As a result of global competition, companies within the automotive industry are required to improve their production systems to achieve sustainable and competitive production. To attain operational excellence, companies have adopted concepts like lean and World Class Manufacturing (WCM).In order to deliver, companies need to increase the availability and reliability of production equipment. This demands focus on both operational and strategic maintenance, and efficient equipment acquisition and management. The main objective of this thesis is to identify processes and success factors that are necessary for improved maintenance performance. By conducting a case study and by performing a literature review, the following has been studied: 1) how companies within the automotive industry work with maintenance and maintenance strategies, 2) implementation of maintenance strategies, and 3) new acquisition and spare parts management for maintenance. The results show that basic maintenance concepts and related terms are well defined in the literature.

This masters thesis investigates the relation between China and the Information Society as it is manifested in the UN conference the World Summit on the Information Society WSIS. The first phase of this two-phase conference took place in Geneva 10-12 December 2003, with two documents, Declaration of principles DP and Plan of action PA, as main results. The information policy is central to an authoritarian rule in its efforts to keep control over the national identity. The thesis investigates the impact that the information revolution and Internet might have on the Chinese national identity through the acceptance of DP and PA in various aspects. With the use of the information science theories by Manuel Castells and Frank Webster, the vision of WSIS was compared with the Chinese information policy.

This bachelor thesis describes why investors should invest in environmentally certified buildings instead of non certified buildings. The report provides an overview of possible factors influencing an investor in the investment process of an environmentally certified building. The report explains why building companies find incentive to build green buildings and how a cash flow method can be adapted so it can be used in the valuation process of an environmentally certified building. Environmentally certified buildings are used as a strategy to reduce emissions that threaten the environment as well as a strategy to obtain market shares for the building companies. This report focuses on the economic advantages of an environmentally certified building.The construction- and real estate industry stands for approximately 40 percent of the energy consumption in the world.

The EU has for a long time had a special relationship with its former colonies in Africa Caribbean and the Pacific, called the ACP?countries. This relationship is about to change radically with the new partnership agreement signed in June 2000 in Cotonou. This essay aims to study the EU ?ACP Partnership Agreement from the perspectives of two different theories: The liberalist, free-trade policy theory and the nationalist/regionalist, protectionist theory.

This work describes the genus Helleborus both from a general point of view, and with individual descriptions of 17 species. The intention is not to make a complete description of the genus, but rather to give an overview and an introduction into the world of Helleborus. A separate chapter lists a few pests and diseases attacking the genus, followed by a brief summary of propagation methods and breeding of the genus. Finally, there is a short discussion of thoughts about the genus and its future use..

Men?s magazines is a form of media that has been present and popular among men for decades and even centuries. In the beginning of 1990 the popularity for men?s magazines boosted as the new ideal man was presented. The new lad represented a new masculinity that was more honest about its ideals and point of views.

This essay aims to explore the philosophical meaning of the expression ?present and real? in Clara ? or, On Nature?s Connection to the Spirit World by F. W. J. Schelling.

That the Swedish society looks different depending on the location is a fact and that in turn means different schools with different conditions and resources depending on the localization. We have in this study interviewed four teachers in a high-status school and four teachers at a low-status school in a municipality south of Stockholm. The purpose of our study is to find out how teachers / educators perceive children's physical and psychological safety in their workplaces, and if there is a difference between the schools in resource allocation.In order to answer our purpose of the study, we chose to interview teachers about how the school looks for the kids in order of enough resources such as books for all, enough facilities and competent and even skilled teachers. To take into account and consider people´s backgrounds, experiences, and cultural frames of reference is a way to interact within a respectful world, and as a good approach to educating children from all parts of the world and with all the different mental and physical difficulties. The two schools in our study show lack of resources but of different kinds.

I wrote this essay with the aim to explore, understand and get some insights into what it is that effects the possibilities to plan for ecological sustainability and make it happen. There is no clear definition of sustainable development but world top meetings and reports have developed goals and strategies. I will present some of the theory at hand but most of this essay is based on six interviews with planners at local governments from around the country. Several of the local governments are using the goals issued by the state government by putting them into their large scale plans. During the interviews some obstacles were identified, like a lack of resourses, disadvantaging powerstruktures, conflicts with marketeconomy and simply different meenings about what ecological sustainability is in practice. My method of getting information through interviews and documenting them by taking notes had, as all methods, it?s weakneses.

