The exclusion of visually impaired from the information flow presented to us through signs was what led me into this project. With a growing amount of information being presented to us on signs and digital information surface the need of communicating this information in a way that could be read by visually impaired is evident. Looking into different ways of communication, my goal was to create something that filled the need of the visually impaired without branding them as disabled. Having a close relative with bad eyesight is became evident on how much it limited her in her everyday life, not being able to navigate herself without the support of her husband. Through interviews with her and others with varying diagnoses I reached an insight in their situation. To my surprise they still favored a visual form of communication before an auditory or tactile form, because it?s easy to survey and quick to interpret.

Considering that the current technology is constantly improving, it becomes increasingly important to have an efficient logistics in a company to maintain profitability while achieving a competitive business. Efficient logistics may be accomplished by improving the internal materials handling. In this thesis the internal material handling of steel frames has been studied at a factory in Vaggeryd. The goal of this study is to investigate the problems that exist with the current production flow of products and provide suggestions on how it can be developed to reduce unnecessary handling and movement.The study has a deductive approach where the authors has been using literature studies parallel with empirical analyzes conducted at a company to achieve the purpose of the study. Documentation from the company and interviews with staff and observations form the basis for the data collection carried out.

In line with Sloan (1996) but on European data (STOXX 600) we are investigating whether stock prices reflect information about future earnings contained in the accrual and cash flow components. The extent to which current earnings performance persists into the future earnings performance is shown to depend on the relative magnitudes of the cash and accrual components of current earnings. Moreover, we still find a significant positive excess return (Jensen?s alpha and size-adjusted return) by replicating Sloans (1996) hedge portfolio by taking a long position in the stock of firms reporting relatively low levels of accruals and a short position in the stock of firms reporting relatively high levels of accruals. However, we find no evidence of negative excess returns for companies with relatively high accruals, this somewhat lower the total excess returns for all the portfolios.

In line with Sloan (1996) but on European data (STOXX 600) we are investigating whether stock prices reflect information about future earnings contained in the accrual and cash flow components. The extent to which current earnings performance persists into the future earnings performance is shown to depend on the relative magnitudes of the cash and accrual components of current earnings. Moreover, we still find a significant positive excess return (Jensen?s alpha and size-adjusted return) by replicating Sloans (1996) hedge portfolio by taking a long position in the stock of firms reporting relatively low levels of accruals and a short position in the stock of firms reporting relatively high levels of accruals. However, we find no evidence of negative excess returns for companies with relatively high accruals, this somewhat lower the total excess returns for all the portfolios.

Varje år i Sverige sker ca 24 000 skallskador på grund av yttre trauma och 30 000 strokeskador. Ett betydande antal får sekundära skador på grund av den ökade vattenhalten kring den skadade hjärnvävnaden. Föreslagen metod är att inducera vattenflöde från skadad till frisk vävnad baserat på teorin om elektroosmotiskt flöde. Teorin bakom elektroosmotiskt flöde är att ett flöde induceras då en spänning läggs över ett medium. Elektroosmotiskt flöde tillämpas i industrin och kallas då electro-osmotic dewatering (EOD).

Trough a literature study based on both philosophic and objective fact this essay is taking off in the meaning of public space. It investigates how the information society and its virtual world are affecting the idea and use of public space in the city. The city and the actual world have developed from the traditional meeting between people while the virtual world is based on flows of information. The information flow has expanded through the Information and Communication Technique (ICT). ICT covers among others Internet, mobile phones and computers.

The canine population has during it?s time with humans gone through at least 2 major genetic bottlenecks, the first when it was separated from the wolf, and the second when it was divided into different breeds. Among other things, this has lead to the accumulation of unwanted genes, such as genes causing disease in dogs. One such inherited disease is syringomyelia, which has proven to be more common than expected, especially in certain smaller breeds such as the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Syringomyelia in dogs is often a secondary condition caused by the malformation called occipital hypoplasia.

Purpose: The objective of this study is to illustrate how participants in leaderless based projects communicate with each other. Several studies have focused on technology-supported projects, such as open source projects, with an established project manager and goal. There is a lack, to the best of our knowledge, in studies that deal with the communication pattern in a leaderless computer supported collaborative project.Method: We have chosen to use a quantitative method where we systematically group several messages according to their content. This method was used in a similar study to illustrate the communication between participants involved in an open source project. We have taken the same Kripendorff based method and adapted it to our study by adding more descriptive variables.Theoretical perspectives: Manuel Castell discusses the aspects of a new communication power that is rooted in the individual as part of a larger creative audience.

