Making accurate predictions of private consumption expenditures is a difficult task. This thesis examines if consumer confidence can be used to forecast consumption. Using regression analysis, the link between consumer confidence and private consumption expenditures is analyzed for Sweden between the years 1994 and 2005. Two different models are estimated. In the first model consumption is regressed only on consumer confidence, while model two is extended to contain more variables.

This paper aims at assessing the relationship between female and male part-time employment and the business cycle in Sweden during the years 1987?2005 using quarterly time-series data and two alternative indicators of the business cycle. It further aims at determining whether the share of women working part-time has changed over time. Key results include that the relationship between the business cycle and female part-time employment is found to be significant and countercyclical. No significant effect is however found for men.

Detta arbete behandlar problemområdet systemförvaltning och är en vidareutveckling av förvaltningsmodellen vid systemförvaltningsprocessen. Vid systemförvaltningsarbetet finns det olika förvaltningsmodeller som kan vara ett stöd vid taktisk och operativ styrning samt administrativ kontroll.Systemförvaltningsmodellen består generellt av sju olika rekommenderade delmodeller där bland annat systemförvaltningsprocessen ingår. Modeller för systemförvaltningsprocessen bör förenkla, effektivisera och ge stöd när systemförfrågningar samt systemkrav inkommer från verksamhetsledningen eller systemanvändaren. Undersökningen i detta examensarbete fokuserar på en vidareutveckling av modellen Application Maintenace Cycle (AM/Cycle) som utvecklats av Peder Brandt.Vidareutvecklingen i detta arbete resulterar i en modell för systemförvaltningsprocessen, vilken benämns Application Maintenace Schedule Cycle (AMS/Cycle). Litteraturstudier och intervjuer har påvisat vissa svagheter med modellen AM/Cycle, vilket tagits i beaktande vid vidareutvecklingen av AMS/Cycle.

It generally takes 10 to 12 years for a new drug to hit the market. The pharmaceutical industry invests huge sums in these early stages of research and development. In spite of the rapidly rising research and development expenditures fewer and fewer blockbuster drugs are being developed. Longer lead times and aggressive generic post-patent competition have narrowed the timeframe for the pharmaceutical companies to profit on their investments.In the face of these threats the pharmaceutical industry has developed a battery of strategies to prolong market exclusivity and to maximize return on investment. These emerging strategies are commonly known as Life cycle management (LCM), which actually is more of a concept than a method.

The cell cycle is the time a cell spends between two cell divisions. The cell cycle includes several parallel processes, all of which must be completed before a cell is mature for dividing. In the first place, all subcomponents (RNA, protein and membrane lipids) need to double in quantity and this occurs continuously through the cell cycle. Furthermore, the genome and some chromosomal proteins must double and this take place during a limited interval in the middle of the cell cycle (S-phase). On either side of the S-phase are two "gaps" which is called G1 and G2. When the cell has passed a point in the G-phase they are irreversibly programmed to progress through the remaining of the cell cycle and will undergo the next cell division. When a cell have passed a point in the G1 phase, approximately four hours after mitosis, a normal cell is in a state of indecision.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate if a dynamic investment strategy on the Swedish asset market can accomplish better returns then a static investment strategy. The dynamic investment strategy is created by incorporating business cycle predictors and firm-level variables to predict future stock returns. The predictive regression is calculated wih 60 months of observation (1999 01-2005 12) and is then used to estimate future returns for 23 months in the period 2004 01 -2005 11. The structure of the regression, with linear functions of ? and ?, goes back to Shanken (1990) and Avramov and Chordia (2005) has had success with the variables chosen.

Determination of serum thymidine kinase 1 (TK-1) activity is used as a tumour marker in both human and veterinary medicine. TK-1 is an intracellular enzyme involved in a salvage pathway of DNA synthesis. The expression of TK-1 is cell cycle dependent and the activity increases markedly after the G1 to S transition in the cell cycle and then declines rapidly in G2. The pronounced proliferative activity in tumour cells result in a higher TK-1 enzyme activity within the cell. The fact that the increased TK-1 activity can be measured in serum makes TK-1 a useful marker in diagnostics of neoplastic diseases and it provides information regarding prognosis and treatment effectiveness. In human medicine a radioactive based test is used to determine the TK-1 serum activity.

