Our environment affect us, not least gardens. By practising the ancient Chinese art feng shui, one could find tools how to create harmony and balance in gardens. By paying attention to different energies working with colours, shapes and materials one can create a nice garden with good feng shui. The philosophy, however, includes much more than what plants or what hard materials to choose in the garden. It describes different energies, the movement of energies, which we can learn to live in harmony with.

The soil acidification and the pH-value of the soil have been discussed for many years. Many observations of the tree species effects on the soil pH have been done. We have discussed the effects on the soil surface pH-value with a birch (Betula spp. L.) admixture in Norway spruce stands (Picea abies L.).We have used data from the Swedish National Forest Inventory. We have also discussed how the wood production and the biodiversity can be increased in mixed stands, in according to the Swedish forestry act Skogsvårdslagen. Our sampling areas are located in Norrland, Sweden. The results show a significant correlation between an increased birch admixture and an increased pH-value of the soil.

In 1994 a new Forestry Act was accepted in Sweden. One of the aims of the law is to raise consideration forpreservation of biodiversity. Since the new law got accepted and some time has passed, there now lie someinterest in examining whether the law has been effective towards its purpose. Methods suitable for analysishave been examined during this study. The content of this pilot study is based around five parameters whichcan be used to validate the effects of the new law.

Abstract The increased focus on social capital theory has made its way into labour economics. This has led to the creation of a vast literature about the use of networks and informal search methods in the labour-market, a literature that to some extent also deals with immigrants search behaviour and their relatively high unemployment rate. Characteristic for the literature in the area is the lack of analysis of actual networks. Which types of contacts do these networks contain; how are the networks used in the labour-market; and which type of network generates a high amount of social capital. These questions are important for the general understanding of how social capital functions, within the labour-market, but also for the understanding of how immigrants use their networks in order to find themselves jobs.

This essay deals with the diseases osteoporosis and osteoarthritis in a medieval population from Visby in Sweden. The aim has been to evaluate to what extent and in what way these diseases have influenced the people of a relatively large harbour town during the Middle Ages. 24 individuals were analysed osteologicaly and 19 of them became subject for measurements of bone density through DEXA readings. Furthermore four individuals were x-rayed based on external differences due to osteoarthritis and a change in the depression at the base of the medial surface of the greater trochanter. Similar studies have been made in Trondheim, Norway and Wharram Percy, Great Britain.

The horse is a homeothermic animal and to keep a constant body temperature in winter season is important. Acclimatisation is to provide means for a good thermal insulation consisting of skin, hair, and an outer air layer. The skin covers the horses body and it is composed of three main layers where the top layer of the epidermis consists of dead keratinized cells that are constantly being sheed. The dermis is composed of collagen connective tissue that give the skin its strength. The bottom layer with subcutaneous fat provides a thermal insulation and can be used as an energy reserve in cold weather.

This study is done on behalf of Södra skogsägarna in the autumn of 2012. The main purpose of the study is to get an explanation to why some of the members are passive in their forestry, and how Södra can stimulate them to become more active. To achieve this a questionnaire study was conducted on the members of Södra in the community of Gislaved. The result of the study shows that there are many different factors that influence whether the forest owner is active or not. Examples of those factors are timber prices, the forest owner's objectives and the forest owner's financial situation. The main goal for the forest owners in the survey was to obtain high economic result and to increase the standing timber volume for the next generation.

The aim with this report is to formulate a strategic method to optimize selection processes of DNA-samples from a faeces inventory to identify as many individuals in as few analyzes as possible, and by that keep down the costs of brown bear management. Brown bear management in Sweden founds today on results from faeces inventory and is substantially led by the county administration boards. Data from the years of 2004 and 2009´s inventories in Västerbotten was used to test and evaluate different methods in selection processes of which faeces that should be sampled. Comparison were made between making selection by chance, by spatial distribution and by calculating variations in logistic regressions coefficient b, in other words bear density and probability in finding same individual in several faeces. We can show making selection by chance is the most uncertain method.

