sell unit Westermo Data Communications AB with its office in Västerås and performed the status report by mapping the repair process, through using observations, interviews and bibliography research studies. A flow map of four sub-processes (Inbound Delivery, BackOffice, Repair Department, and Logistics) was made and each section was observed, where also the employees were interviewed. Data that has been collected was analysed by the author and the decision to execute a workshop that affects Repair Department and Logistics was made.

It today's global world we live in the media have started to examine businesses more and more. In addition consumers are expecting more from products, because they are well informed. This means that companies need to market themselves effectively, to convince and get across their message to their customers. Marketing is an extensive process in which different factors must be taken into account. A company must know what the coustomer needs in order to get through to them.