Angelica archangelica (Garden angelica) is the only Medicinal and Aromatic Plant (MAP) with a Nordic origin. The plant can reach up to three meters when cultivated. Angelica archangelica is used as flavouring in additives, honey, beverage base, essential oils, fol-klore medicine and as ornamental for decorative purposes. Commercial cultivation is mainly focused on root production. Production countries are Poland, Netherland, France, Belgium, Switzerland, and former Czechoslovakia with an overall yearly world production of 1000 kg of essential oils.

For centuries, the human body has been used as a mean to project the norms, moral values and aesthetic preferences that exist throughout society. It has been controlled through constrictive fashion, family and social virtues and through how we perceive gender and sexuality. This essay strives to show, not only how the body and the aesthetic values coexist, but also how they work together and influence each other, with the body as the aesthetic medium. To do this, Michel Foucault?s writings of sexuality and his theories on morality and discipline, as well as Judith Butler?s works on normativity and performativity are being used.

This essay focus on the social media Twitter and how three Swedish PR practitioners view and use communication strategies for this social media. Twitter was created 2006 and is kind of a new channel in the digital world. The micro blog has over these few years attracted 175 million users across the world. In Sweden there is 91 000 registered users and according to a survey, 11 000 of them are active by tweeting once a day.Twitter is highly current and all kinds of people are using the social media, for example, artists, companies and individuals. Twitter is with its highly number of users building a new market for organizations to find their stakeholders.

Attacken den 11 september 2001 mot USA och World Trade Center blev händelsen som startade hela världens krig mot terrorism. I och med detta har flertalet terrornätverk dykt upp och terrorismen har lämnat få människor opåverkade.Detta arbete syftar till att analysera hur attacken på World Trade Center påverkade händelseförloppet i USA och den militära insatsen. Genom att använda John Wardens teori om luftrumskontroll kommer en jämförande studie mellan hur luftstridskrafterna användes under konflikten i Kosovo år 1999 och under den i Afghanistan för att förklara likheter och skillnader.Studien utgår från en kvalitativ dataanalys av rapporter skrivna i direkt närhet till respektive konflikt.Undersökningens resultat visar på ett väl organiserat och standardiserat sätt att utföra luftstrid på. En tydlighet i taktiken där fokus genomgående, i respektive konflikt, läggs på samma sorts mål. Men även tydliga skillnader mellan konflikterna går att särskåda men det påpekas dock att en direkt kausalitet mellan dessa skillnader och attacken är svår att peka ut.Slutligen förs en diskussion kring hur attacken kan ha påverkat den insats som gjordes i Afghanistan genom en jämförelse mellan båda konflikterna.

IIUniversity of KalmarSchool of Human SciencesPolitical ScienceTitle ? Jag förstår inte varför svenska manliga politiker är så rädda för de kvinnligapolitikerna?Author: Git Franzen Ekström  IIUniversity of KalmarSchool of Human SciencesPolitical ScienceTitle ? Jag förstår inte varför svenska manliga politiker är så rädda för de kvinnligapolitikerna?Author: Git Franzen EkströmAbstractIn the year of 2007, Sweden was the most equal country in the world, and the Philippines wasranked as number six of 128 countries, by the organization World Economic Forum. Thisthesis is a study of female politicians and power in Sweden and in the Philippines. Do thefemale politicians perceive that they have just as much power as the males have? I haveinterviewed 18 female politicians in a small city in Sweden, and 12 female politicians in thelocal and provincial politic in the Philippines.

BackgroundThe lifeworld describes the experience of being a humanbeing, how we experience life and how we live our lifes. When a disease, such as depression occurs, the whole lifeworld can be filled with suffering. Depression is an affective disease, which means it involves the emotions. The patient gets dejected and the emotional devotion abates. Broken sleep, anxiety, pain, concentrations difficulties, fatigue and reduced appetite is some of the symptoms.