This report is the result of a master thesis carried out by the author, student at the Royal Instituteof Technology(KTH). The task was performed as a product development process at a companycalled Ameibo AB, located in Stockholm. It is the final task of the studies at the Master'sprogramme Design and Product Realization. The report is structured in a chronological order anddescribes the methods used, the implementation of these methods and a presentation of theresults given from these studies.Ameibo is a company located in Stockholm, distributing films on the internet. The aim of thismaster thesis was to investigate the possibilities of entering the market for portable devices.

This thesis discusses the global regime complex concerning the management of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, and how different regimes concerning these resources cooperate or stand in opposition to each other. Because of changes in US patent law and the establishment of TRIPS, patent claims over plant genetic resources has increased dramatically globally. This, amongst other things, in turn has lead to the development of CBD which in turn lead to the creation of access and benefit laws in many countries. To create a free flow of genetic resources for food and agriculture the ITPGRFA, with its multilateral system, were negotiated. The aim of this thesis is to investigate which consequences the regime complex concerning plant genetic resources for food and agriculture can have on the rights of small farmers, agricultural research and food security in the global South.

This report is presenting an approach that can be used to measure water surfaces in difficult conditions caused by dense vegetation and lack of nearby known points. The objective was to make a contribution to necessary measures for adaptation against floods in Grums Municipality along the stream Karlbergsån, which may occur when persistent rain raises the level of the stream. Along the river there are low-lying areas prone to flooding. According to Grums Municipality, the stream may widen where the water level differences are large, to create a better flow path and to counteract flooding. Grums Municipality was also interested in survey stormwater discharges which may affect the water level in the stream.

As stocks have become a more common way for people to save their money, the range of financial information has had a substantial increase. To understand the assumptions that stock valuation and analysis are built upon, it is important for the reader to have an understanding for the models that are used by banks and institutions when recommendations are published.The cash flow model, which is the most commonly used stock valuation tool, is based on CAPM. This model describes the relationship between an assets return and its risk in relation to an index. The risk parameter is called the beta value and has grown to be the dominating risk factor within financial economics literature.The use of beta values has been widely discussed in the world of academics and some researchers claim that the degree of explanation brought about by the beta is so low that it should be discarded, others are faithful to the beta and believe that it still serves a purpose. As a result of this criticism other ways to calculate the beta have surfaced, models that take other factors of risk into consideration.

In this report a study has been done regarding different heating systems on which are the mostcomprehensive with solar heating systems. The report has also been focusing if solar power can beused as a primary heating source for supplying more than 50 % of the buildings total heatingproduction. The University of Dalarna constructed a demo-house for this purpose and according tocalculations the total solar usage is more than 50 %. This house has been made for referenceregarding the design of the heating system of property 5:37.Further studies have been made to compare different heating systems that are compatible with asolar system, where the compared systems purpose is to be independent of direct using electricity. Asystem of this design is regarded as sustainable according to environmental as economic issues.

Handling materials and packaging, which is the focus of this study, requires efficient logistics, both internally and between companies. To achieve an efficient material flow, good information systems, whose role is to collect, store, process and distribute information, are required. The assumption that packagings are handled in an efficient manner is currently not a matter of course, when many companies do not prioritize the internal management of the package.The purpose of this report was to investigate how medium-sized businesses working with distribution and handling of spare parts packaging can improve their internal management of packaging. In order to answer the purpose, we have used an abductive process and a qualitative data collection. The study had Logistic Center Ljungby (LCL) at Electrolux Laundry Systems (ELS) as a case company and two other respondents, Nibe in Markaryd and Enertech in Ljungby.

Every year, KTH participates in the Shell Eco Marathon, a competition whose goal is to design a vehicle that can go as far as possible using only the equivalent energy of one liter of petrol fuel. This year, one of KTH?s contributions to this race is the Agilis prototype; a car powered by a uniquely configured HCCI-engine developed at the university. The engine is dependent of several subsystems in order to work properly, among other, systems for cooling and lubrication.Combustion engines are in need of a cooling system that reduces the heat developed during the combustion. In general, two main types of cooling systems are employed; either air cooling, where the outside of the cylinder is exposed to a flow of the surrounding air, ore water cooling, where water flows in tubes around the engine, and the heat are transferred by the water to the surrounding air through a heat exchanger.The purpose of the lubrication system is to prevent the friction that builds up in the interference between moving parts in the engine.