Tumble dryers and drying cabinets have to a large extent replaced the traditional way of drying clothes outdoors. They are faster, more convenient, require less space and can be operated regardless of weather conditions. This replacement has significantly increased residential energy consumption, due to the fact that tumbles dryers consume large amounts of electrical energy. In the USA 9 % of the households electric energy is consumed when drying clothes. Over 4 million tumble dryers are sold in Europe each year and 20 % of the residential electricity consumption in Sweden is used drying and washing clothes.

This master thesis studies how much the cycle time, i.e. the time it takes for an industrial robot to perform a given task, can be reduced if an extra degree of freedom (DOF) is added to the robot system. The extra DOF consists of a linear track, which is supposed to be used in an optimal way. The problem has been studied using simulations in the robot simulation tool RobotStudio. To be able to run an optimization in Matlab, with the RobotStudio simulation cycle time as the object function, communication between Matlab and RobotStudio has been set up with an interface written in Visual Basic.

Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) is a tree species that have its natural distribution along the West Coast of North America, from Alaska in the north to northern California in the south. Sitka spruce is a typical coastal tree species that can reach heights up to 85 meters and occurs in single pure as well as in mixed stands. The main purposes of this study were to describe the Sitka spruce growing characteristics and the volume production in comparison to spruce (Picea abies). The possibility to predict future volume production by using prognosis tools designed to be used on spruce were also studied. The material that has been used in this study are permanent sitka trials established by the Faculty of Forestry fixed Sitka trials and also material gathered in this study. A literature study was also carried out in order to determine the Sitka spruce growing characteristics. Sitka spruce has a high adaptation and a high volume production on a broad scale of soil types. The tree species is a pioneer species that has a fast early growth and in combination with sharp needles it is less susceptible to animal browsing than spruce. The factor that is the single most limiting factor for where the Sitka spruce can be planted is frost. This factor can be limited by using plant material with a well-suited provenance. According to the literature, the Sitka spruce has an average total volume production that is between 20-40% higher than spruce.

The Psychology Driving and Barriers to Skunk Work Projects (referred to throughout this thesis as the paper) represents a study predominantly on Tetra Pak from a selective perspective, the innovators. Innovators both past&present whose initiatives contribute to the well being of Tetra Pak as well as one from Ericsson were consulted. As with individuals, organizations possess definable characters that are influenced by the various stages of their life cycle. Theories of corporate life cycle phases and organizational character analysis were therefore employed to identify and explain organizational barriers to skunk work leaders&managers. Predicated on the Organizational Character Index survey developed by William Bridges PhD (himself a recognized leader in the field of transition management) and administered to sixty-one managers within a Tetra Pak business unit established the benchmark.

SammandragDenna studie tar upp problematiken vid införande av administrativa stödprojekt vid Uppsala universitet, främst hur motstånd till förändring kan motverkas. Problemet definieras genom frågan: Hur kan Uppsala universitet effektivisera implementeringen av administrativa stödprojekt? Syftet med denna studie är att lyfta fram kritiska framgångsfaktorer vid genomförandet av projekt. Färdigimplementerade administrativa stödprojekt studerades genom personliga intervjuer med projektansvariga och administratörer på institutioner. Upptäckterna analyserades med hjälp av en processorienterad teori baserad på Demingcykeln.

A growing number of companies realise that to achieve their environmental goals and satisfy stakeholder expectations, they need to look beyond their own facilities and to involve their suppliers in environmental initiatives. A life cycle approach means that the production system should be optimised as whole, across national boarders and individual organisations taking part all the way from extraction to disposal. This study is a Life Cycle Inventory of resources used when producing a piece of cotton garment and the method is based on the standardisation series of ISO 14040-43. The area of study, Tamil Nadu the most southern state of India, accounts for more than 90% of India?s knitwear exports to Western Europe.

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to find out how pupils give expression of a water cycle model and if the model causes any misunderstanding. Two problems constitute the starting point for this investigation. The first question is: how do the pupils explain the water cycle with the help of the jar model (can of glass). The other question is: can the children see any similarities between the can of glass and our earth. Qualitative semi structured interviews with seven pupils in the ages of 8-9 have been used to show the pupils? own thoughts and how they express them.

The purpose of this study is to describe melanotic tumours and the pathogenesis of these tumours. The focus of this study is on differences between benign and malignant tumours as well as the prognosis one may expect when diagnosing this disease. The mechanisms responsible for the occurrences of the tumours are not yet fully understood. It is believed that factors such as chronic trauma, infections, medications and hormones affect the cell mechanisms in some way. Determinants of the malignancy of the tumour are not completely known.