It is a well-known fact that textiles and carpets have benign sound-absorbing properties. It is desirable to have quantified values of these properties ? especially for architects and interior designers. They often need to be able to giveaccount for the acoustic properties of their designs at a relatively early stage and sometimes have strict acoustic classifications imposed upon them by their contractor. A product with documented acoustic properties would aid when prescribing interior elements.The purpose of this thesis is to develop a wall-mounted panel in hand-tufted material ? aesthetically pleasing and versatile but also having documented and quantified acoustic properties.

Sweden is the country that has got the largest amount of elderly in the adult population in the world. The physical activity level decreases as we grow old and we experience muscle mass loss and a bone density reduction. This leads to an increased risk for falls and subsequent fractures. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether an exercise program could affect muscle function and balance ability to prevent falls. 17 women (age 64-79) participated in this study and was assigned to a control group (n=7) and an intervention group (n=10).

The project objective was to make parts of our cultural heritage available as a resource for learning, by developing the pedagogical activities on a medieval castle, that today functions as a museum. I also wanted to explore the role of a designer in a process that aims to develop the interaction between schools and cultural institutions.By a selection of objects and locations in the castle, illustrations with accompanying texts were made, which through the children?s imaginative ability may bring them to a historical scenario. This resulted in a working material that supports the children?s activities and reflections during their visit to the castle.

The concerning issue of declining number of hunters in North America is also apparent in Europe and Sweden. When the bulk of research found on human dimensions and hunting participation has almost exclusively been done in the United States, this report seeks to add to the needed knowledge on a national level focusing on the causes of hunter declines related to social factors within Sweden. Using hunter data reaching from commune, county to National level, this report describes the correlation between a number of variables and the hunting participation in Sweden.The typical Swedish hunter lives in an area with low population density, the person usually has higher education, the living situation is stable with no recent moving and there is relatively good access to forest land. Persons with weaker connection to the Swedish culture such as foreign citizens, people with foreign background and people born outside ?the Nordic countries? are less likely to start hunt or participate in hunting.A strong relationship was found between the favorite game, moose (Alces alces), and the amount of hunters participating in the hunting.

In this master thesis outage statistics covering tree years from two distribution grids are analyzed with the purpose to deduce which factors yield outages. The statistics are extensive therefore allowing in-depth analysis of both customer and system related factors. From this starting point and as a model of explanation energy not supplied is studied as the consequence and the measurement of the inconvenience caused by outages. Different methods for calculating energy not supplied are developed and studied and put in comparison to the method used in Network Performance Assessment Model, which is the Swedish frame work for regulating electricity distribution.Analysis of the outage statistics show a relation between the type category of customer and outages that can be deduced to the variance and the density associated with that customer category. Prioritization of different customer categories is elevated also in this aspect.

Intresset för biobränsleproducerad energi har ökat i takt med att kunderna blivit mer miljömedvetna. På grund av detta har efterfrågan på briketter ökat samtidigt som träindustrin har haft det svårt i en sviktande konjunktur. Därför har ett examensarbete utförts i samarbete med E.ON Värme Sverige AB där undersökningar på bränslebyte i pannor avsedda för torra bränslen till fuktigare, stamvedflis har utfört.För denna undersökning har begränsningar införts på övre och undre effekt i form av uppehållstid och slutförbränningstemperatur. Intervallen är enbart beräknade på stamvedflis med 30 och 40 % fukthalt.Undersökning visar att det går bra att elda stamvedsflis i briketteldade pannor utan att emissionerna ökar så pass mycket att villkoren för anläggningarna överskrids om lasten hålls inom vissa intervall. Det möjliga effektintervallet ökar med minskad fukthalt på bränslet.Undersökningen har visat att det är bränslets kvalitet som är den mest begränsande faktorn..

I arbetet med en stol har jag utgått från det ursprungliga i trä. Min vision har varit att bevara och lyfta fram materialets inneboende och primära egenskaper.Jag har formulerat en bild av detta:-En gåtfullhet ligger som dagg över stolen och speglar den magi man kan finna iskogens träd.Min tillverkning bygger på en ärlig utformning gentemot trädet. I vårt nutida Sverige med masskonsumtion av möbler glöms materialens ursprung bort. På grund av det högteknologiska raffinerandet av materialet döljs tillverkningsprocessen. Jag vill visa materialets ursprung och låta brukaren förstå att trä har varit levande.